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Most new users don't bother reading our rules. Here's the one that is ignored almost immediately upon signup: DO NOT ASK FOR FANEDIT LINKS PUBLICLY. First, read the FAQ. Seriously. What you want is there. You can also send a message to the editor. If that doesn't work THEN post in the Trade & Request forum. Anywhere else and it will be deleted and an infraction will be issued.
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Fan Edit Of The Year (FEOTY) 2021: and the WINNERS are...! here Congratulations!
Star Trek: Picard
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I watched Eps 2&3. They were irritating in parts but mostly just blandly tolerable. The new crew of misfit characters has some potential, I quite like them all so far. It's kind of amazing how little actually happens. Can you imagine a film that took 3-hours just to do "getting the band back together" (and I'm not sure if it's even all together yet).
In the RLM review they mentioned a theory...
In the RLM review they mentioned a theory...
...that the ancient secret that the vash-splash are keeping is that the Romulans invented the Borg. I took their idea a bit further and I was theorizing what if...?
The Romulans we are watching (Dosh and the "hot " Rumulan man) are inventing the Borg in the present day, then some timey-wimey nonsense happens where they have to send the Borg cube back in time and accidentally founded the Borg race. Like in Terminator where Miles Tyson is studying the Terminator processor and inadvertently invents Skynet. It's an idea just stupid enough to be right
and a secret just crazy enough to melt people's minds like Mrs O'Romulan said it would in the first episode.
The Romulans we are watching (Dosh and the "hot " Rumulan man) are inventing the Borg in the present day, then some timey-wimey nonsense happens where they have to send the Borg cube back in time and accidentally founded the Borg race. Like in Terminator where Miles Tyson is studying the Terminator processor and inadvertently invents Skynet. It's an idea just stupid enough to be right
and a secret just crazy enough to melt people's minds like Mrs O'Romulan said it would in the first episode.
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Can you imagine a film that introduces a court case and then takes 178 hours to reach a verdict?
xikorolkel
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The opening of ep5 is another argument for a fanedit, not to erase the plot point but to make it more PG for a broader audience. I’ve been working on a full proposal. I wish I had the skills and software to do it myself - maybe if nobody else tries, I’ll make it a long-term project. Here are my ideas so far:
NOTE: The following proposal reduces episodes 01-05 into 4 installments, most material being removed from episode 02, but some being migrated for each.
Picard Edit Outline
NOTE: The following proposal reduces episodes 01-05 into 4 installments, most material being removed from episode 02, but some being migrated for each.
Picard Edit Outline
01 - Remembrance
This edit adds 02 content and cuts the original ending tease.
+ Diagnosis after interview (ep 02)
- remove mentions of specific mission
+ Com badge after diagnosis (ep 02)
- cut off w/o using - nostalgia only
This will change the narrative so that we see Picard wishing after the interview that he had done/could do more. Dahj becomes a convenient means to fulfilling that pre-existing wish. It also makes us wonder at first if she’s even real; maybe he’s fantasizing the whole thing.
- Narek’s arrival and intro of the cube
Nothing happens here really, and this plot line could be consolidated/made more cohesive by moving this into the next episode.
Ep01 now ends with Jurati explaining the twins.
02 - The End is the Beginning
This edit merges 02 and 03 content.
- Attack on Mars
This is a dramatic rehash of information we already know. It paints both the synths and workers unsympathetically.
+ Narek arrives at the cube (ep 01)
This replacement opening piggybacks off the recap reveal of a twin and introduces the cube.
- CSI at the apartment
This scene is mostly unnecessary and odd. The cut should be occur if it is possible to separate and keep the kitchen scene with the explanation of the Zhat Vash, because that information is critical. Cutting this scene also would remove Laris’ crude language, maintaining a PG tone for the show.
- Narek and Soji in bed
This scene adds no new information other than their relationship, and that is affirmed in many scenes to come. Cutting it also adds more drama to their relationship because it feels like a build rather than a sudden start and plateau. The cube scenes should instead resume at the checkpoint with the perspective that Soji has only interacted with Narek during his arrival scene.
- Admiral Clancy’s language
One of my goals is to keep Picard PG. While I don’t think this language is terribly out of place here, it turns off a significant number of viewers. If it can be removed while keeping the scene intact, it should be.
