Spoilers Star Trek: Prodigy General Discussion Thread

[Timofnine]

I Galaxy may be intensely deep, but it's definitely not spherical, especially if you're talking about the massive distances being discussed here.

Well it is definitely spherical in the middle, the rest of it is kind of like a big disk as visualised in the Sylvester McCoy Doctor Who credits because of something called ‘conservation of angular motion’ which causes visible matter and energy to spin out in to a disk like shape around the outside. However, the shape of the galaxy is open to debate. Energetically, I still believe that it is *definitely* spheroid - the *mass* of the galaxy is almost certainly spherical at least, it just has massive swirling ‘arms’ as mentioned above. The galaxy is mainly made up of ‘dark matter’, but we can not see this dark matter - perhaps this ‘substance(s?)’ completes the sphere and we only see the ‘shiny things’ in the ‘disk’. This galactic disk or ‘swirl’ is still massive and the original point of how the different axis would affect Voyager’s journey is still relevant. It would not have been a linear journey nor a two dimensional path on a singular plane that Janeway and her crew would have taken with the USS Voyager traveling both up, down and side to side in varying degrees of 360 angles. They also would have interwoven between different planets in order to find resources, some of these locations may have been uncharted and well ‘off the beaten path’ thus unintentionally extending the journey.

In the far future, it is also possible that our galaxy will *definitely* become a sphere or at least elliptical even if you do not think so now, there are two possibilities for this. Number one is that the Milky Way could collide with another galaxy and merge in to a ‘blob’. Number two, our galaxy has yet to spin out truly and expand in to a sphere because it is still so relatively ‘young’ - this is of course based on the theory that our galaxy is in fact expanding. Alternatively, it could all be being ‘pulled’ back in to the galactic core via an event horizon as it collapses back in on itself in to a monstrous and hellish black hole - I do not think that would happen though as the effects of gravity would deminish the further out the galaxy expands so it should continue expanding indefinitely in to the infinite universe. If it did collapse in on to itself though then it might even spew back out again somewhere on ‘the other side’ like a big hour glass tipping from one side to the other. It should be ok though, because William Shatner told us what is in the middle of the Galaxy in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier.

If I am wrong about the galaxy being spherical, then I have this to blame:

 

[Tuskin38]

We can’t see our galaxy from the outside for obvious reasons, so we have to guess based on what we can see from our position within it and shapes of other near by galaxies.
But the most common depictions do not look like that.

There is a bump in the middle, but it’s not nearly that large.

If I am wrong about the galaxy being spherical, then I have this to blame:

Why not do actual research on the subject instead of trusting a silly TV opening?

 

[Timofnine]

We can’t see our galaxy from the outside for obvious reasons, so we have to guess based on what we can see from our position within it and shapes of other near by galaxies.
But the most common depictions do not look like that.

There is a bump in the middle, but it’s not nearly that large.

With all respect, you are contradicting yourself here. It may be an example of an oxymoron, but I could be wrong.

Why not do actual research on the subject instead of trusting a silly TV opening?

It is a bit of a silly TV show I admit, but it is supposed to be silly. It is up to the special effects department of the time how they want to shape their inverse universes as long as they do not make them *too* flat or square.

I prefer to use my imagination rather than research. I only research if I have to. But I have read a lot of stuff over the years so know a little bit about things.

 

[fireproof78]

Well, visualizations are at least easier to come by nowadays:

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[Avro Arrow]

Any other Canadians miss tonight's episode because CTV Sci-Fi decided to suddenly change the show's airtime seven episodes into the latest half-season?

Now to avoid spoilers until I can see it on their website tomorrow night.

 

[The Wormhole]

Any other Canadians miss tonight's episode because CTV Sci-Fi decided to suddenly change the show's airtime seven episodes into the latest half-season?

Fortunately, I'm used to these sort of shenanigans, so I knew something was up last week when I looked ahead to this week's listing and saw Prodigy listed an hour earlier.

But yeah, it really is confusing how they've handled it now. It had been on 9:00 EST (same time as Lower Decks and all the other Trek shows). Now they've devoted the entire hour of 8:00-9:00 to Prodigy, but the 8:00 episode is a rerun of last week's and 8:30 is the new episode. It doesn't help matters that my cable listings show plot descriptions for episodes for the first half of the season, but that's par for the course when it comes to listings for CTV Sci-Fi on my cable service, season 3 of Lower Decks had season 2 episodes listed, season 2 of Picard just stuck with a description of the season 1 premiere, while seasons 3 and 4 of Disco used the description for its season 2 premiere. And the most recent season of Doctor Who (including the specials from the past year) used the plot description and cast listings of the Doctor Who 1996 telemovie.

And you'd think if CTV Sci-Fi were going to change the air time of Prodigy at this stage, they'd at least run commercials announcing "New Time!" or something like that.

 

[Tuskin38]

The only one I watch on cable now is Discovery, as it doesn't hit Crave streaming until the day after airing.

The rest hit Crave streaming around the same time as they hit P+ in the states. I watch them while eating breakfast.

 

[Wouter]

There is something that doesn't seem to add up in the ages of the Diviner and Ascencia, unless I'm missing something.

