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Star Trek: Picard - Amazon Prime [** POSSIBLE SPOILERS **]

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Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,137 ✭✭✭Firblog


    I do believe that I have seen every episode of every Star Trek series at least once, I'd say I've seen each episode of Next Generation 2 to 3 times on average. I do believe I will never watch any of these Picard episodes ever again, total waste of time, even during a time when we're not allowed out of the house to do anything else I feel I could have put the time it took to watch them to much better use - say hoovering the insulation in the attic.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,150 ✭✭✭Rawr


    Firblog wrote: »
    I do believe that I have seen every episode of every Star Trek series at least once, I'd say I've seen each episode of Next Generation 2 to 3 times on average. I do believe I will never watch any of these Picard episodes ever again, total waste of time, even during a time when we're not allowed out of the house to do anything else I feel I could have put the time it took to watch them to much better use - say hoovering the insulation in the attic.

    This it a thing about a lot of new Trek for me too. I think the only Trek I've seen more than once in the past few years was the 2009 Star Trek movie.

    I have never since felt any drive to re-watch any of the Kelvin-verse sequels, nor Discovery. Although Picard felt like an improvement I already know that I probably won't want to rewatch this. Especially now that I know how the whole story arc of Season 1 is ended.

    I have rewatched TNG, DS9, and hell even the odd Voyager. The odd Enterprise episode even got a re-watch...but that was even rarer for me.

    Discovery and Picard are likely not going to be rewatched by me. They both kind of suffer from having their seasons being built up to climatic final episode, and then making a dog's dinner of that finale, thus tainting the whole season for me. It's hard to be invested in the journey if the destination is just so disappointing.


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 36,711 CMod ✭✭✭✭pixelburp


    I don't think "rewatchability" is a problem unique to Trek though. We live in an age where there has never been so much "content" on offer. You look at Netflix where there's about a dozen new shows out every month. YouTube is continuously shoving suggestions down our throats. TV doesn't have any permanence anymore - just consume, consume, consume and jump to the next viral sensation. Don't think about what you just watched, here's a new show to binge! Look how quickly Game of Thrones dropped from the zeitgeist the moment it finished - controversial ending notwithstanding.

    To my mind, if something didn't already exist in our own personal cultural spaces prior to the digital age & "Peak TV', then it struggles to keep itself within that space of "just one more go around the block". It's fair to say that most of us here had a pre-existing liking or love of Trek in the first place: Enterprise finished just on the very cusp of the digital age, but still very much in that era when the weekly episode was something unique, something special. Now, Picard and Discovery are just another show.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,619 ✭✭✭California Dreamer


    Wasn't a fan of Alison Pill but only because I found her character in The Newsroom to be really annoying so I was trying to seperate that.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,137 ✭✭✭Firblog


    pixelburp wrote: »
    I don't think "rewatchability" is a problem unique to Trek though. We live in an age where there has never been so much "content" on offer. You look at Netflix where there's about a dozen new shows out every month....


    The reason I wouldn't rewatch Picard has nothing to do with the amount of new material coming out on all the different platforms.. I won't watch it again because it was sh1te. I am a bit of a trekkie fan, but you'd have to be deluded if you thought that Picard was even a 3/10 sci fi show.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,542 ✭✭✭marcbrophy


    I'm not deluded and I enjoyed the show!
    I've had my fun and that's all that matters!
    If you don't like it, you can swivel :D


  • Posts: 7,712 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    I’ve watched Discovery a few times but I don’t think I would this.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 16,443 ✭✭✭✭AMKC
    Ms


    Rawr wrote: »
    This it a thing about a lot of new Trek for me too. I think the only Trek I've seen more than once in the past few years was the 2009 Star Trek movie.

    I have never since felt any drive to re-watch any of the Kelvin-verse sequels, nor Discovery. Although Picard felt like an improvement I already know that I probably won't want to rewatch this. Especially now that I know how the whole story arc of Season 1 is ended.

