Story
SAM (Kerrice Brooks) spent the entire episode attempting to unravel the fate of Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) after he disappeared following the series finale of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
However, the method in which writers Tawny Newsome and Kirsten Beyer weave together the rest of the story elements isn’t what I consider Emmy-worthy writing. Extraneous sub-plots and characters seem forced into place like a poorly constructed jigsaw puzzle — all of which absolutely should have fit perfectly to foster a better script.
In fact, if not for the inclusion of three Deep Space Nine icons, this episode wouldn’t rank as highly as some of the average episodes in season 1, to say nothing of the series premiere, “Kids These Days” and the must-see fourth episode, “Vox in Excelso,” which explored Jay-Den Kraag’s (Karim Diane) Klingon backstory.
Storytelling is paramount, and “Series Acclimation Mil” felt more like one story thread with a bunch of Post-it notes stuck on to try and hold all of the unraveling strands together.
Some of the more interesting aspects of the fifth episode, which should have been fleshed out better, include Starfleet cadet Caleb Mir (Sandro Rosta) and Tarima Sadal (Zoe Steiner) finally giving into their romantic feelings, not to mention Jay-Den’s flirtation with the War College’s student, Kyle (Dale Whibley).
The Doctor (Robert Picardo) and SAM even shared what should have been an emotionally charged scene had the writing been stronger, but that conversation fell flat under the primary plot of the story.