Spoilers Star Trek: Prodigy 1x18 - "Mindwalk"

[Deks]

Maybe part of the admirals tendency towards crazy behavior is simply the fact that they get too much information about threats and it drives them crazy from trying to solve it all.

Perhaps... but the problem is we don't know nearly as much about most of the admirals to make claims one way or another.
Also, I doubt SF captains aren't at least aware of the potential threats out there... they'd be rather ignorant if they were not.

I'd prefer Trek move away from the 'crazy admiral' trope (it never seemed right to me in the first place for an organisation as the UFP - I'd make some allowances for an admiral to be shown as being affected by various events and wanting to do 'something', but desperately looking to do it 'the right way', and otherwise to demonstrate they can rise above that behavior too and remain in line with UFP ideals and principles - SF captains certainly demonstrated it can be done time and again... admirals should too). I think they are doing a good job with VADM Janeway on Prodigy though... I certainly hope it remains that way.

Alternatively, we could also say all admirals who appeared 'somewhat insane' could have been alien infiltrators.

 

[cooleddie74]

I did laugh more than once at Dal-as-Janeway turning into basically everyone's drunken relative on Christmas and not knowing the right things to say while stumbling around. Kate Mulgrew does have comic chops both in voice acting and live action.

 

[Deks]

Does anybody have a record of how many on-screen Admirals go hay-wire vs how many have no major issues?

Given that overall UFP is stable and SF is run (pretty) well and remains inclusive for the most part, I'd say in-universe wise, the amount of admirals who went hay-wire has been tiny (contrasted to the amount of time which passed since the founding of the Federation).

 

[ToddCam]

I don't think anyone was serious about any admiral's bonkertude as being special permission. I was just throwing a jab at the weak 'crazy Admiral Riker' arc from the end of that novel continuity.

 

[cooleddie74]

Admiral Nogura seemed to be pretty stable(though the only time we actually see him onscreen is in a non-canon fan film), Admiral Bennett in TFF appeared to have his head screwed on straight and Admiral Clancy in PIC is just kind of a short-tempered woman who knew Picard was trying to use his career and former influence inside Starfleet to get a ship for a personal mission.

 

[David cgc]

The Sovereigns, Defiants and Akiras I get…but 16 Centaurs? Huh? Not to mention that they used the inaccurate Eaglemoss version where the ship is scaled to a normal Excelsior class rather than being much smaller relative to the filming model’s Constitution/Reliant bridge dome. And I guess having 16 of them makes it clear that the ship is its own class rather than a ‘wartime bash of Excelsior parts.’ I wonder if they will give the class name in dialogue.

Spoiler

I'm very excited that I have the tiniest bit of behind-the-scenes hot goss on the fleet at the end of the episode, but I should probably wait until next week's episode (or the week after, it's a two-part season finale, I'm not sure when it'll become relevant).

I'm going to go with the personal interpretation that there are actually two similar-looking classes of ship at different sizes, a-la the Bird of Prey. Luckily, this one actually has two different models, so I imagine the Centaur itself is the original smaller-sized kitbash version, and the "Big Centaur" is the model used in the new "Resurgence" video game, which has some pretty big differences from both the physical and Ed Giddings/Eaglemoss CG models.

Btw, I've noticed in the footage of Chakotay when the ship was boarded that there was another (unknown) crewmember slouched on the aft side of the doors to the main bridge (that would give us a 4th Protostar crewmember).

I think that's the same third crewmember spotted in the earlier version of the flashback, just from a slightly different angle. Not sure what to make of her presence, since her character-model was seen a lot more prominantly in this episode in a couple scenes on the Dauntless. Maybe they're sisters.

...Picard was trying to use his career and former influence inside Starfleet to get a ship for a personal mission.

Which, if you think about it, is a pretty nuts thing to try to do.

 

[fireproof78]

Also, I doubt SF captains aren't at least aware of the potential threats out there... they'd be rather ignorant if they were not.

Of course they are aware. Just the magnitude, the size of these problems, can be quite overwhelming. It goes from "I'm responsible for this ship, crew and section of space" to "I'm responsible for a whole contingent, fleet or sector." It's a bigger responsibility. Not everyone is cut out for that temperament wise.

I'd prefer Trek move away from the 'crazy admiral' trope (it never seemed right to me in the first place for an organisation as the UFP -

Ok. Didn't sit right with me either. So what? This is drama, not real life. Some allowances and unrealities are going to happen...most of the time.

Does anybody have a record of how many on-screen Admirals go hay-wire vs how many have no major issues?

I'm sure someone does. Not me. I just recall the crazy ones. Why? Because that is memorable drama. Whether that is good drama is debatable. But, it's a trope. One Star Trek enjoys doing, of showing the captain who can think for themselves, buck the status quo, and lean on the Western trope roots of Trek.

It will go away when the dramatic potential goes away.

 

[Deks]

I did laugh more than once at Dal-as-Janeway turning into basically everyone's drunken relative on Christmas and not knowing the right things to say while stumbling around. Kate Mulgrew does have comic chops both in voice acting and live action.

Indeed.
'Ugh... how does she drink this stuff?'
'You! Antennaes'. You're in charge. Everyone else, keep doing an awsome job. Teamwork makes the dreamwork!'.

 

[Mr. Patient]

Biggest laugh for me was Rok suggesting some deflector-dish tachyon technobabble and Jankom going "Beep boop."

