Star Trek: Picard

[Steel Inquisitor]

I can't believe so many people like this. It feels like Star Trek / Star Wars remake, where "Fans" of the original try to write a show as good, but just end up mining the best stuff and aren't as creative or talented as the originals. I'm sorry, but this show is dumb. It's just star trek for dumb people written by dumb people.

There was a moment in force awakens where they build a new death star, but they were like no, it's a death star but 10x the size, and instead of destroying one planet, it destroys 3. And with this it's like what if borg and romulans worked together, zomg! Federation are now bad, and data is now special. Did they actually invent anything new? They're cashing in on memberries like so many others have been doing.

How many franchises does Abrams and his buddies get to ruin.

Abrams has nothing to do with this. It's a series which reflects on current events in the real world through a Trek lens, bringing in elements from various eras and putting them in a new direction in an era we haven't seen before. This is classic Trek with a modern update. Starffleet and the Federation aren't perfect, they've constantly had to fight to uphold their ideals within (Section 31, for instance and the resident evil admiral of the week). The Cold war had a massive impact on TOS, the 90's with TNG/Voyager/Deep Space Nine and 9/11 on Enterprise.

[PoorStudent]

Abrams has nothing to do with this. It's a series which reflects on current events in the real world through a Trek lens, bringing in elements from various eras and putting them in a new direction in an era we haven't seen before. This is classic Trek with a modern update. Starffleet and the Federation aren't perfect, they've constantly had to fight to uphold their ideals within (Section 31, for instance and the resident evil admiral of the week). The Cold war had a massive impact on TOS, the 90's with TNG/Voyager/Deep Space Nine and 9/11 on Enterprise.

I wasn't criticizing it for their current events allegories, I didn't mention anything like that. It's the laziness of their ideas, their shallowness. Adding awkward action to make it feel "cool", capitalizing on nostalgia and relying on other peoples creations to create their stories.

And this isn't a direct Abrams produced show, but Abrams and Kurtzman, and Orzi all worked on the same shows, movies and began together. And the shows/movies they worked on, star trek, star wars, star trek discover and star trek piccard seem to involve a lot of the same creative people, hence the reason why I say how many shows are Abrams and his friends allowed to ruin?

[Joker]

I can't believe so many people like this. It feels like Star Trek / Star Wars remake, where "Fans" of the original try to write a show as good, but just end up mining the best stuff and aren't as creative or talented as the originals. I'm sorry, but this show is dumb. It's just star trek for dumb people written by dumb people.

There was a moment in force awakens where they build a new death star, but they were like no, it's a death star but 10x the size, and instead of destroying one planet, it destroys 3. And with this it's like what if borg and romulans worked together, zomg! Federation are now bad, and data is now special. Did they actually invent anything new? They're cashing in on memberries like so many others have been doing.

How many franchises does Abrams and his buddies get to ruin.

I know 3 episodes were provided for review screeners, how did you get to watch the whole series?

[thwhtGuardian]

What specific ideas were lazy? It seems like you're just generalizing.

[Godzilla2099]

I have a question

spoilers:

I'm not sure how I'm grasping how these synthetic beings work. So they have the same/similar posotronic brain Data had, but they reset is all human, then how was it when the girl was 'awakened' did she have the strength of an android?

end of spoilers

[Mia]

Had a go at this yesterday, it was amazing, reminded me why I love ST or at least TNG, which was a massive favourite when it was airing. I remember when they aired the show finale at the Skydome in Toronto, the tickets were sold out. This show looks different to Discovery which just comes across as PC box checking and cheap shocks. Hopefully we won't be subjected to someone using gratuitous obscenities to seem 'edgy'.

I think the distinction they made between those earlier TOS androids and Data and perhaps these mysterious synths is the idea of sentience, with the latter having that quality while the former did not.

I see them sort of like the replicants in Blade Runner 2049.

[Frobisher]

I didn’t know this was by Michael Chabon until after the episode, which is probably good because I love Kavalier & Clay and might have hyped it up too much in my head. I think it does show though that he really knows how to put a story together, and we’re going to get a proper story about Picard going on a personal quest that changes him, rather than flashy but ultimately empty chase after a mystery box.

So far it feels reverent to, but not overly beholden to the themes and setting of TNG.

