Review: ‘Star Trek: Prodigy’ Passes The Test In “Kobayashi”

“Kobayashi”

Star Trek: Prodigy Season 1, Episode 6 – Debuted Thursday, January 6, 2022
Written by Aaron Waltke
Directed by Alan Wan

SPOILER-FREE REVIEW

A fantastic, fun episode surprisingly steeped in lore and mythology keeps the focus on our characters and their journeys.

WARNING: Spoilers below!

RECAP

“I can handle some little Starfleet test”

Picking up right where we left off, the USS Protostar and crew come screaming out of protowarp to find themselves 4,000 light years from where they started—and not even Janeway knows how the secret engine did it, or why it’s now “inoperable.” They may have lost the Diviner for now, so the kids return to the idea of heading to the Federation, but Captain Dal (“self-appointed,” notes Jankom Pog) still prefers to relish in their newfound “freedom.” Searching the ship for Murf, Jankom and Dal find the blue blob shivering in what they learn is the holodeck simulator. Sorting through the program options, Dal stumbles upon the Kobayashi Maru scenario. While Janeway points out it is too “advanced” for him, Dal seizes on this test of a captain’s capabilities as a chance to prove himself and get the crew to listen to him and drop all this Federation nonsense.

Booting up the simulation reveals the bridge of the USS Enterprise-D, and after Dal tells the computer he wants “some of the best you got” as his bridge crew, he selects the all-star team of Uhura, Odo, Dr. Crusher, and Mr. Spock, all in their original uniforms, and all (but Crusher) voiced using clips from their respective classic series. Wow. Dal remains cocky that this will be “easy,” but when he first faces the problem of the Kobayashi Maru freighter trapped in the Klingon Neutral Zone, his question of “does anyone know these people?” and choice to leave them to their fate rightfully prompts the all-stars to mutiny. Trying to save the Maru doesn’t improve things, with the Enterprise quickly dispatched by three Birds of Prey and a Judgement Score of 0.1%. Ouch. Determined to beat the test, Dal frantically runs it over and over, and after dozens of failures kicks the mocking Tellarite out, replacing him with Scotty. Pog nails it with his parting shot, telling the would-be captain: “Maybe if you listened to your crew once in a while you would do better.“

“Answers may lie within”

Meanwhile, Zero has fixed up Gwyn’s injured leg, but after going up against her father she is sullen, feeling she doesn’t “belong anywhere.” Ever helpful, Zero rallies her to find a new purpose as part of the Protostar crew, insisting her abilities can transcend Starfleet’s universal translator. The first task they set themselves to is addressing the mystery of why her father wants the ship so badly. This triggers a flashback to 17 years ago, with the Diviner curiously already on the hunt for the USS Protostar. His health failing, he convinces a reluctant Dreadnok to help create a “progeny,” revealed to be Gwyn herself. “You are my blood. You are my spirit’s soul. And when I fall, you will rise to replace me.” No pressure, right? Back in the present, the plot gets even thicker as Zero and Gwyn have discovered key information like the fact that the ship’s true mission is classified even from Janeway. Sorting through the code, Gwyn finds parts of it encrypted in her native language, which should be “impossible.” Proving Zero right, she uses her ability of “interpretation” to unlock the code with a Vau N’Akat phrase of her father’s. Access granted!

Back on the holodeck, Dal feels like he has cracked it or, or has he just cracked? With a mix of Chris Pine Kirk and a bit of the Joker, he now sees “the only way out is chaos.” Cranking up the rock and roll to distract the Klingons, he and his veteran team run the ship through a series of crazy maneuvers ending with ejecting and blowing up the warp core. And it works! When another Klingon ship shows up, Dal learns about the transporter as he and Spock quickly beam over to dispatch the Klingon crew… only to accidentally blow up the Enterprise with a Klingon torpedo. Spock’s “super pinch” was helpful, but it’s what he tells the despondent would-be captain that matters, teaching Dal the true lesson of the scenario through some of Spock’s greatest dialogue hits, most importantly, “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.” Dal finally gets it… he needs to start listening to his crew if he ever wants to lead them. Learning that the whole thing was a test to see how captains face a no-win situation was the icing on the lesson cake.

