Star Trek: Picard

Of all the Star Trek series, Star Trek: Picard may be the one that is the most divisive. It is the eighth series in the Star Trek Universe and one that sees the return of one of Star Trek’s most beloved characters, Jean-Luc Picard.

Star Trek: Picard Was Not Well-Received To Start

From the get-go, fans immediately had visions of Star Trek: The Next Generation, as evidenced by the record-breaking numbers seen by CBS All Access (the precursor to Paramount+). What they got, instead, was something they never expected –  a series that arrived at a snail’s pace and, unlike The Next Generation, its story was serialized.

Star Trek: Picard was created by the foursome of Akiva Goldsman, Michael Chabon, Kirsten Beyer, and Alex Kurtzman for Kurtzman’s Star Trek Universe. Since 2009, Kurtzman has been a large part of Star Trek, starting with being the writer for the 2009 Star Trek feature film, then the 2013 feature Star Trek Into Darkness.

He was then given the keys to the Star Trek car in 2018 when CBS Television Studios presented him with a new five-year contract to oversee everything related to Star Trek on television. From that new contract, Kurtzman hit the ground running with Star Trek: Discovery, followed by Star Trek: Short Treks, rolling right on into Star Trek: Picard.

The First Season Saw A Controversial Outcome For Jean-Luc Picard

Star Trek: Picard’s first season consisted of 10 episodes and was released on January 23, 2020. Kurtzman had a mandate that the show was to be more of a Picard character study that had Goldsman and Chabon echoing those same sentiments.

According to Chabon, Picard is a “show with a nearly 80-year-old actor playing a 94-year-old man who is if not in the final stages of his career, in the latter stages of his career, who has a period of great dismay and disillusionment in his immediate rear view, who has allowed himself to let ties that were formerly very important to him slip or fade away, and who has now re-engaged with the greatly changed world in which he finds himself… It was not ever going to be The Next Generation Part Two.” It’s funny how fans can turn that thinking around.

The series finds a retired Jean-Luc Picard living a quiet life on his family’s vineyard, still grieving and affected by the death of Data. It isn’t until Picard gets a visit from one of Data’s daughters. Picard then takes up the fight for the synths to exist, ultimately giving his life to save theirs.

Yes, this is one of the divisive moments that had Trekkies talking. When Picard dies, his consciousness is then passed on to a synthetic body. Now, Picard is no longer human and this decision did not sit well. Season 2 begins with a 2-year jump and the return of one of Picard’s greatest foes, Q.

With Q now wreaking havoc, Picard and crew must travel back in time to the 21^st Century so they can save the future. Season 3 sees Picard having to face down a brand-new enemy who has started to hunt down Picard’s former USS Enterprise crew. Guess who’s coming for dinner in season 3?

Star Trek: Picard Has Brought Back Many The Next Generation Cast Members

The title says it all – Star Trek: Picard. After an 18-year year absence playing Jean-Luc Picard (he was last seen in 2002’s feature, Star Trek: Nemesis), Patrick Stewart returned to the role that made him famous. Although fans welcomed Picard’s return with open arms, it was the storylines that had fans questioning the series.

Joining Stewart in the first two seasons was Alison Pill, who played Agnes Jurati and eventually the Borg Queen. Isa Briones played numerous characters, these being Soji Asha, Dahj Asha, Sutra, and Kore Soong.

Michelle Hurd arrived as Raffi Musiker, Picard’s former Starfleet first officer who continues to struggle with a substance abuse issue. Also joining Stewart the first two seasons are Santiago Cabrera as Chris Rios, Evan Evagora as Elnor, Orta Brady as Laris, and harry Treadway as Narek.

Fans want what fans want and even though Star Trek: Picard enjoyed a wonderful critical reception, fans were actually looking forward to a Star Trek: The Next Generation “sequel.”

The show’s first season teased fans as Brent Spiner made an appearance as Data, Marina Sirtis appeared as Deanna Troi, and Jonathan Frakes reprised his William Riker role. They even brought in Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine from Star Trek: Voyager as another familiar face.

Season 2 backed off a bit on The Next Generation characters as Whoopi Goldberg (Guinan) and Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher) appeared. Season 3, though, is a much different story. The storyline has focused mainly on Picard’s USS Enterprise crew and we saw many of them return.

Yes, Star Trek: Picard brought back Frakes and Sirtis as well Gates McFadden (Beverly Crusher), Michael Dorn (Worf), and LeVar Burton (Geordi La Forge).

It was a series, but it also was a reunion.