One thing that really stood out to me was how much they cheapened the plot by having the drama on the artefact centre around sexual manipulation, rather than bothering to create an interesting scientific and cultural puzzle for the characters to unravel! There was so much potential for mystery and world building, it makes me sad lol
I agree. Ever since Game of Thrones writers seem to insist that there must be an oversexualized incest relationship somewhere in the script. And it culminated in Seven taking over the cube as Borg queen, just to be stripped of her powers before she even got a chance to use them. This scene was probably my biggest disappointment of all of season 1. Such missed opportunity.
Honestly, I think Star Trek does better when it did have a more limited budget. It forced the filmmakers to have to rely on cinematography and subtly over bombastic effects and moment to moment action
A month or so ago in my AP biology class I was teaching my students about the importance of surface area to volume ratio in cells. Larger cells have smaller ratios, which make it hard to get stuff in and out. I offered students extra credit for watching the TOS episode where the crew encounter the space amoeba; I have them calculate its SA/V ratio of the planet-sized cell. The structure of that episode is an excellent illustration of the wisdom of deliberate pacing. The crew has to cope with increasing fear of an unknown danger as they approach. The Abrams crew seems incapable of learning lessons from episodes like this.
The background music was a bit distracting, for me. “Sometimes silence is an effective score by itself.” Otherwise everything else was put together well.
@@Trekspertise on my pc with altec lansing plug in speakers. quality or mixing isn't the issue, the problem's that it's constantly playing and mostly always the same.
On my PC with headphones on. And yes, I was about to comment on this as well. The quote cited by @John Mendoza felt strange because it implied that there was some reason for the strange score, like that it must be ironically implying something, but I couldn't figure out what it was. The essay overall was put together nicely, but this one thing did bother me.
i think i saw it a bit differently since his positironic neurons which grew soji and dahj also includes traces of memory and experience because they were hewn from his consciousness. So they have an almost ghosting effect. It would be like if you were born with bits and pieces of your parents memory and had some sort of deep seated fundamental beliefs.
*+Nic Boo* You could've felt it, I think, if they did an attempt. but this was just a quick way to get some emotional reaction from the audience I suspect. Just like those "call backs": cheap and easy, but also often stale and dirty. The "father/daughter"-thing was often mentioned, but not really discussed. It was other people pushing it on Soji/Dahj and not her themselves asking for it. I'm sure, if they were given proper time, dialogue, choices to deal with their "family/identity"-crisis (and not in the mids of contrived powercreep/apocalyptic drama) then it would surely have come across a bit. I guess you're just not someone who easily falls for those cheap and easy tricks? I was continuously annoyed by how the story unfolded.
I wish they would’ve given Data the “human synth” body instead of Picard. It’s just poetic that after 7 years of TNG and the TNG movies, Data dies, only to be resurrected as the one thing he’s strived his whole life to be: human. They could’ve even given the role of Data to a new actor, since Spiner didn’t want to play Data again. Sucks that they didn’t do this though, it would’ve given Data a whole new level of storytelling, becoming the very thing he got so close to during the run of TNG and the movies.
@@TomPreston6 Unfortunately, that's the problem with long-running franchises...at some point the actors are going to age out of role. Sure, you could have a 80 year old Admiral Picard (given the age humans can live in his time), but will 21st century people buy it? Detractors (and some fans) were giving the TOS actors grief starting with ST V about how old they were; heck Doohan had medical problems that caused him to put on weight back around STII and he got grief for it.
@@TomPreston6 I am not a fan of JJ's films by any means, but I WAS able to enjoy Spock being played by Zach. I was rather surprised by myself after realizing. Case in point: If chosen well, it is entirely possible to have a defining character switch actors, given the right reasons and environment. I'd have liked a "redata" by a good different actor to engage with this whole situation that ultimately ALL relates to him. It would have been a risk, no question. But a quality choice in face combined with good writing could have gone a loooong way here.
@@TomPreston6 Easy solution. Soong Jr gets hurt so bad he's brain dead, no way to revive him but they find that mind transfer device would allow them to place Data's memories into him with some nanite tech. Boom, old man Data is born. Brent can play old Data and still be Data. It's the only reason to have another random unknown Soong.
One of reasons I enjoyed watching TNG is because it is unlike any other Star trek. While violence and destruction seem to be normalized in other Star treks in TNG violence or use of power of Enterprise is always used as a very last resort....and if it isn't then it is examined and determined if in fact was a right decision. In many episodes revered Capt. Picard stands out because he stands his ground in face of obvious aggression and does not react until first he attempts to open dialogue and reconcile if possible...or at least understand opposition motives. This is part of better future we all want to live in. A future where we overcomed poverty, monetary greed and transcended our selves as humans as sapiens in short, we overcome our destructive violent tendencies. Another reason is because it is a satire. A refection of our society and our humanity that takes what is good in us and strives to make it even better ...never stopping to improve selves. And that at the end honest exploration of our own humanity is the greatest adventure of unknown world there is. The Picard does not reflect this...perhaps it is only 1 season and they are looking for footing on the ground....I hope that is what it is. In addition: I agree with everything you said. You nailed it.
Re: the 'death fake-out' in Wrath of Khan, it was also TWO ENTIRE YEARS before we got Search for Spock, not 2 minutes in the same movie. It was also well-known (although, this may have only come out later) that Leonard Nemoy didn't want to return to Star Trek, and only came back for ST3 if he could direct. Point being, we had reason to believe it'd be permanent, and we had a long time to digest the death, unlike in these episodes of DISCO/PCD where it was literal minutes before they were resurrected.
"Death fake-outs" might also ring a bit hollow in the age of Corona Virus 100's of thousands are dying with no magic screwdrivers insight. Plus, Picard had such a strong literary narrative with Proust, Asimov and Unamano philosophies sprinkled all about. Unlike Nimoy, Stewart clearly wanted to return after dipping his toe back into the work. I just wished that they had cured his uromonic fever instead of bringing him back to life. Btw, in DISCO, not bringing Culber back to life would have been a bigger sin. As unforgivable as Tasha Yar's untimely departure. BLM notwithstanding. Plus I"m a fan of the mycelial network, visually, and how it was portrayed as a natural science counterpart to transporter mystery tech.
meh OG trek characters arent immune to resurrection/fakeouts or contrived revivals - kirk seemed to die after he got the "vulcan death grip" - and spock kills kirk again on vulcan - remember when riker was gonna die on the clip show episode - worf died on the table - didnt data get his head blown off? - just a couple off the top of my head
@@SC-mq1eh Exactly, and it was one of the worst tropes in Star Trek, and the new Treks doubled down on it. The writers got Trek completely upside down, they took the worst tropes, cliches and such and intensified them while ignoring the good parts.
I haven't seen it remarked on much, but the plot of ST: Picard mirrors the X-Men film "Logan" almost exactly. Patrick Stewart's character (Xavier/Picard) is suffering from a degenerative illness, has to come out of seclusion to help the long-lost daughter of an old friend (Wolverine/Data) find what remains of her family, uncovers a conspiracy involving an oppressed minority (mutants/androids), finds a double of his old friend (X-24/Altan Soong) and ultimately dies in the process. They even added a cigar-chomping tough guy (Rios) just to make it obvious!
Stewart has said in multiple interviews that he told the writers he wanted it to be like Logan, so I don't think that's unintentional at all. And certainly, it's being remarked on in all those interviews, if not in reviews for the show.
@@kaitlyn__L Has he? I haven't seen any of the interviews. In any case, there's being "like" Logan in tone and style and then there's just stealing plot points.
@@jimbopumbapigsticks fair enough, but it's also worth bearing in mind Logan didn't make up that overarching narrative either. It's a common variant of the Hero's Journey for old military men/public figures/etc. Obviously they don't all have meeting duplicates or cigar-chomping but reuniting with old friends is always a thing. And anyway, I hardly think "is tough and has a cigar" is a copyrightable character trait. Ever since tobacco was exported to Europe has that been a trope about tough military men. Patrick Stewart said he liked that Logan moved Xavier's life along, that he had regrets and frailties, and that's what he asked them to do for Picard. He said he wouldn't do it again if he was still in Starfleet living the exact same life. He wasn't like "go in and make it exactly the same movie except I'm the protagonist". But obviously, when you're telling the Retired Hero's Last Journey there are obvious places to go when examining his life and finding whatever it is that compels him to resume action. There's dozens of books about narrative-writing that talk about such formulae long before Logan or Picard came out, many specifically focused on crafting screenplays. And plenty of UA-camrs have profited from that, with channels going "X and Y is secretly the same movie!", going through the similarities and leaving out the differences. When it comes down to it, humans tend to only tell so many kinds of narratives, even across cultures who had never met each other you can find huge similarities in ancient narratives. So I'm not really strongly bothered when two narratives about ageing protagonists use some of the same story beats.
@@kaitlyn__L Sure, there are always going to be narrative similarities, especially in stories with such a similar plots (old man called out of retirement to save the day one last time). The structure of all stories is basically the same, after all. But so many of the motifs and ideas are almost bang-on the same, I think they could have done a lot more to distinguish Picard and to give it its own identity. It felt like I'd seen it all before, then I realised I had seen it all before!
This is the kind of review I spent months searching for. It's so professional, well-thought-out, and cool-headed. I'm surprised this channel isn't ten times larger than what it is.
I'm not a filmmaker so it's exciting to be taken "behind the curtain" and shown how the magic is made. I loved your explanation of why the Ensign Ro scene worked so well, for instance -- and why the Picard interview scene could perhaps have been better. So good to see a cogent, adult review with thoughtful critique. Thank you!
@12:00 nevermind the fact that the fakeout was completely transparent and had exactly zero emotional impact because I knew immediately that he was just going to wake up in a synth body. I knew from the very moment they introduced the golem.
@@andrewxu3602 It is supposed to be allegorical, not literal. That's one of the reasons why its cherished by everyone on the political spectrum. Making it literal has us take sides in a more connected way.
31:12 this is actually the destructive power of Spock's ship (Red Matter) that was supposed to destroy the supernova, stolen by the Romulans, and then delivered to the core of Vulcan, and almost Earth, via a mining beam. It was kind of more interesting that the destructive device intended to save the Romulans was used in a misguided attempt at revenge, using what should have been a relatively peaceful mining vessel.
I want to say this is an incredible analysis of the series. It’s grounded, unbiased, well thought-out, and extremely well edited. All of you blew it out of the water. I also agree with your analysis, particularly that the concept was fantastic but the execution was lackluster in my opinion. The thing that bothers me most about the series is how they abandon the optimistic and utopian view of the future that was integral to Old Trek and making it negative. I think in that respect it’s almost like a dark parody or farce of older Trek. My least favorite episode was Stardust City Rag because of how dark and dystopian everything seemed, from the colony to Seven of Nine. I must say my least favorite think about the whole series is how they made Seven of Nine a pessimistic and jaded bounty hunter and gave her a dark past through Icheb’s death. It just feels extremely forced and inorganic, as if she’s the antithesis of the Seven of Nine from Voyager. Especially since seeing her grow as a person was my favorite thing about watching Voyager. It almost feels insulting.
They didn’t abandon the optimistic and utopian view. There were already cracks in the Federation’s armor for a long long time, the show simply took what was already there and really pulled the threads.