Before he can offer his mea culpa to the crew he finds them all on the bridge, awestruck by all the unlocked data floating around them. Rok-Tahk is there too, after a bit of a silly side adventure with Murf that involved him eating photon grenades, which led to an epic burp, some minor flatulence, and the revelation that the cute blob is indestructible. And it’s she who triggers yet another mystery as her curiosity unlocks one of the new files, revealing a hologram recording of the original captain of the USS Protostar… Captain Chakotay. This episode just doesn’t quit. The brief garbled distress call snippet shows Chakotay talking about the Delta Quadrant, an anomaly, and the ship being boarded. Oh, and Holo Janeway is there at his side, much to the surprise of present-day Holo Janeway. We end with her bombshell: “I’m suddenly realizing, you aren’t my first crew.”

ANALYSIS

And we’re back!

Star Trek: Prodigy roared back from hiatus with an episode full of fan-friendly lore but without forgetting the fun, mystery, and heart that make the show so welcoming to new audiences. Bringing in the famed Kobayashi Maru scenario from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was more than just fan service, as it served as an organic pivot point for Dal’s arc this season. How better to learn a leadership lesson than with Starfleet’s ultimate test, and with Star Trek’s ultimate authority, Mr. Spock? Brett Gray delivered his best performance of the series so far, showing range as Dal went through all the highs and lows of his holodeck adventure.

The usage of archival audio for Spock, Uhura, Scotty, and Odo was quite clever, and surely time-consuming for writer Aaron Waltke to craft along with the team who had to put it all together. For the most part, it worked; however, sometimes the pasting together of snippets from across the years, and even decades with Spock, was a bit distracting. Surely this is due to the quality of source material available, and the team still deserves praise for the effort. Bringing in Gates McFadden to voice new dialogue was also a delight and helped bring it all together.

While Dal was exploring this love letter to the Trek franchise, Gwyn’s storyline was just as impactful in terms of growth for her character as well as laying out the show’s own lore related to her father and the mystery of the ship. Angus Imrie’s endlessly curious Zero was the perfect guide to help take Gwyn that final step towards being an important part of the crew. And while brief, John Noble and Jimmi Simpson finally got a chance to show off their talents as their Diviner and Dreadnok start to become more fully realized characters and not just cartoonish villains. And finally, bringing in the previously announced Robert Beltran as Chakotay showed he, like his Voyager co-star Kate Mulgrew, was ready to slip back into character with ease.

So. Much. Going. On.

After laying down a lot of mysteries in the previous five episodes, Prodigy had expanded on them and is even starting to pay some off. Gwyn is now confirmed to be some kind of clone of the Diviner. We learned a lot more about him and his backstory, with his obsession over the Protostar dating back at least two decades and indications that it actually goes back much further. Being that this was before the ship was ever launched, it’s likely we are dealing with some timey-wimey stuff, full details still to be revealed. But it doesn’t feel like the show is stringing us along, as it gives us just enough to keep these mysteries going and adds new wrinkles like the mention of something called “The Order” and the fate of Captain Chakotay and the original crew.

The Murf and Rok-Tahk storyline may appear to be just a bit of slapstick fun, but this issue of his indestructibility definitely feels like a Chekhov’s Gun. We even got a little bit of nuance to Zero, revealing how they feel the pain of loneliness since the Diviner took them away “from the Medusan hivemind,” promising some future exploration into the lore of the enigmatic Medusans.  If there is a problem with “Kobayashi Maru,” it is that there is so much going on that it can feel like there is too much for the allotted 24 minutes.

The kids are alright

I had a chance to share the episode with niece Ani and nephew David, who were excited to get back to Prodigy and both very much enjoyed the episode. As Star Trek newbies, they focused more on the character stories and the lore of the show’s mystery. After voicing his concern over Dal’s selfishness in the previous five episodes, David “loved” how Dal “finally realized he has to listen to his crew more,” and how Gwyn “became part of the crew.” He was also excited that “Janeway finally figured out they weren’t her first crew,” demonstrating how the show has been telegraphing some of these storylines nicely. However, he was a bit confused by elements of the flashback and how “the dad created her, but she still looks the same 17 years ago.”

Ani really liked seeing Dal taking the test “over and over again… making the same mistakes” as a way to learn that being a captain is not “all about him” but being “part of the team.” For the most part, the familiar Trek elements were new to both kids, although Spock was vaguely familiar. David actually theorized that the crew Dal used for his test could be “the real crew” of the USS Protostar who all died. Ani also sees some possible dark motivation, suggesting the Federation classified knowledge of the fate of the original Protostar crew because something happened “that wasn’t supposed to happen.”

