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Spoilers Picard, Dominion War, Voyager, References.

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I read that Michael Chabon said that they deliberately did not mention the Dominion War because it may confuse fans that didn't follow DS9. I don't get it. I'm currently rewatching the DS9 Dominion War arc and it was so massive. I know that "Insurrection" had a brief mention of the Dominion. I get that the movies weren't going to necessarily reference the tv shows that were on air at the time. But, that small reference was enough for me. I struggle with the fact that they won't reference the war, yet they brought back Icheb and they referenced Annika. Does Chabon think fans of TNG also were devoted to Voyager? I've enjoyed "Picard" but I think they missed an easy opportunity to add some texture to the tapestry of ST. Heck, "Star Trek (2009) had the Archer reference and "Star Trek Beyond" had a Xindi reference. For die hard fans, it made sense. For everybody else they were probably throw away lines. I don't think it confused the casual viewer. Just seemed like a simple line about the "Dominion War" wouldn't have confused viewers.
 
I think they avoided it to keep things simple which is understandable.

The Dominion War is the biggest conflict the Alpha/Beta quadrants have ever seen, if they started addressing it in any kind of detail it would only end up getting in the way.

It would be very easy for them to add previous characters here there and everywhere but that would only serve to overshadow all of the new ones, so they must be used sparingly and only when it serves the narrative to do so.

Plus they could be saving any mention of the Dominion War for later seasons.
 
In all honesty, I'm struggling to see how they could have inserted a Dominion War reference into the show. Now if the Cardassians have a prominent role in the second season and they still avoid referencing the Dominion War, than that would be rather odd.
 
I think the impact of the Dominion War is still felt in Picard, even if it's not explicitly addressed; e.g. the Federation seemingly becoming more insular in the years following the war. I think Chabon even said as much in one of his Instagram Q&A stories.
 
They are trying to keep the show as accessible as possible, even for those who haven't watched much of the previous Star Trek shows.

It has meant that some of the episodes have been pretty heavy on the exposition at times, it hasn't been too bad from what I have seen though.
 
frankieteardrop said:
I think the impact of the Dominion War is still felt in Picard, even if it's not explicitly addressed; e.g. the Federation seemingly becoming more insular in the years following the war. I think Chabon even said as much in one of his Instagram Q&A stories.
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That is to be expected after such a big conflict, the largest conflict the Federation and Starfleet have ever seen.

With the greatest number of losses as well, plus it was fought on home turf which caused infrastructure damage of its own.
 
As far as I can tell, the Dominion War has zero to do with the events of Picard. If they wanna include the Dominion or similar, yes. Otherwise, it's a relevant to the plot as the Klingon war from Disco S1.
 
RobertoRossUK said:
Keeping it simple is a mistake. Simple is for idiots.
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But what is the point to inserting references that don't serve any relevance to the show's storyline?

"I remember when the Dominion conquered Betazed."
"Okay. What does that have to do with a secret Romulan order dedicated to the eradication of AI working on a captured Borg cube and manipulating Data's daughter?"
"I'm just saying, is all."
 
They've been really good so far at only referencing or including stuff that either pertains to the plot or doesn't detract from it. The Dominion could, and probably will, be referenced when they become relevant.
 
The Wormhole said:
But what is the point to inserting references that don't serve any relevance to the show's storyline?
Click to expand...
When we discussed how and why the Federation got to the point that they didn't want to help the Romulans anymore, most of us arrived at the conclusion that this massive war probably stood at the beginning of this development. The Mars thing may not have been enough to explain it. So yes, I think it is relevant to the viewer. Not the how and who and why, just that there was a big war 20 years ago which still has repercussions. Casual viewers would be able to comprehend.

"I remember when the Dominion conquered Betazed."
"Deanna, this war changed the whole Federation. I am convinced that without it, ... "
OK, I'm not an author, I'm sure others could write better dialogue.

Or put it in the dialogue beteen Raffi and her son.
"Mom, don't you think that only x years after the war, the Federation had better things to do than listen to your insane theories?!"

Or even just something in the background, on the "news", maybe about a 20-year-clebration of the victory or whatever. In any case, 3 to 5 sentences would suffice.
 
The Dominion War ended in 2375, Picard takes place in 2399. The galaxy has moved on, unless you're Cardassian.

In 2020, I don't go around talking about 1996 or stuff that happened in it all the time. "Bill Clinton! Monica Lewinsky! Unabomber! How about that movie Twister? Hey Macarena!!!" It wouldn't make sense for the characters in Picard to do the equivalent either. Unless you have someone who's obsessed with the 2370s.

Sloan said the Klingons, who were more impacted by the Dominion than the Federation or Romulans, would take 10 years to recover. That would've brought us to 2385. The same year as the Attack On Mars.

I think just like 2293 was a fault line in Star Trek History, so is 2385. After that, it was a new era. After 2293, that new era was better. After 2385, the new era is worse.

EDIT: Now I can't get that song out of my head. People are gonna want to kill me for this, but I don't care. Here it goes...
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It's about psychological/ political consequences that seem to last longer. Not Lewinsky, Twister or La Macarena. When discussing political developments of today, then of course sometimes you go back to the Nineties, often further.
 
This seems like bullshit, they just didn't mention the Dominion (yet) because it is ultimately not relevant. They have Maddox and Hugh, one off characters from single episodes, in the show, so the idea they would ignore the events of Voyager and DS9 is silly.

They're likely just not overly relevant at the moment, you can infer that the Federation/Starfleet's change came off the back of the Dominion War for sure.
 
There's also the generational divide. Rios doesn't look like he was old enough to have served in the Dominion War. If it was 24 years ago and Rios is the same age as the actor (41), he would've been 17. Jurati, Elnor, and obviously Soji were too young. And Seven was in the Delta Quadrant.

Of the Officers in Starfleet, no one under their mid/late-40s would've experienced it first hand. So Clancy could've. And Musiker could've. But what happened on Mars and with Romulus are both more recent and more relevant to the situation they deal with. Same with Picard.
 
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Clancy almost certainly lived through the Dominion War. Where, when and in what role(s) might be worth a story in itself.
 
Rios might have been at the Academy as the war was winding down. Musiker might have graduated from SFA just in time for the start. If Musiker is the same age as Hurd - 53, at the moment, right?
 
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I have no issue with them talking about the Dominion War. It would be old news by then.
 
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