[5Eyes]

I have a question

spoilers:

I'm not sure how I'm grasping how these synthetic beings work. So they have the same/similar posotronic brain Data had, but they reset is all human, then how was it when the girl was 'awakened' did she have the strength of an android?

end of spoilers

My belief and that's all it is, I've no supporting evidence :

spoilers:

Postronic brain having absolute control on synthetic biology - Her brain has full control on muscle and adrenaline including how much output it pours out and since its synthetic design it can go beyond the norm

end of spoilers

[Anthony W]

What specific ideas were lazy? It seems like you're just generalizing.

Well, the attackers trying to put a bag over Dahj's head and killing her friend with a throwing knife instead of just teleporting in with phasers set to stun for Dahj and kill for her friend?

Picard holding on to the "Picard Day" banner is kind of weird when you consider that the version of the Enterprise that was on crashed and burned in a spectacular fashion. It's kind of strange that he would go back into the rubble looking for it when he wasn't all that fond of the idea in the first place. I'm shocked that it survived or that he even held on to it.

A very old Picard being knocked back by an explosion that should seriously wound him or kill him but instead he just sleeps it off at home?

I also don't remember Picard and Data being this close. He was best friends with Laforge. Picard and Data were the two most popular characters from TNG but this deep friendship feels forced.

[5Eyes]

Well, the attackers trying to put a bag over Dahj's head and killing her friend with a throwing knife instead of just teleporting in with phasers set to stun for Dahj and kill for her friend?

Picard holding on to the "Picard Day" banner is kind of weird when you consider that the version of the Enterprise that was on crashed and burned in a spectacular fashion. It's kind of strange that he would go back into the rubble looking for it when he wasn't all that fond of the idea in the first place. I'm shocked that it survived or that he even held on to it.

A very old Picard being knocked back by an explosion that should seriously wound him or kill him but instead he just sleeps it off at home?

I also don't remember Picard and Data being this close. He was best friends with Laforge. Picard and Data were the two most popular characters from TNG but this deep friendship feels forced.

Ummm not really ..

1. Phaser fire detection is actually a thing.. also if that is not the case, phaser fire is quite loud and killing someone with a dagger is far more silent..
2. The ship didn't explode and I doubt he had it hanging, probably in storage - I'm sure he kept it or maybe even someone else kept it in storage.
3. If he had no serious injury but a concussion I don't see any problem
4. They were pretty close , Data usually goes to Picard for question about humanity, and goes to him when he wants a critique when he act on a scene or his opinion on his music or art .. Picard goes to Data when he has trouble with his decision or situation , Data chose him as the template on how to be more human and it was Data who sacrifice himself to save Picard, Picard was the one who won Data's right as a sentient being in turn saving his life and these examples was just in the top of my head

[Flash Gordon]

I can't remember Picard and Data ever being shown to be anything more than coworkers. In fact I can think of more instances where Picard was frustrated by Data. This seems really forced.

I love Data. We, the audience loves Data, doesnt mean that in universe he needs to be a chosen one.

[ZeroBG82]

I can't remember Picard and Data ever being shown to be anything more than coworkers. In fact I can think of more instances where Picard was frustrated by Data. This seems really forced.

I love Data. We, the audience loves Data, doesnt mean that in universe he needs to be a chosen one.

While it's true that during the run of TNG Picard and data didn't seem particularly close, there are three things to consider as to why we're seeing it played out this way.

1) First and foremost, outside of Bev Crusher, Picard wasn't portrayed as being particularly close to any of his staff. He kept a professional distance in all of those relationships. That doesn't mean he didn't see them as being close friends. When the walls come down Picard is surprisingly sentimental (Wesley Crusher being the biggest example, and being able to show that took being stranded on an alien planet). Another example is Picard at the Riker/Troi wedding, where he basically sits as the father of the bride. Despite clearly not having that kind of obviously close relationship in the series prior. Picard is a quiet, often subtle man. And he takes the boundaries of professional life relatively seriously, as fits his station. Picard clearly has tremendous respect for Data (see Measure of a Man, among others). I don't think it's remotely a stretch to call it admiration. Picard just isn't the type earlier in his life to let himself be sentimental in the work setting so easily. We'll get a better idea, I think once we see him interact with Riker and Troi. It certainly appears from the trailers that, once they left the direct command structure under Picard, they fell into an easy role as friends. I don't think we should imagine it would have been any different for Data, had he lived.