Yep, in addition to tearing down the great Capt Picard, the human side 7 was discovering in ST Voyageur became something less humanist (but it was super that 7 was in STPicard)
You're remembering Star Trek wrong. The Federation was never "perfect" and "utopian". Maybe in TNG season 1, but that was why season 1 of TNG sucked so bad. That sterile version of the Federation was awful for story telling and the writers spent the next six seasons trying to write themselves out of that awful "utopian paradise" paradigm. That's precisely why we got DS9. Voyager, for all its failings, also attempted to ditch that TNG "utopia" model. The TNG movies, again, ditched that model. Starfleet and the Federation have always had darker elements. So much so that you can't just say it's a few bad apples. There are badmirals in almost every other episode. But thank god we didn't get an "everything is wonderful" fan service season where everything is hunky dory. I think Seven's arc was wonderfully done. Yes, Icheb's death was gruesome and dark, but it gave context to why Seven ended up where she did. I think Seven being part of a sort of calvary is absolutely perfect for her character.
Just like Picard hit most all the right notes, this episode of TREKSPERTISE gave us what we've missed for so long.....TREK ANALYSIS, INTELLIGENT, WITTY TREKSPERTISE, yeah, yeah we get you need cash and projects unrelated to even scifi you've put face forward for us to digest, but this episode was the fine meal, much like the meal with Picard, Troy, Riker and their beloved daughter.....a wonderful, almost perfect sojourn, that was this episode for us, this is what we've craved, wanted and want more of especially since THIS CHANNEL, opposed to your other channels is TREKSPERTISE
16:14 thats saint louis, right on the Mississippi about 2 minutes north of the arch, facing east saint louis right next to the eads bridge, which is the first permanent river crossing over the river and the only major bridge in the US named for its designer. When the river is high, or above flood stage, that statue is under water.
One of the main take-aways for me is: I guess I have to check out Babylon 5. I loved DS9 and have never seen Babylon 5. Thank you for this, *+Trekspertise* I absolutely agree with this review!
B5 gets a lot of love. When I was 15 I would yell from the rooftop that B5 was far superior to any star trek. As I have become an old man, I find that I get more enjoyment out of any trek then B5. Once the cat is out of the bag there is not as much to grab onto with B5. Still well worth a watch! Plenty of glorious trek cameo's too!
I really enjoyed Picard when I watched it. But after the episodes and I started thinking about what I watched the story sometimes felt disjointed and a little disappointing. I even made a video on my channel about how the studio ruined the death fakeout before the show even started.
Exactly how I felt. I usually enjoy star trek. But reflecting on the disjointed story, deviation from established canon, the denigration of the TOS Picard, the addictions plaguing people in 24th C, and poverty (heck, the Chinese will eliminate poverty in 2020) ... man, it sure could have been a lot better
@11:43 I think I can answer this. Picard may be dead, but he's not. His old body died, and he has a new body. This is what happens every time one uses a transporter. Granted, it's not quite the same thing, but it's very similar. I suspect any species with transporter technology got over the existential horror that that transporters are long ago, Except maybe Barclay.
I'd posit that the fan-theory relating to the transporter being a "magical David Bowie cloning machine" ala Nolan's The Prestige is inaccurate. I think the popularity of this theory stems from a scene in Breaking Bad. Obviously it's totally fictitious but I like to theorise. So the transporter has this thing called a Heisenberg compensator. This is the description from Memory Alpha: The compensator worked around the problems caused by the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, allowing the transporter sensors to compensate for their inability to determine both the position and momentum of the target particles to the same degree of accuracy. This ensured the matter stream remained coherent during transport, and no data was lost. I assumed that the transporter places a person or object into a state of super positioning. For a brief moment every particle that makes up a person or object exists in two places at the same time. It doesn't copy and destroy it changes the equilibrium of the subject on a quantum level. This is why there's a Tom Riker as well as a Will Riker. I like the morbid fan theory, it's a cool concept but I think within the realm of Trek's universe the transporter isn't a fax machine that destroys the original because of that one component.
@@MostBronzeChunner your problem there is actual quantum teleportation, which is a real thing today, where you induce a moving of quantum information from one object to another, still ends up destroying the original particles as part of the act of transferring their quantum data into the new particles. Check out minutephysics explainer video on quantum teleportation, which is actually one of their longest ones. You can transfer quantum states without directly knowing them, so a Heisenberg compensator is unnecessary unless they are storing the person as data and reconstituting the quantum states in their local matter, instead of moving quantum states with no encoding in the middle.
@@MostBronzeChunner Apologies for taking so long to respond. I never got the notification that someone replied. I try to avoid mixing "real" science with science fiction as I'm never quite sure where the fiction begins and ends. So, sure, the Heisenberg compensators do something magic to make the transporters work. I'm okay with that. However, it's pretty obvious they are capable of creating entirely unique individuals. The Enemy Within, Second Chances and Tuvix (as well as some other episodes I can't recall) all show this in various forms. I don't think you can HAVE the episodes without the transporter acting in such a way as killing someone then bringing them back. After all, we're Tuvok and Neelix both "dead" while Tuvix was a alive? And didn't Tuvix have to die to bring Tuvok and Neelix back? I don't have any concrete answers as the transporter is essentially space magic. It works as needed for the plot. However, the ramifications of it working the way it does is that it needs to kill people and then bring them back every time they use it. I don't see a way around that.
The family tree of Spock forgot to add that Amanda Grayson was the great-great-etc. granddaughter of Aaron Stemple (from the novel Ishmael), where Spock time traveled to 19th century Seattle and was befriended by Here Comes The Brides' usually villainous Aaron Stemple. The "in" reference to early Trek lore was that both Sarek and Aaron Stemple were played by Mark Lenard.
I find it kind of sad so many TV Sci Fi writers can't formulate a optimistic future. Maybe the writers think it to cheesy or not very interesting. I think it's just a lack of imagination. Everything can't be Grim Dark and I used to thing especially Star Trek but I've been proven wrong
@@TomPreston6 That deconstruction of utopian Trek actually goes somewhere though, they try to rebuilt the Federation up after showing its flaws, I don't feel Abrams-Kurtzman Trek does that. Instead it goes "look! The Federation does this bad thing (which they didn't even do in the past, such as abandoning the Romulans, or leaving people in poverty, somehow), now Picard's gotta fight against that evil government!" DS9 had the themes of an overbearing and Borg-like Federation who assimilates and monochromes cultures without thought, its lack of preparedness to fight the Dominion, and the creeping authoritarianism of fear, deconstructing and then building a better (in certain ways) Federation out of what was left.
The idea that the federation always needed to check itself wasn't new. Even least we forget TNGs drum head where romulan heratige was considered enough to persecute a Starfleet officer. It was only the scathing response of Picard that stopped it. And Picard even stated that the federation would always need to check itself, else fall from pursuing it's high ideals.
Picard did not spend his career fighting for android rights. He spent a week or so fighting for Data's rights. Also, Data did not create Dahj and Soji. His only daughter was Lol. So the painting makes no sense. Also, themes like Picard recovering from being turned into a Borg, or growing old and fighting ageism have been explored already more than once. This series just felt redundant, just as it copied ideas and tropes from other SF franchises without doing anything interesting with them.
I have to disagree with you analysis of the cinematic language of current TV Trek as such visual styles are quite common on TV in general nowadays - especially in thriller/action shows on the broadcast networks (the DC shows on The CW for example) and I wouldn't put the blame on the cinematic language of Marvel films but rather the emergence of digital filmmaking. Film stock is a limited resource and requires discipline when shooting coverage of scenes when it comes to dialogue scenes (plus no instant playback). The older Star Treks were filmed on 35mm, so not only would having a long, drawn out shot on Ensign Ro be dramatically effective, but also just a very efficient way to shoot since you have less set-ups to worry about (this is also why ER had so many long tracking shots - more efficient to shoot such rapid-fire dialogue on a tight production schedule, provided the actors know their lines of course). The phrase "we're wasting film" on film sets comes from the idea that the longer the camera runs, the sooner you'll literally run out of film and can't shoot anymore (and the money to buy more comes from your budget). Also, commercials at the time made it so that episodes would have 45 minutes of running time. Most TV shows (and movies) nowadays, however, are shot using digital cameras - where you merely just need memory cards, batteries, and battery chargers. And running times have tightened too to accommodate more commercials - 42:30 is the norm for broadcast. That means that such productions are incentivized to have episodes run even faster and shoot more coverage of scenes so that the editor has a lot of options in order to tighten the running time. Ensign Ro's monologue could have easily been sped up in pacing by cutting to a wide, then a shot of Picard, then a medium close-up with each cut every couple of seconds - assuming those shots were there to give the editor room to work with. When you compare Picard to Marvel's The Avengers, one thing to keep in mind is that Avengers was directed by Joss Whedon - a filmmaker more accustomed to working in broadcast television than in features. And a common criticism of the original Avengers film was that it did look more like a TV show than a theatrical feature film despite its budget and epic stakes... probably because it was shot by a TV director. Now these new Star Trek shows are on streaming so the commercial thing shouldn't matter too much you'd think (even though I have the cheaper version of All Access that has commercials). But given ViacomCBS's surprisingly small presence in scripted TV outside of the main CBS network, I imagine CBS is pulling talent from within their inner circle of cinematographers, directors, and producers when it comes to crafting visuals. Such talent is probably more used to visualizing stuff like generic NCIS and Criminal Minds rather than say Westworld or Lost in Space. TL;DR The convenience of digital cinema and tighter commercial running times are probably more to blame to why the new Star Treks are shot the way they are more than simply just aping the language of Marvel movies.
Yeah. I would add not only can you shorten the running time by cutting to reaction shots and wides, but also it lets you swap between different takes and hide the fact that the actors weren't in the exact same place. They don't just have to add one reaction angle while they ADR their lines anymore. So it lets you hide the edits for speed as well as for combining different takes, which leads to the rushed and overpolished feeling.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I took Raffi's living situation not as something she was forced to do because of economics, but rather because of reputation. She stood by Picard, and her commission with Starfleet was terminated when he quit in protest. But she couldn't let things be, and instead let a conspiracy theory (which turned out to be true) consume and destroy her personal life. She's not living in that trailer in the desert because she can't afford anything else, but because of a myriad of circumstances that lead her there. And she wasn't jealous of Picard's chateau, but only mentioned it as a way to cut at Picard.
And quite effectively, I might add. That's one of my favorite lines, the way Raffi draws out ...Sha-toe! Raffi living a trailer down by the river was a choice she made for herself. So she could smoke snakeweed in peace and also remind us of a much-beloved set piece.
I figured the whole Raffi situation was her choice to live there, she wanted to live alone and live a simpler life because she was so full of emoness. As for the mars people, that was just the fact they had to be building near non-stop to get all the ships they needed to get the romroms out of the blast zone of the Super Nova. In the short trek we see two daughters of people working, seemingly blue collar jobs, mind you, at the ship yards had their daughters going to a rather nice looking school on Earth. That having been said, I think the real point of things like Raffi's situation, is that the Federation is hurting and has been hurting ever since the attack on Mars, it's still not fully recovered from it and it really screwed up the utopia that was. I think that's also proven in Admiral swears a lot.
"Sometimes silence is an effective score by itself," he says while the constant piano clinking never ends! I can't even tell if it was an intentional or forgotten point.
Is Raffi really poor, or does she just not care for living among the society which ostracized her? Her dwelling seems pretty okay for a depressed alcoholic recluse.
On one Hand, I disliked, even hated the very idea that the Federation would decline into such a state as having Workers on Mars complaining About bad replicator Food hwen the very function of that device is to produce any Food they want. They could have enjoyed sushi or a good steak. Also, Boston seems too covered in advertisement and commercial for a non-capitalist society. On the other hand, I do like the fact that we have a utopia in decline. Every realm or empire falls eventually and that also seems to be tge core plot of Discovery Season 3. So, in this context, it's nice that they seem to build the seeds for that plot.
