Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Honors TNG's Boothby In Fitting Callback

Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Season 1, Episode 2 - "Beta Test"Star Trek: Starfleet Academy's most fitting callback is an homage to the beloved Star Trek: The Next Generation character, Boothby (Ray Walston). Directed by Alex Kurtzman and written by Noga Landau and Jane Maggs, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy episode 2 kicks off the fall semester at the school's San Francisco campus.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy's series premiere saw Captain Nahla Ake (Holly Hunter) bring the USS Athena, the starship that doubles as Starfleet Academy, back to San Francisco. After The Burn, 120 years before, United Earth became isolationist and expelled the United Federation of Planets. Starfleet Academy was shut down after centuries of training cadets in San Francisco.

Starfleet Academy reopening in San Francisco is a bright new day for the first class of Cadets to matriculate on Earth in over a century. Starfleet Academy's new campus is built with countless nods to Starfleet history, but the most proper tribute is outdoors, honoring Mr. Boothby from Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Boothby From Star Trek: The Next Generation Is Starfleet Academy’s Most Fitting Callback

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy episode 2 establishes the Boothby Memorial Park in its San Francisco campus. At the Boothby Park, Commander Lura Thok (Gina Yashere) runs military drills with Starfleet Academy's cadets to make them combat-ready and to compete with their sister academy, the War College.

The groundskeepoer, Mr. Boothby was synonymous with Starfleet Academy during Star Trek: The Next Generation's 24th century era. Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) spoke fondly of Boothby as "the wisest man I've ever known" when he sent Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) to Starfleet Academy in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 4, episode 9, "Final Mission."

A disappointed Captain Picard was counseled by his former mentor, Boothby, in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 5, episode 19, "The First Duty," after Wesley Crusher was embroiled in a cover-up over the accidental death of his classmate. Boothby became the living embodiment of Starfleet Academy when "The First Duty" showed the San Francisco school for the first time.

Variants of Boothby played by Ray Walston also appeared in Star Trek: Voyager. Species 8472 created a Boothby replicant in Star Trek: Voyager season 5, episode 4, "In The Flesh." A hologram of Boothby was part of Commander Chakotay's (Robert Beltran) training simulation in Star Trek: Voyager season 5, episode 9, "The Fight."

Starfleet Academy’s Easter Eggs Show Respect For Star Trek History

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is set in the late 32nd century and honors the previous thousand years of Starfleet history in canon, starting with Star Trek: Enterprise's Hoshi Sato (Linda Park) in the 22nd century. The Sato Atrium in Starfleet Academy's main facility within the USS Athena is named for Enterprise's original linguist and communications officer.

Along with the James T. Kirk Pavilion, and the Uhura Pavilion where Betazed President Emrin Sadal (Anthony Natale) debated Admiral Charles Vance (Oded Fehr), Starfleet Academy has a Wall of Heroes emblazoned with the names of dozens of Starfleet legends. The Wall of Heroes includes numerous Star Trek characters as well as the real-life people who make Star Trek TV shows and movies.

When a Star Trek: The Next Generation fan thinks of Starfleet Academy, however, they think of Boothby. Star Trek: Starfleet Academy knows this, and correctly made sure that the verdant exterior of Starfleet Academy is named for the wise groundskeeper who kept the campus pristine 800 years before.