Star Trek: Picard just launched on CBS: All Access, and we’ve spent some quality time
aboard the first season.
If you’re wondering how this new series stacks up to previous entries in the franchise,
here’s our spoiler-free review.
Picard boldly goes where no other Trek series has gone before, skipping the typical format
of introducing a ship and its crew.
Instead, we meet the now-retired Admiral at his family’s vineyard in France.
As expected, Picard is dragged out of these peaceful golden years for “one last mission,”
spurred by a distressed woman named Dahj -- played by Isa Briones.
In later episodes he’ll team up with a new crew, but don’t expect it to feel like the
USS Enterprise.
Even in this era of nostalgia-fueled revivals, it’s hard to believe Picard is back.
But you could never launch a show like The Next Generation in 2020.
A season of TNG featured 26 standalone stories, limited longterm character development, and
very tight budgets.
The tone varied wildly from absurd comedy to intense moral debates.
So, how do you embrace TNG’s legacy AND appeal to modern audiences, without becoming
the dreaded “gritty reboot?”
Star Trek: Discovery had some trouble with this issue, skewing too grim in its complicated
first season.
Picard solves it by offering a clear, streamlined concept from the start.
After two decades of Star Trek aiming its gaze into the past with Enterprise; Discovery;
the J.J. Abrams movies, Picard is a welcome step into the future.
The Borg and the Romulans play key roles, in a political thriller with deep emotional
resonance for Picard - and for longtime Star Trek fans.
Set 20 years after the final TNG film, we learn that Picard’s retirement was not a
happy one.
He left because Starfleet botched the rescue effort when the planet Romulus was destroyed,
prioritizing human lives elsewhere.
The disillusioned Admiral retreated to his family chateau, where he lives with two Romulan
refugees (played by Jamie McShane and Orla Brady), whose cheerful bickering belies their
tragic backstory.
These crucial characters flesh out our view of Romulans, an alien race that was first
introduced in the 1960s.
Cold wars between the Romulans and Federation are a long-running theme, with Picard playing
a diplomatic role during key episodes of TNG. Patrick Stewart describes Picard as a reaction
to the era of Trump and Brexit, and that’s already clear from the three episodes I watched
for this review.
Picard is a lone voice of compassion in a supposedly-inclusive culture that turned its
back on refugees.
Starfleet’s empathy and intellectual curiosity have shriveled up under a cloud of fear and
bigotry, leaving him behind as a relic of a bygone era.
This may all sound like a downer, but the show actually feels much more optimistic than
Discovery.
Picard is still very much Picard: a moral touchstone and a loyal friend, willing to
risk anything to help those in need.
Naturally, Patrick Stewart is wonderful.
He’s one of the greatest actors of his generation, and he’s made Picard shine through far less
impressive material in the past.
Both Stewart and the show's writers put serious thought into where Picard would be at this
point in his life, and how to include other classic characters without resorting to cheap
cameos.
Unlike some other franchise revivals, old friends only return when it’s relevant to
the plot.
Dream sequences about Data are crucial, because his death had such an impact on Picard.
And we know we’ll meet Riker, Troi, and Seven of Nine in later episodes.
But it’s the new cast that really shines, and I loved all of them from their very first
scenes.
The show gives each new character an distinctive introduction, especially Dahj - although her
role is too spoilery to discuss here.
Harry Treadaway -- whom you may know from Penny Dreadful -- plays the Romulan agent
Narek.
His performance is wry, mysterious, sexy, and leans into the theatrical espionage that
made old-school Romulans so fun.
Episode 1 sags under some of the clunky exposition you’d expect from a story with 20 years
of prologue, but the emotional arcs for Picard and Dahj are immediately compelling, building
on cleverly-chosen ideas from earlier canon.
By episode 2, I was in love.
Patrick Stewart’s passionate, layered performance is the cornerstone, staying true to Picard's
values while taking him in bold new directions.
After all, this is hardly the first time a Star Trek hero has rebelled against Starfleet.
It may be a utopian future, but it’s never been a perfect one.
And don’t worry, it still finds time to be funny.
Star Trek: Picard premieres January 23, 2020 on CBS: All Access.
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