Star Trek Picard Season 3 |OT| The Next Generation's Fifth Movie

On the Heroes & Icons channel on antenna tv, they have 5 hours of Star Trek every night, 6 days a week.

They play the original series, TNG, DS9, Voyager and Enterprise. I love catching up on all the episodes I haven't seen especially with Deep Space Nine and Voyager and Enterprise.
 
Reddit told me to skip the first two seasons, so i did just that and stated watching S3.

I'm liking it so far.

Are the first seasons really that bad?
 
ManaByte said:
5p8DuWo.jpg
Click to expand...
Damn, they got Odo back on the far right!!
 
Sorry for the double post, but just wanted to chime in again on how this season has been going.

One of the scenes from episode 8 a lot of people have talked about is Data's return, and while I'm not gonna be like "omg i cried when this happened" like some of the nonsense some people on the internet say, but I gotta say that they are doing scenes like that really well. So far this entire season has not been perfect, but as someone who has constantly said star trek is dead, and i thought it was a lost cause (and it still probably will remain that after this season), I am still so impressed how much it does right.

The mystery box stuff is frustrating, and being dragged along episode to episode on some of that stuff is annoying. However, even with that mystery box stuff sprinkled throughout the season, they've still given us a lot of just good scenes. Characters behaving like the characters I knew them to be. Seeing Geordi and Data be the best friends again which is something the TNG films always seemed to ignore (except maybe Generations) was wonderful to me because I thought I was the only one who cared about that.

One of the most challenging things to do in a franchise I think is to introduce new characters and get the audience to care about them, especially with established characters being there as well. I am honestly really impressed at the writing and how it actually got me to care and like characters like Jack Crusher and Sidney LaForge. They could've screwed up Jack soooo much, and make him insufferable, but no. He has morals just like you'd want to see in Star Trek. He constantly wants to do the right thing, he doesn't try to hide what's going on with him, and admits to being afraid. Then when he goes to Picard to talk about it, it's a good conversation. Picard listens to him, and tries to help without trying to lecture. HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?? How did good writing come back all of a sudden??

Finally getting another episode tonight with them hopefully answering what exactly is going on with Jack, and I keep saying I hope they stick the landing, but with 8 out of 10 episodes down...I can at least say I've enjoyed the ride so far.
 
Caught ep 9 hot off the presses... SPOILERS but not really since it has in fact aired such as these things go in the streaming era.

Well, ya always knew Maverick was gonna get in the F14. At least under Matalas. This has all been very very stupid plotting, but I guess they're at least giving the people more or less what they want.

Similar to the Datalore scene, which was pretty solid fan-service in isolation, but completely undercut by the fact that they already made a big deal out of killing Data in S1... so they had to put in that stupid "yeah I'm quite sure *that* data is happy to be dead but I am happy to be alive thank you Captain" shit. I'm supposed to forget all the kinder gentler Borg stuff from new queen what's-her-face or even poor Annie Wersching (RIP). I know there's alternate universe shenanigans thrown in there but still... you can't have an entire season of a Borg plot that ends on kinda a Borg cliffhanger and then have a plot next season ultimately about Other Borg... which makes me think that Jurati-Borg have to show up for the finale and yet I really really don't want them there. Kobyashi Maru.

What next, is Q going to come back with a "You didn't REALLY think a Q could die did you Mon Capitaine?!? I simply wanted to feel a human hug and experience what your kind call a "bromance". No no, the trial is never over... I of course always knew that your Irumodic Syndrome was in fact Borg Sperm you fool!"

And did they just kill Elnor off-screen? Last we saw he was on the Excelsior and that was the one ship to not survive the Gen-Z revolution here :messenger_tears_of_joy:.Isn't Elnor an under-25-er? Shouldn't he have chopped off everybody's heads? That should have been the easiest ship-get for the Swedish faction.

Wait a sec has this show taken a sharp turn towards 'based' politics? We went from ICE being the bad guys, to an entire misguided under-25 generation trying to destroy human civilization and replace it with a brainless groupthink zombie collective.

Not sure how I feel about the Ent-F tho, thing's chonky like Lizzo.
 
