“Remembrance”
Star Trek: Picard Season 1, Episode 1 – Debuted Thursday, January 23, 2020
Teleplay by Akiva Goldsman and James Duff
Story by Akiva Goldsman & Michael Chabon & Kirsten Beyer & Alex Kurtzman and James Duff
Directed by Hanelle Culpepper
Spoiler-Free Review
Jean-Luc Picard is back, and he’s had a lot of life experiences that he’s reflecting on in his retirement. Soon, the story picks up and we’re along for the ride, as various plot points start to come together. The episode is well paced, with a much less rushed feeling than Discovery. The producers have called this a “10-hour movie” and they aren’t kidding; this first episode takes plenty of time to let the characters inhabit the world and the plot eases us into Jean-Luc’s life in 2399. The next episode can’t come soon enough.
As has been said elsewhere, Picard is not Next Generation, nor is it Discovery—there are no spinning cameras—it’s clearly its own animal: thoughtful and deliberately paced, but with the modern dramatic sensibilities and visual style that an audience in 2020 expects.
Jamie McShane (who once played a minor role on Enterprise) as Zhaban, Sir Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard, Orla Brady as Laris.
[WARNING: Spoilers from here on]
Episode Discussion
Star Trek: Picard is off to a strong start. They had to convey a lot of information in this first episode, and there are moments where it’s a wee bit clunky, but it’s efficient; getting into the story as quickly as possible is essential.
There are strong performances from everyone, including Jamie McShane and Orla Brady, as Zhaban and Laris, who play the less glamorous roles of Picard’s Romulan companions on the vineyard. Newcomer Isa Briones deserves special praise as Dahj, who really conveys the confusion and panic of someone whose world is turned upside down and yet is also calmly certain that Jean-Luc Picard is the one person who can help her. Later, as Dahj’s twin Soji, Briones conveys a totally different air, one of expertise (she’s referred to as Doctor), flirtiness, and compassion when talking with Harry Treadaway’s Narek on the Borg cube that’s being harvested by the Romulans.
Isa Briones as Soji
We know about the attacks on Mars (as seen in the Short Treks episode “Children of Mars”) and now we get more detail: “synths” attacked and countless people were killed, resulting in a ban on building more synthetic life forms. Picard, unsurprisingly, was against the ban.
Picard, of course, is still the same man he always was. He’s older… more physically frail, which neither the show nor Patrick Stewart himself shies away from. His moral compass is still strong as ever, as are the words he chooses, the compassion he shows, and his ability to think beyond what is right in front of him, so valued by Q in the final episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. But he can’t keep up with Dahj in her race up to the rooftop, even as she drags him along, and the production is not afraid of close-ups which reveal, along with Jean-Luc’s emotions, the deep lines on his face. Bravo.
There are some nice touches. The show opens with Bing Crosby’s version of “Blue Skies,” accompanied by a new CGI render of the Enterprise-D, which looks great as we zoom into the Ten Forward windows. The song quickly becomes melancholy (despite the cheery lyrics) with Crosby’s trademark croon, and is a great way to tell us what to expect: something familiar, something we love, something that brings us joy and sadness at the same time. Like watching Data (in Nemesis uniform) and Picard (in present-day civilian clothing) play poker, in a familiar location. But with no one else around, and both of them visibly older (we’ll get into that later with Data), it’s pretty clear that that Picard is dreaming. This is confirmed when suddenly the dream turns into a nightmare as Jean-Luc sees the bombardment of Mars out the windows of Ten Forward.
The Enterprise-D looks great rendered in modern high resolution CGI.
Another one: his dog, Number One. It seemed like this was going to be a gimmick, drawing on Patrick Stewart’s love of pit bulls, but it’s actually a great choice for both character and story. When Picard awakes from his nightmare, his faithful canine companion Number One is by his side, sensing Picard’s disturbance. We get to see Picard’s affectionate side, how he’s softened a little. (Remember, this is the man whose only pet on the Enterprise was a fish.) And when Dahj shows up at the vineyard for the first time, and Number One alerts us (and Picard), there was a moment of wondering if this was going to be a Terminator thing: Will the dog be barking because Dahj is not quite what she seems, even before we find out who she is? No! Instead, Number One lets us know that she’s one of the good guys, because dogs can always tell. And Picard knows that, too.
The opening credits are beautiful and poignant, with striking music (we can’t praise this enough) and the “sky is falling” imagery indicating that things are about to change. The opening credits include a montage of difference fragments of Picard’s life. There’s a Borg cube, the destruction of Romulus, robotic pieces of androids, and more that all come together to form an image of Jean-Luc Picard.
Jeff Russo scored this episode beautifully, adding texture and color to an already lush and beautiful show. Whether it’s French vineyards or Borg cubes, the music makes it all the richer.
The costumes by Christine Bieselin Clark and her team are classic and innovative at the same time. They’re a smart update to the 24th century esthetic we saw in TNG-era Trek without the obvious 1990s influence (i.e. super bright colors, big shoulder pads, etc.). Bonus points go to Picard and Dahj’s outfits in the scene after he visits the archives. But there’s still a thrill when we see him in his Starfleet captain’s uniform, as he dreams of Data painting.
Picard and Dahj at the Starfleet Archives
There are a few plot holes, the largest of which is that Dahj takes her necklace back and then Picard still has it later; even if we hadn’t seen him return it, it would still be strange for him to have kept a gift from her father that matters so much to her, especially after we see how much her twin treasures hers as well. It seems like we have to assume she carelessly left it behind when she fled Chateau Picard?
Not a plot hole, but more of a nitpick, and one that’s kind of unavoidable: Jean-Luc’s visions of Data in dreams give us a Data who has clearly aged. Of course Brent Spiner, like the rest of us, ages, but it doesn’t quite connect that this is how Picard would dream of him. They do a good job with Nemesis-era Data from the opening dream, but Data as he looked in TNG is harder (being an even younger version Spiner) and they don’t quite pull it off.
But these are just small missteps. Overall, the episode is a great leap into new territory. The pacing is perfect—we never feel like we’re rushing, and every moment feels earned, even as early on as episode one.
Picard visits his Starfleet archive
Random observations
- Two bits of dialogue standout from the episode:
- Picard: “The dreams are lovely. It’s the waking up that I’m beginning to resent.”
- Dahj: “Have you ever been a stranger to yourself?”
Picard: “Many many times.”
- This single episode shows us more of Earth than any other Trek series or movie. We see San Fransisco and Boston in the USA, Le Barre and Paris in France, and Okinawa in Japan.
- The music that played during the camera pull out from Soji and Narek at the Reclamation Facility contains an homage to the TOS “Balance of Terror” Romulan theme.
- While adding the existence of Lal into the mix might just be confusing, a small line about how Data tried to procreate by making his own android from scratch unsuccessfully or something similar would have been nice.
- Dahj’s boyfriend is Xahean. The species was first introduced in the Short Treks episode “Runaway” with the character of Po. It looks like sometime in the hundred years since Discovery season 2, Xehea has joined the Federation.
- In the Boston skyline different logos can be seen on the side of buildings. One is of the Ferengi alliance. The other is a bit more of a deep cut easter egg: the logo of the London Kings. The Kings were a baseball team from the 21st century, the most famous player of which was “Buck” Bokai, who was still remembered by Deep Space Nine‘s Benjamin Sisko as “one of the greats of the sport” in 24th century.
The Boston skyline features a couple of familiar logos
The Ready Room premieres
The first episode of The Ready Room also premiered today. Wil Wheaton is a great choice as host, and his interview with Hanelle Culpepper and Michael Chabon is fun; they reveal some tidbits about filming with the dog (it’s a rescue!) and some of the items in Picard’s archives, among other details. There are some behind-the-scenes packages, plus a trivia question, and a sneak peek of next week.
You can watch it here, as well as on other social media channels and the official Star Trek site:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B7qptLrBfNn/
New episodes of Star Trek: Picard are released on CBS All Access in the USA Thursdays at 12:01 AM PT/3:01 AM ET. In Canada it airs Thursdays on CTV Sci-Fi Channel at 6PM PT /9PM ET and then is made available to stream on Crave. For the rest of the world it streams Fridays on Amazon Prime Video. Episodes are released weekly.
Keep up with all the Star Trek: Picard news at TrekMovie.
Did anyone else notice the Original Series bad guy music when the two were on the Borg cube at the end?
Yes! just went back and listened, there’s a few strains of the Romulan commander theme from Balance of Terror, which later became “bad guy” music as it was reused throughout the series. I’m going to add it our review’s Observations section.
They would have played some TNG music but no one would have remembered any of those bland tunes (apart from the episode Picard took out Starfleet at Wolf 359)
TNG had lots of exciting tunes in its first three seasons, most notably the “Alternate Theme” by Denis McCarthy that didn’t make it as the official main title but was commonly used throughout the first season as a recurring theme. Lots of stuff by Ron Jones, who didn’t just write the Borg two-parter but dozens of episodes in the first three seasons, was also really cool, especially his effective take on the Klingon theme!
Only after GR had died (and Ron Jones had been removed), that bland sonic wallpaper style kicked in for the remaining 4 seasons and DS9, VOY and ENT subsequently… with some memorable exceptions. I loved David Bell’s recurring theme used prominently on VOY’s Scorpion and other episodes (although he did it to death at some point)…
I can remember quite a few licks from TNG but I feel like DS9 weirdly had the cooler leitmotifs. But I think TNG began the trend of doing really well by the TMP Klingon Theme and I’ve liked how that theme has been built on. And of course, the Klingons have received a few other motifs over the years, some folk songs, filling out their cultural soundscape besides just “bum bah bum bah, da da na da da!” as Birds of Prey march across the stars. And you know, getting real world heavy metal covers.
So I was pretty stoked to notice the Balance of Terror theme with Narek. The Romulans are underserved in the scoring/leitmotif department. There’s some conspiratorial melodrama tracks and a general theme, but the Balance of Terror theme feels so … hmm … so it has a feeling of High Stakes. Cunning, methodical, well-planned high stakes. And I really appreciated that this rendition inhabited it with like, Industrial. Frankly a real Trent Reznor vibe, which I felt was so appropriate.
The memorable cues from early on were the Klingon cues (original but reminiscent of Horner’s) and Armus had his own cue, too. Which I always kinda liked.
But The Best of Both Worlds had the best score of any episode in the series.
THat’s an utterly ridiculous statement. TNG had amazing music.
No, can’t agree with that. It was, for the most part, forgettable and generic.
It had little bursts of amazing music when the composers were given freedom, but for the most part, Berman had an absurd philosophy of not letting the music get too emotional, totally tying the hands of the composers. You should look up some of the things Dennis McCarthy and Ron Jones had to say about him.
I just know Berman walked out of a meeting, passed Jones outside the doorway and bluntly asked him “Can’t you write anything non-emotional?” Just to disarm Jones before moving onto whatever business Berman actually need to discuss with him. Jones had just finished scoring “The Naked Now” (literally his first Trek score) when that encounter happened.
Thanks for the info! This has been a favorite topic of derision for my friends and I SINCE the 90s. The TNG “music” call by (seemingly) Berman was yet another odd-ball call from a (seemingly) odd-ball dude.
I’ve often thought that at least having better music (not to mention different music for each series) would have gone a long way towards creating the illusion that we were getting more from the latter two shows than just reheated leftovers.
That’s an amazing claim, unless you’ve only ever watched BOBW and TIN MAN.
Truth! lol
Oh yes. Loved hearing it paired with the new Romulan ship (Bird of Prey?).
I wonder if they contacted Brian Brophy about reprising his role of Commander Maddox, since he seems to have played a major part in the Synthetics crisis.
I had the same thought. There is still a whole lot to learn about Dahj and Soji’s origins. Is Maddox their “father,” who gave them their necklaces? Seems implied. And the mother knew a lot about what was going on too. My guess is we will see him later in the season and it would be a nice touch to have the same actor…
I think the mother Dahj spoke to was a hologram a figment of her Imagination. Dahj was programmed to believe she was real, and it knew about Picard because Dahj knew about him.
Yeah I think so too. There’s even that little glitch when Dahj points out she hadn’t told her “mom” about seeing Picard, indicating the program adjusting tactics.
