Star Trek: Starfleet Academy doesn’t go into production until later this summer, but the series made major news at today’s San Diego Comic Con Star Trek Universe panel, with some casting news that’s both very expected… and incredibly surprising.
Academy showrunners Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau announced that Star Trek: Voyager (and Star Trek: Prodigy) actor Robert Picardo will be joining the upcoming series, bringing his holographic Doctor character back to live-action for the first time since 2001’s Voyager finale.
Robert Picardo. (Paramount+)
Picardo will be joining the show as a series regular. Set some 800 years after the events of Voyager and Prodigy, it’s unclear as of this writing exactly which version of The Doctor will be part of Academy — it could be the same old EMH we know and love, just eight centuries later, the duplicated EMH copy which survived far in to the future (through the events of “Living Witness”), or some amalgam of the two holo-programs.
(It would make the most narrative sense to be the “original” Doctor — who lived through the events of Voyager and Prodigy — but we’ll find out soon to be sure!)
Mary Wiseman, Tig Notaro, and Oded Fehr. (Paramount+)
Also announced was the long-expected return of Mary Wiseman, reprising her Star Trek: Discovery role as Lieutenant Sylvia Tilly in a guest-starring capacity. It’s been perhaps the most obvious bit of casting for the new series so far, as the character started working at Starfleet Academy during Discovery’s fourth season, and that show’s series finale established that Tilly would eventually spend decades as part of the Academy faculty.
In addition, both Tig Notaro (caustic engineer Jett Reno) and Oded Fehr (Admiral Charles Vance) will return to continue their Discovery roles in the upcoming series. Notaro will be billed as a series regular, like her time on Discovery, and Fehr will again be a recurring guest star.
Gina Yashere. (Paramount+)
In a final new casting announcement (made yesterday through StarTrek.com), comedian Gina Yashere will appear in a recurring role as one of Starfleet Academy’s instructors.
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Because the series has not yet begun active filming, there was no new trailer or other footage featured during the Hall H panel, but Kurtzman and Landau did share this lovely recording of the younger Academy cast — Kerrice Brooks, Bella Shepard, George Hawkins, Karim Diané and Zoë Steiner — being told they scored their parts in the new show.
Picardo, Wiseman, Notaro, Fehr, and Yashere join the five cadet actors in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, along with previously announced stars Holly Hunter and Paul Giamatti.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy heads into production later this summer — but in the meantime, be sure to check back soon for news about the Michelle Yeoh-led Star Trek: Section 31 movie!
Star Trek: Lower Decks’ animated adventures are coming to a close this October, as Paramount+ announced the Season 5 release date during today’s big the Star Trek Universe San Diego Comic Con panel.
Joining Star Trek franchise leader Alex Kurtzman to debut today’s trailer was Lower Decks creator/showrunner Mike McMahan, along with castmembers Tawny Newsome (Mariner), Jack Quaid (Boimler), Noël Wells (Tendi), and Jerry O’Connell (Ransom).
October 24 brings a two-episode premiere for the final Lower Decks outing — which means the show will end a week ahead of Christmas — and today’s new teaser trailer skips right over Star Trek V with a fantastic homage to the original Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country teaser trailer from 1991.
(Boimler even calls the Cerritos crew “very important” — or VI!)
While Tendi (Noel Wells) was forced to return to Orion at the end of last year’s story, Season 5 of Star Trek: Lower Decks finds the USS Cerritos crew on a new mission: repairing the fabric of space itself.
In season five of STAR TREK: LOWER DECKS, the crew of the U.S.S. Cerritos is tasked with closing “space potholes” – subspace rifts which are causing chaos in the Alpha Quadrant. Pothole duty would be easy for Jr. Officers Mariner, Boimler, Tendi and Rutherford…if they didn’t also have to deal with an Orion war, furious Klingons, diplomatic catastrophes, murder mysteries and scariest of all: their own career aspirations.
This upcoming season on Paramount+ is a celebration of this underdog crew who are dangerously close to being promoted out of the lower decks and into strange new Starfleet roles.
Here are a few new images from the upcoming released by the studio in today’s announcement, showcasing Tendi back with her people, Ransom (Jerry O’Connell) and Boimler (Jack Quaid) heading on vacation, and Rutherford (Eugene Cordero) terrifying Mariner (Tawny Newsome).
Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5 will be hear before you know it — but in the meantime, stay tuned for the rest of today’s Star Trek Universe news out of San Diego!
We’re still months away from of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ 2025 return — but to whet your appetite for the show’s upcoming third season, Paramount+ today released an extended clip from the next year of Enterprise adventures.
The new clip was unveiled during today’s Star Trek Universe panel at San Diego Comic Con, where franchise boss Alex Kurtzman was joined by showrunners Akiva Goldsman and and Henry Alonso Myers, plus actors Ethan Peck (Spock) and Rebecca Romijn (Number One).
In the Season 3 clip, an undercover mission requires Captain Pike (Anson Mount), Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding), La’an (Christina Chong), Christine Chapel (Jess Bush) to biologically transform into Vulcans so that they — and Spock (Peck) — can infiltrate and repair some kind of malfunctioning planetary base.
