I Nitpick and I know it

All right. All right. I like science fiction from the old black and white popcorn flicks to Star Wars and Star Trek. When I first heard about Discovery, I was skeptical. I didn't even watch it and after awhile I was sort of glad I did. I know how can I judge something I haven't even watched all the way through? Two words: Blue Klingons. So I skipped Discovery. Maybe one day I'll at least watch the first episode but that day isn't any day soon.

However imagine my shock that many fans felt the same way about Discovery. A few even said they missed Enterprise (I'll get to that in another writing I promise), so yeah that's not exactly a stellar review.

So enter Picard. Well Patrick Stewart isn't a young man anymore but he's still a very decent actor, but as many of us have learned it isn't the actor that is the problem most of the time, it is the story and the script. And this story is...wow. I feel like the writers wrote themselves into a corner and then tried to fix it and wrote themselves into another corner. However, to show I'm not a total snob I will mention what I liked about it.

First off, it takes place in the show's universe (not in the Kelvin timeline like Discovery) so if you're an old fan, you're crossing familiar territory. New fan they do a good job of introducing the world. They didn't forget the Romulans. The planet was destroyed so what happened to them? The show does a good job showing what happened to many of them. I liked the Romulan Empire in the series so to see them again and learn more about their culture was pretty nice especially the Romulan nuns, the Qowat Milat.

They don't stay in one place very long either so you get to see a few new worlds and new places which is great. That's it. Yeah that's the only redeeming thing I could find in the story. The actors were great considering the script they were given.

I could go step by step and explain every nitpick but I'll stick to the major one. The story. The entire story can be picked apart. I'll spoil it here but I'm sure if you've read this far you've likely watched the show.

The story is every persecution story ever except it is with synthetic life. So if you were looking forward to B4 who was in the Star Trek comic that took place before the reboot movie, he was...demoted to say the least. In fact he was in pieces. Synthetics are illegal now. Okay. There was an entire episode of Star Trek: TNG that showed Data was not property. Why this didn't set precedent I am not sure. From the first episode it makes it clear "synthetic life" is forbidden so no Data and no androids like him. Okay...I mean how no one else protested this is beyond me.

Another problem with the story is just so cliche. It felt like there was a checklist. "Bring back popular characters from past series." Check. "Have a forbidden romance." Check. "Awkward brother and sister relationship." Check. "Ancient prophecy" Check. "Have an old mentor and student relationship." Check. "Kill off characters from the past so present characters can help get revenge." Check.

Was there any saving grace for the story? Sadly no. There were a few funny moments but comic relief doesn't always work to help lighten the mood and moments to make you feel sorry for a character. A character you barely know. I've already forgotten most of their names with the exception of Elnor. Because to me Elnor was Legolas. Over powered, but very handsome. However he was sheltered and very blunt because he was raised to basically not lie. While awesome you rarely see him use his skills and it seems like if he's returning for Season 2, he won't be used well. Not that he was used well in Season 1 except the episode where he was introduced.

Now don't get me wrong my expectations for this weren't very high to begin with hence why I am not going through it piece by piece because that would take a long time so I'll stick to the largest nitpick in my opinion. The twins. Why have twin girls as the main "targets" if one is going to die in the first episode. That's right. One of the supposed main characters of this story dies in the first episode. Dahj and Soji are the name of the twins and they're unique names so kudos to the writers for that at least but the first episode starts with Dahj discovering she isn't human at all but synthetic. It was a chance for her to take that next step, maybe contact her sister (or even mention her) and maybe join the crew and sort of be the one with a target on her back and the reason they have to keep getting in and out of trouble.

But no to increase the drama and mystery she dies in the first episode. In a literal explosion. She barely had time to come to grips with her new reality. Maybe even end the episode with "I need to go to (random place)." "Oh. Why?" A random person would ask. She would smile sadly and say: "I need to find my sister. She needs to know this too and she's going to need me." That would've been a great way to end the episode and the series can show the sisters living their lives back and forth it would've been a great parallel. There is Dahj with a target on her back dodging Romulan agents who want to kill her and there is Soji surrounded by an enemy she doesn't know she needs to be careful around them.

Why couldn't we have that story? Because we need drama. Like every single member of Picard's new crew has a lot of drama. Once again it would be fine if I actually cared about these new characters. Which I don't because I wasn't given enough time with them.

Am I saying people should dismiss and ignore Picard? Actually, no. It is pandering but at the same time it is nice to see Jean Luc Picard again and out of his element because he's in a position where he is and isn't in charge. It isn't his ship but as far as he's concerned it is his mission to help Soji and protect her at any cost which is the Picard the fans know. Yes I nitpick, I know it but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy the shows I pick through. Hopefully more people will see this and when season two comes out, past mistakes are fixed.