There is no mother. That was an AI programmed to make her think she had a mother.
The mother reminded me of the stepmother from Terminator 2. “Hey Jeanell, what’s wrong with Wolfie?”
That stepmother from T2 played the computer voice in “Ephraim and DOT” and the Enterprise B’s science officer in STAR TREK: GENERATIONS.
Me too!
I think their “mother” IS Maddox. Taking on a new identity, including changing gender, might have been part of Maddox’s way of disappearing.
To name drop Maddox so hard in the first episode and then say he ‘disappeared’ kind of tells me they are setting up a big return of the character. Obviously I can be wrong but chances are a lot of what we are seeing will be directly involved with his character.
I’d even go as far as to guess he’s gonna be a villain of the season. It’s just a guess really, but it would fit the modus operandi of Abrams’ Acolytes (namely, to take everything the original fans might have liked, and twist it in some weird direction, as to “subvert expectations”).
But well… we shall see.
I’m quite sure he’s on the Borg cube. But I suspect he’s in a similar position as the Death Star architect in Rogue One… Good at heart, caught up in something sinister, still determined to do the right thing. Heck, he’s probably in cahoots with the ghost of Data that seems to be snooping around all these new androids.
Looking at current photos of the actor (who’s a senior lecturer in theatre arts at Caltech), I instantly got a Noonien Soong vibe.
I could totally see him coming back as a recluse Maddox.
I really don’t think anything involving Romulans will be as simple as having Maddox as a Bondian mad scientist in the heart of salvaged Borg cube.
What are you talking about? Maddox already IS a villain. He was the antagonist of “Measure of a Man” and wanted to turn Data into property.
You’re forgetting that Data writes letters to Maddox in Data’s Day, indicating that Data has forgiven him and the 2 have a working relationship.
And DATA’S DAUGHTER in between.
And Geordi mentioned calling in Maddox when Data was acting weird in “Clues”, I think.
No, he felt Data WAS the property of Star Fleet already.
I would think that would be too bad. He was made to be nothing more than a one dimensional A-hole in that episode. Someone even suggested he was incompetent.
I wonder this too. I was actually theorizing the fact that Maddox might be involved in a major way before the show started. I hope he at least appears as a hologram or something.
I got the impression from that scene that Maddox was going to be the antagonist to ‘Picard’. He was good in ‘The Measure Of A Man’. He was good at convincing people he was rational and sane, when in reality he was a mad scientist.
He was? To me he came across as one of the more reasonable people in the room. The mad person was the Admiral from The Drumhead that was reviewed in an earlier article. I noticed that Dr. Pulaski shared many of his views towards Data. Is she considered a mad scientist as well?
Great summary! I enjoyed the new Ready Room format and agree Wheaton is the perfect host. Minor spoiler for next week ahead: A nit for me from the preview to next week’s episode is that they have used the Disco version of the original Enterprise for the hologram that hovers in the Starfleet lobby. It then changes to our beloved Enterprise D. I would have preferred the TOS version (or maybe even better the TMP version) since they seem to have taken a lot of care to maintain visual continuity to the TNG era, and TNG always took care to maintain visual continuity to TOS. Oh well… just a pet peeve of mine and not something that takes away from my overall delight with everything I’ve seen so far. For the first time since Nemesis I really feel like the Star Trek I grew up with has returned.
I can’t really see TOS Style fitting well with the late 80s and 90s era looks.
I know they tried for DS9 and Enterprise and they did well but it never sat well with me. Disco’s Enterprise fits better and I can see a better lineage between it, Phase 2, and the Refit Enterprise.
Could not disagree more with this statement.
I’d have to disagree. At the very least they should have run with the refit as Captain Danno suggests. They’re essentially erasing a piece of Star Trek’s legacy.
Luckily, these rotten cuckoo eggs from the Secret Hideout of Bad Robots in no position to erase anything. They are simply establishing their own separate continuity in order to redirect licensing money from the merchandising into their own pocket. That separate continuity will hopefully be discarded as soon as they’re out of the door (presumably off to plunder some other venerable franchise).
Oh for heavens sake. I thought these ridiculous conspiracy theories had died a death. Be more productive with your time, Boze. Move On.
Bad Robot has nothing to do with any of the new Star Trek shows.
Boze, it’s Prime Universe Trek.
No break in continuity, in fact they respect Berman-era Trek, the TNG movies, and weave in the Prime Universe elements of Kelvin Trek.
You can have your own head-canon, but please stop trying to insist it is anything but head-canon.
Boze if you don’t like Discovery or Picard that’s more than fine, but stop repeating this ridiculous BS. It’s been debunked over and over again. And its ALL canon no matter how much you want to deny it. None of it is going anywhere.
You tell him Tiger.
And what pray tell does this separate continuity consist of?
The only separation in continuity is between the neurons in Boze’s brain.
Hahahahahahahahahaha
Boze, please lay off the drugs.
This. Besides TNG’s visual continuity was with the TOS feature films, never TOS itself.
The Discoprise makes sense to me. They’ve incorporated a Discovery alien, it’s saying, yes it’s all the same timeline. It works, and I’m kind of glad they did that (and included the alien boyfriend).
I didn’t/don’t mind that when it suits the story and not shoehorned in.
I just immediately saw the nod to Discovery, which I really appreciated. It makes sense considering the current Star Trek TV universe we’re in. It’s similar to the way the Berman years maintained visual continuity between the shows so well. The ship design will also be more significant assuming the Pike series is greenlit, so it could be a nod and wink to that.
I will say that if they ever re-invisioned the Enterprise D design in a similar fashion, I wouldn’t be pleased at all so I can appreciate where others are coming from, especially since I’m not a TOS fan and I tend to view that TOS Enterprise as unattractive, but the Pike ship *and the refit* look great. I could take or leave the Kelvin design, but the “Beyond” tweaks helped.
Deep Space Nine, ironically, did the best job majestically presenting the TOS Enterprise in it’s original form. Just the quality of the model and cinematography was enough to bring it up to date.
Gotta disagree on the Star Trek Beyond Enterprise “redesign” helping. It was gangly, stretched, and anorexic. The Enterprise-A, on the other hand, that was a thing of beauty, and it’s a shame it will never sail the stars as intended.
It seems as though the Enterprise D render was not as detailed as the render in the TNG Remaster. While I know that most of the TNG ship is the model, there were also shots that were CGI. Why couldn’t this series simply take the assets from that?
I think that is evidence to show that this current production crew seems to have more love and respect for TNG than they had for TOS.
Just finished watching via Amazon Prime here in the UK (it went up early). Absolutely adored this! I had given up all hope on ‘thoughtful Trek’ ever coming back after being crushingly disappointed by both the JJ films and Disco… both echos of greatness in my opinion. This, this IS the real stuff! I’m very tempted to say the best first episode of a Trek series to date… Truly grateful to all concerned and not least of all the terrific cast and a stunning return to Star Trek by Mr Stewart. Fingers tightly crossed this astonishing level of quality is maintained throughout. It’s gotten off to an astonishing start! BRAVO!!!
Agree 100%
I too have just finished. It was WELL worth the wait! LOVED IT!!!
I liked it, but Discovery is better. Sorry.
LOL! Yes, Discovery is better …than getting kicked in the head!
I don’t think the necklace was a plot hole. She left it on the table and then went to bed. Then Picard picked it up and looked at it, taking it with him, presumably to give it back to her in the morning. But then by the morning she had left. The only hole might be that if it meant anything to her, she wouldn’t have just left it on the table in the first place. So maybe more of a plot contrivance if anything, since Picard had to have it later on to show to Agnes.
She left in a hurry in the morning not wanting to wake anyone up to make sure no one was in danger, she either forgot about it or left it because it would delay her escape.
Agreed about the necklace not being a plot hole, she leaves it on the table. Perhaps whatever was compelling her made her leave it there? It seemed rather deliberate that she was shown *not* putting it back on.
Deep programming is operating was my read.
Her conscious mind had her leave to protect Picard while her subconscious ensured he had the necklace as a linking clue.
I think it makes a lot of sense as her “hidden AI” kicking in. Remember that Data is essentially “in her DNA”, and if that’s the case, that also means Data’s love for mysteries (e.g. Sherlock Holmes) is also imbedded in her code. If she’s been “activated”, then it’s very well possible that parts of Data’s ingrained interests, habits, and abilities are also being exerted in the background along with her combat skills – and that could be the “DNA” leaving clues behind for Picard to figure out. If that is the case, it’s possible that Soji may unconsciously leave some clues behind as well.
I’d be surprise if the writers were that clever with regard to leaving clues as a mirroring trait to Data, but bravo to your cleverness at least. That would be a fun idea to see incorporated.
She was still in a state of shock after her boyfriend had been murdered and she had killed the attackers without knowing, that she could and without being able to controll her newfound abilities. One might forget to put one’s own head on in such a state of mind.
i loved it… 9 out of 10… nice catch on the necklace but not a big deal… i was worried about pacing but pacing really was perfect… so it’s gonna be synthetics (androids) and borg and romulans and some type of federation conspiracy since the records don’t show the romulan attack on her at all… that’s a lot to smash together. what strikes me is how they at least here successfully aged picard believably. very often you see a character years later they havent changed at all but make getting older jokes. not here. he’s the same man but has been affected by events like all of us. and i thought data looked pretty amazing. even if he didn’t love the gorn as well. we get hung up on fx even when something like this looks so cinematic.
I enjoy Disco – but *this*… This is Star trek. It recalls TNG without being overly reverential and takes its time with character moments and isn’t frantic and action packed. It definitely feels just like 20 years have passed and you’re watching a new Next Gen movie catching up with old characters. It will do even more when Riker and Troi show up.
I really hope it doesn’t just throw away the nice slower pace and go all Disco. Action is fine. We don’t need 45 mins of it.
Better than ST:DSC, indeed.
The creative team put a lot of effort into this *BUT* somehow I feel that I would enjoy reading a novelization more than watching the TV series.
The character moments usually do not last long, interrupted by dramatic proclamations, frantic action with shaky camera, “highly dramatic” sequences like the Romulan walking at the reclamation site…
Even though Alex Kurtzman claimed that each series has a different style, the visual execution feels too much similar to ST:DSC.
The series is claimed to be more contemplative than ST:DSC but an action sequence (Dahj attacked) came roughly 5 minutes after the start.
A Star Trek product of different era, not the one I loved, but a one I may grow to tolerate. I know that this is very much about me but I find it sad that the new Star Trek series/movies are so much about “hyped-up style”. :(
I really miss the discontinued fan films/series that continued the Trek I loved – story not distracted by the oh-so-cool visuals.
It’s all star trek but I’m so happy you liked it. It was wonderful.
Agreed with all of this. I mostly liked it. Everything that I initially loved about STD (casting, directing, production values and design) I love here. Loved the cinematography and music. Loved finally seeing a ST that doesn’t begin with a “fixed” setting. May ST never go back to traditional formula (pick a time, build a ship, stick eight people on in, stand ’em in a row for static press photos, make two of them aliens, main character’s the captain) ever again. Outside of desperate mainstream reboots I fully believe those days are used up.
Not convinced we’re out of the woods though. This could still go either way. STD did. Some of this still feels clunky and half-baked.
Why did Dahj’s pursuers have transporter access? Now they look like idiots for not simply getting her coordinates and snatching her. Why does Picard wake up back at his house instead of a hospital? Did REALLY no one see what happened? There was a bloody explosion for crap’s sake. Where are the police, or even Starfleet for that matter? Can you really just beam anywhere on Earth unauthorized with no one detecting it? Who unscrambles your insides after you splinch both yourself and some unfortunate soul who was jogging by?
Why are synths born/constructed in twos, other than for plot convenience? And how much BS, really, is this fractal neuronic cloning? Because it sounds to me as ridiculous as recovering/restoring my entire computer from a single electronic pulse. I’m thinking no amount of Berman-era tecknobabble, not even slathered on to the degree of VOY, could make that sound plausible. It feels like another STD “power of math/I like science” moment.
Good episode and series premier, very well directed and produced but with some definite bumps, hopefully not the first of many.