Using the Kerkhovian serum developed to restore Spock’s Vulcan biology in last season’s “Charades,”Dr. M’Benga (Babs Olusanmokun) and Pelia (Carol Kane) watch in surprise as their crewmates are transformed into Vulcans — easily complete their mission, to the shock of Number One (Rebecca Romijn) and Ortegas (Melissa Navia) — and return to the ship… only to find that their humanity can’t be easily restored.
Pike (Anson Mount), Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding), La’an (Christina Chong), and Chapel (Jess Bush). (Paramount+)Spock (Ethan Peck), M’Benga (Babs Olusunmokun), and Pelia (Carol Kane). (Paramount+)M’Benga, the Vulcan-ized crew, and Number One (Rebecca Romijn). (Paramount+)
In addition to the Season 3 clip, the studio also announced that Irish actor Cillian O’Sullivan has been cast as Dr. Roger Korby — mentioned last season, and the eventual fiancée to one Nurse Chapel, as established in the Original Series episode “What Are Little Girls Made Of?”
Cillian O’Sullivan (left), original Korby actor Michael Strong (right).
While the character’s dismal fate is revealed in that classic episode, Strange New Worlds will explore the beginning of the Chapel/Korby relationship as she spends time studying archeological medicine under his tutelage.
Season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is in post-production now, expected to return to Paramount+ in 2025.
Stick around for all the rest of today’s Star Trek Universe news as the big Hall H panel at San Diego Comic Con continues!
Nubeo has previously aligned with with both NASAand the classic arcade game franchise Space Invadersfor themed watch designs celebrating each partnership, and now they are bringing Star Trek into their portfolio with a set of four franchise-inspired releases.
The new Nubeo x Star Trek watches are available in four colors — “Explorer Yellow,” “Danger Red,” “Warp Blue,” and “Beam Black” — and are limited to a total run 200 pieces per color (800 watches in total).
Here’s the company’s description of the new watches, which also has glow-in-the-dark elements for nighttime viewing.
Nubeo proudly announces its inaugural partnership with the iconic Star Trek franchise, marking a historic leap into the cosmos of pop culture. Introducing the Magellan Automatic Star Trek Starfleet Limited Edition—a collection that embodies the spirit of exploration, adventure, and innovation.
Each timepiece in this limited-edition collection pays homage to the intrepid spirit of Starfleet, capturing the essence of humanity’s boundless quest for discovery. With four striking variants — Explorer Yellow, Danger Red, Warp Blue, and Beam Black — the collection offers a unique blend of style and functionality. Each watch is crafted with 316L stainless steel, a hardened mineral lens with anti-reflective coating, Swiss luminous hands and indexes, and a durable rubber strap, all powered by a reliable Japanese automatic movement.
(Photos: Nubeo)
Full disclosure: Nubeo sent us one of the new watches to check out in person, and we’ve shared some photos below.
This is most certainly a men’s watch — with a heavy with a 120-gram weight and large 48mm x 17mm dimensions. It’s also, in our opinion, a bit over-designed with the various elements (especially the yellow edition), making it difficult to read the time. Of the four versions, the blue or black-and-white editions are probably the most legible… or at least, they’re more subtle than the bright yellow or red designs!
The watch and hard-case packaging include many familiar franchise assets, though there’s a bit of an odd jumble of elements from different eras: the original Star Trek series title treatment on the case and watch, a replica of The Motion Picture refit Enterprise saucer on the rear face of the watch, the 32nd century Starfleet emblem (from Star Trek: Discovery) on the watch face and edition card — and for some reason, the Enterprise-D on case’s inner artwork.
(It seems like there should have been a bit more direction there from the Star Trek licensing team.)
Nuveo STAR TREK Watch
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Like most of the company’s watches, also has a luxury-level price point: it retails for $940, which is a big ask and clearly puts it out of reach for most collectors. It’s also a little disappointing that there isn’t a women’s-sized variant of the design, with smaller dimensions. Nubeo’s announcement calls this an “inaugural” partnership with the Star Trek franchise, so perhaps that may come in a later release.
One of the biggest surprises about Star Trek: Prodigy’s second season was the inclusion of long-lost Wesley Crusher, the young Enterprise-D helmsman who went off with The Traveler to explore other planes of existence at the end of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
We caught up with Star Trek’s own lord of time — actor Wil Wheaton — to talk about his return to the Trek universe, connecting his appearance on Picard with his time on Prodigy, finding the voice of “Wesley the Traveler,” and more.
Wesley Crusher returns for STAR TREK: PRODIGY’s Season 2 adventure. (CBS Studios)
TREKCORE: Let’s jump right in — what was it like when you got the call, asking you to bring Wesley Crusher back for Star Trek: Prodigy?
WIL WHEATON: Well, a good friend of mine is on the Prodigy writing staff, and she called me up and said, “How do you feel about being Wesley again?” I was like, “Uh, I’m extremely into it!” (Laughs)
She pitched me the broad idea of what they were thinking about, and then asked me if I had any ideas. I said, “You know, I don’t want to overstep, but I’ve been writing fan fiction about Wesley the Traveler for years… and in my stories he’s kind of like The Doctor from Doctor Who.” She got really excited and said that the Prodigy writers were thinking the same thing – so we were all leaning in the same direction.
