CBS saved the biggest surprise for last with the SDCC trailer for Star Trek: Picard, in an extra bit of content after the title card featuring Star Trek: The Next Generation star Brent Spiner’s return, in full android form. How exactly he is returning has been the subject of much speculation, and the actor is now providing a bit more clarity.
Data is back, but not every episode
Speaking to the Las Vegas Review Journal promoting his upcoming appearance (and concert) at Star Trek Las Vegas this week, Brent Spiner also talked a bit about his appearance in Star Trek: Picard:
Data makes appearances in the show, I can say that. And Data is a story point in this season as well. But I’m not in every episode. I’m not a major character on the show.
According to the article, Spiner has read all the scripts for the first season of the show, describing them as “excellent.” The actor also offered this assessment of Picard:
I think people will be really, really excited about it, because it’s a great story.
Based on what Spiner says to the LVRJ as well as his SDCC media appearances and on the SDCC panel, it seems he will have a recurring role in the series and not just a brief cameo. Jeri Ryan has also confirmed she will be appearing in more than one episode. As for Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis, indications are they appear in just one episode, which was shot last week.
Brent Spiner and Jeri Ryan at Star Trek: Picard Panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2019
Spiner’s comments to the LVRJ also confirm Spiner is appearing as Data, and not another Soong-type android, like B-4, who Spiner has suggested appears in the trailer as the non-functional android seen in a Starfleet lab. Spiner has also made clear that Data died in Star Trek Nemesis. This has led to speculation that Data’s appearances in Picard will be different than other returning characters like Seven (Jeri Ryan) and Hugh (Jonathan Del Arco).
A popular theory is that Data will appear as some kind of holographic simulation. However, Alison Pill’s Dr. Agnes Jurati character is described as a researcher and can be seen with Jean-Luc Picard in the trailer examining the B-4 android. It has also been said that Picard is haunted by Data’s sacrifice in Nemesis. So, there may be more to his appearance than just a flashback or hologram.
Picard and Dr. Agnes Jurati examine B-4 in Star Trek: Picard
Brent sings at STLV
On Saturday night at Star Trek Las Vegas Brent Spiner will be singing a selection of songs with his live band in an event being called “In Search of Lost Time.” This will be Spiner’s musical debut at STLV. The actor has released a number of musical albums and sang as Data on Star Trek: The Next Generation and notably at the Riker/Troi wedding in Star Trek Nemesis.
Spiner explains the gala event to the LVRJ:
It’s not exactly a concert. I mean, I sing a number of songs. They’re all woven into dialogue that tells stories. The theme is time: time in the abstract, the times of our lives, particularly the times of my life. There’s a lot of talk. There’s a lot of stories. The stories lead into the songs; the songs lead into the stories.
The Spiner event is included in Gold, Captain’s Chair and Copper packages. Others can purchase a separate ticket for $60 (Note: The Gala ticket does not include admission to the convention)
Full STLV coverage to come
We expect more news about Star Trek: Picard to emerge at Star Trek Las Vegas. TrekMovie’s team is currently on their way to Las Vegas to provide our usual comprehensive coverage of the biggest annual Star Trek convention. The convention and our coverage kicks off on Wednesday here on the site and via our social media platforms.
I think no matter how much he’s in it, its still pretty surreal he’s back and definitely a big win. I was already beyond excited for the show, but once he showed up in the trailer there are no words on how badly I want to see this now. Its funny out of all the people I suspected we would see return again from TNG, I pegged Data dead last (pun intended ;)). I just really thought no one wanted to touch that idea but then again its Data, one of the most iconic characters around and he will get butts in the seats. So probably a good compromise, can’t really use him since he’s technically dead but will be a part of the story with Picard probably trying to bring him back somehow.
And my bet is we will most likely see him completely revived by the end of the season.
I agree i think Commander Data will be revived by the end of the season.Welcome back commander Data.
CAPTAIN Data, at the end of the First Season.
Agreed. I think if the 1st Season bombs like it did for STD, Data will be brought in like Spock and Pike. Hopefully, Data will be Data and not some overly complicated, hyper-emotional, needlessly flawed, dramatised version of himself. Spock with autism…*sigh* an insult to autistic people “he needs to be special! let’s make him special!” as well as to the character “his original character just wasn’t special enough!”
