Remembrance

DVD, Star Trek: Picard S1 (Remembrance)

Since 2002, when 'Star Trek Nemesis,' the final 'TNG' film in the series, marked the last foray into the 24th Century (the most explored era of Trek history), and perhaps even a year earlier when 'Voyager' ended in 2001, the last time a TV series had been set in that time, the faithful had been waiting and hoping for a continuation to the characters, political situations, planets, cultures and alliances of this uniquely developed world, with only the tantalising snack of a mind meld from an aged Mr. Spock in 'Star Trek XI' to revisit that time period. For the best part of two decades we had to put up with prequel series after prequel film after prequel series, reboots of characters and ships, and no sign of the pendulum swinging back towards the more nuanced evocation of Trek depicted in the 24th Century-set series', seemingly endless preference for a much simpler, action-based version that appealed to a generation brought up on live action comic book stories that harked back to the physical 1960s style of 'TOS,' though ramped up to a new level of effects-driven set-piece roller-coasters with little of the substance of even the grandparent series of it all. While the JJ Abrams film run choked and sputtered creatively and behind the scenes, at the same time raking in the cash and apparently ensuring Trek's future was to be in this new universe (dubbed the Kelvinverse to differentiate it from the established and rapidly diverging rich history that had been one of Trek's greatest appeals), it seemed that 'Star Trek,' as we knew it, was dead, Jim.

For me, this period post-'Enterprise,' the final series of the then-modern era, was the richest time of rediscovery - not that I'd ever grown tired of Trek, especially my favourite series', 'DS9' and 'Voyager,' but gradually I collected the entire set of Trek TV shows (and films), and steadily grew ever more knowledgeable in its world than I ever had been and appreciating its simplicity and complexity more and more, seeing it as a, regretfully, complete set of part works that had come together to form the most incredible range of stories and people. It had been a living, breathing universe that had continued expanding and growing, but now it was stopped dead, the 'Prime Universe' as it was labelled, before being consigned to a drawer in Starfleet's Quantum Archives, of no further significance in the plans of those who held the reins of power and wielded the creative decisions that could shape worlds. Hope was rekindled when 'Discovery' was announced and eventually confirmed as being set in that original universe thanks to the vagaries of rights and complicated legal issues born from the split in the property between Paramount and TV's CBS. I had no idea if I'd even get to see this new Trek series, billed as a premium streaming product to get audiences to invest in online viewing, something I had, and have, no interest in, preferring the personal control of physical media.

I was relieved and tentatively excited when the DVDs finally came out, but this quickly changed to discouragement, then to sadness as I saw a once great storytelling universe reduced to one in which the makers cared only selectively about which elements of Trek canon, continuity and consistency to enforce, and what modern attitudes to every aspect they brought, refusing to see the era they'd chosen (another prequel to 'TOS'), as period drama that should be respected as such, an opportunity to create more subtlety and depth for an era made in a less sophisticated time of TV creation, fifty-one years prior, but instead was more simplistic, more superficial, and more fantastical and ridiculous than ever before, as if they'd selected the worst episodes from Trek history and decided those were the tropes that should lead from the front. Season 2, while making course corrections, wasn't much better, just generally not very good in different ways to Season 1 (following the pattern set by the Kelvin films where they heard the criticisms of the first one, made some adjustments, but then made just as many wrong turns in the second! - funny how Alex Kurtzman has been instrumental in all three productions!), so the signs for this regime's control were not good, even for the great Captain Picard.

The return of Jean-Luc Picard was announced in the summer of 2018, months before release of the 'DSC' Season 1 DVD, so I had no frame of reference, other than noticing the worrying direction in the production photos of 'DSC' that showed they didn't care what the Starfleet uniforms looked like during this time period, or redesigning the look of the Klingons to make them more palatable to orc-loving 'Game of Thrones' viewers. Consequently, I was still somewhat caught up in a certain level of excitement that Trek would be returning to the era I love best and cautiously optimistic that Patrick Stewart agreeing to reprise his character must mean more than merely being offered a huge bag of cash. I hadn't forgotten his involvement in certain decisions dating back to even 'TNG' that weren't necessarily in the best interests of Trek and seemed more like an actor's growing influence coming to bear for his own benefit, as you'd expect: he wanted the repressed and intellectual Captain to have romance and get involved in more physical action, such as fistfights, and while this arguably gave the character another side, it also appeared to be moving Picard closer to the 'ideal' of Captain Kirk, despite the fact that he, too, was also a thinker at least as much as, and probably more than, an action hero. I wouldn't judge the attributes added to Picard as wrong, but there were signs in the film series that Stewart preferred a more action hero role that didn't necessarily sit as well with the image of such an impeccable leader as he'd been on the series.

Some of the additions he made, such as having the Captain and Worf sing Gilbert and Sullivan while attempting to capture a renegade Data, worked well, but others were purely there as enjoyment for the actor and didn't fit, a case in point being the Argo sequence in 'Nemesis' where instead of flying the shuttle to the correct spot, they break out a four-wheeled land vehicle for Picard to throw around at 'unsafe velocities.' My point is that Stewart's instincts don't particularly match his Trek era's style or come from logical sense. From these lessons I came to see Stewart's involvement in the decision-making process (he's credited as a Producer on this series, I believe), not as a guarantee of anything, especially when he made it clear that he didn't want to redo what had already been done with the character. And so we come to the crux: 'Picard' has been designed not to be 'TNG,' and it has succeeded in great measure. Something I hadn't entirely comprehended until I saw the series was that each new iteration of this current generation of Trek projects seems to be deliberately far from the Trek ethos and style as can be. This may be because they felt Trek no longer worked for younger viewers brought up with short attention spans and in need of pretty effects, and perhaps vainly attempted to reel in this fickle audience that have a multiplicity of choice, from just about every past TV show and film, to a vast array of new productions, to involving gaming worlds, and don't need to have any loyalty.