As for the introduction of the holodeck as a piece of Trek technology, Ani thought it was an “interesting concept,” but insightfully asked, “How does it really help them if they are doing missions and stuff? Is it just for when they’re bored?” The mysteries of the ship itself and the Protostar core continue to intrigue, with David showing an impressive attention to detail, noting “I can’t believe they went 4,000 light years.” The pair continues to believe that the crew will head towards the Federation, with David wisely pointing out “they can’t hide from the dad forever.” As expected, they found Murf’s grenade swallowing “really funny,” but they see potential, suggesting he could “morph into a shield” to protect the crew. So all in all, they remain engaged in the show and like the character arcs and mysteries while learning new things about Star Trek along the way. After six episodes they can talk about exploring, light years, holograms, and more with ease.

Final thoughts

It’s great to have Prodigy back and the promised trajectory of the show getting closer to the Federation is now becoming realized in a wonderful way.

RANDOM THOUGHTS AND CANON CONNECTIONS

  • The episode title is from the famed “Kobayashi Maru” Starfleet simulation first seen in the film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and updated for this episode.
  • The first episode of the current season of Star Trek: Discovery was titled “Kobayashi Maru.”
  • Through protowarp, the ship traveled 4,000 light years through the Miky Way’s Delta Quadrant in the direction of the Gamma Quadrant, which actually brings it closer to the Alpha Quadrant and the Federation as Tars Lamora lies on the border between the Beta and Delta Quadrants.
  • For some context, Voyager was catapulted 70,000 light years into the Delta Quadrant in the series opener, with an original estimation it would take 70 years to return home at warp (without any shortcuts).
  • Dal played the Ktarian Game from the TNG episode “The Game.” Later, Janeway suggested instead of running the Kobayashi Maru, he should play with the “silly little cone and disc game instead.”
  • Janeway revealed the frozen planet Murf found himself on in was “holodeck program Andoria 4,” which she called a “classic.”
  • Holodeck programs demonstrated by Janeway include…
  • Also listed were programs based on Deadwood, South Dakota (as seen in TNG “A Fistful of Datas”) and one for Paxau Resort, one of Neelix’s favorites from his homeworld.
  • The crew selection interface showed a number of insignia and combadges through Starfleet history, including one from potential future timelines.
  • As they looked over their crew options, Jankom suggested, “What about this J. T. Kirk guy” for James T. Kirk, famously known for winning the no-win Kobyashi Maru scenario.
  • Dal gave his selected crew nicknames…Uhura: earpiece, Scotty: mustache, Odo: Jelly man, Spock: Pointy Ears, and Dr. Crusher: Big Red.
  • The captain’s audio and onscreen ship details for the Kobayashi Maru freighter were exactly the same as in Star Trek II.
  • The freighter was never actually seen in the film, but the one depicted on Prodigy appears like the Kobayashi Maru seen in Star Trek Online.
  • The Kobayashi Maru holodeck simulation was updated to use the bridge of the USS Enterprise-D; however, that ship was actually destroyed around a decade before the launch of the USS Protostar, so Starfleet may be slow on updates. It’s unclear why the updated scenario set in the later 24th century would still involve the pre-Khitomer 23rd century Klingon/Federation neutral zone.
  • At some point likely during his many runs through the scenario, Dal learned the Klingon proverb that “revenge is a dish best served cold.”
  • However, he has not yet learned the proper response to the Vulcan salute, as he returned Spock’s with a high five.
  • Jankom estimates the ship’s speed during protowarp was “warp nine point… Pog’s going to puke.”
  • The flashback with the Diviner 17 years prior was on Stardate 43929.9.
  • In the flashback, The Diviner used a neuroflux cane, which could be Gwyn’s morphing bracelet/sword, which she previously said was an “heirloom” given to her by her father.
  • Before Zero and Gwyn started analyzing Holo Janeway’s code she said: “If you are going to go poke around in my head, I am going to need some coffee first,” producing a holographic cup of coffee, famously Janeway’s favorite beverage.
  • The episode ended with a text tribute to the late actors René Auberjonois, James Doohan, and Leonard Nimoy, the original actors who played Odo, Scotty, and Spock respectively.

