Yesterday ViacomCBS showed off the first piece of promotional artwork for the upcoming child-friendly series Star Trek: Prodigy. And it looks good… or at least, I think it does. I’m not completely sure!
Let’s take a closer look at the teaser image and try to break it down:
The first and most obvious thing to me is that none of the characters look like anything we’ve seen before in Star Trek. My first thought was that it looked rather Disney-esque due to the art style, so that was a positive. But then the more I looked at it I couldn’t get away from one word in particular: “generic.”
These characters don’t exhibit any Star Trek visual traits, and thus they feel like they could be part of any sci-fi universe. You could tell me these are characters from a Star Wars show, a show set in the world of Mass Effect, Avatar, Marvel or DC Comics… you get the picture. Nothing about it screams “Star Trek” to me, and as a result the characters feel very generic; fun and well-designed sci-fi characters for sure, and with a cute art style, but not necessarily from Star Trek. The only character who could possibly be from an established Star Trek race is the tall figure in the middle (third from the left). They could be from the same race as Jaylah – the character from Star Trek Beyond.
I suppose it’s possible that the large scaly or mineral-encrusted alien on the right is supposed to be something like a Horta (from The Original Series Season 1 episode Devil in the Dark). That feels like a stretch, though, as it would be a significant departure from the only previous depiction of a Horta.
We also have three other aliens of unknown races, including one second-right who appears to be comprised of some kind of liquid or gel. This blue alien is perhaps my favourite design, and one of the great things about animation is that it allows for more “alien-looking” aliens than live-action. That’s something we saw in Lower Decks as well. This character is cute, and perhaps because of the colour scheme I’m getting kind of a Moana vibe.
The far left seems to show a sentient robot, and this is the character who feels most like they’ve been imported from Star Wars! I’m also curious what kind of character a synth or robot could be in a show that’s supposedly primarily about kids – we’ve never really seen a child robot before. They look friendly, though, so that’s a plus!
Notable by her absence is Captain Janeway – the only named character we know of in Prodigy at this stage. I was surprised not to see her depicted in this first piece of promotional artwork given the big announcement made a few months ago that she was joining the series. Janeway is potentially one of Prodigy’s biggest draws – especially for long-time Trekkies – so giving her some kind of role in pre-release marketing would make a lot of sense.
We didn’t get any character names to go with this image, so we don’t know who’s who or what roles they might end up playing on the series. I would guess that the tall figure in the centre is the leader of this gang of kids, and the apparel of the figure second-left suggests he could be an engineer of some kind. Those are just guesses, though, and I have no idea about the others!
What the release of this little teaser may mean is that Prodigy is well underway. The image was revealed at a promotional event for investors in the run-up to the launch of Paramount+ next week, and while it doesn’t seem like Prodigy will arrive on the day the service officially launches, all being well we’ll see it later this year.
I like the art style chosen for this project. 3D computer animation can look great, and these characters have a style that’s in line with other modern projects aimed at kids. Perhaps we can say it isn’t unique – as mentioned I think it feels rather generic for a Star Trek production – but there’s plenty of positives to take away from the visual style. I’ve already picked a favourite character – the blue liquid one! I’m a little disappointed that there wasn’t an obvious Star Trek race included, nor any other significant Star Trek elements in the image. There are no combadges, for example, nor phasers, tricorders, etc. So while the characters look great and the art style is cute and fun… I’m left feeling that something important is missing.
I know it’s a show for kids, but the best kids shows have something to offer adults too, and this is something ViacomCBS has been promising since this project was announced. I’m sure as we get to see more of these characters, learn who they are, and see the ship that they’re going to “commandeer” for their adventures that the elusive sense of “Star Trek-ness” will come into focus. Maybe it was too much to ask from a single teaser image!
So this was an interesting first look – a glimpse, really – at Prodigy. The art style looks to be cute and fun, and while I wasn’t hit with a strong sense that the characters are part of the Star Trek franchise, and I’m curious as to why Janeway was left out, it was certainly interesting to see. From the point of view of producing a show for kids, I think there’s a lot for kids to get excited about with these characters. Though not necessarily “Star Trek,” the characters are visually interesting and would convert well to toys, dolls, and playsets. The diversity present in these designs should help each character establish a personality and on-screen presence, and that’s a positive thing.
Hopefully we’ll get to know more about these folks soon!
Star Trek: Prodigy is currently in production and will debut on Paramount+ in the United States and other territories where the service is available. Further international distribution has not yet been announced. Star Trek: Prodigy is the copyright of ViacomCBS and Nickelodeon. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.
Trekking with Dennis 