We’ve rounded up all the latest tidbits from around the web about Star Trek: Picard.
Michael Chabon addresses fan questions
First season show runner Chabon, took to Instagram with a little slideshow of questions and answers. Including his comments on swearing, sunglasses, smoking, and more.
https://www.instagram.com/tv/B8WS955H2Gm/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Author of “The Measure of a Man” is flattered
I’m both flattered and humbled to discover that the Star Trek TV series Picard is building off my Next Generation Episode The Measure of a Man. Bit disappointed to discover that Commander Maddox didn’t actually learn anything from the experience. 😌 #Picard
— Melinda M. Snodgrass (@MMSnodgrass) January 24, 2020
First volume of Picard soundtrack available now
The first volume of the soundtrack is available now for digital download on most services, Amazon Music, iTunes, etc. CD and vinyl releases will follow later on.
NOTE: Be warned the track titles contain spoilers for a few upcoming episodes.
Chabon’s model kit
Michael Chabon was also having fun with Photoshop, where he created a retro model kit for Chris Rios’ ship – La Sirena.
Sirtis confirms episode number
Marina Sirtis was in the UK at the Sci-Fi Ball convention where she confirmed she’s in episode 6 of Picard.
What can Marina tell us about #StarTrekPicard ?
– she’s in ep 6
– Troi and Riker are married
– Their daughter is blonde!?
– Marina has signed more NDA’s than trumps mistresses!#SFBall— Trekkie Girls 🔜 #SFBall26 (@TrekkieGirls) February 8, 2020
Behind-the-scenes photos
Douglas Tait has been an actor and creature performer for a number of years. He was previously seen in Star Trek (2009). For Picard, was the Tellarite seen in the first episode of Picard, Tait posted a great photo of the slightly different creature design they used compared to Discovery.
The Discovery Tellarite makeup for comparison
Mackenzie Westmore, daughter of makeup legend Michael Westmore and celebrity in her own right as host of Face Off and star of the soap opera Passions, has a tradition of making a cameo in Trek productions. She took to social media to show off the makeup she was waring for the show, as Rhomsew which is a jumbled version of her family name “Wesmohr” backwards. Westmore’s Rhomsew appears in the background on Earth when Jean-Luc Picard goes to Starfleet Command in “Maps and Legends.” The character appears again later on as part of the team on “The Artifact” however that wasn’t Westmore in the make up as she had a prior commitment.
And a few more pictures from cast and crew:
This photo of @SirPatStew, @ItsMichelleHurd, and @michaelchabon is everything. #StarTrekPicard pic.twitter.com/gzvomkvMQd
— Star Trek on CBS All Access (@startrekcbs) February 8, 2020
Thanks for all the kind words re #StarTrekPicard folks! Ramdha’s had a couple rough years. Thanks for protecting her Hugh! @JonathanDelArco 😘🖖 pic.twitter.com/5nsrNhWoBi
— Rebecca Wisocky (@rebeccawisocky) February 8, 2020
Season 2 showrunner Trek throwback
Picard season 2 showrunner Terry Matalas posted a bit of his “Trek cred” on Instagram with a screencap of him making a background appearance in ENT: “These Are The Voyages” as an Enterprise-D crewman.
New episodes of Star Trek: Picard are released on CBS All Access in the USA on Thursdays. In Canada it airs Thursdays on CTV Sci-Fi Channel at 6PM PT /9PM ET and streams 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.
I don’t know that I’d consider appearing in “These are the Voyages…” as Trek Cred. If the episode hadn’t included the TNG overlay it may’ve served as a good finale, but otherwise it was just disrespectful to ENT’s cast.
In case you missed our previous article about Matalas, he was a writer’s assistant on VOY and ENT. He wanted to make a little cameo appearance because, beyond being a junior writer for the show, he was a Trekkie. Which episode he appeared in isn’t really the point, he didn’t really have a say in that.
I did miss that. Thank you!
I felt the same way when I was watching it. It almost felt like since that was the end of Trek on TV for a while Berman & Co decided, ‘screw Enterprise, we are going to make this a TNG show as a bon voyage to TV.’
My head canon is Terra Prime was the series’ finale and These are the Voyages is just a TNG deleted scene.
