Thursday, October 21, 2021

Kate Mulgrew Discusses How Hologram Janeway In '‘Star Trek: Prodigy' Is Different Than Her Human Counterpart

Though most of Paramount+ and Nickelodeon’s upcoming Star Trek: Prodigy is about exploring new areas of the Star Trek universe — new characters, a new ship, and a setting in the far reaches of the Delta Quadrant — there is one aspect that will be very familiar to longtime fans. Sort of.


That aspect is Hologram Janeway, a holographic guidance and teaching system installed on the USS Protostar, based on Star Trek: Voyager's Captain Kathryn Janeway. And of course, you can’t have Janeway without the iconic actor who portrayed her: Kate Mulgrew.

“She’s very similar to non-hologram Janeway,” Mulgrew told Decider during a recent press day for the series. “Otherwise I wouldn’t have accepted the offer. I want to endow Hologram Janeway with all of the attributes of the real Captain Janeway. With all of her humor and her warmth, her depth, her intelligence, her love of space, her courage, all of it.”

In the series, a group of six alien teens discover the Protostar, and commandeer it to explore the galaxy. Ultimately  they’re making their way towards the Alpha Quadrant, aka the home of the Federation and an area more familiar to viewers of the Star Trek series and movies. Along the way, they’ll be pursued by The Diviner (John Noble), a mysterious alien with equally mysterious motivations. And if you’re expecting that Hologram Janeway is the one who is going to go toe to toe with The Diviner? Don’t.

“The first thing we did we wanted to make sure Hologram Janeway can’t save them, she can only guide them,” Dan Hageman, co-showrunner and co-creator Prodigy said. “I think that’s important, especially for kids to be watching, you don’t want Hologram Janeway always coming to the rescue and saving them, because that’s what the real Janeway would be doing each time.”

So that’s one big difference between Hologram Janeway and regular Janeway. Are there any similarities? “I can tell you, she still likes coffee,” Hageman continued, laughing. “That doesn’t change, that’s in her digital DNA.”

Though Prodigy is the first animated series aimed at kids set in the Star Trek universe, Hologram Janeway is far from the first holographic character we’ve seen. From escapees from the holodeck on Star Trek: The Next Generation, to The Doctor (Robert Picardo) on Star Trek: Voyager, to more recently a bevy of holographic Rioses (Santiago Cabrera) on Star Trek: Picard, it’s part of the fabric of the franchise. But Hologram Janeway is different in that she’s, for now at least, more about guidance than character growth.


“She is there to guide them, she is there to teach them, and she is there to teach them more than how to get the starship on course,” Mulgrew continued. “She’s there to teach them how to be human beings in the best sense of the word… She’s watching and she’s teaching them as only Janeway can, which is with a measure of levity and patience, and also sometimes a sort of ‘c’est la vie.’ If that’s what you’re going to do doll, do it.”

Despite all that non-interference? When asked who would win in a fight, Hologram Janeway, or The Doctor from Voyager, every single member of the cast and crew agreed: Hologram Janeway would take the win.

“The Doctor would try to bore Janeway to sleep with his holo-novels and then she would bring out a plasma rifle, she’d take him out,” Hageman said.

Said Mulgrew without hesitation, laughing: “Hologram Janeway. Thank you very much for asking.”

Star Trek: Prodigy streams Thursdays on Paramount+ beginning October 28. The show will air on Nickelodeon soon after. Click HERE to find out more about the show!


Follow NickALive! on Twitter, RedditInstagramFacebookGoogle NewsTumblrvia RSS and more for the latest Nickelodeon and Star Trek: Prodigy News and Highlights!

No comments:

Post a Comment

Have your say by leaving a comment below! NickALive! welcomes friendly and respectful comments. Please familiarize with the blog's Comment Policy before commenting. All new comments are moderated and won't appear straight away.