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Patrick Stewart back as Picard in new series

Started by Greg M., 05 August, 2018, 11:04:38 AM

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shaolin_monkey

I thoroughly enjoyed this weeks episode! Long may this upwards trend continue.

Professor Bear

Lazy dead baby backstory aside, Picard and Riker doing bro hugs was the best.  All downhill from there, but it was nice that the Romulan brother/sister act did something other than their one scene where she comes into his room in a strop and says "why don't you kill her already do you love her or summat" and then he tells her their mission again.

Greg M.

Knowing this was the Riker / Troi episode, I was all set to love this one - Riker was always my favourite TNG character - and I won't deny there was a big grin on my face when the old pals were reunited. But to my frustration, I couldn't embrace the episode quite as warmly as Will embraced Jean-Luc. It was just a little bit too depressing, given the deaths of [spoiler]both Riker's son and Hugh. [/spoiler]I know, I know, it's a series about an old man with a terminal illness, but I wish it'd just cheer up a bit.

von Boom

What is wrong with this generation of writers that everyone has to have a fucking tragic backstory now? A dead child. Really? Utter bollocks. Mind you the lost me much earlier when the Soji replicant, after inferring the entirety of Borg technology at a glance, didn't know what a compass was.  ::)

Neo has a showdown with and Agent and managed to stay alive to fight Agent again at some future point where, after a protracted struggle, will turn up trumps.

At least Picard had a little nap.

blackmocco

#214
I'm just thrilled we can continue the long-standing Trek tradition of annoying know-it-all brats who can solve a problem the rest of the cast can't by using her 24th century phone. Somebody actually got paid to write this shite.

On another note, nothing says quality writing like the showrunner having to explain what's going on via answering questions on his Instagram feed. Pathetic.
"...and it was here in this blighted place, he learned to live again."

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Robin Low

Quote from: von Boom on 07 March, 2020, 04:53:14 PM
What is wrong with this generation of writers that everyone has to have a fucking tragic backstory now? A dead child. Really? Utter bollocks.

Or, more significantly, a tragic parallel to the loss of Lwaxana Troi's other child and Deanna's sister, Kestra.

Quote from: blackmocco on 07 March, 2020, 08:43:39 PM
On another note, nothing says quality writing like the showrunner having to explain what's going on via answering questions on his Instagram feed. Pathetic.

I think it says more about the quality of some of the viewers who need to ask the questions. Perhaps they should stop fucking looking at their fucking phones and fucking pay attention. It really isn't that difficult to follow.

My only concern about the series is the conspiracy inside Star Fleet angle. But then again, if I complained about that I'd have to complain about a gazillion Dredd plotlines.

Regards,

Robin

Professor Bear

Kestra died in a random accident, Troi's son died of a curable condition after Starfleet banned medical research, so you'd have to make a generous reading of those disparate events to call them thematically resonant beyond both involving dead children (and JL's nephew may as well be in the mix at that point).  Even then I would tread carefully, as I think that some people dismissive of dead children tropes might respond in such a way because they have an emotional response to the subject.

My thoughts during the exposition scene were along the lines of "they left Starfleet for their son, why didn't they leave the Federation and go somewhere the research was legal, or at least not outlawed yet?  Why didn't they try to contact Maddox?  Or one of the many, many advanced species we've seen in Trek over the years who have fancy medicine technology?"  It felt like they not only just rolled over and let it happen, but that they put their faith in space homeopathy.

Mardroid

#217
They did go to a planet with regenerative soil though. But I get your point. I'm sure they did investigate as much as they could. It was difficult enough for Picard and co to find Maddox.

I immensely enjoyed it, and I'm not much of a STNG fan.

I wish [spoiler]Hugh[/spoiler] had lasted longer.
And the young Romulan bloke just happening* on a [spoiler]Fenris Ranger[/spoiler]** tag seemed a bit too convenient.

QuoteI'm just thrilled we can continue the long-standing Trek tradition of annoying know-it-all brats who can solve a problem the rest of the cast can't by using her 24th century phone.

If she worked out the planet's location all by herself, I'd agree. Instead she contacted a man who could. A quirky resourceful type, who they had mentioned earlier in the episode.

*[spoiler]Or maybe he didn't and I just missed it. I know Seven gave one to Picard, so did he drop it? Quite possible with all that running about.
[/spoiler]
** While I had no difficulty following this episode I confess I did miss the significance of the [spoiler]doodad medal found dangling.[/spoiler] Reading a review later explained what it was. It's quite possible that will be explained next week though.

shaolin_monkey

Any Trek fan who didn't get the warm fuzzies after that episode has a cold black heart.