Wait, wasn’t Bing Crosby’s granddaughter a Romulan? ;-)
Half-Romulan. :)
:-D
Well, granddaughter’s daughter, technically.
Good catch!
No, she is the daughter of Dennis Crosby, Bing’s son.
But then, Sela is the daughter of Denise’ original character, technically the daughter of the granddaughter, also played by his granddaughter…
Is Denise Crosby related to Bing? I thought his daughter was Kathryn Crosby, who guested on DS9
Kathryn is his widow. Their daughter Mary, Denise’s aunt (Denise is older than her aunt) was in DS9. Denise had no relations with her father or with Bing. It’s a sad, messty story.
Thanks Nachum. Shame about that whole family history, innit.
She does leave the necklace on the table when talking to Picard. Not hard to believe she forgot it or meant to leave it for Picard. Great start to the new series. Can’t wait for next week.
Interesting that the ban on “synths” seem to only apply to physical androids and not holograms like “Index.” I liked her. Kind of like a holographic Alexa! With similar corny jokes, ha! Hopefully this means the Doctor is still around!
Synths as physical beings have more abilities, not stuck to where Holo emitters are.
Synths were also programmed to think for themselves while it looks like besides the Doctor in Voyager Holograms are fare more restricted in their jobs.
Reminded me of the curator (Simon Pegg) from “Ready Player One”.
I thought it was too bad she wasn’t called Ms Atoz ;^)
While it makes no sense in story wise I would have gotten a bit of a kick out of that!
Bit of a yawn so far. In my mind this isn’t the Picard from canon, just seems to be the same actor playing a different role.
I trust this is just trolling. I loved the episode overall, warts and all. But I’m wondering what the goal would be by rehashing such a lazy criticism?
why? so it’s a yawn because it doesnt fit your personal head canon?
lol what role is he playing then? keep in mind its 20 years after TNG so it cannot be the exact same person he was in TNG.
also, the producers and Stewart himself have stressed repeatedly its NOT TNG. So if that’s what you thought then you were never going to enjoy the show.
And there is always that one who is going to hate no matter what, and is incapable of realizing that characters change over time just like the actors that play them. And since there is no canon of a future Picard (“All Good Things” doesn’t count since that was Q’s contrivance and not actual history), it’s impossible to say this isn’t Picard from canon.
Mike, it is impossible to say this isn’t canon Picard because the shows are all canon no matter what any fans think. Canon is only determined by the franchise owner, for any IP, always has been, always will be, no exceptions.
The last scene in ‘All Good Things’ is clear that the Enterprise-D bridge crew knows the events are not necessarily the future.
They have the power to change that future, and Picard feels free to share what he experienced so that they can make different choices.
What I do like is that Star Trek: Picard places Picard back in the vineyard as he was in AGT, if for a different reason. Alternate futures having some major parallels is a feature of multiverse theories. It’s credible.
I hope people will remember this, that “All Good Things” does not establish “future Picard.”
Because I actually saw someone on another discussion board saying that [sigh].
Marja,
Indeed, but AGT’s Picard having jumped into his elderly future and interacted with an aged Data certainly would account for his dream’s ability to conjur up an older looking Data.
So stop watching it. You clearly aren’t a fan, so no one will notice.
I have to say I’m actually shocked just how well received this was. Expectations were already so high bringing back such an iconic character 20 years later and knowing how ‘picky’ we fans can get I did think there was going to be crushing disappointment the minute people truly realized Picard wasn’t going to call up the Enterprise by the end of the episode.
But its the complete opposite, people seem to embrace the entire idea of the show. They been telling us it wasn’t going to be TNG 2.0 and they were right so I guess people either had real time to adjust to that OR what I think REALLY happened is that it just proves Star Trek fans can embrace change when its done RIGHT! And this seems to be one of those instances.
I was thinking about ALL the other Star Trek pilots before this one and literally all of them followed the same idea: they were starting some new mission or adventure from the get go, the spin offs usually introduced everyone at the same time, and obviously it was usually all set in space. With the exception of Enterprise and one scene in Caretaker where Janeway meets Paris the pilots actually tried to stay away from Earth completely. When we met new characters, we either met them on the ship (or space station) itself or was somewhere on another planet already. The pilots from TOS through DIS basically showed our heroes already out there living the adventure.
Picard was the complete opposite of that lol. The first true scene of Picard was him waking up in France and the story stayed place on Earth the entire time with the exception of the ending. Star Trek is rarely on Earth at all and when we get an episode like Family it’s usually years after they been out in space. But Picard completely bucks that trend and it’s completely an earth based story and I was absolutely enthralled with it. Picard just going about his day and hanging out created something we never really see in Star Trek before, and it was actually OK. To just meander and take it in. Yes, evil Romulans showed up five minutes later to take the mysterious android girl but its still different lol. And we haven’t even met the rest of the cast yet (I guess DIS did do that as well) and they aren’t going to all show up next episode and warp into space. It’s clear we are going to be on Earth at least a few episodes in. I couldn’t imagine any other Trek show starting this way.
But I think it does prove that people, even Trek fans are up for change. This is going to be the most different Star Trek since DS9 easily but because they were smart to bring an iconic character back people are up for something different while still feeling familiar. This is what people like me has been wanting for YEARS. And what makes Picard interesting is that it takes place in a wold we all know but it has changed too and people are OK with that. That’s what they got right with Picard and wrong with Discovery IMO. With Picard it’s different BUT not out of place either. With DIS it wasn’t just being ‘different’ that was the issue, it was that it felt like it was in another universe entirely and for *me* at least Picard really drove that home.
And I think that’s why so many (so far) at least are gravitating to it. They get its not suppose to be TNG but they also get its still in the world of TNG and clearly that seems to be enough for people. It certainly is for me!
“But I think it does prove that people, even Trek fans are up for change.”
Yeah, and why not? As so often the complaint is about BAD change – the relentless dumbing down, increase of action, fantasy elements and flash in Trek all the way back since the mid 1990s. When people attack someone for resisting such change they confuse specific gripes with a general resistance, which is not true. To wit, I wouldn’t mind Trek change into something along TMP both in pace and depth, at all :)
Not only does it take place on Earth, but on LOTS of different places on this planet! French countryside, Paris, Boston, San Francisco, and Okinawa. That’s five different locations all over the planet! That’s amazing!
We’ve never seen so much of Earth in a single episode, I think. I love it. Civilian life in the Federation is something we’ve been sorely lacking in canon.
Yes so true! And every location looked so beautiful and amazing. It’s crazy what you can now do on a TV budget nowadays.
Was the Daystrom Institute always based in Japan? Pretty cool location for it.
“Was the Daystrom Institute always based in Japan? Pretty cool location for it.”
They clearly are not afraid of tsunamis anymore in the 24th century ;)
Or earthquakes back in the 23rd! ; )
Tiger2, that is a superb review. Well done! You captured the essence of how I felt about the whole episode. The entire first episode was far better than we had any right to hope!
Thanks Harry! :)
It seems like it exceeded most people’s expectations and even if I thought it would be good, as I said I never expected it to be so praised. I thought there would be a divide right away somewhere which frankly EVERY show has had but yes its still very very early.
You nailed it, Tiger and when I watched I thought, “I think Tiger’s going to be absolutely giddy with this thing!”
LOL you know me so well Denny C. I was grinning like a ten year old throughout the entire show. It was a good time.
I think the Problem is, that everything after Voyager was a Prequal.
I don‘t care, if things have changed in the future. In fact, that‘s kind of what I expect to happen. But if you go back and change something that people have loved and discussed for 30 Years, you better have a good reason for that.
There is literally no in universe reason for Discovery for Example not to be set in the 25th century. I think the show would have had a much easier time, being accepted by the Fans. There‘d still be other Problems, but all Trek shows hat those. But at least they all went to the future and did something new.
While I‘m still not in love with this show, at least we‘re finally getting a Star Trek show set in the future again after almost 20 Years. That‘s at least something.
Well you’re speaking to the choir here Sasha! ;)
I too didn’t care for the fact it was a prequel, but that wasn’t the real issue I had with it either though. Oddly it became the opposite problem and as you said, that the show just felt like it belonged in a post-Voyager setting from the beginning. It looked and felt way too advanced for its time period. BUT I also make the point if the show was just BETTER and told better stories then people would’ve gotten over it in time and just became focused on the show itself.
But it’s also great that they too realized putting the show in this era was just a mistake and moving it farther into the future. I don’t think it needed to be moved that FAR into the future, I think the 26th century or something would’ve been fine and still far away enough from Picard to do whatever it wanted. But who knows what plans they have for all these new shows. The next two shows could be in the 26th century already lol.
So even though I still have my issues with Discovery in some ways I’m just as excited about that show as I am about Picard now. And maybe if they apply the same type of story telling there as they are doing so far with this show more people may like it as well.
I think, when it comes to discovery, the damage is done. And when I see, what they have planned for the next season, I just can’t bring myself to care.
I’d take a Trek Show set in the far future. That’s what I want since 2001. But it still needs to keep some Star Trek Elements. You can tell dystopic stories in a Trek Setting but you can’t make Trek a Dystopia. You can test the Ideals if Starfleet or the federation but they have to be there to begin with.
I won’t be watching Discovery Season 3. Maybe if I read some reviews, that it’s great but otherwise there’s just better stuff on TV.
Lower Decks looks interesting though 😁
I don’t really buy that though. We’ve had 5 spin off shows before Discovery and they ALL had problems out of the gate. People talk about TNG first two seasons like it had a virus or something lol. I didn’t think it was THAT bad but I can admit it probably had the worst season overall….only slightly better than Discovery’s first season IMO. But listening to others you have to wonder how TNG got SO good so fast? Third season it was firing on all rockets from that point on and only got better. Same for DS9 and ENT IMO.
Because they are TV shows, they can make whatever changes they need to improve it. I mean they moved it to an entire new century JUST to tell whatever story they want now. It still may not be better but I don’t know how you can say its going to just be more of what we got in the first two seasons. We really don’t know much yet. The Federation falling doesn’t automatically mean it will be dystopic, so I’m willing to wait and see (and I generally liked season 2 a lot more).
But I’m not trying to convince you, if its not your thing it’s not your thing. It looks like you have Picard now to keep you happy. And honestly I always believed this show was partly made for people like you who was not sold on DIS and its style of Trek from the beginning. Picard is more return to form even if they aren’t hanging out on a starship. For me, its just nice we have OPTIONS again and more than one show to choose from. We haven’t had that since DS9 went off the air in 2000.
And can’t wait for Lower Decks as well!
I mean, we don’t have to agree, to talk about somethin. I’d argue, it’s probably easier if we don’t :-D
As for the other Trek Shows: TNG had a great Pilot but, many many lackluster episodes after that. But there were always the ones, that showed what it could be. Measure of a Man was Season Two, I believe. The Borg Episode even Season One. But from Season 3 onward it really became massively better. The Characters were written as actual human beings all of a sudden. For the viewers this did happen over night, but behind the scenes it was a process for sure.
DS9s first seasons are often critizised but I never understood that. The show hat it’s weak episodes but it was realy strong right out of the gate. To this day it’s one of the only TV-Shows that delas with Terrorisim and religious extremism in a realistic way without being preachy or wanting to give you a right answer.
I also liked the Enterprise pilot a lot, I never got, what people have against it. Even the first two seasons aren’t that bad overall. The oversexualization wasn’t needed and the show was firmly stuck in the 90s, when TV had moved on. But that doesn’t mean it was bad. There were a lot of great stories.
But when it comes to Discovery I struggle to find the positives. The effects are good; as are the actors. But those are things that should serve a story. And ther’s nothing there. A tired war-plot that the show itsself didn’t want anymore by the end and that weird End of the World AI plot of season 2 that makes no sense, once you actually start to think about it. Star Trek had it’s share of bad episodes but up until discovery it never feld dumb; at least not for the whole run of a season. But I guess that’s the problem, when you only have one story to tell of the whole season.
Most importantly I hate “saving the universe” and “destiny” Plotlines. That makes the universe feel tiny. Those are fantasy plot elements, that will never work in a SciFi Setting. Funny enoung that goes both ways … Last Jedi was probably the first time Star Wars actually felt like a SciFi Movie … and everyone seemed to hate it :-D
As for DS9 season one, my favorite episode to this day is Duet.