I think what should have happened is TATV should have been aired a few weeks after Enteprise S4 ended and that episode marketed as a special one off installment.
It wasn’t a “screw Enterprise”.
Terra Prime WAS the finale for Enterprise
These Are The Voyages was the finale to “next generation” Star Trek – 17 glorious years of TNG, DS9, VOY, and ENT were coming to an end. As a finale to Enterprise it utterly stunk, as the best they could quickly do to say goodbye to all the non-stop next generation Trek we had enjoyed… it was the best they could possibly whip up.
And per all the hints in that show, they’ll be a new Enterprise (Star Trek) someday…. it won’t be the same… that’s okay…. here’s to the next generation (eg all the shows that had just been, and future shows someday).
If you watch it with the right meaning it really is wonderful. And it’s not just me taking this interpretation – Mike Okuda made a post a year or so ago conceding this is all exactly what they had intended, but sadly it simply didn’t come across right. I don’t see how they could have done any better though… they tried to do something really special and it failed miserably, but it was all over so no second chances.
I think Datamat was right. Had they just ended Enterprise with Terra Prime, or even let them do their own series finale, and then do a one off for the 4 spinoffs a month later they may have achieved the effect you mention. The way it went down was amazingly predictable. It looked like the show Enterprise was getting shafted so they could do this TNG thing. The actors were justifiably annoyed and as a fan watching it it did not feel like an Enterprise show. Also the Enterprise side of the plot was pretty bad. I mean Trip puts his life on the line so Archer can make a speech? Really??
And season 5 was STILL a possibility…when the final hammer came down? I think they did the best they could. Things that look good on the page sometimes don’t work out on the screen. I didn’t hate the last episode
I agree with Tillsy, I always thought Terra Prime served as the true finale, and TATV was a nod to all of the “Berman” era of Star Trek coming to an end, it also served to tie Enterprise tighter into the continuity of all things Trek as up until season 4 it felt disconnected from everything else.
Wow its nice people can have a civil conversation on how Enterprise ended and not have this fall in total flames and bitterness lol.
And I agree with most people here, that was the idea, Terra Prime was the finale to Enterprise but TATV was suppose to be this nice isolated episode that celebrated the era of Trek in general and sort of come full circle as we see the Federation officially formed in Archer’s time and Riker and Troi was a reminder of its legacy both in universe and as a franchise.
I get what they were trying to do with it, it just SUCKED lol. It was just a really badly executed episode in so many ways. It did the opposite of what it was meant to do and gave fans a bad taste in their mouths instead of feeling honored by it. The story in general could’ve been better but also just being an hour long did it no favors either. It was ridiculous to have Riker and Troi play their ‘past’ selves when at the very LEAST it should’ve been Riker and Troi being in the present day but I guess they wouldn’t have been able to get shots of the Enterprise which was probably the real reason it was all done this way (and it just hit me we have now seen two versions of Ten Forward in Enterprise and now Picard, the only set we have seen of the D since it was destroyed in Generations).
But end of the day, if it was just a BETTER finale in the way AGT was done then maybe people would’ve felt a lot more better about the idea and not how rushed, lazy and half done it ended up being.
“if it was just a BETTER finale in the way AGT was done… ”
Awww… I wish you didn’t go and say that. Now I feel compelled to respond. :) If it were an AGT type of finale I would not have been happy. The show was ending and to leave it open ended as if there MIGHT be more later would have been a huge buzzkill. We knew that was going to be all she wrote. AGT just did not feel like a series finale in the least. It felt like a mediocre two parter. Nothing happened to any of the crew because we knew they were practically starting their feature film the next day. None of them completed any kind of personal journey or found any kind of self discovery. Again, because it was not the end, they were just transitioning to the big screen. Plot wise there was no kind of jeopardy whatsoever (come on… Q has been on humanity’s side from day one) nor was there a nifty sci-fi thing going on or a Trek like moral quandary. Rendering it, quite frankly, a mostly dull episode.
What Enterprise needed was a finale that wrapped their crew’s journey up in some fashion. It probably should have been two hours or a two parter for one thing. Seems right to forward it 10 years. Set something up where they had all moved on but were coming back together for Archer or the newly formed Federation or something and come up with something for them to do together one last time. Then they all say their goodbyes (assuming everyone makes it) and that’s that. Much better than turning their finale into a glorified deleted scene from a mediocre TNG episode. Sure, Enterprise seemed to be the least popular of the spin off shows but I still think they deserved better than what they got.