- Com badge and call to Raffi
We used the com badge in ep 01, and it’s strange that he could call Raffi directly like that. It’s also odd, because she doesn’t seem to be expecting him when he shows up at her house.
+ Full Raffi intro (ep 03)
To compress the events of this and ep 03, the cut should go straight to the part on Raffi’s porch.
+ Rios intro (ep 04)
To compress the events of this and ep 03, Rios, his holograms, and his ship should be introduced.
- Commodore Oh and Rizzo
This scene is unnecessary. It simply reveals bad guys who are clearly identified later and gives background plotting for events that are already implied or will be explicitly known.
- Rizzo hologram and Narek
This scene is also unnecessary, as Narissa never again appears as Rizzo. It also reveals too much about Narek too quickly, again making his storyline a quick start and plateau rather than a slow build.
+ Jurati meeting Oh (ep 04)
This becomes the final scene. Because the earlier Oh scene has been cut, we don’t know if she is a friend or not, but we suspect that she has been sent by Clancy.
03 - Maps and Legends
This edit merges 03 and 04 content.
+ Chateau attack (ep 03)
- If possible, remove the interrogation.
This scene is important to show Picard getting ready to leave, the continuing danger from attackers, Laris and Zhaban’s ability to handle things, and Jurati’s convenient addition to the crew.
+ La Sirena departure (ep 03)
- Narek and Narissa
- Narek and Narissa
These scenes in ep 02 and 03 add nothing. They only tell us that Narek is a bad guy and that his sister is creepy. We can pick up all of that later.
+ Hugh and Soji’s visit w the ExBs (ep 03)
This thread will appear throughout the episode, split off from the chateau attack.
- Narek and Soji dinner
- Narek and Soji dance
- Narek and Narissa
This material from ep 04 will be migrated to ep 04 (formerly 05), which had no cube scenes.
- Rios’ language w the Hospitality holo
Again, in the interest of keeping it all PG, Rios should be censored if possible.
04 - Stardust City Rag
This edit merges 04 and 05 content.
- Icheb extraction scene
This scene is emotionally powerful, but it also is so graphic that it turns off many viewers. It also raises questions about how extensive an operation is possible harvesting former drones in the Alpha Quadrant. If the point is what Seven found, why are we seeing things that happened before her arrival on the scene? The scene can be cut, while the most important parts of it can still appear as flashbacks later in the episode. Instead, the episode will begin with Maddox.
+ Soji and Narek dinner (ep 04)
+ Soji and Narek dance (ep 04)
+ Narek and Narissa (ep 04)
These scenes will break up the events on Freecloud to imply the passage of time, especially as the meeting is set up. They will also introduce Narissa as a figure behind the scenes influencing Narek (no mention of being a sibling), and he will finally be revealed as a bad guy.
- Pop-up ads
This scene added nothing new and seemed very out of place in the universe. Keep the Freecloud intro ad, but leave it at that.
The con will be broken into three stages. First, the setup aboard the La Sirena. Second, the meeting between Rios and Vup. Third, the meeting with the crime boss. While the first two can be blended as in the original version, there needs to be a decisive break before the big meeting. This will imply additional time for deliberation and preparation. Bits and pieces of the costuming scenes can be trimmed as appropriate for time and tone.
- The flashbacks to Icheb’s death will need to be reworked to show only what Seven saw - maybe the planet, the implants in the tray, Icheb’s face, and her holding him while shooting him in the chest. This will retain the narrative and emotion while reducing the graphic nature of the extraction and the question of additional Borg being in the background.
05 - The Impossible Box
No edits jump to mind. Seriously, this was an excellent episode.
This edit adds 02 content and cuts the original ending tease.
+ Diagnosis after interview (ep 02)
- remove mentions of specific mission
+ Com badge after diagnosis (ep 02)
- cut off w/o using - nostalgia only
This will change the narrative so that we see Picard wishing after the interview that he had done/could do more. Dahj becomes a convenient means to fulfilling that pre-existing wish. It also makes us wonder at first if she’s even real; maybe he’s fantasizing the whole thing.
- Narek’s arrival and intro of the cube
Nothing happens here really, and this plot line could be consolidated/made more cohesive by moving this into the next episode.
Ep01 now ends with Jurati explaining the twins.
02 - The End is the Beginning
This edit merges 02 and 03 content.