This is the Diviner 17 years before the start of the series, when he asked Drednok to make a clone: https://www.cygnus-x1.net/links/lcars/epics/PRO-S1/S1E6/PRO-S1E6-119.jpg He was using a cane at that time (quite possibly this may have become Gwyn's heirloom, later). His motive to create Gwyn was that he feared he would not live long enough to complete his mission, so she would take on his mantle.

By the time of Prodigy, all that time spent in his tank apparently rejuvenated the Diviner and he doesn't need a cane anymore.

However, in "Preludes" Ascencia says that she and the Diviner were once the same age. And it was also stated that the Diviner landed 20 years before the present time. So, the creation of Gwyn would only be three years later, correct?
Yet, the screenshots from the Diviner entering the wormhole in the Rev-12 show a Diviner who is in quite good shape still:

So, three years later and he needs a cane to walk? While he would be the same age as Asencia is now on the show, since she landed only 3 years before the present day.

So what happened there? Is this an inconsistency/mistake in the show and was it supposed to be more than 20 years, or is there another explanation? An effect of the wormhole, or did he get very ill during those 3 years? I'm at a loss here.

 

[DaveyNY]

I don't think we've actually been told or shown all the necessary facts to make a determination yet.

 

[Avro Arrow]

Fortunately, I'm used to these sort of shenanigans, so I knew something was up last week when I looked ahead to this week's listing and saw Prodigy listed an hour earlier.

IIRC, the first half-season aired at 8:00 pm Eastern, so for the first few episodes this time around, I kept checking the listings just in case 9:00 pm was a temporary oddity. But after the first four or five, I started to trust (I know, that was my first mistake! ) that things were stable. So then I stopped checking the listings... and they got me a couple episodes later.

And you'd think if CTV Sci-Fi were going to change the air time of Prodigy at this stage, they'd at least run commercials announcing "New Time!" or something like that.

Exactly! And hopefully they would run such commercials during the Prodigy airing the week before the change, because I don't actually watch much else on TV.

The only one I watch on cable now is Discovery, as it doesn't hit Crave streaming until the day after airing.

The rest hit Crave streaming around the same time as they hit P+ in the states. I watch them while eating breakfast.

That is interesting, and very good to know, thank you! TBH, the only reason I'm still paying for cable is for the Star Trek shows, and I haven't moved to streaming-only with them because I thought they all hit streaming a day after they aired on television. With my schedule, a Thursday drop can be watched Thursday, but a Friday drop most weeks would mean I couldn't see it till Tuesday. If Discovery is the only one that drops on Friday, then maybe I can take the hit on that one show only, and save a bunch of money in return. Hmmm....

 

[James Cole]

Signed up again for Paramount + and binged episodes 11-17 over the last two days. Very strong batch of episodes for the most part.

Not sure if this is mentioned far back in the thread, but has anyone else noticed the new Prodigy-VGR mashup closing theme from episode 13 onwards? Talk about hitting the right notes nostalgia wise...

 

[Wouter]

Gwyn has been my favourite character pretty much from the start. I have the impression though, that her skills have been downplayed considerably in the back half of season 1 (so far; especially looking at the episodes from 1.12 up to and including 1.17).

This is likely because in the first 10 episodes, Gwyn started out as a minor antagonist and so her skills were emphasized in order to allow her to look like a significant threat to the others, and beyond that the basic plot of the first half of the season (after the initial escape from Tars Lamora, which resolved around Dal) largely centered on Gwyn (and her father). So we learned that Gwyn not only has an unlikely knowledge of languages and cultures, but she also has considerable knowledge in IT and general starship operations. This suggests that she also has had at least the basics of mathematics and general sciences in her education, and that she can learn really, really fast to accumulate all that knowledge at 17 (her ability to memorise vocabulary and grammar alone must be astounding). Generally, Gwyn was also presented as very observant and smart, especially on "Larry the Murder Planet".

However, ever since Asylum I note that Gwyn is almost anonymous (so to speak) as part of the crew: explanations are frequently now given and mysteries solved by Rok and Zero, while Jankom's considerable skill as a (trainee) engineer is also emphasized. Gwyn now looks more like Dal: capable of taking charge and of rallying the troops, but seldom having unique insights or solutions of their own ("all the world is a stage" is a good example of this, for Gwyn).

In particular the rise of Rok (since "Time Amok") as a very intelligent and knowledgeable character seems to be (part of) the cause of this (Zero's characterisation has remained consistent thoughout S1). Rok seems to have a thing going where she will have happened to study just the right branch of science in time for whatever happens in the episode, like genetics in "Masquerade". In "Ghost in the Machine", she even can hear that a piano has a missing or damaged key, while Gwyn and Dal just tag along for the most part.

In promo material, Gwyn was presented as nominally being responsible for communications. This, however, strengthens the impression of a significantly less competent Gwyn in the back half of the season: she is a communications officer who doesn't communicate! Last time she made a difference in communication was at CR-721 (when she explained things clearly to Frex), but since she was either not allowed to communicate due to the weapon (no hails to the Dauntless) or she didn't when she had the chance (Denaxi Depot), even if in the latter case she was at least right to distrust Ascencia. And as Gwyn herself noted already in Kobayashi, her knowledge of languages in and of itself is pretty much useless if the magic translator knows them all anyway (so only the languages of the Vau N'akat themselves make the difference).

