Some Kind of Star Trek: Prodigy

Saturday, 24 June 2023

The Prodigy Returns - We Hope

In a wave of cuts, Paramount has cancelled Star Trek: Prodigy after only one season has aired.

While that technically makes it the shortest Star Trek series aired at just 20 episodes to date, it's not the end of the story.

In a partnership with Nickleodeon, Prodigy was envisaged as the Star Trek series that would bring in a younger audience although it seems to have received a warmer welcome from established fans across the course of its initial airing.

Prodigy certainly developed its core of characters across the season and we know that a second batch of episodes are in post production with Paramount allowing them to be completed. This will then be shopped around for a new home as (you would presume) a bunch of 40 episodes, taking it over the 30 produced for Picard and also ahead of The Animated Series. Strange New Worlds sits at 20 with its second season in full swing.

It's definitely come as a shock to see Prodigy fall from grace so quickly. Will another home provide funding for a third season? Will it even find a new base from which to tell its story?

So far only the first half of the first season has made it to Blu-ray and DVD. The videogame, Supernova was quickly price-dropped and the range of Playmates action figures promoted in February 2022 has still not materialised. In fact fans have noted that the initial wave including Kirk, Picard, Burnham and others is now itself being discounted to clear.

Playmates website actually notes that the Prodigy figures would be launching in 2022 with additionals characters coming in early 2023. So it could be said that the writing has been on the wall with the wonders of hindsight.

The positive is that there is a confirmed second season in existence which, given circumstances, is most likely to be its last. Whether expense or interest were ultimately the reasons for calling time may not be fully revealed but it might even have been the point that as a joint production it was an easier option to cancel.

Paramount is apparently fully invested in the continuing voyages of the Star Trek franchise although with the ending of Picard, Discovery's upcoming final season in 2024 and now the demise of Prodigy it might be that they are reining in the costs and only going with what has truly captured the audience imagination and wallets.

Strange New Worlds is experiencing positive reviews, Academy is on the way, Lower Decks has a fourth season due and there's the Section 31 TV event to come. Maybe Paramount will invest in more of these one offs to test waters for future series before fully committing. That's my suspicion with the Michelle Yeoh vehicle and that the Oscar winner will only be onboard for the event before jumping and allowing a full (cheaper) cast to take over.

But back to Prodigy because it is set to disappear from Paramount+ in the next few days in line with its cancellation. There are petitions out there but in respect to its former home, that association looks to be over and done. Maybe it will continue beyond the 40 completed stories but I don't hold out much hope especially with the current world economics and the need to watch every penny.

At least the episodes we do have are of a high quality both in terms of visuals and storytelling. Super shame Eaglemoss never got to make a Protostar model but I can say it's a series that I will be revisiting and enjoying just as much on repeat viewings.

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Friday, 24 July 2020

On the Way: Nick Series Gets Named

Lockdown hasn't slowed the Trek train with Comic-Con virtual panels bringing us more news from the franchise.

In terms of Lower Decks, the panel highlighted the characters of Boimler and Mariner plus treated us to the first scene from episode one entitled Second Contact. Episodes two, three and four will be Envoys, Temporal Edict and Moist Vessel.

I'm cut to it, I thought the opening scene for Second Contact was fantastic. It kept with the look of the franchise while also dropping that little tint of humour and a rather unexpected conclusion in a matter of minutes. I'm genuinely very excited for this - it's brighter, it's lighter and it's definitely a huge contrast to the gloom and doom that many say has perpetuated Picard and Discovery before it. Even just this first scene manages to get Romulan whisky and a bat'leth into the show and that's less in than two minutes!

The other more interesting news is the unveiling of Prodigy - the 2021 show that will be landing on Nickleodeon. For once using the star of the command emblem rather than the delta shield as part of its logo, Prodigy will follow the adventures of a group of lawless teens who discover a derelict Starfleet ship and use it search out adventure, meaning and salvation.

Sounds a bit heavy for a kids show but the adventure certainly suits the channel. While Lower Decks heads for the adult audience, Prodigy could be the franchise's first real chance at tapping into the younger market and begin to grow the fanbase of tomorrow to ensure Star Trek's longevity into the 2100's even.

What does seem odd is that while we're being told about these two new animated shows - both of which have a minimum two season run confirmed - we've not seen a second trailer for the third year of Discovery nor have we really heard any more about the future of the Michelle Yeoh-led Section 31 show. In fact, we probably know more about Strange New Worlds!

My thoughts would be that with recent pandemic events, the animated arms of the franchise can continue fairly freely but social distancing will have placed serious restraints on physical filming progress for any and all of the live action elements of the universe.

The premiere of Lower Decks itself is set for just over two weeks but for those outside the range of CBS AllAccess, there's still no word on a distributor. Yes, Amazon did step in fairly late to the game with Picard but this would be a big concern at such a late date. Is it Netflix-worthy to sit alongside Rick and Morty for example? What is the plan for the show for the global fan community or are we going to need to find dubious websites to download the ten episodes?

What are your thoughts on Prodigy and the imminent arrival of Lower Decks?