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Star Trek: Prodigy - Just the Marrys! with Charlynn Schmiedt, Marina Kravchuk, Steve Shives, and Jessie Gender
177 Plays6 days ago
SIMPLY THE BEST? Don't sleep on Star Trek: Prodigy, which manages to capture the spirit and storytelling of the most popular Trek and aim it at kids while also being highly entertaining for adults -- especially a crusty old Star Trek fan like Bryan. He's not the only fan enchanted by the series, though. Charlynn & Marina from Mission Log: Prodigy and YouTubers Steve Shives and Jessie Gender come aboard to decide which of the show's 40 episodes (and counting?) are among its very best.
Jump to Charlynn & Marina at (12:22). Listen to their show here: https://tinyurl.com/2w6ny2hp
Jump to Steve Shives at (45:07). Check out his channel here: Steve Shives - YouTube
Jump to Jessie Gender at (1:10:16). Check out her channel here: Jessie Gender After Dark Channel Trailer and the trailer for her movie here: https://youtu.be/oYPpbfHfhG0?si=3KCXoscb8rs_wYcK
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Transcript
Introduction to Star Trek Prodigy
00:00:00
Speaker
Next on Trek, Merry, Kill Star Trek Prodigy.
00:00:09
Speaker
no purpose here.
00:00:15
Speaker
How did a ship get inside here? The more important question, how do we get it out? Join us. You always wanted to see the stars.
00:00:32
Speaker
On behalf of Starfleet, welcome aboard. Uh, what is that?
00:00:41
Speaker
Have you ever even flown a ship before? No. Does it show? Disabling gravity. OK.
00:00:54
Speaker
We get to go there and explore. This ought to be good.
00:01:03
Speaker
It appears we are fighting now. No one shall escape.
00:01:10
Speaker
Get me my ship!
00:01:16
Speaker
There goes our exit. We're so dead! Fire pew pew pew button. I don't see a pew pew pew button! Just hit them all until it goes pew pew! We've got phasers, baby!
00:01:29
Speaker
Woo!
Animated Series' Unique Storytelling
00:01:31
Speaker
I've seen my share of wayward crews and I can tell you this, you've got potential.
00:01:54
Speaker
Hi, I'm Brian. Welcome to Trek, Marry, Kill, a Star Trek podcast focused on talking up the Star Trek show a lot of fans need to see. I'm talking about Star Trek Prodigy, the first animated show aimed squarely at children, but it is so much more, so much more.
00:02:10
Speaker
If you've been listening to us over the years, though, you know that i we didn't start this podcast with the animated shows being part of the mix. I've maintained, and I still do, that the alchemy involved with making live-action TV is what gave our format a lot of juice.
00:02:25
Speaker
You know, it's kind of, it's lot easier to explore the question of, would could this episode have been hornier? Or if someone's performance was maybe way over the top in a way that fit or didn't.
00:02:36
Speaker
ah Animation has a lot of other things that are not what our format typically tracks. But no matter, eventually I figured out, oh, we could just do two episodes in an hour long Trek-Fairy Kill.
00:02:50
Speaker
ah So it all kind of worked out there. But again, the original sin of the podcast, if you will, was we didn't focus on the animated spotlights, which means we missed out on Star Trek Prodigy from the very beginning.
00:03:02
Speaker
But the other part of it is, is the campiness of the 1970s animated series coupled with the at times adult storytelling, Yeah.
00:03:13
Speaker
d c funana writing for it it had a lot you know they were bringing in the heavy hitters because they couldn't do a fourth season date they did the animated show i felt like that made it fair game for our format Lord X, by virtue of being an animated sitcom that's akin to Family Guy or Rick and Morty, kind of gave us the same permission, I think.
00:03:34
Speaker
But with Prodigy, yeah, it just seemed like bad form to put up an episode with the possibility of stamping it with a kill at the end. It just, you know, this is a show for kids.
00:03:45
Speaker
So I gave all the episodes of the show a provisional trek, but that ends today because I did that with the intention of eventually sorting out the Marys from the treks.
Prodigy's Narrative Strengths
00:03:55
Speaker
And so that's what this episode is, Just the Marys.
00:03:58
Speaker
In order to do that, though, I'm not just going to wing it. ah This winter, I finally sat down and watched the whole series, and it really... overwhelm me. I gave my focus and folks, I just got to tell you, it was tremendously rewarding watching this.
00:04:11
Speaker
Like all the new Star Trek shows, Prodigy is made with so much tender loving care and a mix of super fans behind the scenes and on the mic, but also a mix of people new to the franchise.
00:04:25
Speaker
So in a lot of ways on paper, it's the same as Prodigy. Discovery, Strange New Worlds, Lower Decks even, where where it's got all the things same ah things going for it. But what makes Prodigy different from all of them and what's unique really is that it's not postmodern. It's not a deconstruction of Star Trek.
00:04:46
Speaker
It celebrates Star Trek with ever without ever resorting to making fun of it, ah recontextualizing or simply ignoring canon. ah Even if you're not a canonista, you know, it just it doesn't ask you to just go with it a lot of the time to skirt things, to make whatever story they're trying to tell fit.
00:05:08
Speaker
It tells a story within the bounds of Star Trek by creating compelling characters in a dramatic situation that maybe isn't immediately compelling to you necessarily. But if you stick with it, the characters are so good. The animation style is so beautiful.
00:05:26
Speaker
The themes are so good. Like it's just so well made. Like eventually you just get kind of caught up in what's going on. There's just so much intention behind making these three-dimensional characters.
00:05:37
Speaker
They're not ah tagged with traits that make them obnoxious or set them up to either be or provide a punchline to get out of a tricky scene or when the plot seems to kind of be meandering.
00:05:49
Speaker
All the stuff that we've talked about with the live-action shows. you know And they're also not doing like perfunctory check-ins to service an actor or a character because they haven't been in an episode in a while. There's just so much intention behind it. The show is just it's sort of a magic trick, ah which to me is the best kind of Star Trek, where it doesn't seem like it should work.
00:06:07
Speaker
Maybe it kind of struggles even to find its footing at the beginning, and it doesn't looks like it's going to be a disaster. And then it sorts itself out, and it becomes what it is. There is not really a growing pain with Star Trek Prodigy, though.
00:06:21
Speaker
in terms of how they make the show, there was so much intention about what it was going to start as and what it was going to be. The first season is about a ragtag group of kids who live in the Delta Quadrant. They're basically refugees or child ah factory workers. ah They're working in a mine, actually.
00:06:38
Speaker
But they locate a crashed starship, the US's protostar, and they go from being trapped in a grungy Star Wars-esque world to exploring Star Trek and its world of optimism and learning. So that's kind how they are getting the kid audience in.
00:06:51
Speaker
ah These kids are hungry for the opportunity to do something beyond following a chosen one narrative and wielding lightsabers or whatever. And my being a crusty old Star Trek veteran seeing Trek be introduced to kids for the first time is a wonderful experience.
00:07:08
Speaker
ah Season 2 has these kids in the Alpha Quadrant and trying to navigate Starfleet Academy. Their mentor in both seasons, some version of Catherine Janeway. ah She's a hologram in Season 1 and a flesh-and-blood admiral in Season 2. They've also got the Doctor and plenty of Voyager callbacks there.
00:07:26
Speaker
And ah the showrunners, Kevin and Dan Hageman, they they don't let the writers take any shortcuts... And rather than be boring, the show is richer and more entertaining for it. What I mean by that is that yeah every story point is earned.
00:07:38
Speaker
It's organic. ah There's certainly callbacks, but I do feel they kind of grow out of just hanging ornaments around for you to...
Evaluating the Episodes: A Panel Discussion
00:07:48
Speaker
point and coo at the shiny bobble into integrating it into the story and uh and it's meaningful it matters uh it's truly great and if you haven't watched it yet fire up that netflix subscription and start streaming purchase the blu-rays whatever but definitely check it out So for this episode, I brought on a panel of experts to give their list of episodes they think are Star Trek prodigies Mary's.
00:08:13
Speaker
If you still don't know what Trek Mary Kill is, or if you're coming to our show for the first time, thanks for checking in. Thanks for listening. ah But basically, it comes down to this. Think of us as a spin on Kiss Mary Kill or f Mary Kill, with Trek being find a good, ah kiss, ah Mary being the best grade, and Kill being the worst.
00:08:33
Speaker
Back in the 70s or the 80s, Star Trek fans posited that 40% of the episodes are fine to good, what we'd label a Trek. 30% were kills, meaning watch it once and that's enough.
00:08:43
Speaker
Because even when Star Trek is bad, it's still pretty good, you have to admit. Because, you know, there's really nothing like Star Trek on TV. And then the final 30% would be amazing or what we label a Mary.
00:08:55
Speaker
So your city's on the edge of forever. Trouble with Tribbles. The Inner Light. All good things. ah You know, the the Emissary. Far Beyond the Stars.
00:09:06
Speaker
um Let's say, I don't know what Voyager are commonly loved, but like we've we've given Drone a Mary, Deadlock, you know those kinds of episodes, famous ah ones throughout throughout Star Trek history.
00:09:21
Speaker
So with 30% potentially being Mary's, if we just were to stick to that formula, and I had thought about calling the show 30-40-30, but that just didn't have a ring to it. So we went with Trek, Mary, Kill.
00:09:32
Speaker
But that theoretically means that if 30% are Mary's, that there could be as many as 12 episodes of Prodigy out there right now, just begging to be tagged with the best of the best with our Just the Mary label.
00:09:44
Speaker
I will be joined in a moment by four guests, which means our panel consists of five votes. I've already given every Prodigy episode a provisional Trek. So I will be flipping some of those to Mary in just a moment.
00:09:58
Speaker
If the other panelists don't mention an episode, then it simply gets another Trek added to it. ah This means there might be episodes that get mentioned a couple of times, but don't reach Mary's status.
00:10:08
Speaker
And I'll check in on the end and give you the final score. I recorded this in advance of the panel discussions, by the way. I did not reveal to anyone what my list was at the time. Didn't want to influence the vote.
00:10:19
Speaker
I also want to give everyone their time. As you know, if you're a long-term listener, I have a tendency to talk too much, talk at people, and I didn't want to do that here. I want people to talk about Star Trek Prodigy. I think it fits very nicely in the world of Star Trek, and I want everyone to express it in their own way rather than me trying to talk about episodes that we've all been talking about for years and years from a different perspective.
00:10:42
Speaker
Which is my, that's my drive usually with the Trek Miracle episode. I don't know that this panel discussion will necessarily, there might be some repeating. I hope it's fun.
00:10:53
Speaker
Maybe not as fun as Star Trek Prodigy, which is why you should go and watch it. Because we're going to be talking about technical stuff, high-mindedness, contextualizing a TV show. It's a show for kids and it's a show that's meant to have to be an adventure and have fun.
00:11:07
Speaker
So I think it's really great that we can even talk about it in a way that begs for some sort of analysis to it.
Top Picks from Star Trek Prodigy
00:11:15
Speaker
ah I hope you go check it out if you haven't already or watch it again with a fresh set of eyes and maybe something new to think about from what we're about to say.
00:11:23
Speaker
So with all that in mind, engage. All right, as promised, I'm going to say my episodes first. I'm not going to go into any details here because I'm hoping they get talked about on the panel.
00:11:36
Speaker
Time Amok from Season 1. Also from Season 1, A Moral Star Part 1. A Moral Star Part 2. Masquerade. Mind Walk.
00:11:48
Speaker
Supernova Part 2. From Season 2, The Fast and the Curious. Is there in beauty no truth? The Devourer of All Things Part 1.
00:11:59
Speaker
The Devourer of All Things Part 2. The Last Flight of the Protostar Part 1. The Last Flight of the Protostar Part 2. Cracked Mirror.
00:12:10
Speaker
Ouroboros Part 1. Ouroboros Part 2. All right, I can't wait to see what matches and what doesn't. Here we go. Marina Kravchuk and Charlene Schmidt are the hosts of Mission Log Prodigy, exploring the adventures of the crew of the USS Protostar episode by episode.
00:12:27
Speaker
Mission Log examines the morals, meanings, and messages of Star Trek Prodigy, but today they're here to lend their expertise to tell us which episodes they think are the show's very best. Marina, welcome back. Charlene, it's very nice to meet you.
00:12:39
Speaker
ah i have flipped this coin, which no one listening can see, but it is a quarter dollar American. 1973, if you must know. and ah And Marina has won the toss.
00:12:51
Speaker
I called tails for Marina. and and won And so we're going to go first. And I don't know how many episodes they've selected. We're going to start with their season one picks first. Marina's going to start it off.
00:13:03
Speaker
All right, great. Well, first of all, thank you so much for having us on. And thank you for having me back again. and um i have to admit, this was a surprisingly difficult ah exercise. As I was going through both season one and season two, you know, it was a constant internal struggle, you know, because I do love the series so much and, you know, picking out. So ah I did try to push myself to be as objective as I could.
00:13:26
Speaker
So starting with season one, um I have – well, here's a question, because you know sort of a trick question. Are we considering two Potters as one or two?
