Poll Rank the Picard Seasons

[DonIago]

Tough call for me between S3 and S1 as the best (they feel somewhat like entirely different series), but S2 definitely at the bottom of the three.

 

[Lord Garth]

3, 1, 2

Although the margin for me between S3 and S1 is razor-thin.

 

[James Cole]

Ahh the battle at the bottom between 2/1/3 and 2/3/1

 

[DonIago]

I am shocked, shocked that nobody thinks S2 was the best of the series thus far!

 

[Campe]

1,3,2. At least season one tried to do something different. Season three is entertaining but does not hold together when you apply a little brain power. It also should have only been six episodes and maybe a little less canon-dipping fan service. I like the idea of season two but a recent rewatch left me a little cold.

 

[USS Firefly]

3,1.







2

 

[Timofnine]

1. 3
2. 1
3. 2

There is a fine line between 1 and 2 though…

 

[Tosk]

1,3,2. But don't let that fool you into thinking I rate season one highly.

Now that it's all over and we can appreciate the big picture of what was accomplished on three seasons of Picard, all I can think is...man, remember when we were all excited? It never even occurred to me that the show would be so consistently crummy. It's not all bad, but none of the seasons escape being crippled by baffling writing and poor decision-making.

I am shocked, shocked that nobody thinks S2 was the best of the series thus far!

I'm actually surprised that six votes so far have it as the second best season.

 

[DonIago]

^I'm a little surprised by that myself and would be curious to hear from folks who voted in that way...though I will say the Borg Queen performance is a high point, and the season isn't entirely without merit.

I ultimately went with 1/3/2 as well. For me, 1 edges it out over 3 because 1 is the show trying to live up to the premise we were presented with, while 3 not only flipped the bird to that premise but also to many of the actors who'd made the show good enough to merit a third season in the first place.

I wish the series had presented a more cohesive long-term story.

 

[JoseNoodles]

3->2->1

Season 3 was TNG Season 8
Season 2, unlike Season 1, felt like it had an ending.
Season 1 just kinda petered out, the resolution and revelations presented ultimately weren't worth the mystery surrounding them.

 

[DonIago]

That's an interesting comment about the ending of S1, in that I feel it might apply to the other two seasons as well. PIC didn't handle the 'mystery box' format very well.

 

[Quinton]

Third, then a gulf, then one, and then three.

Every season premiere is pretty great. Only the final season managed to follow through on that 'promise'. (Somewhat ironically, I feel like season 3's the weakest premiere. But still.)

The first two seasons are remarkably uneven.

 

[JoseNoodles]

That's an interesting comment about the ending of S1, in that I feel it might apply to the other two seasons as well. PIC didn't handle the 'mystery box' format very well.

True, but I felt Season 1 was the most disappointing. The whole metal spaghetti monster thing. Was summoning that thing the best Soji could do?

 

[tomalak301]

Season 3
Season 1
Season 2

I actually liked Season 1 a lot more on the second watch, but I still can't like Stardust City Rag. One of the worst episodes of Trek I've ever watched. I wonder how I will see Season 2 now that it has been a few years. I've been afraid to rewatch it considering my anger the first time, but now that it's been 3-4 years since it aired, it might go down easier. I'll give it a shot eventually. It also had Gius Baltar as the Father, which when all is said and done might be the most random casting choice in Picard.

 

[Tosk]

That's an interesting comment about the ending of S1, in that I feel it might apply to the other two seasons as well. PIC didn't handle the 'mystery box' format very well.

By and large, the use of the mystery box format suuuucks. Everyone wants a mystery box, but very few people know how to put the right stuff inside.

I wonder how I will see Season 2 now that it has been a few years.

Same. But I daresay it will be several more before I can stomach finding out.
Funnily enough, it was attempting a rewatch of season three that dragged it down for me. (I'd originally ranked it higher than one and two.) Even though I had major issues with it the first time around, going back to it I found the nostalgia coating doing a lot less to mitigate the problems for me.

 

[Firebird]

Before a recent rewatch of season 1, my ranking was:

Season 3, episodes 1-5
Season 1
Season 3, episodes 6-10
Season 2

But, after said rewatch, I find season 1 on the whole weaker than the entirety of season 3, and thus:

Season 3
Season 1
Season 2

There's great ideas and themes in the first season of Picard, but the execution is so poor and undercooked that it really hurt the overall experience quite a bit. For all the fanservice overload of season 3, the TNG cast makes my dumb fanboi brain excuse a lot of it.

By and large, the use of the mystery box format suuuucks. Everyone wants a mystery box, but very few people know how to put the right stuff inside.

I've found Trek, by and large since 2017, hasn't figured out how to use the mystery box format well at all. There hasn't been a season of Disco or Picard that I think could justify why its serialized story needed all 10-15 episodes to tell. There's so much padding and weird pacing to drag things out.

 

[DonIago]

Season 3
Season 1
Season 2

I actually liked Season 1 a lot more on the second watch, but I still can't like Stardust City Rag. One of the worst episodes of Trek I've ever watched. I wonder how I will see Season 2 now that it has been a few years. I've been afraid to rewatch it considering my anger the first time, but now that it's been 3-4 years since it aired, it might go down easier. I'll give it a shot eventually. It also had Gius Baltar as the Father, which when all is said and done might be the most random casting choice in Picard.

(laughs) I literally rewatched the couple of episodes of S2 that feature James Callis because I'd made my way through NuBSG and wanted to see the episodes witha that perspective in mind.

For a completely different role, he also voices Alucard in the Castlevania series!

 

[DonIago]

I've found Trek, by and large since 2017, hasn't figured out how to use the mystery box format well at all. There hasn't been a season of Disco or Picard that I think could justify why its serialized story needed all 10-15 episodes to tell. There's so much padding and weird pacing to drag things out.

I think DISCO S4 may have come closest to doing a proper mystery box, but your comment about padding definitely applies there. Still, it not only has a satisfying ending but hews really close to the spirit of what Trek is arguably all about. It certainly made me more inclined to push back against people who summarily dismiss the series.

 

[JoseNoodles]

For a completely different role, he also voices Alucard in the Castlevania series!

Did not know that, will have to see it now.

 

[DonIago]

It's really a pretty good series (and not very long). For something based off a videogame, it gets surprisingly deep into philosophy and spirituality at times, though there's also plenty of demon-fighting action!