Sir Patrick Stewart has been doing more publicity for his new movie The Kid Who Would Be King, and talking more about his upcoming return to Star Trek as Jean-Luc Picard along the way. We have gathered some highlights from his most recent appearances.
The show has a title and is being written by “brilliant minds”
Appearing on ITV’s This Morning in the UK, Stewart talked about the secrecy around the show.
We are trying to keep it under covers as much as possible, because that we hope will entice people to tune in and watch it, and then get taken up in the new world that The Next Generation is now inhabiting.
And speaking to Ireland’s RTE, Stewart brought it up again, revealing there is something important they are holding back:
I can’t even tell you the title of the series, all these things are banned.
Stewart did confirm the previous reports that the show would be shot in California (and not in Toronto where Star Trek: Discovery is filmed) and spoke more about the creative team:
I can tell you we are shooting in California and we have some brilliant people working on this show. The writers’ room is filled with brilliant minds. This morning the novel I began to read is by one of our principal writers, Michael Chabon, who is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and he is helping write our new show.
In addition to Kurtzman and Chabon, the creative team for the Picard series includes Oscar winner Akiva Goldsman (also consulting producer on Star Trek: Discovery), Emmy nominee James Duff (co-creator of The Closer, who joined Discovery as an executive producer later in the second season), and Kirsten Beyer (executive story editor for Discovery and Star Trek novelist).
Patrick Stewart and the Picard show writers room in September 2018 (Photo: Twitter/Patrick Stewart)
Stewart talks up being executive producer and gives a new specific time setting
Appearing on BBC’s The Graham Norton Show, Stewart talked about how he is doing something new for the Picard series:
I still can’t quite fully take it on board, because I am not only reviving Jean-Luc Picard, but I’m also co-executive producer, which I have never done before.
During the same segment, Stewart gave a slightly different assessment as to the setting of the series:
We are reviving a Picard story. It is exactly 19 years in the future, which is how time has passed since the last time I put on my space suit … I mean for the television series.
The time setting differs from what has been stated in other interviews, and in his original announcement — where Patrick Stewart said the show takes place 20 years after the film Star Trek: Nemesis, which was set in the year 2379. If the show were set 19 years after the Star Trek: The Next Generation television series finale (“All Good Things…”), that would put it in 2389, or only 10 years after the events in Nemesis. If the show were set 20 years after Nemesis – as Stuart has said before – it would be set in 2399. It’s unclear if his comment on the BBC was a more specific time setting, or if Stewart just misspoke. In terms of canon, there does not appear to be any major difference. The event that is key to the Picard show – as stated by executive producer Alex Kurtzman – is the destruction of Romulus, which takes place in the year 2387.
Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek Nemesis
Excited to return to Jean-Luc Picard, show reflects today
On ITV’s This Morning Patrick Stewart again talked about what it took to get him to say yes to returning to Star Trek:
I never believed this would or could happen, because there have been innumerous ideas and offers to bring the character or the series back in some way, and I have always had to say, “No that is the past. I am proud of what we did, but it is not going to be revived. Certainly not in the shape of Patrick Stewart.” Then I met with the producers and the wonderful and clever people they had for this and it’s quite different from The Next Generation. It is twenty years on, which is exactly how much time has passed since we wrapped the series in Los Angeles. With every day that goes by as the production draws nearer, I get more and more excited.
And in his interview with RTE, Stewart gave this brief summary of the show:
What has happened in the last 20 years since the last time Jean-Luc Picard has been on-screen. That is the story we are telling. The world is a different place. Actually, it’s funny. Everything I seem to touch these days is reflecting conditions here in the UK, or in the United States. It seems to me, or maybe I am just wishing it were so.
Stewart’s comment about how his recent projects reflect modern times refers back to an earlier point in the RTE interview when he discussed how The Kid Who Would Be King dealt with the issue of a “divided Britain.” Sir Patrick is active in UK politics and has been an outspoken opponent of Brexit, which continues to dominate British politics. Last week Stewart also said the show “references the present day at times.” As for how the world Picard finds himself in being different, executive producer Alex Kurtzman recently revealed: “Picard’s life was radically altered by the dissolution of the Romulan Empire.”
Could all of this add up to Picard dealing with a “divided Federation”? Could the destruction of Romulus have a profound impact on their cousins the Vulcans, who are founding members of the Federation? Will the Picard show deal with Vulxit?
Patrick Stewart speaking at People’s Vote event advocating for the UK to remain in the EU in April 2018 (AP)
Stewart demonstrates French Picard
Another fun bit that Stewart did on The Graham Norton Show was to demonstrate the “experiment” done at Paramount in the 80s of what a French Jean-Luc Picard would have sounded like. Watch that below.
Keep up with all the news on the Picard show and other upcoming Star Trek TV shows here at TrekMovie.com.
Can’t wait for this show! Love Disco and this will be a great addition. NOT looking forward to cartoons cheapening Trek though.
Well, I’m looking forward to the Lower Decks show. More than the Picard show if we are being honest. And let’s face it, even if Lower Decks doesn’t work it still won’t be the demerit to the franchise like Discovery season one was.
It’s because of Discovery season one that we’re getting these new shows. Hardly demerit! Jeez.
It’s because of Discovery season one that we’re getting these new shows.