@@Lia-uf1ir I've long had the impression that replicators are less common outside Starfleet itself, and the quality of the replicators also range wildly. More complex food requires a more complex replicator.
@@TomPreston6 they complained about it on Voyager and on DS9, but not in TNG. The only time I can think of is Troi asking the replicator for regular chocolate instead of healthy "chocolate", but she's still expecting the replicator to make it for her.
@@Trekspertise eeeh yeah it was really REALLY LOUD and really distracting. being a perceptible loop that's relatively short, it became very much something to follow along with instead of your narration.
@@aeonjoey3d same. I thought it was deliberately placed to be dissonant to the interview scene because of the narration at that very point complaining about CBS doing that too.
16:00 Re: Substance addiction… People today, and throughout history, have enjoyed using drugs recreationally *despite* the negative side-effects. Presumably in the 24/25th century, if addiction, cancer and even a hangover can all be cured, then why not indulge in the pleasures?
As you say, this is what we all were waiting for. Sir Patrick Stewart is so brilliant it is hard for me to be critical. I appreciated seeing an older, more frail Picard. One that was more worn down by life and questioning his role. Your visual and musical editing is as delightful as ever. My biggest difference with you concerns Dr. Jurati, played by Allison Pill. This was a tour de force for her. Her character needed the tragedy of being induced to murder in order to evoke such pathos. She was able to express a remarkable range as an actor and made a stalwart partner for Patrick Stewart. I enjoyed Elron for his comic relief and backstory. Your comparisons to the Marvel franchise are brilliant and I could not agree more. As you say, we don’t need every show to be cataclysmic. It would be refreshing to see a return to more humble and smaller scale storytelling.
Others have said what I felt about Raffaela being poor and instead it's rather a choice she made to live in isolation. But for the Picard as a synth compared to being a borg well it's clearly very different being a borg is seeing what your doing while just being a passenger that's why it's terrifying while a synth body is more like having a replacement limb you know it's different but your still in control.
"while a synth body is more like having a replacement limb you know it's different but your still in control." Now imagine that it's your whole body that artificial. With your real or original body stored in an ic box elsewhere. Can you really believe that 'you' are real? Besides in series, since Picard was transferred to a synth body prior to the end of the synth ban Is Picard still legally Jon-Luc Picard, or did the legal Jon-Luc die with the organic body?
The mother was a protection subroutine. It's actually mentioned by either the team sent to collect her or the Romulan woman (Commodore O) who they were working for. It is also why the mother was able to cause Dahj to fall asleep - because the mother is a subroutine running hidden within their neural networks.
@@Trekspertise Because they were supposed to think they were human. It's sort of another time old trope where the double agent doesn't know they're a double agent. Maddox apparently told Picard (episode 5) that the twins mission was to find out the truth about the ban. Daystrom Institute, is a very clear place to gather intel. The Romulan controlled Borg cube seems a bit out there, but Maddox also said that he specifically thought the ban involved the Romulans. When a bunch of Romulans take control of the home of a partially artifiical lifeform , it does make more sense that one of the twins would end up on it.
Since as the series states that Dahj and Soji, were based on Data's construction, you would have to ask why would they need a 'protection' subroutine? Data didn't require one and neither did any of the other Synths shown in the series. My assumption would be that Dahj and Soji weren't based on Data, but on Lal (TNG: The Offspring), since she was the only known Andriod/Synth to undergo positronic cascade failure, due to overwhelming mental stress. Something that a 'mother' protection protocol would help to prevent.
@16:11 That's my favourite description of Starfleet. A great Kyle Sullivan-ism right there ! "Starfleet is like a secular Salvation Army that has teeth, and a fixation on repeating the Lewis & Clarke Expedition"
I also noticed similarities with Mass Effect occurring in both Star Trek Discovery and Star Trek Picard. Wouldn't it be fun to compare those two universes, in general, and in particular, with those two Star Trek series? :)
Trekspertise, I love that you always do your best to be positive and not give in to toxic fandom, but when it comes time to talk about the serious issues with the current state of the franchise writing, you don't waste any time telling it like it is.
@27:35 I believe this quantum reconstruction thing was put there to sell the reconstruction of Data (no pun intendet) from a single positronic neuron as viable.
Is Raffi poor, though? She drinks by herself in her fully equiped trailer away from people. Is that poverty or is that personal choice? Because sounds like my retirement plan.
See, I didn't see Raffi's presence in the trailer as a sign of poverty, but as a sign of her damage as a result of events and withdrawal from society as she couldn't cope. Her anger at Picard wasn't so much because he is 'wealthy', because we know money doesn't exist on Earth, but because he retreated into a paradise as a juxtaposition to her retreat into hell and didn't bother to check up on her.
Anyone notice that Picard is set in the Alt timeline(timeline B) of Voyager where they return home 16 years early and Picard is set 12years after they return home?(So technically in timeline A Seven is dead and Voyager is still 4 years from coming home.) The whole show isn't canon or rather it is an alt timeline narrative. The original canon narrative is the one before where Janeway became an admiral and left to go back in time to bring voyager home early. There is plenty of time in that timeline to have an entirely different series even post where Janeway left. It's just that once Janeway leaves you can't cross those timelines anymore as where one would continue on (say time line A) then Janeway goes back in time (timeline B) and any changes to that timeline create a whole new one to her perspective. Timeline A then fades away never to be seen again and Timeline B becomes the dominant timeline- but this leaves open possible future shows (if they wanted) where Data+Ichub - don't die. Ichub already had a 3rd alt timeline where he existed in the future anyways. Janeway sure loved time travel on Voyager. So many possibilities still exist. And is one way to forget this trainwreck Kurtzman crap.
Raffi isn't poor. She was talking about the ways they chose to exile. Star Trek has always said that basic needs are met, but anything beyond that is based on what someone does. That Picard inherited his vineyard is a problem the show Picard inherited from TNG. And it is a problem of the Star Trek economy. I would think private property would be kept to a minimum. Also, aside from Rick Webb's book, there's another book called Trekonomics that says that we don't need replicators or warp drive to get to the post-scarcity economy. We just need the political will. It's a similar thesis to Michael Moore's "Where to Invade Next." Also, there's a clip labeled "Measure of a Man" that's actually from "The Offspring," which referenced the events of "Measure of a Man." The Romulan Star didn't go nova. It was Hobus, though neither is specified on screen. I'm not sure I agree about starting with Picard's death, because then it makes his campaigning for synth rights one of self-interest. I think Raffi's a good character to keep, because I liked the way she found redemption and brought herself out of exile through her empathy for others. I will say that I wish Geordi was in there to get some closure with Data and/or Hugh. He was far closer to both of them than Picard was.
I say, have Raffi be an augment. It would help explain why when Picard left star fleet, she would have to go to (as humans are pretty weird about augments). Are they the only human group who are persecuted? It would help explain her “issues”.
15:22 Wait. Raffi didn't look poor to me. She looks like she has all the food and medicine and clothes she wants. She has a home, communications, etc. She feels alone. She feels like an outcast. She's abused some substances. But she doesn't seem physically poor at all. She's living better than I do! Of course there are places outside the core of the Federation where there is still money, but that seems to me a separate issue. Raffi btw it seems to me doesn't want to be treated, at least not enough to actually seek it out. This is evidence of her own personal issues, not that she is "poor." 17:04 Oh yeah! That thing is a sonic screwdriver!!!!!! 17:30 Yes, that is what bothered me about Raffi. The African American woman is a drug addict. Of course. To be fair, I really like her character a lot. But this is one of many times the show thing felt...off. 26:51 I believe the idea here was to a portrait of fanaticism. In fact, from a totally ruthless POV, it makes sense. The Romulan species are down, but not destroyed. The end justifies the means.
New sub because this is the very best Star Trek channel on UA-cam. Having reached many of the same conclusions, I agree with most everything you put into this review. I think you've hit on the most significant issue that has plagued every iteration of Star Trek since TOS. It's the writing. TOS became a phenomenon, despite its glaring flaws, for several reasons, but I think the primary force that has inspired generations was that it made relevant social commentary/analysis through amazing writing within a hopeful context. With too few exceptions, the following series and films have relied on technique, FX, and budget, frequently abandoning the premise Roddenberry established. I watched Picard in two days and am hopeful. There are more elements of that original Federation in this show so far, than I have seen in decades. Of course I'm not the target audience anymore, but maybe that's one of the problems with all media today. TOS was aired towars the end of that time when attracting an audience, rather than targeting a specific demographic, was the goal.
While I agree with some of your critisicms, I feel you are making some very big assumptions and being a bit too negative on others. At no point is there poverty. Raffi lost her family, her job and reputation and started substance abuse and is in a prison of her own making. If she wanted to, she could probably forgive herself and get back on tra.....oh wait, that IS her arc.
Wow! I completely agreed with your review. Finally someone understands my frustrations. You expressed exactly my frustrations at Picard and did it in a very even handed way. Thanks!
I agree, as nice as it was to see Seven, the entire Borg part could've gone away. Soji could've been somewhere else, or there could've only been Dahj and they save her and run away from earth so people can't beam into their living room at a moment's notice. They could've gone right to Nepenthe, taken the time to explore all the characters' emotions, and had an extra 3 episodes to play with than they currently did. Though the writers did hint that they agree with this criticism... because in interviews about season 2 they're saying COVID has allowed them to go back and rewrite the first episodes to better mesh with the final episodes, and stated that they didn't get to do that in S1, AKA they were still writing the final episodes while they shot the first ones. Why they did a rushed production like that when they had a long lead time on the series anyway I don't know, but here's hoping season 2 can be tighter and more focused as a result of these extra rewrites.
I agree in that 7/cube being removed does not affect the story. However, depending on where season 2/3 go it enhances? I may have my years off, but the season 1 finale illuded to an enemy we wouldn't see until mid/late second season. You could say just off of viewing TNG, Neutral zone was a waste because anything could have been listed to give a reason for the enterprise and Romulans to show up and the outposts not be addressed/resolved
Plus without adding in the borg cube, you never reach Picard finally seemingly coming to terms with the results of his assimilation. A decent act III from First Contact
@@Trekspertise But he didn't He threw a tantrum and called out for it. Here he has reconciled with the trauma. Call i Act 3b or 4 if you want, it's more closure than Encounter, and fits with the bigger story of the season.
@@Trekspertise well yes he did confront and kill the queen but in Picard, he was dealing with people like him. Who were liberated from the collective and dealing with what happened. Plus, this was the only time since becoming Locutus that he was actually aboard a Borg cube again?
I had to pause it after the intro 'cause it made me laugh one of those laughs that sort of just keeps going for ages but never really gets off the ground. xD
good synopsis. you point out a major canonical flaw in STP: poverty has returned, smoking has returned, alcohol has returned although canon pre-kurtzman (who was abysmally unaware) had posited a much more positive future
thoughtful analysis, but one question you posed seemed fault finding to excess. could picard travel throughout the galaxy to solve his quest without the the help of others is a question i would ask you? did not raffi find a ship for picard? did not seven save the ship picard was on when under attack?
I haven't watched the entirety of your review, but I do agree that the season was unbalanced. While I thoroughly enjoyed watching Picard, I feel like there were definitely shortcomings throughout the story. I think, for me, what it comes down to is that there were too many plot thread to develop all of them fully in the number of episodes alloted for this season. What the writers should've done is pare some of them down so that what was left could be fully developed. On the other hand, I think everything could've been more fleshed out with thirteen episodes instead of ten. What I find especially problematic is that the season spent about three episodes setting things up and about two episodes for the conclusion. That left too few episodes, I think to do every plot element justice with the remaining episodes. Which is why I think the season should've been longer.
