Star Trek Prodigy

I thought I would take a chance on this one as it premiered today and was heavily promoted on my TV. I enjoyed the premiere though it did play like a pilot looking to explain away a reason for this group of disparate characters to be together. A huge bunch of coincidences have to occur for the story to begin and somehow get them on a Federation starship and out into space. But they do get together and they do get to space and each is both tv and toy shelf ready. Even the main villain is an evil robot collector's wet dream.

The crew are just quirky enough and skilled enough to do a job for which they have no possible training for but that is okay because this is a kid's cartoon, you don't have to explain little details like that. For a 45 minute run time it sure packs in the story which isn't always easy when you are trying to re-invent the whole concept of Star Trek for a whole new generation while impressing older fans like me. 

It also has the animation level of the great Star Wars shows like Clone Wars and Rebels. Great voice cast as well and seems like the right idea for the Star Trek franchise which was always underserved in the area of animation. Where is a Star Trek Academy cartoon for example? That would have been a much cooler way to introduce new characters because the show really has to explain to me WHY Starfleet would abandon a WORKABLE Starship in an asteroid or one so poorly disabled that ONE Telerite teenager can get it working...WITH its phasers.

All the characters are very likeable however and are mixed and matched so well that I can write a whole season of stories off the top of my head for them and their various personal journeys. While this one doesn't break the mold, it has a great villain and a clear enough path to keep even the adults interested. I know I was never bored. It seemed like an animated Star Trek show has been missing from my life all this time. 

Who knew?