Entertainment
Star Trek Has Updated The Worst Writing Trope In The Stupidest Possible Way
By Chris Snellgrove
| Updated
Decades ago, comic writing legend Gail Simone coined the term “women in refrigerators”, (better known as “fridging,”), which describes writers killing female characters in gruesome ways just to motivate male protagonists. Star Trek started doing its own, more inclusive spin on this trope in Star Trek (2009), and the practice is alive and well in shows like Picard and Starfleet Academy. Instead of killing off a single character, though, this venerable sci-fi franchise keeps destroying entire planets in order to give its characters the most basic motivation.
In the 2009 Star Trek reboot, Romulus is endangered by a supernova, so Ambassador Spock embarks on a crazy plan to save the planet using red matter. He fails, and the subsequent red matter reaction sends both him and a Romulan named Nero over half a century into the past. There, Nero becomes enraged by the death of his planet and his family; blaming the older Spock, he decides to go “eye for an eye,” using red matter to destroy the planet Vulcan.
In Space, No One Can Hear You Cry
This leads to some fairly exciting action scenes as the Enterprise crew tries (and fails) to save Vulcan. Arguably, though, the primary reason for having Nero destroy this iconic Star Trek planet is to have Spock lose his mother. Star Trek (2009) was all about making Spock an angry emo kid, and killing off his mother helped contextualize both his rash decisions about young James T. Kirk (he literally ejected him out of the ship!) and his later desire to kill Nero rather than resolve things diplomatically.
Years later, the spinoff Star Trek: Picard returned to the plot beat of Romulus getting destroyed, revealing that Picard left the Enterprise-E to command an armada of ships whose mission was to save as many Romulans as possible before the planet’s destruction. Unfortunately, that armada is wiped out by a rogue group of synthetic lifeforms, and Starfleet subsequently abandons its rescue efforts. This causes Picard to retire, ending a lifetime of service in utter disgust at Starfleet abandoning the very principles upon which it was founded.
Even Picard Gets Riled Up
For The Next Generation fans, it was fun to see Picard flesh out how the destruction of Romulus affected the rest of the galaxy, but the primary reason the writers returned to this plot point was to explain how and why Picard went from celebrated Starfleet celebrity to disgruntled old fart wasting away on his vineyard. Like Kelvinverse Spock before him, Picard now had a tragic back story that explained why he might be more emotional than usual (which is presumably why he later lets his Romulan sidekick just behead anyone who gets in their way).
Most recently, Starfleet Academy introduced the shocking plot point that the Klingon homeworld of Qo’noS had been destroyed by the Burn. That homeworld and all the worlds of the empire were apparently powered by dilithium reactors. After the Burn (a galactic event that rendered all dilithium crystals inert and blew up any ship with an active warp drive), the Empire that once nearly destroyed Starfleet was reduced to about 50 ships and eight family houses.
It’s Getting Hot In Here
While Starfleet Academy may do something cool with this plot development (hey, stranger things have happened), it really seems like the writers destroyed Qo’noS just to give extra motivation to Jay-Den, the show’s Klingon cadet. As a pacifist, wannabe doctor Klingon with a combo of Daddy and abandonment issues, this guy already has a lot going on. However, the show’s writers decided to also make him one of only a relative handful of Klingons trying to keep their millennia-old culture alive despite only a fraction of his people surviving the Burn.
Watching that Starfleet Academy episode, it hit me with all the force of a bat’leth blow: for Star Trek, blowing up entire planets is the new fridging. Back in the ‘90s, writers were content to motivate characters like Green Lantern by simply killing their girlfriends in the most edgelord way possible (and stuffing their bodies in the fridge, no less). Now, these modern-day sci-fi writers feel the need to destroy entire planets and snuff out billions of lives just to explain complex plot points like “why is Spock sad?” and “why is Picard sad?” and ‘why is Jay-Den sad?”
Obviously, there’s nothing wrong with blowing up an entire planet if it really suits the story; Star Wars, for example, had the Empire blow up Alderaan to demonstrate how evil they really were. But since 2009, Star Trek has gone to utterly excessive lengths to motivate its chief characters in the stupidest possible ways. Like, be honest for a minute: would you have found Spock any less compelling if his mommy didn’t die in an extinction event, or Picard any less engaging if his reputation didn’t die along with Romulus?
This Repetitive Plot Is Without Honor
The blunt truth is that this is just lazy writing by Star Trek creative teams who don’t know how to motivate characters without giving them tragic backstories with body counts in the billions. It was already tired when they did it in the first Star Trek reboot film, and it was completely played out when they used it to explain why Picard was now so cranky and boring. Starfleet Academy has returned to this well for a third time, and to nobody’s real shock, the well is completely dry.