- Attack on Mars
This is a dramatic rehash of information we already know. It paints both the synths and workers unsympathetically.
+ Narek arrives at the cube (ep 01)
This replacement opening piggybacks off the recap reveal of a twin and introduces the cube.
- CSI at the apartment
This scene is mostly unnecessary and odd. The cut should be occur if it is possible to separate and keep the kitchen scene with the explanation of the Zhat Vash, because that information is critical. Cutting this scene also would remove Laris’ crude language, maintaining a PG tone for the show.
- Narek and Soji in bed
This scene adds no new information other than their relationship, and that is affirmed in many scenes to come. Cutting it also adds more drama to their relationship because it feels like a build rather than a sudden start and plateau. The cube scenes should instead resume at the checkpoint with the perspective that Soji has only interacted with Narek during his arrival scene.
- Admiral Clancy’s language
One of my goals is to keep Picard PG. While I don’t think this language is terribly out of place here, it turns off a significant number of viewers. If it can be removed while keeping the scene intact, it should be.
- Com badge and call to Raffi
We used the com badge in ep 01, and it’s strange that he could call Raffi directly like that. It’s also odd, because she doesn’t seem to be expecting him when he shows up at her house.
+ Full Raffi intro (ep 03)
To compress the events of this and ep 03, the cut should go straight to the part on Raffi’s porch.
+ Rios intro (ep 04)
To compress the events of this and ep 03, Rios, his holograms, and his ship should be introduced.
- Commodore Oh and Rizzo
This scene is unnecessary. It simply reveals bad guys who are clearly identified later and gives background plotting for events that are already implied or will be explicitly known.
- Rizzo hologram and Narek
This scene is also unnecessary, as Narissa never again appears as Rizzo. It also reveals too much about Narek too quickly, again making his storyline a quick start and plateau rather than a slow build.
+ Jurati meeting Oh (ep 04)
This becomes the final scene. Because the earlier Oh scene has been cut, we don’t know if she is a friend or not, but we suspect that she has been sent by Clancy.
03 - Maps and Legends
This edit merges 03 and 04 content.
+ Chateau attack (ep 03)
- If possible, remove the interrogation.
This scene is important to show Picard getting ready to leave, the continuing danger from attackers, Laris and Zhaban’s ability to handle things, and Jurati’s convenient addition to the crew.
+ La Sirena departure (ep 03)
- Narek and Narissa
- Narek and Narissa
These scenes in ep 02 and 03 add nothing. They only tell us that Narek is a bad guy and that his sister is creepy. We can pick up all of that later.
+ Hugh and Soji’s visit w the ExBs (ep 03)
This thread will appear throughout the episode, split off from the chateau attack.
- Narek and Soji dinner
- Narek and Soji dance
- Narek and Narissa
This material from ep 04 will be migrated to ep 04 (formerly 05), which had no cube scenes.
- Rios’ language w the Hospitality holo
Again, in the interest of keeping it all PG, Rios should be censored if possible.
04 - Stardust City Rag
This edit merges 04 and 05 content.
- Icheb extraction scene
This scene is emotionally powerful, but it also is so graphic that it turns off many viewers. It also raises questions about how extensive an operation is possible harvesting former drones in the Alpha Quadrant. If the point is what Seven found, why are we seeing things that happened before her arrival on the scene? The scene can be cut, while the most important parts of it can still appear as flashbacks later in the episode. Instead, the episode will begin with Maddox.
+ Soji and Narek dinner (ep 04)
+ Soji and Narek dance (ep 04)
+ Narek and Narissa (ep 04)
These scenes will break up the events on Freecloud to imply the passage of time, especially as the meeting is set up. They will also introduce Narissa as a figure behind the scenes influencing Narek (no mention of being a sibling), and he will finally be revealed as a bad guy.
- Pop-up ads
This scene added nothing new and seemed very out of place in the universe. Keep the Freecloud intro ad, but leave it at that.
The con will be broken into three stages. First, the setup aboard the La Sirena. Second, the meeting between Rios and Vup. Third, the meeting with the crime boss. While the first two can be blended as in the original version, there needs to be a decisive break before the big meeting. This will imply additional time for deliberation and preparation. Bits and pieces of the costuming scenes can be trimmed as appropriate for time and tone.