LOL I know how you personally feel about AGT but its probably considered the best finale to a Trek show by a wide majority of fans and one of the best finales on TV, period. And its OK if you disagree with these things but I’m talking consensus wise, not people’s personal opinions of it.
And obviously I don’t mean it has to be done like that, I just mean a finale that shook things up a bit besides having Riker show up in a hologram and play a fake chef to the crew. Something a bit more exploratory, interesting and as you said something for them to do one last time.
Let’s just say when I think of good series finales Cheers comes to mind but the best is still Newhart. A lot of people watched the MASH finale. I was one of them. But at 2 1/2 hours it came in excruciatingly long. Long because its only strength were the goodbyes in the last half hour. That said it still resonates with me better than AGT because of those final scenes. Something AGT did not have. Again, because it really wasn’t a true finale. I do understand your comments it’s just that it boggles my mind. It’s not the first time I was not on board with a show others liked. I did not like Mad Men at all and couldn’t bring myself to watch beyond the first season. I could not handle The Sopranos beyond just a few episodes. I have not seen Breaking Bad mainly because the plot of the show doesn’t sound like something I would be interested in. Go figure.
It’s his Trek credIT… albeit uncredited…
I’m sorry but if I was on camera, in uniform (especially THAT uniform) in any episode of Trek, I’d be jumping out of my skin and as a fan of the franchise, it would definitely count as part of my Trek cred. C’mon….
It really says something about the state of Star Trek fandom when a fun little callback to a 17 year-old cameo immediately gives way to bashing “These are the Voyages” for the millionth time.
Most of the questions asked were not particular problems for me. The one that I found interesting was the one about Romulan cyberneticists. I was unaware of the line about being close to Data and when I was made aware it did feel like a bit of a reversal. But I liked the answer. Works for me.
Rafi vaping didn’t feel off to me. Not a fan of it being portrayed but it does seem to signify the level she has sunk down to. Rios smoking doesn’t irritate me either. I personally could live without it but it doesn’t ruin things. And I felt Rafi’s use of ‘JL’ was fine. It very much suggested the two have built up a solid relationship. One that seemed to go beyond the professional one he had with his Enterprise bridge crew.
The fact the Admiral dropped an F bomb didn’t bother me. What bothered me was the fact that she just verbally undressed a major starfleet hero. It seemed like there was no excuse for that sort of reaction or behavior, I don’t care what their history was or what interviews Picard gave. The man has earned more respect than that. And I say that as someone who doesn’t even find the Picard character interesting to begin with.
My questions would be about Picard’s comparison to Dunkirk. That doesn’t feel appropriate if they were building fleets of transports. And to that, wasn’t there enough ships already existing in the universe to assist with the evacuations? Seems to me the issue would not be with the ships but with the logistics of transporting that many people and where you would unload them.
They were likely building ships the Romulans didn’t want to provide themselves as they didn’t believe or were suppressing to the public that an event would occur.
Likely to quell hysteria or protests.
Picard’s fleet would likely be the ones going to help and offer the populace a way out if they wanted to take it.
Trying to hide the upcoming catastrophe wouldn’t buy them much time. Word would get out. So I have a hard time buying that explanation.
“Picard’s fleet would likely be the ones going to help and offer the populace a way out if they wanted to take it.”
That still doesn’t explain why they had to build a fleet when there have got to be literally thousands (if not millions) of ships flying around the galaxy at any given moment.
Look at our own world. We have natural Disasters, yet not every nation steps up to help. Some nations even deny the help of outsiders.
Yeah and the Romulans seem to have more enemies than friends outside of its territory. They are basically isolationists and trying to get people to help someone many hate or don’t trust. It would basically be trying to convince the world to help North Korea at this point when they have burnt bridges with practically everyone save for a few countries like China and Russia.
That’s actually the interesting thing about this story line because it deals with a galactic crisis over a group of people many would probably be happy to let perish if they could.
Also why I think its very realistic 14 planets in the Federation would refuse to help them> Romulans are literally the Federation’s oldest enemy. There would be no Federation without them. So I completely understand why some wouldn’t help them. They had a neutral with them for centuries for a reason.