Thank you for another excellent analysis and review essay. I too hope we see this new era of Trek step back from the apocalyptic stories you highlighted.
Around 11:15 that’s The Offspring, not Measure of A Man 😂 I hate to point this out because otherwise it’s awesome and I have been awaiting this for months and have loved your work for years now ❤️
The thing that disappoints me so much about modern Star Trek is that the writing is so lazy. It really feels like they don't care about the past and will only (inappropriately) use nostalgia if they feel like it will please the viewer even if it's at the expense of the story. I'm fine with Star Trek evolving and things changing. I already witnessed an evolution from TNG through ENT and I enjoyed it all. But this..... This is not Star Trek. It's a generic (albeit pretty) space wars action scifi show that lacks substance.
This is great reminder of why Trekspertise is one of my 3 subscribed channels... along with redlettermedia. You guys should all be in the writers room together!
Thank you for being reasonable. This video is leagues better than other reviews that are kinda spat out the morning after the episode came out. It allows for more thorough thought and emotion rather than the instinctive and unhelpful "PICARD BAD." Reviews are useful for helping folks recognize and draw out feelings that were on the tip of our mental tongue and make a better valuation of the series. All that to say: thanks for taking the time to not reach for the immediate low hanging fruit. I enjoyed Picard even though a few story points didn't hit right.
The concept for "Star Trek" by Roddenberry was, that it should be pop culture's "I have a dream", showing mankind's future that should be and not a present that is in a futuristic setting. Like MLK's speech this core concept made it so inspirational to so many people. The fact that MLK even talked Nichols into not quitting the show because it showed black people as it should be, and when Nichols told that to Roddenberry he responded with "King got what I am trying to do with my show", underlines that. Any Trek show, where the writers and producers do not want to create pop culture's "I have a dream", is not Star Trek, even if it looks like it. You can compromise with this philosophy, as Berman and Piller often described and did, especially with DS9 & ENT, but this core needs to stay intact to keep it being a Star Trek show.
@@TomPreston6 No. It does not refer to singular individuals. It refers to the whole culture. Utopia on Earth is not about being the exception, it is about being the rule. The culture depicted in PIC is the perversion of the concept: It shows mankind as it is present day in a futuristic setting, not as it should be in the future. Exactly how it should NOT be.
Nicely done review. Fair and balanced. I'm hoping some of the unanswered questions are addressed in the second season. One thing to note is that we don't know how much time passed between the resuscitation scene and the crew leaving the planet at the end of the season. It is quite possible several weeks passed to allow for the Federation to have meetings to lift the ban, etc. Time will tell!
About Rafi and the way she lived - I initially just assumed that due to being labelled a pariah by Starfleet, she retreated into her trailer and chose to live alone in the desert. But then the dialogue with Picard wouldn't make sense either. It is confusing.
An optimistic and critical review. I feel the sort of questions posited and suppositions explored are sorely lacking from other major review channels which once at least feigned the attempt to do so. The optimism and hopefulness for the franchise is reflective of its own original optimism.
It modernized are classic. And some people will complain about that. I'm just happy that there's more Star Trek content. Either people will complain about a lack of interest in the original material. Or they will complain about nostalgia, like here. I barely noticed the musical score. It was subtle most of the time. I liked the bit of Voyager theme when Seven of nine appears on screen. It would have taken a lot out of the season to take her out.
agreed music levels and quality were awesome! and 7's introduction(or re) was pretty damn shocking - the producers admitted there is alot of 7 footage on the floor - but most of what i saw was great and def interested to see where they take her - with picardo poss being in season 2, could make for a good/maybe uncomfortable reunion - or is that just more nostalgia baiting?? i mean 20yrs post nemesis, none of these tng era legacy characters would be relevant in the timeline, right?
Thank you for perfectly summing up and properly explaining the problems with modern Star Trek without acting like an entitled whiny fan boy. Too much criticism of modern Trek has been filled with pedantry, minutiae, and complaints about being "too woke" without tackling any of the real problems like the ones mentioned in this video. Though I will have to disagree on one thing. Picard definitely needed to do the eye patch bit because that was classic Star Trek ham and that is something modern Trek has been severely lacking.
Great video! I overall enjoyed the show because Patrick Stewart is just the best, but I agree the plot and pacing definitely had some issues. I think they just tried to do too much for 10 episodes. A story about Picard dealing with Data's death and finding his daughter is great, or a story about the X-borg trying to build a society as they become people again, fine, or a story about Romulan refugees and an evil Romulan secret society, sure, or a story about Starfleet abandoning its ideals, and Picard standing up for those ideals, cool, but you can't have all of it. Hopefully, Season 2 is much more streamlined. Also, you didn't mention it in your video, but I hated the swearing. Totally inorganic and unnecessary, in my opinion. Keep up the good work!
i could be wrong but i dont think the "a story about the X-borg trying to build a society as they become people again or a story about Romulan refugees and an evil Romulan secret society, sure, or a story about Starfleet abandoning its ideals, and Picard standing up for those ideals" were meant to wrapped up in one season - season 1 is hopefully building the current world, where all those things are important to what happens in season 2 etc
I haven't owned a television since the end of the 90's but I think that this review/analysis of the Star Trek universe is brilliant! I don't believe that I've seen another explication of (what I think is) a once-upon-a-series that handled its subject with such critical reverence. Well done indeed. The odds are good that I'd've enjoyed this video even if I had never heard of Star Trek (instead of having watched it from the first broadcast to the late 90's).
I don't think Blue Skies was a joke on Nemesis, as it is used in the intro to Jerry Goldsmith's final Trek March, 'A New Ending'. Also my favorite version of the 'Star Trek theme'
I think I would have enjoyed Picard much better if they hadn't relied so much on galaxy-shattering peril, and taken the time to tie the various TNG, DS9 and Voyager series and characters together. Like you say at the beginning - did Sisko come back? What happens after Voyager makes it back to Earth? What about Q, Worf or even Guinan? Why must all sci-fi now have to be about saving all material existence from imminent destruction? The small stories in the various series were almost always better, more character driven and had a personal depth that gave them the advantage over the 'big blowup' stuff. And, being the nell I am, the torture and death of Icheb did it for me. A Starfleet Officer goes missing, presumed kidnapped and ...nothing? And yes, the high-tech stuff is fine, but hold the damn camera still once in a while, or do slow close-ups, like with Ro in the example you gave, where there's a purpose to it. At least have a reason for all that panning. The central question of 'what does it mean to be human' was never explored as much as it should have been, or went in weird directions, like the androids on Mars or Picard's seemingly immediate acceptance of now being a synth or android or whatever. The whole series just seemed to be far too ambitious and eager to get into big conflict, rather than in simple story-telling.
DS9 definitely... borrowed, from Babylon 5. It would have been a crime if DS9 didn't turn out so damn good and sprouted legs to stand on it's own merit. This new stuff, well... I like the new stuff, I just wish that, that's not all the studios did.
Raffi also is the only one who's family has fallen apart. Well I guess her and Doc Murder. Don't kill Hugh Don't kill the Borg Don't kill Dahj Don't kill Bjayzl Design more than one ship for each side.
33:00 Erm, didn't most of the first feature films deal with the same type of thing? ST:TMP had a "thing" that was about to destroy Earth. WoK had a supervillain almost get ahold of a superweapon. ST3 had no super highstakes. ST4 was going to destroy Earth via rain. ST5, while not having super high stakes, did let the crew meet "God" (of sorts anyway). ST6 almost led to a war between the Klingons and the Federation. I'm not saying you're wrong about the stakes always being so high. But this isn't anything new for the Star Trek movies.
I like the show. But I largely agree with you and expect better in the future. For me, Synth Picard isn't a bad idea, if it had touched more on the effects of it. Maybe they could have killed him fast and quick, and spent the time with him brooding in the mirror, like in First Contact (Or, Nemesis). But the Borg, they didn't have to be there as they were. They could have played up themes of assimilation, life, rights, etc, but they didn't. I also agree with letting this bigger, faster, flashier thing slow down. But then again, nostalgia is the operation of capitalism. And sinking this much money into the franchise is clearly a grab at Disney level dollars. Love your stuff
I agree, Picard's reaction to becoming an android would have been entirely different. In the show he seemed to take it very well. But one would expect his reaction to be the exact opposite, given his history with the Borg. He would be anxious, or even furious that he was now once again an artifial being that could be easily reprogrammed to do anyone's will, as were the synths when they attacked Mars. I sincerely hope this issue will be revisited in season 2. Being human and what it means to be human was one of the central philosophical questions in TNG.
One thing that really stood out to me was how much they cheapened the plot by having the drama on the artefact centre around sexual manipulation, rather than bothering to create an interesting scientific and cultural puzzle for the characters to unravel! There was so much potential for mystery and world building, it makes me sad lol
I agree. Ever since Game of Thrones writers seem to insist that there must be an oversexualized incest relationship somewhere in the script. And it culminated in Seven taking over the cube as Borg queen, just to be stripped of her powers before she even got a chance to use them. This scene was probably my biggest disappointment of all of season 1. Such missed opportunity.
Ziim picard show ruined everyone’s character
Honestly, I think Star Trek does better when it did have a more limited budget. It forced the filmmakers to have to rely on cinematography and subtly over bombastic effects and moment to moment action
Picard had a much more limited budget - it simply reveals that the entire production team isn't really all that talented or creative.
STV had a limited budget and it still stunk
@@resurrectedstarships Ahem - an estimated $8-9 million per episode is limited?
A month or so ago in my AP biology class I was teaching my students about the importance of surface area to volume ratio in cells. Larger cells have smaller ratios, which make it hard to get stuff in and out. I offered students extra credit for watching the TOS episode where the crew encounter the space amoeba; I have them calculate its SA/V ratio of the planet-sized cell. The structure of that episode is an excellent illustration of the wisdom of deliberate pacing. The crew has to cope with increasing fear of an unknown danger as they approach. The Abrams crew seems incapable of learning lessons from episodes like this.
So true. Low-budget Trek is basically theater. Current era Trek is a gilded monstrosity.
The background music was a bit distracting, for me. “Sometimes silence is an effective score by itself.” Otherwise everything else was put together well.
What did you watch the video on? Like, what sort of device?
Trekspertise on my iphone with my earbuds in.
On my phone. I wasn't sure if you were doing that ironically to make a point.
@@Trekspertise on my pc with altec lansing plug in speakers. quality or mixing isn't the issue, the problem's that it's constantly playing and mostly always the same.
On my PC with headphones on. And yes, I was about to comment on this as well. The quote cited by @John Mendoza felt strange because it implied that there was some reason for the strange score, like that it must be ironically implying something, but I couldn't figure out what it was.
The essay overall was put together nicely, but this one thing did bother me.
I never felt the "father/daughter" thing. Data did't built or raised her. He was source material for a clone, not a father.
i think i saw it a bit differently since his positironic neurons which grew soji and dahj also includes traces of memory and experience because they were hewn from his consciousness. So they have an almost ghosting effect. It would be like if you were born with bits and pieces of your parents memory and had some sort of deep seated fundamental beliefs.
@@JL0ndon That's how I seen it to.
"He was source material for a clone, not a father."
Not even that, more similar to that of an 'non-consenting' sperm donor.
