Kate Mulgrew Reveals ‘Star Trek: Prodigy’ Setup And Introduction Of Hologram Janeway

The animated kids series Star Trek: Prodigy debuts sometime later this year on Paramount+, featuring Kate Mulgrew as a hologram version of Captain Janeway. Details on the show are scarce, but thanks to Mulgrew, we now have a slightly clearer picture.

SPOILERS BELOW

 

How the Prodigy crew meets Holo-Janeway

Since the show was first announced two years ago, we have known that Prodigy will follow a “motley crew of young aliens” who find and commandeer a derelict Starfleet ship and use it to go off on adventures “navigating a greater galaxy, in search for a better future.” Last month it was revealed the kids will be helped along by an “Emergency Training Hologram” in the form of Captain Janeway, voiced by Kate Mulgrew.

Now in a new video interview promoting her series Mr. Mercedes, Kate Mulgrew has revealed more about Prodigy, starting with how she landed the job and why it is important for the franchise:

This came through a phone call—when I was doing Mr. Mercedes—from Alex Kurtzman, whom you may or may not know is now in charge of the entire franchise. All things Star Trek-related belong to Alex Kurtzman. [He’s] an incredibly smart guy, really astute. He understands the culture and understands where kids are. He understands the mentality in a way I just don’t. And the only demographic that Star Trek is missing are the young ones, the kids. It really has appealed to the 20- to 35-year-old males.

Mulgrew’s comment meshes with earlier reporting that Kurtzman and ViacomCBS see Prodigy as “critical” to the franchise. And to emphasize how the show will appeal to kids, Mulgrew revealed the setup and her character’s introduction:

But in Prodigy—this new animated series—five kids are incarcerated on an obscure planet in an uncharted part of the galaxy. And they escaped from their imprisonment and race across the planet to find a defunct starship buried in the sand of the of the planet’s surface. They go in and of course the prison guards are coming after them. And they can’t get it up and the shields won’t run or the thing won’t do… And suddenly somebody hits a button and [hologram startup sound] “Hello, kids. I see you’re a little bit stuck here. Can I help you out?” And it’s Captain Janeway in a holographic form.

So I think it’s really, really, going to capture the imagination of little kids. And if they can sit with their mothers who watched me in live-action, and their fathers who loved the other guys, then we’ve got a family affair and that that will bring it full circle.

While official descriptions from the show have previously described the Prodigy alien crew as “outcasts,” this is the first time we learn they start off as prisoners. This is also the first we have learned about how they find the Starfleet ship and meet hologram Janeway. It may not be significant, but Mulgrew mentions five kids start incarcerated but the official crew images show six characters (see below) so it’s possible they pick up one along the way, possibly the one that looks like a robot.

Last month on First Contact Day, it was revealed that Prodigy will be set in the Delta Quadrant—the same setting as Star Trek: Voyager—however, Mulgrew’s comment about this being an “uncharted” part of the galaxy indicates the show will not be set around Voyager’s path through the quadrant, or at least not at the beginning. The new series is set in the year 2383, five years after the USS Voyager returned to Earth and four years after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis (which included a cameo from Mulgrew as Admiral Janeway).

Prodigy group image including Janeway

Lessons learned from 7 years in the Delta Quadrant

During the same interview, Mulgrew also talked about her history with the Star Trek franchise, including how not originally understanding the scale of Star Trek was helpful in landing the job as Captain Janeway:

Everybody is besotted with Star Trek. I hadn’t the first clue when I got [on Voyager]. I hadn’t the first clue. And I never would have gotten the part had I known the size or the dimension of it. But I didn’t. I said, “What is it? What is that?” I understood science fiction as if from afar. It’s not my thing. And then I was told, “Well, you’re an idiot, because this thing is vast and very, very important in the culture.” But I didn’t know that when I went in for the for the audition. And I think it was that ignorance that stood me in good stead. I laughed with Janeway whom I created as a female captain. I laughed and I winked in the room. She was saucy. She was sassy. She was warm. She was worried she was vulnerable. I think even a little funny. So it won the day.

