- Title: Star Trek: Prodigy – Lost and Found
- wiki: link
The two-part opener of Star Trek: Prodigy drops us into a mining colony somewhere outside of Federation space in the Delta Quadrant where we meet the cocky Dal R’El (Brett Gray) who along with the oversized Rok-Tahk (Rylee Alazraqui) will discover a way off the asteroid in a Starfleet vessel buried under a large deposit of the expensive crystals the group are forced to mine. Joining them in their escape are the argumentative Jankom Pog (Jason Mantzoukas), Zero (Angus Imrie) an energy being within a robotic exoskeleton, the gelatinous Murf (Dee Bradley Baker), along with the facility commander’s daughter Gwyn (Ella Purnell) who they kidnap helping to facilitate their escape.
Despite the name, and the quality of the writing, the two-part opener doesn’t feel much like a Star Trek show at the outset. We’re given a prison planet full of mostly kids and young adults rather than a Starfleet vessel. There are no universal translators available on the asteroid meaning the various races can’t understand each other, helping The Diviner (John Noble) control them. One of the boons of the ship, other than facilitating their escape, is it to all the characters to speak to each other for the first time and overcome previous misconceptions about each other.
The opener ends with the ship breaking out of the confines of the asteroid and hitting open space, along with a final tease for the group with the activation of a hologram version of Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) working to both add a little more Star Trek flavor to the series and provide a bit of a cheat code with an experienced presence on the ship who can help the motley group become a crew. A successful creation for Paramount+, earning both critical and audience approval, Star Trek: Prodigy nevertheless was cancelled by the network despite having a full Second Season of the show nearly ready to premiere. The show, both seasons, moved to Netflix to great success.