    I have rewatched TNG, DS9, and hell even the odd Voyager. The odd Enterprise episode even got a re-watch...but that was even rarer for me.

    I think the only Trek I've seen more than once in the past few years was the 2009 Star Trek movie.

    Star Trek Beyond ain't too bad. Its probably the most Star Trek of all the Kelvin verse films. I agree with the one in the middle do its terrible.

    A pity as it could have been much better or even great. So many characters and enemies from TOS that they could have used like Charlie X, or Nomad, or the Doomsday machine but instead they make a crappy reboot of what is to most Trekkes the best film ever. .

    Live long and Prosper

    Peace and long life.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,967 ✭✭✭Liamalone


    A fairly poor series overall, wouldn't be bothered if there wasn't a second series.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 16,443 ✭✭✭✭AMKC
    Ms


    [QUOTE=ReginaldSmythV; Discovery a few times but I don’t think I would this.[/QUOTE]

    I am the opposite. I watched Discovery season 1 once but could not watch it a 2nd time. Maybe the 2nd season I might rewatch sometime but only when I can fast forward by the parts I don't like.
    I will watch Picard a 2nd time do and while there is parts in it that I did not like there is good parts too it too and some really good episodes too. I might even buy it when it comes out to buy.

    Live long and Prosper

    Peace and long life.



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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 16,443 ✭✭✭✭AMKC
    Ms


    I’ve watched Discovery a few times but I don’t think I would this.

    I am the opposite. I watched Discovery season 1 once but could not watch it a 2nd time. Maybe the 2nd season I might rewatch sometime but only when I can fast forward by the parts I don't like.
    I will watch Picard a 2nd time do and while there is parts in it that I did not like there is good parts too it too and some really good episodes too. I might even buy it when it comes out to buy.

    Live long and Prosper

    Peace and long life.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,888 ✭✭✭AtomicHorror


    I'm fully intending to re-watch Picard. Oh no, that means I'm delusional!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,835 ✭✭✭✭TheValeyard


    I'm fully intending to re-watch Picard. Oh no, that means I'm delusional!

    Well, you are a supporter of Atomic horror

    All eyes on Kursk. Slava Ukraini.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,631 ✭✭✭pah


    I must be in the minority that thought the last episode was one of the better ones and I would give the show a delusional 5/10 overall.

    Friends of mine who would have been Trek fans with me in school seem to think it's good so it is of course subjective. Maybe Sub Rosa was one of their favourite TNG episodes :P


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,150 ✭✭✭Rawr


    pah wrote: »
    I must be in the minority that thought the last episode was one of the better ones and I would give the show a delusional 5/10 overall.

    Friends of mine who would have been Trek fans with me in school seem to think it's good so it is of course subjective. Maybe Sub Rosa was one of their favourite TNG episodes :P

    I'll see your "Sub Rosa", and raise you a "Shades of Grey" :D


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,888 ✭✭✭AtomicHorror


    Rawr wrote: »
    I'll see your "Sub Rosa", and raise you a "Shades of Grey" :D

    All this does is remind us what bad and lazy writing really looks like in Star Trek. I'm dry-heaving even thinking of that clip show abomination.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 32,810 ✭✭✭✭odyssey06


    All this does is remind us what bad and lazy writing really looks like in Star Trek. I'm dry-heaving even thinking of that clip show abomination.

    It's what writing looks like in the middle of a Writers Guild strike, it's not a fair comparison to any other series or episode except maybe one being produced during something like peak coronavirus lockdown.

    "To follow knowledge like a sinking star..." (Tennyson's Ulysses)



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,888 ✭✭✭AtomicHorror


    odyssey06 wrote: »
    It's what writing looks like in the middle of a Writers Guild strike, it's not a fair comparison to any other series or episode except maybe one being produced during something like peak coronavirus lockdown.

    Fair enough, I'll concede that point for Shades of Gray. Sub Rosa? Or how about Code of Honor? Or Angel One?

    Those episodes would have killed most other shows.


