Spoilers Will Picard have Irumodic Syndrome in new series?

There's a line in the episode that mentions a plague outbreak on Romulus proper.

DATA: There is another option. We could arrange passage aboard a medical ship.
PICARD: Medical ship?
DATA: Yes, sir. There was an outbreak of Terrellian plague on Romulus. The Klingons have been allowing Federation medical ships to cross the border.

 

Well, one could imagine that there was a "New Romulus", just as there was a "New Vulcan". The name got shortened to "Romulus". Or, the script for AGT was written 15 years before ST'09. Either one works.

 

Regardless of timelines, since it was a genetic issue within TNG, I think they will make it a part of it at least, but not the main thing by any means. I think Patrick Stewart will jump at the chance to portray Picard at some of his weakest and also his strongest moments.

 

Early detection is the key. Since Picard and Crusher knew it was coming, they were able to take steps to treat it before it became untreatable.

 

It helps, for sure. But treatable is not the same as curable, and Crusher made it clear that there was no cure for it. It was just a question of how severely it would impact his life.

 

Has this been answered yet?

 

They could do a lot with a dementia storyline.

 

No, because the show hasn’t aired yet.

 

Definitely. Since it was presented as an inevitable condition for him in TNG, it would make sense for them to incorporate it somehow.

In my job, I work with people who have mental issues of various kinds, so it's close to my heart.

 

Like many congenital diseases, it seems Irumodic syndrome starts with a genetic/structural abnormality but likely has some environmental triggers as well. There's no reason to believe that a version of Jean-Luc Picard in an entirely different timeline to the one Q created would also develop the syndrome.

After all, it could be triggered by being out in the sun picking grapes for all we know. He might be able to avoid it easily, or push it back a decade or more with a few lifestyle changes.

 

Except the characters look directly at us at the end to explain the future is not written - that is the whole point of the poker scene before Picard comes in.

 

Star Trek has shown us in canon that the multiple worlds interpretation of Quantum Theory is true (Parallels, TNG). What this means is that all possible futures can and do get played out. What's uncertain is what branch of the possible infinite futures the version of yourself that is you will find yourself in.

A version of you will in fact travel down every path, but each version will imagine it's a result of their own decisions, which in a certain sense, it is.

I somehow hope the real universe doesn't work like this.

 

Nope. Reckless speculation will continue, and result in continuing expectations and ultimate disappointment in the show long before it airs.

 

Irumodic Syndrome would be a cool callback to AGT, but having Picard suffer from dementia would be too much of a parallel to Xavier in Logan for my liking.

 

The more I learn about this show the more I think I am going to be doing a lot of crying during it. The good kind of crying. Not the bad kind of crying. Hope everone has tissues or a hankey close when the show gets started.

Jason

 

I wouldn't mind if the Picard series plays up the nostalgia or if it blatantly attempts to pull on the viewers' heartstrings. And I wouldn't have a problem if the show's arc is about Picard's twilight years.

But if the series overplays the Irumodic Syndrome and turns the show into Picard's death watch, then it might be too morbid and depressing to watch. I hope it doesn't go in that direction. And I don't think it would be a good way to go for the show to elicit pity for Picard because of his possible dementia and illness or whatever. Picard is a proud man that doesn't need to be turned into a frail basket case onscreen.

Also, if the show doesn't do dementia smartly (if that is what they're going to do), it could turn into a farce.

TWoK was about nostalgia, about the passage of time, and about regrets for Kirk about a family life that might have been but wasn't. The story presented those themes smartly. One of the lines from TWoK was "there are always possbilities". At the end, Kirk felt young.

Whatever the showrunners have planned for the Picard show, I hope they make it pleasant to watch.

 

No. We still don’t even know the title of the show let alone anything about what it will be about.

 

The short clip is described as a cadet or young officer asking Picard his name and he reacts incongruously. The initial thought is that Picard is cranky that the next generation of Starfleet doesn't recognise him on sight, but what if...

...he doesn't remember his name?

 

Right, but in the present he was already showing precursors to the syndrome, so either they came up with a cure that didn't get discovered in AGT, or he would still develop it.

 

It's definitely looking like AGT connections so far, so I'm thinking yes.