Imagine if they had to weigh the same issue over rescuing the Borg. I’m guessing everyone would be dragging their feet lol.
Even so, if such a thing were to threaten North Korea, the USA, as usual, would likely be the first to offer to help. Even if there are a few within the US who would rather not. If accepted, the effort would still be made. This can still get political when one starts peeling away the layers of the situation. But the simplistic take is help would at least be offered to former, or even current enemies.
I agree and help WAS offered by the Federation for the Romulans too, things just took a really nasty turn. So I don’t get why people act like the Federation just shrugged them off, they didn’t. They literally built an entire fleet of ships JUST to help them, who else in the galaxy would’ve done that?
But again, they had their own crisis to deal with when Mars was attacked. Keeping with our modern day analogy, it would’ve had the same effect if we decided to help North Korea but then 9/11 happened a few days later. And in this case it’s not just hitting buildings in a city but hitting the very operation that was suppose to help them. Sure we probably would still try and help as many as we could but we know POLITICALLY many people would be questioning it and it would fall into the usual ‘we have to help ourselves firs’t attitude. Especially when people will naturally cite what has North Korea ever done for us? Same issue with Romulans. Other than being an absolute pain lol, what else have they ever done? Those issues would be legitimately raised. Yes they did help in the Dominion war but that was just as much for their benefit as the Federations.
That’s why I don’t think this is a black or white issue. I understand how Picard feel about it, but same time if he personally lost people on Mars, it may not have been that simple for him either. It’s really a complex issue and I give the writers credit for going this direction. It’s not the same issue with what happened with TUC, it’s a lot more complicated than that. And the Romulans are just a really complicated species in general to deal with.
Yes, it is a very complex issue. My problem is that so far the show has not been presenting it that way. Thus far, the show is being VERY simplistic about it and NOT diving into the many layers that obviously would be there in such a complicated situation. I mean, Picard himself isn’t even questioning things. He isn’t thinking “there has to be more to this.” He is just whining about “The Federation changed so I’m going to go pout.” I find it disappointing that someone as sharp as he has been doesn’t even consider this. Again, we are only 3 episodes in and I hope we are going to see things get very complicated but I tend to think not. In general audiences are not that keen on things that get overly complicated. I would be surprised if in the final 7 episodes they peel away more than one layer here.
Well A. Its only been 3 episodes as you said and B. This all took place 14 years ago already. It just plays as a backdrop for whatever the story is now, so we can’t expect too much. Obviously whatever happened during that time will play out here in some fashion since they keep going back to it but the event happened already and everyone has moved on.
And my guess is Picard will discover a connection of some kind. But the mystery is utterly fascinating to me: we have super advanced synths around that should’t exist, a secret rogue Romulan police group looking for them, an entire subplot dealing with the Borg and it all circles back to the attack on Mars with no clue how any of it fits lol. I understand people think the execution is a little off so far but it’s really intriguing. They clearly came up with a wild story line. I’m shocked they didn’t find a way to add time travel in the mix but it’s early. ;)
But most would.
Nebula, the show has never said that the Romulans weren’t doing what they could, only that they asked for help.
In the episode 1 interview it is said that the Federation committed to transport 900 lives out of the blast zone of the supernova.
However, in the flashback in episode 3, Raffi says that there are billions within the blast radius.
The Federation’s reneging on their undertaking meant that not everyone was saved.
Not denying that. I’m saying not all of Romulan territory was on board with this plan for assistance. I believe the Comics showed this.
What ML31 said about logistics, I can see that too. Sometimes you may have enough ships but coordinating them all is a tough task. The Federation and those in the Romulan Empire on board likely were dividing up territories/sectors to rescue one at a time and evacuate to safe zones.
This is all just speculation, of course. Just like to think what is going on in the background.
I can totally accept that not all elements of Romulan society would accept that the threat was valid, or that their resources should be dedicated to the relocation.
We’ve never seen Romulans without factions and hidden agendas. Those sorts of deeply ingrained social patterns don’t evaporate just because there is a an existential threat. (As many argue is the case with climate change in ou own time.)
not many admirals showed much respect for a hero like picard even when he was a captain.
