Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Prodigy Episode 6 - "Kobayashi".

Episode 6 of Star Trek: Prodigy featured a dream crossover Star Trek fans wish could happen in real life. The newest Star Trek animated series centers on a hologram of Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) training a ragtag group of alien teens on how to be Starfleet Officers aboard the USS Protostar. Led by their Captain, Dal R'El (Brett Gray), the young heroes learned that the Protostar is Starfleet's fastest ship, with a third Proto Engine powered by a dwarf star that lets the starship reach unheard-of speeds.

Star Trek is an expansive shared universe, which makes it ripe for crossovers. Perhaps the most famous Star Trek crossover was Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) meeting Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) in Star Trek Generations. Prior to that, however, Admiral Bones McCoy (DeForrest Kelley), Scotty (James Doohan), and Spock (Leonard Nimoy), all appeared on Star Trek: The Next Generation. TNG and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine also had crossovers from Picard, Thomas Riker (Jonathan Frakes), and Worf (Michael Dorn) joined the cast, while Q (John de Lancie), Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), and Lt. Barclay (Dwight Shultz) appeared on Star Trek: Voyager. Troi and Commander Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes) starring in the series finale of Star Trek: Enterprise was perhaps the most infamous Star Trek crossover.

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Star Trek: Prodigy episode 6 sees Dal enter the Protostar's holodeck for the first time to take the Kobayashi Maru test, which is set aboard the USS Enterprise-D. Dal and Jankom Pog (Jason Mantzoukas) took their place in TNG's famous bridge and asked the computer to summon a holographic crew of the best Starfleet has to offer. The program generated holograms of Spock as Science Officer, Lt. Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) at the Conn, Odo (Rene Auberjonois) at Ops, Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) as Chief Medical Officer, and, finally, Scotty as the Chief Engineer. Star Trek: Prodigy's thrilling crossover was made even more remarkable because it brought together icons from Star Trek: TOS, TNG, DS9, and Voyager for the first time and they were all exasperated watching Dal hilariously fail dozens of times to beat the no-win scenario.

Star Trek Prodigy Crossover

To make Star Trek: Prodigy's crossover a reality, the series utilized audio clips from various Star Trek TV series and movies to give Spock, Uhura, Odo, and Scotty dialogue. The effect was slightly jarring, especially with how Leonard Nimoy's voice changed as he got older, but it was still novel to hear familiar utterings repurposed for Star Trek: Prodigy's Kobayashi Maru. The audio feat was also necessary since Nimoy, Rene Auberjonois, and James Doohan passed away. But it seems Gates McFadden did return to voice Dr. Crusher. The audio clips for the Star Trek icons' dialogue were also well-chosen, especially Odo being cantankerous. Spock both warns Captain Dal of his folly and then reassures him of his potential just as the real Vulcan did to Captain Kirk. It was also fun to see Spock use his Vulcan nerve pinch to fight Klingons alongside Dal.

Star Trek: Prodigy's dream crossover highlighted the unique advantage that Star Trek's animated series have over live-action. Prodigy and Star Trek: Lower Decks are able to draw upon the entire scope of the franchise to produce moments that are otherwise impossible. Star Trek: Prodigy even brought the dead Starfleet heroes back to life in a way that canonically makes sense, thanks to the holodeck and the ingenious remixing of the characters' past dialogue, and "passes the torch" of Star Trek to Prodigy. It was also a joy to see the Enterprise-D back in action once more. Finally, Star Trek: Prodigy episode 6 ended with the shocking reveal that Chakotay (Robert Beltran) was the original Captain of the Protostar - a climactic addition of the Star Trek: Voyager fan-favorite that capped off one of the best Star Trek crossovers ever.

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Star Trek: Prodigy streams Thursdays on Paramount+.