• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Spoilers Star Trek: Prodigy General Discussion Thread

Well sure, but like I said the inter-relational drama is not the only way to tell this story. I don't mind the high stakes, and no, I don't get bored of it or whatever. But, lower stakes are fine too. Find a balance, please.

There's so much you can do though with drama on a coming-of-age show (such as one based around college) other than who is fucking who which is nonetheless personal drama. Off the top of my head:
  • Internal conflict between the expectations of family and the character's personal desire.
  • Self-discovery in terms of identity
  • Substance abuse
  • Self-harm
  • Anxiety related to coursework/exams
  • Social isolation
  • Fish-out-of water responses from those with a sheltered childhood
  • Just dealing with...jerks.
Of course, all of this could be dealt with on any show, not just a Starfleet Academy show. I don't think we really need a SFnal twist on things to make it watchable to Trekkies, but they could take a page from DS9 and use different alien cultures as allegories of earth ethnicities, etc.
 
There's so much you can do though with drama on a coming-of-age show (such as one based around college) other than who is fucking who which is nonetheless personal drama. Off the top of my head:
  • Internal conflict between the expectations of family and the character's personal desire.
  • Self-discovery in terms of identity
  • Substance abuse
  • Self-harm
  • Anxiety related to coursework/exams
  • Social isolation
  • Fish-out-of water responses from those with a sheltered childhood
  • Just dealing with...jerks.
Of course, all of this could be dealt with on any show, not just a Starfleet Academy show. I don't think we really need a SFnal twist on things to make it watchable to Trekkies, but they could take a page from DS9 and use different alien cultures as allegories of earth ethnicities, etc.
Again, the possible writers should read "Space Cadet." It would help.

Regardless, I think Andor is demonstrating that you can have SF elements while still exploring very grounded concepts like the ones you list. Though the dealing with jerks one is debatable. Dealing with problem solving, and collaborating with different people could work well.
 
The interview of the day (the marketing action is in full swing, it seems) regarding Prodidy: https://trekmovie.com/2022/10/21/in...k-and-previews-asencias-weird-arc-on-prodigy/

Some interesting parts regarding the character, ensign Asencia (the Trill navigator on the Dauntless):

"Big Star Trek fan, although I don’t think there’s anyone quite like my character in the franchise, so far… but I can’t say very much"

"[Q]would you like to play a villain and do the kinds of things a villain can do? [Answer] No, I think my character really gets to do all the fun things, just later. I feel very satisfied with this character [...] And they gave me a lot of liberty to create her with them and let me really play and really develop her. And she developed some very fast and very fully, and that’s really exciting."

"[Q]How much of Asencia’s arc did you know going in? Did you know what was coming later in the show? [Answer] I did because we record out of sequence, so that was extremely confusing. But we needed to establish her because she’s a very strong character. And so we needed to make sure we had her down from day one. And it was important for them and for me that I understood the journey I was about to go on, and that had to be put into delivering. So hopefully I’ve executed that. I’m trying my best."

About the writing on the show:
"I just thought it was some of the most fun and excellent writing I’ve read in a really long time. I would die if we made this into a live-action."


Let it be clear that we're not dealing with a classic Redshirt ensign here, nor a TNG style background prop.
I'm thinking even more now that Asencia is actually the Vau N'akat Vezria, as this character was decribed as very intelligent and skilled at manipulation, besides being hidden among Starfleet ranks. One would expect such a character to have a proper arc, and not be a background ensign. Since the Dauntless will visit Tars Lamora, she may find the Diviner there (if he was indeed left there).
 
Upcoming episode titles

https://twitter.com/trekcore/status/1584908592217456640?s=46&t=t6Z81n46-zcRBB3wc6p5eg

IMG_6298.png
 
Supernova like the Prodigy game and upcoming novel? That's a bit odd.
Indeed, I hope the plot of this double-episode - the season finale - is not a direct take on the game's plot (which was supposed to be in between 1A and 1B IIRC).

