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Editorial
19 Jan 2025

Why Starfleet Academy Deserves a Chance

The fandom appears more divided over Starfleet Academy than ever before. Many reject the series outright, criticizing the setting, characters, storytelling and the inevitable "wokeness". The number of naysayers seems even greater than those who opposed Discovery. Either that, or they have simply become more vocal and visible. On the other side, supporters celebrate Starfleet Academy as a fresh opportunity to explore new worlds and seek out new audiences. That's only fair, but some dismiss criticism outright. I also don't think that framing disappointed fans as being of one mind with evil Elon is helpful. In the media, the middle ground is drowned out by the extremes. The episodes themselves almost feel designed to provoke division by alienating long-time fans with broad humor and heavy-handed references. Yet even detractors admit the show looks better than expected. The lingering question is: Can Starfleet Academy become a sustainable Trek series, one that simply requires time for audiences to adjust to its style?

I don't consider myself a detractor, but rather a skeptic. However, it is difficult to escape the framing, and in my case, to set aside grievances in order to enjoy what SFA does well. My reviews of "Kids These Days" and "Beta Test" seem to lean heavily on weaknesses, but as an afterthought, I want to highlight the strengths. The sets are spectacular. Everything is bright, crisp and polished, much like in the Golden Age of the 1990s. Despite occasional lens flares and CGI excess, the cinematography is outstanding. SFA is the best-looking modern Trek show. The cast also impresses. Holly Hunter delivers as expected, but the young actors deserve praise for making the cadets feel alive and likable. Then there's the broader setting. Discovery laid the groundwork, but its constant galaxy-saving missions left little room to explore the 32nd century in depth. SFA already does far more in terms of worldbuilding.

I believe Starfleet Academy has the potential to evolve into a meaningful series in the best Trek tradition, if it can deliver compelling stories while cutting back on the silly jokes, awkward situations and nostalgia overload. That said, one more aspect currently doesn't quite work for me. With the exception of Caleb, every cadet is an alien, yet they all feel essentially human. They are distinguished by special abilities, rather than by different values and traditions. SAM has even been programmed as a 17-year-old awkward human girl. I would expect cultural clashes, but the aliens integrate more seamlessly than a German exchange student at an American college. Ironically Caleb is the outsider in terms of the cultural background.

I try to keep an open mind and resist the polarized framing that surrounds Starfleet Academy. Still, my reviews will probably remain in flux as my perspective is evolving. What I can say with confidence, however, is that the claims of SFA being a "disaster" or a "disgrace" are totally exaggerated. The show certainly has its flaws, but I can only encourage fellow skeptics to give Starfleet Academy a fair chance.

Bernd Schneider

Archive

Latest Comments on EAS Articles (Overview)
  • 03 May 2026

    I think the intent was to show you can't stop a publication once it's released. But you're right, the final scene could just as well take place after the revisions.

  • 02 May 2026

    "Additionally, the rest of the Voyager crew effectively loses, since the unrevised version of the holonovel continues to circulate, as the scene in the end suggests when the holograms in the mine are talking about it."

    I would suggest this is a misunderstanding. The Doctor never intended to change his plot, he was only going to revise the characters to no longer resemble the Voyager crew or suggest any connection to them. So, there is no reason that the dialogue at the end wouldn't be referring to the revised version, which would still be 'quite inflamatory' since it was still the same plot.

  • 02 May 2026

    "New Starships in TOS-R
    Some starships were newly created for TOS-R, filling in where a vessel should or could have been shown in TOS."
    I would appreciate an apology for twice criticizing our research in a derogatory tone without a quick fact-check.

  • 02 May 2026

    I want an actual Star Trek Captiwns chair form TNG and the 2 smaller chairs next to it. Literally the whole wrap around piece they had on the show with even the 2 seat pads after the final chair. Literally will look perfect in my game room! Once all this is up and running I also plan to build the 2 stations that was in front of that area where Data and Crusher was always sitting! This will make game night super awesome for all my friends!

  • 02 May 2026

    I just wanna find someone to build me the captains chair as well as the 2 chairs next to the Captians Chair for Game night! 3 of us in the chairs and 2 others on the padded seats next to the seats on the outter edge would be a perfect start! (Eventually we will have the 2 seats that Data and Welsey sat in built and I stalled in the near future! All that along with the huge 120” projected screen on the wall it will be pretty close to a Star Trek bridge and still be super bad ass!

  • 01 May 2026

    The page is about effects shots remade for the Remaster. That episode didn't have a "Yorkshire." I suggest you watch the show.

  • 01 May 2026

    I suggest you read the article, starting with the heading.

  • 01 May 2026

    There was no tiny ship in "Court Martial." And the other starship wasn't the "USS Yorkshire." No such ship. It was the Yorktown. Didn't you get the AMT Enterprise model when you were a kid? Or watch the show?

  • 28 Apr 2026

    Added the latest developments 2025/26.

  • 26 Apr 2026

    Added the re-used bridge/lab set.

EAS Favourites @ Deviantart
  • 17 Apr 2026

    Model by

    CaptainWhitmire

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  • 14 Apr 2026

    The tiny Starfleet Blackbird-class scout is a mere 104-meters long and dwarfed even by starships from 100-years ago. Far smaller than famous cruisers like the refit-Constitution-class USS Enterprise, these 22-man vessels scout ahead of Starfleet task groups, conduct months-long sector patrols from local Starfleet Starbases and Federation planets, and conduct anti-piracy patrols along Federation shipping lanes, responding to distress calls from any Federation craft, and performing search & rescue missions throughout the Federation to fill in the gaps left by larger and more capable Starfleet ships.