This whole season has been one giant nostalgia trip, and the last few minutes of this episode is just fantastic. I cried, goddamn it! So much good stuff this episode. Hearing Alice Krige and Majel Barret Roddenberry, seeing the Enterprise D in all its glory, and everyone back at their old stations. I'm going to rewatch it later today, it was that good.

I'm not the biggest fan of the Borg, but I am glad it wasn't the Pah Wraiths, those belong to DS9. And it's kind of interesting how they brought 'em back!

I'll miss Shaw, best character in Nu Trek since Lorca (before he turned into a saturday morning cartoon villain). How the fuck do these showrunners keep killing interesting characters and keeping characters like Raffi on for 3 seasons.

This season heavily relies on nostalgia but I don't give a fuck. Best season of Nu Trek. Give this showrunner the reigns to Trek now!
 
Last edited:
Loved the recreation of the Enterprise D bridge and the Majel Barrett computer. Unfortunately, as usual, everything leading up to it was a pretty mixed bag: these late episodes are better at being enjoyable enough that the bad stuff doesn't sour things too much but the stinkers are still there. For one thing, bringing back the Borg is so exhausted as a narrative hook that the only impact it has is negative. The rumours that Jack was possessed by a Pah-wraith would have been far more interesting (and not completely sidelined the Changelings, which makes much of the main plotline to this point feel superfluous) than the unconvincing stuff about inheriting Borg-altered DNA from Picard and becoming an X-Men-ish transmitter or something. Putting aside the DNA stuff - did all those post-BOBW full medical scans etc. really never pick any of that up? - I did like the use of the transporter to alter people, a nice expansion of how quietly sinister those things are only previously taken seriously on TNG (as far as I remember, anyhow) in that Lt. Broccoli episode, 'Realm Of Fear'.

Jack's speech about how 'the world' is imperfect and bigoted and full of broken systems, poverty, suffering, etc. made me wonder what world he was supposed to be talking about, unless it was New Trek confirming once and for all that it has given up on the idea that Earth in Trek's time is a utopia which has long left all those things behind. Shelby's cameo was hilariously bad, only there to be yet another character returning to be killed off (Data in S1; Q in S2; Ro, Shelby and debatably Lore this time around) and was clearly filmed on the cheap as a single chair in front of a greenscreen. Shaw's sacrifice was also pretty underwhelming for the best original character of the season, only really happening to wrap up that baffling subplot about him deadnaming Seven. It wasn't a big surprise given how sidelined he'd been for the second half of the season but it would have been nice had his death wrapped up something about him, resolving his survivor's guilt in some way, rather than something to do with Seven so thin it barely existed to begin with. Still, as with the preceding episode, it ended on a high note and the season has improved somewhat as it has gone on (I'm not going to complain about the daffy 'the DNA modifications only affect people under 25!' thing because it's so obviously an excuse for 'the oldies save the day!', which is silly enough that I sort of love it) rather than getting significantly worse, as was the case with the two preceding seasons.

The joke about Worf knackering the Enterprise E was pretty great and continues the strong use of Michael Dorn's excellent comic instincts. It was just a shame the Borg didn't jump into the running gag about Picard's crap wine to make destroying his vineyard their first priority.

EDIT: Forgot to mention after the last episode and now this one how strange it is that the show has given Troi full telepathic powers, which she very pointedly never had in the original show as a result of her being half-human. She could only communicate telepathically with other Betazoids, where the implication was that they were doing all the work (both projecting their thoughts and reading her mind). She's never placed herself in someone's mind as she did with Jack as far as I can recall, closest being tracking Shinzon's second-in-command in Nemesis (which, again, was implied to be down to the telepathic link he'd established to her).

Oh, and it made me laugh how Raffi was nowhere to be seen for half the episode then randomly popped up at the back of the group shot on the Maintenance Deck.
 
Last edited:
They can't help doing over the top nonsense. The fleet synchronization thing was terrible. They can't help themselves with the "wall of spaceships" stupidity in this series.

