TERRY GROSS, HOST:
This is FRESH AIR. Today, Paramount+ introduces yet another series in the Star Trek universe of TV shows. This one is called "Star Trek: Starfleet Academy," and its stars include Holly Hunter and Paul Giamatti. Our TV critic David Bianculli has this review.
DAVID BIANCULLI, BYLINE: The newest entry in the Star Trek franchise opens with a graphic logo that says it all. Star Trek 60, it says - an instant reminder that the original NBC show, the one that inspired this new Paramount+ sequel, premiered 60 years ago in 1966. Think of how long ago that was in TV time and in real time, and how much original producer Gene Roddenberry and his successors have given us since. Sure, there's the string of Star Trek sequels, prequels and spinoffs in the movies, as well as on TV. But there's also the now-familiar science stuff shown in the original series and later brought to life by fans turned engineers - giant flat TV screens, flip phone communicators, sophisticated computers you address directly to get information.
But back in September 1966, when "Star Trek" launched, its impact was less impressive. It lasted only three seasons and never ended a season ranked higher than 52nd place. Its final episode was televised in June 1969, one month before Neil Armstrong landed on the moon. But in syndication in the 1970s, Star Trek grew a large cult following and began its string of successful series and movies.
Sixty years later, the newest incarnation is called "Star Trek: Starfleet Academy," an eight-episode first season premiering with a doubleheader on Paramount+. Viewers without any "Star Trek" expertise or with hazy memories can enjoy the new adventures out of context, but there are echoes and Easter eggs throughout for those who catch them. Previous starship captains, including James T. Kirk, are referenced. A few characters from old series reappear, and even the classic stardate opening is retained. This time, it comes from Holly Hunter who plays Nahla Ake, the captain of the USS Athena, which in time becomes the floating classroom that is part of Starfleet Academy.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "STAR TREK: STARFLEET ACADEMY")
HOLLY HUNTER: (As Nahla Ake) Long ago, Starfleet Academy took the finest minds, hearts and spirits of every generation and taught them to be lifelong explorers of space, our final frontier. Then one day, fate handed us an unimaginable loss. And it all went away.
BIANCULLI: Starfleet Academy is in a rebuilding phase. The first episode has the retired captain, Nahla. She's half human and more than 400 years old, becoming chancellor of the academy with the Athena as its university in space. The faculty members allow for some familiar faces from previous Star Trek series, including Tig Notaro from "Discovery" and Robert Picardo from "Voyager."
But the focus is just as much on the students, which allows relative unknowns like Sandro Rosta and Bella Shepard to not only reach for the stars, but try to become them. Another young standout is Kerrice Brooks, who plays SAM. She's a sentient hologram, the first of her kind. She finds a particular delight when describing herself to Robert Picardo's The Doctor, a holographic physician, who, like Captain Nahla, has been around for centuries.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "STAR TREK: STARFLEET ACADEMY")
KERRICE BROOKS: (As SAM) I enjoy normal teenage things like hanging with friend groups, studying and reasonable acts of rebellion. Well, you know, occasional acts of rebellion. OK, there probably won't be any rebellion.
ROBERT PICARDO: (As The Doctor) May I ask...
BROOKS: (As SAM) Yeah.
PICARDO: (As The Doctor) ...How long have you existed?
BROOKS: (As SAM) You may. Thank you. I was programmed to feel 17, but I've only existed a little over four months on Cask.
PICARDO: (As The Doctor) And Cask is a colony of holograms?
BROOKS: (As SAM) We prefer photonics. Doctor, I can't help noticing you seem more mature than expected.
PICARDO: (As The Doctor) I prefer distinguished, professorial, ruggedly sophisticated. About 500 years ago, I added an aging program to my matrix to put Organics at ease.
BROOKS: (As SAM) Of course.
BIANCULLI: Paramount+ has made six of the first season's eight episodes available to critics, and they're a strong addition to the cannon. Creator Gaia Violo and showrunner Noga Landau have worked with their staff of writers, directors and production designers to give "Starfleet Academy" a modern, youthful sheen. The sets are brighter, the dialogue is sharper, with more expletives than expected from the elders as well as the kids, and the character development is strong across the board. Paul Giamatti has a standout recurring role as Braka, an evil mercenary. And when he and Holly Hunter share the screen, it's as much fun as any Star Trek in the series. In the premiere episode, Braka appears on the bridge of the U.S.S. Athena after attacking the ship, and he and the captain go at it immediately.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "STAR TREK: STARFLEET ACADEMY")
HUNTER: (As Nahla Ake) Did you come for the cadet? 'Cause you can't have him.
PAUL GIAMATTI: (As Nus Braka) Absolutely not. I'm a business man. I came for your warp drive.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character) Then you're a [expletive] businessman, 'cause it's too big for your ship.
GIAMATTI: (As Nus Braka) Very true. But sold off piece by piece, it's worth my time. So I'm going to need you to clear all personnel, including security, from engineering. And then, since our transport is working just fine, I'll pop over with a team and break down your drive. Then we'll beam it off the ship and - poof - flutter away.
HUNTER: (As Nahla Ake) I need 10 minutes to clear my people out of engineering and override the biometric locks.
GIAMATTI: (As Nus Braka) Oh, when you lie to me, Captain, I'll admit, it's hot.
HUNTER: (As Nahla Ake) Otherwise, the minute your team touches our controls, anti-tampering protocols will activate. You guys will have to take it apart bolt by stem seal. You could just rip it up. But your buyers aren't going to pay top dollar for broken components, are they?
BIANCULLI: Passion for the original Star Trek series was kept alive by reruns as it reached new younger viewers. With access via streaming, especially on Paramount+, the same is true today of all the sequels. And now, 60 years on, "Star Trek: Starfleet Academy" has the chance to build an audience of its own. In our fractured TV universe, the odds may be slightly against that, but remember, the original Star Trek series never finished in the top 50.
GROSS: David Bianculli is FRESH AIR's TV critic. He reviewed the new Paramount+ series "Star Trek: Starfleet Academy."
If you'd like to catch up on FRESH AIR interviews you missed, like this week's interviews with actress Jodie Foster or New Yorker staff writer Dexter Filkins talking about Marco Rubio or bestselling novelist Liz Moore, check out our podcast. You'll find lots of FRESH AIR interviews. And to find out what's happening behind the scenes of our show and get our producers' recommendations for what to watch, read and listen to, subscribe to our free newsletter at whyy.org/freshair.
FRESH AIR's executive producers are Danny Miller and Sam Briger. Our technical director and engineer is Audrey Bentham. Our interviews and reviews are produced and edited by Phyllis Myers, Roberta Shorrock, Ann Marie Baldonado, Lauren Krenzel, Therese Madden, Monique Nazareth, Anna Bauman, Susan Nyakundi and Nico Gonzalez-Wisler. Our digital media producer is Molly Seavy-Nesper. Thea Chaloner directed today's show. Our co-host is Tonya Mosley. I'm Terry Gross. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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