This reminds of a few years ago (2015, I think?) when a poster named Paramobius leaked a bunch of what he claimed was inside info — Bob Orci was being replaced as writer and director of what was later titled STAR TREK BEYOND, CBS he said, was planning several Trek TV shows, and Paramount was looking to pull the plug on the Bad Robot Trek movies, or at least this series of them, if BEYOND’s performance didn’t meet the studio’s goals. And that’s how things look today.
You don’t seriously think they were going to let a man who never had directed, direct a 200 million dollar movie do you? They knew Abrams abilities when they hired him because he had directed Mission impossible III. That being said i’m not sold on Beyond being better than Mr Orci’s unmade script. Its hard to tell seeing as how its never been leaked or published. I think the films needed a connective continuity we went from into darkness and several things were abandoned. What happened to Carol, what happened to Khan. What happened with the Klingon war that was coming. Seriously don’t tell me it was answered in a book or comic those have never been canon.
skyjedi
You don’t seriously think they were going to let a man who never had directed, direct a 200 million dollar movie do you?
MI3, with its $150M budget, was JJ’s directorial debut. I don’t see any significant difference between that and the $185M budget of STB.
In any case, Orci seemed to believe that it was likely he’d direct it, so yes.
Yeah, but JJ had directed at least 8 episodes of television and was the creator/showrunner for multiple supersuccessful TV shows. Orci was just a scriptwriter.
You are not wrong. But it’s because of Discocvery’s failure to bring in subscribers is why all those other shows are coming. At the very least, as quickly as they are.
Sure…………….
IF that’s a question then yes. I’d wager money that is the reason.
Batman The Animated Series is still one of the best versions of the character ever made. Animated shows aren’t necessarily going to cheapen anything.
Too late, Discovery has already done that.
Cheapen it how? Like cheap jokes at its expense? What do you mean?
As in taking a series that had historically had very strong acting and removing it, and very strong writing and kiddifying it. Very much a risk.
Star Trek has been kiddified for a long time, ever since they started selling toys and action figures and comic books and costumes and replicas. And you know, putting actual children in the shows. Animation will be just another part of it. Again.
Tumbler
I believe he’s referring to the dramatic content of the shows being kiddified, not the merchandise associated with the shows. There’s no shortage of adults who buy Trek comic books, costumes, replicas and so forth. In any case, none of that has anything to do with the strength of the writing and acting in the shows.
And there’s no shortage of kids and teens who’ve been fans of Star Trek. The merchandise and some of the creative decisions have reflected that. Why else wedge the characters of Wesley Crusher, Jake Sisko, Nog, and Naomi Wildman into some of these shows? Also doubtful the original Animated Series was aimed squarely at an adult audience.
Tumbler
Sure, but TOS and TNG still had thought-provoking themes aimed at adults, that were too sophisticated for the vast majority of kids, told in a manner that didn’t dumb them down for kids. And, also, there were a few episodes, like TOS’s “Miri” and “And the Children Shall Lead” and TNG’s “Rascals” and “Disaster” that revolved around kids and are not among the better episodes. I think the point Temarc was making is that DSC is targeted too much at kids. But, I should refer you to him at this point for a proper explanation.
Sure, Cygnus, I think they’re typically trying to get as many eyeballs across as many age groups as possible to watch.
So since TOS.
Yes.
That is such baloneyyy a kid show won’t tarnish the Trek brand no matter how bad it is.
Has there been any info as to the setting of that Lower Decks show? Is it set in the same time-frame as Discovery?
No, nothing so far, but it would be fun to set it in a new era entirely from Discovery or the Picard show. Its a cartoon so they can do literally whatever they want and it would be fun to see them go even farther in the future but not holding my breath. I really hope it won’t be in Discovery time though since we will have the S31 show as well.
I don’t think going further into the future would make sense for Lower Decks. The concept seems to imply it’s about blue collar workers so I don’t think this suits the highly automated, self cleaning starships of the TNG era. TOS or even birth of the Federation time period would actually seem to be the best fit. Of course you’re right that in the bigger picture there are no restrictions with animation and they could explore any era in future projects.
Yeah thats a good point but unless a ship just becomes completely automated you’re going to always have actual people in the bowels of a ship making sure its just running properly. I don’t think that will change for a long time to come.
And while I was suggesting a farther timeline I would be fine with anything that is just not what the current shows are covering. Just one we haven’t seen before, that could be post Enterprise or even pre-TNG.
Just something that makes it feel unique to the others but its entire premise and being a cartoon already does that I guess.
To be fair Tiger it quite possibly will be TNG era given that the show runner appears to be a big fan of those shows I just feel the concept better suits an earlier time period. I have mixed feelings regarding the animated shows introducing us to new time periods. Part of me loves the idea both the other side of me worries that you might end up with a bit of a super hero problem if you then look to develop live action shows in the same periods i.e outfits/ships that look great in comics/animation but don’t translate well to real life.
Yeah thats a good point. But that was also why I was thinking it was better to put it in its own era because then it doesn’t have to think about what the other shows are doing. I guess in reality its going to come down to if they consider it canon to the live action shows or not. If they don’t then that frees them up to do whatever they want. If they do however, then it will be a problem. I guess it probably will be canon though so they may just put it in a known period to keep it consistent.
