The Potential Cameo of Lieutenant D'Vana Tendi
In the Prodigy season 1 finale, 'Supernova, Part 2', a crowd of Starfleet officers gathers outside of Starfleet Headquarters in San Francisco to watch as the daring young crew of the USS Protostar finally arrive at their intended destination. A female Orion in a science uniform with lieutenant's pips is in the crowd and also appears in a later scene upgrading Zero's (Angus Imrie) exo-suit. 'Supernova, Part 2' takes place just a few years after the latest seasons of Lower Decks, so the timeline suggests this character could actually be Tendi.
Prodigy Enterprise-D bridge
In the public (but unofficial) Star Trek: Lower Decks Facebook group, user Sandy Ray Smith posed the question to the group's other members, inviting them to offer their own theories on whether this particular Orion scientist might actually be Tendi, since D'Vana was one of the only Orions in Starfleet in the 2380s. One of those users just happened to be Star Trek: Prodigy writer and co-executive producer Aaron Waltke, who gave a definitive answer to whether Tendi is in Prodigy or not. Check out the screenshots and read his answer below:
Aaron Waltke: We discussed it with Mike McMahan and decided that Tendi opened doors for more Orions in Starfleet but they are still rare. That one isn’t her!
Janewat Chakotay Prodigy
Surprise Cameos in Prodigy Season 2
While the Orion science officer in the Star Trek: Prodigy season 1 finale isn't Lt. D'Vana Tendi from Star Trek: Lower Decks, Aaron Waltke confirmed via Facebook comments that Prodigy season 2 would, in fact, feature some 'surprise cameos' from other Star Trek characters. There's already been a star-studded array of legacy Star Trek characters in Prodigy season 1, like in episode 6 'Kobayashi', when Dal R'El (Brett Gray) summoned familiar faces from across Star Trek's history for his holographic bridge crew, including Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden), Constable Odo (Rene Auberjonois), Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Lt. Nyota Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), and Montgomery Scott (James Doohan).
Robert Picardo voices the Doctor in Star Trek: Prodigy season 2
Archival recordings were used to create the vocal performances for most of Dal's crew, with the exception being Gates McFadden returning to record new lines as Dr. Beverly Crusher. Looking ahead, Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 promises a reunion between Admiral Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and Captain Chakotay (Robert Beltran), plus the inclusion of Star Trek: Voyager's Doctor (Robert Picardo). The USS Voyager-A's quest for Chakotay must be undertaken through a temporal anomaly into an alternate universe, which means that Star Trek: Prodigy's potential cameos aren't limited to characters in the late 24th century Prime Universe. Perhaps Dal and friends will see Star Trek history firsthand in Star Trek: Enterprise's 22nd century, or glimpse the far future with Star Trek: Discovery characters. With the science needed for that kind of trip in Star Trek: Prodigy season 2, maybe Star Trek: Lower Decks' Tendi will be part of it after all.
Kate Mulgrew's Janeway in Prodigy and the cast of Star Trek: Enterprise
Streaming Information
Star Trek: Prodigy is streaming on Netflix. Star Trek: Lower Decks is streaming on Paramount+.
Michael Burnham USS Protostar star trek prodigy
