3.01 Star Trek: Picard - The Next Generation

[ctg]

After receiving a distress call from Beverly Crusher, Jean-Luc Picard enlists help from generations old and new for one last adventure: a mission that will change Starfleet and his old crew forever

IMDB score: 8.6 Runtime: 53 minutes

 

[ctg]

I had no real high expectation when I started watching this one. Other than being really surprised by the high IMDB score, when in the last season, it seemed rather impossible. I don't know why because we are venturing deeper into the traditional lore telling in this one, if I've understood this season agenda as well. To Picard, it has been said to be a farewell tour.

Is it? Let's see...

First on the NG list, Dr Beverly Crusher. I really don't get why she would be drifting in deep interstellar space alone, listening to the infamous Bennie Benjamin's I set the World on Fire, as if it was time for some apocalypse. Not talking about handling a two-man boarding team all on her own. Even getting shot and running out of ammo.

I don't think I can recall a scene where they've run out of phaser ammo. Is it even possible in the cinematic universe? Despite the odds, she handled the raid like a trooper. She even got out the message for our beloved admiral, before treating her wounds. Which again I don't understand, does phaser cause burning?

Picard and not Tallinn, talking about love. I simply forgot what her name was, so I had to go back and get Laris right. At least the old man wasn't grumpy about going off-world, following his beloved Romulan. But I don't get why he was thinking about writing memories, when in the past he'd done it many times already.

In fact, Beverly was listening to his narration on the Borg fist encounter, just before the raid happened. The bigger puzzle for the old man was why anyone would be sending a transmission to his old com patch in the middle of the night?

I also don't get why Picard was able to get the codec puzzle solved so fast, when in the past, there must have been all sorts that he has used. Does Codec Myriad have a deeper meaning?

Beverly's message was: "Admiral Picard. I'm encoding this transmission with coordinates. Listen to me very carefully (I'll say this only once ) Hellbird. Repeat, Hellbird. And Jean-Luc, no StarFleet. Trust no one!"

Woman, always cryptic. Never giving straight answers. Especially if they're anyway associated to the Grand Admiral. I'm using Grand because that's what he is, the most important man in ST's history, because of his connections to everything important.

Laris brought up boldly that Beverly was Picard's lover and because of it, she must think the old flame as "one person she still feels she can trust."

That wasn't the thing that puzzled the old man, it was the "No StarFleet," when in the past it had been everything, and still continues to be, even in his old days. Laris' decision, "You have to go..." and she knew that Jean-Luc wasn't going to come back in a few days. And with her blessing, the Grand Admiral was sent yet to another adventure.

Who to get to run his op? The first person on his list was Captain Riker.

I was surprised when Riker said, "Deanna and Kestra will appreciate time away from me," before he offered his services willingly. Personally, I never thought that he would get the family business in such a way that sofa-treatment felt comfortably. There was no way he was going to send Picard away. But for Picard to not remember the Hellbird reference, but actually being able to recall the planet was amazing, because he must have read the after action reports that mentions Hellbird.

The thing was that because of the knowledge, Riker was able to find the right coordinates, while blabbing loudly about in the Guina's watering hole. He should have known better to take Beverly's warning seriously because there was an agent listening.

Raffi in one of M'talas Prime's drinking establishment, telling an Orion hustler that she broke the relationship with Seven and she fell off from the StarFleet wagon. Such is life. Of an intelligence officer. But the thing here was that she was feeling the pain from getting rid of the space drugs.

Her mission, finding lost StarFleet experimental weapons, and the Red Lady. Only she couldn't do it in time as the Red Lady turned out to be a statue set to honour the Frontier in District Seven's StarFleet command.

The act of using a teleport weapon was fantastic. I don't know how would deal with that.

USS Titan (A?). Riker warned Picard that Cpt Shaw would need some convincing to get off-course, while they were preparing for the Frontier Day parade. Luckily, Seven had been placed as her First Officer. But she preferred using her human name instead of being a Borg.

A little surprise was that Georgi's girl was piloting the ship. She took the Titan out gracefully and by the book. Not showing off why she had earned a nickname Crash La Forge.

Captain Shaw's dinner was something else. Picard as a gentleman brought the man doing High Dining all on his own, a bottle of Chateau Picard. But Shaw went to offend him straight away by claiming to be a Malbec man. So I guess that particular bottle is going to get a dust treatment.

It surprised me more that in the next turn Shaw offended Riker and his tastes. And even claimed that everything was going to be boring and pristine, instead of the usual activities that those two gets themselves involved into. So I felt that taking over the Titan was the only option Riker and Picard had in the sleeve.

The lucky draw was Seven being a scorned woman. She wasn't happy about Cpt Shaw giving her sh*t. So somehow she figured where Picard and Riker were headed and ordered La Forge to bring them off course without telling the ******* anything.

