Ella Purnell on life-or-death adventures and lessons from ‘Star Trek: Prodigy’

Beam me up, Scotty! With the upcoming launch of the eagerly anticipated and gorgeously realized animated series “Star Trek: Prodigy,” young viewers and sci-fi geeks alike have another reason to boldly go where no Trekkie has gone before.

“Prodigy,” the 10th series in the franchise, parlays showrunners Kevin and Dan Hageman’s passion into sci-fi gold. It is set to mark its place in the “Star Trek” universe with a show that lures televiewers with holograms and slick gadgets—like phasers, food replicator, a living armor and universal translators—while its young protagonists embark on dazzling intergalactic adventures.

Even harder to resist, particularly for true-blue Trekkies, are the Easter eggs thrown all over the place, as well as the exciting cameos of well-loved characters from the sci-fi series’ previous incarnations—like Captain Chakotay, Dr. Beverly Crusher and, hold your breath, Spock!

The show’s 20-episode pilot season launches in the Philippines on April 25 and will be shown weekdays at 7 p.m. on Nickelodeon.

Set in the year 2383, “Prodigy” takes place five years after the USS Voyager (“Star Trek: Voyager”) has returned to Earth. It follows a motley crew of young aliens raring to escape the prison colony on Tars Lamora, an asteroid located in the Delta Quadrant being ruled by a ruthless tyrant, The Diviner (voiced by John Noble), and his cruel robotic enforcer Drednok (Jimmi Simpson).

When 17-year-old Dal (Brett Gray) finds the USS Protostar, an abandoned Starfleet ship, by accident, he sets out to make his way to the Alpha quadrant some 4,000 light years away, to escape the deadly grasp of The Diviner and his cohorts.

Keeping Dal company are Jankom Pog (Jason Mantzoukas), a 16-year-old Tellarite; Zero (Angus Imrie), a noncorporeal, genderless and energy-based Medusan; Rok-Tahk (Rylee Alazraqui), a shy 8-year-old Brikar; the indestructible blob Murf (Dee Bradley Baker); and Princess Gwyndala (Ella Purnell), whose loyalty is torn between her new team and her power-hungry father The Diviner.

First for the franchise

These six young outcasts know nothing about the ship they have commandeered—a first in the history of the “Star Trek” franchise—but, over the course of their adventures together, each of them will be introduced to Starfleet and the ideals it represents.

Can Dal and Gwyn set aside their differences as they find a way to reach the Alpha Quadrant without falling victim to the many sinister lifeforms in the universe?

We’ve seen a couple of screeners and were instantly drawn to the fascinating world created by the series’ immersive design aesthetic. But there’s more to its eye-candy allure than meets the eye.

When we spoke to Ella Purnell last month to discuss her experience of doing the series, she told us why the project excited her. It wasn’t really our first time to talk to the 25-year-old theater, TV and movie actress (“Maleficent 2,” “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children”). We also spoke to her last year when she was promoting “Army of the Dead” with Fil-Am actor Dave Bautista. She won an Annie for “Arcane: League of Legends.”

When asked what the lure was for Ella to lend her voice again to animation and what she thought set “Star Trek: Prodigy” apart from the nine previous incarnations of the sci-fi franchise, the actress admitted, “I couldn’t turn down the opportunity to be a part of the ‘Star Trek’ franchise. I’ve never personally been much of a Trekkie, but I knew how significant it is. It’s such an honor to be here to talk about it.

“As a performer, I like to do a variety of things [because] I get bored easily. I need new challenges all the time. With animation, I like the fact that I’ve been finding my groove in it. I like how free it makes me feel.

“I don’t have to worry about makeup or how I look, and you need not worry about learning long lines. You just show up, and you’re given the space to do crazy things. So you’ll see me jumping around like an insane person in the [recording] booth and doing all kinds of physical things (laughs)! It feels very childlike—sort of how acting should be, which isn’t always what happens in Tinseltown.

