Warp Factor Trek

To arrange for a promotional banner to be flown around Netflix Headquarters in Hollywood, Los Angeles once – helping to persuade the giant streaming platform to “save Star Trek: Prodigy,” in the lead up to the show’s second season – is an amazing feat in and of itself. To do it all again – this time encouraging Netflix to “renew” Prodigy – is even more of an achievement. Just ask UK-based Star Trek fan Michele Stokes, who has successfully run GoFundMe campaigns to hire the necessary aeroplanes. I recently had the pleasure of interviewing her and she proceeded to recall her fondest memories of the Star Trek franchise as well as the outcomes of arranging the flights.

What are your earliest memories of Star Trek?

As a thirteen-year-old, I fell in love with Wil Wheaton in Stand by Me, so I tuned into TNG when it first showed on the BBC. I was immediately drawn to the ideology that Trek represents and have been a Trekkie ever since. TNG was my first Trek, but Voyager quickly became my favourite series and Janeway became my captain. I was at university when Voyager first premiered, studying journalism, which in the ’90s was still a very male-dominated field. Janeway represented the strength and integrity that I hoped to emulate, and despite switching fields to data science, they are traits that I’ve continued to espouse over the following thirty years. I was delighted when Prodigy was first announced, as it promised to continue Janeway’s story, and it all seems to have come full circle with the revival of Wesley Crusher in the second season.

Do you have a favourite Voyager episode?

My favourite changes all the time, but “Course: Oblivion”, “Timeless”, and “Year of Hell” are always up there. They’re all episodes that have great emotional impact and show grittier versions of the characters, sides to them that we don’t usually see.

Can you tell us about the banners and the flights that displayed them? What was your involvement in those? Did you decide the wording and/or create the banners themselves?

I ultimately made the decision about the wording on the banners but stayed with phrases that were being used on social media. “#SaveStarTrekProdigy” was the obvious choice for the first banner as it had found traction online as soon as the series was cancelled. “Renew Star Trek: Prodigy! Go fast!” was more of an amalgamation of what we wanted – renew Star Trek: Prodigy – and one of the catchphrases from the show – “Go fast.” The flight company produced the banners, the cost of which was built into the price that we paid both times.

What else has your Star Trek fandom led you to do?

As a Trekkie, I’ve attended cons over the years and followed the careers of many of the actors from all series, post-Trek. That dropped off when I started a family, but I’ve always continued to watch and support new Trek shows. After Covid, I made a conscious effort to attend more cons and have visited places such as Prague and London in doing so. I’m also booked on the Star Trek cruise next February, which I’m especially excited about as it’s celebrating Voyager’s thirtieth anniversary. I’ve never really organised anything like the two banners within fandom before, so it’s been a learning curve, but I’m glad I’ve been able to give back a little to a community that has meant so much to me for so long.

What has fan response to the banners been like? I noticed Kate Mulgrew name-checked you. What was that like?

The response has been great – the fact we got funded so quickly for both banners speaks to that. It really has been a group effort and I was just the one who stood up to organise it.

Getting name-checked by Kate blew my mind! I’m glad she heard about the banners and the effort we’ve all put in, if only so she knows how much the fans love and appreciate Prodigy.

As a mother, how accessible do you believe Star Trek: Prodigy is for children?

From a parent’s point of view, Prodigy is the perfect show. It’s accessible to children but at the same time challenges them to think deeper and to look for answers both within and beyond the narrative. That sparking of the imagination and challenging of world views is what first attracted me to Trek as a teenager, and I’m thrilled that my child is responding to Star Trek: Prodigy with the same wonder.

If a third season of Star Trek: Prodigy is commissioned, what would you like to see in the show’s future?

I’d love to see more of the same in a third season! The Hagemans and their writing staff have continually amazed me with the journey they’ve taken us on, over the first two seasons, so I have absolute trust that they can continue to take us on adventures beyond anything my imagination can concoct. Having said that, I’m not adverse to seeing more of the ever-intriguing relationship between Janeway and Chakotay.

How can Star Trek fans help with the goals you have in mind?

Now that the banners have flown around Netflix, fans can continue to support and lobby for Prodigy on social media, continuing to voice how much we want to see more. The louder we shout, the more Netflix have to take note of our loyalty and enthusiasm. And of course, continue to watch Star Trek: Prodigy on Netflix and buy the Blu-rays!