Starfleet Academy’s Best Relationships Are Being Stolen In The Worst Star Trek Movie
By Chris Snellgrove | Published
Starfleet Academy proved to be the most controversial Star Trek show when it first launched, but the show has won fans over with several healthy doses of nostalgia bait. This includes the entire episode directed at Captain Sisko and many subsequent episodes Voyager story lines like the Doctor’s daughter and the Omega molecule. Arguably, however, the most popular part of the nostalgia bait is the relationship between Caleb and Tarima, which echoes the most famous Star Trek relationship of all time.
Caleb is a tall, hulking human and future captain, while Tarima is a powerful Betazed mind reader and the daughter of a powerful family. For many fans of The Next Generationthis is a clear echo of the relationship between William Riker (the original captain of the Federation flagship Enterprise) and Deanna Troi (a mentor on a Betazed ship with whom he dated many years ago). However, what you may not realize is that Starfleet AcademyThe best relationship goes along with the pairing created for the franchise’s worst film: Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
It’s Not Just a Class
Despite many fan campaigns saving the show from early cancellation, Star Trek: The Original Series ended after only three seasons. However, the game proved popular with college students during its commercial run, which led to Trek getting its own animated series. With the franchise in the popular zeitgeist again, Paramount and Trek creator Gene Roddenberry teamed up in 1977 to work on Star Trek: Phase IIlive-action spinoff of The Original Series.
Various deals have been made, and the huge success of Star Wars means that Section II it was destroyed, and its creative DNA was eaten by humans Star Trek: The Motion Picture. That film introduced two characters created for the canceled show: Will Decker, an ambitious first officer, and Ilia, an alien who can read minds (sort of). While the film offers an abbreviated version of their relationship, the Section II the writers had created an elaborate backstory about how they fell in love at a young age, but Decker withdrew things to pursue her career; tensions rise after years of standing on the Enterprise.
Imzadi: Star Trek’s Cutest Couple
If that sounds familiar, it should: Decker and Ilia were a template for what Riker and Troi would become. Riker, like Decker, was a good and confident Starfleet officer who put his career first. Troi, like Ilia, had special psychic abilities and was from a race of sexually liberated aliens. Riker and Troi also had a shared love history, which they had to navigate through The Next Generation before marriage to Star Trek: Nemesis.
In Starfleet AcademyCaleb and Tarima are the latest iteration of this idea: he’s a gifted and self-confident human cadet, and she’s the Betazoid princess he’s in love with. From the beginning of their relationship, fans have closed that this was an obvious tribute to Riker and Troi. It certainly didn’t escape the notice of Riker actor Jonathan Frakes, who (as reported by ScreenRant) told Caleb’s actor Sandro Rosta, “He’s dating a Betazoid princess…You’re a lucky man. I know what it’s like.”
Young, Dumb, and Dumb
Obviously, this is a fan favorite Starfleet Academy the relationship wouldn’t exist without Riker and Troi from The Next Generationand those characters wouldn’t exist without Decker and Ilia, who made their screen debuts Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Many hated the film, calling it a “still picture” and declaring it the worst in the business. There’s something funny about your galaxy, though: the worst Star Trek movie just inspired the best thing about the latest Star Trek spinoff!
