Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Continues Franchise’s 40-Year Love Affair With Humpback Whales

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The new series Star Trek: Starfleet Academy continues the franchise’s long-standing fondness for humpback whales. The first two episodes, which have received positive reviews (earning a ‘Certified Fresh’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes), recently debuted on Paramount+ and were well-received by Star Trek fans.

The new series, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, returns the famous school to its original location in San Francisco, Earth. This is the first class of cadets to train on Earth in over a century, following the devastating event known as The Burn, which changed the United Federation of Planets. San Francisco holds a special place in Star Trek lore, famously being linked to the story of the humpback whales.

As a huge Star Trek fan, I always loved The Voyage Home – everyone calls it “The One with the Whales!” It’s a wonderfully silly premise: Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise actually have to travel back to 1986 and rescue some humpback whales to save the future. It sounds crazy, but it’s such a charming and fun movie!

Set in the 33rd century, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy carries on Star Trek‘s tradition of valuing humpback whales.

Humpback Whales In Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Explained

In the first season of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, episode 2, Caleb Mir takes Tarima Sadal to observe humpback whales at the Cetacean Ops observatory aboard the USS Athena. Tarima, the daughter of the President of Betazed, had expressed a desire to see Earth’s impressive whales, and Caleb successfully showed her – though their excursion led to some trouble for both of them.

Tarima was eager to observe humpback whales, hoping their perspective might offer insight into a difficult decision facing her people, the Betazoids. They were considering ending their long period of isolation and once again joining the United Federation of Planets, and Tarima believed the whales, existing outside of such concerns, might offer a fresh outlook.

The show Star Trek: Starfleet Academy introduced viewers to humpback whales in the 32nd century, confirming that Starfleet still cares for and utilizes these intelligent, gentle creatures.

Starting with Star Trek: The Next Generation, whales and dolphins have been important members of Starfleet, assisting with navigation on starships.

Why Star Trek Has Loved Whales For 40 Years

The famous humpback whale storyline in Star Trek began with Leonard Nimoy. He was inspired by a book about the possible extinction of these whales and used that idea as the basis for Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, which he both directed and created the story for.

On Star Trek: The Next Generation, the USS Enterprise-D had a Cetacean Ops department housing whales and dolphins. While these intelligent creatures were mentioned, they weren’t often visually depicted, probably because of budget constraints common for television shows in the 1990s.

In the animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks, the Beluga whales on the USS Cerritos aren’t just animals—they’re officially Starfleet Officers! Kimolu and Matt, who work in Cetacean Ops, are two of these intelligent whales and have repeatedly saved the ship and its crew.

The animated series Star Trek: Prodigy featured a new character named Gillian, a humpback whale. This character was named in honor of Dr. Gillian Taylor, a whale biologist who appeared in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Gillian was a descendant of the whales, George and Gracie, from Star Trek IV, and worked in the Cetacean Ops division on the USS Voyager-A.

The video game Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is now affectionately known as “The One with the Whales” because it features humpback whales. This continues a beloved tradition started by Leonard Nimoy and seen throughout Star Trek for over forty years.

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2026-01-19 18:28