'DSC' was much, much more attuned to this young audience, deliberately provocative in its violence and gore, comfortable for them in its contemporary speech, but most importantly in its lack of discipline and desire for inclusivity more than a crew learning to fit in with each other and having to follow the rules and etiquette of an established organisation, rather everything was to bend to them. Its vision was split by multiple show-runners and even more multiple producers in both seasons, so 'Picard' is the first example made with a single vision, that of science fiction author Michael Chabon who'd been tested for the role with his 'Short Treks' episode 'Calypso.' That's not to say that he called the shots, he still had Kurtzman overseeing him and a room full of writers and producers, but so far this has been the closest to a consistent season as they've managed. But as I was saying, 'DSC' was designed to be very different to 'TOS' and its regimented style, it focused on a lesser and disgraced character rather than the Captain in order to set up an entirely different type of Trek series, and 'Picard,' too was designed with a completely atypical approach - yet again we don't get a standard view of Starfleet, a ship, a crew, led by the Captain, righting wrongs, treading the difficult moral paths of a political and culturally sensitive galaxy. And that approach, I hear, has continued with the cartoon series, 'Lower Decks' (a clean up ship that makes 'second contact' after the main starship has moved on to its next adventure), 'Section 31' (all about the awful and immoral clandestine anti-threat organisation, headed up by a mass murderer from the Mirror Universe), and 'Prodigy' (a gang of lawless teens).

Only the Pike's Enterprise series, 'Strange New Worlds' sounds like it's in the traditional mould, and that's a straight prequel (again!). All this is a roundabout way of saying that 'Picard' was, and is, the only series that looks like having the potential to fulfil what someone like myself has been wanting to see for almost twenty years: the continuation of the 24th Century. Of course no series could ride out the weight of two decades of expectation, and I wasn't expecting it to better what had been done in 'TDV' (as I'll abbreviate 'TNG,' 'DS9' and 'Voyager' from now on), nothing ever could - I watch those series' to this day, I don't see a time when I'd tire of them, they are quintessential Trek to me and I don't rate anything higher for entertainment and satisfaction value. At the same time, the current writers are standing on the considerably broad shoulders of giants and they have no excuse not to know the lore back to front if they're going to play in it, with untold resources of knowledge at their fingertips. And you expect them to know what they need to, but the reality is that too many people involved in Trek are simply people doing their day job, Trek isn't something they all specifically aspired towards and have been waiting for just this opportunity, for Trek to rise again. Some are, some have the credentials (Kirsten Beyer gets the most attention for her work continuing the 'Voyager' story in a series of novels), but like all creative endeavours they want to put their mark on it, they want it to be their thing, and that can cause conflict.

All that being said, I knew almost nothing about 'Picard,' wanting to be impressed with what they came up with. I hoped it would be true to what had gone before, but at the same time it had more free rein in which to experiment since it was set so many years after 'TDV.' Technology would have moved on, and that was one of the issues people had often cited with a series post 'Voyager.' When that ship returned home (in a whimper of glory), it brought with it specialist Borg tech from the future that had been appropriated by a future Janeway (let's not go into it here - you can see where some of the more fantastical elements of 'DSC' were given precedence), and then there was the EMH: a hologram that had gained sentience from long activation and experience, one of that series' most fascinating creations. He'd returned to the Alpha Quadrant with big ideas about the rights of holograms raising all kinds of issues, but we were denied exploration of such meaty topics because the series ended so abruptly in the final episode. These and more questions were what fuelled speculation about a post 'TDV' time. What is the situation between the Klingons and the Federation? (Note: the first time we see a normal Klingon since 'Enterprise' - Worf is in one of the publicity photos at the start of the FNN interview!). Are they still allies after the Dominion War? Were new missions raised to find a way to return to the Delta Quadrant? What happened to the ex-Maquis in Voyager's crew?

The only significant event we knew about before 'Picard' was the destruction of the Hobus star which took out Romulus (and presumably sister-planet Remus), but that was lore invented in the film series. Would they tie these things together? Yes, and that was the biggest draw: finding out what happened to the Romulans and the socio-political impact it had on the quadrant and the Federation. Will they be part of the Federation now? Would the Klingons and other races use their weakness to avenge themselves on past wrongs? There was, and is, so much potential and these were what gave me hope for a deeper experience than the shallow 'DSC' gave me. On the advice from my Manager at the time, a fellow Trekker, I made sure to watch 'Picard' in its entirety before casting judgement in reviews. I can see his point, as the serialised style isn't really designed to be analysed in parts, other than for speculative discussion of details and where it's going. These kinds of 'spoiler' mystery-led dramas aren't what I enjoy. I was never that keen on puzzles and working things out, my speculation is more about 'what does this mean for a culture?' or 'how will a character resolve this challenge?' and how it ties into morality and the known canon. I'd been strung along for two seasons of 'DSC' where you're supposed to accept whatever happens hoping it'll all make sense in the end, but when you reach that end you were supposed to have forgotten the details so the many plot points that didn't add up were swept away in an emotional, yet pretty senseless series of events, capped off by some small panacea like Burnham's speech about what Starfleet stands for, as if that makes up for all the inconsistency and character assassinations (see: Sarek), so this time I was resolved to experience the whole first, as so much more was at stake: if this Trek didn't work then I might as well pack up and ship off to another galaxy, taking my DVDs f old Trek with me!

I never warmed to serialisation in Trek. Two-parters were generally a good thing, and when 'DS9' originated multi-part stories I was all for it as a chance to expand the scope of a story. And in direct contravention of my statement, I loved the serial aspects of Trek, whether that be the ongoing Klingon opera of 'TNG,' the many threads weaving through 'DS9' and the occasional ongoing plots in 'Voyager.' The six-episode war arc on 'DS9' was terrific, but they were very clearly defined episodes. The nine-part finale was my first sense of not really liking that form as it seemed to tread water in a few episodes, and while the best parts stood out I found myself wishing they'd condensed certain plots. When it came to 'Enterprise' Season 3, the most serialised Trek before the current era, I felt it had a strong start, but didn't go into very interesting areas, and the standalone episodes that had only a tangential connection to the serial were often better. So I watched all of 'Picard' and took it in, the better to be able to voice my thoughts on each episode, but the same problems presented themselves as they had with 'DSC.' I will say that I find less to object to, comparatively, partly because it is so far into the future that it's hard to be upset about changes: time does change things, that's acceptable, unlike altering how things look and work in a previously established period as 'DSC' did so horribly. The characters were another matter, but since the series took its time introducing us to them over a span of episodes, I'll get to them in other reviews.

