Star Trek: Starfleet Academy premiered this month on Paramount Plus, drawing fire for a bridge crew scene where Holly Hunter’s captain shares one pair of specs among officers.
William Shatner jumped on the clip shared by Stephen Miller, the White House policy chief, who called the franchise tragic and urged bosses to reconcile with him for total control.
At 95, Shatner posted he agreed, blasting writers for not curing nearsightedness by the 32nd century and skimping on eyewear budgets for future fleets.
This jab landed amid broader gripes. Miller reposted from End Wokeness accounts mocking the diverse cast, from Gina Yashere to Lura Thok, as parody bait. Shatner kept it light, questioning if specs get passed like hot potatoes during warp jumps, then capped with I am ready to assume command.
Call me. Fans split fast, some cheering his Kirk-era sass, others rolling eyes at old-guard nitpicks on a show set centuries ahead.
Shatner’s history adds punch. He helmed the Original Series as James T. Kirk from 1966, beaming into films through 1994’s Generations, where Kirk bit it on a Veridian bridge.
Recent cameos like 2023’s Picard finale kept him tethered, but he has skipped most modern spins like Discovery. His post acknowledged Miller’s plea without entering political debate, staying true to his apolitical X bio while subtly poking at production corners.
Viewership holds steady despite noise. The Academy sits at 87 percent critic approval on Rotten Tomatoes against a 43 percent audience score, praising ambitions even if execution wobbles. Shatner’s reach amplified the chatter, his 1.2 million followers driving clip views past 5 million overnight.
Fan Wars Reignite Over Trek Soul
Critics target modern Trek for straying from Gene Roddenberry’s blueprint. Original fans lament Discovery’s dark tones or Strange New Worlds’ tweaks, claiming too much politics over phaser fun.
Miller’s call echoed right-wing voices slamming the Academy’s inclusive crew as forced, ignoring Kirk’s own bold steps like TV’s first interracial kiss in 1968. Shatner sidestepped that, zeroing in on props as an easy fix.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy (Credit: Paramount+)
Shatner pushes back often. In past chats, he called recent Trek too grim, missing the optimism that sold space brotherhood. Yet he praised Picard’s nod, flying in real space at 90 with Blue Origin. This time, his sarcasm matched Miller’s without full buy-in, joking on Starfleet skimping basics like laser eye surgery in utopia.
Fan divides run deep. Reddit threads hit 10k upvotes debating his comeback, some begging Kirk hologram cameos, others fearing dated takes clash with 32nd-century vibes.
The Academy follows Discovery’s burnout, training fresh cadets post-cataclysm, with Hunter leading Paul Giamatti’s shady instructor. Backlash mixes real props’ gripes with culture war shots, as one actress countered that Trek always pushed boundaries.
Shatner’s style wins laughs. His X quips, from space rants to horse tales, rack up likes across aisles. Miller doubled down post-tweet, insisting Paramount blew it but can fix via Shatner reins. No studio reply yet, but buzz spiked subs by 12 percent week over premiere.
Takeover Talk Tempts at 95
Shatner stays active, touring with music shows and docuseries, proving age is no barrier. Fans pitch him scripting Academy fixes or captaining a legacy ship, tying Original grit to new eras. He’s ready to command line-fueled petitions topping 50k signatures for creative input, dreaming Kirk variants in holodecks.
Paramount eyes a goldmine. Trek machine churns Strange New Worlds Season 3 mid-2026, Section 31 film soon, and animated kids’ fare. Original cast pulls boomers, but new shows snag Gen Z via TikTok edits. Shatner’s cameo could bridge, like his Picard magic, that boosted streams 40 percent.
Past snubs sting. JJ Abrams skipped him for the 2009 reboot, citing timeline splits, while Discovery nods stayed voice-only. Shatner voiced gripes on the rushed Picard arc, wanting a meatier Kirk sendoff. Miller’s plea taps that, painting him as a savior from perceived flops, though box office bucks from Kelvin films say otherwise.
Future odds tilt fun. Shatner joked about assuming command but made no deals. The Academy’s mixed start, per Hollywood Reporter, calling it charming yet shaky, leaves room for tweaks. Miller cheered his reply, pushing do it now. At 95, Shatner logs gym time and flights, hinting at energy for guest helm.
Business hums regardless. Paramount Global stock ticked up 2 percent on Trek hype, with Academy topping streamer charts in its first week. Shatner’s shadow looms large, his Kirk defining bold exploration. Fans hold their breath if a call comes, blending legend pull with fresh phasers for a divided galaxy.
Beast Games Season 2 Episode 2 wasted no time picking up from the masked reveals, thrusting 100 players into MrBeast’s circle of doom under Beast City’s glaring lights. Stakes soared with a $1 million cash-out offer, dwarfing Episode 1’s $100K tease and forcing split-second calls on walking away rich or risking it for the $5 million pot.