What a joke…season 1 didn’t bomb by any means.
Maybe for random sci-fi fans, but it did with the vast majority of Star Trek fans.
? wouldn’t those random sci-fi fans now be Star Trek fans since they liked Star Trek Discovery?
As a Star Trek fan who’s been watching Star Trek first run since 1969 (at age 6); I can assure you that’s not the case. The majority of my friends who are also TOS fans, enjoyed Discovery Seasons 1 and 2 quite a bit – and it felt more ‘Trek like’ than TNG did back in 1987 where GR tried to retcon everything that came before.
The difference is that for many people now (like me) their sense of what Trek is is far more defined by the TNG-era shows. So even in Discovery is more like TOS, that won’t necessarily make it more relatable to younger audiences.
“Vast majority”? Maybe, maybe not, but there’s no scientific poll out there to make that concrete determination. Please use qualifiers like “seems to have”, they really make comments a lot more fair, while still getting across your opinion.
… except that it wasn’t Spock with autism, but Spock with dyslexia. big difference… in any case, there was plenty of pre-existing canon indicating Spock struggled profoundly in his youth. That it’s been stated to include something diagnosable (in 10% of humans, including some highly significant ones; vulcan statistics unavailable) should be just fine.
“But sir… I am an android!” Welcome back Data!!!
Nah, think BIG, transfer Data into a whole damn ship. The U.S.S. Data, Gene Rodenberry’s “Andromeda” style.
“I am an android, not a starship.”
I disagree. Unless they go back in time and beam him out just nanoseconds after he fires that phaser, no matter what they get from the android parts, even if the memory download worked, the end result would not be Data. Data himself even told Picard as much when they were discussing the nature vs nurture thing regarding Picard’s clone.
Original data was vaporized. There are no parts to put back together. The essence of what he was is gone. There could be a Data-like B-4. But it would not him.
ML31,
Biological cloning is NOT analogous in your attempted equivalency because in biological cloning, such as with Shinzon, the host’s memories are NOT replicated.
I was referring to a scene in Nemesis where Picard was thinking that perhaps if he were in a similar situation as Shinzon he could have ended up like him. Data reassured Picard that even though they share DNA they were indeed two different people. And as an example he claimed that even if the memory download worked in B-4 and he had all of Data’s memories, B-4 would still not be him. I agree with that conclusion. Data is gone. The best they can get is essentially an earlier version of the Soong android with Data’s memories up to the point of the download part way through Nemesis. It would not be Data.
ML31,
The problem with going with Data’s philosophy is then the Spock that Sargon put in Chapel in RETURN TO TOMORROW was not Spock, and the Spock that death put in McCoy was not Spock. So, Spock has been AWOL since RETURN TO TOMORROW?
I can’t imagine how you could attempt to launch a successful campaign to get fans to accept that Spock has not been himself since his recovery from Chapel in RTT? Or that somehow, Data’s recovery from B4 after his death would somehow be significantly different than Spock’s from McCoy in ST:III?
What if Picard secured the services of a Vulcan mystic/cyberneticist for the Data extraction?
Except now you are getting into the metaphysical and we are discussing things like a soul or the ‘essence’ of who someone is. For the Spock in the Sargon recepticle purpose, I think it fair to say that was his ‘essence’. It was what made Spock Spock beyond the chemical processes and the molecules that make up the body. When he was returned, it was indeed the Spock we all knew. Data, on the other hand, did not share his ‘essence’ or ‘soul’ with B-4. Only his memory files. I think it fair to say that Data, as we knew him, was more than just his android body and memory files. It is why we thought of him as an individual rather than a mere extension of the Enterprise computer. If one can just plug his memories into another device and that device becomes Data, then I think the argument that he is merely a mechanical tool begins to have merit.
Regarding your question of a Vulcan mystic/cyberneticist… The problem is there was no soul or Katra or essence or whatever you want to call it for that person to extract or put in B-4. Whatever it was that made Data more than a collection of android parts was vaporized along with the rest of him.
ML31,
And I remind you that STAR TREK has established that Vulcans can mind meld with cybernetic AIs such as NOMAD and V’ger so the possibility of a Vulcan mind meld assisted extraction of Data from B4 is not something entirely out of the question.
OK. But there was still nothing left for any Vulcan to extract. Data was vaporized and no one melded with him before he left on his suicide mission. His Katra (if he had one) evaporated with his body.
