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The first season of a TV show is a tricky thing. It has to convince people to watch it and justify the shows existence to the network (or streaming service) execs. It has to deal with actors and writers who may not have fully dialed into the characters and world yet. There are some shows with absolutely stellar first seasons Stranger Things, Veronica Mars and Ted Lasso are a few but many other hit shows stumbled out of the gate, like The Office and Supernatural.Star Trek is not immune to this phenomenon. The Original Series had a decent first season, with classic episodes like The City on the Edge of Forever. But the next four shows all have rather weak beginnings, with even fan-favorite The Next Generation stumbling badly with episodes like Code of Honor. That show picked up in season three, beginning a trend called Growing the Beard, in reference to how Commander Rikers new beard coincided with the uptick in quality.This trend unfortunately continued into the current era, with 2017s Star Trek: Discovery delivering a first season with an overwhelmingly dour tone and a lot of franchise changes that didnt sit well with fans. The show made some tweaks in season two (including a change in setting that involved traveling 900 years into the future), and showed a lot of improvement with season three. Picard also floundered horribly, with an uneven first season that killed off some fan-favorite characters and also turned the title character into an android. Things started looking up after that, with shows like Strange New Worlds all posting strong outings with their first go-arounds. While episodes like A Quality of Mercy and Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach may not make the list of all-time classics, there are no outright stinkers. It seemed like the franchise as a whole was finally finding its footing in this new streaming era.L-R: Tatiana Maslany as Anisha, Sandro Rosta as Caleb, Kerrice Brooks as SAM, Bella Shepard as Genesis, and George Hawkins as Darem in season 1, episode 9, of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy streaming on Paramount+.Michael Gibson/Paramount+That leads us to Starfleet Academy, which debuted in January on Paramount+. Prior to its premiere, the internet was full of people deriding it as CW Trek and declaring that they dont want to watch a show about teenyboppers that wasnt real Star Trek. Now that the show has finished its first season the internet is still full of people complaining. But many folks who were wary of it at the beginning have been pleasantly surprised every day there seems to be multiple posts on various Star Trek subreddits along the lines of Starfleet Academy is actually good?!? I personally didnt enjoy the first episode, but episode two turned me around rather quickly, and it seemed that every week brought new converts.Granted, 10 episodes is a short amount of time to make an impact, but Starfleet Academy did a lot with that number. Four of the episodes are dedicated to the ongoing villainy of Nus Braka, a murderous pirate played with scene-chewing delight by Paul Giamatti. These have all been pretty straightforward adventure stories, which also did a good job of fleshing out not only Braka, but cadet Caleb Mir, whose mother went to prison because of Braka.The emphasis on Caleb in the first episode made it seem like the show would focus on him, much in the way Discovery focused on Michael Burnham, but he took a back seat as the show explored the other characters as well as its setting. Episode two, Beta Test, focused on diplomacy, a long-standing theme of Star Trek, and even shook up the status quo by moving the Federation headquarters from Earth to Betazed. Paul Giamatti as Nus Braka and Holly Hunter as Captain Nahla Ake in season 1, episode 6, of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy streaming on Paramount+.Brooke Palmer/Paramount+Episodes four and five were more personal stories, with Vox in Excelso focusing on soft boy Klingon character Jay-Den as well as the fate of his race in general after hundreds of years, while Series Acclimation Mil also gave us characterization of photonic being Sam along with some heartfelt fan service for the Deep Space Nine fandom. Sam would also shine once more in The Life of the Stars, an episode that dealt with trauma, but also (again) delivered fan service in a way that didnt feel like pandering because of how it was used to develop not just Sam, but also the Doctor, a legacy character from Voyager.Its not that every episode in season one of Starfleet Academy is a masterpiece Vitus Reflux and KoZeine are somewhat weak but none of them are outright bad, making the batting average of the season rather high. That bodes well for word-of-mouth, as it's easier to recommend a show when you don't have to couch it with excuses about how it gets good eventually.It will need that word-of-mouth if it wants to get through a complete four seasons of schooling; season two just finished filming so we're guaranteed at least that, but there's a lot up in the air for not just the show, but the entire franchise. Strange New Worlds season four will debut later this year, and then we have an abbreviated season five to look forward to. But past that, nothing firm is on the horizon: Starfleet Academy hasn't been renewed yet, and projects like the Tawny Newsome-helmed comedy show are still in development with nothing tangible revealed yet. Newsome played Beckett Mariner on Lower Decks and worked in the writers room for Starfleet Academy she's an example of how Paramount has been building up a roster of talent behind the scenes for the franchise who, even when a show is new, understand the universe and, more importantly, how to work together to make good TV. And that's going to be important in the next year or so, as Paramount makes decisions about the future of the franchise in the shadow of the recent Skydance merger and the upcoming Warner Bros. purchase. StarTrek has an uphill battle ahead of it, but at least Starfleet Academys first season has made it an easier climb.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/starfleet-academy-is-the-best-first-season-of-as-star-trek-show-ever-133000267.html?src=rss
