Picard Season 3

[Benjamin Olson]

Ok, fun episode, but, sheesh, the nostalgia wank is getting a bit thick. I mean, holy crap, I get the power of nostalgia, but, Picard is turning into a Clip Show. Literally.

Ok, fine, I get that this is wrapping everything up in a neat little bow and is just massive amounts of fan service, but, good grief.

So it seems part of the idea is that because they were having the cynical, black ops nostalgic easter egg facility of Daystrom station they wanted to balance it out by having the idealistic nostalgic easter egg facility of the Fleet Museum in the same episode (I mean a more morally ambiguous Starfleet is one thing, but we have to still want it to be saved). The problem is that, between both of those locations and wanting to bring the last of the principals into the story because... crap the season's half over, it was just a wall to wall nostalgia episode, that felt like about an episode and a half to two episodes of material crammed into one. And the stuff they refused to cut was the nostalgia stuff, which is probably a sign they know their audience, because one thing this season isn't is particularly accessible to anyone who isn't hyper-familiar with 90s Trek.

I kind of loved everything, but I think it would have been stronger stretched over a couple episodes. On the other hand after two seasons of Picard being the slowest paced Trek series in history, cramming too much into an episode is a nice change of pace.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

My partner, who has never liked Shatner Star Trek, was pretty lost with regards to why there was a Klingon ship called HMS Bounty at the bottom of San Francisco bay.

 

[Morrus]

I liked this one a lot. I guess I'm a sucker for pretty starships, and I'm a sucker for fan service! I was so hoping they'd commandeer Kirk's Enterprise because it didn't have the inbuilt transponder issue. I bet Brent Spiner is glad he can play Data without all that yellow makeup! A few minor loving nitpicks --

Does anybody work at the Daystrom Institute or the Ship Museum (other than Geordie?) They seem pretty big places.

Wonder what they're doing with Kirk's skeleton?

So, they captured Riker, and Troi was the prisoner they happened to have (assuming that's not a chanegeling). That worked out conveniently for them!

Anyway, despite that I loved it. I wonder what they need Picard's body for? How many more ex-starship captain bodies do they have there?

 

[MarkB]

I liked this one a lot. I guess I'm a sucker for pretty starships, and I'm a sucker for fan service! I was so hoping they'd commandeer Kirk's Enterprise because it didn't have the inbuilt transponder issue. I bet Brent Spiner is glad he can play Data without all that yellow makeup! A few minor loving nitpicks --

Does anybody work at the Daystrom Institute or the Ship Museum (other than Geordie?) They seem pretty big places.

They mentioned that the Daystrom Institute was evacuated in the wake of the break-in, and was currently empty aside from two-hourly security patrols. Can't say I blame them - I wouldn't want to be on the station full of top-secret superweapons run by a creepy split-personality AI any longer than necessary either.

Wonder what they're doing with Kirk's skeleton?

And apparently Archer's corpse is there too, in a brief glimpse. Are they genetically engineering the perfect Starfleet captain?

So, they captured Riker, and Troi was the prisoner they happened to have (assuming that's not a chanegeling). That worked out conveniently for them!

They were going after loved ones for Picard and Riker, makes sense she'd be at the top of the list. For all we know, they may have Laris behind door number 2.

Anyway, despite that I loved it. I wonder what they need Picard's body for? How many more ex-starship captain bodies do they have there?

Aside from something macabre like a changeling bonding with and animating the corpse for even better infiltration capability (and why would they bother, they seem to have that down already?) another possibility is that he is a former Borg and presumably carried some Borg nanites even after being de-Borged. Still, that feels like a dry well narratively speaking.

It's hard to think of anything else it might be good for. Surely can't be used to bypass any Starfleet biometrics, they must have changed the codes to match Picard's new golem body if they didn't delete them entirely.

But it has to tie into the fact that they also desperately need Picard's son. That can't be a coincidence. Maybe the Irumodic syndrome they both suffer isn't what it appears, isn't just causing random hallucinations in Jack. Maybe it's symptomatic of something else.

 

[delericho]

Wasn't the Genesis Device (and all the data used to create it) destroyed when the Reliant exploded at the end of Wrath of Khan?

I liked this one a lot. I guess I'm a sucker for pretty starships, and I'm a sucker for fan service! I was so hoping they'd commandeer Kirk's Enterprise because it didn't have the inbuilt transponder issue.

If they're storing famous old ships, it kind of feels like the Enterprise E should be there. Which would then be the obvious candidate.

Assuming, of course, any of those ships still fly.

 

[Morrus]

Wasn't the Genesis Device (and all the data used to create it) destroyed when the Reliant exploded at the end of Wrath of Khan?

It said 'Genesis II' -- I guess they made another version!

If they're storing famous old ships, it kind of feels like the Enterprise E should be there. Which would then be the obvious candidate.

To me, at least, the E isn't iconic at all. I don't know why, as it has as much, if not more, screen time than the TOS movie refit Enterprise (rolling into the A).

 

[delericho]

To me, at least, the E isn't iconic at all.

I know what you mean. It just doesn't have the same feel to it.

But in-setting, it surely has as much of a place as the others shown, and it's as much "Picard's Enterprise" as the A is "Kirk's Enterprise" (we only actually see either used in the last few films of eithers career).

All that said, I'm assuming that by the end of all this we're going to end up with the TNG crew reunited and in command of the Enterprise F. So it was wise of them to leave one bit of fan service on the table for later.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

For all we know, they may have Laris behind door number 2.

Nah, because if she was, everyone in front of door number 2 would already be dead.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

If they're storing famous old ships, it kind of feels like the Enterprise E should be there. Which would then be the obvious candidate.

Maybe the E was destroyed, like the No-letter, C and D?

Maybe they are only allowed one ship called Enterprise in the museum?

 

[Morrus]

I know what you mean. It just doesn't have the same feel to it.

But in-setting, it surely has as much of a place as the others shown, and it's as much "Picard's Enterprise" as the A is "Kirk's Enterprise" (we only actually see either used in the last few films of eithers career).

I think it probably helps that Kirk's refit featured in some good films, while the E not so much! Then again, maybe it's just nostaglia talking. Probably there are those who grew up on TNG to whom the E is totally iconic.