We know for a fact that backup copies of Data exist.
ML31,
Now, you are just being pedantic.
They were in physical contact; weren’t they? The “remember” memories Data gave his brother just as likely created a thread for his katra to follow, as Spock’s “Remember.” implanted memories did in McCoy.
Dis, it seems you are not using the word ‘pedantic’ correctly. And even if you were, it wouldn’t mean I was wrong. The memory download was just that. It wasn’t a katra ritual of any kind. Certainly not like what Spock did to McCoy. One was spirital, the other was a physical download of computer bits and bytes. It’s not comparable.
ML31,
Re: pedantic
My meaning is the specific katra rules of transference that you imply are being violated; don’t exist. They are a minor plot detail simply given a name “katra.”
In canon arguments, we can only use events and details as actually depicted on screen to prove or falsify claims.
Your assertion that Spock’s “Remember” was a katra ritual transferring his essence into McCoy doesn’t add up. That means the Spock that went into the warp chamber and effected repairs wasn’t Spock.
Clearly, the katra transference occurs after death. All we see on screen is Spock clearly depositing a memory in McCoy prior to his death. That memory deposit must be the 1st step in setting up a successful transference, AFTER death, of the katra from the once living host to its living target.
However, please note, essence transferal in the first series, as we previously discussed, is science. Not only did it specifically occur several times in the 1st series episode I cited, but also in its final one. In light of this, your argument that Data’s memory deposit couldn’t have possibly have been the first step in a successful future essence transferal because it wasn’t a religious ritual seemed pedantic to me.
Also, if katra essence transference was a purely religious experience, how do Vulcan katras find their ways into their duplicated bodies after the transporter destroys the originals?
And, why did Data keep using transporters if he truly believed what you asserted?
Dis..
There really are no katra rules except what we have seen on screen. Spock just saying, “Remember” does not necessarily mean he was only depositing memories. Memories themselves are not the only element of a Katra. Sarek explained as much. It is reasonable to assume that more took place with McCoy off screen than simply a memory transfer. This is not a canon violation because it takes place off screen. This is done so the audience doesn’t have to watch 60 seconds (or whatever time length it is) of ritual. Just as we can watch someone start to program something, cut away, and when we cut back whatever needed to be done was done.
Clearly a Katra can be placed before death. Spock did it to McCoy. How he kept going after transference? Good question. Perhaps enough of him lingers on after transference to still function for a short while? Perhaps he gave McCoy the original and operated on a copy for that short time? Regardless, it happened that way. It worked. Obviously the katra can be placed back into the host, but death need not be a part of either process.
The essence transference may well be a scientific thing for Sargon’s purposes. Then again, it may not. We are speculating on that. Either way, it still doesn’t apply to Data’s memory download. I never claimed a religious ceremony was needed for a katra transfer. Obviously that is not the case as we’ve seen it happen with Vulcan’s twice now without any help from a religious figure.
I think it best to avoid the inconsistent transporter arguments. The way it is used one could stay young forever and various other things it’s not used for. Some even think of it as a murder machine in that the person that comes back isn’t even the same person that goes in. Which is a whole other can of worms.
ML31,
I was also referring to the Dr. Lester transference science in TURNABOUT INTRUDER. And I believe it’s occurred throughout other later series’ episodes as well, but I wanted to stick to the founding ones.
If you are going to introduced off-screen steps, then you have to acknowledge that Data is the only non-Vulcan Federation citizen known to have mastered a Vulcan technique, the nerve-pinch. So, who knows what others he’s mastered? Also, Data has personally experienced other entities transference onto his neural network, more times than I can count. I think it would disingenuous to suggest he knows nothing about the subject, nor has studied it – if only in deference to self-defense?
Re: katra copies
I would say the Kirks and Rikers produced by the transporter would be the strongest evidence of this possibility that you suggest.
But doesn’t this give rise to reasons to suspect that Data is wrong about the cloneability of his positronic essence?
Dis,
Yes. Dr. Lester too.
Sure Data seems to have mastered the nerve pinch. (I don’t recall, didn’t Burnham dish one out once?) So yes… I’m sure he knows all about Vulcan mysticism and rituals. But the memory download was no ritual. There was no mind meld. It was a direct computerized link to copy certain files from Data’s memory center to B-4. There weren’t even lines where he said “the essence of who I am will be transferred to B-4.” If he had, he couldn’t tell Picard that even if B-4 successfully assimilated all of his memories “he still would not be me.”