 

[JoseNoodles]

Just some things I noticed in the fleet.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

The Sovereigns, Defiants and Akiras I get…but 16 Centaurs? Huh? Not to mention that they used the inaccurate Eaglemoss version where the ship is scaled to a normal Excelsior class rather than being much smaller relative to the filming model’s Constitution/Reliant bridge dome, among other inconsistencies. And I guess having 16 of them makes it clear that the ship is its own class rather than a ‘wartime bash of Excelsior parts.’ I wonder if they will give the class name in dialogue.

They did that thing from LD, "all of them"

 

[Deks]

They did that thing from LD, "all of them"

Nah... the 'all of them' from LD involved all California class starships (which was just over 20).
In Prodigy, the fleet of ships greeting the Protostar was relatively small (I'd say about 50 ships total - perhaps between 50 and 60 - seems a bit of an overkill for a science vessel - but given the Dauntless probably included a warning about an 'unknown weapon' aboard, maybe its not an overkill - better be safe than sorry... but in this particular scenario, we're looking at 50-60 SF ships being potentially destroyed if the Living Construct goes off).

 

[Dukhat]

I'm going to go with the personal interpretation that there are actually two similar-looking classes of ship at different sizes, a-la the Bird of Prey. Luckily, this one actually has two different models, so I imagine the Centaur itself is the original smaller-sized kitbash version, and the "Big Centaur" is the model used in the new "Resurgence" video game, which has some pretty big differences from both the physical and Ed Giddings/Eaglemoss CG models.

So, akin to the small BoP and the larger K'Vort class? Sure, the differences between the two models are significant enough to warrant them being two different classes...if it weren't for one of the ships having the same registry number as the Centaur. (Actually, I'm going to guess that they were all labeled and registered with the same name and number. Which would also mean that all those Sovereigns are probably cut-and-paste Enterprise-E's.)

They did that thing from LD, "all of them"

Nah... the 'all of them' from LD involved all California class starships (which was just over 20). In Prodigy, the fleet of ships greeting the Protostar was relatively small (I'd say about 50 ships total - perhaps between 50 and 60 - seems a bit of an overkill for a science vessel - but given the Dauntless probably included a warning about an 'unknown weapon' aboard, maybe its not an overkill - better be safe than sorry... but in this particular scenario, we're looking at 50-60 SF ships being potentially destroyed if the Living Construct goes off).

@Ar-Pharazon was only referring to the Centaur type ships. Basically he was hypothesizing that only 16 of them exist, and they were all there.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

^ Exactly. Do we think there's more than 16 Centaur type ships in the fleet? 16 could very well be "all of them".

Like the Cali class, they're probably overworked ships that I'm a little surprised would be at a potential battle sight in those numbers.

 

[Deks]

^ Exactly. Do we think there's more than 16 Centaur type ships in the fleet? 16 could very well be "all of them".

Like the Cali class, they're probably overworked ships that I'm a little surprised would be at a potential battle sight in those numbers.

The Cali class was designed to handle second contact missions. Having about 25 ships to check up on all the civilizations that UFP made contact with in the past 100 years (for example) seems to be reasonable as the work can be divided between all ships in the same class for multi-year long missions.

As for Centaur class having just 16 ships built... depends on what the class was designed for.
Its an older class (kitbash?) it seems that dates back to the 23rd century.
I wouldn't be surprised if that's all that managed to survive in the 80-odd years of service and SF just didn't necessarily bother with making more (at least not yet) - but originally, there may have been a LOT more of that class running around. The surviving ships of the class would have gotten internal upgrades over time which would keep them running 80 years later and possibly a lot longer beyond that.

For all we know, the Centaur class will receive more relevant external updates to the design to contemporize it (and extend its service) around the same time Excelsior II was released (at which point, SF may decide to build more).

But we also don't know if that's all there is in terms of Centaur class - the number 16 is not canon after all, so its up in the air.

 

[Oddish]

My first 10/10, mainly because I was laughing so hard. Kate Mulgrew is always awesome, and Brett Gray (I think that's Dal's voice actor) also channeled Janeway pretty well.

 

[David cgc]

(Actually, I'm going to guess that they were all labeled and registered with the same name and number. Which would also mean that all those Sovereigns are probably cut-and-paste Enterprise-E's.)

I strongly suspect that, if anything, they're blank (in the grand tradition of DS9's CG fleets).

 

[Turtletrekker]

I finally heard Jason Alexander in the Tellarite doctor, when he had that little George-like outburst on the bridge. He's been doing a very good job of not sounding like himself.

Here is an interview with Jason Alexander regarding finding Noum's voice.

https://www.tvinsider.com/1073788/s...-alexander-noum-kate-mulgrew-voyager-reunion/

 

[jackoverfull]

Splendid episode! Exciting, intelligent, hilarious and pivotal. I really wasn’t expecting the mind swap and it worked well, all that Janeway has to do now is convincing her officers that she’s herself again. And find a way to communicate with the Protostar (Norse code?).

I’m confused at the Diviner freeing her up though.

9

 

[The Wormhole]

Does anybody have a record of how many on-screen Admirals go hay-wire vs how many have no major issues?

There've been at least eleven flag officers who have committed court-martial offenses by the period in which Picard takes place, approximately 250 years after the founding of the Federation. Which is itself a disturbing statistic, considering the US is currently 246 years old, and only on Admiral in the US Navy has ever been court-martialed.