Spoilers Star Trek: Starfleet Academy 1x02 – “Beta Test”

[Rhodan]

Found this episode to be okay, but not great or all that good. A 5.

Also, when did Betazoids become only Empaths as a Race?

In TNG/the 24th Century - Betazoids were full Telepaths.

Troi was only an Empath and not a full Telepath because she was half Human/half-Betazoid. Interesting that all the Production staff (some who work on ST:VOY back in the day) seem to have confused that fact of Trek lore.

I actually think Berman Trek was doing this mistake all the time, for example with the Betazoid in Drumhead.

 

[ToddCam]

I'm extrapolating from Spock's childhood.

Besides if he is a psychopath, then he has no emotions, so to any children he's being taught beside, Little Lon Suder will seem like he is a dead person, which must be spooky as phuck.

That's a fascinating conjecture. Ableism being a contributor to psychopathy.

Has there been anything establishing what age Betazoids develop telepathy?

 

[Farscape One]

That's a fascinating conjecture. Ableism being a contributor to psychopathy.

Has there been anything establishing what age Betazoids develop telepathy?

I believe Troi said Betazoids develop it during puberty, or close to it. In "Tin Man", she said Tam Elbrun was one of the few born fully powered, which led him to be the way he was.

 

[Farscape One]

I'm extrapolating from Spock's childhood.

Besides if he is a psychopath, then he has no emotions, so to any children he's being taught beside, Little Lon Suder will seem like he is a dead person, which must be spooky as phuck.

For one thing, we have no idea what kind of childhood Suder had.

Second, of all the characters, why pick Spock's childhood as a basis for him? Suder was not half Betazoid, he was full. And Vulcan and Betazoid societies are quite different. (Betazoids are open and much more free about expressing themselves and emotions... they have weddings naked. Vulcans: few races are as private, emotionally controlled, and reserved as they are. Except for a preference for peace and telepathic abilities, they really don't have a lot in common.)

 

[Guy Gardener]

For one thing, we have no idea what kind of childhood Suder had.

Second, of all the characters, why pick Spock's childhood as a basis for him? Suder was not half Betazoid, he was full. And Vulcan and Betazoid societies are quite different. (Betazoids are open and much more free about expressing themselves and emotions... they have weddings naked. Vulcans: few races are as private, emotionally controlled, and reserved as they are. Except for a preference for peace and telepathic abilities, they really don't have a lot in common.)

High school, not kindergarten. My bad. Still possible.

 

[Tosk]

I believe Troi said Betazoids develop it during puberty, or close to it. In "Tin Man", she said Tam Elbrun was one of the few born fully powered, which led him to be the way he was.

Good call.

Troi "Well, in most Betazoids our telepathic gifts develop at adolescence."

 

[tenmei]

What im saying is a betazed who is deaf and has no telepathy or lost it compensates for the lack. Hes developed great skills in reading people grom their expressions. He knew what the Admiral was going to ask next without reading his mind.

It directly states that Emrys Sadal is an empath, but not a telepath.

 

[PR109]

Star Trek has no purpose in 2026. This show won't even make it to season 3. Mark my words.

 

[Tosk]

This show won't even make it to season 3. Mark my words.

A bold prediction, given that they've filmed season two and there's no concrete word of any future Kurtzman Trek after that right now.

 

[Turtletrekker]

Star Trek has no purpose in 2026.

How do you define "no purpose"?

 

[Turtletrekker]

A bold prediction, given that they've filmed season two and there's no concrete word of any future Kurtzman Trek after that right now.

Like predicting Kurtzman will be fired.

 

[Tosk]

Maybe they meant to say porpoise?

 

[Turtletrekker]

Maybe they meant to say porpoise?

But it had a humpback!

 

[Michael]

This show won't even make it to season 3. Mark my words.