I forgot the maker is a big TNG fan so yes its possible it will go in that era. I’m not against it if that’s where they put it, especially knowing a lot of people want to see that period again. They could even bring in animated characters of previous shows like DS9 and TNG, so I can see them wanting to go that direction.
To be honest when they first announced that they were making animated shows I was hoping that it would be more along the lines of TNG or DS9 season 8 but I’m keeping an open mind about Lower Decks and I’ll certainly be checking it out whatever the time period. I’m more intrigued with the Short Trek animated episodes though as I could see them using these to test concepts for full animated series.
Literally the concept of the show was born from who is the person on the other side of a food synthesizer making bananas pop out of the wall. That’s TOS. Lower Decks likely takes place around the early to mid 2200s.
The Lower Decks animated show is one place where I’d actually like it to be in the next gen time frame. That era just feels rife for jokes.
If cartoons cheapen Star Trek, that boat sailed in 1973.
Bruh I’m looking forward to animated Trek more than anything! Ain’t nothing cheap about them. You should check out Spider-Verse and see just how mind-blowing animation is these days.
Possible titles for a Picard show :
1. Picard
2. Jean Luc
3. Make It So
Star Trek : “Engage!!!”
To Baldly Go
I think he misspoke. They filmed Nemesis about nineteen years before the series is set to air, so I’m imagining it’s set in about 2394.
I think so too. I suspect more or less “real time” has passed between Nemesis and this new show.
I’m inclined to agree that it was a mistake on Patrick’s part. But in the end, does it really matter EXACTLY how many years have gone by? 15-25 is close enough for me.
Yeah it doesn’t really matter lol. For most people they only care its going forward in time again. I’m sure some wouldn’t care it took place the day after Nemesis they really just want to go forward again.
But I think the show will start in 2399. Chabon seem pretty adamant about that and IIRC it was suppose to be in that year for a reason, even if its just a symbolic one. And I do love the idea the show will take us into the 25th century. But this is Star Trek, it can always jump a few years if it wanted to.
It’s fun for the hobbiests to map out the timeline. For the casual fans, it will be more or less twenty years since we’ve seen him, and that’s all they need to know.
90’s Trek, I’m hardly a “casual” fan. I bought CBSAA solely to watch the new Star Trek show. No “casual” fan would do that. (And judging by the reported subscriber totals, they aren’t)
Ok.
I read that as “it’s fun for the hobbitsies to map out the timeline” and it was great!
“But in the end, does it really matter EXACTLY how many years have gone by?”
Yes it does! They seem to want to make points politically but if the depicted reality is fantasy land and has nothing in common with the real world (where profound changes take more than 2 years to settle in), they better put some focus on a credible setting.
Same goes for the technological magic we can no doubt expect after seeing Discovery, set 150 years before this new series. It took about 20 years from the invention of the WWW, the lithium-ion battery, the color LCD screen and digital cameras to the disruptive changes the smartphone and mobile internet revolution has introduced to the world, so setting it 20 years from Nemesis would be much more believable.
VS,
But I said “exactly”. From what you said an approximation (and I was fine with 15-25 years) still works fine.
Except historically Trek has tended to follow a real world timeline in terms of how characters age. It’s written on the Wiki page for Timeline of Star Trek: “Within The Next Generation era, episodes and films are easier to date. Stardates correspond exactly with seasons, with the first two digits of the stardate representing the season number. Okuda assumes the start of a season is January 1 and the end of the season is December 31.[1] The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager television series and movies have roughly followed “real time”, and are set around 377 years after their release.” So I would think this series follows the same precedent.
He is a gem. I am really looking forward to this series. As for the animated Treks, I’ll hold my judgement until I see the product.
True that!
“He is a gem. I am really looking forward to this series.” I’m not. When they announce Alex Kurtzman and CBS All Access have nothing to do with it, THEN I’ll be really looking forward to the series!
He left Star Fleet after Romulus blew up and moved into Archaeology. So that, along with the possibility of the UFP splitting up is a pretty good back drop? Can’t wait
Archaeology was always one of Picard’s great loves, so it would make sense for him to turn to that. I’d be happy if they choose to explore this aspect of his character.
For some reason the idea of a Fallen Federation has fascinated writers and fans alike for decades, and I don’t know why. It seems it’s utterly human that once Utopia is achieved, the first thought will be as to how to destroy it. Which is why even with free energy and replicators, we would probably never achieve it (rather use it for self-destruction).
Wasn’t Star Trek: Federation pitched by Bryan Singer some years ago? Set in the far future where the Federation had fallen apart was the concept I believe…
Yes, in fact TrekMovie was able to get exclusive details about it back in 2011.
https://trekmovie.com/2011/04/14/exclusive-the-true-story-behind-the-bryan-singer-pitch-of-star-trek-federation/
https://trekmovie.com/2011/04/16/exclusive-details-excerpts-from-star-trek-federation-series-proposal/
Yes, I believe you are correct ML31. Also I suspect that Roddenberry’s plan for Andromeda would have been as a Star Trek sequel.
Utopias always end up becoming oppressive. One person’s idea of perfection is another’s of hell. I’d happily live in Kirk’s Federation, but I’d flee Picard’s if I could escape the borders. TNG is the ‘acceptable face,’ while Section 31 represents the true face.
My impression was that in TOS humanity had improved but by TNG humanity was perfect. I guess it’s up to the individual to decide with would be preferable or interesting.