2) The films. Particularly First Contact and Nemesis spend a lot of time on the relationship between Picard and Data. And while a lot of it plays as subtext, the experiences they have shared with the Borg give them a unique bond among the cast of TNG. So while there was always some, again almost exclusively professional, distance between the two, I'd say it's safe to say that Picard had a unique relationship with Data, even if we might not classify it as being close in terms of friendship. And consider that the last time we saw Picard was in the immediate aftermath of Data's death. This rhymes.

3) Data's death. When people we know die or leave it can cause you to realize just how deeply that person impacted your life. And can cause someone to regret not being as big a part of theirs. Especially when that death is a sacrifice that pulls your butt out of the fire the way Data's did. I think it's safe to say that we're seeing a measure of regret and retroactive sentimentality from Picard here. Losing Data, particularly under the circumstances that he did, has perhaps caused Picard to realize that he wishes he'd allowed himself to grow closer to Data when he still could.

I also don't think there's anything "Chosen One" about the set up here. Picard is a relatively lonely old man who has abandoned almost everything that defined him. It makes quite a bit of sense that he would cling to his few regrets given the mind set we seem to find him in as the episode opens. He's inward looking, almost navel gazing, and looking back on his life in light of how his time in Starfleet ended, instead of looking at all the opportunities open to him as a result. You get the sense that while the events on Romulus and Mars were the tipping point that pushed him out of Starfleet it was Data's death that began him on the that trajectory, if for no other reason than it's the last thing we saw the character deal with. There is a resonance there with where we left the character that is amplified into what we see him dealing with now.

[Anthony W]

Ummm not really ..1. Phaser fire detection is actually a thing.. also if that is not the case, phaser fire is quite loud and killing someone with a dagger is far more silent..

It doesn't really matter because it they can teleport in undetected they can teleport out undetected. Setting phasers to stun is still the better plan. Can you imagine the planning that went into that fiasco?

Leader: Everyone know the plan?

Henchman 1: Yep, basic stun n' run

Leader: Heck Nah get your knives ready. We are going to stab people!

Henchman 2: ....Then we stun the target and leave?

Leader: No. Then we beat the target and slam them against the furniture! Then we run some test..

Henchman 1: Wouldn't it be better to run the test back at base?

Leader: I'm not done talking! Then we run test to make sure she hasn't activated.

Henchman 2: Couldn't doing all this bring about the activation we are trying to prevent?

Leader: Way ahead of you guys. Why do you think I brought this bag to put over the targets head!?

2. The ship didn't explode and I doubt he had it hanging, probably in storage - I'm sure he kept it or maybe even someone else kept it in storage.

The ship was forced to detach and then crashed in Star Trek Generations. I doubt the storage compartment survived that but it's possible.

3. If he had no serious injury but a concussion I don't see any problem.

Did you see the size of that explosion? Factor in Picard's age.

4. They were pretty close , Data usually goes to Picard for question about humanity, and goes to him when he wants a critique when he act on a scene or his opinion on his music or art .. Picard goes to Data when he has trouble with his decision or situation , Data chose him as the template on how to be more human and it was Data who sacrifice himself to save Picard, Picard was the one who won Data's right as a sentient being in turn saving his life and these examples was just in the top of my head

Picard argued for his right as a sentient being but that had more to do with doing the right thing than any real closeness.

[Joker]

Picard holding on to the "Picard Day" banner is kind of weird when you consider that the version of the Enterprise that was on crashed and burned in a spectacular fashion. It's kind of strange that he would go back into the rubble looking for it when he wasn't all that fond of the idea in the first place. I'm shocked that it survived or that he even held on to it.

Why is this something you're thinking about? It's a background easter egg, not a plot point.

This is just nitpicking **** that isn't important.

[TriggerWarning]

One thing I'm kind of curious about is the Enterprise-E's whereabouts and who is the Captain. Perhaps at one point Starfleet will send it after Picard if his mission isn't authorized....

It needs to be Geordi LaForge. There was an episode of Voyager in season 5 where two of the Voyager cast are seen 15 years in the future trying to change history as in their timeline Voyager was destroyed along with all the crew except them. Geordi guest stars in this episode as the Captain of a Starfleet ship sent to try and stop them to keep them from wiping out 15 years of history and billions of lives.

So we know that in a future Geordi does become a Captain and though it wasn't Enterprise in the Voyager episode this is a new timeline from the Voyager one so it would be possible for it to be Enterprise now and a nice easter egg for TNG fans.