The first season of Star Trek: Picard has concluded, and now that the dust has settled, our Canon Connections series is back to take a walk through all ten episodes of the first year’s adventure to find all the callbacks, references, and sly winks to Star Trek‘s past.
We continue our journey back through the just-concluded season, moving now into episodes six and seven — “The Impossible Box” and “Nepenthe” — as the story takes Jean-Luc Picard to the place from which his greatest fears arise to one of ultimate safety and comfort, reuniting with several old friends along the journey.
Slideshows of the Past
“The Impossible Box” – In his holographic office aboard La Sirena, Picard activates the LCARS display system on his desk to review data about the Borg and the Artifact.
“The Impossible Box” – La Sirena crosses into Romulan space through the “former” Neutral Zone. During previous 24th century Star Trek, the Neutral Zone had been an important political barrier between the Federation and the Romulan Empire that kept the peace between the two races for several generations.
It appears the Neutral Zone went away following the destruction of Romulus and the severe upheaval experienced by the Romulan Empire — just as foretold in “All Good Things….”
The Adventures of Flotter
“The Impossible Box” – While taking apart her quarters to quantum date the age of her possessions, Soji pulls a lunch box out of storage.
The image on the front of the lunchbox is of “The Adventures of Flotter,” a popular children’s character in the 24th century. Flotter was first introduced in “Once Upon a Time,” and referenced a number of times in subsequent episodes of ‘Voyager’ as a favorite of Naomi Wildman.
Unhappy Memories
“The impossible Box” – After beaming aboard the Borg Cube, the first time stepping foot on a Borg vessel since his assimilation, Picard experiences some traumatic flashbacks to his interactions with the Borg.
Many of these are short clips of footage from the assimilation of the crew of the USS Enterprise in ‘Star Trek: First Contact.’
Spatial Trajector
“The Impossible Box” – After accessing the Queen’s Cell, Hugh reveals that the Cube has a spatial trajector installed, a technology acquired by the Borg after assimilating a group of Sikarians. The USS Voyager encountered the hedonistic race with technology to transport people up to 40,000 lightyears in the first season episode “Prime Factors.”
I do not imagine that the Sikarian assimilation was terribly… pleasurable.
Hirogen Hunter
“Nepenthe” – One of Hugh’s xB crew, executed by Narissa, is a Delta Quadrant native: a Hirogen, the hunter race introduced in ‘Voyager’ Season 4, and the first Delta Quadrant alien to be seen since the conclusion of ‘Voyager.’
Heart of Metal
“Nepenthe” – Confronted by Kestra Troi-Riker’s bow and arrow, Picard impishly implies that if she really wants to injure him, she should aim the arrow for his head and not his heart.
“My heart is solid duritanium,” Picard says, referring to the fact that he has an artificial heart, as previously illustrated in “Samaritan Snare” and “Tapestry.”
“Slaver Weapon” Shout-Out
“Nepenthe” – Riker tells Picard that they had a household shield system installed because the planet had been having some issues with the Kzinti.
The race were introduced in the ‘Animated Series’ episode “The Slaver Weapon.” This is the Kzinti’s first reference in live-action ‘Star Trek.’
The Legend of Lt. Commander Data
“Nepenthe” – “Do you play the violin?” “Do you like Sherlock Holmes?” “Can you run super fast and jump really high, and bend steel with your hands?” are among the questions that Kestra asks Soji, comparing her to her “father” Data, who played violin, was a fan of Sherlock Holmes, and possessed abilities beyond that of a human.
“He was always trying to be more human. He could do all these amazing things, but all he really wanted to do was have dreams, tell jokes, and learn how to ballroom dance.”
Troi-Riker Family Names
“Nepenthe” – The Rikers’ children, Thad and Kestra Troi-Riker, are both named for relatives of their respective families. Will Riker had an ancestor who fought in the Civil War named Thaddius Riker, nicknamed “Old Iron Boots,” (“Death Wish”) while Kestra is named for Troi’s older sister who died at a young age. (“Dark Page”).
From the picture’s background, the photo of Admiral Picard and a young Thad was taken in the observation lounge of the Enterprise-E.
Silicon-Based Virus
“Nepenthe” – It is revealed that Thad Troi-Riker died from a silicon-based virus, mendaxic neurosclerosis. Starfleet previously encountered another silicon-based virus in the ‘Enterprise’ episode “Observer Effect.”
Bringing Back ‘Beloved’
“Nepenthe” – While doling out (far too few) slices of pizza, Riker refers to Troi as ‘Imzadi,’ a Betazoid word which means “Beloved.”
The affectionate name shared between the two characters dates back to the ‘Next Generation’ pilot episode “Encounter at Farpoint.”
Captain Crandall’s Adventures
“Nepenthe” – The mysterious Captain Crandall is said to have traveled from Qo’nos, the Klingon homeworld, to Tyken’s Rift, a spatial anomaly that was encountered by Bela Tyken.
The Enterprise-D encountered a version of Tyken’s Rift in The Next Generation episode “Night Terrors.”
All That Jazz
“Nepenthe” – Will Riker’s longstanding love of jazz music continues in this episode, as we first encounter him listening to that music as he works in his home kitchen before Picard’s arrival.
In addition, his trombone is on display in a corner of the Troi-Riker home, an instrument Riker’s been seen playing since the early days of ‘The Next Generation.’
[td_smart_list_end]
Our Star Trek: Picard Canon Connections will conclude later this week, as we examine “Broken Pieces” and the two-part “Et in Arcadia Ego” season finale.
Like Captain Janeway and the crew of the USS Voyager, we’re all spending a lot of time apart from our friends and family these days — and to make these weeks of isolation a bit more bearable, we’ve opened a wormhole to bring some of the Delta Quadrant home to you!
This contest has ended and all winners have been notified.
Congratulations to Julian and Tamara on Facebook, and Tionne and Fenix on Twitter!
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Star Trek: Voyager, we’ve put together several prize packs ready to beam down to a few lucky TrekCore readers — including the extensive soundtrack collections from La-La Land Records, a number of models from Hero Collector’s Official Starships Collection, and even the complete series on DVD!
Our second winner will receive both La-La Land Records’ soundtrack collections, as well as two of Hero Collector’s Star Trek: Voyager models: the Delta Flyer and the Type-9 shuttlecraft!
Our third winner will receive both Star Trek: Voyager soundtrack collections, as well as Hero Collector’s assimilated USS Voyager model, representing the ship as seen in “Scorpion, Part II.”
Our fourth winner will receive both Star Trek: Voyager soundtrack collections.
