TL;DR – This was an episode full of charm that sucked me right into this world and story.  

Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ service that viewed this episode.

Star Trek: Prodigy Review –

We might be living through a new Golden Age in Science Fiction, but one thing is sure, we are living through a new era of Star Trek with five series currently in production and more on the way. Today we get to look at the latest new series on the horizon that blasted onto the screen full of charm and style.

So to set the scene, off in the Delta Quadrant, there is a prison colony called Tars Lamora. Here the prisoners mine the planetoid for Chimerium, a valuable crystal. One of those prisoners is Dal R’El (Brett Gray), who has dreamed of escaping his confinement and gets close a few times. But his attempts put him on the radar of the ruler of the prison Solum/The Diviner (John Noble), who fears he is working with Fugitive Zero (Angus Imrie). Dal has two options, the nice route with Solum’s daughter Gwyn (Ella Purnell), where he helps her find Fugitive Zero or the bad route with Drednok (Jimmi Simpson). But as he is looking for Zero in the deep core with Rok-Tahk (Rylee Alazraqui), they discover something much more valuable hiding in the depths. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead. 

As far as the animation goes, I am glad that they are charting their own distinct visual path compared to the two other animated Star Trek shows. This means that instated of a more cartoony 2D visual like Lower Decks (which I like). We go for a much more 3D semi-realistic look. The animation style gives us a striking visual look that pops off the screen, especially during moments of movement. It also allows for some truly stunning visual moments, like when they first find the USS Protostar framed in the glow of all these orange crystals or Dal calling down to Gwen to come with them.   

So far, I do like all the characters that we have been introduced to in the show. It is clear that they are pitching this show to a much younger audience, but at no time does that mean underestimating their intelligence to get what is going on. I liked our introduction to the brash but charming Dal, who makes up his plans as he does along. It will be good to see that refined when he has to look out for his crew and not himself. I also liked how they built up Gwen’s character, showing all the pressure being used to manipulate someone with great empathy. Also, shout out to whoever cast John Noble because he has only a handful of lines in this first episode, and each other them landed with the force of a cyclone.

What I did find during this first episode is just how much potential this show has. Do they zoom away from the prison and go on adventures? Do they fight against The Diviner and free the prisoners? Do they find out why a Federation ship was stuck out in the middle of the delta quadrant and what happened to the crew? It feels both refreshing and odd not to have a solid handle on where the show will go. I wonder what time the show is set, given that we have a bunch of Alpha Quadrant races out in the Delta Quadrant.

In the end, do we recommend Star Trek: Prodigy – Lost & Found? Yes, yes, we do. This was a bunch of fun and wonderfully earnest. It was visually engaging and did everything it needed to do to set up these characters, and this is coming from someone who just signed up to their third streaming service just to watch all the Star Trek content being released.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Have you seen Star Trek: Prodigy yet ?, let us know what you thought in the comments below, feel free to share this review on any of the social medias and you can follow us Here. Check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day.    

Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Star Trek: Prodigy
Directed by – Ben Hibon
Written by – Kevin and Dan Hageman
Created by – Kevin and Dan Hageman
Based Upon – Star Trek created by Gene Roddenberry & Star Trek Voyager created by Rick Berman, Michael Piller & Jeri Taylor
Production/Distribution Companies – Nickelodeon, Secret Hideout, Roddenberry Entertainment, Brothers Hageman Productions, CBS Studios & Paramount+
Starring – Brett Gray, Ella Purnell, Jason Mantzoukas, Angus Imrie, Rylee Alazraqui, Dee Bradley Baker, Jimmi Simpson, John Noble & Kate Mulgrew with Brook Chalmers, Bonnie Gordon, Ben Thomas & Debra Wilson