Spoilers Star Trek: Picard General Discussion Thread

I meant on display somewhere as a model.

 

https://www.trektoday.com/content/2020/01/some-new-star-trek-picard-spoilers/

"Sir Patrick Stewart told fans that Picard was “a different man now.” The actor wanted “scenes that showed aspects of him you wouldn’t believe possible — irritability, rudeness, a short temper — growing out of frustration and disappointment.” "

Sounds like he forgot about Picard was behaving like in parts of TNG Season 1 and 2 as well as in the alternate future of AGT

 

Yeah, he falls into the same trap that basically all of "pop culture" has fallen into - to view Jean-Luc as a slightly stuffy, always carefully tempered diplomat, which is only a PART of his personality. There's definitely more to him than that.

However... it wouldn't sell the show as well to the news media if he said "Picard is just back to being an exaggerated version of his grumpy season 1 self, back to basics". It sounds far better to say "omg he's different now". It's all about selling this to the media since the fans are basically already sold (haters aside because haters gonna hate no matter what). Gotta play into what pop culture wants to hear.

 

I have a feeling Michael Chabon and the writing staff, when looking at Picard, didn't just look at the last time we saw him. They probably looked at where he was at the beginning of TNG too, so they could see what the original idea behind the character was. If you look at where he was at the beginning of the series versus the last movie, you can see how much the Enterprise had an affect on him and what he might be like if you took it out of the picture.

Which is also part of the reason why I decided to trudge through the first season. I wanted to see how much of Picard that we know him as was there before the Enterprise and how much of it was because of the Enterprise.

 

I dunno, my feeling is that Picard is behaving the way he is for two reasons:

1) He’s a very old man now.

2) The events that happened post-NEM.

I don’t think they looked back any further, to be honest. Just seems like his character is behaving in a way you’d expect from the two points above.

 

A few clunkers aside, i must say the first two seasons are generally way too underrated imo. I already fell in love with TNG when i started to watch the show as child, when the show started in germany in 1990/1991.

 

This is how I ended up rating the entire series, episode-by-episode, on a four-star scale.

Spoiler

S1
Encounter at Farpoint – 2
The Naked Now – 3
Code of Honor – 1
Haven – 2.5
Where No One Has Gone Before – 3.5
The Last Outpost – 2
Lonely Among Us – 3
Justice – 1
The Battle – 3
Hide and Q – 2
Too Short a Season – 1.5
The Big Goodbye – 3
Datalore – 4
Angel One – 2
11001001 – 4
Home Soil – 1
When the Bough Breaks – 2
Coming of Age – 3
Heart of Glory – 3.5
The Arsenal of Freedom – 3
Skin of Evil – 2.5
Symbiosis – 2
We’ll Only Have Paris – 3
Conspiracy – 4
The Neutral Zone – 3
Average: 2.52
Median: 2.5

S2
The Child – 2
Where Silence Has Lease – 3
Elementary, Dear Data – 3.5
The Outrageous Okana – 2
Loud as a Whisper – 2.5
The Schizoid Man – 3
Unnatural Selection – 2
A Matter of Honor – 3
The Measure of a Man – 4
The Dauphin – 2.5
Contagion – 3
The Royale – 2.5
Time Squared – 3
The Icarus Factor – 2
Pen Pals – 2.5
Q Who – 4
Samaritan Snare – 2
Up the Long Ladder – 3
Manhunt – 2
The Emissary – 3.5
Peak Performance – 3.5
Shades of Grey – 1
Average: 2.70
Median: 2.75

S3
Evolution – 3
The Ensigns of Command – 3
The Survivors – 3.5
Who Watches the Watchers – 3.5
The Bonding – 2
Booby Trap – 3
The Enemy – 3.5
The Price – 2
The Vengeance Factor – 2
The Defector – 4
The Hunted – 2.5
The High Ground – 3
Deja Q – 3.5
A Matter of Perspective – 3
Yesterday’s Enterprise – 4
The Offspring – 4
Sins of the Father – 4
Allegiance – 3
Captain’s Holiday – 3
Tin Man – 2
Hollow Pursuits – 3
The Most Toys – 1.5
Sarek – 3.5
Menage a Troi – 3
Transfigurations – 2
The Best of Both Worlds, Part I – 4
Average: 3.02
Median: 3

S4
The Best of Both Worlds, Part II – 3.5
Family – 3.5
Brothers – 3
Suddenly Human – 2.5
Remember Me – 3
Legacy – 2.5
Reunion – 4
Future Imperfect – 3
Final Mission – 3.5
The Loss – 3
Data’s Day – 3.5
The Wounded – 3.5
Devil’s Due – 3
Clues – 3
First Contact – 3
Galaxy’s Child – 3
Night Terrors – 3
Identity Crisis – 2
The Nth Degree – 3
Qpid – 3
The Drumhead – 4
Half a Life – 2.5
The Host – 3
The Mind’s Eye – 3
In Theory – 3
Redemption, Part I – 3
Average: 3.08
Median: 3

S5
Redemption, Part II – 3
Darmok – 4
Ensign Ro – 3
Silicon Avatar – 2.5
Disaster – 3
The Game – 3
Unification, Part I – 3
Unification, Part II – 3
A Matter of Time – 3
New Ground – 2
Hero Worship – 2.5
Violations – 2
The Masterpiece Society – 2.5
Conundrum – 3
Power Play – 3
Ethics – 3.5
The Outcast – 3.5
Cause and Effect – 4
The First Duty – 4
Cost of Living – 2
The Perfect Mate – 2.5
Imaginary Friend – 2
I, Borg – 3.5
The Next Phase – 3
The Inner Light – 4
Time’s Arrow, Part I – 2.5
Average: 2.96
Median: 3

