Trekkie | At Home with Tech

February 19, 2023

Star Trek: Picard has Finally Made It So

It’s taken 3 seasons for this “Star Trek” series to fully embrace the heritage of “The Next Generation.” Here’s why I couldn’t be happier.

In the same way that the MCU and “Star Wars” have expanded their own universes on Disney+, “Star Trek” has been successfully extending itself on Paramount+ over these past few years. “Star Trek” has three active live-action (plus two animated) series going right now with “Star Trek: Picard” just premiering its third season.

While I should immediately point out my excitement with the freshman of the group, “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” as a must watch, “Picard” has significantly benefited from its own legacy. Watching it has always felt like sitting down with a cozy cup of Earl Grey tea.

That said, “Picard” was not originally supposed to be an updated “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” It centers around the later life and new adventures of our famous Captain (Admiral) Jean-Luc Picard played by the great Sir Patrick Stewart. Picard is officially retired, but he’s still out there traveling the stars with a new set of supporting characters.

But who are we really kidding?

A Return to the Federation We Know and Love
Slowly, the writers have been bringing the band back together. And those episodes with classic Trek characters have clearly been the best moments of this new “Star Trek.”

And so now we’ve got the third season, which is clearly being constructed as “The Next Generation: 20 Years Later.”

Finally.

Why wouldn’t Trekkies want to see this? You’ve got so many famous characters from the starship Enterprise to revisit beyond Picard.

As my twelve-year-old son would say, “Let’s go!”

The Reunion Tour Begins
I’ve just watched the first episode of season 3, titled “The Next Generation,” and from the opening animated starship flourish (now with the starship Titan) to the final reveal of the villain’s massive ship, I found myself feeling like a giddy teenage geek again. (I streamed it on my iPhone while taking my Metro North train to work in New York City. No, I couldn’t wait to watch it ‘properly’ at home on a respectable TV.)

This season is clearly going to be a massively enjoyable road trip down memory lane.

We already have Picard, Riker, Beverly Crusher and Seven of Nine. And this was just the season premiere. I know Geordi, Worf and Deana aren’t far away. And though we can’t have Data, the promos tease that Brent Spiner will be showing up as Lore.

Easter eggs are everywhere.

All of my brain’s nerdy nostalgia centers have been fully activated.

Computer… Open Spacedock Doors
The story starts with a distress call to Picard from Beverly Crusher, played by Gates McFadden, who is hiding in an abandoned ship under attack at the edge of Federation space. “No Starfleet,” she warns.

Well, that’s all we really need to again bring Picard out of retirement. And of course, his first move is to recruit his old Number One, played by Jonathan Frakes. And they quickly run into a well-positioned Seven of Nine, played by Jeri Ryan. (Both actors have already reprised their roles in “Picard.”)

The remaining reunions will follow on this final adventure for Picard. I’m not especially focused on the story. For me, it’s all about my favorite Trek characters and the opportunity to see them again.

Enjoy the Journey
My only concern is how the writers stick the landing at the end of episode 10.

Wrapping up “Star Trek” series has always been something of a challenge. Sisko’s plunge at the end of “Deep Space Nine” was strange. The reunion at the end of “Voyager” was rushed. Of course the original “Star Trek” series ended abruptly, although 1991’s “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country” did offer a proper goodbye for that crew.

I’ve got to say that The Next Generation’s “All Good Things” leads the way in best last Trek episode.

Can lightning strike twice?

Well, I don’t have to worry about that right now. I’ve got nine more episodes of “Picard” to first relish across these next couple of months.

The third and final season of “Star Trek: Picard” is a wonderful gift to life-long Trekkies like me.

Thank you!

March 13, 2022

Why Star Trek: Discovery and Picard are Worth Watching Now

If you haven’t been following these series on Paramount+, now’s a great time to finally check them out. Here’s my review.

When I was a kid, I watched the first reruns of the original “Star Trek” and was completely engaged by the adventure and adrenaline-fueled fun. I connected with this family of characters and it locked me in to follow an ever expanding universe of Star Trek stories and characters for the next several decades.

I’ve continued to watch Star Trek throughout my life. All of the series, movies, different timelines and the recent iterations on Paramount+.

And Star Trek has been evolving along the way.

Finding Balance in “Discovery”
“Star Trek: Discovery” currently represents the new norm, and the writers have clearly worked hard to boldly go where no Trek has gone before. They even introduced four-letter words into the scripts. I’m still stinging from the first time they dropped the F-bomb (although I’m finally getting used to the occasional salty language).

