Honestly, Season 1 should have been the backstory

[Charles Phipps]

I was just re-reading the Picard novel and I honestly think part of the problem of the show is the backstory is actually too interesting. A significant time skip was always going to be necessary but I don't think it's like Robert's Rebellion or other backstory that benefits from being somewhat mysterious. Instead, I think a lot of what cursed the first season is a lot of fantastic and interesting stuff has clearly happened and it might have been better to make that season 1 of Picard. Picard is working on evacuating the Romulans, struggles to do so, and the ending of the season is the utter betrayal of that dream.

 

[fireproof78]

I would have been onboard with that. My biggest complaint with Picard was that is trying to do too much set up and not focus on one singular story. Focusing on the Romulans, the synths, the Borg and such was just too many elements trying to weave together in one season. I think showing that struggle Picard faced with the evacuation would have been more interesting. Hopefully with a brief reference to the Jellyfish and Spock.

 

[Charles Phipps]

I think not mentioning the Jellyfish is kind of a big failure too because Spock DID save a bunch of people. Not Romulus and Remus but probably any outer colonies in their system.

 

[BillJ]

I was just re-reading the Picard novel and I honestly think part of the problem of the show is the backstory is actually too interesting.

Same flaw Discovery has. We never really got to know the people or universe before everything was about the end of everything.

 

[DarKush]

I read the Picard prequel novel, as well as the prequel comic, and I wouldn't have minded dipping more into that backstory as well. Picard gave us an intriguing present, but lacked the world building to really set it up well. If anything more flashbacks to Picard and Raffi on the Verity, or Picard meeting his two Tal Shiar buddies would've helped.

I also think not including the Tal Shiar agent on his adventure hurt the series. They already had a warm relationship with him and it came across well, whereas the crew that came together on the La Sirena felt less personable or something. I was okay with Raffi and Rios, but the Romulan swordsman and Jurati could've been left at some starbase. And it didn't help that the writing often ignored the La Sirena crew, except sometimes we might get an info dump like they did with Rios's tragic backstory.

To me the biggest miss with Picard was picking the synth storyline, a tired science fiction trope, over either exploring the aftermath of Romulus's destruction or the xBs. Those were more interesting, and more particular to Trek, and TNG, and it disappointed me to no end that we got the synth storyline, which I don't think was even resolved well, instead of really biting down on either of those other two storylines.

While the synth storyline, while overdone, might have been easier to grasp by casual viewers, it was also very inside TNG baseball with the Data daughter's storyline, so I don't see why the PIC writers just didn't go all the way in. A lot of the appeal of PIC was nostalgia to begin with, so why not use it more?

As for the prequel novel, Councilor Quest would've been a good enemy, a philosophical foil for Picard, and perhaps having her face off against Picard on an intellectual level would've backed some of the best TNG/Trek memories. As opposed to just having yet another galaxy destroyer that must be stopped.

 

[Charles Phipps]

I read the Picard prequel novel, as well as the prequel comic, and I wouldn't have minded dipping more into that backstory as well. Picard gave us an intriguing present, but lacked the world building to really set it up well. If anything more flashbacks to Picard and Raffi on the Verity, or Picard meeting his two Tal Shiar buddies would've helped.

I also think not including the Tal Shiar agent on his adventure hurt the series. They already had a warm relationship with him and it came across well, whereas the crew that came together on the La Sirena felt less personable or something. I was okay with Raffi and Rios, but the Romulan swordsman and Jurati could've been left at some starbase. And it didn't help that the writing often ignored the La Sirena crew, except sometimes we might get an info dump like they did with Rios's tragic backstory.

To me the biggest miss with Picard was picking the synth storyline, a tired science fiction trope, over either exploring the aftermath of Romulus's destruction or the xBs. Those were more interesting, and more particular to Trek, and TNG, and it disappointed me to no end that we got the synth storyline, which I don't think was even resolved well, instead of really biting down on either of those other two storylines.

While the synth storyline, while overdone, might have been easier to grasp by casual viewers, it was also very inside TNG baseball with the Data daughter's storyline, so I don't see why the PIC writers just didn't go all the way in. A lot of the appeal of PIC was nostalgia to begin with, so why not use it more?

