[Prodigy review starts at 44:23]
Tony and Laurie cover this week’s news, starting with the rescheduling of the next Star Trek movie, updated Strange New Worlds timing, and the good news that Star Trek vets Mike and Denise Okuda and Doug Drexler have been working on Star Trek: Picard. Then it’s a dive into Discovery with excerpts from New York Comic Con interviews with the Disco cast and co-showrunner Michelle Paradise. Before starting their Prodigy review, they discuss the news that there are 40 episodes coming instead of 20… and an unexpected hiatus. Then they review “Dreamcatcher,” and of course, Tony’s niece and nephew Ani and David weigh in. The podcast wraps up with a look at PSA billboards in LA featuring Leonard Nimoy’s Spock, and Scott Bakula’s tribute to the late great Dean Stockwell.
Links:
2023 Star Trek Film Moves To December
Paramount+ Content Chief Talks Up Star Trek Expansion, Reveals ‘Strange New Worlds’ Release Timing
Star Trek: Picard showrunner confirms that S3 art department includes Okudas
Doug Drexler: “Have I mentioned I am on Picard?
See 15 New Photos From ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Season 4
Wilson Cruz, Blu del Barrio, And Anthony Rapp Talk Changing Roles In ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Season 4
‘Star Trek: Prodigy’ Officially Confirmed For Second Season, Beyond The First 20 Episodes
Referenced episodes: “Bliss,” “Shore Leave,” and “If Wishes Were Horses”
Trekbits:
Tony: LA Care Health’s COVID PSA campaign with billboards featuring Leonard Nimoy as Spock
Laurie: Scott Bakula’s tribute to Dean Stockwell and Dean Stockwell, Actor in ‘Married to the Mob’ and ‘Quantum Leap,’ Dies at 85
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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Thanks for the lovely podcast guys.
What are you doing next week when both Discovery and Prodigy airs at the same time? A double review?
Next week we will find a way to do both; the trickier one is in January when Prodigy comes back. We are open to suggestions! We’ve talked about doing a separate podcast for each one, but I’m not sure we have the time for that, but we definitely don’t want to record a 2-hour podcast. Any ideas? (And I’m so glad you like our podcast!)
Get the shuttlepod crew to do one of them! Those guys are awesome!!(so are you and Anthony!)
Agree about their awesomeness! Not sure if they have the time for a weekly review, but it’s a good idea.
I don’t want to come off ignorant or “toxic” but I’ve got bit of a problem understanding why it is “they are” but “Adira is” / “Zero is”…
It would makes sense to say “Adira are” or “Zero are” if you think of them as being both at the same time.
It’s also reasonable to interpret that new version of “they” as singular saying “They is”…
But only using the plural with the pronoun and the singular with the proper name is a bit illogical…
A pronoun stands in for a noun or name and is supposed to take the same verb form as the name or noun it replaces.
But who am I to decide upon that matter :-)
From Merriam-Webster:
It is not new to use they for a person, and it’s a big improvement over “he or she,” especially when the person in question doesn’t fit into either category. It took me a while to relax into this, but it’s easy enough. Adira is not plural, so it wouldn’t be right to say “Adira are.” But one also can’t say “They is.” Benjamin Dreyer (vice president, executive managing editor and copy chief, of Random House) wrote a great and helpful piece about it: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/12/16/confused-about-they-merriam-websters-word-year-dont-be/
Thanks for the info. I’m absolutely fine with whatever is deemed adequat but I was just unable to wrap my head around sentences like:
They are a new character who is called Adira. Adira is human but they are also a Trill host.
As a teacher of English as a foreign language that gives me a headache… But absolutely no bad blood intended. I’m trying to adapt.
In German, the pronouns for “she” and “they” are identical (“sie”), so we can only use “he*she” (Er*sie) which is equally awkward.
“But one also can’t say “They is.””
Hm, I think that would be the better solution though. As you’ve said. They aren’t plural.
As stated before “they” and “she” have the same form in German but there is a different verb form attached:
They are = Sie sind
She is = Sie ist
“Inventing” something like “they is” would further clarify things.
But again… who am I to argue with Merriam-Webster :-)
Ha! As a writer and copy editor, “they is” makes my stomach hurt. My main point is that using they as a singular pronoun is not new in the English language, and it didn’t take long for me to get used to it once I accepted that. It no longer sounds awkward to me!
I was rewatching the episode An Obol for Charon from season 2 recently and at one point Jet Reno comes down to engineering saying that the chief engineer sent her down there. Disco must be the only ST-series where we never meet the current chief engineer.
Or the Chief Medical Officer! Thanks for remembering that, I’d forgotten about it.
My head canon is that the CMO and Chief Engineer stayed on the Enterprise and didn’t go to the future.
After all they had no involvement in Burnham’s mission go to the future.
