Tag Archives: Star Trek

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy – 300th Night [S1E9] – TV Review

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TL;DR – It perfectly sets up the season finale, while bringing real tension in its own right.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ service that airs this series.

Nahla, Reno, and The Doctor on The Bridge.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy – The Life of the Stars –

We are heading towards the end of the season at warp speed, and it feels like it is time to start wrapping up some of the tangling plot threads. But that involves crushing some big storylines together, which can always be fraught if not handled correctly.  

So, to set the scene, there are celebrations everywhere. The 300th Night means that they have reached the end of their first year. In the middle of those celebrations, the USS Athena joins the fleet over Betazed to inaugurate the new Federation Headquarters. As the cadets come together to share a Klingon friendship ritual, Caleb (Sandro Rosta) runs out. He is still feeling odd feelings about his family, the tension of replacing in some way the thing he has been chasing for so long. But when things start looking up, they work out what Braca (Paul Giamatti) stole, Omega-47, an entity that could rip apart both space and subspace. He could target every Federation planet and send them back to the burn, killing billions in the process. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Star Trek: Starfleet Academy – The Life of the Stars [S1E8] – TV Review

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TL;DR – A quiet, thoughtful meditation on the effects of grief and trauma from a number of perspectives.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ service that airs this series.

The USS Athena docked at Starfleet Academy on Earth.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy – The Life of the Stars –

As we get into the back half of the season, it is clear that Come, Let’s Away is the fulcrum that the whole season pivots on. That is interesting because last week’s attempt to explore the repercussions of the event, Ko’Zeine, fell flat on its face for me. But maybe the second time is the charm.   

So, to set the scene, as Tarima Sadal (Zoë Steiner) arrives back on Earth, she is no longer attending the War College because of the fear of permanent damage if she uses her powers again. This puts Tarima in an odd place, being so close to where she wants to be but missing out. It adds to the pain that has been bubbling up for a long time and is affecting the candidates’ ability to work as a team. Seeing the problem and knowing it could lead to irreparable damage, Chancellor Nahla (Holly Hunter) decides to bring in some reinforcements in the form of Lt. Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman). But for one of the cadets, it might be too little, too late. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Star Trek: Starfleet Academy – Come, Let’s Away [S1E6] – TV Review

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TL;DR – While I am not normally a fan of bait-and-switch episodes, if you are going to pull it off, it helps when you have Holly Hunter, Paul Giamatti & Oded Fehr lighting up the screen. 

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ service that airs this series.

Caleb and Tarima sitting on a bench looking at the Golden Gate Bridge.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy – Come, Let’s Away Review –

Ooo, this is an odd episode, in that it is tonally very different from anything else the show has done, and look, it goes places. Places I was not expecting this early in the series. However, as big swings go, you’d better have a cast ready to pull it off, and thankfully, it looks like Star Trek: Starfleet Academy has that.

So, to set the scene, after spending all season in several stages of flirtation, Caleb Mir (Sandro Rosta) and Tarima Sadal (Zoë Steiner) have finally taken their relationship to the next level. But things hit a rock when Tarima’s accident captures something in Caleb’s mind, and he sees into his past. The USS Athena is on a joint mission between Starfleet Academy and the War College on the wreck of the USS Miyazaki. But when The Furies intercept the cadets and take them hostage, Nahla Ake (Holly Hunter) might have to make a deal with a devil to get the cadets back. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Star Trek: Starfleet Academy – Series Acclimation Mil [S1E5] – TV Review

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TL;DR – There were many things I was expecting when I sat down to watch this episode today, but I did not expect to find myself openly weeping, and I am just as surprised about that as you are, dear reader.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ service that airs this series.

A doctored CBS Productions Logo.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy – Series Acclimation Mil Review –

Oh … wow … I was not ready for this episode when I pressed play. I was not prepared for it to show the strength of the Starfleet Academy premise with a sheer gumption that is commendable. I was also not ready for it to show such love to Deep Space Nine that it evoked an emotional response so profound that it caught me off guard. Well, with that in mind, let’s dive into the episode to see what it holds.  

So, to set the scene, Series Acclimation Mil or SAM (Kerrice Brooks) is the only photonic member of the Academy, as her home planet, Kasq, has sent her to learn about organic beings and potentially be a bridge between those two worlds, an emissary. When her Makers (Chiwetel Ejiofor) insisted she take the class “Confronting the Unexplainable” or they would remove her from the Academy, SAM was stuck. The professor, Illa (Tawny Newsome), would not let her join this late into the semester, but she will be taken away from everything she loves if she doesn’t get in, which is when SAM stumbles upon the legend of The Sisko (Avery Brooks). No one knows for sure what happened to him after the incident in the Fire Caves, but SAM will find out; she has to. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Star Trek: Starfleet Academy – Vox in Excelso [S1E4] – TV Review

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TL;DR – Starfleet Academy finally fixes the issue of Klingons on multiple fronts and earns the classic Jerry Goldsmith theme.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ service that airs this series.

The USS Athena.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy – Vox in Excelso Review –

Okay, today, before we dive into the review, I need to warn you that we are going to get deep into the lore and into some of the behind-the-scenes machinations of the series. I would not usually get as inside-baseball as this in the reviews; however, it is clear that this episode is very much based in that space.

