Star Trek: Prodigy (animated children's series)

Goodshape

Title for this was just announced. Don't know much else about it yet aside from:

The CG-animated series will debut exclusively on Nickelodeon in 2021, aimed at a new generation of fans.

The story of Star Trek: Prodigy follows a group of lawless teens who discover a derelict Starfleet ship and use it to search for adventure, meaning, and salvation.

https://trekmovie.com/2020/07/23/star-trek-prodigy-title-revealed-for-new-nickelodeon-animated-series/

Premise actually sounds alright. Nervously interested to see what they do with an explictly "for kids" show. But a bit annoyed that it further rubber-stamps the idea that the rest of new-Trek is explictly not for kids. Sheer ****ing hubris, indeed.

TheValeyard

Before the outrage begins, people need to remember its a KIDS show. Think Clone Wars saga.

Optimus Prime

TheValeyard wrote: »

Think Clone Wars saga.

This may have started as a kids show , but it was so much more and arguably the best Star Wars since the original trilogy.

Evade

Clone Wars had a rocky start but it was very good and often quite dark. The part where the Dathomiri brothers go on a Jedi killing spree, some of which were pretty young, sticks out.

pixelburp

The premise sounds interesting and unique. Without sounding like a total hater of all things animated, I don't like TV CGI animation, while kids shows, no matter how much material they put in "for the grown ups" just doesn't appeal to me.

I presume this relative "glut" of animation announcements approach is down to the fact it's leagues cheaper than new live-action Trek. Wonder given the divided reception Discovery/Picard has received, if CBS are trying to hedge their bets a little. That they want to use the Trek IP but feeling a little risk averse on another live-action show (like, I wonder if that Starfleet Academy show is dead)

Stark

There's also the ongoing Covid situation which would make it far easier to produce an animated show than a live action show right now.

pixelburp

True enough; I don't think very much had started back filming. Some location shoots in Aus/NZ but I'm fairly sure nothing in the US or Canada given the former is pretty much falling apart at the moment.

Goodshape

TheValeyard wrote: »

people need to remember its a KIDS show. Think Clone Wars saga.

Optimus Prime wrote: »

This may have started as a kids show , but it was so much more

pixelburp wrote: »

while kids shows, no matter how much material they put in "for the grown ups" just doesn't appeal to me.

When I was a kid, TOS was a kids show. On Saturday morning TV in the late 80s/early 90s along with Land of the Giants and things like that. Then a littler later, TNG. I was only about 11 or 12 years old when that stopped airing and I'd watched all of it religiously.

I've an 11 year-old relative now and... ehhh... going to be a couple years before I'm recommending Discovery or Picard (if I'd even recommend them).

There was some depth to those older shows too which kept me coming back, but they were bloody kids shows all the same.

Bit of a pity we've lost that with the 5 other new Trek series, but maybe it's just a different time. :shrug:. I hope this one isn't just very dumb or watered down anyway.

AMKC

pixelburp wrote: »

The premise sounds interesting and unique. Without sounding like a total hater of all things animated, I don't like TV CGI animation, while kids shows, no matter how much material they put in "for the grown ups" just doesn't appeal to me.

I presume this relative "glut" of animation announcements approach is down to the fact it's leagues cheaper than new live-action Trek. Wonder given the divided reception Discovery/Picard has received, if CBS are trying to hedge their bets a little. That they want to use the Trek IP but feeling a little risk averse on another live-action show (like, I wonder if that Starfleet Academy show is dead)

Wonder given the divided reception Discovery/Picard has received, if CBS are trying to hedge their bets a little. That they want to use the Trek IP but feeling a little risk averse on another live-action show (like, I wonder if that Starfleet Academy show is dead)[/QUOTE]

There is "Star Trek:Strange New Worlds" on the way as well. How that is going do is anyone's guess. No idea if they have started shooting it yet. I doubt it but maybe all the pre production, writing, designing and getting sets is being done.

Rawr

Optimus Prime wrote: »

This may have started as a kids show , but it was so much more and arguably the best Star Wars since the original trilogy.

I'm of the mindset that if a cartoon is handled well with good character development and stories then it can be a show that can appear to a wide spectrum of age-groups and demographics. "Family Entertainment" in it's truest sense, is something that everyone in the room can enjoy.

Treating a kid's animated show without respect for quality or the young audience themselves is something that tends to wind me up. "It's just a kids show" is no excuse at all for phoning it in, nor is it an excuse to discredit any valid criticism of a show. I often cart out examples of cartoons from my own childhood, like Ulysses 31, which although designed for children came across as a gripping and often very dark space opera. That was a show that had respect for quality and the audience.

