First Thoughts on Star Trek: Prodigy
Star Trek: Prodigy promo image - Paramount/CBS/Nickelodeon
Star Trek: Prodigy has the distinction of being the first Trek show in over 20 years to be aimed at children. While Lower Decks follows Star Trek: The Animated Series as the second animated Trek option, it’s very clearly aimed at adults. Prodigy, however, is a collaboration with Nickelodeon and was created as a way of bringing a new generation of fans into the Trek universe. It has also widely (almost solely) been advertised as Kate Mulgrew’s return to Trek in the role of Captain Kathryn Janeway, albeit in hologram form.
Don’t let the kid angle fool you, though. The double-length pilot episode didn’t feel like it was dumbed down or written specific for children. Dal, who serves as (at least for the pilot) the point-of-view character for the audience, is just as well-written as many other Trek characters. The labor camp run by the Diviner and his enforcer, Drednok, is presented as a harsh, horrible place where prisoners aren’t even given the luxury of a universal translator. The work is brutal and unsafe, and while Prodigy doesn’t show any prisoners being beaten or killed, it also doesn’t gloss over the fact that death (or at least injury) occurs daily.
I’m going to break up my thoughts on the pilot episode “Lost and Found” into a few different sections.
The Facts:
Episodes 1 and 2, collectively titled “Lost and Found”
Directed by Ben Hibon
Written by Kevin & Dan Hageman
Released Oct. 28, 2021 on Paramount+
The Overall Plot
As the pilot, this episode did a lot of heavy lifting. We were introduced to our heroes Dal, Gwyn, Jankom Pog, Zero, and Rok-Tahk as well as the evil Diviner and minion Drednok. We were shown the horrible conditions of Tars Lamora, the mining colony controlled by the Diviner. We also got our first look at the Protostar, the Starfleet ship that crashed on Tars Lamora, and (at the very end) got to see Captain Janeway return as the ship’s holographic training program.
Overall, the plot did a good job setting up the story. The characters are introduced, there are some good action scenes, and they end up on the Protostar with the Diviner after them. That’s what a pilot needs to do, and it did it well.
The Characters
We get quick but actually pretty effective introductions to the characters. Dal is an optimistic guy who doesn’t know what species he’s from. Gwyn fulfills the trope of “bad guy with a heart who will turn against her evil father (the Diviner).” Jankom Pog is the gruff but loveable engineer, Rok-Tahk is the sweet but scary-looking Brikar, and Murf is the cute animal sidekick.
Zero is perhaps the most interesting character to me. They’re a Medusan, an alien featured in a single episode of the original series (“Is There in Truth No Beauty?” from October 1968). While they’ve been mentioned in tie-in media here and there, I don’t believe they have even been referenced in television or movies. Now, 52 years later, we have one as a main character. Their cobbled-together encounter suit (to use a Babylon 5 term) could break down at inopportune times, meaning they could present something of an omnipresent danger to the others.
Then there’s Drednok, who looks like General Grievous with Darth Maul’s post-Phantom Menace robot spider legs. Yeah, several reviews have said the episode felt more Star Wars than Star Trek, and I get that.
The Acting
I didn’t mind the voice actors. They seemed to fit their roles well. The one surprise, of course, was when the Protostar’s translator kicked in and we hear the large, scary Rok-Tahk speak in a little girl’s voice (provided by Rylee Alazraqul). Some of the young characters are voiced by actors who may not have the longest resumes around, but they were solid.
The star power comes from Mulgrew, of course, and from John Noble as the Diviner. Our recurring characters who have yet to be introduced bring in more big names, including Jameela Jamil, Jason Alexander, Daveed Diggs, and the return of Robert Beltran as Captain Chakotay.
The Animation
While the older animated series and Lower Decks make use of traditional animation styles, Prodigy takes the computer animation route. It’s not going to be for everyone, and it is one of the places where I felt like the show leaned a little into the Nickelodeon side of things. It wasn’t horrible, though. Just different and likely not everyone’s cup of Earl Grey.
The opening sequence deserves its own shout-out. I’ve never been fond of Discovery’s opening. It borrowed a little too much from Game of Thrones to me. Prodigy pulls some from this, but it also includes some nice space shots that almost all Trek openings use. The music is spot on, too.
The Good
The pilot does the heavy lifting it needs to do in order for us to be ready to jump right into adventure in the next episode.
The characters are interesting, even though their first appearances do seem a little cliché in some ways.
The ship looks great.
Kate Mulgrew is back.
Some fun cameo appearances, including a kazon and a Lurian
The Meh
The animation may not be for everyone.
Some people may not like the Star Wars-esque feel to the show.
The Bad
Honestly, there’s not a lot of “bad” for me yet. I think a lot will depend on how the next few episodes unwind. There are some questions (how did at least two Alpha Quadrant aliens end up on Tars Lamora?) that will need sufficient answers at some point.
Drednok’s robot things are no better at aiming than stormtroopers. It’s a small thing, but it annoyed me that not a single main character was hit by anything. The plot armor is strong.
For a rating, let’s go with 4 out of 5 stars. It’s a good setup, but there are some things that need to play out properly.