She admitted that she soon learned what a big deal it was:

But as for Captain Janeway and sitting in the captain’s seat as the first female to helm a starship, it changed my life. It utterly changed my life. And Rick Berman, who was then the carrier of the franchise, told me that it would. I laughed and thought, ‘Oh, yeah, they all say it’s going to change your life.’ This changed the fabric of my life. The very substance of it, in fact. It’s huge, huge.

She also discussed other lessons she learned during her seven years on Voyager:

It was quite a chapter. You called it a tenure earlier, and that’s exactly what it was. It was seven years in a very unique foxhole. And I made lifelong friendships in that foxhole. I learned a lot of things about myself, some of them not so admirable, but most of them actually quite good. I learned how to stand up for eighteen hours a day and to remind myself that excellence was of the moment and it had to be exercised at every turn. I think I learned a kind of extraordinary discipline during those years. I was raising two little children by myself, and those days and weeks were very long. And I just said to myself, “The only thing you could possibly do to make this right with your children is knock it out of the park as best you possibly can.” And I think for young women in science I may have done that a little bit. And that alone was gratifying.

Kate Mulgrew as Captain Janeway in Voyager

 

Source: RT


Find more news and analysis for Star Trek: Prodigy.

79 Comments
oldest
newest
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

“But in Prodigy—this new animated series—five kids are incarcerated on an obscure planet in an uncharted part of the galaxy.”

There’s six kids in the picture….. hmmm…..

If you read the article, you’ll see the writer picked up on that too.

Yep. Somehow I skipped over that.

Nope. There are five, plus Janeway and a robot.

The robot could be a kid.

So excited about this and glad Kate is part of it.

Great new interview content.

Really regret it broke on RT.

What is the ship if it has a hologram of Janeway?

What is the ship if it has a hologram of Janeway?”

That’s a good question. Another question: Is the ship like the Prometheus, with “holo-emitters on every deck” (and in the service crawlways too, apparently), or will the kids have to go to the holodeck everytime they want to consult with holo-Janeway?

Could be a ship from the future. A casualty of the time war.

“You seem to be trying to activate this starship…”

So the Janeway hologram is Clippy?

Badgy!

Do you want me to teach you a lesson?

I still can’t believe we’re getting Janeway back, it’s unreal to me. This sounds great. And even though they are back in the Delta quadrant, we will probably get lots of old characters and alpha quadrant locations via the holodeck since Janeway will be teaching them about the Federation, its history and what life is like over there.

And PLEASE bring back the Doctor!!! If no one else from Voyager shows up, he should just be a given.

YES! Bring back the Doctor!!!! PLEASE!!!!

If it has some sort of ECH then no reason it can’t have an EMH as well.

Well, we’re not exactly getting Janeway back.

Close enough for me! ;)

This cash-grab is about to flop faster than any other attempt in the franchise.

Isn’t every TV show a cash grab?

Well, it is show business. I’m pretty sure the people putting up millions of dollars expect a return on their investment.

We will see. I’m a new Grandfather with a granddaughter. When she’s old enough and IF she shows any interest in the show, I’ll watch it with her. My daughter and I watched TNG, DS9 and Voyager. She liked seeing Janeway as a Captain. Thing is, CBS and Paramount really aren’t as concerned with us “legacy fans.” We can’t agree on what Trek is or isn’t. TOS fans will soon become like Bonanza fans were, demographics wise. TNG/DS9/VOY fans are the sweet spot as far as longevity goes with the franchise. People who watched VOY are probably in 25-35 years old and starting families. Par+ needs to bring in new fans to keep the franchise alive and growing. You or I might not like it, but hopefully, the kids will enjoy it, with their parents and grandparents. When Batman came on in 1966, there were a lot of fans that didn’t like the campy style. A lot of people became fans in early ’90’s with the animated series. I’m not a fan of the current DC movies out there. I don’t like the Batmobile. WB doesn’t care..I’m not the target audience for it. I hope Prodigy is successful. I hope young people experience the same magic I did, when I was 10 years old. It just may not be the Trek you and I would like.

