Spoilers Star Trek: Picard General Discussion Thread

[Alexander Corrino]

Sure, but there's a massive difference between bringing in any legacy TNG crew and dedicating an entire season around the whole TNG cast.

If we were just getting a few cameos, or even a Nepenthe-style episode, that would fit with legacy characters being brought in after the show found its feet. Dumping most of the original cast and replacing them with the full TNG cast doesn't need the show to have stood on its own feet - it may as well be a whole new show.

Yes. This. None of what Sir Patrick ever said in interviews pre-PIC ever suggested that they planned to have an entire season dedicated to only the TNG characters. It all sounded more like "we will have some cool guest appearances when we think it's appropriate", like they did with Nepenthe. This whole TNG crew only thing was entirely Terry Matalas' idea (which is why he's gonna be the one who will either get all the hate or all the praise from the fandom, depending on how this turns out). He did say in a recent podcast that he brought the idea up to the ones in charge.

So, no, this wasn't planned from the start. At least not like this. It probably came into play when they hired Matalas as the showrunner. Which is about the same time the narrative in interviews started to shift from "the goal is to eventually find out what the TNG characters are up to and to somehow have them appear at some point but we have to establish the world first" to "yup we will see more TNG characters" to "we will definitely see all of them, an entire season will be dedicated to them and we're gonna dump most of the previous characters for this because a) we can't afford to pay everyone and b) it's also tricky to have ten episodes and a cast that's basically twice as large now as before and make sure everyone gets their scenes".

 

[fireproof78]

it may as well be a whole new show.

It is. It is the same course correcting type thinking that impacted Discovery. Mileage will vary as to how this is considered.

 

[Tuskin38]

I don't think it's course correcting at all.
They would have done it during Season 2 if that was the case, not double down on it.
Season 3 was written while Season 2 was still filming, so it's not in response to anything like that.

There's just a new showrunner. Plus it's the final season, weird time to do a course correction.

 

[timtonruben359]

Based on what Kurtzman said at ComicCon, it sounds like the plan was always there to reunite the TNG cast in some capacity as she said it had to "be earned." Basically, it was always in the card. Whether or not that plan invovled a full TNG reunion or just appearances by everyone over the course of three seasons is debatable. It does sound like the idea of bringing the TNG cast back for a full season, was Matalas' idea. That being said, Allison Pill and Santiago Cabrera have both stated they knew their characters were being written out back when season 2 was being plotted out before plans for season 3 were even in the works. Additionally, Gates McFadden and LeVar Burton have basically confirmed they knew they were returning for season three back in early 2020 when season 1 was just airing.

Season 3 was likely always seen as Picard's final chapter and would have involved some of the legacy cast regardless who the showrunner was.

 

[Nerys Myk]

I'm grateful we got Rios for as long as we did.

Spoiler: Strange New Worlds

They killed off Hemmer after one season!

Spoiler

The plan from day one

 

[Anduinel]

I thought that was Prodigy's job?

LOL! I wasn't thinking quite *that* young a target audience! XD But it's probably a long shot anyway, given how well the last Disco spin-off performed. I'd just like another live-action Trek in the 25th century after PIC wraps.

 

[fireproof78]

I thought that was Prodigy's job?

I would say it would be appropriate to have another more intermediate level step of Trek from the younger fare in to something that would be considered more teen/young adult crowd.

 

[Quinton]

I’m feeling pretty good about the odds that Matalas wants at least Seven, if not Seven and Raffi, to factor into a potential new 25th-century series down the road.

As to whether that show ever gets made, I believe him when he says during the TrekMovie podcast that such a thing will require some measure of fandom noise, so honestly, “course-correcting” Star Trek: Picard in its final season isn’t even all that weird. If he backdoors something intriguing on the wings of a final TNG cast adventure that folks generally enjoy, he comes out of this looking good to Kurtzman, the network, whoever.

 

[fireproof78]

I don't think it's course correcting at all.
They would have done it during Season 2 if that was the case, not double down on it.
Season 3 was written while Season 2 was still filming, so it's not in response to anything like that.

There's just a new showrunner. Plus it's the final season, weird time to do a course correction.

Course adjustment, maybe. I don't know. All I know is that they, like Discovery, set out to do big and bold and different and now it's back to familiar, cozy and comfortable. That's how Season 2 felt as well. Season 3 is doubling down on it because it decided that the familiar characters meant more than the new cast. Which is fine, but don't expect me to not notice.

 

[Danja]

I’m feeling pretty good about the odds that Matalas wants at least Seven, if not Seven and Raffi, to factor into a potential new 25th-century series down the road.

