January is already promising to be a huge month for film and television, with movies like Primate, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, and The Rip dropping into theaters. But it’s feeling especially promising for sci-fi and fantasy fans, with two of the biggest fandoms of all time both debuting their newest offerings in the same week.
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Next week, not one but two big fandom-name shows drop; we have Star Trek: Starfleet Academy debuting on January 15th, followed by A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, HBO’s newest step back into the world of A Song of Ice and Fire, coming on January 18th. Both shows have been highly anticipated, and their as-yet-unseen merit has been hotly debated since they were announced, but fans’ patience has finally paid off.
What Can Fans Expect From Each Show?
The official summary of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy reads: “ Starfleet Academy introduces viewers to a young group of cadets who come together to pursue a common dream of hope and optimism. Under the watchful and demanding eyes of their instructors, they discover what it takes to become Starfleet officers as they navigate blossoming friendships, explosive rivalries, first loves, and a new enemy that threatens both the Academy and the Federation itself.” It brings together everything fans know and love about Star Trek, mixing it with the tried and true coming-of-age story. Early critic reviews of the show are more than favorable, with the consensus being that, despite some growing pains, the core theme that Star Trek always brings to the table, which is radical hope and potential, shines through particularly brightly here.
And what about A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms? The official summary for HBO’s newest fantasy offering reads: A century before the events of Game of Thrones, two unlikely heroes wander Westeros. In an adaptation of George R. R. Martin’s novella The Hedge Knight, a young and naive but courageous knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, and his diminutive squire, Egg, face a series of dangerous exploits. Set in an age when the Targaryen line still holds the Iron Throne and images of the last dragon have not yet passed from living memory, great destinies and powerful foes await these improbable and incomparable friends. No early reviews have come in yet, but the consensus amongst fans is that this might be the best A Song of Ice and Fire project that HBO has brought to life yet—and that’s a very hopeful statement, considering the utter disappointment that that final few season of Game of Thrones were, as well as the decidedly insane amount of changes made to turn one portion of Fire & Blood into House of the Dragon.
No matter what, this week promises to spoil fantasy and sci-fi fans. And sometimes, that’s all you can ask for.
Are you excited for either Starfleet Academy or A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms—or possibly both? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. And don’t forget to check out the ComicBook forum to keep the conversation going.
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