So I Watched ALL of Star Trek: Prodigy...

[@OrangeRiver]

To those of you who are concerned about the overly negative tone of this video: I'm not going to apologize for being expressive when giving my opinions

[@levirivers2772]

I haven't watched prodigy but I do watch your videos and I enjoy your reactions to emphasize your point 👍🏼

[@proterotype]

Express yourself brotha

[@jordanbridges]

It's your channel brother, keep doing what you're doing.

[@Magnus4096]

You judged a kid's show like an adult Trek show. That's why folks might be questioning your review. Prodigy is good for a kid's show, even better as a Star Trek intro show for younger viewers. That is it's primary purpose, which it fulfilled well. Respectfully, I think you were slightly unfair in this regard. I love Lower Decks but I don't think comparing it with Prodigy is reasonable or worthwhile to either show because their intended audiences were so different.

[@christopherluke9658]

That's alright dude you can be wrong and proud of it.

[@scottrubin4478]

My opinion of Prodigy doesn't matter nearly as much as that of my kids. They tried and couldn't get into other Trek series, but they loved Prodigy and are now excited to watch more Star Trek. So that's a huge win for me!

[@poopie-boorger]

PRODIGY! PRODIGY! PRODIGY!

[@KariIzumi1]

This is the right attitude. The show is meant to get kids interested in Star Trek without needing to have a huge background into the franchise. It’s honestly less pandering than most of modern Trek IMO.

[@KariIzumi1]

Whoever found a way to make Chakotay AND Wesley Crusher interesting characters deserves a raise, as did whoever made their designs hella hot

[@Blimbus-Blombo]

Hearing someone call wesley crusher hot is not something I thought I’d hear, but mostly because I never expected to see him again, (except for that worldwide hallucination that Picard S2 was) and I agree.

[@KariIzumi1]

@Blimbus-Blombo I didn't have "become a Chakotay and Wesley simp" on my 2024 bingo card either lol Putting that aside, I was pleased that TPTB closed that one pestering thread as to whether Wesley knew of his brother Jack or not. I was annoyed by this with Picard, so I'm glad those two got to reunite briefly (if Admiral Janeway says to call your mother, you damn well do it 😜) Was also glad they establish Chakotay to be part of an existing Nicarao tribe too. The nods they gave to his heritage were subtle but still significant enough to be part of the way they find where he is and it's been 30 years overdue.

[@Blimbus-Blombo]

@ yeah the actual accurate heritage thing is really cool because there’s actually people of that culture and who have that heritage that can correctly inform the writers now, unlike what I heard was happening with the consultant that worked on voyager (that he was kind of a scam and they didn’t really do much research and took him at his word.)

[@colonelquack]

Wesley doing a Doctor Who audition tape definitely was a positive turn for his character.

[@Elfo_]

I'm not sure why people think there needs to be Star Trek shows specifically for children. I was very young when I watched re-runs of TNG and got into Star Trek because of that. In my opinion, shows shouldn't treat their audience like children, even if the audience are kids.

[@katarishigusimokirochepona6611]

Agreed

[@exc911ence_channel]

I suppose that a Star Trek written for kids would be Star Wars like, since all of Star Wars is written for kids.

[@OrangeRiver]

Lmao

[@brendancaulfield970]

*With the notable exception of Andor.

[@khango6138]

One of my favourite Trek shows!

[@donkeko7333]

Prodigy, Lower Decks, and Picard all had villains co-opt Starfleet vessels and turn the ships on each other. The writers of the various cities need to communicate.

[@ghulammahboobahmadsiddique8272]

Prodigy is the only Star Trek property produced after 2005 that I actually like.

[@John-rb1jq]

I already had my mind blown the other day learning Ella Purnell voices Jinx in Arcane, now I had that repeated with Prodigy.

[@AngelEmfrbl]

Dal starts off like that and gets a lot of character development as he "matures" as the series goes on, so the beginning can be excused. When we see each episode, we see him bit by bit grow into someone at the end who is different to how they started.

[@KariIzumi1]

@@AngelEmfrbl I hear so many people whine about Dal being a brat, which is so bizarre to me when 1) this is a pretty common trope in children's media for lead characters to grow into their maturity and 2) he's literally a child slave with the only parental figure being the Ferengi woman who sold him out in the first place! It's a wonder he's not _worse!_ Many of the same people I see bitching about Dal are fans of Mariner, which I am too but trauma issues or not she's still a grown ass 25 to 30+ year old adult. It's just weird that people don't give a literal teenage boy the same grace that she gets.

[@AbigatorM]

yea its almost like a show starring kids is about growing up xD maybe Orange River became old man screaming at cloud xD

[@AngelEmfrbl]

@@KariIzumi1 Dal has moments like when he realises what it means to be a captain. Finding out his a lab experiment thats been dumped. He has had his ups and downs. But his not the same Dal at the end of each season as the start.

[@guywithinterwebs]

Right? God forbid characters have flaws and room for SHOCK character growth!

[@AngelEmfrbl]

@@guywithinterwebs I was in the MLP fandom in the 2010s, and when Twilight Sparkle became a Princess, there was so much hate. The point of a story is for characters to be different at the end to the start.

