Haven't been hanging around these parts as often as in the past as I've been wanting to go in cold to this series and having just watched the finale I have to say that I've been really impressed with this series. Whilst I'm aware it has its detractors (it seems it's impossible to please everyone in any given sci-fi fandom!) I thought it was a fitting reintroduction to the character of Picard and indeed 24th Century
Trek as a whole. It was so brilliant seeing Jeri Ryan again and I hope that Seven is going to become a regular member of the crew.
Whilst I don't hate it, I think
Nemesis wasn't the best note to end the
TNG era on (it's certainly no
Undiscovered Country!) and thus I've always thought that it felt incomplete as an era and so I'm eternally grateful to everyone involved and especially for Sir Patrick for returning. Ultimately, if this was to be the definitive ending of Picard's story I'd be happy - they brought some familiar faces back and there were enough references to the past without it feeling too much like a nostalgia trip. They also managed to play with the
Trek formula and do something new and original making it feel fresh (and indeed it appears that's why Stewart wanted to come back). Of course, we have two more series to come and so I can't wait, I just hope the final finale is as good as this one was. I liked that they didn't do a
Discovery Season One and leave it on a cliffhanger - the ending here felt very
Undiscovered Country. I really love the new crew and am looking forward to some non-Starfleet adventures (if indeed Picard doesn't return to his old job).
It did feel quite different and certainly more 'adult' - it borrowed a lot in terms of vibe from more modern shows like
Battlestar and
The Expanse but that didn't really bother me. Indeed, it sort of felt like
Casino Royale back in 2006 - Bond was seen as unrealistic in relation to the grittier spy films and dramas at the time like the
Bourne series and so Bond was modernised. I feel the same happened here. Ultimately, I like they didn't play it safe with
Picard like the new
Star Wars movies did (bar
The Last Jedi of course...). One very happy customer here!