*+Nic Boo* You could've felt it, I think, if they did an attempt. but this was just a quick way to get some emotional reaction from the audience I suspect. Just like those "call backs": cheap and easy, but also often stale and dirty.
The "father/daughter"-thing was often mentioned, but not really discussed. It was other people pushing it on Soji/Dahj and not her themselves asking for it. I'm sure, if they were given proper time, dialogue, choices to deal with their "family/identity"-crisis (and not in the mids of contrived powercreep/apocalyptic drama) then it would surely have come across a bit.
I guess you're just not someone who easily falls for those cheap and easy tricks? I was continuously annoyed by how the story unfolded.
Bruce Maddox was more of a father to her than data
I wish they would’ve given Data the “human synth” body instead of Picard. It’s just poetic that after 7 years of TNG and the TNG movies, Data dies, only to be resurrected as the one thing he’s strived his whole life to be: human. They could’ve even given the role of Data to a new actor, since Spiner didn’t want to play Data again. Sucks that they didn’t do this though, it would’ve given Data a whole new level of storytelling, becoming the very thing he got so close to during the run of TNG and the movies.
Did not think about that. That would have been wonderful.
@@TomPreston6 Unfortunately, that's the problem with long-running franchises...at some point the actors are going to age out of role. Sure, you could have a 80 year old Admiral Picard (given the age humans can live in his time), but will 21st century people buy it? Detractors (and some fans) were giving the TOS actors grief starting with ST V about how old they were; heck Doohan had medical problems that caused him to put on weight back around STII and he got grief for it.
@@TomPreston6 I am not a fan of JJ's films by any means, but I WAS able to enjoy Spock being played by Zach. I was rather surprised by myself after realizing. Case in point: If chosen well, it is entirely possible to have a defining character switch actors, given the right reasons and environment. I'd have liked a "redata" by a good different actor to engage with this whole situation that ultimately ALL relates to him. It would have been a risk, no question. But a quality choice in face combined with good writing could have gone a loooong way here.
@@TomPreston6 Easy solution. Soong Jr gets hurt so bad he's brain dead, no way to revive him but they find that mind transfer device would allow them to place Data's memories into him with some nanite tech. Boom, old man Data is born. Brent can play old Data and still be Data. It's the only reason to have another random unknown Soong.
@@AnalogDial Great idea! Sadly, Spiner didn't want to continue in the role.
One of reasons I enjoyed watching TNG is because it is unlike any other Star trek. While violence and destruction seem to be normalized in other Star treks in TNG violence or use of power of Enterprise is always used as a very last resort....and if it isn't then it is examined and determined if in fact was a right decision. In many episodes revered Capt. Picard stands out because he stands his ground in face of obvious aggression and does not react until first he attempts to open dialogue and reconcile if possible...or at least understand opposition motives. This is part of better future we all want to live in. A future where we overcomed poverty, monetary greed and transcended our selves as humans as sapiens in short, we overcome our destructive violent tendencies. Another reason is because it is a satire. A refection of our society and our humanity that takes what is good in us and strives to make it even better ...never stopping to improve selves. And that at the end honest exploration of our own humanity is the greatest adventure of unknown world there is. The Picard does not reflect this...perhaps it is only 1 season and they are looking for footing on the ground....I hope that is what it is. In addition: I agree with everything you said. You nailed it.
For a 45 minute long Nu Trek review randomly recommended to me this was a lot more interesting than I expected. Subscribed.
Welcome aboard! Check out our essays :)
Re: the 'death fake-out' in Wrath of Khan, it was also TWO ENTIRE YEARS before we got Search for Spock, not 2 minutes in the same movie. It was also well-known (although, this may have only come out later) that Leonard Nemoy didn't want to return to Star Trek, and only came back for ST3 if he could direct. Point being, we had reason to believe it'd be permanent, and we had a long time to digest the death, unlike in these episodes of DISCO/PCD where it was literal minutes before they were resurrected.
Good point.
"Death fake-outs" might also ring a bit hollow in the age of Corona Virus 100's of thousands are dying with no magic screwdrivers insight. Plus, Picard had such a strong literary narrative with Proust, Asimov and Unamano philosophies sprinkled all about. Unlike Nimoy, Stewart clearly wanted to return after dipping his toe back into the work. I just wished that they had cured his uromonic fever instead of bringing him back to life.
Btw, in DISCO, not bringing Culber back to life would have been a bigger sin. As unforgivable as Tasha Yar's untimely departure. BLM notwithstanding. Plus I"m a fan of the mycelial network, visually, and how it was portrayed as a natural science counterpart to transporter mystery tech.
meh OG trek characters arent immune to resurrection/fakeouts or contrived revivals - kirk seemed to die after he got the "vulcan death grip" - and spock kills kirk again on vulcan - remember when riker was gonna die on the clip show episode - worf died on the table - didnt data get his head blown off? - just a couple off the top of my head
@@SC-mq1eh
Exactly, and it was one of the worst tropes in Star Trek, and the new Treks doubled down on it. The writers got Trek completely upside down, they took the worst tropes, cliches and such and intensified them while ignoring the good parts.
@@WhatIsSanity
worst/best tropes is trek is debatable, but death/revival is part of the franchises DNA
I haven't seen it remarked on much, but the plot of ST: Picard mirrors the X-Men film "Logan" almost exactly. Patrick Stewart's character (Xavier/Picard) is suffering from a degenerative illness, has to come out of seclusion to help the long-lost daughter of an old friend (Wolverine/Data) find what remains of her family, uncovers a conspiracy involving an oppressed minority (mutants/androids), finds a double of his old friend (X-24/Altan Soong) and ultimately dies in the process. They even added a cigar-chomping tough guy (Rios) just to make it obvious!
Um
Stewart has said in multiple interviews that he told the writers he wanted it to be like Logan, so I don't think that's unintentional at all. And certainly, it's being remarked on in all those interviews, if not in reviews for the show.
@@kaitlyn__L Has he? I haven't seen any of the interviews. In any case, there's being "like" Logan in tone and style and then there's just stealing plot points.
@@jimbopumbapigsticks fair enough, but it's also worth bearing in mind Logan didn't make up that overarching narrative either. It's a common variant of the Hero's Journey for old military men/public figures/etc.
Obviously they don't all have meeting duplicates or cigar-chomping but reuniting with old friends is always a thing. And anyway, I hardly think "is tough and has a cigar" is a copyrightable character trait. Ever since tobacco was exported to Europe has that been a trope about tough military men.
Patrick Stewart said he liked that Logan moved Xavier's life along, that he had regrets and frailties, and that's what he asked them to do for Picard. He said he wouldn't do it again if he was still in Starfleet living the exact same life. He wasn't like "go in and make it exactly the same movie except I'm the protagonist".
But obviously, when you're telling the Retired Hero's Last Journey there are obvious places to go when examining his life and finding whatever it is that compels him to resume action. There's dozens of books about narrative-writing that talk about such formulae long before Logan or Picard came out, many specifically focused on crafting screenplays.
And plenty of UA-camrs have profited from that, with channels going "X and Y is secretly the same movie!", going through the similarities and leaving out the differences.
When it comes down to it, humans tend to only tell so many kinds of narratives, even across cultures who had never met each other you can find huge similarities in ancient narratives. So I'm not really strongly bothered when two narratives about ageing protagonists use some of the same story beats.
@@kaitlyn__L Sure, there are always going to be narrative similarities, especially in stories with such a similar plots (old man called out of retirement to save the day one last time). The structure of all stories is basically the same, after all. But so many of the motifs and ideas are almost bang-on the same, I think they could have done a lot more to distinguish Picard and to give it its own identity. It felt like I'd seen it all before, then I realised I had seen it all before!
I clicked this video so quick it popped up in my notifications tab as Im watching
This is the kind of review I spent months searching for. It's so professional, well-thought-out, and cool-headed. I'm surprised this channel isn't ten times larger than what it is.
Us, too :(
I'm not a filmmaker so it's exciting to be taken "behind the curtain" and shown how the magic is made. I loved your explanation of why the Ensign Ro scene worked so well, for instance -- and why the Picard interview scene could perhaps have been better. So good to see a cogent, adult review with thoughtful critique. Thank you!
Thanks! Keep an eye out for that move in other productions. It is a popular technique!
@12:00 nevermind the fact that the fakeout was completely transparent and had exactly zero emotional impact because I knew immediately that he was just going to wake up in a synth body. I knew from the very moment they introduced the golem.
Love you guys, looking forward to Star Trek Terrorism part 2 ❤
Closer than you think :)
Me too what a great Trek subject to tackle.
_"Sometimes silence is an effective score in itself."_
Damn. I love that. Very poetic.
8:54 I think I remember a line about Soji and Dahj's "Mom AI."
Remember the script writing guidelines of Star Trek episodes. One of the rules was that the story has to work in a non-sci-fi setting.
Why??? Seems like a dumb rule... It's the reason I dislike Deep Space 9, it was hardly sci-fi, more like a soap in a sci-fi setting.
Rob81k dumb rule to who , to you? You don’t represent the entire demographic of fans
But then what's the point of Star Trek in the first place? Why not just write a standard drama?
@@andrewxu3602 It is supposed to be allegorical, not literal. That's one of the reasons why its cherished by everyone on the political spectrum. Making it literal has us take sides in a more connected way.
@@JonathanJK Then why not have it allegorical in a realistic fiction setting?
31:12 this is actually the destructive power of Spock's ship (Red Matter) that was supposed to destroy the supernova, stolen by the Romulans, and then delivered to the core of Vulcan, and almost Earth, via a mining beam.
It was kind of more interesting that the destructive device intended to save the Romulans was used in a misguided attempt at revenge, using what should have been a relatively peaceful mining vessel.
I want to say this is an incredible analysis of the series. It’s grounded, unbiased, well thought-out, and extremely well edited. All of you blew it out of the water. I also agree with your analysis, particularly that the concept was fantastic but the execution was lackluster in my opinion. The thing that bothers me most about the series is how they abandon the optimistic and utopian view of the future that was integral to Old Trek and making it negative. I think in that respect it’s almost like a dark parody or farce of older Trek. My least favorite episode was Stardust City Rag because of how dark and dystopian everything seemed, from the colony to Seven of Nine. I must say my least favorite think about the whole series is how they made Seven of Nine a pessimistic and jaded bounty hunter and gave her a dark past through Icheb’s death. It just feels extremely forced and inorganic, as if she’s the antithesis of the Seven of Nine from Voyager. Especially since seeing her grow as a person was my favorite thing about watching Voyager. It almost feels insulting.
Agreed.
Also - thanks for watching =)
They didn’t abandon the optimistic and utopian view. There were already cracks in the Federation’s armor for a long long time, the show simply took what was already there and really pulled the threads.
Yep, in addition to tearing down the great Capt Picard, the human side 7 was discovering in ST Voyageur became something less humanist (but it was super that 7 was in STPicard)
You're remembering Star Trek wrong. The Federation was never "perfect" and "utopian". Maybe in TNG season 1, but that was why season 1 of TNG sucked so bad. That sterile version of the Federation was awful for story telling and the writers spent the next six seasons trying to write themselves out of that awful "utopian paradise" paradigm. That's precisely why we got DS9. Voyager, for all its failings, also attempted to ditch that TNG "utopia" model. The TNG movies, again, ditched that model.
Starfleet and the Federation have always had darker elements. So much so that you can't just say it's a few bad apples. There are badmirals in almost every other episode.
But thank god we didn't get an "everything is wonderful" fan service season where everything is hunky dory. I think Seven's arc was wonderfully done. Yes, Icheb's death was gruesome and dark, but it gave context to why Seven ended up where she did. I think Seven being part of a sort of calvary is absolutely perfect for her character.