Of the newest batches of Trek shows, this idea actually has me the most interest...assuming they do it right. I have often wondered what a Trek show away from Starfleet would be like. A genuine window into the life of 24th Century Federation beyond the rank structure of a starship. Having these kids come to grips with the dangerous reality of space travel might make for a great show.

But again....that is assuming they do it right.

pixelburp

One of my favourite films of the last few years, and one I genuinely think has legitimate merit as a Great, was Paddington 2. Seriously, it's a fabulous film but despite being "for kids" had a fundamental innocent, sweet centre that didn't manifest in "talking down" to any in its audience. It was ultimately a farce comedy with a warm heart. With a talking bear.

TheValeyard

pixelburp wrote: »

One of my favourite films of the last few years, and one I genuinely think has legitimate merit as a Great, was Paddington 2. Seriously, it's a fabulous film but despite being "for kids" had a fundamental innocent, sweet centre that didn't manifest in "talking down" to any in its audience. It was ultimately a farce comedy with a warm heart. With a talking bear.

Also, best acting by Hugh Grant in years. He was brilliant in it.

corkie

As others threads where getting 'First Contact day' posts ~ Might share this.

https://twitter.com/TrekCore/status/1379184286977437706

https://twitter.com/FanPageForStar1/status/1379489348169691137


"There was no news on a release date for Prodigy, except confirming previously reporting that it will premiere on Paramount+ later this year. Earlier during the First Contact Day events, it was revealed that the second season of Star Trek: Lower Decks would debut on August 12th, and the fourth season of Discovery will arrive in late 2021. It’s not clear where Prodigy will fit into that schedule, but a good guess would be for it to arrive in between Lower Decks and Discovery."

https://trekmovie.com/2021/04/05/star-trek-prodigy-first-look-reveals-a-whole-new-janeway-and-more-show-details/

Rawr

You know you're too much of a Trekkie, when you're first reaction to that Janeway photo is:

"Is that her favorite lucky mug? It would make sense for an Emergency Janeway Hologram to feature a lucky (nebula) coffee mug"

:P

corkie wrote: »

As others threads where getting 'First Contact day' posts ~ Might share this.

https://twitter.com/TrekCore/status/1379184286977437706

https://twitter.com/FanPageForStar1/status/1379489348169691137


"There was no news on a release date for Prodigy, except confirming previously reporting that it will premiere on Paramount+ later this year. Earlier during the First Contact Day events, it was revealed that the second season of Star Trek: Lower Decks would debut on August 12th, and the fourth season of Discovery will arrive in late 2021. It’s not clear where Prodigy will fit into that schedule, but a good guess would be for it to arrive in between Lower Decks and Discovery."

https://trekmovie.com/2021/04/05/star-trek-prodigy-first-look-reveals-a-whole-new-janeway-and-more-show-details/

corkie

{TVLine.com} Star Trek: Prodigy Reveals Voice Cast, First Look at Characters to Join Janeway

• Jason Mantzoukas (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Big Mouth) as Jankom Pog
• Ella Purnell (Sweetbitter, Army of the Dead) as Gwyn
• Dee Bradley Baker (SpongeBob Squarepants, Star Wars: The Bad Batch) as Murf
• Brett Gray (On My Block) as Dal
• Angus Imrie (The Crown, Kingdom) as Zero
• Rylee Alazraqui (Doug Unplugs, Summer Camp IsIand) as Rok-Tahk

pixelburp

Trailer from comic con...

https://mobile.twitter.com/StarTrekOnPPlus/status/1418624483204677638

Evade

It looks a lot more like Star Wars than Star Trek. Not that there's anything wrong with the Star Wars aesthetic, it just stands out.

AMKC

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117654405#Comment_117654405

Agreed but at least they got the music right and the ship looks nice almost like a ship with the armor tech Voyager had in Endgame.

Rawr

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117655985#Comment_117655985

Kind of curious about what the ship is supposed to be, especially since we've got Voyager's Reg. Number on the front of that. Far too large to be a version of the likes of the Delta Flyer, and the shape is all wrong to be Voyager's Captain's Yacht. (One Youtuber had a pretty good idea that the kids would find the Captain's Yacht which had been lost at some point during ST: Voyager.

