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

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118772129#Comment_118772129

What makes you think they were forced by contract or whatever to bring her back.

Personally I'm delighted she is back. If there is anyone I was hoping we would lose it was Elnor. Raffi I could probably take or leave too but Jurati and Rios are the best of the new crew.

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118772187#Comment_118772187

Just the precedent of other shows; it's incredibly rare main cast ever leave a show - and if they do it's cos the actor themselves is leaving, or it's to kill them off for dramatic purposes ... or both.

Jurati just feels like a character who had a very specific purpose in season 1 and that purpose seems done now. We'll see but so far I'm left feeling a little disinterested she's back.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118772206#Comment_118772206

Grand you don't like her that's fair enough. You seem to think everyone agrees with you and that the show is stuck with her. Nothing to indicate that's the case.

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118772250#Comment_118772250

I don't think everyone agrees with me? Not sure where that hostility came from. I do understand how opinions work, and that mine is not an absolute. So back off a smidge.

Rawr

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118772206#Comment_118772206

What raises my eyebrow a little is the fact that Alison Pill is *second billing* behind Patrick Steward. What is going on there, where the 2nd spot in the credits goes to the comic relief scientist character who doesn’t appear on promotional materials. Either she has an excellent agent, or something is planned for her. The whole thing with the Borg Queen might be interesting.

I really don’t like her character. Even in season 1 I was barely able to tolerate her and now in season 2 they seem to need to crowbar her into a plot a little. It makes some sense to have her there for Borg stuff, but they could have cast someone else. The one who played Shelby for example? My main issue with her is that she feels like the most «Discovery-ish» element of the show. An intentionally awkward copy/paste of something you’re more likely to find in the hospital of Grey’s Anatomy than on a Trek set. Extract her and then you’ve got a much more solid cast.

I am frustrated that they also wedged in a relationship between her and Rios. It was enough with Seven & Raffi, we don’t need the whole show filled with Ex’s fighting with eachother.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118772258#Comment_118772258

Sorry it's just you get a lot of this with Star Trek these days. People claiming that Discovery is contractually obliged to show Burnham all the time or that poster a few days ago telling us how much we hate modern Trek.

The whole contractual obligations thing gave me that impression.

Evade

I don't see how they'll work Soji into the rest of this season outside of a coda so the contract thing doesn't seem to hold up.

eadrom

Last season is a distant memory I'm not sure I want to recall too much but I'm actually enjoying Jurati so far this season. She is a bit scattered and out of place and even a bit unlikable and annoying, but all that seems like the character rather than just an out of place performance. It's some comic relief but not annoying so far, imo. Or like, yes she's annoying but only in the amusing way she's supposed to be.

Other characters on the show seem to find her a bit annoying too, if you look at how Picard reacts to her or reacts to hearing she's onboard, it seemed a bit "ugh :-/" compared to the love and warmth toward the others.

Unlike the simpleton murder child Elnor who gets to slice off heads and more without any self reflection, and still gets treated like a little lost puppy. Definitely the weakest character for me at the moment.

Tell you what though. It's pretty nice to be taking about actual characters who's names and personalities I actually remember :)

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118772419#Comment_118772419

Ya Elnor has less personality than all the androids on the show but still more than the Disco crew who are just there to spew dialogue

AMKC

Yes I just think Elnor is not a great character and it's a crap name for a Romulan too.

I am not keen on Jureti either. I would not miss either of them charathers if they got shoved out an airlock.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118775249#Comment_118775249

He already looks like an elf and fights with a sword (in a world of lasers) so giving him a clearly elf name was a bit annoying.

Brian?

I know what’s wrong with the series: no one has modified a tricorder to do anything. I’m fact i can’t recall seeing a tricorder at all.

They can be modified to do anything from sub space communicates to acting as a homing beacon.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118776237#Comment_118776237

Also a serious lack of deflector modification or level II diagnostics

Brian?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118776244#Comment_118776244

How do they know there’s been a disturbance to the time line without modifying the deflector array to probe it with a tachyon beam? Ridiculous

Bobtheman

Too many pages to read them all. I wasn't gone on series 1. The story was too convulted. Picard suddenly likes kids? Picard is grief stricken over Data. But not over previous crew losses?? Also Patrick Stewart is just too old for this ****. He is 80.