“Discovery” has paid significant attention to presenting us with a truly diverse set of characters. DE&I themes run deep throughout. Bravo.

“Discovery” also focuses on feelings. A lot.

Kirk never needed to talk through how he felt. But these Star Trek characters do. Yes, it’s more realistic, but it sometimes slows the pace of the show. You’ve just got to get used to it.

Speaking of feelings, “Discovery’s” scripts often point out how much the crew love each other. There’s lots of hugging and crying.

When this started, I wanted the stories to first spend more time with the secondary characters. I didn’t really know them. So I didn’t really buy all of the intimacy that writers were suddenly pushing into the scripts.

In this fourth season, that dynamic has finally been properly balanced, and the love/respect/admiration factor is more believable.

Fully Embracing the Cliffhanger
I’m also pleased with another important factor that “Discovery” is finally getting right.
It’s the classic Trek cliffhanger moment that gets you so excited for the next scene or episode.

A great example is the pre opening-credits scene that sets up the entire episode. The original series did it so well, and I’m really happy that the writers have paid more attention to that device.

I always love it when the image suddenly cuts to black, I hear the opening notes of the Star Trek theme, and then I get that tingle of adrenaline. Or maybe you catch your mouth curling up into a little smile. That’s when you want to say, “Thank you.”

“Star Trek: Discovery” has finally landed in the back half of its fourth season.

“Picard’s” Reunion
The second season of “Star Trek: Picard” is also a blast to watch. As I write this, “Picard” is only two episodes in, but this series clearly holds all of the cards. It packs together the best of the more evolved style of Star Trek storytelling with classic Next Generation Trek. It feels so good to be going back to this future.

More Jean-Luc, played by Patrick Stewart, and Seven, played by Jeri Ryan. More Borg queen, this time played by Annie Wersching. More Q (John de Lancie) and Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg).

More classic starship designs, with a crazy new Stargazer. More classic uniforms and less developed transporters. The sounds and special effects are all so familiar. And they tap into little pleasure nodes throughout my brain that haven’t been activated for so many years.

This entire series has a huge impact. How can it not? I know this family. This Star Trek. These characters. And the new characters are well defined. You don’t have to wait four seasons to really get to know them.

If you’re a Star Trek fan, resistance to “Picard” is futile.

Star Trek Happiness
I’ve stuck with Star Trek across the decades like a dedicated football fan. Some years are better than others, but you don’t give up, because you just know the next year is going to be a winning season.

We’ve got two winning Star Trek seasons going on right now, simultaneously.

Fans aren’t always looking for something entirely different. Sometimes what’s old can be new again. And when the new finally aligns with what we already love, then you’re going to have happy Trekkies.

Yes, they’ve finally made it so.

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January 10, 2021

Feeling Burned by Star Trek: Discovery’s Season 3?

After watching the season finale, this Trekkie’s got some thoughts to share about the latest season of “Discovery.” Here’s my review:

You can’t blame “Star Trek: Discovery” for not trying. Season 3 attempted to envision a universe 930 years into the future, tackled big social themes and finally decided to give a little more screen time to its supporting cast of regulars.

This CBS All Access series originally insisted that is was not your parent’s “Star Trek.” It tried to be darker, edgier and bolder. Characters used four letter words, though not very convincingly (and far more awkwardly than in “Star Trek: Picard”).

The writers spent much of season 3 trying to return into the fold. There were multiple references and story devices from the old “Star Trek” manual. And in the end, we found ourselves right back where we started, with the same closing music as the original series.

This return continues a long overdue course correction. It was so obvious that there was no real need to separate itself from its heritage when we saw how the best episodes from season 2 focused on Captain Pike from the original Enterprise.

And you can’t say “Discovery’s” season 3 wasn’t earnest. No way. There was so much hugging and crying. Crying and hugging. I lost track how many times “I love you” was in the script. The writers were clearly working hard to finally evolve this crew into a “Star Trek” family.

And “Star Trek” at its core has always been about family. I just don’t know that I needed the “Discovery” writers constantly telling me that.

Warning Signs
As the credits rolled at the end of season 3’s finale, I’ve got to admit, I wasn’t pumped. But I didn’t feel burned either. Season 3 was… fine. For me, “Star Trek” is always better than no “Star Trek.” But I can’t deny I’m still a wee disappointed.

It’s not that season 3 was bad. It just couldn’t quite elevate itself beyond its own unremarkable storytelling.

