I definitely loved this episode. This series is getting better and better! Two thumbs up!
Spoilers Star Trek: Prodigy 1x05 - "Terror Firma"
- Thread starter Commander Richard
- Start date
This one gets a 7 from me.
At least they give a decent in character reason for Gwen's decision at the end. But yeah, a 'Protostar engine' (that the main caretaker Holograms knows nothing about...) - Yeah Star Trek will never be anything close to hard science fiction.
Well, Holo Janeway only has access to maintain low level systems... and the Protostar engine was established (in this episode) as a high level system.
Plus she's a training hologram for the cadets... not the ship's general caretaker... though she CAN perform some maintenance as it seems (its possible the Protostar has other holograms for different tasks).
Its also possible that there's another version of holo Janeway which DOES have access to all Protostar's systems (including the ProtoStar engine)... such as the command version which upgrades training holo Janeway to holo Captain Janeway and full command privileges and knowledge.
But it seems that the holo Janeway hadn't been activated prior to the Protostar being found by the kids... so it would also be as much of a learning experience for her as it was for the cadets.
Its possible SF wanted to create a lower grade hologram with the capability to think, learn and adapt much like the Doctor but with Janeway's personality as a template.
Who knows.
Its possible that they are installed... but that's not really a low priority system... so holo Janeway wouldn't necessarily have access to it.
She would have to know about existence of transporters... but its also possible that they weren't used here because she wanted to train the kids in the hard stuff first to foster crew bonding.
And besides, with most of the 'crew' aboard, she thought there was minimal danger in allowing them to rappel and save Gwyn that way.
Last edited:
I'm hoping Discovery is taking place in an alternate universe.
Prodigy was said to be in the Trek universe we know... plus it would make better options for the near and far future UFP if the USS Protostar ISN'T destroyed, lost or technology buried (for whatever reason).
This would allow 'real UFP' to progress unfettered without artificial constraints as imposed by dumb writers.
I hate the fact how Discovery practically handwaved every technology under the sun Voyager brought back as 'unreliable' just so they could make their Burn work (and also, the premise the UFP would continue to use dilithium and M/AM in the far future is just IDIOTIC).
Last edited:
How long until the next ep?
I believe the hiatus is 6 weeks long, so it’ll be back seven weeks from yesterday, on Thursday, January 6th.
In my 26th Century Head Cannon, I have Michael Burnham eventually time travel back somehow and prevent the burn to save countless lives that would've been lost and bring back even more tech to the mid 25th century.
Yeah, the DISCO writers are dumb.
Nothing wrong with Dilithium & M/A-M reactors.
Dilithium should've been artificially synthesized & mass produced by now.
Enough so that everybody can have Dilithium if they wanted to.
Also, everybody should have been on Hybrid Reactor Systems instead of 1 or 2 power sources.
Just relying on purely Fusion & M/A-M reactors isn't good enough IMO.
I have my setting for StarFleet now on a Hybrid of 5x different types of reactors.
1) Large Fusion Reactor
2) M/A-M (Matter / Anti-Matter) Reactor
3) AQS (Artificial Quantum Singularity) Reactor
4) Tetryon Reactor
5) ProtoStar Reactor
The Temporal Reactor is only available to the Time Ships and is not part of the regular fleet.
Honestly, I see no need in that.
Just 'handwave' Disco into an alternate universe (much like Disco writers handwaved all tech VOY brought back) and call it at that.
That way, Disco can continue ina futre separate of the Prime universe.
Or would that be too harsh?
UFP can easily advance to way beyond astronomical heights in a short time span without time travel shcenanigans (I REALLY hated Leland's persistence about time travel HAVING to be responsible for technological breakthroughs... the writers were so dumb as if they never learned of exponential developments and returns the more societies are technologically and scientifically advanced - well, they probably didn't know about that - so a little bit of 'realism' injected here would make Trek a bit closer to reality - or at the very least make it all have a more meaningful impact).
UFP certainly has more than enough technology and resources to portray exponential developments and returns more of a reality from late 24th century (after VOY returned).
