[DVD Star]
I’m a Trekkie, through and through. I originally grew up on the syndicated repeats of the original 1960s series, when they first started in the early 1970s, and I’ve continued to follow all iterations of Star Trek, from The Next Generation to Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Enterprise. I suffered through the series of reboot movies, that “re-imagined” the original characters in recent years. I’ve only sampled Star Trek: Discovery, as I don’t subscribe to the streaming service it is carried upon. Similarly, I didn’t catch Star Trek: Picard on CBS All Access (now Paramount+) either, but loving the character of Jean Luc Picard on Star Trek: The Next Generation, I took a chance on purchasing the first season of Star Trek: Picard when it was released on DVD.
Unlike most recent Star Trek productions,
which have either been set in the Kirk/Spock/McCoy era of Star Trek history or
earlier, Star Trek: Picard is
the first recent show to carry the storyline forward into the future. Patrick
Stewart said he wouldn’t return to the character of Jean Luc Picard unless the
storytellers were doing something completely new and different with the
character. For this 10-episode first season, they definitely have. Picard is set
about over 25 years after the end of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and the
universe-shattering events that took place in the final STNG feature film,
Nemesis. In those three decades, the bright and hopeful Starfleet and United
Federation of Planets envisioned by Star Trek’s creator, Gene Roddenberry, have
definitely tarnished and begun to show some cracks. In some ways, Star Trek: Picard almost
shows us a dystopian version of Star Trek.
A young woman seeks out Picard, who has
retired to his vineyards in France, and begs for his help and protection. When
Jean Luc discovers that the young woman may, indeed, be the android descendant
of his late former comrade, Data, he agrees to help her — only to have her be
murdered right in front of him. The knowledge that she was one of a pair of
artificial life form twins causes Picard to abandon his retirement and assemble
a rag tag crew aboard a mercenary pilot’s private starship, in hopes of finding
the twin and saving her from forces bent on her destruction.
There are plenty of shout-outs to STNG and
other Star Trek history, with some of Picard’s former crewmates showing up in
supporting roles. But this series is mostly about establishing Picard’s new
relationships with a bunch of new original characters, each of whom has their
own baggage and flaws.
I’m not sure I like a dark, dystopian version of Star Trek, but the performances in Star Trek: Picard were excellent, as was the set design and special effects. I didn’t care for the resolution of a storyline that’s been hanging in Star Trek’s long-standing continuity for 33 years, though it certainly packed an emotional punch for anyone who has loved Star Trek for all 54 years of its existence. I recommend this new series, with caveats, and it’s not a spoiler to say the show has been picked up for at least a second season — so I do look forward to seeing what happens next.
[ Internet Movie Database entry for this series ] | [ official Picard web site ]
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Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library – Public Service
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