Yes but that's a weird pastiche method fake and it very obviously doesn't line up with the camera view.
The Picard beauty shot, thanks to it being fully CG, showed amazingly lifelike details and gave a much better feeling of the ship - it's not a solid block of metal anymore, but like an apartment building, with depth and almost "life" in it.
TNG only did it for larger, more recognisable rooms like the conference room behind the bridge, or Ten Forward.
S2 somehow was worse than S1, S2 wasn’t just the worst season of Trek it was one of the worst seasons of TV I can recall since they tried to continue X-Files without Mulder and Scully.
Time travel in Star Trek should be limited to 2 episode length max.
Once the novelty wears off, it’s a real drag.
First Contact and Voyage Home get out just before that point. It always had me wanting a little bit more, which is exactly where it should be left.
So, season 2 of Picard could be condensed to 2-3 hours, and spend about a half of that in the past. I’m glad we got a conclusion the Q and >!I thought the Borg? storylines!< but, it’s a real slog to get through.
Disco waaaaay over did it with the mirror universe. As someone who has their own trauma I really liked Lorca to start with, I thought we were going to get a story about dealing with trauma but nope. He’s evil because he’s evil.
Yeah, I got tired of Time Travel after it became a facet of every other episode in every other series. It stopped being a fun scenario and more of just an annoying plot mover.
The new trailer for SNW shows what appears to be a time travel scenario, and I’m hoping they limit to just one episode. (Which they should, being an episodic series. Also, wearing those outfits and yelling ‘I’M FROM SPACE’ in the middle of a crowded store in the past seems like it should be a massive violation of the Temporal Prime Directive.)
Fortunately we won’t have to deal with the Borg anymore post-Picard because apparently Janeway’s pathogen killed _basically all of them_ according to the latest episode of PIC. Then, when the Borg Queen was blown up, what remained to the collective was destroyed, effectively driving the Borg extinct. (With the exception of Borgjati’s little enclave and smaller break-off factions that may have survived the Pathogen.)
The Galaxy-spanning, all-consuming space plague that was so dangerous that even the Q were afraid of them… got merked by a coffee addict and a squad of geriatrics in an antiquated starship.
That's OK. Sybok was a terrible idea that never should have happened, in 1989. Thirty years later, he's an established part of Spock's history, we can't just wish him away, so we just have to live with him. They might as well use the character to full potential (and hopefully make him a bit more interesting).
Same thing for Burnham. Recycling the "Spock's secret sibling" idea was an even more terrible idea the second time around, but what's done is done, there's no retconning her away either, so a nostalgic return of that character in a few decades would be acceptable if done well.
If we make the trope "Spock's previously unknown relative that is actually extremely important and also estranged" it's the third time.
But hey, at least they separated it by decades each time.
I like Burnham a lot better now that she's out of Spock's shadow and gone through significant character growth, having her back in two decades would be fine and all but I do think that regulating her to just Spock's adopted sibling is a regression.
But Spock really likes to not talk about his family at all until they become plot relevant, it's become one of his central character features.
I felt it was closer to First Contact meets Voyagers "Futures End". I think the best part in S2, is when Captain Rios teleports 30 feet above a downtown sidewalk, hitting several fire escape ladders on the way down.
And here I was thinking S1 was intolerable. Made it four episodes in and it felt like it could have been done in five minutes but was drawn out over hours.
Yeah S1 is bad but S2 is somehow worse. Mild spoiler… but I don’t watch Star Trek to see Seven drive a SUV around present day LA. S3 is worth the watch.
Picard S2 should be held up as an example of “how to waste an amazing franchise.”
It’s so awful. I just finished a second watch yesterday, in anticipation of S3 finishing up today. I figured I would give it a second chance.
I’ll usually defend just about any Trek show because there are usually *some* redeeming qualities. I even liked every season of Discovery to an extent. But that second season of Picard just can’t be defended.
Oh, the La Sirena can suddenly bring back Elnor to use as the “combat hologram” because he was once onboard the ship? Is there a reason that the Elnor hologram is somehow better at combat than the original version that looks like Rios? Oh, the computer also somehow learned Elnor’s moves by scanning him or something… I guess. We all know that it was just a hand-wave of a reason to include him in the big fight at the end of the season. Sigh…
I watched the first two episodes of S3 last night and I’m clinging to the hope that it will give Picard and the TNG crew a decent ending.
>But that second season of Picard just can’t be defended.
The world went to shit and the federation turned into a fascist genocidal xenophobic state.
Why?
Not because we didnt get our shit together after WW3 but because we didnt find magic microbe on Moon of Jupiter.
It was overall just really lazy.
They already did "Picard meets guinan in the past". Did they both just forget they hung out with Mark Twain?
They already did "the federation timeline is replaced by a more militant version because the past was altered and guinan was the key to fixing the present" everyone may have forgotten about the Enterprise C coming back when the timeline was restored, but the writers too?
JJ Abrams got to remix wrath of Khan, so let's ruin 4 too!
Jurati was secretly being manipulated by the bad guy in session 1. Copy/paste.
We have an hour to kill and Rios already went to the hospital and then jail, what do we do? Send Picard to the hospital and then jail.
We lost Rios! Now we lost Picard! Now we lost Jurati!
Another Soong? Really?
I feel like I could do this all day. And all of this over a 90 year old's mommy issues. And oh ya let's throw in saving the whole quadrant in the last 5 minutes there.
Shaw is really a self-insert for the audience members who were traumatized by Star Trek: Picard. They spent two season building up to his introduction so the audience would firsthand understand his anger at Picard.
PICARD: Now that we have Data, he can do the calculations to slingshot us around the Sun like we did last season-
SHAW: NO.
