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Star Trek Picard season 3

whisky said:
Be funny if redjac was still in Jack and he defeated the Borg because a galaxy of drones would have noone in fear, and he needs human fear to exist.
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Jack's a "transmitter". I suspect they'll find some way to hack his "transmissions" and use it to "defeat" the Borg. Maybe the Jurati Borg Queen will show up too for one last plot twist cameo.
 
Weird that Geordi restored the Enterprise-D to how it looked in TNG and not how it looked when last we saw it in Generations.

Why did all the fleet stuff look so bad? Like I'm 99% sure without checking youtube that the fleet stuff in DS9 looked better, 25 years ago.

There was so much exposition here that I think I missed the explanation as to why the Borg even needed Jack? Because their plan sure seemed to go off without a hitch here, thanks to them modifying the transporters with Picard's DNA (or something?) I don't THINK Jack was the one turning all the under 25 year olds into Borg, was he? So why was Vadic so obsessed with him?

Some good line deliveries from the cast ("I hope we died fast!" and whatever Worf said about the E) as usual.

Shaw's death was lame. So much for STAR TREK: LEGACY lol.

Oh it's Shelby I like her! Picard and Riker are surprised she'd fall for a Borg scheme hmm must be some foreshadowing. Maybe she's got an ACE UP HER SLEEVE oh she's dead.

Eggs Mayonnaise said:
Even an all-fluff nostalgia trip would have been really satisfying, if, as you said, it was in the right hands. But was this endless doomscroll of a plot really necessary? Can't anyone under 50 write a cohesive, suspenseful high-stakes story that doesn't involve total apocalypse with only seconds to spare?
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Right, I'd be completely fine with the nostalgia if the moment to moment stuff was good. It's probably the last time we'll see the TNG cast together, so sure, get them all on the Enterprise-D and have the jellyfish from 'Farpint' show up and Data wear his Sherlock Holmes hat, I'm all for that. Just make it a functional tv show too, please!?

Eggs Mayonnaise said:
There's so many good elements here, especially the addition of Seven (who was surprisingly underused once the Borg showed up).
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I feel like Seven's been completely wasted this season, and as you said it's really weird that she's not a bigger focus once the Borg plot kicks in.
 
The events of "The Best of Both Worlds, parts I & II" according to "The Best of Both Worlds, parts I & II"

The Borg capture and assimilate Picard so they can use his knowledge to try and assimilate Earth. They almost succeed but he is saved last minute by the crew of the Enterprise D.


The events of "The Best of Both Worlds, parts I & II" according to "Star Trek: Picard"

The Borg capture and assimilate Picard so they can assimilate his balls so that if he ever has children they'll actually be part Borg somehow and then at some point (when they get around to it really) they'll ally themselves with a totally separate race from a totally different part of the galaxy and they'll hatch a plan where they'll put SECRET BORG CODE into all the transporters which will assimilate all of the dumb young people with the Woke Mind Virus Borg virus. Also they hack into the Enterprise D at some point but it's not really important, something to do with the number 3 but no one really mentions it at the time, don't worry about it.

The crew of the Enterprise D rescue Picard but it really doesn't matter who cares.
 
I don't think you need to be afraid of being ranty after some of my posts lol.

Something I saw pointed out elsewhere which is really weird about this season is that they never mention the United Federation of Planets. They just talk about "Starfleet" all the time but never the Federation. Shelby's whole speech this week made no sense! She said the NX-01's launch 250 years ago eventually led to the founding of Starfleet. That's wrong! It was already called Starfleet when the NX-01 launched. Its mission resulted in the founding of the UFP, not of Starfleet. Does Matalas hate the concept of the Federation or something?
 
We are reliving the PTSD of Trek in the hands of John Logan/Stuart Baird, with Stewart as a producer.

Same shit, different decade. Institutional memory completely thrown out the window because the new runners are allgedly "fans"...
 
CaptainWacky said:
I don't think you need to be afraid of being ranty after some of my posts lol.

Something I saw pointed out elsewhere which is really weird about this season is that they never mention the United Federation of Planets. They just talk about "Starfleet" all the time but never the Federation. Shelby's whole speech this week made no sense! She said the NX-01's launch 250 years ago eventually led to the founding of Starfleet. That's wrong! It was already called Starfleet when the NX-01 launched. Its mission resulted in the founding of the UFP, not of Starfleet. Does Matalas hate the concept of the Federation or something?
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Funnily enough I checked out the TrekBBS thread (majority 10/10 rankings obviously) and someone pointed out this exact same thing and everyone replied saying that Shelby actually said "Starfleet AS WE KNOW IT" meaning not just the Earth Starfleet the NX-10 belonged to. So fair enough, but I still think the point stands that the show is weirdly reluctant to mention the Federation and treats the UFP and Starfleet as if they are interchangable.

