Let me preface this post by saying I am writing from a place of emotion and there's going to be anger, sadness, and joy written below. Spoilers for SFA S01E08 below.
spoiler
I just finished SFA episode 8 and I thought it was phenomenal. I've had a very difficult year, trying to move on from a stuck place in my life and getting knocked back on my ass without much in the way of human connection.
I rolled my eyes when SAM picked "Our Town". I have a bachelor's degree in theatre and wondered how professional show writers could be so basic. And then the episode surprised me in the way this show has done so many times, taking basic archetypes and tropes and writing its characters with humanity and utilizing the raw humanity of its cast to touch beautiful emotional moments.
I'm a 32 year-old middle-income white man, but I can identify so closely with Mir, Reymi, Tarima, and SAM. My inner child shares their pain so closely while my inner adult shares weight with the experienced performances coming out of Holly Hunter and Robert Picardo. I was sitting just several minutes ago alone in the dark listening to Mary Wiseman say words I don't get to hear genuinely from anyone in my own life and it helped me tonight so much.
This franchise has been a part of me my whole life. I've lived through the end of the glory days of post-TNG, sat confused and excited through the new movies, and had my heart broken by the lowest lows of Discovery season 2 and Picard season 1. This show isn't perfect by any means but it touches the emotional core of Star Trek genuinely.
To all the haters and nitpickers, fuck you. Honestly. Rewatch TNG season 1 and really dig in to what that imperfect writers room is trying to say. Expand your perceptions beyond what you hold as true and good. Examine the things you love from outside of your emotions, knowledge, and opinions. Make the magical leap that makes you human. And if you still find yourself retching and unable to enjoy new Star Trek, then shut the fuck up and stop making it everyone else's problem. Silo yourself off and enjoy what you like in peace.
There is a wonderful resonance to SFA. The writing of this modern era that comes off as simplistic or childish meshes into an awkward genuineness when paired with a crew of cadets in an imperfect future. Zoë Steiner walking into frame with an echoey retro voice is every bit as wonderfully melodramatic as the original series could be.
The future of 2026 frightens me. Conniving evil men are using their power to buy as much media as they can. WB is being sold to Ellison's Paramount and I have a sinking feeling that SFA won't be renewed for a third season.
But just like tonight's episode, and Our Town, I am thankful for the small moment in time I was given tonight. To Karim Diané and the rest of the cast and crew of SFA, I'm glad you're here and that you were able to make this show. And to the rest of you reading this here on the internet, I'm glad you're here too.