More to come

Every Friday, the TrekMovie.com All Access Star Trek podcast covers the latest news in the Star Trek Universe. The podcast is available on Apple PodcastsSpotifyPocket CastsStitcher and is part of the TrekMovie Podcast Network.


New episodes of Prodigy premiere on Thursdays on Paramount+ in the U.S. and on CTV Sci-Fi Channel in Canada, where it’s also available to stream on Crave. It is available on  Paramount+ in Latin American, the Nordic Countries, and Australia. Amazon Prime Video internationally on Fridays. It will debut in 2022 in parts of Europe with the launch of the Paramouint+ Sky partnership.

Keep up with all the news and reviews from the new Star Trek Universe on TV at TrekMovie.com.

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What an amazing visual treat to see some of the greats represented on Prodigy!! And Chakotay!

I’m just impressed they used Leonard Nimoy and not Ethan Peck.

This was such a fantastic episode! My favourite episode of Star Trek in a very, very long time. A beautiful achievement all-round.

Aaron J. Waltke is obviously a huge fan, and this felt like the best type of love-letter to the entire franchise. Having so many legacy characters appear was so great, but seeing Odo was a particular highlight for me. I also loved the old Klingon design, and the very interesting mythology that the show seems to be building for itself. Really interested in this show and seeing how it evolves.

This is exciting!

It certainly is! When we were told Discovery was taking a break for Prodigy I was a little disappointed because I was finally getting into that show’s story line after that show’s strong episode last week. Not anymore! This episode put me on a huge high.

Like LDS, I love that it really captures the entire look and feel of classic Trek perfectly. Loved seeing the original Klingons again and of course all the legacy characters looked great.

But the one thing I wasn’t really prepared for was how strong this story line was going to be. This is a ‘kid’s show’ but its story line is just as intricate as any adult show. I didn’t think the mystery was going to be so deep. I figure it was going to be the bad guy hears about an advance ship that crash land in the Delta quadrant and wants to find it to for evil villain purposes. But they are setting up some VERY twisty and interesting stuff. Anytime time travel is involved in Star Trek, I’m there! :)

This ‘kids show’ may do for Star Trek what Clone Wars did for Star Wars…and that probably was the point.

Treating this show as a “kids show” is an insult. It certainly aims higher than children.

Will it do for Trek what Clone Wars did for Star Wars? I’m thinking not but that is more a function of being on P+ than anything else. Perhaps when it makes its way to Nickelodeon it might pick up more traction. Maybe.

Definitely agree of course. It is a well done show. And of course the producers have always said it’s for any age, but when it’s produced by Nickelodeon, I can understand why it gets that perception by some. But the fact it has appealed to so many fans this quickly shows it’s not really hurting it either. Just as long as it felt like Star Trek enough (and good), it was going to get most on board.

As far as it being on P+, I don’t see that as a big issue. They already came out and said that they are thinking of making it a film (the only new show that’s even been suggested so far) and renewed the show after the second episode, so it’ must be making pretty big waves early on.

Treating this show as a “kids show” is an insult.

I’m not sure what your point is here. It IS a kids’ show. And that’s not an insult.

I have a hard time seeing this as a kids show. It certainly aims higher than that. Calling this a “kids show” is a misnomer. And I stand by my comment that it is insulting to it to refer to it as that.

remember when folks were twisting themselves in knots over the thought of this “kiddie show”?

good times…

Prodigy is like a classic 80s-style action/adventure cartoon.

Meanwhile, Lower Decks is more juvenile than mature.

Yep. Prodigy aims for more thoughtful folks of any age. I really don’t see single digit aged kids being all that interested unless they are more advanced souls.

While Lower Decks aims for 7 years olds who have been Trek fans for 40 years.

“… 7 years olds who have been Trek fans for 40 years.“

Such a good quote!

Thank you.

I’ve used that line a couple of times already. This is why I repeat opinions and takes even though many regulars have seen it before. There always could be some who missed it or newbies who don’t know. And I never rip on other regulars for repeating their opinions over and over and over either.

A very fun episode to watch.

Man this episode was bonkers lol!

Fantastic, fantastic, fantastic on every level. I was smiling the entire time. So much happened in this episode and we are only on episode 6 of a 20 episode season. THIS is how you make great Star Trek!