- The flashbacks to Icheb’s death will need to be reworked to show only what Seven saw - maybe the planet, the implants in the tray, Icheb’s face, and her holding him while shooting him in the chest. This will retain the narrative and emotion while reducing the graphic nature of the extraction and the question of additional Borg being in the background.
05 - The Impossible Box
No edits jump to mind. Seriously, this was an excellent episode.
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Gaith said:Hailing all Yanks! Priority transmission from Sector 001!
I just signed up for the trial, and it certainly appears as though the offer is a month’s free membership to all of CBS All Access, not just Picard. And the commercial-free version, at that! Sweet!
Confirmed, signed up and I was also able to start streaming Discovery.
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So I just binged the entire season
After catching the first episode on YouTube when CBS offered it for free I wasn't too thrilled with what I had seen. Patrick Stewart was great, but the other characters and story just weren't doing it for me. Sure there are things that I didn't like about the season, namely the unnecessary language that added nothing to scenes and the simplistic cookie cutter approach to the Romulan and Federation fleets, but as a whole I think they nailed the TNG story, characters and feeling.
A solid 8/10
After catching the first episode on YouTube when CBS offered it for free I wasn't too thrilled with what I had seen. Patrick Stewart was great, but the other characters and story just weren't doing it for me. Sure there are things that I didn't like about the season, namely the unnecessary language that added nothing to scenes and the simplistic cookie cutter approach to the Romulan and Federation fleets, but as a whole I think they nailed the TNG story, characters and feeling.
There was real danger and real consequence in this one. I loved the theme of perfection getting in the way of progress and that the frailty of life is what makes humanity so special. That we love because we can lose and that we ultimately choose who we are.
I hated seeing the past characters die, but this is what gave credibility and weight to this story. Riker, Troi and Kestra were fantastic. As always, the scenes with Picard and Data are the true highlights. Although it's a little convenient that Picard took on the golem, I thought this was again in line with TNG and was far better than Kirk being healed by Khan's magic blood in Into Darkness.
I'm sad to see Data finally pass away, but I felt this was a near perfect way to conclude his story. To see him truly experience the totality of life.
I hated seeing the past characters die, but this is what gave credibility and weight to this story. Riker, Troi and Kestra were fantastic. As always, the scenes with Picard and Data are the true highlights. Although it's a little convenient that Picard took on the golem, I thought this was again in line with TNG and was far better than Kirk being healed by Khan's magic blood in Into Darkness.
I'm sad to see Data finally pass away, but I felt this was a near perfect way to conclude his story. To see him truly experience the totality of life.
A solid 8/10
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@"xikorolkel" I added spoiler tags to your post. Just a friendly reminder to all to please make sure to do the same if you are revealing information about the series that would spoil the story. Yes this has been out for a while now, but with CBS giving away a free month there is probably going to be an uptick in members watching it for the first time.
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spoiler free musings....
Watched the season finale last night.
While some might accuse it of being predictable or too neat, I found it thoroughly satisfying and powerful.
There was a moment or two where mysterious wet stuff leaked from my eye sockets and the ending had me smiling broadly.
While this is not Next Generation, it is still Star Trek.
The show remained true to the core principles and philosophies of Trek, while showing us a side of Federation (the civillian side)that was rarely ever touched upon.
We also saw more development/exploration of the Romulans in these 10 episodes than in the entire past 50 years of Trek mythos.
Of course, I have nitpicks. I do not think Star Trek needs profanity. Not everything makes sense plot wise. I was not comfortable with the casual depiction of Raffi’s drug addiction. The season felt a bit padded and stretched out, as I think the same story could have been told in 7 or 8 episodes rather than 10.
But Star Trek does not need to be, and never has been, perfect.
In the end, I thought this freshman season was very enjoyable (certainly better than season one of Discovery imo) and I eagerly look forward to season two of Admiral Picard and his ragtag crew.
Season One 8 out of 10 for me.
Watched the season finale last night.
While some might accuse it of being predictable or too neat, I found it thoroughly satisfying and powerful.
There was a moment or two where mysterious wet stuff leaked from my eye sockets and the ending had me smiling broadly.
While this is not Next Generation, it is still Star Trek.
The show remained true to the core principles and philosophies of Trek, while showing us a side of Federation (the civillian side)that was rarely ever touched upon.
We also saw more development/exploration of the Romulans in these 10 episodes than in the entire past 50 years of Trek mythos.