She asked me, “What do you think about this? What do you think about that?” I couldn’t believe it — I’d never been invited into the creative process as early as on Prodigy, so I feel even closer to this character than I already would have. And then a few days, I got the official request to join the show, which of course was operating under a code name at that point; we were calling it ‘Captain Video’ during production. (Laughs)
Then it all just came together.
Wesley encounters Kore Soong (Isa Briones) in STAR TREK: PICARD. (CBS Studios / Paramount+)
TREKCORE: So you know you’re going to come back to Star Trek with Prodigy… and then you get a call from the Star Trek: Picard team to play Wesley in live-action, too.
WHEATON: There have been a few moments in my life where I just feel like, “This can’t possibly be real… all this wonderful, amazing stuff that’s happening to me without some kind of catch.” And it turned out there was no catch! (Laughs)
You know, I have held onto this secret since before we did Picard — and that filmed like four years ago! — and then when Akiva Goldsman told people that two Star Trek shows “went to war” over Wesley Crusher, I couldn’t believe it was even happening. It was just so wonderful, and so exciting. It was just lovely.
We are at a moment in Star Trek’s life where we have people working really hard to ensure that every Trek show is supporting every OTHER Trek show. We have this giant, shared universe where everything gets into each other, and everything makes sense. We’re not hand-waiving anything, so they had to figure out how to make Wesley the Traveler in Picard tie in with Wesley the Traveler in Prodigy.
I’ll tell you this — when I got to write a story for IDW’s Star Trek #400 in 2022, I bridged the two together. I was able to sneak in a moment where Wesley is trying to get away from The Loom [the reality-eating time monsters introduced in Prodigy] and put them into the background of that comic… and make it so that Wesley goes to recruit Kore Soong in Picard because the Loom are coming in that alternate-timeline reality. He knows it’s happening, and it became a fun kind of Easter egg thing for me.
Wesley saves Jean-Luc Picard from the Loom in a panel from “A Matter of Choice.” (IDW Publishing)
Personally, you know, being on Trek wasn’t the greatest time for me when I was a kid. Adults who knew better were really cruel to me, a child, and it was deeply hurtful — that wasn’t okay. And for a really long time after that, I felt like I should probably also not love Wesley, and I should run away from all that — and I did, for a while.
But boy, do I regret that; it was wasted time. Seeing Wesley in Prodigy — after a long time between when I recorded the episodes and today — it’s the first time in my acting career that I have looked at a role I played and I didn’t see Wil Wheaton. I didn’t even hear myself. I only saw and heard this character that I love so much, and I had the incredible privilege of enjoying my work in the way I hope the audience does.
I told my friend Jen Muro, who wrote for the show, that I did not think it was possible that I could love Wesley Crusher more than I already do. Seeing him like this, with these kids – seeing him as a mentor and an elder, being this interesting guy who’s all over the place – I just love him so much… and I’d forgotten he was me.
Like, it was lovely that he appeared in Picard — that was a beautiful cameo, and it felt so good to be part of that — but seeing him in Prodigy, doing what he does best, it felt like Wesley had finally come home after all these years. I watched some of those episodes through some tears because I was so moved by it.
I didn’t take a single second for granted.
Wesley share similar messages with both the PRODIGY gang and with Kore Soong in PICARD. (CBS Studios)
TREKCORE: Well it certainly sounds like it was a very lovely experience for you. Beyond the storytelling, what did you think about Wesley’s animated look, with his early-TNG sweater? Did you have any part in the final design?
WHEATON: I did — Kevin and Dan Hageman are so wonderful. They’re so generous, and they encouraged me to collaborate with them. There’s always a bit of collaboration that happens in the recording booth when I’m working with a director — and Kevin’s a great director — but I never expected to be consulted on the animated design. I never thought that I’d be able to give feedback on that at all.
When I was an actor on Next Generation, I was frequently ‘put in my place’ by the producers; my feedback was rejected. It was a very much shut-up-and-do-your-job kind of place, my opinions didn’t matter.
TREKCORE: Is that because you were “just the kid,” and not one of the adult actors?
WHEATON: Yeah. I mean, my castmates always treated me as an equal, but a majority of the directors and producers always treated me as a kid who just didn’t have the right to speak up. I couldn’t possibly know anything — and I think the reality of what I had to offer at that time probably falls in the middle a little bit.
There are ways to talk to somebody that aren’t insulting, right? You can say “Here’s what we’re going to do, and this is why.” But that was a different time — my point is, it wasn’t like that with Prodigy at all. I was in the booth with Kevin, and we’re finding the character. I had just come out of doing the cameo on Picard, and I initially approached him the same way for Prodigy — very reflective and calm, sort of like the original Traveler on Next Gen.