* * * *
For your chance to win one of these four Star Trek: Voyager-themed prize packs, all you have to do is join us on social media and answer the following question:
After 168 episodes of adventures over seven years in the Delta Quadrant, the USS Voyager crew has plenty of stories that have remained in our memories — and you can earn your chance to bring home one of these prize collections today.
You have until midnight (Eastern time) on Thursday, April 16 to get your entry in — we’ll reach out to the winners via Twitter or Facebook after the contest closes to arrange for fulfillment.
Good luck to all!
Grand prize limited to entrants from the US and Canada only due to region restriction on DVD collection; other prize packages available to TrekCore readers in all geographic regions.
The comments section of this article will not be considered for contest entries.
Introduced in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine pilot episode “Emissary,” as the station’s primary support craft, the Danube-class runabout has joined now joined the ranks of Eaglemoss/Hero Collector’s line of XL Starship models.
Designed to be more durable and versatile craft than the shuttles that preceded them, the runabout was originally designed by Rick Sternbach and Jim Martin, with a miniature built by Toby Meininger. In addition to many appearances in Deep Space Nine, the runabout also appeared in an episode of The Next Generation (“Timeless”) and an episode of Voyager (“Non Sequitur”).
Measuring approximately eight and a half inches in length, the XL-sized USS Orinoco is largely plastic, with the only metal component being a central component that includes the nacelle struts. The cockpit, rear and bottom of the ship, sensor rollbar, and nacelles are all plastic, which makes the model’s weight feel light despite its chunkiness.
This larger-scale model is more or less an identical upscale of the subscription-sized model released back in 2014, so if you’re just looking for a larger version of what might already be in your collection, you’re in luck. But if you were hoping that the higher price point and additional scale would result in more detailing, I’m afraid you will be disappointed.
Given the XL-sized runabout is much larger original release, it’s pretty disappointing that additional detail was not added to this model, particularly given the premium price that the XL Starships line commands.
Most obviously missing from the ship are a number of grid-lines across the entire model. Particularly on the cockpit, which is smooth and largely devoid of detail, the added grid-lines would have made this model significantly more visually interesting than the model we got.
That’s probably why those lines were added to the studio model in the first place; because without them, it’s just a big grey block.
In addition to the missing grid-lines, the model is also missing contouring along the bottom. Flip the runabout upside down, and you won’t find much about this model that attracts your eye. The studio model, on the other hand, had more paneling and contouring to add visual flair.
And the last of the glaring omissions: the runabout is one solid grey color. In examining shots of the studio model, it is clear that the panels were slightly different colors, and that the overall color scheme of the model leaned a bit more into blues than into the matte grey in the Eaglemoss version.
The runabout does not have a particularly interesting shape, especially when compared to the hero Enterprise ships in the collection. And so, in order to make it visually appealing, it needs added details to stand out on your shelf, and to justify the cost. That may have been part of the decision to give us the Orinoco, with the added sensor rollbar, despite most runabouts in the series — like the ever-present Rio Grande — appearing without it.
And if it was the case that the rollbar was added to give the runabout a little something extra, then it is particularly disappointing that they did not go further to add the additional detailing that a model of this size demands.
The runabout’s stand grips tightly around the nacelle struts, and it is well balanced and stable when up on your shelf. No danger of slippage on this one, unlike others in the series (like the Voyager or Enterprise NX-01 models which have bad habits of falling off their stands).
Ultimately while the build quality is fairly solid, the XL-edition runabout model is disappointing. With no added grid-lines, no contouring along the bottom, and no varied paint scheme, this model amounts to just an upsized version of the 2014 model, with its larger size being the only real draw for collectors.
For the price, these models need to be more than just bigger, and Eaglemoss have shown that they are very capable of producing lusciously gorgeous models with plenty of additional details that justify the XL price. This isn’t one of them.
Christopher L. Bennett returns to his passion project of exploring the The Motion Picture era in the latest Star Trek novel, The Higher Frontier.
Set at the end of Kirk’s second five year mission aboard the Enterprise — which followed the events of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, but preceded The Wrath of Khan — The Higher Frontier bridges the gaps between the two films in another sweeping tale that connects various parts of the Star Trek canon into a satisfying story.
Given everything going on in the world right now, The Higher Frontier has not received the attention it deserves. And that’s a shame; with much of the world’s population currently in some form of self-isolation, what better time than to read a great Star Trek novel?
And The Higher Frontier delivers, providing all the Kirk/Spock/McCoy movie-era action that you could wish for.
Bennett has been slowly exploring The Motion Picture-era Enterprise crew since his first full-length Star Trek novel Ex Machina was published in 2005. That book and The Higher Frontier serve as bookends for Kirk’s second five year mission; Ex Machina picking up immediately following the end of The Motion Picture, and The Higher Frontier leading directly into the events of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
The novel begins with a tragedy: the massacre of the Aenar — the Andorian subspecies introduced in Star Trek: Enterprise — at the hands of a mysterious enemy. Kirk and the Enterprise are sent to investigate, and solicit the help of Miranda Jones and the Medusan ambassador Kollos from the Original Series episode “Is There in Truth No Beauty?”
It’s very much like Bennett to stitch together disparate parts of the Star Trek canon with some thread you didn’t realize existed, and he is true to form in this novel and continues to be a master at reconciling Star Trek canon and continuity.
As the mystery of the massacre of the Aenar unfolds, it is paired with a different mystery: the emergence of human telepaths in the wake of V’Ger’s arrival on Earth five years earlier. Calling themselves “New Humans” — one of several nods, call backs, and allusions to Roddenberry’s novelization of The Motion Picture — these individuals have begun manifesting telepathic skills not seen before in humans.
Through the novel, Bennett weaves together The Motion Picture, The Wrath of Khan, “Is There in Truth No Beauty?” “The Aenar,” “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” and includes references both subtle and overt to Discovery, and the depiction in the novels of Andorian culture, as well as Bennett’s own previous work in this era and last year’s The Captain’s Oath.
There is also a lot of great character work in this novel that helps bridge the gap for Kirk and Spock, in particular, between The Motion Picture and The Wrath of Khan. Kirk’s return to the admiralty, and a position at Starfleet Academy no less, and particularly Spock’s decision to finally accept the rank of captain, and command the USS Enterprise, are handled well. Spock’s arc is perhaps best served of all the characters, as it was in Ex Machina also.
If there is one disappointment with the novel, its structure does feel slightly similar to last year’s The Captain’s Oath. That book chronicled the first command of James T. Kirk prior to being offered captaincy of the Enterprise, and spanned a period of several years that ultimately set up where we meet Kirk on screen.
