It’s Thursday, which means that school is in session with a new episode of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy! This week’s episode is “Series Acclimation Mil”, which, from the title, is obviously a character piece for Sam (Kerrice Brooks). It’s written by longtime contributor Kirsten Beyer, and a writing starting point for Lower Decks star Tawny Newsome.
This week, Sam’s trying to uncover an old Starfleet mystery. Along the road is a journey of self-discovery, a practice dinner, a visit to a bar, and more than enough nostalgia. A balancing act, and a demanding one at that. Can they pull it off? Or will the added fan service overpower the episode?
WARNING – Spoilers below for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Season One Episode Five “Series Acclimation Mil”.
The Maker’s Mission
The episode opens with a lengthy monologue from Sam as she grows to find her place in the Federation. An emissary of her kind, who are looking to reintegrate with organic life, she’s under more pressure than meets the eye. Discovering the world for the first time, and needing to report all of this back to the Maker (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who appears to her in visions. It’s here that she’s set out on a quest to get into a program and investigate the fate of Sisko.
Her desire to discover is believable, and the episode holds viewers through a recounting of Bajoran spirituality and a brief introduction to Deep Space Nine for new viewers, too. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t have the fanservice cranked all the way up. The Sisko museum, surprise cameo from Cirroc Lofton as Jake Sisko, and other screens in Illa’s (Tawny Newsome) classroom feel like set decor steeped in lore rather than anything gratuitous, which was refreshing.
So long as using old recordings of legacy characters for cameos doesn’t become a habit, this was neat. It also allows for a meditation of Benjamin not only as the emissary but as a father. Sam finding herself and grappling with her desire to live her own life made the Sisko stuff tie in so nicely. Much in the modern entertainment landscape feels like nostalgia for its own sake,but actually tying it neatly into extant character arcs was genuinely cool and refreshing.
Diplomatic Rehearsal Dinner
As for the b-plots, I’d argue there are two. First, the rehearsal dinner was probably the most fun I had in the episode. At least fun that didn’t involve pointing at things I recognise. Kelrec (Raoul Bhaneja) has a scary diplomatic dinner as the Federation’s ambassador. He admits he’s in over his head, which is where Nahla (Holly Hunter) steps in to help out. Assembling the Doctor (Robert Picardo) and Reno (Tig Notaro) to assist, a rehearsal dinner is set up.
The four of them around the dinner table is to die for. They play off one another so well, and each has their own little quirks that make the scene a delight. Notaro’s deadpan delivery got me laughing more than once. Every time Picardo picked up the little megaphone, I lost it. Hunter’s fake accent was beyond amusing. Bhaneja takes himself far too seriously to really enjoy any of it, which acts as a nice.
It seems like the actors were having a blast, with fun emanating from the scene. If this were the only B-plot of the episode, I’d be very okay with that. Expanding on the rivalry between Kelrec and Ake also made it feel worthwhile, as far as a character arc is concerned. If this is the start of more respect from Kelrec’s end, I’m excited to see where this might take the two schools, working together rather than infighting.
The Best Footsteps Lead to Bars
Unfortunately, the dinner’s not the only B-plot. The move to The Academy, the bar, not the school, is the teen drama portion of the episode. It’s a party scene, complete with loud music, drinking, colourful lighting, and people kissing. Young characters going out partying in the name of a good time with a bit of self-discovery on the side isn’t anything particularly new. This was, at least for me, the low point of the episode. At least the plot felt the least like Star Trek.
Sam controlling her drunkenness with a simple dial was admittedly pretty funny. Speaking from my own experience, massively overdoing it for your first time drinking is realistic. Brooks’ performance, despite having a fun exterior, was really dialed up to 12 here. She played the initial silliness and later purposeful realisation so well. Her social awkwardness seemed to melt away, too, as she started expressing love to the people around her.
While watching Sam, who’s beena. The side character still played against type so effectively, which was great. Unfortunately, it was everyone else she was with. The romance between Caleb (Sandro Rosta) and Tarima (Zoë Steiner) is so trope-laden. Even with the kiss here, I find it hard to care. It’s not challenging, outside of being a needless side quest for the episode’s already packed-out plot, that neither character is really part of.
Pondering the Mystery
The episode ultimately returns to Sam’s plotline, as she resolves to forge her own path forward. Despite acting against a glorified light show, Brooks is able to assert herself effectively. It’s also nice to hear a little more of Ejiofor. The Maker is set up as a presence Sam will return to, so I’d be interested to see how photonic integration plays out over the coming episodes. As a tale of integrating artificial life forms into Federation society, it could make for a very interesting story arc.
After another scene between Brooks and Lofton, and a Dax reveal with Newsome’s character, the fanservice is hammered home. The latter may be a step into excess, but the second Jake scene brings out the line between Emissary and individual. It’s interesting that Sam doesn’t actually solve the mystery but instead thrives on the ambiguity. The mystery not being solved is nice; too much explanation risks ruining the closure that made Deep Space Nine such a well-remembered series.
The episode’s closing moments are, for me, among the most memorable. SAM is seen talking to the non-corporeal Sisko, as she looks out over San Francisco. Moving up the stairs is a gorgeous final shot, staring out at the seemingly infinite horizon and the universe beyond it. Not to mention a spoken word recording of the one and only Avery Brooks. Despite not being specially recorded for the episode, it’s thematically relevant, and it was hard for me not shed a tear. Gorgeous way to end the episode.
Conclusion
It’s hard to separate this episode from the fan service. At the core, it’s a love letter to Deep Space Nine and Avery Brooks’ Sisko. Framed around a nice character arc for Brooks’ charming SAM, it seldom feels like it’s going too far. It’s the long-overdue victory lap that Deep Space Nine fans have been waiting for. However, there’s still enough in the way of side plots to keep it from being a total nostalgia fest.
The B-plot with the rehearsal dinner is endlessly funny. There’s also the bar sequence, which is shot really well, and affords the rest of the cadets a better chance to bond. While the teen drama elements remain, in my opinion, the series’s weakest, it’s not bad by any stretch. Halfway through the season, the cadets’ relationships are weirdly growing on me. After this week, I’m definitely excited to see what surprises the series has in store over the coming weeks!
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