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 36,711 CMod ✭✭✭✭pixelburp


    To be fair, I think the standards of scriptwriting have changed since those execrable plots of Sub Rosa et all. We expect more because - for all intents and purposes - TV writing and production basically exists in a more adult & complex cultural space. IT's not without reason respected Hollywood figures want to work in TV. Those high standards are seen in SciFi as well, with The Expanse arguably the standard bearer of adult, complex and characterful Space Opera.

    I've enjoyed Picard on balance - even if that ending left a sour taste in my mouth - but when the writing has dropped the ball it has done so against the context of a high standard of writing in the current cultural space. Kurtzman emphasises these big emotional moments over either basic logic or any kind of investment or foundation. There's nothing cathartic or earned about the developments in Picard.

    Contrast the Big Swings of Rios, who I otherwise liked, with something like the crew of the Rocinante in the aforementioned Expanse; there we follow characters who grow through action and the necessity of events. Not big Twists or arbitrary shocks. It's more naturalistic and you can see how someone like Holden went from season 1 to season 4


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 32,810 ✭✭✭✭odyssey06


    Fair enough, I'll concede that point for Shades of Gray. Sub Rosa? Or how about Code of Honor? Or Angel One?
    Those episodes would have killed most other shows.

    Not by the standards of 1980s 20+ episodes a season American TV shows.

    A-Team, Murder She Wrote, MacGyver, etc they all had some turkeys. The clip show episode. The Oirish episode. The Chinese episode. The Roots episode or whatever. The save the rainforest episode. The cameo appearance by someone famous episode. The twin episode.

    Inevitable when you factor in the teething troubles of season 1 of a new genre show like TNG, and I seem to remember some awful episodes in Babylon 5 season 1 also (balanced with the brilliant).

    Knock out the worst 6 episodes per season if there's more than 20.

    "To follow knowledge like a sinking star..." (Tennyson's Ulysses)



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,808 ✭✭✭Evade


    Writing should be like effects, better in the 20's than the worst examples of the 80's.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,497 ✭✭✭AllForIt


    As I alluded to in a previous episode thread, the problem with Picard is that it was too short.

    There was a beginning and an end, but no middle.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,538 ✭✭✭EltonJohn69


    Was Brent Spiner type cast after Star Trek ? I was always surprised that he wasn't a bigger actor..... I remember he appeared in the Aviator... that was about it


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,808 ✭✭✭Evade


    He was in both Independence day movies and Threshold. Looking at his IMDB he seems to do a lot of voice work which isn't surprising since he can imitate people well enough to fool their wives over the phone.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,538 ✭✭✭EltonJohn69


    Evade wrote: »
    He was in both Independence day movies and Threshold. Looking at his IMDB he seems to do a lot of voice work which isn't surprising since he can imitate people well enough to fool their wives over the phone.

    He was great in Independence day... thought that performance would have gotten him some more big movie roles


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  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 54 ✭✭Griselda


    He was great in Independence day... thought that performance would have gotten him some more big movie roles

    he never kicked on. Shame.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 16,443 ✭✭✭✭AMKC
    Ms


    I agree Brent Spinner is an excellent actor and should have had more roles but maybe he was just happy with the odd role in film and like Patrick Stewart probably preferred acting on stage.

    Live long and Prosper

    Peace and long life.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 18,503 ✭✭✭✭Also Starring LeVar Burton


    Finally got around to finishing the first season of Picard.

    Says a lot that I've been stuck in the house for weeks now with the ability to watch whatever I want whenever I want and it still felt like a chore to sit down and watch this, but I wanted to at least see it through to the end of the season.

    Did Picard have some great moments? Sure.
    Did I enjoy seeing certain characters again? Definitely.
    Did the writers earn all the character beats and construct a compelling story? They didn't even come close.
    Did the whole experience lack charm and ultimately feel like a big waste of time? Yes.
    Can they improve the show and make a solid second season? It is possible, but I'm not holding my breath.
    Will I watch a second season? As things currently stand, I'm not inclined to bother. If it comes back and starts getting rave reviews, I may be persuaded to give it a look.
    Would I be happier if they had had Geordi in it? Always great to see LeVar Burton, but doesn't matter who they had brought back if the show isn't enjoyable.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,084 ✭✭✭✭Kirby


    Wasn't a fan of Alison Pill but only because I found her character in The Newsroom to be really annoying so I was trying to seperate that.