That was different. Yes, he had to have garnered respect just to achieve the rank of Captain but at that point he was just starting to build his reputation. It is entirely reasonable that there could be someone who might have some sort of beef with him. But forward 30 years and now he has a full resume. Even his harshest critics wouldn’t treat him the way that admiral did. That was patently absurd.
Yes but in this situation, part of that came from the fact he just trashed the Federation on live TV that literally the entire alpha quadrant watched a few days ago. I don’t think it was completely out of left field, they all knew why Picard left and if he wasn’t so outspoken over it, maybe they wouldn’t be as bitter about it. And my guess is this isn’t the first time he expressed his issue about it, just the first time publicly.
And obviously I’m not blaming Picard, I agree with him but people are human. If you’re going to badmouth your former employer in public, you can’t be shocked they will tell you how they feel when you are sitting across from them.
Sorry but I cannot get on board with that. The C in C would be a ton more diplomatic than that. The position would require it. She would deny his request and perhaps tell him in no uncertain terms why. There seems to be no love lost between those two so she would probably be rather blunt about it. But she would not rip him a new one in the process. Then, after it was done and Picard was long gone, she would go to her husband or friends or staff or something and tell THEM, “Can you believe the effing hubriss of that a-hole?”
Well its just not a big deal but I understand it is to others. End of the day its still a TV show and they want to keep things dramatic. Yes, maybe they went too far with it lol, but even if she was super polite about it it would still be the exact same outcome so its not an issue to me. As said, they already had their issues in the past and she didn’t dress him down like that in public.
the comic series ‘countdown’ showed the reaction of the romulans to the news of the supernova when spock spoke to them in the senate.
“The fact the Admiral dropped an F bomb didn’t bother me. What bothered me was the fact that she just verbally undressed a major starfleet hero. It seemed like there was no excuse for that sort of reaction or behavior, I don’t care what their history was or what interviews Picard gave. The man has earned more respect than that.”
This, ML. Really took me out of the story.
I really like her.
My main issue is the melodrama. It plagues Discovery as well as this show. If I wanted melodrama, I’d watch a Shonda Rhimes show; Not Star Trek. Rafi swigging back the bottle of Chateau Picard was cringeworthy. It was like watching the Sabotage video from Beastie Boys that made fun of old cop show cliches and tropes, only the Picard show took it seriously. Come one producers, do better!
In other words, you’ve never watched Star Trek before. Got it.
I’m not finding Picard is stretching to melodrama as compared to earlier series.
The back half of Discovery S2, really reached for the lurid though.
I haven’t found Picard particularly melodramatic either. Discovery on the other hand is so melodramatic I’m anticipating Calculon joining the crew in Season 3 as the new captain.
Hahahaha great comment FrostUK. Take a bow.
What a childish response. I can not stand the melodrama either, and yet I can likely recite to you the entire script of any episode of Trek before STD.
So don’t be an obnoxious child.
I agree Riker.
So, Commodore Oh is Emperor Georgiou’a daughter and carries the gene for sunlight sensitivity? Or, she is a Romulan, and they do no have the inner eyelid like their brethren, the Vulcans?
A Mirror Vulcan. Interesting suggestion.
That’s what I think the answer was eluding to but I just didn’t want to go there. If that is a connection in this show then if there was any hope for Secret Hideout Trek it will have been destroyed.
An unequivocal answer was given in one of the Deadline podcasts with the producers. I won’t spoil it.
No, it was only Humans who lacked the gene that meant STD had to be so damned dark. Can’t tell you if that changed throughout the show, but I ditched STD toward the end of season 1 when my interest level was in negative figures.
I think the subtle variation on the Tellarite design is great. I also like that there are both smooth headed and ridged Romulans. Makes sense as they flesh out Romulan culture.
I think we will get an interesting origin Vulcan-to-Romulan story by the end of the season and I am here for that!
I’ve really liked the various Tellarite designs that they’ve put on actor Harry Judge in Discovery.
They were the first designs for Tellarites that I could believe in. I hope we see more of them across the series.
To me, TOS Tellarites looked like they were poorly copied from the 1961 movie, ‘Atlantis, the lost continent’. Enterprise Tellarites looked like their faces were melted.