Of course, I have nitpicks. I do not think Star Trek needs profanity. Not everything makes sense plot wise. I was not comfortable with the casual depiction of Raffi’s drug addiction. The season felt a bit padded and stretched out, as I think the same story could have been told in 7 or 8 episodes rather than 10.
But Star Trek does not need to be, and never has been, perfect.
In the end, I thought this freshman season was very enjoyable (certainly better than season one of Discovery imo) and I eagerly look forward to season two of Admiral Picard and his ragtag crew.
Season One 8 out of 10 for me.
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I enjoyed the finale pretty well, but I'm confused by a few plot points. I'm going to re-watch the last two episodes again this weekend.
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Let's get ready for some Star Trek: Picard!
TNG: "A Fistful of Datas" (6x8, 1992)
Okay, so this one wasn't actually prep for Picard, but instead a decompression from Westworld Season One. And it's... pretty lame, unfortunately. Despite the very real (and very stupid) threat from the holodeck, there just isn't much tension, and, despite his protestations, Worf really slots too neatly into the Wild West setting. (It's actually Deadwood, which would probably be much cooler if I'd seen Deadwood by now.) I really wish we could have seen our noble and civilized Captain in this setting. Bionic Bob, take note that The Last Ship's Tex (John Pyper-Ferguson) makes his only (all-too brief) Trek appearance here, before being overwritten by Data! Grade: C+
TNG: "I, Borg" (5x23, 1992)
Now this is more like it. Well-paced, with great character work, a genuinely challenging moral dilemma... this is the sort of episode that shows that the best of TNG can stand toe-to-toe with modern entertainment, and isn't just a low-budget nostalgia-fest for those of a certain age. It could perhaps have been even better had Hugh not been quite so cuddly so darn quickly, but otherwise, this one's a Trek classic. Grade: A-
TNG: "Descent" (6x26 - 7x1, 1993)
Many serious scholars of TNG take great exception to this two-parter, which suggests that Data's just an ethical subroutine away from being just as much of a sociopathic emotion junkie as Lore, who makes his final canon appearance (that I yet know of, at least) here. And while I can't fault their logic, and I certainly agree this is a startlingly dark ep, with at least three onscreen yellowshirt deaths, it's also a fast-paced, engaging action story, featuring the welcome return of Hugh. Who now looks like kind of a dick for not warning our heroes about the Borg Queen, but, what can ya do? This ep is highly notable, of course, for Stephen Hawking's cameo, the only Trek actor to date to play himself. (Well, technically a holographic represe - ah, shaddup, me.) Also, Dr. Crusher takes command for some reason, and acquits herself surprisingly well. Grade: B
TNG: "All Good Things..." (7x25-6, 1994)
Everybody's favorite Trek show (don't @ me!) apologizes for its crappy pilot with a legendary series finale of a sequel that both revisits said origin, as well as flashes forward to a future of about the same time frame as Picard, complete with French vineyard. (But, alas, no dog quite yet). What's there to say about "All Good Things..." that hasn't been said? It's quite good, albeit stuffed with techno-babble as always. But couldn't we have gotten a Barclay appearance? He had to wait for "Endgame" (not the good one) to appear in a finale. Grade: A
Alright, let's get started!
Picard: "Remembrance" (1x1, 2020)
This was the first piece of new Trek I've consumed since the complete eff-ing fiasco that was Beyond (Awful). Given how many people somehow liked that movie, and the buzz that Discovery is mostly mindless and nonsensical, I've hardly felt any urgency to try that series for fear it could be even worse than that latest movie. But, if Stewart's going to return, and CBS is going to give me a month-long free trial, fine, I'll bite.
So... this is a weird pilot. But, since you've probably all seen the full season already, I won't bore you with my ep-to-ep ramblings. Will we ever get Trek as mellow as Insurrection or even Nemesis (which was itself pretty action-heavy) again, to say nothing of old-school TV Trek such as ENT, even on the small screen?