    Yeah I'm with you on that.

    You know that thing where everyone raves about an actor/musician/"beautiful" person and you just don't get it? Alison Pill is one of them for me.

    People talk about how good an actor she is but I find it hard to seperate most of her characters. That Trek Doctor just felt like Maggie in space. Nobody wants that surely? Her mannerisms don't change, the stilted goofy way she talks and that derpy smile she gives. It's all the same. On paper these characters should be leagues apart.....but I dont see it.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,835 ✭✭✭✭TheValeyard


    I just remember her as the creepy pregnant teacher in Snowpiercer

    All eyes on Kursk. Slava Ukraini.



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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,808 ✭✭✭Evade


    I always see her as the drummer in Scott Pilgrim.


  • Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 21,690 Mod ✭✭✭✭Brian?


    Evade wrote: »
    I always see her as the drummer in Scott Pilgrim.

    Jesus, how did I miss that! I won't ever be able to unsee that.

    they/them/theirs


    And so on, and so on …. - Slavoj Žižek




  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,808 ✭✭✭Evade


    WE ARE LA SIRENA, ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR!


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,382 ✭✭✭FFVII




  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 32,810 ✭✭✭✭odyssey06


    Patrick Stewart will be on Graham Norton tonight, *ahem* beaming in from home...
    https://www.thejournal.ie/sofa-watch-chat-shows-whats-on-tv-tonight-weekend-5076830-Apr2020/

    "To follow knowledge like a sinking star..." (Tennyson's Ulysses)



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 18,503 ✭✭✭✭Also Starring LeVar Burton


    FFVII wrote: »

    Click bait mate, I've not signed anything official yet... ;)


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,182 ✭✭✭nyarlothothep


    Just finished watching ST Picard. It's in the same style as STD, visually, pacing, editing, overt focus on tedious plot exposition at the expense of a slower paced unfolding of character and through that, the narrative. As one review put it, the show explores corrupt and evil parts of the known galaxy rather than an voyaging into the unknown. And that's the last part that really irritates me, Star Trek is about discovery, science and rational morality, it is about rising above the barbarism of our current era in history right now rather than playing into it.

    This fixation on being "dark" and "edgy" is really conformist to the absence of hope and the knuckle dragging pragmatism of our current time period right now. Contrast it with TOS era Trek, there was massive racism in the US and elsewhere, less civil rights etc but there was hope for a better future, which was the zeitgeist within the public consciousness and TOS reflected that. Now the zeitgeist is "everyone is scum and the world is a horrible place". Yes, couldn't agree more but there's no solution offered, it's just accept the status quo through nihilism, well fck that. This is my problem with modern Trek and with Picard (although in fairness Picard's speechifying and point of view is ultimately validated, just about).


    The plot is basically ripped from Battlestar Galactica. I'm getting bored of the idea that AI is our enemy. The worst enemy of the human race thus far has been the human race. I doubt AI could do any worse than us, we're going to go extinct anyway unless we have a Ray Kurzweil singularity event where an AI magically invents a solution to the climate change crisis. It would ultimately be a great thing if humans were to evolve into synthetic life forms with less primitive emotional drives and governed by advanced logic.

    I didn't particularly enjoy Data's fate, although I guess it grants closure to the events in Nemesis but I find it dubious that death gives meaning to life. These were however the best scenes in the show, the few philosophical discussions which reminded me of old TNG in that they weren't rushed and the characters weren't merely in the service of plot points.