As for the prequel novel, Councilor Quest would've been a good enemy, a philosophical foil for Picard, and perhaps having her face off against Picard on an intellectual level would've backed some of the best TNG/Trek memories. As opposed to just having yet another galaxy destroyer that must be stopped.

Eh, Doctor Juratti was a major part of the appeal in the fact there's someone completely overwhelmed by all of this. I do think the Romulan pair were underutilized, though. But yes, I mostly agree with the above. In fact, I'm going to say that I don't think it necessarily needed an entire SEASON but we could have at least spread Picard to 13 episodes and added a two part movie-length adaptation of the ideas in "The Last Best Hope"/backstory.

Imagine if we'd started Picard not with the interview but a very idealistic and hopeful two parter with Picard happily evacuating Romulans with Raffi, things going swimmingly, and then everything going to crap. I think it would be kind of like the two parter opener for Battlestar Galactica's reboot.

Yes, you could skip it but it'd be better if you didn't.

 

[DarKush]

Eh, Doctor Juratti was a major part of the appeal in the fact there's someone completely overwhelmed by all of this. I do think the Romulan pair were underutilized, though. But yes, I mostly agree with the above. In fact, I'm going to say that I don't think it necessarily needed an entire SEASON but we could have at least spread Picard to 13 episodes and added a two part movie-length adaptation of the ideas in "The Last Best Hope"/backstory.

Imagine if we'd started Picard not with the interview but a very idealistic and hopeful two parter with Picard happily evacuating Romulans with Raffi, things going swimmingly, and then everything going to crap. I think it would be kind of like the two parter opener for Battlestar Galactica's reboot.

Yes, you could skip it but it'd be better if you didn't.

Though I'm not a Jurati fan the prequel novel did a much better job establishing and developing her character. I definitely think more of her backstory and doomed romance with Maddox should've been seen on screen. As it is, it came out of left field. If we had gotten to see more of their relationship it would've made Maddox's death more tragic and Jurati's actions more heartbreaking.

I like the idea of a prequel movie to PIC (more than that Short Trek; really "Children of Mars" would've been a great episode title or even PIC prequel movie title instead of wasted on that Short Trek). I think this could've set up the backstory very well, and perhaps even allowed for them to bring in more of the TNG cast for nostalgia but also to tie up loose ends left after NEM. We could've gotten Worf, Riker and Troi on Titan, Geordi on Mars, whatever Dr. Crusher has been up to. Maybe Sela could've been involved too. Plus we would've gotten to see more of the mid-2380s Starfleet uniforms (which I thought were much better than the 2390s ones which felt more derivative of the DS9/VOY ones; also might have given us a chance to see more Valdore warbirds; I'm figuring we won't get to see those or much of them anymore, same with the D'deridex (unless it's Lower Decks).

It also could've helped introduce some of the main PIC cast-thinking mainly of Raffi, Rios, and Jurati here. The Battlestar Galactica comparison is a good one. I was also thinking of Babylon 5's "Call to Arms" as a set up for B5: Crusade.

I had had a similar idea for DISCO. The first two episodes in season one should've been a movie, with the third episode really being the true start of the series. If they had done that, I would've liked more development of the Shenzhou crew though.

 

[Charles Phipps]

I think part of the problem with DISCO was the fact everyone was really happy with the Shenzou and really irritated that wasn't representative of the series as a whole. Part of this is accurate too because the Klingon War proved to be a fairly minor thing, all things considered.

 

[fireproof78]

I think part of the problem with DISCO was the fact everyone was really happy with the Shenzou and really irritated that wasn't representative of the series as a whole. Part of this is accurate too because the Klingon War proved to be a fairly minor thing, all things considered.

I agree. I think there was story lines long enough to explore over the season.

 

[DarKush]

I think part of the problem with DISCO was the fact everyone was really happy with the Shenzou and really irritated that wasn't representative of the series as a whole. Part of this is accurate too because the Klingon War proved to be a fairly minor thing, all things considered.

