It’s not every day that a brand-new Star Trek series premieres… let alone two! But to mark Star Trek Day yesterday (the 8th of September), Skydance/Paramount dropped the first episode of the Khan audio drama… and still had one more surprise in store.
Star Trek: Scouts is a series aimed at preschoolers. The first two episodes were released on YouTube yesterday, and I’m actually pleased to see Paramount doing something like this. As we’ll get into, I’m not sure the way Scouts has been launched is perfect, but as a concept, as a principle… this is the kind of move I think we need to see more of if Skydance and Paramount are serious about establishing Star Trek as a brand with longevity, and that can continue to exist well into the future.
This is categorically not a “review” of Star Trek: Scouts, by the way. I’m not in the two-to-five demographic (believe it or not), so my thoughts about the actual content of this kind of show really wouldn’t be worth much! That’s not to say I don’t find joy in some cartoons or films aimed at a younger audience… but there’s young and then there’s young, if you take my point. These sub-four-minute episodes, with very basic storylines, are cut from the same cloth as something like Cocomelon, and for their intended audience, I’m sure they’ll be perfectly enjoyable.
What I’m interested in, as a Star Trek fan, is the potential for the franchise to belatedly break out of its demographic prison cell and finally attract a new audience. The tl;dr is that Star Trek is ageing… and if that continues unchecked, the fan community will die out. Shows like Prodigy and films like Section 31 were supposed to change that, attracting a younger audience and an audience raised on Marvel movies, respectively. I don’t think either project really met the moment and achieved those objectives… but there’s a chance, at least, for Scouts to appeal to a very young crowd, some of whom will go on to explore the Star Trek universe in more depth as they grow up. That can only be a good thing.
I am disappointed, though, that Scouts is currently hosted on the YouTube channel of a different Nickelodeon series. That confused branding and mixed messaging won’t help. And, as I said several years ago when discussing Prodigy: where are the toys and tie-in products? None have been created in time for the show’s launch… and that’s still not good enough from Paramount. Kids – especially younger kids in the age range Scouts is pitched at – engage with their favourite worlds through play. Toys, dolls, dress-up costumes… all of these things should have been ready for eager kids and parents to coincide with the launch. It’s pretty stupid that they weren’t – and it’s going to hold back Scouts’ potential unless and until these kinds of toys are ready to go.
Some cartoons only exist to serve as glorified toy commercials. But despite owning the Nickelodeon brand – and knowing what it takes to market to kids successfully – Paramount is, for the second time, refusing to make kid-friendly Star Trek merchandise for its kid-friendly Star Trek series. I can’t be the only one to think that’s a mistake, can I? Or that it’s undermining the very idea behind creating a series like this?
It’s not my intention to be overly negative, and this criticism is intended to be constructive. I’d love to think a show like Star Trek: Scouts will succeed, and will bring in younger fans to the Star Trek community at just the right moment. Star Trek needs that. And with Prodigy and Starfleey Academy, too, there’ll be no shortage of shows for younger viewers to sink their teeth into when they graduate from this kind of preschool cartoon and want something a bit more grown-up. Those are all great things, and Star Trek could – with the right management and leadership – really synergise these younger-focused series to give kids, tweens, and teens a route into the Star Trek fandom.
But so far, I don’t see a lot of effort on that side. I didn’t see it from the old Paramount at all, and I don’t see it from the new Skydance-owned Paramount, either. The launch of Scouts – with no fanfare, no tie-in products, and on a YouTube channel branded after a different show (not even the main Nickelodeon channel) – just smacks of a lack of care, a lack of attention, and a lack of effort or interest. And if that’s the case… why bother? Why commit money to a project like this only to not follow through and give it the best chance of success? It’s just… wasteful.
I’m also a little disappointed with some – thankfully a minority, as far as I can tell – of the reactions to Scouts online. Some folks are completely unable to grasp the idea that not every single media project or piece of content is made specifically for them, and I’ve seen people saying Scouts is “childish,” “basic,” and “a joke,” as if it was somehow meant to be something a grown adult would enjoy. So let’s say it loud and clear for the people getting upset about Scouts not being as deep and complex as episodes like The Drumhead:
It’s a show for two-year-olds.
We all get it now, yeah? It’s gonna have basic plots, child characters, and not a lot of world-building or complexity. That’s by design! Not every show – and not every Star Trek show – is made for everyone. Scouts, more so even than Prodigy before it, is targeting a very specific audience, and a very young audience. It’s not for me – but it’s not supposed to be. I’m glad that there’s some effort being made to make some of the basic trappings and aesthetic elements of Star Trek appeal to a new, younger audience – even though I wish some of the execution was being handled a bit more professionally.
This is probably gonna be the last time I touch base with Scouts… though with my niece being born earlier this year, maybe if it’s still around in a couple of years’ time, I’ll recommend it for her! I think the idea of creating a project like this – a potential easy way into Star Trek for even the youngest viewers – is no bad thing, and I will be rooting for its success, even though Skydance and Paramount don’t seem to be all that bothered one way or another.
So that’s all for today, I guess. Star Trek: Scouts exists. If you have young kids (or you’re a child at heart; no judgment), you can find the first two episodes on YouTube, with a promise of some eighteen more to come. I think there are plans to broadcast episodes on Nickelodeon or Nick Jr., too, in regions where those channels are available, so keep an eye out for that, too.
And if Scouts isn’t for you… that’s okay. There are almost 950 episodes and films in the Star Trek franchise that you might like instead.
Star Trek: Scouts is out now and can be streamed via the Blaze and the Monster Machines YouTube channel at time of writing. The Star Trek franchise – including Scouts – is the copyright of Skydance/Paramount and Nickelodeon. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.
Trekking with Dennis 