Starfleet Academy Finale Improved Because We Removed Horrible Star Trek Characters
By Chris Snellgrove | Published
Starfleet Academy had a satisfying ending to Season 1, but while I was watching, I kept asking myself a simple question: “why do I like this so much?” Of course, the episode lacked many of the things I hated in previous issues, including the slang and heavy humor of previous episodes. It also focused on drama and acting instead of bad jokes, which is a huge improvement over the first half of the season. Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something else that made this episode so much better than most of what had come before.
That’s when it hit me: it was the characters. Or, more specifically, the lack of characters: due to the nature of the season finale, several characters were left out of the episode as a whole, and other characters that appeared were sidelined in favor of focusing on a few important story lines. The result was that this episode (“Rubincon”) is a shining example of what this new Star Trek series does. But it is also proof of a simple truth: Starfleet Academy you have way too many characters, and it needs to let some of them go in order to be a successful show.
Very Dense Cast
Starfleet Academy it has, to put it mildly, a lot of characters. There are 11 main characters who stand out in almost every episode. To compare, Star Trek: The Next Generation started with nine cast members, but this includes Tasha Yar, who died during Season 1. It also includes Wil Wheaton, who left after Season 4. This means that for just under half of its incredible run, TNG featured only seven characters, making it easier for episodes to focus on all of the characters.
If you are wondering, Star Trek: The Original Series it had only eight main characters. Deep Space Nine it had nine characters, and that’s counting Worf, who joined Season 4. Voyager also participated in the nine-actor series, eventually replacing Kes in Seven of Nine. Of the 11 main characters, Starfleet Academy it’s obviously pretty packed by franchise standards, and its limited number of episodes per season prevents us from getting to know everyone.
Time is the Fire That Spreads to Us All
Star Trek: Discovery began what can be a depressing trend with NuTrek shows: a limited number of episodes per season. During the so-called Golden Age of Star Trek there were 26 episodes per season, shows like this Starfleet Academy only get 10 episodes per season. That means that even if SFA gets four full seasons (a seemingly elusive goal), it will end with fewer episodes than Voyager found in only two seasons!
That is important because, each season, Starfleet Academy it only gets 10 episodes to develop its 11 main characters. There isn’t enough time to do so, and some characters get the short end of the stick. For example, Genesis is the only cadet who doesn’t get a single episode dedicated to him; the closest thing he gets is a side story with Caleb, where we learn that his dark secret is that his former teachers thought he would never be a good captain.
The Season 1 finale puts him in the captain’s chair, but he inexplicably does nothing of note while in charge other than announcing that he has to pee. Unfortunately, this lack of resolution to his story highlights a bigger problem with Genesis: because he’s also an overzealous, Type A overachiever, he’s often labeled a “Darem with boobs.” But Durem got his episode, the romance episode, and the special effects-heavy sequence where he saves the ship; in comparison, Genesis got nothing, which makes his character feel strangely sad.
Main Character Syndrome
Given the limited number of episodes and the large number of main characters, it’s surprising how much screen time there is Starfleet Academy it gives to the supporting characters. We got entire episodes focusing on stories about the War College and its hot chancellor, only to have them all disappear in the narrative of the last two episodes. We also get a lot of screen time dedicated to the comic’s oddball characters, including Tarima’s beta brother and that one cadet who swallowed his comm badge.
Adding to this is the fact that Caleb Mir is the main character of the first season of Starfleet Academy. This isn’t inherently a bad thing: Caleb proved to be a compelling actor, and actor Sandro Rosta has the charm and magnetic screen presence of a leading man. But every time spent improving Caleb is time that could be spent improving someone else. This hurts the show, but Caleb’s focus in the season finale “Rubicon” revealed an easy way to improve. Starfleet Academy: that is, Important needs to reduce this expulsion!
Less is more
I Starfleet Academy The finale of season 1, “Rubincon,” had a reduced number of characters for a simple reason: the previous episode had many minors and some major characters trapped inside Federation space when the master Nus Braka trapped everyone there with future mines. Lura Thok (half-Klingon, half-Jem’hadar) was trapped at home, along with Admiral Vance. Likewise, Chancellor Kelrec and the rest of his team of War College beasts were trapped inside Fed space.
This left us with an organized group of cadets, and the show wasn’t afraid to sideline a few of them, either: as mentioned before, poor Genesis can’t do more than look good and sit in the captain’s chair. Durem, meanwhile, gets to do even less. But because of that, everyone shines: Chancellor Ake gets to dramatically defend the Federation’s honor during the show’s trial, the Doctor saves the ship, and Kraag saves the Doctor. Caleb gets to save his biological mother and stepmother, all while strengthening his relationship with Tarima, who uses their new bond to help find the bad guys and ultimately save the day.
That was all it took Starfleet Academy to shine: by giving a few characters the spotlight, it made it easier to develop everyone while still delivering a solid and compelling episode of Star Trek. This new finale has already shot its second season, and the biggest fans are crossing their fingers that this will not be the last journey of these simple cadets. But for this futuristic show to survive, it will need to take a cue from the past. That is, to leave some of these great actors, sometimes to sideline others, and what have you done The Next Generation always does the best: focusing on one or two characters per episode, ultimately giving everyone a chance to shine.