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Google has announced that GFiber is merging with Astound Broadband, in an agreement that sees Astounds parent company Stonepeak become the majority owner, with Alphabet retaining a minority stake. No financial specifics were detailed in a press release, but the new combined business will be an independent provider led by GFibers executive team, who Google says will use its "expertise in high-speed fiber innovation to manage the combined network footprint." Astound already serves over one million customers across the US, and by joining forces Google says the two providers will be able to grant better internet access to more communities. GFiber, formerly known as Google Fiber, has been around for nearly 15 years, and currently offers speeds of up to 8Gbps on its $150/month Edge 8 Gig plan. A 20 Gig service was expected to leave early access later in 2026. The fiber broadband service is part of Alphabets "Other Bets" portfolio, which also includes Waymo, Verily, and Wing, a combined segment that recorded an operating loss of $16.8 billion in 2025, CNBC reports. The companys deal with Stonepeak is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in Q4 of this year.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/googles-gfiber-internet-business-is-merging-with-astound-broadband-132832086.html?src=rss
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In recent weeks, Google has been busy adding AI features to all of its most popular apps. Following Gmail and Chrome, Maps is now the latest service to get a Gemini makeover, with a redesign of the driving experience headlining the update. Google is billing the new "Immersive Navigation" mode as the most significant update to driving directions in Maps in about a decade. Now instead of displaying a 2D map of the area around your car, Maps will render the surroundings in 3D. Google believes this transformation will make it easier for drivers to orient themselves, with the new view giving greater depth to nearby landmarks like buildings and overpasses. Behind the scenes, the company's Gemini models power the experience, deciding how to render elements to remove distractions. Pulling information from Google's Street View database and aerial photos, Google says its models are also smart enough to know when to highlight road elements like crosswalks, traffic lights and stop signs to ensure you don't miss an off ramp or important turn. At the same time, Google has made the voice guidance in Maps sound more natural. For instance, when you're driving along the highway, looking for where you need to get off, the voice assistant will say something along the lines of "go past this exit and take the next one." I imagine this will be especially helpful when driving in a foreign country with unfamiliar road names. The new intelligence Google has built into the redesigned navigation experience extends to alternative routes. Now, when the app suggests taking a different way of getting somewhere, it will detail the associated tradeoffs with that route. For example, it might tell you it might take longer to travel but you'll encounter less traffic along the way. Before you start your journey, Maps will now also provide a Street View preview of your destination and recommend where to park. This being a new release in Google's self-proclaimed Gemini era, the company has naturally found a way to add its chatbot to Maps. Inside the app, you'll find a new icon labelled Ask Maps. Tap the icon, write a natural language prompt and Gemini will use all the information contained within Maps to craft a response. Google is pitching the feature as a way to get information no traditional map can provide. For example, you could ask Gemini to find you a place where you can charge your phone and grab a cup of coffee, all without having to wait a long time in line. Google suggests finding the answer to a specific question like that would have previously required sifting through countless reviews. Not so anymore. The results Gemini produces through Ask Maps will contain personalized results based on places you searched for and saved in the past. You can also act on any recommendations Gemini surfaces, making it easy to book restaurants, save locations and more.Google is starting to roll out the new immersive driving experience today in the US, with availability to expand over the coming months to Android and iOS devices, as well as CarPlay, Android Auto and cars with Google built-in. Ask Maps, meanwhile, is rolling out to Android and iOS devices in the US and India, with desktop support coming soon.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/google-maps-brings-a-3d-map-to-your-driving-directions-123000843.html?src=rss
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