Posted in: Paramount+, TV | Tagged: star trek, Starfleet Academy

Starfleet Academy EP Kurtzman on Sisko Tribute in DS9-Themed Episode

Starfleet Academy showrunner Alex Kurtzman spoke with us about Episode 5 paying tribute to Deep Space Nine's Avery Brooks/Benjamin Sisko.

Any time there's a new Star Trek project, creatives always look forward to showing fans how they can build on the massive 60-year foundation of the Gene Roddenberry franchise, but there are times when they have an eye back to the past, and they try to honor it the best way they can. During the Paramount+ era of content, some shows and films received more attention than others. In the big picture in recent years, it seems like shows like Deep Space Nine and Enterprise don't get as much attention as they should on the live-action front. While we did see the animated returns of certain DS9 and Enterprise favorites on Lower Decks, like DS9's Nana Visitor (Kira), Armin Shimerman (Quark), Chase Masterson (Leeta), Max Grodénchik (Rom), Alexander Siddig (Bashir), Andrew Robinson (Garek), and Enterprise's Jolene Blalock (T-Pol).

At the very least, creator Gaia Violo, and showrunners Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau looked to fulfill that in regards to DS9 in the latest Star Trek: Starfleet Academy episode "Series Acclimation Mil," which focuses on the episode title character Sam, the holographic character played by Kerrice Brooks as she goes on a journey of self-discovery and learns the value of forging a path that takes her to Capt. Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks). Kurtzman spoke to Bleeding Cool about how the episodes help tie some of those major loose ends from the DS9 finale "What You Leave Behind," making sense of Sisko's journey as Emissary of the Prophets, paying tribute to Brooks who hasn't appeared on screen since New Line's 15 Mintues (2001) and last reprised his role in a voiceover for the 2006 real time strategy game, Star Trek: Legacy, and the other major series cameo. The following contains spoilers.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy: EP Kurtzman on Brooks, [SPOILER] Return

I love the Deep Space Nine episode. I was wondering, was there a conscious effort to physically bring in Avery [Brooks] for that episode? What was it like working with Cirroc [Lofton] (who played Benjamin Sisko's son Jake), and getting closure for [Benjamin Sisko]?

Yeah, so we did reach out to Avery, and that is actually his voice at the very end, and we wanted to make a love letter not just to Deep Space Nine, but to Avery specifically, which is why we dedicated the episode to him. Cirroc was amazing in coming and reprising his role. Tawny Newsome, who wrote the episode with Kirsten Beyer. I'll let her tell the story when the time comes, but I had a very beautiful interaction with Avery. We got his blessing, but it was just a real labor of love for everybody. Note: Brooks provides an episode-ending voiceover, but doesn't physically appear in the episode.

New episodes of Starfleet Academy stream on Thursdays on Paramount+.

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