Widely considered to be among the best seasons of Star Trek since the franchise returned to television in 2017 — and perhaps among the franchise’s best ever — the new Star Trek: Picard — Season 3 Blu-ray set is also the best of the series’ disc releases… but maybe not for the reasons you would expect.
 
Aside from that editing goof we told you about earlier this week, the technical presentation of the material is typically immaculate in this three-disc collection — and those discs are packed with nearly three hours of detailed behind-the-scenes content. While the interview pieces are mostly standard fare without much new insight into production, this release stands out in two key areas: the five full-length audio commentaries and the impactful deleted scenes.
 

BEHIND THE SCENES BASICS

The days of behind-the-scenes material for official DVD and Blu-ray releases being something uniquely special are, in many ways, long gone. Back in the early 2000s and even in the 2010s, churning through every corner of the extra material on a Star Trek home video release was something many fans looked forward to — remember the hours and hours of content on the Next Gen, Enterprise, and Kelvin Timeline Blu-ray sets?

At the time, it was really the only place you could get into the nitty-gritty of what the production team and actors were thinking in bringing each particular season of the franchise to life. Now, however, with the proliferation of social media, iPhone videos and after-shows like The Ready Room with Wil Wheaton, the behind-the-scenes photos, graphics and stories permeating the internet have honestly made it difficult for the on-disc “extras” to provide any knowledge you haven’t already heard before — especially if you are one of the people that truly loves this type of behind-the-scenes content.

In the Picard Season 3 set, there are five behind-the-scenes vignettes and all of them are completely competent — if not a little tired — plus a somewhat-amusing gag reel, and the 42-minute FYC panel that took place ahead of the IMAX screening in April. 

The produced pieces are all good, and there are hints of fresh visuals and interviews and secrets being revealed — but only in bits and pieces. To be fair, if you take away all of the 800 quadrillion bits of behind-the-scenes material that has been released previously about Season 3 — since the earliest Terry Matalas tweets back in 2021 — these vignettes do stand alone as solid production capsules for the work that was put into breaking this season.

All that said, it’s disappointing that all of the other great behind-the-scenes segments from The Ready Room have been left out — a trend which has been ongoing since the earliest Discovery disc releases. Every one of those pieces is as informative as the vignettes included here.

• The Making of the Last Generation (42:48) — The longest piece on the set is essentially a full documentary on the amazing production, writing and performances that went into the entire iconic final season (and not just the final episode). It includes some unique sound from people like writer-producers Jane Maggs, as well as associate visual effects supervisor Brian Tatosky, as well as some fun effects renders and an audition tape from Ed Speleers.

• Villainous Vadic (20:43) – A fantastic, detailed interview with Amada Plummer, and various producers and creatives, about bringing Vadic to life — and revealing that she had never seen her father’s (Christopher Plummer) performance as General Chang in Star Trek VI. This is the standout vignette in this collection, following Plummer’s few previous contributions to the Picard publicity efforts.
• The Gang’s All Here (19:06) – As you’d expect, this glossy interview piece gives each member of the returning Next Gen cast a few moments in the spotlight.

• Rebuilding the Enterprise-D (16:53) – Talked about ad infinitum since its big reveal at the end of the season and it continues here, with production designer Dave Blass and art director Liz Kloczkowski. While there has been a lot of previous material shared on The Ready Room and through many social media posts from various Picard crewmembers since “Võx” aired, new content includes the Next Gen cast getting their emotional first look at the bridge set and how the various digital display panels work from a behind-the-camera point of view.
• Gag Reel (6:10) – A solid six-minute gag reel reveals that Todd Stashwick is like a puppy, Worf “shits phasers” and — despite his love for baseball –Jonathan Frakes can’t catch worth a damn.
• The Final Season Q & A Panel (42:35) – An interesting inclusion of a talk held before the April finale IMAX screenings, with participation from Alex Kurtzman, Terry Matalas, Jeri Ryan, Brent Spiner, Michael Dorn, Patrick Stewart, LeVar Burton, Gates McFadden, and Jonathan Frakes. (You may have seen this on YouTube back in the spring.)

DELETED SCENES

Unlike in previous seasons, quite a few of the deleted scenes included on this release are extremely relevant and would have added to an already strong season — forcing you to wonder in some cases why they weren’t included in the final episode edits.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the extra scenes, which all come from the latter half of the season.

“The Bounty” (2:52 – 2 Scenes)

 

The big news here is the new Data synth revealing himself as a hybrid of Data, Lore and B-4 while still on the Daystrom Station, instead of in the Titan engineering bay. The deleted scenes also included a little more backstory about the “new” Worf, who apparently spent “years” hunting down (and executing!) Changelings in his post-DS9 years… before accidentally killing a human, driving him to change his ways.

“Dominion” (3:01 – 3 Scenes)

 

There are two short and impactful scenes, first with Geordi, pleading with Data and telling the android about his daughters, then one with Seven and Shaw watching from a monitor as Picard and Vadic square off, with Shaw adding some additional context to the Federation’s role in unleashing the changeling virus during the Dominion War.