Kevin tells me that the tone has to be different, because it’s an animated show and everybody is more high-energy… so let’s try some things! So we tried Wesley sort of like Doc Brown from Back to the Future, as Ian Malcolm from Jurassic Park, even as the Professor from Gilligan’s Island. (Laughs)
Then at one point, I said, “Wesley is like The Doctor… hey Kevin, can we try something?” So we go and do the scene with him acting very distracted and all over the place. “Oh look, a coin slot! A hat… you ever tried one of these Earth hats?” (Laughs) There’s a line where Wesley is like, “Would you like some Earth grapes?” which I improvised and thought was very funny — he doesn’t remember how to interact with people who aren’t Travelers anymore.
We brought all of that through in the performance, and the Prodigy team really supported that in the writing going forward. As a fan of both franchises — Star Trek and Doctor Who — this is the closest I will ever get to being The Doctor. Because when they cast the next Doctor, it’s definitely not gonna be me! (Laughs)
Wesley’s orange sweater returns. (CBS Studios)
And then on the character design: the sweater conversation came up, and I said that I think it should be that orange one from “Where No One Has Gone Before” because it’s kind of iconic and it’s the one that stands out the most from his sweater collection. I love that he’s all into those sweaters now, because when I was a kid I hated them! (Laughs) I thought they were dumb and I didn’t like the way they looked; they were uncomfortable. I wanted to be cool, I wanted to be neon… because that’s what teenager girls in the Eighties liked!
I ended up coming back around and loving them, the same way Wesley did. But my two pieces of suggestion were: one, I really wanted to see him on Doc Martins. And if he can’t be in Doc Martins, I would like him to be in kind of those Eighties punk rock combat boots that are, uh, legally distinct from the Doc Martins that I wore as a kid. So we managed to get away with the boots… and I also thought it would be cool if he wore one of those calf-length jackets that evoke another particular Time Lord!
TREKCORE: Beyond time playing Wesley, what are your thoughts about Prodigy as a whole? What does the show mean to you as a fan?
WHEATON: There are three things that really stand out to me about Prodigy. First, I love that Wesley is in the show because Wesley was written into Trek to bring people into the universe and get kids interested in making a better tomorrow — and Prodigy is doing the same thing. I’ve heard Kevin and Dan say that Wesley was the original prodigy, so we need him in Prodigy — that’s just a gift.
Second, I love that Prodigy doesn’t talk down to kids, it reaches kids where they are. It gives their parents something to watch so they can watch it together. I agree with all the fan feedback I’ve seen saying this was probably the best Trek season since Deep Space Nine… just in terms of satisfying, great storytelling, it’s checking all the different boxes.
Wesley and the STAR TREK: PRODIGY crew say goodbye to the USS Protostar. (CBS Studios)
Third, I love that at its core, Prodigy is about teamwork. It’s about outsider kids who have no place to call home, all coming together and finding a home in Starfleet. That is just a gorgeous message for kids who feel weird, feel like they don’t fit in — there is a place for you to fit in.
It’s with your fellow weirdos, and the Star Trek world is a place where you’re special and you matter — so welcome aboard!
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2 is available to stream now on Netflix globally (excluding-Canada, Nordics, CEE, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Russia, Belarus, and Mainland China). The show can also be viewed on SkyShowtime in the Nordics, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Central and Eastern Europe.
In addition, stick around to hear Nathan’s opinion that you should stop saying that the Prodigy characters “stole” the Protostar, and Alex’s predictions for what we’ll learn about the Star Trek Universe at next week’s big San Diego Comic Con panels.
WeeklyTrek is available to subscribe and download each week on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify— and we’ll be sharing the details of each new episode right here on TrekCore each week if you’re simply just looking to listen in from the web.
Do you have a wish or theory you’d like to share on the show? Tweet to Alex at @WeeklyTrek, or email us with your thoughts about wishes, theories, or anything else about the latest in Star Trek news!
We’re getting ready to head west to San Diego Comic Con — followed right after by the annual Las Vegas Star Trek convention next week — but before we go, here’s a quick roundup of all the latest Trek collectible news from the past few days!
First up: Vice Press returns to the Trek universe this week with their first new poster themed for one of the Next Generation films.
Florey’s new the 24×36″ First Contact poster will be available in two versions: a standard red-and-cyan edition (limited to 175 prints), and a red-and-black foil edition (limited to 150 prints).
The standard poster will cost $55 / £40, and the foil edition will be $65 / £50. Both will go live at the Vice Press website starting at 1pm ET / 10am PT / 6pm BST on Tuesday, July 23.
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The Star Trek franchise will have an official advent calendar product for the fourth year in a row — and this year, it’s not one filled with models or collectible trinkets.
(Photo: Star Trek Wines)
For 2024, the team at Star Trek Wines has created a 24-bottle Star Trek advent calendar themed around the eight live-action television shows: The Original Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Enterprise, Discovery, Picard, and Strange New Worlds.
(Photo: Star Trek Wines)
Available to preorder today for $139.99, each bottle holds 187ml — or approximately 1/4 a standard-sized wine bottle — of either red, white, or rosé wine, each themed to a particular Trek character from one of the covered series.