Why did the changelings want Picard's body? Did the transporter sabotage thing happen after they stole it? Didn't they steal it too recently? Why the hell are the changelings even involved in this? They only say a handful were captured and tortured but they're on every single ship? Are they borg enhanced? Why is all of this information rushed out in the last 2 episodes when so many in the middle were a total waste of time?

There are some good ideas in this.... But they're so poorly rolled out and paced that it really generates some big eye rolls. This last episode needs to be 2+ hours now not to feel completely rushed.... And it still will.
 
AGRacing said:
They can't help doing over the top nonsense. The fleet synchronization thing was terrible. They can't help themselves with the "wall of spaceships" stupidity in this series.

Why did the changelings want Picard's body? Did the transporter sabotage thing happen after they stole it? Didn't they steal it too recently? Why the hell are the changelings even involved in this? They only say a handful were captured and tortured but they're on every single ship? Are they borg enhanced? Why is all of this information rushed out in the last 2 episodes when so many in the middle were a total waste of time?

There are some good ideas in this.... But they're so poorly rolled out and paced that it really generates some big eye rolls. This last episode needs to be 2+ hours now not to feel completely rushed.... And it still will.
Click to expand...

1. The Borg transporter thing was explained in this episode... It's been implemented since locutus was brought back. It's part of his genetic code that became integrated in the transporter network like a virus.

2. Vadic explained that she can share her evolution with other changelings with a touch...

3. The changelings and the Borg are similar because they usually work with one mind... The Great Link is kinda like the Borg collective. Both want to destroy Starfleet... This isn't without precedence of a species collaborating with the Borg (Lore in Descent and the Romulans in one of the William Shatner Trek novels).

4. They wanted Picard's body for the Borg genetic enhancement... Specifically his parietal lobe... Probably to either grow a clone or transplant it into one of the changelings.


All of this was pretty much explained in this season. Put on the CC because it seems you're missing some of the answers to your questions.
 
I think Trek has been so bad for so long, that our sentimentality for these characters and our appetite for validation regarding the universe and lore (dominion war etc) and all that we loved about Ds9, Voyager and TNG... is maybe getting in the way of objectivity here. Picard season 3 is only serviceable because of the aforementioned.

Vadic, the big bad character, is so fucking cringy and unwatchable -- the actress who plays her just doesn't haven't have the chops -- and the character herself is just so unworthy of our respect or fear. And that is fine, maybe it's our pity they are looking for with her. But as a villain the performance is so laugh out loud bad and ho hum when they are so desperately trying to make her seem unnerving or frightening .... but there is no screen presence here at all.. Swing and a miss. "Give her cigarettes!!!" someone doubtless suggested, in an attempt to make her seem I guess more dangerous or something.... All I can see is an actress with matted hair struggling to find something and not succeeding in any way at all. I just want her dialogue to be over cause it's so off putting and unbelievable. 4th wall is broken, can't suspend disbelief she is that awful. And her writing is that awful. Both parties are to blame there. She just fails in every way and drags down the entire season IMO. Almost everything else is fine, with gusts to pretty good even, but I really wish they'd gone a different way with Vadic. I just can't invest. It's a slog. (I haven't watched the most recent ep just out)
 
Last edited:
So yeah, I don't think I'm happy about it being another Borg villain story after all this build-up, but I will at least say that it's still a good set up and payoff. I like that it's basically explaining why the heck Picard could still hear them in First Contact, even though that was also never a thing for the 4 seasons after Best of Both Worlds, but I'll give it a pass.

At least this show is also maintaining the tradition that Troi is a terrible counselor, lol. Her decision to treat Jack as a threat immediately is probably what led to him running away.

That being said, I'm still having a fun time watching it all. I gotta say the final scene in episode 9 also just made me so happy to see. It's a gorgeous set, and recreated so well, and I'm glad that this seems to be the send off we're getting for the TNG crew.
 
Last edited:
+1 Shaw fanboy, RIP.

There's a ton of stuff to nitpick in this episode tbh but whatever it was a fun ride and old Shelby getting blasted made me lol
 
Thaedolus said:
+1 Shaw fanboy, RIP.

There's a ton of stuff to nitpick in this episode tbh but whatever it was a fun ride and old Shelby getting blasted made me lol
Click to expand...

