The USS Cerritos has to travel back in time to 1985 to rescue more humpback whales to bring them forward in time because the whales from the last time didn’t repopulate as well as everyone hoped.
So instead of a new, original idea they... are doing Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. I mean they could have done some kind of story where they track down that probe thing if they really wanted to do Star Trek IV. Otherwise this is HEY REMEMBER STAR TREK IV THE ONE WITH WHALES? REMEMBER KIRK AND SPOCK IN 1986? REMEMBER WHALES! REMEMBER THE WEIRD TIME TRAVEL SEQUENCE? Remember?
They even have Shaxs dressed like Spock from that movie and Brad Boimler dressed like Marty McFly. Also I get Jack Ransom is supposed to be a meathead or something, but you don’t get into Starfleet and work your way to first officer by being an idiot.
Anyways the story in itself isn’t terrible, and while it absolutely wastes time trying to be a sequel to a much better movie, at least it takes the time to exposition dump with the beluga whales in cetacean ops, thus explaining why this story even needs to exist as contrived as it is.
At least it’s not yet another Khan or Borg tale. I’ll give it an 8/10 because I have a soft spot for time travel stories, but oh my god I wish modern trek would stop relying on nostalgia bait to bring in an audience.