The calendar is titled “Volume 1: The Series Collection,” so it seems like the company has plans for additional advent releases in the future. This year’s calendar is expected to ship in November.
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The pin-masters at FanSets have quietly rolled out a number of new Star Trek pins, with both unexpected deep-cut releases and celebrations of Lower Decks Season 4.
First are a pair of science-specialist pins worn by Gillian Taylor and Montgomery Scott in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, available in both pin-back and magnet form for $23.95 each.
Next are a collection of new Lower Decks character pins highlighting the show’s most recent season for $9.95 each — as well as the arrival of T’Lyn to the Cerritos crew with an autographed pin signed by actor Gabrielle Ruiz for $50.
FanSets — STAR TREK: LOWER DECKS Season 4 Pins
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T'Lyn Autograph Pin
Rutherford ('Parth Ferengi's Heart Place')
Tendi ('Parth Ferengi's Heart Place')
Grand Nagus Rom ('Parth Ferengi's Heart Place')
Leeta ('Parth Ferengi's Heart Place')
Moopsy ('I Have No Bones...')
Moopsy ('I Have No Bones...')
You can see all of FanSet’s newest Star Trek offerings in their web shop.
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Master Replicas may be done with Star Trek starships, but they’re not out of the final frontier! After quickly selling out of their first run of Moopsy plushes earlier this year, the company is returning to the animated world of Star Trek: Lower Decks with a new Badgey plush.
(Photo: Master Replicas)
There’s nothing better to cuddle up to than this plush version of Star Trek: Lower Decks’ Badgey. Sure, he’s a psychopath who wants to kill us all, but rendered in 10” plush, he couldn’t be cuter or cuddlier.
Badgey is the second in Master Replicas Lower Decks plush series and joins Moopsy, which is back in stock after a sell-out first run. Pre-order now to get the first edition, which comes with a limited-edition Badgey card.
Available for preorder at the Hero Within booth (SDCC #1943) will be a Captain Picard “Darmok”-inspired jacket, as well as this grey “Utopia Planitia Development Team” jacket meant to represent the designers of the Galaxy-class USS Enterprise-D.
(Photo: Hero Within)(Photo: Hero Within)
A fifth jacket meant to honor the 30th anniversary of Star Trek: Voyager will also be up for preorder at SDCC, however not at the Hero Within booth — for this one, you’ll need to head to Hero Within’s Energize Lounge pop-up located at 332 J Street in the nearby Gaslamp district.
(Photo: Hero Within)
Keep checking back to TrekCore over the next week for more Trek updates — including a new interview with Wil Wheaton where we discuss Wesley Crusher’s return in Star Trek: Prodigy, more new merch, and all the Star Trek Universe news from San Diego Comic Con next weekend!
While the last two episodes of Star Trek: Prodigy focused on setting up Gwyn’s life-altering temporal paradox, these next two entries turn their attention to a big complicating factor: the mysterious entity that’s been offering help… and leaving confusing messages for our crew to decipher.
The result is two fun ship-wide adventures that expand the puzzle’s clues enough for our heroes to formulate one of their famous cockamamie plans, sending them on the next phase of this journey in a quite familiar way.
The opening sequence in “Observer’s Paradox” is in the form of intermingled interrogation scenes, which has become something of a modern Trek staple. It is used to great effect here as a recap of the road so far. It’s a great way to help the episode stand alone in future rewatches — sometimes you might not want to do a full season rewatch, but might just want to watch the “Aquatic Murf Episode” again!
Questioning Murf isn’t as enlightening as Janeway hoped. (CBS Studios)
The interrogations are done particularly well, with lots of humor from the questioned and great exasperated looks from the questioners. My kids got a taste of what I’ve been experiencing with all the great Trek callbacks when Dal (Brett Grey) tries coffee and says, “Mmm this is way better with sugar!” They all laughed and my daughter said “Remember, Mom? He spit it out last time!” (I’m very lucky to have her here to explain all these references to me!)
The Voyager-A observation lounge is a really sleek set, with lots of beautiful LCARS panels and a long modern conference table. I really enjoy the scenes with Admiral Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and her senior staff; listening to adults calmly discussing issues is soothingly Trek-esque. I’m glad this scene in particular exists, showing that Janeway holds no animosity to the Protostar crew for the wormhole accident. A less-understanding captain might not be able to show such perspective here, but she shares the responsibility for what happened like the true leader she is — and her senior staff follows her lead. I love that.
It was a real treat also in this scene to get some animation to animation love with the EMH’s (Robert Picardo) shout-out to the crew of the USS Cerritos from Star Trek: Lower Decks. Here’s hoping we get to see just why the Doctor thinks they are so dysfunctional in that show’s upcoming fifth season!)
Zero gets too much information about the Doctor’s newest holonovel. (CBS Studios)
Prodigy updates the ‘M’ in ‘EMH’ to mean ‘mentor’ in this episode, as we get some classic Doctor verbiage. His “AAAH” program sounds like a self-help descendant of his social lessons with Seven of Nine, and he becomes an easy mark for distraction when Zero (Angus Imrie) asks to hear more about his latest holonovel. (Bringing this back as a plot point in “Imposter Syndrome” was an unexpected great touch.)
