Engage! “Star Trek: Picard” Has Landed!

It’s going to be alright, everyone.

Breathe.

Just. Breathe.

It’s only a TV show/streaming web series.

I’ve just returned from my first lap around the Twitterverse. I came across this lovely gem by a not-so-gentleperson regarding “Star Trek: Picard” and had to laugh. Sci-fi nerds trolling each other using sci-fi fandom references?

😂😂😂😂😂

But I digress...

So. Picard has begun, and we are all engaged (allow me to roll my own eyes here 🙄🤪), right? The fans are all friends again and all is right with the world, right? Well, a great many of us are engaged, anyway!

Some of us are boycotting because Reince Priebus was hired back by CBS as a political analyst, so we’re not quite as engaged with #StarTrekPicard as others.

Honestly, it’s not like the guy’s running the show. He’s coming on as a Political. Analyst. Who’s gonna watch that guy talk, anyway? No one even knows how to say his name right! (“It’s unique!”)

Whatever, lady, you do you—ra, ra, ra and all that. Who am I to judge you for standing by your convictions—even if I’m not exactly sure how they’re relevant to my life? You’ll have to come find me someday and help me understand your thinking. (Please don’t come find me).

Aren’t we fed up with politics yet? That’s why we watch Star Trek—to escape from politics by watching a fictional show about politics! Don’t agree with me? That’s fine. But consider this: you’re wrong. Every time the Enterprise has to mediate or negotiate a precarious trade dispute, you’re telling me things don’t get political? Fooey! What about all the episodes that address nearly every major societal issue plaguing humanity today, and beyond?

So, what is Star Trek?

All you really need to do to answer that question is to go to the source himself, the Great Bird of the Galaxy: Gene Roddenberry.

For some readers, I’m preaching to the choir here. For others, it’s more complicated.

For my part, I was lucky enough to attend the world premier of the long-awaited, astronomically-hyped show in Hollywood at the ArcLight Cinemas with my “7Th Rule“ fam.

My friends, as a quick shameless plug here, if you’re a fan of “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” and you have not subscribed to @The7thRule on Patreon, Twitter and Facebook, you’re really missing out something special! It had been an absolute privilege to serve this great team as a TrekTech Intern and now most recently as an Associate Producer.

“The 7the Rule: A Star Trek Podcast” is a bi-weekly show hosted by DS9’s Aron Eisenberg (RIP ARON 1969-2019 ♥️🖖🏼) & Cirroc Lofton, who played Sisko’s son Jake. A show made with and for and by fans of Star Trek and heaps of surprise guest stars nearly every single episode.

In fact, our show is connected with STP* (*If someone could please confirm the official abrreviation for “Picard” and get back to me on that ASAP, that’d be great...) because the guys have added another series just for reviewing this one. So, along with weekly episode reviews of DS9, Cirroc and Ryan & co. will also be offering our insights & commentaries on “Picard” as well.

We have a great time together, we really do!

Anyway...!

Many people have asked for my honest opinion, thought I am not exactly sure why, but I have been holding out for as long as possible until I feel most people have watched the first episode. We were treated to the first three at the premier, but I won’t spoil anything for you.

I’m going to respond as a fan first, and then at the end, I’ll chuck in my two-cents from a filmmaking perspective. I do have a few bones to pick, but nothing that has driven me away from the series.

Here goes!

All in all, as a fan, I enjoyed it. I had to do a lot of working things out in my head along the way trying to wrap my mind around what they had done with/to the canon. The rumours and press had mostly all said that “Picard” would be set in the Prime universe. No one seemed to be able to tell or say, however, whether this show was going to address the Kelvin timeline (you know, the JJ Abrams movies) and how. It was a surprise, and a costly one I fear.

Now, if you are a canon-master, you may find “Picard” flies in the face of all your hopes and dreams for Michael Chabon, Kirsten Beyer and Sir Patrick Stewart to swoop in and put everything to rights by restoring the Prime universe. It’s just not so. At least, not yet. We haven’t seen enough to be able to predict where they are taking the plot. I can’t imagine how it’s not Kelvin after seeing just the pilot. Maybe someone will contact me with a theory on this? But eventually, we will suss out the trajectory of the story, and if you’re a legacy fan or hardcore anti-Kurtzman, the way they handle that whole thing probably pissed you off a bit.

Callbacks? Fan service? Yes. Of course it’s there. They claim they tried not to, but it’s there. I’m okay with it as long as it makes sense, and it does, so I’m good. Especially happy to see Whoopi coming back!