TNG: "A Fistful of Datas" (6x8, 1992)
Okay, so this one wasn't actually prep for Picard, but instead a decompression from Westworld Season One. And it's... pretty lame, unfortunately. Despite the very real (and very stupid) threat from the holodeck, there just isn't much tension, and, despite his protestations, Worf really slots too neatly into the Wild West setting. (It's actually Deadwood, which would probably be much cooler if I'd seen Deadwood by now.) I really wish we could have seen our noble and civilized Captain in this setting. Bionic Bob, take note that The Last Ship's Tex (John Pyper-Ferguson) makes his only (all-too brief) Trek appearance here, before being overwritten by Data! Grade: C+
TNG: "I, Borg" (5x23, 1992)
Now this is more like it. Well-paced, with great character work, a genuinely challenging moral dilemma... this is the sort of episode that shows that the best of TNG can stand toe-to-toe with modern entertainment, and isn't just a low-budget nostalgia-fest for those of a certain age. It could perhaps have been even better had Hugh not been quite so cuddly so darn quickly, but otherwise, this one's a Trek classic. Grade: A-
TNG: "Descent" (6x26 - 7x1, 1993)
Many serious scholars of TNG take great exception to this two-parter, which suggests that Data's just an ethical subroutine away from being just as much of a sociopathic emotion junkie as Lore, who makes his final canon appearance (that I yet know of, at least) here. And while I can't fault their logic, and I certainly agree this is a startlingly dark ep, with at least three onscreen yellowshirt deaths, it's also a fast-paced, engaging action story, featuring the welcome return of Hugh. Who now looks like kind of a dick for not warning our heroes about the Borg Queen, but, what can ya do? This ep is highly notable, of course, for Stephen Hawking's cameo, the only Trek actor to date to play himself. (Well, technically a holographic represe - ah, shaddup, me.) Also, Dr. Crusher takes command for some reason, and acquits herself surprisingly well. Grade: B
TNG: "All Good Things..." (7x25-6, 1994)
Everybody's favorite Trek show (don't @ me!) apologizes for its crappy pilot with a legendary series finale of a sequel that both revisits said origin, as well as flashes forward to a future of about the same time frame as Picard, complete with French vineyard. (But, alas, no dog quite yet). What's there to say about "All Good Things..." that hasn't been said? It's quite good, albeit stuffed with techno-babble as always. But couldn't we have gotten a Barclay appearance? He had to wait for "Endgame" (not the good one) to appear in a finale. Grade: A
Alright, let's get started!
Picard: "Remembrance" (1x1, 2020)
This was the first piece of new Trek I've consumed since the complete eff-ing fiasco that was Beyond (Awful). Given how many people somehow liked that movie, and the buzz that Discovery is mostly mindless and nonsensical, I've hardly felt any urgency to try that series for fear it could be even worse than that latest movie. But, if Stewart's going to return, and CBS is going to give me a month-long free trial, fine, I'll bite.
So... this is a weird pilot. But, since you've probably all seen the full season already, I won't bore you with my ep-to-ep ramblings. Will we ever get Trek as mellow as Insurrection or even Nemesis (which was itself pretty action-heavy) again, to say nothing of old-school TV Trek such as ENT, even on the small screen?
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Gaith said:
The pilot was quite strange, but apparently the first two episodes as scripted became the first three episodes as filmed because they went back and added quite a bit later. At the premiere they screened all three in a row without opening credits and with final credits only playing after the third episode.
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Star Trek: Picard Season One (2020)
So... this was a weird season of TV. The overall story makes little to no sense - what was the point of the Borg Cube/Artifact, exactly? To introduce Soji, I guess, but why was she there? So Picard could confront his trauma with the Borg again? That said, when he admitted to Seven that he never felt he'd entirely regained his humanity post-assimilation, it was a shocking and powerful moment.
I definitely liked it more than RLM's Mike and Rich, because while many of their arguments and complaints were valid, there's also something to be said for going with the flow. I've seen a lot of griping about how Patrick Stewart doesn't necessarily doesn't respect the character of Picard or the Federation as we knew them on TNG, and maybe there's some truth to that, but then, Picard the fictional character has in many ways dominated Stewart's life. It'll be the first line of his obituary. At a 2014 convention, he said: “By the end of [TNG's] third season, I truly didn’t know where Jean-Luc Picard left off and Patrick Stewart began.” So, if Stewart wants to take the role in places he wants to explore, rather than what the TV writers who wrote the series' years of his character would have done, I'm fundamentally pretty okay with that. And, while Picard's cast is uniformly strong, Stewart himself does great work here.
