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PARAMOUNT

SERIES INFO
Creators:
Kevin & Dan Hageman
Cast:
Brett Gray, Ella Purnell, Kate Mulgrew
Writing Credits:
Various

Synopsis:
A group of young aliens who find the abandoned starship USS Protostar and take it on adventures.


MPAA:
Rated TV-Y7.

DISC DETAILS
Presentation:
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Audio:
English DTS-HD MA 5.1
French Dolby 5.1
German Dolby 5.1
Spanish Dolby 2.0
Subtitles:
English
French
German
Spanish
Closed-captioned
Supplements Subtitles:
English
French
German
Spanish

Runtime: 237 min.
Price: $25.99
Release Date: 1/3/2023

Bonus:
• “Kobayasha Maru” Featurette
• “Trek Tradition” Featurette
• “The Prime Directive” Featurette
• “Protostar Pack” Featurettes
• “The Protostar” Featurettes
• “Gadgets & Gear” Featurettes


PURCHASE @ AMAZON.COM

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-Panasonic DMP-BDT220P Blu-Ray Player
-Chane A2.4 Speakers
-SVS SB12-NSD 12" 400-watt Sealed Box Subwoofer


RELATED REVIEWS


Star Trek: Prodigy - Season One, Episodes 1-10 [Blu-Ray] (2021-22)

Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (September 19, 2024)

Four years after the Original Series left the air, Star Trek returned via an animated TV show. This lasted a mere 22 episodes before cancellation arrived.

Of course, live-action Trek returned in 1979 when The Motion Picture hit theaters. 1987 also brought Trek back to TV screens.

No additional animated Trek greeted fans until 2020’s Lower Decks. A year later, it got a sibling via Prodigy.

This two-disc set presents “Part One” of Season One of Prodigy, with episodes that debuted from October 2021 and February 2022. Since “Part Two” of Season One didn’t come out until October 2022, it seems unclear why they didn’t just call that “Season Two”, but it is what it is, as the cliché goes.

All 10 shows run in the order they emerged on Paramount+. The plot synopses come from the series’ official website.

Lost and Found Parts 1 and 2: “Exiled on a mining colony outside Federation space, a group of lawless teens discover a derelict Starfleet ship. Dal R’El (voiced by Brett Gray) must gather an unlikely crew for the USS Protostar to escape Tars Lamora, but The Diviner (John Noble) and his daughter Gwyndala (Ella Purnell) have other plans.”

A protagonist who doesn’t know about his roots, an obscure location, lots of quirky alien creatures… this first episode of Prodigy comes with more of a Star Wars feel than a Trek vibe.

It also leans toward a kiddie-oriented tone, which doesn’t surprise given the use of cartoons. Of course, animation doesn’t exist solely to provide fare for youngsters, but it comes as no surprise that Prodigy follows that path.

The animation style feels somewhat more “mature” than the broadly cartoony Lower Decks, however. Not that the latter’s design choices hurt it, as I think the show works pretty well, but it definitely leans more “Saturday morning” in terms of its look versus the visuals of Prodigy.

Despite its design, Lower Decks actually felt aimed at a sophisticated Trek audience. Allusions to various other Trek iterations abounded, with dozens of connections to delight long-time fans.

On the other hand, at least for this double-length episode, Prodigy feels much more kid-oriented. While not necessarily “dumbed-down”, it accentuates young characters and a broad sense of adventure.

As a dude in his 50s, I must admit the tone of “Found” fails to bring much to engage me. It feels fairly cliché and lacks a lot of real pizzazz. Hopefully the series will become more interesting from here, though.

Starstruck: “Even with the guidance of their hologram advisor Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), the crew of The Protostar is tested when their ship is on a dangerous cosmic collision course.”

Even if just a hologram, the inclusion of Janeway adds spark to Prodigy - and also allows the series to start to “feel more Trek” than the pilot. Though it provides nothing spectacular, “Starstruck” at least manages a more engaging adventure than the prior show and it offers hope of additional fun yet to come.

Dream Catcher: “The crew has their first away mission on an undiscovered planet that manifests their deepest desires, only to realize the planet has desires of its own.”

This episode provides the series’ first “away mission”, as we see Dal and company as they visit an uncharted planet. That offers some intrigue, and we get decent character development as well. I still don’t love the series, but “Dream” manages to allow it to continue to expand in a pretty positive manner.

Terror Firma: “Marooned on a deadly planet, the crew must work together with their captive Gwyn to stay alive… except the planet isn't the only thing in pursuit.”

Though not formally a “part two”, “Firma” picks up immediately where “Dream” ended. It really does act as an extension of the prior episode’s narrative.

Unfortunately, it fails to become as interesting as that show. Not that “Firma” flops, but it falls into the “more Star Wars than Star Trek” camp again, and it doesn’t really satisfy.

Kobayashi: “As Gwyn struggles to find her role aboard the Protostar, Dal tests his leadership skills in the newly discovered holodeck.”

Established in 1982’s Star Trek II, every fan knows of the “Kobayashi Maru”, or the theoretically unwinnable situation. Here the Prodigy characters give that simulation a try.

The episode plays the theme for laughs mainly – and it allows for crewmembers of other Trek series to appear via archival voice performances and new work from Gates McFaddden and Robert Beltran. Throw in some exposition with Gwyn and this turns into a pretty solid show.