Voyager I think was mostly watched by 20-35 year olds as a primary audience back on original broadcast. So those people would actually now be 45-60.

I think you’d be surprised, but there’s a = new audience for Voyager who has discovered it on streaming (Netflix, Amazon, Hulu) over the past half decade or so. I see a LOT of people ages 15-25 saying it’s a favorite of theirs. Whatever the case, streaming has broadened the Trek audience over the years.

Been saying this forever now. Many on this board seem to think only old fans still watch these shows when an entire new generation of fans in their teens and twenties have been watching them thanks to streaming, especially TNG-DS9-VOY. It’s literally why we have shows like Prodigy coming because they realize there is new breed of younger fans watching the old shows and they want to try and capitalize on that with even YOUNGER fans and get them to watch.

As a parent of teens, whose kids only recently left this demographic, it seems like you Herb Jerb have spent little to no time watching shows intended for 6-12 year olds anytime recently.

Just looking at the first look at the characters and hearing the premise, it’s easy to connect the dots to Trollhunters (also from the Hageman brothers). Our kids loved that show and would have happily watched another 3 seasons if they had been available.

Having something from Star Trek available for kids 10 and under other than The Animated Series will be great. Our kids loved TAS when I brought out the DVDs when they were in their primary grades, but moving them along to the live-action series involved a lot of careful filtering, curating and explaining at that age.

And interestingly enough it was Voyager that really hooked their interest to watch Star Trek on their own. More, Janeway quickly became their favourite captain regardless of their genders.

This is really wise market positioning any way I look at it.

But instead of being enthusiastic that Star Trek will be offering something that we didn’t have as kids, some folks have to be bitter and dismissive.

I really love to hear that your kids got hooked on VOY. I was 15 when VOY premiered. I loved TOS and TNG as I had been a fan for about two years back then but VOY soon became my favourite for the time being. It was met with insane hostility back then, I had to defend it to my bro and my best buddy who hated it. And then the early internet picked it to pieces…

I’m so glad it’s getting more and more popular these days. And I SO MUCH hope it’ll be on Blu-Ray some day…

Well said as usual TG47,

I understand some people just doesn’t like the idea of animated Star Trek shows or even comedic ones like LDS and that’s fine! These shows just isn’t meant from you, so just move on and watch all the LIVE shows and call it a day. If you think LDS isn’t good, funny or a disservice to Star Trek, guess what NO ONE is forcing you to watch it. Just keep watching VOY, TOS, TNG, DIS or whatever it is you do like and let the the people who DO enjoy it watch it. Same for when this show starts up which they made it clear it’s for kids. It’s not aimed at ANYONE on this site since I’m guessing the median age here is probably around 45-55. ;)

Again, what seems to get missed is that they are trying to make shows that appeal to different demographics. That’s literally the whole point and why while I still have MANY issues with Kurtzman version of Star Trek, I’m rooting for him. I still very much love the Berman era of Star Trek the most, bar none. But same time those shows were all made to appeal to basically the same people, people who were mostly already Trek fans from the start or at least trying to capture a certain age who could love it down the line. That’s why there are a lot of younger people who are watching TNG/DS9/VOY etc for the first time today.

But Kurtzman is trying to do something different and grab people who may not be into Star Trek at all and with PRO will be a show that grab the under-10 crowd which no show has tried to do since TAS. Will it work, we don’t know obviously but it’s strange people are angry with just the idea of trying to do it. It worked for Star Trek in droves and it’s still working with all the new animated shows they are doing (and they are well made shows on top of it). It’s time Star Trek tried the same route.

“It worked for Star Trek in droves….”

That was suppose to be Star Wars. ;) 

Exactly, I’m 55 this year (knock on wood), so this isn’t aimed at me whatsoever, understood and that’s great, hopefully kids will gravitate to this. I wish the show well.