Definitely think you're on to something there. The Shenzhou crew was interesting, had some nice chemistry in what little we saw of them. Georgiou was very much in the tradition of Star Trek captains and it would've been nice to see more than just her last mission. I liked Lorca a lot, but I would've rather see Georgiou vs. Lorca, a battle of philosophies over the war, in retrospect, than jumping over to Starship Discovery.

I also think the Klingon War got short shrift. Kol had a lot of potential to be a great Trek villain, but just didn't get enough spotlight. It would've been nice to get some Klingon episodes with him and L'Rell in the first season, and learning more about T'Kuvma and why he was a renegade and why L'Rell had chosen to join his crusade, and all that stuff. I think more focus on the Klingons, outside of the visual redesign, might have tamped down some of the complaints about their new look.

If they had to do the Mirror Universe twist that could've been the first season finale, with them realizing they've jumped into the Mirror Universe, and then spend some episodes getting back to the Prime Universe next season.

 

[F. King Daniel]

I did love Last Best Hope very much, but Picard was about the post-supernova universe, not the tragedy of the supernova.

They were also in a weird pickle regarding the supernova, since during Picard's development, the CBS/Paramount split (which is now moot, hence direct Kelvinverse references in Picard season one and Discovery season 3) prevented TV Trek from referencing any events of movie Trek, and of course the supernova was from the 2009 movie. So telling the supernova story was off limits until after the direction of the show was chosen.

 

[Boris Skrbic]

So telling the supernova story was off limits until after the direction of the show was chosen.

Source?

 

[seigezunt]

I do agree that one of the problems with the series was it really tried to pack in a wee bit too much, but I'm not sure if the back story would have been the way to go. I personally had a hard time finishing the prequel novel, and felt the exposition in the show was adequate.

I do agree it shared a structural problem similar to season one of Discovery, though for me repeated viewing of that season only increases my affection for the series, it was so bonkers over-the-top.

 

[F. King Daniel]

Source?

A guy on Youtube

Just kidding, it was an interview with one of the producers, I think?

EDIT: It might even have been a post here by David Mack or another writer that consults for current Trek productions.

 

[valkyrie013]

Just watched Star trek 11, and the timing is off.
From Picard, they had litteral YEARS to evacuate Romulas before "There" sun went poof. It doesnt make sense that Nero was off mining some place,and didn't know about the upcoming boom, and didn't go back to get his wife and kid. And the timing on the flashback was the Supernova boom, then Spock going to help, Jellyfish build and flying, but not in time to save Romulus. If it was the romulan sun, they'd have like 9 minutes from boom to poof of romulus. NOW, a part from the movie overlooked is that Spock DID use the Red Matter and create a blackhole (and why did he need like 30 Gallons of the stuff when 1 drop created a black hole??) So somewhere in the Romulus system is a black hole for some reason. It being RetCon'd to the Romulas sun was pretty cheap.

They really do need to do an Animation movie of the events leading up to the supernova. Its still a near blank spot in trek history that has gotten a big gloss over.

So I agree, first 1or 3 episodes should have been a "Bridge" between the Voy/Tng time to 2399 saying what has happened in the interim. Maybe Season 2's time travel will give us answers.

 

[Danja]

Focusing on the Romulans, the synths, the Borg and such was just too many elements trying to weave together in one season. I think showing that struggle Picard faced with the evacuation would have been more interesting.

Picard fighting bureaucrats = Boring TV

 

[fireproof78]

Picard fighting bureaucrats = Boring TV

Then don't do that. Have a saboteur working agaisnt him, making the process more difficult as he goes.

 

[STEPhon IT]

I was just re-reading the Picard novel and I honestly think part of the problem of the show is the backstory is actually too interesting. A significant time skip was always going to be necessary but I don't think it's like Robert's Rebellion or other backstory that benefits from being somewhat mysterious. Instead, I think a lot of what cursed the first season is a lot of fantastic and interesting stuff has clearly happened and it might have been better to make that season 1 of Picard. Picard is working on evacuating the Romulans, struggles to do so, and the ending of the season is the utter betrayal of that dream.

It should've been directed through Q based on the words he mentioned at the end of "All Good Things..."