A lot to offer

“This series may be marketed as a kids’ show, but the wonderful thing about it is that everyone, regardless of age, can get something out of it. The visuals by themselves are incredible and completely unique. I’ve never seen anything like it.

“Then, there’s also the writing, which is sophisticated, smart and funny. There’s so much in there for older viewers to enjoy. On top of that, young viewers will be coming into the show with a fresh set of eyes because many of them don’t know anything about ‘Prodigy’ and Starfleet. So, for people who don’t know anything about ‘Star Trek,’ this can be their entry point.

“But there are also enough Easter eggs and familiar faces, like Kathryn Janeway, Captain of USS Voyager—who’s voiced by Kate Mulgrew herself—that diehard ‘Star Trek’ fans are going to get a lot out of.

“And the fact that this has never been done before—a ‘Star Trek’ series for kids—is probably the main thing that sets us apart from the other shows. But, I must point out that the animation is a strong second.”

The show has gotten an impressive 93-percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. And one of its strongest elements is its diverse cast of characters.

Complex character

Take Ella’s character Gwyn, whose moral ambiguity isn’t as easy to “read.” How did Gwyn’s issues—like her feeling of abandonment or estrangement, her father’s rejection, the awkwardness of not fitting in, etc.—resonate with Ella, a former child actress who grew up as an overachiever?

“You’ve picked up on her main themes very intuitively,” noted Ella. “I think all of that is right. But what I like about Gwyn from a character perspective is that she is complex—there’s a great arc in there. I know you guys have only seen a couple of episodes, but Gwyn starts almost as the villain of the show!

“Gwyn is very much under the thumb of her father, The Diviner—this terrible, villainous character. But in her moments of vulnerability, you can see that she wants out. She feels empathy. And she wants to see the stars, which isn’t something her father does.

“This season, we get to see her slowly letting her hair down and becoming a kid, outside of the obligations and responsibilities that she’s always been forced to do. She’s smart, quick and very loyal. She’s very protective of her friends and her people, which are qualities I think I have.

“On top of that, I like the idea of almost being able to do things backwards. Like, most people are kids, then they grow up and become adults. In my case, I feel like I did the opposite. I kind of feel like I was an adult first. So now, I’m learning how to be a kid again. It’s a fine line.

“It’s like having fun and making mistakes and allowing yourself to make them without feeling the pressure of being in the public eye or messing up your career or losing momentum—whatever it is. That’s similar to how things are with me. She’s also been working since she was a kid.

“But in Gwyn’s case, she’s been conditioned by her father for one objective—but she doesn’t know what that is yet. She had to grow up really fast and get wiser beyond her years because of her responsibilities. Then, she becomes part of this crew, albeit unwillingly at the start because she was ‘kidnapped.’ Because of that experience, she’s learned to have fun and act her age—and that’s a really sweet thing to see.”

Takeaways

What does Ella want young viewers to take away from “Star Trek: Prodigy”?

“There are some really beautiful themes about connectedness and unity in it,” the actress mused. “Older viewers and kids, especially, can learn a lot about working as a team and learning to compromise with each other.

“This is a very intense coming-of-age story set in the galaxy, but the themes remain the same—you find out what your strengths and weaknesses are and learn how to step into your identity and utilize that to your advantage.

“All these characters have to work together and allow themselves to be guided by Janeway, this mentor figure, because it’s literally a life-or-death situation for them. They have to be smart, use each other’s strengths, lean on one another and ask each other for help when they need it. We’re learning these all the time, but these things are especially important lessons for young people to learn.” INQ In the Philippines, Nickelodeon can be seen on SkyCable, Pilipino Cable and Cavite Cable (on Channel 45), Philippine Multimedia System (Channel 14), Global Destiny Cable (Channel 52), Parasat Cable (Channel 49) and MediaScape/Cignal (Channel 33).

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