As for other highlights of season 1, I am a real fan of A Man Alone. On the surface, it looks like a typical murder frame up episode
But, it really shows how isolated Odo feels on the station and we get our first real glimmer of the relationship between Quark and Odo.
And I am A HUGE fan of “In The Hands of the Prophets” the DS9 Season 1 finale a highly underrated episode, IMO.
In the Hands of the Prophets is one of the most underreated season finales Gary, so I agree with you. That’s easily one of my favorite episodes of season one and I just loved that Star Trek ‘went there’ and went to the heart of evolution vs religion argument which is still heated in society today (or I should say some parts of society anyway).
And I liked that it WASN’T bombastic huge stakes and end of the galaxy stuff at play (which we got in later seasons and I still really loved lol). But I liked that it was a classic Trek analogy story and tried to be even handed and fair.
Season one definitely had a lot of good stories, it was harder for people to get into them at the time compared to TOS and TNG because they were all done on a space station that never moved.
The rest of DS9 season one could have been total garbage (it wasn’t) and “Duet” would have redeemed it. Amazing episode of TV, period!
Again Sascha, I can’t really disagree with most of your points. All the stuff you just said about DIS I’ve said them many times here lol. That’s why I was so let down by season one because the Klingon war just felt so lack luster to me and almost pointless because we knew it was essentially just going to end in a stalemate because TOS told us that (and why I generally hate prequels). But I was still hoping we would get a really exciting and layered war arc like we got with DS9 and sadly not even close.
And while I liked the second season a lot more and the episodes were generally more sci fi and a lot more fun I also agree the time travel plot just felt too convoluted and didn’t make a lot of sense and I love time travel stories in Star Trek. I wouldn’t mind an entire show based on time travel if they did it right but DIS proved the opposite of that lol. I still liked the season overall though but the Red Angel story line which started with a lot of promise and intrigue ended as a convoluted mess and yes made the universe feel SO small when we learned it was about Section 31 and Burnham’s family.
You know after writing all this I’m starting to wonder why am I so excited about season 3 now myself lol. Thinking about it I should have much lowered expectations as I do, especially given how excited I was about season 2 and I was really excited about that even though season 1 was a huge dud for me save for a few episodes.
I guess it’s just my obsession and love with Star Trek at the end of the day and I truly want to love it all. And I guess I have to believe the people making it feel the same way or at the very least they want to satisfy people like me and will do everything possible (even if its impossible ;)) to achieve that. Kurtzman at least really does seem to get it now and why Picard hit all the right notes out of the gate while DIS certainly didn’t, because he took every criticism to heart with that show and made sure we got a superior product with this one from the start. To me, this is proof they certainly get and understand Star Trek, it’s mostly the execution thats the issue. And yes we can all still hate Picard by the end of the season. We’re all on a sugar high right now because we have an era of Star Trek so many of us missed for so long with an iconic character back I doubt any of us every thought would return, at least with the original actor.
So everyone seems very positive for now at least and that we are going to get a terrific season out of it. I have not been this excited for Star Trek since the 90s and I always tried to believe in every show from the start. DS9 was my worst show bar none when it started (but there were only three of them lol).And while I didn’t hate it, it felt a bit dull and it took me awhile to really like the characters. They just felt SO different from any Trek show before, but this was a different Trek show, period. Today DS9 my favorite by far. It’s not even a question. And while we can say the first two seasons weren’t ‘bad’ per se, it didn’t get REALLY good until they made a lot of changes and delivered.
So I guess end of the day that’s where my faith lie with DIS. And they did TONS of things right in DIS in season 2 which shows that show ALSO has potential to be great: Pike and Spock which EVERYONE is now yelling for to make a show with. They are only doing that because of how great they wrote them. But yes they did stumble with Section 31 and that’s the show that is coming no one seems to want lol, especially with Space Hitler at the helm. But a lot of the criticisms were addressed in season 2 and it looks like they are more addressed in season 3, mainly to move the show out of an era it never should’ve been in and tried to ‘explain’ away stuff like the spore drive and Spock having a sister who we never once heard of. And an advanced future show is something many fans always wanted so I’m very excited about the premise in general.
But if you think the show will stay a dud, that’s your prerogative.
I can’t understand why they didn’t place DSC between TOS and TNG. There are about 75 [?] years there to play with.
But I still love it, uncritical sheep that I am, LOL.
That is a window no one seems to want to touch for some reason. Personally, I would LOVE to see a post TUC set show. I find myself wondering what is keeping anyone from even pitching that time frame.
I agree with you and this is the reason why I hate it when some people label all the people who criticize Discovery as “haters”. In fact they are not haters, they just want a solid, better product and when they get that product like in Picard of course they will embrace it. People just need to more open minded to criticism and be aware of not labeling anyone without analyzing or looking at all sides of the argument. I mean the formula is easy: If you make a good show, many more people will embrace it. This is definitely not a surprise for me. You should also give Trekkies more credit.
Yes I think Picard really proves that fans aren’t out to just hate Discovery or the production team, some really just have real issues with it. Of course there always going to be people you can never get on board no matter what they do, some right here on Trekmovie lol. But MOST of us really want to love every Star Trek show and movie out there. I’m not spending money on a show just so I can whine about it on the internet (although I am an amazing whiner lol). No, I pay for the show because I love Star Trek and I want to love whatever I’m watching.
And I’m not suggesting fans were going to hate the show outright or anything. I was really convinced and said so that people were probably going to love the show if the trailers were any real representation of it. It’s been obvious since literally day one this show had united the fanbase more than any show or film I could think of in decades. People were already excited and super positive on it, so clearly I’m not shocked that people actually liked it. But same time I was expecting SOME divide over the the first episode since every show and movie has had it, for literally decades now. And that there would be some fans who was simply disappointed this wasn’t a TNG revival no matter what (and I’m sure there are some still out there they are just in the minority).
But This is the first Star Trek pilot I can recall that has nearly universal praise. People adore TNG and DS9 now but I was around when those shows started and there were dark times lol. But also neither were amazing out of the gate either.
And of course we’re all well aware the show can still turn out bad but its an amazing start so far.
Okay, to play Devil’s Advocate, I’ma say that the character of JLP is known to, and beloved by, many fans. This predisposed them to like the idea; also that Sir Pat was on board from its inception and contributed to its formulation. So that’s a distinct advantage it had over DSC at the git-go.
Some fans were terribly disturbed by Burnham being Spock’s sister [an insert that was supposed to make some fans more comfortable with her but did the exact opposite]. They were also disturbed by the advanced look of the series. I’m not sure what would have pleased them, ’60s-style toggles and jellybean buttons and plywood sets would not live up to today’s production standards. Also, when we look at all the stuff we have in our present day that TOS anticipated, it just seems silly to go backward from what we have today and project that 250 years into the future. Annnnd, sadly, some fans had problems with the “virtue-signaling” minority casting, and that “the main bad guy was white!”
By no means am I dissing “Picard,” I really enjoyed it. And I did love seeing Sir Pat as my dear Jean-Luc Picard once again, having aged, as I have, “feeling the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to”. I love that he has Number One to keep him company, and his Romulan friends too.
This, too is another show that will require re-watch to fully understand all the plot elements. The synth exposition was pretty quickly done. We’ll get more gradual exposition of it, but I was a bit flummoxed. Good to hear the names “Maddox” and “Lal” and to get the name of Data’s painting. [Yay, Data!] So far I like the new characters, though I was sad about Dahj’s premature death. I hope her sister doesn’t turn out to be another Lore.
I agree that a show about JLP was indeed an advantage in that this was a known character as opposed to new people no one knew anything about. This gives the fans a little more acceptance room.
I don’t think making Burnham Spock’s adoptive sister was meant to make fans more comfortable. I think it was meant to be a safety net in the event the show was in trouble and needed to bring a known character in. Something they ended up doing. The PD of the show was also an issue in that it LOOKED like it belonged 150 years further ahead in time than it was. No, people were not looking for the “jellybean” buttons and 60’s style toggles. But they WERE looking for something that updated it and still FELT like it belonged. They managed to do that a little with their version of the Enterprise in S2 but that aesthetic still had to match with Discovery’s. So I think had they done it the right way from the beginning we would have had something much better and closer to what viewers were expecting. Aaand I think the problem wasn’t the racial aspects of the cast. It was more the comments made by the producers. The fact that the producers were CONSTANTLY defending their creation when they should have been ignoring it or at least just saying this is what THEY wanted to make. And the fact that the main villain turned out to destroy the one and only one interesting character on the show didn’t help things either. And then they had to go and let that guy make a pathetic political comment out of it. You do not realize how much all of that turned folks off to the show.
It’s good you brought up DS9. I really liked the first season but got annoyed when they brought in the Defiant to make it more “Trekky”. Hope the producers are well warned not to do that with Picard!
Could not disagree more on your comments about Discovery Tiger, especially since the 2 shows have the same writing staff, most particularly head writer (and Picard series creator) Kristen Beyer.
Fair enough! And I LIKE Discovery, certainly more now as I felt it improved and they did try and clean up some of those issues, but there are still many problems I have with it. But I’m hoping next season now that they have a cleaner slate I will feel the way as you do about it.
And as I said in other places, I think Picard (so far at least) was a product of the writers who directly acknowledged the problems they had with Discovery because they had a season worth of fan feedback and could avoid those bigger issues with Picard (but that doesn’t mean there won’t be issues lol). And both shows had very different parameters from the start. Picard already had tons of 24th century mythology and a well known character(s) that they could use as a road map on where to take it next. They were basically starting more from scratch with Discovery since it was a prequel with new characters.
Kirsten Beyer’s role in the Discovery writers room for the first two seasons was more modest than for Picard. She wasn’t in the power position on Discovery. In neither case was she head writer or showrunner.
She’s been slowly climbing the WGA hierarchy of levels, but as ‘supervising producer’ she’s still two ranks below executive producer. So, how much influence she has in terms of keeping the shows ‘on canon’ will depend upon how much the showrunners listen.
I’m really glad that she’s getting ‘created by’ credit for Picard. I suspect that it will definitely improve her status within the franchise.
I like it, its a good start. My favorite line: Tea, Earl Grey, decaf.
NOOO! That’s sacrilegious, man!
In fact that’s the only thing that bothered me about the entire episode…
(which is to say, that I loved it to bits – APART from the decaf Earl Grey. I mean: What’s that even supposed to BE? Reddish brown water with a dash of bergamot, that’s what it would be.)
Why? Lots of elderly folks – and folks in general – enjoy decaf tea. Pretty straightforward really.
You’re being ridiculously melodramatic. It’s very common for the elderly to use decaf. Caffeine makes it difficult for them to sleep.
And you are being pointlessly pedantic. Relax and stop attacking so many people’s comments. Add something to the conversations instead of just trolling.
Oh yes, I was being ridiculously melodramatic there. With an emphasis on “ridiculously” – as in: “’twas but a jape”…
After watching it a second time I noticed the Ferengi and London Kings symbols. But I also noticed another nitpick I have: when Dahj and her boyfriend were in her apartment joking around, they were using current day slang which really bugged me: “that’s pretty cool” “dude.” I dont think I ever heard characters from the other series speak in that way. I would think that slang from 2020 would be very outdated in 300 years.
Buuuuut I absolutely love this show. It is far far better than Discovery. I just hope they can keep up this level of quality.
Tom had some interesting slang, so did the doctor with his quips. Also language is cyclical, it can change and it can also borrow or revive sayings.
What I didnt like about that scene is it felt like contemporary soap opera and not nearly 400 years in the future, without being a deliberate throwback to the past like the chateau scenes. Showing “civilian life” shouldn’t be equivalent to “showing contemporary life” (contemporary to us), a mistake Discovery also made in its party scenes and something that will date the shows most visibly. But it was the only scene sticking out like that, fortunately.
Yeah the slang was a bit too contemporary but I was OK with it.
About the slang: What’s the alternative, though? You don’t want everybody to talk very formally all the time. Especially in a dating situation. In theory, you could invent new colloquialisms but that risks alienating your audience if they don’t understand it. Also it can get kind of gimmicky. “pretty cool” and “dude” have been around for some time so it’s not like they are using the newest hip word of the day.