    The outcomes for Echeb and Hugh annoyed me, horrible endings for likeable characters, the torture and murder scenes were contrary to the vibe established in TNG and Voyager. Apparently there are a group of writers in Hollywood who basically write all the scripts for TV shows, which is why they're quite similar, this would be comparable to the music industry; there are essentially just a few song writers who produce all that mass manufactured pop crap. I think could Picard fit into that quite a bit as it's more like Game of Trek, ditto for STD.

    I rank Picard above STD, which is one of the worst shows ever produced. If there is a season 2 bringing Q into the mix is a necessity. The show should not be about how awful people are (I get reminded about that on a daily basis), or about the corruption of various factions. It should be about as Q puts it "exploring the unknown possibilities of existence". Or secondary to that, exploring positive and rational solutions to political crises like in The Undiscovered Country. That is Trek, not this pandering to the demands of the lowest common denominator audience for conflict and action with added cynicism/nihilism to reinforce their unimaginative world view. Screw that. I want cerebral Trek back.

    The good things about the show: reuniting characters, Picard's speeches which were always on point, the cast were likeable enough, some effort made at characterisation (but not enough)

    The bad things: Marvel-esque editing/plot pacing, too much focus on plot/lore building, not enough on the characters (a feature of a lot of shows and movies these days), being dark and edgy at the expense of Trek's real purpose, exploration, too much swearing.

    Edit: Further to that, I don't believe this took place in the prime-verse. The aesthetic obviously points to the Abram's retcon, ergo just as with STD, we are watching a Picard who exists in a parallel universe set in motion by the events of Abram's Trek. Star Trek as we knew it lasted from 1966-2005, this is zombie Trek in the same way that zombie Simpsons started with the Armin Tamzarian episode. The Simpsons lasted from 1989-1997, anything post Armin Tamzarian is not canon in my opinion. Therefore, I do not consider anything post Ent to be canon. Data's fate remains open to speculation.

    Secondary edit: What happened to Seven's dermal regeneration suit? She almost died when her ocular implant began to fail and she needed a backup on from Icheb, so how could she survive without the outfit the Doctor designed for her?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,150 ✭✭✭Rawr


    Secondary edit: What happened to Seven's dermal regeneration suit? She almost died when her ocular implant began to fail and she needed a backup on from Icheb, so how could she survive without the outfit the Doctor designed for her?

    +1 on your summation of Picard. Nicely done :)

    Regarding Seven's suit. I had always assumed that repairing her skin was one of the easier jobs to de-Borgify her, but that heavy duty modifications such as her Cordical Node could not be replaced. My guess is that in-universe, the cat-suit was more of a choice after the first couple of years as an ex-Borg.

    But production-wise, I think I read once that the cat-suit was so tightly put onto Jeri Ryan that she'd have a lot of difficulties during shoots, possibly even resulting in her fainting on some occasions. I'd understand with them doing away with a costume what was primarily geared towards into turning this new character into eye-candy. She's well established now as a character in her own right.

    Much like T'pol should have after she had joined Starfleet, I feel like Seven should have probably switched from her catsuit to a standard Fleet uniform once it was possible (I think she was officially a "Crewman" / NCO on Voyager)


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,182 ✭✭✭nyarlothothep


    Rawr wrote: »
    +1 on your summation of Picard. Nicely done :)

    Regarding Seven's suit. I had always assumed that repairing her skin was one of the easier jobs to de-Borgify her, but that heavy duty modifications such as her Cordical Node could not be replaced. My guess is that in-universe, the cat-suit was more of a choice after the first couple of years as an ex-Borg.

    But production-wise, I think I read once that the cat-suit was so tightly put onto Jeri Ryan that she'd have a lot of difficulties during shoots, possibly even resulting in her fainting on some occasions. I'd understand with them doing away with a costume what was primarily geared towards into turning this new character into eye-candy. She's well established now as a character in her own right.

    Much like T'pol should have after she had joined Starfleet, I feel like Seven should have probably switched from her catsuit to a standard Fleet uniform once it was possible (I think she was officially a "Crewman" / NCO on Voyager)

    Hahaha, yeah, that makes sense. I didn't know she fainted though! I always thought the catsuit was ridiculous, in the same way that Troi's was, T'Pol's was a bit more subtle as I remember it.

