The news that Starfleet Academy is ending with Season 2 has upset a lot of fans: The new series had generated a dedicated cult following, which could’ve grown even bigger before Season 2 arrived. However, now it will be tougher for Starfleet Academy to get new viewers invested – and one cast member knows better than most about all that lost potential.
Robert Picardo is a Star Trek icon whose time in the franchise dates back to the TV series Star Trek: Voyager, which first premiered in 1995. He played “The Doctor,” a holographic medical program, which was forced to become the acting ship medical officer when the USS Voyager got lost in the Delta Quadrant. After so many years of interaction and problem-solving, the Doctor evolved, and by the time of Starfleet Academy (the 32nd century), he was a fully conscious and independent holographic lifeform, helping to teach the next generation of Starfleet medical officers.
Picardo made an appearance on the podcast On Screen and Beyond, where he had to break the news to the crowd about Starfleet Academy coming to an end – and didn’t hold back on his thoughts about the socio-political reasons why.
“We got some sad news this week, and that is that our show is not being extended beyond the second season. I think our show is very much in the tradition of all of Star Trek. It is very diverse and inclusive, and I think some of those values are not, how should I put it, are not as popular in the present political and cultural climate in America. Which is unusual because those are the core values of Star Trek. That’s always what [Gene] Roddenberry valued the most, was diversity. He said it in many quotes.”
The actor went on to say that Star Trek, as a franchise, may be “out of fashion” for a while, if the current cultural clashes continue – but it won’t be gone forever. Not only is the cultural climate not in line with the core themes of the series, but the ongoing Paramount/Warner Bros. merger has put franchises like Star Trek on the back burner. However, Picardo has been with the Star Trek franchise long enough to be a true believer in the franchise’s core themes about optimism and hopefulness.
“There will be no new Star Trek for a while, and then Star Trek will come back,” Picardo said. “But I hope that it does come back with the same core values that it’s always embodied, and have always been really essential to Roddenberry’s optimistic vision of humanity’s future in space… It’s a future in which we are valued not for the color of our skin or our sexual preferences but for the content of our character and what we contribute to the crew, to the collective. And all of those core values of Star Trek, I hope, will be there in whatever new Star Trek there is in the future.”
Finally, Picardo had to cheerlead for his show and all those involved with it. While also revealing his biggest regret about the cancellation: “[Starfleet Academy], the show, the work of the show is extraordinary. And even though, as I said, it didn’t quite fit in with this current political and cultural moment we’re having in America, I think the show will be viewed and valued as a real gem in the future. Eventually, the pendulum always swings back towards Star Trek’s original core values. I’m just sorry we didn’t make more episodes, as we could and, I believe, we should have.”
You can still stream Starfleet Academy on Paramount+. Discuss the show with us on the ComicBook Forum!
via (Screen Rant)