Before we even got into the fan service stuff, the fact the ship jumped 4000 light years in mere minutes was quite stunning. I actually thought they had made it to the Gamma quadrant looking at the map, but that obviously can’t be true. Still the ship has some major kick.

But of course the biggest highlight for most fans will probably be that holodeck scene. I was prepared for it. We knew we were going to get some legacy characters showing up, but I was still on a high to see them all there. Spock and Odo were probably the biggest highlights for me, but loved seeing them all. Uhura was the only TOS character whose never been represented on another show before after all this time and FINALLY got it. Loved seeing Crusher as always, the only character that actually served on that ship. ;)

It just shows what animation can get away with that is just so much more difficult for live action. To bring all those characters like that was great. Yeah, Spock’s recordings felt a little forced but I don’t care. It was just great to hear Nimoy’s original voice. Loved the clap Dal gave him in the end lol.

But the BEST scene for me was the very end with Chakotay showing up. That was a big jaw drop. Now we know he not only was the original Captain of the Protostar, it’s turned the entire narrative upside down. Learning The Diviner has been searching for it for nearly 20 years is crazy. So either the ship is from the future (most likely) OR we are much farther advance in the timeline than we thought. We could even be post-Picard somewhere in the 25th century. But who knows?

Soooo many questions! This show has become a ‘must see’ very quickly. Can’t wait to see where it’s all going!

Two points:

•Uhura has been seen outside of TOS, in DS9’s “Trials and Tribble-actions,” via the same method as in this episode (archive footage).

•We know the series is set in 2383, and that was confirmed in this episode. The flashback to “17 years ago” was stardate 43929.9, which works out to 2366 (or season 3 of TNG). 2366+17=2383. So if the Diviner really was looking for the Protostar back then, there’s gotta be some time travel involved.

OK forgot about Trials, so good call!

And it IS time travel. YAAAY! I prefer that anyway and figured as much as I said but of course you think of all options; but missed the stardate reference.

Uhura was also supposed to appear (on the viewscreen) in VOY’s “Flashback,” but Nichols felt it wasn’t a good part and turned it down, if I recall correctly.

For the record, I had no idea the legacy characters were going to show. So it was a nice surprise.

This is a perfect example of context being everything. This show and episode works so throwing in a little fan service is a blast. When the show or episode doesn’t work, fan service is seen as a lame attempt to get fans to smile.

I knew the second they showed the E-D bridge and said to pick people for the simulation. It’s no way it was going to just be a bunch of nameless holodeck characters.

And I agree with you about the fan service, when it works it REALLY works. In fact I wasn’t totally onboard with some of it in the past like having Spock show up on Discovery or going back to Talos IV. I was actually skeptical on a lot of it at the time. But then I ended up really liking a lot if not all of it. Same for Picard. I know how you felt about the GOF showing up on DIS, but I loved that too.

So because of that, even when these shows are not perfect, they actually have done a pretty decent job of the fan service elements and why I look forward to them more than ever now.

Season 1 is 20 episodes?! For some reason I was thinking it was only 10, maybe a few more.

really in Australia all we have is the first five we cant access anymore

I’m appreciative for these articles because I’m interested in what Prodigy will bring to the greater canon but I just find the show unwatchable.

Did you try to watch this particular episode? It was pretty good.

I just can’t shake feeling I’m 20 years too old to be watching this show by the dialogue. It’s not a comment on the quality of the show per se let’s call it compatability. I’m not the demographic and that’s OK.

tOo rEasonABLe…

I’m confused by your unconventional capitalisation

What the…?

Why though? Is watching cartoons not something “adults” supposed to do? What gives? I am 36 years old and I love classic cartoons from the 80s and I love the cartoon genre in general if its done well. Stuff like Avatar The Last Airbender, South Park, Futurama, Simpsons, there are some good cartoons out there and to be honest I find it snobbish of people to just dismiss cartoons as “childish”.

Not at all. I can quote nearly every episode of simpsons and futurama and can watch them with as much joy as I always have. I love Father of the pride, I enjoyed star wars rebels, clone wars a bit less, the writing was quite a bit worse. Young Justice and the 2001 Justice League are fantastic as is the DCAMU series and the Arrowverse animated shows of Vixen and The Ray. I also really like Lower Decks.