Zero’s line about the Doc being called away “probably to add more Rodrigos to his holonovel” was such a great snide EMH burn that it sounded like something that could have come straight out of Tom Paris’s mouth. I guffawed.
The dialogue throughout this entire episode is particularly snappy — even for Prodigy, which is generally a really tight show. “Observer’s Paradox” is the first episode credited to writer Jennifer Muro and we will see this trend continue through the other episodes this season she has penned. She brings a breezy, cool vibe to her writing that elevates the show in an interesting way.
Our crew needed to distract the doc because they are on “restricted access” after everything that happened; we catch up to them grumbling about it in the mess hall like the principal gave them a detention. Poor Zero gets blown off by Maj’el (Michaela Dietz) who chooses to sit at the Nova Squadron “cool kids” table instead of with our crew. A Voyager mess hall hasn’t felt this much like a high school cafeteria since Paris and Neelix’s ridiculous spaghetti fight!
Zero tries and fails to capture Maj’el’s attention. (CBS Studios)
Murf (Dee Bradley Baker) stealing things from the gang while they talk was cute and the spiral he crafts out of his bounty leads the group to reconcile the individual messages they have all received from this mysterious entity. The mystery of Murf’s language is one that Prodigy has been ripe to explore for a while, so having this excuse to do it is a great way to make it count. And it’s such a fun ride!
Ella Purnell’s adorable delivery of Murf’s various oots and ooms — and Jankom’s (Jason Mantzoukas) universal translator run amok — were delightful false starts before bringing in their big gun: Rok-Tahk (Rylee Alazraqui).
More snappy dialogue, as in a really fun aside Dal and Gwyn take the time to appreciate Rok-Tahk and her scientific process:
Dal: “Oh I love this part! She gets that look when she’s close to a breakthrough.” Gwyn: “Shh! She’s hypothesizing!”
Prodigy is such a celebration of people using their brains to solve problems. It’s refreshing — and it’s a real treat to finally get to see Cetacean Ops, as its plot relevance really drives home how it’s a working part of the ship (and not just a cool easter egg).
The control room is sparse with just a few LCARS stations, which is great because it doesn’t distract from the real lure: the expansive wrap around windows into the enormous tank of water, where Gillian the humpback whale lives — named of course after her species’ caretaker. And the homage to the greatest Star Trek movie of all time doesn’t stop there, as Rok-Tahk uses the idea that whale song sounds different underwater as a framework for her hypothesis about Murf. Spock would be so proud of her!
The control room in Voyager-A’s cetacean ops. (CBS Studios)
Rok-Tahk goes with Murf down to the water’s entry point and they jump in together. The underwater animation is really well done, both through the windows and inside the tank. Rok sinks in exactly the way you would expect a rock person to sink. A hug for luck is a sweet touch as Murf swims away… and transforms into a ethereally beautiful sea creature with a delicate tail and fins, bathed in a magical glow.
At this, my daughter let out a squeal of delight, the frequency of which made it only easily understood underwater. Murf’s first transformation last season got mixed reviews from my kids, at least until they got used to the “new” Murf. This transformation was a unanimous winner right away. An incredible surprise, executed perfectly. Murf and Gillian together is such a moment of pure Star Trek joy: we aren’t participants, but observers, of this unique communication between two vastly different life forms from different planets coming together and all we can do is just relax and take in the beauty of it all. A special scene.
As an aside, Murf’s new look took me back to my own childhood in the 1980s when the My Little Pony people invented “sea ponies” in a cynical attempt to sell more toys. Upon watching this episode, I suddenly wished Prodigy had that problem. I would pay a lot of money to get my hands on an “aquatic Murf” action figure (Gillian sold separately of course).
Anyway, now we seemingly have all the pieces of the puzzle, as Gwyn and Dal found the spiral in the database: a petroglyph from Chakotay’s heritage (tying back to “Tattoo” of all episodes!). And Murf adds “FIND ME” (Dal’s “Fin-dee me” made me laugh) and quantum coordinates. Gwyn bravely sets her temporal stabilizer to the coordinates and disappears.
Recalling Chakotay’s alien encounter in “Tattoo.” (CBS Studios)
Beautiful animation and direction as her Contact-esque experience elicits the same mix of panic and awe as Dr. Ellie Arroway’s trip through the cosmos in that film. After receiving the next, more ominous, message — “FIND ME BEFORE THEY DO” — Gwyn snaps back into our universe and knows where they have to go to find the source of the messages.
Meanwhile, as Tysess (Daveed Diggs) says, “strange things are afoot” at the Circle K in the cargo bay as Janeway and the senior staff wonder about the mysterious entity as well , while looking at the Infinity and it’s mysteriously-restored power. (A great some kind of here: a cascading photovoltaic loop.)
Janeway then gets orders from Admiral Buzzkill to collapse the wormhole. Jellico is the worst, but of course actor Ronny Cox continues to be the best at being the worst. The collapse of the wormhole, and seemingly all hope of finding Chakoay, is given the affecting moment it deserves: the bridge crew stands to honor both Chakotay and how Janeway must be feeling at this moment.