I’m always amazed at how narrow-minded some Trek fans are. You have a franchise that can do pretty much anything, go anywhere, exist at anytime and in any format and yet people will always find a way to knock it down because it doesn’t appeal to them personally.

Maybe just maybe not everything in the franchise has to appeal to you directly. I know it’s shocking but there it is. And even more bizarre when we are living in a moment where we will probably get new shows for the next decade at the very least and yet some fans still find a way to moan over the one or two shows they personally don’t like. Here’s a clue don’t watch THOSE, just watch the ones that do appeal to you and call it a day instead of wishing something is gone others may actually enjoy just because you don’t like it.

But you know Trek fans….

Oh and BTW, I FINALLY watched TAS! :)

It’s frustrating to try and post things to others since this is not a typical message board and don’t want to throw things off topic but I wanted to inform you I finally watched it a month or so ago since you and few others encouraged me to do so last year. I’m doing a grand rewatch of the entire franchise and decided that had to be included in it. And I have to say I did actually enjoy it! I won’t lie at the beginning, I wasn’t sure if I could even finish it lol.

But by the sixth or seventh episode I started to really adapt to the really really bad animation and recurring music and really started to get into it. By the end I can say I really liked it. I mean it’s still far from great but it was decent and finally glad I can say I watched it. Will I watch it again, very doubtful, but I do think it’s something every fan should at least give it a chance on.

If you’re curious about my specific thoughts, I’ll delve into it more later, but just wanted to let you know I watched it and liked it for the most part! And if PRO follows the same idea and focus on the themes of what the Federation is so kids can learn I think I will enjoy that show a lot too.

Good to hear that you watched TAS Tiger2.

I suspect that I wouldn’t have watched it again, but for the kids. However, there’s a few real gems in those episodes that are on my favourite list.

Will be interested to hear what you thought of the first ever holodeck misadventure in the “Rec Room.”

And I am just waiting to catch you citing the TAS Easter eggs when Lower Decks S2 comes out. McMahan and his animation team clearly have a lot of love for that show.

Yeah, very happy I watched it now although as said I don’t see myself rewatching it ever again, unless one of the new shows reference something from it that gets me to watch an episode. But overall I thought it was decent at least even if it still on the lower end of where I would place the show. The animation itself is just off putting but as said I got use to it.

Also it was finally nice to see Captain April’s episode. I heard of this guy forever but never knew anything about or even what the character loooked like until now lol. I knew he was the first Captain on Enterprise but that’s it. Finally nice to put the face with the man and actually know something about him.

I loved the episode showing the first holodeck. I’ve always seen images from that episode but it was pretty interesting to watch it and basically see it was a full on holodeck the way we think of one today, just not as advanced as we seen them by the 24th century. It seem to have no problem replicating environments but probably not holographic people themselves like by the time TNG showed up. So yes it was a win-win for me and actually showed Roddenberry did take things from the show even if he didn’t like the show much itself.

And I’ve always loved the concept of the holodeck in general!

No, it’s definitely not going to flop. People are very excited about it. Back under your bridge, witless troll.

This is what seems witless
.

Pretty sure all TV shows are cash grabs… and are you hoping for a Trek show to fail?

Kurtman’s Trek has been rather lackluster.

Why would someone want a subpar product.

Oh please. Roddenberry was the king of cash-grab. He wrote lyrics for the original theme just so he could get royalty money every time it was used. He created the IDIC emblem with intentional product placement in “Is There in Truth No Beauty?” so that it could be sold through their mail-order business Lincoln Enterprises.
And maybe, just maybe, you are not the intended audience. Trek is very diverse now. Not everything has to appeal to your specific needs.

EXACTLY…Now, Paramount did hide the books from him for almost 20 years. I believe it was during the making of TMP did his lawyer manage to get Roddenberry access to the profits that Star Trek made. Paramount owed him MILLIONS. One of the studio suits during TNG’s run said Gene was paid back out of the shows episode budgets. (A handsome share!) Majel Barrett said they didn’t see an actual profit sharing cheque, a few years later. Early or mid ’90’s I believe.