Regarding katra copies… I was just spitballing on how Spock could still operate as Spock after the transfer. To be honest, I don’t really consider it all that important. Just that he can still function long enough to get that death scene is good enough for me.
Afterburn,
Re: backup copies of Data exist.
To the best of my recollection, I believe that is accurate.
I also recall, in the Twain adventure, they even time-cloned Data’s head which might be the cleanest way to use time travel to “save” him, i.e. appear just before Data enters the Snakes’ rift for the first time, swap out his younger head for the dug up one and take his younger head forward in time?
Admittedly I don’t recall the TNG episodes as well as others but I do not recall anything about any “back-up” copies of data just lying around. If there were, then it seems unlikely the positronic signal encountered in Nemesis would have been worth taking the time to investigate while en route to the First Officer’s wedding. They investigated because Soong-type androids were supposed to be monumentally rare.
ML31,
My recollections are that Data has backup copies of his positronic software – NOT his entire physical being. Although, I must admit it always puzzled me what about his physical body couldn’t be duplicated by Federation replication technology, but didn’t pose any problem for their transporters?
ML31,
The closest analogy would be the Genesis body that Spock’s katra was put in ST:III. There’s absolutely no way that collection of cells was identical to the one Spock’s katra left in death. For example, because it went back to the beginning every telltale remnant from previous injuries and broken bones that Spock’s original body had from his original life led would have been erased in its new rebirth and aging to be replaced by whatever injury remnants it experienced in its mindless wanderings on Planet Genesis.
YEah I agree Disinvited, if this is really a story about resurrecting Data fully then it will probably be closest to what they did with Spock in TSFS which I have used as an example previously. But you made a great point, Spock was basically given a new body as well. I never thought of it that way but you’re right, we literally watched it go back from a baby to a human male. And of course I never understood if the body was basically made with Genesis material then how come his cells weren’t disrupted the same way the Genesis planet was that died out pretty quickly? But Spock new body never had any problems.
But yeah its Star Trek, we shouldn’t over think it although we do all the time lol. As for Data, as long as its Spiner playing him like it was Nimoy in the other films, then its Data. How that will happen (assuming it will) won’t really matter and no one is going to think about it much after it does.
Ultimately they’ll contort events to suit the story they want to tell. Even if it’s a stretch in-universe. I can’t say I blame them if they do invent such a way to bring Data back – doubtless they would never have killed him off to begin with if they’d ever imagined doing this show.
Though perhaps they can also recreate some of the Picard-Data dynamic by pairing him with Seven as with Janeway-Seven – though she seems to have become a lot more human judging by the trailer.
Its Star Trek, its brought back every major character who has died at one point so far with the exception of Prime Kirk. He’s basically the Uncle Ben of Star Trek lol. Technically Jadzia Dax was never brought back either but she lives on in Erzi Dax. Charles Tucker was never brought back in canon, but was through a novel. Oh hell now that I think about it, so was Prime Kirk lol. Ironically through the Borg in The Return which Shatner helped write. I guess I just made my original point stronger.
So if and how Data is brought back, its not going to be any more absurd than allll the others who was brought back. And he’s an android, so the circumstances are more different than a biological entity.
The memory download was quite obviously an “out” should further TNG features be made. Nemesis was made to be a finale but was also left open for more. The proof of that was B-4 feeling compelled to sing “Blue Skies” at the end. It left the audience with hope that the memory download was a success. The concept worked.
Well that’s dumb.. data would be the first guy to think of to come back because of makeup he wont look aged. He’s the most important character besides picard, what on earth would make you think he wasn’t coming back?
too bad this show will be about explosions and end of the world and chosen one nonsense, and not be anything like star trek.
Because they killed him off maybe and because Spiner himself said countless times he no longer wanted to play Data because he was aging? He only died in Nemesis because it was Spiner who wanted to stop playing him. And he actually wanted him killed off as early as First Contact.
But I didn’t say I couldn’t see him coming back at all, its still Star Trek lol. But I simply suspected him the least to come back compared to the other characters who were all still alive and most likely still active in Starfleet, so it wouldn’t be an issue to bring them back at all if the actor wanted to come back. But mostly because of Spiner previous comments that he was done playing the character, so yeah.