This new variation with the upward pointing nostrils and other subtle differences, somehow harks back to the TOS and Enterprise attempts, but in a way that is also believable.
Mixing in both versions, to broaden the range of Tellarite populations would be fine.
I didn’t know that guy was a Tellarite until I read this article. But that’s ok, because now I think it makes that guy much more interesting to me. I’d love to see a deeper dive into Tellarite culture some day on some new Trek show.
Are the sunglasses really the issue, or is it the fact that this one specific covert operative is wearing them? I mean, it’s like Garak showing up in a fedora and trench coat. ;-)
When you’re the Commodore in charge of Starfleet’s spies you aren’t exactly a covert operative anymore and haven’t been for a long time, if ever. The people who send operatives into the field to get their hands dirty might rise to the top; but the operatives themselves rarely do. Too many potentially embarrassing questions could come with their higher profile.
Operative is probably the wrong word. But I was referring to her being connected to the Romulans, and possibly being Romulan herself.
Ah. Gotcha.
he did look good in a suit one time.
and a polo neck too.
He was a sharp dressed man. No doubt about it.
So, Marina has signed lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of NDA’s….
Seems like hyperbole. Why would she need to sign more than one?
More than one ep, or they are aware of more than just her own Script.
I think she’s talking about both Discovery and Picard as she’s involved in Picard but has been on Discovery set a few times IIRC. My guess is every time they just they visit these productions they still have to sign something. And it makes sense because these are actors and very public people who are all part of social media with millions of fans who constantly ask them questions.
Actually what’s funny is I remembered telling this to a banned poster here who suggested at the time she didn’t know anything about the Picard show when I suggested she probably just couldn’t talk about it because she was under an NDA. He got ultra huffy about it for some reason (there is a reason why he was banned) and it turned out to be true. Of course I could’ve been wrong, but it’s clear now she knew about it since she was in the actual show but had to mislead about knowing anything about it. That’s just what they all have to do, especially if they want to be asked back in the future.
Well everybody except Johnathan Frakes apparently lol. That guy is too loved though! ;D
You saying Johnathan Franks is the Tom Holland of Star Trek?
LOL, pretty much! He’s been very tight lipped on both Picard and next season on Discovery though.
If I was a Romulan covert operative who lacks the Vulcan inner eyelids to protect my eyes from the sun, I would absolutely wear sunglasses when visiting places with bright sunshine so people don’t notice my biological shortcoming.
Could play it off as an illness that impacts her eyes ability to filter light.
If you dig deep enough, you’ll find a test photo of Nimoy wearing little eyecup sunglasses in full Spock regalia at Yellowstone for ST-TMP. I think somebody must have realized that it looked like crap and that Vulcans probably wouldn’t need shades even at high noon on Vulcan, since they grew up there (to say nothing of the 2nd lid, which nobody probably remembered.)
Anyway, the b-t-s story about the PICARD shades is that it is a nod to the recently deceased star of some Jean-Luc Goddard movies, Anna K, and how she looked in one of them. The story went up in the last week or so, an interview with the actress on PICARD I think.
They’re just lifting standard Drakula, like they do with everything else Secret Hideout put out, ie plagiarism and intellectual property theft.
It sounds like he’s suggesting that Oh is a Romulan.
To me it sounds like he’s suggesting she is from the (sigh) MU. (eyeroll)
The minute we saw Oh talking to Rizzo/Narissa, I assumed the Commodore was a Romulan in disguise a la T’Pel in “Data’s Day.”
But Rizzo is already a Romulan spy. Do we need TWO of them??? It would feel as ridiculous as having two version’s of Tyler on Discovery….and neither knows the other was also a Klingon before. That just sounds really really bad.
Not as bad as Captain Lorca being from the MU.
But I don’t understand how that would make sense to the story? Isn’t Rizzo ALREADY the double Romulan spy in the story that is working for Commodore Oh? And Rizzo made it clear Oh has no idea who she really is and is playing the part to get what she needs out of her. So now Commodore Oh would ALSO be another Romulan spy with her own agenda, but both have no idea of each other?
Talk about bad writing lol. I really really hope that isn’t true. Beyond just more convolution it would feel totally ridiculous at this point.
Of course she is, that’s why we’re seeing two types of foreheads. The show is written by idiots.