00:13:36
Speaker
In the tradition of Star Trek, if they didn't air on the same day, then they are separate episodes. That is my personal opinion on that. I guess that we're going with just two.
00:13:47
Speaker
So I have five for season one, which I figure is actually pretty decent. You know, sort of we know roughly where the marries and kills fall percentage wise. So I'm going to start off the first one. And I think in arguably it is one of the best episodes in Trek ever.
00:14:03
Speaker
And that is Time Amok. And I just, it it has to be on the list of the top tens across the board, I feel. It's a fantastic episode. We get great exposition, both science-wise, emotion-wise.
00:14:16
Speaker
We get to see poor rock basically grow up in ah in a matter of, what, less than 30 minutes. um So that's definitely one. ah The other one, and it is also one of the personal favorites, all the world's a stage.
00:14:29
Speaker
Like, you can't you can't beat that. And I have to point out, like, if you notice, a lot of the episodes of that stature in Prodigy tend to work to sort of like they blow your mind, partly because they're so much embedded in the greater tapestry of the Star Trek universe.
00:14:43
Speaker
Like, I think that kind of a nice thread that goes through pretty much all the ones that I picked out that I feel are Mary's in both seasons. um hold on now we gotta get i wanted it to go back for see this is what's so great about the show it's so exciting to talk about i want charlin to kind of jump in with her season ones we'll go back to you marina does that does that work for you absolutely ah okay yeah so charlin why how how about you mention one of yours Certainly. But can I preface my entire list by saying that, yes, this was difficult and I was being very discriminant?
00:15:16
Speaker
ah Because my thesis statement about this whole assignment is just marry all of Prodigy. Go for it. There is not a stinker in the bunch. However, there are some that stand out more than others. And those are the ones I'm really going for, especially if you are familiar with the show and Star Trek already, you put these on and they are your comfort food. That is my MO.
00:15:38
Speaker
That's fair. That's great. So I'm actually kicking my list off with Kobayashi because Dal learned some great lessons from some some of the Star Trek greats, the very best of the best in this episode. It's so much fun watching him try and try and try.
00:15:55
Speaker
to understand what are the rules? What is the assignment? What am I supposed to do? And he gets so much out of that process that I think it's a very transformative episode for him.
00:16:07
Speaker
ah All right, let's jump back to Marina. Yeah, so I did mention all the World's a Stage. yeah um yeah Again, a great episode. As I already mentioned, it it just slots in so perfectly. We actually get basically a development of something that was, you know, ah you know whatever happened to that you know person lost way back when in the 60s when the original series was on.
00:16:29
Speaker
We actually get one of the Chekhov's guns sort of finally fired. We know what happened to Galileo and everything. And and It's just beautifully done. We still have, and and that's true ah pretty much of every single episode of of Prodigy, where there are valuable lessons that the crew learns and that, you know, it enables them to grow and mature with every passing episode.
00:16:52
Speaker
So that's most definitely, I think, should be there. All the world is sage and the prisons. Great stuff. Charlene? Yep. I'll just go for it and say that, yes, Time Amok and All the Worlds of Stage are also on my list.
00:17:07
Speaker
Those are absolute go-tos as standouts for Prodigy. But specifically, All the Worlds of Stage has such a great connection to classic Star Trek lore done in such a beautiful way.
00:17:18
Speaker
It does not matter if you have not seen the TOS episode, Obsession, which this whole thing kind of comes from. But... You can understand it without it, but if you want to go back and watch it, you're all that more enriched. And that is the perfect way to do that.
00:17:33
Speaker
Yeah. I love that. I love the ah connections to sort of lesser episodes. I think even just having a Medusin as a main character, I'm like, these are not... oh yeah signature or fixtures in the Star Trek firmament that people have thought about for years and years. It's it's kind of wacky. Not in a bad way. It's just like it's that's how deep Star Trek is. yeah It's the non-obvious choice.
00:17:58
Speaker
It works for the show. It's fun. Thank you, Aaron Wolke. Yes, exactly. And it is this kind of like little subversive thing of pushing people into going and back and checking out the Legacy series, which is part of the whole concept of like introducing Trek to people who are, you know, who are not fans, who don't know much about it.
00:18:18
Speaker
Kristen and I, we often talk about how season three of TOS surprisingly has had a long pop cultural tale. Not that the first two seasons didn't, but sort of iconography wise, a lot of stuff, you know, the half black, half white face is like one of the most famous episodes.
00:18:34
Speaker
but yes It's like there's just so much that still in season three is considered Spock's brain. There's like season three is considered to be the worst season of the show. And yet it's it's had a lot of weird sticking staying power.
00:18:44
Speaker
it It does. Yeah. Did we have any more season ones? Yes. I still have ah two.
Character Development and Emotional Depth
00:18:51
Speaker
Well, technically three, I suppose, because one is the two-parter. So I have to mention Mindwalk.
00:18:55
Speaker
And I think my perception of it as Mary is partly because of the performance. Because I feel in this case... Between Kate, and I mean, you you have to give it to the actors because this this this is fantastic fun.
00:19:10
Speaker
So it's it's kind of like ah a bit of a meta enjoyment. It's like the story is great. You know, we finally get the connection. Starfleet finally knows what's going on via Janeway. But it's also the performance of the actors that really sells it.
00:19:23
Speaker
Marina, you are the biggest Janeway fan. Yes. So do you feel like, do you feel like you imagine the show and it like you dream the show into existence? Or do you feel like they were making the show for you in some way?
00:19:36
Speaker
but I have to. Well, you let's see. Charlene is a fellow fan, both Kate, both Janeway and JC and everything. And we we felt like this was like, yes, this was, yeah yes, kids and everything. Accessibility.
00:19:49
Speaker
Fantastic background to the whole series. But for the older fans, you know, the the veterans of the stuff that came, oh my God, 30 years ago, it's spectacular. I don't know how they managed to hit like all the points for all of us.
00:20:02
Speaker
ah So yes, I agree with that. Yes. Well, when we do our Voyager ah live action reviews, it does feel like, well, Janeway and Tuvok are the parents and the entire crew are a bunch of children.
00:20:15
Speaker
and and And so she's had she's been doing this for a long time. Yeah. Well, it's like a crush tells her in season two. She's like, you are the mother, you know, like whether you want to to, you know, accept it or not, but you are.
00:20:29
Speaker
So, yeah. All right, Sharlyn, jump in here. Okay, so I'm going to take a step back to the episode Ghost in the Machine that is right before Mindwalk.
00:20:40
Speaker
I love this one because it gets deep into the psyches of our main characters in a fun way through the holodeck. Yeah. And we get to see such a variety of scenery and music. It's so stimulating.
00:20:54
Speaker
I love it. However, that said, if there is going to be a sacrificial victim to my list, it's probably this one. is it Like if i told you that's too many and one had to go, you would. yeah Yeah, this would be the one, unfortunately.
00:21:09
Speaker
So the two last two episodes have been mentioned, you know, ah you know, I like holodeck adventures. I like that the next these latest generation of Star Trek shows when they've had the opportunity to use the holodeck.
00:21:20
Speaker
have really used the holodeck in extremely creative ways. Let's, uh, Picard season three accepted, where there's like the, the bar set that we sunk a lot of money into. That's the holodeck.
00:21:31
Speaker
But, but they're using it in intriguing ways that the other shows earlier shows kind of couldn't do maybe because you know, just the technology of the time influencing the writers. Like we can do so much more with our computers now, like our minds, like what the holodeck could do was more of an expansion.
00:21:50
Speaker
So I like that. But also like what you said about the performance, I think a lot of episodes can be a Mary because of performance. And I think that's the trick of this show. And a lot of great animation is when you get great performance work like Lower Decks.
00:22:04
Speaker
How often are these jokes being sold because of the performances? you know So it's just like, I think these are great calls of like, there are other ways beyond just the plot and the beautiful animation. Like sometimes it can't be as fundamental as ah do you tell something that's emotional? And they do that very well. um I think we're on ah Marina.
00:22:24
Speaker
You said? Yeah. So to finish off and I'll use them. I mean, I know it's technically as we decided, it's two different episodes. Nevertheless, the finale, the finale of season one, I think should be there because it's,
00:22:36
Speaker
It did wrap up that section of the story very nicely. We get a lot of stuff happening. i This is something that Charlene and I discussed literally every single time when we talked about season two. how How on earth did the creatives manage to explore so much material within extremely limited period of time?
00:22:55
Speaker
And of course, you know, you have the heartbreak of the loss of Hologram Janeway. So this was ah a great finale. I mean, okay, I feel Ouroboros is going to beat it by far.
00:23:05
Speaker
Nevertheless, I think it is a very much a merry double, if you will. That's fair. All right, Charlyn, do you concur? Do you have a different one? or I do concur. Mindwalk is also on my list, by the way.
00:23:18
Speaker
okay And mostly for the same reason that Marina mentioned, the performance. Kate Mulgrew and Brett Gray yeah just nail each other's mannerisms so well that I can't help but love the crap out of that.
00:23:31
Speaker
So that said, though, I also have Supernova Part 1 and 2 because it is such a good finale. There is so much emotion and heart. in in this episode when hologram Janeway sacrifices herself.
00:23:46
Speaker
If you don't feel that, are you do you have feelings? Honestly, if you've watched this the entirety of the show up to this point and you don't feel something, I'm worried about you.
00:23:57
Speaker
ah Please seek some help. So, but it's also such a great way to wrap up the whole season. Everything does kind of come together while leaving the door wide open for what's ahead.
00:24:09
Speaker
So again, masterfully done and it does need to be here. My M.O. on two-parters, by the way, was if I was going to choose a two-parter throughout the series, and there's a lot of them, it had to be one.
00:24:23
Speaker
but It couldn't be one or the other. It had to be both parts. That's a complete story. so Correct. Yeah. Same same thing. That's fair. We're going to jump into season two right now. I mean, can you imagine considering that half of the season basically two potters? It made it a lot harder. I'll say that.
00:24:40
Speaker
We've done that though before, like past tense, we put part one as a Mary and pat part two as a Trek, just because it's harder to sometimes land these planes, but... ah With this show, the entire show, it's just arcs upon arcs, within arcs.
00:24:55
Speaker
yeah And so they are like, we didn't have, this story was more than 21 minutes, so we have to expand it out. I think your yourre thinking about it is much more rational for what the format is. It works a lot better.
00:25:06
Speaker
Like in in the live actions, they'll frequently write a two-parter. I'm like, we don't know what part two is. Yeah, that's true. Yeah. That should not happen in animation at all. Yeah, exactly. All right, so we'll start this time with Charlene to start off with.
00:25:21
Speaker
Well, all right. All of that said, I jumped straight to episode eight in season two and went for Is There in Beauty? No Truth. We talk about this. I know you love this episode so much. I'm starting with the same one. Are you? yeah ah I knew would be on your list. And it's because it is a great zero story. So transformative for that character, but also visually the creation of this world and really helping us understand how sensory these medusans well I guess it's not just medusans it's other creatures who are non-corporeal living in bodies though and experiencing pain and pleasure and excitement all the things that actually comes through so well for a tv program that if this episode was not on the list ah I'd be doing it wrong
00:26:12
Speaker
So I just need to mention that the episode prior when Zero is injured and we are for a moment thought to believe maybe Zero's dead, that I jumped off off the couch. I was like, what? And it was like, that was, so it took me that long.
00:26:28
Speaker
Not that I didn't care. You're like, do I have no heart when Hollow Janeway does? I don't, not for holograms. So I was like, all right, well, she's doing what her programming says. So it's tough for the kids. I'll get over it. know.
00:26:40
Speaker
But when Zero, I thought something happened to Zero, I was like, oh my God. And then I was like, oh, I really care about the characters of the show. yeah And the that I said in the opening, like one of the thing like this is the show where i I either really like or love all the characters, which I cannot say about any other Star Trek show. yeah ah well are there are that some like I guess Next Generation, i guess if I'm being honest, but that's like... like The original series, I'm like, check off, get rid of him. Don't need him. Not a fan.
00:27:11
Speaker
ah The comes out. Yeah, exactly. But this show is after Next Generation. It's like I i love and I care about all these characters. it's It's incredibly solid. That's what keeps blowing my mind is that it's probably the most solidly written thing.
00:27:26
Speaker
I mean, yes, I mean, people don't necessarily respond to it because it is an animatic rather than live action. But writing wise, it's it's unparalleled. I feel it's so solid from a to Z. um I have to you know say a couple of words about this particular episode because I felt, ah yes, it's stunningly beautiful any way you look at it. The design is just off the charts.
00:27:49
Speaker
it It is it's surprisingly deep because I feel like like that that's a perfect story for you know expressing the self-awareness because Zero is self-aware enough to understand that if he stays, yes, he gets the body and sensations and feelings and everything else.
00:28:04
Speaker
But he's no longer going to be themselves. You know, they get they're going to lose the thing that makes them zero. And that is being the curious one. There's no longer exploration. There's no longer learning new things.
