Exactly. Ok, I love DSC but it has definitely gone to the fan service well. The most obvious one being the reuse of "The Cage" footage to set up an episode. I think Michael Burnham is highly enjoyable as a character but her connection to Spock is fan service. It remains to be seen how the characters from TNG get worked in. I'm hesitant but that's because I didn't enjoy TNG so the idea of these characters coming back doesn't bring with it the same emotion as it does for others. But, as @NewHeavensNewEarth and @Lord Garth and others have noted if they are in service to the story and don't take away from it then I see it working, even if it is a bit of a fan service. But, it still is fan service. Good, bad or otherwise.
No doubt more work-hungry actors who were in 24th Century Trek will be going round coventions pointing out they would like to return!! :P
I hesitate to call anything on Picard fan service until we actually see how it is used. They've already "warned" us that Jean-Luc has changed in ways that are going to initially disappoint some fans who idolized him. The same could be true with other returning characters. Maybe Will and Deanna bicker worse than the O'Briens now for example.
See, for me, I would like to see what this character is up to, especially since her race is such a big part of this season
I think anyone who is relevant to Picard and/or the story they're telling is fair game. Guinan has a long history with both Picard and the Borg, and she's one of the biggest stars who appeared on the show. Bringing her back is a no-brainer.
I'd rather the writers not go for the obvious but they did something with the Borg, so that ship has sailed...
It seems pretty clear to me based upon the leaks from the past few weeks that the Borg are more of a sideshow of the plot this season, which focuses a lot more on synthetic lifeforms and Romulans. The showrunners actually had a pretty damn good bait and switch, because up until Children of Mars there was really no evidence of the synth angle at all.
I'll own my bias but I would rather never, ever, see the Borg again, in any capacity. Again, low hanging fruit and not a good hook for me. Yup, I'm in the minority. And I'm OK with that.
I am starting to feel bad for the rest of the cast. They've become a bit of an afterthought heading into the series premiere.
I think it's great that Whoopi is coming back. If there's anyone important to Picard who I would want to see, it's Guinan*. They've got a shared history that was always enigmatic and mysterious. There's even that Time Traveller's Wife aspect that she knows more than she's letting on. * And Q. If I'm being greedy. Maybe season three.
Oh Q is coming, sooner than we all think. The fact that we heard nothing from or about John de Lancie, while anyone and everyone having anything remotely to do with Trek have chimed in, speaks volumes!
I think - in general - Trek used the Borg poorly after BoBW - and particularly after Voyager got its grimy mitts on them. As I've said in the past, the Borg are fundamentally a body-horror concept in a SF setting. Like all horror, the more you shine a light on them, the less interesting they actually are. That said, from everything we've been told, we're getting a very, very different Borg story this time around, mostly focusing on the rehabilitation of ex-Borg, which cuts against the cliches of the race.
Anyone else remember that mysterious shot from the last day of Picard's filming - which showed what appeared to be a red-gloved hand on a chair? Based upon that, it would seem Q is going to appear in the final episode in his Encounter at Farpoint/All Good Things uniform.
This is a return that makes sense. Genuinely surprised this confirms she's not a season one surprise cameo.
See, the thing with Q is, Q is a timeless, immortal being. De Lancie, however, is not. For reasons unknown he is aging. TPTB had enough problems deaging Spiner back to Nemesis days and they had the golden make-up on their side.