In a similar fashion, The Higher Frontier seems to start with the mandate to set up The Wrath of Khan, and work backwards from there. While it’s a lot of fun to dive deep into this period of history because it has not been fully explored, it does sometimes feel like Bennett’s recent books have a central conceit of taking a piece of unexplored Trek history or some contradiction in the canon and then solving it or filling in the gaps.
I would imagine he is likely responding to an editorial request for “big” stories to justify the trade paperback length and price of recent releases, but a smaller more intimate story would not be unwelcome from such an accomplished writer as Bennett.
Overall, The Higher Frontier is an enjoyable and brisk read that allows us to explore our favorite characters in a largely unexamined period of their history. I always thoroughly enjoy movie era stories for the more established, mature characters we encounter, and The Higher Frontier is no exception to that.
If you feel that the transition from Kirk at the end of The Motion Picture to the beginning of The Wrath of Khan is… well, a bit weird, then this book is the one for you.
The first season of Star Trek: Picard has concluded, and now that the dust has settled, our Canon Connections series is back to take a walk through all ten episodes of the first year’s adventure to find all the callbacks, references, and sly winks to Star Trek‘s past.
Moving now into the fourth and fifth episodes of the season — “Absolute Candor” and Stardust City Rag” — the story takes Star Trek: Picard into its second act. Aboard La Sirena and warping away from Earth, the newly-formed crew swings by planet Vashti to recruit young Romulan warrior Elnor to their lost cause, and then beams down to Freecloud with former Star Trek: Voyager ex-Borg Seven of Nine along for the ride.
Jolan Tru
“Absolute Candor” – A number of times during this episode, Picard greets various Romulans with the phrase “Jolan Tru.” This traditional Romulan greeting was first featured in the ‘Next Generation’ episode “Unification, Part I.”
Not Overly Fond of Children
“Absolute Candor” – During the flashback scene to the early days of the Romulan resettlement effort on Vashti, Zani observes to Elnor that Picard is “not overly fond of children” as they “interfere with duty and pleasure alike.”
Zani, through the Qowat Milat tradition of absolute candor, is identifying a character trait of Picard that goes all the way back to ”Next Generation’ pilot “Encounter at Farpoint” and the line “I‘m not a family man, Riker!”
Fencing
“Absolute Candor” – In two instances in this episode, Picard’s skills at fencing are on display. In the first instance, he is giving a fencing lesson to young Elnor and re-enacting a scene from “The Three Mustketeers.”
In the second, he is parrying an attack from an aggrieved former Romulan senator. Picard was seen in several episodes of ‘The Next Generation’ to be skilled with the rapier.
Beware Romulans Bearing Gifts
“Absolute Candor” – Aboard the Artifact, Narek and Soji share a drink in the Romulan mess hall. Their beverage of choice is Romulan ale, served in the same type of bottle that Doctor McCoy gifted to Admiral Kirk – also containing Romulan ale – in ‘Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.’
Felis Catus
“Absolute Candor” – Reunited with a now adult Elnor, Picard tells him why he is seeking the protection of the Qowat Milat. In explaining why he is searching for Soji and he relationship to Picard’s deceased comrade Data, Elnor recalls Picard having talked of Data when he was a child.
The detail he remembers? That Data had “an orange cat named Spot,” a callback to Data’s feline friend throughout the latter half of the series.
Classic Bird of Prey
“Absolute Candor” – By 2399, the Qiris Sector is under control of several “petty warlords,” including Kar Kantar. Kantar runs his operations from a 23rd century Bird of Prey, the design first seen in the episode that introduced the Romulans, the Original Series episode “Balance of Terror.”
Inertial Dampers
“Absolute Candor” – During the battle with Kantar’s bird of prey, La Sirena reroutes power to the inertial dampers. The starship technology, which helps to reduce violent jostling aboard ships, particularly when they are under attack, is a longtime staple of Star Trek tech.
…and rerouting power to them is standard procedure during battle!
Hard-to-Find Hardware
“Stardust City Rag” – As Icheb is mutilated and his Borg implants removed by force, his attacker holds a tool to his forehead and indicates she is looking for Icheb’s cortical node. “Gotta be in there somewhere, buddy” she says to him.
Except it isn’t… because Icheb donated his cortical node to Seven of Nine in the ‘Voyager’ episode “Imperfection.”
Drink Up
“Stardust City Rag” – While Maddox is telling Bjayzl about the destruction of his lab, she offers him a drink of tranya. The drink, which may originate in the First Federation, was first mentioned in the Original Series’ intended second pilot, “The Corbomite Maneuver.”
A Bolian of a Different Color
“Stardust City Rag” – Nobody knows their way around the Kaplan F-17 Speed Freighter like the “Red Bolian,” at least according to the ad served to Rios as they enter orbit of Freecloud. It is unclear if the red Bolian is actually a red Bolian – Bolians have previously only been seen in various shades of blue – or if it is just a character.
But this is the first appearance of the Bolians in the show, and the tool held by the avatar of the Red Bolian is a common engineering tool seen most prominently in ‘Deep Space Nine.’
Feely’s Venom Garden
“Stardust City Rag” – Raffi’s targeted ad is for an Orion drug dealer named Feely, who appears to sell the snakeleaf that Raffi smokes in her 24th century version of a vape pen. Feely is the first appearance of an Orion in ‘Picard.’
Familiar Names on Freecloud
“Stardust City Rag” – The establishing shot of Freecloud includes a number of references to previous shows.
Mr. Mot’s Hair Emporium is a reference to the Bolian barber aboard the Enterprise-D, while Quark appears to have franchised his bar by 2399. Alongside an ad for Dabo tables and a graphic of a Tongo wheel (both popular games at the original Quark’s Bar on Deep Space 9), the bar’s is motto “What is yours is ours.”
“Mister Quark of Ferenginar” is later referenced in dialogue as having been “especially satisfied with” Rios’s “handling of his trouble with the Breen” in providing a reference to Mister Vup.
Twain. Clemens? Yes.
“Stardust City Rag” – As the crew are conversing in the holographic recreation of Picard’s office at Chateau Picard, a picture of Picard with Mark Twain can be seen on a side table. (A closer view of the prop can be seen here.)
Picard met Samuel Clemens in the ‘Next Generation’ episode “Time’s Arrow, Part II” which also showed us the very first chronological meeting of Picard and Guinan.
…with Two Umbrellas!
“Stardust City Rag” – At the bar, Rios orders a Temtibi Lagoon (with TWO umbrellas!) The drink is named after the Temtibi Lagoon on Risa, which several members of the Deep Space 9 crew visited in the DS9 episode “Let He Who is Without Sin.”
