Now that we’ve reached the end of Starfleet Academy’s first season, I wanted to take a minute to talk about where the show ended up after a bit of a rocky beginning. In my initial review of the season, I had only seen the first six episodes – three of which I really didn’t care for, one that I was much warmer on, and two that I genuinely loved. It gave me a lot of hope that the series was finding its way as the season went on, as I found that the episode quality – the writing, the direction, the acting – was getting stronger with each passing episode. So when I received the final set of four episodes several weeks ago, I dove in, eager to see if the series had managed to right the ship.
And, for the most part, it had. As I wrote in that initial review, first seasons are notoriously hard, and Star Trek first seasons are especially rough (at least historically). It’s hard to balance the need of building characters, establishing the setting and tone of the world, and seeding all the necessary elements that will pay-off down the line in the season finale (assuming you’re telling a serialized story rather than a strictly episodic tale*). With Starfleet Academy, my major complaint throughout the first chunk of episode was that it wasn’t managing to find the correct tone for the series. Was this meant to be a dopey, silly, hormone-infused story about a bunch of college kids on their school campus – complete with hijinks, flirting, sarcastic comment to and from teachers, and inspirational episodes about the kids finding their way in the wider world? Or was this a story about a group of young adults from very different backgrounds coming together, learning from some of the best minds in Starfleet, and discovering more about themselves, each other, and the universe as they go along?
*For the bulk of Star Trek’s existence, the main vehicle for storytelling has been episodic stories with the occasional two-parter or a recurring character like Q who continues a story thread over the course of several appearances over several seasons. Until the latter half of Deep Space Nine, which introduced the Dominion War story arc that would last for several seasons – albeit interposed with one-off episodic jaunts to diffuse the tension and spotlight characters – serialized storytelling was just not a Star Trek thing. Now it’s such a huge part of television (thanks in no small part to DS9 and its fellow 90s sci-fi series Babylon 5) that it’s become an element of our current crop of Star Trek series, although at different rates depending on the show.
When Starfleet Academy leaned too much into the silly and fun parts of a “college” story, the tone felt flippant and cloying. It didn’t help that Caleb turned out to be a pretty awful central character to lead the show – it’s hard to want to watch someone who has such disdain for everyone and everything he encounters (yes, trauma is a bitch and he needed some serious therapy that I hope he gets over his summer break), especially when we’re seeing this new world through his eyes. Whether they’re cognizant of it or not, when the writers center a character like that, and show us the Academy and his classmates and professors through his eyes, they’re asking us to see that world as he sees it. So, when we see just how stupid he thinks everyone and everything is, it’s hard not to also believe it is. That prank war, which was encouraged by Captain Ake – who was also a bit of a tonal mess in those early episodes – was a particular low point for me. It felt less like Star Trek – whatever that may mean to you, to me there’s room for jokes and laughter, but the guiding principle should be something more concrete than whatever that episode was – and more like a CW drama.
But starting with the deep dive into Jay-Den’s struggles to fit in with his family (a compelling character for a number of reasons, and I wished he had gotten a bit more to do in the back half of the season), things started changing for the better. A key element of first seasons is taking the time to teach us about your characters. It’s why I wish we had longer television seasons than we do these days – sure, in the past that would lead to some throwaway episodes, but it also allowed for more one-off episodes that gave the spotlight to a character we might not normally get to spend that length of time with. Spotlighting Jay-Den or SAM (who had two episodes – including one that gave The Doctor a chance to show us he’s still mourning his lost family from back in the early years of Voyager – and a complete personality reboot that I really loved) helped me to better understand their characters and ultimately care about their growth. SAM was one of the characters I found particularly grating early in the season. By the finale? My opinion was much different.
Aside from the strides in character development, the secret to what made the back half of the season much stronger than those initial episodes was that the writers seemed to remember that this is a school and the greatest resource they have at their disposal are the actors they cast as professors. When the series let the professors step up and guide the cadets – whether it was a single episode aimed at discovering purpose (and trying to tap into the nostalgia for Sisko, DS9, and provide a capstone to the character and Avery Brooks’ sensational work on the series) or having Jett Reno command the cadets with authority and some humor in the face of battle – the show truly found its stride. Because the story they should be telling isn’t about joining sports teams or playing pranks, it’s about how these cadets can become Starfleet officers. How they learn from those around them to grow and become people who can lead, who can discover, who can heal. Sure, jokes, games, and clubs are a part of that story, but they aren’t the whole thing. We want to watch someone like Reno or Tilly teach. Yes, it’s going to be a bit heavy-handed at times. (Our Town? Really?) But it’s those connections, those lessons, those opportunities to see the cadets step out of their comfort zone and discover something about themselves or the universe that make Starfleet Academy a real part of the greater Star Trek universe. Because that’s a universal Star Trek story.
Now, I know there are plenty of detractors to the series out there – that initial press image really didn’t help anything. And there are some valid criticisms – as I said, I wasn’t a fan of the show right out of the gate and I didn’t absolutely love the season overall (the last two episodes had some great moments but were pretty Caleb-centric in ways that grated on me). The complaint about the “modern language” being used? Yeah, I could do without that. The sharp tonal swings? Yup, I talked about that – not a fan. But this isn’t a bad show. It’s not a perfect one – no show ever is from the first episode. It’s a show that’s finding its way. It’s a show that is trying to capture a younger audience, something that Star Trek really needs if it wants to succeed. And if it makes someone curious about Benjamin Sisko or The Doctor and his time on Voyager and they seek out those series as a result? That’s a huge win.
So, what’s my verdict on season one of Starfleet Academy? Mixed to positive. The moments I loved, I really loved. The moments I didn’t? Well, I doubt I’ll ever watch those first three episodes again. I love Stephen Colbert, but I could really do without his joke announcements each episode. I could really do without the War College completely. I’d love season two to be more grounded in reality – more focused on teaching, learning, growing, and seeing who these cadets might someday become – and less focused on jokes and gags. But I will be back for a second season. There was enough this time to make me intrigued to see what’s in store for us without a huge threat from a scenery chewing Paul Giamatti hanging over the proceedings.
