Star Trek: Prodigy

[WisteriaHysteria]

Star Trek: Prodigy is live! The first episode is a double-length (46min) episode. "Lost & Found". You'll need Paramount+ to watch it in the US. I assume Crave in Canada. No idea about its distribution elsewhere. I know the plan is to have it air on Nickelodeon in a month or two, so there's always that. (The P+ version retains the Nick branding, even.)

One premier in and so far... this episode was AWESOME. Just freaking incredible all around. I know I'm an easy mark for anything Star Trek, but this was just unabashedly good. The characters were likable, the scenario interesting and fun, and the show itself is just drop dead gorgeous. I was afraid it would be a little to kiddy, but it's very much an all-ages kind of deal where parents will love watching it with their kids, and kidless adults can enjoy it by themselves without any problems.

I can't wait to see where the show goes from here. We're really being spoiled right now. This is beginning to feel legitimately like a new Golden Age for Star Trek and it's just wonderful.

Edit: The double-length first episode is now free to watch on youtube:

 

[Kirin]

Ok wait, I hadn't heard much about this one so I just looked it up and... Janeway is in it? Huh! Interesting.

 

[ArugulaZ]

Just watched it. I realize this is the first episode and that the later ones will have a different tone, but this felt more like Star Wars than Star Trek. The "penal colony filled with orphans" setting felt like it came from The Force Awakens, and the villain reminds me of General Grievous from the Clone Wars animated series, albeit more scorpion-like.

Also, there's an overwhelming sense of scale in this series that I don't notice in any other Star Trek series. Everything feels so immense, which adds to the hopelessness of being trapped in that prison colony and could bring meaning to the episodes where they explore the galaxy. The other shows are generally set in the inky black void of space, which feels rather, well, inert. For a series about going where nobody has gone before, it always feels like everyone is anchored in place. In that respect, I think Prodigy is going to broaden the horizons of the franchise considerably.

 

[FelixSH]

I enjoyed the pilot. The ending made me go "squeee", elsewise it was enjoyable, with a good, fun cast, but it also felt like a pilot that isn't quite on point of the show, or something like that. Maybe I just didn't like that we spent time on this penal colony. I'm certainly looking very much forward to were this show is going, it certainly has a lot of promise.

I honestly love, how we now get ST shows that explore this Universe from another perspective then the one from the leading officers. Lower Decks is beyond amazing, and part of it is the great setting, but this here too offers a look into a ship, that isn't even part of the Federation.

Oh, and Zero is really funny. Favourite character, at first glance. But they all look fun, though a bit of me wished that non of them were humanoid (especially not the two, who will likely get the strongest focus). Not much of a deal, I'm sure I will enjoy this show a lot.

 

[WisteriaHysteria]

Just watched it. I realize this is the first episode and that the later ones will have a different tone, but this felt more like Star Wars than Star Trek. The "penal colony filled with orphans" setting felt like it came from The Force Awakens, and the villain reminds me of General Grievous from the Clone Wars animated series, albeit more scorpion-like.

I understand this perspective, and Drednok immediately brought Grievous to mind, ya. But the whole thing felt *extremely* Trek to me. Not all action in space is Star Wars! There's a whole lot of deep cuts here: Kazon, Medusans, Lurians, Tellarites, Caitians, etc. The big rock-kid too is a species that previously was from old Star Trek novels! Escaping from a prison mining colony/planet has been a time-honored Star Trek trope that's happened in pretty much every single series and even a few movies.

And already the dramatic themes are just very very Trek to me. The story felt like it was going out of its way to emphasize how Dal R'El was special simply because he had indominable willpower/hope, and the glory shot of the USS Protostar doing a slow victory flyby of the penal colony while all these poor hopeless sods were very clearly inspired and given new life was awesome. One episode in and it already feels like the whole cast has already begun to slot themselves into classic bridge crew roles. I remember one of the showrunners saying in an interview to the effect that the long arc of the show is about these kids slowly learning to be Starfleet officers, and that there'll come a time when they're finally cohesive and disciplined enough that they'll earn themselves some uniforms, so that's gonna be a great thing to look forward to.

Oh, and Zero is really funny. Favourite character, at first glance. But they all look fun, though a bit of me wished that non of them were humanoid (especially not the two, who will likely get the strongest focus). Not much of a deal, I'm sure I will enjoy this show a lot.

I think we've got a great mix here. And it's just a great departure in general from our ususal Star Trek shows where 90% of the cast is just straight up human, and/or blink-or-you'll-miss-it aliens like Vulcans or Betazoids. The only 'human' here is a hologram. Zero is very fun though. At first they seem old and wisened, but it becomes increasingly clear as the episode goes on they're just as young and inexperienced as the rest of 'em. I also really like how they insisted upon clarifying their gender status, and again, cannot stress how cool it is to see Medusans again.