Pocket-Sized Pattern Enhancer
“Stardust City Rag” – While hypospray technology does not appear to have advanced much in the 30 years since ‘The Next Generation,’ transporter pattern enhancers certainly have.
What used to be bulky tripod stands during the TNG era have been reduced to a handheld device. Their function, to help with beaming in and out when there is interference, remains the same.
Traditional Transporter Tech
“Stardust City Rag” – Like many transporter consoles throughout the Federation, the civilian transporter on La Sirena features three sliders to activate the engerizing coils.
[td_smart_list_end]
Our Star Trek: Picard Canon Connections will continue soon as we look at the sixth and seventh episodes of the season: “The Impossible Box” and “Nepenthe.”
The first season of Star Trek: Picard has concluded, and now that the dust has settled, our Canon Connections series is back to take a walk through all ten episodes of the first year’s adventure to find all the callbacks, references, and sly winks to Star Trek‘s past.
We start today with a look at the opening trilogy of episodes — “Remembrance,” “Maps and Legends,” and “The End is the Beginning” — that set retired admiral Jean-Luc Picard back into space aboard La Sirena and on his way through this new set of stories.
Blue Skies
“Remembrance” – The pilot opens with a flash of nostalgia. As “Blue Skies” plays – the wedding song that Data sung for Riker and Troi at their wedding in ‘Star Trek: Nemesis’ and that played out the movie’s final seconds – we open on an approaching Enterprise-D (last seen in “These Are the Voyages.”)
As we push into Ten Forward (also last seen in the same episode,) Picard and Data (in ‘Star Trek: First Contact’ uniform) are playing poker (calling back to many TNG episodes.) And if that wasn’t enough, the Picard production crew sourced several of the Bodum tea cups that were made famous as Picard’s tea cups during the run of T’he Next Generation.’
Chateau Picard
“Remembrance” – Many scenes in these opening episodes were set at Chateau Picard. Though the filming location was new (for ‘Picard’ production shot at Sunstone Winery,) this is the first time we have revisited the Chateau since ‘The Next Generation’ finale “All Good Things…”
Recurring Alien Races
“Remembrance” – Dahj’s boyfriend is Xahean. The only Xahean seen on screen before ‘Remembrance’ was Me Hani Ika Hali Ka Po (Po) from the Short Trek premiere ‘Runaway.’ Meanwhile, the FNN news crew includes a Bajoran makeup artist, a Trill, and a Tellarite.
Romulan Knife
“Remembrance” – The Romulan knife used in the attack on Dahj in her Boston apartment is the same “Gil Hibben Double Shadow” knife that was used by the Romulan characters, including Praetor Shinzon, during ‘Star Trek: Nemesis.’
Familiar Photos
“Remembrance” – Picard’s interview with the Federation News Network opens with a series of still images of the character, including a season four publicity photo from ‘The Next Generation’, a still from the TNG episode “Sins of the Father,” and images from ‘Star Trek: First Contact’ and ‘Star Trek: Insurrection.’
Dreaming of ‘The Next Generation’
“Remembrance” – During Picard’s second dream of the episode, he dreams of Data painting (a frequent hobby of the android during the run of ‘The Next Generation’), and pictures himself and Data wearing their uniforms from TNG.
Inside Starfleet’s Archives
“Remembrance” – Following his dream, Picard visits his storage unit at the Starfleet Archives to investigate a painting gifted to him by Data.
Memorabilia from Picard’s life line the walls of the storage room, including the Captain Picard Day banner (TNG: “The Pegasus,”) models of the USS Stargazer, USS Enterprise-D, USS Enterprise-E, and the Enterprise-E’s captain’s yacht, a number of awards (which include insignia and symbology from many of the Federation’s major races,) a Klingon bat’leth and D’k tagh’, and a book of Shakespeare.
The book, which matches that which was on display in Picard’s ready room through most of the run of ‘The Next Generation,’ is turned to the page in All’s Well that Ends Well which includes the quote Picard gives Number One earlier in the episode “There’s no legacy so rich as honesty.”
Picard’s Personnel Records
“Remembrance” – When Dahj reaches out to her mother, she is implored to “find Picard,” which appears to be some kind of activation phrase for Dahj’s android abilities. Activating her computer interface, she is able to locate Jean-Luc Picard’s personnel file.
The file includes his date of birth – July 13, 2305 – which was first referenced in the TNG episode “Conundrum,” as well as his service number – SP-937-215 – which was heard in dialogue in the TNG episode “Chain of Command.”
Starfleet Symbols
“Remembrance” – When Dahj confronts Picard, he reveals his belief that she is an android, and that the Romulan attack served as a “positronic alarm bell.” Data’s brain was positronic. As she and Picard rush up to the roof of the Starfleet Archives, multiple Starfleet symbols can be seen to indicate that the facility has been in use for several generations.
The Starfleet symbols include Discovery-era Starfleet Command (#2), two 23rd century Starfleet Command icons (from ‘Star Trek (2009)’ and ‘Star Trek Beyond’) (#1), and the familiar Starfleet delta from latter seasons of ‘Deep Space Nine’ and all of ‘Voyager’ (#3).
Daystrom Institute
“Remembrance” – In ‘Picard’ we get our first look at the Daystrom Institute, which had been referenced multiple times previously in ‘Star Trek’ (beginning with ‘The Next Generation’ and named after Richard Daystrom who appeared in The Original Series episode “The Ultimate Computer.”)
During the scenes at the institute, we get our first look at the Data prototype android B-4 since his appearance in ‘Star Trek: Nemesis,’ and the first mention of Doctor Bruce Maddox, the Starfleet cyberneticist who wanted to disassemble Data in the TNG episode “The Measure of a Man” and was last mentioned in “Data’s Day.”
Revised Romulan Logo
“Remembrance” – This episode gives us our first look at a Borg Cube since the ‘Star Trek: Voyager’ finale “Endgame.”
As the Romulan ship enters the cube, we get a look at the new Romulan logo, which is heavily inspired by previous Romulan logo designs but without the two worlds represented or Romulus and Remus, due to the destruction of both worlds during the Romulan supernova.
Mars Attack
“Maps and Legends” – The episode opens with the synth attack on Mars and the Utopia Planita Shipyards (seen briefly in the Short Trek “Children of Mars” and previously seen in the Voyager episode “Relativity.”) The date is established as First Contact Day, the day in which Zefram Cochrane made his first warp flight and made contact with the Vulcans (as seen in ‘Star Trek: First Contact,’ with the holiday previously mentioned in the Voyager episode “Homestead”)
The shipyard workers are also seen holding large PADDs, much more reminiscent of designs from ‘The Next Generation’ than anything seen so far in Picard.