    The Blackbird-class was created by Bernd Schneider in 1996 and is featured on Ex-Astris Scientia (https://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/my_ships/blackbird.htm)

    Exterior views by Bernd Schneider, updated by myself. Cross-sectional views and Deck plans by me.

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  • 13 Apr 2026

    The comet had no name yet, only a string of catalog numbers arrayed on the Astrometric LCARS. But to Lt. Alexa Wolff it felt personal, almost whimsical too. A point of light threading the dark, illuminating their way.

    She leaned forward towards the console, taking all the readings in. Data points left and right, immaculate scans of the surface and ejecta. This was exactly what she imagined as a child beneath the domes of Tycho City. Peering through her first telescope, reading stories of daring captains. Batel, Kirk, Saavik, the golden years. Now she was here, at the very same forefront.

    “Helm, bring us two hundred kilometers closer.” came Captain Han Lo’s voice over the comm. The visual lenses adjusted, Alexa noticing the Rooivalk was moving in closer, thrusters gliding her on. The hull catching faint reflections of the comet’s glow. The captain had not questioned her request, not even hesitated. The confidence in her expertise had startled her more than any formal commendation. Somewhere in the back of her mind, a younger version of herself smiling gleefully.

    Enhanced scans blossomed with new detail. Ice and dust resolved into layers. Ancient volatiles trapped since the dawn of time, now shedding themselves in delicate arcs. Alexa adjusted the filters, isolating elements, mapping a 3d simulation, simulcast to the bridge. “It’s beautiful.” she whispered to herself. Obscure beauty indeed. The kind that required patience, curiosity and faith that meaning existed in the far corners of space.

    “Careful, Lieutenant...” Captain Lo said, with a trace of amusement. “At this distance, we might inspire it. Give it a few million years and it could start its own civilization, studying us in return.”

    Alexa laughed softly, though her eyes never left the display. “Then we’d better make a good impression, sir.” She paused, recording another data stream. “If they ever ask how it all began, I hope it starts like this. With someone choosing to come a little closer.”

    ---

    3ds Max / Photoshop

    Vesper Class from ST: Online

    My Links: https://linktr.ee/jetfreak

    ---

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  • 12 Apr 2026

    The Kumari Battlecruiser (2)

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Jörg Hillebrand @ Mastodon
  • 03 May 2026

    's "In Theory"↘️ features the same shot of the 4-foot model of the USS Enterprise-D previously used in "The Wounded"↖️↗️ and "Clues"↙️ but without any additional starships or space phenomena. It appears a lot lighter in the episode, though.

  • 03 May 2026

    We see a unique and very narrow version of the Bajoran emblem in Odo's retractable desktop monitor in 's "The Circle" when he talks to his contact. I don't think this version is ever seen again on the show.

  • 03 May 2026

    If you look closely, you can see that the two familiar Observation Lounge paintings, part of the set since season 2 (here seen in 's "Reunion"⬇️) are among the pile of furniture seen in this shot from "In Theory", after the room was affected by a temporary hole in the hull.

  • 02 May 2026

    These shots in 's "In Theory" are the last glimpses we get of the golden Observation Lounge Enterprise models on the show before they are removed between seasons 4 and 5. They'll be back one more time in the "All Good Things" flashback scenes.

  • 02 May 2026

    We get a really good look at pages 178 and 179 of Picard's ready room edition of The Annotated Shakespeare - Volume I in 's "In Theory"⬆️. The very first pages of "Love's Labour's Lost" can be seen in this screenshot. Learn more here:

    ex-astris-scientia.org/databas

  • 02 May 2026

    Here's the Circle emblem, as it appears in 's "The Homecoming"➡️ and "The Circle"⬅️. How conventient that the Circle decided to spray-paint their logo on the cave wall, right next to Minister Jaro Essa, so that Kira realizes right away that he's in cahoots with them when she comes to. 😅

  • 02 May 2026

    In 's "In Theory"↗️, we can see one of the cryotherm systems perishable cultures cases ⬇️ up close. These cases first appeared in "Star Trek: The Motion Picture"⬅️ but were also nicely seen in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan"➡️ and in the pilot "Encounter at Farpoint"↖️.

  • 02 May 2026

    ... ich bin dabei! :-) Und wenn ihr wirklich an meiner persönlichen "production point of view" Story interessiert seid, dann kauft dieses Buch. Dann wird auch klar werden, was es mit dem "red pen", auf den ich gestern angespielt habe, auf sich hat... ;-) 9/9

    masterreplicas.co.uk/products/

  • 02 May 2026

    Jeder findet seinen eigenen Zugang zu - meinen habe ich gerade beschrieben.😍 Ich bin glücklich, wenn mehr Leute Star Trek schauen, egal ob jung oder alt. Hört euch also den "Battle of the Nerds" Podcast an. Aber wenn ihr mal etwas über die Falten in Picard's Captain's Chair wissen möchtet...8/9

  • 02 May 2026

    Ich liebe es durch zu lernen. Deswegen sammle ich auch Star Trek Sekundärliteratur, nunmehr seit über 30 Jahren. Natürliche besitze ich auch Rebeccas Buch "Kann der Bordcomputer denken?". Ich komme hoffentlich endlich irgendwann mal dazu, die Bücher in meiner Bibliothek auch zu lesen (ähem, Staub...😅) 7/9

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