 

[Sprite]

Husband: “This is already a better Delta Quadrant than we got in seven years of Voyager.”

It’s very pretty. The budget clearly went into making great environments.

I got a Star Wars-y feel as well, mainly from the villains. I dug it, though, because it makes Starfleet feel very foreign, which it should. I got chills when the horn section kicked in as Protostar came online, and the score got really Trek-y. The score in general is pretty great.

Zero is best character and I want to be their friend. I like their mix of compassion with stone cold practicality.

I love that every cartoon has tapped Jason Mantzoukas to play their douchebags. I can’t think of anyone better suited to make a species of Internet trolls lovable.

Dal’s ”I thought I was the captaaain” was a perfect line reading.

 

[chud_666]

Watched

It's ok! Loved the production value, which was wild. I didn't like the general feel of it. Feels like many other kids shows. I'll still watch it, because that's teh way she goes.

As for the whole kids show thing... I was a kid and watched TOS and TNG. Do these need to adjust format for younger audience?

Oh and one of the McPoyle brother's is the Grievous guy. i could look it up with correct names for both, but I won't.

 

[R.R. Bigman]

When I heard about a Star Trek for kids, my mind flashed back to Space Cases from the 90’s. That’s as into a Star Trek kind of show I’ve ever been.

 

[WisteriaHysteria]

Prodigy’s second episode (listed as episode 3) is live and it’s pretty alright! The kids make bonehead mistakes but they’re also kids and I’m glad they get the idea out of the way early on that they need assistance. And it's nice to see them just be open to the idea that maybe they can learn something from someone who would know better. Also, the show is still drop dead gorgeous.

I updated the OP with the news, but like other new Trek shows, they've put the first episode up for free on youtube to entice new viewers:

 

[ArugulaZ]

Holo-Nanny. Heh, Dal's really riding the edge of insubordinence there. Good thing holograms don't carry a rank.

I've got to say, he made a lot of dumb mistakes, but his distrust of authority I can understand. I mean, hey, if you spent most of your life on a prison colony, the Federation really would seem too good to be true. And we know from Deep Space Nine that the Federation doesn't always stand by its lofty principles.

 

[Sprite]

I loved the replicator fight. It’s exactly the sort of fun idea I want out of animation, something that just wouldn’t be feasible in live action.

 

[WisteriaHysteria]

Something I really appreciate are these little vignettes that they're putting out on youtube as a companion to the episodes. They're Kate Mulgrew explaining the lesson of the day in a very 80s edutainment kind of way. Except it feels a lot more earnest and good faith versus a lot of stuff back then. They're very clearly feel the responsibility of having this be a kids show and are invested in wanting this show to be a an actual good influence on kids. I'm glad they're doing these. I'm not the target demo of them, but if my time as an educator has anything to say about it, little kids can use the idea reinforcement and I hope they play these at the ends of episodes on Nickelodeon when the show starts airing there:

 

[ArugulaZ]

In the latest episode, the crew is taken to a planet where all their fondest desires come true... but at what price? (Now THAT'S Star Trek!) It also ends on a cliffhanger, which seems like a very Deep Space Nine thing to do.

 

[Sprite]

It's definitely fun seeing a Star Trek trope explored by a crew that is really, really bad at what they do. I'm going to enjoy watching them grow.

Hologram Janeway is a good way to have a prominent Federation presence on the show that can't actually exert much power over anything. I love the dramatic irony of Dal reluctantly following Starfleet protocol because he doesn't want to draw Starfleet's attention, even though getting Starfleet involved would probably be his best possible option.

 

[Violentvixen]

We got the free year of Paramount + from T-mobile and I was already curious about this, but then the preview showed an animated Janeway?! Excited to check this out.

 

[ArugulaZ]

I was expecting Wisty to chime in... odd that they're not here.

 

[WisteriaHysteria]

I’m lurking! Life has been wild lately. This week was fun. Also:

 

[WisteriaHysteria]

Star Trek: Prodigy is back! And hoh-boy. Love this show to pieces, I'm so glad it's returned. There's a lot going on in this episode despite the actual events being zero stakes bottle episode. Captain Chakotay!!! Gates McFadden as Bev for the first time in almost two decades!!!!! There's a whole helluva lot of fan service in this show - and especially this episode - but they made it work and it was very charming.