    Another thing Picard did well, was something that could be called "late style". Insofar as I understand it, a lot of writers when they get really old start to have a "late style" where they contemplate mortality, the way the world is vs what they wanted it to be in their younger days, their life's work etc and it's coloured by melancholy. I think Picard is really about that and although I wonder why Data can't just be downloaded into a new body or why he actually wanted to die because he somehow concluded life only has meaning through death (there's no reason to think this), I thought his send off was a resolution to what went down in Nemesis.

    The show conveyed a kind of continuity/legacy aspect to the generational dimension of humanity. Picard et al used to be the "next generation", they tried to improve their universe and they're kinda bowing out now for the next generation but not until they've "taught them lessons by example". That's another positive, they actually have good new characters to work with, vastly better than those in STD, but to realise their full potential there needs to be a better show runner who has respect for Trek canon and principles and who is also talented, not a hack and listens to the fans.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 21,047 ✭✭✭✭Stark


    I think the Doctor mentioned in Voyager that over time, Seven's human systems would heal and she would become less dependent on Borg technology. Regenerating in a Borg alcove every day was meant to be temporary for example.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,488 ✭✭✭Goodshape


    ST: Picard was basically a Star Trek movie told slowly. If they had made another film after Nemesis, I could easily expect it to have a lot of the same story as this series. "The Search for Data", essentially.

    In that context I think it was fine. It was a decent Star Trek TNG movie plot.

    Problem is that even the best Star Trek TNG movie plots, and even the TOS movie plots, just don't compare to the series. They never have. I think everyone acknowledges that Star Trek works best on the small screen. Episodic adventures. New worlds. New discoveries. Some variety each week.

    Now, very unfortunately, we do have Star Trek back on the telly – but it's movie Star Trek, just told slowly. Discovery is pretty much the same.


    My other major complaint is that I bloody well liked the "no conflict among the crew" and idealised utopia of TOS and TNG. I know DS9 gets a lot of praise but I think it was the first one to really break the mould on that. And you see some of the great Trek writers like Ronald D. Moore scoffing at Gene's no-conflict rules and how liberating it was to abandon those... but **** it, go write a different show then (and he did, in fairness! <3 BSG!).

    DS9 was a good show but I really missed that vision of what we could become, as unrealistic as it might have been. The movies never cared about that because there wasn't enough time for it in the ~2 hour blockbuster. And these new series are less interesting for having abandoned it altogether.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,808 ✭✭✭Evade


    Goodshape wrote: »
    My other major complaint is that I bloody well liked the "no conflict among the crew" and idealised utopia of TOS and TNG. I know DS9 gets a lot of praise but I think it was the first one to really break the mould on that. And you see some of the great Trek writers like Ronald D. Moore scoffing at Gene's no-conflict rules and how liberating it was to abandon those... but **** it, go write a different show then (and he did, in fairness! <3 BSG!).
    It depends what you mean by conflict. Rodenberry's idea of no conflict was everybody gets along and there's rarely even disagreement beyond "ye cannae break the laws o physics cap'n." There's a lot of scope between that and outright mutiny.


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 22,682 CMod ✭✭✭✭Sad Professor


    What was great about DS9 episodes like In the Pale Moonlight was how they wrestled with the utopian ideas of TNG. In doing so DS9 built on and expanded the universe of TNG. That's because it was written by people who had an intimate knowledge of TNG and the ideas Gene tried to present in it.

    Picard acts like those utopian ideas never existed. It never engages with them or even acknowledges that it's breaking with them. I would have been fine with a show that continued in DS9's footsteps and explored the breakdown of Gene's idealised utopia, but that's not what we got.