As to whether that show ever gets made, I believe him when he says during the TrekMovie podcast that such a thing will require some measure of fandom noise, so honestly, “course-correcting” Star Trek: Picard in its final season isn’t even all that weird. If he backdoors something intriguing on the wings of a final TNG cast adventure that folks generally enjoy, he comes out of this looking good to Kurtzman, the network, whoever.

We've been making noise since earlier this year.

How much it's going take is anyone's guess.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

Plus it's the final season, weird time to do a course correction.

Personally I think the final season is the most logical and meaningful place to do a full cast reunion. If not now, when?

I feel fine with it. The whole crew deserves a better final runaround than Nemesis.

 

[FederationHistorian]

It is. It is the same course correcting type thinking that impacted Discovery. Mileage will vary as to how this is considered.

This isn’t a course correction. The show is named Picard. It will focus on events and people important to Picard. And his former crew is pretty important to him.

That being said, the first season already established the next next generation, with Raffi, Rios, Jurati, Elnor & Soji. And yet, the third season is being touted to do just that, give us the next next generation.

 

[Quinton]

I’m with @fireproof78 on this one. For the most part, anyway. I really doubt the original loose vision for this show involved writing Soji out in 2x01, followed by Rios, Jurati, and even Elnor in 2x10.

I think it is reasonable to expect more TNG cast to have appeared before the end no matter what. I also think there was probably more of a balance in mind. All the posts in the world about how it “wouldn’t make sense” for the show’s new crew to stick together can’t mask what is, to me, an obvious massive creative retooling.

 

[Danja]

This isn’t a course correction. The show is named Picard. It will focus on events and people important to Picard. And his former crew is pretty important to him.

That being said, the first season already established the next next generation, with Raffi, Rios, Jurati, Elnor & Soji. And yet, the third season is being touted to do just that, give us the next next generation.

The next next generation, same as the old next generation.

 

[Paul755]

I’m feeling pretty good about the odds that Matalas wants at least Seven, if not Seven and Raffi, to factor into a potential new 25th-century series down the road.

As to whether that show ever gets made, I believe him when he says during the TrekMovie podcast that such a thing will require some measure of fandom noise, so honestly, “course-correcting” Star Trek: Picard in its final season isn’t even all that weird. If he backdoors something intriguing on the wings of a final TNG cast adventure that folks generally enjoy, he comes out of this looking good to Kurtzman, the network, whoever.

if a Seven series depends on Matalas then you’d better hope Picard S3 is at least on par with SNW S1. Because given the lukewarm reaction to Picard S2, if S3 gets a similar reaction or just outright flops WITH the TNG crew then Matalas might not get another shot with Trek.

 

[Quinton]

if a Seven series depends on Matalas then you’d better hope Picard S3 is at least on par with SNW S1. Because given the lukewarm reaction to Picard S2, if S3 gets a similar reaction or just outright flops WITH the TNG crew then Matalas might not get another shot with Trek.

I think “at least on par” might be pushing it a bit, given just how warmly SNW S1 has been received, but certainly it needs to be met with far warmer reception than… well, both prior seasons, yeah.

 

[FederationHistorian]

if a Seven series depends on Matalas then you’d better hope Picard S3 is at least on par with SNW S1. Because given the lukewarm reaction to Picard S2, if S3 gets a similar reaction or just outright flops WITH the TNG crew then Matalas might not get another shot with Trek.

And we know that its the same team that wrote PIC S2, minus Akiva Goldsman. And that Matalas wrote the finale. So a weak middle is expected in a sense. Will a strong PIC series finale be enough to get a Seven show?

 

[Danja]

I think “at least on par” might be pushing it a bit, given just how warmly SNW S1 has been received, but certainly it needs to be met with far warmer reception than… well, both prior seasons, yeah.

I think the hype for SNW is overblown.

I tried sitting through the pilot of SNW.

I found the plot predictable (I knew what was going to happen about halfway through the show).

It's not the Second Coming of Trek by any means.

And we know that its the same team that wrote PIC S2, minus Akiva Goldsman. And that Matalas wrote the finale. So a weak middle is expected in a sense. Will a strong PIC series finale be enough to get a Seven show?

Picard is a collection of three miniseries. SNW is episodic.

You're comparing apples and oranges.

 

[Tuskin38]

I think the hype for SNW is overblown.

I tried sitting through the pilot of SNW.

Please don't judge a show based on a single episode.

 

[Quinton]

I think the hype for SNW is overblown.

I tried sitting through the pilot of SNW.

I found the plot predictable (I knew what was going to happen about halfway through the show).

That’s fair. I’d say give it more of a shot because I didn’t love the pilot, either, but I meant more that tons of fans like it a lot.

I’m in the same boat with loads of popular stuff, as I imagine we all are. Nothing, short of water and oxygen, is truly for us all.