[@HackCausality]

Once you accept who the characters are, that is, deeply flawed and abused children, the show begins to shine. STD is a disgrace because it turns the characters into political mouthpieces. Lower Decks and Prodigy shine because the Trek philosophy is embodied in the world itself. Would I have enjoyed the show more if it had fewer children and more violence? Sure, but it's still a great show. Also, the "why does jenkem talk like that" reveal is one of the best slow-burn payoffs ever.

[@sebastianoleary2743]

Okay, I get your complaints, I disagree with some of them but it's mostly a matter of taste. But that said, its still damn disappointing that this show got (effectively) canceled. Compare it to shows like TNG or the Clone Wars, both of which you brought up, which had pretty rough first seasons, but since they were allowed to continue, they were able to reach hights that defined their respective franchises. You yourself even admitted that season 2 was an improvement. Imagine if that trend continued, what a fourth, fith, or sixth season could be? The way the higher ups handled this series was a shame, and I will forever mourn what could have been.

[@brendancaulfield970]

Yes, a victim of timing and economics as much as anything else. I agree that Tyler has many good points and legitimate observations in his review, and I absolutely do give Prodigy an excess of leeway because of the "kid's show" label. I also got strong "Star wars rather than Star Trek" vibes in the first quarter of season 1, and indeed it often felt like it wore what Trek lore it did in an awkward and reluctant or unfamiliar way. And yes, the dialogue and animation can be awkward, cringey or wide of the mark frequently - and that's a definite flaw. But. As a story made for kids about abused and traumatised children striving to round out their personalities with the help of a simulated amnesiac mentor, alone aboard a powerful Starship, and pursued by a madman (who is the gas lighting father of the only non-orphan in the group)... And them choosing to strive towards the virtue and positivity of the Federation, while finding family with one another... Holy shit does it have heart. You see Dal, Jankom, and even Gwynne grow, mature, and atone for their abrasive and unpleasant early characterisation without losing the (occasionally annoying (not Gwynne)) core of who they are. Through trial and error, they learn and internalise the laudible ideals of The Federation, and if you allow the leeway of "this is a kids show that needs to explain complex things simply and keep kids engaged with silly one liners", it will get into your heart. And after all THAT, as a Trek nerd, we get the kind of inter-show world building that Nu-Trek seems to have had an allergy to until recently, with season two weaving the frayed edges of the end of Voyager and the start of Picard (and the end for that matter!) into a cohesive story that enriches the entire franchise. AND THEN we get underserved legacy characters like Chakotay and Wesley Crusher FINALLY exploring meaningful growth and great character work. ... So yeah, I get it. If you set your expectations for the show based only on the first 3 episodes and then come back later and binge it with a comedian who checks out during the best part, it will not seem like a good show. But fuck me, it got me. I stared slack jawed at the screen as the dead Protostar sailed the gas seas and whispered "how is this show so GOOD!?". I CRIED for fucking Chakotay's lost years on the island - and gorgeous Rok's years of isolation and self-tutelage in the slow lane of that temporal anomaly. I laughed my fucking arse off at Mulgrew's pitch-perfect channeling of Brett Gray's performance of Dal in the body swap episode (and again when Tyler replayed it here), and I thrilled at the realisation that in mid season 2 I was watching what was effectively a trilogy of epic Voyager sequel films. It's flawed, deeply, but it's a flawed masterpiece in my opinion.

[@KariIzumi1]

@@brendancaulfield970 speaking of that body switch episode, we don't talk nearly enough about how Bretty Gray nailed Janeway's inflections. I expected nothing less from KM, who has been acting for five decades, but Gray is still practically a kid and to pull that off put me in mind of that one VOY episode "Body and Soul" where Jeri Ryan completely embodied Bob Picardo's performance as the Doctor. Sincerely love that for him ❤️ And also, I too was surprised to find myself not only giving a shit about Chakotay (especially after the actor's behavior online and during the strike) but got invested enough to actually revisit Voyager as a whole for the first time in over 20 years. And I won't lie, this reawakened my long dormain interest in J/C fanfic and activated nostalgia in a way that -TNG season 8- Picard season 3 did not. I daresay this show had one of, if not *the* best first season of any Trek show since TOS, bar none and yes that includes SNW. Wrinkles and all, this is a charming show. 😍

[@dougcollins8907]

As a Trekker since 1966, my humble opinion is that you just don't get it mate. Calm your mind. Prodigy exemplifies the rewards of friendship, teamwork and compassion and that's what the Trek has always been about.

[@TheMysteryDriver]

3:30 I watched Star trek with my parents as a kid. No issues getting into it.

[@jonesthemoblin1400]

I wonder how much binging the show affected your view of the pace. I watched the show as it released in ssn 1, and paced out ssn 2 and never felt like the pace was particularly bad. However, I do find shows pacing to be more of an issue when I sit down and try to binge the whole thing in a sitting or in a few days.

[@thebigdork8030]

Also from the beginning it sounds like he didn't want to watch it, which like whatever. But if you really don't want to watch it, and don't like it, and you gave it a shot, then that's kind of it? Don't make a 30 minute video just do what AVGN did and say "hey I don't want to finish it, its not my thing" . Ofc i get that sponsored videos have restrictions and whatnot so he probably got stuck having to make a full video lol.

