I'm enjoying it for the most part, but as with Discovery it just doesn't feel like Star Trek. I was hoping that once they got a ship and headed into space it would fall back into a more familiar tone, but it hasn't. It's not all bad; the story has been decent so far and I'm looking forward to seeing where they take it.
I'm not willing to blame Stewart for Picard's character yet. I can understand how the events of the preceding 15 years would change how he reacts and responds to things, but it's too big a change, and surely if you're going to take a show and base it around a beloved character you don't change them completely. There's no authority in his voice any more, and he's too open and friendly. Picard was always quite distant to those around him, and I just don't get any of that in this. But it's not just Picard, the other character that popped up at the end of last week's and was a major part of this week's has exactly the same issue, although perhaps age isn't such a contributing factor.
Spoiler
Seven was a completely different person. I suppose that's to be expected to some extent; in Voyager she was basically a child learning what it is to be an individual, but also coming to grips with allowing others into her life. Children grow up and change quite dramatically. However, she was basically brought up to be a Starfleet officer, and I just don't see becoming a lone mercenary-type as a logical extension of that story. Shoehorning Icheb in there for thirty seconds before killing him off just as a bit of explanation for her demeanour just felt utterly cheap. I initially thought they may have stuck him in as fan service, but it wasn't actually the same actor.
I don’t think the serialised format works well for Star Trek, where the story of each episode flows into the next. Star Trek is at its best when an episode is a self-contained story which explores a particular concept or a new species or planet, etc, because there isn’t the pressure and expectation of building to something larger. It allows freedom to explore and experiment with ideas and characters in ways that Picard and Discovery can’t. They’re stifled to some extent by their ambitions.
The writers are trying to be too clever, because the only overarching story Star Trek ever needed was that of a crew with a ship on a mission of exploration.
I'm not convinced; I don't think there's anything about Star Trek that would prevent the format from working when hundreds of other serial dramas do. The Expanse is a perfect example of a roughly similar format working in today's entertainment climate; it's primarily based around the interactions between the ship's crew and whatever organisation that is currently critical to the plot, but the big sci-fi mystery builds over the course of a season. Also, I think DS9 and Enterprise both managed to make it work, keeping compartmentalised episodes running in tandem with the series-wide plot.
One of the reasons Picard and Discovery haven't really worked so far is because everything feels so... rushed. Nobody takes time to have a proper conversation, to weigh out the pros and cons of a plan; they just transport in and start shooting when things go wrong instead. Just think how much of TNG's runtime takes place in the observation lounge, with the gathered crew debating how to proceed.
I get the feeling that the extravagant budget is driving the show; TNG used to cost on average $1.3million per episode. Discovery costs around $7million per episode, making it about three times as expensive when you adjust for inflation - perhaps the showrunners don't want to "waste" that money having the cast sit around talking, and justify it by throwing in action scenes instead.
I can't help but think someone saw Patrick Stewart's Professor Xavier in Logan and had a ligh bulb moment.
I've watched the first three and enjoyed them in the main but I find myself losing interest. My biggest issue with US style serials is they slow the pace down so much to the point where almost nothing happened. This is hangover from the days where advertising revenue was critical so the more episodes you could have, the more revenue there was.
I'll likely try and watch another couple more but I'm really not that fussed. Shame.
I'm not sure that I'd call it "brilliant", but it demonstrates the promise the show has and really what I imagine fans want.
Spoiler
Will and Deanna (Riker? Troi? I don't know what the 23rd century Human and Betazed traditions are) were exactly as I would have hoped, far better than their lousy appearance in Enterprise was. Let's be honest, this is what fans want, isn't it? Troi, Riker and Picard all sat around a table coming up with a plan, but with that sense of familiarity and experience that they'd have by this point. It still feels like a bit of a missed opportunity that this wasn't the basis of this series, and I do hope that they get the rest of the cast back at some point. At this point I wouldn't care that it's fan service. I just hope that they don't make Starfleet out to be a totally irredeemable bureaucracy.
It's a little odd having two characters that we were once intimately familiar with having this largely unknown past, and it's honestly a little heart wrenching knowing that they had a kid aboard the Titan that met a sad end without us experiencing any of it. It's perhaps a little obvious that Soji is going to be returning to the care of Will and Deanna and Kestra if everything works out; the surrogate daughter angle is maybe a little too obvious, but it would work.
We need to talk about that Legolas twat and how disappointing it is everyone he survives an episode
That was a nice episode. From his first bark in the kitchen it was like sinking into the most comfortable old couch. I’m also really happy the kid from Ouija Origin Of Evil is getting decent(ish) parts because she was really fantastic in that movie.
Spoiler
K: Who’s her dad?
P: Her dads data
S: WTF?!?
Oh and stop having one fuck for the sake of having one fuck!
A man who could tell more truth and eat fewer pies.
We need to talk about that Legolas twat and how disappointing it is everyone he survives an episode
Yeah, his continued presence is annoying me, he just doesn't fit into this universe and they've yet to give any compelling reason I should care about him. I also just can't imagine the Picard of old requesting a bodyguard.