00:28:15
Speaker
So they cannot stay. And that, I thought, was it's spectacular. but You know, most definitely a Mary. All right. ah So Marina, what's your – what other episode do you have?
00:28:27
Speaker
and Let's see. So yeah, my – well, The Devourable Things, both parts.
Legacy Characters and New Stories
00:28:31
Speaker
Okay. This is something – this is probably the two episodes that I've watched the most or maybe – yeah, roughly. I think so.
00:28:39
Speaker
um It blows my mind. I mean, we get the the fact that we finally learn who the secret entity is, Wesley Crusher. And there's just... I mean, my God, this whole thing could be a movie.
00:28:52
Speaker
There's so much so many things happening in Devourable Things. We finally get basically the explanation of how bad things, how huge the problem is that our kids involved in. And it just...
00:29:03
Speaker
Everything about it, same thing. You know, again, we get the time ziggurat. that the the The design is spectacular. this So the story just keeps hitting with a, you know, it's not even like a hammer. It's what's bigger than a hammer.
00:29:14
Speaker
It's just, you know, this was a second drop story-wise. I mean, I had to... i have Exactly. i hadn't had to stop and i watch it again when I watched it originally because this was... mind-blowing quite literally so this is most definitely both things it's it's a very solid thing and everybody's involved I mean the only uh little thread of the story that is not touched upon is whatever's going on in solemn at that point in time but otherwise you know it's Janeway and the crew involved it's our little crew involved and we finally get Wesley Crusher in oh well that you just reminded me this why next generation didn't immediately come to mind Wesley Crusher not my favorite character so
00:29:49
Speaker
I guess that to say, all again, to go back to my point of like, there was no, this is the only cast where I loved all the characters. I guess TNG, Wesley Crusher. Question for you then, Brian, did Prodigy's portrayal of Wesley Crusher Top notch. Change your perception of that character.
00:30:07
Speaker
Didn't change my perception of the character. used what was Used the ingredients that had been left in the cupboard, basically, and made it a really great meal that um really fit with their show.
00:30:19
Speaker
you know and like That's the thing I think a lot of the new shows fail to do, which is take it and use it for their purposes without undermining what it is. So there's a lot of like, we're going to use Spock as Burnham's brother.
00:30:34
Speaker
And Spock has to necessarily change dramatically to fit our show. And here they're going like, what if Wesley Crusher, we just took that development and does that fit what we're trying to tell the story we're trying to tell?
00:30:47
Speaker
And it's like a beautiful marriage. There's just like enough consideration. It doesn't undermine the character. So i'm it's always, you can do whatever you want with Star Trek. It's how you do it. It's always execution. It's such a since the 60s. Again, I've said this many times, but the fans were writing in in the 60s complaining about the writing.
00:31:07
Speaker
So it is our right as Star Trek fans to complain about the storytelling. That is our that is the heritage. That's right. And so it's all on how you do it. So I appreciate that. But you just reminded me like, oh, wait, that's why TNG. I can't say that because Wesley Chris. This is something that I deeply appreciate about Prodigy is that the fact that it does improve upon. I mean, they bring on yeah legacy concepts, characters, storylines, but it's not like they necessarily change them. They improve upon them. Like, I think the number one thing that ah Prodigy has done...
00:31:37
Speaker
spectacularly is the fact that they finally made Chakotay very rounded of character. Hell yeah. It's it's it's there's something that like, yeah, the components have been there and they've been ah unused, misused, whatever you may call it throughout the seven years of Voyager.
00:31:53
Speaker
And then Prodigy came in and like, okay, we're going to fix this. We're going to make this. We're going to, it's like, yeah, that's the character that, that was there, but it was mostly like in people's imaginations, you know, the head cannon, as we call it.
00:32:04
Speaker
um So yeah, Prodigy has certainly done that in space. Charlene, why don't you hit us with your next two? Because Marina just did two-parter. This is the perfect segue to my next series of picks because I go for The Last Flight of the Protostar, parts one and two, which are so great. We learn about what Chakotay's been up to being trapped on this world. And then the kids show up and they take this very...
00:32:32
Speaker
I'd say but bitter, maybe even a little bit angry, broken guy and help him get his vigor back. The conversation between Dal and Chakotay is such an incredible portrayal of what it means to portray, I'd say positive masculinity, where it is okay to talk about your feelings.
00:32:54
Speaker
There's a constructive way to do that and you should do it. And it doesn't make you weak. It makes you stronger. yeah The Hagemans described this Chakotay as cool Chakotay, but I was apoplectic watching it going like, why did they make Chakotay? I mean, like i'm it's fun that they did. I'm like, Chakotay is smoking hot. What's going on?
00:33:19
Speaker
He is. Like hot Chakotay is like. He's looking off of like berries and fish. So that's a very strict diet. Plus he's got to do all that physical work. Of course he's right. yeah This is the most incredible glow up that any, any Star Trek actor has ever received because as much as I love, uh,
00:33:41
Speaker
Janeway's portrayal as the Hall or whatever i'm like that doesn't the model doesn't quite capture Cable Grew's beauty in ah in a way it's like it's not unflattering it's just like it's functional but then with it's like this is almost undeserved what they're doing with Jotay it's not especially since Robert Beltran like is not fans favorites off camera and you so it's like this is yeah this is like you're taking a six or a seven and making him a ten this is ridiculous crush Hey, it's all about the character. and Whatever you think about Robert Belcher on the actor, that can be separate from the character if you put enough space in your brain because I haven't had to reconcile that. yes Yeah, but it's like, it's incredible what's going on here. And yes, i'm I'm inserting myself here. like, this is kind of, you have to get to this moment if you're watching Prodigy because even if you've doubted it this whole time, like this is just unambiguously great television.
00:34:39
Speaker
Yeah, that's part absolutely. ah Anything more you want to say about? Sorry, I had to just jump in. I need to talk about hot Chakotay more because i I really appreciated the fact that they acknowledged that he's basically, you know, almost a silver fox. yeah Pepper and salt fox. Look, um I will die on this
Janeway and Chakotay's Relationship
00:35:00
Speaker
hill. Salt and pepper Chakotay was always sexier than when he broke out the hair dye.
00:35:06
Speaker
ah Always. A thousand percent. Let it be for all time. Prodigy proves this thesis. Yes. All right, Marina. we're We're basically through most of season two, but what you mean? Yeah. Well, you know something? When I sat down originally, and I had, I think, more of episodes from season two than I ended up finally you know setting on, ah pretty much the entire back end of season two is just this one giant Mary.
00:35:34
Speaker
um So my next one my next one is, we'll continue on as far as Sexy Chakotay is concerned, and that's, of course, The Cracked Mirror. i really There is no the in the title. just crack era It's a cartoon and yet you can feel the hormones jumping off of this episode.
00:35:52
Speaker
Janeway and Chakotay. like, these two are definitely fucking. And it is kinky as fuck. Listen, we finally get, basically, I mean, Voyager but it' never had a mirror universe we episode, that is.
00:36:09
Speaker
So it kind of sort of like, great, that's it. yeah Yet another improvement, we get a version of this. um it it the a The story is great. And yes, between the horniness of the evil versions and then you have that final moment. My God, you're home. I was like, my God, this is just a 16 year old who's just weeping inside.
00:36:28
Speaker
um Oh, my God. Yes. It's a great listening. Is this a kid show? I promise you it still is. It's and the kids are like going, what's going on here? And the adults are like, we know what's going on.
00:36:39
Speaker
No, there's just, again, you have like 22 minutes of just so much emotion and and mental things going on. How is this can be just, oh, it's just a kid show. No, it is not.
00:36:52
Speaker
ah So yeah, Cracked Mirror, absolutely. it's it's It's great. And we would get the reunion and the confirmation of all the bonds. And and yeah, it's like, there's no kissing. There's no screwing, whatever.
00:37:03
Speaker
But it's like, you can feel it. You can feel everything that's going on on screen. That's beauty. you Yeah, absolutely. So, Charlene, you're also a cracked mirror? did you Oh, yeah yeah. I mean, I was a Janeway and Chakotay shipper way back in those early yeah internet days when was like, Janeway and Chakotay in 96, you know, that sort of thing.
00:37:23
Speaker
The chemistry was always there and... When I watched Voyager, I was always so frustrated by how they would toy with our emotions as an audience on the will they, won't they. But really what happened is it developed into such a deep thing that it doesn't need the kissing. It doesn't need, we don't need to know like what happened last night, that sort of thing.
00:37:45
Speaker
We know if you want to believe it's there, it's there. If you don't want to believe it's there, that's fine. And I have to tell you a quick story. A couple years ago at Star Trek Las Vegas, I was at the Masquerade Bar, like you do, having a couple of drinks, and who showed up but Aaron Waltke and both of the Hagemans, and we got into a discussion about Prodigy, of course, and I think first Aaron asked me, and then the Hagemans asked me the same question, which was, well, what do you think is going to happen with Janeway and Chakotay? This is before season two aired.
00:38:17
Speaker
And I said, look, there's what I want to happen, what I think is going to happen, because I don't think you're going to go for it. But do I want you I would just like to know where things are at. Like, did they try to pursue it? Did it not work out? Is it working?
00:38:32
Speaker
Just let us know. I'd be really happy with that. And they said, all three separately said, you're going to be happy no matter where you are at with this relationship. And I thought, well, how the hell are you going to do that?
00:38:44
Speaker
Yeah. The thing is that i I am amazed at the fact that they, all three of them and just, and other members of their, of their creative crew are so incredibly aware.
00:38:55
Speaker
And I'm i'm sure it's probably springs from Aaron because he is Voyager super fan himself. um the that Aware of of this this kind of conversations and, you know, the the existence of all these little niches of where people feel characters fall into and everything else.
00:39:11
Speaker
um I had a chat with them after the ah ah Star Trek Mission Chicago convention where they were specifically like, well, what do you feel like? Like, what what are the conversations online? as far as like what what you know people are thinking about, you know.
00:39:25
Speaker
And yeah, I'm like, you're driving people nuts, quite literally. People want to know what's going on. um And so they look very, very pleased at that. So i all of this, like literally the entire thing, is in it's like, it's not random.
00:39:38
Speaker
It's all incredibly 150% thought out to be just so. Okay, Marina, you know that the Voyager is not my thing. And I've certainly come to appreciate it and i like certain elements of it.
00:39:50
Speaker
But even I, while watching this, because I was watching over the holidays, and I went to holiday party, and i I just asked someone who had finished it, I said, listen, I just need to know this because it's driving me insane. Do they kiss?
00:40:03
Speaker
Oh my god! I needed to know that. And I didn't, I had no investment. I was not a JC shipper and none of that. I didn't care. But also while watching this going like, well, this is lore that they're clearly trodden out in front of us.
00:40:18
Speaker
They're asking us to, if you've watched Voyager, which I did, you're like, That's like, Takote in Seven of Nine in the finale or whatever, the last season, i'm like I'm like, okay, fine. But it's like, they didn't really do much with that. And it's also like, that seems like it would work. But they again, didn't do anything with it. But then we get back to Janeway and it's like, yeah, what happened with that?
00:40:40
Speaker
What's going on? Well, listen, at least we got a hug. So that's already... That's right. and that when years It's been 30 years. yeah know It's not going away. When this person said, no, they don't. I was like, gosh, what...
00:40:53
Speaker
What in the world? Why? There was definitely a segment of the audience that really, really, really wanted that and thought maybe we'd get it. But you know what? like Their answer of not like not of making everybody happy is was kind like an Occam's razor where they just did what they've always done with these two.
00:41:14
Speaker
Put the subtext in and see what you want to see and everybody's happy. And it didn't even occur to me until I saw this show that that was the best answer.
00:41:25
Speaker
Absolutely. I agree. You're totally right. I completely agree. All right. Sharlyn, what was your next episode? Okay. Well, I also have cracked mirror on my list because of course, and then we go to our boroughs parts one and two.
00:41:39
Speaker
I mean, capping off not just one season, but really this show as a whole up to this point happens in these two parts.
Season Finale and Future Prospects
00:41:48
Speaker
And it warms my black little heart so much that everything comes together. Everything built up to these payoff moments that happen in these episodes.
00:41:58
Speaker
Plus we get a nice little epilogue about what happens. We tie into what happens with the attack on Mars and how that affects the kids and really all of Starfleet, of course. And does give us that happy ending that's not too sappy, but is also not just dystopian death and being gritty for gritty's sake, because I'm sorry, that's just not cool anymore.
00:42:19
Speaker
We have enough of that in real life. Thank you very much. Right. So this is such a great balance. Again, balance being a very key word here of all of those things, wrapping up the story properly, leaving very few loose ends, I would say, but also...
00:42:35
Speaker
turning the camera to another door that we did not know was there where we could bust it right open for more adventures if, and I hope when we get more prodigy. Yeah.
00:42:46
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, this podcast will go a long way towards that. I feel
00:42:53
Speaker
Marina, you said basically the whole last half, but I assume the back half, but did you have any between cracked mirror? and Yes. Yeah. Yes. I did feel that a touch of grace should be a part of it as well.