She took flak while the boys went to find Beverly in hypersleep and her son running their ship, while trying to hide from this.

Who are they?

 

[Dave]

I wasn't expecting much at all to be honest. I knew there was going to be a lot of "fan-boy" pleasing because of what I had already read, but after last season was drawn out too long on too little plot, I didn't think I'd think highly of this. However, just having the Riker and Picard chenistry together on screen, doing whatever it was the Shaw said that he doesn't do, well, I could watch that all night without any plot at all!

Thanks for the excellent review. Very comprehensive as usual, which means I can get straight down to the things I think you may have missed.

The act of using a teleport weapon was fantastic.

Was it a "teleport weapon"? I'm thinking it is a "spacetime rift weapon". Same destructive effects, but it will fit with the other thing...

the Red Lady turned out to be a statue set to honour the Frontier in District Seven's StarFleet command.

The onscreen title said that the Red Lady statute was of Rachel Garrett. Fan boys like me, know that Rachel Garrett was the Captain of the Enterprise C that sacrificed itself in order to prevent a devastating war between the UFP and Klingon Empire.

So, is this a nod to the villains of this season?

We know that in the TNG episode, "Yesterday's Enterprise," the Enterprise C responded to distress call from a Klingon outpost on Narendra III, and were attacked by Romulan starships. They fell through a spacetime rift but were rescued by the Enterprise D. Once they knew the future and their part in the past they returned to successfully defend tthe outpost. What if that spacetime rift was engineered? What if someone is trying to alter time for a second time? Who would gain by a change in timeline? The Romulans certainly, but while Beverley's attackers wore masks, they didn't look very Romulan.

Who are they?

So, even if I am correct (and I was last season) I still can't really help answer that here.

The third thing you didn't mention was Beverley's son. When he said he was Beverley's son there was quite a bit of confusion in the looks between Riker and Picard. Who is he?

When I heard Beverley making a distress call to old man Picard, the first thing that came to my mind was why she wasn't calling up Wesley. We now know that Wesley is a Traveller and that they are they same as the Agents Roberta Lincoln and Gary Seven in the TOS episode "Assignment Earth". Wesley has powers over Time. If this is a space time rift problem, would you call Picard or Wesley first?

Anyhow, Wesley is a different son. Who is the father of this son? The 'I haven't contacted her for 20 years' togtether with the looks on the faces of Riker and Picard, seem to point to it being Picard. I wouldn't think that was very likely, and it's far far too much of a comic book plot for Trek.

 

[ctg]

The third thing you didn't mention was Beverley's son. When he said he was Beverley's son there was quite a bit of confusion in the looks between Riker and Picard. Who is he?

Red herring, probably. But if he's legit, then maybe Picard shagged the doctor at some point. So I'm leaning towards him being something else. What? I don't know.

Also I didn't mention him because I had nothing to say. A last minute introduction doesn't leave you with much. Does it? Almost all that you can get out from it is speculation, and I thought that's what Paramount wants at the moment.

 

[AE35Unit]

Yup, enjoyed that!

 

[Vince W]

I really don’t appreciate your reasonable views of Picard, @ctg. I have ignored Picard until now, but you make me want to give it a try again. Logic and reason have no place in Star Trek or science fiction.

 

[farntfar]

I wouldn't think that was very likely, and it's far far too much of a comic book plot for Trek

Yeah. It's not like they do such a thing to Kirk.
I can't remember. Wasn't there another as well as the creator of the Genesis program?

 

[Elckerlyc]

We know that in the TNG episode, "Yesterday's Enterprise," the Enterprise C responded to distress call from a Klingon outpost on Narendra III, and were attacked by Romulan starships. They fell through a spacetime rift but were rescued by the Enterprise D. Once they knew the future and their part in the past they returned to successfully defend tthe outpost. What if that spacetime rift was engineered? What if someone is trying to alter time for a second time? Who would gain by a change in timeline? The Romulans certainly, but while Beverley's attackers wore masks, they didn't look very Romulan.

There must be a reason why the first episode began with "IN THE 25th CENTURY..."

And - while thinking spacetime rifts - on a speculative note. Has Beverly been 'elsewhere' and perhaps longer than 20 years?

 

[Dave]

Yeah. It's not like they do such a thing to Kirk.
I can't remember. Wasn't there another as well as the creator of the Genesis program?

Yes, David Marcus, son of Carol. But to be fair, Kirk had a new girlfriend every single week, and more that were only mentioned in passing. He could easily lose track of them, and all his illegitimate children. The child maintenance must have been crippling for him. Reminds me of someone else in the public eye, but we can't talk about him.

