Star Trek: Picard - Season One - CBS All Access - starring Patrick Stewart (1 Viewer)

[Philip Verdieck]

I never liked the TNG Romulan look or saw the point in it - I think Balance of Terror had the right idea - biologically they’re cranky Vulcans. The ridge thing was dumb and I’m glad to see it gone.

Agreed. But I don't think is as dumb as the entire script of Nemesis and the pathetic concept of the lower class Romulans who looked like an entirely different species.

 

[Philip Verdieck]

?

I'm not sure what you mean.

Nothing actually.
I must have spaced on the "Without" and read it as "With". Oops.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Agreed. But I don't think is as dumb as the entire script of Nemesis and the pathetic concept of the lower class Romulans who looked like an entirely different species.

That didn't really bother me. We know very little of the Romulans, and I was able to accept that information without any difficulty. It would seem perhaps that when the people who would become known as the Romulans split off from the Vulcans in their ancient history, they settled on the planet Romulus and colonized/enslaved the indigenous people (the Remans), which is an entirely believable concept in my book - there's plenty of examples of similar happenings in Earth history, afterall.

 

[Sam Favate]

Robert Picardo said in an interview that he’s been approached about appearing in Season 2 of Picard.

 

[Jonathan Perregaux]

Robert Picardo said in an interview that he’s been approached about appearing in Season 2 of Picard.

If they pull the Enterprise-E out of mothballs, her EMH would be there! Suggesting an analgesic for those Borg implants.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Assuming that the main plot has something to do with artificial intelligence, he could be playing Lewis Zimmerman. Or The Doctor from "Voyager", who by the end of the series was one of the most sophisticated examples of artificial intelligence.

 

[Sam Favate]

Brent Spiner told the Las Vegas Review Journal that Data is a story point in the Picard series, that he's not in every episode, and that he's read all the scripts which he says are "excellent." He said he is not a major character in the season.

https://www.reviewjournal.com/enter...talks-las-vegas-star-trek-convention-1811560/

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I'm excited.

This has potential to be as great as "Twin Peaks: The Return." That show succeeded beyond my wildest dreams and expectations because, while it was respectful to the history of the characters and the original "Twin Peaks" series, it had no desire to play into the audience's collective memory of what made Twin Peaks quirky and fun in 1990. It told what was a logical follow-up but it also understood that the world has changed since 1990 - it didn't try to pretend that no time had passed. If anything, it made the passage of time a central theme. I know a portion of the audience rejected the show because it wasn't simply more of the same - it wasn't just quirky townspeople ordering black coffee and cherry pie.

I'm so glad to see that the showrunners of "Picard" seem to be taking the same approach. Just from the brief glimpse we see in the trailer, Patrick Stewart does look, sound and feel like Jean-Luc Picard -- but it's not an Enterprise-E mission with some kind of contrived reasoning to get that ship to rendezvous with the Titan to get the whole crew back together as if no time had passed. It makes sense that twenty years later, people would have different postings, have different paths in life. And the behind-the-scenes of what TV is has changed in that time, and I'm glad that we're getting a show that seems like it will take advantage of the serialization that wasn't really an option for much of TNG's run. I'm excited about having a meaningful adventure with Picard that presumably won't reset at the end of every episode, where I can follow a character I've loved for most of my life on a new adventure, as he tries to find a new sense of purpose and meaning in a changed world - something I think many of us can relate to.

 

[Josh Dial]

I know a portion of the audience rejected the show because it wasn't simply more of the same - it wasn't just quirky townspeople ordering black coffee and cherry pie.

I just don't know how to talk to those people

 

[Sam Favate]

Brent Spiner had more to say at Star Trek Las Vegas last night.

He said, so far, he has only filmed scenes with Patrick Stewart. He talks about why he came back, the new writing staff, and Nemesis.

https://trekmovie.com/2019/08/01/st...3z4YJ0oAHp_yuKLrA4FyEGd0Q6CoIEmVTcSSP5NiweN00

Jeri Ryan said today that she will appear in more than one episode. She hinted she’d have an arc.

 

[NeilO]

From a year ago ...

They will appear. I would be very much surprised if no one from the TNG cast ever appears in the new show. If they don't ever appear it would be due to stupidity of the highest order.

And so it comes to pass. It looks like several of the actors from the TNG/DS9/Voyager franchises will make appearances. I think most of the actors from this time will welcome a call to return.

 

[joshEH]

That didn't really bother me. We know very little of the Romulans, and I was able to accept that information without any difficulty. It would seem perhaps that when the people who would become known as the Romulans split off from the Vulcans in their ancient history, they settled on the planet Romulus and colonized/enslaved the indigenous people (the Remans), which is an entirely believable concept in my book - there's plenty of examples of similar happenings in Earth history, afterall.

Agreed. One thing that Star Trek usually ignores (with the exception of the Dominion and the Son'a) is that an empire, by definition, is one state ruling over multiple other states. So an interstellar empire shouldn't be just one species; it should be one culture ruling over multiple subject peoples. The Romulans could have a comparatively small population, yet still rule a sizeable empire of subject-species. They wouldn't need greater numbers if they were effective enough conquerors.

The Mongols weren't that large a population, but they built an empire that spanned all of Asia. Britain is a small island, but it ruled an empire that encircled the globe. Empires work by having a hierarchy of authority. The central state co-opts local authorities to work on its behalf. Those regional rulers get power over their own peoples, so long as they provide proper tribute and revenues to their superiors in the imperial hierarchy. Giving them local power earns their loyalty to the metropolis, even if they aren't from the same nation or culture.