First Con-tact: “When a mentor from Dal's past persuades him to use their Federation cover for personal gain, they quickly discover Starfleet has protocols for a reason.”

Obviously this episode’s title alludes to 1996’s First Contact feature film. However, whereas “Kobayashi” consciously nodded toward Trek’s past in term of episode content, “First” doesn’t do much to remind us of the 1996 film.

“First” does manage some intriguing new threads, though. Like much of Prodigy, it still feels awfully Star Wars, but some good material emerges here.

Time Amok: “When The Protostar is fractured in time by an anomaly, Hologram Janeway must synchronize the disjointed crew and save their ship before it destructs.”

For Trek fans, the involvement of Janeway becomes highly appealing, and “Amok” allows the character to come to the fore. Add a clever plot and we find one of S1’s better shows.

A Moral Star, Parts 1 and 2: “The crew forego their dreams of Starfleet to return to Tars Lamora in a no-win scenario.”

“Part One” of Season One concludes with another double episode. It wraps up this half’s narrative in a fairly vivid manner, even if it really does continue on the Star Wars path.

Nonetheless, “Star” finishes this arc in a satisfying manner. It helps ensure that “Part One” of Prodigy’s first season becomes fairly enjoyable sci-fi/action material.


The Discs Grades: Picture B+/ Audio B+/ Bonus C+

Star Trek: Prodigy appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.39:1 on these Blu-ray Discs. Across the board, the episodes looked good.

Overall sharpness worked fine, albeit without the level of precision I expect from computer animated material. This meant the shows usually brought solid accuracy but they could lean a little soft at times.

Jagged edges and/or moiré effects never turned into a concern with Darkness. Edge haloes remained absent, as did source defects.

Colors tended toward a broad palette, with a wide mix of hues on display. The Blu-rays reproduced these with vivacity.

Blacks appeared deep and dense, while low-light shots became smooth and concise. Outside of a few soft shots, no problems manifested through the series.

Though I didn’t expect much from “made for streaming” programming like Prodigy, the series’ DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio became surprisingly immersive. The soundscapes boasted better than anticipated involvement.

With plenty of action on display, the mix involved the viewer in a satisfying manner. From alien shenanigans to vehicles to Starfleet firepower, the soundscape placed material all around the room to form an engulfing track.

Audio quality pleased as well, with speech that seemed natural and concise. Music felt lively and vivid, with good range.

Effects packed a nice punch, as those elements appeared accurate and dynamic. Everything about the soundtrack satisfied.

One extra appears on Disc One: a featurette called The Kobayashi Maru. It runs four minutes, four seconds and provides notes from showrunners Dan and Kevin Hageman, prop designer Jack Rossi, and actor Brett Gray.

They offer basics about the “Kobayashi” episode. It seems superficial and spends more time on show clips than information.

On Disc Two, we find five more featurettes. Trek Tradition goes for 11 minutes, six seconds and includes remarks from Dan and Kevin Hageman, executive producers Alex Kurtzman, Trevor Roth and Eugene Roddenberry, co-executive producer Ben Hibon, principal concept artist Gus Mendonca, concept artist Bastien Grivet and actor Kate Mulgrew. We also get archival footage with Trek creator Gene Roddenberry.

“Tradition” covers Prodigy’s development as well as the general goals of Trek over the years. A few insights result but a lot of this just praises Trek.

The Prime Directive lasts three minutes, 15 seconds. It brings info from Rossi, and Kevin and Dan Hageman.

As implied by the title, this program views how Prodigy treats Starfleet’s guiding principle. It seems basic.

Next comes The Protostar Pack, a domain that breaks into eight segments. These occupy a total of 28 minutes, 33 seconds and involve Kurtzman, Kevin and Dan Hageman, Hibon, Gray, Mulgrew, animation directors Jason Meier and CJ Sarachene, art director Alessandro Taini, and actors Jason Mantzoukas, Rylee Alazeaqui, and Angus Imrie.

Across these, we hear about various design choices, animation and cinematography, cast, characters and performances. Though not the deepest explorations, the segments deliver some worthwhile notes.

The Protostar splits into another eight sections, and these take up a total of 13 minutes, 37 seconds. They feature Kevin and Dan Hageman, Hibon, Rossi, and environment artist Clara Coulter.

Here we learn more about the starship at the heart of Prodigy. The clips survey the subject matter well.

Finally, another eight segments show up under Gadgets & Gear. All together these span 17 minutes, 22 seconds and offer statements from Kevin and Dan Hageman, Rossi, and Mendonca.

Unsurprisingly, this collection views different props and production design elements. Expect another decent compilation of details.

With a more kid-oriented tone than most Star Trek properties, Prodigy doesn’t click as well as one might hope. Still, it offers some reasonable fun and adventure, even if it seems more like Star Wars than Star Trek. The Blu-rays offer very good picture and audio as well as a decent array of bonus materials. While not prime Trek, Prodigy nonetheless entertains.

Viewer Film Ratings: 3 Stars Number of Votes: 1
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Review Archive:  # | A-C | D-F | G-I | J-L | M-O | P-R | S-U | V-Z | Viewer Ratings | Main