That combo of reactors works for 25th and 26th century actually, but Fusion, M/AM and dilithium would likely be phased out by the mid 26th century entirely (I just dont' see those particular power sources persisting - they would likely be considered the same thing as fossil fuels of their respective eras compared to more efficient and refined power sources... and even then, the 26th century is already pushing it - mid/late 25th would be my absolute latest cutoff point for fusion/dilithium and M/AM for being in use - and by then some older ships might still use it them due to 'nostalgia' or whatnot, but most species would have moved on).
You're also forgetting Thermionic Generators (courtesy of Species 8472 that recreated that habitat in the DQ - Janeway mentioned sharing of technologies by the end of the episode).
Otherwise, I have no problem with hybrid reactors.
Last edited:
Your Head Cannon, you can do what you want, I'll do what I want.
I'll be doing that anyways on top of the tech I bring back.
Matter / Anti-Matter reactions are the most efficient form of energy reaction. It's at 100%.
And we can get Deuterium from water easily enough.
Anti-Deuterium can be easily manufactured via solar plants kick-starting fusion reactors to mass produce Anti-Deuterium or just take straight up solar energy and convert it to Anti-Deuterium for use in the M/A-M reactors.
Just because something isn't the newest tech, doesn't mean it's worse or you're going to throw it away.
Janeway only promised to share the Borg Nano-Probe tech in exchange for Species 8472's Tactical information.
Thermionic Generators weren't part of that list, and Voyager has their own power sources anyways.
The most efficient form of Energy Reaction yes.
But that doesn't matter, because the question is whether they are the most efficient form of Energy Generation.
You're almost always going to have some sort of input matter into your Reactor.
The whole point of having multiple Reactor Types is to diversify your options as to what elements you can intake to generate massive amounts of energy needed for your ship and life style in that era.
Obviously the older forms of energy generation will still be there.
But when you're on a StarShip, you want more options and more resources to use so that you won't be short of power when you really need it.
10/10.
Really dig this Trek a lot. And this episode. Thrilling with little character moments. Also, Janeway in the chair again. OK, holo Janeway but Janeway non the less!
Really dig this Trek a lot. And this episode. Thrilling with little character moments. Also, Janeway in the chair again. OK, holo Janeway but Janeway non the less!
You're forgetting containment field cost, or to put it in math.
100 - 43 < 79 - 21
And of course, none of this covers things like Vacuum Energy or Subspace Energy taps.
Discovery's in the 32nd, but the burn happened in the 31st.
Maybe they were going to be Tuesday...
The movies were set after the show
Second this.not this shit again
Yeah, I third it.
She didn’t know about the protostar engine either...
uh...I thought we were over this by now
More or less.
But if you think about it... if Disco is in the Prime Timeline 32nd century as we're led to think, this kinda puts ProtoWarp technology in the 'useless' category... meaning one of the things might happen:
1) Protostar will be lost forever (never returning to UFP)... which still doesn't preclude the option of UFP repeating the experiment and making another one as they have the data and needed things to build it - but because Disco already established that nothing UFP tried deemed to be 'reliable'... its unlikely they will do this, because Trek has a nasty tendency of abandoning technology after one 'snag'... even though improving efficiency and overcoming hurdles to making things work is kinda how science works and what the UFP does (except in case of advanced power sources and FTL speeds - UFP can't have that it seems).
2) The Protostar technology will end up being deemed pointless with advent of Temporal technology at some point.
2) Protostar will come back to UFP, but SF will for whatever reason decide the technology isn't worth the effort so it will again be deemed as 'worthless'.
3) Protostar will be destroyed - same result.
4) Protostar ends up in another universe where mid/late 24th century UFP can benefit from the technology in question in the long run.
Point is, Discovery ended up closing things down in that regard, so the technology 'won't work' one way or the other... that's why I kinda wish Disco jumped to an alternate universe future instead... because it would leave the door open to possibilities... but if it didn't... this will not be doable (or at least not in the long run).
Its similar to a giant reset button waiting to happen - aka, 'nothing you did matters because its already been established it won't work'.
Similar threads
- Poll
- Poll
- Poll