And make up can only do so much! Data definitely looked different and older by the end of the TNG movies and exactly why he knew eventually he would have to stop. Thankfully with technology today, there are more options now.
season 2 would be fantastic if it were al a search for spock, but for data :)
Spiner’s description confirms and makes sense of what we’ve heard about Data in Picard S1.
While Frakes and Stewart have clearly indicated they were doing a scene scenes together last week, I’m doubt that the ones with Riker and Troy together have been done yet.
Something in one of the interviews suggested that was to come.
More than that, unless Dark Sublime, the play that Sirtis was playing the principal role in was cut short, it’s run was scheduled to end on August 3rd.
In fact, checking Twitter, fans were still tweeting that they’d just seen it on July 27th, so she was definitely still in the UK last week.
I suspect the Riker/Troi scenes may be shot a bit later in the same block.
I agree. It pretty much all but confirms the most likely scenarios I’ve heard.
-please delete-
spiner confirms what spiner had said before… lol.
And Riker and Troi scene isnt filmed yet… as .. confirmed before.
Yeah…
I just hope he will not only be there as “past time” hologram. I hope he will be there as the real data – in another form. It sounds like fan service but a nice end would be if the series brought him back into a real body and fully restored. I’d be in heaven.
The little bit of gray on his shoulders in the article’s image makes me think Nemesis uniform. Can’t seem to see any rank pips though.
The trailer depicts Data’s “sacrifice” as an important event that changed Picard’s life, so it stands to reason it’s an important story point to resolve in this series. I think it’s safe to assume that Data’s appearance in the trailer is a holographic recreation, but restoring Data to one of the surviving Android bodies might be a big part of the show’s arc. But that still makes you wonder what happened to B4 and what was in the drawer. Brent said it was B4 in one of the video interviews, but why is he disassembled in a drawer? It could also be Lore’s body, presumably Starfleet has possession of him following the events in Descent. The events in “Descent” must play some role here since Hugh and (perhaps) his Borg ship are involved. So many possibilities, all depends on how deep in the backstory they want to go.
But I am prepared to be a little weirded out by the de-aging VFX for Data, one of the reasons I’m sure they can’t feature him heavily.
Remember in Nemesis, they said B4’s brain wasn’t advanced enough to handle data, maybe it failed?
But he was recalling the song “Blue Skies” at the end. Offering up hope that maybe the memory download just took a while to take and it was only then starting to come through. But, and I feel this needs to be said over and over, even if it did take 100% it would still NOT be Data.
Sure it can still be Data. Because Data wasn’t Data by himself. He was a collection of his experiences, the memories of the colonists, and Lal to name a few. B4 could be simply another member of this “community.” Or collective if you will.
Data himself would disagree. He told Picard as much himself. “He would not be me” is what he said. Further, B-4 was an earlier version of the Soong android. So he would probably not even be capable of certain functions Data was perfectly adept at.
Ah right, been a long time since I watched Nemesis. But for good reason!
Well, I suppose B4 could’ve been enhanced to handle it. Maybe by Maddox or another cyberneticist.
Careful tech, you’re talking to ML31, the guy who thinks Nemesis was the pinnacle of quality Star Trek movies.
Listen, AB. If you wish to interject into the conversations, fine I guess. But if you are going to speak on behalf of other posters, then at least have the courtesy to get things right. I believe the pinnacle of quality of Trek movies is Wrath of Khan. When you make false claims like you just did it can be deemed “trolling”.
I suppose B-4 could be adjusted. The problem there is if there were cyberneticists around who could perform such things then it would stand to reason that they would have to technology to simply create other “Data’s” And it has been established that for some unknown goofball reason no one has been able to duplicate or reverse engineer Soong’s work.
ML31,
Re: Goofball
Well, I’ve speculated that perhaps Starfleet could replicate/clone Data, i.e. each copy identical in emerging thinking they were the original. But, there seems clear prohibitions on forced cloning of Federation citizens and we can imagine that Data would object.
Also, it seems, given the legacies of M5, NOMAD, RUK, Norman, Lore, etc., Starfleet would be wise not to increase the population of its Datas via replication cloning without fully understanding the technology 1st?