Instead, Gwyn has moved more to a role that resembles more that of a first officer (or occasionally even that of a Commodore, overruling Dal), stepping in to lead when Dal couldn't or wouldn't. Masquerade was her best episode in that regard, though even there it was partially Rok and especially Murf who had a large hand in the resolution.

So, I wonder if Gwyn will be more prominent in the last 3 episodes of the season, as the plot of the Vau N'akat agents will (very likely) be the focus of those episodes. I do hope that Gwyn's general competence from the first 10/11 episodes will manifest itself more, again.

Since we learned that Gwyn hasn't been using the holodeck for recreational purpores, I'd like it if they revealed she was reading books/papers instead, possibly focusing on things like Starfleet's history regarding First Contact situations. That would be more like the Gwyn from the earlier episodes.

 

[Tuskin38]

but has anyone else noticed the new Prodigy-VGR mashup closing theme from episode 13 onwards? Talk about hitting the right notes nostalgia wise...

All the World's a Stage? Yeah I went back and compared, it def changed.

 

[Wouter]

Interview with Chad Quandt, writer of "Ghost in the machine": https://trekmovie.com/2022/12/10/in...s-singing-and-more-from-ghost-in-the-machine/

Very interesting! Some highlights:

"I think with “Ghost in the Machine,” in the second half of season one we knew where we were going with Janeway and with the living construct and this idea that Janeway has been essentially a kind of Manchurian Candidate and how she didn’t realize that she’s been kind of following the Vau N’Akat programming. We have been tracking that through every single episode and hopefully, on a rewatch you will see how it all makes perfect sense to get to the Federation. And knowing this big reveal that Janeway didn’t even realize she is corrupted. We knew we needed to get to that part and how heartbreaking that was going to be. And so then it was like, ‘A holodeck episode would be a perfect way to show that.’
[...]
Her intentions were pure in wanting to get them to Starfleet because that is what Janeway would want. It was that moment of “maybe we should stay in the Neutral Zone and don’t follow through with our plans” that the Vau N’Akat programming comes in to start pulling some strings without even Janeway knowing."

"Murf has to have a holodeck sim too because I think the gang–with the exception of Rok-Tahk–always underestimates Murf a little bit. It’s very clear Murf is not a pet, even though they first saw Murf as such. Murf is a sentient being and even though they can’t communicate with them directly, this metamorphosis is also part of Murf’s growing up. So of course, Murf has a fantasy of being a jazz singer."

[about the final 3 episodes of S1, question is of those are going to be nonstop action after two more reflective episodes]
"Not nonstop action. There are going to be a lot of emotional moments in the midst of some firefights, I can say that."

 

[Wouter]

And another but similar interview: https://trekcentral.net/interview-star-trek-prodigy-writer-chad-quandt/

This one makes it even clearer that Janeway was infected from the start:
"The writers broke the season at large before diving into individual episodes so we knew ‘Corrupted Janeway’ was where we were going. But how to get that big reveal out in the best, most natural way? Well diving into the corrupted code of the holodeck of course.
That’s something our team has always tried to do; make each episode part of the bigger
narrative. I really appreciate our whole writers room for that as it required all of us to work with each other and make sure the narratives worked. If you go back and rewatch the season you should notice that everything Holo-Janeway does fits within the subconscious programming of the Living Construct. But she didn’t know!"

About the Diviner and the next episode:
"And while this Diviner was just a simulation I think there’s more to the real one than just a nefarious doomsday villain. You should get more of that in the next episode, “Mindwalk” written by Shawna Benson and Julie Benson."

 

[Timofnine]

Signed up again for Paramount + and binged episodes 11-17 over the last two days. Very strong batch of episodes for the most part.

Not sure if this is mentioned far back in the thread, but has anyone else noticed the new Prodigy-VGR mashup closing theme from episode 13 onwards? Talk about hitting the right notes nostalgia wise...

I just noticed this now, the credits usually quickly cut out to Transformers cartoons so it’s hard to ‘keep them on’. It’s a beautiful closing piece and would not have sounded out of place on an episode of contemporary Voyager. Maybe they should start work on the Seven of Nine spin-off theme music/soundtrack ‘just in case’.

 

[NCC-73515]

PRO got an Emmy for production design

https://trekmovie.com/2022/12/11/st...r-burton-receives-lifetime-achievement-award/

 

[Wouter]

PRO got an Emmy for production design

https://trekmovie.com/2022/12/11/st...r-burton-receives-lifetime-achievement-award/

Examples of his work here: https://www.instagram.com/talexiart/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
(with thanks for Aaron Waltke, who pointed this out on Reddit).

 

[NCC-73515]

Examples of his work here: https://www.instagram.com/talexiart/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
(with thanks for Aaron Waltle, who pointed this out on Reddit).

"Sorry, this page isn't available."

 

[Wouter]

"Sorry, this page isn't available."

Ah, for me it's works. It probably requires an instagram account to work.