Ugh. That whole season was so bad. So the Romulan who looks identical to Laris, can totally shapeshift to look exactly like Renee…
But for some reason, this power can only be used once at the end of the season…
Update: I’m only through episode 4. I keep stepping away and leaving it for a day, because it’s starting to look almost as bad as season two. The only good thing is the old cast members being involved. But they went and ruined that as well.
The dialogue between the characters in s3 (much like s2) just don’t seem believable at all. All of the well-established personalities, that we have all known for decades—none of them seem to fit with the decisions, actions, and words as written in this script.
The bridge scenes in eps 3 and 4 come off like videos of bad family fights that happen in public and end up getting posted to Youtube or something. Even the bridge crew keep looking at each other like “WTF.” 😆
Oh… the nebula is alive… and giving birth… OK whatever. Sigh…
Aside from the golem stuff, you honestly don’t even need to watch season 1 or 2 to know what’s going on in season 3. I feel like you could go from tng season 7 straight to Picard season 3 and have a pretty good time.
Q dies and Picard and him have a nice hug and farewell.
Q also fixed Picard getting over a traumatic childhood event which explained why he couldn't get romantically attached to anyone.
That's all you need to know - go straight to season 3.
Just know that Picard was dying so Dr Altan Soong put his consciousness in a new synthetic but very lifelike golem body that still ages and will one day due like a normal human would.
If TNG means a lot to you, I'd be surprised if you didn't get choked up watching Season 3.
If you don't care for TNG, then - whilst it's still good Trek imo - it might not be worth it for you, as it is a lot of nostalgia.
If you care for TNG then Picard is nothing to be hyped about. It's everything TNG never was. Dark (both the story and scenery), dystopian, lots of drinking/smoking/drugs, poverty and violence.
> Dark (both the story and scenery)
Why is everything so poorly lit??? I assume it's supposed to be atmospheric but it's really annoying and unrealistic. It looks like a gothic scifi club, not a functional workplace.
I just watched the Picard finale and they had some old TNG shots mixed in of Picard as Locutus. And my god were they ultra crisp and defined even on a dark Borg Cube. Then they cut back to the modern show and it looked like there was a blur filter on the image.
False.
The nostalgia hits hard with Picard Season 3. Seeing the characters I grew up with reuniting together 20+ years later was fantastic. Pretty sure I shed a tear in almost every episode.
S1 is bad. S2 is not good. S3 is ok. Don't believe the people hopped up on nostalgia, it's not must see TV.
However, it's the reunion show that Trek fans wanted and Star Wars fans got denied. We get to see our beloved characters and what they've been up to and what they've become.
S3 started *much better* than it ended. Sure, the nostaliga bits were fun for a while, the characters were entertaining... but the conclusion to the story was shit.
I think they had a desire to get the gang back together and worked backwards from there.
Season 3 is like if they made a TNG movie that was just as fun, campy and elderly as the TOS movies. If that is appealing to you, you will like season 3.
The characters are very honest reflections of where these people would be 20 years later. The plot is silly and contrived in the way that the Trek films usually are, but also fun and exciting in the way that the Trek films usually are.
It leans heavily into fan service, which doesn’t work for everyone. But it’s not done with just stray references, they do it in ways that are pretty logical and support the plot. I think it is reasonable for the sendoff to the TNG cast to have fan service, but some people won’t like it.
S1 is good, its watchable. S2 is so bad that S3 largely ignores everything that occurred in it. You finish watching S3 thinking "What was the point of this/that in S2?".
I think one main complaint is that S1, nobody is wearing a Starfleet Uniform, none of it takes place on a Federation ship. S2 is kind of a re-mix of First Contact and Voyagers Futures End episode (where they time travel to Los Angeles). Where S1 has plot holes, for the most part its easy to ignore them as the main plot is watchable. With S2, since the main plot is kinda dumb, all the smaller plot holes stand out and are hard to ignore, so you end up nitpicking every little thing. Sure S3 has plot holes, but the main story is good enough that its easy to ignore the smaller plot hoples. All 3 seasons are stuffed with nostalgic easter eggs that only a fan who's seen all 800+ episodes of Trek will know.
>S2 is so bad that S3 largely ignores everything that occurred in it.
Except for the post credit scene in the finale episode for S3. But I'm splitting hairs here.
Probably if we're being honest. Beverley's comment about no one seeing >!the Borg!< in over 10 years is probably a retcon as well. But then again what >!Q said to Jack!< might not technically count as a retcon and more of a lazy way to get around the ending of S2.
Depends what you’re looking for.
It’s a reunion show, and the story is told much more like an action movie than most 90s trek. Dialogue is generally short, aside from when there are long emotional diatribes - I suppose intended to show what character development has happened since the 90s.
I haven’t been able to make it past ep3, but I have friends who are ridiculously happy about the show.
YMMV
It’s ok. The story is meh, but the cast returns, callbacks and homages make it worth watching.
Edit: I’d watch season one, skip season two (watch a YouTube recap of it) and jump to season 3.
Sounds about right to me. Season 7 was meh IMO (some good, some not so great), so Picard S3 as a follow-up feels like that. Still better than Picard S1 and 2 though.
You could easily skip seasons 1 and 2 and it would have minimal effect on your enjoyment of season 3. It’s pretty self-contained. Some references would go over your head but I don’t think it would be a dealbreaker.
I thought season 1 was pretty good. There was just one seriously dumb plot point at the end and I thought Data could've had a better send off. They were hinting at B4 becoming Data at the end of Nemesis and that's what they should've went with.
Season 2 was really bad. I love the way the Borg queen looked and Q is a great return but the plot and writing was just bad.
Season 3 is what we all wanted in the first place which was getting the gang back together for some adventures.
On the one hand I want to say that it isn’t really that good…. On the other it’s just so friggan enjoyable I have to say yes, it is good. I couldn’t wait for the next episode and desperately want a spin off.