Diagnosis Confirmed
“Maps and Legends” – Picard is visited by Dr. Benayoun, a colleague from the Stargazer (the first reference spoken out loud to Picard’s first command since ‘The Next Generation.’) Dr. Benayoun informs Picard that the “abnormality in your parietal lobe” has progressed, and has likely caused one of a number of neurological conditions.
Dr. Crusher diagnosed Picard with the abnormality in the TNG finale “All Good Things…” as a potential precursor to the Irumodic Syndrome he suffered in the alternate future he experienced in that episode.
Starship History
“Maps and Legends” – As Picard enters Starfleet Command, we see holograms above him of famous Starfleet ships, including a Galaxy-class starship and a Constitution-class starship in the ‘Discovery’-era configuration.
Vulcan Iconography
“Maps and Legends” – Commodore Oh’s office at Starfleet Command is about as Vulcan as they come. In addition to the wooden box with the IDIC symbol made famous throughout franchise history, Oh also has a miniature replica of the Kir’Shara on her desk (from the Vulcan trilogy in ‘Enterprise’), a set of Vulcan dice which Spock describes in the TNG episode “Unification, Part II” as “the syllabic nucleus of the Vulcan language.”
In the later scene with Lt. Rizzo, we also see that Oh has a set of Vulcan bells matching those in Spock’s quarters in The Original Series and ‘Discovery.’
Vasquez Rocks
“Maps and Legends” — Picard meets Raffi at her home at Vasquez Rocks. Though this is the first time the rocks have appeared in ‘Star Trek’ as itself, the location was a popular filming location for every iteration of ‘Star Trek’ going back to The Original Series episode “Arena.”
Shipyards
“The End is the Beginning” – In the opening flashback between Picard and Raffi as they try to salvage the Romulan evacuation following the attack on Mars, Raffi mentions the shipyards at Beta Antares and Eridani A.
The Beta Antares Shipyards were the construction yard for the USS Prometheus (VGR: “Message in a Bottle”) and the 40 Eridani A shipyard was the original construction yard for many of the Nebula class starships, including the USS Phoenix. The Eridani A shipyards are located in the Vulcan star system.
Operatic Interlude
“The End is the Beginning” – As Dr. Jurati enjoys a break outdoors, she is listening to Kasselian Opera. The opera she listens to was a favorite of Dr. Paul Stamets, and was previously heard in the ‘Discovery’ episode “Past is Prologue.”
Saurian Brandy
“The End is the Beginning” – Among Raffi’s clutter include a Saurian brandy bottle, as seen in multiple The Original Series episodes including “The Enemy Within.” She also has a Danish kluk kluk bottle; a similar variant on the bottle appeared in The Original Series episode “By Any Other Name.”
Romulan Ridges Explained
“The End is the Beginning” – After the attack on Picard’s home, Laris and Zhaban capture one of the Zhat Vash intruders for questioning. Laris labels him a “stubborn northerner,” as she taps his forehead, indicating that the forehead ridge variations we have seen between Romulans of The Original Series and The Next Generation-era are geographic in nature.
[td_smart_list_end]
Our Star Trek: Picard Canon Connections will continue this week as we look at the fourth and fifth episodes of the season: “Absolute Candor” and “Stardust City Rag.”
Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek: Discovery composer Jeff Russo has offered up a few interviews over the past week, aligned to today’s release of the full Picard Season 1 soundtrack, and while much of his talks focused on influences and intentions behind the new show’s music, he also offered a few brief comments about other Trek projects on the horizon.
Speaking first with Flickering Myth, the composer weighed in on what he knows about the gestating Noah Hawley Star Trek film project, the next attempt at a big-screen franchise adventure first made public last winter.
As a longtime collaborator with Hawley on television series Fargo and Legion — and 2019 film Lucy in the Sky — Russo offered an excited reaction to the details he’s heard about the potential Trek film.
[Noah Hawley and I] have spoken about it, and we’ve talked what he is going to want from a musical perspective, and how to approach it, and what the story is looking like it’s going to be, which is extremely exciting to me. But it was not by design.
All of that was purely by coincidence, that I happened to be doing ‘Star Trek,’ but also happened to be a frequent collaborator of the next ‘Star Trek’ director.
He’s also a fan, and a good friend of mine, so when I started working on ‘Star Trek,’ we chatted about it, talked about it, had conversations about the storytelling, and the music, and the themes, and stuff.
He’s one to definitely talk about music with me, so when he called to say that his film was in the works, I was extremely excited.
[…]
There is absolutely nothing I can tell you… [except] for that it is really, really, really incredible. From what I have heard, it’s really, really thrilling.
While it’s still to be seen if Hawley’s film will materialize — plenty of other recent cinematic Trek projects have fallen through since Star Trek Beyond left theaters in 2016 — one project we know is on the way is the next season of Star Trek: Discovery.
Russo has been scoring the series since it debuted in 2017, and though he’s continuing his involvement with the upcoming third season, in a new interview with TrekMovie, the composer shared how the ongoing coronavirus pandemic is hampering the most important part of his role: getting the orchestra together to record his music.
I am writing the scores for the first, second, third, fourth and fifth episodes [of ‘Discovery’ Season 3]. We’re full speed ahead. They wrapped production like six weeks ago, maybe even longer.
I am not working at my studio. I am working out of my home because of the lockdown, where I am writing for the episodes as they come in. What it means for my ability to record with an orchestra, I can’t do it right now, but the moment that they let me, I will.
Russo’s role is just one part of post-production efforts impacting the return of Star Trek: Discovery this year; while CBS All Access did start promoting the next season’s story in last week’s teaser, having the world work from home is slowing down all aspects of the necessary finalization of Discovery’s 2020 episodes.
You can listen to Russo’s Star Trek: Picard Season 1 soundtrack here on Amazon, or here on Spotify, and here on Apple Music; Picard returns in 2021 and Discovery will beam down sometime in 2020.
Hosted by Deadline senior editor Dominic Patten, these podcasts have been thoughtful explorations of each episodes, and have given us little nuggets of info and news about each new episode of Star Trek: Picard.
While we’ve found all the episodes of the podcast to be quite fascinating, we’ve pulled out some of the best bits of information from the season’s run for those of you who haven’t been listing along!
Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) on Earth. (CBS All Access)
The Pressure of ‘Picard’
Sir Patrick Stewart talked about the pressure he felt at the title of show, Picard, and also his idea for an alternate title that his fellow producers did not seem to like very much.