I didn’t watch TNG until several months ago, and fell in love with the series! Can’t wait for the new show, hopefully some of the other cast members will be on board also!
Man I always love hearing stories like this! :)
It is amazing every time I go on Reddit and there is a new fan who just watched Star Trek for the first time and loved it. And 90% of the time it seems to be TNG most of them watch first. I guess being the most popular show out of them all, episodic, and not feeling outdated like TOS may feel to younger people its the easiest to break in to. Anyway, glad you loved it and I suspect the Picard show will get new fans into watching TNG for the first time IF the show becomes as popular as CBS is hoping it will.
How far are you into TNG?
You had never seen TNG before ? Holy shit you almost missed the best Star Trek series ever. If you’re starting at the beginning (Assumption). It only gets better. Season 1 and Two pale in comparison to later seasons and when you get to the movies “First Contact” is nearly as good as S.T.#2 Wrath of Kahn which is correctly considered to be the best movie. I’m really looking forward to the new Picard show and maybe even more so the Section 31 Show. I watch Disco but it needs work and I think they take what we’re supposed to accept these days too far. I’m not against any of that stuff without being specific but it goes too far. And the uniforms are horrible as is the spinning ship and much of the set but I still watch it. As for Cartoons… I’m 52 , I just can’t watch Cartoons adult or not. The 80s movie “Heavy Metal” being the one exception. Welcome on board. Voyager was also awesome as is Enterprise. DS9 I never liked.
Ds9 is my favorite! It’s all about character development, and it touches on so many social issues. As a sociologist I would say watch it and compare it to the world today.
What’s a bit uncanny is that the version that Stewart did is EXACTLY the version that I did when I heard the new captain was going to be French! Me and my friends had a lot of fun with that.
You have no friends. This is a fact.
No need to be cruel.
Judging from this comment, I’m sure you’re the life of the party!
Lee, that was highly uncalled for. Especially since he didn’t say anything negative.
That’s enough Lee, no personal attacks allowed. Closing this thread. Goodbye.
I often wonder now if Section 31 might have had some part in the destruction of Romulus and Picard discovers that link.
“I often wonder now if Section 31 might have had some part in the destruction of Romulus and Picard discovers that link.”
Section 31 caused a supernova?
Toss some trilithium into the star and stand back … maybe quadrilithium kicks it into subspace …
They wouldn’t exactly be the first. Didn’t Soran do that in Generations? And how do we know Section 31 didn’t just find his research later?
That said, I don’t know how I feel about them wiping out an entire planet. That seems low for even them. At least when they poisoned the Founders they were trying to stop an ongoing war they were losing. That said, it would make a great story lol.
They poisoned the Founders a couple of years before the war started. We just didn’t see the effects until a few years into the war. If Section 31 thought that the Romulan Star Empire would be a threat to the Federation in the future, then they would absolutely wipe out Romulus without any hesitation. Section 31 are not good people.
Yes you’re right now that you mentioned it about the Founders.
As far as S31 wiping out the Romulans, yes maybe the government but I can’t imagine the entire society being killed off. The Founders were a bit unique because they were literally all connected to each other. Destroying an entire race of people, especially one we haven’t been at war with directly in centuries would go too far in my view.
That said, it doesn’t mean they won’t do it on the show itself. But I have a feeling with the new S31 show coming up they are trying to put a softer light on them. I said this before, but they can’t be straight up villains and have a TV show with the name Star Trek on it. Maybe in stuff like DS9 and STID but now with their own show and regulars on Discovery they have to tread a bigger line or they are going to turn the audience off.
Based on the little we seen of them on Discovery so far, I have a feeling they are being rebranded and closer to antagonists instead of all out villains which they felt closer to on Enterprise.
Yes, let’s put Section 31 in absolutely every iteration of Star Trek from now on. This time, it’s Wesley who will show up as the secret agent who dogs Picard for three seasons straight. Or Mirror-Universe Wesley. Leading to a classic “Shut-up Wesley” moment every week that will make hardcore TNG fans’ brains explode.
‘BLUE VELVET’ TREK, where you see beneath the veneer and surface of life to the gritty underbelly where all the bugs live. Can’t wait to hear Picard whine, “Why are there people in the universe like the Borg?’
Actually a Picard vs s31 show would be great, with each force vying to control the fate of the Fed. end of season 1, Picard manages to vanquish s31 — only to find that by his ‘humane’ doing-them-in actually just sent them back in time to found the original s31 centuries earlier. He is responsible for creating the part of the Fed that he most loathes and despises.
Just off the top of my head, but somebody could work on it.
Back when Section 31 was introduced on DS9, I had a pet theory that Lily Sloane from “First Contact” had been traumatized by her encounter with the Borg, and so while Zephram Cochrane was making nice with the Vulcans, she set up a secret organization to deal with less peace-loving aliens. I imagined that the leaders of that organization went by the name “Sloan” as a tribute to their founder.
That’s pretty darn clever. And much better than my thought, that s31’s guy was a Ferris Buehler fan and took that name in honor of Ferri’s girlfriend (who should have been with Harriman I-mean-Cameron! anyway.)
I’m also sick of it already. Section 31 are the new Klingons. It is clear since the Abramstrek movies that the new TPTB are utterly fascinated with the idea, and at the same time completely misunderstanding its original setup and intention in DS9.
