Star Trek dares the Starfleet series Hearts to the Raw (review)
A teen series set in a Federation school, where human students, Klingons and other Tellarites meet. A funny terrestrial variant which has the merit of bringing something new to the legendary SF saga.
At this level, we can estimate – rightly – that Star Trek has wrung out its mythology to the bone! 13 films, 11 series and 900 episodes on the clock in the ways of the Federation… Yes, that’s a lot, and it’s been going on for 60 years! And yet, the saga still manages to renew itself with Starfleet Academy, a rather successful new addition to a franchise which has already largely shut out all possible concepts (up to the crazy animated farce Lower Decks). This time, she leaves the stars (from episode 2) to bring us back to Earth, in the footsteps of Captain Nahla Ake. The story picks up just after the tragedy of “The Burn”, a cataclysmic event that occurred around the 31st century…
This is where things could get stuck – from the start – for Starfleet Academy: given that the saga already has several chapters under its belt, it is better to be (a little) up to date to understand the galactic-political issues which will be presented in the new series. In this case, everything starts from a major twist introduced by Star Trek: Discovery. The “Inferno” is a drama of biblical proportions that shook the entire galaxy: almost all of the dilithium became unstable, causing thousands of ships equipped with warp propulsion to explode simultaneously. Direct consequence: the collapse of the Federation, the fragmentation of Starfleet and a return to isolated worlds, incapable of traveling faster than light. We have to rebuild. Hence the need to train new young officers of the Federation, and therefore create a new Academy where boys and girls and synthetics from various planets will cross paths.
Hormones are boiling within this group of cadets with complicated pasts. There are budding friendships, explosive rivalries, and of course the first romantic stirrings. Starfleet Academy assumes its little teen series side. Star Trek plays Dawson in the ship USS Athena, commanded by Holly Hunter. The Oscar-winning actress slips with obvious jubilation into the captain’s chair – light years away from The Piano Lesson – and treats herself to a very fun tango with Paul Giamatti, who improvises as a cartoon Klingon villain and gives everything to be as odious as possible.
The series has the merit of not taking itself too seriously, and it dares everything to open up an avenue and try to attract a new generation of young fans into the nets of the franchise. Starting the story in San Francisco, on Earth, after a catastrophe having reset the Federation’s counters to zero, allows novices not to be lost too much. Aficionados of mythology may have a little more difficulty being seduced. Starfleet Academy feels more like a teen soap than a grand epic star-studded epic. Already nicknamed Star Trek: 90210 by the American press, it still manages to capture the universalist spirit of the original saga, with its values of inclusion and cooperation between peoples. A benevolent optimism that exudes from this entire gallery of characters that we learn to appreciate if we let ourselves be tempted.
At least this spin-off embraces the Federation motto and goes where no Star Trek series has ever gone before.
Broadcast on Paramount+, starting January 15, with new episodes every week.
