Spoilers Picard Prequel "Children of Mars"

[Timo]

Being set in 2384? Maybe, there seems to be some conflicting information out there at the moment as to when Picard the series is set, though one of the dates being thrown around does make this being 2384 a valid possibility. Being in San Francisco, no, not at all. First of all, if it were in San Francisco, these girls wouldn't be the titular Children of Mars, would they? And when they are outside boarding the school bus shuttle, the sky has a red tint to it, which would heavily imply it should be Mars. And finally, I don't see why an attack on the Utopia Planitia shipyards would trigger an emergency alert at a school on Earth. Mars though, hell yeah.

Well, there's the Golden Gate bridge visible from a window...

(But perhaps they built one on Mars when the previous one was too much of a chore to repair after the Breen?)

The sky is always red over Miami Beach, too. I learned that from TV.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Paul Weaver]

First of all, if it were in San Francisco, these girls wouldn't be the titular Children of Mars, would they?

Sure, their coming of age was defined by the attack on Mars.

 

[Romulan_spy]

None of those models are TV quality.

I know that but they could be worked on to bring them up to TV quality.

 

[ICW]

My theory:

In an incredibly opportunistic but callous move, Starfleet decides to implement Maddox's vision of at least one Android on every starship following the death of Data. These Androids lack emotion and any ambition to become human. It makes their "service" (read: enslavement) to Starfleet much easier to swallow.

This deeply offends Picard for two obvious reasons: 1). Data was his friend, someone he personally championed for in A Measure of a Man. It's absolute bullshit that Starfleet would simply wait for Data to die in order to revisit Maddox's plan, particularly since they're designing these Androids void of any emotion or ambition; 2). As a former Borg, Picard is offended that Starfleet has essentially created their own Collective.

The latter point could be where Seven of Nine and Hugh come in. They're liberated from the Collective and perhaps it bothers them to see Starfleet take this course of action with these Androids. Maybe someone like Hughe is leading the "Rogue Synths" (but I have difficulty seeing him give the ok to bomb Mars). Maybe they're upset but have stayed quiet until Picard starts his mission.

And what exactly is that mission? We don't know who Dahj is. Perhaps she herself in an Android, a special Android that's gotten the attention of very important/dangerous entities? I'm not sure.

This was me just spitballing here and I know I'll be very, very wrong when it's all said and done but, hey, Children of Mars really got me interested!

 

[Greg Cox]

it is a 9/11 type event.

Yep.

Heck, I remember our teacher halting class to inform us that Vice-President Spiro Agnew had resigned.

 

[urbandk]

I just finally watched this. Being in the UK doesn't make it easy to keep up to date!

I loved it. Once again, we're seeing a different part of the Trekverse, a few moments in the lives of characters who we would normally never get to meet on the regular shows. For me, that's perfect, and the kind of extra content I'm looking for, as the franchise mixes it up over the next few years, with regards to type of content produced.

I know people are calling this a Picard prequel, but I don't see it as that. Right now, when we don't have any other official content related to anything that takes place in Picard, so I accept that this is the first glimpse of the attack on Mars, so feels like it's setting up the new show, but I don't think it's really done that at all. This appears to take place many years before Picard, so whilst the attack on Mars is certainly a part of Picard's backstory as he heads into the new show, I don't think Children of Mars was setting up Star Trek: Picard in any way. With that view, I couldn't possibly sit here and type that I'm disappointed with the setup for Picard, because this didn't feel like it was trying to be a setup at all.

In fact, I've no idea how one or two people [in this thread] have used Children of Mars to justify unhappiness with how they think Picard is going to turn out...

Anyway, I liked the story here. Very simple. Two kids who seemingly hate each other (the human-looking girl appeared to be the main bully, I thought?), getting into it, too, only to realise that all that sh*t didn't actually matter in the grand scheme of things. Seemed they knew that they both had parents at Mars, too, so probably a little bit more familiarity between them both prior to this story.

I thought it was interesting to see school bullying in Trek, particularly in the 24th century. This style of bullying, anyway. I imagine that there are quite a few people who would recognise some of the things that these girls were doing to each, for example. It felt very real, especially the fight in the hallway that no one was breaking up.

I didn't spot any other aliens in those sequences, but may be going blind! If the co-lead was in fact the only alien there, might we suspect that there was some xenophobia going on?

Anyway, as I said, I really enjoyed this for what it was. Roll on new Trek content later this month!

Yeah I felt like this was a standalone that connected to the wider universe in the best way possible.

It gave rare context to events in the wider universe.

I'm actually getting emotional just thinking about it a day later.

Superb short, among the top three Short Treks.

 

[Tuskin38]

I know that but they could be worked on to bring them up to TV quality.