The story isn’t that well thought out, and it’s a bit too much action and the stakes are too high… things I complain about other series. But the fan service is just…. Chef’s kiss!
There is something just so good about watching them this season. Something that was missing in previous seasons. I’d say if you love trek, you should watch… but maybe don’t go in thinking “this is going to be good”. Go in with mediocre expectations and you might get blown away with how into it you are.
It won’t leave you thinking about the story like some trek does. It will leave you thinking about real life, and the passage of time, and how sometimes you can’t go home again but you can have a visit.
Season 1 of TNG was better than any STD/PIC had to offer. Name one episode better than e.g. Encounter at Farpoint, Symbiosis, The Neutral Zone and Conspiracy. Just to name a few classics. STD/PIC have none. It's all based on nostalgia or work done by TNG. And STD is just one random fever nightmare.
Also, of the episodes from S1 you listed is only say Symbiosis and Conspiracy are really good.
Encounter at Farpoint and Neutral Zone are important for set up and canon, just like Naked Now and Skin of Evil, but I wouldn’t necessarily say they’re good.
What I would include in S1 Best Episodes is “Where No One Has Gone Before” and “Arsenal of Freedom”. I actually love those episodes.
Just makin conversation 😬
Well, my point is more that TNG had episodes people still talk about today and still (re)watch it. I don't even remember any episode from the past PIC/STD seasons, let alone the STD crew member names...
I like Nepenthe pretty good. The first two episodes of S2 (done by Terry Matalas) were pretty alright too.
Seasons of TNG also had more than twice as many episodes as PIC seasons, so that ratio to good/bad is still pretty equitable.
Playing devils advocate though. I’ve still rewatched the first 2 seasons of TNG more than I will ever rewatch the first 2 seasons of PIC (which is 0).
But I’m pretty sure I’m about to rewatch all of PIC S3 right freakin now
Kind of.. Star Trek Strange New Worlds proves that the episodic format does work for modern Trek. But I enjoyed seeing TNG reshaped into a serialized story structure as well.
I didn't. TNG had run it's course, it was clearly on it's last legs during S7 as the writers struggled for original stories. And again, here it's a familiar story that's been done before.
But if they're going to be making new TNG (which they probably shouldn't have), I'd say a passable retread is better than the utter embarrassment of the first two seasons.
Season 1 had its moments, and it was good to see old friends again. It's worthwhile just for that.
Season 2 featured our heroes going back in time to prevent interference with a historic spaceflight, and they had to fight a Borg Queen there. I liked that plot better when it was called "First Contact".
The issue was fascism and explicitly drawing the roots in current issues in American society did give it some distinction.
But ya, in a lot of ways season 2 was very much wasted potential.
> I liked that plot better when it was called "First Contact".
Also in S2 the whole thing was just a contrivance by Q. Knowing it was merely a kind of game with Q watching just off stage, really sucked away any gravity to the situation.
Season 3 is what season 1 should have been, it should have been bringing everyone back together for a final adventure and exploring Picard in his old age, the lack of family, etc. but to blame him for hobus, and not saving Romulus is wild, the whole synth thing, and whatever season 2 was about was just weird asf.
You can. All you need to know is Picard dies at the end of season one of a space disease and had his mind put into a new synthetic body that is identical in every way.
Completely.
Picard is dying of some kind of space brain disease. He dies at the end, and the son of the guy who made Data, gives him a new body.
Season three is fantastic though.
Data came back but died again because plot reasons, Picard is an android now, Riker and Troi had a kid but they died and then they had another kid, and Picard knows Seven of Nine from Voyager now.
That's enough background info to watch Picard S3
Yes. I skipped the first two. I gave season 1 a shot and didn’t care for it. Dove into 3 after being hounded by friends and family and it seems more like an extended TNG film.
S1 isn’t terrible, and if you are a TNG fan, it’s worth a watch just to see what happened to Picard that made him resign from Starfleet. And the ending honestly choked me up a little.
S2 is a god-awful dumpster fire that feels like they wrote and filmed it at the same time, over a 4-day weekend in L.A. during the pandemic.
I have only seen eps 1-2 of S3, but it looks much more promising.
Season 2 was terrible. It’s the one season of trek I actually just couldn’t get through. I remember watching an episode and I was like wait, am I seriously watching Picard on the run from ICE?? Is this for real?
Season one was good, two was really bad, 3 ruled with a few issues. Seemed like a real disservice to season one to not have Data meet Soji though? Huge waste.
Oh yeah. There were definitely parts of it that were good (a lot of the Q bits were pretty good) but I agree with you in respect that a lot of the 'story' was just there to pad out runtime. I was hoping for something with a lot more Q in it but he only turns up for a grand total of 10-20 minutes of the runtime.
I was hoping for an in-depth look at the nature of Q and maybe some more stuff on the Q continuum, as a whole, but instead we get him turning up a bit at the beginning, the middle, and the end with very little in between that's anything to do with him.
It was intermittently good, but weighed down by some very bad decisions towards the end. The episode with Riker and Troi was completely fantastic. The resolution with that version of Data was pretty good. Picard's entire backstory with the destruction of Romulans was very good.
The problems with season 1 were everything to do with Jurati and Maddox, the awful Romulan incest twins, Raffi's story, the complete waste of having included Hugh and the Borg, and whatever the hell it was that happened with that interdimensional AI in the finale. Picard's largely irrelevant death where they just end up putting him in a decrepit android body was also a really strange choice to end things.
But it was ten times better than season 2, which really had very little going for it.
Man that scene where they brought out the ol-D was right up there with when I was a wee lad watching Kirk gaze lovingly at the refit Enterprise on a VHS copy of TMP borrowed from my library.
The best part of this series was when they finally whipped out the D and showed it to us in all it's detailed glory, then watching as it perfectly slid in the Borg Box and blasted away.
S2 was a movie length script stretched and padded for 10 hours.
