In a world where streaming services are reviving shows, characters, and universes on a near-monthly basis, a show like Star Trek: Picard was inevitable. Afterall, Jean-Luc Picard hails from Star Trek: The Next Generation, which was one of the first major reboot/sequels to start the trend all the way back in 1987.
Star Trek: Picard picks up 15 years after Star Trek: Nemesis, with Jean-Luc, now retired from Starfleet, living on his family’s French Estate and still mourning the loss of Commander Data, who gave his life for Picard’s at the end of Nemesis. Picard finds himself beaming back into action when he decides to undertake a rescue mission. With no support from Starfleet, Picard is forced to find his own ship and crew before heading back into the final frontier.
The new crew is not as clean cut as Picard’s old Enterprise crew. Their rough edges make the ship seem more like the crew from Joss Whedon’s Firefly than a standard Star Trek crew. Part of this crew is Picard’s former Starfleet colleague Raffi, played by Michelle Hurd, has a very different relationship with Picard than anyone on the Enterprise ever did, giving him a nickname that takes more than a bit of getting used to. The new ship, La Sirena, is smaller than most ships featured on Trek in the past and handles the minimal crew in a way that both makes sense for the time period and adds to the story of the ship's Captain-for-Hire, Cristóbal Rios, played by Santiago Cabrera.
One amazing aspect of Patrick Stewart’s performance is how long Picard takes to become Picard again. When the story begins, he comes across as a lost, sad, old man, but as the story progresses and he gets further into his journey, you can see him slowly return to the righteous and confident Jean- Luc fans are familiar with. He spends a good chunk of the season as a “fish out of water”, adapting to new tech, new adversaries, and a new crew and Stewart appears to be enjoying every moment of it. Fan’s of The Next Generation will still find the Picard they have come to know over the years.
While not a pure reboot of The Next Generation, Star Trek fans will be happy to see a few familiar faces pop into the story from time to time, like Picard’s former First Officer, William (Number One) Riker and Star Trek Voyager’s Seven of Nine. While both were featured heavily in Picard’s marketing campaign before its premiere in January, neither appear in the show right away. But when they finally do show up, their appearances are worth the wait.
Even with the guest appearances, Star Trek: Picard does not rely heavily on “fan service”. Compared to Picard’s previous adventures, the style and tone of the show is darker and is more action-packed and feels closer to Star Trek: Discovery than anything else in the series. Like Discovery, the first season uses more fantastical elements of sci-fi, but at the end of the day, the story is very fitting to a Star Trek story. The season itself is very self-contained, and while the show could have easily ended after this one season, a second is currently in development.
All episodes of Star Trek: Picard - Season 1 are now available to stream on CBS All Access.
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Victims and Villains is written and produced by Josh "Captain Nostalgia" Burkey. Music by Yuriy Bespalov & Beggars. Star Trek: Picard is property of CBS. We do not own nor claim any rights.
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