There is another link which adds some animation to each episode title: https://twitter.com/StarTrekOnPPlus/status/1584907645709950977

Interestingly, the Borg come in very early (second episode of 1B) and the graphics/animation for it shows Gwyn surrounded by Borg drones (without the others, unlike the part of it we saw in the trailer). I wonder if Gwyn will use some hitherto unrevealed Vau N'akat abilities to get herself and/or the others out of the Borg vessel. Waking up sleeping Borg indeed seems a bad idea.

The animation confirms that episode 1 has the explosion in space (when Gwyn regains her memory), but the other parts make me wonder if the ice planet (and thus the first meeting with the Dauntless and Janeway) may come up only in episode 4. Possibly, whatever happens in "Asylum" - with the big explosion - already has marked them as dangerous criminals as far as Starfleet is concerned.

"All the world's is a stage" (episode 3) could be where they meet Okona (and the alien geneticist?), as I could see him say something like that. Though I guess they could also meet both early in the Borg episode.

Episode 6 "Preludes" is where I suppose we will see a Klingon, as Rok seems to be in a fight with one in some kind of arena. Episode 7 "ghost in the machine" must be the "haunted house" episode - and may put Jankom center stage.

I'm not sure where the TOS looking people will be in, since I think almost all footage shown will be from the earlier episodes (as animation may still being worked on for the later ones, even now) it may be "all the world's is a stage" or "masquerade". For the aquatic people, maybe "masquerade" seems more likely.

Or I may be entirely wrong. It will be fun to find out, in any case.
 
Last edited:
Old friends reunite.

Admiral-Janeway-and-Captain-Chakotay-circa-2384.jpg
Where is that sceenshot from?

Found it, it's from https://blog.trekcore.com/2022/10/n...um-plus-episode-titles-for-the-entire-season/ along with 13 others.

given that the Protostar meets what seems to be a Starfleet installation (with the Denobulan on it), could it be the Diviner's weapon will give a demonstration of what it can do? I hope the Denobulan survives whatever goes down there.

There is also a short description available for episode 11: https://www.cygnus-x1.net/links/lcars/epsd-PRO1-11.php
It indeed sounds like the Diviner's weapon will go active on that station with the lone Starfleet officer...
 
Last edited:
https://blog.trekcore.com/2022/10/i...n-and-ben-hibon-on-star-trek-prodigys-return/
Interview with the showrunners, interesting and encouraging (IMO) read. though I wouldn't say those kids are "the worst of the worst", far from it! Rather contradicts the shows title, as well. ;)

"QUESTION: Can you talk about how Dal and Gwyn’s friendship and connection evolves in these new episodes?


DAN HAGEMAN: I think they see something in each other that they’d like to be — if you look at Gwyn, she’s someone who hasn’t really had an uplifting childhood, and she’s had to grow up at a very young age. I think when she looks at Dal, she sees a childlike, carefree guy.


BEN HIBON: She’s also much more rigid than he is, I think, in her way. She’s certainly appreciating that the more chaotic nature that Dal offers. It’s attractive to her.


DAN HAGEMAN: And I think for Dal, when he looks at Gwyn, she’s very great at what she does — Dal talks a big game but he’s not really that great! [Laughs] He’s covering up a lot of flaws, and I think he sees the perfect person in Gwyn.


KEVIN HAGEMAN: They’ll realize that they’re better together than on their own, sort of like Kirk and Spock, you know? They made an amazing team together. If it was just Spock, like, The Adventures of Spock? He needs Kirk to be there with him, right?"

[...]
KEVIN HAGEMAN: It’s not Picard. [Laughs] But it’s not just one, but two pretty big characters are coming back — and they’re not from the same Star Trek show. And Chakotay isn’t who I’m talking about.

 
Supernova like the Prodigy game and upcoming novel? That's a bit odd.
Aaron Waltke confirmed on Reddit ( in this thread https://www.reddit.com/r/startrek/comments/yek20r/episode_discussion_star_trek_prodigy_1x11_asylum/ ) that the game is set between ep 10 and ep 11, and isn't strictly canon.

What I guess he means is that the show reserves the right to contradict it at any point (specifically referring to the status of Gwyn's father, which was known to her in the game but not in the show at that point). And given the timing, it seems unlikely there is a clear connection with episodes 19 and 20 despite having the same title.
 
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top