    The problem isn't that the writers were outsiders or wanted to do something different either. Meyer and Bennett pushed TOS in directions that Gene didn't approve of it, but in many ways they also demonstrated a better understanding of what TOS really was than Gene did. That was because they took the time to absorb themselves in it. Picard seems like it was written by people who barely watched TNG.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,488 ✭✭✭Goodshape


    Evade wrote: »
    It depends what you mean by conflict. Rodenberry's idea of no conflict was everybody gets along and there's rarely even disagreement beyond "ye cannae break the laws o physics cap'n."

    To be fair, and it might not be the popular opinion, but yeah – that is what I mean.

    TNG is such a nice place to be. There's no shortage of interesting things to do and learn, and exciting adventures to have, and we're never bogged down with interpersonal problems. The future for humanity is bright and wonderful and how it got there – or the cracks along the edges – isn't really the point. And that's absolutely fine.

    There's no other show like it.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,488 ✭✭✭Goodshape


    Picard acts like those utopian ideas never existed. It never engages with them or even acknowledges that it's breaking with them. I would have been fine with a show that continued in DS9's footsteps and explored the breakdown of Gene's idealised utopia, but that's not what we got.

    That's kinda what I meant with my first point too. Similar to the movies, ST:Picard doesn't have time (or give itself time) to deal with anything beyond it's central plot.

    There's not really any world building. You either know about Star Trek going in, or they make sure that it doesn't make much difference if you don't. Everything exists just to drive the plot forward and in the end, it all feels a bit hollow.

    You're absolutely right about DS9 too. I did miss the TNG utopia, but at least it took the time to explain itself within the context of the universe in which it exists.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,182 ✭✭✭nyarlothothep


    This review is excellent, best part "when did Star Trek become so fcking mundane and petty" (basically the early 21st century right now). And yes to his analysis of seven, she really does go from a cool, reserved and rational character to a cynical, sarcastic alcoholic. STP is not Star Trek, Alex Kurtzman is just taking the name and abusing it for his own show (except he lacked to imagination to create his own universe).



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,488 ✭✭✭Goodshape


    As much as I hate that angry, ranty, know-it-all YouTube delivery, yeah – he's not wrong. Maybe a little over-blown, though.

    I'm not angry at the show. It just wasn't great. Would have made a better and less objectionable 2-hour movie.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,182 ✭✭✭nyarlothothep


    He's right about Seven though. She's a completely different character and worse for it. And the way Picard is treated with such contempt by myopic, cruel minded idiots. Or the fact that Picard himself is hapless. One of the comments envisages him as the junior science officer Picard from Tapestry and STP takes place in that universe! Not far off, this isn't even the Picard I know. He's been reduced to a pathetic King Lear figure (maybe Stewart wanted that element in the show???). Picard is not someone who would ever end up like this.

    I think it's ok to be angry at the show, not only for what it does to the characters we've grown up with and come to know as if they were real people, but for the fact that it perpetuates this utterly toxic, lamentable ends justifying the means culture we're saddled with in an increasingly grim, dystopian 21st century.


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 36,711 CMod ✭✭✭✭pixelburp


    I tried watching that author's videos before, but his style is cynical and abhorrent. In fact it feels rich that he'd comment on this more dystopian view of Treks world, when its channels like his that perpetuate the cycle of negativity within the pop culture zeitgeist. Negativity sells. YouTube is awash with "critics" or outrage merchants who get off on slamming everything, screaming about SJWs, picking holes, pulling up supposed "plot holes" or what have you. There are about 2, 3 channels I'll watch re. pop culture criticism who have decidedly sober, thoughtful approaches like Lindsey Ellis or Patrick H Willems. The rest is just screeching white noise as unpleasant as any number of Trek admirals saying "F*ck". Picard has its problems, but so has the wider world of entertainment.

    Sorry. If that sounds like a rant, then good; it was absolutely meant to be one :D


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,631 ✭✭✭pah


    At the end of the day it's his opinion same as anyone here. He needs an angle to stand out from the YouTube crowd of he's trying to make money from it.

    I find his delivery humorous most of the time and agree with his take on a lot of things. He over does the diverse female character argument alright but he's more balanced than some of the other critics.


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