Picard Season 2 and the 21st Century

[Weyoun 251]

United Earth = league of nations.
Both fell because no one important joined. So was a paper tiger.
Just waiting for 2063 and the vulcans to un screwup this craphole of a planet..

I too thought of the LoN when I read that post.

I'd like to know though where your idea that no one important joined comes from though?

The weakness came (as I'd expect OG United Earth's to) because it was an unprecedented venture and there was a lack of active enforcement of agreements, there were too many acting in a self serving manner (wanting to be "more equal") and let's not forget the financial crash of 1929 causing disruption.

Could fully see a climate change driven UE fall apart because the Aussies don't fancy paying to help Lichenstein create suitable accommodation for the influx of climate refugees while at the same time Wales is throwing a paddy over reef regeneration in the Carrib.

Examples used are made up at random and may have factual/practical errors in them.

Or you could have disputes over places like India looking at what steps they must take to reduce their emissions and asking why the West were allowed to have all those luxuries for years before doing anything about it whereas we are now saying that India can't have anything at all.

For risk of losing the key point here - I get what Garth is saying that the world is too fractured but could still see a hail Mary type attempt at it in the 30s that then falls apart (see above) which would then tie into the timeline per TNG

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

it even takes place in the same year as those DS9 episodes, 2024.

I doubt that's a coincidence.

 

[Lord Garth]

I have a feeling that somehow this season is gonna turn into Picard "saving" our 21st century and turning it into the future envisioned.

I think you forgot that the 21st Century he'd be "saving" would eventually be heading to World War III. WWIII happens a little under 30 years after when this would take place and is a major plot point in Star Trek: First Contact. If you get rid of WWIII, that changes the movie to a significant degree because Mid-21st Century Earth was still recovering from the war in that film.

They are gonna make it all about the current issues.

They'll pay current issues lip service. I'd like them to do more... but they're not going to go into it as much as I want or as little as you want. It's probably going to be something in-between.

Rios, is gonna get arrested and almost deported, somehow the relationship of Seven and Raffi is gonna be an issue. Jurati will be fine because she's a blond, white woman, but she will have to learn why she's bad in some way.

Oh, God... So, where do I begin?

1. Let's start with Rios: if it's 2024, then Biden is still President. It's not the Trump Era anymore. And they're probably going back to California. Since that's where the show is shot! One of the most liberal states in the country. He won't be arrested just for being Hispanic, especially in a state that already has a large Hispanic population.

If anything, with a Democratic President and California being a Blue State, the Sanctuary Districts probably exist here in this because the government thinks they're doing the homeless a favor by providing a home for them. "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions" and all that.

2. The Seven/Raffi relationship isn't going to be an issue except with The Bible Belt. So this is a non-starter. What you're more likely to see is that Seven prefers doing things the Fenris Rangers way, and Raffi is game, so they'll probably be more likely to get into shenanigans than anything else.

3. I can see Jurati being a "Karen" (admit it, that's what you're getting at), but I don't think they're going to go there because she's a protagonist in the show and "Karens" usually aren't depicted as people we're supposed to root for. Otherwise, what happened last season wouldn't have been swept under the rug so easily and they wouldn't have given us an "out" by being able to blame it on Oh's mind-meld (which is what I'm going with and the series seems to be as well).
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Terry Matalas is an '80s guy, going by everything I've read about him. And it looks like his age is similar-ish to mine. So I have an idea of what he's thinking: He's mixing Back to the Future (which he said he's a fan of) with Star Trek IV (looks like they're doing the slingshot effect in some spoiler pics) and -- with this crew -- he's going make it a little bit like The A-Team.

I can picture it right now: Picard is Hannibal, Rios is Mr. T (I know the character was called BA, but I'm calling him Mr. T anyway), Jurati is Murdock (the comic relief), and Seven is Face. Raffi is Face's girlfriend. Elnor and Soji are who they teamed up with in this "episode". It works. Then Picard says, "I love it when a plan comes together!" Okay, maybe not. But I'd still like to see that anyway.

 

[WarpFactorZ]

And they're probably going back to California.

They're quite clearly in Los Angeles, so yes.

If anything, with a Democratic President and California being a Blue State, the Sanctuary Districts probably exist here in this because the government thinks they're doing the homeless a favor by providing a home for them. "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions" and all that.

Well, technically Biden was President at the time of the Bell Riots, which were also in California (San Francisco). Originally they were perhaps "doing them a favor", but it's quite the hell hole at that point. One would hope a Democratic Federal and State government would do better to keep the pulse of the Sanctuary Districts.

 

[Lord Garth]

They're quite clearly in Los Angeles, so yes.



Well, technically Biden was President at the time of the Bell Riots, which were also in California (San Francisco). Originally they were perhaps "doing them a favor", but it's quite the hell hole at that point. One would hope a Democratic Federal and State government would do better to keep the pulse of the Sanctuary Districts.

Someone once told me something when I was 20. I never forgot it. Words of wisdom that I live by to this day. "Republicans piss on you. Democrats provide an umbrella, but they don't stop the pissing."