The best place to begin is at the beginning, and I was pleased by the opening as we hear the song 'Blue Skies' played out over a nebula in space, the very song which ended 24th Century continuity all those years ago at the end of 'Nemesis.' I hadn't expected to see the Enterprise-D, so that was a beautiful moment, despite being a ship that had already been resurrected before, both inside and out, in the terrific 'Enterprise' finale 'These Are The Voyages…' It's not a new effect to be able to zoom right into a room from the outside of the ship (most dramatically seen in reverse as the final shot of 'DS9' finale 'What You Leave Behind'), but I remember being very impressed when it was occasionally done in 'Voyager,' and they'd reached the CGI grunt to be able to achieve such visuals. I thought on first viewing that Ten Forward had been recreated via CGI rather than a real set, only because it looked so very white and unreal, but if you watch the DVD extras there are behind the scenes shots showing they did film on a set. Honestly I would have preferred to watch an entire episode (entire series!), of Picard and Data (complete with his film-era/ 'DS9' uniform, the best version ever created for Trek), just discussing life (and maybe death!), playing poker, sipping tea, all very civilised, and I have to say I agreed with Jean-Luc that his dream life was better than his real life! Data's face was slightly distracting, I don't know how much was makeup and how much computer de-ageing, but it was wonderful to have the pair of them like that together, though placing it right from the off, everything else was anticlimax.

It was almost worth watching the entire episode just for that and the subsequent appearance of Data later, this time painting (as he often did on the Enterprise-D), complete with his 'TNG'-era uniform and combadge, Picard going to him in his own Captain's uniform and the same combadge. Lovely! The attention to detail showed how accurately they could recreate a past era, throwing into sharp relief how poorly this was done with the period between 'The Cage' to 'TOS' portrayed in 'DSC,' and giving great hopes that this was to be a series worthy of the Trek name. But an episode can't live on dream sequences alone (despite the moment where Picard wakes up in his large house and sees Data in the distance, being the kind of uncertain reality I always loved in Trek), the general audience wouldn't watch it and it couldn't justify the vast budget ploughed into it. And that's where modern Trek's always likely to fall down, at least until viewers tire of the 'amazing' sights CGI can give us and realise that what matters is not how things look, but the substance underneath, not to say they're mutually exclusive, but effects and looks can disguise a multitude of sins. They, and the inserted action beats didn't disguise the poor pacing of the episode, for example.

I don't want to come down too hard on an effort to slow down Trek: this series is about an old man, he can't spring about yelling like the parody of Trek that 'DSC' and the Kelvin films gave us, in spite of the fact he very much is pulled into a sprint for one action sequence near the end, running up grey stairways then knocked off his feet several metres to fall on what looks like an ugly concrete car park, and somehow this, not just a fall, but a launch, doesn't kill the frail old guy! Time is taken to absorb his vineyard in Labarre, France. We get some beautiful dawn shots of the grounds, still and silent and this episode at least allows settings to breathe. It definitely succeeds in having a sense of place, even if there's no indication of why it looks nothing like the family vineyard we saw in 'Family,' no reference made to his deceased brother, Robert, nor his widow, Marie, so I can only speculate she followed her husband to the grave in the years after 'Generations' when he'd died in a fire - actually they had the perfect excuse there to explain the farmhouse had been partially rebuilt after the fire, or to see a small plot of land with headstones for Robert, Rene, and Marie. Just a little panning shot when we're exploring the ground would have been adequate reference to the Picard family past. I will say this about the season, it does continue a certain level of slow pace, but not much is developed from that, it's not like we get many meaty stage play scenes of moment between characters, and this makes the series feel padded out, like a film story dragged out to ten parts that could have played out across three hours, as if this streaming age is designed for one-watch wonders which you then move on from to the next new thing.

There are far too many extraneous scenes that don't move the story forward, or reiterate, like when Dahj is talking to her fake Mother on a 3D display (why did she want her to go to Picard - so they'd know her location? Was she supposed to do something to him? How did they know she'd go there and what difference does it make?). I do wonder how much could be cut out of the series, or this episode, and still have a story you can follow. I suspect quite a lot. It's as if the writers think that if 'DSC' is a 'speeding bullet,' as Kurtzman has described it, and this was designed to be more contemplative, they didn't realise it's not speed and action alone that make 'DSC' too fast, nor does having very little happen make it thoughtful, there's very little to chew on mentally in this or any episode. It's not just camera moves and flashiness of the effects, either, it's a combination, but more importantly it's the lack of real development and exploration - we heard in the 'TNG finale 'All Good Things…' that the real point of Trek is not the exploration of the galaxy, but that of ourselves, that was the poignant philosophy that finished out that version of Trek, and while they got some things right from that episode, the idea that we can discuss ideas and explore cultures seems to be quite far from the current vogue in Trek. It's good that we have Picard at the family vineyard, these things that were seen in his alternate future (which actually took place a few years prior to this series, amazingly!). I'd have loved him to wear the gruff white beard, even if it was just for one episode. We don't get Geordi La Forge visiting him, and his illness hasn't gripped hold as it had in that alternate future, but it will come into focus more in other episodes.

I don't see Picard as being the kind of man who would have a dog, especially a violent-looking breed as Number One is, but that comes under the same category as Burnham being the secret sister to Spock that had never been spoken of - we don't see every moment of every day, so who's to say she was never spoken of (yet still they felt the need to shroud her exit from the 23rd Century in secrecy!), and Picard could have changed his tastes in the twenty years since we last saw him. Maybe the loss of Livingston the fish (I assume, after the utter rubble made of the Enterprise in 'Generations,' though it was never mentioned), that showed his Ready Room to be a class above, meant he was put off having more, and life at the vineyard necessitated having a dog. In reality it's one of Stewart's own preferences, and I don't particularly begrudge him this, especially as the dog all but disappears shortly - you imagine his Romulan housekeepers would look after the mutt when he returned to space, but perhaps if it had worked out better it might have joined the quest, just as Captain Archer was famed for taking his dog along, except that the production reality, according to comments from the writers, was that it wasn't very good at following direction so wasn't used as much after episode one. Number One was of course a reference to his own Will Riker, the loyal First Officer whom had served under him on both Enterprises -D and -E.