That said, is it weird that the Federation is written as insular, and the breadth and power of Romulan Empire is basically forgotten about in order to service a Picard-centric story? Yes, it is. (Also weird: Beverly is the only main TNG character whose name isn't even mentioned.) Eight years ago to the day tomorrow, I suggested that exploring Star Trek's future post-Nemesis might be a creative dead end, and as much as I enjoy seeing Old Man Jean-Luc interact with Riker, Troi, and Seven, I'm still not sure I was wrong. (That damn Batmobile-mode Voyager upgrade from "Endgame" just might have been a shark that can't be un-jumped.) The paradox of a new Picard series is that, while it would doubtless be more fun and rewarding to see him and his new ragtag Protectors of the Galaxy crew go off on random small missions here and there, rather than desperate quests to avert a galactic calamity from a millennia-old Romulan prophecy, there's probably no good reason why a retired admiral of his prestige couldn't call in the Starfleet cavalry on any given problem, so the writers were probably pretty much forced to come up with some reason why Starfleet Sucks Now. (And even then, how does it inevitably end? With a Starfleet cavalry. Maybe the series should have started with him being irrevocably tossed into a parallel universe in which Starfleet collapsed decades ago, and nobody knows who he is because he died on the Stargazer, or something.)
In conclusion: a hacky story, some graceful dialogue flourishes courtesy of Chabon, charismatic performers all around (damn, Jeri Ryan still has it), and a world-class leading man in Stewart. It's... pretty okay, I guess. Ever since the end of Voyager and Nemesis, Trek has been mired in its own past, and even though this series moves us forward in time, making Picard its anchor still anchors it to Trek's past. Maybe the plot swerve of Discovery's third season will allow the franchise to boldly go someplace new. All that said, as long as Stewart's around, not to mention appearances from more of the old gang, I'll likely keep hailing frequencies open. For all the tragedy the show has put the Federation, Picard, and the Troi-Rikers through so far, seeing them together, especially that final goodbye in the last episode, was genuinely moving to a degree (to take one example) the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy never managed. Now, let's all set off on a course for... out there. Thataway.
S1 grade: B-
So... this was a weird season of TV. The overall story makes little to no sense - what was the point of the Borg Cube/Artifact, exactly? To introduce Soji, I guess, but why was she there? So Picard could confront his trauma with the Borg again? That said, when he admitted to Seven that he never felt he'd entirely regained his humanity post-assimilation, it was a shocking and powerful moment.
I definitely liked it more than RLM's Mike and Rich, because while many of their arguments and complaints were valid, there's also something to be said for going with the flow. I've seen a lot of griping about how Patrick Stewart doesn't necessarily doesn't respect the character of Picard or the Federation as we knew them on TNG, and maybe there's some truth to that, but then, Picard the fictional character has in many ways dominated Stewart's life. It'll be the first line of his obituary. At a 2014 convention, he said: “By the end of [TNG's] third season, I truly didn’t know where Jean-Luc Picard left off and Patrick Stewart began.” So, if Stewart wants to take the role in places he wants to explore, rather than what the TV writers who wrote the series' years of his character would have done, I'm fundamentally pretty okay with that. And, while Picard's cast is uniformly strong, Stewart himself does great work here.
That said, is it weird that the Federation is written as insular, and the breadth and power of Romulan Empire is basically forgotten about in order to service a Picard-centric story? Yes, it is. (Also weird: Beverly is the only main TNG character whose name isn't even mentioned.) Eight years ago to the day tomorrow, I suggested that exploring Star Trek's future post-Nemesis might be a creative dead end, and as much as I enjoy seeing Old Man Jean-Luc interact with Riker, Troi, and Seven, I'm still not sure I was wrong. (That damn Batmobile-mode Voyager upgrade from "Endgame" just might have been a shark that can't be un-jumped.) The paradox of a new Picard series is that, while it would doubtless be more fun and rewarding to see him and his new ragtag Protectors of the Galaxy crew go off on random small missions here and there, rather than desperate quests to avert a galactic calamity from a millennia-old Romulan prophecy, there's probably no good reason why a retired admiral of his prestige couldn't call in the Starfleet cavalry on any given problem, so the writers were probably pretty much forced to come up with some reason why Starfleet Sucks Now. (And even then, how does it inevitably end? With a Starfleet cavalry. Maybe the series should have started with him being irrevocably tossed into a parallel universe in which Starfleet collapsed decades ago, and nobody knows who he is because he died on the Stargazer, or something.)