And insurrections are swiftly put down by military force, the stick along with the carrot. This is another thing Star Trek usually gets wrong. An empire's military isn't made up exclusively of the ruling people; one of the main functions of the subject peoples is to provide cannon fodder, because they're the expendable ones.

Most of the Roman army was made of subject-peoples from all over the empire; they would generally be moved all over the map, relocated far from home so that they'd come to identify more with the empire than with their own communities. The British Army sent troops from India and its African colonies to fight the Nazis.

So really, when we've seen the crews of Klingon or Romulan or Cardassian ships, they should've been multispecies, made up of the empires' subject peoples. Maybe the officers could've been from the ruling species, but in historical empires, even the officers and generals were often subject-peoples -- again, giving them power earns loyalty. The one time Trek ever got this right was in Nemesis, when the Remans were introduced as a Romulan subject-people who had been used as cannon fodder in the Dominion War.

I often wish that, instead of going for the whole genetic-engineering angle, ST had just established that the different-looking Klingons we've seen in the franchise had just been different species within the Klingon Empire, identifying themselves by their cultural and political allegiance rather than their species.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Damn, other me - taking us to school! That was awesome!

 

[Josh Dial]

Agreed. One thing that Star Trek usually ignores (with the exception of the Dominion and the Son'a) is that an empire, by definition, is one state ruling over multiple other states. So an interstellar empire shouldn't be just one species; it should be one culture ruling over multiple subject peoples. The Romulans could have a comparatively small population, yet still rule a sizeable empire of subject-species. They wouldn't need greater numbers if they were effective enough conquerors.

The Mongols weren't that large a population, but they built an empire that spanned all of Asia. Britain is a small island, but it ruled an empire that encircled the globe. Empires work by having a hierarchy of authority. The central state co-opts local authorities to work on its behalf. Those regional rulers get power over their own peoples, so long as they provide proper tribute and revenues to their superiors in the imperial hierarchy. Giving them local power earns their loyalty to the metropolis, even if they aren't from the same nation or culture.

And insurrections are swiftly put down by military force, the stick along with the carrot. This is another thing Star Trek usually gets wrong. An empire's military isn't made up exclusively of the ruling people; one of the main functions of the subject peoples is to provide cannon fodder, because they're the expendable ones.

Most of the Roman army was made of subject-peoples from all over the empire; they would generally be moved all over the map, relocated far from home so that they'd come to identify more with the empire than with their own communities. The British Army sent troops from India and African colonies to fight the Nazis.

So really, when we've seen the crews of Klingon or Romulan or Cardassian ships, they should've been multispecies, made up of the empires' subject peoples. Maybe the officers could've been from the ruling species, but in historical empires, even the officers and generals were often subject-peoples -- again, giving them power earns loyalty. The one time Trek ever got this right was in Nemesis, when the Remans were introduced as a Romulan subject-people who had been used as cannon fodder in the Dominion War.

I often wish that, instead of going for the whole genetic-engineering angle, ST had just established that the different-looking Klingons we've seen in the franchise had just been different species within the Klingon Empire, identifying themselves by their cultural and political allegiance rather than their species.

Great post!

Another time Star Trek sort of got this correct is in the DS9 mirror universe episodes. For example, Worf was the warship commander, with a multi-raced crew (including Bajoran and Cardassian officers).

 

[joshEH]

^ Thanks, guys, and most likely the producers over the decades just thought it was simpler and less confusing to the viewer if all the bad guys were the same species. It's part and parcel of the species-essentialist oversimplifications we tend to see throughout Trek. For instance, how come only Vulcans ever follow Surak? Why aren't there culturally-Vulcan people of many species? Realistically, there would be (and, indeed, Michael Burnham is now a solid recent example of this), but the "Planet of Hats" model is a convenient simplification for the purposes of a TV show where there's limited room for in-depth worldbuilding, and where you want your audience to be easily able to tell who's who.

 

[Nelson Au]

JoshEH, that was a great post about empires. I was thinking as I read it, exactly what you just posted in post 315.

Planet of Hats I would think also makes it easier for telling stories as allegory.

 

[NeilO]

Read through the thread. I had read some of it at various times. I am excited about Picard.

Back when ST was announced, I had no way of actually watching it on my TV (as opposed to a PC) and there was very little content. I also had Comcast internet. Now I have Fios. I also have an Amazon Firestick on which I believe I can get the CBS All Access app. We have been watching the first season of ST on Blu-Ray and enjoying it so far.

So, with all of the new Star Trek and other content coming to CBS All Access, maybe I will subscribe. The main problem will be finding the time to watch everything.

 

[Sam Favate]

Over on Instagram, Michael Chabon posted that the first season has wrapped, and the photo is of him at Vasquez Rocks (where 'Arena' was filmed, along with many other episodes). Could this mean we see the famous location in the series?

That’s a shooting wrap on Season One of #startrekpicard. There have been so many incredible moments, so many life and career high points, but for a 45-plus-year #startrek fan, visiting the sacred Gorn-haunted grounds of #Arena was a peak. [note: the text on the hat worn by the very kind and lovely human in the bg reads MAKE AMERICA GAY AGAIN, to answer a question posted by a number of you.]

https://www.instagram.com/p/B111A_hgOBi/

 

[Jason_V]

I keep getting more and more excited over this show. It's going to be something different and unique and unexpected...but it's going to be like going home for me. Everyone is a bit older, it's not exactly how you remember it and the like...but seeing old friends is never, ever a bad thing.

 

[Philip Verdieck]

If they pull the Enterprise-E out of mothballs, her EMH would be there! Suggesting an analgesic for those Borg implants.

And if they are on a small craft with minimal crew, like it appears, they may well need the EMH.