January 25, 2020

Star Trek: Picard

OK, this has to be the best premiere of any Star Trek series ever. Patrick Stewart is back, and he is more mature. He is not trying to recapture his youth; this is a series about an old Starfleet hero who, after an act of terrorism, retired, and, in his own words, has been nursing his wounded dignity—not “living, but waiting to die.” He is not young anymore, and he is not trying to be. This is not a 79-year-old trying to play an action hero, but a series where his maturity seems like an integral element. Bravo!

So far, I’ve liked everything about this show: of course Patrick Stewart, and I know they can’t put second-rate actors with him, so they should be solid, too. So far, his Romulan companions at Chateau Picard seem like good characters, but I have a feeling they might get killed off. Isa Briones is (was?) great as Dahj and Alison Pill should be strong, too. I liked the theme song and the rest of the show’s Easter eggs: they were not too overt, but paid homage to the Picard of the Next Generation. I wonder if that’s gonna be all for the old series, except for the cameos we already know about? Will Data be back? It seems they might be setting that up as the possible ending of the first season: data as human? That could mean Brent Spiner as a regular in season 2. Also, I wonder if we’ll get to see Maddox who is mentioned as a potential player in the first episode. Brian Brophy is not listed on IMBD, though.

I watched Nemesis yesterday, too, as several YouTubers brought it up in their reviews of Picard. I don’t remember much about it, and as a movie it was mediocre, but it would have made a good two-part episode of Next-Gen. Still, the doppelgänger theme for both Picard and Data were the strong bits—and, of course, Data’s final sacrifice for his captain. I can see where that plays into this new series.

Well, I thought I was excited for The Mandalorian—I think Picard beats that one handily. It’s gonna be a great 10 episodes, and it also whets my appetite for the return of Discovery—I would think after the first season of Picard wraps up.