Picard, on the other hand, has only had a few girlfriends in the past - Jenice Manheim from TNG "We'll Always Have Paris" - Lt. Commander Nella Daren in TNG "Lessons" - are all I can remember, but don't quote me as there are likely more. He was supposed to have had a thing with Beverley, but inbetween her husband dying and her joining the Enterprise. I didn't think it continued.

Almost all that you can get out from it is speculation, and I thought that's what Paramount wants at the moment.

I was spot on in my early speculations last Season, so I'm fairly confident about this too. I'm putting it out here, but quite happy to be wrong.

There must be a reason why the first episode began with "IN THE 25th CENTURY..."

That didn't escape me either.

And - while thinking spacetime rifts - on a speculative note. Has Beverly been 'elsewhere' and perhaps longer than 20 years?

The son did look a little older than 20 years-old which requires some explanation anyway, because Beverley was in Star Trek: Nemesis and he isn't mentioned in that.

Some online are saying that a rewatch of Nemesis is required before watching Picard season 3. There are other parts of the plot of that film which (from the trailer) seem to be relevant. I won't post spoilers in this thread, but the trailer is in another thread here: Star Trek: Picard - official trailers.
I also have a dim and distant memory of Nemesis myself. Given everything else that has happened to the Romulans since then, didn't think it would be that relevant.

 

[Dave]

There must be a reason why the first episode began with "IN THE 25th CENTURY..."

Interesting - according to Twitter on Prime Video that particular title card was omitted.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1626738039341867009

 

[ctg]

I was spot on in my early speculations last Season, so I'm fairly confident about this too. I'm putting it out here, but quite happy to be wrong.

Tell me then why Paramount opted to put sounds in space? What is the point for Cpt Shaw to wake up to a thunderclap in a nebula cloud? Or us hearing engine sounds in external shots? And if we are talking about the boy, Beverly's son, is he going to be like Kirk's son, and off someone?

 

[Dave]

Tell me then why Paramount opted to put sounds in space? What is the point for Cpt Shaw to wake up to a thunderclap in a nebula cloud? Or us hearing engine sounds in external shots? And if we are talking about the boy, Beverly's son, is he going to be like Kirk's son, and off someone?

I have no inside knowledge. I didn't write it. I just know how they write. I don't know why they have sound in space. You could get waves within the nebula, it rather depends upon the concentration of the gas. Unlikely, I think. I could excuse the engine noise as being a microphone in Engineering, but I'm not going to. It's Star Trek, that's why.

As for this boy, he didn't seem to know who Riker and Picard were. If he's been travelling with his mother for 20 years, you think they might have come up in conversation. If they've been battling against threats that are directly related to some old mission of the Enterprise, then even more surprising that they didn't come up in conversation. But if all that is so, then he doesn't seem to know who his father is. I would have asked my mother by the time I was his age. Why is she hiding him anyway? It sounds like an odd thing to do. Carol Marcus had issues with Kirk's lifestyle choices and she didn't want him involved with David. David already knew about Kirk. Picard is not Kirk.

But Beverley also had a thing with that space alien. I've subsequently discovered that there were flirtations between Picard and Crusher in one of the deleted scenes Star Trek: Nemesis. It is a bit much to expect audiences to be aware of deleted scenes in a 21 year-old movie to be able to understand a TV show.

Will he "off someone"? He seemed to have an attitude, but then all young people in Star Trek have an attitude. They go into Starfleet Academy to get that attitude knocked out of them. You haven't been paying attention if you didn't pick that up. (jk) The Academy is designed to turn out Captains like Shaw who go on to become pen-pushing Commodores. That, or else they become Klingon spies, or form Stonemason like secret organisations. Only the rebels who disobey direct orders from their superiors ever acheive anything significant.

 

[ctg]

Will he "off someone"? He seemed to have an attitude, but then all young people in Star Trek have an attitude. They go into Starfleet Academy to get that attitude knocked out of them. You haven't been paying attention if you didn't pick that up. (jk) The Academy is designed to turn out Captains like Shaw who go on to become pen-pushing Commodores. That, or else they become Klingon spies, or form Stonemason like secret organisations. Only the rebels who disobey direct orders from their superiors ever acheive anything significant.

That is a very good answer. It's just at the very beginning, the boy was locked and screaming, "Let me out," and mum didn't. Instead, she went through an extreme violent cycle, before allegedly the boy put her in the cryo-tube, and she didn't do it herself. Even though she could have done it as an extremely desperate move.

My current feeling is that I don't trust the boy or anything he says.

Why is she hiding him anyway? It sounds like an odd thing to do. Carol Marcus had issues with Kirk's lifestyle choices and she didn't want him involved with David. David already knew about Kirk. Picard is not Kirk.

