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?


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