Just like Picard hit most all the right notes, this episode of TREKSPERTISE gave us what we've missed for so long.....TREK ANALYSIS, INTELLIGENT, WITTY TREKSPERTISE, yeah, yeah we get you need cash and projects unrelated to even scifi you've put face forward for us to digest, but this episode was the fine meal, much like the meal with Picard, Troy, Riker and their beloved daughter.....a wonderful, almost perfect sojourn, that was this episode for us, this is what we've craved, wanted and want more of especially since THIS CHANNEL, opposed to your other channels is TREKSPERTISE
16:14 thats saint louis, right on the Mississippi about 2 minutes north of the arch, facing east saint louis right next to the eads bridge, which is the first permanent river crossing over the river and the only major bridge in the US named for its designer. When the river is high, or above flood stage, that statue is under water.
One of the main take-aways for me is: I guess I have to check out Babylon 5. I loved DS9 and have never seen Babylon 5.
Thank you for this, *+Trekspertise* I absolutely agree with this review!
B5 gets a lot of love. When I was 15 I would yell from the rooftop that B5 was far superior to any star trek. As I have become an old man, I find that I get more enjoyment out of any trek then B5. Once the cat is out of the bag there is not as much to grab onto with B5. Still well worth a watch! Plenty of glorious trek cameo's too!
Killing Icheb was straight up BS!! It did nothing but give us a scene of gruesome violence. Icheb should have been part of Picard's new crew.
I really enjoyed Picard when I watched it. But after the episodes and I started thinking about what I watched the story sometimes felt disjointed and a little disappointing. I even made a video on my channel about how the studio ruined the death fakeout before the show even started.
Exactly how I felt. I usually enjoy star trek. But reflecting on the disjointed story, deviation from established canon, the denigration of the TOS Picard, the addictions plaguing people in 24th C, and poverty (heck, the Chinese will eliminate poverty in 2020) ... man, it sure could have been a lot better
@@kotto2001 "exactly how I feel"
He didn't say any of that lol.
1. Great intro
2. Holy hell this series.
@11:43 I think I can answer this. Picard may be dead, but he's not. His old body died, and he has a new body. This is what happens every time one uses a transporter. Granted, it's not quite the same thing, but it's very similar. I suspect any species with transporter technology got over the existential horror that that transporters are long ago, Except maybe Barclay.
I'd posit that the fan-theory relating to the transporter being a "magical David Bowie cloning machine" ala Nolan's The Prestige is inaccurate. I think the popularity of this theory stems from a scene in Breaking Bad.
Obviously it's totally fictitious but I like to theorise. So the transporter has this thing called a Heisenberg compensator. This is the description from Memory Alpha: The compensator worked around the problems caused by the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, allowing the transporter sensors to compensate for their inability to determine both the position and momentum of the target particles to the same degree of accuracy. This ensured the matter stream remained coherent during transport, and no data was lost.
I assumed that the transporter places a person or object into a state of super positioning. For a brief moment every particle that makes up a person or object exists in two places at the same time. It doesn't copy and destroy it changes the equilibrium of the subject on a quantum level. This is why there's a Tom Riker as well as a Will Riker.
I like the morbid fan theory, it's a cool concept but I think within the realm of Trek's universe the transporter isn't a fax machine that destroys the original because of that one component.
@@MostBronzeChunner your problem there is actual quantum teleportation, which is a real thing today, where you induce a moving of quantum information from one object to another, still ends up destroying the original particles as part of the act of transferring their quantum data into the new particles. Check out minutephysics explainer video on quantum teleportation, which is actually one of their longest ones. You can transfer quantum states without directly knowing them, so a Heisenberg compensator is unnecessary unless they are storing the person as data and reconstituting the quantum states in their local matter, instead of moving quantum states with no encoding in the middle.
@@MostBronzeChunner Apologies for taking so long to respond. I never got the notification that someone replied.
I try to avoid mixing "real" science with science fiction as I'm never quite sure where the fiction begins and ends. So, sure, the Heisenberg compensators do something magic to make the transporters work. I'm okay with that.
However, it's pretty obvious they are capable of creating entirely unique individuals. The Enemy Within, Second Chances and Tuvix (as well as some other episodes I can't recall) all show this in various forms. I don't think you can HAVE the episodes without the transporter acting in such a way as killing someone then bringing them back. After all, we're Tuvok and Neelix both "dead" while Tuvix was a alive? And didn't Tuvix have to die to bring Tuvok and Neelix back?
I don't have any concrete answers as the transporter is essentially space magic. It works as needed for the plot. However, the ramifications of it working the way it does is that it needs to kill people and then bring them back every time they use it. I don't see a way around that.
The family tree of Spock forgot to add that Amanda Grayson was the great-great-etc. granddaughter of Aaron Stemple (from the novel Ishmael), where Spock time traveled to 19th century Seattle and was befriended by Here Comes The Brides' usually villainous Aaron Stemple. The "in" reference to early Trek lore was that both Sarek and Aaron Stemple were played by Mark Lenard.
Kind of miss the Star Trek optimism now everything is Dark and boring.
doom7ish Just like voyager! 😂
@@pricelessppp
what do ya mean?
I find it kind of sad so many TV Sci Fi writers can't formulate a optimistic future. Maybe the writers think it to cheesy or not very interesting. I think it's just a lack of imagination. Everything can't be Grim Dark and I used to thing especially Star Trek but I've been proven wrong
@@TomPreston6 That deconstruction of utopian Trek actually goes somewhere though, they try to rebuilt the Federation up after showing its flaws, I don't feel Abrams-Kurtzman Trek does that. Instead it goes "look! The Federation does this bad thing (which they didn't even do in the past, such as abandoning the Romulans, or leaving people in poverty, somehow), now Picard's gotta fight against that evil government!"
DS9 had the themes of an overbearing and Borg-like Federation who assimilates and monochromes cultures without thought, its lack of preparedness to fight the Dominion, and the creeping authoritarianism of fear, deconstructing and then building a better (in certain ways) Federation out of what was left.
The idea that the federation always needed to check itself wasn't new. Even least we forget TNGs drum head where romulan heratige was considered enough to persecute a Starfleet officer. It was only the scathing response of Picard that stopped it. And Picard even stated that the federation would always need to check itself, else fall from pursuing it's high ideals.
Picard did not spend his career fighting for android rights. He spent a week or so fighting for Data's rights. Also, Data did not create Dahj and Soji. His only daughter was Lol. So the painting makes no sense. Also, themes like Picard recovering from being turned into a Borg, or growing old and fighting ageism have been explored already more than once. This series just felt redundant, just as it copied ideas and tropes from other SF franchises without doing anything interesting with them.
I have to disagree with you analysis of the cinematic language of current TV Trek as such visual styles are quite common on TV in general nowadays - especially in thriller/action shows on the broadcast networks (the DC shows on The CW for example) and I wouldn't put the blame on the cinematic language of Marvel films but rather the emergence of digital filmmaking.
Film stock is a limited resource and requires discipline when shooting coverage of scenes when it comes to dialogue scenes (plus no instant playback). The older Star Treks were filmed on 35mm, so not only would having a long, drawn out shot on Ensign Ro be dramatically effective, but also just a very efficient way to shoot since you have less set-ups to worry about (this is also why ER had so many long tracking shots - more efficient to shoot such rapid-fire dialogue on a tight production schedule, provided the actors know their lines of course). The phrase "we're wasting film" on film sets comes from the idea that the longer the camera runs, the sooner you'll literally run out of film and can't shoot anymore (and the money to buy more comes from your budget). Also, commercials at the time made it so that episodes would have 45 minutes of running time.
Most TV shows (and movies) nowadays, however, are shot using digital cameras - where you merely just need memory cards, batteries, and battery chargers. And running times have tightened too to accommodate more commercials - 42:30 is the norm for broadcast. That means that such productions are incentivized to have episodes run even faster and shoot more coverage of scenes so that the editor has a lot of options in order to tighten the running time. Ensign Ro's monologue could have easily been sped up in pacing by cutting to a wide, then a shot of Picard, then a medium close-up with each cut every couple of seconds - assuming those shots were there to give the editor room to work with. When you compare Picard to Marvel's The Avengers, one thing to keep in mind is that Avengers was directed by Joss Whedon - a filmmaker more accustomed to working in broadcast television than in features. And a common criticism of the original Avengers film was that it did look more like a TV show than a theatrical feature film despite its budget and epic stakes... probably because it was shot by a TV director.
Now these new Star Trek shows are on streaming so the commercial thing shouldn't matter too much you'd think (even though I have the cheaper version of All Access that has commercials). But given ViacomCBS's surprisingly small presence in scripted TV outside of the main CBS network, I imagine CBS is pulling talent from within their inner circle of cinematographers, directors, and producers when it comes to crafting visuals. Such talent is probably more used to visualizing stuff like generic NCIS and Criminal Minds rather than say Westworld or Lost in Space.
TL;DR The convenience of digital cinema and tighter commercial running times are probably more to blame to why the new Star Treks are shot the way they are more than simply just aping the language of Marvel movies.
Yeah. I would add not only can you shorten the running time by cutting to reaction shots and wides, but also it lets you swap between different takes and hide the fact that the actors weren't in the exact same place. They don't just have to add one reaction angle while they ADR their lines anymore. So it lets you hide the edits for speed as well as for combining different takes, which leads to the rushed and overpolished feeling.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I took Raffi's living situation not as something she was forced to do because of economics, but rather because of reputation. She stood by Picard, and her commission with Starfleet was terminated when he quit in protest. But she couldn't let things be, and instead let a conspiracy theory (which turned out to be true) consume and destroy her personal life. She's not living in that trailer in the desert because she can't afford anything else, but because of a myriad of circumstances that lead her there. And she wasn't jealous of Picard's chateau, but only mentioned it as a way to cut at Picard.
And quite effectively, I might add. That's one of my favorite lines, the way Raffi draws out ...Sha-toe! Raffi living a trailer down by the river was a choice she made for herself. So she could smoke snakeweed in peace and also remind us of a much-beloved set piece.
11:17 is not from "Measure of a Man" but from "The Offspring".. incorrect citation caption
I figured the whole Raffi situation was her choice to live there, she wanted to live alone and live a simpler life because she was so full of emoness.
As for the mars people, that was just the fact they had to be building near non-stop to get all the ships they needed to get the romroms out of the blast zone of the Super Nova. In the short trek we see two daughters of people working, seemingly blue collar jobs, mind you, at the ship yards had their daughters going to a rather nice looking school on Earth.
That having been said, I think the real point of things like Raffi's situation, is that the Federation is hurting and has been hurting ever since the attack on Mars, it's still not fully recovered from it and it really screwed up the utopia that was. I think that's also proven in Admiral swears a lot.
If it was her choice why is she busting Picard's balls?
@@JonathanJK because people with addictions often need someone to blame.
"Sometimes silence is an effective score by itself," he says while the constant piano clinking never ends!
I can't even tell if it was an intentional or forgotten point.
Is Raffi really poor, or does she just not care for living among the society which ostracized her? Her dwelling seems pretty okay for a depressed alcoholic recluse.
On one Hand, I disliked, even hated the very idea that the Federation would decline into such a state as having Workers on Mars complaining About bad replicator Food hwen the very function of that device is to produce any Food they want. They could have enjoyed sushi or a good steak. Also, Boston seems too covered in advertisement and commercial for a non-capitalist society.