The memory Janeway has of the petrogliph, a gift from Chakotay, among her fabulous collection of easter eggs. The inclusion of a touch of a compact mirror, a nod to Kirsten Beyer’s story “Isabo’s Shirt” in Distant Shores (and to J/C shippers) as this was also a gift from Chakotay.
Kate Mulgrew does a beautiful job of meeting the gravity of the moment as, for the only time in all her years of playing Katherine Janeway, she lets her voice quiver when she gives the order to close the wormhole. But we can’t give up on Chakotay yet, not when both the Voyager-A senior staff and the Protostar gang wonder if he just might be our mysterious entity.
Janeway remembers her last moments with Chakotay. (CBS Studios)
Under the guise of astrometrics homework (“I can’t believe he fell for that!” my daughter laughed, when the EMH leaves them to it), the gang determine where in the galaxy the mysterious entity wants them to go and formulate a plan to get there. As is their way, they are going to “borrow” another ship — this time, the Infinity.
“Imposter Syndrome” opens with the seemingly nonsensical situation of the Protostar crew attacking Dal. My kids guessed that it was a dream until the “24 hours earlier” popped onto the screen. Ooh, I love the in medias res trope! My kids perked up at that as well — I’m not sure if they’ve ever encountered that particular plot device before, but they were into it. They thought it was really cool when we finally “caught up” to the beginning.
The idea of the holo-duplicates really shines. Rok-Tahk “tidying up the code” is a good enough excuse to me why they are so convincing (she’s definitely their science genius!). The who’s-who hijinks last just the right amount of time to maintain their maximum humor without the joke getting old. Dal vs. Dal, Jankom vs. Jankom, and Rok-Tahk plus Rok-Tahk are all interesting and enjoyable takes on meeting your double.
Double the crew, double the chaos. (CBS Studios)
The solution is a simple one — that is, when you have two Roks working together! — and it’s fun to see the shipwide holoemitter reset affect the EMH and the criminally underutilized Dr. Noum (Jason Alexander). However, I was disappointed when he asked the holodeck for a tropical retreat and we didn’t get to revisit Voyager‘s luau program.
(There just might have been a disconnect somewhere, in either time or budget, because instead of a tropical retreat the Tellarite was enjoying the same creekside country setting seen in last season’s chicken/fox/grain puzzle.)
We were treated to another familiar locale however as Rok recreated the Protostar in the holodeck because “It’s just easier to think here”. A lovely nod to her alone time in “Time Amok,” as this was her home for we don’t know how long, as she taught herself science.
The senior staff is cramping their style with all their support, as Janeway gives the gang a pep talk that is suspiciously faith of the heart-y while both organic and photonic crews are on the deck. Tysess gives them a support speech as well when he runs into Dal and Gwyn scouting, and inadvertently gives them the info they need to steal the Infinity. His hearty laugh is one of the best things I’ve heard so far this season, and this Andorian is becoming a low-key favorite character.
It’s the EMH, though, that could really thwart their plans — as the hologram corners the group as they rush to make it to the Infinity in time. Luckily, Maj’el proves herself as one of the team after all as she takes a deep breath… and inquires about opera lessons. I truly love that they distracted the Doctor like this two episodes in a row; he is such an easy mark and it’s hilarious. Maj’el and Zero’s psychic connection is wonderful, and I can not help but ship it.
One masked emergency-transport signal and some mixed-up holograms later, and our crew is blasting off on a ship by themselves again. It feels right!
Escaping on the Infinity. (CBS Studios)
Stay tuned for our next Star Trek: Prodigy review, covering Season 2’s “The Fast and the Curious” and “Is There in Beauty No Truth?” in a few days!
Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2 is available to stream now on Netflix globally (excluding-Canada, Nordics, CEE, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Russia, Belarus, and Mainland China). The show can also be viewed on SkyShowtime in the Nordics, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Central and Eastern Europe.
The gang at Factory Entertainment is back this month with the next entry in their line of Star Trek: The Next Generation prop replicas — a year after its prototype made a splash during the 2023 convention season.
Check out this exclusive video shared with TrekCore ahead of today’s debut, showing the medical tricorder replica’s functionality, sound, and display:
Factory Entertainment’s Mark VII Medical Tricorder replica features a working LED screen with active animation based upon which scan mode you select, lighting and sound which activate when you open the tricorder’s lower flap, and a removeable medical hand scanner with its own lighting and sound components.
The tricorder body itself is cast in a metal alloy (and weighs a hefty 1.4lbs!), while the hand scanner is made from machined aluminum — and is held inside the upper slot using integrated magnets when not in use.
The scanner will not just be a re-issue of the hand scanner from their 2022 hypospray set,as that version was based upon the TNG Season 1 / Season 2 design which had no green lighting around the scanner’s perimeter. This one is more accurate to the later-season version which does have the flashing green lights, as well as green lighting inside the scanner slot at the top of the tricorder body.