I would have preferred a completely new crew to push Star trek forward not this last of the summer wine

However its only ep 2 and so far it is better than season 1.

pixelburp

Gotta say, I'm not mad about the show being set in LA ... mostly cos I think it's one of the ugliest cities in the Western World. Flat & sprawling, blanketed with smog, blasted by sun and its streets always look about one week away from the apocalypse. And having been watching Bosch I feel like I've had my fill of that city.

I'm sure it's entirely 'cos that's where the production took place but it's a pity it all couldn't have taken place somewhere else - anywhere but LA.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118818331#Comment_118818331

I think most Trek shoots in Canada.

But Americans seem to hate having the apocalypse anywhere except the US. Unless of course there is a Big Ben or Eiffel tower to blow up.

Even when you do see a US city it's often Canada. I remember seeing loads of recognizable parts of "Boston" and "New York" in Vancouver and Toronto.

eadrom

Discovery and, I think/assume, Strange New Worlds shoot in Canada.

Picard shoots in LA because PStew lives there.

It’s ludicrously expensive to shoot films in Boston and New York for various historical reasons both cities managed to more or less price themselves out of the movie business year ago.

flazio

Prime example, Hawkeye was shot mainly in Atlanta, subbing for New York. Van Couver is a big television hub.

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118818371#Comment_118818371

It's funny cos it's not like LA hasn't often stood in for other cities, however unconvincingly it often has been. There are loads of readymade lots for "typical New York Street" they could have used. Mind you, I'd probably be complaining then about the shoddy version of wherever instead 😎 either way just sick of that smoggy, ugly metropolis

TheIrishGrover

Apparently Lea Thompson is directing next episode. Hah!

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118819107#Comment_118819107

She done the last one too. Ironically the time travel one

eadrom

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118818610#Comment_118818610

No, Hawkeye is on Disney. Picard is a Prime example.

😜 :pac:

flazio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118819631#Comment_118819631

Didn't realise it is Paramount I get my streaming services right Now. You must feel as proud as a Peacock.

AMKC

Ye I think they should have set it in Dublin lol. Sure they could have crashed the ship in the Phoenix park who would have noticed and then Raffi and Seven could have went up Capital Dock Tower which is the tallest building in Dublin lol to look for the watcher who is probably in Dublin Castle lol.

That would have been so cool. Well we can dream

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118820807#Comment_118820807

God that's a very uninspiring tallest building.

Also what a symbol of our times.

The building was developed in a joint venture with the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) on the site of the proposed U2 Tower.

Evade

https://youtu.be/aQ2TQ_GRO4g

I'm not as hard on episode 2 and 3 as Mike and Rich are but that segment around when the definition of allegory pops up on screen is pretty spot on. Spoilers obviously

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118821717#Comment_118821717

Just that picture alone puts me off anything these guys have to say.

I'm probably just old but I don't get all the gimmicks that YouTube reviewers seem to need

eadrom

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118822134#Comment_118822134

I think the image is just making fun of those gimmicky YouTube reviewers you mention. The video is just two guys sitting in chairs, talking to each other.

Haven't watched this one yet but RedLetterMedia are usually pretty decent, like grabbing a couple beers and chatting shite about movies with friends. Mike and Rich are just big TNG-era Trek fans.

Evade

RLM are about as gimmickless as you can get unless, like Wiiliam Shatner, you saw their Nerd Crew parody and thought it was genuine.

mewso

I understand why people who, like me, are very wary about various youtube content would assume the worst about them but RLM are the only youtube folk I watch religiously. I often watch things I never would have just so I can watch their review of it. Their Best of the Worst series is one of the best things on youtube.

pixelburp

RLM's thumbnails are often intentionally, sarcastically referring to the kind of clickbait noise you'd normally get - so if you didn't know their style I could easily understand why someone might be turned off.