So, to set the scene, the USS Athena has taken the Starfleet Academy out on their first away mission to chart a nebula. While it is meant to be a learning opportunity, it is to some extent. The trip is marked in tragedy when it is discovered that a refugee ship carrying remnants of the last 8 Klingon houses has crashed, and some of those onboard were Jay-Den’s (Karim Diané) family. Now he is thrust into a spotlight he does not want nor is appropriate, but he still has to navigate it anyway. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Star Trek: Starfleet Academy – Beta Test [S1E2] – TV Review

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TL;DR – I think this episode shows the potential best and also the possible worst for the series moving forward.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ service that airs this series.

The Cadets in a line.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy – Beta Test Review

Apparently, it is tradition in the year of the Lord 2026, when you drop a weekly series order, you need to drop two episodes, which usually feel like they could have been one movie-length episode, but weren’t because of weird Hollywood economy reasons. Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is no stranger to this phenomenon, but to give it its credit, this did feel like a whole new episode in its own right.  

So, to set the scene, Caleb Mir (Sandro Rosta) is trying to acclimatise to a world defined by rules, order, and, strangely for him, safety. Meanwhile, Captain Nahla Ake (Holly Hunter) is championing student learning wherever she can. One opportunity is being given to Admiral Charles Vance (Oded Fehr) because, for the first time since The Burn, the Betazed delegation is coming out of their psionic barrier that was put up around their territory. This could be a big win for the Federation to get Betazed to return to the fold, but it was the Federation that abandoned them during The Burn, and memories can be long. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Star Trek: Starfleet Academy – Kids These Days [S1E1] – TV Review

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TL;DR – This is a bit of a rough first episode, but underneath all the mess is a lot of promise.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ service that airs this series.

The USS Athena.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy – Kids These Days Review –

Well, it is a new year, and also it is time for some new Star Trek, well, I say new Star Trek, but the idea of setting a show in Starfleet Academy has been kicking around since at least the 1980s. However, it might have taken forty-odd years to get it going; its time is now, and of course, we must take a look, even though I suspect it is a show that is not pitched to me. But then Star Trek Prodigy was also not pitched to me, and that turned out to be a real gem.  
So, to set the scene, at the end of Star Trek Discovery’s Fifth Season, we discovered that things had stabilised enough in the remnant of the Federation and Starfleet to restart the Starfleet Academy back on Earth. Admiral Vance (Oded Fehr) had the tough job of choosing a commandant for the Academy, but he settled on Captain Nahla Ake (Holly Hunter), who left Starfleet because it was not living up to its ideals. However, on its maiden flight from Bajor to Earth, the USS Athena detects an anomaly. She stops to examine this possible teaching opportunity that turns out to be more than they bargained for. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – New Life and New Civilizations [S3E10] & Season 3 – TV Review

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TL;DR – An odd end to a strange season of Star Trek.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ streaming service that viewed this episode. 

The USS Enterprise.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Introduction –

Well, we have gotten to the end of what has become a very odd season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. It rolled from one wild entry to the next, giving such tonal whiplash that you have to look back on it in awe. However, there was also a thematic throughline throughout the season. And. Well. Look. It’s not great. But let’s take a moment to dive in and see if they at least stuck the landing before we look back at the season as a whole.  

So, to set the scene, the USS Enterprise is getting ready to take Captain Batel (Melanie Scrofano) back to Earth so she can take up her position as the head of Starfleet JAG. Captain Pike (Anson Mount) is feeling a lot of emotions as he is happy to see Batel finding her place in the world, but it does mean that they have to go back to long-distance. But as they start giving the Enterprise a much-needed detail, Scottie (Martin Quinn) finds that someone has patched himself together in the medical transporter and escaped. But who would do such a thing? Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode and season as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – What is Starfleet? [S3E7] – TV Review

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TL;DR – An experiment that has its frustrating points but is made better with one of the best performances in Star Trek history.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ streaming service that viewed this episode. 

In Accordance with the United Federation of Planets " Freedom of Information Act" This documentary includes security footage that has been declassified by Starfleet Command in the spirt of Transparency"

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Introduction –

One of the lingering plot points that has been bubbling away since Wedding Bell Blues is that Beto Ortegas (Mynor Luken) is going to film a documentary. What kind of documentary he’d make has been debated. In a world where ‘following orders’ faces growing scrutiny, it feels like a timely reminder.    

So, to set the scene, the USS Enterprise has been tasked by Starfleet to lend aid to the Lutani, a people that had been previously hostile-adjacent to the Federation, but who are now under attack from the nearby Kasar people trying to lay claim to their home system and all its resources. Millions have died. However, there is a quandary with The Enterprise’s orders; they have to deliver ‘supplies’, obviously weapons, but also help escort the Jikaru, which is an ethical time bomb waiting to go off. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – The Sehlat Who Ate Its Tail [S3E6] – TV Review

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TL;DR – A fascinating exploration of leadership and command when time is running out and your back is against the wall.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ streaming service that viewed this episode. 

The USS Farragut in orbit of Helicon Gamma.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Introduction –

Today’s episode gets to the heart of the very premise of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. When you have a prequel so connected to the very origin of Star Trek, you always knew the direction the show was heading towards, the endpoint. But to get there, you need to lock some key features in, and today is just one such time.

So, to set the scene, the USS Farragut is off surveying an uninhabited planet called Helicon Gamma. It was a standard, almost dull mission for Second-In-Command Commander James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley). Until a gravitational beam tears the planet apart and heavily damages the ship. The USS Enterprise was able to arrive and help, only to discover the thing that was destroying the planet had returned and swallowed the Enterprise whole. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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