"Star Trek Prodigy," Year One

"Star Trek Prodigy" is a "Star Trek" series specifically aimed at children, and I had every intention of ignoring it, until the excellent reactions for the second season started coming in. I haven't watched many CGI animated series since the Mainframe shows from the '90s like "Reboot" and "War Planets," in part because the animation quality for television projects has always been pretty rough. "Prodigy" has the advantage that almost none of its major characters are human, so the character animation has more leeway to get creative, and counteract the stiff, plasticine look of most TV-grade CGI.


Initially produced for Nickelodeon, and then Netflix, "Prodigy" is about a group of ragtag youngsters who escape from forced servitude on a mining asteroid by stealing an abandoned Federation ship called the Protostar. How the ship got there and why it was abandoned are mysteries that the show takes its time answering. A twenty-episode season gives the writers plenty of time to properly acquaint us with all the characters, set up the stakes of the story, and spend some time introducing viewers to some of the big concepts of the "Star Trek" universe. The kids include Dal (Brett Gray), a cocky youngster from an unknown species who declares himself captain, Jankom Pog (Jason Mantzoukas), an earthy Tellarite who takes on engineering duties, Rok-Tahk (Rylee Alazraqui), who looks big and scary but is really a shy science girl, Zero (Angus Imrie) an intellectual energy-cloud being in a containment suit, and Gwyn (Ella Purnell), the complicated daughter of the Diviner (John Noble), the villain who runs the mining asteroid.


Shepherding them along is a hologram of Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), who initially mistakes the kids for a group of Starfleet cadets. Even after learning the truth she encourages them to follow their dreams of joining Starfleet, helping them through lessons on the Prime Directive, the Kobayashi Maru scenario, and other common "Star Trek" dilemmas - presented in a kid-friendly way, of course. There are other concessions to the young audience, such as the ship's pet Murf (Dee Bradley Baker), a big, friendly, rainbow slug who acts like a dog. However, there are also a surprising number of Easter eggs and "Star Trek" references for existing fans, including several cameos. More importantly, "Prodigy" feels like "Star Trek" through and through. Our young heroes run through plenty of common "Star Trek" scenarios, from exploring alien worlds, to the ship being sabotaged, to difficult moral dilemmas. There's a big, epic, season-long story involving the Diviner trying to gain control of the Protostar and using it against the Federation, but we also get plenty of smaller, episodic installments about facing the monster or crew disagreement of the week.


In short, I didn't realize how much I'd missed this kind of "Star Trek." Far too many streaming shows are giving us eight measly episodes every two years, and it's so nice to be able to watch the "Prodigy" kids learn and grow together over a longer, more relaxed season. All the characters are pretty tropey, but thanks to enthusiastic performances and committed writing, it's not hard to get attached. Even the hologram of Janeway feels like a well-rounded, very lovable character, entirely separate from the "Star Trek: Voyager" Janeway, by the end of the first season. I'm sure you could quibble over some of the mistakes in "Trek" lore, or the rather flimsy storytelling devices that the writers invent to keep the kids on the Protostar for so long without any real supervision, but that just feels stingy.


If "Prodigy" weren't a "Star Trek" series, I probably would not have watched it, and I'm glad I did. It's a fantastically well made adventure show for newcomers to the "Star Trek" franchise, and I intend to go on to the second season when I have a chance. I especially appreciate seeing how far television CGI animation has come over the last two decades, though I think I'll always prefer the traditional stuff.

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