STEWART: I was uneasy about it to begin with, you remember? I felt it was putting me under some pressure to deliver. More than perhaps I wanted to.
But, as the ideas developed, because the choosing the title was quite late in the day. Initially I had proposed it should be ‘Jean-Luc.’ Nobody liked that idea at all…you see, I thought it brought intimacy and connection, and a familiarity.
Why ‘Picard’ Isn’t More Like ‘The Next Generation’
Picard co-executive producer and showrunner Michael Chabon responded to some fans who have criticized Picard for being so different to The Next Generation.
CHABON: That’s what people think they want. And I understand that.
I, as a fan, I remember when TNG premiered. And what I thought I wanted was more TOS. And when I didn’t get that, it took me a while. It took the show a little while too. But I didn’t love it, at all, at first. It took me time, and I had to lose that thing of wanting more Kirk, more Spock, more all the things that I loved about TOS.
And you know, even if we just completely slavishly attempted to recreate TNG now with the entire legacy cast and the Enterprise and they’re going on missions and they’re going to planets, and all the things you think you want when you hear that Patrick Stewart is coming back to play Picard it would disappoint you.
It would of course be a disappointment because you can’t actually have that back again. It’s still there; it hasn’t gone anywhere. You can still watch it and enjoy it. But it would inevitably come as a disappointment.
Picard and Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd) in uniform. (CBS All Access)
A Federation That’s Faced Difficult Choices
Franchise showrunner Alex Kurtzman reflected on whether the Federation is morally compromised during the Picard era, a concern often voiced by fans regarding the series.
KURTZMAN: We were sitting in this very room debating how we were going to present the Federation and having really wild fiery debates about that. Do we say that the Federation is bad?
[…]
You can’t make a choice about the Federation to say, “Oh, actually, it’s now corrupt and bad.” If you’re doing that you are fundamentally destroying the essence of what ‘Star Trek’ is. But I think you can say it’s complicated, and diplomacy is complicated, and nation building is complicated, and all the allegories and metaphors that ‘Star Trek’ is.
It’s really difficult to keep that kind of peace. And that’s great drama. I’ve heard that same story from other people – Nick [Meyer] told me that story – and I’ve heard the same story from people who worked on ‘Next Gen,’ who early on were told by Roddenberry that there was never going to be conflict. This is now famous stuff.
Everybody knows this. And it’s impossible to truly create the kind of drama required to evolve ‘Star Trek’ if you stick to that.
Expanding the First Three Episodes
The director of the opening trilogy, Hanelle Culpepper, spoke spoke about the decision to expand the first two episodes into three.
CULPEPPER: I was almost done with my cut of episodes one and two when they decided they wanted to expand it. I think it was partially as [the writers] were going down the season [they] realized a lot of the information that was coming later was better served coming earlier.
Laying more groundwork, and that’s one reason why I ended up directing the first three.
Synthetic worker F8 (Alex Diehl) puts on a smile at the Utopia Plantia shipyards. (CBS All Access)
Franchise producer Alex Kurtzman also weighed in on the need to beef up the show’s opening episodes.
KURTZMAN: Yeah, as you say, it’s a complicated plot. I think when you have a complicated plot one of the weird magic trick goals is how do you present all of that information without having it feel like exposition? Having it be presented through character.
And what we started feeling was that there was too much for two episodes. It would have actually felt not only rushed but so top heavy that it would have been too much to process. And we decided that there were actually really natural breaks in the story where it felt like we could expand the story…and take time to add some scenes.
I’ll give you a great example: we had not shown, as we see at the top of episode two, the attack on Mars. They all talked about the attack on Mars; you all saw the emotional and political implications of the attack on Mars. But you never saw it.
And one day, after the trains had already left the station, we said “Oh my God, you’ve got to see the attack.” Otherwise, if you don’t see — and feel — how scary that was you’re actually going to be judging the Federation and thinking they’re terrible.
Because it’s theoretical until you feel it. Once you feel it you go that was terrible, that should never happen again, and now I understand why there’s a ban on synths. I may not agree with it but I understand why. Those kind of things are so important.
As to the question of which parts of episodes one, two, and three were part of the original episodes of added, later Hanelle Culpepper said that the additional scenes are peppered throughout the first three episodes, including that flashback to Picard and Raffi in uniform during “The End is the Beginning.”
CULPEPPER: The addition stuff is peppered throughout. So, there’s a little bit in episode one, there’s a lot in episode two, and I feel like episode three is predominantly what was episode two. I believe it starts with us going to the Dahj’s apartment [the top of episode two.]
or three, going back and seeing the moment that Picard submitted his resignation, and they accepted it, that scene of him telling [Raffi] — that was new stuff. Which actually, originally, was in episode two back in the script phase, and then was taken out, and then brought back when we shot more stuff.
102: Laris (Orla Brady), Zhaban (Jamie Alexander), and Picard at home. (CBS All Access)
The Admiral’s Alternate Introduction
Alex Kurtzman also described a scene that was filmed but later cut from the series pilot, “Remembrance”:
KURTZMAN: There was a scene we ended up cutting actually, where Picard is out in the fields with Number One, and the introduction of Laris.
He’s looking through a little eyeglass around his vineyard. And he’s surveying it. And he sees the field workers picking the grapes are making fun of Laris’s ears…and she sees it and sort of turns a blind eye — and [Picard] sees it and walks over to them and just takes the guy apart. And he yells and screams at him, and he says if I ever see that happen again you’re gone.
And the funny thing was, as much as it was a really wonderful idea and conceit that Picard would stand up for Laris, it was too early in the introduction to have him be that angry. It was almost jarring.
Building Up to “Engage”
Kurtzman also spoke at length about Picard’s “engage” command, from the end of “The End is the Beginning,” and how the moment – in addition to being sparing – feels at once intensely nostalgic but also different:
KURTZMAN: One of the things that I learned on the 2009 movie, which carried all the same expectations, is that you’re waiting for Scotty to say “I can’t keep it together,” you’re waiting for “I’m giving it all she’s got captain,” “damnit man I’m a doctor not a…” — fill in the blank.
The trick that I think Bob [Orci] and I learned at the time was to do it at the moment when you least expect it in a way that’s least expected. And then it’s very delightful and satisfying when it comes. And I think we felt similarly here that if Picard walked on screen and said “engage” you’d be like “I’ve got nowhere to go. I might as well cancel my subscription now because I just got what I paid for.”
Kurtzman also spoke about how Sir Patrick challenged the production not to rely upon nostalgic Picard catchphrases and actions.
