A lot of Trekkies feel alienated by Star Trek: Starfleet Academy's focus on bringing in younger fans, which has affected the show's viewership during its inaugural run. While I have enjoyed season 1, even I will admit it hasn't been perfect. That said, it has had far fewer missteps than the haters are making out. If you can get past a relaxed-looking captain on the bridge and a Klingon wearing a skirt (can we really not accept these?), then you'll actually find a whole lot to enjoy in Starfleet Academy.
In fact, I would go as far as to say that Starfleet Academy has only had two dud episodes so far. There are other shows with far more episodes that didn't hit the mark, but those projects are still highly revered. While Starfleet Academy still has an impressive critics' score of 88% on Rotten Tomatoes, the 49% Popcornmeter rating shows clear signs of review-bombing for Starfleet Academy's perceived "wokeness." Ahead of what is set to be an explosive season 1 premiere, I urge those who have given up on the show to give it one last try. You don't even need to watch the whole thing.
"Vitus Reflux" & "Ko'Zeine" are Starfleet Academy's only bad episodes so far
Starfleet Academy's double-episode premiere blew me away with its high-octane, cinematic approach to launching the new Star Trek show. I was dubious going in, but then I was immediately sold. Then, "Vitus Reflux" made me question my enthusiasm. The show had rapidly transitioned from a promising Star Trek story into a game of laser tag. I understood the need to give the cadets a bonding exercise, but it was dull. And why didn't they use Parrises Squares instead of inventing Calica?! The episode has no moments of character development so unique that replacements can't just be found in later installments.
The next three episodes after "Vitus Reflux" are where the show really started to shine. After a fascinating 32nd-century Klingon epic, then a heartfelt Deep Space Nine tribute, the cadets were sent on a training mission that went horribly wrong. Starfleet Academy then ground to a halt with "Ko'Zeine," essentially ignoring the traumatic events the cadets had just experienced, focusing on storylines that were poorly-written, confused in their logic, or just plain dull. It was even worse than "Vitus Reflux."
Thankfully, "The Life of the Stars" served as an emotional Star Trek: Voyager stealth sequel, returning Starfleet Academy to its former form. I had been waiting for Robert Picardo's Doctor to step into the limelight, and although "The Life of the Stars" didn't acknowledge the Voyager episode I was expecting it to, I think what we got was actually far superior.
Most recently, "300th Night" returned the focus to the show's new characters... and I was actually glad. The cadets end season 1's penultimate episode in a position that threatens the entire Alpha Quadrant, possibly even further than that. There's still time to catch up, just skip "Vitus Reflux" and "Ko'Zeine."
Starfleet Academy's worst episodes prove why Star Trek doesn't need longer seasons
I often see complaints that Star Trek seasons are too short in the streaming era. Of course, it is true that they are nowhere near as long as they used to be. Classic Star Trek shows routinely consisted of 20+ episodes per season, with each episode clocking in at 45 minutes long. Although modern episodes tend to be closer to the hour mark, the seasons are often just ten episodes long. I used to agree that this was a shame. Now, I'm not so sure.
If you'll cast your minds back for a second, classic shows like The Next Generation and Voyager had so many episodes that not all of them could contribute directly to the story at hand. Many of them became "filler" episodes, so the order from the network could be fulfilled more easily. The installments that fell into this category tended to focus far more on character moments, fleshing out backstories, and other elements of the show's worldbuilding that weren't quite so urgent. They're often very skippable, although some have become iconic in their own right.
Unfortunately, how stories are told on the small screen has transformed since then. TV shows are now almost inseparable from movies in a lot of respects. If the pace is slowed to focus on anything that doesn't drive the story onward, then words like "boring" tend to arise. It's a bit of a pejorative term, but not entirely inaccurate in most instances.
I completely understand the point of making episodes like "Vitus Reflux" and "Ko'Zeine," I just....don't care about almost anything that happens in them. The show's major storylines are far more interesting, and throughout these two episodes, I felt like I was being kept from those more exciting arcs for reasons that weren't good enough. They're essentially old-school filler episodes, and this is why they don't get made anymore. If Star Trek returned to its older format of 20+ episodes per season, Starfleet Academy would be held up as the warning sign it should have served as.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy season 1's premiere drops on Paramount+ on March 12, 2026.