Their recent video on Bruce Willis' avalanche of detritus was particularly fascinating. IIRC Mike also got into an online fight with William Shatner once, the latter taking some of their skits seriously.

As to their thoughts on Picard... they're not wrong. Many of the flaws I'd agree with - but are just those I'm looking past. I Don't think there's anything wrong with Q having his levity written out a tad; even by TNG's standards he was often incredibly goofy. Now that it's highlighted though, yeah. I'd 100% agree about the poverty of character writing on display, especially the contrived attempts to make the main cast a "family"

Rawr

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118822466#Comment_118822466

I tend to enjoy RLM's banter generally, and I'll even sometimes put them on to listen to them chat about stuff I've not watched.

I find them to be probably among the more balanced detractors of modern Trek. Unlike Doomcock, Midnight's Edge and their co-hort there is a shot of RLM saying positive stuff instead of nit-picking the thing to pieces due to some perceived "woke" angle on the show. I haven't watched the new video yet but their Episode 1 review concluded that they "didn't hate it" and were weary of the fact that the Season 1 production staff appear to be unchanged for Season 2. The resonates with my own fear of Kurtzman somehow finding a way to undo a lot of the good will that has been built up so far in these first 3 episodes.

Rawr

Also, mentioned RLM, I can't help but share this animated excerpt from one of their TNG reviews :P

https://youtu.be/SeQ3ksvUWRc

TheIrishGrover

I suppose it's like the "Pitch Meetings" I HATE the thumbnail he uses and it put me off for a long time but they are actually quite funny (Start with Season 8 of Game of Thrones or Pacific Rim if you have seen them)

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118822636#Comment_118822636

Oh my goodness yes. YouTube's algorithm kept recommending me those videos and I was all like "would you fúck off with those shítty looking videos". Those thumbnails are the absolute worst thing, yet the actual sketches are gold. Fantastic comedy videos - but you'd never know by the thumbnail.

Rawr

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118822715#Comment_118822715

It’s super easy to enjoy those videos, barely an inconvenience:P

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118822269#Comment_118822269

I tried watching just now and was utterly bored of that drole guys sarky moaning after 3 minutes. He is essentially one of those "nobody is watching this show" bores that pop up on every Trek forum.

EoinMcLovin

https://twitter.com/EW/status/1511389471786385415?s=20&t=QsiQ7BJBEOyE5eeBnlRCag

fritzelly

Yes to Worf

pixelburp

I swear. If they ruin Worf... Went from a character I cared little for in TNG to am absolute standout character in DS9.

Evade

I hope they ignore the token Worf book.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118885209#Comment_118885209

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118885209#Comment_118885209

He was a knob in DS9. Don't have a clue what Dax was doing with that absolute bore. Should have been done after he constantly insulted her over previous sexual relationships and then backed those terrorists on Riza. Sad excuse for a Klingon.

pixelburp

I try to forget that Riza episode. Or any episode set on that planet for that matter, they tend to be bloody awful.

Evade

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118885363#Comment_118885363

I can think of two reasons, thanks to Discovery, why Jadzia was with Worf. Plus she's a weeb for Klingons.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118885391#Comment_118885391

It was more than that episode. Worf is the Klingon version of an American Irish lad who still bangs on about garrison games or the "butchers apron". Hides his conservativism behind a cloak of "Klingon tradition"

On the other hand I will happily take more Laforge

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118885400#Comment_118885400

Ha. I was too young watching the first time but watching recently I noticed just how sexually adventurous Dax was. Just another of the many ways DS9 was progressive without screaming it from the rooftops (although it had it's naive moments too)

TheValeyard

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118885431#Comment_118885431

They went as far as getting sexually active with your dead wife. Lol.

pixelburp

I am wondering now how season 2 is going to tie this in, cos I had assumed with the back to back filming the production wouldn't resist a cliffhanger ending to the second season.

Though at the rate this season is untangling in an watchable mess, the dangling of more old TNG actors coming back feels like a cynical move to keep fans onside. I appreciate mine may not be the consensus but I am rapidly reaching definitive levels of "fúck this show". Started strong but now awful.