Star Trek: Prodigy

[Palanan]

First episode is available on YouTube:






Light, fun and goofy, with a much different premise than other Trek shows.

Highly silly at times, but good animation and voice acting, and a couple of genuinely beautiful moments.

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I was always lukewarm about Janeway, and never watched more than the first season of Voyager, so holo-Janeway isn’t a plus for me here. I’m also not sold on “Protostar” as the ship’s name, and in general I'm not a fan of variable-geometry starships. But I do love that bridge.

And it’s fun. The premise of escaped prisoners hightailing it on a Federation starship, with absolutely no clue what they’re doing, is an entertaining break from the standard Trek formula. It sets them up for a different type of journey of discovery, about both the ship and the Federation. Here's hoping it follows up on that promise.

[Ramza00]

So X-Men Prodigy, also known as David Alleyne is joining Star Trek for the 3rd crossover of X-Men and Star Trek?

[Cikomyr2]

I only watched the teaser for the series, but man do I find it a peticular cruel twist of fate that Starfleet actually decided to design a bona-fide ECH and used Janeway as the template instead of the Doctor

[Dire_Flumph]

Watched the first episode with my son today who was ill. It was light and fun, looking forward to seeing where this is going, but couldn't get much of a handle on the show.

Although, I probably missed it, but with both Kazon and Medusans showing up, where the heck is this taking place? Did Janeway lose another ship in the Delta Quadrant?

I only watched the teaser for the series, but man do I find it a peticular cruel twist of fate that Starfleet actually decided to design a bona-fide ECH and used Janeway as the template instead of the Doctor

The crueler twist is of all the Trek captains who could show up, apparently they called Robert Beltran in.

[JadedDM]

The show is taking place in the Delta Quadrant, yes. As for how the Protostar got there, your guess is as good as mine.

[VoxRationis]

My impression is that this was a show that was first pitched as being a Star Wars show and that they then took the idea to CBS after Disney turned them down.

Okay, that's probably not what happened, since too much of the fundamental storyline seems tied to being in the Star Trek universe, but one still comes away with the notion that the team here would have rather been working for Disney. The character and visual design (complete with definitely-not-a-Sith characters whose banquet halls/interrogation chambers have a sepulchral feel, spunky street rat archetypes, greebles and exposed pipes everywhere, and a looming, hunched-over, black-and-red lieutenant), the liberal use of sentient or near-sentient robots without much thought about any philosophical, ethical, or societal impacts, and concurrent use of manual labor in ways that don't make sense in a technologically advanced society (and yes, it's a penal environment, but it's made clear that the labor is still in service of an external objective, so using penal labor efficiently is still a desideratum) all seem more in keeping with Wars than with Trek.

But then, I never saw Voyager, so maybe the Delta Quadrant works differently.

[Dire_Flumph]

The show is taking place in the Delta Quadrant, yes. As for how the Protostar got there, your guess is as good as mine.

That explains the Kazon, but not the Catian, Medusan or Tellarite who are all Alpha Quadrant. Seemed like they were just grabbing Trek alien names off the shelf.

My impression is that this was a show that was first pitched as being a Star Wars show and that they then took the idea to CBS after Disney turned them down.

Yes, the show did feel a lot more Star Wars, at least in the premier. It's not a bad thing necessarily, but I won't be the least bit surprised if Dal turns out to have magical powers.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Dire_Flumph
That explains the Kazon, but not the Catian, Medusan or Tellarite who are all Alpha Quadrant. Seemed like they were just grabbing Trek alien names off the shelf.

I did wonder about that, especially the Caitian.

Although since the Medusans are famed as navigators, it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to imagine that some of them went exploring far ahead of the Federation.

Originally Posted by Dire_Flumph
Yes, the show did feel a lot more Star Wars, at least in the premier. It's not a bad thing necessarily, but I won't be the least bit surprised if Dal turns out to have magical powers.

There were a few elements with some parallels, but the overall theme of the show is exploration and discovery. And they’ll want something fast-paced and immediately engaging for the premiere.

