Prodigal Merchandise

[Markonian]

Part 1 of Season 1 has been released.
The series' aim is to get kids into Star Trek.
Yet there's no merchandise/toys in the shops yet.

So far, a video game has been announced - Star Trek: Prodigy: Supernova - and we've seen study mock-ups of a ship.
If you look at shows like Star Wars and Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, they release toys even before the series/movie premiere. You can already purchase JW: Dominion and Buzz Lightyear movie toys, and neither film has been released yet.

1. What is keeping Paramount from pouring some toys into Target, Walmart and international markets?
2. Plus, why is one of the two main ships - the Protostar and the Rev-12 (REV-12?) - so spiky and cumbersome in design? I doubt that the REV-12 lends itself to being made into a toy.

 

[C.E. Evans]

What is keeping Paramount from pouring some toys into Target, Walmart and international markets?

With movie toys, usually they start developing and manufacturing them at least a year before they are to be released. It wasn't that long ago that Playmates acquired the license to do Trek toys (we got our first look at them only six months ago), and with global supply chain issues still a factor these days, it will just take a bit more time than it would have under normal circumstances.

 

[fireproof78]

1. What is keeping Paramount from pouring some toys into Target, Walmart and international markets?
2. Plus, why is one of the two main ships - the Protostar and the Rev-12 (REV-12?) - so spiky and cumbersome in design? I doubt that the REV-12 lends itself to being made into a toy.

1. They only recently got the license, as @C.E. Evans notes. They would not be devoting resources to a line they could not produce. And these would be all new molds which means there is the building, testing and research phase first. How fast can that go?

2. The development of the show probably didn't rely upon the idea of merchandising, beyond Eagle Moss at the time the first season was being made. That an arm of Paramount was able to negotiate with Playmates and sell the licensing to them again probably was a surprise.

None of these processes are fast.

 

[Markonian]

Makes sense. At least that means something is in development.
Speaking of which, the development times for other franchises is just as long. So their IP owners got the ball rolling ahead of their shows' release.

 

[fireproof78]

Makes sense. At least that means something is in development.
Speaking of which, the development times for other franchises is just as long. So their IP owners got the ball rolling ahead of their shows' release.

There's a really difficult balance to be struck with Star Trek merchandising. For the most part, at least since the 90s, the Trek merchandising has slanted far more towards the higher end and the collectible market rather than geared towards the younger crowd with more imaginative play and action figures. While I have no inside information to the business processes I can well imagine the development of the show would not include investing money in something that might not be a guarantee of having a particular toy developer with them. In my past business experience such deals are developed by one arm of the company while another arm is kept in the dark until a deal is finalized.

 

[Bornin1980something]

You mean Prodigy merchandise, though I suppose Gwyn can be called a Prodigal (from evil).

 

[Kor]

I think we often associate the word "prodigal" with someone who lost their way in life and is coming back from that, from the Biblical tale of the prodigal son. But the primary and original meaning of the word has to do with wasteful extravagance, like getting yourself into deep poverty because you blow all your money on frivolous stuff, which is what the son did in that story. I suppose that could be relevant here if we're not careful and end up going way overboard with buying Star Trek: Prodigy merchandise.

Kor

 

[AnimationAdmiral]

There are Prodigy toys coming later this year. They’ve already announced them and shown the previews. You can also buy Prodigy t-shirts, totes, stickers, etc. on StarTrek.com

 

[Markonian]

Thanks for clearing that up.
I used ‘Prodigal’ as a pun - relating to Prodigy but also ‘difficult/errant offspring’.

If this show wants to get and keep children aboard, they gotta give them something cool to play with.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

I wonder, will they wait till the season is done before releasing dvd's and blu-rays?

I always hated those half-season releases, like with BSG and DW.

 

[Kor]

I wonder, will they wait till the season is done before releasing dvd's and blu-rays?

I always hated those half-season releases, like with BSG and DW.

So far these new Trek shows have gotten complete season disc sets. I don't know if Prodigy might be treated a little differently, with the Nickelodeon connection or whatever.

Kor

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

So far these new Trek shows have gotten complete season disc sets. I don't know if Prodigy might be treated a little differently, with the Nickelodeon connection or whatever.

Kor

Have any other shows been split this much? I think there was a couple week gap here and there.

 

[Kor]

Have any other shows been split this much? I think there was a couple week gap here and there.

I can't think of any off the top of my head, except Mad Men which gave us Season 7 "Part 1" in 2014 and then "Part 2" a whole year later. And they were sold as two separate sets on disc.

Kor

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

I can't think of any off the top of my head, except Mad Men which gave us Season 7 "Part 1" in 2014 and then "Part 2" a whole year later. And they were sold as two separate sets on disc.

Kor

I was thinking strictly of Star Trek series'. BSG had split DVD sets due to large gaps, but the blu-rays sets are full season.

I wanna say some Stargate Atlantis DVD sets were split as well, but I never completed those before going to the blu-ray series set.

 

[MFB]

I was thinking strictly of Star Trek series'. BSG had split DVD sets due to large gaps, but the blu-rays sets are full season.

There was a time about 10 years ago when splited seasons on DVD where quite common. Especially in Germany and independet from longer broadcasting gaps. I am not absolutly sure but I think Paramount/CBS released the Star Trek series TNG, DS9, VOY and ETP as splited seasons on DVD exclusively in the german speaking countries. But that was years after they had released those series already in the full-season plastic box sets.

Regarding Nickelodeon series there is only one I have been interested before "Prodigy": The CG "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" series that started 2012. CBS splited every season of that series in 4 parts (!) und released every part individually on DVD. Suprisingly it seems it has been also a german exclusive practice with the Turtles DVDs to release them later as full-season box sets. So there it was the other way around.

That CBS has not yet announced the first half of the first "Prodigy" season on disc might indicate that they will release just the full season and I hope there also will be a Blu-ray set. It doesn't seem to be standard for Nickelodeon series to be released on disc in HD so hopefully they will release "Prodigy" like every other new Star Trek seasons on DVD and also on Blu-ray.

 

[Markonian]

So, no Eaglemoss, no Protostar model. We can now only rely on a company to produce a toy of the ship.
Probably means the new Dauntless becomes unobtainium, too.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

No, never mind, I did a thing about what 'prodigal' means before reading the whole thread, but it was done already and better.

Toys look nice!

 

[fireproof78]

Thanks for clearing that up.
I used ‘Prodigal’ as a pun - relating to Prodigy but also ‘difficult/errant offspring’.

If this show wants to get and keep children aboard, they gotta give them something cool to play with.

Maybe? My kids love Miraculous Ladybug but the toys are less their engagement and more art and imaginative play.

I'm hopeful the figures will help but I think they need a good mix, which Playmates is usually good at.

 

[IMC Headquarters]

I can have my own Murf!!!

 

[Danja]

There's the matter of supply chain issues from China (I bought some Gatchaman Funkos earlier this year. Getting them from China was like pulling teeth! )