I DON'T WANT TO NITPICK I hate it, it's not really relevant, you could nitpick the best episodes of DS9 I'm sure. But if the show didn't feel "off" to me in some way, if I could actually believe in it and just let myself feel something, then I wouldn't be resorting to nitpicky THOUGHTS.
 
Maybe it's just the passage of time... I mean, we were somewhat nitpicky of the TNG era shows as episodes were rolled out, but now we look at them with more fondness/reverance despite the imperfections. Hell, we even speak well of VOY now, lol.

Then again we were 20 years younger and the world was just starting to turn to shit back then... now we're old and the world is a dumpster fire. BUT WHY ISN'T DEANNA'S HAIR BIGGER DAMMIT!!!
 
CaptainWacky said:
Why did all the fleet stuff look so bad? Like I'm 99% sure without checking youtube that the fleet stuff in DS9 looked better, 25 years ago.
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Based on these grainy GIFs, you would be correct.
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I don't know *who* they contract for their CGI work nowadays, but the old stuff blows it out of the water. While the new stuff is higher resolution (not compared with The Expanse or The Orville, though!), it's pretty undercooked compared to what Foundation Imaging and Digital Muse pumped out back in the day - they were packed with real talent.

Also, having had time to digest the episode, a few nitpicky thoughts (edit: a lot) -

- First, @The Tomtrek summed up the sheer nonsensical inanity of the Borg scheme, along with how it undercuts the simple logic of BOBW.

- Deanna "there are protocols" - so, the protocol for a mind-hijacking Borg super weapon is: lock him in his room with two red shirts on guard + Dad has visitation rights.

- Why did The Borg attack in First Contact? Were they getting impatient for Picard to have a kid? Perhaps their only intent was to implant a subconscious directive into Picard's mind to procreate (REMEMBER WHEN HE HEARD THE VOICES - that was The Borg telling him to spread his seed).

- Hey, remember in VOYAGER how Seven had all those Borg memories? It was pretty useful at times! Wouldn't Seven already *know* about this convoluted plot, given she was a part of the collective consciousness that decided to alter Picard's DNA? Sure, it might not be front of mind, but surely when she first met him it would've stirred some memories within her.

- Now granted - they had to take the ENT-D to overload everyones' memberberry receptors, so this is particularly nitpicky. But look, you get to the fleet museum and need a ship. Do you pick a) a galaxy class starship normally manned by several hundred people that got its arse handed to it every time it encountered The Borg, or b) a smaller warship specifically designed to fight against The Borg that could be easily manned by a small compliment aka. the freakin' DEFIANT. Worf - no opinion here?

- "Collective - we have the Titan". Yeah, they know. You're part of The Collective. Why are you even talking individually?

- "The vindication of our two races" - do I sense a modicum of respect for The Great Link from the Queen? Wow. That'd be fascinating to explore. Hey, how did this alliance between the two -- OMG STFU there's no time -- plot to maximum warp!

CaptainWacky said:
Funnily enough I checked out the TrekBBS thread (majority 10/10 rankings obviously) and someone pointed out this exact same thing and everyone replied saying that Shelby actually said "Starfleet AS WE KNOW IT" meaning not just the Earth Starfleet the NX-10 belonged to. So fair enough, but I still think the point stands that the show is weirdly reluctant to mention the Federation and treats the UFP and Starfleet as if they are interchangable.
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Please tell me there are at least some people pointing out the dumb over there.

A couple more nitpicks for shits and giggles:

If this show weren't plagued by small universe syndrome, Worf might think to give his brother the CHANCELLOR of the Klingon Empire a buzz and warn them / ask for some help.

I don't like how "personal" this is for The Queen. More small universe nonsense. The Borg were an indifferent, terrifying force of nature. Now even they are being roped into a revenge plot.

You can keep going with this, which is why it was probably best not to.

One more - assimilating "all" of Starfleet was a bit much. There's no dramatic tension - we know they're all going to reverse it with some technobabble next week.
 
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Shelby was an unexpected addition. I perked up for a split second before I was jolted back to reality, realizing that this was just going to shit the bed the same as the last two seasons. Did the semblance of a smile cross my mouth when the band was back together on the bridge of the Enterprise D? Maybe, but don't think too hard about it!