Gail Simone was right all those years ago when she called out fridging, and her general thesis was solid: namely, that writers need to find better ways to motivate characters than by killing the ones they care about. Instead, Paramount has continually upped the fridging ante by destroying entire planets because their creators can’t figure out any other way to give characters depth or emotional growth. Now, it’s well past time for the Star Trek writers to boldly go where they arguably haven’t gone in decades: to original stories featuring dynamic, properly-written characters with grounded motivations.
Should that prove impossible, what should the Star Trek writers actually do? They should blow up our own planet, which would be far, far more merciful than making us sit through this predictably awful franchise plot point for the umpteenth time. Plus, the destruction of the entire Earth might finally give us the motivation to do what we should have done long ago: unsubscribe from Paramount+ before we are finally claimed by the void.
Entertainment
Starfleet Academy's Star Trek: DS9 Tribute Was An Insult To Avery Brooks, Violated His Wishes
By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
Starfleet Academy recently aired an episode (“Series Acclimation Mil”) dedicated to Deep Space Nine, one that sought to definitively explain what happened to Captain Benjamin Sisko. The episode served shockingly well as a tribute to this iconic Trek show and Avery Brooks, the legendary performer who originally brought Sisko to life. However, what most fans don’t realize is that a major plot point of this episode goes against the wishes Brooks explicitly expressed over 30 years ago.
In the Deep Space Nine series finale, Sisko tackles Gul Dukat, sending both of them on a lethal fall into Bajor’s Fire Caves; however, Sisko is saved from death by the Prophets, who bring him to live with them inside the wormhole. The show was originally going to leave it completely ambiguous as to whether Sisko would ever return, but at Avery Brooks’ insistence, the writers added Sisko promising that he would eventually come back. Starfleet Academy (beware spoilers, cadets!) confirmed that Sisko never returned, though, meaning that the episode dedicated to Brooks’ character just completely ignored his final request for Sisko.
From Man To Prophet
Some important context: towards the end of Deep Space Nine, Captain Sisko had married Kasidy Yates, and they conceived a child shortly before his final mission. Originally, the writers of the DS9 episode “What You Leave Behind” wanted to make it clear that Sisko would become a full-time Prophet in the wormhole and that he would never get to see his family ever again. This was meant to pay off a previous warning from his Prophet mother that if Sisko were to marry Yates, he “would know nothing but sorrow.”
Accordingly, they shot a final scene with Sisko and Yates where he told her he would never return; however, Avery Brooks soon told Deep Space Nine showrunner Ira Steven Behr that he didn’t like the scene because he didn’t like his character being a Black man who leaves his pregnant Black wife to raise their child alone, feeling like this had negative cultural connotations.
At Brooks’ request, the writers gave Sisko an iconic response to his wife asking when he would return: “It’s hard to say. Maybe a year, maybe yesterday. But I will be back.” To this, a faithful Kasidy Yates gave her hopeful response: “And I will be waiting.”
The Mystery Of Sisko’s Fate
While Deep Space Nine was set in the 24th century, Starfleet Academy (itself a Discovery spinoff) takes place in the 32nd century. When the holographic cadet SAM investigates the mystery of Sisko’s disappearance, she verifies that, according to Starfleet records, Sisko never actually returned at any point in the last 800 years. Eventually, she even talks to Jake Sisko (who may be an interactive hologram, a visiting Prophet, or something else altogether), and he confirms that while his father was metaphorically “always there,” Sisko never returned in a corporeal form.
In this way, Starfleet Academy ultimately ignored Avery Brooks’ final wishes concerning his character. The writers retroactively confirmed that Sisko did, indeed, leave his son, his wife, and his unborn child behind forever to become a full-time Prophet. Admittedly, the writers didn’t have much of a choice (Brooks is fully retired from acting and has zero interest in returning to Trek), but it’s notably weird that the episode intended to honor Sisko as a character was built on dishonoring the wishes of his actor.
Did Jake Sisko Keep Lying For 800 Years?
Of course, the truth might not be that cut and dry: there’s a chance that Sisko really did return and Starfleet never found out about it. Unless he or Kasidy Yates told somebody, how would anybody actually know? The Prophets could theoretically return him with an entirely new face, allowing him to walk around Bajor and around the entire galaxy without being recognized.
If this happened, then Jake likely knew about it and chose not to reveal the truth to anyone. This includes SAM, which might be why (despite their rapport) he seems cagey about discussing anything tangible about his father, a man who “never really left us.” This is couched as a metaphor, but what if Sisko really did return to his family and never left again?
It’s fitting, somehow, that Star Trek fans must decide for themselves what happened to Benjamin Sisko: did he remain a Prophet forever or secretly return to his family as promised? What you believe happened to this iconic character is ultimately a matter of personal faith. What could be more fitting for a Star Trek character who became the immortal savior of an entire alien race?
Entertainment
Best Super Bowl movie trailers: See the best trailers of 2026
The Super Bowl isn’t just about touchdowns — it’s also Hollywood’s most expensive movie night.
As millions tune in for Super Bowl 2026, studios seize the moment to unveil new trailers, betting that nothing sells a blockbuster quite like debuting it in the middle of America’s biggest TV event.