KURTZMAN: Make no mistake; Patrick started by saying “I won’t say the lines, I won’t be in a uniform, I won’t do the Borg.”
I mean it started with all of that, and I think it was a great thing that he did that. Because what he’s really saying is that “I’m throwing down the gauntlet for you to come up with something new and fresh. And if, by the time I feel satisfied in that regard, I’ll throw in a “make it so.”
And I don’t know if that was even conscious on his part, but that was definitely what the effect was.
Picard and Seven (Jeri Ryan) confront Bjayzl (Necar Zadegan). (CBS All Access)
Integrating ‘The Animated Series’
Picard executive producer revealed that Bjayzel, the villain in “Stardust City Rag” who had a prior relationship with Seven of Nine, was originally scripted to be a Caitian, the feline race introduced in The Animated Series (and returning in Lower Decks).
GOLDSMAN: It’s the race from ‘The Animated Series.’ They’re cats. Caitians.
She was [going to be] aCaitian. As written, she lived in an aviary, and she ate birds. It was fantastic; [an] all CG “we so can’t afford it” character.
Goldsman also went on to talk about how the Star Trek production team think about what counts, and what does not count, for the purposes of canon — and The Animated Series is right there in the mix.
GOLDSMAN: Seasons one, two, three of the Original Series and the season of ‘The Animated Series’ are considered the first four seasons of the Original Series. So that is canon proper — as are all televised or filmed stories — those are all canon. And, if you’re making ‘Star Trek,’ especially in the unified ViacomCBS universe, those are fair game creatively.
Everything else is also fair game but isn’t considered canon. So, you can cherry pick but if you have something in a book that goes one way and the show that goes another way, the show wins. So anything that’s televised or has appeared on film or on screen.That’s what’s considered canon.
Narek and Narissa: Too Close for Comfort
Many fans have been speculating — based on the chemistry between actors Harry Treadaway and Peyton List, who played the Romulan brother and sister duo Narek and Narissa — whether there was something more incestuous about their relationship. Goldsman confirmed that, originally, there was a more romantic streak scripted for the characters.
GOLDSMAN: As you can probably see, originally they were written to be brother, sister… and lovers. And there’s still some color of that.
I probably was, not shockingly, the one who really thought that was a good idea. I’m an only child so it was easy! But you can still feel that between them. And she’s amazing. He’s amazing. And they’re fun together.
Narek (Harry Treadaway) and Narissa (Peyton List) reunite in the ruined Borg cube. (CBS All Access)
The Death of Hugh
Showrunner Michael Chabon discussed in more detail the controversial decision to kill Hugh in the episode “Nepenthe.”
CHABON: It came out of the story. It just seemed like that’s what would happen. It’s not like we brought Hugh back and said, “let’s bring back Hugh, and kill him.” We wanted to bring back Jonathan [del Arco], and the character of Hugh because we had a need for that character.
We had the need for an ex-Borg that could plausibly be the one who is in charge of this Borg Reclamation Project within the organization of the Romulan Free State. And we talked about possible ex-Borg characters beside Seven of Nine and Picard, and he was probably the first one whose name came up and we thought that makes sense.
And then, as we started to craft the story and we brought Narissa and her plans into it, and Elnor and his interactions with Hugh. And then how do we bring Seven back into the story? It just emerged out of the storytelling very organically, and it felt like that’s what would happen given the circumstances.
Looking Ahead to ‘Picard’ Season 2
In discussing the season finale, “Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2” both series star Sir Patrick Stewart and executive producer Akiva Goldsman dropped some hints about where Season 2 of the show might head.
STEWART: [Picard] has no idea where he is at because he has no idea what the future now might hold for him. Which is what, I think, makes the matter of season two so exciting.
He has pulled off a very successful mission throughout the first ten episodes of season one. And he feels that therefore he can be certain that his abilities have not become fractured. His skills as an ambassador, as a negotiator, as a decision maker, are still present given he can bring to them the right sort of mental attitude and focus.
And I think, and this is what I told myself when we were shooting those last moments on the bridge of the ship before I said “engage,” he is actually excited by the ignorance that he feels about the future. He doesn’t know, and he would rather be at the point of undertaking something he doesn’t know anything about than sitting on the veranda of his vineyard in France.
When asked point blank about whether he could drop more hints about Season 2, Goldsman very cryptically responded:
GOLDSMAN: To say ‘no’ is not entirely coy, because we’re still working it out. I think that what we want to do is, what we promised I think at the end of Season 1 — which is a new day, and a new re-invigorated, re-born, and therefore most essential Picard.
But how we do that, I think the only thing I can tell you is that we hope not to do it in precisely the way you expect. But we hope to satisfy you, nevertheless.
Picard admires the view from Coppelius Station. (CBS All Access)
We don’t yet know if Deadline’s official Star Trek: Picard Podcast will return when the series beams back to Earth in 2021, but if so, we’ll keep an ear open for all the best behind-the-scenes info.
Our Star Trek: Picard Season 1 finale coverage continues today with a roundup of series showrunner Michael Chabon’s thoughts on the first year’s events; the executive producer shared his thoughts with a number of different outlets this week as the series came to its 2020 conclusion.
Michael Chabon (left) sits with Brent Spiner and Patrick Stewart during filming of “Remembrance.”
Speaking first with The Hollywood Reporter, the writer shared that the plan to allow Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) to die — and then be reborn as an organic synthetic — was in the cards from the start of the storytelling process, though the specifics were worked out along the way.
“It was the plan from early on, but in the beginning, you start out — it’s sort of like a tree, but you’re going backwards down the tree. As you make choices, you end up with fewer and fewer ones, and each choice leads to a fewer range of fewer possibilities. At some point, we probably talked about 25 different ways to end it. And then we were down to like eight different ways, and then six different ways. And then, landing on this way.
There was a moment where we had a conversation — Akiva [Goldsman], Kirsten Beyer and I — and we went to talk to Alex Kurtzman. We had this realization that if we want to put our money where our mouth has been all season — if we’re saying that since synthetic lifeforms are real and legitimate and they have their sentience, and they have the right to life and existence, if we’re going to be putting Picard out there, where he’s going to stand up and be willing to sacrifice his own life to prove that point?
Then he needs to prove it with his life.”
On the subject of being reborn, we’ve seen many fans wonder why the series didn’t just put Data (Brent Spiner) into a new synthetic body — instead of letting the android’s replicated consciousness fade into stardust in “Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2.”
Talking with IGN, Chabon made it clear that was never part of their plan.