[@jonesthemoblin1400]

​@thebigdork8030 Yeah, it feels very much like he was approaching this like a person approaches reading a book for school. I'm not saying he would have liked it, he did give it a shot when it came out, but I think how overwhelmingly negatively he looks at this show comes from his approach to binging it for this video. Especially considering most of his criticisms apply to almost all of New Trek, and I haven't seen him express these criticisms for those shows quite as strongly as he expresses them here.

[@OrangeRiver]

I watched it because people in my audience would not quit telling me to give it another chance. Big mistake! Lol

[@TheMysteryDriver]

@@OrangeRiverfair enough

[@jonesthemoblin1400]

@orangeriver Yeah, I think that was the mistake. 😂 I think your criticisms are accurate, but the video definately feels like you let spite color the experience and gave you more of a negative take away than you might have had otherwise.

[@nabukuma]

Spoilers: it’s excellent

[@nabukuma]

“Even the whales are evil?!”

[@shelsilverstein7436]

Listening to you consistently use the first person plural makes it sound like Kinzie is your alien symbiote suit and together you are VENOM

[@OrangeRiver]

We are practically joined at the hip these days, it's true

[@pancrase9048]

When I watch Prodigy I can shut my brain off and go screw logic, I'm not a fucking Vulcan. The show for me is just a fun adventure, its not perfect but I enjoy it, 20 episode seasons is perfect for me.

[@OrangeRiver]

Oh man, there's a TON wrong with this comment XD

[@beepboop204]

would you rather: 1 David Lynch directs a Q or Nexus StarTrek movie which is all surreal and dreamlike; or 2 David Cronenberg directs a Borg or Gorn StarTrek movie which is all bodyhorror

[@TheMentalLizard]

David Lynch 100%

[@elpegaso]

I finished the series this weekend. I didn't hate it as much as you guys did, but it's not the best. If you are a big Voyager fan, this would be a good companion piece to it. If a kid was a big Star Wars Rebels fan, this show would be a good step into Trek, if they didn't want to watch TOS or TNG for some reason. This show would be a 10yr old kid's jam. - I hated Dal as much as you guys did. If he's an audience insert, I sincerely hope children aren't that dumb today. - Kate Mulgrew was having a blast, and that made me happy. - There are still some dangling plot threads to tie up, but I'd be happy at two seasons here.

[@OrangeRiver]

Thank you for the nuanced comment 🙏

[@DeconvertedMan]

You did the hard work I wouldn't do. I watched one episode. I was like "That feels like starwars." I was like eh.

[@aaronbourque5494]

Lower Decks, though aimed at adults, is immature. Prodigy, though aimed at kids, is not.

[@OrangeRiver]

Well that's just, like, your opinion man

[@limonsoda]

You must hate comedies like Airplane or Deadpool i gather.

[@soopajud]

It's sad that the writing of Prodigy is better than Picard and Discovery

[@benruniko]

I watched the premier of TNG a little bit after it came out. I was six, and I immediately was hooked. Went back and watched the TOS episodes my grandfather had on VHS and watched every episode of TNG I could right up till it ended when I was a teen. Never had any problem with it.

[@Elfo_]

That pretty much sums up my experience with Prodigy. The only difference is that I only made it halfway through the first season before deciding I didn’t want to watch any more of it.

[@Sklz711]

"It feels like people treat Prodigy with kid gloves, and Lower Decks with adult gloves, and I don't know man, we're both kind of sick of that." - Thesis Statement for this Video Essay As someone that likes both for what they are... at least you're probably going to see tons of comment engagement from this one.🤣

[@OrangeRiver]

Lol

[@brendancaulfield970]

Is it not appropriate to treat what is explicitly a kid's show with kid gloves though? And the reverse for Lower Decks? To be clear, wearing both sets of gloves at the appropriate times, I adore both shows. WHILE recognising their flaws. And while we're here: Discovery sucks, SNW is a weird mixed bag, and Picard s2 is brain cancer. But s3 is peanut butter ice cream in the best and unhealthiest way.

[@danilejai7801]

@@brendancaulfield970 it’s like you read my mind ….

[@Sklz711]

@@brendancaulfield970 I don't even particularly have a problem with any Trek, nor have I really seen anyone point out any lies in what @OrangeRiver was saying in the video, they just mostly don't like the way he said it. It just made me laugh having recently watched him dump on Star Trek Nemesis with backed up Sirtis quotes that people were shocked. He probably could have made it a two-minute video that said go watch the episode Valiant from DS9 instead, the smartest casting decision in Trek history is casting a G-rated Jason Mantzoukas as a particularly annoying example of an already cannon incredibly annoying species, and the reason Chakotay's storyline in Prodigy S2 is so praised is because of how entirely misused he was in Voyager itself. But yeah, seeing people get mad at calling out some of the character modeling homage from Clone Wars and other particularly obvious things is funny because it definitely comes off as protesting a bit too much... which was kind of the point dude was making in the video anyway. It's fine to not have a problem with it, or even like the character models, but... pretending it's not Clone Wars adjacent is... silly.

