A New ‘Starfleet Academy’ Clip Lets Paul Giamatti Go Wild

Star Trek is making a gambit with its next series, Starfleet Academy. Instead of adults taking center stage, the show focuses on a new class of Academy cadets training to become officers we see fill the crews of ships we’ve seen across the franchise. For those who love Star Trek but aren’t entirely sold on this pivot, you might find something to like in the main villain Nus Braka played by Paul Giamatti, who looks to be doing…let’s just say, a lot.

In a clip showed off at CCXP on Saturday, we see Braka hail Captain Ake (Holly Hunter) of the USS Athena, and within seconds, that man is chewing up the scenery like nobody’s business. As he makes his way to get in Ake’s face, you can just tell Giamatti’s having so much fun doing this part, even before he laughs like a Power Rangers villain-of-the-week that’s just started his evil plan.

But that’s where things end—to start, we see the Athena suddenly attacked and the ship’s crew juggle defense and trying to get its students to safety. Protecting the kids is the easier of the two, as the ship’s losing power and Ake can’t call for help or even so much as fire its weapons. Deliberate or not, the attack on the Athena is framed as the Star Trek equivalent of a school shooting, even as the Doctor (Robert Picardo) reports no casualties yet and tells Ake to keep it that way.

Braka is a key character in the origin of Caleb Mir (Sandro Rosta), the show’s young lead, and they’ll likely cross paths throughout the season. We’ll see how that goes when Star Trek: Starfleet Academy premieres January 15 on Paramount+.

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