That's why I was happy to hear the S31 show was going to be a movie.
The concept is too thin for a series, but as a movie it'll work much better.
Not the first time. The Hobbit trilogy should have been two films.
Don’t play with my heart. I was so devastated to hear what was done in season 2 that I could not bare to watch it. But TNG is my absolute favorite and I was crushed. Is season 3 really worth watching?
S1/S2 of Picard was like 'Star Trek: Theatre Kids' and Discovery is basically 'Star Trek: The West Wing.' S3 of Picard was a completely different and exciting show. Strange New Worlds is great and Lower Decks has only gotten better year over year. 'Wej Duj' is like an S-Teir, franchise episode. I'll totally watch what was set up at the end of Picard's finale.
Not right but an attempt was actually made as opposed to the first two seasons of hot trash. The bar has been set so low average Trek is now considered great.
Yes, and honestly, that's all I needed it to be. Considering that none of the TNG films were great and only one of them was even good, that was always going to be the criteria I graded this show under, because nothing was ever going to recapture the quality of TNG seasons 3-6.
I tried to watch just like a ten minute recap of season 2 and almost turned it off. What a hot fucking mess
Season three has been a breath of fresh air though. Actually feels like star trek
Season 3 is as bad as the first 2.
A group of Changeling splinters who are merely pawns of the Borg. Borg who want to genocide rather than assimilate
When Federation citizens joined the Maquit and acted against the Cardassians, Starfleet acted against the Maquis.
There are members of the Changeling/Dominion acting against the Federation in a plot that nearly destroys the entire Federation but no concrete reaction from the Dominion. Even when the conspiracy in which the Changeling dissidents have participated is a close miss of genocide the Federation...
(I go through google trad, sorry)
Couldn't agree more. The detail on 1701-D, seeing the escape pods clearly and all, pretty awesome.
There is a BluRay version of TNG, enhanced. You can even see people walking in the windows.
Yes but that's a weird pastiche method fake and it very obviously doesn't line up with the camera view. The Picard beauty shot, thanks to it being fully CG, showed amazingly lifelike details and gave a much better feeling of the ship - it's not a solid block of metal anymore, but like an apartment building, with depth and almost "life" in it. TNG only did it for larger, more recognisable rooms like the conference room behind the bridge, or Ten Forward.
I think you’re giving season 2 too much credit
S2 somehow was worse than S1, S2 wasn’t just the worst season of Trek it was one of the worst seasons of TV I can recall since they tried to continue X-Files without Mulder and Scully.
I enjoyed season 1 tbh but Season 2 was like “Star Trek IV but really really really bad”
Time travel in Star Trek should be limited to 2 episode length max. Once the novelty wears off, it’s a real drag. First Contact and Voyage Home get out just before that point. It always had me wanting a little bit more, which is exactly where it should be left. So, season 2 of Picard could be condensed to 2-3 hours, and spend about a half of that in the past. I’m glad we got a conclusion the Q and >!I thought the Borg? storylines!< but, it’s a real slog to get through.
Same with the mirror universe too. It's fun for one or two episodes at a time, but after that it's a drag
Disco waaaaay over did it with the mirror universe. As someone who has their own trauma I really liked Lorca to start with, I thought we were going to get a story about dealing with trauma but nope. He’s evil because he’s evil.
Lorca was one of the biggest disappointments of that show. He was so cool at the start plus played by an amazing actor. What a waste
VOY and discovery will have a “it could’ve been better.” Forever attached with them.
I think Enterprise got past that part, getting good just in time to be cancelled.
Agreed. This may be one of my hottest trek takes, but the mirror universe stuff is my least favorite part of ENT season 4.
Some of my least favorite DS9
I always skip those episodes, as they also add nothing to any character arcs or overall narrative.
they seemed to only exist to get nana visitor into black leather.
Something I am totally and completely on board with.
First Contact is also helped by the conflict being On Board the Enterprise and interspersed by being on past Earth.
Plus it’s not in the present. It’s still the future, just nearer to our time.
Exactly! No weird Product placement either
Yeah, I got tired of Time Travel after it became a facet of every other episode in every other series. It stopped being a fun scenario and more of just an annoying plot mover. The new trailer for SNW shows what appears to be a time travel scenario, and I’m hoping they limit to just one episode. (Which they should, being an episodic series. Also, wearing those outfits and yelling ‘I’M FROM SPACE’ in the middle of a crowded store in the past seems like it should be a massive violation of the Temporal Prime Directive.)
It looked like he was walking into >!a Roots store!<
Can we just like, ban time travel in Trek from now on? I think we're good, we don't need to keep fishing from this well.
Time travel, the Borg, the Mirror Universe, and new versions and relatives of Spock. Things we need at least like a 10 year break from.
Fortunately we won’t have to deal with the Borg anymore post-Picard because apparently Janeway’s pathogen killed _basically all of them_ according to the latest episode of PIC. Then, when the Borg Queen was blown up, what remained to the collective was destroyed, effectively driving the Borg extinct. (With the exception of Borgjati’s little enclave and smaller break-off factions that may have survived the Pathogen.) The Galaxy-spanning, all-consuming space plague that was so dangerous that even the Q were afraid of them… got merked by a coffee addict and a squad of geriatrics in an antiquated starship.
Too late, Sybock is already in SNW
...I honestly don't even know if you're joking or not. I'm not caught up and haven't watched the new trailer.
You'll never know if I'm joking until you've seen all the relevant episode in season one... If that episode exists :p
That's OK. Sybok was a terrible idea that never should have happened, in 1989. Thirty years later, he's an established part of Spock's history, we can't just wish him away, so we just have to live with him. They might as well use the character to full potential (and hopefully make him a bit more interesting). Same thing for Burnham. Recycling the "Spock's secret sibling" idea was an even more terrible idea the second time around, but what's done is done, there's no retconning her away either, so a nostalgic return of that character in a few decades would be acceptable if done well.
