Spoilers Picard 1x1, "Remembrance"

[picardjean-luc]

Random side: I'm wondering with the Romulan assassins might have some genetic engineering going on. Especially the dude who spat at Dahj like she was Dennis Nedry.

My thoughts exactly. The eyes of some of the Romulan goons were red similar to the killer robots we saw earlier in the trailers.

I guess the Romulans running the lab based in the abandoned Borg cube might have something to do with it...

 

[Gonzo]

To repeat what I said in TNZ, what a show. I had dangerously high expectations for this, and it was just... lovely. Personal, focused, nostalgic without being crass, compelling story, and a performance from SirPatStew which draws you in and doesn't let go. I can't wait to see more.


The world they have built for Picard feels like the 24th Century, but beautifully updated and with an aesthetic that fits the show's focus on this old man and his memories. I loved how in Picard's world now, Starfleet are just there, no big deal. No focus on the new uniforms or ships, they're just backdrop. His focus is on other things, so ours is too.

The Romulan makeup remains a bit... off. I can't shake the impression they give of Ed Sheeran fans in Vulcan cosplay. I'd have liked to have retained the tattoo look from ST09 and maybe some subtle forehead ridges to accompany those eyebrows that don't quit. Something to make them more alien.

The exposition scene with the reporter was a bit clunky in having to get in so much "as you already know, Admiral" backstory, although very well acted in its latter half by both actors.

Weird thing that bugged me - the necklace design. Was it really that unusual? I see that design in every high street jewellery store, two rings intertwined. Because of this, when Dahj starts to say "did you ever..." I honestly thought she was going to ask if Picard ever married.

Lore appears to have been forgotten - my memory of Descent Part II is that the Federation have Lore in storage as well as B4. Perhaps this will play later, as Bruce must have been working off something. Also, what happened to the Data's mum Android? Genuinely can't remember.

Yeah the Reporter part was the only off bit for me, it was pretty obvious from the start that the Reporter was going to go exactly where Picard doesnt want her to.

I still think it may have been a setup to make him face it and move forward, either arranged by his helpers who are perfectly normal and not suspicious at all or for the benefit of the plot as a whole.

He needed the push but it was a bit ham fisted, still it didnt bother me much and I just skipped it as soon as the conversation inevitably went in that direction.

As I said yesterday I do think we could end up seeing Lore again in some capacity, his body is probably the only one that could handle Data's essence.

 

[Alan Roi]

I had mixed feelings about it. There were things I liked and things I didn't, but nothing so far that I can't live with, and I am overall optimistic that this may turn out well.

I was very worried that they would corrupt the Federation or Starfleet, and they kind of did that-- and yet, I found myself okay with it, because I could really sympathize with Picard's position. He resigned from Starfleet because they abandoned their principles by letting the Romulans twist in the wind. When I was young, when TOS was on the air, we had a widespread humanitarian social movement that changed the world more than it had ever been changed before-- then those who came after us abandoned those principles in favor of fundamentalist identity politics and political correctness, alienating and dividing people, and bringing us to our current dark times. So I am in somewhat the same state of disgust as Picard is now. And the Federation isn't being portrayed as some dark nuBSG dystopia-- it's still a high civilization-- but it's lost its moral high ground. So I can accept this as Star Trek dealing with contemporary issues as it always has, as long this is fixed in the end.

The other thing that I was worried about was whether they would reference the Romulan supernova, and they did. I don't really want any acknowledgement of JJ Trek, but there are mitigating factors here, too. The focus is really more on the Mars attack by rogue "Synths," the purpose of which seems to have been to prevent saving Romulans. Plus, there was no mention of Spock. Hopefully there won't be, so that we can just assume that in the original timeline our Spock did not end his life in colossal failure as he did in JJ World.

The setup and premise seem decent so far, although I would have preferred an Admiral Picard on the bridge of an Enterprise. There were a lot of nice touches, like him speaking French at home and keeping all of his relics from his days on the 1701-D in a stasis storage chamber. I like that he has two Romulan caretakers who adore him, but aren't afraid to poke fun at him. I like his dog. I like the attention to so many details of TNG, like Data's painting and his run-in with Maddox.

The interview at the start of the episode on the occasion of the Martian attack anniversary was perfectly done to both unload a lot of needed exposition and also to present the reduced character of the Federation in the person of the vapid and self righteous interviewer. We're presented with a mystery that will be central to the plot: Why did a fleet of rogue Androids (now called "Synths" for no apparent reason) destroy the fleet intended to evacuate Romulans? Do Synths hate Romulans? Was there another motive? In any case, Androids have now been outlawed-- although the rogues are presumably still out there-- and are apparently viewed as "soulless killing machines" by the common people. I wonder if this law (and prejudice) is being applied to holograms like the Doctor.

I was very surprised that the character of Dahj was killed off so quickly, and I'm not entirely convinced it was a real death. The first group of attackers seemed to want to abduct her, so the second attack was either conducted by a different group or her death was a red herring of some kind. We'll see. It seems odd that they would kill off Data's daughter just as she came to Picard for help, even if she has a twin out there. And we still have to find out who her mother is and if Maddox was involved in her creation.