Originally Posted by VoxRationis
…and concurrent use of manual labor in ways that don't make sense in a technologically advanced society….

This to me seemed like a strong callback to Star Trek VI and the dilithium mines of Rura Penthe.

[Lord Fullbladder, Master of Goblins]

That explains the Kazon, but not the Catian, Medusan or Tellarite who are all Alpha Quadrant. Seemed like they were just grabbing Trek alien names off the shelf.

Having seen the second episode, the Tellarite has never heard of the Federation, but Tellarites show up in the holographic explanation given (alongside the other Founding Species). I assume we will learn more as things progress, but for now we can maybe guess that the Caretaker wasn't too careful about where he sent the ships he sent back when he was kidnapping ships looking for his mate.

I mean I guarantee we'll see them go back to the mines (I'll note to separate "the mines" and "the Diviner's custody/ship") at some point, since they keep reminding us about the Baby Caitian. There's a jailbreak waiting to happen.

[DigoDragon]

Watched the first episode and I find it interesting enough to hold my attention. I like the premise; feels pretty different for a Trek show and at this point trying new things is a good idea.

At least the Janeway Holo can't get anyone in trouble over coffee. XD

[Palanan]

Is there a running joke about coffee in Voyager?

[Dire_Flumph]

Is there a running joke about coffee in Voyager?

Oh yes. Several episodes have her mention her coffee addition, even noting it accounts for her entire breakfast at times.

And there was the infamous line when they needed some rare mineral to power the replicators "There's coffee in that nebula"

[Ramza00]

Oh yes. Several episodes have her mention her coffee addition, even noting it accounts for her entire breakfast at times.

And there was the infamous line when they needed some rare mineral to power the replicators "There's coffee in that nebula"

Picard drinks tea, DS9 crew drinks Klingon Coffee Raktajino, and Janeway needs Coffee in the morning prior to listening to Neelix or any of the other crews needs, demands, and wants.

[DigoDragon]

and Janeway needs Coffee in the morning prior to listening to Neelix or any of the other crews needs, demands, and wants.

That was probably one of the most relatable things about the Voyager series in my opinion. ^^

[Ramza00]

that was probably one of the most relatable things about the voyager series in my opinion. ^^

___same!___

[JadedDM]

Looks like the show has already been renewed for a second season.

[DigoDragon]

The coffee thing continues in Prodigy; Holographic Janeway creates a mug and "sips" from it. I dunno why that amuses me, but it does. XD

[Velaryon]

I watched the first episode on Youtube just now. It's not bad, but it's a further reminder that the Star Trek I grew up with is not the Star Trek we have now, and probably never will again.

I agree with the Star Wars comparisons. Everything from the characters to the tone to the visual aesthetic feels like it would be very at home in a Star Wars cartoon, more so than Star Trek. I don't know if this is a choice by the writers, or a studio executive who believes that kids won't watch Star Trek unless it's more of a Star Wars-style heroic adventure, but there's no way it's an accident. I don't necessarily see it as a bad thing, but so far it feels like this show could just as easily be part of pretty much any other sci-fi franchise. There's nothing distinctly Star Trek about it that I've seen so far.

[Lord Vukodlak]

Picard drinks tea, DS9 crew drinks Klingon Coffee Raktajino, and Janeway needs Coffee in the morning prior to listening to Neelix or any of the other crews needs, demands, and wants.

If I was captain I’d need a stiff drink before dealing with Neelix and I don’t drink. He would drive me to it.

That explains the Kazon, but not the Catian, Medusan or Tellarite who are all Alpha Quadrant. Seemed like they were just grabbing Trek alien names off the shelf..

They could be descendent from other ships the caretaker snatched up before the events of voyager.

[JadedDM]

Last week, Jankom Pog (the Tellarite) smelled some food and said it reminded him of the food back on the 'sleeper ship.' This seems to imply that he, at least, came to the Delta Quadrant the slow way.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by JadedDM
Last week, Jankom Pog (the Tellarite) smelled some food and said it reminded him of the food back on the 'sleeper ship.' This seems to imply that he, at least, came to the Delta Quadrant the slow way.

