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Picard's back - and having a piss up! We're all invited!


Looks like he's a "sad" drunk, though. I just hope there's room for Patrick to recreate the meme @skinny used in the GoT thread, I'm still chuckling about that.

Jonathan Frakes is directing episodes 3 & 4.
 
Star Trek really need to stop letting actors direct films or episodes. Being a director and being an actor are completely different skillsets.

OK, sometimes certain people can do both. Clint Eastwood for example. Just as certain people can both play the banjo and make excellent origami cranes.

But as a general rule most people are really skilled at one particular thing. And that's what they should stick to.
 
Aha! I forgot about that.
Picard is still the last of his family, so I presume we get to see him spending time on his estate.

It reminded me in tone of 'The Inner Light' (TNG: Series 5 Ep. 25), which if not the best episode of the show (because it is quite a departure in content) was quite possibly Patrick Stewart's finest acting as part of the show.

In case anybody's memory needs refreshing:

 
I really hope it's not like The Inner Light, because that's one of the most bafflingly overrated TV episodes ever. Of any successful series.
 
I really hope it's not like The Inner Light, because that's one of the most bafflingly overrated TV episodes ever. Of any successful series.

I haven't watched it for many years, but I remember it grabbing me when I did, and, of course, the name and plot have stayed with me when most episodes have been long forgotten.

Strokes for folks.
 
I remember being bored out of my mind when I saw it, and I dutifully sat through all the Klingon episodes. Hey ho.
 
I remember being bored out of my mind when I saw it, and I dutifully sat through all the Klingon episodes. Hey ho.

You're not a fan of the early 'Roddenbery-heavy' TNG are you?

I watched 'The Last Outpost' earlier today and although it did have a little retro-charm, parts of the script were pretty clunky and the plot was also a little wonky in places. You might recall it as being the Ferengi's first appearance.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Outpost_(Star_Trek:_The_Next_Generation)
 
Not a fan of Roddenberry's iron grip on the early episodes, no, in fact that first season was pretty awful. TNG got really good in the middle, then tailed off at the end (though the final episode was excellent). The Ferengi were criticised for portraying offensive Jewish stereotypes at the time. Can't think why. Oh wait, it's because they were offensive Jewish stereotypes.
 
I find some of the early TNG episodes, such as the aforementioned The Last Outpost, to be pretty poor but I agree with Yith that The Inner Light is a classic. What did you think of DS9's The Visitor, GNC?

After Discovery my hopes and expectations for modern Trek being worthwhile are pretty low. I was never much of a comic book fan and modern Trek incarnations have become more and more influenced by comic book tropes. Apart from DS9, most of the Trek series used alternate universes as one off plot devices to ask "what if?". DS9 did overuse and misuse the mirror universe but those episodes were skippable, you didn't have to watch them to understand the story of the series. New Trek, since JJ Abrams, has become reliant on alternate universes.

I understand why the reboot films did it. But Discovery was supposed to be a return to normal Trek. Instead we got Klingons that don't really behave like Klingons did, combined with a different appearance and different starships etc. We got the spore drive, the reliance of the story on alternate universes.

I fear Picard will be another edition of comic book Trek.
 
Withe Logan movie, it felt like you were watching your childhood heroes dragged through the mud.
I worry this new Picard-series might be similar, showing a broken and disillusioned Picard.
 
..But Discovery was supposed to be a return to normal Trek. Instead we got Klingons that don't really behave like Klingons did, combined with a different appearance and different starships etc. We got the spore drive, the reliance of the story on alternate universes.
The Klingons are actually how Roddenberry originally envisaged them, but budgetary constraints and squickish studio execs toned them down considerably. As for Discovery, it's damned if it did and damned if it didn't - the spore drive became its entire reason for vanishing from canon, both as a cover-up to conceal what it uncovered, and a credible explanation for it not being physically present in TOS. I liked it.
 
Withe Logan movie, it felt like you were watching your childhood heroes dragged through the mud.
I worry this new Picard-series might be similar, showing a broken and disillusioned Picard.

This is a prime-time U.S.-made series.

'Broken and disillusioned' heroes are only permitted if faith is ultimately restored, and villains must be destroyed or redeemed--it's a deeply conservative medium.

There are laudable exceptions, but can you imagine an American-written Elric? Or Blake's 7?

Bring back noir!
 
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Just looked up DS9's The Visitor, and I only have a vague memory of it, so couldn't really make an opinion, sorry.
 
