Star Trek: Picard didn’t knock it out of the park, but I enjoyed it. The highlight was the nostalgia-tickling reunions with The Next Generation characters Riker, Troi, and Data, whose long history with Picard made for some moving scenes. Work is currently underway on the second season, which will feature John de Lancie as Q and Whoopi Goldberg as Guinan.
The show will presumably pick up where we left off, with Picard having been resurrected into a new synth body. This has divided fans, though the stipulation that it exactly resembles his original body should mean that they can simply brush it under the rug if they need to. Other than that, things have been relatively quiet – though we still have our fingers crossed that there’ll be some more classic characters reprising their roles.
De Lancie recently gave an update on how the shoot is progressing via Cameo, saying that it’s a blast getting the gang back together:
“I am back in the Star Trek universe working with the likes of Sir Patrick Stewart and Brent Spiner and Jonathan Frakes, who has been directing the episodes I have been doing right now. He always makes things better than they are.
[I have] some wonderful scenes with Patrick [and] a nice scene with Brent. Also it was directed by Jonathan, which was great fun. So, we are toodling along. We are creating great stories for you guys…I’ve been having a really nice time working with Sir Patrick and with Brent, that was great fun. And with Jonathan Frakes, who just makes shooting a party…
It’s been a lot of fun working with Patrick and Jonathan Frakes and with Brent. It’s a little bit like old home week as it were, after many many years…”
These confirm a lot of what we already suspected. The teaser trailer released last week ominously hinted that “time is broken” and that the second season may explore an alternative timeline. The exact details are hazy, though it appears that the alt-Picard is in a position of authority in Starfleet and that Seven of Nine will either have had her Borg implants removed or never have been assimilated at all – though one interesting wrinkle is that it appears the characters will leap into their alt bodies. These time-based shenanigans are undoubtedly the work of Q and I bet they open the door to some interesting takes on classic Trek moments.
Some questions do remain: we know Jonathan Frakes is directing but at the moment it seems that Riker may only appear in a brief cameo (if at all). We’re also still unclear as to whether Spiner will play Data again or just Dr Altan Soong. Let’s hope we get answers and a full trailer soonish.
Star Trek: Picard will return on Paramount+ in early 2022.
Published: Jun 25, 2021 09:34 am