Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Prodigy Episode 6 - "Kobayashi."
Episode 6 of Star Trek: Prodigy brought back a classic rock song, although it isn't Beastie Boys' "Sabotage" from J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movies. In Star Trek: Prodigy episode 6, "Kobayashi," Dal R'El (Brett Gray) entered the USS Protostar's holodeck to take the Kobayashi Maru test, with help from holograms of Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), Odo (Rene Auberjonois), Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden), and Scotty (James Doohan). Although it took Dal over a hundred tries, he eventually solved the no-win scenario thanks to a little inspiration from a popular heavy metal song from Earth.
Star Trek: Prodigy is set in the late 24th century and there's long been controversy over the inclusion of pop music from the 20th and 21st century in the saga. At the beginning of Star Trek 2009, the young James T. Kirk (Jimmy Bennett) steals his stepfather's car and goes for a joyride while blasting Beastie Boys' "Sabotage." Although it's a fun scene, many longtime Trekkers took issue with the choice of including a contemporary rock song in the film. Still, "Sabotage" was certainly memorable and the Beastie Boys' 'cool factor' boosted Star Trek's mission to present the venerable sci-fi franchise to a new movie audience. Amusingly, Star Trek Beyond resurrected "Sabotage" when Captain Kirk's (Chris Pine) crew blasted it during their climactic outer space battle against the Swarm. Kirk even hilariously deadpanned, "That's a good choice," winking at the reprise of the Beastie Boys' hit from his youth.
When Dal finally cracked the secret of how to beat the Kobayashi Maru in Star Trek: Prodigy episode 6, he blasted AC/DC's "Thunderstruck" to distract the Klingons. After numerous failures and being "blown up so many times," Dal realized the only way to conquer the no-win scenario was with "chaos," and the heavy metal track from Earth was the ideal audio accompaniment for the mayhem Dal unleashed. Playing "Thunderstruck" not only worked to cripple the Klingons' ability to retaliate, but for the audience, the classic rock song also enhanced the pure fun of Star Trek: Prodigy's dream crossover of Star Trek icons. If Chris Pine's Captain Kirk were part of the Kobayashi Maru, it's easy to imagine he would have been pleased with Dal's tactics and song choice.
Dal playing AC/DC "Thunderstruck" at the highest volume on the bridge of the USS Enterprise-D was also an eyebrow-raiser, especially considering how staid Star Trek: The Next Generation was in terms of music. TNG's Enterprise took after Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), who preferred higher pursuits like reading Shakespeare, archaeology, and operas, although Picard later revealed a surprising love of driving offroad vehicles in Star Trek: Nemesis. Still, 20th-century rock music was never heard on the Enterprise-D, which indulged in classical recitals or Commander Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes) playing jazz.
TNG, and Star Trek: The Original Series before it, shied away from including contemporary music, which perpetuated the idea that humans in the 23rd and 24th centuries no longer listened to rock. In Star Trek: First Contact's 21st-century-set scenes in Boseman, Montana, Zephram Cochrane (James Cromwell) liked to get drunk while listening to Roy Orbison's "Ooby Dooby," and the underlying idea was that Cochrane was a caveman compared to the evolved 24th century Starfleet Officers of the USS Enterprise-E. However, J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movies using Beastie Boys' "Sabotage" twice flipped the script to establish rock music's place in Star Trek canon. It's fun to see Star Trek: Prodigy pick up the mantle by setting Dal's Kobayashi Maru victory to AC/DC's classic, "Thunderstruck."
Star Trek: Prodigy streams Thursdays on Paramount+.