I concur in all parts. DS9 got it right in that, while somewhat “cool”, S31 was evil and should be opposed by all hero characters. I don’t think the current Trek powers-that-be get this. They just focus on the cool and “pragmatic” factors. Only part of the new Trek renaissance I am not super thrilled with.
Romulus was destroyed by the Tal’Shiar and the Iconians.
Love Picard, love Trek, love the whole thing. But if it’s limited to CBS All Access, I will pass. Not going to pay yet more, above my already-high pay-TV fees. Too bad, would have been fun, but it’s just a TV show.
Heard this before. Thanks for updating us.
Can I *purchase* the ability to be cast as a background extra? Anything. I’ll give them $20K. Let my face be somewhere in the background of this show. I neeeeed to be a part of this history.
Sometimes shows partner with charity organizations to auction off background roles. You could also just go to a background casting and see if they choose you.
Wire me the money and I’ll see what I can do. 😁
Ricky Gervais is the new Q
Q uim.
So excited for this. I hope it actually lives up to what we hope it will be. And I most certainly hope it does not refer to Discovercrap in any way shape or form. STD and Kelvinverse blaahhhh.
I have my issues with Disc too. For one it goes way too far with the things we’re supposed to be OK with these days , Which I am but too far is too far. Plus the spinning ship and the set. Uniforms… However , Season 2 is much improved. I didn’t like Enterprise at first either but now I consider it one of the best ones. Still to this day can’t get into DS9 but Voyager rocks. Oh , And Stargate Atlantis is by far my favorite oops.. gonna get shit for that.
Yo gotta agree with you on all points, Atlantis is the best SG series and Enterprise has to be near the top of the Trek series, perhaps second only to TOS
With 4 out of 5 people of the creative cast mentioned above being from Discovery, and, whenever the question as to the “brilliant minds behind the show” comes up the only one they can think of is No. 5, the “Pulitzer-winning Chabon”, you better not hope too much!
I think they will have references to Discovery but I hope they don’t overdo it and have a reference in every episode and I am glad that they are going to aknowledge the destruction of Romulus from the Kelvinverse.
Old man, with croaky voice, searches for the perfect diaper whilst simultaneously hamming it up to ensure the supporting cast look no odder than his Shakespearean bent on EVERYTHING.
Niche crap.
Preferable to your bent on everything.
Why are you here
This is the problem. It won’t be the same show, it won’t be the Picard we know. I think in an effort to avoid being typecast as having to act out his character’s personality he only did this new series because it’s a total canon violation. Also it seems from what I understand it won’t even be Prime Universe Picard.
Its prime universe Picard. Romulus exploded in the prime universe, which is the reason that Spock and Nero went back in time, creating the Abramsverse.
It’s prime but they are not totally ignoring JJ verse. Strange huh ?
The destruction of Romulus took place in the Prime Universe, so that part is/was always canon.
The notion that this won’t be Prime Universe Picard is based on the absurd notion that CBS, which owns Star Trek, is currently making Star Trek under a license which it sold to Bad Robot. This theory is, to put it politely, nonsense.
Well Bad Robot did have a deal to make Star Trek movies. There is some kind of licensing involved — that’s why Simon and Schuster couldn’t print the books based on Kelvin Universe. Discovery looks like a Bad Robot production — hyperspace, bridge windows, anachronistic talk, and doesn’t Pixomondo do Discovery effects? They also worked on Into Darkness. So it isn’t nonsensical to assume there is some kind of licensing/derivative work relationship going on. I don’t know exactly what the business relationship is, though.
Yes, Bad Robot has a license to make Star Trek films. But there is no evidence (as in press releases, credits, etc.) that Discovery has anything to do with that licence. CBS owns the right to make Star Trek outright, and keep the profits. There is no reason they would give a share of those profits to Bad Robot when they don’t have to.
A handful of aesthetic similarities are not evidence of a secret production agreement.
Yes, Bad Robot has a license to make Star Trek films.
Actually no, it does not. Bad Robot is a production company Paramount hires to make the movies for them. Paramount holds the license.
A handful of aesthetic similarities are not evidence of a secret production agreement.
Correct.
What does anachronistic talk mean exactly??
Typecast? The guy is nearly 80 years old and has been in countless movies and TV shows since TNG ended. I’m going to guess that’s not a big concern anymore lol.
And I’m confused, who said it wouldn’t be set in the Prime universe? It sounds like it will be set in the same timeline as the others. And since the same people who is making this show are making Discovery I imagine they want to keep them both in prime for references or even crossover possibilities in the future.
Tiger2, there is a bizarre theory making the rounds on YouTube and in Trek discussion fora that all of the current Trek TV series are secretly being made under the Bad Robot license; and that when Patrick Stewart said that Picard “may not be the man you last saw in Nemesis” he was being literal, that this is going to be Picard from some other timeline or universe. This is almost certainly rubbish. Stewart was speaking as an actor who doesn’t want to repeat a performance he gave before; he was saying that the character will have changed over the 20 years since we last saw him, not that this is going to be some alternate Picard.
Oh I see, thanks!
So more Youtube/Midnight Edge nonsense. I’m so sick of hearing this crap getting mentioned as a fact when none of it has ever been stated by the show runners or producers as remotely true. Not any of it and yet it constantly gets brought up somewhere. I remember seeing one of his videos that said they were going to cancel Discovery after the first season and make way for a Nick Meyer TV show which people constantly spewed as true when the show first started. Look how well that turned out? DIS is in its second season and Meyer is out of a job.
