Warning: This post contains spoilers for Star Trek: Prodigy “Kobayashi”
Many Star Trek series have had crossovers, but never before has one series crossed over four others. Star Trek: Prodigy took a bold leap in the latest episode, “Kobayahsi,” bringing several beloved characters to the bridge of the Enterprise-D. And though the episode was set partially in the holodeck, and the characters were holograms, it was still an incredible crossover.
When Dal discovers there’s a holodeck on the Protostar, he’s intrigued with the Starfleet Academy test, “Kobayashi Maru,” and decides he’s going to best it. That way, the others aboard the ship will have to see him as a real captain. To undertake the test, he needs the best crew the Enterprise can have, and he leaves that decision to the game itself. That’s when Lt. Uhura, Lt. Commander Spock, Dr. Beverly Crusher, Odo, and Lt. Commander Montgomery “Scotty” Scott take their places on the bridge.
Archival footage was used for the scenes on Star Trek: Prodigy
Through archival footage, the voices of Leonard Nimoy, Nichelle Nichols, James Doohan, and Rene Auberjonois were used with their CGI characters, and Gates McFadden, in a cameo that came as quite a surprise, voiced Dr. Crusher, making this an episode that eclipsed all other episodes.
Lt. Uhura is at her post as the communications officer while Odo is seated at the controls, sharing his disgust with Dal’s decisions. Scotty is in his comfort zone, ready to eject the warp core at Dal’s command while Dr. Crusher attempts to provide the voice of reason when he isn’t interested in saving people he doesn’t know.
Dal has to learn a hard lesson when he’s so determined to beat the game that he’s willing to risk anything, and there’s no one better to teach it to him than Mr. Spock, the Vulcan who’d shared his wisdom with Captain Kirk for so many years. Nimoy’s voice as he guided the adolescent harkened back to the days of old which is why any Star Trek fan should watch this episode, even if they aren’t actively watching Prodigy.
The writers and producers of Prodigy paid tribute to both the actors and the characters of The Original Series, The Next Generation, Voyager, and Deep Space Nine, and, for a few minutes, we were back in the past where the Enterprise was still warping through the galaxy and Odo was still keeping Deep Space Nine safe. And if those characters weren’t enough, this episode debuted the appearance of Captain Chakotay in an altogether brief scene, officially making this the best episode of the series.