[Prodigy review starts at 29:44]
Tony and Laurie start with a look at the future of Star Trek theatrical movies now that the new chief of Paramount, Brian Robbins, is talking about “multiple” Star Trek films. They celebrate all 13 Trek movies finally landing on Paramount+ (and lament the lack of a ‘Star Trek’ tab), then give a quick production update on Strange New Worlds season 2. They discuss the new docuseries The Center Seat and Tony’s interview with director-producer Brian Volk-Weiss, then give some updates on Prodigy, focusing on new information from the producers and writers.
They review episode 103 of Star Trek: Prodigy, “Starstruck,” and also hear from Tony’s niece (age 12) and nephew (age 9) to get their take on it. They wrap up with a look at a Twitter account that combines TNG and Friends, and a TV special about Voyager from 1995.
Links:
New Paramount Chief Confirms Planning For Multiple Star Trek Films, Including Animated Movie
All 13 Star Trek Movies Available On Paramount + For The First Time
Report: ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Planning Production For Season 2
Interview: Brian Volk-Weiss On How ‘The Center Seat’ Is A Different Kind Of Star Trek Docuseries
‘Star Trek: Prodigy’ Update: Murf’s Origins, New Promos, Soundtrack Release, And More
Trekbits:
Tony: Twitter account @tng_friends – random screencap from Star Trek: TNG with a random subtitle from Friends
Laurie: E! Inside Star Trek: Voyager TV special hosted by Robert Duncan McNeill in 1995
Let us know what you think of the episode in the comments, and please post your suggestions for topics we should cover in the future as well as guests you’d like us to have on.
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Haven’t seen the episode yet but that pictures looks like Rok Takh having a Horta for lunch…
I would think a Horta would be more likely to have Rok Takh for lunch.
:-D
LOL agreed!
Rok Takh gets me a bit sad. The way all these kids were treated does, but her especially since she is the youngest of the bunch – and her eyes.
Agree. I’m glad she’s not just “the cute one.” There’s a sadness to her that gives her a lot of emotional depth. They really thought these characters through, they’re all so strong right out of the gate.
It seems as though they had a consultant or resource within Nickelodeon who not only has expertise in child development but also trauma.
Rok’s rage at Gwyn for collaborating in her incarceration is deeply felt and provided a credible explanation for how a sweet child would fight so aggressively.
I wonder if we will see some survivor guilt in this group as the season progresses.
I’m looking forward to all the changes coming for Gwyn. She’s a fascinating character and has a big journey ahead, both literally and figuratively.
Can’t stop looking at holo-Janway’s shoulders, the uniform is wrong. I like the comm badge.
Agree 100% over the movies. My god, either bite the bullet, come up with something and make it happen already. OR just put the movies on the backburner for a few years until you are truly confident to make one. Stop making all these silly announcements until you truly know you just want to make the movie and have a director, cast, script and budget in place. I mean the Tarantino idea was announced four years ago already! How crazy is that? They moved on to other things since and still nothing.
And I’m also feeling the one announced for 2023 is going to sink like the others. At the very least I don’t see it happening in 2023 unless they move it to winter of that year. But as you guys said his comments about it was VERY squirrely lol. Nothing about it sounds concrete.
Honestly, they should just make smaller movies and put them on Paramount+. Have a small run in the theaters for a few weeks for the hardcore fans, but mostly focused for streaming. The Kelvin movies were an interesting experiment but still failed to be the big tentpole movies they wanted. And fans seem to have turned on them sadly. Do something MUCH smaller in the prime universe and more creative concepts on streaming.
I got the feeling that Janeway immediately caught on to the fact that they are clearly not cadets but was playing along and not pressing the mater.
My take was that her program was interpreting what she saw in terms she could understand (like Leonardo da Vinci in “Concerning Flight”). But you might be right.
An interesting theory. With the discussion about how they were lying to Janeway, I assume eventually they will come clean regardless. But only after they demonstrate they are worthy to be Starfleet cadets.
Here’s my theory: the ship and Hologram Janeway immediate recognized all four of the core group of kids as members of Federation species far from home. This is why the ship and Janeway are willing to accept and train these youth in the absence of any adults who are Federation citizens.
We know that Tellarites are a founding species, and based on TOS can assume that Medusans found a way to successfully join by the late 24th century. Brikarians originated in the Litverse, and Brikar had joined the Federation by this time in that continuity.
Dal is intentionally a mystery, but if he is of mixed heritage, with one or more ancestors from among Federation species, that would also qualify him.
Supporting this is that Protostar didn’t open its bay door in anticipation of Dal and Rok’s approach when they first found it. It took Dal pressing his palm against the door. It also took Rok pressing the Delta button on the bridge to power up the ship. These seem to be clues and not just for effect.
Most importantly, we have proof that the ship won’t listen to everyone. It ignored Gwyn’s claims of ownership and that she was in charge. More, it identified the Brig and accepted to lock her in when Dal asked.
Thanks again for all the news. Being in the UK, I can’t join you on your journey through “Prodigy” but you are certainly wetting my appetite until such times as I do get to see it.
I suspect I’m in the minority of Star Trek fans when it comes to “Beyond”. I know many consider it there favourite, but for me it’s the least of the three. Edison and his motivations (which I found unconvincing) coupled with the Enterprise being destroyed (again) just didn’t do it for me and I left the theatre disappointed with that movie.
Agreed about Beyond. It felt generic and a glorified(big budget)tv episode. Probably the weakest villian of the series too. No idea what was going on with him, don’t really care. I wish we would never see the Kelvinverse again.
I agree that Beyond was meh.
I kept thinking “this is all they could think to do with these characters?”
That said, many of the previous TOS and TNG movies were quite meh as well, but in different ways.
Fans had a well justified belief that even numbered films were better. It suggests something deeply wrong in the Paramount development process all the way along.
I do agree that the big thing they messed up in Beyond was Edison. Didn’t get his motivation, didn’t get any of that. Waste of a terrific actor, too. But I found the movie the most enjoyable of the three. I liked the character pairings (especially Spock-McCoy and Kirk-Chekov) and I loved that huge space station.
It’s true TG47. Star Trek has also struggled with the film franchise. It’s quite sad. The glory lies in the episodes.
I would argue it’s the fans that have struggled with the films. They expect TV pacing and conflict when the strength of any sci-fi film is in its spectacle and action-packed climax.
As soon as fans change their expectations for the film arm of the franchise, Star Trek will be in a better place. Films need to commit to being the louder, action-packed sibling of the series while television should continue to do what it does best..
Hello,
I agree with your analysis. I’ve heard from adults that Dal is annoying. As an educator, I think Dal is spot on. He’s immature, a know it all, always right, fearful, and mouthy. He’s a teenager! He’s insecure! But, he will grow! I see that all the time with my kids and they evolve too. So he will be different by end of the series.
Rok-Tak is a brilliant character. She doesn’t understand why Gwynn did what she did. She is so young and it’s hard to get young kids to understand why adults do what they do. It made me very sad.
As far as the Tellarite goes, I love those personalities who are just happy simply to be.
I loved the analysis from Tony’s nephew and niece. The Haggeman Brothers said that kids are smarter than adults give them credit for. And I agree. It’s so nice to hear kids give a thoughtful analysis to the episodes. It’s a brilliant show and I hope the next generations accept the Star Trek message and make our world a better place. I believe they can.
Thanks for you comment and feedback. We will try to have David and Ani back again but it may not be a weekly feature due to logistics of making that happen.