Starfleet Academy series

I just figure they'd rarely - if ever -be able to go on away missions.

I don't see why it would "strain credulity" that members of one school would act like pompous jerks to members of another. There have been such interschool rivalries in real life for ages. In the specific context of this show, it was all but explicitly stated that the War College chancellor aided and abetted the prank war by stealing the Calica tryout footage to use it to embarrass the SA students. It's a reasonable inference that Kelrec is in part fomenting the attitude that his students have toward Starfleet Academy, and certainly at a minimum is aware of it and not doing anything to rein it in.

As to explicitly why they are jerks, sure, the episode could have done more to explicitly establish why. But there are about a half-dozen potential reasons why, most of which are again implicit in the episode. The WC people see SA as a novel experiment that is likely to fail and a waste of resources. The WC people are in better physical shape and think of themselves as more all-around more gifted than the ragtag bunch of SA people who are daring to compete at Calica, something inside the WC's wheelhouse and that at least some of the people who made the SA team had literally never played before. The WC people are who saved the Federation through the hard post-Burn years and there's no place for this hippy-dippy nonsense that they are trying to push when there are threats everywhere.
b
Lura was wrong, and admitted as such. By giving the students the inspiration to win the prank war, Ake allowed them to bond and grow. As a plus, she also managed to put Space Slytherin and Space Snape in their place. All while keeping her hands and bare feet clean. If Ake had tried to do what Lura suggested by putting those bare feet down and calling for an end of the prank war, it probably would not have worked, but even if it had the Space Slytherins would remain the smug assholes that they have been. Now they not only are incentivized to be empathetic, but they also are going to remember their ass got beat. It's true that the prank war could reignite at some point, but it seems doubtful with Kelrec's surrender.

I think one of the things I disagree with Trek about is the reductionism that posits that "all members of this race/culture act a given way." While it's convenient for storytelling, it's just not true in real life. Even if the majority of X do Y, there are going to be exceptions to most rules. That's in part why I'm glad that Jay-Den isn't a standard issue Klingon. He may love him some Klingon food, but he does not yearn for battle in the stereotypical way Klingons do, and he cares about honor. But he's a pacifist and a birdwatcher. I bring this up to first say, that there should not be a singular Vulcan way, or at least, it should be expected that the occasional Vulcan would diverge from it. But second and more importantly in the context of this episode, I'm not sure what way this Vulcan diverged from the stereotypical Vulcan traits we have often seen. Because multiple Vulcan with lines have had moments where they are arrogant, condescending, competitive, smart-ass shit-talkers. That "Take Me Out To The Holosuite" worked better because we knew the main characters better or it was a respite (debatable) is irrelevant to the fact that it established that Vulcans can be petty, competitive, narrow-minded, smug just like the Vulcan in this episode. The Vulcans from "Take Me Out To The Holosuite" are but one example. Spock, T'Pol, Sarek, T'Pau all were pretty convinced of the superiority of themselves, their position or of Vulcans in general and were not shy to put someone in their place.

Trek goes even further by incorporating that view into costuming. It makes sense that the crew of an alien ship would all be wearing the same uniform, but how many times have we seen "civilian" aliens on a planet dressed identically, or nearly so?

She did, but all bodies are different. Star Trek honestly has a lot of issues with its medical technology because, by all rights, the transporter is an immortality machine. So I just take these representations as they are in the show, which is "hey, you're disabled? You still exist in the future, you have a place in the future, you're contributing to the future, and contrary to the eugenicism of our current culture, you're not a drag on society, you're a real person with real contributions to make."

Elasian. See DS9 Melora.

I also wondered why, in the prank transport scene, SAM is even IN underwear? She doesn't need to shower after exercise to get clean, or to change clothes without just adjusting her holoimage.

But she MIGHT want to seem to fit in.

Given that she was programmed to reintegrate her species with organics, it makes sense that she would make a point of taking part in all the same experiences as the other cadets, even the ones she doesn't have to. I assume we'll also find that she eats and sleeps.

That does raise the question of what others see when she is taking off her uniform or putting it back on. I assume her body is generated by something like the Doc's mobile emitter, which is always directly "attached" to his body. However, even in the 24th century, larger holographic emitters are capable of projecting holograms at a distance from themselves, so the mobile emitter's limitations may be a function of its size. In the 200 to 300 years since the Doc's mobile emitter was manufactured, have mobile emitters been developed that are capable of projecting objects non-contiguously? In that case, Sam might be able to take her jacket off and set it on a table, or will something into existence that she can then appear to put on, but if she took of her jacket, hung it on a hook and walked away, it might disappear as soon as she went around a corner.

I'm reasonably certain that human brains are hard-wired to pretty much freak the fuck out if you see something with the body of a Barbie doll (no genitals, no nipples, etc.) walking around. I'll never forget in high school when a guy bragged about not having a belly button and we all kinda freaked out when he proved it.

Is this show as bad as I'm hearing?

Episode 5 is when The Sisko returns, I'm guessing.

Who gives a shit?

This. She's not hot, but there's something about her I like and she has a great smile. She's also probably the best actor among the cadets.

Translation: She's nowhere NEAR your league (because she doesn't need a visa) but you like to think you might have a shot.

Less charitable translation: she's a few years older than you prefer.

If Spock was here, he would calculate that I have 0.0134% percent chance with her.

Not appropriate for Media Central.

It's not appropriate anywhere, but he needs to be reminded of that.

Boy, you are just super triggered by women you don't want to fuck being allowed on TV, aren't you?

No, I just find it funny and it's fun pointing just how ridiculously stupid this show is.

Yes, you've said that before about some truly vile shit.
I'm not clicking that fucking video.

As a general rule, I try not to take comedy advice from anybody who still thinks that "I identify as an attack helicopter, where can I refuel" is the height of humor.

Some dumbass: "I identity as an attack helicopter."
Me: "I accept your identity," I say, as I pull out the shoulder mounted surface to air missile launcher from the trunk of my car.

Have you stopped to consider the irony of you, of all people, giving women shit about how they look?
Can't imagine why you couldn't hang onto a wife.

Next one of these gets a warning, there are plenty of ways to call someone out without breaking the MC rules

Taking MC fights to Red Room is what this thread is for.

http://wordforge.net/index.php?threads/progressive-messaging-in-media.123052/

Was just a question, Matt.

Yes.

Thank you.

He didn’t say take it to the RR, he said to knock it off.

Kinda like how you knocked off two bottles of whiskey tonight?

I said no such thing liar.

And that's a warning.