 

Both would have been helpful additions, as would the extra dialog showcased between Picard and Crusher as they decide that yes, they have changed enough to execute Vadic. All three brief scenes were illuminating moments that would have added more to the final product with their inclusion than they did being cut out.

“Surrender” (0:46 – 1 Scene)

 

This is a small trim from Data’s mental showdown with Lore, in which he kicks off his gambit of gifting his “evil” brother important elements from his past to overpower him. In this case, the gift is a painting of a crow from the episode “Birthright,” which was referenced overtly in “The Bounty.”

“Võx” (3:28 – 1 Scene)

 

This is an extended version of Data “consoling” Picard after Jack’s escape in the early moments of the episode. This is the best of the deleted scenes, and adds plenty of heart and smarts to the new Data’s emergence — it’s very hard to imagine the reasons behind this scene being trimmed down.

“The Last Generation” (1:45 – 2 Scenes)

 

A mixed bag here, including a wisely-omitted scene La Forge reminding Troi that she crashed the Enterprise the only two previous times she sat at the helm. Beyond that cringey trope, there is some extra material included in the season-ending moments for our heroes celebrating their friendship at Guinan’s bar… including Worf completing Data’s “young lady from Venus” limerick.

AUDIO COMMENTARIES

The strength of the release is definitely in the five full-length audio commentaries accompanying half the season. It is an absolute welcome surprise to suddenly see audio commentaries back in vogue — something that really hasn’t been a part of recent live-action Trek home video releases. (Lower Decks, though, has been doing a great job!)

Across Discovery Season 3 and 4, Picard Seasons 1 and 2, and Strange New Worlds Season 1, there have been a combined total of just four commentary tracks — so having five new ones all in one release is an incredible breath of fresh air, and hopefully something that will continue in the future.

Here’s a quick run through the five commentary tracks, all of which include showrunner Terry Matalas.

“The Next Generation”

 

A spirited and often raucous conversation between Terry Matalas and Jonathan Frakes (Will Riker), Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine), Todd Stashwick (Liam Shaw), Ed Speleers (Jack Crusher), and composer Stephen Barton. One of the big highlights is discussion between almost all the major players about Captain Shaw’s introductory dinner scene.

“Seventeen Seconds”

 

A more introspective conversation between Matalas, Gates McFadden (Beverly Crusher) and Michelle Hurd (Raffi Musiker), with the highlights including McFadden discussing a line that was cut from her “20 years later” conversation with Picard that she believes helped to frame and support her difficult decision. (There is also a pretty funny reference to Star Trek executive John Van Citters that we won’t spoil here!)

“No Win Scenario”

 

A powerhouse commentary with Matalas, Frakes, and Stashwick, as the trio breaks down one of the franchise’s true high points. The commentary builds alongside the momentum of a masterpiece episode, culminating with Frakes’ heartfelt admission that he “[loves] being Riker again. Thank you, Terry.”

“The Bounty”

 

Basically a convention panel with Matalas, Frakes, LeVar Burton (Geordi La Forge) and Brent Spiner (Data), cracking wise for 52 minutes — Burton joins fashionably late, about 20 minutes into the commentary. Stick around to the end to learn the true story of some “minor larceny” involving Burton and his uniform.

“The Last Generation”

 

A Borg-heavy commentary featuring Ryan, Speleers, Frakes and Matalas, with Ryan “calling bullshit” on Speleers’ assimilation makeup — pointing out how he got off easy compared to her original make-up design as Seven of Nine. Appropriately, the final commentary features Frakes taking a phone call mid-recording.

EASTER EGG HUNT

There’s one more bit of fun behind-the-scenes footage buried in the Season 3 collection, and that’s “One More Hand” (6:02) — an extended recording of the Ten Forward poker game that closed out “The Last Generation.”

Hidden in the menus of Disc 3 — press LEFT on your remote when highlighting “Rebuilding the Enterprise-D” on the features menu and a playing card will appear — showrunner and finale director Terry Matalas presents six minutes of improv and laughter as the Next Gen cast take an afternoon to play cards one last time as a united crew.

FINAL THOUGHTS

It’s not surprising that the most successful Picard season also has the greatest home media release of the series, and for anyone who has even a passing interest in what went into bringing this miracle of a year to life, Star Trek: Picard – Season 3 is a must-have… especially in these days where content can just vanish off of subscription streaming services.

Speaking of which — watch for our review of the second chapter of Star Trek: Prodigy when it beams down on Blu-ray at the end of September.

A previous version of this article incorrectly described the content in the “Rebuilding the Enterprise-D” feature. We regret the error.

Jim Moorhouse is the creator of TrekRanks.com and the TrekRanks Podcast. He can be found living and breathing Trek every day on Twitter at @EnterpriseNXtra.