Star Trek's Jonathan Frakes Responds To Negative Starfleet Academy Reactions

Trekkies will always think of Jonathan Frakes first as Commander Will Riker, but the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" star has also become one of the franchise's most prolific directors. Coming a long way from his first "Trek" directing gig on the "Next Generation" episode "The Offspring," Frakes even directed two of the "Star Trek" films featuring the "Next Generation" cast, "First Contact" and "Insurrection." 

Frakes most recently directed the penultimate episode of "Star Trek: Starfleet Academy" season 1: "300th Night." "Starfleet Academy" has been subject to an online review bombing campaign, as any nerd franchise tends to be when a new chapter features queer and Black people existing and/or women in positions of power. In an interview with IGN, Frakes discussed the backlash that "Starfleet Academy" has been getting, with the perspective that many fans hated "The Next Generation" a long time ago too.

"I was prepared because when 'Next Gen' came out almost 40 years ago, we were trolled. Nobody wanted us. And this was pre-internet. But it's still dimensionally more painful [today]... and the trolls are hiding, and the trolls are hating. It's the first rule of the Constitution. I guess they're entitled to their opinion, but it surprises me how aggressively 'anti' they are with each new iteration of the show. And it continues to surprise me, and I try not to let it upset me."

Indeed, the internet has made it easier to spread any opinion (even toxic ones), and for good and ill has made creatives on TV shows more tapped into fan sentiment than ever before. Bigotry-influenced review bombing is the worst side of this, and it's not just "Starfleet Academy" fans who should be peeved. Bad faith criticism obscures genuine criticism, too.

Again, "Star Trek: Starfleet Academy" is far from the first show to be "bombed" with bad scores on review aggregators like Rotten Tomatoes: something similar happened to "Star Wars" series "The Acolyte," for instance. Once this happens, the progressive fans rise up in defense and, in the process, fandom turns into culture war. 

Since so many loud voices spew hate for the wrong reasons, liking or defending these shows is then championed as an act of progressivism — of being on the right side. For people who can see the big picture, that's endlessly frustrating. "Star Trek" is largely and historically progressive, yes, but let's not mince words here: "Starfleet Academy" is a corporate product of Paramount, owned by the billionaire Ellison family, who are political allies of President Donald Trump. 

I don't think "Starfleet Academy" is very good. It's filled with unfunny sitcom-style humor and the emotional moments have largely fallen flat for me. I'm not rooting for it to fail, but if I wasn't professionally required to keep up with it, I probably wouldn't bother. When a show becomes the subject of a culture war, benign criticisms can get lumped in with the vile ones, and can discourage you from making those criticisms at all. I get the gratifying impulse to shoot down the bigots, but perhaps activist energy can be better channeled than by defending a TV show that doesn't need it.

"Star Trek: Starfleet Academy" is streaming on Paramount+.