Right? Now if they start saying things like “on fleek”… then we’ve got a problem!
Exactly. Made-up future slang always sounds really corny.
I dunno, I think it’s pretty shwey.
Just watch Futurama. It has to be a joke or it sounds really cringing.
Chancellor
I reach, brother.
If they made up new buzzwords – they’d sound as corny as they do on Futurama when Amy says made up buzzwords ( even though it’s deliberate there ).
I just heard the Goldsmith Enterprise Theme (ST:TMP, TNG) when Picard arrived at the Starfleet Archives.
I have major goosebumps…
“I don’t want the game to end…”
My feelings exactly. I loved this first episode. The vineyard, the music, the thought put into the story thus far, I’m already for the next episode. Just wonderful.
Fan since the 1970’s reporting in…
I enjoyed this opening episode and (to me) it seemed significantly less awkward than the premier episodes of earlier ST series. Perhaps the familiarity of Admiral (Captain) Picard had something to do with it, but this did not feel like another ” It’s Episode One of Season One, hang in and it will hit its stride over time” to me.
I agree with the observations of this review, but I was also struck how the depiction of 24th Century technology served the story rather than being a distraction. This is not meant to put down the more recent series or movies, I can find positives and negatives all the way back to TOS, but I’m glad they made the tech feel a bit more “organic” and less blinding.
Does she take her necklace back? I thought she left it on the table.
She left it… I think they need to rewatch that scene?
Yep.
She left it and Picard briefly touches it. Really took a second viewing to catch that.
episode was a meh.
Wow, I finally got a chance to watch this evening!! CBSAA finally got it right releasing E1 about 19 hours before it aired on Space/Sci-Fi Channel up here in Canada. It doesn’t take too much thought deciding to give CBSAA customers some little bonuses – keep it up, even though it won’t benefit me up here in Toronto. As for E1, very good pilot. Good writing and very good acting. Sir Patrick did a great job and hats off to all the new actors, actually making me care about their characters after just one episode. Superior writing seems to have paid off and hope we see something similar for Discovery S3. Btw agree with many, nothing wrong with staying grounded for a few episodes before finally returning to the final frontier!! LLAP everyone – and to quote Sir Patrick at STLV 2018 “Jean Luc Picard is back!”
Yes I’m hoping the writing for this show will rub off on Discovery next season and things get a bit more…calmer and less hyper.
One thing I noticed: the evacuation transports we saw briefly looked like updated versions of the Ptolemy Class transports from the old Technical Manual. A saucer, two warp engines on pylons underneath, with a docking pad for a cargo module in the center.
Ironically, there’s a Bowling Alley called KING’S in the back bay section of Boston – perhaps they are still in Business in the late 24th Century… :)
I have to say, the person who is not getting enough credit for this episode is the director herself, Hanelle Culpepper! Wow she did an AMAZING job. She helped set the look and feel of this show. I can’t wait to see her episode next week now!
+1
Really? I felt, the directing was kind of uneven. Some weird handheld shots, that didn‘t seem to serve any purpose and all those fades instead of cuts or a long take made this feel a little more actiony than it needed to be. In general she could have just let the scenes breathe a little more. Let us look at the scenery; spend some more Time in the World.
Also; the acting was at times a Little uneven. Some of Stewards deliveries sounded just slightly off, while others – the interview especially – were outstanding.
Don’t get me wrong. It was still good, but I can‘t see the praise, you’re giving it.
Im curious, what John Frakes‘ Episodes will look like.
I found it smoother on 2nd view.
Which reminds me of TNG actually. I always rewatched a new first-run TNG episode at least a couple of times to soak up everything before the next week.
I’m certainly not saying it was perfect, I’m mostly talking about the overall vision and how beautiful it looked. It really did feel very different from the other shows, but I agree wit a lot of your issues, especially some of the action scenes.
And I forgot Frakes directed episodes 3 and 4 so his will be coming up soon. And he directs the episode we see Seven again so that’s going to be a BIG one lol.
I‘ve watched it again yesterday and I think my problem is mostly with the editing. The shots themselves are actually quite well done but they’re cut to hell instead of just letting them go on. It sometimes just doesn’t fit the scene.
That being said, I still find Stewart’s acting a little uneven. Not bad just inconsistent, as it doesn’t always feel like he’s playing the same character in every scene.
Apart from that my problem is mainly with the way the story is told and some of the dialogue choices. Especially that all the action scenes add nothing to the story. But it’s nowhere near the terrible and at times nonsensical writing on discovery 😅
Sascha,
Picard himself may not *feel* the same from scene to scene. There is a distinct difference between Picard at the chateau and Picard-in-action or Picard-as-detective. In the latter two, he probably feels himself “coming alive” as opposed to how he feels at his home in France, where he has retreated from the world and his Starfleet life.
I would imagine perhaps you are under 50 years of age.
Absolutely! She did an astonishing job! Genuine character building, genuine intelligence, and film making and editing that allow each scene to breath naturally, and allows one to get a sense of geography and take in the surroundings. It’s almost ‘old fashioned’ film-making in that sense, and I applaud her for the restraint! This is already going down as a classic episode, and many (including myself) rate it as the best first episode of a Trek series to date. I was not expecting this at all. THANK YOU to Hanelle Culpepper – indeed to everyone involved – for doing Trek – and Picard – full justice. This is how it’s done! :)
There was a passing mention of how Data always wanted a child- I took that as a reference to Lal.
Bear in mind that Data died on a Romulan ship. Could there be a connection?
Allison Pill seems a bit young to have been that active in the field ten years earlier, but who knows.
The account of why Romulus wasn’t evacuated seems a bit at odds with the IDW Countdown to the 2009 movie, which of course isn’t canon, but still. I detect a bit of a contemporaneous cliche touch- terror attack results in isolationism blah blah. Am I imagining that?
Allison Pill herself is 35. Depending on whether her character is supposed to be of a similar age she could have been working as a researcher 10 years earlier.
Maybe she was a wunderkind like Wesley Crusher…
Absolutely DIGINON.
It’s not uncommon at elite science schools to complete a PhD by 26. Certainly, she could have finished her PhD at Daystrom and stayed on.
We know how old the actress is but we don’t know how old the character is. More than likely she is suppose to be the same age but we really know that. After all Picard is supposed to be 15 years older than Stewart is.
But it could be what the others are suggesting, she is suppose to be a genius and graduated early.
A PhD at 26 isn’t genius or particularly exceptional at MIT, Caltech, or Polytechnique.
Most PhD students start right in from a bachelor’s degree at 22. If they move through courses and comprehensives and get in with a good lab group, they can get done by 26 or 27 and be on to a post-doc. A master’s degree may or may not be granted along the way depending on the program.
Agnes says that Maddox recruited her out of Starfleet, and we know that Starfleet entrance exams can be taken early. So, that’s a possibility.
The point that people in the 24th century should be healthier with later viable signs of ageing has been a longstanding point of canon. If she looks 35, we should assume the character is in her 40s.
The connections to today’s world are a bit too on-the-nose and very at-odds to how we’ve seen the Federation act on the whole. There have been rogue Starfleet agencies, but (prior to Discovery) were always shown to be tiny factions. Section 31 was a “small”, but far reaching, covert operation. Rogue Admirals were aplenty through TNG and DS9. The Federation (not Starfleet) always seemed very consistent with their Utopian outlook and would likely have similar sensibilities.
The idea that the Federation would stop assistance in an evacuation, especially after we saw the seeds of cooperation after the Dominion War and in Nemesis start forming is egregious. There’s no real-world parallel here in this case.
An action like that could shatter the Federation. There’s just no way that member worlds would go for something like this. I suppose with the Dominion and Breen attacks could have changed Federation attitudes, but in the show’s universe it would have been 14 years since those events happened. A grudge like that might have made sense if the Cardassians or Breen were requesting assistance, maybe. The Klingon/Federation relationship was more violent, and the Federation and Klingons were able to find a lasting peace which started by the destruction of Praxis leading to the Khitomer Accords. This was only briefly interrupted due to Dominion interference during Gowron’s rule.
On the flip side, this kind of situation would have given Nero’s vendetta a bit of weight in Star Trek 2009. Instead, we’re lead to believe that the Federation was trying to help and just came up short.
Regarding the age of people, the show has never felt very consistent with this to me. It often feels like it comes down the the writer. I’ve forgotten the episode, but elementary aged kids in TNG were already learning advanced mathematics/physics. Then, you’ll have writers have someone like Janeway discuss taking calculus at Starfleet Academy which doesn’t seem all that advanced compared to little kids taking the same kinds of courses. Of course, it could have been some kind of theoretical or very, very advanced calculus beyond anything we even have these days. At any rate, the ages seem to jive with the kind of future the franchise has shown us having between in the shows and movies that were released in the 80s until the early 00s.
Picard was everything I was hoping for and a Whole lot more. I was hoping that Picard would have mentioned Spock. Since he was lost when he used the Red Matter in trying to stop the Super Nova. Picard was close to him.
It’s not clear how much of the backstory introduced in Star Trek 2009 and its Countdown comics they want to follow in Picard. People have pointed out that Picard at least seems to contradict some parts of the comics.
I noticed that. But at least they should mention it since Picard is all about the aftermath of the events of Star Trek 2009.
There was already a lot of linking backstory in the premiere.
I hope that these crosswalks to Star 2009 will happen organically over the coming episodes.
The show is already kind of teetering on the ledge with regards to continuity that previous Trek efforts have kind of fallen into (particularly the TNG movies, but also the Bad Robot films and Discovery series). It’s a situation where things don’t quite contradict what has already been established, but that it feels a bit out of character/place since it feels like they’re relying on people only being vaguely familiar with the source material.
-Beyond having the USS Franklin (a warp 4 ship) having an NX prefix and a higher number than a warp 5 ship Enterprise.
-Heck, the namesake of Enterprise even having that name. It doesn’t quite contradict, but doesn’t quite follow what we’ve already seen that NX-01 was “Enterprise.”
And so on…
I know some people have complained that Picard and Data don’t have much of a relationship (compared to other characters) during the run of TNG. However, by the last 2 films that’s clearly changed (though the best examples of this bond are on the cutting room floor of Nemesis).
Just speculating here, but I wouldn’t be shocked if they decide to make Bruce Maddox an antagonist in later episodes of Picard. He made one appearance in the series as the antagonist, but by the end of the episode had shown growth and the seeds of acceptance that he was not correct in his opinion of Data. For the rest of TNG’s run he is mentioned a few times with the clear implication that Data and Maddox have some kind of cordial working relationship. However, few probably remember any of those references, so him being an antagonist would “make sense” to a writing team and a fair bit of the audience because they remember how much of a jerk he was in the bulk of “Measure of a Man.”
On the flip side, I’m sure the writers are probably aware that the Countdown comics exist, but either assume that most people watching Picard probably didn’t read them, or they wanted to go in a different direction and “it’s just a comic book” and can be ignored so they can tell their own story.
Same goes for the 10 years worth of continuity of Star Trek Online. There’s some fluff in STO, but the Romulan Remnant and Romulan Republic stuff is very compelling (in my opinion) and would totally serve as solid backstory to that they’re doing with Picard. Unfortunately, it’s never going to happen. Picard is going to eventually make the events in STO incongruous with on-screen canon. It’s inevitable.
This is the 2nd time I read a comment saying the Picard was close to Spock. He wasn’t. They cross paths onece and she shared information about Sarek to him. That was it. They weren’t “close” by any definition of the word except the mind meld which was less a joining and more of an information retrieval.
The first show that Kurtzman has been involved in that is aimed for someone above a twelve year old level. Better late than never! I didn’t see conclusive proof that Starfleet has gone all dystopian, like every other uncreative science-fiction show these days. It may be too much to ask that Picard be a show for grown ups and at the same time also not reject Star Trek’s progressive vision of the future.
But if they keep both, Picard will be the first show since Kurtzman got involved that this thoughtful lifetime Trek fan can be excited about.
It was a good beginning.
Hmm … judging from from what was said in the Interview (the one in the show) I would not get my hopes up. They seem to be building a Universe full of Racists and a Federation that‘s okay with this as long as it‘ll keep its power. The exception obviously being Picard and the other main characters.
