Director Jonathan Frakes Says Starfleet Academy Is Geared Toward "Hardcore Star Trek Fans"

Jonathan Frakes is best known for his role as Commander William T. Riker in Star Trek: The Next Generation, but he’s been directing even the more recent Trek outings, and now he’s said that the new Starfleet Academy will be geared toward “hardcore Star Trek fans.”

Starfleet Academy has been a show executives have been trying to get off the ground since the 1990s. Even though Star Trek fans have always been sour on the idea, these higher-ups at Paramount believe that they can bring Star Trek to a younger demographic by turning it into a college co-ed soap opera.

Until recently, they’ve had no success in getting it beyond planning stages, but last year, it was announced that Starfleet Academy would begin filming, with a twist for viewers that made it even more unappealing—it would be a sequel to Discovery.

Yes, the series will take place after season 5 of Discovery and will bring back several of the cast of that show in academy instructor roles. To assuage fans, they’re also bringing back Robert Picardo from Star Trek: Voyager as the Emergency Medical Holographic Program.

Jonathan Frakes leaked some details at a recent comic con, according to Collider, which raised some eyebrows about the show.

First, an audience member asked if it would be aimed at a new audience or old Star Trek fans, and Frakes replied, "Oh, it’s much more hardcore Star Trek fans. It's, you know, it happens to be Starfleet Academy, there are young people in it, but the movie stars run the— it's a show about…"

Frakes seemed to pause at this point where he realized he might be giving away spoilers that weren’t approved before saying, "Holly's the head of the… I can’t say—"

Fans hope this doesn’t tie into some Section 31 black-ops situation like the recently failed movie, but Frakes gave more details about the show.

"Well, first of all, it's got movie stars in it, which I think is a great idea," Frakes said. “Holly Hunter is in it. Paul Giamatti is in it,” he continued but then paused for the audience to cheer. "Right? That's exactly the response I think CBS is looking for. Holly— they're both fabulous. I didn't have the privilege of directing Paul."

How current-year movie stars appeal to long-time Star Trek fans is unclear, but Frakes then gave an indicator the show will in some ways take a lesson from Deep Space 9, saying, "[Robert] Picardo's in it, Tig Notaro’s in it. [Audience cheers] Right? I love Tig. But it has the most massive set of any Star Trek ever. There's also a spaceship on the show, which I think, I hope that's not a fucking secret. I have been known—I’ve had a bad experience with oversharing, and I hope that wasn't an overshare, but it's fabulous. The sets are great. The scripts are— they're funny, which is always helpful on Star Trek."

Deep Space 9 as a show was a bit of a dud among fans at first until they introduced a starship, the Defiant, to its roster to add a mobile component to the show. It picked up the action immensely.

Fans are already reacting to the interview, though they’re far more tepid than Frakes appears to be. Tachyon Pulse covered the interview on his Star Trek YouTube channel and doesn’t seem impressed with the concept.

“It does seem it’s a vanity project of Alex Kurtzman, who is co-show running it.” Tachyon Pulse said. “For me, everything Alex Kurtzman has been actively involved with in Star Trek is awful.”

Star Trek fans historically have never been interested in a Starfleet Academy show, and despite Frakes’ assurances, it’s geared toward hardcore fans; the indicators are that this is just another modern Trek skinsuit of its old-time corpse.

What do you think of Jonathan Frakes’s comments on Starfleet Academy? Leave a comment and let us know.

For a great alternative to modern Star Trek, with sci-fi spy thriller action, read The Stars Entwined on Amazon!

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