[@hifive789]

As a die-hard Hageman fan, I loved the show. I disagree with pretty much everything, but I understand why you think that.

[@schmorbraten7594]

I'm completely with your colleague Steve Shives who rates Prodigy really highly. Very very much so.

[@OrangeRiver]

A lot of folks I respect rate Prodigy, Strange New Worlds, Discovery, etc. much more highly than I do and Lower Decks much lower than I do, yep. I definitely was hyperbolic in this video, but the core of my opinion is very real :D

[@KariIzumi1]

It almost makes up for his wrong opinion on Lower Decks Almost :p

[@OrangeRiver]

@Karilzumi1 Steve Shives' wrong opinion on Lower Decks? :D

[@Blimbus-Blombo]

@@OrangeRiver yeah he hates lower decks, which I somewhat get because at times it’s just a nostalgia comedy for Star Trek fans, and the writers make the characters lean on references that there’s no reason they should know, which I think if they didn’t lean on it’d be perfect.

[@OrangeRiver]

@Blimbus-Blombo I do think the referential humor is pretty try-hard, yeah. For me, that's something they definitely toned down as the show went on. But having rewatched the episodes multiple times, seeing the nuggets of brilliance (such as with Mariner's institutional critiques of Starfleet) has been very rewarding. And with the incredible character development in season 4--best Trek season of the century, I said it.

[@maz031]

Im kind of suprised at how poorly Prodigy has been received here. Its not the best show, but i enjoyed it quite a bit, having given it a pass for some quality issues, being a "kids show" Too bad

[@Dinidan]

My kids got into Star Trek because of Lower Decks.

[@OrangeRiver]

That's awesome!!!

[@moneyonmars3754]

Hard disagree on your review. But hey, like what you like.

[@dramonmaster222]

1:51 LMAO! So, basically Prodigy could be better but give Lower Decks a try instead. And now I'm curious about your series overview about ST: Discovery.

[@barkasz6066]

Ah thank god, I thought I was going crazy. It’s not good but everyone online was like “it’s the best thing evurrrr!!!”

[@RikipediaGO]

Sorry to hear that you didn't enjoy it. Your criticisms, especially of Dal being a little shit are on the nose. I enjoyed it enough despite the flaws and found it especially cathartic as a 90s Trek fan who was disappointed with Voyager.

[@brendancaulfield970]

"Cathartic" yes! That's what it is!

[@SnarkNSass]

😂 Tyler 😂 Let's get effing started y'all 😂😂😂😂

[@KariIzumi1]

I won’t lie: Prodigy, much like Boimler’s beard in this current season of Lower Decks, took a long while to come into its own. I wouldn’t say the show real got good until episode 13 (the one with the Enderprizians) and then season two came out the gate running on all cylinders. In the interest of fairness, I was a J/C shipper from way back in the day and I did come into season 2 being more interested in whether those two crazy kids finally got together, but I was genuinely won over by everything else. Zero’s arc of self realization is a much needed message (esp with Trump’s impending re-election), the Easter eggs are delightful without overshadowing the focus on the new characters (that every other adult show in the franchise after Discovery seems afraid to utilize) and although this was never my own bugaboo, it captures the spirit of classic Trek and the aggressive optimism quite well. One thing that needs to be shouted out is the way they finally developed on Chakotay’s much beleaguered character. Putting aside Beltran’s own shiftiness on X in between seasons, this is honestly one of his best performances in the franchise in “Flight of the Protostar”. And despite my shipping comment, it was nice to see him on his own ina story that was largely independent of his relationship to Janeway. He’s the only first officer in the entire franchise as a man of color, whose development was botched from jump 30 years ago,so to see the writers actually try to connect him with an existing tribe was a good decision. Better late than never. I can certainly understand it’s not for everyone, but then again us older folks aren’t the target demographic lol. If the kids are vibing with it and say in 5 to 10 years that this got them watching other Trek show (as has been a case with Lower Decks, which had netted the most new Trekkies of any show in the last 8 years!) then it will have succeeded IMO.

[@aoeuable]

Nah it's Dal who's Ahsoka: Intentionally annoying in the beginning, then grows out of it. It's a maturation arc. Roc also has one, but with a completely different type of immaturity.

[@agentotter]

I think the big fault of Prodigy is that it was supposed to be a jumping on point for kids that didn't know anything about Trek. But what we got was 2 backdoored seasons of Voyager. There's so much past lore referenced in the main storyline of Prodigy that it kind of defeats the purpose. I really like the characters in S1, not so much in S2.

[@colinleat8309]

I completely agree with your assessment of Prodigy. I honestly don't understand why people are tripping over such a pedantic and obvious show.

[@Circaninesix]

Tyler is getting more unhinged every video.

[@OrangeRiver]

😈

[@majorgeek]

Honestly, the "Three Episode Rule" isn't a fair test. By that standard, TNG wouldn't make the cut, as over half of the first season is unwatchable. For that matter, DS9 had some pretty weak episodes during its first season, as well. With the exception of Strange New Worlds, which I think nailed its premise right out of the gate, Star Trek has always had a problem with its first seasons of shows. I don't think Prodigy's first season was horrible, but it definitely deserves that first season "pass" that most Trekkies give to the first season of their favorite shows.

