Star Trek: Picard S01E01 Remembrance

by
This entry was published at least two years ago (originally posted on January 23, 2020). Since that time the information may have become outdated or my beliefs may have changed (in general, assume a more open and liberal current viewpoint). A fuller disclaimer is available.

Star Trek: Picard S01E01: As wonderful as it is to see Jean-Luc on screen again, and as gorgeous as the episode was, I do have some slight reservations. But this is just episode one, and they had a lot of groundwork to get in place. Overall, I’m pretty happy with the start. 🖖

Spoilers after the jump…

Thoughts presented roughly as I remember having them as I watched:

  • No, I’m not a dog person, and though I know there are plenty of people on my friends list who will bristle at this, Pit Bulls are a breed I automatically view with some trepidation. (They’re not alone in this—I’ve had dogs go after me twice; one was a Rott, one was a Dobie, and I’m pretty sure the only reason I have full use of one of my hands was because the Dobie pulled my winter mitten off my hand instead of actually biting into flesh, so I have a pretty instinctual distrust of dogs, and “average dog-size” dogs in particular. NO SPIRITED DEFENSE OF DOGS IN GENERAL OR SPECIFIC BREEDS IS NECESSARY HERE.) But Number One is damn cute.

  • For all the worries about the digital de-aging of Brent Spiner, Data looks just fine to me.

  • The introduction of Dahj and her boyfriend is cute. But are we really going to kick things off with violence against women?

  • Picard’s Romulan roomies are pleasant. I also like that we’re already showing diversity in Romulan (goddammit, macOS, stop autocorrecting “Romulan” to “Roman”, I know what I’m typing) phenotypes, with one having a TNG-style ridged forehead and the other having a TOS-style Human-style smooth forehead.

  • The use of TNG screen caps and promo photos in the FNN interview opening montage was fun. But apparently the media doesn’t change, with the interviewer just blowing right through the interview terms.

  • I do really appreciate that they’re incorporating the events of the prime timeline section of ST09 (the destruction of Romulus), and recognizing that something like the destruction of a planet and the diaspora of its people is a Big Thing, and not just a plot point to be forgotten when we move onto the next shiny thing.

  • I also really appreciate Star Trek’s continuing to incorporate real-world issues into the SF universe; in this case, the issue of how (or even whether) to help refugees, especially refugees from a society we haven’t been entirely friendly with.

  • Also, this exchange between the interviewer and Picard:

    “…there were millions of lives at stake.”

    “Romulan lives.”

    “No—lives.”

  • Also, only millions of lives? Earth is currently at about 7.7 billion people. Was Romulus really that sparsely populated? It was the center of the Romulan Star Empire!

  • Is Dahj’s mom even actually real? Or was she just an electronic avatar?

  • The Captain Picard Day banner! That gave me a good laugh.

  • For a moment I wondered if they’d somehow resurrected Lal (Data’s daughter from “The Offspring“), but since she died, probably not. But then, Data did download Lal’s memories, and then downloaded his memories into B4, so even though B4 wasn’t a success, maybe they were able to retrieve some of that as part of Dahj’s template?

  • And now Dahj kicks much ass, only to get killed. Are we really kicking off a Star Trek show in 2020 with a fridging? This is my biggest reservation about the show so far.

  • Nice continuity check with involving Bruce Maddox, and in a way that casual viewers don’t need to know details, but TNG fans would pick up on that. Think they’ll actually bring him back? Anybody know if Brian Brophy was filming in LA last year?

  • Continuing the theme of Romulan diversity, I’m amused that the one introduced at the end appears to have an Aussie accent. I guess some of the Romulans who came to Earth settled down under?

  • And…the “Romulan Reclamation Center” is a big ol’ Borg cube!

  • I’m also shamelessly stealing this bit from a friend who posted it on Facebook:

    Popular Fiction: “That’s looks like a special necklace, where did you get it?”

    Them: “It’s a family heirloom, handed down for generations, huge plot point, possibly dangerous.”

    Real life: “That’s looks like a special necklace, where did you get it?”

    Me: “Hot topic.”

  • I really did enjoy the slower pace that most of the episode took. With the exception of the few action scenes, it felt much more relaxed, and let the story proceed naturally with room to breathe, rather than rushing along from boom to zap to whiz. It’s a very different feel than Discovery takes, and I’m happy to see that the production crew is serious about letting the different shows be different, even within the same overall universe.

I’m definitely intrigued and looking forward to seeing where all this goes. But also giving things a bit of side-eye here and there. Fingers crossed for the rest of the season (and onward)!