The characters of Prodigy are just too young and it just to me seems like it was written for a preteen audience that would best identify with them. And so with the exception of Kate Mulgrew I just can’t stand any of the principle cast. Which means it has to be the first Trek I skip which is a shame.

Enjoyed that episode more than I have enjoyed Trek in a while now…

I like this series a lot, but man I was really hoping for less fan service forced tie-ins to other Trek show gimmicks given how ridiculously overused that trope in on that other, piss-poor ongoing animated Trek series.

Nevertheless, it was a really enjoyable ep.

Why are so many fans so miserable and angry?

Anyone pick up on the musical ques from TNG season one?

Nice. While the show isn’t gold it’s still pretty solid. And remains light years better than anything else Secret Hideout has made. Made even more obvious by giving us 7 Star Trek Discovery episodes between Prodigy episodes. The show has more heart than Picard. More laughs than Lower Decks and more genuine emotions than Star Trek Discovery.

Now should we play the game of what episodes the lines were lifted from? I recognized nearly all of the TOS cast lines. I’m just more familiar with them. I did notice the quality of the recordings. Some Spock lines that came back to back were very obvious. A minor quibble would be, would it have been possible to play with the audio a little more?

And now we see where Chakotay came in. Very interested in what’s going here and really wish the show had 40-60 minute episodes.

Good stuff indeed. For the first time in over 16 years I find myself looking forward to the next episode of a Star Trek series.

The other website that starts with ‘Trek’ and ends with ‘Core’ actually have all the episodes listed from where the previous lines came in their review.

And agreed about Chakotay. I was already excited just knowing he was going to be part of the show. But now knowing how deeply involved he’s in the story itself just made my interest even higher. Can’t wait to see next weeks now.

“Hand me that $#%@?! Tricorder, hooplehead!” Note to Viacom: a DEADWOOD / Trek (any Trek) mashup is something that I would pay very good money to see.

Technically it has already happened. A Fistful of Datas takes place in Deadwood.

I thoroughly enjoyed the episode… up until the end of the Kobayashi part of the story. I understand that the show wants to teach a very important human value–putting the needs of others ahead of ourselves–but the learning on the part of Dal was extremely forced. A slow realization of this value over the course of all the failures would have better planted the seeds for this, but instead, the plot required Dal to learn something… so learn he must, even if it comes out of nowhere. Perhaps the limitations of what dialogue could be used by the deceased legacy characters kept those seeds from being planted more effectively.

Is it me, or does it sound like Gates McFadden recorded original lines for this episode?

If I were to nit pick, I agree. The lessons feel like they would take deeper root if they were learned over the course of a number of episodes. But I think that is where being animated plays a part. Things, I think, need to happen a little faster in that realm. In the end, I’m OK with a character revelation per episode. It doesn’t feel entirely out of place in this context to me.

I do not know for sure but I figured Gates was the only one who recorded new dialog due to the fact that the others, save for Nichele, are deceased.

I thought I saw in the review that she did record original material for the show.

Yes, it is confirmed that Gates McFadden recorded original dialogue for the episode.

This episode hit all the right buttons for me. My only, small criticism is with the crew members chosen for the simulation. In the episode (as a whole), there was representation from TOS, TNG, DS9, and VOY. It would have been nice to see someone from ENT. My best thought would have been Hoshi instead of Uhura or Travis instead of Scotty.

I would have taken Trip over Scotty. To get an Enterprise rep in there.

When you are dealing with the Kobayashi Maru, you definitely need a miracle worker!

Buy yeah would’ve loved if we got Trip or Hoshi as well. I have a feeling they will show up eventually. Odo was the first DS9 character we gotten from any of these shows.

I’m a huge TOS guy and no other show got 3 in there. (Thank you writer for that. Almost makes up for using the D bridge!) So to be fair I figured to get an Enterprise character in I would have to sacrifice a TOS one.

Its not a competition to me because I love them all. But sure the more the merrier (within reason). And its episode 6. I have a feeling they will be using the holodeck for this type of thing again in the future.

In a way I agree and it would have been easier to record more original dialogue with those actors.

You mean Trip instead of Scotty?

My issue is with Odo–he wasn’t a member of Starfleet. He worked for a single planet, Bajor. So his being one of the choices offered by the computer makes little sense. It should have been Malcolm Reed.

