"All this seems to say that Starfleet Academy is a global hit for Paramount, reaching new demographics and new markets, but not a fit for the Sheridanverse Pro sports streamer Paramount+ was narrowed towards."

If that's true, I guess it's UPN all over again. Starts with Star Trek as the lead only to have it slowly sidelined by a focus on a different audience, including a focus on professional fighting. The only way it could be more like UPN is if it was getting ready to merge with a similar-sized service owned by Warner Bros.

Oh dang.

Voyager referenced or included TOS and TNG characters in at least eight episodes of season 3.

• "Flashback" was the big Sulu/Rand/Kang 30th anniversary tribute
• "Death Wish" had Q and Riker
• In "Alliances" Tuvok talks about Spock and recaps the events of Undiscovered Country
• McCoy was mentioned in "Lifesigns"
• Data was mentioned in "Prototype"
• Sulu was mentioned in "Tattoo"
• Picard and Moriarty were mentioned in "Alter Ego"
• Picard was mentioned again in "Scorpion"

That's basically a third of the season, assuming I didn't forget any. And that's not even counting things like the mention of Wolf 359 in "Unity" or the koon-ut-kal-if-fee in "Blood Fever".

And that's from the show that went out of their way to make it hard to use existing concepts.

I like to think that the pepperoni pizza was a tribute to the 30th anniversary of "Threshold" on the same day, but the true tribute to "Threshold" was depicting parents stranding their offspring on a planet and then justifying that it was fine.

I've been doing a rewatch and making notes of things that are referenced later. Considering most classic Trek has a reputation for being episodic, you'd be surprised just how much gets referenced later, whether in a passing comment or an in-joke or something. The only episodes of TNG season 1 where I didn't spot at least a passing reference later was "Too Short a Season", "Home Soil", and "When the Bough Breaks". (The references to a few of the others are vague and/or arguable though, and admittedly "Knowing where that clip in 'Shades of Gray' is from" qualifies a few of them.)

So it kind of depends on how strictly you define "important." Most people could probably skip almost the entirety of TNG season 1 and not be that confused, but for example:

• "All Good Things..." loses a lot without "Encounter at Farpoint"
• "The Naked Now" is important to "The Measure of a Man"
• "Haven" introduces Lwaxana Troi, Mr. Homn, naked Betazoid weddings, and the running gag of data being too precise. "In the Cradle of Vexilon" loses something without it too.
• "Where No One Has Gone Before" is crucial in introducing the Traveler, and that plot continues into "Remember Me" and "Journey's End" and beyond.
• "The Last Outpost" has first contact with the Ferengi, though you could argue that future Ferengi episodes make more sense without it? Though it's important to the game Star Trek: Resurgence.
• "Justice" doesn't seem important, but if you skip it you won't know what Remmick's talking about in "Conspiracy".
• "The Battle" isn't referenced often, but "Bloodlines" depends on it. Remmick mentions this one too.
• "Hide and Q" introduces concepts like the Q Continuum, and the events of it lead to Q's status in "Q Who", which introduces the Borg.
• "The Big Goodbye" introduces Dixon Hill and explains holodeck matter. The Jarada are mentioned again later too.
• "Datalore" introduces Lore and the Crystalline Entity and explains Data's past, somewhat.
• "11001001" is important to understanding "Future Imperfect"... though that episode isn't really referenced again other than that it introduces a fictionalized version of Nurse Ogawa. So is it still important if you skip both of them?
• "Coming of Age" introduces a lot of the characters and concepts that will be in "Conspiracy". Fun fact: This is the first episode to name Murf's species from Prodigy.
• "Heart of Glory" introduces Khitomer and gives Worf's backstory and sort-of sets up "The Neutral Zone".
• "The Arsenal of Freedom" is the first mention of Crusher's grandmother from "Sub Rosa", but arguably more important for relationship-building between Crusher and Picard.
• "Symbiosis" becomes very relevant in Lower Decks in the episode "Trusted Sources".
• "Skin of Evil" features the death of Tasha Yar. Armus also returns in Lower Decks.
• Even though the cliffhanger isn't followed up on, "Conspiracy" becomes important again in "The Drumhead".
• "The Neutral Zone" pays off the hints that the Romulans were gone, though if you skipped "Heart of Glory" you didn't catch this in the first place, and "Angel One" arguably contradicted it. But this is the first hint of the Borg, as confirmed in "Q Who" and "The Best of Both Worlds".

I could add other subtler things, but those are some of the bigger ones just from that highly-episodic season.

Mostly strong-to-glowing reviews. Comic Book Club, Looper, Radio Times, and TV Guide are the most negative (or at least least positive). Comic Book Club and Original Cin (both which I'd never heard of before) are the only ones I've seen that seems to hate it. ComicBook.com, ScreenRant, and TV Line give middling reviews.

(NOTE: I made that note before adding a bunch of others. I've updated it a bit since then, but I'm more focused on updating the list below than the list of negative-to-middling reviews; Rotten Tomatoes can do that for you instead at this point.)