Other changes to Picard are that he's reverted, as would be only natural if you were back on the family estate in France, of speaking French (complete with subtitles for viewers - also used for a spot of Romulan, which was new, although they switch to English during Dahj's interrogation, but what about the Universal Translator?), on occasion, something he hadn't done since perhaps Season 1 of 'TNG,' and was certainly a rarity, as his Gallic heritage was largely overlooked, to the extent that a casual viewer would assume he was as English as the actor that played him! His familiar drink of choice has become 'Tea, Earl Grey, decaf,' as I suppose a sort of joke on his age and being more careful with caffeine, or perhaps he doesn't sleep well with it in his system - not that this really makes any sense, since if a Replicator (yes, we have Replicators, as we should for this era, it's normal and right!), can create Synthehol, alcoholic beverages without the negative side effects, then it should be an easy matter to create tea without caffeine, but it's one of those things that probably hadn't been thought of and was there for people that knew the phrase ("Tea. Earl Grey. Hot."), and would find the alteration amusing. I don't mind, it's not important. Just as the use of automated anti-grav drone sprayers which fly over the crop, were one of those things I noticed in the trailer and instantly recoiled, since Picard would do things the traditional way, not using modern methods, but again, perhaps there's it was of necessity, or maybe his overbearing housekeeper, Loris, persuaded him.

The fact he lives with a couple of Romulans in his house, as if this shows what he means to that race, set up something that never came. I thought we'd hear how they became attached to him (maybe we do, but wasn't it something daft like they were special agents or something?), that they'd been drawn to him after his work in trying to relocate their kind and wanted to serve him, but all we hear (from Joban), is they came to find safety. Loris was one of the only things I specifically didn't like about this first episode, which was fairly acceptable to me on the whole. I didn't like the impression Picard isn't given the respect he's due for such a venerable and legendary character. It's part of that pomposity-bursting humour that is especially prevalent today, where very little can be taken seriously and authority isn't very clear or respected. I understand that it's like a continuation from the banter between the 'TNG' crew we saw in the films, but because we don't know these people it's uncomfortable to watch, as is Picard as this slightly crotchety old man whose rich, fruity voice has been reduced to a scratched hoarseness, wounded by time, which only makes him seem even more powerless and vulnerable, hard to accept for such a strong character, though it's his treatment as a relic of an old way of thinking in later episodes that rankles far more. There's no way around it, Picard is a sad old man, he's lost faith and hope in the organisation in which he served for so many years, he's lost his android best friend in a senseless film, and he seems far from the others of his crew he was so close to, Beverly Crusher not even deemed worthy of a mention all season!

Depression and misery are sadly the hallmarks of current Trek, with little of the optimism and hopefulness that made it what it was, such a powerful force. We see it in 'DSC,' though it's a little easier to accept there because we did see humans who were a little less developed in 'TOS,' but by the time of 'TDV,' Earth had become a paradise without problems, humanity was doing well and setting the galaxy to rights, and Picard was a leading figure in all that. Now he's weak, he believes he's wasted his last few years and he's clearly unhappy with life. That's not a good message. You can say that the series is all about him finding a place again, but I didn't get that at all. I feel like he should be content, with all the memories to look back on and his friends around him, a pleasant end to a well-lived life. Instead he's in turmoil, grumpy, unsettled. Captain Kirk said he should never leave the Bridge of the Enterprise, but did he listen to that advice? We get little nuggets of his history post-'Nemesis,' such as speaking and lecturing (which is how he thought Dahj may have known him, so he must have been doing that recently as she's quite young), as well as writing history books in continuation of his love of archeology, though he's dissatisfied with this career. He clearly sees the importance of history, though may be discouraged by younger generations' disinterest - he accuses the FNN interviewer of being a stranger to history and war, and from the way she talks he's probably right. The fact they go to the trouble of showing her having fussy holo-makeup applied only exacerbates that impression of vain ignorance, though it may be unintentional, in their attempt for further concessions to feminine interests whom Trek seems so desperate to appeal to in girly ways now with such irrelevant details.

The key events are also sketched out: we know he left the Enterprise (presumably the 'E'), in 2384, five years after 'Nemesis,' in which Data died. It was known as early as this that the Hobus star (sadly not called by name), was to go supernova, which happened in 2387. He convinced Starfleet to agree to a mass relocation of the Romulans, though we don't get as much detail as might have been expected since 'Nemesis' was all about potential peace with the Federation's archenemy, especially after the alliance during the Dominion War. Again, this history isn't referenced, but we hear he left the Enterprise to command the rescue armada of ten thousand warp capable ferries for the nine hundred million evacuees. How did this all play out, especially considering Romulans are very untrusting in nature? Did Spock play a part, as we know he was supposed to from 'Star Trek XI,' and how did reunification with the Vulcans play into this? The trouble is we're given all this in an info-dump in the form of a Federation News Network interview (the first Picard has ever agreed to), which was far too contemporary and felt more like 'Babylon 5' where they often played with that. We know there was a Federation News Service in the late 24th Century since Jake Sisko was a correspondent for them during the war (I do wish he'd been the interviewer instead of that forthright woman, though perhaps it would have been harder to push Picard), but they operate like a modern day film crew and Trek wisely stayed away from such mundane details before because you're only going to come up with typical stuff that's been done so many times in sci-fi before and that isn't Trek's style.

