Star Trek: Picard 2.1: Cameos and Time Travel

The debut episode of the second season of Star Trek: Picard was enjoyable, notwithstanding the annoying commercial breaks which lacerated the narrative on the paying service.  (Yes, I'm too cheap to pay more for Paramount+ with no commercials.)

As was the case with the first season, the most fun in this episode was the return of memorable characters from The Next Generation TV series.   In this case, that would be Guinan and Q.  Let's hope we see more of them. It was also good to Seven of Nine back in action, continuing her role from the first season.

As for the story, it was an interesting melange of Picard's personal turmoils and outright battles in space. Although Picard has loved women in the past, he's now unable to fully express his love to Laris.  Maybe what happened to him at the end of the first season has gotten in the way, not of his physical libido, but the capacity of his soul to fully love another.

We also learn in the first episode that the Borg will be at least one of the primary villains, and time travel will play a major role.  This is confirmed by Picard, who comments at some point that time is a more challenging vista to explore than space.  Give that "Yesterday's Enterprise" was one of the very best episodes of the The Next Generation television series, it makes sense that Picard would feel that way.

It was great to see Patrick Stewart in the title role, and also Alison Pill, back from the first season as the highly intelligent Agnes.  And I thought Santiago Cabrera as Chris, cigar in mouth and hand, in the Captain's chair, was an effectively dashing figure.

So ... I'll suffer through the commercials, watch every episode, and be back here with reviews.  More than enough in this start of the second season to keep me interested.

See also Star Trek: Picard (Season One): Non-Pareil 

 

Star Trek: Picard: Non-Pareil

Just finished binging Star Trek: Picard on CBS All Access.  It's the best Star Trek since Star Trek: The Next Generation, which is where Jean-Luc Picard was introduced.  And unlike TNG which was episodic, this first season of Picard was serial, which is a big plus in my book.

But let me get this relatively minor point, in retrospect, out of the way: I thought the weakest part of Picard was the beginning, or the first episodes, which show a 90+ year-old retired Star Fleet admiral down on Earth.  This part of the story was good enough, and enjoyable.  But it's not until Picard literally takes off in a faster-than-light ship that the story really takes off.

The series meshes with TNG and with the entire Star Trek corpus just beautifully.  In addition to Picard, three of the major characters from TNG play important and very satisfying roles.  More minor characters also reprise roles and are equally effective.  And at least one iconic major character from another Star Trek series makes some game changing appearances in Picard.

And Picard borrows well from two titans of off-screen science fiction.  Isaac Asimov is read in this future in paper books, and Dr. Agnes Juradi (nicely played by Alison Pill, billed right after the non-pareil Patrick Stewart) reminds me of Susan Calvin, who figured prominently in Asimov's early robot stories.  And there are a group of warrior nuns in the mix, who echo the Bene Gesserit in Frank Herbert's Dune series.

The cinematography is splendid, reminiscent of Second Life (that's a compliment).  The battle scenes and the warp speeds are palpably portrayed.   The Borg and the Romulans figure crucially in the narrative, and we're introduced to some new planets and people, as well.

If you've noticed that I haven't said anything specific or much at all about the plot, you'd be right.  I don't want to spoil some of the many surprises for you.  But what I can tell you is that, if you're a sentient being, you'll be moved to tears, more than once, as well as laugh and be caught up in the combination of intellectual puzzle and sheer adventure that you'll find in this superb new series.

See also  Discovering Star Trek: Discovery ...   Star Trek: Discovery 2: Tour de Force Story and Characters