[@OrangeRiver]

This is a fair and nuanced point to bring up, although I will say that... just as a matter of fact, the first 3 episodes of Prodigy made me cringe massively 😂

[@knitcrochettiger361]

i am a Gen Xer, in 1978, at 4 years old, i was watching reruns of Star Trek: TOS and TAS then transitioned to TNG at 13 years old when it came out in 1987.......it was VERY easy for me to get into Star Trek....so I think the writers of Prodigy were thinking about Gen Z and Gen Alpha......Z and Alpha have grown up in a world different from Gen X and the Millenials did....as a whole, Z and Alpha need stories that are inclussive and show that teens can do great things....us Gen X and Millinials like PEW PEW and POW POW, guns and fists....the way the hand-to-hand in TOS, TAS, and TNG, the double fisted Kirk punch and the Riker Manuever (that was so cool how he'd sit in a chair like how Fonzi did in Happy Days for the Boomers).....my mom, who is a boomer, was in college when TOS came out....she refused to go out on dates on Fridays until after the new episode of TOS dropped, but she had trouble getting into TNG, DS9, Voy and Ent until about 5 years ago......she's watched the 4 series now at least 8 times....so we have to remember that Prod is designed to catch the attention of Gen Z and Gen Alpha

[@murrvvmurr]

26:49 that's what Puff Daddy said

[@Aragorn7884]

Season 2 is way GD better than 1

[@bjorn00000]

I don't think that the criticisms were off base. Generally I enjoyed the show a lot more than I expected from the initial description of "a group of misfit kids have an adventure on their own Starfleet ship", and the second season did a lot to redeem Chakotay and the Crushers from their last appearances. I also thought both seasons were infinitely better than Picard season 3. But I don't think it really stands up as something that's rewatchable.

[@billtree52]

My kids {7&8} absolutely love Lower Decks. It's gotten them into Star Trek and have started even watching TNG with me. I'm about 3-4 episodes into Prodigy and I cannot stand it. The animation and pacing is really jarring at times. The editing is crazy how characters seem to jump around the environment like there's scenes missing or something. Dal and Rok are the worst parts of the show. Honestly I'm glad it got cancelled and sold off. However, I do agree with you about Gwyn (sp?). I could watch a whole new series (with better art direction) with her at the helm. Anytime Gwyn is not on screen, people should be asking, where's Gwyn? 😂

[@MatthewCaunsfield]

Good to hear dissenting opinions when they are so well expressed - and I even agree with a few of them!

[@cane6074]

I hold some of the criticism valid, But I enjoyed Prodigy despite its flaws and fact that its geared towards kids, first season was decent but second was great and was one of the best Start ST Plot lines I've seen. The same can be said about lower decks, despite both shows quirks they actually feel like genuine Star Trek stories and the people behind them respect the setting. Its a shame that we don't get as much of that in Live actions as of last decade, though SNW world has been getting their despite some its flaws as well.

[@Murdervator]

Introduced to TNG when I was eight. Forty-four nowadays. Peace and long life.

[@elim_inator]

While I really enjoyed Prodigy, I do have to agree with you on one thing: The character animation was really jarring at times. I loved most of the exterior shots, including the big fight scenes, but the characters sometimes felt really robotic, which is a problem, since they're the heart of the show.

[@OrangeRiver]

Yeah, it's unfortunate because like I said, it's not even the artists' fault. It's just symptomatic of so much wrong with the industry right now. The past 10 years have largely been abysmal for media

[@DeconvertedMan]

Pog looks like Sloth from Goonies, but Sloth is loveable.

[@brendancaulfield970]

I had the thought a moment ago while engaging in the discussion here that this show shares a lot of premise DNA with the Goonies.

[@DeconvertedMan]

@@brendancaulfield970 Explain.

[@brendancaulfield970]

@@DeconvertedMan a group of kooky kids with distinctive personalities find a magical ship in a cave. One of the "villains" becomes an ally (more than one by the end of season 2). There's the one who is good with gadgets, the adventurous one with something to learn... It's a vague fit, for sure, but there's vibe overlap (which I suppose would result in an interference pattern!).

[@DeconvertedMan]

@@brendancaulfield970 eeeeeeeeh

[@spencerpollock5688]

Can you do the predator or yautaj species for an episode perhaps

[@daveknight8410]

McCoy not spock

[@the5th2000]

It's good. It's not great, but it's good. It is aimed at kids. But clearly the people writing it have a better understanding of what makes Star Trek Star Trek than anyone writing any of the live action stuff.....

[@DæmonV86]

Bro had to go all the way to Bass Pro Pyramid to make his point across.

[@OrangeRiver]

And it only cost $17.56

[@ThisisDD]

This video is very interesting to me, because I've had people tell me to watch it, but I also stopped after 3 eps

[@NALurking]

You have a right to your opinion. I do also & I disagree with you. Like you not making it past 3 episodes, I can't make it through this video, but you're gone. I'll come back & finish it & tell viewers how I don't like this. For now, I'll leave the rest unwatched. I'm a Prodigy fan & a Star Trek fan overall. I found Prodigy to be the best of modern Trek.

