Spoiler Alert: This article contains spoilers for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Episode 5, “Series Accompaniment Mill,” now available on Paramount+.
“Starfleet Academy” paid a heartfelt homage to “Deep Space Nine” in this week’s episode, which also included the return of Shirok Lofton as Jake Sisko.
In this episode, SAM (Kerais Brooks) is tasked with explaining just about everything about “organic” by a Kaskian manufacturer. In the process of learning all she can, she encounters the mystery of Captain Benjamin Cisco (Avery Brooks). He disappeared in the series finale of Deep Space Nine when he was absorbed by a wormhole alien, aka the Bajoran Prophet.
SAM becomes obsessed with figuring out what happened to Cisco, while also grappling with how to fulfill his role as emissary to the organic world on behalf of the Kaskians. She eventually receives a book that Jake wrote about his father, and Jake appears in her mind talking about Captain Cisco and what kind of man/messenger he was.
In an interview with Variety, Lofton praised the funny connection Kelis shares with her on-screen father. “Honestly, I work well with Brooks,” he said with a laugh. “So a nice synchronicity just happened to happen there.”
Lofton went on to call Kelis a “phenomenal” performer who adds to the “Star Trek” legacy. “She was the perfect scene partner,” he said. “She lifted the mood in each moment. Her ability to convey emotion and dig deep was just amazing.”
Meanwhile, Kelis similarly praised Lofton, saying he reminded her of Starr. “It’s not even star power like Hollywood, but you feel star-driven,” she said. “When you look at the stars, you feel like you can orient yourself. That’s what it’s like to work with him. He’s really beautiful inside and out.”
The episode ends with a line from Avery Brooks that has never been heard before on a Star Trek show. Lofton said the speech was based on an album Avery recorded several years ago.
“This is a way for me to hear his voice in a different way, because he has such a distinctive voice and it’s so appealing, so hearing it in this episode meant a lot to me,” he said.
“Series Accompaniment Mill” was co-written by “Lower Decks” alum Tawny Newsome, who also appears on screen as Professor Aayla of Starfleet Academy, later revealed to be Aayla Dax, the Trill symbiote who served with Captain Sisko on Deep Space Nine. The role required Newsome to wear prosthetic makeup for the first time, and the experience was definitely memorable.
“I have never had more love and admiration for the Doug Joneses of the world,” Newsom said. “We knew our Dags and Michael Dorn had superhuman abilities, but after spending just one long day wearing those prosthetics, I thought, ‘Wow, these guys are just built differently.'”
But the central focus is on SAM, and the episode takes a unique format as she describes life at the academy, featuring on-screen graphics not normally seen on the show. “My favorite movie is “Into the Spider-Verse,” Kelis said. “I was even more excited because it felt like the SAM version.”
One of the charms of Starfleet Academy is that the lives of the characters closely mirror those of the actors who play them.
Kelis is no different, saying, “SAM is technically very smart and book-savvy, but she doesn’t know much about culture. And I thought, ‘Oh, perfect,’ because I’m not good at that either. So I don’t feel comfortable in this episode in my own skin, because that’s not her.”
This episode also features an epic bar brawl between Starfleet Academy and the War College. Kelis says he had fun filming the scene, but admits that one stunt went awry.
“[Cecilia Leigh]plays Zorro, the girl I fought,” Kelis said. “I’ve never done fight choreography before. I’m so grateful that everyone has faith in me, but there was no way they could have trusted me that much without rehearsing. So CeCe was shaken up and really hit, and I felt so bad. I literally had to give her a shot during lunch. I bought her Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups – it turned out she was actually allergic – and I didn’t do well that day. Long story short, I bought her flowers, and she was a soldier, and I kept saying, “Hit me back, please, please!”