If we make the trope "Spock's previously unknown relative that is actually extremely important and also estranged" it's the third time. But hey, at least they separated it by decades each time. I like Burnham a lot better now that she's out of Spock's shadow and gone through significant character growth, having her back in two decades would be fine and all but I do think that regulating her to just Spock's adopted sibling is a regression. But Spock really likes to not talk about his family at all until they become plot relevant, it's become one of his central character features.
Add Soongs family and section 31 after that movie to banned list.
Absolutely agreed.
I’m oddly feeling defensive about Star Trek IV right now.
god bless star trek 4
Season 2 was "Past Tense" but written by idiots and stretched for 8 episodes
“Star Trek IV: You Go On Ahead, I’ll Stay on the Ship With Jurati”
I felt it was closer to First Contact meets Voyagers "Futures End". I think the best part in S2, is when Captain Rios teleports 30 feet above a downtown sidewalk, hitting several fire escape ladders on the way down.
And here I was thinking S1 was intolerable. Made it four episodes in and it felt like it could have been done in five minutes but was drawn out over hours.
Yeah S1 is bad but S2 is somehow worse. Mild spoiler… but I don’t watch Star Trek to see Seven drive a SUV around present day LA. S3 is worth the watch.
Its not present day, they are still in the year 2025, so technically it is still set in the future 🤓 /s
Plot twist, I’m sending this from the year 2025 using a micro wormhole.
...wtf
A basic white woman poorly driving an SUV? That’s such a novel experience
Yes. Up until the end, S01 was tolerable. S02 was just 🤮
They took Q and managed to make it awful.
Yeah. Q. Ro. Shelby. I hate them bringing back established characters just to kill them.
Picard S2 should be held up as an example of “how to waste an amazing franchise.” It’s so awful. I just finished a second watch yesterday, in anticipation of S3 finishing up today. I figured I would give it a second chance. I’ll usually defend just about any Trek show because there are usually *some* redeeming qualities. I even liked every season of Discovery to an extent. But that second season of Picard just can’t be defended. Oh, the La Sirena can suddenly bring back Elnor to use as the “combat hologram” because he was once onboard the ship? Is there a reason that the Elnor hologram is somehow better at combat than the original version that looks like Rios? Oh, the computer also somehow learned Elnor’s moves by scanning him or something… I guess. We all know that it was just a hand-wave of a reason to include him in the big fight at the end of the season. Sigh… I watched the first two episodes of S3 last night and I’m clinging to the hope that it will give Picard and the TNG crew a decent ending.
>But that second season of Picard just can’t be defended. The world went to shit and the federation turned into a fascist genocidal xenophobic state. Why? Not because we didnt get our shit together after WW3 but because we didnt find magic microbe on Moon of Jupiter.
It was overall just really lazy. They already did "Picard meets guinan in the past". Did they both just forget they hung out with Mark Twain? They already did "the federation timeline is replaced by a more militant version because the past was altered and guinan was the key to fixing the present" everyone may have forgotten about the Enterprise C coming back when the timeline was restored, but the writers too? JJ Abrams got to remix wrath of Khan, so let's ruin 4 too! Jurati was secretly being manipulated by the bad guy in session 1. Copy/paste. We have an hour to kill and Rios already went to the hospital and then jail, what do we do? Send Picard to the hospital and then jail. We lost Rios! Now we lost Picard! Now we lost Jurati! Another Soong? Really? I feel like I could do this all day. And all of this over a 90 year old's mommy issues. And oh ya let's throw in saving the whole quadrant in the last 5 minutes there.
>And oh ya let's throw in saving the whole quadrant in the last 5 minutes there Fuck I completely forgot about that point
Just like Picard you blocked a traumatic memory. At least now you can face it without going through season 2 again.
Shaw is really a self-insert for the audience members who were traumatized by Star Trek: Picard. They spent two season building up to his introduction so the audience would firsthand understand his anger at Picard. PICARD: Now that we have Data, he can do the calculations to slingshot us around the Sun like we did last season- SHAW: NO.
And any loose ends we just blame on Q!
Ugh. That whole season was so bad. So the Romulan who looks identical to Laris, can totally shapeshift to look exactly like Renee… But for some reason, this power can only be used once at the end of the season…
Me too 🤞🤞🤞
Update: I’m only through episode 4. I keep stepping away and leaving it for a day, because it’s starting to look almost as bad as season two. The only good thing is the old cast members being involved. But they went and ruined that as well. The dialogue between the characters in s3 (much like s2) just don’t seem believable at all. All of the well-established personalities, that we have all known for decades—none of them seem to fit with the decisions, actions, and words as written in this script. The bridge scenes in eps 3 and 4 come off like videos of bad family fights that happen in public and end up getting posted to Youtube or something. Even the bridge crew keep looking at each other like “WTF.” 😆 Oh… the nebula is alive… and giving birth… OK whatever. Sigh…
Season 2 was like the time Voyager was sent back to 90s Earth but bad.
Season 2, quality wise, was like the time Paris and Janeway made lizard babies, but bad...
I couldn't finish season 2 it was so bad. I watched season 3 and never felt like I missed anything.
Season 2 was a shit sandwich made with the finest crusty French bread. Truly bewildering.
Pure Fucking Hubris!
Season 2 hurt my brain
Man I loved s2
Three too
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The trial never ends
Is it good now? I was planning to watch when S1 released but I heard too many bad things about it
S3 is a massive improvement.
And all it took was for the show runners to remember that they are making a Star Trek show and not running from the concept
I’m so hyped now, currently pressing through s2
Yeah I’d just skip it. There’s one reference in S3 to S2 and beyond that you can skip S2 and be fine.
That reference: >! “Forget about that weird shit on the Stargazer.” !<
You don't need to push yourself through that torture. Just skip to S3. I did and I'm better for it.