 

[Weyoun 251]

I think you forgot that the 21st Century he'd be "saving" would eventually be heading to World War III. WWIII happens a little under 30 years after when this would take place and is a major plot point in Star Trek: First Contact. If you get rid of WWIII, that changes the movie to a significant degree because Mid-21st Century Earth was still recovering from the war in that film.


They'll pay current issues lip service. I'd like them to do more... but they're not going to go into it as much as I want or as little as you want. It's probably going to be something in-between.


Oh, God... So, where do I begin?

1. Let's start with Rios: if it's 2024, then Biden is still President. It's not the Trump Era anymore. And they're probably going back to California. Since that's where the show is shot! One of the most liberal states in the country. He won't be arrested just for being Hispanic, especially in a state that already has a large Hispanic population.

If anything, with a Democratic President and California being a Blue State, the Sanctuary Districts probably exist here in this because the government thinks they're doing the homeless a favor by providing a home for them. "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions" and all that.

2. The Seven/Raffi relationship isn't going to be an issue except with The Bible Belt. So this is a non-starter. What you're more likely to see is that Seven prefers doing things the Fenris Rangers way, and Raffi is game, so they'll probably be more likely to get into shenanigans than anything else.

3. I can see Jurati being a "Karen" (admit it, that's what you're getting at), but I don't think they're going to go there because she's a protagonist in the show and "Karens" usually aren't depicted as people we're supposed to root for. Otherwise, what happened last season wouldn't have been swept under the rug so easily and they wouldn't have given us an "out" by being able to blame it on Oh's mind-meld (which is what I'm going with and the series seems to be as well).
.
.
.

Terry Matalas is an '80s guy, going by everything I've read about him. And it looks like his age is similar-ish to mine. So I have an idea of what he's thinking: He's mixing Back to the Future (which he said he's a fan of) with Star Trek IV (looks like they're doing the slingshot effect in some spoiler pics) and -- with this crew -- he's going make it a little bit like The A-Team.

I can picture it right now: Picard is Hannibal, Rios is Mr. T (I know the character was called BA, but I'm calling him Mr. T anyway), Jurati is Murdock (the comic relief), and Seven is Face. Raffi is Face's girlfriend. Elnor and Soji are who they teamed up with in this "episode". It works. Then Picard says, "I love it when a plan comes together!" Okay, maybe not. But I'd still like to see that anyway.

Surley any A Team meets Star Trek must have a Reg Barclay cameo as a minimum

 

[Tuskin38]

Rios is in cuffs, on a prison bus with a Department of Homeland Security officer.

So take that as you will, with zero context because it's a trailer with none.

 

[Lord Garth]

Rios is in cuffs, on a prison bus with a Department of Homeland Security officer.

My guess: he gets caught doing something, ala Chekov in TVH, and they think he's a terrorist.

 

[The Old Mixer]

And they're probably going back to California.

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[Phily B]

Old Earth has always been inconsistent in Trek. They'll always find ways around it.

The Eugenics War explanation I always liked was that it was all Illuminati style, stuff like 9/11 and the Iraq War were part of it.

 

[Sci]

The exact lines in "Encounter at Farpoint, Part I" are as follows:

"DATA: If I may, Captain? Objection, your honour. In the year 2036, the new United Nations declared that no Earth citizen could be made to answer for the crimes of his race or forbears.

Q (JUDGE): Objection denied. This is a court of the year 2079, by which time more rapid progress had caused all United Earth nonsense to be abolished."

That line is extremely vague. It could mean that a polity known as United Earth had been established by the 2030s and then abolished by the 2070s. Or, it could mean that the New United Nations was established sometime in the 2030s with an eye towards the idea of eventually evolving into a polity known as "United Earth," that the New United Nations was abolished by the 2070s and the idea of "United Earth" was dead, and that the actual polity known as United Earth was established in the 22nd Century.

I prefer the latter interpretation.

In the real 21st Century, I think we're never going to have a World War III. Let me explain why: Mutually Assured Destruction is what kept the USA and USSR from going into an actual war during the Cold War. If there was ever going to be a WWIII, it would've happened some time from the 1950s to 1980s. But it didn't. As much as groups of nations of the world don't get along with other groups, we depend on each other for global trade and the global economy too much now. A world war would disrupt and destroy all of that. It isn't going to happen.

I don't entirely share your conviction that no political actors will behave irrationally, but I certainly hope you're right about that. But either way, I don't think PIC needs to worry about that -- they can concentrate on the 2020s and World War III isn't scheduled until the 2050s.

Then there's the idea that Humanity will unite when they find out they're not alone. Humanity can't even agree about basic facts and what the truth is anymore. Nothing is universal. Some would embrace the Vulcans and others would completely hate them. The split in opinion would turn the Vulcans into a wedge issue, driving further tension.

*shrugs* It's a foundational conceit of Star Trek that learning about aliens and joining the interstellar stage prompts human culture to evolve and unite. We either go with it or we don't.

