5 Star Trek characters who deserved more screen time in Starfleet Academy
Among the various issues fans had with Star Trek: Starfleet Academy was the first season's length. 10 episodes may be normal for today's streaming shows, but it means SFA didn't have as much time as other Trek shows from the past to establish the characters properly. It also means that too many potentially fun characters got short shrift.
It's possible that season 2 will put more of a spotlight on some of the main characters, such as Lura Thok and The Doctor. Yet Starfleet Academy season 1 featured a few characters showing the potential to be more important to the show but were ignored. Some seemed set up for larger story arcs only to vanish, while others were barely more than a cameo. With that in mind, the following are the five characters who deserved more screen time in SFA season 1.
5. Tilly
Sylvia Tilly was always a bright spot for Star Trek: Discovery thanks to Mary Wiseman's delightfully energetic performance, and fans were excited to hear she'd be showing up on Starfleet Academy as a teacher. That's why it was a letdown that, rather than being part of a grand adventure, Tilly simply helped the cadets cope with a tragedy by having them do a production of Our Town.
Wiseman still made the most of her screen time, in her one and only episode, yet it failed to capture the fun the character usually contained. Wiseman's role could have been filled by any random new character rather than wasting the potential of Tilly sharing her experiences with the younger cadets. It's too bad we couldn't get more time with Tilly, who would have fit in well at this school.
4. Kelrec
Raoul Bhaneja recently confirmed that he will return in season 2 as Zeeren Kelrec, the Chancellor of the War College. The character had a fun dynamic with Nahla Ake, at first seeming to be rivals. In Kelrec's later appearances, he softened and explained that much of his bitterness toward Ake was because he felt abandoned when she left Starfleet.
Bhaneja got plenty of good material to work with, as an actor, which included mourning the loss of a cadet and hinting at his character's guilt preparing these students for war. That was a lot of potential to build on, which can hopefully be touched on in season 2. It's too bad that Bhaneja's hopes for a bigger spotlight in future seasons won't come to pass.
3. Dzolo
A Romulan in the War College is a very interesting idea. That's why it was annoying that we never got to see more of actress Cecilia Lee's Dzolo in the first season of Starfleet Academy . She and the Vulcan B'Avi made for a fun team, pranking the Starfleet cadets, and Lee nailed the arrogant and conniving mannerisms of a Romulan. It looked like Dzolo would get more screen time, but the last fans saw of her was halfway through the season when she was decked by SAM in a bar brawl.
If anything, the audience would have expected Dzolo's reaction to B'Avi's death, given that they were friends. An episode where she's contrite, trying to make peace with the Starfleet cadets, also seemed natural. For this character to get some good screen time, and then be completely ignored after midseason seems a true waste of a promising addition to the show.
2. Dax
"Series Acclimation Mil" was the best episode of Starfleet Academy's first season. That's mostly thanks to Tawny Newsome , who co-wrote this fine tribute to Deep Space Nine. She also appeared as Professor Illa, aiding SAM in her research. The big twist was SAM realizing this was the newest host for the Trill symbiont Dax. That looked to open the door for the character to be a regular teacher, only for Dax to vanish after this debut.
Maybe it's because Newsome is busy with other projects or just the shortened season, yet Dax has yet to return, and it sounds like it may not happen in season 2 either. That's baffling, as catching up on Dax and what they've been up to for the last thousand years could support an entire episode or two. At least, letting Newsome put her stamp on the character would have been fantastic, rather than reduced to a quick fanservice cameo.
1. B'Avi
The turning point for Starfleet Academy's first season was the brutal fight between the cadets and the criminal Furies. That culminated in the shocking death of the War College's B'Avi, who sacrificed his life to save Caleb Mir. It was powerful, yet it could have been better if we'd had more episodes to know B'Avi better. He was already intriguing as a Vulcan who had a mischievous side, leading a prank war against the Academy and being rather arrogant.
Alexander Eling was well cast as B'Avi, but he simply didn't have enough to do. B'Avi's arc could have been better handled, showing him slowly losing that edge and becoming more friendly with the cadets. That would have made his death far more impactful while letting us get more of an imperfect Vulcan learning along the way. Just one or two more episodes featuring B'Avi could have sold why everyone was rocked by his loss, and added pathos to his sacrifice.
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