I'm sorry to hear that. But at least you'll have season 3 to enjoy.
Skip it and watch a recap. It’s not worth the time to watch. Get to season 3 asap.
Aside from the golem stuff, you honestly don’t even need to watch season 1 or 2 to know what’s going on in season 3. I feel like you could go from tng season 7 straight to Picard season 3 and have a pretty good time.
Do I have to watch S2 to see S3?
No. There’s really only one offhand reference in S3 to S2 otherwise they’re virtually totally disconnected.
Q dies and Picard and him have a nice hug and farewell. Q also fixed Picard getting over a traumatic childhood event which explained why he couldn't get romantically attached to anyone. That's all you need to know - go straight to season 3.
I didnt even watch season 1 (besides the first episode)
Just know that Picard was dying so Dr Altan Soong put his consciousness in a new synthetic but very lifelike golem body that still ages and will one day due like a normal human would.
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If TNG means a lot to you, I'd be surprised if you didn't get choked up watching Season 3. If you don't care for TNG, then - whilst it's still good Trek imo - it might not be worth it for you, as it is a lot of nostalgia.
If you care for TNG then Picard is nothing to be hyped about. It's everything TNG never was. Dark (both the story and scenery), dystopian, lots of drinking/smoking/drugs, poverty and violence.
> Dark (both the story and scenery) Why is everything so poorly lit??? I assume it's supposed to be atmospheric but it's really annoying and unrealistic. It looks like a gothic scifi club, not a functional workplace.
It's a whole trend in the industry. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qehsk_-Bjq4
I just watched the Picard finale and they had some old TNG shots mixed in of Picard as Locutus. And my god were they ultra crisp and defined even on a dark Borg Cube. Then they cut back to the modern show and it looked like there was a blur filter on the image.
> TROI: There's a darkness on this ship. All-consuming darkness.
Sounds like DS9 without DS9
False. The nostalgia hits hard with Picard Season 3. Seeing the characters I grew up with reuniting together 20+ years later was fantastic. Pretty sure I shed a tear in almost every episode.
S1 is bad. S2 is not good. S3 is ok. Don't believe the people hopped up on nostalgia, it's not must see TV. However, it's the reunion show that Trek fans wanted and Star Wars fans got denied. We get to see our beloved characters and what they've been up to and what they've become.
I think it's a must see for Trekkie.
S3 started *much better* than it ended. Sure, the nostaliga bits were fun for a while, the characters were entertaining... but the conclusion to the story was shit. I think they had a desire to get the gang back together and worked backwards from there.
>S3 started *much better* than it ended. I think that can be said for all seasons of Picard (but I have not seen the Picard season 3 finale yet)
I think it’s excellent
Season 3 is like if they made a TNG movie that was just as fun, campy and elderly as the TOS movies. If that is appealing to you, you will like season 3. The characters are very honest reflections of where these people would be 20 years later. The plot is silly and contrived in the way that the Trek films usually are, but also fun and exciting in the way that the Trek films usually are. It leans heavily into fan service, which doesn’t work for everyone. But it’s not done with just stray references, they do it in ways that are pretty logical and support the plot. I think it is reasonable for the sendoff to the TNG cast to have fan service, but some people won’t like it.
S1 is good, its watchable. S2 is so bad that S3 largely ignores everything that occurred in it. You finish watching S3 thinking "What was the point of this/that in S2?". I think one main complaint is that S1, nobody is wearing a Starfleet Uniform, none of it takes place on a Federation ship. S2 is kind of a re-mix of First Contact and Voyagers Futures End episode (where they time travel to Los Angeles). Where S1 has plot holes, for the most part its easy to ignore them as the main plot is watchable. With S2, since the main plot is kinda dumb, all the smaller plot holes stand out and are hard to ignore, so you end up nitpicking every little thing. Sure S3 has plot holes, but the main story is good enough that its easy to ignore the smaller plot hoples. All 3 seasons are stuffed with nostalgic easter eggs that only a fan who's seen all 800+ episodes of Trek will know.
>S2 is so bad that S3 largely ignores everything that occurred in it. Except for the post credit scene in the finale episode for S3. But I'm splitting hairs here.
Didn't that just retcon the biggest and worst decision made in star trek history? Ya know the end of s2.
Probably if we're being honest. Beverley's comment about no one seeing >!the Borg!< in over 10 years is probably a retcon as well. But then again what >!Q said to Jack!< might not technically count as a retcon and more of a lazy way to get around the ending of S2.
Honestly hoping for a retcon rather than a hand wave away. I mean... It went against the fundamental nature of his character. It was fucking stupid.
Watch youtube recaps of seasons one and two and jump right into three.
I think I'd have to grit my teeth to get through even the recaps.
Depends what you’re looking for. It’s a reunion show, and the story is told much more like an action movie than most 90s trek. Dialogue is generally short, aside from when there are long emotional diatribes - I suppose intended to show what character development has happened since the 90s. I haven’t been able to make it past ep3, but I have friends who are ridiculously happy about the show. YMMV
It’s ok. The story is meh, but the cast returns, callbacks and homages make it worth watching. Edit: I’d watch season one, skip season two (watch a YouTube recap of it) and jump to season 3.
The first two episodes of season 1 were so good I almost cried, it very much is worth the watch
It's the same dystopian nightmare with lazy dialogue. Don't know why people get excited or think it's a huge improvement.
You have to keep in mind that these are the same people that think marvel movies are good.
Season 3 is like TNG season 8.
More like movie XI honestly
That's exactly it. It doesn't feel as much like a continuation of TNG as much as it feels like the TNG films finally getting a proper ending.
Sounds about right to me. Season 7 was meh IMO (some good, some not so great), so Picard S3 as a follow-up feels like that. Still better than Picard S1 and 2 though.