As for Stewart, yeah, all he’s saying is that the character will be different from the last time we saw Picard given its 20 years later. I don’t think he means he is going to literally be a different Picard. And people don’t seem to grasp what a big different 20 years can be. That’s like going from 10 to 30 years old. Or going from 40 to 60. Yes, people can change quite a bit in that time as you simply mature and have different life experiences.
From 10 to 30 is a much, much bigger difference than from 40 to 60; I’m sure you are aware of that. In Picard’s case, it is going from 70 to 90! How much more do you mature in such a mature age? ;) In any case, to justify all these changes it is all the more important this is a 20 year gap and not a 10 year one.
The difference between 70 and 90 in a world in which humans regularly live into their 120s might be more significant than it is in a world in which centenarians are rare.
Going back to slider’s initial comment, isn’t it funny how we know almost nothing about the Picard series except its chronological setting and that it will deal with the aftermath of the destruction of Romulus, and yet some people are already convinced it will be a “total canon violation”?
I really don’t understand the mindset that looks for reasons to dislike something before it even comes out. It’s like I tell my kids at the dinner table: you don’t know whether you like it or not until you try it. If you try it and you don’t like it, that’s fine; but you can’t assume you won’t like it beforehand. And there’s no point in getting yourself worked up before dinner just because we’re not having macaroni and cheese again.
Aging doesn’t work in a completely linear fashion; the point is 10 to 30 are the formative years of a human and anytime afterwards they do not change as much (especially after 40), the main change being the slow deterioration physically and mentally. Today we have not really added decades of fully, healthy life experience for an adult who has survived to adulthood in so much as as being able to “manage” old age better. No doubt that could change in the 24th century as to the deterioration, but that doesn’t make us growing adolescents in our 70s again!
As for the pre-mature suspicion of canon violations, it needs to be repeated that 4 out of 5 mentioned creative people are from Discovery which already has extensively proven its disregard for canon in any way, especially in its initial setup (which they are now trying to fix after fan backslash). So this is more a case of “fool me once…” and not getting hopes up too much and into unrealistic expectations. As they themselves have repeated many times, the ship of 2360s TNG has sailed, same as the 1990s are no more.
I personally don’t look for things to dislike, but a lot of us have been burned by these things in the past and have learned the hard way what the warning signs are. And saying Picard is going to be a very different character definitely throws up some red flags.
To continue your food metaphor, I guess Star Trek is a lot like comfort food for me. Especially with it continuing on from a preexisting character I already love, I don’t want something drastically different or surprising. I want the mac and cheese.
Zinc Saucer, maybe it’ll be gourmet mac & cheese — you know, the kind with bacon and scallions and paprika. We don’t know yet. That’s the point.
LOL yes I’m aware. I’m simply making the point is people are different at one age vs another. And we don’t know HOW different he will be, simply that he will be different. That’s all the guy is saying which is only common sense.
Is this something to freak out over? I’m going to say no. ;)
Why are they mentioning how different the show will be from TNG, and how different he will be from TNG Picard, in every single interview, when most people have a very positive view of TNG and Picard and there is no need to somehow distance yourself from a “black sheep”? Because they want to prepare for and minimize the inevitable fan backslash they expect from “old school fans”, I think.
Stewart has said just as often that he values the spirit and heart of TNG, and that he is touched by how many people it has inspired. Comments like that don’t get as much press coverage as “things may have changed,” because saying “come, watch more of the same thing you can watch in reruns” isn’t going to hook casual viewers.
Face it, the dedicated Trek fans are going to watch this anyway. This sort of “ooh, what’s going to be different?” teasing is designed to pique the curiosity of people who aren’t necessarily checking sites like this every day. And if CBS All Access is to be a success, it needs to attract that audience too.
Slider, Stewart already said it was not a TNG rehash. He said it was very different. Which is the reason I’m curious about it. That it is NOT the same show. At this point, we have no idea what canon violations there may or may not be. I’m no fan of the Picard character at all but even I wouldn’t make the assumptions that are being made above….
You know its going to be fun to see a resurgence into 24th century Trek again after being gone for so long! I been noticing more people online are saying they been rewatching TNG (including myself ;)) these days along with VOY and DS9. I know the show will be Picard focused but it sounds like the story is going to be pretty broad and maybe affect the entire alpha quadrant. If it does deal with the Romulans losing their planet then that’s going to have far reaching consequences which is why I was hoping they left that canon in the first place. This could be the biggest turn for the alpha quadrant since the Dominion war.
I really hope we learn what the title and actual premise by the time they start shooting, which is suppose to happen in two months! Wow! So exciting to see the future is finally coming back again.
You forgot to mention Enterprise. Personally I consider it among the best but didn’t when it was first on. I still to this day don’t like DS9. Except the Dom war episodes. I’m REALLY looking forward to to the Section 31 series. See a darker but obviously necessary side to keeping a society like the federation intact. Anyone who thinks you can have a world like that Utopia without a Section 31 is naive so many possibilities for stories with this Section 31 show.
Well I was just talking about the fact more people seem to be rewatching TNG a lot more lately, at least online. I wasn’t suggesting they only care about those shows, just that the interest is building in that era again for obvious reasons.
