The new series Star Trek: Starfleet Academy hits the halfway mark of its first season this week. We have details and new images for the fifth episode. This episode also has been teased to have a deep connection to Trek lore, and we have some commentary from the writers and showrunners about [SPOILERS].
“Series Acclimation Mil”
Episode 5 of season 1 of Starfleet Academy is titled “Series Acclimation Mil,” which is the full name of the photonic character “SAM” (Kerrice Brooks). The episode was written by Kirsten Beyer and Tawny Newsome, and directed by Larry Teng. SFA 105 debuts on Paramount+ on Thursday, February 5.
Synopsis
As a cadet sets out to solve an ancient Starfleet mystery, she embarks on a journey of self-discovery and learns the value of forging her own path. Meanwhile, Nahla agrees to help a fellow chancellor with an elaborate alien ritual.
New photos:
L-R: Robert Picardo as The Doctor and Tig Notaro as Reno in season 1, episode 5, of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy streaming on Paramount+. Photo Credit: Brooke Palmer/Paramount+
L-R: Romeo Carere as Ocam, Karim Diané as Jay-Den, Sandro Rosta as Caleb, George Hawkins as Darem, and Bella Shepard as Genesis in season 1, episode 5, of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy streaming on Paramount+. Photo Credit: Brooke Palmer/Paramount+
L-R: Robert Picardo as The Doctor, Tig Notaro as Reno, Raoul Bhaneja as Commander Kelric, and Holly Hunter as Captain Nahla Ake in season 1, episode 5, of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy streaming on Paramount+. Photo Credit: Brooke Palmer/Paramount+
George Hawkins as Darem in season 1, episode 5, of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy streaming on Paramount+. Photo Credit: Brooke Palmer/Paramount+
Raoul Bhaneja as Commander Kelric in season 1, episode 5, of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy streaming on Paramount+. Photo Credit: Brooke Palmer/Paramount+
L-R: Sandro Rosta as Caleb, George Hawkins as Darem, and Kerrice Brooks as SAM in season 1, episode 5, of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy streaming on Paramount+. Photo Credit: Brooke Palmer/Paramount+
Holly Hunter as Captain Nahla Ake in season 1, episode 5, of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy streaming on Paramount+. Photo Credit: Brooke Palmer/Paramount+
L-R: Kerrice Brooks as SAM, Romeo Carere as Ocam, and Karim Diané as Jay-Den in season 1, episode 5, of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy streaming on Paramount+. Photo Credit: Brooke Palmer/Paramount+
Kerrice Brooks as SAM in season 1, episode 5, of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy streaming on Paramount+. Photo Credit: John Medland/Paramount+
Bella Shepard as Genesis in season 1, episode 5, of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy streaming on Paramount+. Photo Credit: Brooke Palmer/Paramount+
Kerrice Brooks as SAM in season 1, episode 5, of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy streaming on Paramount+. Photo Credit: Brooke Palmer/Paramount+
L-R: Kerrice Brooks as SAM, George Hawkins as Darem, Romeo Carere as Ocam, and Bella Shepard as Genesis in season 1, episode 5, of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy streaming on Paramount+. Photo Credit: John Medland/Paramount+
Romeo Carere as Ocam in season 1, episode 5, of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy streaming on Paramount+. Photo Credit: Brooke Palmer/Paramount+
Previously released photos:
L-R, Karim Diané as Jay-Den Kraag, George Hawkins as Darem Reymi, Kerrice Brooks as Sam, Bella Shepard as Genesis Lythe and Sandro Rosta as Caleb Mir in season 1, episode 5 of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy streaming on Paramount+. Photo Credit: John Medland/Paramount+
L-R: Kerrice Brooks, Romeo Carere, Karim Diané, Sandro Rosta, George Hawkins and Bella Shepard in season 1 , episode 5 of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy streaming on Paramount+. Photo Credit: Brooke Palmer/Paramount+
The DS9 connection
Speaking to TrekMovie at the press junket, both Starfleet Academy showrunners teased how this episode connects to Trek canon. Noga Landau said “episode 5 is essentially a love letter to Deep Space Nine,” along with hyping “It’s so good.” Executive producer Alex Kurtzman added “Well, that’s the point, right? The idea is that if you don’t know Deep Space Nine and you’ve never seen it, it’s a wonderful introduction. If you do know Deep Space Nine, it’s really meaningful.”
This connection to DS9 should be no surprise as co-writer (and the voice of Mariner on Lower Decks) Tawny Newsome has often spoken about how favorite Star Trek show is Deep Space Nine. And at STLV last summer, she talked about writing for Academy, saying “It was very cool to get to use my evil powers of being insane about Star Trek in a different way.” Regarding co-writing this episode, Newsome teased how it will deal with the lore, as she worked closely with Kirsten Beyer:
“That was such a dream, because I could just text her in the middle of the night and ask her just deep cut, nerdy questions that I won’t allude to right now, because it’ll spoil things.”
TrekMovie also talked to Kirsten Beyer about her collaboration with Newsome for this episode, and she revealed:
“[Tawny] goes deep in areas [of canon] where I’m less familiar or less off-the-top-of-my-head familiar. And she is also very passionate about the ideas that she believes in and the things she wants to discuss.”
Trailers
“Legacy” trailer
NYCC 2025 trailer
SDCC 2025 trailer
Keep up with news about the Star Trek Universe at TrekMovie.com.