By that reasoning it seems odd that they would have even allowed Data to exist to begin with. Given the stated history with AI tech in Federation history. Just because he behaves himself in the beginning doesn’t mean he will continue so long as he has a power supply.
ML31,
Re: Allowed Data
Allowing him Federation citizenship would have been one thing.
But you are preaching to the choir, about the fact they let him serve in the military BEFORE they even determined that he was a sentient with rights!
Yeah I’m curious to know what happened to B4 too. And maybe its not strictly about reviving Data but him as well.
Glad they’re bringing back Data in any capacity, but have to say I’m not overly impressed with the de-aging FX. Very wrinkled over each eyebrow and his face looks almost “fat” in the trailer, or like the cat who swallowed the canary.
Data/Spiner had “wrinkles” when raising his eyebrows 32 years ago, too.
Spot?
Maybe Spot 4.0
This may just be quick, first pass vfx.
We’ve seen scenes in early trailers cleaned up a lot before final cut.
Yeah, remember this beauty:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqm9HSYbf0o
That clip put a sour taste in my mouth for months. I literally didn’t want to see it. It looked like a video game. Thankfully the real thing is a real beauty now, at least effects wise.
Hah!
Once again we think alike Tiger2.
I was thinking about the early Discovery ‘beauty shots’ that mainly served to generate fan angst.
I will be fair and say that was made before they actually started shooting the show but it does prove you have to wait for the finished product to really judge something. But boy did releasing that as the FIRST image really gutted a lot of fans excited for a new show. I still can’t believe they went with that ship but after two seasons it has finally grown on me.
“I was thinking about the early Discovery ‘beauty shots’ that mainly served to generate fan angst.”
That was an inside job to boost shares of companies selling pizza cutters!
I’m not going to judge based on one quick clip in a trailer 9 months before release– but I don’t disagree with you on what we DID see.
Still, i’m very happy to hear he’s a story point. Given that he was partly assimilated by the borg, there could be a point there. Mostly though, it’s good to hear he’s not just there to be there. He adds something to the character of Picard and to the story of the season. That’s all I want with these guest stars.
Hopefully Riker & Troi provide something that adds to it, same with Seven and Hugh. Otherwise it only exists to be an “I clapped because I recognize Riker!” moment.
You can see the same facial structure in the photos of Spiner from Comic-Con. I think it’s just how he looks now, I’m not sure how much they can do about it without running into other issues of the effect itself looking uncanny. I don’t know how widely available the level that was so good in the most recent Marvel films is.
In a Search of Lost Time is fantastic. A very talented man.
So Data is confirmed killed and it’s not Data in B4 so it must be Data memories taken out of B4 and placed in Picards mind. So basicly Picard is taking to Data in his own mind and nobody else will see or hear Data…end result Picard is commited to an insane assylum.
Doubtful.
hahaha I sincerely hope not!
We may see time travel and Picard breaking the rules to go back and save Data.
Well, 100 years earlier they had a time suits. By Picard’s time they should have some sort of wrist device so anyone can travel through time.
“We may see time travel and Picard breaking the rules to go back and save Data.”
I’m not sure I like that idea, but it would be very cool if they used the “Trials and Tribble-ations” effects to put Old Picard in a scene from Nemesis.
Beam Data off just before the explosion and take him back to the future without needing to alter the past.
Why does it look like Data has the mumps?
Asymmetric mumps – but I had the same thought Andorianguy.
It’s actually lubricant retention.
It’s part of that floating device Data has been talking about all the way back in Insurrection!
If you remember in star trek nemesis data performed a download of data,s memory in to be 4 positronic matrix he was concerned that it was not as developed but only time would tell
Or
Some salvage ship found pieces of data floating in pieces out in space
There would be no pieces of Data floating anywhere. He was at ground zero of the explosion. He has been vaporized.
I don’t think they’d let that kind of reasoning get in the way of a good story.
On board the salvage ship…
Captain: What is….that???
Crewman Salvage Specialist: I don’t know. I’ve only heard of the positronic penis, but I never thought I’d see one.
Captain: Touch it!
Crewman Salvage Specialist: Please sir, no….
They should have made it the “some-what mischevious” abandoned Dr. Soong android. Soong would have tested transferring himself into an android body and left it behind in his now re-explored lab after he was unhappy with his creation, .