So, what can we expect during this year’s Big Game? Movie fans are in for a stacked lineup of first looks and TV spots. According to Variety, Disney is putting all its weight behind The Mandalorian and Grogu, which already has a teaser in theaters now and is slated to bring Star Wars back to the Super Bowl stage once again.
Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day and animated tentpoles like The Super Mario Galaxy Movie and Minions 3 are all reported to have new footage during the broadcast.
Horror fans should be on the lookout for Scream 7, and it appears Lionsgate has spent on a pre-game ad spot for the Michael Jackson biopic, Michael. Beyond these, rumors are swirling about other potential Super Bowl weekend appearances by Pixar films Toy Story 5 and Hoppers, though nothing is yet guaranteed.
Yoshi faces off against a T. rex in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie
All Super Mario fans know that Yoshi is small but mighty. Case in point: the latest TV spot for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, which features Yoshi going toe to toe with a giant T. rex.
It’s the Minions vs. a very bad bunny in Minions & Monsters
Gen Z’s favorite little freaks (aka the Minions) are back to cause even more chaos in Minions & Monsters. This time: They’re summoning monsters because why not! There’s a cute little green guy, a scary-looking blue guy, and one very bad bunny (not to be confused with the Bad Bunny). Oh, and there’s a Blackpink needle drop! How you like that?
Mashable Top Stories
Brad Pitt is Cliff Booth…again!
Did the world need a sequel to Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood? No, not really. But are we getting one anyway? Absolutely. Brad Pitt reprises his standout role as Hollywood stuntman Cliff Booth in Netflix’s The Adventures of Cliff Booth, coming to the streamer sometime soon. It looks like it’s going to be a wild ride.
Let The Mandalorian and Grogu show you the way
Baby Yoda Grogu is back, and he’s on the big screen. The Mandalorian and Grogu is set to release in theaters over Memorial Day Weekend, on May 22.
‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ trailer: Pedro Pascal and Baby Yoda head for high-stakes space adventure
Steven Spielberg returns to original sci-fi with Disclosure Day
Steven Spielberg returns with the original sci-fi event film, Disclosure Day, which imagines a world on the verge of undeniable proof that humans are not alone in the universe — and the fear that comes with it.
Ghostface is back in Scream 7
Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) thought she’d finally escaped her past, but when a new Ghostface killer strikes her quiet town and targets her daughter (Isabel May), the nightmare begins again. In Scream 7, Sidney is pulled back into the horror she knows all too well.
Will she end the bloodshed once and for all? We’ll have to find out when the film hits theaters later this month.
Supergirl reveals Krypto as a puppy and also Krypton
DC has cleverly prepped a Krypto-forward Supergirl trailer to air during the Puppy Bowl. You also get a glimpse at Krypton, but we know what you’re all here for.
Project Hail Mary gets a final look
Project Hail Mary, a Ryan Gosling-led sci-fi movie based on a 2021 best-selling novel, dropped an extended trailer. In the preview, we see Gosling’s Ryland Grace bonding with a rocky-looking Alien (named Rocky) as they attempt to save their respective worlds.
We’ll be updating this with all of the latest trailers, so be sure to check back throughout the night.
Topics
Super Bowl
Trailers
Entertainment
Super Bowl 2026 Gatorade shower color: What it was and why people want to know
The Super Bowl is built on tradition. Cracking open a beer, demolishing a plate of wings with friends, filling out Super Bowl Squares, and at this point, betting on the color of the Gatorade shower.
Thanks to the widespread legalization of sports betting and the explosion of prop bets in the U.S., you can now wager on just about anything. Over the past few years, one of the strangest traditions to become fully normalized is betting on the postgame Gatorade dunk, when the winning team douses its head coach in the fluorescent sports drink.
You can currently place wagers on events far more serious than a locker-room celebration, including ongoing global conflicts. Against that backdrop, guessing the color of a sugary sports drink feels almost quaint. Last year, the winning color was yellow at +250 odds, even though purple was the favorite at +175, according to DraftKings via the New York Post.
Mashable Trend Report
Odds vary depending on where you place your bet. On Polymarket, blue currently has the most money behind it, while over at BetMGM, orange is favored at +225, with yellow, green/lime, and blue all trailing closely behind at +260.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
The winner is a back-to-back champ
Sorry, blue bettors, but for the second year in a row, yellow came out on top. The winning Gatorade color once again defied expectations, even though it felt inevitable to anyone closely tracking the odds.
That said, a handful of fans were annoyed by how the result was revealed. Instead of waiting until the final whistle, the broadcast tipped its hand earlier than expected, effectively spoiling the prop bet before the game had officially ended.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Starfleet Academy's Star Trek: DS9 Tribute Was An Insult To Avery Brooks, Violated His Wishes
Kawhi Leonard racks up 41 to lead Clippers to runaway win over Wolves