On the other hand, I do like the fact that we have a utopia in decline. Every realm or empire falls eventually and that also seems to be tge core plot of Discovery Season 3. So, in this context, it's nice that they seem to build the seeds for that plot.
Luca Schlichte if a society runs on reputation instead of money then instagramafication of that society comes next?
@@Lia-uf1ir I've long had the impression that replicators are less common outside Starfleet itself, and the quality of the replicators also range wildly.
More complex food requires a more complex replicator.
@@TomPreston6 they complained about it on Voyager and on DS9, but not in TNG. The only time I can think of is Troi asking the replicator for regular chocolate instead of healthy "chocolate", but she's still expecting the replicator to make it for her.
Awesome work guys!!!
Was your “overscoring” of this review intentional?
Um. No?
@@Trekspertise eeeh yeah it was really REALLY LOUD and really distracting. being a perceptible loop that's relatively short, it became very much something to follow along with instead of your narration.
@@aeonjoey3d same. I thought it was deliberately placed to be dissonant to the interview scene because of the narration at that very point complaining about CBS doing that too.
16:00 Re: Substance addiction… People today, and throughout history, have enjoyed using drugs recreationally *despite* the negative side-effects. Presumably in the 24/25th century, if addiction, cancer and even a hangover can all be cured, then why not indulge in the pleasures?
As you say, this is what we all were waiting for. Sir Patrick Stewart is so brilliant it is hard for me to be critical. I appreciated seeing an older, more frail Picard. One that was more worn down by life and questioning his role. Your visual and musical editing is as delightful as ever. My biggest difference with you concerns Dr. Jurati, played by Allison Pill. This was a tour de force for her. Her character needed the tragedy of being induced to murder in order to evoke such pathos. She was able to express a remarkable range as an actor and made a stalwart partner for Patrick Stewart. I enjoyed Elron for his comic relief and backstory. Your comparisons to the Marvel franchise are brilliant and I could not agree more. As you say, we don’t need every show to be cataclysmic. It would be refreshing to see a return to more humble and smaller scale storytelling.
Others have said what I felt about Raffaela being poor and instead it's rather a choice she made to live in isolation.
But for the Picard as a synth compared to being a borg well it's clearly very different being a borg is seeing what your doing while just being a passenger that's why it's terrifying while a synth body is more like having a replacement limb you know it's different but your still in control.
"while a synth body is more like having a replacement limb you know it's different but your still in control."
Now imagine that it's your whole body that artificial. With your real or original body stored in an ic box elsewhere. Can you really believe that 'you' are real? Besides in series, since Picard was transferred to a synth body prior to the end of the synth ban Is Picard still legally Jon-Luc Picard, or did the legal Jon-Luc die with the organic body?
The mother was a protection subroutine. It's actually mentioned by either the team sent to collect her or the Romulan woman (Commodore O) who they were working for. It is also why the mother was able to cause Dahj to fall asleep - because the mother is a subroutine running hidden within their neural networks.
But that begs the bigger question, why hide the truth from Dahj / Soji? Their brothers and sisters knew they were artificial.
@@Trekspertise Because they were supposed to think they were human. It's sort of another time old trope where the double agent doesn't know they're a double agent.
Maddox apparently told Picard (episode 5) that the twins mission was to find out the truth about the ban. Daystrom Institute, is a very clear place to gather intel. The Romulan controlled Borg cube seems a bit out there, but Maddox also said that he specifically thought the ban involved the Romulans. When a bunch of Romulans take control of the home of a partially artifiical lifeform , it does make more sense that one of the twins would end up on it.
Since as the series states that Dahj and Soji, were based on Data's construction, you would have to ask why would they need a 'protection' subroutine? Data didn't require one and neither did any of the other Synths shown in the series.
My assumption would be that Dahj and Soji weren't based on Data, but on Lal (TNG: The Offspring), since she was the only known Andriod/Synth to undergo positronic cascade failure, due to overwhelming mental stress. Something that a 'mother' protection protocol would help to prevent.
@@cracklingice
A sleeper agent or Manchurian candidate?
@16:11 That's my favourite description of Starfleet. A great Kyle Sullivan-ism right there ! "Starfleet is like a secular Salvation Army that has teeth, and a fixation on repeating the Lewis & Clarke Expedition"
Nice First Contact opening reference. Awesome.
I also noticed similarities with Mass Effect occurring in both Star Trek Discovery and Star Trek Picard. Wouldn't it be fun to compare those two universes, in general, and in particular, with those two Star Trek series? :)
Trekspertise, I love that you always do your best to be positive and not give in to toxic fandom, but when it comes time to talk about the serious issues with the current state of the franchise writing, you don't waste any time telling it like it is.
@27:35 I believe this quantum reconstruction thing was put there to sell the reconstruction of Data (no pun intendet) from a single positronic neuron as viable.
Amazing episode. It spoke about so many of the things that truly bothered me.
It really chaps my hide when I feel late to the show! Wish I would have found this channel earlier.
All good. You are here now :)
Is Raffi poor, though? She drinks by herself in her fully equiped trailer away from people. Is that poverty or is that personal choice? Because sounds like my retirement plan.
See, I didn't see Raffi's presence in the trailer as a sign of poverty, but as a sign of her damage as a result of events and withdrawal from society as she couldn't cope. Her anger at Picard wasn't so much because he is 'wealthy', because we know money doesn't exist on Earth, but because he retreated into a paradise as a juxtaposition to her retreat into hell and didn't bother to check up on her.
Yeah It seems like because she sees herself as a failure she feels that others must be judging her so chooses to live in isolation.
Anyone notice that Picard is set in the Alt timeline(timeline B) of
Voyager where they return home 16 years early and Picard is set 12years
after they return home?(So technically in timeline A Seven is dead and
Voyager is still 4 years from coming home.) The whole show isn't canon
or rather it is an alt timeline narrative. The original canon narrative
is the one before where Janeway became an admiral and left to go back in
time to bring voyager home early. There is plenty of time in that
timeline to have an entirely different series even post where Janeway
left. It's just that once Janeway leaves you can't cross those timelines
anymore as where one would continue on (say time line A) then Janeway
goes back in time (timeline B) and any changes to that timeline create a
whole new one to her perspective. Timeline A then fades away never to
be seen again and Timeline B becomes the dominant timeline- but this
leaves open possible future shows (if they wanted) where Data+Ichub -
don't die. Ichub already had a 3rd alt timeline where he existed in the
future anyways. Janeway sure loved time travel on Voyager. So many
possibilities still exist. And is one way to forget this trainwreck
Kurtzman crap.
thank you!
Raffi isn't poor. She was talking about the ways they chose to exile. Star Trek has always said that basic needs are met, but anything beyond that is based on what someone does. That Picard inherited his vineyard is a problem the show Picard inherited from TNG. And it is a problem of the Star Trek economy. I would think private property would be kept to a minimum. Also, aside from Rick Webb's book, there's another book called Trekonomics that says that we don't need replicators or warp drive to get to the post-scarcity economy. We just need the political will. It's a similar thesis to Michael Moore's "Where to Invade Next."
Also, there's a clip labeled "Measure of a Man" that's actually from "The Offspring," which referenced the events of "Measure of a Man."
The Romulan Star didn't go nova. It was Hobus, though neither is specified on screen.
I'm not sure I agree about starting with Picard's death, because then it makes his campaigning for synth rights one of self-interest.
I think Raffi's a good character to keep, because I liked the way she found redemption and brought herself out of exile through her empathy for others.
I will say that I wish Geordi was in there to get some closure with Data and/or Hugh. He was far closer to both of them than Picard was.
I say, have Raffi be an augment. It would help explain why when Picard left star fleet, she would have to go to (as humans are pretty weird about augments). Are they the only human group who are persecuted? It would help explain her “issues”.
15:22 Wait. Raffi didn't look poor to me. She looks like she has all the food and medicine and clothes she wants. She has a home, communications, etc. She feels alone. She feels like an outcast. She's abused some substances. But she doesn't seem physically poor at all. She's living better than I do! Of course there are places outside the core of the Federation where there is still money, but that seems to me a separate issue. Raffi btw it seems to me doesn't want to be treated, at least not enough to actually seek it out. This is evidence of her own personal issues, not that she is "poor."
17:04 Oh yeah! That thing is a sonic screwdriver!!!!!!
17:30 Yes, that is what bothered me about Raffi. The African American woman is a drug addict. Of course. To be fair, I really like her character a lot. But this is one of many times the show thing felt...off.
26:51 I believe the idea here was to a portrait of fanaticism. In fact, from a totally ruthless POV, it makes sense. The Romulan species are down, but not destroyed. The end justifies the means.
Wow I never knew that they based their Picard romulian theme off of TOS. Good catch!
The background music in your video was a little loud at times and distracting. I would prefer if it was a little less volume
Same. I had to stop and take a break it got so annoying.
Finally
WHEW
New sub because this is the very best Star Trek channel on UA-cam. Having reached many of the same conclusions, I agree with most everything you put into this review.
I think you've hit on the most significant issue that has plagued every iteration of Star Trek since TOS. It's the writing. TOS became a phenomenon, despite its glaring flaws, for several reasons, but I think the primary force that has inspired generations was that it made relevant social commentary/analysis through amazing writing within a hopeful context.
With too few exceptions, the following series and films have relied on technique, FX, and budget, frequently abandoning the premise Roddenberry established.
I watched Picard in two days and am hopeful. There are more elements of that original Federation in this show so far, than I have seen in decades. Of course I'm not the target audience anymore, but maybe that's one of the problems with all media today. TOS was aired towars the end of that time when attracting an audience, rather than targeting a specific demographic, was the goal.
While I agree with some of your critisicms, I feel you are making some very big assumptions and being a bit too negative on others. At no point is there poverty. Raffi lost her family, her job and reputation and started substance abuse and is in a prison of her own making. If she wanted to, she could probably forgive herself and get back on tra.....oh wait, that IS her arc.
I love the First Contact reference at the beginning
Wow! I completely agreed with your review. Finally someone understands my frustrations. You expressed exactly my frustrations at Picard and did it in a very even handed way. Thanks!
Glad it was helpful!
I agree, as nice as it was to see Seven, the entire Borg part could've gone away. Soji could've been somewhere else, or there could've only been Dahj and they save her and run away from earth so people can't beam into their living room at a moment's notice. They could've gone right to Nepenthe, taken the time to explore all the characters' emotions, and had an extra 3 episodes to play with than they currently did.
Though the writers did hint that they agree with this criticism... because in interviews about season 2 they're saying COVID has allowed them to go back and rewrite the first episodes to better mesh with the final episodes, and stated that they didn't get to do that in S1, AKA they were still writing the final episodes while they shot the first ones. Why they did a rushed production like that when they had a long lead time on the series anyway I don't know, but here's hoping season 2 can be tighter and more focused as a result of these extra rewrites.
@38:00 I would love to hear your opinion on that
I agree in that 7/cube being removed does not affect the story. However, depending on where season 2/3 go it enhances? I may have my years off, but the season 1 finale illuded to an enemy we wouldn't see until mid/late second season. You could say just off of viewing TNG, Neutral zone was a waste because anything could have been listed to give a reason for the enterprise and Romulans to show up and the outposts not be addressed/resolved
Plus without adding in the borg cube, you never reach Picard finally seemingly coming to terms with the results of his assimilation. A decent act III from First Contact
@@himvalo666 Yes, but he already did that in First Contact.
@@Trekspertise But he didn't He threw a tantrum and called out for it. Here he has reconciled with the trauma. Call i Act 3b or 4 if you want, it's more closure than Encounter, and fits with the bigger story of the season.
