Rating (episodes 1 through 4):
✰✰✰✰✰/✰✰✰✰✰
5 out of 5 stars
I have had the fortune of being shown the first four episodes of the new Star Trek Picard series, and boy were we blown away. I had to beg our hosts to continue but alas – only four episodes is what they had, or claimed to anyway.
The characters are gritty and real, the show has a very different tone than Star Trek: Discovery (it’s contemporary twin, in terms of being produced at the same time.) The Picard show has a much more sombre tone, it feels more like the SciFi series “The Expanse” than any of the old treks. Which is good, because, hey, evolution happens. Some fantastic drone shots though, and don’t be surprised if you’re blown away by some great CGI. This show was crafted with the same love from the ground up that build TNG, DS9, etc.
Without ruining it for you, I must say that Data is basically what the fans predict – well, one of the predictions, anyhow – but many of the other characters are quite different than we imagined. There is a fairly visceral visual treatment of drug addiction that plays out a few times (think requiem for a dream) but it’s not overly graphic and it adds an edge of reality to the show that simply wouldn’t have been possible in Trek before, albeit close to possible on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. I would say DS9 is probably the closest past Trek to have the feeling of Star Trek: Picard, which is wonderful, but it’s a distant nod. ST:P is more grown up, and it’s darker edge owes as much to the corrupt times we live in as does the shining armour of it’s emblazoned hero, whose defiance re-emerges much in the same spirit of freedom and democracy as his best monologues in the TNG series as well as of course First Contact and Insurrection.
There are some crazier elements and a good depth of trek lore really is necessary to appreciate the whole depth of it. However, you’ll be happy to know that the romulan bird of prey seen in the intros isn’t what you might think it is. There is a good deal of spoilers I’ll avoid saying right now, but let me leave it at this: Five out of five stars. A brilliant continuation of the captain of TNG, his timeline, and the spirit of freedom and emboldened pioneering spirit we have seen in the best of Trek Series.
Star Trek Picard – Episodes 1 through 4: 5/5 stars ✰✰✰✰✰