 

[ArugulaZ]

Whoo... Deep Space Nine representation! And was that Thunderstruck by AC/DC? Sure sounded like it.

EDIT: I feel like I should have been more excited by Holo-Spock than I was, but it turns out it's really hard to convince viewers that a character is alive with thirty to fifty year old lines of varying recording qualities.

 

[WisteriaHysteria]

Did... did Prodigy just make... a Simpsons reference/joke???????

 

[ArugulaZ]

Regarding last week's episode... how long do you think Rok-Tahk was stuck in that time bubble? (Don't say "ten minutes.") Halo-Janeway angrily dismisses it as "too long," and while that may be true, I'd like to see a rough estimate.

 

[WisteriaHysteria]

It has to be on the order of magnitude of years at least. She teaches herself several complex scientific fields from scratch (with the help of the computer). It’s low key emotionally scaring, but if anyone can endure that it’s Rok-Tahk. In beta canon material (where her species comes from to begin with) - her species is extraordinarily long lived so they’re likely biologically equipped to better experience long periods of time. It’s also worth noting that while being alone for long durations is messed up, it’s probably less messed up than being a slave in a space gulag.

This week’s episode continues the trend of the show just being really really good. I’m taking guesses at what the Diviner’s whole deal is, and I’m thinking based on context clues is that his species went extinct due to a cataclysm or war or something, and that he holds Starfleet responsible since they probably could have done something but declined due to a complicated Prime Directive issue.

The kids new Cadet uniforms look pretty swank, imo. I’m very curious where the show goes from here after they take care of the Diviner. With the Prot-Drive, they could be at Earth’s doorstep with relative ease. But I can’t really see this show turning into a Starfleet Academy show. (Would love to be wrong about this.) Maybe there’s a whole arc of them rescuing Chakotay from where ever he is? I hope so. I know most ppl, even Robert Beltran aren’t big fans of the character, but I am.

 

[Sprite]

I’m not ready for the season to be over

Star Trek shonen is a potent formula.

 

[ArugulaZ]

Watched the two-parter, and really enjoyed myself. Damn, was it gratifying to see the Diviner

Spoiler

get his comeuppance. Enjoy that trip down Lobotomy Lane, chump!

I liked the Evil Holographic Janeway makeover, by the way. Those icy blue eyes, wow. Did they ever do Mirror Mirror episodes on Voyager? Because she would totally have been at home there.

Spoiler

I don't really feel bad for the Diviner, by the way. Yes, your people killed themselves in a civil war, but that wasn't Starfleet's doing. You're trying to reverse what your people did to themselves, and at the cost of other races and the intergalactic force that defends them. I mean, if this was a situation where Starfleet had a more direct role in the destruction of your planet, I could understand the resentment, but nope, that wasn't how things went. There was nothing noble about your goal, and now you're going to need a drool bib until a convenient plot twist reverses your de-braining.

 

[chud_666]

They did do that deep future episode where a future society remembered Voyager as evil. It was more or less same thing!

 

[SpoonyBard]

'Living Witness' I think it was, yeah. That was the closest Voyager ever came to a Mirror Universe episode. It was basically Mirror Universe Voyager fanfiction fabricated by this one civilization.

Though it's an apt comparison right now since last week the latest expansion of Star Trek Online just hit which actually features Mirror Universe Janeway (with Kate Mulgrew voicing), in case you needed that double hit of evil Janeway.

 

[chud_666]

'Living Witness' I think it was, yeah. That was the closest Voyager ever came to a Mirror Universe episode. It was basically Mirror Universe Voyager fanfiction fabricated by this one civilization.

Though it's an apt comparison right now since last week the latest expansion of Star Trek Online just hit which actually features Mirror Universe Janeway (with Kate Mulgrew voicing), in case you needed that double hit of evil Janeway.

I should start that game!

 

[WisteriaHysteria]

Yeah, it's great. We've got Admiral Janeway and Mirror Janeway in STO. And we've got Holo Janeway, and now Admiral Janeway in PRO. Life is good! We feastin', fam.

Edit: I forgot to mention, omg USS Dauntless!!!!!

 

[chud_666]

Yeah, it's great. We've got Admiral Janeway and Mirror Janeway in STO. And we've got Holo Janeway, and now Admiral Janeway in PRO. Life is good! We feastin', fam.

Edit: I forgot to mention, omg USS Dauntless!!!!!

I had made my own race on the klingon side back in 2016
but never kept it up.

 

[Sprite]

The Diviner definitely got what he deserved, but I would’ve thought Janeway might have had some words about leaving a helpless mental patient to rot in an empty prison.

This show Is very good, and very pretty.