@@Trekspertise well yes he did confront and kill the queen but in Picard, he was dealing with people like him. Who were liberated from the collective and dealing with what happened. Plus, this was the only time since becoming Locutus that he was actually aboard a Borg cube again?
Great video. Glad I was able to find Trekspertise in this large interweb universe!
Welcome aboard!
I had to pause it after the intro 'cause it made me laugh one of those laughs that sort of just keeps going for ages but never really gets off the ground. xD
good synopsis. you point out a major canonical flaw in STP: poverty has returned, smoking has returned, alcohol has returned although canon pre-kurtzman (who was abysmally unaware) had posited a much more positive future
thoughtful analysis, but one question you posed seemed fault finding to excess. could picard travel throughout the galaxy to solve his quest without the the help of others is a question i would ask you? did not raffi find a ship for picard? did not seven save the ship picard was on when under attack?
Thanks for making for this review. It gave me a lot to think about.
Glad it was helpful!
I haven't watched the entirety of your review, but I do agree that the season was unbalanced. While I thoroughly enjoyed watching Picard, I feel like there were definitely shortcomings throughout the story. I think, for me, what it comes down to is that there were too many plot thread to develop all of them fully in the number of episodes alloted for this season. What the writers should've done is pare some of them down so that what was left could be fully developed. On the other hand, I think everything could've been more fleshed out with thirteen episodes instead of ten.
What I find especially problematic is that the season spent about three episodes setting things up and about two episodes for the conclusion. That left too few episodes, I think to do every plot element justice with the remaining episodes. Which is why I think the season should've been longer.
Thank you for another excellent analysis and review essay. I too hope we see this new era of Trek step back from the apocalyptic stories you highlighted.
Its truly amazing that you picked up on stuff like TOS scores being reused/worked.
To be fair, that isn't something we noticed originally. Thank the internet for that one.
They did say about it in the credits of each episode, as well.
Around 11:15 that’s The Offspring, not Measure of A Man 😂
I hate to point this out because otherwise it’s awesome and I have been awaiting this for months and have loved your work for years now ❤️
The thing that disappoints me so much about modern Star Trek is that the writing is so lazy. It really feels like they don't care about the past and will only (inappropriately) use nostalgia if they feel like it will please the viewer even if it's at the expense of the story. I'm fine with Star Trek evolving and things changing. I already witnessed an evolution from TNG through ENT and I enjoyed it all. But this..... This is not Star Trek. It's a generic (albeit pretty) space wars action scifi show that lacks substance.
It's not even good sci-fi, never mind Star Trek.
This is great reminder of why Trekspertise is one of my 3 subscribed channels... along with redlettermedia.
You guys should all be in the writers room together!
Would love to direct an episode of Trek somewhere =)
Might do a fan film, instead.
Thumbs up for the intro alone.
Thank you for being reasonable. This video is leagues better than other reviews that are kinda spat out the morning after the episode came out.
It allows for more thorough thought and emotion rather than the instinctive and unhelpful "PICARD BAD."
Reviews are useful for helping folks recognize and draw out feelings that were on the tip of our mental tongue and make a better valuation of the series.
All that to say: thanks for taking the time to not reach for the immediate low hanging fruit. I enjoyed Picard even though a few story points didn't hit right.
The concept for "Star Trek" by Roddenberry was, that it should be pop culture's "I have a dream", showing mankind's future that should be and not a present that is in a futuristic setting. Like MLK's speech this core concept made it so inspirational to so many people. The fact that MLK even talked Nichols into not quitting the show because it showed black people as it should be, and when Nichols told that to Roddenberry he responded with "King got what I am trying to do with my show", underlines that. Any Trek show, where the writers and producers do not want to create pop culture's "I have a dream", is not Star Trek, even if it looks like it. You can compromise with this philosophy, as Berman and Piller often described and did, especially with DS9 & ENT, but this core needs to stay intact to keep it being a Star Trek show.
@@TomPreston6 No. It does not refer to singular individuals. It refers to the whole culture. Utopia on Earth is not about being the exception, it is about being the rule. The culture depicted in PIC is the perversion of the concept: It shows mankind as it is present day in a futuristic setting, not as it should be in the future. Exactly how it should NOT be.
@@TheTuubster
"Exactly how it should NOT be." - showing that in trek is NOT new - in fact has generally made for the some of the best trek
Nicely done review. Fair and balanced. I'm hoping some of the unanswered questions are addressed in the second season. One thing to note is that we don't know how much time passed between the resuscitation scene and the crew leaving the planet at the end of the season. It is quite possible several weeks passed to allow for the Federation to have meetings to lift the ban, etc. Time will tell!
About Rafi and the way she lived - I initially just assumed that due to being labelled a pariah by Starfleet, she retreated into her trailer and chose to live alone in the desert. But then the dialogue with Picard wouldn't make sense either. It is confusing.
An optimistic and critical review. I feel the sort of questions posited and suppositions explored are sorely lacking from other major review channels which once at least feigned the attempt to do so. The optimism and hopefulness for the franchise is reflective of its own original optimism.
What is the name of the song if the first 15 seconds?
It modernized are classic. And some people will complain about that. I'm just happy that there's more Star Trek content. Either people will complain about a lack of interest in the original material. Or they will complain about nostalgia, like here.
I barely noticed the musical score. It was subtle most of the time. I liked the bit of Voyager theme when Seven of nine appears on screen.
It would have taken a lot out of the season to take her out.
agreed music levels and quality were awesome! and 7's introduction(or re) was pretty damn shocking - the producers admitted there is alot of 7 footage on the floor - but most of what i saw was great and def interested to see where they take her - with picardo poss being in season 2, could make for a good/maybe uncomfortable reunion - or is that just more nostalgia baiting?? i mean 20yrs post nemesis, none of these tng era legacy characters would be relevant in the timeline, right?
That opening! wow!
It was fun to make =)
@@Trekspertise That shows! (I'm honnered that you answer my coment :-D) I love the vulcan Objectivity of your videos! You guys are awesome!
Star Trek: Picard broke my fucking heart. It's officially terrible. For so, so many reasons
I have to say, I did love Picard as it was. But I really like your takes as well!
Thank you for perfectly summing up and properly explaining the problems with modern Star Trek without acting like an entitled whiny fan boy. Too much criticism of modern Trek has been filled with pedantry, minutiae, and complaints about being "too woke" without tackling any of the real problems like the ones mentioned in this video. Though I will have to disagree on one thing. Picard definitely needed to do the eye patch bit because that was classic Star Trek ham and that is something modern Trek has been severely lacking.
Great video! I overall enjoyed the show because Patrick Stewart is just the best, but I agree the plot and pacing definitely had some issues. I think they just tried to do too much for 10 episodes. A story about Picard dealing with Data's death and finding his daughter is great, or a story about the X-borg trying to build a society as they become people again, fine, or a story about Romulan refugees and an evil Romulan secret society, sure, or a story about Starfleet abandoning its ideals, and Picard standing up for those ideals, cool, but you can't have all of it. Hopefully, Season 2 is much more streamlined. Also, you didn't mention it in your video, but I hated the swearing. Totally inorganic and unnecessary, in my opinion. Keep up the good work!
i could be wrong but i dont think the "a story about the X-borg trying to build a society as they become people again or a story about Romulan refugees and an evil Romulan secret society, sure, or a story about Starfleet abandoning its ideals, and Picard standing up for those ideals" were meant to wrapped up in one season - season 1 is hopefully building the current world, where all those things are important to what happens in season 2 etc
Your best work so far. Relevant historical comparison between different eras and stories.
I haven't owned a television since the end of the 90's but I think that this review/analysis of the Star Trek universe is brilliant! I don't believe that I've seen another explication of (what I think is) a once-upon-a-series that handled its subject with such critical reverence. Well done indeed. The odds are good that I'd've enjoyed this video even if I had never heard of Star Trek (instead of having watched it from the first broadcast to the late 90's).
I don't think Blue Skies was a joke on Nemesis, as it is used in the intro to Jerry Goldsmith's final Trek March, 'A New Ending'. Also my favorite version of the 'Star Trek theme'
I think I would have enjoyed Picard much better if they hadn't relied so much on galaxy-shattering peril, and taken the time to tie the various TNG, DS9 and Voyager series and characters together. Like you say at the beginning - did Sisko come back? What happens after Voyager makes it back to Earth? What about Q, Worf or even Guinan? Why must all sci-fi now have to be about saving all material existence from imminent destruction? The small stories in the various series were almost always better, more character driven and had a personal depth that gave them the advantage over the 'big blowup' stuff. And, being the nell I am, the torture and death of Icheb did it for me. A Starfleet Officer goes missing, presumed kidnapped and ...nothing? And yes, the high-tech stuff is fine, but hold the damn camera still once in a while, or do slow close-ups, like with Ro in the example you gave, where there's a purpose to it. At least have a reason for all that panning. The central question of 'what does it mean to be human' was never explored as much as it should have been, or went in weird directions, like the androids on Mars or Picard's seemingly immediate acceptance of now being a synth or android or whatever. The whole series just seemed to be far too ambitious and eager to get into big conflict, rather than in simple story-telling.
WOW HOW HAVE I NOT GET THE NOTIFICATION OF THIS?!!
Have you tried signing up for our no-nonsense email list? We will send you a direct email when a new video is out.
DS9 definitely... borrowed, from Babylon 5. It would have been a crime if DS9 didn't turn out so damn good and sprouted legs to stand on it's own merit. This new stuff, well... I like the new stuff, I just wish that, that's not all the studios did.
Raffi also is the only one who's family has fallen apart. Well I guess her and Doc Murder.
Don't kill Hugh
Don't kill the Borg
Don't kill Dahj
Don't kill Bjayzl
Design more than one ship for each side.
I was going to reserve my "Thumbs Up" until the end of the video, but you had me at the introduction.
Always love a good skit.
Been looking forward to this review
Hope it holds something for you =)
33:00 Erm, didn't most of the first feature films deal with the same type of thing? ST:TMP had a "thing" that was about to destroy Earth. WoK had a supervillain almost get ahold of a superweapon. ST3 had no super highstakes. ST4 was going to destroy Earth via rain. ST5, while not having super high stakes, did let the crew meet "God" (of sorts anyway). ST6 almost led to a war between the Klingons and the Federation.
I'm not saying you're wrong about the stakes always being so high. But this isn't anything new for the Star Trek movies.
I like the show. But I largely agree with you and expect better in the future. For me, Synth Picard isn't a bad idea, if it had touched more on the effects of it. Maybe they could have killed him fast and quick, and spent the time with him brooding in the mirror, like in First Contact (Or, Nemesis). But the Borg, they didn't have to be there as they were. They could have played up themes of assimilation, life, rights, etc, but they didn't.
I also agree with letting this bigger, faster, flashier thing slow down. But then again, nostalgia is the operation of capitalism. And sinking this much money into the franchise is clearly a grab at Disney level dollars.
Love your stuff
I agree, Picard's reaction to becoming an android would have been entirely different. In the show he seemed to take it very well. But one would expect his reaction to be the exact opposite, given his history with the Borg. He would be anxious, or even furious that he was now once again an artifial being that could be easily reprogrammed to do anyone's will, as were the synths when they attacked Mars. I sincerely hope this issue will be revisited in season 2. Being human and what it means to be human was one of the central philosophical questions in TNG.
Raffi should have been airlocked, This show had nothing to do with real Star Trek. Once again generic science fiction.
Hey the music in this was very distracting for me and didn't seem to fit.
Loving the shirt Kyle!!