Ten contestants bit, snatching briefcases and selecting replacements from Season 1 standouts like Deano, who rejected millions before, Twana Barnett, JC, villain Karim, and Akira the Assassin. These OGs flooded both Smarts and Strongs teams, instantly rewriting alliances before challenges even started.
Choices rippled fast. One quitter handed cash to Deano, banking on his prior near-win, while Nate picked Season 1 champ Jeff Allen out of respect for his clean play. No team knew exact counts until MrBeast called time, leaving Smarts and Strongs guessing at strengths amid the chaos.
Esports.gg recaps confirm the math: ten outs balanced by ten vets kept numbers at 100, but familiarity bred tension as newbies eyed proven killers. Fans on Reddit hailed the human drama, with Nika and Jim’s budding romance surviving the shuffle despite side glances from rivals.
MrBeast’s clock tower ticked mercilessly overhead, warping time perception in the arena’s white void that morphed into game zones. This setup echoed his YouTube empire’s escalation, where Season 1’s record-breaking views now fueled Prime Video’s streaming push.
Dailymotion clips captured gasps as masks fell, players whispering strategies while cash gleamed. Critics like those in Times of India later panned random pivots, but this bribe phase stuck to player agency, hooking viewers on raw decisions.
Dodgeballs and Bluffs Expose Cracks
Action exploded with “Balls,” a dodgeball frenzy where a shifting red floor line forced constant repositions. Eighteen players hurled foam balls in 10-second bursts, targeting foes while dodging the creeping line that swallowed stragglers.
Akira dodged hits until Avery’s perfect throw sent him packing, sparking alliance gripes as Patrick fumed over a near-miss. Only nine advanced, proving aim trumped muscle when lines redrew targets mid-throw.
Next, “Balance” pitted 18 more against a giant glass heart, guessing weights to stack rocks without tipping the scales. Strongs grabbed heavy stones by mass, Smarts placed precisely for stability, but small-rock panic led to tip-overs. Mia’s precision run highlighted her Season 1 island win, outlasting Sarah in a five-player nail-biter.
Bluff followed with 20 wearing hidden-color discs, tasked with stepping into matching circles by lying about rivals’ shades. Trust won out; no one misled enough, so MrBeast pulled a random box for cuts , axing ten despite his betrayal pleas.
Beast Games Season 2 (Credit: Amazon Prime Video)
YouTube reactions clocked the frustration, MrBeast megaphoning for cuts that players ignored, forcing luck over lies. Decider detailed alliances fraying, like Emily’s targeting in Balls’ drawing, cross-team fire before Akira flipped it. Review Geek noted the pivot’s chaos, with brutal keeping pace as numbers dropped.
Personal angles grounded it: Jeff recommitted to son Lucas’s treatments, while new pairs like Nika-Jim navigated cuts together. Wikipedia pins the January 7 drop, tying Episode 2 to the three-episode drop strategy.
Tower Climax Cuts to 70
Captains Johnny for Smarts and Cory for Strongs picked tower squads from 40 survivors. Johnny loaded vets like Uncle Deano for brainpower, Cory muscled up with Mitch, the endless-stamina bodybuilder.
Teams hauled giant blocks across sand to stack 50-foot towers, one climber harnessed at a time, racing to green flags amid wobbles. MrBeast hovered in a scissor lift, calling it among his toughest with $5 million dangling.
Towers climbed neck-and-neck, Smarts calculating jumps, Strongs powering height. Johnny perched steadily, Cory’s bulk risked tips but gained ground.
Cliffhanger struck with flags inches away, 70 players left watching climbers teeter. Esports.gg teases the Top 50 battle spilling over, blocks fed one-by-one spelling team dooms. Reddit dissected Mitch’s boasts versus Deano’s calm, and fans split on brains-over-brawn odds.
Romance subplot endured, Nika and Jim pairing smartly in circles to dodge early axes. Backlash hit random bluffs as “bankrupt,” per Times of India, yet tower stakes drowned complaints.
Decider captures the unease of cash versus bonds, OGs like Karim reviving Season 1 beefs. Prime’s format blends YouTube virality with TV polish, pulling MrBeast’s billion TV hours into reality TV’s future.
Player honor shone, from alliance holds to precise stacks. YouTube full reactions praise escalating peril, 70 primed for Episode 3 bribes. Social clips of Emily hits, and Mia wins, trended, theories flying on the captains’ leaps.
Review sites affirm the spectacle, trust clashes amplifying hype. As towers swayed, Beast Games locked in as must-watch, MrBeast redefining competition with heart and havoc.