Y’know, I always liked Chabon’s work. But that video really bolstered my opinion of him. He has a writer’s sense of wry wit and playfulness. He very deftly answered those questions and clearly had fun doing so. I’m pretty happy.
Also he was very respectful and responsive to fan’s questions and criticisms, which is appreciated.
While I don’t agree with all the choices Mr. Chabon & Co. have made, I am impressed by his thoughtful responses. I respect well-thought out decisions, even if I don’t always share them. I do think, as others have said, some of the moments are way too “modern cool” like Rafi making some gesture to show she’s tough, or angry, or a druggie. I mean, like STD, there are moments that the characters don’t seem like real people, just a bunch of gestures (“evil emperor, mean sister of Narek, blah blah blah). Evil people don’t walk around going “I’m evil, I’m evil.” But it feels kind of like that. Sometimes less is more; their traits will stand out if we aren’t being hit over the head with them with no contrasting traits.
Anyway, though, thanks Mr. Chabon for responding to fan requests in a thoughtful manner.
Yes I must admit that, whether they had thought about those issues or not, he has now and took the time to address them. I have to admit that meant a lot to me as a couple of them (the Romulan cyberneticist comment from The Defector (one of my favourite episodes of TNG) and Commodore Oh wearing sunnies really pulled me out of the episode for a few moments…
Well Chabon always wanted to be part of Star Trek, looks like he got it lol. I don’t envy anyone who makes these shows and films. No matter what you do these days, you are going to have fans push back and question everything you do. That said, the show still seems to be more popular than Discovery overall and many seem to like him so as long as the show doesn’t go completely off the rails it will work out. I understand obviously why people have some of these issues with the show of the cursing and a few plot issues (which we still have 7 episodes to see all of that worked out…or it can get worse lol). I don’t personally have problems with most of them but I get why others do.
But if the show turns out to be a dud by the end of the season I have a feeling Chabon will thank his lucky stars he moved on quickly. ;)
I did mock the sunglasses at first, but it looks like my second take was right. It was simply a somewhat tongue in cheek hint to us long time fans that Oh must a Romulan, as no Vulcan would have any issues with the sunlight. I agree with Tiger2 trying to please everyone must be a chore – but IMO if you take care and do your best, then in the end you will be adored by the vast majority of Trek fans. Looking forward to Frakes’ E4.
The thing is, if you craft a good story then small plotholes or canon violations will not matter all that much. And BTW it makes sense that Romulans have the 2nd eyelid as well since they were born of the same oceans as Vulcans. The only reason they MIGHT be gone is through evolution.
If anyone knows someone shocked by the swearing, please remind them it’s not new, just amped up. If they don’t believe you, please refer them to this bit of dialog from Star Trek III back in 1984: “That green blooded son of a bitch! It’s his revenge for all those arguments he lost!” 😁
Also Data’s response as the Enterprise is crashing in Generations.
That’s a good example too. I went with McCoy’s dialog because it was the earliest swearing beyond hell or damn that I could think of.
Agreed Star Trek has always danced around sear language…
In addition to Bones using it, and as pointed about above Data actually outright swore in Generations…
Scotty “implied” it countless times – no actual swearing, but made it clear he wanted to…
“up your shaft” to the Excelsior’s turbo lift computer
“show me the bridge of the Enterprise you chattering piece of….” and “no bloody A, B, C, or D” to the Enterprise-D computer
Also there was an episode where Picard MUST have actually sworn, because he said something really furious and serious at a Klingon and their response was “you swear well Picard”
Riker also called out Admiral Jarok in The Defector for “Your knowledge of Klingon curses is impressive. But as a Romulan might say only a veruul would use such language in public”
‘merde!’ -‘boobytrap’
Network TV in the US prohibits most swearing (real, I don’t mean Klingon etc) so that probably has more to do with it than anything else.
The actual swearing has been either in the films or since it moved to online distribution where that law no longer applies.
Those movies had a PG rating. STD and Picard certainly are not shows for the whole family. It’s quite disrespectful.
But that was such a great line!
I’m going to persist on challenging Chabon on the swearing.
As much as I like him, I really think that he’s stuck in a writer’s bubble that is out of touch with where workplaces have gone and are going in terms of norms.