Shelby was such a dick... She DID seem to be less dickish in what little we got of her this episode
 
Power Pro said:
So yeah, I don't think I'm happy about it being another Borg villain story after all this build-up, but I will at least say that it's still a good set up and payoff. I like that it's basically explaining why the heck Picard could still hear them in First Contact, even though that was also never a thing for the 4 seasons after Best of Both Worlds, but I'll give it a pass.
Click to expand...

The Borg showed up, twice was it?, in TNG after Best of Both Worlds. The one after is the Hugh episode where he was cut off and the last one was the Lore collective. It was after that we saw them again in First Contact.
 
Wheeljack539 said:
The Borg showed up, twice was it?, in TNG after Best of Both Worlds. The one after is the Hugh episode where he was cut off and the last one was the Lore collective. It was after that we saw them again in First Contact.
Click to expand...
Sounds about right. The only rational excuse I can probably come up with why Picard didn't hear them before First Contact was they weren't a part of the same collective, or because they were severed borg he was interacting with.
 
So tired of overusing the Borg on this series. They seem to think it's the defining villain of all TNG but they appeared in only a handful out of 178 episodes.

My wife already predicted this outcome, can't believe it. She said a week ago that Jack will be Borg due to something left in Picard. I said, plausible explanation but, I was sure they wouldn't draw from the Borg well for a third season in a damn row. Everything else about S3 was aimed at pivoting away from the prior seasons.

With Shaw apparently dead (maybe not…), that poses a barrier to the Star Trek Legacy concept.

Seeing the Enterprise bridge was great. If they went to all that trouble of reconstructing the set, why not move the plot here faster and give us half a season at least with a ship that has decent lighting and classic interiors? Almost feels like a waste, but I'm looking forward to the one hour we'll get anyway.

By the way, was that the original Borg Queen (Krige)? Sounded like her, but strange to keep her face hidden.
 
I agree with a lot of the critiques on here, but I just can't bring myself to care. The old crew walking onto the bridge of the Enterprise D was as close to a perfect TV moment as we will ever get. Just as I thought it couldn't get any better, Majel's voice took it to the next level. What a beautiful scene.
 
You can never escape the Borg. Love this whole season but Shaw getting killed has me bummed. Would have loved to see him all pissed having to take on a legacy TNG crew and their kids for a few seasons.
 
Last edited:
Is it really Enterprise D is the stardrive is from another Galaxy class? Yes, Geordi, stardrive, not engines.

USS Theseus.
 
Locutus said:
I agree with a lot of the critiques on here, but I just can't bring myself to care. The old crew walking onto the bridge of the Enterprise D was as close to a perfect TV moment as we will ever get. Just as I thought it couldn't get any better, Majel's voice took it to the next level. What a beautiful scene.
Click to expand...

Meh. A good moment on paper doesn't make up for the years of utter shit and insulting treatment of the franchise and characters that inspired so many.
 
Locutus said:
I agree with a lot of the critiques on here, but I just can't bring myself to care. The old crew walking onto the bridge of the Enterprise D was as close to a perfect TV moment as we will ever get. Just as I thought it couldn't get any better, Majel's voice took it to the next level. What a beautiful scene.
Click to expand...

Seconded.

Don't care about any of the inconsistencies or writing issues. My fucking childhood came back. In a good way.
This is how you do nostalgia. Not whatever the fuck they're doing over at Disney with Star Wars.
 
I binge watched TNG like a year ago, can't relate to the nostalgia baiting. Picard has climbed from the deep dark depths of 1/10 and 2/10 tier episodes and is scraping toward mediocrity with 4/10 tier episodes.

Hopefully this means that the quality of Star Trek on TV has entered a time reversal rift, where we're at circa 2003, traveling towards the mid 90s peaks.
Locutus said:
I agree with a lot of the critiques on here, but I just can't bring myself to care. The old crew walking onto the bridge of the Enterprise D was as close to a perfect TV moment as we will ever get. Just as I thought it couldn't get any better, Majel's voice took it to the next level. What a beautiful scene.
Click to expand...
Did they find the light switch?
 