But Beverley also had a thing with that space alien. I've subsequently discovered that there were flirtations between Picard and Crusher in one of the deleted scenes Star Trek: Nemesis. It is a bit much to expect audiences to be aware of deleted scenes in a 21 year-old movie to be able to understand a TV show.

There's more subtle hints about their relationship in the NG or that's how I felt the relationship between the cpt and the doc. And as a doc I don't think she opted to have no babies. You could think that Riker knocked her up, and everyone would accept it, but since this is Picard's series, I'm more leaning towards Picard being the daddy-o.

At some point it's going to come up regardless. Although the extreme twist would be to kill him and then Beverly tells who's the daddy. Another thing is that the boy says they've been hiding from the enemy, but actually how long they've been doing it? 20 years? Is that even plausible?

Thing is Beverly was extremely involved with the science and medical side of the Federation, but the story wants us to believe that she did cast all that aside. What for?

 

[Elckerlyc]

My current feeling is that I don't trust the boy or anything he says.

Me neither. Having said that, it doesn't have to be entirely for his well-being that Beverly kept him locked in during the boarding by the enemy.

Another thing is that the boy says they've been hiding from the enemy, but actually how long they've been doing it? 20 years? Is that even plausible?

The boy did say they were hiding for 'the enemy', whoever they are. But I don't think it was implied they'd been doing that for 20 years.

Thing is Beverly was extremely involved with the science and medical side of the Federation, but the story wants us to believe that she did cast all that aside. What for?

Who says she did cast all that aside? We don't know why she blocked all contact or what she did those long 20 years. It could (and I think it does) be something very scientific and secret. Something that may or may not involve Starfleet. You don't block contact with friends that long unless for a very good reason.

 

[Dave]

At some point it's going to come up regardless.

Undoubtedly so. "Beverly Crusher son" is a top trending search term on Google today!

All I'm going to add, is that I didn't think much of Crusher's ability to make good choices in men after the TNG episode "Sub Rosa" when she was happy to leave Starfleet to go live with the space alien who had previously inhabited her dead grandmother. Who she met at the funeral!

She also had a thing with the Trill negotiator, Odan in the TNG episode "The Host" but after he died she found it difficult to continue to love him while occupying temporary host Riker, or the new female host that Odan eventually gets. They said they would keep in touch, but you know how women and men (or in this case, other women) are when they say that.

I just find it hard to believe that Picard and Beverly kept up a romantic relationship during all those years while they each were falling in love with these other different people. They were firm platonic friends, yes.

But what do I know? It's all written by committees, who don't even speak to the earlier writers, and don't have any idea of Trek canon. Riker and Deanna were always going to get together eventually. TNG "Second Chances" demonstrated that. So, all that distraction with the weird relationship between Worf and Deanna was just pointless. Fun, but utterly pointless.

 

[farntfar]

Changing the subject a bit, has anyone noticed the language spoken by the attacking aliens?
First, it's clearly too much for the universal translator.
Second, it sounds very much like they stole it from the fly type aliens in the Doctor Who Christmas special when they drove a bus through a portal onto a desert world.
So wait for the aristocratic thief woman to come and save the day with a shovel she keeps in her handbag.

 

[ctg]

Changing the subject a bit, has anyone noticed the language spoken by the attacking aliens?
First, it's clearly too much for the universal translator.
Second, it sounds very much like they stole it from the fly type aliens in the Doctor Who Christmas special when they drove a bus through a portal onto a desert world.

To my ears, since I haven't seen the Dr Who Christmas Special, it sounded like a mix of generic alien gurgling and some mechanical chirping. What I also noticed were the masks. So, for the Universal Translator to not being able to decipher it, it must be either encrypted, or the library file is restricted by somebody. Most probably by the infamous Section 31.

Whole Raffi's mission smells strongly like them, because for them, innocent lives means nothing. And for some reason, they're always close connected to the Orion Syndicate circles.

 

[Snicklefritz]

Interesting - according to Twitter on Prime Video that particular title card was omitted.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1626738039341867009

I saw that card on Prime Video Paramount last night.

 

[Dave]

People are lying on social media, who knew?

Either that, or they've added it back sometime yesterday. It is possible it was just some mistake anyway.

As usual, we are probably reading too much into small insignificant things of no importance, but that is exactly what fans always do.

I didn't catch that alien language, but I'd doubt that the plot is quite as sophisticated as the UT Library file being restricted by Section 31. It's much more likely that someone forgot all about the UT and just wanted a more alien language for the new villains. Just like they forget that there is no sound in space to wake up Shaw from his sleep.

 

[CrazyKB]

I dislike (to put it mildly) all modern iterations of Star Trek. However, I've heard that Picard season 3 might actually be good (perhaps they're listening to the fans for once). I'm going to wait until the final verdict is in before I take the 'plunge'.