It wasn't a terrible way to get the information across, we get the main details that Picard was an ardent supporter, comparing it to the evacuation of Dunkirk (perhaps because it was in the public consciousness more due to the Christopher Nolan film of recent years), and that although the Federation was initially supportive of the rescue effort they changed their mind because… Okay, now this is where things became a bit muddy for me. We hear of an attack on the Mars Utopia Planitia Shipyards, a place known long in the Trekker consciousness for its importance in the genesis of many starships (for example, Sisko worked there before being assigned to DS9, helping to design the USS Defiant), and a specific location we'd heard of many times. It seems androids, or synthetic lifeforms as they call them, were behind the attack which led to a ban on their creation. Not sure why they'd be banned for the actions of a few, especially if they're only tools, but that actually does raise the question of whether they're sentient or were being used. I should know this after seeing the whole season, but I could not remember if we ever learned what this attack was all about and why these synths did it! Even more bizarrely, this is what led to the Federation no longer helping the Romulans? Why, what possible bearing does one event have on the other? Are they saying a terrorist attack changed their minds to become isolationist? I can't buy that of Starfleet, it doesn't make any sense - it's not as if there were never any significant events or attacks in the past! The 'recent' war of the 2370s was a pretty big deal!

We learn Picard resigned from Starfleet in disgust because 'it was no longer Starfleet,' and this again strikes me as ridiculous. Picard isn't the only one that was a 'good guy,' what happened to the rest of the vast majority of our Starfleet heroes? How far away this is from the utopian world we're supposed to believe in! It's not the first time Starfleet or the Federation did something wrong or our heroes had to go up against authority, and I suppose the message is that you can't let your guard down, paradise isn't guaranteed, you have to keep working at it and informing, and educating, and striving to keep things on the morally correct path, but this was all rather too much for me. In times like 'Insurrection' Picard turned from his duty because he saw it was wrong, but it was all a plot from an outside race with malicious motivation and a misguided Admiral that took things to that point, but the whole of Starfleet changing its mind? This is where it lost me a little and I never really came back because the series showed its credentials as wanting to pull apart the cracks of the positive future we'd seen for so many years, for the sake of trying to create drama, when there's so much drama inherent there in how Starfleet operates with other, less moral races. Picard never explains in detail because he's disgusted with the unpleasant interviewer who seems to want to do a hatchet job, highlighting his support of synths (it's almost like he's become the poster boy for unpopular groups, both Romulans and synths), because of his association with Data, so no wonder Picard's unhappy as the world he knew has been replaced by these new and un-Federation-like attitudes.

Adding to this sense of unease about the direction of this possibly dystopian vision for Trek, aligning it with most other sci-fi, are the clear influences of other sci-fi. I felt 'X-Men' was the template for Dahj Asher, this girl who's tracked down by Romulan agents wearing cumbersome biker outfits and helmets more in keeping with 'Star Trek XI' and the skydiving suits, and really just there as an excuse for some Action. She suddenly learns she isn't a normal girl with a bright future, but some kind of 'mutant' with special powers, and gets a vision of Picard, looking just like Professor X, whom she must run to for refuge. But the biggest influence must be 'Star Wars,' in keeping with the new fantasy-led Trek of the Kurtzman era where technology is magic and can do anything the story wants it to, practically without limit. She shows up at the ranch, sorry vineyard, a mysterious stranger in a hooded cloak, claiming special powers. That's the first sign of 'Star Wars,' although we'd already had several jumps to various places with the Kelvinverse style of location titles to let us know where we are rather than giving it to us in dialogue as Trek used to do, planet-hopping being a key ingredient in the 'Wars' takes of galactic adventure. The Quantum Archives look right out of 'Wars,' like that library Obi-Wan visited in Episode II, and finally the biggest, most 'Wars' moment is during the attack on the concrete car park where Dahj makes a giant leap for synth-kind that would have done a Jedi proud. And it looks about as realistic as something from the prequels, too!

There's even a 'Battlestar Galactica' suggestion when Picard visits the Daystrom Institute (another important piece of Trek lore, though this is the first time it's ever been seen, shown to be situated in Okinawa, Japan), and encounters Tilly, sorry Agnes Jurati, assistant to Bruce Maddox, a cybernetics expert going back to 'TNG' days, to make enquiries about the possibility of creating lifelike, biological synthetics that are human both outside and in. He does take rather a leap to believe Dahj must be an android, just because she tells him what she did and he finds a painting with her face on it, it's sketchy evidence to hang a theory on! While it was pleasing to finally get to see the Daystrom Institute after so many references across so many series' (in spite of the fact that Richard Daystrom was a nutter!), it doesn't have quite the same impact now we know we won't see locations as they were shown before, whether that be the vineyard or Starfleet Command in San Francisco - it looks similar from the air, with the familiar Golden Gate Bridge (now with ugly and ill-advised solar panels all over it, as if the technology hadn't been superceded in three hundred years!), although it's a little easier to accept given this is two decades removed from 'TDV,'  obviously I'd like them to use the Tillman Water Reclamation Plant as the Academy if they go there, since it was so iconic.

Jurati does come across as this series' Tilly, that annoying crewmember full of irrepressible 'character' and inappropriate reactions in order to make her 'funny.' In fairness she's not nearly as awful as Sylvia (why does no one ever call her by her first name?), but I cringed when she bursts out laughing at Picard's enquiry, yet another example of a lack of dignity and respect given to the character and a typically raucous reaction rather than the subdued, more realistic one you'd expect in 'TDV,' though I suppose such things are nitpicking, I can't help totting up such divergences as the weight of them all collectively is what burdens me when viewing. Loris is another one that made me grit my teeth, not just the attitude, but that she's a Romulan with an Irish accent. An Irish accent? I like the simplicity of the races in Trek through which they could weave such intelligent stories, simple pieces that could be taken up and used, occasionally in atypical ways to show the difference to the norm (such as the mass murdering Vulcan in 'DS9'), but you need that norm to be well established and accents are something else that really irritates with this series as they strive for a non-American-centralised worldview for the purpose of worldwide mass appeal. In the interests of diversity they change the norms and it's jarring, it doesn't fit with the enjoyment of Trek as a cohesive world. If she'd been human it wouldn't have mattered (she looked pretty human, but more on the Romulan foreheads next time…), but there was worse to come.

I did like the cameo for B4, the Soong vessel into which Data's neural net was backed up so as to fix the inferior model, but which was really only a method of potentially bringing Data back from the dead in case they did a fifth feature film. At the time it seemed a real copout, as if it was easy to find another Soong android, he must have made a number of them, but in later viewings I got used to it and it wasn't the worst indignity of that film, plus the sequel was never produced so it was somewhat sad to know we'd not find out what happened in that regard. Until now! But it didn't end well, B4 failed, he was a less sophisticated version made be-fore Data (see?), so it's not that astonishing a revelation. It's right that they tied into 'Nemesis,' and they were brave to, because it is considered the worst of the films (until you get to 'Into Darkness' and suddenly you notice how much Trekkiness is in there in comparison!), and why would you want to connect your new prestige series to a box-office bomb? The only reason to do so is because 'Picard' rests on the character's friendship with Data and the impact his Second Officer's sacrifice had on him, something I applaud the series for as it would have been easier to consign 'Nemesis' to history with only the briefest of acknowledgements. Perhaps that's where Picard's guilt comes from that he's wasted the life since, bought at the cost of his best friend, doing nothing worthwhile for years, waiting to die, nursing his own offended dignity (not that it sounds like the great man we knew - he's really been brought low).

At least I understood better on this viewing where the last remaining floating ether of Data's remaining consciousness came from because that never seemed to make much sense given events to come in the final episode: B4 held some of Data's neurons and when he no longer functioned Maddox used these to create Dahj and Soji, and presumably that entire colony of androids (a term I prefer to 'synths' since that's what they used to be called). Yes, I still don't think it made sense that Data existed wholly in them so that he could actually communicate with his former Captain, but it was nice to see him again all the same. I just wish Data had been in it more - much like 'DSC' Season 1 where you get some flashbacks to Burnham's childhood and young adulthood early on, but it didn't continue through the season, I was expecting and hoping for regular dream meetings between Picard and Data, but it was not to be. I suspect one reason they offed B4 (he's only seen as parts - and the head STILL doesn't look as real as Brent Spiner's actual head, even with today's technology!), was so that Spiner couldn't come back as an android, a way of cutting off that avenue as he'd already said at the time of 'Nemesis' that he was getting too old to keep playing an ageless android (forgetting the introduction of an ageing program into Data's life in 'TNG' Season 7 - always forgotten, that is!), and now it was a further twenty years later! It's a real shame, because Data's calm, quiet persona is something modern Trek could really do with and they did fine with the look, which wasn't perfect but you don't expect it to look exactly as he was all that time ago - I can suspend my disbelief for the sake of a great actor returning to a great character again.

It's harder to suspend disbelief over Dr. Soong being the only person who could ever create a sentient android like Data since we'd seen other examples before on 'TOS,' and if B4 was able to be taken apart, which was what Maddox had wanted to do to Data, and which 'The Measure of A Man' was all about, then he must have found a way. Ah, but then he did and kept it all to himself, disappearing after the ban on synths when the Federation's Division of Advanced Synthetic Research was turned into an obsolete nothing, not allowed to make anything physical, surviving only on simulation and computer models. The androids he created were the ones who attacked Utopia Planitia, but I have no idea why, and that sequence is a whole other issue which I'll address when we get there. But no one was ever able to redevelop the science for a Data, and Jurati thinks it would take a thousand years to create a sentient android of flesh and blood. Not sure why, since the flesh and blood part seems as difficult, and here comes another issue - holograms can exist and they have the potential to become sentient so how are they allowed and not abandoned in the anti-synth legislation? We see an example of one at the Quantum Archives, she doesn't even have a name, designated 'Index,' which doesn't strike me as in line with what happened on 'Voyager' - surely the Doctor's return would have changed attitudes to holographic life? Or are they more careful to put safeguards in place to avoid dawning sentience? Index is perhaps deliberately made to be obviously artificial with an alien manner and affected voice, but after the distrust of synths it doesn't make sense…

I also don't understand the significance of creating twinned androids as Maddox did - there's some technobabble (and I do appreciate a hardcore return to the proper stuff, all positronic this, and fractal neuronic cloning that!), which explains the symbol of two interlocking circles Dahj and sister Soji wear, but in terms of the significance other than to set up more than one version of a synth character? No idea. Technobabble isn't the only aspect to make a comeback and make me feel a little more at home here than in 'DSC,' though sometimes it can seem a little excessive. The guilty part is when Picard visits the Archives (presumably just outside Starfleet Command?), and we see numerous artefacts of his past, ranging from models of old ships such as the Enterprise-E, Stargazer and even the Captain's Yacht from 'Insurrection' (a beautiful creation). I suppose he had the Klingon Bat'leth and D'k tahg because of his association with the Empire from his time as Arbiter of Succession, but I was just overjoyed to see a proper Bat'leth instead of the incredibly ugly and impractical redesign for 'DSC,' which just didn't work at all. Weirdly, he'd kept the Captain Picard Day banner from that episode, but why not? Maybe it meant more to him than we knew at the time. It was like Captain Lorca's mysterious stash, I just wanted to stay there and poke around. Is this archiving done with Transporter beams, locking things away as energy, just as Scotty was for all those decades? It was also nice to have LCARS back as the operating system (on an actual screen instead of the ephemeral holo-screens they seem to use all the time now!), if an updated version, which you'd expect. I even loved seeing a medical device 'sew' up Dahj's forehead wound: traditional Trek right there on screen. Gimme more!

It was also good to see something of the current day Starfleet uniforms (we'd be treated to another variation from fifteen years prior in further episodes), though you have to scour the background around Starfleet HQ to see them. They'd returned to a coloured shoulder style as popularised from early seasons of 'DS9' onward, most notably in 'Voyager.' Something tells me that this was all part of the effort to ingratiate the 'Voyager' fans since in market research it was shown a few years ago that many of the most viewed episodes on Netflix across all Trek were from that series! Is it a coincidence that they almost recreated the uniforms, not to mention bringing back characters and props? No, I'm sure it isn't, but I don't mind because I love that series. However, my personal preference was for them to continue with the more textured design direction of the 'TNG' film era and latter 'DS9' style, rather than a flat colour, or even recreate the future uniforms seen in several episodes, including 'All Good Things…' even though it's no violation because it was an unknown future and one of several years prior. Still, compared with the ugliness and out of canon versions worn in 'DSC' it's practically perfect! Full black with just colour at the top works well and they didn't reinvent the wheel. Trouble is, it is just one more thing that makes me wish they were doing a traditional Trek series. By all means bring Picard back, of course he'd be a bit old to command a starship, but I think many assumed he'd follow the alternate history and be an Ambassador, perhaps with a position on the Bridge of a starship.

I want Starfleet to be the good guys, I want to see some existing cultures further explored, I want to know the history of the last twenty years that I've missed, which was denied us because of the vagaries of TV and film. Unlike the 'TOS' cast we didn't get to see the other casts age through as many years, and that's sad. It also makes this Picard much more jarring, even with having seen and heard him doing promotion before ever setting eyes on the series. They went a different direction, one outside the purview of Starfleet, one in which they could have troubled, broken characters for apparently no reason other than they'd be more identifiable to general audiences than pristine, spick and span heroes. That wasn't an issue at this stage, one reason I didn't have too many problems with this episode. My negative thoughts were more towards the inconsequential nature of much of it. Like the way they quickly introduce Dahj with her Xahean boyfriend (didn't notice his race on first viewing and only caught it this time thanks to commentary from the DVD, though it is spoken in dialogue), in 'Greater Boston,' a race previously portrayed by a character on 'Short Treks' and 'DSC' who was even more annoying than Tilly, and an entirely forgettable alien design (design was also an issue for the only Tellarite we've ever seen in the 24th Century - I didn't even realise a member of the film crew was one until I saw the credit at the end and looked back to see him, though it was fun to 'spot' a Trill among them!). It's painful to watch the scenes of the pair of them, talking in their contemporary way to appeal to the 'yoof' (yes, she really did say 'dude'!).

As is the action. We can't just have a 'contemplative' series of an old man and his old associates, can we? The audience would be utterly bored, right? So they inject some action of Romulans… doing something. I don't know what their goal was, they ultimately destroy Dahj with acid in the second attack, but they also use (and leave!), a knife in the first, with which they could be identified (maybe that was a clue that someone in Security was in league?). Why not just beam her up, or send a bomb in, or… well, it doesn't matter because it's not designed for story needs, it's designed for the perceived short attention span audience, but if they gave us something to get our minds into then that would suffice! To be fair, the action is far less intrusive than on 'DSC,' it's just the story is as bland and unrewarding. We have seen Data's superior android strength and speed on many occasions, notably in a fight with brother Lore in the Cargo Bay, so why not utilise modern production methods to show just what an android can do (was the super-hearing, allowing her to pick out conversations a block away, also due to being 'activated' by the Romulans?), it's not like it took over the episode. I'm not against action, either, I just want depth to story and character. But that's not the way of Trek any more and never will be again (although, there is an episode this season…). I also disliked seeing a Paris that apparently still has dark alleyways, roadsigns and road markings centuries old! Wiser to show as little of Earth as possible, but that's not the attitude of today. I'm assuming that was Paris - it's possible the Eiffel Tower had been moved, or was a copy, or even a hologram, who knows? But for me, those dingy streets were the first sign of the loss of utopia in the episode.

Another issue with serious ramifications is the creepy tracking of Picard. Dahj apparently hacked into the system to be able to - he says it would've required a security clearance she doesn't have, so at least it's put in the context that it's not something anyone can do, but the freedom to exist without being watched has, generally at least, been implied in the manner in which Trek was made in the past. So many episodes of Trek could have been solved if they'd had surveillance cameras covering every room of a starship or planet, but while the computer can track combadges and sensors can detect life signs, you don't get people being watched and recorded. And that's because those writers wrote in a world in which privacy and freedom hadn't been sacrificed on the altar of security, the steps toward a totalitarian regime that we seem to be continually staggering towards! It's one of those fascinating conventions that isn't spelt out in Trek, but was just an assumed norm most of the time. There were rare occasions when there was evidence of surveillance, such as in 'Court Martial' when footage is shown from what happened on the Bridge, but it implies special use and only in key areas. If we now believe it's good to have no privacy and feel a false sense of security from ceaseless observation by authorities, this is a big change in attitude - yet so many feel happy to be tracked by their constant companion, a mobile phone, or share their lives in minute detail on social media to the extent that they don't feel the need for privacy, and that's creepy.

You have to know Trek very well to notice the unspoken rules and ways of doing things, but if you watch it enough you become fluent in it, like a visual language. Unfortunately, it's apparent that the makers of Trek post-'Enterprise' are not, and this is probably a large cause of the feeling of disconnect a keen viewer like myself feels when watching the modern films and TV - I'm not getting that instant connection, that feeling of belonging, a consistent world that, effectively, I've studied for years and know every nuance of, welcoming the familiarity of style and content. In that sense it would be impossible for me to like any new Trek because throwing in references to the past, as fun as that is, can't disguise the discontinuity of tone. And this is before we even come to issues like excessive nastiness and foul language. But we'll get to that. These reviews, I suppose, have become a form of expression to get out those niggles and discomforts I feel when watching. Here's another one: I don't like seeing umbrellas in Trek. I know, I know, it's silly, and it's not like we never do (there's that episode of 'Enterprise' where Archer dreams of a funeral, but it was only a dream), but it's one of those dramatic devices film and TV loves for enhancing the visual mood - there's nothing like rain and the slick sheen it leaves, to evoke misery and hopelessness! But while that works for 'The Matrix,' 'Blade Runner' or the many other dystopias, it just doesn't fit with Trek's sunny, positive outlook. Nor logically, since they have the ability to control planetary weather at this time.

Another niggle would be the mention of the police, after Picard has been brought back to his exquisite study (now I recognise the couch where the last remnant of Data dies in the quantum simulation, or whatever it was), and he talks with the housekeepers. Why would such a world as Earth has been described need police? It just doesn't work, and makes me wonder if the writers were thinking of that scene in 'Star Trek XI' when Kirk as a young tearaway terror is stopped by a robot policeman on a hover bike (ugh!), none of which fits in with Trek at all (more 'Star Wars'). And what was the Romulan plan, anyway? I've seen the whole season and I still don't get it. I know it's something to do with a Romulan secret cult, more secret even than the Tal Shiar, but none of it was memorable in the story sense. And while I'm in complaining mode I have to ask: why do we still not get an episode title on screen, what is this aversion to Trek conventions? Not that it really matters, it's just another of those minor irritations that are eclipsed by the disquiet greater whole. I actually wasn't looking forward to watching 'Picard' again knowing that, similar to 'DSC,' I don't really like it. There were a couple of episodes that stood out, for the most part, but that still leaves the majority which is almost a chore to approach. It's sad, and I wanted so much to get something out of it, but the more I see of this generation's attitude to Trek, the more unhappy with it I become. It's hard to think this, but it actually crossed my mind that in the very near future I may have to stop watching new Trek!

This isn't something I say lightly, I've been a viewer for almost thirty years, a devotee for a little under, but a dedicated one, and I'm actually considering giving it up, relinquishing it as something I get nothing from. Now I probably won't do that, at least not while DVDs continue to be released, because I'm sure eventually physical media will end completely on the grounds that they take up the planet's resources or some such ridiculous argument (might as well give up entertainment itself, that would help the environment! Not willing? I'm not surprised), so as much as it's hard to watch, I'm still grateful I have the opportunity to see it and comment. But I'm in the strangest position that I can imagine, not being interested in something that expands the Trek universe, and not being sad to think I'd miss part of it, either by coming to the end of life or being excluded by technology. It could always improve, it's possible, though unlikely. I can say I dislike 'Picard' less than 'DSC,' so that's something, but it's not by much and I continue to plug away at each new release, like a chore that must be endured, and that's no way to watch entertainment. It's not even just because it's 'modern,' I've enjoyed most of 'Cobra Kai,' another contemporary series based on an old property, but one that injects positivity and some good writing into its core. If only Trek was doing that.

The theme tune has a thoughtful, promising sound to it that evokes the kind of series I'd like 'Picard' to be, but just as they couldn't come up with a more inventive title than to name it after the man character, there isn't the reassuring nature of that world that is hinted at in the music. I did notice both Alexander Courage's 'Star Trek' theme, and Jerry Goldsmith's 'Star Trek: The Motion Picture' theme are credited at the end, so I don't know if they were in the episode proper or it was referring to bits used in the main titles. It's nice to see the names of such greats in the current credits, though it also makes me sad to think of all those people who were so successful at making Trek for so many years, but aren't involved now. And I don't wish to end on a negative note so I should point out some parts of this first episode that I did like, beyond what I've already commented on: dating it firmly to 2399 (weird we don't get a date on screen since we get almost every place named!), worked out by the reference to Data's 'Daughter' painting, said to be created in 2369, thirty years ago, although, oddly, this was after his experiment to create an actual daughter, Lal, in 2366, which suggests he still wanted one even after the tragic experiences of 'The Offspring.' It was also creepy that Index knew Picard kept the other painting in the set in his study, unless it got this information from somehow seeing the interview he gave to FNN…

It's also true to say the Borg Cube (the external view, anyway), was terrific, and a great way to end the episode by pulling out until you see the vast whole (was it a Tactical Cube? There was something of that about it, maybe just its newness). It would have had more of an impact if it hadn't been shown in the trailer, but even so, it ended the episode well, even if Romulan spy, Narek, was hard to take with his mop of boy band hair and un-Romulan demeanour. When he told Soji Asher he'd had a brother that was lost, was that true, or just a ploy for her to feel sorry for him? If he did have a brother I wouldn't be surprised if his twisted sister offed him, but she hasn't appeared yet so I'll hold fire on that subject for now. As much as the Romulan Reclamation Project was a good idea, I don't remember ever hearing a reason for it all, and now it feels more like that 'Voyager' marketing research I mentioned before: they like the Borg, throw in a Cube there! Where did the Cube come from, why are the Romulans working on it? And why are they partnering with humans and other races? And why does it look so neat and tidy in there, so far from the messy Cubes of old? Easier to film in, laziness? Surely not, but it does look more 'Tron' than Trek. If anything, there's a heavy 'Star Wars' feel, what with an Imperial shuttle landing in the Death Star to drop off the evil bad guy to the sound of proximity klaxons. There I go again, back to problems (how long did it take Picard and Dahj to get from where he was relaxing on the estate in bright sunlight, to the patio, where it's night? Either the sun sets very quickly or Picard is even more doddery than I thought!). I can't decide if it's worse or better that I've gone through it all before writing about it, because with 'DSC' I felt more critical, not having the benefit of hindsight, but with this there's also no hope that the season might end up working. Oh well, the struggle continues.

I'll just finish with a couple of extracts from letters to Starlog magazine that I saw recently as I read through the whole collection, which show that nothing ever really changes: Keith Roysdon wrote in the June 1982 issue '…I think it's about time that a major segment of 'Star Trek' fandom grew up. This is a fictional character, and we must face the fact that whoever holds licence to the character can do whatever… they want with it from now on…' He was talking about the potential death of Spock in the upcoming 'Star Trek II,' but you can see the parallels, and he was obviously right, he who holds the rights, controls the characters. And Ali Kayn wrote in the May 1982 issue: '…In the sixties… a child was born… It was called 'Star Trek.' And it cared… But times change… Today 'Star Trek' is an anachronism. The naivete of 'Star Trek's social concern has been replaced with the sophistication of 'Star Wars' escapism… Its audience have become misfitting. …It is immortal without conventions, spin-offs and mimeographed buffoonery, and without ever seeing another soundstage. In fact, it is the soundstage which might kill 'Star Trek's appealing personality. A 'Star Trek' made today must serve a different audience… we should never allow the concept of 'Trek' to be buried in the drek that it "inspires." Don't murder 'Star Trek' with violent resurrections. Let it live –with dignity.' Hear, hear!

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