Extremely interesting. I haven’t had the chance to see any more episodes, but if they came to the Delta Quadrant on a sleeper, that could have taken many centuries or even longer, perhaps one of the the first Tellarite spacecraft to venture into the galaxy.

If Pog has never heard of the Federation, that could be why—the sleeper left before the Federation was ever founded.

[JadedDM]

Entirely possible. He didn't know what a human was, either. Or a replicator. And he seemed to think money was required to use the replicator, once its purpose was explained to him. All of this seems to suggest he's been out of touch with his homeworld for centuries.

[Lord Vukodlak]

Crazy theory time

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That wasn’t Holo-Janeway drinking coffee but actual Janeway using a holographic communicator. From now on sometimes itbwi be holo-janeway speaking other times it will be actual Janeway.

[JadedDM]

Crazy theory time

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That wasn’t Holo-Janeway drinking coffee but actual Janeway using a holographic communicator. From now on sometimes itbwi be holo-janeway speaking other times it will be actual Janeway.

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In the most recent episode, Holo-Janeway asks out loud "What would the real Janeway do?" She is alone at the time, so there's no reason to pretend. This would seem to suggest she is still just a hologram.

I guess that's it until January. The show is going on a holiday hiatus. But at least everyone can get their Star Trek fix from Discovery. (Unless you don't live in the US. )

[Hands_Of_Blue]

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In the most recent episode, Holo-Janeway asks out loud "What would the real Janeway do?" She is alone at the time, so there's no reason to pretend. This would seem to suggest she is still just a hologram.

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There is the slight oddity that in the credits of the first few episodes she was called Captain Janeway, but the credits of the last couple episodes changed it to Hologram Janeway. Crediting her as a hologram seems a meaningless distinction if we never see the real Janeway. Although, I could just easily be overthinking this.

[Psyren]

I'm pretty sure Holo-Janeway is just that, an AI patterned off her.

I'm liking the show so far, except the "captain" kid. I'm sure he's intended to start off annoying so that his leadership skills and growth shine through over time, and they're succeeding just a little too well in my mind.

The show is taking place in the Delta Quadrant, yes. As for how the Protostar got there, your guess is as good as mine.

This appears to be one of the big mysteries of the season, along with why the Alien Warlord Slaver Guy wants it so badly. (Genuinely cannot make any of their names stick in my head, but I'll look them up later.)

If I was captain I’d need a stiff drink before dealing with Neelix and I don’t drink. He would drive me to it.

Yeah, very much that

[gnomish dwelf]

the show doesn't live up to star trek potential, so just dont think of it as a star trek show and you might enjoy it

[Dire_Flumph]

My son has really gotten into the show, so the "Star Trek for kids" angle seems to be working. He was pretty excited it was back on.

I thought it was an enjoyable enough episode, a bit of a breather for character work before the next story arc (and Dal sure needs it) with a couple more interesting reveals.

Spoiler: Some thoughts

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We knew Robert Beltran was returning as Chakotay, but this episode opened the possibility that his scenes might be flashbacks or recordings, leaving open the idea that this might be farther into the future. Curious to see where this is going.

Was a bit disappointed in the "Dream Team" scenes in the simulation though. It was pretty obvious that these were mostly sound clips from older episodes/movies and it showed. Dialogue seemed stiff and didn't always seem to match what was happening. Sound quality was all over the place and that was especially surprising (You could easily tell a Nimoy clip from TOS from the films). And I'm assuming the only reason Odo was there was for the tribute? Otherwise placing him at tactical doesn't make much sense.

My dream team? Kira as FO, Spock at Science, McCoy at Medical (honestly I'm ok with either Crusher or Bashir as well), Odo at Security (put him at Worf's post), Uhura at Comms, Data at Ops, Sulu at Helm, and of course Scotty at Engineering. Neelix beamed over to distract the Klingons rather than the music .)