I'm not entirely surprised that Data remained dead and that B4 could not handle his memories. I'm a little more surprised that they explicitly said that it's still impossible to replicate Dr Soong's technology, and I wonder what that means, since we know that other AIs, such as the Doctor, exist. Plus, those rogues are presumably sentient. I hope they don't retcon the Doctor as a mere simulation.

One thing that really felt like a rip off was that the story was only 43 minutes long. Come on, people, this is streaming!

On a technical level, the sound was really bad. I had my laptop cranked up to the max and had to turn on the subtitles. I hope that goes better with future episodes.

But anyway, I was pretty relieved that this episode was not a disaster and was actually pretty good. It was really nice to see a cranky old Picard get a little bit of his fire back, and I wonder where this will take us. I'm still a little worried, but more optimistic now.

Based on the conversations, the first group was attempting to abduct dahj before she could 'activate'. Once activated, it appeared that as abduction was no longer possible, their orders were to terminate her.

 

[JoeZhang]

As I said yesterday I do think we could end up seeing Lore again in some capacity, his body is probably the only one that could handle Data's essence.

Why not simply a synth body given that also gives you the advance of having BS simply appear as largely himself ?

 

[Alan Roi]

Yeah the Reporter part was the only off bit for me, it was pretty obvious from the start that the Reporter was going to go exactly where Picard doesnt want her to.

I still think it may have been a setup to make him face it and move forward, either arranged by his helpers who are perfectly normal and not suspicious at all or for the benefit of the plot as a whole.

He needed the push but it was a bit ham fisted, still it didnt bother me much and I just skipped it as soon as the conversation inevitably went in that direction.

As I said yesterday I do think we could end up seeing Lore again in some capacity, his body is probably the only one that could handle Data's essence.

As George Orwell noted, the job of journalism is to print what people don't want printed. Picard was there to offer up PR.

 

[Alan Roi]

Why not simply a synth body given that also gives you the advance of having BS simply appear as largely himself ?

If Data has been reconstituted somehow as a synth, it might not be a good idea to look in any way like he used to if he ever wants to go out in public.

 

[Gonzo]

It was always a mixed bag, really. Starfleet Command once ordered Picard to commit genocide. Picard's personal vision of the Federation didn't always match the reality, which in a sense is what this show is about.

This is why I have no problem with S31 in DS9/Disco and how the Federations Utopian appearance has slipped slightly in the 24th Century as shown in Picard, it was only ever a mask to begin with.

S31's continued existence and that it is tolerated by Starfleet is an acknowledgement of reality as opposed to wishful thinking and that is a sign of a healthy immune response.

Wont surprise me if we see S31 at some point, I am fine with it.

 

[Gonzo]

Why not simply a synth body given that also gives you the advance of having BS simply appear as largely himself ?

As I said yesterday anything is possible.

I remember reading a book where Data is the commanding officer of one of the later Enterprise ships with the rank of Commodore, possibly the J but I think that was the Shatner books and they are not canon, even so it always felt very appropriate to me.

I really will not be surprised if he is alive in some form by the end of this show, cant say the same for Picard though.

It may not be Brent Spiner playing him though, the actor may not want it long term, still they recast Spock in film and TV and that worked out great so I dont see why it cant work for Data.

Perhaps a spinoff with him at the centre even.

Which then begs the question, have we already seen him.

 

[Krupp]

Watched it with my missus, who is not a Star Trek person at all and was actually quite sceptical at the idea of watching Trek. She really enjoyed it, as did I. This is Trek branching out in form of storytelling and one hopes expanding the fandom. She was asking about some of the backstory and I was explaining and it seems we’re on to watch First Contact soon.

 

[Discofan]

They seem to have repurposed a borg cube...

 

[Alan Roi]

Watched it with my missus, who is not a Star Trek person at all and was actually quite sceptical at the idea of watching Trek. She really enjoyed it, as did I. This is Trek branching out in form of storytelling and one hopes expanding the fandom. She was asking about some of the backstory and I was explaining and it seems we’re on to watch First Contact soon.

Maybe Q Who and Best of Both Worlds and the follow up story to that two parter might be best to watch before First Contact, as IMO, they are critical to understanding why Picard behaves as he does in the film. Tapestry also helps offer up good background material to help understand why Picard is who he is.

 

[Krupp]

Maybe Q Who and Best of Both Worlds and the follow up story to that two parter might be best to watch before First Contact, as IMO, they are critical to understanding why Picard behaves as he does in the film. Tapestry also helps offer up good background material to help understand why Picard is who he is.

I’d agree from a canon point of view, but in terms of easing a sceptical newbie into Trek... the “90s nerd” factor is a put off one has to overcome.

 

[Discofan]

I’d agree from a canon point of view, but in terms of easing a sceptical newbie into Trek... the “90s nerd” factor is a put off one has to overcome.

Plus the borg in "First Contact" are significantly different from the ones in "Q Who". I am not sure it really helps to know one to better understand the other.