Don‘t forget, that this is supposed to tie into the „fallen Federation“-Storyline of Discovery S3.
That being said. There could be an interesting story there. Just imagine, the federation actually being right in its decision and Picard opposing it out of the right moral reasoning but ultimately doing more damage by this decision. And the show would be about him dealing with making a wrong decision for the right reasons. That would be interesting but It‘ll be Insurrection all over again. God forbid we actually have some grey areas when it comes to questions of moral and/or politics.
But there‘s still 9 Episodes left. So let‘s wait and see 🤘
Sascha, there is no heavy handed tie into Discovery’s entrenched Federation nearly 900 years in the future. Kadin has said this.
On the contrary, Kurtzman has talked about how Trek is ‘hopepunk’. This is definitionally the opposite of a ‘grimdark’ future.
But it also means that the positive optimistic future isn’t an unearned gift, successive generations have to do their part to uphold values and ideals to reach for the aspirational society.
I wouldn‘t be against you being right, but for now I‘ll stay cautious.
As for all those ideals having to be earned. You‘re absolutely right there. Let‘s hope the shows writing staff knows that. That was a big problem in TNG S1/2 … however DS9 tackled this pretty much perfectly. So there is a high bar, if that‘s the story they want to tell.
Exactly. To keep that utopia you have to fight for it, and help fix it when it falters. It’s unending.
Agreed JonBuck. So far I don’t see the Federation being a dystopia the way people were assuming. It’s very early so we may get more but it sounded like Picard just disagreed with them deciding not to help the Romulans although they were attacked. It’s an interesting discussion but I don’t see it as the Federation turning their back on their values, they simply no longer had the resources and Mars became the priority. But there will probably be more to it of course.
Oh my god, Sascha, that would be incredible. And as we may recall, we have a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist [Michael Chabon] in charge of the overarching story. He would not be afraid to “go there.”
This is an exciting thought!
Regarding Kurtzman, I don’t know much about him. The only show I ever watched that he was involved in was Fringe and IMO that series was quite good. I guess that is why I dont have much negativity towards him, in fact I credit him for convincing the execs at CBS to roll the dice on Star Trek. Disco may not have been everyone’s cup of tea but it did lay the CBSAA foundation that gave us Picard-Rememberance. For that alone, IMO it has been a success.
G7,
Jean-Luc Picard represents the Starfleet of the 24th century that we all know and love. But remember how he says he quit because “It wasn’t Starfleet any more.” So yes, we will probably see a dystopian Starfleet. But he’s the good guy who will oppose it!
Really enjoyed the first episode! One thing that stuck out to me was the first dream sequence. I’m not a poker player, but does anyone else thing it is relevant that Data’s hand was 5 queens? Was wondering if maybe Q was manipulating Picard’s dreams for some reason?
Q always had an interest in humanity and humanities role in the Federation and with Picard’s scathing end to his press interview about the current state of Starfleet and the Federation. Could Q be trying on subconscious level be giving Picard a stiff kick in the rear to straighten the course on Starfleet and the Federations policies?
I noticed that as well. Things it could represent:
– It’s just dream logic, Picard’s subconscious telling him something’s wrong before the dream turns into a nightmare.
– Data – wherever he is – is somehow connected to Picard on a subconscious level. We did see Data gain the ability to dream, and if this link between androids / synthetics and Borg technology is played up, maybe it means Data is contacting him via the remnants of his Borg implants, if they’re still there. The message about the painting is too specific to be coincidence.
– It’s a subconscious message from Q? It’d be a shame not to have him show up at some point, but I’d rather not crowbar him in just for the sake of fanservice.
– Note that all of the queens were the same suit. If it was the Queen of Diamonds, maybe this is a reference to the Borg Queen and her Diamond ship that was *supposedly* destroyed in VOY:Endgame.
– Or, more distantly: Maybe there’s more than one pair of these quantum-linked androids out there – five ‘queens’ in total?
Could be Q “guiding” Picard’s dreams to nudge him in the right directions?
There are 5 Queen of Hearts cards.
That has to be 5 daughters.
I’m going to be rather disappointed if this season turns into a Q arc. Love Trek, but reliance on supreme beings to pad a season continues to be annoying.
Agreed. I really like John de Lancie, but Q got a bit wearying.
It has nothing to do with Q. Data had 5 Queen of Hearts because Picard has gone through the looking glass. Picard is Alice and he’s chasing the White Rabbit (Data). The Queen of Hearts always said “Off with their heads!”
Hey, remember that time Data’s head was trapped in a cave under San Francisco for a few centuries? I think that was towards the end of season 5 of TNG. Coincidentally, Data supposedly painted “Daughter” in 2369, which would have been during season 5.
Then again, season 5 was also the only season of TNG to not feature Q, so maybe you’re on to something…?
Absolutely loved it!!! It was wonderful seeing the legendary Jean Luc Picard + Data back on screen. They should have done this years ago rather than give us inferior versions of Star Trek with characters nobody but die hard fans care about or even know who they are…Well done. Picard is a winner!
Hey, don’t talk about Enterprise like that. It’s not his fault Mayweather never did anything.
It was beautiful. Just beautiful. Finally, some quality Star Trek. I like Discovery a lot. I’m glad they did it first though. Got the kinks out of the way and laid the foundation for Picard to soar. What a tremendous thing.
And I thought Wil Wheaton performed wonderfully. He has such reverence for the source material and such love for Patrick Stewart, and it shows. So glad they retooled the after trek talk shows. It’s been terrible, and here we make it as simple as possible and it’s pure sugar.
I could go on and on but there’s no point, and I’ll get carried away.
That was a wonderful episode. I was pleasantly surprised by the excellent opening theme and music of Jeff Russo as his Discovery opening and themes didn’t really impress me that much. Here they are excellent. I also loved the fact that my theories about Commander Maddox were partially confirmed about Dahj. I also loved the fact that the pacing was more deliberate and the scenes were allowed to breathe.
I hope the Trek powers that be are taking note of all the positivity surrounding this superb first episode. Proof that many fans disappointed with Trek over the past decade were never so-called haters (lazy shot by other fans, and lazy terminology) or resistance to change, we’re just rather discerning and respond well to a good story, good acting, good direction, good visuals, respect for canon/the past and this had them all! This has already become my favourite first episode of any Star Trek, which I never expected to happen! It all starts with a great script, and this has it. No frenetic editing and action happening every few minutes. It takes guts to make something so nuanced and full of genuine character building moments, and largely sedate camera work so one can actually get a sense of the geography, places and people. It allows the actors space to really do their thing, as it should be. Makes it seem far more real. Extremely impressed and extremely grateful! THIS is real Trek as far as I’m concerned. They nailed it perfectly :)
Very constructive critique and well articulated. I hope Trekmovie.com will pass your comments on to the producers of both Disco and Picard. All the things you mention as positives regarding Rememberance, are issues for many re Discovery. As for the Haters, all you have to do is read a large percentage of the anti-Discovery comments on certain social media channels, and they quite honestly should make one’s skin crawl. IMO, those are the Haters, not people who simply want to discuss and voice legit criticisms.
Just has a quick look, and see what you mean – yikes! Oh well, I amend my comment somewhat to we’re not all haters, many just have extremely high standards ;)
NP and if you have criticisms of Disco S3 when it arrives (hopefully later this Spring after Picard is finished for S1) then I hope you will air those grievances on this forum. There are plenty here that will support that, because we are all fans of Star Trek even though Discovery is FAR from perfect.
It all comes down to a matter of taste. Of course DSC had made some dubious, even cringeworthy decisions – including but not limited to the Klingon hair issue, ship design and tech and some half-ass plot points and gimmickery we could have done without.
But overall, I liked DSC a lot. And people complaining about the show being too diverse, too PCish, and Michael crying too much, those haters DO really get on my nerve… Constructive criticism should always be welcomed…
Been waiting for this for 20 years. I’m shocked to say that the episode exceeded my expectations. I enjoy DSC, but this was… Wow…
Kudos to the whole team, we are finally able to see what Kurtzman and co. can do with Star Trek when all remnants of Fuller’s involvement are out of the way.
Star Trek is back and it’s in great hands! My expectations for the other shows in development just went up a nudge. Can’t wait to see the rest of the Picard season and the other stuff coming out this year.
Excellent points Falco.
You capture my reaction exactly.
OOC, what are some Easter Eggs people would like to see? Nothing to distract from the main plot of course!
My wishlist:
– Flute playing
– Someone speaking in Darmok (“Mars, with its skies on fire”?)
– Riker’s trombone on a stand in his house
It’d be cool if Data’s daughter had a pet cat.
Yes! Maybe named “Stripe” ;^D
The behind the scenes show showed us one of the awards in Picard’s museum is named for the “Children of Tama”.
There was a flute featured in the musical score. Russo noted that he used it as a call-back to “The Inner Light”
Was there a reason for that besides, “let’s call back a popular episode from the past for nostalgia reasons?” Using Blue Skies made sense because of Data’s indirect involvement with the story so far. What was relevant about The Inner Light to this show?
I’m just happy to know he went back and saved the Kurlan Naiskos!
Yeah right??? That was bugging people for decades lol. Its a point in this nitpicky continuity videos on youtube. My personal theory is, that the Object we see at the end of Generations is a copy and the original Kurlan Naiskos was already in the museum at that point *gg*
The more I think about it, it is easy to rank Picard Remembrance as one of the finest opening episodes of all the series. I know recency bias may be swaying my opinion, but if I were to rank the pilots (or opening episodes), this is the order I would put them in. Btw, personally I enjoyed all of the pilots, none of them were terrible.
Star Trek TOS (The Cage)
Picard
DS9
TNG
Discovery
Enterprise
Star Trek (WNMHGB)
Voyager
Star Trek TOS (Man Trap)
My Star Trek pilots ranking:
1. Picard “Remembrance”
2. Enterprise “Broken Bow”
3. TOS “The Cage”
4. TOS “WNMHGB”
4. DS9 “Emissary”
5. Voyager “Caretaker”
6. TNG “Encounter at Farpoint”
7. Discovery pilot (I don’t care to look up the title since I disliked it so much)
“The Vulcan Hello” – cringeworthiest episode title ever.
““The Vulcan Hello” – cringeworthiest episode title ever.”
Yeah, right? “Remembrance” is such a classy title in comparison and hopefully indicates this show will be on a different level than St. Burnham fast food!
But I would still put that episode ahead of Farpoint. Yes, Discovery did take a nose dive but even after that opener I felt like there was still potential. I did not feel that way after watching Farpoint. After that one my reaction was, “this has got to get better, right?”
Okay, pilot ranking… that’s tough…
1 TNG
2 VOY
3 TOS – The Cage
4 ENT
5 PIC
6 DS9
7 DSC
Remembrance was great but it wasn’t your typical Trek pilot. But it was a whole lot of better than DSC (which wasn’t a typical Trek pilot either).
What makes it a typical Trek pilot or not a typical Trek pilot?
A. Because PIC and DIS pilots were really part of the bigger story line for the season going forward and not as a standalone episode like the others.
B. Picard is the only spin off pilot that was only around an hour or one episode. But when you only have 10 episodes for the year CBS wants to maximize the viewing I guess. ;)
Of course the funny thing is with the exception of TOS none of the other shows really have been pilots at all; since they were all green lit from the beginning and given full season orders before they wrote a single episode. Pilots are made to test drive the show and convince a network to buy and produce it. Star Trek hasn’t had that issue since 1966. ;)
I would say it a typical pilot introduces all of the regular characters. Neither Discovery nor Picard did so.
OK… I’ll play this game. But it is based ONLY on the pilot. Not on what came after it.
1. The Cage.
2. Emissary.
3. Broken Bow
4. Caretaker
5. Where No Man Has Gone Before
6. Remembrance
7. The Vulcan Hello
8. Encounter at Farpoint
The hardest part of this was position 5-7. All of which could be interchanged.
OK my turn:
DS9
Picard
Voyager
Enterprise
Discovery
TOS
TNG
And I never hated any of the pilots either. But I do think DS9 and Picard were phenomenal.