S6
Time’s Arrow, Part II – 2.5
Realm of Fear – 2
Man of the People – 2
Relics – 3
Schisms – 3.5
True Q – 3
Rascals – 2.5
A Fistful of Datas – 3
The Quality of Life – 3
Chain of Command, Part I – 4
Chain of Command, Part II – 4
Ship in a Bottle – 3
Aquiel – 3
Face of the Enemy – 4
Tapestry – 4
Birthright, Part I – 3
Birthright, Part II – 3
Starship Mine – 3
Lessons – 4
The Chase – 3
Frame of Mind – 3.5
Suspicions – 3
Rightful Heir – 3.5
Second Chances – 3.5
Timescape – 3
Descent, Part I – 3
Average: 3.06
Median: 3

S7
Descent, Part II – 2.5
Liaisons – 2.5
Interface – 2
Gambit, Part I – 3
Gambit, Part II – 3
Phantasms – 2.5
Dark Page – 2
Attached – 3
Force of Nature – 2
Inheritance – 3
Parallels – 4
The Pegasus – 4
Homeward – 2
Sub Rosa – 1
Lower Decks – 4
Thine Own Self – 3
Masks – 3
Eye of the Beholder – 3
Genesis – 3
Journey’s End – 3
Firstborn – 3
Bloodlines – 2.5
Emergence – 3
Preemptive Strike – 3.5
All Good Things – 4
Average: 2.90
Median: 3

Series Average: 2.896
Series Median: 3

For each season, it came out to...

1st Season: 2.52
2nd Season: 2.70
3rd Season: 3.02
4th Season: 3.08
5th Season: 2.96
6th Season: 3.06
7th Season: 2.90

Two-and-a-half stars out of four for the first season isn't bad. So, yeah, I'd say I think it's underrated. A few really bad episodes gives it the reputation it has. Kind of like TOS's third season.

 

I'd say I probably "know" Jean-Luc as "intimately" as someone can "know" a fictional character - and to me it makes perfect sense that he's like this now when you look at the surrounding circumstances. If someone had given his life a happy turn after Nemesis, he would have become a different guy also (and they would all have said "you won't recognize him" as well, because the only really detailed story where we saw him truly happy and as a private citizen was in "The Inner Light"). Most people have always only viewed/seen him as the starship captain, and that's what's shaping people's perception of him and that's probably one big reason why they keep telling us he "changed" and "does shocking things". (I don't exactly follow their reasoning since to me he has always been a LOT more than a starship captain, but that's probably really just me.) I have often wondered what happened after Nemesis, and I've explored this idea in detail in a lot of ways - and I always ended up with one constant: Jean-Luc changed, shaped by things that happened or did not happen or had happened and came back to haunt him. Because people change. He CAN'T be the same guy he was in Nemesis. Or the same guy who took command over the Enterprise-D. (Who was also different from the guy in Nemesis.) Surrounding circumstances shape him, as they do with all of us.

However, as I said, the way he now seems to be isn't a radical change to me personally. It's a result of age AND things that happened to him - but from what I've read, seen and heard he's fundamentally still Jean-Luc. The way he is now was influenced by certain events, and by loss, grief and mistakes he made (this last point refers to something Sir Patrick has said - that Jean-Luc made "bad decisions and mistakes"). He's filled with resentment, anger, frustration, grief, etc etc. It's perfectly understandable that he's irritable, short-tempered and probably even downright rude sometimes. I mean he does display traits of all of this throughout TNG, it's all there - it just gets overshadowed by his professional starship captain personality. If they had given him a happy life he would probably be somewhat dorky, affectionate and yet always a bit shy. He'd smile a lot more than he used to and he'd have a sassy dry sense of loving humor. All of these traits are there during TNG as well, and if circumstances had allowed it, THEY would have come out on top. But, they didn't, and the other side of him came out on top. What I'm interested in is whether this will REMAIN that way. From everything I've heard so far it seems they do NOT want for him to stay in this depressed state. I mean hey, the fact alone that space is involved in where he's going should make things better - because the man needs the stars as much as the stars need him, but that's an essay for another day.

 

CBS have confirmed, on Twitter, that Picard episodes will be available to view from the morning of their release day. Should help out some of those who thought they’d miss the big premiere!

seen some other statements that it’s going to be released at 00:01, so basically becomes Wednesday night for the night owls.

This is a nightmare for us Europeans - even longer I’ll have to stay off the internet for before I view episodes on a Friday night!

https://twitter.com/cbsaahelp/status/1218674915257262080?s=21

 

I'm an insomniac, so this is just about perfect. Thanks for the head's up! I shall plan accordingly.

EDIT: It drops at 12:01 AM Pacific Time. Just so everyone knows.

 

They are advertising HARD during the AFC Championship game. A shot of the Enterprise-D (looked beautiful),Picard shooting someone with a phaser.

 

I’m very surprised they gave that shot away in a trailer.

 

I am very excited for this show and hope they don't drop the ball like with Discovery.

 

No ball was dropped with Discovery, thankfully.

 

I have a good feeling about it. It seems like it really has a slower pace and more exposition. Many of the best Trek episodes are heavy on dialog. Great conversations, disputes, ethical dilemmas...

 

Who just saw that new commercial on CBS during half time of the AFC Championship Game?

 

I hope someone will have some screenshots...

 

I missed it but am waiting for shots.

 

i hope they are released Thursday morning on Crave in Canada too

 

https://twitter.com/startrekcbs/status/1219016684704608256?s=21