Last edited:
Melon Husk said:
I binge watched TNG like a year ago, can't relate to the nostalgia baiting. Picard has climbed from the deep dark depths of 1/10 and 2/10 tier into the mediocrity of 4/10 tier worst of Enterprise episodes
Click to expand...

This entire season will be completely lost on anyone who wasn't watching TNG when it first aired. The whole show is for us old farts. And it's glorious.
 
FunkMiller said:
Seconded.

Don't care about any of the inconsistencies or writing issues. My fucking childhood came back. In a good way.
This is how you do nostalgia. Not whatever the fuck they're doing over at Disney with Star Wars.
Click to expand...
And OF COURSE Geordi would restore the D as a hobby and be saving it as a surprise for his friends.
 
ManaByte said:
And OF COURSE Geordi would restore the D as a hobby and be saving it as a surprise for his friends.
Click to expand...

I did kind of see it coming from a mile off, after Geordie's daughter mentioned hangar bay 12 in episode 4 or 5... but it didn't stop it hitting me in the feels hard when it appeared on screen. The bit that really set me off was hearing Majel's voice as the computer. Perfect.
 
FunkMiller said:
I did kind of see it coming from a mile off, after Geordie's daughter mentioned hangar bay 12 in episode 4 or 5... but it didn't stop it hitting me in the feels hard when it appeared on screen. The bit that really set me off was hearing Majel's voice as the computer. Perfect.
Click to expand...
I totally expected Data to be brought back using his backed up memories, and how they illustrated that was perfect. But I didn't expect the D.
 
Regardless of the shite s1/s2 and what shortcomings there are in season 3... if the last 5 minutes don't bring a tear to your eye and get you pumped for what's coming then you are clinically dead.
 
6502 said:
Regardless of the shite s1/s2 and what shortcomings there are in season 3... if the last 5 minutes don't bring a tear to your eye and get you pumped for what's coming then you are clinically dead.
Click to expand...
Ehhh. Gets me pumped for whats coming? An all out battle to SAVE TEH UNIVERSE??!?!?!

Didn't bring a tear to my eye because I thought why not move the story here quicker? On a real ship with not shit lightning.
 
man, just thinking, one day a few years from now its going to be really fun going through all of the serries an a giant binge watch, from TOS through the original movies, to TNG, DS9, Voyager and even reluctantly Enterprise, than strait to season 3 of Picard, Picard 3 really feels like it ties together all the past into a nice bow to end this entire era of Star Trek on. I dont know where things go after all this, I assume it'll all be nutrek, but I like that we have this final gift wrapped ending to close out the Star Trek book as we know it on. Kinda like how End Game was a good bookend for the MCU, yeah there are more films after, but the real story more or less became self contained in that run.
 
Last edited:
Pagusas said:
man, just thinking, one day a few years from now its going to be really fun going through all of the serries an a giant binge watch, from TOS through the original movies, to TNG, DS9, Voyager and even reluctantly Enterprise, than strait to season 3 of Picard, Picard 3 really feels like it ties together all the past into a nice bow to end this entire era of Star Trek on. I dont know where things go after all this, I assume it'll all be nutrek, but I like that we have this final gift wrapped ending to close out the Star Trek book as we know it on. Kinda like how End Game was a good bookend for the MCU, yeah there are more films after, but the real story more or less became self contained in that run.
Click to expand...
Matalas (and some cast members like Frakes) wants to continue this with Star Trek: Legacy, but they haven't given that a green light yet.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Star Trek: Section 31 Trailer
2
86
4K
Captain Zyrain replied
Star Trek 765874 - Unification - Send off short movie for TOS (Roddenberry Archives/OTOY)
Science 
17
1K
jason10mm replied
Section 31 Rottenwatch: Kurtzman makes a worse Star Trek movie than Into Darkness, Nemesis, and Final Frontier combined
2
93
5K
Fluffytheterrible replied
Andor S2 |OT| Remember Star Wars?
2 3
129
990
Oberstein replied
Star Trek: Lower Decks | Season 5 Teaser Trailer | Paramount+
3
675
jason10mm replied
Top Bottom