Thing is, the actor who plays Malcom Reed is still alive, Rene Auberjonis is not. I think that was the main point the writers wanted to underline – respect for the actors not with us anymore. It’s dedicated to three of them in the end credits.

That’s not a bad substitution. But if you wanted to get a DS9 character in then who does that leave? O’Brian for Scotty? Bashir for Crusher? I wouldn’t say that would exclude TNG since they were using the D bridge…

Nog.

Captain Chakotay is now canon.

And I ponied up the four bucks to get rid of the Frosted Flakes commercials. I’m old enough to remember when that stuff wasn’t good for you, not energy cereal.

This episode was a huge improvement from the first 5. I loved that they used audio for Spock, Odo, and Scotty. I also loved the mystery at the end of the episode. I can’t wait to see where they go from here.

Wow. Just, wow. A master work of Star Trek weaving mystery, adventure, humour and heart with an astoundingly creative walk down memory lane that felt both nostalgic and fresh at the same time. Bravo! This was an amazing episode from what is turning out to be an amazing Trek series. Please give the Prodigy production and creative team the keys to the whole franchise. Like, now.

Again, I’m phasers-on-stunned at how much I loved it. Earpiece! Moustashe! Jelly Guy! I legit laughed out loud at adorable Murf’s little fart. Just. So. Cute. (and as an aside, the combadges on this show are the most elegant and appealing take on the concept. They get the big and little things just so right.) Smitten!

Murph is the one aspect I truly wish they’d jettison.

Of course as an older legacy fan, this episode hit all the right notes with me. So great to see and hear Spock, Uhura, Odo and Crusher again in a new show. That said, today’s show may have been too much fan service for some and I hope they can get back to telling the story of the ProtoStar and the kids next week. Really looking forward to hearing Captain Chakotay’s story.

One thing I must say, after a particularly rocky start with the first half season of Discovery fraught with controvercy, Kurtzman’s vision of Star Trek is rounding into form. Not all of the shows are everyone’s cup of tea (including myself), but it seems that each show has a target audience with a chance to not only attract new fans, but long time fans like myself actually have a level of appreciation for the state of the franchise. For many, that may have been missing after the debut of Discovery.

Looking forward to the continuing voyages of the Discovery and Protostar and can’t wait to see what Picard S2 and the premiere of SNW has in store.

I think an animated property is the perfect place for fan service like this. It can be overdone, but this didn’t feel that way to me.

🎯 Darts once again for the broadcast crew at CTV Sci-fi Channel.

From the TrekMovie review, it seems clear that the final scene of the episode was, not for the first time, cut short and went prematurely to commercial, with the credits rolling after the break.

What we got in Canada was Hologram Janeway saying that she’s beginning to realize that they’re not her first crew and then without a beat the advertisements abruptly cut in.

Worse when this happened previously on the 6:00 pm broadcast, it was corrected on the 8:30 pm one. So no such luck this time. Guess we’ll have to rewatch using “On Demand” once it get gets posted.

That’s the exact moment the episode cut to the credits so I’d say you’re all good.

This episode was a masterpiece. I need to watch it like 50 times over, now.

It seems the new animated Trek shows >>> new live-action Trek.

Well that was just an absolute delight! I love how the show is very quickly building out its own mythology, while also heavily incorporating existing Trek lore. Props goes to the production crew for sifting through decades of dialogue to get the perfect recordings of Nimoy, Nichols, Auberjonois, and Doohan.

I really wish we learned just how fast the Protostar went. Given that we know standard warp tops out at just below warp 10, I can only imagine that we were going at warp 9.99999999….(ad infinitum).

I figured they would be going warp 15 at least. Perhaps more! :)

The Warp 10 limit/asymptote only applies to Warp.

For example, Slipstream drives are much faster.

Protostar is clearly using another drive technology that surpasses that barrier.

I think the concept and conceit of the protostar drive is much more digestible than the spore drive.

We still don’t know much about it but it does feel that way to me as well.

It feels like a technological progression, shown at the tail end of the stories we know… not some magic mushroom instantaneous thing that was placed square in the middle of the canon we know. And don’t get me started on how they could successfully cover up it and the ship’s existence, and that they’d erase what they knew about that tech, and not try to advance it further. That may be the most asinine idea posited on the show.

