Star Trek: Picard, the latest CBS All Access spin-off, premiered on my birthday on Amazon Prime almost thirty years since The Next Generation on BBC2. Two episodes in, and I'm totally hooked on this tale of a forgotten champion of Starfleet caught in the middle of an intergalactic conspiracy.
Sir Patrick Stewart is back as an ageing Admiral Jean-Luc Picard without a ship or crew as he's now an outsider, with a terminal illness (due to his time as Locutus of Borg?), in a synthetic-fearing universe in search of Data's (Brent Spiner) daughter, Soji (Isa Briones), after her twin sister, Dahj, finds Picard before being killed by Romulan assassins.
Picard begins tracing the whereabouts of Soji with the aid of a Romulan ally, Laris (Orla Brady). All the while, the Romulans are dismantling a Borg cube.
Synthetics were banned by the Federation following a massacre on Mars. However, unlike the Cylons in the lauded Battlestar Galactica reboot or the Geth in Mass Effect, it is made clear, in a flashback, rogue synthetics are reprogrammed and the Utopia Planitia shipyard attack is not out of free will. So, by whom and for what insidious purpose?
The consequences lead to Starfleet abandoning its pledge to rescue the Romulans, a sworn enemy of the Federation, from a natural catastrophe and precipitated Picard's resignation on ethical grounds.
There are countless Easter Eggs from the franchise's rich storied history, but there's nothing here to alienate new or casual fans. This only serves to further enrich a beautifully paced character-driven drama that sees a beloved sci-fi figure shaken out of exile and back exploring the final frontier.
CBS All Access has hit another home run with its latest Star Trek spin-off. Certainly, I'm excited to see what happens next and how Picard ties into the third season of Discovery. Since Viacom recently merged Paramount and CBS, it's one big glittering unified Trek universe once more.
What do you think of Star Trek: Picard so far? Let me know in the comments below.
Excellent observations as always. Watch more and prosper. This is probably the best thing that has happened the Trek Universe since the Generation was retired. No matter how they continue the story for the next 18 episodes (season 2 is confirmed), the premise is solid, the backstory rich and deep and I could not be more psyched about the potential
ReplyDeleteThank you! Star Trek: Picard really is a galactic gem of a series and rewards repeated viewing. An acting masterclass from Sir Patrick Stewart is icing on the cake.
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