18
submitted 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) by eva_sieve@lemmy.world to c/startrek@lemmy.world

Hey all! Just found out that this place was a thing again after posting around in Ten Forward. Thought I'd contribute to content™ with a quick writeup blathering on about a moment in ST I really appreciate but haven't heard talked about. Will this become a recurring thing? Iunno, maybe.

(Also hoping that I didn't double or triple post this because Lemmy World's kinda being weird rn. apologies in advance to the mods if I screwed something up.)

The scene in question is from Star Trek Prodigy, specifically s1 ep. 14 Crossroads, spoilers ahead obviously. The premise is pretty simple-- the kids have hidden Protostar and need to find passage to Starfleet so they can warn them of the danger the ship poses. Main main character Dal meets a Starfleet officer and has the perfect opportunity to cut the series short by 6 episodes. He uh... kinda screws up.

On the surface it's easy to be annoyed at the show for falling into the trope of people being unable to properly divulge information so the plot can happen. If this were main characters from any of the other 10 Star Trek series, I probably would be super annoyed. But I think here it works precisely because Dal is a child. He's overwhelmed by a bout of hero worship and the short scene is masterfully composed to put you in his shoes and make the viewer feel that too.

The first few shots as the two meet have Janeway turned around or out of frame. Instead, the camera focuses in on Dal's darting eyes before pulling us into his view. Dal's POV shot starts at Janeway's legs and pans up to her head-- he's looking up to her in a quite literal sense. The soundtrack does a heroic little swell to emphasize the living legend that is ~~Captain~~ Vice Admiral Kathyrn Janeway.

You'll notice that in the ensuing conversation between the two characters Dal is framed with a lot of close shots of his face, while Janeway has these sort of neutral, medium shots. I think this is an effective way to contrast the two's mental states-- Dal has a lot of emotions boiling to the surface as he meets the woman of whom his trusted mentor is just a pale shadow. Janeway, meanwhile, is shown in a steady, confident stance (and, as before, we are looking up at her).

Brett Gray's performance in this scene is great. He really sells Dal's earnestness in wanting to not screw up while meeting his hero. It makes sense why he would quite literally lose the plot after a few disarming words from Admiral Janeway.

If I had to pick a theme for Prodigy (at least as of this writing), I would say it's about legacy. The heroes of yesteryear cast a long shadow, but it's always a worthy cause to follow their example. Gotta start somewhere! That's why I really appreciate this scene-- it's a suitably grand moment as we bridge the gulf between the boy who fled to the stars and the legend he wants to become.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 3 points 8 months ago

I tried really hard to get into Prodigy, but I'm not really big on the level of CG that TV shows can budget for (I'd rather see 2D animation in general) and I'm not a huge fan of shows with a cast mostly of kids, so I only got a couple of episodes in. I'll try again at some point and, don't get me wrong, I am super happy that there is a Star Trek kids today can get into, but I don't know if I'll ever get into it. And that sort of makes me sad considering how much I love Star Trek. I want to get into it.

[-] StillPaisleyCat@startrek.website 2 points 8 months ago

Episodes 6 & 8 are where long time fans usually fall in love with the show. Many of us find it the Trekiest thing ever.

But it very deliberately takes its time to get there. It’s like the lobster in the pot of hot water trick for kids formed with SW and other 3D kids animation. By the time they get to the end of the first half of season one, they’re fully into Star Trek, but without culture shock.

this post was submitted on 03 Mar 2024
18 points (100.0% liked)

Star Trek

1162 readers
2 users here now

/c/StarTrek: Your safe harbored Spacedock in these Stellar Seas!

Fire up the inertial dampeners, retract all moorings and clear space dock. It's time to boldy go where no one has gone before!

~ 1. Be Civil. This is a Star Trek community and lets keep that energy. Be kind, respectful and polite to one another.

~ 2. Be Courteous. Please use the spoiler tags for any new Trek content that's been released in the past month. Check this page for lemmy formatting) for any posts. Also please keep spoilers out of the titles!

~ 3. Be Considerate. We're spread out across a lot of different instances but don't forget to follow your instances rules and the instance rules for Lemmy.world.


founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS