Give Star Trek: Starfleet Academy a chance

As Star Trek: Starfleet Academy approaches its January 15 premiere, longtime fans are already echoing the same premature criticisms once leveled at The Next Generation. This article explores why early backlash rarely reflects a show’s true potential and argues that viewers should reserve judgment until the series actually airs.

I was too young and not into Star Trek: The Next Generation when it debuted. However, I've read numerous accounts about the criticisms of a new ship, new aliens and a new crew led by a bald man—blasphemous! Star Trek is Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and the Enterprise! Now, 38 years later, such misguided vitriol would be laughed out of the room. Sure, there are those who are diehard Kirk-era fans, but on the whole, the Star Trek fan base now treats the Rick Berman-era Trek—TNG, DS9, VOY and ENT—as the golden age, just as key to the mythos of the final frontier as the '60s show that started it all.

My reason for recalling those early qualms is to highlight the equally misguided responses to the forthcoming Star Trek: Starfleet Academy series. I fully understand the concerns based on everything Paramount has released—it's 90210 in space, it's woke, it's changing canon, it's Discovery 2.0, etc. Most of those are probably true. And if so, shame on those holding the golden reins that Gene Roddenberry built and Rick Berman and crew drove to new heights. But there are limits to what you can criticize when you've, at most, seen four or five minutes of an actual episode. For example, criticizing Holly Hunter's Captain Ake for her mannerisms or voice? Really? Those things are what make a character stand out! Remember those who complained about Kate Mulgrew's smoker's voice? How'd that turn out?

My point is that Star Trek fans or casual viewers alike can't make a proclamation about a series until they've seen it. Speculation is fine. In fact, I can guess how the show will turn out.

• The cadets will be mostly annoying—trying to call back to classic Trek species, but adding "diversity" into the mix to push an agenda.

• I hate the term "woke." Star Trek is supposed to be "woke." But the mistake that the modern writers make—and that the Roddenberry/Berman-era writers never did—is making things 2025 woke. And that poor writing comes off as cringeworthy as anything I've ever seen. Star Trek should do what it always had done before—use its premise of a better world and science fiction—to drive home a point. Were there some missed opportunities? Sure. But episodes like TNG's "The Host" or "The Outcast," DS9's "Rejoined," or even the character of Dax herself did more for these cultural hot points than anything on Star Trek: Discovery. Should the Berman era have included a gay character? Yes, that's a dark spot on their legacy. Should they have done a better job with DS9's "Profit and Lace"? Yeah, also not great.

• Some of the backstories will be very interesting and worth following.

• Captain Ake and the Doctor will be the standout characters.

• I'm a little concerned about the "girl power" vibes evident from the promotional output. For example, it appears all of the command crew are women. The Doctor and Admiral Vance (who is likely just a guest star) are the only men I've seen that aren't cadets.

• The stories will try to skirt Star Trek canon because, in most cases, the writers don't get Star Trek at the level those from the Berman-era did. We saw this with every one of the modern Star Trek series, except Prodigy and Lower Decks.

• The new hero ship, the U.S.S. Athena, will be both cool and stupid at the same time (see the U.S.S. Discovery).

• The cadets are all good-looking, but let's see how they act. If there are giggles and 2020s references and mannerisms, they've failed.

• I hope there is no Mary Sue (i.e., Michael Burnham) character. And hopefully unrelated, I already don't like the holographic cadet, S.A.M.

• I am, however, looking forward to the Klingon cadet, Jay-Den Kraag. We haven't seen much of the Klingons in the 32nd century.

Like Star Trek: Discovery, I expect the biggest mistake that Starfleet Academy will make is its premise. Instead of focusing on the captain, her ship, and crew, it will feel like that element is bolted on to another show. Discovery only really gelled in its final year—when it had a proper captain and went on missions. I'm still disappointed that, even in season five, they kept most of the crew as bit players with only a few as leads. Strange New Worlds seems to get the formula, but has opted to trample on canon to no end. Similar to Discovery, Starfleet Academy has the actors (Hunter and Picardo at the very least), but if the writing is as bad as every other show overseen by Alex Kurtzman, this series will be nothing more than Discovery 2.0 or less.

So, let's end this on a positive note. We get new Star Trek for ten weeks. A lot of people have worked very hard to bring us what will be a spectacle for certain (see the FX in the previews).

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy premieres on January 15 on Paramount Plus. Stay tuned to Cereal Creatures for our review!