Here in Sydney, the never-ending Delta variant COVID lockdown now in its fifth week, is set to continue for another four weeks.
Which, apart from a growing case of cabin fever, means that we need distractions, and many of them, more than ever before.
Thankfully, Star Trek is boldly coming to our rescue, with Star Trek: Lower Decks season 2 winging its way to Amazon Prime Video on 13 August – far faster than season 1 which took forever to reach international audiences – and Star Trek: Prodigy, also animated, premiering in the northern autumn in the US and Canada (and one would hope, eventually, around the world).
This is our chance to escape the ever-decreasing boundaries of our pandemic-circumscribed homes, and boldly go far, far away from our loungerooms where no lockdowner has gone before …
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Developed by Emmy Award winner Mike McMahan (Rick and Morty, Solar Opposites), Star Trek: Lower Decks focuses on the support crew serving on one of Starfleet’s least important ships, the U.S.S. Cerritos, in 2380. Ensigns Mariner, Boimler, Rutherford and Tendi have to keep up with their duties and their social lives, often while the ship is being rocked by a multitude of sci-fi anomalies. The Starfleet crew residing in the “lower decks” of the U.S.S. Cerritos, includes Ensign Beckett Mariner, voiced by Tawny Newsome, Ensign Brad Boimler, voiced by Jack Quaid, Ensign Tendi, voiced by Noël Wells and Ensign Rutherford, voiced by Eugene Cordero. The Starfleet characters that comprise the ship’s bridge crew include Captain Carol Freeman, voiced by Dawnn Lewis, Commander Jack Ransom, voiced by Jerry O’Connell and Doctor T’Ana, voiced by Gillian Vigman. (synopsis courtesy StarTrek.com)
Star Trek: Lower Decks season 2 premieres on 13 August on Amazon Prime Video in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Japan, India and more, the United States and Latin America on Paramount+ and in Canada on Bell Media’s CTV Sci-Fi Channel and streams on Crave.
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Star Trek: Prodigy follows six young aliens — Dal (Brett Gray), Gwyn (Ella Purnell), Rok-Tahk (Rylee Alazraqui), Murf (Dee Bradley Baker), Zero (Angus Imrie), and Jankom Pog (Jason Mantzoukas) — who commandeer an abandoned Starfleet starship they know nothing about.Kate Mulgrew is reprising her performance as Capt. Kathryn Janeway from Star Trek: Voyager, as a hologram who helps teach the new, young crew how to navigate the cosmos. The animated series is executive produced by Kevin Hageman, Dan Hageman, with Ben Hibon directing and co-executive producing. Star Trek: Prodigy is co-produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studio and CBS Eye Animation Productions. Executive producers also include Alex Kurtzman, Heather Kadin, Katie Krentz, Rod Roddenberry, and Trevor Roth. Aaron Baiers will co-executive produce. (synopsis courtesy Coming Soon)
Star Trek: Prodigy, debuting in the Northern Hemisphere autumn, will stream exclusively on Paramount+ in the United States, and will air on Bell Media’s CTV Sci-Fi Channel and stream on Crave in Canada. (Info courtesy official Star Trek Twitter account). No international streaming information available currently.