Star Trek: Starfleet Academy season 1 told its own story, but it also leaned quite heavily on episodes from the franchise's six-decade history. While it was mostly pretty clear which installments were being referenced, at least for die-hard Trekkies, casual or new fans may not have noticed these significant nods. Thankfully, in the streaming era, those episodes have never been easier to access. Plus, I'm here to tell you which ones to check out.
Now that season 1 is over, there's time to either revisit these pivotal stories or experience them for the first time. While many revolve around Robert Picardo's Doctor and his Star Trek timeline, that isn't a universal truth. Little information is currently available when it comes to what Starfleet Academy season 2 will bring. Therefore, why not use the break in the lead-up to the new episodes to take a themed deep dive?
FULL SPOILERS for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy season 1.
10. "The Omega Directive"
Star Trek: Voyager season season 4, Episode 21
This 1998 installment formed the basis of Starfleet Academy season 1's two-part finale. The show doesn't actually provide any direct references to the classic Voyager adventure, so it's a difficult one to miss. That said, a lot of the known information about Omega that's revealed in "The Omega Directive" is copied over pretty much word-for-word as Starfleet Academy draws to a close. It also provides some great context that the new Paramount+ series misses out, including how Omega relates to the Borg. "The Omega Directive" is now retroactively a great companion piece to how Starfleet Academy season 1 ends.
9. "The Trouble With Tribbles"
Star Trek: The Original Series season 2, Episode 13
Stephen Colbert's Digital Dean of Students makes several announcements to the cadets throughout Starfleet Academy season 1, but one subset of said moments combines to form a creative homage to this 1967 classic. An unseen character called Special Krebs is reported to have a Talaxian Furfly (from Voyager) as a pet in Starfleet Academy, but as the Dean continuously explains, the fluffy bug isn't having a great time.
It turns violent, attacks a lab assistant, and even tries to mate with a replicated version of itself. At one point, I thought Starfleet Academy season 1 was setting up a sequel to the episode that saw Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and his crew overrun with Tribbles. It didn't happen, but that doesn't mean it can't take place when the show returns.
8. "Real Life"
Star Trek: Voyager season 3, Episode 22
Easily the most heartbreaking Star Trek episode referenced by Starfleet Academy so far, "Real Life" was a narrative cornerstone for "The Life of the Stars." When it was assumed that SAM (Kerrice Brooks) couldn't be saved, the Doctor's tearjerking monologue about the loss of his holographic daughter centuries earlier serves as the catalyst for how to avoid history repeating itself. "Real Life" is also a huge point in the Doctor's development into a truly sentient being.
7. "Future Tense"
Star Trek: Enterprise season 2, Episode 16
Granted, Starfleet Academy never directly references "Future Tense," but it's tough to deny the importance of one line from the Enterprise episode when it comes to a certain type of character in the new Paramount+ show. By the time of Star Trek's 32nd century, inter-species breeding has become incredibly commonplace, with the era introducing brand-new types of hybrids that haven't been seen in previous shows. This worldbuilding choice could be attributed to the remains of a body sent back from the future to the 22nd century in "Future Tense."
When analyzing the remains, John Billingsley's Dr. Phlox discovers that, although mostly human, the body contains traces of DNA from various alien species. He comes to the conclusion that breeding between alien races will have been commonplace for "several generations" by the time of the stranger's point of origin. Starfleet Academy proves this is correct. It's perhaps a natural progression, but it still shows an impressive attention to detail. "Future Tense" is just a good episode, too. Enterprise gets too much hate.
6. "Lost & Found"
Star Trek: Prodigy season 1, Episode 1
Unlike most Star Trek shows, Prodigy isn't available on Paramount+. It used to be, but then it was just cut loose for no real reason. It was briefly picked up by Netflix, but now it's without a home again. It's a tricky one to recommend because of this, but physical box sets and digital purchases/rentals are still an option. Its relative inaccessibility means it could be seen as scrubbed from the main canon. Thankfully, Starfleet Academy season 1 immediately referenced its events. I'm only recommending "Lost & Found" because I think it's good to start this underrated show from the beginning. If you're only interested in the Doctor's episodes, he enters the story in the season 2 premiere and remains part of the main cast.
5. "What You Leave Behind"
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 7, Episodes 25 & 26
Star Trek's modern era really hasn't shied away from acknowledging its older shows, although Deep Space Nine fans have largely been left wanting in this respect. Then, Starfleet Academy's "Series Acclimation Mil" made up for lost time in a big way. The episode revolves around the disappearance of Avery Brooks' Captain Sisko, who hasn't appeared in the franchise since the two-part Deep Space Nine finale in 1999. While some storylines won't make sense watching "What You Leave Behind" in isolation, it is still a good way to fully understand what's been investigated in "Series Acclimation Mil."
4. "The Bounty"
Star Trek: Picard season 3, Episode 6
Cherry-picking Picard episodes to watch in isolation is tricky. The show is so heavily serialized that it feels like jumping onto a moving train. However, if you've watched Picard before, it might be worth re-visiting for a very specific reason. Because Brent Spiner had understandably aged since The Next Generation, and because aging him down looked so weird in Picard season 1, the actor simply played Data in Picard season 3 with his own, present-day face. Data had always been established as aging regularly, despite being an android.
Still, there were fans who either didn't like or understand this decision. Something very similar happened with the Doctor in Starfleet Academy. While de-aging Picardo was an option, Starfleet Academy simply explained the Doctor's "mature" appearance by saying he purposefully altered his physical apperance to put "organics at ease." Because he's a hologram, this actually makes more sense than it did for Data, but both explanations are perfectly fine. Still, without "The Bounty" allowing Spiner to appear as his present-day self, Starfleet Academy might have felt peer-pressured into de-aging Picardo for continuity's sake.
3. "Blink of an Eye"
Star Trek: Voyager season 6, Episode 12
Starfleet Academy's "The Life of the Stars" doesn't just pay off Voyager's "Real Life." The newer of the two episodes is also a spiritual sequel to Voyager's "Blink of an Eye," one of the classic project's finest efforts. The 2000 installment introduces the concept of time moving significantly faster on the surface of an alien world compared to the rest of the universe, with Starfleet Academy then borrowing and adapting a less extreme version of the idea in "The Life of the Stars." It's an oddly familiar experience for the Doctor, setting the stage for a great legacy sequel.
2. "Su'Kal"
Star Trek: Discovery season 3, Episode 11
Starfleet Academy makes countless references to the Burn, although it offers no detailed explanation about what it is and/or was. As a Discovery spinoff, it's perhaps assumed that fans of the first modern Star Trek show moved over to Starfleet Academy when its parent program ended. However, the newer show is also something of a jumping-on point, so it arguably assumes too much knowledge in this respect. Starfleet Academy does provide just enough context, but nothing specific about the Burn's origin. "Su-Kal" does just that. So, if you're curious what scuppered Warp travel for a century, this is the episode where you'll find the answer. Be warned, it's...weird.
1. "Encounter at Farpoint"
Star Trek: The Next Generation season 1, Episodes 1 & 2
As much as I enjoyed Starfleet Academy season 1 on the whole, I found the finale a little lacking. The concept of Nus Braka (Paul Giamatti) putting the Federation on trial could have been a good storyline if it hadn't felt like such a lacklustre rehash of The Next Generation's two-part finale. If you liked the concept in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, then I ecourage you to check out its 1987 counterpart. From there, why not just keep on going? If you've never seen The Next Generation before, this is your sign. If you've already seen all the Star Trek shows, then a rewatch of this one is never a waste of time.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy season 1 is streaming now on Paramount+, along with most other Star Trek shows. Season 2 has wrapped filming and is expected to drop in 2027.