As for Discovery, it's damned if it did and damned if it didn't - the spore drive became its entire reason for vanishing from canon, both as a cover-up to conceal what it uncovered, and a credible explanation for it not being physically present in TOS. I liked it.

That's fair enough, we like what we like. I didn't like Discovery and stopped watching halfway through series one, just after the jump to the mirror universe. I was just outlining my personal reasons why I have low expectations for Picard. I do like the fact that Trek of some sort is being made again.
 
I didn't like Discovery and stopped watching halfway through series one, just after the jump to the mirror universe
Season one was quite uneven, I agree, and at times unnecessarily complicated. However, lessons were learnt and season two was better by a considerable margin.
 
Season one of Discovery was handicapped by the show runner leaving well into production. They had achieved a more harmonious set up by season 2, though I still found the finale needlessly finicky when it needed a grand flourish. But it has improved.

Oh, and happy birthday Doug Jones for yesterday!
 
Only recently acquired Netflix and have started watching ST Discovery.
Just finished episode 2 -Battle at the Binary Stars.
The eye-candy is certainly impressive enough, but I can't say it's really grabbed me so far and I can understand why fans have rated it as the weakest of all ST incarnations.
None of the characters seem to have any charisma, with the smug and arrogant "Michael" being particularly irritating.
Also, what gives with the bizarre new Klingon makeup?
Please tell me ST Discovery does improve.
 
Bless: There are some things that makes more sense when you get further into the season.
 
Only recently acquired Netflix and have started watching ST Discovery.
Just finished episode 2 -Battle at the Binary Stars.
The eye-candy is certainly impressive enough, but I can't say it's really grabbed me so far and I can understand why fans have rated it as the weakest of all ST incarnations.
None of the characters seem to have any charisma, with the smug and arrogant "Michael" being particularly irritating.
Also, what gives with the bizarre new Klingon makeup?
Please tell me ST Discovery does improve.

Discovery is never going to be the weakest ST series as long as Enterprise exists.
 
Cool!
Will stick with it and give it a chance.
With the exception of STTNG and STTOS (far and away the best incarnations of ST) all of the others had at least one character that got right up my bloody nose. In Enterprise for example, I disliked T'Pol and Trip. In Voyager, Janeway herself irritated me and, as for the ridiculous Neelix - the Jar-Jar Binks of the ST world, he made me want to put my foot through the TV screen. Didn't like Odo in DS9.
In Discovery, the incongruously named "Michael" (my! Aren't we trendy?) annoyed me from the start. She combines the Vulcan aloofness with an OTT smug arrogance. Hope she will chill out a bit.
As mentioned, I liked the battle in ep 2 of Discovery, but why are these weird-looking Klingons so weak that even diminutive human females can kick their pathetic arses?
 
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On the 'Michael' thing - the bass player of The Bangles was a female Michael also.

(Although, she was named Susan first.)

Apparently it's a Bryan Fuller habit, giving female leads male names.
 
Only recently acquired Netflix and have started watching ST Discovery.
Just finished episode 2 -Battle at the Binary Stars.
The eye-candy is certainly impressive enough, but I can't say it's really grabbed me so far and I can understand why fans have rated it as the weakest of all ST incarnations.
None of the characters seem to have any charisma, with the smug and arrogant "Michael" being particularly irritating.
Also, what gives with the bizarre new Klingon makeup?
Please tell me ST Discovery does improve.
yeah star trek disco does get better. season 2 is a whole different story arc. and as other have said there are a good number of shocks.
michael can be rather smug i agree, but i do like the fact the 'main' character isn't the captain of the ship. (also i like the fact that so many of the ensemble characters are women. no, this shouldn't matter, but it's still common place for the bulk of an ensemble to be men unless its a' wimmins show') even tilly becomes less annoying.
there is some silliness but it is ST after all.
iirc michael is named after her bio dad? thats not a spoiler.
 
yeah star trek disco does get better. season 2 is a whole different story arc. and as other have said there are a good number of shocks.
michael can be rather smug i agree, but i do like the fact the 'main' character isn't the captain of the ship. (also i like the fact that so many of the ensemble characters are women. no, this shouldn't matter, but it's still common place for the bulk of an ensemble to be men unless its a' wimmins show') even tilly becomes less annoying.
there is some silliness but it is ST after all.
iirc michael is named after her bio dad? thats not a spoiler.

I will stick with it and I did find the 3rd episode quite intriguing.
Thanks for the heads up that Tilly improves later in the series, as it looked like she had only been added for comedy value!
 
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