Kathy Herd

Odd Squad is a clear "for kids" knock-off of Star Trek. There are many Star Trek references you can make out from the show. For example seasons 1 and 2 are set in the Odd Squad office, reminiscent of DS9 in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Additionally, season 3 is like the other Star Treks where the agents go out to solve odd problems. The Centigurps resemble the Tribbles in TOS and DS9. In season 3, Agent Opal frequently records her "missions" by saying "Captain's Blog" (Captain's Log in Star Trek). The agents in season 3 talk to their "Van Computer" (Computer from Star Trek). All the transporter chiefs have red hair and are named O'___, after Scotty (was a redshirt and he's Irish) in Star Trek TOS. There are small tributes in the show that make it a bit obvious of the show's inspiration. I could list more but I would leave the rest to the interest of the viewers. Apart from all this fandom, Odd Squad was a good show when things were set in the office. It felt like DS9 to some extent. However, some characters were very immature and used yelling to get their point across. This can introduce children to bad habits like screaming whenever they want something, talking back, name-calling, and even rolling their eyes. Ms. O, Orla, Dr. O, Orchid tend to be the worst characters as they display the aforementioned characteristics. I noticed some biases against people of color, they are more likely to have some of these characteristics. For example, Olaf pretends he's a werewolf and he doesn't do much in the show. Ms.O/Oprah and Obfusco scream at the agents whenever they want something. Orla tends to yell a lot and force her opinions in the cases. I did not like the transition from the office set to the traveling episodes in this show, it made the episodes a bit boring. Also, this show usually painted adults in a bad way by making them villains, which could negatively influence children. A suggestion is that maybe more adults should be good. Overall this show could have been better. Some characters could have had better personalities and attitudes. Would I show this to my child? Maybe, maybe not.