Lol, you don’t exactly have to be a fortune teller to make that kind of prediction. Between Paramount saying that after the merger with Skydance they are putting their focus on Star Trek on the big screen, their pledge to eliminate DEI initiatives and a general more conservative outlook, Strange New Worlds being discontinued (despite being a favorite with fans) and no third season of Starfleet Academy being announced (yet), the more reasonable expectation right now actually is that it won’t go beyond two seasons. It’s almost a foregone conclusion and has almost nothing to do with how good or not the show actually is.

 

[Set Harth]

So can anyone tell me how they missed that Betazoids have black eyes?

Was Ridley Scott involved somehow?

 

[Paul755]

I mostly liked this episode but didn’t think it was as good as the pilot.

A pretty big tone shift from the pilot with them leaning into some of the teen-angst stuff that scared so many Trek “fans”. But a show like this is going to have that by design so it doesn’t bother me. I did like the look in to some of the classes.

Seeing a live action Brikar is cool.

Starfleet having a dedicated “War College” is an interesting idea that I’m sure will only add to the “is Starfleet military” discussions. But it also makes me think it’s something they should have added to Trek earlier. Maybe make mention in Picard that post-Dominion War they added that to the campus.

More Jet Reno is always good, same with The Doctor.

Hunter continues to be great too.

7/10

 

[TRON JA307020]

It directly states that Emrys Sadal is an empath, but not a telepath.

Ah ok. I didn't finish the episode yet. That explains it.

 

[tenmei]

Ah ok. I didn't finish the episode yet. That explains it.

Mentioned right at the beginning in the talk between Vance, Ake and the War College Chancellor

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

• Where are the super-advanced aliens? The galaxy is over 13 billion years old, and in the Trekverse, is full of life. Surely there should be races which have been spacefaring for tens of thousands, even millions of years. Yet every race is at roughly the same tech level as the Federation - whatever the Federation's tech level is. Or else long-since dead or ascended into energy beings.

Plenty of those advanced species died out for various reasons, we encounter a few new advanced species every now & then like: the Voth, First Federation, etc.
But others have moved beyond by evolving into Energy Beings.
We're living in an Epoch where most species are on similar Tech levels.

• Kardashev Type II races seem quite rare. All this time, and only one Dyson sphere we never saw again. Why aren't there planetary-scale (or larger) megastructures everywhere?

There are a few Mega Structures out there, we saw several Ring Worlds, a Dyson Sphere, a Moon turned into a mobile Home World.
But those are far more complex, expensive (resource wise), and difficult to maintain versus colonizing a suitable planet.
People usually go for what makes sense, which is colonizing a Suitable Planet or living on Space Stations.
Most Species are usually drawn to the Simplest & Path of Least Resistance/Difficulty options.

• Posthumanism is a one-off thing, but doesn't impact the mainstream of society. We've met cybernetically augmented humans, and genetic augments, but they're exceptions to the rule, with most folks ordinary, baseline humans.

It's nice being 100% Organic to your original species.
The Borg are the extreme oposite end where you're Cybernetically Augmented, but you're vulnerable to being controlled by the Technology, which is very scary.
Finding a middle ground seems to be rare since people are only augmented as needed, not because they choose to in most cases.
There was that one Cybernetically enhanced person in the Section 31 movie, but that's rare.

• While true AI exists, it's treated again as a one-off curiosity. Humans still do not only most of the intellectual, but most of the physical labor. True super-intelligent AI seems to be rare, if not entirely absent.

Data, Synths, Plenty of Guest AI species encountered including and entire extra Dimension of AI hostile to Organic life.

• We already live in a society where technological surveillance is becoming omnipresent. Yet in the Trekverse, it seems like people can escape from brigs and pull off murders without any recordings of their behavior.

Privacy is one of those things humanity is striving to bring back, there's already too much Technological Surveillance by everybody & everything; many folks want privacy back, so I wouldn't be surprised if the movement caught on in the future.

I know but they should be using word that go against it. I would have called it the Defense College or something like that.

There are many IRL War Colleges on Earth, I'm sure it's based off of those.

 

[Jag2112]

Screencaps gallery for 'Beta Test' now online...

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy ScreenCaps "Beta Test" (S1:E2)

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