Could this shit be more convoluted if it tried?

There is no way you can sit through this and honestly think it's a well-constructed narrative. I refuse to believe anyone can. What is it about this show that makes it impossible to write a coherent plot? Not only was the Borg being the mystery box AGAIN completely unearned, it makes absolutely no sense. The actor playing Jack is actually pretty decent, and I just felt cringey for the shite they had him saying at the end of the episode.

What is it that makes Starfleet, the Federation, and the entire setting of the Alpha Quadrant feel so small and silly? It's like a cardboard cutout backdrop. None of this works. The show will flirt with a good idea or a good scene, and then the next minute you're in a ninja-style Saturday morning cartoon with Raffi or listening to possibly the most stupid explanation for the dragged-out nonsense that they are selling as tension on screen.

Cast your minds back to the first time the Enterprise encountered the Borg and to what they have become now. First Contact was an excellent film building on Best of Both Worlds, and it was Voyager that ran it into the ground initially, but holy shit Picard has been worse than even the worst sins of Voyager when it comes to shoving this shite in our faces. They have literally used the Borg as a crux in all three seasons, and it's been TERRIBLE every single time.

I've said it a few times now, mostly in jest, but it seriously feels like the show is being written by someone who watched the greatest hits of TNG and then hits "random article" on Memory Alpha when they want to throw the audience a bone back to the original show.

It's actually pretty sad. You can see that there is production work, some attempts at meaningful performances, and perhaps even some actual passion to honor one of the most important and brilliant television shows ever committed to screen, but the writing is fucking atrocious. Yes. FUCKING ATROCIOUS. Let's call it out. It's actually complete garbage. The show's best moments are when you crack a smile or almost feel like they might actually be reminding you of when the show was good are all in spite of the writing and never because of it.

Ahhhrrggh. I'm actually fucking vexed.

hardtime3.jpg
 
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I think the problem is not with the writing, or the directing, but where it has always been, with the producers. Going all the way back to the original show, I want me wife to be in this, I want my girlfriend, I want my lawyer to be the bad guy, I want my daughter, this ensemble thing worked for seven years, but let's concentrate on Picard and Data. Let's make Julian be a changeling but not tell him to act any different until the actual episode where we reveal it, that was fun, now let's announce he's genetically engineered too, voyager isn't sexy enough bring in Jerry Ryan.

Ok that last one was a good decision.

DS9 battled were standard definition, not even HD, these are 4K and people have much bigger TVs now, of course none of that matters if they show the ships so far away they might as well be micro machines glued to a price of glass.
 
Also if the D is being run by drones why are there so many lights on? Most of those are crew quarters, are there drones in ten forward too?

Also drones are networked right? How is that better?

Also on a show where the entire plot point of the season revolves around people being under 25 why do you hire a 37 year old to play a 22 year old?
 
"Most of the systems are being run by drones"

...

Part of the whole analogy of the Borg was the dehumanizing effect of the takeover of technology in our lives and how tech could replace/overtake humans (of course this was in the time of this kid here)

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But hey, it's STARFLEET drones, so it's okay when WE do it...
 
Remember when we all used to shit on Braga and Berman? A lot of that was warranted to be fair, and the decline in the later seasons of Voyager especially had me raging pretty hard 20+ years ago (holy shit we're all old) but it just feels like they are missing the mark completely with Picard and have done so from the start. They have had different head writers come in, but as you say, the problem starts at the very top. That's the constant, and it's been bad from the start, so the buck has to stop with them.

There has been a marked improvement over the first two seasons, but considering I just labeled the writing "fucking atrocious," that's more of an indictment about how bad it was in the first place.
Sure, Trek is not immune from convoluted nonsense; there are some memorable moments, but the entire PREMISE of Picard is flawed. The foundations are rotten. I think all of us have been pretty fair in waving away some silliness and jank if they could just get the core experience right, but they've failed on that most fundamental front. I have tried to be diplomatic because, hell, I'm rooting for the show to be good. I want to be effusive with praise. Moaning about the show being shit isn't a fun experience, but here we are.

The Borg? Really? A plan to use Picard's secret son as the NEXT GEN Locutus that was being tracked down by genetically modified Changelings that wanted Picard's body, which was being defended by AI Moriarty? If someone came up with this idea while drunk across the dinner table, you'd tell them to sober up or pass you the bottle. One of the two.
 
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