Will be great to have a Voyager intro to see how they got this ship into that planet. Can you imagine the pilot or the first 10-15 min having the whole crew back?

That might be too alienating to newcomers.

True. Depending on the execution. Will be a good way for them to learn about the show and get them interested to see Voyager.

It might make sense to have more Voyager characters show up in a flashback after this show has established itself.

This show seems to be targeted at new audiences. While existing fans might get a kick out of seeing the Voyager crew again, why would they introduce a whole crew (VOY) to new audiences only to drop them halfway through the first episode and introduce the real new crew of this show?
If they really want to bring back characters from VOY (or any other legacy show) they can always include them into “lessons” that Holo-Janeway teaches the kids.

Exactly DIGINON, this show should be pointing the kids onwards towards Voyager at the end of its run.

I totally understand this show should be for the kids. This is the intention. The purpose. The targeted audience. At the same time, they could bring the old crew together for the pilot or any future episode.

Having Hologram Janeway as the main character, I was just dreaming of the possibility to see everyone back to explain how this ship or the hologram ended up on this planet. They are not the main characters of this show, just wanted them to show up to see them all together one more time.

We have so many characters crossing over to other shows and movies. Prodigy should not be the exception. The new Janeway is not the real “Janeway”. But for us, this is the beauty of Star Trek. Our favorite characters can show up in the same or in a different way as long they are available.

Because the kids are the main characters, that doesn’t necessarily mean they could not bring the old Voyager crew back to the show.

True, the new characters should be kids, for the kid’s show. But don’t forget Riker, Troi, and Q on Lower Decks, they did great. The characters are not the only piece of the puzzle to be targeting the show for the kids. It is also the way they tell the story, the narrative, the approach, how the producers portray them! :P

Agree completely Jay!

I don’t think we will see the entire Voyager crew but you’re right NOTHING stops them from all showing up in an episode since A. it’s animated, so aging issues obstructs no one and B. it’s animated, it’s easier and cheaper to get them all back without having to wear a space suit again.

Personally I would LOVE to see the Voyager characters in an episode together, even if they are in holodeck form. I expect to see crossovers of characters from other shows as well just like we got in PIC and LDS.

This is what makes things fun. Funny thing is Star Wars does it ALL the time and no one seem to have a problem with that franchise doing it. Mandalorian first season didn’t show one single old character but then season 2 they went gung ho with it bringing multiple characters from The Clone Wars, the Original Trilogy (one very big one ;)) and even someone from one of the pre-TFA novels. Nothing is discarded in the Star Wars universe. Even Jar Jar Binks is brought back multiple times in TCW.

And if SW is willing to bring their animated characters into live action I can see a time that can happen for characters from Lower Decks and Prodigy too since it’s all canon anyway. The bigger irony is all those animated characters came from kids cartoons and they are now part of the very adult live action Star Wars shows. So why not the same for PRO and LDS one day? The sky is really the limit in terms of cross over possibilities when you have so many shows and multiple time periods all being shot at once.

When you base TV shows on iconic characters, it’s not a shock fans want to see other characters they associate with. They certainly know that on Picard and why Q is back.

Our point is that any legacy characters should be introduced or make appearances in the last seasons to attract new audiences to explore other shows.

Introducing a bunch of characters to the kids at the beginning that they won’t be seeing all the time would just be confusing.

Oh, TG47, please, don’t destroy my dreams and my hope like this! It was on my Top 5 Star Trek Wish List! :P

Can’t wait to see the Voyager Team in action again, all together, all of them, on the bridge, on a new adventure.

We had the opportunity to see a TOS and STNG reunion, crossing my fingers to see the crew of Voyager, DS9, and Enteprise, one more time.

I think this show will be a BIG surprise, the Hageman Brothers are no joke. These two are super talented. Look forward to watching this show with my kid!