00:43:05
Speaker
Okay. purely because that was the episode where you know like we obviously the whole story is ah hinged on our little crew the kids right this is the one episode where we kind of get you know trek of old if you will because this is the one where it's the you know it's the veterans that you have you know janeway and and doctor and youkota and westsley going out and having their grand and v and adventure in a way where you you almost kind of feel it that's sort of like, oh my God, I think I'm too old for this shit.
00:43:33
Speaker
But they you know they still do what they do. They're consummate Starfleet officers. They they they they saved the day that particular episode. So I thought it was it was a great thing. And yeah, my and my last one would be on the list is, of course, Ouroboros.
00:43:48
Speaker
Because this this is probably the most spectacular things. It's right there on What Will Is Behind and the last TNG episode. it's It's a great finale, and any any way you look at it.
00:43:59
Speaker
you know it It all comes down to hope, and Prodigy literally just wraps it all around. It's a little beacon of light for you know future track, as far as I'm concerned. It was so nice having you on for this. This was a lot of fun. ah Listeners, you can go listen to their thoughts on literally every episode. The Mission Log Prodigy podcast is just sitting there ready for you to listen if you haven't already cracked it open.
00:44:22
Speaker
In between seasons and after a second season, they have interviews with ah production people, but they have it also throughout the episode. Is there anything? do you want people follow you online? do you Do you want to point people to anything else? yeah Sure. Yeah, I'm on Blue Sky and you can find me at ohtheprofanity.com.
00:44:39
Speaker
Yeah, um I'm mostly on Facebook, ah but also a little bit on the Instagram, Blue Sky, and occasionally threads, although very little. um And i besides the podcast, I'm also the admin for the Star Trek Convention Experiences group on Facebook.
00:44:53
Speaker
Wonderful. It's been so great. It's been so nice to meet you as well, Charlyn. You as well. Thanks for coming on. And we're going to head on to our next guest on the panel. Thank you so much.
00:45:04
Speaker
Thank you. All right, creator Steve Shives, who covers Star Trek along with politics, social issues, and pop culture on his very popular YouTube channel and Patreon. He's a cast member on Star Trek improv comedy show, The Ensign's Log.
00:45:17
Speaker
He also co-hosts a movie podcast called Late Seating, so check all of that out. I've asked Steve here because despite being a loud and proud atheist, he's practically evangelical about Star Trek Prodigy.
00:45:29
Speaker
And so I'd feel wrong to be this panel without you. Steve, welcome. Thank you so much for having me. um I'm really glad to be here. um So yeah ah yeah, I mean, it's Prodigy is one of those shows where like, I do feel kind of evangelical about it.
00:45:47
Speaker
You know, I'm surprised I find myself doing the same thing. I'm like, have you seen Prodigy? Have you watched the Prodigy? And it just blows out of you. Because it's surprising like how like when when they when the second season started, when the second season dropped on Netflix um and I did a video about it, like I got responses from people who were like, oh, I thought they canceled it.
00:46:12
Speaker
You know, like it's still kind of there for people to discover. so um So, yeah, anyway, I went through the the the two seasons that we have and I picked out a couple of my favorite episodes ah from each of the two seasons.
00:46:28
Speaker
That's great. That was the assignment. Good. Yeah, I did. I i did what you asked me to do. So i would like i would like applause, please. No, I...
00:46:40
Speaker
I suspect, i mean, I don't know who else you're talking to or what other episodes they're going to bring up, but I suspect there will be some, some overlap, some common themes. That is my intention. Yes. To kind of a consensus on what the best are.
00:46:55
Speaker
So hopefully, yeah. So hopefully, you know, you'll, you'll have like some, some votes to collate here, but I'm going to start with actually, i you're generally for dramatic purposes, you're supposed to save the best for last, but I have no choice but to save the best for first because i wanted to go through chronologically.
00:47:16
Speaker
um And to me, the best episode that Prodigy has ever done and one of the best episodes of this current production era of Star Trek period across all the the new or new the sort of post discovery shows is it's episode eight of the first season and it's called Time Amok.
00:47:42
Speaker
What's going on? I'm reading incredible power influxes. We may not be cadets, but believe me, Jacob's trying to fix it. As I explained to Zero, cadets or not, you are still my crew, and I'm programmed to help.
00:48:06
Speaker
That ain't good. Huh? Huh?
00:48:19
Speaker
Why does the alarm sound funny? Ah, great. Now the lights are broken too?
00:48:25
Speaker
My temporal settings are all over the place. What's happening? Stupid tachyon storm. Janeway DeCruel, did anyone else feel that? Computer's saying there's no other life forms on board.
00:48:36
Speaker
That can't be. Oh no! Core breach! There's been a rupture! If the core is breached, the engine can't equalize the gravity shell of the proto-drive. And that gravity is what keeps that star from exploding! That alarm tells me we've got ten minutes to fix this.
00:48:53
Speaker
I just need to recalibrate the warp.
00:48:59
Speaker
um That was the episode is prodigy in both seasons of prodigy. It kind of got off to a slow start for me where I watched the first couple episodes and I was like, okay, this is good enough for me to keep watching, but it hasn't really grabbed me yet. You know?
00:49:14
Speaker
And by the time, I got to this episode, which is the eighth episode of the first season. It had hooked me as a show. Like I was like, okay, i've I realized, oh, I care about what's happening. I care about the characters. I'm invested in what happens next.
00:49:27
Speaker
And then episode eight comes along and just knocks me out. I mean, it is such a great episode. it's It's the story of, it's a time, it's kind of like a time loop, time travel, timey-wimey shenanigans, as the Doctor Who fans would say. It's it's where the ship ends up being, the the timeline on the ship is shattered and the characters are separated in different parts of the ship and they're each experiencing time at a different rate.
00:49:55
Speaker
And they can't talk to each other because they're all in a different, phase. And the only character that can go between and talk to everybody and get everybody in sync is the hologram of Captain Janeway, who can sort of, you know, reconfigure herself to exist in the different timeframes.
00:50:13
Speaker
And They have to learn all of the characters who are separated have to work together and figure out how to build a thing that will allow them to escape from their predicament.
00:50:24
Speaker
And it all comes down to the character of Rock, who is the youngest of the cast, who is the youngest character, the most childlike. And she's also the one stuck in the timeframe that goes the slowest.
00:50:37
Speaker
And she winds up so spending just and an unspecified amount of time. But what what we are led to believe is an incredibly long amount of time um on this ship by herself while she teaches herself all of the engineering and science and whatever that she needs to complete this project and save the day.
00:50:59
Speaker
So it's this great character piece for her. It's a really clever twist on the the sort of shattered timeline conceit that Star Trek shows have done over and over in the past. I love it when when newer Star Trek shows or new newer projects in any kind of long-running franchise, when they take a well-worn trope and they find just one more twist to make it to do it again, but do it a little different.
00:51:23
Speaker
And Time Amok definitely does that. and it just And it has an ending that just punches me right in the heart where when the characters are all finally reunited, And, ah you know, and Rock gets to see her friends again after, from her perspective, being separated from them for a very, very, very, very long time.
00:51:41
Speaker
And it just, it hits, ah it just, it hits all the right buttons. It's just, it's a great Star Trek episode. I mean, like the the premise would have worked. on any Star Trek show or any sci-fi. It would have been a great Twilight Zone. Like the premise is just a good premise that would work anywhere.
00:51:56
Speaker
um But it really works with this show because they're kids, because, you know, they're just sort of forming this new found family amongst themselves. And then they, you know, get separated in this way. And then finally they can come back together. it's just, it's, it's, I can't praise it enough. It's a really good episode. I, I, I contend the show is a magic trick for exactly those reasons. You're saying, why do I care about these characters?
00:52:18
Speaker
Kids, these cartoons. Yeah. it they Well, but yeah, well, but yeah, the whole show is like that, because like when I started watching it originally, it was just, oh, it's the new Star Trek show. I'll check it out, you know, and I sort of assumed that.
00:52:33
Speaker
I mean, I didn't go in expecting not to like it, but I just went in expecting, OK, this might not be for me. because I'm in my forties and this is a show that is definitely aimed primarily at a younger audience, even though obviously older people can enjoy it.
00:52:48
Speaker
And I just expected, okay, I'll probably think, oh, that was nice. That was clever. That was whatever, but it's not going to really get me. And it got me and, and it got me because of episodes like this. um And then the next episode is also from season one and it's episode 13 of season one and it's called all the world's a stage.
00:53:09
Speaker
And this is the one where the crew of the proto star, our young heroes, they, ah they find a planet that where the culture of the planet has been contaminated by a Starfleet shuttlecraft and a Starfleet officer who crashed there like a hundred years before.
00:53:27
Speaker
And, Because I guess he was the man from space, they all sort of took him as like a prophet or like a great leader. And they reoriented their entire society around what they learned from him about Starfleet and the universe beyond their world.
00:53:46
Speaker
So they find this planet that basically consists of ah Star Trek cosplayers. but many, many generations removed. Like they've gotten lots of stuff wrong and lots of stuff is inaccurate because they're only, you know, it's it's it's sort of, it's been corrupted throughout history.
00:54:04
Speaker
um And so you find this, you they like they they wear Starfleet uniforms, but they're not exactly, they don't look exactly like they're supposed to. They know some of the words, but they don't pronounce them correctly.
00:54:16
Speaker
and But they've gotten the basic message down. Like they've gotten the general idea of what you're supposed to do when you're in Starfleet, of how you're supposed to care about what's true and you're supposed to care about science and you're supposed to be brave and heroic. And and so they kind of end up teaching the kids the lessons that, you know, of what makes this a special way of life and, you know, what what it means to be an upstanding moral person um and sort of teach them, because this is the point in the show when they're still trying to find their way to Starfleet,
00:54:50
Speaker
And it sort of gives them a clue into what they're actually in for, what they're actually looking for. um but also But also, it's a great way to to poke fun at Star Trek without without just throwing in a bunch of references, you know what I mean? Without just saying like, oh, look, remember this character, remember this character, remember this thing from this show. like It's remarkable how the episode doesn't really do any of that.
00:55:16
Speaker
But because they're dealing with concepts and ideas and the whole the whole general premise of, oh you know, they're basing their whole society off of like half-remembered, you know, half-truths about Starfleet that they learned from kind of like one guy. Kind of the way shows are being made today, where people are half-remembering certain concepts. Yeah, it's like, you remember, remember what didn't they do it's like didn't they do an episode of TNG that was kind of like, i yeah, okay, well, you just do that. And...
00:55:42
Speaker
and You know, and it's just, it's ah it's it works as ah as an episode unto itself and it works for these characters. And it also works as a really clever way of Star Trek referencing itself, which it does way too often. That's my least favorite part about the current episode.
00:55:58
Speaker
production area, even though love. ah Yeah, I mean, I love so many of the new shows, this one included. But I mean, there is an awful lot of patting itself on the back and going, isn't Star Trek great? And I'm like, OK, but you're Star Trek. You shouldn't be saying that.
00:56:13
Speaker
Like, leave that to the fans to say, like, we say that to each other. We like Star Trek. Isn't Star Trek great? Like Star Trek itself shouldn't be like queuing us to applaud it. You know, I remember how great Star Trek was. But anyway, so this episode kind of does that without doing it.
00:56:28
Speaker
um which I thought was very clever and I really appreciated it. You have a great video on this about why the show works remarkably well for children and adults. And yeah you don't talk about this one in particular because you're talking about season two mainly, but you really do mention like,
00:56:42
Speaker
it The context of the show allows them to do the things that otherwise would annoy you or me or, you know, or if you're just new to the franchise, you know, it welcomes the newness. Like you can't explore it in that way, where if you know it, yeah it's poking fun. And if you don't, that's kind of the beauty of the show, which is why yeah ah it's the trick of you can do anything with Star Trek. You could even do the congratulatory stuff that's annoying.
00:57:07
Speaker
if you're telling a compelling story with great characters. And that's what the show really excels at. It's really cool. Oh, yeah. I mean, yeah, and just there's there's an episode. on It's not one of the episodes that I selected to to highlight here, but there's and another episode from season one. It's the holodeck episode where like the where Dal interacts with the holograms of all the classic Star Trek characters.
00:57:27
Speaker
Not my favorite, but yeah, exactly. No, not my favorite either. yeah Not my favorite either. and and But it's an episode that just based on the premise and just based on how I described it, I should hate it.
00:57:38
Speaker
Because it's everything that I don't like about, you know, not just Star Trek, but like ah lots of long run, like Star Wars does it too, like lots of long running franchises where they're just like, remember this, remember this, look at the people or look at the people you remember.
00:57:51
Speaker
I should have hated it and I didn't hate it. And I actually wound up liking it, not counting it among the best achievements of the series by any means, but I ended up liking it a lot more than I should have because they, they found a way to make it work.
00:58:05
Speaker
Like i just, you can't deny it. It's like, I, I, you know, I shouldn't like it, but this is good. This wins me over. Um, Any others from season one? i don't mean to do it. No, no, not at all. That's, that's all the ones I picked out from season one.