[@joseaguilar3323]

Hey, what do you think of the Unification short by Roddenberry's Estate? I know it's technically a fan film but they got Shatner, Robin Curtis as Savvik and Gary Lockwood as Gary Mitchell.

[@gavinbrandgavin581]

I enjoyed it. It reminded me of a show I loved as a kid on Nickelodeon called Space Cases.

[@Bionickpunk]

This video feels like a parody of your regular reviews, cause gosh, the forced negative hyperbole and questionable takes are just too much to take seriously. If that was your goal, then great you have succeeded, if not, then yikes.

[@OrangeRiver]

Nah I'm dead serious

[@KariIzumi1]

It’s giving Super Eyepatch Wolf’s “The Fall of Bleach,” which he had to walk back and delisted

[@scottbrown5004]

If it wasn't for you, I would have never given Lower Decks a chance. Lower decks actually gave me the feeling I was watching TNG and DS9 again. It pays homage properly, it pokes fun at all the goofy stuff and plotholes my wife and I love to make fun of. It maintains being episodically about problem solving. Lower decks feels like old Trek with a comedy veneer while still having characters you grow attached to. I just started lower decks a couple of weeks ago. I am up to date on it and love it. I gave this show the 3 episode try as well when it came out. It was completely forgettable in the sense I literally forgot to keep up with it as it was coming out. Thanks for being a critic who stands by his convictions, otherwise I would have never given Lower Decks a chance.

[@OrangeRiver]

🔥🔥🔥

[@marcomirhayes7121]

Tyler, as someone who loves your content, Lower Decks, and Prodigy? This was just a defensive video against Lower Decks hate but using Prodigy to do so. The only cringe I felt was from your review and I'm willing to attribute a lot of that to your little friend. You can do better (they probably can't).

[@OrangeRiver]

Comparing and contrasting is not uncommon in reviews...and as someone who does enjoy my content, I'd ask that you please don't patronize my friend by calling them my "little friend" and deriding their ability to have coherent takes on media.

[@KinzieK]

When it comes to prodigy, I will only get worse. Good thing that trek isn't a monolith and I can like and dislike things about trek at my leisure. I don't have to like this show to build some kind of credibility with you. You're just one guy after all :))

[@marcomirhayes7121]

@@OrangeRiver I'd ask you to be less weird about a young, animated, female character if you're going to lob 'Disney adult' at anyone who doesn't agree with your Trek opinions.

[@marcomirhayes7121]

@@KinzieK It's not about disliking a show, it's about being needlessly polarizing for views on a channel I give support to only to come off as irreverent and boisterous in your hate for something. It just comes off as being no different than those hating Lower Decks.

[@OrangeRiver]

@marcomirhayes7121 How old do you think I am? Are you talking about Gwyn?

[@SolarmindMedia]

I took your opinions seriously until you started using your review as vehicle to relieve your stress about the fact that not all the fandom liked the animated Trek you favored. Stick to the premise of your review and yes it was okay you compared them but we could tell your were getting emotional about the lack of attention that Lower Decks got. Pacing is also a cop out because people often experience series pacing based on personal opinion or preference. As for the writing I agree they needed better writing in some episodes.

[@brendancaulfield970]

Tbf, I love Prodigy, but there're times when quantum torpedoes take almost entire acts to go from the launcher to the target. There are pacing issues for sure.

[@KariIzumi1]

@@SolarmindMedia what baffling about that is, for the most part, the vast majority of Trek fans absolutely adore Lower Decks. I mean, just look at the way people are calling for its renewal and claiming it was cut off far too soon while many have been all but celebrating DSC's demise. And most of the people I still see bitching about LD are folks who didn't watch past episode 4 or 5 and base their opinion on what LD fans consider to be the five worst episodes of the series. Why the hell do I care to appease people who still want to think the show is Rick & Morty in Space? At best, it's just not their thing and at worst they're arguing in bad faith and either way life is too short to fight w such people. It's even more remarkable how fast the fandom turnaround was on this series because Paramount Plus delisted the first clip it ever posted bc fans were bashing the show so hard before it came out. It's a well-honored tradition for Trekkies to hate the New Thing™ and declare it the worst thing that will kill the franchise (SNW being the only exception), but that has largely not been the case for this show. LD has gotten a much fairer shake than Prodigy ever got and as much as I love LD, five seasons is the best any streaming show can expect.

[@RPT111]

I wonder how good the comments are going to be for this video. Also, for anyone to compare Prodigy to Lower Decks is wrong on so many levels. That just tells me to ignore anything that person has to say pretty much on everything. Prodigy was just the superior show there is no comparison.

[@OrangeRiver]

Always love your troll comments RT ;)

[@RPT111]

@@OrangeRiver lol, I couldn't bring myself to keep the typos. I thought that alone would at least catch someone.