Alright I’ll jump in
WNMHGB, The Cage, DS9, Picard, ENT, VOY, TNG….disco dead last :(
I liked it more than I thought I would. Despite being called “Picard” it feels more like an ensemble show than The Adventures of Michael Burnham and is, so far at least, free of annoying, cringe-inducing characters (cough*Tilly*cough) and improbably, techno-babble laden solutions to seemingly insoluble problems. I like the slower, more thoughful pace, the fact that it takes its time to tell its the story, and the more controlled camera work.
Patrick Stewart’s measured, empathic performance makes the manufactured feelings and angst of Discovery seem even faker than they already are. I applaud them for confronting his age head on and making it an organic part of the story. The supporting cast is also interesting and likable so far.
The whole synthetic life form wrapped in flesh and blood could become problematic and Dahj seemed a little too much like Rachel from Bladerunner, right down to the implanted memories. It’s the kind of thing that the showrunners have had trouble managing on Discovery and I will be curious to see how the manage it here.
As to other nitpicks, if you’re going to show a skyline and say it’s Boston, how about having one or two recognizable landmarks in there somewhere? I’m also still not clear on why synths needed to be manufactured in pairs (other than an excuse to give us Dahj’s twin. The interview scene was one of those “stacking the deck” moments I typically hate but understand its inclusion. I’m not wild about the Federation’s apparent about face as to its core values but it is what it is.
Still, overall it was a strong debut and for my money the third best opening episode of a Trek show, behind only The Cage and Where No Man Has Gone Before, which for me remains the best introduction to new Trek characters. Here’s hoping they can keep it up.
In another discussion I commented on the “twins” concept. I don’t view it as a requirement (that they have to be made in pairs) but more as insurance, in case the process does not always work.
I’m really riveted by the notion of FIVE queens in Data’s poker hand.
There may be more than just Dahj and Soji.
Now Dahj reminds me of Tatiana Maslany.
Picard is the new Orphan Black
The cards represents the final five cylons… err I mean synthetics. Just kidding.
I get it but why would such a visual clue be a part of Picards dream? Is Piucard psychic in his golden years?
Yeah, that human synth combination theme also reminded me of the cylons from Ron Moore’s Battlestar Galactica. I just hope the Trek producers take a more original approach to this plot point rather than having all the necessary tropes that go with it. So far though the story is keeping my attention and like you said, I absolutely loved the more measured pacing of the episode. It goes to show that not everything needs to fast cuts and bam-wham all the time.
Flesh and blood androids were seen in “First Contact” (Data is ‘tempted by the flesh’) so this is actually Star Trek’s idea. Moore took it with him to BSG.
Yeah, but in First Contact it was really just a small portion of the overall plot. Just a way for the Queen to tempt Data. Actually the first flesh and blood cylons were seen in one of the episodes of Galactica 1980.
Actually, the replicants in Blade Runner were flesh and blood and that goes all the way back to 1982.
The Borg Queen grafted skin over Data’ superstructure and figured out a way for his sensors to “feel” pain and other sensations.
“improbably, techno-babble laden solutions to seemingly insoluble problems”
I’m sorry, hasn’t this been in Trek the whole time?
TOS rarely relied on an “inverse tachyon pulse” to solve the crisis, but it was very different a show from a very different time. More recently, DS9 also generally avoided resorting to technobabble to resolve its stories.
Out kids are totally there for the technobabble.
If Star Trek stops speaking to nerds, that would be a problem.
“Patrick Stewart’s measured, empathic performance makes the manufactured feelings and angst of Discovery seem even faker than they already are”
STD does feel like young adult scifi in comparison, doesnt it?
As for the synths, I can hardly think of a more worthy and exciting source to steal from than Bladerunner!
I feel like they stole from Humans but… OK.
Hmm what would be a good Boston landmark to include… the Citgo sign?
Citgo sign, John Hancock tower, Charlestown monument, Fenway Park, Zakim bridge.
Little disappointed to see so much emphasis on Data/Brent Spiner looking older. It is what it is. For a show that regularly emphasises the power of imagination, you’d think people could just make the mental leap that he’s supposed to be the Data from a different time period but the actor has grown older. Wasn’t enough of a jolt to warrant as much of a mention in your review, IMO.
Picard knows that in the “alternate timeline” (from All Good Things) Data did make cosmetic changes such as dying his hair grey (much to the chagrin of his housekeeper) to simulate aging. So in Picard’s head, it is only natural that he would imagine Data as an older-looking android.
Haven’t seen it yet. Any NYPD Blue style nude scenes?
No nude scenes and I truly hope it will stay that way…
Why specifically NYPD blue style? What is so special about those? Why not Game of Thrones style?
LOL I’ve never seen game of thrones.
Forcing a nude sex scene in a premiere just to affirm a show is 14+ is tiresome.
The nude scenes in the premieres of both The Expanse and Carnival Row really did nothing to advance the stories.
Same for use of crude language.
If streaming and a 14+ rating is intended to free creativity, expecting every premiere to prove the show deserves the rating is just putting on another set of constraints.
There’s nudity in the Expanse? I need to start watching that show again.
A34, maybe you need to start watching something else again to get your “fix’. These shows here are meant to address your higher brain functions (hopefully)!
Why not have both? I sure an all nude episode of Discovery would be the most popular Star Trek episode of all time.
“Why not have both?”
What’s better, chocolate pudding ON steak or chocolate pudding AFTER steak?
I think STD missed out on the opportunity to do “The Naked Then”, in which the Discovery transports a team of scientists to Psi 2000, then everybody starts acting drunk and getting naked. Could’ve been a great shower scene between Michael and Tilly! Just sayin’
There was nothing in the episode that would not have been in a TNG episode.
Maybe Dahj’s boyfriend getting a knife in the chest.
That was cold. They just had to kill the black alien guy.
They did not have to have to make him black in the first case…. Why do all alien species have to have black ethnicities now, even where it makes zero sense (Vulcans, as the whole planet is a hot desert)? Why not Asian? Why not gold? Why not purple? There’s something pathological.
Wait, so you think only white people live in deserts? Africa’s Kalahari Desert or coastal Namib Desert (as in Namibia) don’t have black people in them?
No, Dennis Franz was not available.
What a great start! I’m going for a bit of a stretch here but what if “mother” was the Borg Queen and the twins are the result of Data mating with her, of course on a whole new level of procreation…
BTW: Did anyone notice? Nero was finally given a credible motivation for his blaze of revenge! In the 2009 movie it seemed he was just a madman blaming the Federation ALTHOUGH they tried to help. Now we get to know that help never arrived because of the Mars attacks.
Interesting point. I wonder if Narek’s brother is or will be Nero.
YES! Abso-lutely yes! Nero is the brother Narek’s just lost… Brilliant observation.
Nero died in another universe 20 years ago. Plus this guy works for romulan intelligence. He lies.
Yeah, but he was still specifically targeting the one person who did the most to try to help.
My idea about the Borg Queen is actually growing on me. When Dahj says her link to Picard is “older, deeper”, it could be memorie fragment from Data. Or it could the Queen’s link to Locutos shining through…
So the pancaky Constellation class is canon now?
It already was.
I didn’t mean the class per se. I was talking about the low thickness of the saucer but I was wrong, the picture still is misleading. I’ve seen another picture and there it looks correct.
Best opener since Emissary.
Well paced, fantastic throughout, nice nods to the past (I mean, really deep rooted references to TNG).
Loses points on editing, couple of scenes seemed quite choppy, but a minor gripe. Can’t fault it otherwise. I liked the vulnerability of Dahj and even in a few scenes the relationship of Picard was something I hoped they would build on, shame about her demise, since her twin looks a little bit more assured…at least for now anyway…
Opening theme is a grower, liking it!
Going to watch it a few more times!
I honestly can’t get over how beautiful this episode is, the tone perfectly fits TNG and Picard. The music, the opening theme, the reverence for TNG is obvious in this show. The themes are actually grounded in reality and mean something. I deeply appreciate everything they’ve done, they actually get it. This really is the version of Star Trek I fell in love with and I intend to enjoy every minute of it.
I don’t expect a flawless recreation of TNG’s world, but I just want enough to let me know they understand the feel of it, and they got it!
I have to say the on-location shooting does wonders for the show’s cinematography and scale, the show feels so much grander.
Two thoughts on this; first, what happens to Dahj is sad and very unfortunate. Not the way I hoped things would go.
Secondly, for Maddox to rummage through Data’s code and then use it to create two (or more) androids is very ghoulish. Starfleet declared Data was an individual, a man with all the rights inherent therein, yet this guy still treats him like a toaster.
Nah, since Data kept up with Maddox, and how Maddox behaved at the end of Measure of a Man, I think Maddox said “we have an opportunity here” to bring Data back, and not one of self-gain but one of resurrecting a friend. Perhaps.
That neither clone is Data merely shows that Data was right when he told Maddox that his process was flawed and that while he might be able to download/copy the facts he would not be able to replicate the essence of what makes him him. Case in point, two female androids neither of which are duplicates of Data.
While I liked the premiere overall, the way Picard moved so quickly past Dahj’s death was another thing that felt wrong to me. One moment he’s telling her how precious she is; a short time later, he’s already moved on to finding her twin. I think a bit more mourning would have been in keeping with the character as he is being presented now.
Agreed
I would counter that part of his mourning for Dahj was his unceasing desire to delve deeper into who or what she is.
Yes, he’s showing his grief, caring and relationship by action, likely soon to be relentless action.
He’s not frozen/paralyzed by the past any longer.
He’s known her for literally a day and she was killed the second time he met her. This was a guy who captained a Starship and saw many people die under him, people he knew and worked with for years but had to keep going regardless. I didn’t see it as a big deal.
For me the big deal was that he saw her as a link to Data, who he’s been mourning for 20 years. Most people who discover their best friend had a daughter, only to watch her die 2 days later, don’t just move on like that. He could of at least shown some anger or concern for the twin (and who know, he may as the series progresses).
I hear you but everyone is different. My mother lost her mother 10 years ago. She lost her on Thursday, took Friday off, had the weekend to sort things out and was back to work that Monday. I just think people are over thinking someone he knew for all of one day. What is he suppose to do, sit in his room and grieve for a few days? But its OK if you disagree of course.
“While I liked the premiere overall, the way Picard moved so quickly past Dahj’s death was another thing that felt wrong to me”
As I understood it its her death that spurred him into action after a decade of “sulking”, when nothing else could reverse his fate. What more powerful motivation there could be, and what more powerful way to express the strong impact her death had on him?
I could have used a few more moments to absorb Dahj’s death.
On the other hand, it seems to have kicked Picard back into Starfleet officer-mode and out of PTSD memory confabulations.
I don’t know if anyone has mentioned this in the comments but during the episode Worf is seen during the B roll used to summarize Picard’s career. This was a shot straight out of TNG and no makeup changes were made. As one who did not mind the changes to the Klingons appearance in Disco S1, but did appreciate Disco S2 changes – I wonder what the future Klingons will look like in Picard? Just another point to ponder haha!
They will look like Klingons. Whatever species was shown in Disco was NOT Klingon. Canon be damned. :)
They were Klingons. The alternative to depicting them how they were shown would have been to hire white actors and paint them black like it was done in TOS and Enterprise, which would have not been acceptable. Just having a beard would make Tyler look like a Klingon.
Kurtzman has spoken on this point in a recent interview.
He says that Worf will look as he did in TNG.
Kurtzman wants to move away from having aliens that all look the same without ethnic variations.
So, in Picard, we see some smooth-headed Vulcan-looking Romulans (as in TOS) and some with pronounced foreheads (as in TNG).
Likewise, expect to see a diversity of Klingon types.
By the way, this solution has its roots in Trek-lit.
Speaking of which I LOVE the Romulans seen in Picard – some have ridges/keloids and others don’t. I’m great with that.
Disco Klingons still weren’t Klingons though. :D
Yes, they were. Again, had they stuck with canon, the Klingons would have been white people in black makeup. That is not acceptable anymore.
“That is not acceptable anymore.”