You will get no argument from me about the insanity of the spore drive, the era they put it in and the ridiculous gag order about it. Not to mention that no one anywhere would follow it up or come up with it independently…

Yeah, but Trek is littered with all sorts of one off plot devices. I’m not crucifying Discovery because they fleshed this one out with bulls**t science. Something else Trek does quite regularly. This is science fiction, after all.

True but as you said, the thing is a one off. Not a major part of the plot of the show to begin with. Those are normally solutions they come up with on the spot to get out of a bind.

the idea was actually stolen from an indie computer game I remember,ber playing it but cant remember what it was called

I got chills from listening to Kobayashi Maru’s distress call

THAT was awesome

Weirdly, this episode didn’t do much for me. I thought the archival audio was a distracting stunt, especially when Spock audibly aged decades between sentences.

It was alright, but handily my least favorite episode of the series to date. Glad I seem to be the only one who didn’t love it, though!

I kind of wish that they had used more returning actors for the holo-crew instead of old audio. Its always good to see Spock again, but they could have brought in Ethan Peck and given him some original dialogue. They could have also used Hoshi, Worf, and Geordi instead of Uhura, Odo, and Scotty, so that the characters would feel more like they were actually part of the scene. Overall, it was a pretty good episode though.

Nothing to pick apart here, that was kind of great. Nimoy’s voice = chills! Nichelle Nichols – a lot of what could have been – her line was so strong!

I really loved all of the clips, but at times it did really feel like Dal was playing the scene with all of my Hallmark ornaments.

Quick Review:

Having holodeck characters of Scotty, Spock, Uhura and Odo using audio clips was fun and put a smile on my face and it was nice to have Gates back as Dr. Crusher and one very short moment with Robert Beltran as Captain Chakotay. Its easy to say its disappointing they didnt use other characters, notably Nog – who quickly rose up the ranks of Starfleet so obviously deserving of “One of the greats” even over Odo who wasn’t starfleet but all fun either way. Will The Protostar make it to the alpha quadrant or will they go looking for the missing crew?

Gotta say having more fun watching Prodigy than I ever did with Discovery, which I have given up on because it’s just not my cup of earl grey.

Well, a bunch of people on a previous post wanted a crossover event. Kurtzman delivered.

You’re welcome…..

Wow! Just had a Trekgasm watching this one. Must watch again- as soon I recover.
( Shameful, unabashed Trek fan service? Perhaps. But, please sir-may I have some more?)

This episode sounds fantastic and thanks as always for the excellent and very detailed review. Can’t wait until this is available here in the UK and I can see it for myself.

cant wait until its available in Australia either

Grand Slam for Prodigy.

Why would Captain Chakotay have a hologram of Admiral Janeway that depicts her the way she looked back when she was a captain and that acts as his subordinate? Hmm…

Yeah, I’m not sure any captain would want hologram trainer Janeway looking over their shoulder.

It is a very odd choice.

Well, he learned over the course of 6 years or so that a hologram can make for invaluable crew members. Probably had a hand in designing that one with the real Janeway, too. I assume it comforted him to still have her onboard with him somehow.

That’s fine, but why demote her from an admiral to captain and make her subservient if her role is to advise/counsel?

So the stardate of the flashback takes place between “Sarek” and “Ménage a Troi” – 4-5 years before Voyager was launched and they made reference to the Protostar. Did it get thrown back in time due to the anomaly?

In Trek Movie’s interview with the writer, he basically confirms that time travel is involved.

Could it be that the Protostar is sent to the Delta Quadrant and back in time in order to rescue Voyager before she gets stuck out there?

That thought just occurred to me, but I guess time will tell.

It would have made more sense to send it to the Badlands if that were the plan.

What a fantastic episode. This is the one that has totally sold me on this show and its characters–even Dal, who until now has just been annoying as hell. And I loved the nods to older shows… though I have to note that Odo makes no sense in this context since he was never in Starfleet.

You don’t need time travel to crossover.

Can we have new CGI series based on the movies, Original Series, Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise?

“Speaking of, where’s Murph?”

Great callback to Dee Bradley Baker’s other famous character, Perry.

I wonder why this Star Trek Prodigy Episode 6 is missing from the Australian Paramount Plus app

its annoying hope they fix it

shame those of us with Paramount Plus in Australia cant access this episode even though it’s been over a week since everyone else saw it.