(With or without the Voyager Crew)

Never give up on your dreams Jay! I dreamed for a very long time we would finally see Q back in Star Trek again and here we are! :)

As said I do think we will see the Voyager cast reunited at some point. It may not happen in the first season but probably will at some point.

I hope so. So far, I see Kurtzman trying to bring everyone back on board. The whole crew together is a lot to ask. But one by one, many Legacy characters could show up.

I have a feeling we will see a DS9 connection in Picard. The season 2 trailer gave us a hint.

Also Enterprise, I think there is a possibility of bringing back some (Enterprise) characters in the upcoming Section 31 project. Makes a lot of sense for our Emperor to end up meeting Archer and T’Pol. The Future Archer / Future Guy element could be a good story or the beginning of a new Star Trek Cinematic Universe.

What I do love about Kurtzman is that he seems to understand Star Trek as a whole is important to most of the fanbase. People will have love for their individual shows and characters but he (and most likely CBS) realize that all these shows have a loyal fanbase and they simply trying to find ways to bring a lot of the old characters into the fold and a way to get old and new fans to keep watching the old shows, buy merchandise, etc. I predicted a lot of this was going to happen once Picard got announced and in time we would see a return of other characters and shows and it’s happening!

The streaming wars are real for so many reasons, the biggest being that the companies have direct control of their franchises and IP in a way they never really had before once they originally aired. Before they would just license these shows/films to other other networks or channels but now its consolidated and under their direct supervision with all the profit going directly to them. Now they can cross promote across the board fans always wanted to see.

They are just trying to capitalize on a fanbase that really does love and rewatch these shows endlessly over and over again. And with new viewers watching these shows for the first time thanks to streaming, even more so. This is literally why something like Prodigy exists now.

I expect we will see characters from every show one way or another in multiple formats, from TOS to Enterprise because its just an amazing way to promote the old shows on the various streaming channels; hence now all these show panels and marathons we saw both last year on the 54th birthday and on First Contact day back in April. It all matters and for fans like us who love it all it’s great to see! These franchise wide events will probably be yearly occurrences now.

Now it may not all happen in the next year, but it will happen more and more as they have more shows coming and being back in time periods like the 24th century where the bulk of the old characters exist. And why we now have three shows in that era alone to capitalize on that nostalgia in a big way. They know what they’re doing.

If you’re hoping for a reunion of the Voyager Team the Voyager documentary might be a better bet. The doc producers have promised an “exclusive never before seen Voyager surprise” as their last stretch goal and there have been hints that it might involve shooting something new with the original cast. Nothing’s been confirmed, though.

Is anyone else a little troubled by how she keeps mentioning how Star Trek hasn’t really appealed to kids in the past, even though the most common entry to the franchise I hear about is people watching it with their parents as kids?

Even the creators of the series mention that’s how they got into it.

But none of the previous shows have been targeted at the young demographic since TAS (and even that is arguable). Having kids become fans because their parents watch is a bonus, but has never been a defined target. That is what the show creators and cast are talking about.

Nope, it’s an accurate statement. Trek was an adult show, that kids happened to watch. There’s never been a Trek show where kids were the primary target audience.

I see what you are getting at. And yes, that seems a little odd to me. I discovered Trek in reruns back when I was… Somewhere around 7 or 8. I watched TAS when it first aired on Saturday mornings! TOS wasn’t aimed at my age group but I ate it up big time. Would I have picked it up had I started with TAS? Honestly I do not know. I think it a good move to make one aimed at the younger crowd. My problem with that is more often than not when a show aims for kids, they aim too low. And given Secret Hideout’s track record I fear that is the likelihood here. As with every one of their Trek shows I hope I’m wrong. But it hasn’t happened yet.

The market is very segmented now.

Many of us started watching as kids, but that was in a time when television was made for mass audiences, and kids’ specialty channels didn’t exist.

