I did this on the Discovery thread and figured I'd do the same here. I don't do streaming so I have to wait until each season of each new show comes out on Blu-Ray. I got the first season of Picard for Christmas and thus far have watched the first 3 episodes plus the short "Children of Mars" (I'm trying to pace myself a bit since there are only 10).
First, I should say I'm a big fan of the novels and the relaunches, and not surprisingly I suppose Picard has gone in a completely different direction. Pretty much anything from the Destiny trilogy on is inconsistent with Picard, at least from the standpoint of TNG novels (there is a plan we are told to continue the novels in some fashion, but I digress). That being said, there is already a number of precedents in canon for their being alternate universes so I pretty much separate the two as separate timelines for now and we'll see what happens in the future.
First, I've said it before but I really wish they came up with a more creative title. It's a minor nitpick I'll admit, and the show is focused on Picard, at least thus far, so it's an honest title. It's just a bit obvious and I just kind of wish they picked something a bit more creative.
This show does have a considerably different feel than Discovery, which is a good thing. It's a bit more thoughtful, a little less action oriented, again, all good. There's also a mystery involved, and I like mysteries. That part makes it hard not to binge watch it because I want to see what happens next, but as I said, I'm trying to pace myself.
I did read the Picard novel, "The Last Best Hope" (which I recommend to any fan of the show). The novel was released just prior to the show and is meant to provide more details about the backstory leading up to Picard's resignation. So I felt well prepared for where the show is at, why Picard is retired, and the dark place Starfleet and the Federation are in right now. As an aside, I hope Starfleet and the Federation find their way again--I suspect ultimately that will happen. I like the characters and actors thus far. Picard, too, has lost his way and by the 3rd episode he seems to be regaining a bit of his old self again.
I had a number of issues with set design and alien designs in Discovery. It all seemed out of place for a show that was 10 years prior to the original series and I don't care for the Giger-Klingon look. In Picard it feels much more consistent with a post-TNG time frame. Of course any changes can be more easily explained in this case since it's about 20 years post-Nemesis. But it does have a TNG feel about it, more so than Discovery having an original series era feel. I also noticed in the Romulan designs some features that reminded me of TNG, DS9, Voyager and Enterprise, particularly that a number of Romulans have brow ridges, though the ears are a bit more pronounced--but close enough. And some of the Romulans reminded me of Star Trek (2009) in the sense that they were bald--though tattoo-less. So they managed to throw some nods to Berman-era and Abrams-era Trek at the same time. Also, I noticed at the end of episode 3 when their ship goes to warp they even included the flash as the ship goes to warp.
The music is well done and I liked the nods to Goldsmith's TMP/TNG theme. I believe it's the first time Goldsmith's music was overtly referenced by a later composer (there have been minor nods, such as James Horner reusing the bass line from Goldsmith's V'Ger music in TWOK).
There are one or two things that confused me a bit. One is the whole Data-daughter thing. Did Data create her or was she created by Maddox (I suppose that will be answered later)? If she was created by Maddox then why would she be Data's daughter? And why does there have to be a twin? I'm not entirely clear on that. Was it a choice to make two or was it necessary for some reason? Again, it may come up later.
I've done a good job about avoiding major spoilers. I mean, I know Maddox does appear as does Seven of Nine down the road. But I've avoided plot spoilers so I really don't know what will happen.
The novel, "The Last Best Hope," does seem to indicate their might be something more to the Romulan supernova. And there are some mysteries about this Romulan proto-Tal Shiar group (I forget the name off hand). I'll be curious to see how that all might tie together later this season or perhaps in the next season. I hope it does as it does seem unlikely that the Romulan star would just go supernova in a few years, usually you'd know decades, even centuries in advance. It does seem to hint at some artificial cause and I hope the series touches on that at some point.
First, I should say I'm a big fan of the novels and the relaunches, and not surprisingly I suppose Picard has gone in a completely different direction. Pretty much anything from the Destiny trilogy on is inconsistent with Picard, at least from the standpoint of TNG novels (there is a plan we are told to continue the novels in some fashion, but I digress). That being said, there is already a number of precedents in canon for their being alternate universes so I pretty much separate the two as separate timelines for now and we'll see what happens in the future.
First, I've said it before but I really wish they came up with a more creative title. It's a minor nitpick I'll admit, and the show is focused on Picard, at least thus far, so it's an honest title. It's just a bit obvious and I just kind of wish they picked something a bit more creative.
This show does have a considerably different feel than Discovery, which is a good thing. It's a bit more thoughtful, a little less action oriented, again, all good. There's also a mystery involved, and I like mysteries. That part makes it hard not to binge watch it because I want to see what happens next, but as I said, I'm trying to pace myself.
I did read the Picard novel, "The Last Best Hope" (which I recommend to any fan of the show). The novel was released just prior to the show and is meant to provide more details about the backstory leading up to Picard's resignation. So I felt well prepared for where the show is at, why Picard is retired, and the dark place Starfleet and the Federation are in right now. As an aside, I hope Starfleet and the Federation find their way again--I suspect ultimately that will happen. I like the characters and actors thus far. Picard, too, has lost his way and by the 3rd episode he seems to be regaining a bit of his old self again.
I had a number of issues with set design and alien designs in Discovery. It all seemed out of place for a show that was 10 years prior to the original series and I don't care for the Giger-Klingon look. In Picard it feels much more consistent with a post-TNG time frame. Of course any changes can be more easily explained in this case since it's about 20 years post-Nemesis. But it does have a TNG feel about it, more so than Discovery having an original series era feel. I also noticed in the Romulan designs some features that reminded me of TNG, DS9, Voyager and Enterprise, particularly that a number of Romulans have brow ridges, though the ears are a bit more pronounced--but close enough. And some of the Romulans reminded me of Star Trek (2009) in the sense that they were bald--though tattoo-less. So they managed to throw some nods to Berman-era and Abrams-era Trek at the same time. Also, I noticed at the end of episode 3 when their ship goes to warp they even included the flash as the ship goes to warp.
The music is well done and I liked the nods to Goldsmith's TMP/TNG theme. I believe it's the first time Goldsmith's music was overtly referenced by a later composer (there have been minor nods, such as James Horner reusing the bass line from Goldsmith's V'Ger music in TWOK).
There are one or two things that confused me a bit. One is the whole Data-daughter thing. Did Data create her or was she created by Maddox (I suppose that will be answered later)? If she was created by Maddox then why would she be Data's daughter? And why does there have to be a twin? I'm not entirely clear on that. Was it a choice to make two or was it necessary for some reason? Again, it may come up later.
I've done a good job about avoiding major spoilers. I mean, I know Maddox does appear as does Seven of Nine down the road. But I've avoided plot spoilers so I really don't know what will happen.
The novel, "The Last Best Hope," does seem to indicate their might be something more to the Romulan supernova. And there are some mysteries about this Romulan proto-Tal Shiar group (I forget the name off hand). I'll be curious to see how that all might tie together later this season or perhaps in the next season. I hope it does as it does seem unlikely that the Romulan star would just go supernova in a few years, usually you'd know decades, even centuries in advance. It does seem to hint at some artificial cause and I hope the series touches on that at some point.