Since it wasn’t a complete success for Soong it has been sitting there. So to “fix” it they use B4’s engrams after they track down B4 where he tends bar and mops floors at some seedy dive bar at the butt end of some star system.
So now they have an almost Data but older looking Data with a bit of a mischevious streak. This new form android provides us with an intriguing new personality for us to study and figure out. A Soong / B4 / Data Construct.
But, sigh, this “Picard” looks to be some sort of mongrel construct that simply taps into characters already established.
Like some “Best of Album.”
Ernst: How can you know this lacks originality from an early trailer clearly targeted at building fan interest?
Seems like you’re looking to be pessimistic.
The episode Riker and Troi are in could go something like this:
They show up in a new Enterprise-D that Q conjured out of thin air because he felt like it. So they all pick up Picard and Data and Seven and Hugh and all the new cast members, and that’s the end of the season.
Season two will involve them then picking up Geordi and Beverly and Worf and Barclay and Wesley and Janeway and Chakotay and Odo and Dax and Quark and O’Brien and Sulu (shut up, nobody cares that it doesn’t make any sense) and the Doctor and Neelix and Phlox and Archer and Harry and Tom and B’Elanna and basically everyone except people from Discovery, because they don’t count. And then they all just ride around the galaxy playing cards and eating birthday cake and doing karaoke in Ten Forward and occasionally putting some alien planet in their place.
Probably not what will happen, but I’d be fine with it if it did.
This made me laugh out loud for real. Ha!
LOL! And knowing the current Star Trek brain trust, you may get your wish! ;D
Can they please de-age him?
Brent Spiner is 70. They definitely de-aged him. They should have done something about those cheeks though…
They thought the baby fat looks more youthful ;)
No scheisse, Picard got a dog now that’s also a story point. But is he a good boy though ?
Data is definitely a hologram. How else can they explain him becoming more… volume ;)
Data appears to be wearing a Nemesis era uniform. I’m guessing that he only appears in flashbacks or dreams.
Other than that I can imagine hearing Picard walk into a holodeck and saying “Computer, run Commander Data simulation Picard Alpha 7” and talking to “Data”.
Lubricant retention?
…almost spit my drink out reading that one, Phil. Well played.
..probably flash backs, dreams or as rumored, it’s B4
Both Spiner and the article went out of its way to say its NOT B-4, but confirmed its Data.
Anybody recall this? This circulated some months ago on various sites. change the names and genders and ethnicities.
http://www.thathashtagshow.com/2019/03/01/picard-series-character-update/
many of the character breakdowns line up with what we now know… so it seems those folks might have had a good source.
If this fits…
Picard is Picard
Indira is Dahj
K’Bar is Elnor
Alana is Raffi Musiker
Lawrence would appear to be Chris Rios.
There’s a ‘Connie’ that i can’t place. And nothing seems to transfer to Narek.
Starton is the researcher, now Agnes Jurati.
NB: Starton is described as specializing in positronic brains (!). ‘Story point’ indeed.
And then, a Dr. Smith — a holo-character. Could that be the peculiar figure dressed in white in the trailer?
Or… could it be that the creative team ultimately decided to adapt it to a holo-Data? Thus, Data’s ‘self-awareness’ only goes to 2379, but the essence of who he was has been brought to holo-form.
Or, something else?
Perhaps the mobile emitter technology that the Doctor uses on Voyager has been successfully replicated by this time. That might be another reason for Seven to be part of it and also give an indication of why they approached Robert Picardo.
Sadly, the nature of today’s cynical worldview means that Data’s presence in the show will be about Picard learning to deal with his grief and his loss and moving on. It’s pretty obvious at this stage that Data appears exclusively in holodeck form – Picard probably visits him regularly. At the end of the season, he will delete the program and “move on”. This will be the lesson and the last we see of Data forever.
I wouldn’t call that a cynical lesson. Grief and the acceptance of death are natural parts of life. I don’t think that’s the route that this show will take (kind of a cross between The Bonding and Hollow Pursuits, I guess). I think we will either be seeing B4 with Data’s memories, or Data will be coming back to life some how.
It’s cynical in as much as we can’t just have Data come back and have an upbeat ending. Spock died, the crew went through hell to bring him back, but he was back. Data just doesn’t get to despite having the far more clear way to return.