Starfleet Academy - What Is This Garbage?

Overview

This episode critiques the upcoming Starfleet Academy series, lambasting its creative direction, aesthetics, and perceived departure from the core values of Star Trek. The speaker draws comparisons to earlier iterations of the franchise, highlighting what they see as a decline in quality, coherence, and respect for the audience.

Notable Quotes

- It feels almost like a final act of defiance. Like, we know this franchise is completely and utterly cooked at this point, so what the hell? Let’s go out with a bang, shall we?

- Why in the name of Shatner’s hairpiece are modern starship bridges so [__] ugly? They’re always dark, they’re always huge, and they’re always basically empty.

- Is it too much to ask to have a Star Trek that was written by and for adults?

🎆 The Graph Spay Analogy

- The speaker compares Paramount’s decision to produce Starfleet Academy to the German battleship Graf Spee’s self-destruction, suggesting the show is a deliberate, extravagant failure.

- They argue that Paramount seems to have abandoned efforts to create thoughtful, mature content, opting instead for a final act of defiance.

🎭 Criticism of Tone and Target Audience

- The show is described as a teen drama of a show that alienates both traditional Star Trek fans and potential new audiences.

- The speaker questions who the show is intended for, criticizing its mix of weapons-grade retardation and high school drama about feelings and relationships.

- They suggest the franchise is throwing [__] against a wall in desperation, with no clear creative vision.

🚀 Aesthetic and Design Flaws

- Modern starship bridges are criticized for being dark, oversized, and impractical, likened to nightclubs run by Daft Punk.

- The speaker contrasts this with the compact, efficient design of the Enterprise bridge in Star Trek II, emphasizing its practicality and coherence.

- They mock the impracticality of holographic projections interacting with physical environments, calling out a lack of logical consistency in the show’s design.

💥 Decline of Starship Competence

- The speaker laments the frequent depiction of starships being easily overwhelmed in modern Star Trek, arguing it undermines their credibility and strength.

- They express frustration with the lack of tension and stakes, as ships are often destroyed in seconds.

🌀 Writing and Dialogue Critiques

- The dialogue is described as juvenile and nonsensical, with specific lines like Time with its infinite sense of humor will always fold upon itself like an origami chicken singled out for ridicule.

- The speaker expresses disappointment in the writing quality, longing for a return to scripts written by and for adults.