Kids of the current generation watch targeted channels and parents who were Nickelodeon kids in the 90s do the same. Or they are watching kids shows on streamers or dedicated kids YouTube streamers like WildBrain.

While you took a different approach with your kid, based on what you’ve mentioned before, a lot of parents now lock out channels that aren’t kid targeted or at least any shows that are 14+.

In Canada, most of TOS and 90s Trek slips in as 8+, but some are 14+. But our kids mostly stuck to the kids cable channels they were familiar with until I started recording Trek and movies from other channels that I thought they’d like.

I think we were all indoctrinated by the magic number 79. 79 episodes in our Bible. Lol. Watch a rerun before dinner, read the Blish, build a model. Dream.

Well… Call me weird but neither myself or the Mrs wanted someone else to decide what was appropriate for our child. We never blocked anything based on what some other people decided what was appropriate for who. We just kept tabs on what the child was watching. It actually wasn’t that hard. We didn’t allow him to watch all that much TV growing up anyway. He mostly wanted to watch things his friends talked about. As he grew a little older the TV restrictions got looser. Ultimately he didn’t watch nearly as much as I did as a youngster! (I may have watched too much myself) But by the time he was 10 very little was ‘off limits’.

I pretty much took the same approach with my daughter. If there was gore or violence, I kept that away from her. Her mother didn’t want her watching The Simpsons. “Eat my shorts!” was a little too offensive for her. When I had my daughter for the weekends, I’d let her watch an episode of The Simpsons. She mainly was interested in typical kid fare, as specialty channels were starting to become the norm in the mid-’90s

The issue is twofold for me. Kids’ shows are often so light-hearted they’re empty, but adult shows are often so depressingly pessimistic that they’re exhausting to watch.

Trek’s general audience approach meant kids got the depth they deserved, and adults got to enjoy something hopeful and light-hearted.

I generally don’t think the segmentation is all that great.

Mulgrew has said in interviews that she knew next to zero of the juggernaut, that is Star Trek. During the first season, the suits consistently were judging her, physically. They changed her hair, considered augmenting her bosom, using her costume. I think that may be why she initially considered Treks demographics. That probably was to sell sex, on the show. Much to Mulgrew’s credit, she fought against “sexing her up” or ever getting romantically involved with Chakotay.

Great interview. But why does she think only women watched the show for her and the men for the other guys? Seems kind of sexist to me ;-)

I found that an odd comment too.

But it may just reflect how much hate Janeway got from outraged older male fans on the old bulletin boards back in the day.

She may not realize how Voyager appealed and continues to appeal to both genders younger than a certain age.

So as a 30 year old this doesn’t sound like it’s aimed at me at all. Shame because Janeway returning is very exciting. I was watching TNG, DS9 and VOY when I was single digits and still do to this day but I can certainly understand it wasn’t aimed at urchins.

I guess Prodigy could be an entry point get children invested in the franchise and then as they grow out of a show aimed at preteens then you have fans for your other content. Hopefully as an investment that makes up for the lack of longevity if it is solely targeted at small children. I mean they won’t be watching it 20something years later like I can with what I grew up with.

If nothing else I hope they at least commit to the tone. Star wars doesn’t always stick the landing when they try and balance serious and dark with very childish elements. That can be very jarring and is ruining the Bad Batch for me.

I think that is the point, to introduce them the world of Star Trek and eventually start getting into the live action shows like Voyager itself as they get older. That’s basically what TCW did, it got young kids into SW and they actually appreciated the prequels more since TCW characters revolved around those characters obviously.

PRO won’t be a direct sequel to Voyager but clearly close enough as I imagine we are going to see tons of former characters and species that show was involved in. And obviously it will be a gateway to the bigger Star Trek franchise in general.

This is really a great idea and to get kids to know such an iconic and very popular character like Janeway is and of course will eventually learn about the other characters, old and new. In time they will learn who Picard, Worf, Kirk, Spock, Archer, Seven, T’Pol, Pike, Sisko, Data, Kira and all the rest are and continue watching those characters and the old shows keeping them alive when old bitter fogeys like me have passed on lol.