GEO, MET, and BIO scan modes. (Photos: Factory Entertainment)
Of note is the digital display, which can showcase one of three separate animated scan readouts (with designs based upon original tricorder display art created for The Next Generation).
The shape of the screen is a bit more square than those screen-used tricorder props, which Factory Entertainment tells us is due to the lack of commercially-available LED displays for the sizing required to be a more rectangular shape.
(Photo: Factory Entertainment)
The red “PWR” light is also a modification from the original design: rather than a flush light behind the applied surface graphic, the replica has a slightly protruding “PWR” light which was deliberately designed in as a way to quickly activate the ‘ratchet’ sounds which accompanies the opening flap — and to avoid any potential delay in sound activation using other flap-open detection methods.
Here’s what Factory Entertainment says about their medical tricorder reference research:
The original props ranged from rudimentary non-functional resin items, with flat two-dimensional decals to suggest details, to more elaborate hero props made with vac-formed plastic shells containing a limited amount of integrated electronics. Different Mark VII Medical Tricorder props were produced at different times over several years, resulting in some variances among them.
Factory Entertainment’s Mark VII Tricorder replica has been created after careful study of various source materials, including resources in the Paramount Archives and authenticated items in private collections. It is intended to capture the best features of all the different original Mark VII Medical Tricorder props in a single blended execution. The replica includes a removable Hand Sensor.
To replicate the effects seen on-screen, our replica uses a functioning LED screen with multiple user-selected animations, rather than the static slides used on the original props. None of the original props featured any audio. Audio has been incorporated into the both the Tricorder and the Hand Sensor to simulate the audio effects heard in the show, which were added in post-production as part of the soundtrack.
(Photos: Factory Entertainment)
The unit charges with USB power — the upper section of the tricorder (which houses the hand scanner) disconnects from the main body, and you simply plug a cable into the main body power-up. The battery in the body then powers the lighting in the upper section once reconnected. (The hand scanner is battery-powered.)
Like their other Next Gen prop replicas, the Factory Entertainment medical tricorder replica comes in its own wooden display case. But don’t fret, if you prefer to display the tricorder in its open mode out of its wooden case, sound and lighting shuts off automatically after 90 seconds so it won’t kill the battery.
Factory Entertainment — STAR TREK: TNG Medical Tricorder Prop Replica
For Star Trek fans headed to San Diego Comic Con this week, you can check out the nearly-final prototype tricorder at the Factory Entertainment booth (#2743), or you can also stop in and see the Factory Entertainment team at Creation Entertainment’s Star Trek: Las Vegas convention which runs August 1-4.
Check back to TrekCore often for the latest in Star Trek collectibles news!
The number of known Star Trek: Starfleet Academy cast members has risen to seven, as today Paramount+ has announced the next two additions to the upcoming series’ ranks.
The newcomers will be starring as Academy cadets, just like the Brooks/Shepard/Hawkins trio announced on July 9.
Karim Diané (Photo: Paradigm) and Zoë Steiner (Photo: Steph Cammarano)
Here’s today’s official press release on the casting.
July 18, 2024 – Paramount+ today announced that Karim Diané (One Of Us Is Lying) and Zoë Steiner (Significant Others) have joined the cast of the original series STAR TREK: STARFLEET ACADEMY. The upcoming series will follow the adventures of a new class of Starfleet cadets as they come of age in one of the most legendary places in the galaxy. Produced by CBS Studios, the new series will begin production later this summer.
Diané and Steiner will play cadets, joining previously announced cadets Kerrice Brooks, Bella Shepard and George Hawkins, as well as cast members Holly Hunter as the captain and chancellor of Starfleet Academy, and Paul Giamatti as the season’s villain.
STAR TREK: STARFLEET ACADEMY introduces viewers to a young group of cadets who come together to pursue a common dream of hope and optimism. Under the watchful and demanding eyes of their instructors, they discover what it takes to become Starfleet officers as they navigate blossoming friendships, explosive rivalries, first loves and a new enemy that threatens both the Academy and the Federation itself.
Diané recently starred in the hit series One Of Us Is Lying and opposite Gabourey Sidibe in 1266. He will next be heard in the This American Life podcast in the episode “Afrikanas.” Diané is a Guinean singer and actor who started his career as a contestant on The X Factor. After a series of short films, in early 2017, Diané landed his first recurring role in the second season of the series StartUp.
Steiner recently made her professional debut in the lead role of Hanna in Significant Others. Born and raised in Melbourne, Steiner was drawn to cinema and the films of Old Hollywood from a young age. Upon graduating from 16th StreetActors Studio in Melbourne, Zoë studied intensively under Lenard Petit at the Michael Chekhov Acting Studio in New York. She has trained with Carl Ford, Lisa Robertson, Iain Sinclair and Les Chantery. She is committed to raw, truthful storytelling. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Melbourne.
Like the other cadets, the studio has not yet revealed any details about these actors’ characters — not even their names — so stay tuned for more as the Star Trek Universe will reveal more about Starfleet Academyat San Diego Comic Con on July 27.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is in preproduction now.
