Star Trek Picard extended Comic-Con trailer

[Sadras]

I've got to admit, seeing the Borg again made me groan a little. Why is that the first thing they go back to?

Alex Kurtzman

 

[Morrus]

Looks like the OP video has been removed.

 

[ART!]

They held this off as long as they could - exploring the "person" of the Borg through Hugh and 7 of 9. But eventually those become so human as to no longer really be Borg proxies. Eventually, to keep them narratively dynamic, the Borg needed to be personified. Thus, the Queen.

Was this the best personification of the Borg we could imagine? Maybe, maybe not. But something of this ilk was necessary, from a storytelling perspective.

To nitpick: First Contact came out in 1996, a couple years before the introduction of 7 of 9.

The creation of a Borg Queen seems like a misunderstanding of the Borg collective. Basically, someone went from "collective" to "hive", that made them think of bees, and then "hey - bees have a queen! Brilliant!" It seems like a great idea until you realize it kind of makes no sense. I guess the argument is the Borg thinking "it will make it easier for us to understand these foolish individualized species", but why would they bother. It could indicate an infection of the collective from assimilating so many individuals, and maybe how they assimilated Picard in particular.

I've got to admit, seeing the Borg again made me groan a little. Why is that the first thing they go back to?

In their defense, Picards experiences with the Borg are some of the most significant challenges and turning points of his life, and their appearance coincided with his command of the Federation's flagship, and their awareness of the Alpha Quadrant's "resources" could be blamed on him (or Q, but it wouldn't surprise me if he blames himself).

 

[Umbran]

To nitpick: First Contact came out in 1996, a couple years before the introduction of 7 of 9.

Hm. Correct. The Borg don't meaningfully appear in Trek between First Contact, and the introduction of 7 of 9, so I got them out of order.

Which, interestingly, gives us a point. Other than First Contact, Voyager's the only place the Queen shows up.

The creation of a Borg Queen seems like a misunderstanding of the Borg collective. Basically, someone went from "collective" to "hive", that made them think of bees, and then "hey - bees have a queen! Brilliant!"

With respect, no. They have been entirely clear about why they created the Borg Queen: "First Contact writers Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore have defended the introduction of the Queen as a dramatic necessity, noting on the film's DVD audio commentary that they had initially written the film with drones, but then found that it was essential for the main characters to have someone to interact with beyond mindless drones. "

 

[ART!]

With respect, no. They have been entirely clear about why they created the Borg Queen: "First Contact writers Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore have defended the introduction of the Queen as a dramatic necessity, noting on the film's DVD audio commentary that they had initially written the film with drones, but then found that it was essential for the main characters to have someone to interact with beyond mindless drones. "

Huh. Well, alrighty! Thanks.

Now I'm starting to imagine an alternate FC wherein they fill this need for individuals to interact with by coming up with interesting/new ways for the Borg to assimilate Picard and/or other crewmembers. Picard vs his assimilated crew? Borg Data? Picard and crew vs other Alpha Quadrant and even Starfleet ships and crews who've been Borgified? Rather than create a Queen (I can't recall - was she created relatively recently before FC, or had she always been there?), the Borg create one or more new kinds of proxies and experiements...

 

[CapnZapp]

With respect, no. They have been entirely clear about why they created the Borg Queen: "First Contact writers Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore have defended the introduction of the Queen as a dramatic necessity, noting on the film's DVD audio commentary that they had initially written the film with drones, but then found that it was essential for the main characters to have someone to interact with beyond mindless drones. "

That's exactly my point: "No it ain't!"

A much better set of writers would tell the story in such a way it would no longer be "essential" to create a franking "queen".

Even a somewhat better set of writers would realize it would be better to not create a stupid queen, even if it meant Picard had to talk to drones.

Only a hack writer would underestimate the cost of defanging perhaps the greatest foe ever devised in Trekdom just to take a convenient narrative shortcut.

 

[ART!]

I don't know what production was like on FC, but if there was a time crunch then the creation of a Queen could have been something that in the heat of the moment seemed necessary or like it solved some problems and they just ran with it. Even good writers make mistakes.

 

[Umbran]

A much better set of writers would tell the story in such a way it would no longer be "essential" to create a franking "queen".

Hypothetical, and effectively a non-falsifiable "no true Scotsman", as you can simply identify anyone who doesn't or can't do it the way you want it as not a "better writer".

Only a hack writer would underestimate the cost of defanging perhaps the greatest foe ever devised in Trekdom just to take a convenient narrative shortcut.

I don't see how they were "defanged" in any meaningful sense. What power of theirs is removed?

 

[Ryujin]

That's exactly my point: "No it ain't!"

A much better set of writers would tell the story in such a way it would no longer be "essential" to create a franking "queen".

Even a somewhat better set of writers would realize it would be better to not create a stupid queen, even if it meant Picard had to talk to drones.

Only a hack writer would underestimate the cost of defanging perhaps the greatest foe ever devised in Trekdom just to take a convenient narrative shortcut.

People had previously spoken to the overall "Borg Consciousness" when interacting with them, so I don't know why they couldn't have done so again.

 

[MarkB]

Looks like the OP video has been removed.

Yes, a few days ago, but I haven't found a suitable replacement that I could edit in.