 

[Alan Roi]

Plus the borg in "First Contact" are significantly different from the ones in "Q Who". I am not sure it really helps to know one to better understand the other.

My interest would be in understanding what has shaped Picard as a person. Watching him go from who he was in Q Who, to what happened to him in Best of Both Worlds to understand why he behaves he does in First Contact. His transformation across those three stories I think would be very helpful to understanding what lead him to who his is in Picard.

 

[Bannerdog]

Wow!
I was very disappointed with Star Trek : Discovery.
Every time I tried watching it, I couldn't stay interested or focused on the episode. I'd quit and watch a re-run of an actual Star Trek episode.
After waiting so long for another Star Trek series, it wasn't Star Trek, and it wasn't good.

However, the first episode of Star Trek : Picard was awesome. I'm re-watching it. I'll probably watch it several times.
Not only is it Star Trek, it's great Star Trek!
I'm thrilled.
I

 

[Discofan]

My interest would be in understanding what has shaped Picard as a person. Watching him go from who he was in Q Who, to what happened to him in Best of Both Worlds to understand why he behaves he does in First Contact. His transformation across those three stories I think would be very helpful to understanding what lead him to who his is in Picard.

It's possible but it so happens that "First Contact" was the very first thing startrekky that I've ever watched, in France, the series were almost unknown at the time. Although we've had a French-Canadian dubbed version a couple of years earlier of TOS that was too ridiculous (to us) to watch which is why they stopped airing it. You see to us, French Canadian sounds funny and it's hard to take anything with that accent seriously. Still it didn't take me long to understand what was going on, that Picard was suffering from some PTSD. When I saw Best Of Both Worlds Later I kept expecting the Borg Queen to show up and she never did, as you know. So I don't think it would really have helped if I had seen these episodes first and the movie later.

 

[BillJ]

Every time I tried watching it, I couldn't stay interested or focused on the episode. I'd quit and watch a re-run of an actual Star Trek episode.

Whether they work for you on a personal level, Discovery episodes are actual episodes of Star Trek.

 

[Alan Roi]

It's possible but it so happens that "First Contact" was the very first thing startrekky that I've ever watched, in France, the series were almost unknown at the time. Although we've had a French-Canadian dubbed version a couple of years earlier of TOS that was too ridiculous (to us) to watch which is why they stopped airing it. You see to us, French Canadian sounds funny and it's hard to take anything with that accent seriously. Still it didn't take me long to understand what was going on, that Picard was suffering from some PTSD. When I saw Best Of Both Worlds Later I kept expecting the Borg Queen to show up and she never did, as you know. So I don't think it would really have helped if I had seen these episodes first and the movie later.

Being a Canadian and knowing the relationship between Canadian French and French French, I can understand the issues with the dialect for you. There's an old joke in Canada, how when French people try to talk to Quebecois, the Quebecois reply in English.

Here's how I see it. in Q Who, you see Picard at his most idealistic and belief in his moral invicibility. He takes Q's challenge, ignores Guinan's warning and things go terribly bad. Best of Both worlds magnifies this cost of his actions in Q Who tenfold and scarred him badly psychologically. Those scars are on full display and explode out of him in First Contact. These each are very pivotal points in his life, one dot leading to another, for a man who's idealism becomes progressively scarred and where his PTSD comes from. And of course, Tapestry is also very useful, because it shows him as a middle aged man who is very much embarrassed at the 20 year old he used to be, the cougar chasing Captain Kirk wannabe and the folly of him trying to impress this self made persona on his younger self. You watch this evolution of Picard then listen to the reporter's questions in Rememberance, and it becomes clear that her specific choices really stab at the heart of who Picard has made himself to be both for himself and for others to see him.

 

[Rhodan]

I think that the episode is objectively hard to judge, even harder than Discovery ones. This heavy serialisation means that I am not sure how will events in it look in the context of episodes to follow.

Speaking of context, Remambrance is in clumsy position, becouse it introduces Earth where Romulan refugees live and "Synths" are feared and banned. Problem is, neither seems to connected to Star Trek staples practically ever. I know this is kinda the point and it is trying to be relevant for the current issues of the world, but it seemed disjointed. Partially becouse it had to project a world changed by whole 20 years and partially becouse it´s hard for me to think about the theme of artificial intelligence in a setting where it might have been issue, but comparatively minor one. IMHO, Dr. Jurati sequence kinda suffered becouse of the whole necessary fake science.

That being said, a lot of about Picard seems to work, from the nostalgia done well (I wonder if they ever mention Lal), through the action scenes to the overall intrigue. Looking forward Maps and Legends!

 

[Boris Skrbic]

Whether they work for you on a personal level, Discovery episodes are actual episodes of Star Trek.

They are actual episodes of Star Trek, but there is something to be said for that feeling of immersion when you see that the history happened just the way you remember it, even though PIC has obviously taken greater liberties than would strictly be justified by the TNG era (while “All Good Things...” is portraying a hypothetical timeline, those in “Endgame” and “The Visitor” could’ve easily happened).