https://trekmovie.com/2023/07/25/pa...-end-for-star-trek-prodigy-talks-up-season-2/
So a Prodigy novel is coming as well.
So a Prodigy novel is coming as well.
Hope still exists for Prodigy from Comic Con
- Thread starter Omegaphallic
- Start date
This is very good news. I thought Prodigy would be as canon as Batgirl to the DC universe after being taken down. I thought it'd be erased.
If it was being written off and vaulted for tax purposes, yes, there was doubt - no point holding other writers captive to a show that doesn't actually exist in any legal form anymore.
But now that the first season at least is safe from that, no. And hopefully, since the second is already done minus some post and the strikes preventing new projects, the second will be worth more to air than as a write off
A show’s availability has no bearing on canon. Otherwise the years that Trek was only available on bootleg VHS would mean it stopped being canon.
If it aired, it is canon.
If it aired, it is canon.
1). Star Trek was released on VHS in early 1980. VHS itself was only released to the public in North America in the latter half of 1977. All those "years" were less than 2, and it was airing on tv in syndicated markets at the time.
2). Prodigy, if written off for taxes, isn't just temporarily unavailable, it's functionally deleted from reality as it has to be permanently vaulted by law.
3). Most importantly, producers have free reign to canonize and de-canonize and re-canonize anything whenever they want, and it happens frequently in every franchise. Paramount wouldn't restrict future series and films plotlines or character arcs to match content from a show they legally can't make a profit on and can't legally be aired/streamed.
So yeah, say what you want, but had Prodigy been written off, I sincerely doubt it would have remained canon any longer than the first writer came up with a good idea that contradicted it.
Luckily, the first season hasn't been written off, so it's all moot.
Well, that's what I was referring to.
Season 1 was fully over and done with, and Season 2 is wrapping up on production (only post processing needs to be done at this stage).
So, had the series been cancelled halfway through Season 1, I would have had doubts, but with the whole Season 1 wrapped up and all, I don't think so.
Paramount availability and being written off for tax purposes doesn't mean a show isn't part of canon though.
This latest news only confirms that we will essentially get Season 2, and it also opens up the possibilty for more seasons.
Given the writing for Prodigy has been exceptionally great (better than live action), It would literally be criminal to abandon it.
Excatly my point, but as we know there IS an exception.
TAS wasn't considered canon.
On the other hand, we knew from the start that both LD and Pro were part of canon and both were confirmed to be part of Prime Timeline.
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You asked if there was any doubt Prodigy would be considered canon. I answered, if it was written off, yes. If a show exists, but no one can legally watch it, and the makers can't legally show it or profit off of it, or probably even reference events in it, there is doubt that it would remain canon, as it artificially restricts future writers from playing in similar sandboxes for fear of contradicting something that, for all intents and purposes, no longer exists.
Lots of people had that doubt. That's why, now that it looks like it's safe from being written off, Paramount had to go out of their way to confirm now that it is still remaining canon. That they had to do that at all shows how much doubt there was.
no, it would be figuratively criminal.
Star trek writers only rarely let themselves be tied by canon anyway; they use what they want and ignore or contradict the rest as needed/wanted. Gorn are a good example: SNW turned them into "Aliens" from another franchise, but TOS also remains canon. How often have the klingons been redesigned? Jadzia's Trill is not a tng Trill, and so on.
I doubt there is a much inclination anyway to use Prodigy properties in live action. The SNW guys would be the exception, but they have already done a crossover and probably aren't going to repeat that.
We don't know that, they could still opt for the tax break if they don't get a relatively decent offer from another streamer. The good sales of physical media boxes and other related merchandise makes that less likely, but if netflix and co don't bite, it may still be over.
It would have remained canon, however. Nor would it be functionally deleted, those bluray discs (and the books and game) don't cease to exist (and neither should digital purchases, allthough that may depend on the platform and how much those are willing to rip off their customers).
It is legal to watch legally bought content. Would be strange to see a paramount or us tax services employee trying to enter my house to take the discs away or to sabotage my bluray player...
Bad phrasing on my part. Yes, they weren't going to take your half season discs. There would have been no way to legally watch it on any network or streaming service, and there never could be. Those few dvd/blue Ray/digital .5 season sets out there already sold would have been the only legal way.
Luckily, the rest of the season 1 is now confirmed to also come out on disc.
Now thumbs up for a release, in whatever form, of season 2. Even direct to disc would do.
Fingers crossed. I think the chances are pretty good now that Prodigy has had a huge spike in interest, the rest of season one came available for purchase, and they've said they're still working on it (which they wouldn't do if they were sure they were going to write it off) and the strikes making any new show/movie more precious than they were a couple months ago.
But being able to watch a show on TV or via other means isn't an indication on whether or not it is canon.
Only the higher ups can say whether a show is part of canon or not. For Prodigy, we knew it was canon because it was confirmed as such early on and it was happening in the Prime Timeline.
Whether it would have been stricken off canon at a later date is another matter (but we had no official indication of that even when it was announced as cancelled - because a show being cancelled or written off for tax purposes doesn't mean it gets stricken out of canon - regardless of the availability to watch it) - even if Paramount just now confirmed its part of canon, to me it seemed like a throwaway line in the article at best... aka, a mere affirmation of what was already known, nothing else (it wasn't news).
But I agree that as of right now, we have reason to be a bit optimistic about PRO future.
No, that's not exactly true. Star Trek canon is whatever the current holder of that IP says it is. CBS is the current IP holder. If they want to make an official statement that Prodigy is no longer canon, they can.
Now with that said, do I think that will happen even though they've taken PRO off of P+? Nope. Why? Because CBS has no reason to make such a statement, because declaring what's 'canon' or not is pretty meaningless to CBS executives. That's only something that the fans care about, and CBS isn't concerned about catering to the fans. They're more concerned about catering to their shareholders, who also don't give a shit about what's 'canon' or not.
Season One in its entirety is currently available for watching on Amazon Prime, Apple, Google and several other services. It has also been broadcast and is being released on BluRay and DVD.
As others have said, all this talk of “functionally deleted” has been moot for weeks now. Just like if Paramount+ folds while still retaining exclusive streaming rights, it won’t suddenly invalidate the canon of all the other shows while they seek new homes.
As others have said, all this talk of “functionally deleted” has been moot for weeks now. Just like if Paramount+ folds while still retaining exclusive streaming rights, it won’t suddenly invalidate the canon of all the other shows while they seek new homes.
If they were following the same rules that apply to the shows that HBO Max cancels for tax write-offs, than, yes, it would have to be stricken from canon with no one allowed to mention it again in another show or movie otherwise the tax write-off would become null and void. Which is where the concern was coming from regarding Prodigy's canonical status.
Thankfully, it appears they are not following those rules.
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