00:58:18
Speaker
um Those are the two that really, like when I think about it, that jump out as like, to me representing the show at its best. um And then, Season two, I have i have three.
00:58:30
Speaker
um One is a standalone episode and then two are two parters that I'll just handle on, you know, together. But the first is um it's the zero centered episode from season two. Again, it's episode eight. It's that seems like a sweet spot.
00:58:45
Speaker
ah And it's it's called Is There in Beauty No Truth? And it's it's the episode where they they land on a planet zero is the the non corporeal crew member who exists in like a like a containment suit and their containment suit has been damaged and they need to to to build a new one. And then the crew just so happens to land on this planet.
00:59:07
Speaker
that is inhabited by a bunch of creatures like zero that are non-corporeal by nature, but have constructed really sophisticated artificial bodies for themselves that, you know, they can live in and interact with the physical world. And so this is perfect for zero. They're like, oh, great. You know, I can get a brand new body and it'll be great.
00:59:25
Speaker
And that's what happens. And everything is awesome for a while. And then, you know, the other shoe drops and they discover, oh, by the way, you can't ever leave this planet. Because if you do, then your new body we made you will begin to deteriorate.
00:59:38
Speaker
So, you know, it puts this great decision in the lap of the character where now zero has to decide, do I stay here with people who are like me and enjoy this brand new body I just got?
00:59:50
Speaker
Or do I go with my friends and, you know, continue to try and accomplish our mission and save the day that we've all been trying to do? and And so it puts a great choice in the in the and the lap of the character.
01:00:02
Speaker
um And again, it's it's a finding a new twist on an old premise. The idea of, you know, you you find paradise, know, But in order to stay in paradise, you have to give up everything that you brought with you.
01:00:19
Speaker
Zero's a reference, too. That's the crazy part we talked about. The character is a reference. A really deep one, too. A really deep one, like a really deep classic Trek reference. Zero is supposed to be a Medusan, which is from... Season three.
01:00:37
Speaker
yeah like Yeah, season three, like, where the even though season three of TOS isn't nearly as good as the previous two seasons, like, it's just so bonkers. Yeah.
01:00:47
Speaker
You know, like, that there there are just i there like, can you believe they did that episode? And that's probably a season three episode. They couldn't leave the ship because of budget. So they're like, let's just make crazy shit show up on the ship. Let's just make it as bonkers as we possibly can.
01:01:02
Speaker
and buddy, did they ever. um So yeah, so that's that's that's a standout episode for me. And then the other two, there's two two-parters that happen right on top of each other. The first is the the devourer of all things, which is the two-parter where they bring in Wesley, which again, talk about stuff that just should not work.
01:01:24
Speaker
And I have nothing particular against Wesley. I'm not a Wesley hater. But I mean, when he when he showed up because he he reveals himself at in the early portion of this episode and he's been kind of like a mystery character up until this point.
01:01:38
Speaker
You know, he's been like a mysterious benefactor for the main characters. And then he reveals himself and he's like, hi, kids, it's me, Wesley Crusher. And and then they go like to the credits for that episode. And I remember watching it going, oh, man.
01:01:51
Speaker
You know, like this might be a turning point. they They might lose me here, you know, and they do and they don't. They do this amazing. Like you said, it's like a magic trick. They do this amazing. Feet where not only do they not lose me as a as an audience member.
01:02:08
Speaker
it's like the best use of Wesley that any Star Trek show has ever done. It's like such a great use of Wesley. And, and Wil Wheaton is so good playing this really good, playing this version of the character that, you know, he, he, he's older than we've seen before. And, and the, the remarkable thing about it is,
01:02:29
Speaker
And again, one of the things that made me kind of wince when he was first revealed and make me think, oh, man, is I really I did not like how they dropped how they airdropped him into the second season of Picard, where he just kind he just appears in the last episode of the second season of Picard for no reason. And he does nothing.
01:02:47
Speaker
It's just, hey, folks, it's Wesley. And that's it. And it looks like Wil Wheaton just showed up in the clothes he was wearing and, and he's not giving, a it's like, he's not, he's just being Wil Wheaton allegedly as Wesley, just, you know, ex exchanging dialogue with a character he's never met and he has no reason to care about.
01:03:05
Speaker
You know, just dignify that scene with like a proper episode. So he killed all Star Trek Picard season two. it all ten he just Don't watch it. Don't forget it happened.
01:03:17
Speaker
This one though, he's wearing the orange. I mean, this is a callback. He's wearing the orange. Yeah. yeah Pilot. It's like there, but it looks cool with the jacket. Also looks cool. He's a big doctor Hugh fan, Dr. Who fan.
01:03:29
Speaker
And he's, he gets to play a time Lord. So yeah, you're totally right. that And that's, I mean, and that's a lot of people picked up on that. And I picked up on it after I had it pointed out to me because I am not as big of a Dr. Who fan. i've I've seen it. I've seen it. I mean, I've seen like I've seen a lot of the, you know, the more recent version. and I watched like the old, the classic version, you know, so like on Saturday nights, you know, on public television when I was a kid.
01:03:53
Speaker
um've I've never been like a huge, huge fan of it. But after people pointed out, pointed it out to me, I was like, oh, yeah, that's what they did. That's how they fixed Wesley. They made him the doctor. based And it bit like everything he's rambling about, I'm like, that's canonical. Yep, that's correct. like it All my Star Trek nerd things are being checked out. That's true.
01:04:12
Speaker
That's great. Yeah. i mean so so and And this episode also introduces the loom, which are like the the timeline eating monsters. um The Langoliers is the switch that immediately went off in my head. i was like, oh, they're just like the Langoliers. If anybody remembers that awful TV movie based on a Stephen King short story starring Dean Stockwell and Bronson Pinchot from the mid ninety s um But yeah, and they're basically that there are these creatures that whenever there's a timeline that has been corrupted by like a paradox, so it shouldn't exist.
01:04:45
Speaker
the the loom show up and they eat it. So, and so, you know, it's, again, it's like kind of a neat twist on the whole idea of a multiverse and, and time travel and alternate timelines and stuff, but they use it to generate really,
01:04:59
Speaker
really genuine feeling jeopardy for the characters like the loom really ah they really come across as oh this is like a legitimate threat um they're really scary monsters um and they feel like original villains which is something that star trek needs you know mean i'm not saying i want them to come back i'm perfectly happy for them to just live in these episodes of prodigy and if the writers i mean hey writers make up other great villains that's that's your job But but it's nice to see like, oh, there's now there's these great scary villains that are just for this show that were created for this show. So now, you know, TNG has the Borg and, you know, DS9 has the Dominion and now Prodigy has the loom. And it's like that's their thing. I just I love that. very cool And then and then the episodes right after this, the two parter following this again, speaking of rescuing characters,
01:05:46
Speaker
that you just thought, okay, never that character never amounted to anything. It's The Last Flight of the Proto Star, where, again, I feel like the writers of the show were just taking they were just taking bets with Star Trek nerds.
01:06:00
Speaker
And one of those bets was, i bet you can't write a good Chakotay story. And they said... They said, you just watch. I already ranted about this. This is like Hot Chakotay. Whose idea was that? It's like, that's like that's it not just Hot Chakotay. Like they, they did more for him and they did more for him in these two episodes. And he was used well for the rest of the season after this as well. Like he he becomes like a ah ah regular character after this and he's, he's used well throughout it.
01:06:31
Speaker
But just in these two episodes, this two-parter, The Last Flight of the Protostar, they do more for Chakotay than was done for his character all seven years of Voyager.
01:06:42
Speaker
I mean, he was in almost every episode of that show. That's like 160 some episodes. And he was never as interesting as he is and these two episodes of this children's cartoon show. It's amazingly well done. He was even great as the damsel. That's how good Chakotay is it in the show is even just like Janeway wanting to find him was like the kids were invested in him. Yeah. one's ever cared about Chakotay this much.
01:07:09
Speaker
but No. And there's this, and there's a scene that I, I think I mentioned it in the video that I made that you referenced where, when they find the dead body of Chakotay's friend, his, his, his fellow officer yeah,
01:07:21
Speaker
Yeah. And I remember watching that again, watching it and going, man, this is awfully heavy for a kid's show. And i but but but in a way, i mean, I appreciated that. I'm like, I like the fact that they're making this for a young audience, but they're not treating them like they're, you know, made of glass. They're like, i think the kids can handle this, you know, like um and it's this amazing scene where like they they find the they find the the the skeleton, the corpse of Chakotay's you know, first officer who went out into the wilderness years ago and never came back.
01:07:53
Speaker
Don't they bury him too? They bury him. they bur They bury him at sea. They like put him in a little boat, like you give him like a Viking funeral. But, and, and there's like this really emotional scene where when Chakotay finds him, because Chakotay's wondered what happened to him. Like this was his only friend for years.
01:08:09
Speaker
He's been carving like little wood carvings of the dead crew. like, yeah it's like, he's, And he's meant to believe he's lost his mind a little bit, but he's like just filled with grief, obviously. Yeah. And and like he breaks down and cries when he sees him. And Robert Beltran, who seems like a huge asshole in real life, but gives a great performance in this moment.
01:08:32
Speaker
um I mean, it's just it's phenomenal. It's just phenomenal. And i mean, it's one of those shows where I have you know friends of mine who like my my my best friend, Jason, who's the co-host on the the podcasts that you watch.
01:08:45
Speaker
very kindly plug when you introduced me, we would talk to each other while the show was, well we were what while we were watching it, we'd be like calling each other or texting each other going, can you believe how good this is? Like this is, it's ridiculous that this show is this good.
01:08:58
Speaker
Steve, I'm stopping our format to do a podcast about how good. Like to say like, hold on we need to take a timeout. Everyone needs to like stop what they're doing and go watch this. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. But anyway, those are the episodes I wanted to, I wanted to to mention for my part of this. um I mean, like I said, it it, for me, both seasons take a little bit to get going, but once they kick in it I mean, it's, it's one of the best episodes.
01:09:25
Speaker
To me, other than Strange New Worlds, it's the best Star Trek show of this current production era. it's i I can't recommend it highly enough. And anybody who is a Star Trek fan who hasn't watched it should absolutely check it out.
01:09:36
Speaker
All right. So Time Amok, we'll do your top year five that you mentioned. yes Yes. Time Amok, ah All the World's a Stage, Is There in Beauty No Truth, The Devourer of All Things, and the Last Flight of the Protostar.
01:09:52
Speaker
Steve, thanks so much. Thank you, my friend. Creator Jesse Gender, whose fantastic channel Jesse Gender After Dark delves into all things geek, including horror and fantasy. But she got on my radar because of her Star Trek reviews, her essays. And Jesse, you've been ah day one prodigy proselytizer. And I'm so glad you're here for this very special episode about what's really a terrific show. So Jesse, welcome.
01:10:17
Speaker
Yeah, no, I'm excited to be here. I adore Star Trek Prodigy. I feel like it's not talked about enough. So like very, very pumped to have you ah to be here. So I got everybody to just give their very best. Like I said, I can't kill ah any episode of a children's show. That seems very mean.
01:10:34
Speaker
and yeah I think what works is that this is a ah well-made show, ah very thoughtfully done. So even if I was one of those assholes who was like, uh...
01:10:45
Speaker
A kid show. There are some people get very angry about kids shows. That's right. That's right. But we've married yesteryear, ah the Lorelai signal, just because we loved how ridiculous it is. and also hers. But like the Star Trek animated can work. So yeah picking the Marys, you've got some episodes. I don't know how many. I don't know which ones they are, but that's the beauty of this particular format. So.
01:11:07
Speaker
What do you have? All right. So I'm going to give an honorable mention. i debated i debated on putting it on the list, but I'm just going to give an honorable mention because there's one thing that annoys the hell out of me. It's just a nitpick that I always have, which is First Contact. I think it's like the fourth or fifth episode of season one where we meet Dahl's Ferengi sort of foster mother.
01:11:28
Speaker
Sure. Sure. I love that episode just because it is a really great ah like introduction to what first contact means to new kids like a lot of the early episodes of prodigy were like, here's this core concept of Star Trek. Let's introduce it.
01:11:42
Speaker
And I liked this one a lot because it was also having fun with the Ferengi and sort of playing with them as like a species as well, getting to give us dolls ah backstory. the The thing that bugs me about it, though, that weirdly I just can't get past and I know I'm being a weird nitpicker on it, is that it's they started the episode. The conceit of it is the ah protostar jumps to like really far away.
01:12:04
Speaker
And then they just happen to land right near Dahl's Ferengi foster mother. And I'm like, that's such a sheer coincidence. Like space is big. This is the one thing Star Trek always gets wrong. Space is really, really big. Yeah.
01:12:19
Speaker
I just wish some Star Trek writers, and I'm friends with Dr. Erin McDonald, who's the science advisor for Star Trek, so she gets she she gets it right. But even she's sort of like, I have to yes and people a lot, and I'm just like, sometimes like, i wish, just no space is big. It's really big. And I think it makes episodes better when when they they take that into account.