I’m interested in the Section 31 show as well but I want to see what they do with them on Discovery before I can decide if an entire show will be a good idea or not, especially if MU Georgiou is leading it. But I have no issues with a S31 show in general.
And for the record I love Enterprise too and in fact rewatched several episodes just yesterday, including one of the best episodes in the series, Cogenitor, still one of the most underrated episodes of the series if not the franchise. But its fun to be watching so much Star Trek. I’ve probably watched over 200 episodes from all 5 series since they announced the Picard show but the majority have been TNG for sure.
I’m a huge fan of SIMILITUDE, myself. I think it one of the best of the franchise. I liked DAMAGE as well but the B story sorta drags it down.
ML31
I rank “Similitude” on the list of best all-time Trek episodes. It’s underrated due to the entirety of Season 3 being largely dismissed. I think that people might overlook Season 3 due to the narrative that the show improved when Manny Coto took over as showrunner in Season 4, but he was actually brought on board as co-executive producer in Season 3 and several of those Season 3 episodes are strong and a lot of fun to watch. The other criticism I often see about Season 3 is that it’s too much inspired by 9/11, the Iraq War and its associated events that had recently occurred. I don’t find any merit in that criticism whatsoever. Even if the Xindi War arc seemed too similar to the real-life Iraq War arc back in the early 2000s, 15 years have since passed. I don’t understand not being able to appreciate a dramatic piece on its own merits so long after the real-life events that inspired it. I also enjoy “Damage” and the general Xindi arc. Randy Oglesby is very compelling as Degra, and the whole friendship dynamic between Degra and Archer and Tucker, from “Stratagem” (another highly enjoyable episode that gets little mention) through “The Council” is just great drama.
I thought highly enough of Season 3 of Enterprise to actually buy the discs. The only other Trek show I own besides TOS. I would consider some seasons of DS9 but not until it gets the BD treatment. That Xindi arc saved the show, IMHO. And yes, Coto was hired for season 3 and Similitude was his script, too.
Actually I think a lot of people started to love the show in season 3. Season 4 gets more acclaim because that’s when it shifts to a TOS prequel and Trek story lines like the Vulcan and augment stories but I’ve seen plenty of people say season 3 is their favorite too. I love season 3 and when I started to like the show as well. Its true of course, it definitely was based on 9/11 and Iraq which I thought was fine but some people felt was a little too soon to do (and Iraq was soooo heavily divided at the time) but Trek has always been a political show as well as social. And yes, while everyone thinks about the Xindi Arc, ironically it has some of the best stand alone episodes of the entire series. My favorites include Twilight, as mentioned Similitude (which I watched again a few weeks ago), E2, North Star and Carpenter Street.
And I personally rewatched that entire season a year or so back. The only issue with the story line was being 2-3 episodes too long but a pretty good arc IMO. Certainly MUCH better than the Klingon arc on Discovery which is frankly boring and its about 10 episodes total.
But looking at Discovery this season it feels like its following the season 3 play book of doing an entire arc but the episodes feel more standalone. They were doing that in season 1 as well but not as strong as they are doing it this season or at least so far.
Tiger, for me the time setting is just a symbol for what I actually want to see, which is the sophisticated, mostly peaceful (except DS9 season 6/7), technologically advanced Utopia of the Federation which only came into full being in TNG, not in TOS, and a show focusing on scientific exploration of scifi ideas, not on soap opera and fictional interstellar wars. The time itself has no meaning, apart from making canon more consistent and believable (opposed to Discovery’s uber-technology ten years before TOS). And it seems more clear with every day that the producers are not willing to deliver on that, and Stewart would probably not even have done *that* show (same as we will never have that much desired Captain Georgiou spaceship show, but its nefarious mirror twin, the Space Hitler Section 31 show, instead). So this may very well end up “TNG-in-name-only” or “Picard-in-name-only”. Oh well.
VS, no offense, but if you’re just looking to be disappointed, then you probably will be.
The funny thing for me is I never cared that the 24th century was more Utopian than the 23rd. I never cared about these things so much as I care about how far humanity has come and honestly from even the 22nd century of Archer’s day to Picard’s sounds pretty good to me. No they havn’t solved all the issues but people are healthier, good environment, poverty doesn’t exist, prejudice is wiped out and live on a war-free Earth, its still waaaaay better than what we have now. There is nothing in the 23rd century that wouldn’t be considered a really great living condition for most people today.
Of course we have Section 31 to weed out all of Earth’s enemies to keep it that way. ;)
But I don’t really care about setting in the 24th century because things are nicer or better (although sure I want to see more advanced technology), I just want a continuation of the franchise and not constantly going backwards we’ve done since Enterprise. And to see what that era is like today.
I explained this in a comment that is still in moderation (apparently for using a well-known proverb oO), but I see this from the other way round. I’m just setting realistic expectations and I think that is what they are doing by mentioning how different everything will be in every interview. Maybe I can enjoy this new show for what it is, rather than making eternal comparisons as to its inferiority to a TNG that is not going to come back, if this idea of it having anything in common with TNG is weeded out early.
