I dunno. Are there any Star Trek characters that iconic that they are too big for television? I'm not sure even Khan is that iconic, as much as Into Darkness tries to treat him as such.
I think the fact that precedent was set with Khan. And Locutus might also fit in that role.
Even the original plans for Star Trek XI were to feature Khan and Locutus as antagonists. If the Borg Queen included in that and she assimilates Shinzon, then we'd get Locutus.
I see the Seven/Jack relationship as mirroring Seven and Janeway (Janeway wouldn't let Seven go; I can't see Seven letting Jack go.)
I'm not sure if that makes sense. Maybe if it was Sidney, or Kestra. Judging by S3, Sidney makes the most sense.
But Jack's been operating outside Federation space like Seven, in the same time period. They'd be more like siblings than mentor/mentoree.
That really was the proposal.
Which makes me wonder about Matalas. Even though what he wrote was still better than a lot of other ideas, it suggests an over reliance on nostalgia.
It should have been Jurati, to keep all the seasons connected, and close off the PIC loop.
They were starting negotiations to be in the Federation in 2381 via Lower Decks, PIC pretends LD doesnt exist but it would be egregious if 20 years passed and there was no progression on that, they'd certainly be in the Federation by a hypothetical Legacy show.
The Federation was using money in the first season of Picard, after being established over and over again in TNG and the TNG films to be a moneyless society. Its clear that the Ferengi applying for membership has had an influence on Federation monetary policy.
That being said, discussion around the show was pretty exclusively "Seven goes and meets A and B legacy actor and goes to X and Y legacy planet." It's not the show's potential but it was certainly the show's pitch. Would love to look at the new status quo that is presented in Picard, but Picard seemed uninterested in doing that, jumping to the past for an entire season instead and then doing that again in season 3, just metaphorically. And then the show ends with yet another new big tragic event for everyone to be affected by so that the characters can talk about that instead of 25th century politics.
Well, with Cardassia, a follow-up is necessary. They weren’t just a planet of the week; they got significant development that’s typically reserved for Klingons, the Romulans, and the Borg. And all that’s known is that the Federation President of the 32nd century is part Cardassian.
The Klingon, despite being allies of the Federation, have been absent from the events of PIC, so a follow-up there also made sense.
Matalas is saying that the blueprint for future Star Trek should be TNG. I’m not sure how that will work for Legacy. TNG was episodic like TOS, but what made TNG distinct was the presence of families. The Ent-G does not look like there would be families on board, beyond a few exceptions.
And wanted to model Legacy off of TNG ignores that each of the future iterations of late 24th/early 25th century Starfleet (“All Good Things…”, “The Visitor”, “Timeless”, “Endgame”) have reiterated the same psychological themes:
- A sterile, bureaucratic police state
- A cold and rigid institutional numbness
- A completely detached corporate-minded bureaucracy
- A hollowed out and cold utopia built on the unaddressed trauma of the past
IDK if Matalas want to write a show where the main characters have to admit how broken they actually are, and confront how the Federation as an institution fails to heal its people. And instead forces them to internalize their trauma, survivor’s guilt and grief. Even though the set up is definitely there.
That not even accounting how it needs to be topical with AI (maybe Moriarty becomes a synths right revolutionary? Or the Shawlogram in general?), climate change (a “Force of Nature” sequel), totalitarianism and xenophobia (featuring an ICE-like Starfleet on far away outposts), immigration (Romulan refugees, or Dominion citizens relocating into the Federation), disenfranchisement (Vashti) and Cold War II/2.0 with the Klingons & Romulans. Even America not being viewed as a shining city on a hill or considered a reliable ally anymore (the Federation and its post-NEM foreign policy) should be addressed.
I don't sense that with Matalas. I just get the sense he'd rather focus on nostalgia.