01:12:38
Speaker
um so I agree. yeah Yeah. um All right. So getting into the actual list here. So this is going to start off at the bottom. ah It's number 12.
Episode Analysis and Themes
01:12:46
Speaker
So I'm going to try and go through these relatively quickly. You've got 12. All right. This is great. twelve I'll keep it. I'll keep them quick. I'm not going to go super long. I could go long, but I'll keep the lower half sort of quicker.
01:12:55
Speaker
But ah Supernova part one and two. So the season one finale of Prodigy. i thought this was a fantastic one. it does ah it Part of the reason it's lower on the list is it does fall into that trope that modern Star Trek finales tend to end up in, which is ah the enemy is a AI villain that's somehow taking control of a bunch of remote-controlled ships that is trying to destroy the entirety of the Federation.
01:13:21
Speaker
That is an oddly specific trope that has happened at the end of way too many modern Star Trek shows, as much as I love them. um But that being said, i think they do a wonderful job of ah like really building the stakes in a way that feels earned.
01:13:35
Speaker
um It's a really epic battle. a it It's a lot of fun, and yet they never lose sight of the character beats. Like every single character beat in this episode works really well. I think ah the one that calls out to me the most is Gwen.
01:13:48
Speaker
getting to sort of like try to unify everyone and is sort of using her skills as a communicator to sort of bring everyone together to, to sort of save the day. And I thought that's such a great Star Trek Ian message.
01:14:00
Speaker
So yeah. and And then the death of ah spoilers, I guess, but the death of hologram Janeway at the end of it does like bring a tear to my eye um in the sense that like, Oh wow, this is a ah good culmination of that character's arc, even though we do get Admiral Janeway and in,
01:14:16
Speaker
hologram Janeway again in season two. ah But it was just like, if that's where they left her at, I was like, this is a very earned and appropriate and emotionally resonant death that feels really beautiful in the moment. So.
01:14:28
Speaker
Great. Kid Chosen Lost, too, i think two is which we'll definitely see more of, i assume, on your list. Yes, most definitely. Number 11. Yeah. ah Number 11 is the season two finale, Ouroboros, parts one and two. um I would actually put... I put it a little bit higher um because I think they... they uh again it's the universe ending stakes but i feel like that one works a little bit better because it's something slightly different it's not ai villain sort of thing um and it feels and it's been built up really well throughout the entire season and feels like a great uh just great culmination of the entire storyline and feels like they managed to tie everyone together in a way that really works and then also what i love about it is it it's
01:15:12
Speaker
like so ah you know you and i are like we're big trek nerds so we know all the nitty-gritty and it managed to just tie so much great stuff together like wesley crusher the the villains of the season are tying into the the book story from star trek coda like like bringing that in weirdly and then tying in star trek picard season one and season three into that um managing to give a really good ending to janeway and chakotay that like somehow manages to satisfy both the Janeway Chakotay shippers and the non-Janeway Chakotay shippers.
01:15:44
Speaker
So it's just like a very nerdy Star Trek finale, and yet also feels like it it's not overdoing that too much in a way that like kids can't follow and don't know what the hell's going on.
01:15:58
Speaker
it's like ah It's a very hard balancing act that some Star Trek shows I think falter in that I think they really nail enough. finale yeah they don't shove the kids aside that that was really good um i you said so i mean the wesley crusher thing i'm still i can't believe yeah they they pulled that off but yeah i i i uh i have a a larger discussion about him later on here in my list but he is he's just so good they play him so well um yeah i love him so all right I'm going to make sure I'm just playing because I have my list, just my title. So i'm like, I want to make sure I get the have the right episode that I'm thinking of because I'm like, weirdly enough with Prodigy, like usually I can remember every episode name, but it's like I remember the episodes, but i'm like, what was the?
01:16:41
Speaker
I know exactly what the issue is with Prodigy. they There's kind of a lot of them and they all came out pretty close together. That's it. They don't yeah linger and kind of lock in your brain in the same way.
01:16:53
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. Especially season two, because it all came out at once. So I'm sort of like, what episode was that one? Like, how did they break up? and To their credit, they do a ah pretty darn good job of making them distinct. So you can, you if just you hear the name, you kind of know what the episode is right away.
01:17:09
Speaker
Well, that's, I mean, that's generally kind of why like Prodigy because it it's one of the few modern Star Trek shows and Strange New Worlds kind of captures it a little bit too and Lower Decks, obviously, but like Discovery and Picard, they they there were just one long story arc for most of their shit run.
01:17:24
Speaker
And so i it's hard to remember even watching them week to week, like what episode was that one in? yeah But it's like the Prodigy is like, it has an arc and yet most episodes do have a beginning, middle and end and tell a complete story. So I just, I miss that. I think they nailed that.
01:17:38
Speaker
I had my other question. You know what? I'm going to save it for when we get to... I know it's going to come up in another episode. Sure, You're talking of Ouroboros, reminding me of it. Something I want ask you. Okay, keep going. I'm all down. Well, I have... Okay, I wanted to make sure I the correct one, but it is Ghost in the Machine, which is the holodeck malfunction episode of Lower Decks in Season 1.
01:17:57
Speaker
um Loved this one because it was so creative in the use of the holodeck. I mean, like, I love my TNG holodeck episodes, um which are just... um you know like But it's always like, oh, Shakespeare. Like, Shakespeare broke. that We're doing some form of Shakespeare or da Vinci.
01:18:14
Speaker
And again, i like it was great for me as a kid because it like made me feel like, ooh, I'm getting culturally educated. um But ah but like watching this episode, so I'm like, there's like, Jenkin Pog is doing Street Fighter.
01:18:28
Speaker
And like doing like murder mysteries zeros doing murder mysteries like that actually feels like what the holodeck would be used for. And like the kind of creativity and sort of like playing off of video game knowledge that um the holodeck and the next generation didn't have because like video games weren't really a thing at that time. And even then.
01:18:46
Speaker
even though they kind of were like the writers weren't playing them. Right. So like there's an understanding of video games that this episode brings to it that I think like it's just a lot of fun and also does so in a way that like tells us about the characters, like zero loving murder mysteries, like tells you a lot about zero. Jacob Pog like wanting to do Street Fighter. It's not it's like that makes perfect sense for his character. And yet it's it's something I wouldn't have.
01:19:10
Speaker
Like it's just it just reveals a lot in a really fun way. um And then also getting like um to see the like noir era with Murph. Yeah, getting Murph to have like a singing moment was great, too. So like it's just it just filled with like a lot of fun and creativity.
01:19:24
Speaker
Number nine. All right. Number nine is a masquerade. And again, I'm just double checking because. OK, yeah, masquerade. Yes. OK. I just need to see a picture. and I'm like, yes, this is exactly what why I want to do this. um But masquerade is the one where we learn doll is the um hybrid is you is a hybrid of a bunch of different species.
01:19:42
Speaker
You want the captain? You've got him. What has gotten into you?
01:20:02
Speaker
has gotten into you The battle is in my blood. I know what's gotten into him. Boosted intelligence, increased agility, reading Okana's mind.
01:20:15
Speaker
You got the implant. You cheated. And I really don't think you were meant to juice it that much. It's a new me. A better me. You sure about that?
01:20:32
Speaker
Shore leave is over.
01:20:43
Speaker
Why you have pointy ears? The logical assumption would be when maxing out my dermal implant, I inadvertently activated all of my dormant DNA at once. And Zalarell would do it all over again, knowing I had to compete with that man-chop O'Connor! Just tell me this isn't permanent.
01:21:05
Speaker
And i really loved this because it it this is a common problem with like Star Trek is a common issue where when it talks about ah like essentially biracial folks, it sometimes tends to be like, oh, they're half one thing and half the other.
01:21:20
Speaker
um We see that with like a lot with like Bellana Torres, ah like her character in like early Voyager, the episode where they split her in half. um And say like, oh, she's half ah she's half Klingon, half human and like try to talk about like i the metaphor.
01:21:36
Speaker
You can understand the metaphor of why it's sort of like you're grappling with two worlds, but it ends up being kind of offensive because it it number one, it like sort of biological essentializes race in ah in a weird way and says like, oh, these things are like core to.
01:21:50
Speaker
who you are based in like biology. Strange New Worlds kind of did a very similar thing recently with the Spock episode where he becomes a human for an episode and it looks like they might be doing it again in season three because of that clip they showed at Comic-Con.
01:22:04
Speaker
it's sort of like, it's ah it's a real big problem and it has a weird biological essentialism to it. Well, they did in Serene Squall as well from season and one. which they did. Which I enjoyed the attempt.
01:22:15
Speaker
It was just that they put it in the villain's mouth and it was very silly. Well, actually, what I will say, actually, I will defend Serene Squall. Oh, I'm with you into The first half of that episode, I'm like, that's nails. second Once it turns into camp villain mode, it's like, OK, well, see my queer ah growing up a young queer kid. I'm like, I love my queer villain camp villains and I'm all here for it.
01:22:39
Speaker
So like, it's one of those things where it's like, I understand 100%. Like, I see the criticisms, like even in the queer community that people like, oh, we get a villain has to be the non binary characters revealed to be a villain.
01:22:50
Speaker
That's problematic. And I also see people being like, the camp stuff just isn't for me, like totally understand that all the criticism for me, though, like, perfect. I love it. It's no, absolutely no notes. They just got so less interesting once it happened. That was the main thing. I'm like, I'm on board. Bring this character back. Like, let's let's I hope they do bring her back or them back. Excuse me. I know the actress who goes by her pronouns. So excuse me for. Listen, as a cishet piece of shit, it's like I have to take a second to think about it. No, it's one of those, like, even I screw up sometimes, but, like, especially because I know Jessie, and she uses she, her, and then the character uses them. Is they, right, yes. But anyways, I do appreciate in that episode where I think the best scene in that episode, though, is in the earlier part where you get them talking to Spock about, like, Spock being, like,
01:23:48
Speaker
I don't know if I'm human or Vulcan and they say you can just be you and that's perfect and gets it exactly right, which will just to circle it back around the prodigy is also what masquerade does really well because this is an episode where doll sort of has been wrestling with sense of identity and who he is for the entire series and and he.
01:24:08
Speaker
You know, there's that earlier two part episode, like early in season one, where he sees like a vision of his parents and they look like him. and he sort of has this realization in this episode that like no one looks like him. He is unique.
01:24:19
Speaker
And that just causes an identity crisis. And at the end of the episode, the characters just sort of say, you don't have to be one thing or the other. You don't have to be, you know, because he always splices his DNA and tries to like make himself something or whatever. It's like you can just be you.
01:24:34
Speaker
And I think that that's a really beautiful message, not only for all those other implications I said, but just for kids to just sit like, you don't have to feel the pressure of all these things on you to be a certain way. Just be who you are.
01:24:46
Speaker
And like, you know, as a queer trans person, like resonates with me. But I think that's just a re ah resonant thing that we should be telling kids generally. Just just find who you are, um not trying to try focus on what the expectations of you are.
01:24:58
Speaker
I totally agree. know, I was thinking of this episode more than like the rocket raccoon mode. So I think I need to get this another chance. So yeah i think that's a good call. I think it just has a really good message in it i think it's a lot of fun and I think it just resonates with, it just made me like, I'll be honest, Dahl's character um for me ah in the first half of season one was real rough. I found it to kind of be a little bit insufferable.
01:25:22
Speaker
um i Like it in a way that like I understood he had an arc. that was coming for his character of like he he is going to grow, he's going to learn, he's going to be humbled. But it was it's I was aware of where the arc was going. It's just he's so kind of insufferable in the first few episodes that I'm just like, ah, and this was the probably the maybe not the first episode, but one of the first episodes that really got me into like, all right, I i get you now, doll.
01:25:49
Speaker
and I can kind of move forward with you as and be more invested in your character. But he was just, hard he was a hard character. I loved all the other characters, but Dal was probably the hardest for me to get into. you were the last one on board with. Yeah. That makes sense.
01:26:00
Speaker
ah Number eight. All right. Number eight is Let Sleeping Borg Lie. This one I do not need a ah to look up because it's fairly obvious, but I mean, who doesn't love the Borg?
01:26:12
Speaker
ah And I... Catherine Janeway. Well, she's wrong. Dang it. No. But yeah, the Borg are great. And this is another one of those like, let's teach kids about the Borg episodes.
01:26:25
Speaker
But I also really loved that they found a new spin on the Borg by going through Zero. um Because like the Borg have always been this interesting commentary on the the ability for a sort of a hegemonic culture to sort of press you into a mold and force you to be a certain way that is sort of like a a kind of dark mirror to the Federation itself because the Federation is all about celebrating difference and diversity but we all come together in a collectivist attitude to sort of be greater than the sum of our parts and the Borg are kind of a dark reflection of that um in ways that like people can sort of read into it like you know a fear of communism like sort of American like the American cartoonish version of communism or um once the Queen gets introduced sort of like a fascism metaphor as well Right. um
01:27:11
Speaker
So like, you know, you can press sort of specifics on it, but I think the board sort of are are at their core, sort of like open that up. And so I love that they use zero um as this character who is the non binary character on the show, who is sort of like wondering about where they fit in and who they need to be.