Of course 23rd century Earth is everything you said it is, but there is this unfortunate trend to want to break the toys that started with DS9 (where they also first attacked Earth successfully, while only threatening it in TNG). As far as I understand it, the new show will show dysfunction on a much grander scale than those limited instances, and being heavily serialized, it is probably much of what we will see. That’s not being negative prematurely, but sound judgment from Discovery season 1 which was equally focused on politics rather than exploration.
Well OK, but you’re already judging if you will like the show based on practically very little. I mean very little since ALL we know about it is that its a heavy Picard story that takes place 20 years after Nemesis and he won’t be a captain anymore and that’s literally all we know. The crazy thing is we haven’t really learned anything new about the show since it was first announced except the Romulus explosion. That’s the ONLY story detail we’ve gotten so far.
Maybe it won’t be as good as TNG but if you are measuring it against that then yeah you probably will feel disappointed. I want to at least know what the show is about and who the cast will be before I can judge anything. For me, all I can say is they are at least saying the right things where as Discovery some things sounded a bit questionable from get-go and they turned out that way too. But its nothing wrong to have lower expectations either of course, especially if you’re not that happy about Discovery and many still aren’t.
As far as the DS9 and DIS comparisons and their ‘dysfunction’, remember DS9 was different BECAUSE we had TNG and then VOY so it was purposely not meant to be a show about exploration and optimism. They already had that with the other shows so they saw it as an opportunity to show a different side of Trek for a change. As for DIS, it was based around war from the get go, the first Trek show to ever do that, so not a shock it started off more political. This season though they are slowly trying to get back to exploration and optimism at least.
Yup, this seems to be true, but I am also kind of sad that TOS is being ignored. Yes it is dated, yes it may have some problematic elements especially for the people who watch it the first time, but it was a product of its time and without it we wouldn’t have the others. I just think TOS should continue to get the respect it deserves.
How is it being ignored though? It feels like Discovery entire existence is to build up to the TOS era. How well its doing that obviously remains questionable but that’s what its doing.
And its building up to the return of one TOS most iconic characters, Spock. The entire season literally revolves around him.
Lastly there is still the possibility of another Kelvin movie, which probably would’ve been green lit a long time ago if Beyond did a little better. Of course it may not happen but its still possible. Or even another TOS film with a new cast.
To me, it doesn’t feel like its being ignored at all. As far as the actual show, it sounds like plenty of people still watch it and sounds like its still the second most watched Trek show behind TNG. Its probably generational though but I’m guessing plenty of people under 30 still watch it for the first time on Netflix or Amazon, just maybe not at the level as the other shows for obvious reasons. But TOS isn’t forgotten at all, it seems to still be watched by plenty of people and shows like Discovery will continue to highlight it.
So excited for this. :)
So if the show starts out during 2399 then we will have to wait ’till January 1st 2401 for the show to take place in 25th Century!!
and then 90 years to go to Buck Rogers :)
In the meantime could still make BUCK RIKER IN THE 25th CENTURY. Physique-wise Frakes had some contours in common with Gil Gerard.
I think he has just added more confusion as to which year the series is set in. He references both “19/20 years from the TV series” and “20 years since you last saw Picard on screen” (in Nemesis) above. Given the extreme changes they seem to want to introduce to the world of the 24th century Federation, I’d certainly hope for 20 years from Nemesis (it would also make the extreme technological changes we can expect more believable!). Just two years from this unfortunate destruction of Romulus would place it too close to have a credible and far-reaching effect (same as the after-effects of 9/11 took many years to result in the weakened state of the US in today’s world).
Speaking of the latter, I can only hope once again they do not just plan to showcase and justify one side of the equation and vilify the other as sub-human, as they did so “gloriously” in Discovery. That would not just be unrealistic but also counter-productive and putting oil into the fire of division, as save for a new holocaust, “the other side” is not going to disappear!
Set phasers to FUN!
Sir Patrick is the knight we need, not only in TNG but in the here and now.
TNG showed us not only what humanity could become but is still a beacon in this dark swamp of who we have become.
‘Sir Patrick is active in UK politics and has been an outspoken opponent of Brexit, which continues to dominate British politics.
Last week Stewart also said the show “references the present day at times.” ‘
Not surprising really.
I’ve unfollowed every Star Trek actor with the exception of William Shatner, I am fed up sick and tired of having thespians shoving their politics down our throats.
The leftie luvvie who made his money while living and working in California now wants 14-year-olds to have the right to vote in the UK.
If 14 year olds could vote maybe they wouldn’t mostly want to leave their hometowns. And maybe parents would treat kids with respect.
Uh, every Star Trek since the first incarnation has had nods to current events. That is one of the most fascinating aspects of science fiction.
We’ll see if they honor TNG canon or not. As soon as it gets weird, as in “Discovery Weird” then I will be done.
Anyone who thinks “Section 31” and “the federation in disarray” belong in Star Trek should hand in their fan card right now. Why do post-modernists ruin everything?
Postmodernism is the dominant paradigm of society and has been for over a generation…I think you need to hand in your hip card, cuz postmodernism is actually really cool, I think. It’s the reason I enjoyed STID as much as I did, I think.
Hmm, strange with the 19 years. It’s 25 years since All Good Things came out, right? And 17 years since Nemesis or what? So it’d more fit with the movies than the TV show, so it’s strange that he would add “for the TV series” in that interview. But I guess we’ll see…
Actually, just let it play in 2387 and start with the destruction of Romulus. What kinds of stories you could tell! :-)
I like Picard