Section 31

Friday, Paramount+ released the first of their Star Trek movies, Section 31. In the Star Trek universe, Section 31 is a nefarious group introduced in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine when they tried to recruit Dr. Julian Bashir. Since its first introduction as an autonomous shadow organization tasked with protecting the Federation at all costs, the organization has appeared in Star Trek Into Darkness, Enterprise, and Star Trek: Discovery. The organization has always been portrayed as an evil organization that would stop at nothing to fulfill what it believes its mission to be. Some Star Trek fans hate the idea of Section 31 because they say it goes against Gene Roddenberry’s utopian ideals for Star Trek, but let’s face it, while the Star Trek universe gives us hope for a better future, the Federation has never been a perfect society. Even Gene Roddenberry understood that utopia would have its cracks in its foundation.

Since Michelle Yeoh departed Discovery there had been rumors of a Section 31 series. Then, Yeoh won an Oscar for Everything Everywhere All at Once, I assumed the series development had been cancelled. I did not believe an Academy award winning actress would headline a Star Trek series. So, I was surprised when they announced that Paramount+ would be making what they called an “event movie” about Section 31 starring Michelle Yeoh.

Every new version of Star Trek since the original series has had a love/hate relationship with Trekkies. Many Trekkies hate anything that is not the original series. Even Next Generation which has become a much beloved show was hated when it began. Deep Space Nine was basically hated through its entire seven seasons, Voyager always got a mixed reception, and Enterprise seemed to put a death knell in Star Trek spinoffs when it only lasted five season. Then, Discovery was released on CBS All Access, and the hatred truly began because it introduced an African American female as the lead character, had a gay couple, transgender and non-binary characters, and a host of other perceived faults. There are many Star Trek fans who never understood the social commentary that Roddenberry established in Star Trek back in the 1960s. It was always groundbreaking, but even Star Trek fans are not immune to the racist, the homophobic, and the ignorant, no matter how much those beliefs go against all Roddenberry’s utopian ideals for Star Trek.

So, it’s no surprise to see Section 31 get terrible reviews from some of the fans. Plus, internet trolls are everywhere including among Trekkies. They are going to be critical and hate everything and never give anything new a chance. I won’t claim that I thought Section 31 was a masterpiece. I believed that it would be a good movie because I really didn’t think at this point in her career Yeoh would be part of a project that she didn’t believe would be good. There were certain surprise elements to Section 31 that I enjoyed, but I knew from the beginning that this would be a darker version of the Star Trek universe. All in all, I was entertained by the movie. I always like seeing anything Star Trek. I even gave Prodigy a try, and it’s the only entry in the series that I could not watch. When it was on Paramount+, I watched it, but I never enjoyed it. That might have had to do more with it being a show for kids than with anything else. I certainly was not going to resubscribe to Netflix to watch it.

So while Section 31 was not my favorite of the Star Trek franchise, it wasn’t too bad. I was entertained, and that’s what really matters to me. So, if you are skeptical, I suggest you give it a try. If you have already seen it, what did you think?