Someone commented on Twitter that the theme is “not Star Trek”, but it is if you recall that the “Generations” score was rather slow and airy. Not as immediate or exciting as you expected? Really? The show is about Picard, an old “codger” (whoops, sorry, mini-spoiler there!) who has been through a LOT. Like. A LOT. Talk about your textbook case of Complex PTSD, amiright?!

Let’s just pause and reflect here on the exploits of our dear Jean-Luc, shall we?

+He was stabbed through the heart by a cranky Nausicaan as a young cadet.

+His best friend died suddenly.

+He was captured, mutilated in horrifying ways and then he was used to systematically murder countless +He lost the only real family he’d ever had in a fire & found out while way too far away to really grieve properly

+His DNA was secretly stolen to create a clone of him that was intended to be used by the Romulans to infiltrate the Federation and ultimately destroy Earth, and that clone tried to kill him. All because he thought his life was meaningless as long as Picard was still alive, no matter how hard Picard tried to convince him otherwise.

Also, the entire Romulan Senate was assassinated by the same clone, so Picard bears the weight of that on his shoulders as well. Well, assuming we’re in the Prime universe. If it’s really still Kelvin, then the events of Nemesis may not ever have happened or probably played out much differently. We really can’t be sure how the supernova affected the course of Jean-Luc’s life and career. But we do learn that he tried to help the Romulans evacuate before the supernova. That much is certain, and it went terribly, terribly wrong. Again, trying not to spoil too much.

So we’re not supposed to let these writers allow Picard his humanity? His right to take stock? To be changed by his experiences? To grow up? To grow old? To grow a sense of humour?

As a fan, I watched the eps everyone recommended in order to “prepare”. For me it was more like to “refresh my memory”. When I came back from the premier, I received a text from a fellow fan & friend of mine. He asked me something that caught me offguard.

“So was Janeway in it like everyone’s saying?!”

I was stunned! Who was everyone and why hadn’t they informed me? Didn’t, like, a hundred people just watch the same damn television show you’re talking about? Did any of them see a Janeway anywhere on the screen? If I had seen Captain Motherf*cking Janeway, don’t you think I’d be the first one to be tweeting that shite?! Damn skippy!

It’s not like they care anymore. They didn’t take our phones away or even warn us about spoilers or any of that. Oh no. They wanted it ALL out there. Hype, hype, hype. Buzz, buzz, buzz.

For what it’s worth, even though I initially balked at the idea of Janeway being on the show at all, they did renew for Season 2 already and we know the Borg are a major player across the entire arc. It is hard to imagine them not at least considering adding Kate in-even if for a cameo-but that is doubtful. Kate should have her own series for Janeway as it is, if I had my way. If I had my way, we’d be watching Christie Golden’s Homecoming & The Farther Shore novels become adapted for a new series after “Picard” wraps. They can keep Kirsten Beyer and throw in some scenes from the book she wrote where Janeway & Chakotay (rightfully) get together!

As for “Picard”?

The haters are out in full force already, as I mentioned before. They’re the ones saying things like:

“Picard wouldn’t say/do that!”

“LENS FLARES!? I am cancelling my subscription immediately!”

and/or

“THAT IS RIDICULOUS! Why did they do THAT?!”

You know, the usual anti-Kurtzman, anti-Disco crowd. And then there are the anti-Kurtzman, anti-Disco fans who wanted to give “Picard” a shot. They’re a little disappointed by some aspects and elements.

They claim they wanted a low-tech, high-humanity story for this show and boy did they deliver. In terms of tech, it seemed they got their wish but it backfired for me. I want to see more LCARS and updated consoles. I wasn’t thrilled about the panels and consoles all retaining the Kelvin look, but if that’s the timeline or we’re in a hybrid universe, then it could be justified.

How?

Consider this: 900 million Romulan lives were lost because of the supernova. That is a lot of death. And not only that, but think about how realistic it is for the Federation or Startleet to advance or progress technologically with the Romulans as an ever-present, ever-lingering albatross around its neck? It explains why much of the tech and even the buildings at Starfleet (which were shot at the Anaheim Convention Center, where I just attended the NAMM Show last week) seem more like what we saw in the Abrams movies. Simply put, the supernova had a devastating ripple effect on the entire galaxy-not just Romulus and Remus.

Look, this has been said many, many times over by many people. The “Star Trek” we’ve all known and loved is gone. As a hardcore Voyager and DS9 fan, I’m a lover of a variety of approaches to storytelling. Episodic or serialized? Love ‘em both.

Credit given where credit is due: they are trying. They have essentially created a hybridized approach. At first, when the pilot episode opened, I held out my last grain of hope that it would be like old times. It felt, instead, like the showrunners are having Picard soften the blow to the larger fanbase.

I’d forgotten that STO is considered canon, so I had envisioned something a bit different for the show. I still wanted to know whether there would be a feasible explanation for why everything seems so low-tech. They did later comment on their reasond, but at the time of the screening, I found myself trying to make sense of the bigger impact this was going to have on the canon of the entire franchise.

I was pulled out of the story at times, but I attribute this mainly to the fact that I went to film school. Going to film school either ruins movies/TV for you forever, or it enhances. It’s different for all of us. Personally, it was the former for me. Of course, you don’t have to go to film school to have an eye for film. 😉

Since the premier, I have rewatched the pilot once more with my fiancée. I appreciate it a bit more the second time around. But in a different way.

And with that, I’m moving into my critiques and highlights. Here we go!

Beautifully shot? Beautifully rendered? Yes, for the most part. A few small editing errors in continuity, and yes, I do like the lens flares—in moderation and not so excessively and blindingly bright at times that I’m reaching for my sunglasses. It was fine. At first. But it’s a bit much. Again, nitpicking.

The show’s sound is great overall, except for Picard’s levels at times. Sound’s a bitch, so-overall, you probably didn’t really notice if you weren’t grilled repeatedly in sound editing class. Photography and visuals? Stunning.

In terms of acting, I think everyone does a fantastic job. There are some lines I absolutely hate, like when Dahjj says everything inside her tells her she’s safe with Picard. It was a bit too on the nose for me, and ironic given what happens shortly afterward. By far, my fave new character of all is Laris; she’s brilliant. Orla Brady does an outstanding job!

One thing that nigggled at me was that I found myself wishing they had put sliding doors in for the Starfleet HQ establishing shots. It seemed weird dated watching people go in and out of those boring swing-open ones with handles. It also seemed weird that the steps on the stairs/inside the stairwells were so dingy.

I was also slightly confused by the sight of graffitti on the walls of the alley when we see Dahj running around 25th century Paris. Why would there be graffiti? It doesn’t look like a fancy piece of art, or a mural. It’s straight-up graffiti. Why? It took me out of what was supposed to be yet another gripping moment of drama. This made it feel more “Minority Report”-ish, more dystopian than it really should be. Forgive me, I know. I hate having to “should” anyone, but honestly they really should have known better.

The franchise is at a very sensitive and delicate turning point, and they can’t afford to give fans any more ammunition to question whether there is anything left of the original canon or not.

I touched on this earlier, but I want to go back to the title sequence because I think it’s worth addressing this issue of why it’s bugging some fans. My counterargument to the comment about it not being very “Star Trek” at all is that it actually almost didn’t feel very “Star Trek” to me either until my brain was able to let go and appreciate how very Picard it actually is-and that for me was fine. If you’ve seen the “Inner Light” two-parter from TNG, which was a Picard-centric episode, then the music for the new series may harken you back to the lute. That thought helped me appreciate the care and attention to detail that’s been shown toward the show.

Overall, I’m enjoying it. My biggest fear going forward into the next two episodes and beyond is that the writers will pull viewers out of some potentially great moments with a few cheap gimmicks here & there. I can’t say anything more or I’ll give it away. I’m sure others have already trolled the showrunners on Twitter about some of them.

I’m honestly just very glad to be around to see a ”Second Golden Age of Star Trek”. It saddens me that there is as much vitriol within the fandom, but it’s in every fandom. I’ll never let anyone else’s opinion spoil my love of this wonderful franchise, and I will always cheer it onward.

That reminds me! I have 2 1/2 seasons of ”Star Trek: Discovery” and all the “Short Treks” to catch up on, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me!

Also: I can’t for all the “Shut Up, Wesley! Star Trek: Picard Aftershow” jokes to come rolling into the Star Trek Shitposting Facebook group.

Live Long and Prosper, Fam.

🙃🖖🏼

-K.

P. S. Like what you’ve seen here? Feel free to leave me a “tip”! Any amount will be greatly appreciated!

P. P. S. Don’t forget to subscribe to “The 7th Rule” on Patreon for the latest reviews of DS9 eps & insights “Star Trek: Picard” by Cirroc, Ryan and the gang! (Episodes air Sundays and Thursdays for each show, respectively).

P. P. P. S. New “Star Trek: Picard” episodes drop Thursdays on CBS All-Access. The show may also be viewed via Amazon Prime Video. Free trials are still available at the time of this article’s publication.

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