I wonder if this ship was an attempt by someone to copy Starfleet tech to make their own Voyager based on some bits and pieces they had found. They may have even found reference to the Emergency Command Hologram, but somehow not realising that the ECH was just a mode of The Doctor, they instead used Janeway as a blueprint for this new ship's ECH. Might also explain why Janeway would still be in her Generations uniform and not the updated First Contact version.

pixelburp

I dunno, given this is aimed at kids I'd not imagine canon authenticity is going to be that high in the production's headspace. Especially given it appears to be set distant from known Federation space. Suppose it'll want to be something small so a group of kids could run it.

Rawr

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117658688#Comment_117658688

It was a wise move of them to put it out in the Delta Quadrant. Voyager only ever interacted with a limited slice of that space, leaving the whole area open for interpretation. Also given that the kids all belong to races we've never really seen before, they've given themselves a lot of freedom there. But since Janeway is there, and that ship does hint at some design cues from the cannon Voyager, I'd be surprised if they'd divorced themselves entirely from established Trek cannon. There's plenty of material there for them to work with if they can use it right. Lower Decks has shown that there are still crews out there who can both respect established Trek cannon and also have fun with it. With any luck Prodigy will have something similar.

Just because it's aimed at kids doesn't mean that it can't also be a window to welcome in new potential Trekkies. Assuming they do a decent job.

Evade

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117658672#Comment_117658672

Voyager is NCC-74656 this ship is NX-76884. Credit to the writers for incrementing the registry up instead of picking your street address or something. Is it going to be a trend going forward where the writers that have a good knowledge of Star Trek are relegated to the animated series?

Given it's a test bed ship Janeway as a mass production ECH template isn't a stretch and a quantum slipstream drive, the curves remind me of the fake NX-01 Dauntless crossed with a Sovereign class, could explain why it's lost on some planet.

Slydice

Doesn't really remind me much of the Star Wars shows but I've been watching a lot of the animated Star Wars shows over the last few years so that might be skewing my perception.

The Nickelodeon badge on this one says to me: For young kids and upwards

The trailer kind of gives me that impression too.

The Star Wars animated shows tend to feel a bit more for the young adult and outwards (young and old)

CastorTroy

Nickelodeon also gave us the Avatar series. But to compare to the Star Wars series, I'm hoping for more Clone Wars and Rebels than Resistance.

Hope with it being on Paramount+ that means it'll air weekly, assuming it doesn't all drop at once. Nickelodeon aren't the best at sticking to a regular schedule, having watched the last couple of Turtles series they aired.

Rawr

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117665745#Comment_117665745

Yea, more Clone Wars-ish would make for better viewing. Even as an adult I enjoyed Clone Wars, it gave in interesting view into that part of Star Wars lore. I'm even watching the newer sequel of Clone Wars, "The Bad Batch". Although it's getting a little too obvious that it's a kids show when the Stormtroopers are always using their stun setting in a universe where they'd normally kill. I imagine they may tone down the more fatal elements of space exploration in this new Trek show in a similar way.

pixelburp

I dunno; while I'll stay subscribed to this thread, I can't honestly configure my tastes enough to watch an out-and-out kid's show. Something precision engineered for a predominantly unaged audience. Sure, I watch Dr. Who happily, and other ostensibly "family" friendly TV like the Lost in Space reboot or the CW superhero stable... but there's something about cartoons that's a bridge too far. Like you said Rawr, they tend to be that little bit more toothless in their execution (whereas at least a guiding tenet of Dr. Who is to scare the shít out of the wee ones 🤣 PG-13 body horror n' all)

CastorTroy

For Bad Batch I choose to see it as they use the stun setting because they don't want to kill their brothers. Have seen characters killed as well, if I remember correctly though that's usually by falling from a height or into something.

I watch Fast & Furious animated series where no one seems to die and paint guns are used. Still more believable than the films. 😁 And the Jurassic Park series where people do get eaten.

This could go the way of something like Reboot where the early seasons were very kid friendly until they realised the actual audience were students so they changed it more for that age group. Unlikely though.

Evade

I don't think Disney could ever approach the more mature stories of the Clone Wars. Barriss Offee comes to mind. Spoiler tags don't work anymore if you're interested look up the episode Sabotage.

CastorTroy

Just so you know, spoiler tags are under that paragraph icon that looks like a backwards p. Click it, then the quote. Select the spoiler icon

TheValeyard

I'm just trying to figure out how a crew of less than 10 can run that shop??

Unless it's crewed by Holograms or androids.

Evade

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117670077#Comment_117670077

Would that make "Janeway" something like Rommie?