https://www.avclub.com/star-trek-starfleet-academy-review-tv-paramount-plus

https://awardsbuzz.com/paramount-review-star-trek-starfleet-academy-is-a-fun-look-at-the-next-generation/

https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/entertainment/television/2026/01/12/star-trek-starfleet-academy-how-to-watch-stream-paramount-plus/88105081007/

https://bsky.app/profile/weatherkatie.bsky.social/post/3mbxglw3jtc26 (Meteorologist Katie Nickolaou)

https://www.cbr.com/star-trek-starfleet-academy-season-1-review/

https://collider.com/star-trek-starfleet-academy-review/

https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/review/starfleet-academy-is-star-trek-hogwarts-its-definitely-not-for-everyone-review/

https://comicbookclublive.com/2026/01/08/star-trek-starfleet-academy-review-spinoff-doesnt-get-passing-marks/

https://www.comicsbeat.com/tv-review-what-grade-does-star-trek-starfleet-academy-deserve/

https://www.empireonline.com/tv/reviews/star-trek-starfleet-academy-season-1/

https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/star-trek-starfleet-academy-deftly-balances-teen-drama-with-intergalactic-intrigue-170253808.html

https://fandomwire.com/star-trek-starfleet-academy-review-and-synopsis/

https://fenixnests.com/star-trek-starfleet-academy-review-s1-e1-6/

https://www.joblo.com/star-trek-starfleet-academy-tv-review-an-introduction-to-the-next-generation-of-the-franchise/

https://www.ksitetv.com/starfleet-academy/starfleet-academy-review-star-trek-for-a-new-audience-premieres-1-15/260214/

https://www.looper.com/2070574/star-trek-starfleet-academy-paramount-plus-review/

https://lytrules.substack.com/p/star-trek-starfleet-academy-review

https://www.moviefone.com/news/tv-review-star-trek-starfleet-academy-season-1/

https://nerdspin.com/star-trek-starfleet-academy-review/

https://www.original-cin.ca/posts/2026/1/8/star-trek-starfleet-academy-boldly-going-nowhere-but-so-very-youthful

https://nerdist.com/article/star-trek-starfleet-academy-review/

https://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/star-trek-starfleet-academy-review-tj8ikchx

https://www.polygon.com/star-trek-starfleet-academy-review/

https://popculturemaniacs.com/star-trek-starfleet-academy-review/

https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/star-trek-starfleet-academy-review/

https://screenrant.com/star-trek-starfleet-academy-season-1-tv-review/

https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/movies-tv/article/starfleet-academy-star-trek-review-21242248.php

https://www.slashfilm.com/2069394/star-trek-starfleet-academy-review/

https://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/star-trek-starfleet-academy/

https://www.strangenewpod.com/blog/star-trek-starfleet-academy-feels-undeclared/

https://www.thathashtagshow.com/latest-news/star-trek-starfleet-academy-review-new-cadets-returning-legends-and-a-bold-future/

https://www.thetvcave.com/post/star-trek-starfleet-academy-review

https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/reviews/star-trek-starfleet-academy-review-holly-hunter-paramount-plus/

TrekCore's WeeklyTrek podcast, which has a review by Alex Perry distinct from the TrekCore review by Jenn Tifft posted by @ValueSubtracted@startrek.website https://blog.trekcore.com/2026/01/weeklytrek-podcast-294-more-spoiler-free-thoughts-on-star-trek-starfleet-academy/

TrekCulture YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7PzOd1GstI

TrekMovie’s podcast, which is distinct from their article review: https://trekmovie.com/podcast/star-trek-starfleet-academy-first-impressions-and-report-from-blue-carpet-premiere/

https://treknews.net/2026/01/08/preview-star-trek-starfleet-academy/

https://www.tvguide.com/news/star-trek-starfleet-academy-review/

https://www.tvinsider.com/1239156/star-trek-starfleet-academy-review/ (by former TV Guide writer Matt Roush)

https://www.tvline.com/2068610/star-trek-starfleet-academy-review-season-1-paramount-plus/

https://www.whatsalanwatching.com/review-in-starfleet-academy-star-trek-meets-the-o-c/

https://winteriscoming.net/starfleet-academy-spoiler-free-review-surprised-by-star-trek-new-discovery-spinoff

https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/television/star-trek-starfleet-academy-review-cadets-come-of-age-on-paramount-d8353f69 (paywalled)

Aggregators:

https://www.metacritic.com/tv/star-trek-starfleet-academy/

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/star_trek_starfleet_academy/s01

Here's the transcript for those who prefer that over video:

https://collider.com/star-trek-starfleet-academy-paul-giamatti-ranks-star-trek-shows-ds9-next-generation-tos/

Bat'leth-man.

I have one. I want to say ThinkGeek used to sell them, but I definitely recognize that backing as being from the same device I have.

It's cool and fun to wear, but not amazing as a Bluetooth device. Microphone didn't pick up super-well, which isn't too surprising when it's clipped on your shirt. Magnet would sometimes slip off if the shirt bunched up or something too. (I haven't used it in a few years, so I'm a little hazy on some of this.)

A Bluetooth version of the TMP communicators might have better success, albeit at the cost of having to hold your arm up for the whole conversation.

She's definitely missed.

Incidentally, sounds like you might appreciate this podcast if you aren't into it already. I've heard it mentioned a few times, though to be honest I haven't given it a listen myself yet. (I'm behind on too many podcasts already to add another one at the moment.)

https://www.alltheasiansonstartrek.com/

Not sure your country of origin, but in the U.S. it has all 13 theatrical films + Section 31, as well as Woman in Motion and Building Star Trek.

https://www.paramountplus.com/collections/star-trek/

I'd probably just start the PIC era in 2399. We only see the 2380's in a handful of flashbacks. Prodigy definitely has some PIC connections, but it's far more a continuation of Voyager, and it starts like a year after season 5 of Lower Decks.

Not only do you not need to catch up with Disco, but the end of season 2 of Disco doesn't dovetail to the beginning of Strange New Worlds super-well when you watch them back-to-back; if anything, they feel like they lightly contradict each other.

Though if I were to recommend a single episode it would be "Through the Valley of Shadows" from season 2, which is probably the only "important" episode as far as Strange New Worlds goes, though the key stuff gets recapped in SNW.

The Short Treks episode Q&A gets some references in the series too, though if you don't watch it you likely won't realize you missed anything.