Robin Low

Quote from: Professor Bear on 08 March, 2020, 04:31:11 PMEven then I would tread carefully, as I think that some people dismissive of dead children tropes might respond in such a way because they have an emotional response to the subject.

I have an emotional response to the subject, too, which is why I'm not dismissive of it. We've lost a baby and came too close to losing another the day they were born.

The fear of future loss remains, whether accident or illness.

Regards,

Robin

Gary James

Quote from: von Boom on 07 March, 2020, 04:53:14 PMMind you the lost me much earlier when the Soji replicant, after inferring the entirety of Borg technology at a glance, didn't know what a compass was.  ::)
So-called experts aboard various ships bearing the name Enterprise have massive gaps in their knowledge of their specialist fields, with the most blatant example probably being Trip - at least the show is being faithful to the franchise's history with that...

Quote from: shaolin_monkey on 09 March, 2020, 10:49:51 AMAny Trek fan who didn't get the warm fuzzies after that episode has a cold black heart.
*checks heart*
Goddamn...

There is the same inconsistent characterization that the show has been pushing (Picard is a dick, then the noble former Starfleet officer we know, then he's a dick, then he's massively erratic, then he's back to being upstanding again), the tech on display at a private residence is apparently solid enough to repel the Tal Shiar (a planetary government's secret agency, which had access to vast resources) should it come to that, and Riker makes pizza, which is... plain weird.

At least he didn't play the saxophone.

As for the dead children backstory... Holy shit, is this show ever managing to come up with new and frustrating ways to make sheer enjoyment - the "kick back and enjoy great spectacle" kind of enjoyment - really, really difficult. Every time I start to relax into things there is a moment which sticks out so badly and uncomfortably against the canvas of a universe built up over decades that I can't help but think "why are you punishing us so?" That plot point merely reinforces that the decision to ban artificial lifeforms was a mistake - it wasn't needed in the script given the other things presented.

Quote from: Robin Low on 09 March, 2020, 06:34:31 PMI have an emotional response to the subject, too, which is why I'm not dismissive of it. We've lost a baby and came too close to losing another the day they were born.
Sorry to hear that.

The death of a child is a subject which is important for fiction to cover, but Picard (as I see it) didn't set up enough groundwork, nor prepare the audience in any way, to justify the inclusion of that (frankly bizarre) revelation. When something such as that is dropped into an episode it often smacks of sensationalism rather than considered character development.

I've got to admit to a sneaking admiration for the writing staff's boldness in not having the ninja efl - sorry, I meant Elnor - follow Picard for the duration. It would have been far too pleasing to have him accompany Picard, allowing for some interesting dialogue about truth in light of what Riker had to say about Picard's tenure as captain. There are whole books devoted to the nature of identity and self in Star Trek, and Picard's inability to see himself in the way his crew did (and still does) feels at odds with what the various shows have put forward over the years about humanity progressing in self-understanding.

Tiplodocus

So still enjoying this and great to see you know who pop up. More action this week and a planet of [spoiler]sexy androids. Yahoo! I assume Roman warbirds were either leftovers from the diaspora and no good for evacuating large groups of people. Otherwise, where did they get 280 of the fecker from? [/spoiler]
Be excellent to each other. And party on!

Mardroid

[spoiler]I didn't find it difficult to believe the Romulans could access that amount of craft.They'd need plenty of ships out there to police their interstellar empire and keep control. And it's been a while since the destruction of their planet so I'm guessing they've produced plenty more ships (on top of the hundreds that were out there and not destroyed in the supernova) in the meantime. If you think in interstellar terms 200 isn't that much.

It does seem way overthetop for this mission, though. Sure, they don't know what they'll encounter on the synth homeworld, but you'd think 10 warbirds would be more than enough.[/spoiler]

Professor Bear

If they had that many ships, why didn't they mount their own evacuation?  And if they made the ships afterwards, why are Romulans just a bunch of bums now?  Why didn't they just relocate their government to one of their hundreds of planets and start over with even more restrictive government powers to capitalise on the disaster?  I mean, they're an empire and not a single planet.  I guess we, the viewers, are expected to fill in the gaps by saying "they felt sad because Romulan 1 went boom-boom so they all became space hobos" or something, but that kind of thing should ideally be in the text of the show.

As has been pointed out many times now, the AI plot is both a rehash of the end of the dreadful Discovery season 2, and the shittiest Mass Effect game.

Tiplodocus

The short answer is, of course, "The same place as Palpatine".
Be excellent to each other. And party on!