For me bringing Janeway back alone is what will keep me watching even though it’s way out of my age bracket too…and that was the other reason they were smart enough to bring her back. ;).

Original TOS or legacy fans are getting advanced in age. I don’t think they buy much merch as younger fans do. I’ve been lucky to help at some Shatner events at the Star Trek set tour in Ticonderoga NY. One of the CBS execs mentioned how TNG made CBS the most money, as far as merchandising goes. That’s why the staff at the Set Tour are recreating the TNG sets. TNG fans are the sweet spot now , moneywise.

OMG are you serious??? They are recreating the TNG sets now too?? WOW!!!!! I didn’t know this. I just went and googled it and this site even did an article on it. No idea how I missed it at the time.

I’ve actually been on the Enterprise D bridge twice in my life. The first from the Star Trek Experience ride back in Las Vegas in the late 90s and then the actual bridge set when it was exported to the Hollywood Entertainment Museum (now closed) around the same time. It was there along with the bar set from Cheers at the time. I still remember how amazing it was to see the actual set (and how small it felt in real life lol).

Anyway, I would definitely make a trip out there to see it a third time since it is still my favorite bridge out of all of them. And it would give me an excuse to see both the TOS and TNG bridge.

I been rewatching the entire franchise from start to finish, first time ever and currently in the TNG years, already on season 5 and only been watching it about a few weeks. I realize I still love and enjoy that show more than ever now and why it’s my second favorite after DS9.

I went to the Sci-Fi museum in Seattle a number of years ago. They had a recreation of the original bridge. I think, not sure now, that some might have been original. But it was pretty damn cool. But it was not as cool as that traveling Star Trek exhibit was. It had a full on recreation of the TOS bridge. I recall waiting for quite some time for a moment when we were the only people in the room and we took shots of each of us in the captains chair. But that Seattle thing… Damn they got a lot of good stuff there. Maybe if things settle down up there I would highly suggest a visit if possible.

It’s not aimed at our age, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy it. Their are a lot of good kid’s shows.

I’m in the middle of a complete series re-watch of Voyager and have been struck by just how great a leader Janeway has been throughout the first 3.5 seasons. I note she often doubles up as science lead on many of their missions.

The chief science officer wasn’t mentioned as a casualty in Caretaker, but it appears to have been so.

The camera often doesn’t show the science station, but it is rarely crewed. We occasionally see Samantha Wildman there, but she clearly isn’t the department head.

Janeway is freakin amazing! I adore her on so many levels, but it was smart to make her both a captain and a scientist and didn’t just wait for Data or Spock to give her all the answers like the other captains got. She was right there coming up with all the theories too. Another great reason why it was smart to include in this show because she can both be a leader and the scientist for the kids when they come across some strange anomaly somewhere.

I can’t wait to start my rewatch of Voyager too. It will be the first time I watched the show from beginning to end since it aired.

Tiger2 I fully agree. I’m in awe of Janeway. What a Captain and what a leader! In last nights episode (S4 E14 “Message in a bottle”), Voyager finally made contact with the alpha quadrant thanks to Seven exploiting a 100,000 year old communications network. Mulgrew is a terrific actor and I had tears in my eyes as she did, when the doctor returned from the USS Prometheus with news that Starfleet has been informed as to their situation and importantly, that they were no longer alone. “Suddenly 60,000 light years just got a bit closer”.

Another great reason why it was smart to include [her] in this show because she can both be a leader and the scientist for the kids when they come across some strange anomaly somewhere.

Not to get too nitpicky but the character may look and sound like Janeway but it’s not actually her. So whatever skills she has depends on what the people who programmed the emergency hologram gave her. I do expect that the writers will have the holo-Janeway behave similarly to the real Janeway but her knowledge shouldn’t be limited to what the real Janeway knew.

This seems underwhelming and misguided, as is the case with other Kurtzman Trek.