I think you're missing a lot of what was going on if you think this.
Could you elaborate on what I'm missing?
It's about an old man dying, and going on one last mission to wash away regret.
That's an incredibly vague description of
Star Trek Picard. It seems like pretty generic action fare when you watch it. And doesn't
Star Wars The Last Jedi deal with elements of that as well? An old man who's turned his back on the world and is full of regret, who goes on one last mission before dying and actually staying dead? And that film was clearly aimed at a younger demographic.
But in PIC he's not really dying. He gets an upgrade, and a new life, new body, minus his disease. Had it dealt more realistically with the topic of dying, or been a less cliched portrayal of it, I can see it being intended for a more mature audience. Picard's death knell is timed right at the "epic" finale, and Jurati gives him a boost so he can use his super power (making speeches) one last time. It doesn't get more Hollywood cliche than that.
That is life for corporations-conluded to be "persons" by courts-who want to perpetuate their franchises indefinitely. They tried to do a similar thing for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull but it didn't work out. Shia LeBeouf is a poor replacement for Harrison Ford. It's a smart tactic to bring in the older fans, but also trying to appeal to the youth market who has less investment in the property. It's especially conspicuous when Picard is asked if he's going to bring his old crew back, who's more than capable. No, I don't want to risk their lives. Better to risk the lives of his other friend who's life he ruined, and the orphaned boy he befriended and never saw again.
I think it's a perfectly valid strategy to attempt to appeal to mainstream audiences, but it detracts from the story and the characters.
TNG painted with a broader brush a more colorful and optimistic future, whereas this one paints with a medium brush a more specific one geared to contemporary concerns.
I won't deny that. I'm assuming that the rogue synth attack was alluding to 9/11 and the synth ban=muslim ban. Romulan refugees=immigrants and refugees from laces like El Salvador. Federation/Starfleet having some similarities of the Trump administration. But politics and social issues are not new to Star Trek.
As far as contemporary concerns, substance abuse and addiction by way of Raffi, right? True, that's not really something that was addressed in TNG. But that's a topic that's covered in a LOT television. And it's not really treated with any real maturity than the cheap action flick. Down and out cop who has a drinking problem goes on an action-adventure, decides to stop drinking, and vindicated. I think Iron Man II dealt with an alcoholic hero too. And that's aimed at kids and teenagers.
The one does not negate the other. My goodness, if this one's technique were applied to the other's world, I'd be in Heaven.
You mean having crew members who were alcoholics and smoked weed, and several "damaged" characters who are cracking jokes constantly after having murdered a man? I think TNG's tone, for the most part, didn't need to have PIC's tone added to it. If it did, it would lose it's uniqueness. I like that the future in TNG is so different from the world I currently lived/live in. But that's my preference, not yours.
I'm trying to imagine a Star Trek or SF show in general that would have both. An optimistic future Earth to aspire to, but still have issues somewhat comparable to the society of say, five years ago.
Not accurate. Plus, review earlier series villains and you'll find more closer to this description.
Narissa is pretty much a cackling villain. Her and Seven are like 80s action character cliches. A more mature approach would be both sides who truly believe in what they're doing is good. But the Zhat Vash are clearly the space racists, calling the synths "abominations." I would have been more impressed had the Zhat Vash felt genuine sympathy for these poor creatures, but felt compelled to murder them if it meant saving the lives of so many more. A perversion of "the needs of the many out way the needs of the few."
TNG did have some stereotypical villains, even in later seasons. Duras is completely evil. Tomalak is gleeful in his bad guy-ness. The thing is, the antagonists weren't always colorful supervillains in TNG. Sometimes it was so much more complicated than that, like in "Suddenly Human." PIC on the other hand has the villains as just pure villains. We did get Narek crying over Soji, which I thought was a nice touch, but for the most part, pretty basic villains. And even if we agree that the villains are just as stereotypical in TNG as they are in PIC, how is PIC for a more mature audience then? How is it showing maturity and progress in complex character depictions if it's doing the same thing from 30 years ago? How is it more mature than mainstream kids fair of something like Loki's depiction in the first Thor movie?
As opposed to the UberCrew sent to stop horrific catastrophes in previous incarnations? The Enterprise crew is the ultimate A-Team. You're not being fair, I think because the series didn't speak to you.
Was TNG ten episodes straight of stopping THE.END.OF.ALL.LIFE.AS.WE.KNOW.IT? And having samurai martial arts action?
I don't think I'm being unfair at all. I've been re-watching TNG lately and there's a lot that I find fault with in individual episodes. There's problems I have with the TOS films. I may be a little more critical of PIC because of the context of the time it's been produced in. Science-fiction and streaming have made more available and more competitive thanks to cable and streaming platforms. So while TNG has it's flaws, I think it was still bringing something truly unique to the table at that time. Even watching it today some of the concepts still feel fresh compared to what's out. I don't get that with PIC. I've seen too many elements and concepts lifted from other familiar, mainstream SF/fantasy properties out there.
Watch the last scene of "Encounter at Farpoint" again. Not that I liked it then either, but I thought that given everything we'd gone through this season, given how unlikely this series was to even exist, my main thought was how sad I was that it will be months and months, if not longer, before we see any more.
Meaning that PIC S2 might get better/even better if given a chance? That's true. But despite this being one serialized story, it was still 10 episodes, so it's not fair to compare it to 1 episode of TNG in that regard.
And look around you in the real world, we may not see a lot of things again. So I appreciate this all the more.
I'm happy that it resonated with people. Not for me, but for those that did and got to see old friends again on-screen, that's awesome. I don't begrudge anyone that. We all have our different tastes. And there things about the series that I did like. The old returning cast...not so much, save for Marina Sirtis. Some of the new actors were really good though.
Some of the concepts were really interesting, like Romulans with their false doors on homes. I didn't quite get that, but it was interesting. Was it a reference to their previously perceived nature of being so deceptive?
The idea of rescued former Borg was good. Execution...so-so. But that scene where the one guy is getting healed, who is disfigured and missing his eye, and yet he's looking in the mirror and cries tears of joy just because he's free and regained his humanity again? That was a great scene. That got me.
The art design team and the special effects people for the interior of the Borg ship. Probably the best it's ever looked.
I just think the story itself was surprisingly generic, especially considering what good things I heard about Michael Chabon. Isa Briones is lovely but I really didn't care too much about her identity crisis or questioning of whether or not she was real. I've seen it before, done much better, when it was Ryan Gosling's K, Rachael talking about the mama spider, Major Kusanagi seeing her double on a crowded city street, or David wanting to be a real boy in
A.I.
And going back to the theme of an old man dying and dealing with regret, Kurosawa's
Ikiru is something I'd say was more successful in that regard while also being aimed at a more mature audience.
In regards to the way the world is right now, and this show...yeah I feel you on that one. The show didn't get me like it got others, but if it was great and brought a bit of hope or escapism to people that's something special. I'm watching and listening to a clip of Isa Briones 'Return to "Blue Skies."
Oh yeah, if and when we get S2, I really hope it won't be the adventures of the Sirena crew in space. I'd really like to see Picard being a father figure to Elnor and Soji either on Earth or another planet. Didn't one creator say he wanted to do a show where Picard is just on his vinyard petting his dog? I don't think he meant that literally, but something totally unexpected would be welcomed by me.