That is been my working theory as well. And we see evidence that Reno is the chief engineer, and Culber is the CMO. It’s just for whatever reason they never actually come out and say it. And for season 4 because Michael is now captain it makes sense that Stamets, who has been promoted to Commander, is now Chief science officer. However it appears again they just don’t come out and say it.
Stamets seems to be shifting between a science position and an engineering position depending on what the plot requires (or maybe depending on the availability of Tik Notaro to appear as Reno). This seems to be the case with many characters on Discovery, maybe except for the secondary bridge crew which, however, are not much more than extras. For the others, their roles aren’t clearly defined or change every few weeks.
Tony, it’s weird.
For a show that “Doesn’t do that!”
( to cite Anthony Rapp’s exasperated replies to fans who ask who the CMO or Chief Engineer are), Discovery is very invested in Burnham and Tilly’s career advancement.
On one hand the uniforms and insignia are made such that rank is effectively invisible at any distance, on the other, the Captain and first officer are distinctly privileged in the quality of their quarters.
All to say that Discovery is still internally conflicted in its deep writing foundations. It wants to present as very egalitarian and not focused on traditional Starfleet hierarchy while having some of the key character arcs based on advancement through that same hierarchy.
Thanks for the always interesting podcast! As you were discussing the next movie, various timelines, eras, etc., a crackpot theory occurred to me with at least a morsel of plausibility. Some time ago I read that the next movie might somehow tie the Kelvin universe back into the Prime universe. From Disco S3 we learn that the Guardian of Forever has been trying to repair timeline damage associated with the Temporal Wars. We also don’t know where, when, or to what universe Georgiou has been transferred. Is it possible that she will play some role in reestablishing a unitary Prime timeline in a movie, perhaps even bringing the Mirror Universe to an end as well? Just brainstorming….
I think I agree that that Michelle Yeoh could be the link they’re looking for between the movies and the TV universe. She’s an international star, so that solves their problem of needing a global hit (and they can stop thinking it’s only the male stars that do that), and because of the Guardian, they have a lot of flexibility in terms of where and when she can show up. I think it’s a good idea. (I definitely don’t give a crap about Kirk’s relationship with his dad, and hope that idea has been put to rest forever.)
This is my favourite idea.
Not sure if I was the first one to put it forward, but as soon as I heard that someone from the Discovery writers room had an idea, the idea of Georgiou travelling to the Kelvin Universe in her own time period just seemed like the obvious way to bring the television and movie sides of the franchise together.
I’m not a Georgiou fan at all but I have to admit that idea intrigues me. It would be interesting if the next movie would involve a crossover between the Kelvin and Prime universe and they could even use the Temporal wars as a way to do it now that it’s been established the Kelvin universe was part of that war too. They could use the GoF as Elrond suggested (Elrond LONG time buddy! Where you been??) and even use it as an excuse to get other characters from different time periods involved.
I would kill for Archer and T’Pol to be involved in the movie as well since that’s where the Temporal Wars really started. Bring in Kovich from the 32nd century too. Any excuse to get David Cronenberg involved. Or even meet a young Kovich when he was originally involved in fighting it. So it could be a fun time-tripping multiverse story and keep the Kelvin universe relevant by giving it a stronger tie to the Prime universe and those shows. Ok, my fanboyism is getting the best of me so I’ll stop there. ;)
And also agree with Laurie. Having KT Kirk work out his daddy issues with Hemsworth just sounded like a bad idea. I really wanted another Kelvin movie at the time, but had no issues when that movie didn’t happen.
Thanks, Tiger! I’ve been regularly reading many of the threads, but don’t always comment. Hope you’re well.
I’m good actually! Great to hear from you! I hope to hear from you time to time when the season starts! If not, take it easy.
Thanks for the podcast guys, and well done for trying to imbue enthusiasum for what is basically kids-trek to us old farts (no pun intended).
Also well-done for trying to give a positive note to a rather average show.
Give real kids’ opinion on the themes is nº1.
But, I’m sorry, in the hope that the show could reactivate my inner 12-year-old has failed. The animation is not that great by modern day standards – they really haven’t wanted to either do the photorealistic Transformers Prime but neither have gone the SW animation route either – It plays badly on non-UHD screens, too.
As to Discovery, I am very concerned that it is going to go up to 11 on the diversity. You would have thought by the 31st century it would be a non-issue, but I guess not.
I have long defended Discovery as ST for today, but sometimes you just go over the top and it may fall by the wayside. It is damning that I have had no real interest in wanting to rewatch season 3 again, especially the whole non-binary transgender trill whatever relationship which seems wedged in and is really forced. Previuous showrunners have been able to do this so much better without insulting our intelligence.
I am very looking forward to SNW, however.
Some thoughts about tech-details, visual design and consistency: