The Last Generation

 DVD, Picard S3 (The Last Generation)

This could be the last live action modern Trek episode I ever review judging by what's on the horizon, and it may be that position swayed my judgement on this viewing, because I certainly enjoyed it more than the first time - with the recent release and strong negative reaction from most sources as the impression I get of 'Section 31,' it may be they don't continue their foray into streaming films, which in turn seemed the most likely way many of these 'TNG' characters would ever return to Trek after 'Picard' Season 3 marked the end of that era. But especially with the brakes on hard for much new Trek content, it seemed to suggest this episode really could be the last of all these great characters, that generation, together. Whatever the reason, I felt a warmth throughout most of this story and I was able to separate the flaws and irritations, or perhaps see them through the pleasant haze of enjoyment I was experiencing, and responded to the many heartfelt character moments more strongly. Perhaps when I first saw it I was expecting some of them to die, I don't remember, but this time I could simply sit back and let it all play out without fear of a bad end for anyone. And the ending reminded me of that from 'The Lord of The Rings,' how they gave us multiple finales to wrap up the various threads and strands, and which I really appreciate, especially in modern media when everything has to be fast and often incoherent. I realised as the Borg were defeated we still had a good twenty minutes to finish out the characters' stories (which is almost the full-length of a 'Lower Decks' instalment!).

Right from the very first second when the Enterprise-D replaces the Titan in the 'Star Trek' Universe opening tag scene, along with that ominous green Borg colour scheme at the end, attention to detail was on overdrive - I'd even temporarily forgotten they had Walter Koenig (apparently at his suggestion), do a voiceover from the Federation President, aping 'Star Trek IV' where he warns any and all persons to stay away from Earth, and we even get to hear Pavel Chekov (we're meant to presume, since this President Anton Chekov, in a nice little nod to the tragically deceased Anton Yelchin, mentions his Father only by title), since Koenig as Anton does an impression of Pavel (are you following this?), which was lovely, and a way to include a 'TOS' character, however obliquely, marking what I believe must be the first time actors playing their characters from the first four live action Trek series' appear in the same episode (Koenig for 'TOS,' the entire 'TNG' cast, Worf representing 'DS9,' plus Seven and Tuvok for 'Voyager'), which is a momentous event in itself, divorced from the story or sense of grand finale! During Chekov's pronouncement they even recreate part of the 'TNG' opening credits with the hazy stars dissolving the picture as we zoom into one, which was yet another nice touch. I wish we could have seen Koenig, that would have been preferable, but even merely hearing his voice worked well.

Unfortunately, the opening (despite thankfully not having 20th Century music!), has an example of one of the problems of the episode: its melodrama. Beverly claims that if Earth falls, everything falls, which I didn't buy at all - I can understand there'd be a major threat to this part of the Galaxy if the population of Earth were assimilated, but would the Klingon Empire fall because of that? Would every Federation world really be that dependent on Earth? I can see why you want Earth the centre, since every audience member is from there (!), and rightly so, but the Borg's plan wasn't for even the usual assimilation and in many ways the insane Queen was defanged by her new mandate to 'evolve' (whatever that means), rather than assimilate. It's the same way as when I play the original X-Com game on the Amiga: once you master alien 'psionics' you can have your soldiers either panic an enemy unit or take control, and I never saw any advantage in panicking, much better to take over and use its point of view to expand your vision of the battlefield, perhaps even take out a neighbouring enemy with their colleague's own fire. In the same way, what benefit would the Borg have to obliterate humanoids that could exist best to serve their ends rather than add their distinctiveness to their own: the pursuit of perfection through a combination of biological and technological means. That's what always made the Borg so chilling - it wasn't that they wanted to destroy you, they wanted to consume you and infuse you into their being.

Late in the episode Deanna similarly says something overblown about having a choice between losing their friends by destroying the Borg Cube, or losing everyone in the Galaxy!! It's a terrific dilemma, but she just sounds over the top in her hyperbole, and saying 'Earth' in this context would have made things much more relatable. It does seem to be the two women that make the most dramatic statements so maybe emotion was getting the better of them, although there are a number of emotional scenes for various people, usually good ones, and at least Deanna got to somewhat redeem her reputation as the one who crashed two Enterprises in the films! This time her Betazoid mental abilities are what enable the Enterprise-D to find Picard, Riker, Worf and Jack, while Data's gut (which is considerably enlarged thanks to his ageing!), is depended on as he believes he can fly them inside the Cube to destroy the beacon sending Jack's signal to the Borgified youth on Starfleet's armada. This was another area I was unsure on as how did the signal activate them in the first place, that was before Jack had connected himself, wasn't it? Maybe I'm wrong, but his sole purpose seemed to be to control them all, or send orders, so were they saying the Queen was too weak to be able to do that in her present state? I found the whole point of the season from the villains' perspective to be one of the weakest aspects, I already mentioned it made no sense for Jack to rush off to the Queen, just a case of desperately responding to mental or emotional stimuli, and made even less sense that he'd happily plug in and not want to leave!

Had he forgotten his Mother? They'd spent all these years together having all sorts of adventures and because of her upbringing (or was it due to his choice not to meet his Father?), he felt 'different' and an outsider, so he was quite comfortable being a pawn of the Queen. That side just wasn't written well, I'm not sure if he even knew what he was doing, because surely he was principled enough from what we saw of him that he wouldn't countenance the destruction of humanity (or at least all those living on Earth), and if we could have seen the Borg Queen actually deceiving him in some way so when we go into his mind, as Picard does, it was some perfect place of beauty and peace, with the idea the Queen was somehow saving people, that would have made it more plausible, but all we see is this black hole full of wispy green tendrils as if inside the Matrix. I see he's not thinking straight, but it was too much to believe he was actively participating in genocide all because he felt comforted by not being alone! Jack as a whole was one of the weaker characters, so the fact everything revolved around him was a fatal flaw in the season. Just too often he came across as irritating, and it's not that he's purely self-obsessed, he's done a lot of good, he shows care for others, like in Sickbay, but we weren't allowed enough time with that part of his personality and so I never fully sympathised with him. He was too much the angry young man without a really strong cause, after all he had the dedicated care of a devoted Mother, and yet he's always slightly aggrieved.

His line when trying to justify himself when Picard enters his mind, or shared Borg mental state, about there being no suffering, no loneliness and no fear in that place instantly made me think of the Nexus from 'Generations.' Jack is nowhere near the true hero Captain Kirk was, and even he found it difficult to leave this make-believe world, but given the vast differences in tone where you could understand why someone would want to exist in such a beautiful place compared with the ugly emptiness of Jack's vision, it only made Jack seem more out of touch that he was so keen on staying in the dark! And yet I found Picard's decision to stay in this miserable place with his son quite moving, even though it would surely have been simpler to explain it's about to be destroyed so it's only going to be dying together, but perhaps he didn't want to reveal what was going on outside since that would alert the Queen. Not that she seemed able to do anything about it, strung up on the wall like some half-opened cadaver - I can see why Alice Krige might not have wanted to be there physically, if she had a choice to actively return, as it wouldn't have been very dignified to string her up on a wall with all those prosthetics. I think I'd rather have seen the actress come back, but as her smooth, shiny self, perhaps like Data she could appear completely human with only the slightest slimy sense of her old identity, as part of pulling Jack into her lair, and only when it failed would she show her true form, twisted and old, but maybe that's too familiar a trope, it just would have given Krige a better part.

This version of the Queen appears to be decaying and has drawn on the lives of her 'crew' to stay alive. It's not entirely clear what went on, but she seems to blame Picard, although that could mean him as a representative of the Federation since it was a Starfleet ship, Voyager, that dealt the damage. Can we assume this is a result of the virus introduced in that series' finale? I wished we could have had a more clear connection, if so, it would have been helpful to get a better idea of how this happened. And I still say it makes little sense unless the virus somehow prevented Borg from assimilating others, which would make things crystal clear and could have been a terrific new side to them if it had been explained the Queen has to be more careful now since she has limited resources to achieve her goals. As it was I didn't mind the young people as drones as much in this episode, there was the odd firefight, but generally they were stuck in various parts of the ship. And of course it was all too easy for everyone to simply become de-assimilated (or unassimilated as they keep saying), which shows how non-invasive this Transporter based genetic manipulation actually was. A bit cheap, as good a concept as it could have been to use the Transporter to implant DNA into everyone that went through them. But it was a far cry from the incredibly traumatic experience Picard went through mentally, physically and emotionally to become Locutus, and even people like Seven who were assimilated physically, so I couldn't help see it as a bit gimmicky.

If Jack has been one of my least favourite characters, others have been vying for that title throughout the season, with Seven, Raffi and Shaw all in the running for the 'prestigious' award. We can discount Raffi since she definitely had less exposure compared to the first two seasons, Worf helped make her a more acceptable character, and she has a lovely happy ending where her son Gabe (don't know if it was the same actor seen in Season 1 as you never see him), allows her to see her granddaughter via PADD, which was a lovely vindication for her tough choice earlier in the season. Shaw also doesn't get to annoy me this time as he only appears via a log presented by Tuvok (hooray!), where he admits to Seven's good points, and I liked the touch of having him appear in spite of being killed off in the previous episode (a bit like Trip in the 'Enterprise' finale, where he gets a little scene after his death that underlines the event). That leaves Seven, and I did find her to be a bit frustrating, whether it was her 'grand' speech about them giving their lives, or the way she talks with Tuvok, I just can't get past this emotional way she speaks, or this tough-girl attitude that bears so little resemblance to the great character she was in 'Voyager.' I would have thought she'd have reverted to a more Seven-ish demeanour in front of her old mentor, Tuvok, but no, and though I knew it was coming, I just couldn't take her as being Captain, Jeri Ryan just comes across like she's having Seven put on an act all the time, it just doesn't seem genuine, a real shame. More than anyone else across the whole failed experiment of 'Picard' as a series, I feel it was she that was the worst destruction of a once-great character.

Picard himself I could often accuse of that title, too, but at least in this episode he comes as close to his old self as I think I've seen in any of the other twenty-nine episodes that led to this point - sitting in the Captain's Chair on the Bridge of the 'D,' Riker to the right of him, Deanna to the left, a rejuvenated Data, Geordi back in his 'TNG' Season 1 position next to the android (although shouldn't he have been at the back where the Engineering consoles were?), and Worf behind... it was quite magical, even if the thought did flit through my mind that this could very easily be a parody of old TV actors doing a skit where they reprise their long ago roles. But the thought didn't have a chance to land, had to fly away, because they play those roles so genuinely. The years have taken their toll, but if you took any random group of friends from their thirties or forties, then brought them back together twenty or thirty years later I doubt they'd look as good! But then these are actors, no doubt they got into shape, had time and makeup to try and get into the best examples of themselves, and it worked, because it really does feel like the final 'TNG' film, as incongruous as it was to have it set aboard the 'D' rather than the 'E.' I'm still torn on that, I love that the 'D' came back and it was such an incredible recreation (though I can imagine in future they'll just be able to CGI something identical around actors, which makes them actually rebuilding such an iconic set even more special), but the 'E' was where they'd ended up. I do prefer the 'D,' I just wish the 'E' hadn't been given such short shrift.

It wasn't the only thing to be treated disrespectfully, and just as that was a joke against Worf, this time we have an even more out of place 'humorous' moment when on returning from the rescue of Jack Crusher, he slumps down on a Bridge chair, promptly falls asleep and starts snoring! For one thing, he's supposed to be relatively young compared to his human comrades, and for another he's a Klingon, and so would be tougher. I know he exerted himself fighting the rather energetic (for gaunt, decomposing drones), Borg, but I felt it was a bit too far as jokes go. This time round I didn't actually feel as strongly about it as when I first saw it, but it was a symptom of the uneven tone of humour throughout the episode that missed as much as it hit and sometimes took me out of it. Like the alien cook Seven orders to take the Helm and he's stuttering about only being a cook, etc - he's a Starfleet officer, he's wearing the uniform, it doesn't matter that he's an alien, nor a cook (for that matter, why would he even exist since they use Replicators in this century, it's not 'Enterprise,' so it made absolutely no sense at all!), it just seemed inserted for a laugh at an inappropriate time, and to have a 'weak' man in front of two 'strong' women in Seven and Raffi commanding, so all round came off badly and ill-judged. Or there's the moment we learn Worf has a secret Phaser as the hilt of his sword (ah, that's why they had to create a new weapon rather than reuse the Mek'leth - for 'surprise' sake), and when Riker questions why he didn't use it before he justifies it by saying swords are fun. For such an efficient, serious man as Worf is, it didn't ring true (though I did enjoy Riker finding it so heavy, that actually was funny!).

Even the end where Deanna's having a strained counselling session with Data as he adapts to his new existence, could have come across as too silly, but I actually saw it as a great concept that I was surprised hadn't been addressed before when Data had his emotion chip! I suppose they never did that because it was towards the end of the series and in the films there was never time for that kind of scene, so I was impressed they thought of it. It also pleased me that the characters' particular abilities or skills were well used, whether that be Deanna's empathic powers and counselling knowledge, or Beverly's medical expertise in devising a cure for the Borgified crew (or when she's shown to be highly proficient with the weapons - that moment worked for humour as she protests at the others' surprised looks that a lot had happened in twenty years), to Worf's combat, Riker's command, and most importantly Picard being Picard - confident, assured, certain in his course, sensitive in the way he carries out his objectives. He could never go back to full Picard status, but Stewart did a creditable job of getting close in this episode, something I couldn't say for most of the episodes). Even Data got to show off his android reflexes by flying the 'D' into the Cube, even if it did seriously smack of 'Star Wars,' specifically the Millennium Falcon heading into the core of the Death Star in order to blow it up from the inside out. But although the 'D' does give the impression of some small fighter craft in some scenes, you still generally get the scale, it fires proper Phaser beams, and amazingly for a modern Trek production ('LD' excepted), has an actual shield bubble instead of a skintight energy field!

Some of the starship shots were pretty impressive, if all too brief, either the 'D' skimming the Cube, or the Titan barrelling down Phaser beam alley (again, real beams - sadly they undid some of the goodness by always having hand Phasers blat out bolts whenever there was shipboard fighting), seeing that hailstorm of lancing beams as the entire fleet piles in on Spacedock, apparently the lone defender of Earth (does it spread a shield round the planet? And aren't their Transporters just as compromised? Shouldn't older officers be under siege as much on the Spacedock as any starship?), was the greatest argument for why beams should be used over bolts - just show that scene to any executives who disagree! There were inevitably some disappointments when I saw the episode first time, mainly that this or that character didn't show up from 'DS9' or 'Voyager' (Admiral Janeway being the obvious one since they'd teased her several times through the season, with Tuvok coming across as her stand-in, although I don't think she was actually mentioned this time). When they went to Jupiter I was expecting to see Jupiter Station and possibly Doc Zimmerman (and maybe even the holographic Doctor, his creation), but no, and neither was there any connection to 'Enterprise.' Not that these things are integral to a successful story, or even a finale, the most important is how well things come together and I'm glad to say all the happy reunions at the end made the episode work and allowed me to leave aside my various annoyances.

For one thing they address some hanging issues, like whether there could still be Changelings hidden within the fleet, and how to catch them (even if it does once again make the Changelings look rather simple - they didn't ever use them to the standard of 'DS9'), and almost as importantly, whether they killed all those they were doubling - for the sake of Tuvok they couldn't do that, so as unlikely as it would be (much simpler, quicker and easier to vaporise a body you'd be impersonating!), we discover they didn't kill all their targets, but kept some alive for more information. Not that we ever got a sense of Tuvok's experiences, he shows up to promote Seven to Captain without any explanation, but it was enough that he showed up at all rather than leave his fate hanging (like Shelby, for example...). There was a lot of good stuff in the closing scenes, such as Riker, Picard and Geordi on the Bridge of the 'D' one last time to shut her down (Riker even mentioning he missed the voice of the Computer - more of Majel Barrett's vast catalogue of speech, and wonderful they got something of her in there again, however brief, it really felt like home). One thing I loved about that scene was the reuse of the nostalgic pre-end credits music from 'Generations' and how much that scene felt reminiscent of what had been the final moment for the 'D' at that time, a poignant sense of hope and yet the ending of another chapter which it should never have had, at the same time. It's also the only time a hero ship (or station!), has had a closedown onscreen, since the original Enterprise (or its successor, at least), just went off for one last spin, the Defiant was still on active duty (or its successor, at least), Voyager got home and there was no time for anything, and the NX-01 was still in operation at the end of their respective series'.

In some ways I'd have liked them to recreate even more of that final 'Generations' scene with just Riker and Picard discussing the possible future, but it made more sense this time to have Geordi be there as well since he lovingly rebuilt the ship, and as an Engineer, had a special affinity with it. I feel he was a little left out of the finale, though I'm glad they allowed time to see them say goodbye to the old ship, but I don't remember seeing his reunion with his daughters, and we never did find out if he was married to Leah Brahms as he should've been. He has little moments of friendship with Data and is left in command of the Bridge when Picard and the others go down to the Cube, though the android undermines his authority by refusing to do something and then convincing him he can get the ship inside! I thought Data as former Second Officer should've held command, but times had changed and maybe Commodore is a higher rank, and who knows if Data even has a rank now! But that wasn't the last ship to bear the name Enterprise, not even in this episode since we see the Titan-A has been rechristened the Enterprise-G under Seven's command, with Jack fast-tracked to the rank of Ensign... Hmm, this was the one fly in the ointment. They do allow a year to pass so Jack must have had some training and it's not like Nog was at Starfleet Academy four years before coming back to DS9, so it's not unprecedented, but... I wasn't sure about that. Nor introducing Titan as the 'G.' To me that seemed a slap in the face to the brave crew and the Captain they lost (perhaps a reason why - a sort of acknowledgement that Shaw's Captaincy was over, his time in command of the Titan, it's last Captain, that could be a way to justify it, but it wasn't stated), or it could be seen as a great honour to be awarded the legendary mantle. It shows the 'F' was destroyed or completely incapacitated, a way to include some 'modern' continuity from the wilderness years, but then move right on from it to something the current makers had created.

It's understandable, but although there was a big push for a 'Star Trek: Legacy' series featuring Seven as Captain, Raffi as First Officer (they keep insisting on putting those two together against all reason), in the subsequent years it's all gone quiet as there's not much money for new Trek now, it seems. While I'd be keen on a 'Legacy' series that featured the 'TNG'/'DS9'/'Voyager' (and maybe, somehow, 'Enterprise,' too!), casts carrying it along with some new faces, I wouldn't want to see Seven as Captain or Raffi (in any capacity!), nor Jack Crusher. About the only character I wouldn't mind seeing again was Sidney La Forge. So if that final set-up was indicative of what the series would be I'm relieved they haven't made it (though if 'Section 31' had been well received I'm sure a 'Legacy' streaming film would have been next in line), as I don't think I could stand most of those people without the balm of the 'TNG' characters. On the other hand, if Patrick Stewart got his way and they had another 'TNG' reunion I'd love to see that, but they're all getting old, if not elderly in Stewart's case, and the years are running out, so I very much doubt it'll happen now. Which once again reminds me to cherish this moment because it'll never come again - even the bar scene and the poker that followed it worked for me much more than on original viewing. Again with the inappropriate humour where Data's lowering the tone about to tell a rude limerick, but then they get the tone so perfectly right, with Picard reciting a quote from Shakespeare spoken over the 'First Contact' theme and suggesting a few rounds of poker in a recall of how the TV series ended.

Originally, the scene came across like it was just the actors rather than the characters (although I may be thinking of the extended version included as a DVD extra which would've been even more natural, although I do like that they were allowed to riff and enjoy the moment, letting the camera run), but this time I did see it as the characters and I loved the overhead shot of them playing as the credits come up and the 'TNG' theme sounds, such an effective and beautiful way to conclude, far better than the ending to 'Nemesis.' But of course it's not really the end, they may be nearing the end of their lives, but they are all still living and that's the greatest gift the season could have given us, protecting the core family, not some horrible sacrifice or shock death, but in keeping with the spirit of hope and optimism that (despite being able to argue was misplaced), was a hallmark of old Trek. That feeling of warmth permeated the episode and if this really is the last time we'll see any or all of them, almost certainly all of them together again, it was a worthy way to finish out something that has meant so much to so many. But it's not all over as we have one more scene, typical of superhero fare these days, setup for what could come next: a surprise visit from Q (whom I at first thought was wearing the robes of a Bajoran Vedek!), making it clear the mantle has passed from Jean-Luc to his son. Nice that they pulled back on Q's death at the end of Season 2 - he's immortal so it made no sense for him to die. Maybe that was all for Picard's benefit and he always intended to return to the family line and 'haunt' Jack. An interesting choice, very much appearing to be there solely to suggest a future premise, which I don't really mind because I doubt it'll happen, and if it did I imagine Q would send a young, hip female Q to 'study' Jack rather than it being old John de Lancie showing up week to week.

One thing I really didn't like about the 'G' setup was how well it was summed up by Jack, I think, who says they gave the ship to a bunch of ne'er-do-wells and rule-breakers, an obsession with modern Trek that began with Burnham (or even the Kelvin films where Kirk's this brash rebel so different to our Kirk), who becomes a criminal right away and in the space of a few years is Captain rather than serving out her sentence! They seem to want outsiders, always going to 'outside Federation space' for stories, and rebellious types, while Starfleet and/or the Federation are often the villain. There's been a serious deemphasis on achievement, excellence and professionalism, especially when it comes to the young which I can only see as trying to encourage younger viewers by lowering the bar rather than giving idealised heroes. Picard himself was one of the biggest culprits of this misguided, damaging attitude that has turned Trek from a great, inspiring historical saga into a weak entity struggling for recognition and only occasionally reaching even the moderate heights of the power the average episode of old reached. Just look at Jack, waltzing onto the Bridge and we're supposed to believe he's now Captain until Seven shuts down his antics (trouble is, you could almost believe it to be true judging by recent standards!), but he doesn't even know what role he's there to take on! Seven tells him he'll be 'Special Counsellor' to the Captain, which sounded so much like Naomi Wildman's childhood role of 'Captain's Assistant' I felt they were being really condescending to him! They had to have him aboard so they make up a role? And then you've got the whole emphasis on what a Captain says to get going, a terrible trope which they somewhat subvert by cutting away just before Seven speaks, as if we're going to be on tenterhooks to find out what her unique phrase will be, but we'll have to wait for the series. No.

Really, though, these things were minor and as a whole, the episode worked quite well. You just can't have an entire cast come together and it fail utterly, but while it's all so recognisable and reassuring there aren't a great deal of Trekferences - the House of Martok is spoken of again by Raffi when she and Worf say their goodbyes. Sadly no sign of J.G. Hertzler, even in a minor cameo, which for once I'd have taken, but then Worf's 'DS9' legacy was severely stunted with no mention of his former wife, Jadzia (though I was pleased Trill Dr. Ohk got to be part of the Bridge action and wasn't forgotten), or friends on DS9, but I can also see it's so many years after that it wasn't necessary from Worf's perspective and they got a lot in over the course of the season. He mentions going off to do some 'Mugato meditation' (meditating about Mugato? Meditating with Mugato? Actually I can see that being a Klingon test, throwing someone in a room with a bunch of the ape creatures, although weren't they supposed to be almost extinct?). Jack mentions something about a Tyrellian (they had to get one of the 'T' species in here somehow, it's tradition), and the scanner Riker uses on the Cube has that same mournful 'Star Trek II' scanner blip as they track down life signs, which they'd used before. But the majority of the Trekferences were right there in front of your face: the entire 'TNG' cast, the Borg Queen, Walter Koenig, Majel Barrett, the Enterprise-D (she's been featured in some way in more Trek finales than anyone else since she was in those of 'TOS,' the films, 'TNG,' 'DS9,' 'Voyager' and 'Enterprise' - quite a record).

One notable face I spotted was James MacKinnon, the makeup guy, who has an actual role as a Bajoran, part of Seven's team that take back the Titan's Bridge (somehow routing Transporters through Phasers... sounds clever, but not sure about the plausibility!), although it was a bit distracting since I know him from behind the scenes features on the DVDs! But they did very well with the returning cast from past Trek across the season. I could always want more and we still haven't had a 'DS9'-specific character return (in live action), and it's looking increasingly unlikely as the years roll by, which I suppose is a good thing since they can't ruin them, or the greatest Trek series, it's almost like it has a heavy shield around it. At the end of 'Picard' Season 1 I didn't think I'd ever go back to reviewing episodes made in the Kurtzman era, so it's been nice to get into some seasons that I actually gained some enjoyment from. I still can't imagine I'd want to go back through 'Picard' Season 2, 'DSC' 3-4 (and 5, which I've yet to see), 'SNW' or even 'Prodigy' (which I find a bit Fisher Price Trek), but at least I've covered the relatively good stuff and will be happy to get back to 'LD' with Seasons 3 and 4. I don't know if the 'TNG' cast should be brought back again after this, but I'd much rather see them than 'Section 31,' more 'SNW' or 'Starfleet Academy' which appear to be the only options in the near future. Matalas didn't quite wholeheartedly salvage the entirety of modern Trek with Season 3, but he did at least prevent 'Picard' from limping off to be shot round the back of the barn, and I would certainly rewatch it again in future.

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