[@OrangeRiver]

Lmaooo

[@bbbabrock]

Imo, Prodigy handled serialization pretty well. They divided it's long story arc up like Andor did. So some semi major plot point was resolved every three episodes or so rather than just treading water. As to anyone's criticism w the animation, I don't share them, possibly due to my poor eyesight. I do ceed that it treads water accasionaly, and takes a while to get going and grow on you. And, I think season two prodigy was better than season one. Also I ceed that I probably like Lower Decks a bit better. Final point, I think Prodigy Gwen is like 15. So it's a bit creepy for any adult to find her too attractive and hot.

[@colonelquack]

I watched it when it aired, and liked it. I respect you DARING not to blindly like all things Trek. I still stand by my not-overly-positive opinion of First Contact. You are correct thst one hawt chick can't save a story.

[@josephmontanaro2350]

It costs money to go there???

[@kyuslife5832]

maybe you could review star trek resurgence iv had it on my SD for months but 540 no time to play it cuz muh kids

[@delilah9741]

I seriously thought this was star wars show. Thanks for watching so I don't have to.

[@bbbabrock]

29:40 SPOILER You really ought to have spoiler alerted that bit about Wesley, as his appearance was designed to be a surprising reveal.

[@OrangeRiver]

Bro, I gave a spoiler warning for the entire series

[@bbbabrock]

@OrangeRiver Ok. My bad and my apolagies.

[@johntauren]

You absolutely really come off like you wanted to hate Prodigy. Yikes.

[@CaseyPiper-p7m]

Troll hunters was awesome

[@nickryan4126]

It's the best Star Trek since Enterprise.

[@thethirdchimpanzee]

I *LOVED* "Prodigy" (*and* I love "Lower Decks" too) and I am saddened that, baring a miracle, their probably won't be anymore episodes (of *either* show. :( ) I do agree that they first 3 episodes don't feel super Trek-like, and sadly, that probably caused a lot of Trekkies to give up on it immediately, like you did. But later episodes, MORE than made up for it. (Like the episode with the "Enterprizians" and the Kobiashi Maru test was good. I am sorry that you didn't care for it. I enjoyed it WAAAAY more than ALL of the live-action Trek stuff out there (though season 3 of "Picard" was...better, and I would TOTALLY give a "Star Trek: Legacy" series a go!

[@danilejai7801]

Bro already said he didn’t like it for months… I haven’t started watching the review yet, but I already know what the mind frame going into is, so I Don’t expect much from this review.

[@jordanbridges]

Then don't watch the review?

[@danilejai7801]

@ Bro used to have really good content. I’m not gonna stop supporting just because I feel he was being disingenuous with this one review. But thanks for the suggestion.

[@rhodrage]

I get a feeling you didn't like Prodigy

[@nathaniellong4281]

I liked the show, but I do understand it's not for everyone.

[@Zidbits]

I felt the exact same way. I just couldn't finish it. It was too childish or something. I get that it's for kids so maybe kids like it. Lower Decks is fine, but I'm one of the seven people on the planet who enjoyed Discovery and Picard. I grew up on TNG and DS9 (and VOY) but I still enjoyed nu-trek as well.

[@rmeddy]

I dug the show enough but I went in with much lower expectations, thinking it was just meant to rope in kids to the ideas of the star trek and Federation mythos on a very basic and we ended up get a half decent time travel story.

[@TheMysteryDriver]

Bro, you can't go "hey they're so unfair to this adult cartoon and not a cartoon for kids!" I agree that kids cartoons can and should be written competently though.

[@OrangeRiver]

I'm just pointing out others' hypocrisy, which is not my own. People give Prodigy a pass but become armchair critics nitpicking everything they think is wrong with Lower Decks. It's inconsistent is all

[@tylociraptor8131]

Seriously. There are kids cartoons like Adventure Time out there, and that's only one example of hundreds of DAMN well written shows for kids. Even BLUEY, which is made for preschoolers has thought and care put into its writing!

[@Bionickpunk]

​@@tylociraptor8131 Adventure Time started as a kids show but grew up with it's audience. I would say it's earlier episodes were even more nonsensical than most kids shows. Bluey is made with specific intent to be viewed by kids and their parents.

[@etabiansosin]

@@OrangeRiver I think both Prodigy and Lower Decks are pretty good Star Trek Animated Shows.

[@jeffreycarman2185]

I heard about Prodigy, even though I really love Trek, Prodigy did not interest me. I’m glad I didn’t waste time on it.

[@jwurnig]

Prodigy: The STD of the Star Trek franchise.

[@darcyziebert8442]

TNG Season 1. Need I say more?

[@Drew-t8y]

Do you like discovery ?

[@sjprdude]

So I’ve never heard you being so negative. It’s just entertainment, not the law by which we must live too. 🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️. I enjoy all Star Trek. By the way…did not like the “this is for Disney adults” insult either!!!! Next time just COMPLY to your 3 episodes rule and avoid all this negativity…… I don’t follow negative people!!!!

[@OrangeRiver]

Oh no, I was negative! I'm a human being...

[@jpxenovore]

I'm not sure I understand the complaints. Prodigy is made primarily for kids, isn't it? It's supposed to be childish.

[@OrangeRiver]

"It's made for kids, so who cares if it's dumbed down? Kids are so dumb!!!"