It would be a lot easier and cheaper to make them from scratch

 

[Blooded]

Yeah I felt like this was a standalone that connected to the wider universe in the best way possible.

It gave rare context to events in the wider universe.

Precisely. I think some people look for too much from these shorts, to be honest. Not everyone, but definitely a handful of folk.

We typically only ever see the Star Trek Universe through the eyes of our main series heroes. It's great to see some of it through the eyes of minor characters who likely won't ever be seen again, especially when it comes to events like this Mars attack that we will almost certainly see from Picard's own perspective [via flashbacks] on Picard.

 

[Paul Weaver]

Heck, I remember our teacher halting class to inform us that Vice-President Spiro Agnew had resigned.

All I know of Agnew is that he's headless and carries Richard Nixon around

 

[Dukhat]

Hey, now. I've made my peace with that being a Kelvin Timeline aberration which thankfully remains well outside the Prime Universe.

I hate to burst your bubble, but the Kelvin and her crew didn’t just spontaneously pop into existence when Nero went back in time.

 

[ToyBoxComix]

First, the point of the story is that adversity can bring people together. It’s a simple but nice little tale. I don’t want to overlook the small story actually told even though it clearly has larger implications.

On to the larger issues...

The Mars attack probably reflects a 9/11 type event. Season 3 of Enterprise was a post-9/11 tale as well, but set in the immediate aftermath of the event. Picard will likely show the state of the Federation some 15 years later, which will parallel with the state of the US now.

from the tie-in comic, we know that Utopia Planetia was readying ships as quickly as possible to evacuate Romulans. So we can assume that the...what was the term, synthoids?...want to sabotage that effort. I’m sure their motivation will be revealed.

Yes, it’s rather disappointing to see Discovery-era starships in the late 24th century. In reality, it’s probably a matter of the production team not having the time and/or money to build new models for the short. My current head canon explanation is that the hulls were still viable, so they’re being drug back into service and upgraded because it’s faster than building new hulls from scratch. Hopefully we won’t see inconsistencies like that without explanation in the show proper.

A fine little short that both tells a small story and sets up the state of the world for Picard.

Will somebody please check on Geordi?

 

[Tuskin38]

from the tie-in comic, we know that Utopia Planetia was readying ships as quickly as possible to evacuate Romulans. So we can assume that the...what was the term, synthoids?...want to sabotage that effort. I’m sure their motivation will be revealed.

And said comic also says some Romulans think the rescue fleet is an invasion fleet, and want to stop it. Which is why I think the Romulans are still partly responsible for this attack.

Maybe they’re the ones who armed the synths.

 

[Campe]

Will somebody please check on Geordi?

Is it bad that I actually kind of want Geordi dead? Please don't mistake me. I love the character. Geordi was very relatable. But I want there to be something that makes us truly angry about this event. Sacrificing a beloved character, while certainly hard, makes hating the enemy far more interesting for both the audience and the characters. And imagine if the synths are androids, and the one man whose best friend was an android, was killed by Data's legacy. Its pure tragedy and compelling drama.

 

[Tuskin38]

Is it bad that I actually kind of want Geordi dead? Please don't mistake me. I love the character. Geordi was very relatable. But I want there to be something that makes us truly angry about this event. Sacrificing a beloved character, while certainly hard, makes hating the enemy far more interesting for both the audience and the characters. And imagine if the synths are androids, and the one man whose best friend was an android, was killed by Data's legacy. Its pure tragedy and compelling drama.

I think it would only work if we actually see Geordi in footage. Don’t do it off screen.

 

[cooleddie74]

Yes. We have to see LeVar Burton himself in Geordi makeup and costume at the moment he dies if they're going to go that route. We've come to know and even love Geordi LaForge over the course of almost 33 years of the franchise and if he's going to die in the new series then his death needs more than just an offscreen attack for it to be satisfactory.

This isn't Robert and Rene Picard.

 

[Campe]

You guys aren't wrong. And honestly, the likelihood of it happening are slim to none, unless Burton filmed a secret cameo. I'm not holding my breath on that. Just a thought.

 

[IMC Headquarters]

Would they really kill off the Captain of the Challenger?

 

[WarpFactorZ]

I think it would only work if we actually see Geordi in footage. Don’t do it off screen.

Thinking back to All Good Things, Deanna's death was only mentioned, not shown, and it served the storyline very well (i.e. to create the animosity and tension between Riker and Worf). Same can be done with Geordi, especially if LeVar Burton was never contacted.

 

[IMC Headquarters]

Hmm...Reaping Rainbow...

 

[DaveyNY]

Would they really kill off the Captain of the Challenger?

They killed off and put the final nail in the coffin of the 'Look' of TOS.
Why would Geordie be any safer?

(yes, I'm still being a whiny, bitchin' Trek Ship Nerd)