In conclusion: a hacky story, some graceful dialogue flourishes courtesy of Chabon, charismatic performers all around (damn, Jeri Ryan still has it), and a world-class leading man in Stewart. It's... pretty okay, I guess. Ever since the end of Voyager and Nemesis, Trek has been mired in its own past, and even though this series moves us forward in time, making Picard its anchor still anchors it to Trek's past. Maybe the plot swerve of Discovery's third season will allow the franchise to boldly go someplace new. All that said, as long as Stewart's around, not to mention appearances from more of the old gang, I'll likely keep hailing frequencies open. For all the tragedy the show has put the Federation, Picard, and the Troi-Rikers through so far, seeing them together, especially that final goodbye in the last episode, was genuinely moving to a degree (to take one example) the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy never managed. Now, let's all set off on a course for... out there. Thataway.
S1 grade: B-
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corey.cole3
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Yeah, but bring back the 7of9 catsuit (silver version)!!!Star Trek: Picard Season One (2020)
So... this was a weird season of TV. The overall story makes little to no sense - what was the point of the Borg Cube/Artifact, exactly? To introduce Soji, I guess, but why was she there? So Picard could confront his trauma with the Borg again? That said, when he admitted to Seven that he never felt he'd entirely regained his humanity post-assimilation, it was a shocking and powerful moment.
I definitely liked it more than RLM's Mike and Rich, because while many of their arguments and complaints were valid, there's also something to be said for going with the flow. I've seen a lot of griping about how Patrick Stewart doesn't necessarily doesn't respect the character of Picard or the Federation as we knew them on TNG, and maybe there's some truth to that, but then, Picard the fictional character has in many ways dominated Stewart's life. It'll be the first line of his obituary. At a 2014 convention, he said: “By the end of [TNG's] third season, I truly didn’t know where Jean-Luc Picard left off and Patrick Stewart began.” So, if Stewart wants to take the role in places he wants to explore, rather than what the TV writers who wrote the series' years of his character would have done, I'm fundamentally pretty okay with that. And, while Picard's cast is uniformly strong, Stewart himself does great work here.
That said, is it weird that the Federation is written as insular, and the breadth and power of Romulan Empire is basically forgotten about in order to service a Picard-centric story? Yes, it is. (Also weird: Beverly is the only main TNG character whose name isn't even mentioned.) Eight years ago to the day tomorrow, I suggested that exploring Star Trek's future post-Nemesis might be a creative dead end, and as much as I enjoy seeing Old Man Jean-Luc interact with Riker, Troi, and Seven, I'm still not sure I was wrong. (That damn Batmobile-mode Voyager upgrade from "Endgame" just might have been a shark that can't be un-jumped.) The paradox of a new Picard series is that, while it would doubtless be more fun and rewarding to see him and his new ragtag Protectors of the Galaxy crew go off on random small missions here and there, rather than desperate quests to avert a galactic calamity from a millennia-old Romulan prophecy, there's probably no good reason why a retired admiral of his prestige couldn't call in the Starfleet cavalry on any given problem, so the writers were probably pretty much forced to come up with some reason why Starfleet Sucks Now. (And even then, how does it inevitably end? With a Starfleet cavalry. Maybe the series should have started with him being irrevocably tossed into a parallel universe in which Starfleet collapsed decades ago, and nobody knows who he is because he died on the Stargazer, or something.)
In conclusion: a hacky story, some graceful dialogue flourishes courtesy of Chabon, charismatic performers all around (damn, Jeri Ryan still has it), and a world-class leading man in Stewart. It's... pretty okay, I guess. Ever since the end of Voyager and Nemesis, Trek has been mired in its own past, and even though this series moves us forward in time, making Picard its anchor still anchors it to Trek's past. Maybe the plot swerve of Discovery's third season will allow the franchise to boldly go someplace new. All that said, as long as Stewart's around, not to mention appearances from more of the old gang, I'll likely keep hailing frequencies open. For all the tragedy the show has put the Federation, Picard, and the Troi-Rikers through so far, seeing them together, especially that final goodbye in the last episode, was genuinely moving to a degree (to take one example) the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy never managed. Now, let's all set off on a course for... out there. Thataway.
S1 grade: B-