[@jpxenovore]

@OrangeRiver that's not at all what I'm saying, why would you think that? Prodigy has a silly presentation, but actually covers some mature themes. It's not dumbed down at all

[@OrangeRiver]

It also has some pretty basic, "safe" themes as well, but the dialogue is probably my biggest complaint. Idk, I'm not gonna repeat everything I already said in the video

[@TheMinskyTerrorist]

100% correct on the character designs. Absolutely hideous, Concord-tier.

[@Machrider5000]

"it gets better"? I thought the firstbepisodes were pretty cool, i'd believe if you said it gets worse lmao

[@katsarelas1947]

I like it…as a whole. But I will say episode to episode can be kinda…eh Honestly if they just toned Dal 50% down from 90’s cartoon protagonist it would’ve been fine. But come on, I know we see nostalgia as bad sometimes. I think things like…making the plot of The Force Awakens basically being the exact same as a new hope (though I do kinda like it- sequels wise) Is nostalgia at its worst Bringing in character we want to see again in NEW stories- I don’t see anything wrong with that We got to see the doctor, Janeway, etc and what they did after voyager I will say Picard, lower decks, and prodigy all suffered from “fleet is taken over and forced against itself” thing -_-

[@beaver6d9]

Prolly gonna skip this one. I haven't seen season 2 yet, but I rather enjoyed season 1. Not without its issues, esp early Dal, but I was happy where it went by the end.

[@shmee123ful]

i love prodigy, even if it dose spin its wheels more than it really should and some of the diolog. espeaile from jason pog is quite annoying. we really didnt need another visit to the mirror univise if i never see that universe agian it would be to soon, gods i am sick of it. also the time pardox of season two is still not resolved. if Gwyns dad dosnt have a reason to go to tarslarmoa and enslaves the main cast. then the protostar will never be found, Gwyn will never be born and the loom will noom the timeline

[@XanatosDavid]

I did not know there is already a season 2, watched to episode 9 and WTF, they introduced the Langoliers to the star trek universe, how utterly stupid! I mean a annoying main character that can be overlooked, but such a world breaking idiocy is not excusable. Why what for....

[@chocolatemonk]

people have issue with mature topics that have a few layers to sort through, also what makes TNG, DS9 and other Trek Series great.

[@tylociraptor8131]

It's so strange to hear them say Star Trek was inaccessible for teens. I was born in '88 and grew up watching TNG and Voyager along with my parents, often eating dinner while we watched the show. I've been a Star Trek fan since I was like 8 or 9, and remembered when the Star Trek club in our town came to my school to do a presentation about star trek... I was the only kid there who had any idea how good the Klingon's costumes were!

[@carlmlavallierejr8367]

I like Prodigy, 20 episodes is a little much!!!!

[@brendancaulfield970]

How about 40 then? 78? 178?

[@sjprdude]

Is it aimed at children?????

[@limonsoda]

Thank you for this video. I was so feed up by all the snobbery of some star trek fans talking online about this show and crapping on Lower Decks. Member berries can suck so hard. Anyway, thanks a thousand times.

[@OrangeRiver]

You're welcome :D

[@YumLemmingKebabs]

Definitely don't agree with this, or really understand your perspective on it. Dall is kinda insufferable at the start of the show, but he gets better and actually shows massive character progression throughout the series, and I mean, he's a kid, of course he's a dumbass. It's been a while since I watched it but I don't remember having any pacing issues at all. It just felt like they were giving us time to get to know the characters, like shows used to do back in the day. The worst thing about it is that it makes me jealous Lower Decks has so much fewer episodes, cause I liked that show better. Some of the dialog is kind of cringe inducing, but not any more than any other kid show I've seen. So much of your criticism just seems to be comparing the show to misinformed criticisms other people have made about Lower Decks, which has nothing to do with Prodigy, and I can't help but think you may be overreacting to that rather than the content of the show itself.

[@OrangeRiver]

I think the bottom line for me is that Prodigy's dialogue makes it insufferable to watch

[@YumLemmingKebabs]

@@OrangeRiver Hm, it just didn't bother me much. Like, there are definitely parts that are really bad. All of "Kobayashi" felt like kind of a weird sorta Weekend and Bernie's thing, Jankum and Dall get really grating at times, but I found most of the show's dialog fine. Like, the "catboots" thing was cringe in a cute way that fits with the target audience, and the premise of Gwyn actually speaking languages rather than using a universal translator that wouldn't make that kind of mistake.

[@OrangeRiver]

God bless you, I knew 3 episodes in the show wasn't for me and let my audience wear me down to watch the rest of it. Time I'll never get back

[@YumLemmingKebabs]

@@OrangeRiver Sorry you didn't enjoy it

[@mikewalker7385]

I feel like I was just called stupid for liking "Star Trek: Prodigy." I think it is the best Star Trek to come along in a long time.

[@Titousensei]

That's the Star Trek branded show that feels the most like Star Wars. That's my main issue. Not a bad show, but not what Star Trek is all about: rational, clever response to challenges.

[@danilejai7801]

I thought the same at first, when i saw the first episode I immediately thought Star Wars. But as the episodes went on, I found this was the closest thing to the golden era of trek that we’ve had in a long time. But to each his own.