Jurati will be fine because she's a blond, white woman, but she will have to learn why she's bad in some way.

They'll pay current issues lip service. I'd like them to do more... but they're not going to go into it as much as I want or as little as you want. It's probably going to be something in-between.

That sounds about right to me.

Let's start with Rios: if it's 2024, then Biden is still President. It's not the Trump Era anymore. And they're probably going back to California. Since that's where the show is shot! One of the most liberal states in the country. He won't be arrested just for being Hispanic, especially in a state that already has a large Hispanic population.

I mean, ICE and CBP have been harassing and oppressing Latinos under both Republican and Democratic administrations. It's entirely plausible that a Latino without an I.D. or a green card could be arrested and deported.

If anything, with a Democratic President and California being a Blue State, the Sanctuary Districts probably exist here in this because the government thinks they're doing the homeless a favor by providing a home for them. "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions" and all that.

Yeah, "Past Tense" explicitly established that the Sanctuary Districts were originally supposed to be places where the unemployed, the poor, and the mentally ill could be given free housing and centralized social services, before evolving into de facto urban concentration camps for marginalized people.

Otherwise, what happened last season wouldn't have been swept under the rug so easily and they wouldn't have given us an "out" by being able to blame it on Oh's mind-meld (which is what I'm going with and the series seems to be as well).

*shrugs* Star Trek has a long history of letting victims of mind control off the hook for their actions while under someone else's mental influence.

 

[SolarisOne]

*shrugs* Star Trek has a long history of letting victims of mind control off the hook for their actions while under someone else's mental influence.

(emphasis mine)

How would it be moral to hold them liable, though? A person put through that would be just as much a victim as anyone they harmed while under the influence of another's will.

 

[Sci]

(emphasis mine)

How would it be moral to hold them liable, though? A person put through that would be just as much a victim as anyone they harmed while under the influence of another's will.

I don't disagree, but that hasn't stopped a lot of people from calling for Jurati's head for killing Maddux while under the mental influence of the Admonition.

 

[Deks]

I think they're gonna do what they did in Voyager's "Future's End" and just have Picard and friends visit our current day, with maybe one or two background details (like the Sanctuary District signs) pointing to existing Trek lore of our era. Otherwise it'll be the standard "prevent/make event X happen to save the future!" schtick.

Actually, given what we saw thus far... it seems like they will go into the past (ala Q at first) mess something up, then return to a less than favorable future outcome and then they will go back to that specific moment in time yet again to fix what they messed up.

 

[Llywela]

Actually, given what we saw thus far... it seems like they will go into the past (ala Q at first) mess something up, then return to a less than favorable future outcome and then they will go back to that specific moment in time yet again to fix what they messed up.

You think? I don't get that impression from the trailer. We don't see the team returning to an altered future from a time travel excursion, we see Seven literally waking up to find herself changed and Rios reacting as if his entire outfit and the ship around him just changed between one blink and the next. The trailer doesn't give much to go on, but gives the impression that the impact of the change washes over them in an instant, rather than them returning to find it already in place.

 

[Deks]

You think? I don't get that impression from the trailer. We don't see the team returning to an altered future from a time travel excursion, we see Seven literally waking up to find herself changed and Rios reacting as if his entire outfit and the ship around him just changed between one blink and the next. The trailer doesn't give much to go on, but gives the impression that the impact of the change washes over them in an instant, rather than them returning to find it already in place.

Something must have caused the initial change in the timeline though.
Although the trailer I just saw could mean La Sirena went into the past first via Q then came back to an altered future, or they went into the past first via the warp around the star maneuver.

I could be wrong though and the intial change could have indeed been caused by an external entity/event (perhaps by Q?) which would then necessitate the gang to go back in time (or to the future) via the warp around the star maneuver.

 

[Llywela]

Something must have caused the initial change in the timeline though.

In the earlier trailer, Picard says, "Q went back in time and turned our world into a totalitarian nightmare," so until it actually airs and we get to definitively find out for ourselves, I'm good with blaming Q! The trial never ends, after all...

 

[WarpFactorZ]

In the earlier trailer, Picard says, "Q went back in time and turned our world into a totalitarian nightmare," so until it actually airs and we get to definitively find out for ourselves, I'm good with blaming Q! The trial never ends, after all...

Well, Q does say "Welcome to the road not taken..." to Picard, so that suggests he either had something to do with it, or at least knows what's happening.

 

[Tuskin38]

The promo photos they sent out on the 29th are from the first and second Episodes, and you see Picard in the alt-future uniform in the Episode 1 pictures

https://blog.trekcore.com/2022/01/star-trek-picard-first-season2-photos-released/

 

[NCC-73515]

In the earlier trailer, Picard says, "Q went back in time and turned our world into a totalitarian nightmare," so until it actually airs and we get to definitively find out for ourselves, I'm good with blaming Q! The trial never ends, after all...

That part sounds a lot like it's been pasted together from 3 independent lines.