01:27:30
Speaker
And they ultimately almost get drawn into the Borg, sort of like that whole idea like being part of a collective, being part of a greater whole. But they end up saying, like no, my collective is these my friends.
01:27:44
Speaker
And it is it goes right to the core of that idea of like the Federation is about celebrating difference and the your individuality within the whole that makes us greater than the similar parts. It doesn't flatten us all into the same thing.
01:27:57
Speaker
And to use the non-binary character for that to sort of talk about like the queer found family element of it, that's sort of a little like hinted in the background of that. Like it's not, it's never stated out outright. It's never like said like, look, it's a queer found family, but like there's an implicit sort of implicate, there's an implicit implication.
01:28:15
Speaker
There's an implication there of that with you using the non-binary character for that. And I thought that was really beautiful. Listen, Voyager is my collective is such a great line. Exactly. It should be stolen and repurposed. that big It is. It is. you old This was first. This was first. This came up before Picard season three. Fair enough. Yes. ah Number seven.
01:28:39
Speaker
Number seven is All the Worlds of Stage. This was just... Clever. This is cute and clever in a way that I found really joyous. It's the episode where they go to the planet and ah they sort of like modeled themselves after like the Enterprise, the original series Enterprise.
01:28:55
Speaker
And it felt like such a fun celebration of fan culture. um Like it was it was like this is what a convention feels like. A bunch of nerdy people just being kind of dorks.
01:29:06
Speaker
um and ah just trying to like recreate their favorite Star Trek episodes or whatever on stage. like it was just It was just a fun send-up of that, but in a way that felt like an old TOS episode at the same time.
01:29:18
Speaker
like it Like, go to a planet, weird stuff's happening, and we like solve a little mystery problem. So was like, again, it was such a great... like What I really love about Prodigy, and this is kind of a repeated theme throughout all of these, is like they take a Star Trek trope and they find a way to introduce it to kids of like, here's the Star Trek trope.
01:29:35
Speaker
And yet they still, even within the teaching of it, find a little ways to add a little bit of spice to it, like add a little bit of like some this something new here that ah isn't just doing the same thing just for kids.
01:29:48
Speaker
um and i really like that and i think that this is just a fun one that feels like a celebration of fan culture of nerdom of geekdom um you know it's it hints at some nostalgia because they like use the original series buttons when they change the shift but it the ship at the end but it doesn't it doesn't get overly involved in nostalgia kind of like um this episode isn't on my list i won't i won't grade it but like kobayashi for me is one that went a little too hard into the nostalgia. That was my exact comparison point. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So I'm like, I'm like this, I think finds a better balance where the, the nostalgia is like integrated in a really smart and thematic way, rather than it just being like, Oh, here's the thing that you liked from the past that especially kids won't really have much nostalgia for. But even, even beyond that, I'm sort of like, it's a little, it's little much.
01:30:36
Speaker
So I thought that this was, I thought this was a perfect display of that. Yeah. Great call. Number six. Number six, the devourer the devourer of all things. Again, this is another one where i'm like, ah, what which which one is this one? I think I remember. I think this is the two-parter where we get introduced to Wesley, I believe. That sounds right to me. it is. Okay, yes.
01:30:57
Speaker
yeah Because i i'm that whole run, so you mentioned Zero. Again, ah that's how I knew I was into the show a lot was when zero was hurt. And and I can't think of the episode, the fast, the curious though, the explosion happens. I like gasp. I was what?
01:31:11
Speaker
No. Did they just kill one of the kids? And then there's like, no, no beauty is truth and of all all that stuff. So then, and then we get Wesley k Crusher and I'm, I'm still in a daze. I'm like, a ki I can't believe, I can't believe the show made me feel some kind of way. And, and then Wesley Crusher comes in and he's kind of oddly compelling.
01:31:28
Speaker
so Yeah. He's so compelling. I mean, that's what I love this two episodes for. Cause it's like, They bring us the crusher back and he's the doctor from doctor who. And, and, but like in, in a kind of like a manic way. And I love that. He's just, he's kind of out of it the entire time. He's just sort of like trying to remember like, Oh yeah. Was it like, what where are I in the timeline? It's just a fun way to play Wesley. That does make him compelling. Cause I like, look, I have a soft spot for Wesley crusher, especially, especially the episodes where he's like left the ship and comes back like the first duty or even the game, which is just a fun, dumb. The game is fun. Yeah. yeah it's but Everyone's given, ah well, I shouldn't say that considering this, this the kids episode podcast, but the only kids are listening to our game is just like, everyone's just having weird orgasms watching the game.
01:32:17
Speaker
ah So it's just fun. um but yeah it's ah ah But yeah, it's a it's a really... ah it's just a yeah But he is kind of like a lame character in his initial run. He was all that like, oh, shucks, I'm i'm here. I'm the Wunderkin kid. du like Um, and so to bring him back in a way that feels really clever and fun and compelling, um, in a way that's better than Picard season three's, uh, appearance of him, like it was a fine cameo, but it comes across as like, hi, i again, that nostalgia of like, hi, I'm the thing that you remember. Remember me? Look at, I'm gone now. Bye.
01:32:53
Speaker
Like here, he's an actual character providing some like interesting plot stuff. And yet he's just yeah a good evolution for him as a character going forward. I'm like, Hell, I would watch a Wesley Crusher show now based on this version of the character and feels like a good natural e escalation of who he was. um So, yeah, I loved I loved the devourer of all things. And then also, like, again, being a book nerd, then bringing in the Star Trek CODA stuff of like the the the entities that are trying to destroy the universe stuff.
01:33:19
Speaker
I'm like, that's that's me being a novel fan. I love the novel verse. I'm like, I'm here for that. I'll devour that. Oh, oh, oh, also, I forgot. This is also the episode that we get Tanktop Janeway again, where she like crashes the ship to like blow things. I'm like, I'm here for Tanktop Janeway.
01:33:37
Speaker
Janeway in a tanktop. Absolutely. you know You know shit's going to go down when Janeway's in a tanktop.
01:33:45
Speaker
right, so now we're in your top five. Top five. Which is great. yeah So what do you have for number five? I believe this is the pilot. i just want to double check. But Lost and Found is the pilot. Okay, all right.
01:33:57
Speaker
So yeah, the pilot Lost and Found. I think this was such a really strong introduction to this show. the way The way I always pitch Prodigy to friends of mine who don't watch Star Trek or whatever and say, like, it's actually, if you haven't watched Star Trek,
01:34:11
Speaker
you know i i i generally like For friends who haven't watched Star Trek, I usually go, like right here's a few different spots to maybe start Star Trek. and I always offer a prodigy, and the way I always describe it is it's Star Wars characters learning they're in Star Trek. That's right and that usually is what yeah it's what usually gets people in. and I think that this episode really does that so well where you you get a sense of all the characters, you get a sense of like, all right, these I understand these kind of characters in this setting.
01:34:37
Speaker
um It's like a setting that a lot of people are familiar with. And then we sort of set them off on that Star Trek adventure by the end. But you see also um how they are. they They aren't unified in a way that like has a little in really interesting political undercurrent to it, because like we have the diviner is forcing all of these people to he's exploiting them to force them into his mining camp.
01:34:59
Speaker
and intentionally keeping them from being able to communicate with each other. um And that's a way that quite often like people try to exploit others by like keeping people separate people not being able to trust each other, having people presume and fear others like even with the rock talk who's like a kid but doll fears her at first because of just the fact that she's big. Yeah.
01:35:19
Speaker
And so like there's all of these little things that I'm like, this is very so this is just very smartly done. Dahl in this episode is is aspirational and wanting to. He has that sort of Star Trek energy of like wanting to escape and get out to be in the stars. And like it's it's a mission of like wanting to escape this like the prison that he's on.
01:35:38
Speaker
But he also is trying to like he has that Star Trek aspiration. And so he works for me in this episode that he doesn't necessarily in the other episodes because he had there's that aspirational element of him that i feel that feels so Star Trek-ian that um takes a little bit more time after this episode to come back up because he's sort of more insecure after this point and wants to be the leader.
01:35:59
Speaker
um And the show's constantly... is In the first season, it really is about like, doll, you think you know, but you don't know. Exactly, exactly, exactly. it's it's It's one of those things where it just... it He's just...
01:36:12
Speaker
I feel like I'm i'm not... na It's like one of those I get his arc. It's just there's sometimes I'm like, man, you just are so, so insufferable. Makes sense. ah But yeah, this episode, I think, just nails it. it just it's It's just a great setup. It's just a really great setup.
01:36:25
Speaker
So... Great call. That's that's a wonderful um endorsement of the first episode there. Number four.
Unique Episodes and Character Insights
01:36:32
Speaker
Number four is Time Amok, which is the ah different time zone episode of season one.
01:36:41
Speaker
um I think it's probably... ah but ah Yeah, it's my second favorite second favorite episode of season one, um which kind of tells you the rest of the list. But like it's...
01:36:52
Speaker
it's I always enjoy a new clever use of time travel in Star Trek because it's not it's not very often we get something like that. So to get an episode where it's like, all right, the the characters all split up in different time zones that are moving at different rates and it's alternating too. So like one's super slow, the next one's super fast. The other one's super slow, the other one's super fast. like That's just a fun, clever like usage of time and time manipulation and things like that.
01:37:17
Speaker
um And it was nice to, it kind of goes back to that same idea of like, they're all separated and yet they have to all work together. So how do you work together when you are separated? And it's just a great theme, a again, a great theme that feels very Star Trek, but also great for kids.
01:37:30
Speaker
And then the ending with Rock Talk sort of being the ones to overcome her lack of competence um and like find herself and become the science officer that she wanted to be.
01:37:43
Speaker
um that she was sort of relegated to security before that but like she gets to be choose to be the science officer um love that but also the little bit of tragedy that's mixed in there as well of um the fact that she doesn't get to that she's been in there for a very very long time It's something that I wish the show had actually brought up a little bit more often. It just sort of seems to be dropped in there at the end of this episode. And it works really well at the end of this episode.
01:38:08
Speaker
um it So it's not the episode's fault, but it's something i wish the rest of the show i had like maybe peppered in a bit here and there. um But I think is a... What, that she had like an inner light on her own? Yeah, mean, it's the same problem. It is the exact same problem with Inner Light, right? It's like, you know, one deals with the trauma. Like, it's like, just give me, give me trauma. You know, I just want my trauma.
01:38:28
Speaker
ah Maybe don't go, maybe we don't go like Michael Burdum, everything is horrible season one discovery trauma level, but like, give me some level. Just give me a little end of it. it'll be great.
01:38:41
Speaker
All right. Number three. Number three is my favorite episode of season one, which mind walk. um This one was so this is the one where doll switches bodies with Janeway.
01:38:52
Speaker
And this is just fun. It's fun. It's a fun, joyous time. i always love a good body swap. ah story. um You know, whenever I never when I was a young kid, body swap stories were sort of like, oh, gender feelings happening here. So I always have a vague love love for them.
01:39:07
Speaker
ah But this is just a fun one. And it's a good moment to for Janeway to finally see the characters, the kids as like people and like not just the people she's chasing. And I love how we get to see her sort of trying to figure that out with Dahl.
01:39:20
Speaker
And then Dahl just sort of like trying to pretend to be Janeway is a ton of fun. But then also there's just some cool ah beats here where like the kids have to like go out in the warp bubble, um which is just a really cool visual that I haven't seen as much in Star Trek. I don't think ever seen in Star Trek, really.
01:39:37
Speaker
um And so I thought that like it managed to be clever, it managed to be funny, it managed to have like heartfelt stuff in it. So like it was just a really fun episode. All right. I'm very interested to know how your one and two break down here. Yeah, yeah.
01:39:50
Speaker
Well, my number two, and I'm a bit biased in this one, but um is there in Beauty No Truth, um which is the episode of season two where Zero first gets their body.
01:40:02
Speaker
um This one was like seminal original series Star Trek for me. Like it was one of those, like you go on a planet, weird stuff happens, like Spock getting the spores that makes them feel emotion sort of thing. Like it's just a weird, fun one-off concept um that is just a cool, ah get to explore the society.
01:40:21
Speaker
um But like done in a way, in and in a way that feels very Roddenberry-esque, like Gene Roddenberry always had this like, you know, ah very like sensorial sort of ah thing. Like he was also very sex obsessed.
01:40:36
Speaker
So like the the festival, of pleasures in this episode would be much worse if it was gene roddenberry in terms of like there'd be sex happening all over the place but but like he was he was someone who also was like very so interested in like sensorial stuff and like the body and things like that and so i i love i just felt very gene roddenberry original series-esque sort of stuff for me but also um was dealing with queer and non-binary and trans issues of like wanting a different body than the one that you were born with in and trying to like figure out what what that means and how you react to it.
01:41:13
Speaker
You know, there's there's a thing in the trans community and I love zeroes arc for this whole season that this sort of starts off because, you know, some trans people, we we will have this sort of thing of like, oh, if only we had been born in the right body or if we had been born in cis or whatever.
