Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Review: Kids These Days / Beta Test (Season 1 Episodes 1 and 2)

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Season 1 Episodes 1 and 2, “Kids These Days” and “Beta Test,” brim with narrative potential, despite tonal inconsistencies and unevenness. This reviewer went in with tempered expectations, though. Perhaps it’s the bad taste left in my mouth by its direct predecessor, Star Trek: Discovery. 

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Charts a New Path 

Change can be good. It’s a cornerstone of this franchise, after all. And this series boldly flies into a new frontier. It takes big creative swings for the fences. Do they always pan out? No, but one can appreciate the effort. 

The aforementioned unevenness and inconsistencies in tone are more applicable to the first episode, “Kids These Days.” The fight sequences feel like Discovery, as do the more somber moments. However, the humor is reminiscent of Star Trek: Lower Decks (maybe because Tawny Newsome is a producer). It seems like the series can’t decide what it wants to be. 

That said, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy smooths out some of those wrinkles in episode two, “Beta Test.” It feels more focused, and Betazed rejoining the Federation is a solid storyline. Sandro Rosta’s Caleb has fun chemistry with Zoë Steiner’s Tarima, and it’s a bona fide delight to watch the Doctor relish his operatic hobby. 

Lights, Camera, Warp 

Robert Picardo’s consistent presence not only provides a welcome wave of nostalgia, but he also never misses a beat as this iconic character. It’s like reuniting with an old friend. Thankfully, the series finds a solid explanation for why the Doctor has aged, too. His scene with Kerrice Brooks’ SAM is amusing. This pairing certainly has potential. 

Holly Hunter delivers understated, nuanced work as Nahla Ake. Her captain is particularly unconventional as far as Starfleet captains go, and she makes it work. Tatiana Maslany only appears for a few minutes in the series premiere, but, unsurprisingly, she’s a revelation. She leaves an indelible impression. 

Paul Giamatti goes into scenery-chewing mode in “Kids These Days.” Sure, Star Trek has definitely had its fair share of Shakespearean-esque foes. However, it doesn’t quite work in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, even with the more humorous/lighthearted tone. Giamatti’s performance is inconsistent, and sometimes, it feels like he’s in a different show. 

Admittedly, his best moments are with Caleb before their fight scene, in which he’s more grounded and menacing. That aside, you can’t say he’s not having a blast as Nus Braka. And who knows? Perhaps as the show finds its footing, the scenery-chewing will subside. 

Not Just a Teen Drama

The cadets are good for the most part. As with anything, there’s room for improvement. I find Karim Diané’s Jay-Den Kraag the most compelling thus far. While he’s certainly not the first Klingon to join Starfleet, it’s still a rarity. SAM is also intriguing, and Gina Yashere shines as Lura Thok. 

Thankfully, this show isn’t just a teen drama. Those elements are there, but they often take a backseat to more important narrative beats. Amid the struggle to balance the comedy and drama, there’s plenty to appreciate.

For example, since Nahla is over 400 years old, she still recalls The Burn. That’s storytelling fodder aplenty. After all, Starfleet and the Federation are still rebuilding, even 120 years after The Burn. This is evident, too, especially based on public sentiment. The Betazoids aren’t too keen on the Federation before pivoting. 

There’s also criticism of colonialism via Braka’s lambasting of Starfleet. He remarks that “they” took Caleb’s mom from him, displaced him, and then put him in a uniform. I would like to see Star Trek: Starfleet Academy commit to that commentary à la Star Trek: Strange New Worlds‘ “What is Starfleet?” 

Who Do You Trust? 

“Kids These Days” and “Beta Test” are all about trust and fostering community. This makes sense, given that Caleb is the lens through which we view this world. He struggles to trust Nahla, who’s the reason he and his mom are separated in the first place. But episode two plants the seeds for a blossoming friendship between them. It’s a slower-paced, action-lite affair compared to the first outing, but it’s more self-assured and grounded in what it is. 

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy isn’t perfect by any means. It also won’t be without growing pains. It’ll undoubtedly struggle to step outside of Discovery‘s shadow, but the building blocks are there for something great. The series isn’t as self-serious as what came before it, and that’s already a good sign. 

Even with Disco‘s DNA baked into its formula, this show can stand on its own two feet. Here’s hoping it smooths out even more wrinkles in the episodes to come. 

Stray Observations: 

• Look, Harry Kim made it to admiral. Good for him. 
• Aww, the Doctor’s reaction to hearing Gwyn’s name after SAM references his mentorship history on Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Prodigy — it speaks 1,000 words. 
• I love that “hanger” still exists in the 32nd century. 
• I’m hiring Lura Thok as my personal bodyguard/insult dispenser. 
• I never thought I’d hear Rufus Wainwright singing in a Star Trek series. 
• Boothby gets his due … well-deserved. 
• When I see a Mugato, I think of that Lower Decks episode, “Mugato, Gumato.” 
• Mucus is romantic? Tell that to my GERD, doc. 
• Always good to see Jett Reno. 
• I can already tell I’m going to love the dynamic between Caleb, Darem, and Ocam. Awkward boy roomies 5eva. 

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Star Trek: Starfleet Academy streams new episodes every Thursday on Paramount+. 

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