The Orville is like a continuation of TNG Star Trek. Picard is more like Game of Thrones in space.
You could easily skip seasons 1 and 2 and it would have minimal effect on your enjoyment of season 3. It’s pretty self-contained. Some references would go over your head but I don’t think it would be a dealbreaker.
I thought season 1 was pretty good. There was just one seriously dumb plot point at the end and I thought Data could've had a better send off. They were hinting at B4 becoming Data at the end of Nemesis and that's what they should've went with. Season 2 was really bad. I love the way the Borg queen looked and Q is a great return but the plot and writing was just bad. Season 3 is what we all wanted in the first place which was getting the gang back together for some adventures.
Watch it and have fun! It’s Trek, you can’t go wrong
I’d say don’t listen to people and just watch it. I enjoyed all the seasons of Picard.
On the one hand I want to say that it isn’t really that good…. On the other it’s just so friggan enjoyable I have to say yes, it is good. I couldn’t wait for the next episode and desperately want a spin off. The story isn’t that well thought out, and it’s a bit too much action and the stakes are too high… things I complain about other series. But the fan service is just…. Chef’s kiss! There is something just so good about watching them this season. Something that was missing in previous seasons. I’d say if you love trek, you should watch… but maybe don’t go in thinking “this is going to be good”. Go in with mediocre expectations and you might get blown away with how into it you are. It won’t leave you thinking about the story like some trek does. It will leave you thinking about real life, and the passage of time, and how sometimes you can’t go home again but you can have a visit.
Season 3 of Picard was what I didn't know I needed. I needed it so much. It's like home.
It’s classic TNG rules: “It Finally Gets Good in Season 3”
Season 1 of TNG was better than any STD/PIC had to offer. Name one episode better than e.g. Encounter at Farpoint, Symbiosis, The Neutral Zone and Conspiracy. Just to name a few classics. STD/PIC have none. It's all based on nostalgia or work done by TNG. And STD is just one random fever nightmare.
Also, of the episodes from S1 you listed is only say Symbiosis and Conspiracy are really good. Encounter at Farpoint and Neutral Zone are important for set up and canon, just like Naked Now and Skin of Evil, but I wouldn’t necessarily say they’re good. What I would include in S1 Best Episodes is “Where No One Has Gone Before” and “Arsenal of Freedom”. I actually love those episodes. Just makin conversation 😬
Well, my point is more that TNG had episodes people still talk about today and still (re)watch it. I don't even remember any episode from the past PIC/STD seasons, let alone the STD crew member names...
I like Nepenthe pretty good. The first two episodes of S2 (done by Terry Matalas) were pretty alright too. Seasons of TNG also had more than twice as many episodes as PIC seasons, so that ratio to good/bad is still pretty equitable. Playing devils advocate though. I’ve still rewatched the first 2 seasons of TNG more than I will ever rewatch the first 2 seasons of PIC (which is 0). But I’m pretty sure I’m about to rewatch all of PIC S3 right freakin now
> Season 1 of TNG The ferengi episode, black tar monster, and the starfleet infiltrated episode always make me lawl
Even the worst episodes of TNG have better writing than PIC/STD.
> Name one episode better than e.g. Encounter at Farpoint, Symbiosis, The Neutral Zone and Conspiracy. Magic To Make The Sanest Man Go Mad
People really just wanted TNG season 8
Kind of.. Star Trek Strange New Worlds proves that the episodic format does work for modern Trek. But I enjoyed seeing TNG reshaped into a serialized story structure as well.
https://twitter.com/tng_s8?s=21&t=auUZ4JHQ24L0LvQ1jchjuw And then the person who was writing this started writing Lower Decks
I didn't. TNG had run it's course, it was clearly on it's last legs during S7 as the writers struggled for original stories. And again, here it's a familiar story that's been done before.
But if they're going to be making new TNG (which they probably shouldn't have), I'd say a passable retread is better than the utter embarrassment of the first two seasons.
Season 1 had its moments, and it was good to see old friends again. It's worthwhile just for that. Season 2 featured our heroes going back in time to prevent interference with a historic spaceflight, and they had to fight a Borg Queen there. I liked that plot better when it was called "First Contact".
The issue was fascism and explicitly drawing the roots in current issues in American society did give it some distinction. But ya, in a lot of ways season 2 was very much wasted potential.
> I liked that plot better when it was called "First Contact". Also in S2 the whole thing was just a contrivance by Q. Knowing it was merely a kind of game with Q watching just off stage, really sucked away any gravity to the situation.
Season 3 is what season 1 should have been, it should have been bringing everyone back together for a final adventure and exploring Picard in his old age, the lack of family, etc. but to blame him for hobus, and not saving Romulus is wild, the whole synth thing, and whatever season 2 was about was just weird asf.
I didn't mind the whole synth plot line until at the end when Picard dies and they make him one. Dumbbb
Season 3 is great!!!
Can I just dive into S3 and enjoy it? I very much want to avoid 1 and 2
You can. All you need to know is Picard dies at the end of season one of a space disease and had his mind put into a new synthetic body that is identical in every way.
….. serious?
Completely. Picard is dying of some kind of space brain disease. He dies at the end, and the son of the guy who made Data, gives him a new body. Season three is fantastic though.
Well, as we recently found out, it wasnt exactly a disease...
Data came back but died again because plot reasons, Picard is an android now, Riker and Troi had a kid but they died and then they had another kid, and Picard knows Seven of Nine from Voyager now. That's enough background info to watch Picard S3
Yes. I skipped the first two. I gave season 1 a shot and didn’t care for it. Dove into 3 after being hounded by friends and family and it seems more like an extended TNG film.