Putting aside how certain words would have put the show off-limits for our kids if they were still in primary grades, Chabon seems oblivious in this response to how the perceived impact of swear words changes based on the power relationships.
What do I mean? Let’s take the scene with the C-in-C : if the C-in-C had been a white male losing his temper and using the f-bomb with an older or physically disabled female character (or person of colour), I’m certain that both Chabon and Kurtzman would have seen this as abusive behaviour may have made a different choice. In a gender-equal society in Trek, Clancy’s behaviour is straight up abusive.
In my workplace in fact if an executive, female or male, dresses down a subordinate or someone coming in for an informal discussion using that kind of language, it’s considered abusive. If it’s established as a pattern of behaviour, it can lead to demotion or eventual dismissal. So, executives and senior officers learn to restrain themselves.
Use of swear words among employees of equal status, such as we saw in the Mars scene where stunned employees used the expletive ‘s–t’ would on the other hand pass without comment.
The C-in-C’s reaction was meant to be abusive. She obviously had built up resentment and Animus directed at Jean Luc and she used her position of power verbally abuse
Doug, that was my first read on the scene too: it was meant to be abusive.
However, when I listened to the producers’ ideas about what was going on in that scene in the Episode 2 Deadline podcast, they were seeing it as an appropriate response to Picard, who had failed to find a middle ground solution to the internal pressures around the relocation plan.
I agree with this – I think Starfleet really does sincerely think Picard utterly %&^#ed up. He had them devote all their resources to a rescue they didn’t agree with, and he was also largely responsible for encouraging synths and giving them rights… and they turned around and shot Starfleet where it hurt most at their most vulnerable moment. To top that off Picard then threatened Starfleet…. then there are his comments during the interview that really struck a nerve. I think Starfleet really are very very pissed at him and thus felt he had one hell of a nerve walking in and expecting they would hand him a starship and crew. It was a really powerful moment I think and at the core of Picards current circumstances, hence what this show is all about. That it has also struck a nerve in all of us is fantastic – few shows spark that kind of emotion, Battlestar Galactica was one of the first I reckon. So well done to the Picard crew for pulling this one off, as long as they play this right and redeem him hopefully…
I didn’t see that. Starfleet had no reason to think Picard is messed up in the head. It would seem most were on board with the rescue effort to begin with. Then the Mars thing. We have no idea if Picard spent a lot of time fighting for the rights of mindless automatons. My guess is probably not. It was pretty darn obvious none of those synths were learning computers or even self aware. Only the interview was something that might set off some starfleet brass. And even that wasn’t THAT big a deal. If they get strung up because one former employee badmouths them on FNN then they really have bigger problems to deal with.
That track…. the waltz was amazing . I was listening to it on a fairy decent car stereo at full blast . It gave me chills , I can’t wait to see it in the show . The entire soundtrack is just amazing, it might be the best Trek soundtrack yet !
Finally someone talking about the soundtrack lol. Its great, and I defintely agree with the main article the track titles are definitely spoilers for upcoming episodes.
Please for the love of god don’t introduce the MU on Picard. And if you have to, please not THIS season. What a stupid decision that was to spend 4 eps in that trainwreck Discovery’s first year in the MU.
I cannot agree more with your comment, Steve.
Raffi calling Picard “JL” is really no different from Spock calling Kirk “Jim” (see Star Trek IV for a refresher on that) or the few occasions in which Chakotay called Janeway “Katherine”. I’m not sure why anyone would lose their cool over her familiarity with him when they accepted it from the other two captains’ XOs.
I tend to agree. To me it showed a familiarity she achieved that no one on the E-D was ever able to achieve. No one on that show felt close enough to him to call him that. Most of the relationships had a professional friendly colleague feel. No one felt like friends.
Thinking about it now, Crusher called him Jean-Luc several times during the run of the series. Raffi is merely condensing that down to JL.
Dr. Crusher was a tad different from the others because those two had a history. But even she did not seem to be close enough to use the JL moniker on him. Either she never wanted to or he told her not to, I guess.
Jean-Luc is fine. JL is clumsy and defeats the object of an abbreviation in the first place, to limit the syllables.
JL sounds like a slimey car salesman, or a greedy stock trader. It’s only one letter away from being a British boyband, JLS.