Streaming service Paramount Plus releases the third episode of the Star Trek spinoff Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, created by Gaia Violo and set in the post-Discovery 31st century time frame. Holly Hunter stars. 
Stardate not given: With both Starfleet Academy and the Starfleet War College sharing campus space and facilities, a rivalry is only natural, and it expresses itself as sports teams start to be chosen. And then a series of pranks begin, with the War College cadets – which now include Tamira Sadal – repeatedly ridiculing their rivals in front of their own classmates. A sport called Calica, which seems very much like a combat exercise, seems like a good place for both schools’ teams to vie for superiority, but many of the Starfleet Academy cadets seem ill-suited for such an exercise. Genesis Lythe and Darem Reymi both aim to be the captain of the Academy’s Calica team, and the rivalry between them quickly becomes bitter. In the meantime, Caleb is preoccupied with why Tamira joined the War College instead of the Academy, thinking that he must have something to do with that decision. When the time comes for the Academy team to retaliate with a prank the War College cadets will never forget, Caleb’s preoccupation may be the turning point in his burgeoning relationship to Tamira, or it could be the unexpected distraction that unravels his team’s plan. Or both.
written by Alex Taub & Kiley Rossetter
directed by Doug Aarniokoski
music by Jeff Russo
additional music by Dan the Automator, Sam Lucas, Alex Yewon and Antonio Andrade
Cast: Holly Hunter (Captain Nahla Ake), Sandro Rosta (Cadet Caleb Mir), Karim Diane (Cadet Jay-Den Kraag), Kerrice Brooks (Cadet SAM), George Hawkins (Cadet Darem Reymi), Bella Shepard (Cadet Genesis Lythe), Zoe Steiner (Cadet Tarima Sadal), Oded Fehr (Admiral Charles Vance), Gina Yashere (Lura Thok), Brit Marling (Computer Voice), Stephen Colbert (Digital Dean of Students), Tig Notaro (Jett Reno), Raoul Bhaneja (Commander Kelric), Romeo Carere (Ocam Sadal), Alexander Eling (B’van), Dale Whibley (Kyle), Ceceilia Lee (Dzolo), Scott Gemmell (Darem’s Posse), Mia Yaguchi-Chow (Darem’s Posse), Ritchie Lawrence (Darem’s Posse), Lily Du (Vitus Reflux), Kostyn Mitruk (Mugato), Chris Hong (Holo-Guard), John Fray (Botany Instructor), Brian David Gilbert (DOT), Rekha Shankar (DOT), Jeremy Culhane (DOT)
Notes: There’s a Romulan cadet attending the Starfleet War College, a further indication that the Romulans joined the Federation at some point following the events of Star Trek: Picard). We’ve seen a life-size lapling before (TNG: The Most Toys) – and that one would’ve fit in one average humanoid hand, making the mascot suit slightly oversized. The War College’s mascot is the Mugato (TOS: A Private Little War). SAM’s vast database of human history apparently includes such 20th century sports as Lazer Tag (but no mention of Photon). The episode carries a dedication to Carla Mingiardi (1965-2024), a costume cutter who worked on various streaming-era Star Trek series (Discovery and Short Treks) and other series (What We Do In The Shadows, Mars).
LogBook entry by Earl Green