And why is that? They are depicting Klingons, not black people! #FLAKEALERT
Because it exists in today’s “people get offended over everything, and the media laps it up” world. Look at Apu on The Simpsons. A silly, stereotypical character in a show that is almost 100% stereotypical characters. But some humorless people are offended so the actor says he won’t do the voice anymore.
I thought it was Fu Manchu makeup, not black makeup. Not acceptable today, either.
I imagine we might see the three Klingon “castes” at some point; Augment-virus infected human-looking Klingons, Discovery Klingons, and post TMP Klingons. Either in Discovery or in Picard.
That Augment-virus thing isn’t cannon anymore.
They can make him look like Worf with updated Klingon makeup. Why you guys think he wouldn’t look like Worf is beyond me. You have to realize that the old 90s makeup will not look good in 4K.
“You have to realize that the old 90s makeup will not look good in 4K.”
So instead we will get Tilly pimples all season? Oh wait, we already did #Insurrection
You know that the actor playing Tyler isn’t white right?
The Klingons on Discovery looks 100% better than the tng ones. Worf looked like a guy in a Halloween mask. Can’t wait to see him in updated makeup.
Another Trek Movie article showed excerpts from an interview where Kurtzman suggested that both types of Klingon can appear together.
Kurtzman also said that Spock would never be on Discovery. He said that while they were writing season 2.🤣
Thanks to all for the info, especially the stuff from Kurtzman. Now that I know different styles of Klingons (including Berman-era) will be appearing one day, I imagine the producers intentionally included that photo in the B-roll. I am sure Dorn will be happy haha.
Well, I remember reading that Dorn himself mentioned he wasn’t a big fan of those more bulkier Discovery klingon make-up and that if he appeared again he would need to have make-up that doesn’t hinder his ability to act.
He’ll like it after the pay check.
so im checking out reactions and they are mostly great… 93 on rotten tomatoes and a few bad reviews… (one baffling one from EW) i loved it… but i come across one person who wrote that he didn’t like it because there was fighting and explosions and that’s not star trek. i can’t get that ridiculous idea out of my head…what’s he been watching?… cue gorn kirk battle of the ages… khan fist fighting kirk on the enterprise…khan blowing up… explosions a plenty on ds9 and tng… picard fights the borg queen…
Yeah, that is an odd complaint. Star Trek has always had action, and this episode really only had two brief action scenes.
TOS was one of the most action packed shows of its day and yes they all had action in them. DS9 was probably the show with the most fighting than all of them, especially from fourth season on. And all the movies bar TMP an TVH were essentially big action films, especially the Kelvin movies. Your friend must have gone to the bathroom during all the fight scenes lol.
i will admit i’m ashamed of myself not realizing who dr. bruce maddox was… now that i know damn that makes a lot of sense and focuses the whole thing even more about the synthetics
That’s okay Tom, you were stuck on that abandoned asteroid for a few years haha.
You shouldn’t be. I only know because I just saw Measure of a Man for the first time in 30 years on Saturday. Had I not seen it I would have no clue who Maddux was and just assumed it was some made up character necessary for the Picard show. I don’t easily small tidbits like that from the mediocre TNG episodes.
A long time ago after Nemesis, i suspected in my head canon, that although Data blew up the Scimitar, he did not in fact really ‘die’, but rather was blown into his pieces. And i always surmised that maybe some nefarious Romulans found him and did not tell Picard and Starfleet and then tried to rebuild him or extract stuff from him, and this show is pointing to something like that, and it is getting interesting and now talking about Maddox, it gets my theory a lot closer to being legit and due a screen credit, lol.
Don’t forget those experiments take place upon a Borg Cube! There is more to it than just reconstructing Data from bits and pieces. I am now more sure than ever, that Soji and Dahj are not just Data’s daughters but also the Borg Queen’s! They had an affair in First Contact and maybe Data’s essence was uploded into the Hive that way…
Dahj and Picard…They go back in and older, much deeper connection…LOCUTUS!
I’m not really buying it. I don’t think having a sexual affair would connect Data to the Hive, and he didn’t seem at all like he was connected to the Hive in First Contact. The Queen had to talk him into helping her instead of just dominating his free will, and she wasn’t able to read his thoughts and see that he was planning to betray her.
I’m dropping a line to say that I caught up with The Ready Room today.
It’s great that TPTB have made the decision to put it up on the Star Trek (official site ).
Wil Wheaton is precisely the right host. So often, hosts of these kinds of shows can give off a ‘false insider’ vibe.
Wil is authentic, both as a cast member from TNG, and as a fan who has taken the time to rewatch and post reviews of TNG episodes.
I really prefer him as the interviewer over the off-stage interviewers of ‘Moments of Discovery’.
Closing with the trailer/preview for the next episode (which we don’t see in Canada on CTV Sci-fi channel) is appreciated.
I’ll definitely be watching these.
I so agree. Will Wheaton was an amazing choice for the Ready Room. Besides clearly just understanding Star Trek throughout due to his own experience on the show he talks and asks questions like a fan would. And while its still as show mostly for PR (like most after shows are) it doesn’t feel as ‘staged’ like it did last year.
And I wonder if this show is going to be done for ALL the Star Trek shows now? I assume it will continue with Discovery since it started there but will it cover Lower Decks and Section 31 do this too?
Just watched the premiere and as a very vociferous critic of the dumpster fire that is Star Trek Discovery and someone who is puzzled by Kurtzman getting jobs in Hollywood, I think it was rather good! I’m excited to watch the next episode, which something I never have said about Discovery!
Credit where it’s due, Kurtzman and Akiva. Don’t mess it up!
Lol good points. I still don’t know how Kurtzman keeps getting work after The Mummy. I wonder if the parts that everyone likes about the Picard show (the slower pace, normal camera movements, more thoughtful dialogue) were pushed against by Kurtzman.
Given that Kurtzman has referred to Discovery as ‘a bullet’, and has been cautioning for much of the past year that Picard would be more grounded, slower paced and different in tone and look, it seems that there is every reason to believe that Kurtzman pushed for this rather than against it.
By the way, one of the questions from Wil Wheaton to Hanelle Culpepper in The Ready Room was about what choices did she have as the director of the premiere and the following two episodes. Her response is worth a listen. She definitely was making choices (warm colours, lighting) to contrast with Discovery’s cool blues. It seems implied that she had a mandate for that.
“She definitely was making choices (warm colours, lighting) to contrast with Discovery’s cool blues.”
Warm colors of course are also much more consistent with TNG (opposed to later shows). Same as with TOS and “cardboard”, they don’t need to recreate an 1980s Hilton lounge in order to be faithful to TNG design aesthetic.
Yeah I loved that she made a direct point about DIS on the Ready Room (but being very diplomatic about it), its just too much freaking blue everywhere. It really stands out when you’re watching a video on Youtube and a compilation of all the shows thrown together you see DIS clips and it looks so stark against the others because its like the producers only had two color pallets for that show.
As for Picard, yes it definitely looked like TNG again but it was all super beige either which was really just the Enterprise itself (and I never mind it at all).
And it also proves you don’t have to just copy everything to feel like its the same universe again. What they did for Picard is literally what people wanted with DIS, update and change whatever you want, but bring in some iconic elements to ground us in the world of TOS beyond phasers and sound effects. Pike and the Enterprise is exactly the kind of stuff people wanted in the first season; a similar look and feel to the TOS era but still not quite the same either. That’s why so many are now begging for a show, because its simply doing what DIS SHOULD Have did from the start.
Why fan’s have to be so cruel is bewildering. In fact some people in general. If it is a success it can’t possibly have been ‘his’ effort, or ‘her’ direction or whatever.
These tv shows and movies are expensive and they take a lot of effort to produce, and it’s surely more a collective effort. All the cogs in the machine have to flow, and if one of them stalls, that’s going to affect the final result.
These ‘blame that guy’, ‘blame the top-3’, whatever…
Even if you have a good story, it’s nothing without actors who do a good job, and vice versa.
And then you have the studio which has the ultimate power to influence any production – just take a look at the other ‘Star’ franchise for how that messes things up a bit. Or David Fincher. I’m sure many others too.
The show looks amazing with great performances.But as we move forward in time there seems to be more Internal conflict within Starfleet/Federation. What happened to Gene Roddenberry’s view of an optimistic Utopia of the Future?
Utopian values take the effort of courageous people of integrity, again and again across the generations.
It’s easy to be a perfect society when there are no profound threats and resources are in surplus but when crises arise, and hard choices must be made, commitment to those values is threatened.
“Utopia” comes from Greek: οὐ (“not”) and τόπος (“place”) which translates as “no-place” and literally means any non-existent society. To strive toward a utopia is the goal of Star Trek, and even in Star Trek we’ve never been rid of the human aspect. They solve many problems, but bigotry is still present (, money still exists, and humans are always going to be human. The point of Trek was to show that we will overcome the problems of today, that people will not want (basically welfare for all citizens) and all basic needs are met, that the ideas of science and ethics are the basis for governance. But as Picard says in The Drumhead, there are always villains, and we must remain vigilant.
It’s ok, you can chill out at the private estate of the Picard family.
A. Its not a utopia.
B. You can still have conflict and disagree over things even when they are good.
C. Starfleet is a big bureaucracy in a democratic system, I don’t care what century it’s in, bureaucratizes are chaos in motion most of the time, especially the huge stakes and consequences it deals with on a daily basis.
This is where Roddenberry lost so many over the ‘perfect humans’ idea. The idea in a society as big, vast, cumbersome and diverse as the Federation where everyone feels, thinks and all generally agree is about as realistic Star Trek itself, which means not realistic at all.
“Humanity” or “The Federation” was never meant to be THE metaphor for all of humanity TODAY. We are, after all, not a united post-WW3, post-first contact species living in a post-scarcity, free energy society. All species of the Star Trek galaxy were metaphors of different cultures/kinds of humans… the Vulcans, the Klingons, the Ferengi… you get the point. I think one major issue today is that the new generation of Trek producers is mixing up their metaphors.
Exactly! I think this is sometimes what is forgotten, the Federation is made up of many different alien cultures, of course there is going to be internal strife and conflicts at times because of varied beliefs or interests. Or simply different set of ideas. How could there not be when there are so many people in most likely hundreds of billions of citizens you have to please in thousands of worlds or colonies? I think to most people see the Federation as the space version of the U.N.. But not quite since the U.N. actually allows EVERYONE in who wants to join, the Federation is much more strict about it. But we all know the U.N. fails as many times as it succeeds. I suspect the Federation is the same.
Yes its a more progressive, open and civil but that doesn’t just means everyone agrees all the time. I don’t know where people get this strange idea from? People disagree with each other what to do on any given mission on the Enterprise, imagine when you are making literally galatic decisions and have to weigh that decision with 100 other planets who still have their own interests to think about as well.
In fact that’s exactly why I loved the Maquis story line. It was really the first and I think ONLY time where we saw the Federation make a decision that basic citizens and civilians were unhappy with and saw the effects of it in the most negative and violent way.
I just wish people stop acting like everything and everyone is suppose to be perfect just because they are in the Federation. It’s still an organization with problems and conflicts as any other, it simply tries to work through things peacefully and diplomatically, but as the Maquis revolt prove, it’s not always possible either.
I think the point is that Earth was supposed to be the utopia. Out in space with the border skirmishes and God like aliens around and independent societies are where the conflicts arise. Humans were perfect in the future. The problems all came from the non-humans. At least that is how I took the utopia concept based on what was said about it on DS9 and what was inferred on TNG.
Isn’t that pretty much everything wrong with TNG – that the humans are the utopia and that we have nothing to learn from all the aliens who just want to be like utopian perfect humans?? Picard I am happy to see exposes that the perfect humans aren’t so perfect.. if only for another goose chase pursuit of utopia in perfect AI!
It was something that I found wrong with TNG. There was a general subtext to many episodes that said humans were the best thing in the universe. There may be other species who are stronger, live longer, smarter, etc. But none have all the qualities that we humans do and that makes us superior to all the rest. The utopian Earth was a symptom of that. And I think it all came from GR. TNG was more in line with what he wanted than TOS ever was. At least, that is what I gleaned from things I have read. It’s part of why I think it best to ignore things like “Gene’s vision.” I appreciate what he created here, don’t get me wrong. But Trek seems to have thrived in other people’s hands. Not his.