Psst! Yes, you there, sitting at your keyboard, ready to push "send" on that comment that tears up Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. Maybe it's not even your first time because you feel that the series is trying to claim it's something it's not by arguing, "It's not Star Trek!"
While opinions are bound to vary, hold onto your Hortas, everyone, because I'm about to break this statement down and tell you why Starfleet Academy is indeed Star Trek, and how the history of the franchise gives this series, filmed through the eyes of the young, its rightful place in the timeline.
1. What is Star Trek?
While Star Trek has grown into a huge multi-series franchise, let's journey back to 1966 when The Original Series was the only item on the menu.
It had a variety of core values, including optimism for the future, the concept that Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations (IDIC) creates beauty and meaning, equality, inclusivity, and the belief that all beings have the right to personal growth without interference from outside influences.
Keep in mind that viewers of original Trek didn't have the internet available as a wailing wall to complain about the show; however, television critics were quite tough on The Original Series, ripping it up worse than Captain Kirk's uniform during his fistfight with a Gorn. They thought it looked cheap, silly, and bizarre.
That's right — even our beloved core series that created so much of the franchise's canon wasn't popular during its original airing! It seems impossible now, considering how much we cherish the legacy characters and remaining actors who brought them to life and reminded viewers weekly that Star Trek is, at its foundation, a vision of hope.