The writers put a huge effort into building a diverse and inclusive set of relationships. In fact, in many ways, that’s really what season 3 was about. The Burn and (minor spoiler) rebuilding the Federation was just something for this group of Trek characters to focus on. And that’s all great.

But then, the writers ran out of steam (Dilithium?) when it came time to come up with some cutting-edge science fiction storytelling worthy of the “Star Trek” universe.

Why So Far?
Moving the story 930 years forward is a huge leap. Unfortunately, this future doesn’t look all that different. Sure, personal transporters are cool and organic tech is nice, but I would expect something more dramatic a millennia out. And that requires more writing muscle… not special effects.

Yes, I understand that the writers needed to warp Discovery into a new era that was not burdened by existing Trek canon where the Discovery doesn’t exist. (A downside of creating a prequel series.) But a hundred years forward past Picard is all they really needed to do.

Back to the Future
And it’s ironic that the writers ultimately created a new “Star Trek” future that in many ways had gone back in time.

They were pulling on the same storytelling threads as the creators of “Star Trek: Enterprise” when space was truly the final frontier… again.

Missed Opportunities
I’m happy to allow a series some leeway in plot development as long as the writers stick their landing by the end. Over the course of 13 episodes, I feel that season 3 was not entirely successful. (Spoilers ahead.)

Tilly
“Discovery” has painfully stuck with this character and promised some future payoff. I understand that Ensign Tilly (Mary Wiseman) is evolving, but after three seasons, it’s not fast enough. When Tilly finally got her big chance and sat in the captain’s chair, she essentially blew it. Later, her moment of redemption wasn’t all that satisfying.

The Mirror Universe
You know there’s a problem when “Discovery’s” best episodes focus around the linked alternate universe. But by now, this Trek storytelling device is feeling a bit tired. Even though it was the main reason that Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) had anything to do in season 3, watching the alternate versions of our other characters as two-dimensional opposites grew boring. Sure, Georgiou evolved, but her own universe wasn’t able to.

The Source of the Burn
Really? I expect we’ll see some therapy sessions in season 4 for someone.

The Discovery’s Big Brain
Remember when Discovery’s computer acquired 100,000 years of data from the alien sphere in season 2? The only influence from that upgrade was when the computer pointed Discovery to meet up with Carl. There’s a lot of untapped plot potential that the writers ignored.

Carl
Again… Really? You can’t recycle a classic Trek plot device like that and simply rewrite it as Carl. A ‘Q’ character would have been better.

The Bad Guys
A 1960’s biker gang with a really big ship. Is that what capitalism eventually evolved into? Osyraa (Janet Kidder) needed more screen time to develop beyond her two-dimensional antagonist.

Saru
Captain Saru (Doug Jones) sits at the center of the heart of “Star Trek: Discovery.” His humanity, even in Kelpien form, shines bright. He’s the perfect Federation captain on paper.

But his evolved and balanced perspective isn’t ultimately suited for this future frontier. Not as captain of the Discovery. It’s a bittersweet conclusion.

The Good News
So, I wouldn’t be a Trekkie if I didn’t prove how geeky I am by nitpicking. Sure, season 3 could have been better, but it still had a lot going for it. The special effects were great, although I would have appreciated a few more closeups of the new starships.

It benefited from a generally strong cast. (I really liked the addition of Book’s character played by David Ajala.)

Of course, Sonequa Martin-Green is the star of the ensemble. Her Michael Burnham has often created more problems than she’s solved, but her passion and sense of purpose and drive to do what’s right has continued to power this entire series forward. Martin-Green provides almost limitless emotional and physical energy in this regard.

As it turns out, breaking the rules in the 31st century is seemingly okay as our new Prime Directive. It’s an odd conclusion that doesn’t quite fit with what the writers have otherwise been trying to accomplish. But it continues to fuel Burnham’s success. So, in what has become a season-ending Discovery ritual, it’s time to switch up the captain’s chair again.

Let’s Fly?
I’m happy that “Discovery” is embracing his own heritage.

And I’m always pleased to be watching more “Star Trek” after all of these decades. It hasn’t gotten old. In fact, its familiarity is more comforting than ever, especially in today’s unstable reality.

There’s also something to be said for watching science fiction and not feeling depressed as a result. You can count on “Star Trek: Discovery” for maintaining its sense of Trek-infused optimism.

I don’t think season 3 is the best of the series. (I prefer season 2.) It’s certainly not the boldest. But “Discovery’s” imperfections ultimately didn’t prevent me from still enjoying the ride.

Oh… and that last line in the season finale…
“Let’s fly.”

Really?
(Just go with it.)

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