Q
The Continuum didn't think you had it in you, Jean-Luc. But I knew you did.

Capt. Picard
Are you saying that it worked? We collapsed the anomaly?

Q
Is that all this meant to you? Just another spatial anomaly, just another day at the office?

Capt. Picard
Did it work?

Q
Well, you're here, aren't you? You're talking to me, aren't you?

Capt. Picard
What about my crew?

Q
[scoffs] The anomaly, my ship, my crew; I suppose you're worried about your fish, too. If it puts your mind at ease - you've saved humanity, once again.

Capt. Picard
[after learning that he successfully collapsed the anomaly]
Thank you.

Q
[curious] For what?

Capt. Picard :
You had a hand in helping me get out of this.

Q
I was the one that got you into it. A directive from the Continuum. The part about the helping hand, though... was my idea.

Capt. Picard :
I sincerely hope that this is the last time that I find myself here.

Q
You just don't get it, do you, Jean-Luc? The trial never ends. We wanted to see if you had the ability to expand your mind and your horizons. And for one brief moment, you did.

Capt. Picard
When I realized the paradox.

Q
Exactly. For that one fraction of a second, you were open to options you had never considered. *That* is the exploration that awaits you. Not mapping stars and studying nebulae, but charting the unknown possibilities of existence.

Capt. Picard :
Q, what is it that you're trying to tell me?

Q bends over to whisper into Picard's ear, but then closes his mouth shut. He returns to his throne and smiles as the throne returns in the background of darkness.

Q
You'll find out.

Picard and Q, one last look at an adversary who he never fully understands and wonders what their relationship is now and what is to come?

Q (Con't)
See you... out there.
This was all any showrunner needed to start a new series about Jean-Luc Picard. But Nope! It had to be about anti-Trump rhetoric and android type tentacle threat. Nonsense we found in Marvel's The Avengers. Ugh! What I knew of Star Trek is soooo dead now.

 

[fireproof78]

Picard in an android body sounds like charting unknowns to me. The season may not have been perfect but the ending was quintessentially Trek.

 

[Danja]

It should've been directed through Q based on the words he mentioned at the end of "All Good Things..."

Q
The Continuum didn't think you had it in you, Jean-Luc. But I knew you did.

Capt. Picard
Are you saying that it worked? We collapsed the anomaly?

Q
Is that all this meant to you? Just another spatial anomaly, just another day at the office?

Capt. Picard
Did it work?

Q
Well, you're here, aren't you? You're talking to me, aren't you?

Capt. Picard
What about my crew?

Q
[scoffs] The anomaly, my ship, my crew; I suppose you're worried about your fish, too. If it puts your mind at ease - you've saved humanity, once again.

Capt. Picard
[after learning that he successfully collapsed the anomaly]
Thank you.

Q
[curious] For what?

Capt. Picard :
You had a hand in helping me get out of this.

Q
I was the one that got you into it. A directive from the Continuum. The part about the helping hand, though... was my idea.

Capt. Picard :
I sincerely hope that this is the last time that I find myself here.

Q
You just don't get it, do you, Jean-Luc? The trial never ends. We wanted to see if you had the ability to expand your mind and your horizons. And for one brief moment, you did.

Capt. Picard
When I realized the paradox.

Q
Exactly. For that one fraction of a second, you were open to options you had never considered. *That* is the exploration that awaits you. Not mapping stars and studying nebulae, but charting the unknown possibilities of existence.

Capt. Picard :
Q, what is it that you're trying to tell me?

Q bends over to whisper into Picard's ear, but then closes his mouth shut. He returns to his throne and smiles as the throne returns in the background of darkness.

Q
You'll find out.

Picard and Q, one last look at an adversary who he never fully understands and wonders what their relationship is now and what is to come?

Q (Con't)
See you... out there.
This was all any showrunner needed to start a new series about Jean-Luc Picard. But Nope! It had to be about anti-Trump rhetoric and android type tentacle threat. Nonsense we found in Marvel's The Avengers. Ugh! What I knew of Star Trek is soooo dead now.

He would've been another Kirk (retired Admiral wants to go out into space ... AGAIN).