01:41:26
Speaker
um And you don't get that you even though zero gets that here to a degree, but we also get to see them age and let deteriorate. And then they get to sort of like have have like they get to transition in a way and sort of like come to terms with like this is who I am and this is what I'm going to be.
01:41:45
Speaker
And this is just part of my journey. And I really loved that and that acceptance that begins here. And I also just love the like twist of the episode, which is like, oh, we get to experience fear and we might actually die. And that's like a clever, fun, again, sort of like, oh, Star Trek dark twist. Like, ooh, this seems like a weird utopian planet and yet there's something off about it.
01:42:08
Speaker
So like it resonates to me as a queer and trans person. um it's It feels very like seminal Star Trek. ah So I absolutely really love it. And I will also have to say I'm biased because I i now know Tilly and Susan Bridges, um who are the sort of, um not the writers on the episodes, but ah but the consultant, the queer and trans consultant for Zero's character that they would help this with this episode in a huge ah huge way for.
01:42:32
Speaker
ah So I'm a little bit biased behind the scenes there, I should say. That's totally fine. There's no there's no negative to bite. No, no, no, no. Knowing how the sausage is made is part of the joy of doing this podcast because I think it will push you one way or the other and why episodes are made. Like I, I don't just accept it. Let it wash over me. I, we, but we're trying to get to a truth here.
01:42:57
Speaker
It's so stupid. We're fans. What's the best? Who cares? Whatever you feel. That's why I love Star Trek though. Cause Star Trek just does this great, especially when it's episodes like this, because like, One of the problems with Star Trek is sometimes it otherizes cultures. It's saying like, look, we're the cubes.
01:43:12
Speaker
yeah It does it all the time. All the time otherizes cultures. Yes. But what I think when Star Trek works best is when it's it doesn't otherize, it says difference is something that we can relate to.
01:43:26
Speaker
And so this episode is very much intended to be a queer and trans metaphor. um like there's very intense There's an intentionality behind that. um that i I know is the intention going into it by the writers.
01:43:39
Speaker
And yet also it's done in a way that says like we all experience this. And oftentimes when I encounter queer and trans stories in media, um they tend to be like, oh, here's the trans character. Here's the character that gets to be othered.
01:43:54
Speaker
And like, maybe, maybe he'll even try to be like kind and be like, isn't it great? There's a trait, but it's very tokenizing. And I think like episodes like this and when Star Trek is, I think, nailing it it's not just as like Spock kind of does this, like the best, the best characters in Star Trek are always kind of this being like, oh, they're othered in some way by the society, but we see ourselves in them.
01:44:14
Speaker
And I think that this episode nails that and just really captures that Star Trek-y and ah like that what I love about Star Trek. So. It's the essence of of Mary. Is it a great Star Trek and is it a great episode of television?
01:44:27
Speaker
That for me is what usually pushes it over. All right. So here we go. This could kind of go some ways. I'm actually not sure what your number one is. Yeah. Yeah. Interesting. My number one is Last Flight of the Protostar parts one and two.
01:44:41
Speaker
i this episode, the bowl these two-parter is weirdly, I think one of the the show is it at its most beautiful because there's this, it there's this sense of tragedy and sadness. Like when Jacote finds his first officer's skeleton and he realizes what happened, it it's heartbreaking. And it's surprising because that's a character who don't,
01:45:03
Speaker
really get to see you get to see him in let little bits and spurts through the time travel stuff and yet they make it feel so sad and you feel uh chakotay's pain at that um and speaking of chakotay this is an episode that like makes him an interesting character for the first time really ever like you never get interesting to go to so i'm like oh he's actually a a character with like interesting pathos going on um And like his sort of having to overcome like, oh, I don't want anyone to help anybody. I want to be on my own.
01:45:36
Speaker
Like that's such a really ah like wonderful thing for the first part episode that we go through. And then the second part where like they they they literally sail the ship. um is so cool and clever and just again captures that like star trekian maritime feel because i feel like star trek at its best um like one of its one of its like one best things about it is it has that sort of like naval sense of wonder and adventure um of like we're going out into the unknown we're gonna see what's out there And and I think that this and there's going to be beauty and in that. Yeah, some sort of communing with nature.
01:46:16
Speaker
Yeah. This feeling we're a part of something. Exactly. as and b Which is why it's weird that there's the Western, he's got the hat. Yeah. There's kind of the Wild West thing. That's about conquering and settling. Yeah, I mean, it's again, that sort of American myth that's sort of baked into Star Trek. Unfortunately, that wagon train to the stars thing, which is like...
01:46:36
Speaker
you know, the America, America tends to mythologize ourselves as like, Ooh, the Western expansion was this fun, like dream. and It's like, yeah there's a lot of, a lot of genocide and going on that we did there.
01:46:51
Speaker
um But yeah, I mean, but I think even like ah beyond that, I like there that, that sort of idea of like exploring, seeking out new life, new civilizations and like exploring yourselves in the wonderment at the galaxy.
01:47:03
Speaker
um And to Kote, like, being an interesting character and like coming to like find his connection to others again through these kids that we have come to know was really cool as well. And it speaks to the strength of Prodigy in that it it does it does a great job of weaving in older Star Trek characters like Takote and like Janeway and such, but it never it never loses sight of its main kid kid characters.
01:47:29
Speaker
um when when uh like past characters like the problem with like many problems with picard is like even though the show is called picard there is this thing of like i was really interested in elnor and raffi and all of those other characters but it's sort of like always is focused and centralized on picard and then they all get sort of mostly swept side aside for picard season three i'm like as much as i had issues with those seasons of picard like i found those characters compelling and yet the show seemed somewhat sometimes disinterested in them And so here I love that Prodigy never loses sight of its kids.
01:47:59
Speaker
It's like they are the characters. And so we get these two episodes that I think really, I think beautifully bring out Chakotay. And yet it's Chakotay going through a journey with the kids rather than it being Chakotay has a journey that the kids are just sitting there watching.
01:48:14
Speaker
You know, and that because because, oh, look, it's a Chakotay character that we know. So I think that there's just I think that this is like these two episodes capture everything that I like about Star Trek, everything I like about Prodigy specifically, and also like other element and like improve other elements of Star Trek that were kind of not great.
01:48:31
Speaker
So, yeah, I think this is a great list. I think it's a great point about this episode. I was ah a little surprised that the mirror episode didn't pop up. What is that called? Cracked mirror? Cracked mirror.
01:48:43
Speaker
ah I enjoy cracked mirror. It's fun. um And I debated putting it on my list. i think I think my issue with it is like I've seen the Mirror Universe a bunch and I've seen it kind of better. In in my opinion, I've seen it kind of better in other episodes before, like in the Deep Space Nine ones. I kind of have more fun with it. So it's like, it's not bad. I enjoy It's a fun episode, but it's not.
01:49:05
Speaker
It's like I've seen like even Voyager had episodes of like, oh, the ship was split up into different segments. sort of So it's like it feels... It feels like ah that's one of those ones where it's like they're doing the Star Trek tropes and yet it doesn't necessarily feel like it evolves it as much for me.
01:49:18
Speaker
Just for me. Well, that's fair. I mean, so it sounds like you and I are similar in that we weren't big JC shippers. We didn't care. I, so that's okay. okay That's why I was wondering.
01:49:31
Speaker
I'm a big JC shipper. However, i am someone who um ah I think they did. I think what they did in Voyager was right. Like, I think I wanted Janeway and Chakotay to end up together. However, i totally think that Janeway made the right call in that.
01:49:48
Speaker
um she couldn't be with Chakotay because it would kind of undermine her captaincy. And she would like, she, that sort of, that drama that was milked from that, I'm like, that's actually really interesting. And I like that tension there.
01:50:00
Speaker
So like, it's one of those like, yes, do I want, would I want them to end up together? Yes. Would I have liked that in the season series finale than Chakotay and Seven of Nine? Hell of a lot more. Yes. However, as an interesting dramatic tension, I think it was the right choice to not have them get together within the course of the show outside of maybe the series finale.
01:50:19
Speaker
that That makes sense. So I guess my question was, why did, I mean, this was before the compound naming conventions, I think, because it was JC Shipper, which I think I kind of knew, but we did an episode, maybe resolutions. And I was like, is it Jakote or Chainway?
01:50:34
Speaker
It would have just been fun to call it Chainway. And online, a bunch of JC Shippers like, it's never been that. It's always been JC. I'm like, okay, fine. Fair enough. But I mean, come on, we've got Spurk. which is fun. I mean, to be fair, it was called k k slash S for the longest time. That's very true. that You're totally right.
01:50:51
Speaker
um Well, thanks so much for beaming in and and giving out this, this ringing endorsement of what is an excellent Star Trek show. I think everyone should check it out. And where can people check you out away from here?
01:51:03
Speaker
You can find me on Jesse Gender on YouTube. That's where I do my video essay stuff. I have a bunch of stuff on Star Trek. um Actually, and a bunch of stuff that's on queer and trans issues as well, and also science fiction and all of that.
01:51:16
Speaker
I actually will have a big Star Trek video coming out in June in the relatively near future, so you can check that out too. um I have a secondary channel called Justin G. Under After Dark, which is just news, reviews, reactions. That's where I review episodes of Star Trek as they come out, like um ah Strange New Worlds, which will be coming out fairly soon.
01:51:31
Speaker
um I have a podcast called Frack This Podcast, which is a Battlestar Galactica reimagined Battlestar Galactica rewatch podcast. And finally, i am on Nebula, which is the so streaming service that has my movie, science fiction movie Identities, which is a sci-fi film that actually stars John Delancey.
01:51:49
Speaker
So if you like John Delancey, he is ah he's in my science fiction movie called Identities. That also is a very um it's the best way I explain it is if if you ever seen Cube, it's like Cube meets the Matrix.
01:51:59
Speaker
So it's a very kind of very fun. It's a fun movie. So, yeah, that check that out. Thanks so much. And then also, if I ever worked to John Delancey, I'd have to bite my tongue every day. Because as soon as I'd see him, I'd go, Q, what is the meaning of this?
01:52:11
Speaker
Q, what do you want? I'll tell you this fun story real quick here. He was the best. First off, he was the best to work with. Like, not that I thought I was going to be a bigot or anything, but like it was a very queer set. we had I had ah hired a bunch of queer and trans folks.
01:52:21
Speaker
um But he got everyone's pronouns right. He showed up like... excited and like like ready to go like he could have just shown up and been like all right i'm here i'm doing the job it's fine but he was like let's and like he was asking me a question about the script he showed up to every rehearsal he gave extra time over the next few weeks to come in and do voiceover like just on his own so like he was absolutely the best however the day he came in for the day of filming and we had had just as a joke because everyone on the set was trekkies we um we had a picture of reicher sitting at our welcome desk that when you came in, there's just a picture of Riker, like sexy Riker and sitting there. We call their daddy Riker or whatever. And I told the PA like, please, when John comes in, hide that picture for the love of God. And he forgot and he felt so embarrassed.
01:53:05
Speaker
So I missed him. I missed him coming in because I was probably other things, but I'm just imagining poor John coming in and there's a picture of like sexy Jonathan Frakes looking at him when he comes in. But he was wonderful. He was absolutely the sweetest.
01:53:20
Speaker
Thanks again, Jesse. Everyone check that out when they get a chance. So there we have it. We've got The Marys in order. Time Amok from season one. All the World's a Stage from season one.
01:53:35
Speaker
Mind Walk from season one. Supernova part one and Supernova part two from season one. From season two, Is There in Beauty No Truth?
01:53:46
Speaker
The Devourer of All Things Part 1, The Devourer of All Things Part 2, The Last Flight of the Protostar Part 1, The Last Flight of the Protostar Part 2, Cracked Mirror, Ouroboros Part 1, and Ouroboros Part 2.
01:54:01
Speaker
two This is our list. We had pretty interesting mix. We had one, two, three, four, five, six episodes that we all agreed on our panel five out of five.
01:54:16
Speaker
But we also wound up having 13 episodes on the list, which, you know, a little bit more than the 12 episodes. that the 30-40-30 formula would have given us.
01:54:27
Speaker
So I just want to thank again all of our guests that we had for this wonderful panel on Star Trek Prodigy. And again, I hope you check it out. It's well worth your valuable time.
01:54:37
Speaker
Check out Mission Log Prodigy where you can listen to Charlene and Marina. Check out Steve Shives and Jesse Gender both on YouTube. And stay tuned for an all new Check Mary Kill next week.
01:54:50
Speaker
We're going to be releasing two episodes, our animated spotlight for the month of May, which will be Lower Decks with Katie Hampton. And then we're going to be kicking off a new theme month.
01:55:03
Speaker
Spring Flings, where characters fall in love with guest stars of the week. It's going to be Ilan of Troyes, and I'll be joined by Jordan Hoffman, a film critic who was also ah the original host of the first official Star Trek podcast called Engage, the official Star Trek podcast.
01:55:21
Speaker
Check all that out next week after you binge Star Trek Prodigy. How does that sound? All right. Until then, TMK out.