Summary
- Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, set in the 32nd century, will feature a massive set for the main Academy building in San Francisco.
- Boothby, the wise groundskeeper from Star Trek: The Next Generation, left a lasting impression on characters like Picard and Janeway.
- Starfleet Academy in the 32nd century may not have a traditional groundskeeper, but a character like Boothby could still help shape cadets.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy should have a helpful groundskeeper like Boothby (Ray Walston) from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Although not much has been revealed about the upcoming Starfleet Academy series, it has been confirmed that the series will be set in the 32nd century as a direct spin-off of Star Trek: Discovery. Star Trek's newest show will reportedly feature a massive set for the main Academy building, which will be located in San Francisco just like the original Starfleet Academy campus.
Previous Star Trek shows have only shown glimpses of Starfleet Academy, such as in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 5, episode 19, "The First Duty" when Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) visits after Cadet Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) is in a training accident. While there, Picard catches up with the Academy's head groundskeeper, Boothby, who once offered advice to a younger Jean-Luc. Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and Commander Chakotay (Robert Beltran) had also crossed paths with Boothby while at the Academy. Although Boothby only appeared in one episode of TNG and two of Star Trek: Voyager (as a duplicate or in a vision), he left quite a lasting impression.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will be the first Star Trek television series set at Starfleet Academy, as well as the first show geared toward a young adult audience.
Who Was Boothby In Star Trek: The Next Generation?
"He's the groundskeeper. One of the wisest men I ever knew."
As Starfleet Academy's groundskeeper, Boothby was always around on campus, ready to offer advice to any young Starfleet cadets who needed it. Even after becoming Captain of the USS Enterprise-D, Picard still considered Boothby to be "one of the wisest men [he] ever knew." With this high praise, Picard told Wesley Crusher to seek out the groundskeeper upon arriving at Starfleet Academy. Although there were likely more efficient ways to tend to Starfleet Academy's grounds during the 24th century, Boothby preferred to do his work by hand. Boothby may have been cranky on occasion, but he clearly cared about the cadets and often followed their careers.
When Picard approached Boothby in TNG's "The First Duty," he wanted to thank the groundskeeper for helping him graduate, but Boothby said that watching Picard's soaring career had been thanks enough. Much like Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg) on the USS Enterprise-D, Boothby may not have officially been a counselor, but he had the ability to help people see their problems from a new perspective. While aboard the USS Voyager in the Delta Quadrant, Chakotay recreated a hologram of Boothby to serve as his boxing coach, and he later saw the groundskeeper in a vision quest. While the young Janeway was at the Academy, Boothby regularly brought her fresh roses.
Will Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Get Its Own Boothby?
Could Boothby's descendants have followed in their ancestor's footsteps?
The Starfleet Academy of the 32nd century has only recently been reopened after the devastation caused by the Burn, so it will likely be very different from the Academy shown in past series. Not only has the technology advanced significantly since the 24th century, but Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets are both still in the process of rebuilding. While there is likely no need for a human (or alien) groundskeeper to maintain the Academy's grounds, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy should still have a character like Boothby. Starfleet needs intelligent, talented officers more than ever, and a character like Boothby could help shape history-making Starfleet cadets.
Whether one of Boothby's descendants has continued the family business or an android was created to fulfill a similar purpose, a groundskeeper is the perfect position for a wise advice-giver. Starfleet Academy is likely one of the most difficult periods for many young cadets, as they struggle to figure out how they want to spend the rest of their lives. Many of them will need someone like Boothby to help them through their Academy years. In only a few scenes, Starfleet Academy's groundskeeper became a memorable and fully realized character, and Star Trek: Starfleet Academy should definitely get its own Boothby.