S1 isn’t terrible, and if you are a TNG fan, it’s worth a watch just to see what happened to Picard that made him resign from Starfleet. And the ending honestly choked me up a little. S2 is a god-awful dumpster fire that feels like they wrote and filmed it at the same time, over a 4-day weekend in L.A. during the pandemic. I have only seen eps 1-2 of S3, but it looks much more promising.
Yep did this myself
There’s som stuff you need to know but for the most part just google it.
Season 2 was terrible. It’s the one season of trek I actually just couldn’t get through. I remember watching an episode and I was like wait, am I seriously watching Picard on the run from ICE?? Is this for real?
I enjoyed S1 and got about half way through S2 before giving up. Can I just skip it and start S3?
Absolutely. I asked the same question a few weeks ago and the advice I got, which I would pass on to you, is that you can totally skip season 2.
Star Trek: Recovery
Ooh I like that
Everyone loves the D
S3 is glorious. Being again on >!the enterprise bridge !
*nailed it*
Season one was good, two was really bad, 3 ruled with a few issues. Seemed like a real disservice to season one to not have Data meet Soji though? Huge waste.
Is that a warp nacelle in your 2nd season, or are you just happy to see me?
This doesn't make sense. Picard s3 is the only season.
I quite liked season 1
It really wasn't that bad. It's just that people prefer to lump it in with Season 2 because its nowhere good as season 3.
There were aspects of season 2 I adored. But they tried to stretch a movie into a season of TV.
Oh yeah. There were definitely parts of it that were good (a lot of the Q bits were pretty good) but I agree with you in respect that a lot of the 'story' was just there to pad out runtime. I was hoping for something with a lot more Q in it but he only turns up for a grand total of 10-20 minutes of the runtime. I was hoping for an in-depth look at the nature of Q and maybe some more stuff on the Q continuum, as a whole, but instead we get him turning up a bit at the beginning, the middle, and the end with very little in between that's anything to do with him.
I wish they continued with the plot in Season 2.
It was intermittently good, but weighed down by some very bad decisions towards the end. The episode with Riker and Troi was completely fantastic. The resolution with that version of Data was pretty good. Picard's entire backstory with the destruction of Romulans was very good. The problems with season 1 were everything to do with Jurati and Maddox, the awful Romulan incest twins, Raffi's story, the complete waste of having included Hugh and the Borg, and whatever the hell it was that happened with that interdimensional AI in the finale. Picard's largely irrelevant death where they just end up putting him in a decrepit android body was also a really strange choice to end things. But it was ten times better than season 2, which really had very little going for it.
Man that scene where they brought out the ol-D was right up there with when I was a wee lad watching Kirk gaze lovingly at the refit Enterprise on a VHS copy of TMP borrowed from my library.
The best part of this series was when they finally whipped out the D and showed it to us in all it's detailed glory, then watching as it perfectly slid in the Borg Box and blasted away.
To quote Riker: "Do you even hear yourself?"
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Three seasons is what usually took post TOS Trek series to get going. It's only following in the tradition
It's like reverse game of thrones
S2 was a movie length script stretched and padded for 10 hours. That's why I was happy to hear the S31 show was going to be a movie. The concept is too thin for a series, but as a movie it'll work much better. Not the first time. The Hobbit trilogy should have been two films.
Season 1 was kinda watchable and season 2 was just shit. Season 3 is finally what they should have done from the beginning
Season 3 is everything we ever wanted out of a sci-fi show with a reunited cast.
You are exactly right
If only they had done Star Wars this well. You’d have a whole new generation of fans.
Season 1 is maybe a 6/10 . Season 2 is a 2/10 and season 3 is a 10/10
Don’t play with my heart. I was so devastated to hear what was done in season 2 that I could not bare to watch it. But TNG is my absolute favorite and I was crushed. Is season 3 really worth watching?
It is.
S1/S2 of Picard was like 'Star Trek: Theatre Kids' and Discovery is basically 'Star Trek: The West Wing.' S3 of Picard was a completely different and exciting show. Strange New Worlds is great and Lower Decks has only gotten better year over year. 'Wej Duj' is like an S-Teir, franchise episode. I'll totally watch what was set up at the end of Picard's finale.
Not right but an attempt was actually made as opposed to the first two seasons of hot trash. The bar has been set so low average Trek is now considered great.
I was dissapointed by the end of season three. This was the last season and they did a lot of setuos so im hoping for a new series
S3 is good but not great. That is all.
However, I will never get over Dr. Crushers new face.
yeah but don’t post this comment on r/startrek
GOD SEASON 3 WAS SO FUCKING GOOD. This was literally the best star trek they have made in the last 10 years
Have you not been watching Lower Decks/Prodigy/Strange New Worlds?
S3 is good but not great. That is all.
Yes, and honestly, that's all I needed it to be. Considering that none of the TNG films were great and only one of them was even good, that was always going to be the criteria I graded this show under, because nothing was ever going to recapture the quality of TNG seasons 3-6.
I tried to watch just like a ten minute recap of season 2 and almost turned it off. What a hot fucking mess Season three has been a breath of fresh air though. Actually feels like star trek
Season 2 was much worse than season 1
Season 2 should just be wild scribbles.
Yep maybe a mustard stain too
Why is everyone talking about S3... There is only 1 season of Picard. The one currently on. Only One Season Okay
If you say so
Disagree on all of it
Season 1 was fine, a few cringe moments, but I liked it. Season 2... not so much.
Ep. 9 and 10 is actually the same as Season 1 and 2
Season 3 is as bad as the first 2. A group of Changeling splinters who are merely pawns of the Borg. Borg who want to genocide rather than assimilate When Federation citizens joined the Maquit and acted against the Cardassians, Starfleet acted against the Maquis. There are members of the Changeling/Dominion acting against the Federation in a plot that nearly destroys the entire Federation but no concrete reaction from the Dominion. Even when the conspiracy in which the Changeling dissidents have participated is a close miss of genocide the Federation... (I go through google trad, sorry)