“I suppose you could imagine scenarios where, I don’t know, he became sort of a holo like the Doctor on ‘Voyager’ or something like that. Maybe that would have interested Brent, I don’t know.
But we understood from pretty early on, in breaking the stories, that in some way it was going to culminate with an encounter between Picard and Data, but that encounter was going to be constrained by what also pretty quickly emerged as this idea that it was only going to be possible in a sort of simulation. That Data really is dead. That Data did die.
I guess what I’m remembering as a directive — or as a kind of guideline from Brent — was that he didn’t want us to ‘un-kill’ Data; that Data shouldn’t be undead, that he died and he really died. And he’s going to stay dead, and don’t try to undo that.
So we had a pretty clear sense from the beginning it was going to be some version of what you actually see in the last episode.”
(In an interview with TV Guide, Spiner also reiterated that he’s not interested in putting the gold makeup on again, anyhow.)
Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) and Raffi (Michelle Hurd) find a connection.
He also talked for a moment regarding that surprising connection between Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) and Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd) at the end of the season finale, expected to be a part of Season 2’s story.
“That’s something that really emerged through a kind of collaboration, I would say, between the writers and the actors. I think Jeri and Michelle picked up on something that was present in [“Stardust City Rag”] when Raffi is handcuffing Seven, but like stage handcuffing her because it’s all part of this elaborate grift they’re trying to run.
And there was just that suggestion of a kind of instant connection there, I think that was on the page and was intended. But the nature of that connection was maybe left a little open and they both picked up on it and it emerged. I could just feel it on the set when they were doing the scenes.
It was something they clearly seized on as a key to that scene for both of them.”
“I think it’s sort of they’re just taking steps at the end, in that last episode, towards exploring something that they haven’t had the chance to explore so far, because things have been so crazy,” he hints.
Chabon speaks with Isa Briones, Jonathan Del Arco, and Stewart during production on “Broken Pieces.”
Chabon also spent some time talking with Variety, and addressed the fan reactions to the death of former Borg drones Icheb (Casey King), whom Seven of Nine rescued from the Collective aboard Voyager, and Hugh (Jonathan Del Arco), returning from the Next Generation days.
“In the course of this season, we show the death of Icheb, who was a recurring character on ‘Voyager,’ and then the death of Hugh, who was a recurring character on [‘The Next Generation’].
When we talked about it, we definitely had a sense of like, there’s probably going to be some people who are upset that these characters have died. And we were okay with that, because we thought in both cases, neither death was gratuitous.
The death of Icheb has now become part of the story of Seven of Nine. It felt completely called for and we couldn’t have told her story without it. I mean, the death of Icheb is upsetting partly because it’s fairly gruesome, which I understand, but also because, you know, he’s so powerless, he has no agency. He’s really a victim.
But that isn’t the case with the death of Hugh. He dies trying to do what he’s been trying to do for his entire adult life, which is help former Borg. His death felt meaningful.”
The writer expressed his surprise at some of the reactions he saw, not about how those deaths impacted the season’s story — but that any returning character would be killed at all.
“I will say, I don’t think I quite understood that there were going to be people who would be upset about a character’s death, regardless of how that character died. That simply the fact of a character dying — that was not okay with them.
Even if I had known that, I would have ultimately dismissed it because it seems — I just don’t understand television in that way.”
Executive Producer Akiva Goldsman, Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, and Chabon on location for “Nepenthe.”
Speaking at length, the novelist addressed fairly widespread fan concern that the Star Trek: Picard story was “too dark” for a Star Trek tale, attributing most of that feedback to how the show has changed in presentation style from the Berman-era days — where each episode (generally) maintained a story that would be concluded within the space of an hour.
“If you’re watching a one hour episode of [pre-2010s] ‘Star Trek’ all of them — except for long swaths of “Deep Space Nine” toward the end of its run — have been episodic. It could be a character having [makes air-quotes] ‘dark issues.’ You could even introduce a certain ‘dystopian’ element into an episode of ‘Star Trek.’
You could introduce that in Act One, and any fan would be willing to tolerate that. They would be willing to tolerate a character having a substance abuse problem or not being nice to their fellow crew members — as long as it got put back to rights at the end of the episode.
When you do it in episode 1 or 2 of a 10-episode season, and that character’s problem doesn’t really get resolved until the last couple episodes — a lot of people can’t tolerate that. And that’s really interesting. Again, it’s a question of expectations, of biases.
You come to ‘Star Trek,’ I think, as a fan, especially if you’ve watched all the episodes many, many times, with this expectation that you won’t have to tolerate that kind of level of ‘darkness’ for that long. And so that when a show in this era asks you to do what you are readily willing to do with a show like ‘Westworld’ or ‘Breaking Bad’ or whatever — somehow, the mere fact that it’s ‘Star Trek’ makes it hard to accept.
And I actually get that. It’s a little weird for me, too. Both in conceiving this show, and sometimes, if I can give myself enough distance as I’m watching the episodes as they’re dropping, I can feel this deep wiring in my brain that wants ‘Star Trek’ to be episodic. I can remember how odd it felt watching those serialized episodes of ‘Deep Space Nine.’
I wasn’t entirely sure I liked it then, either. It was so far ahead of its time. I appreciated it because they were dealing with a very greatly disturbed moment in the history of the Federation with the Dominion war. It felt appropriate, I respected it, and I understood it — and it made me uncomfortable as a ‘Star Trek’ fan.
So it’s been interesting [to watch] the response unfold in real time and being able to understand where a lot of this is coming from as a fan. It’s made it easier for me to accept when fans express their displeasure.”
Chabon hangs out with a few blue friends during filming on “Maps and Legends.”
“Truthfully, you can’t really be the showrunner of a show and do anything else. It was all consuming. I loved every minute of it — the hard parts as much as the easy parts. But I recognized that I couldn’t do it again, and also finish a novel, and also develop ‘Kavalier & Clay’ and ultimately co-showrun that [project]. There’s just no way.
So I’m still an executive producer on ‘Picard.’ I’m writing two episodes. I was there breaking the second season, all the way through. I was engaged, I think, in exactly the same degree as I was on Season 1 up to the point where it’s time to start production — and at that point, I will not be doing the same thing at all. I’ll just be continuing to give notes and, and be involved as an EP.”
Aside from his personal behind-the-scenes plans, there wasn’t much the writer could share about next season, but he did express his optimism at the series’ potential as things move forward.
“[Season 2 is] going to be different in some ways. It’s definitely going to go in directions that we didn’t see in Season 1. I think we’ve been emboldened in many ways by the popularity of the show.
I’ve only done this once, but I would imagine it’s probably true for a lot of television shows especially in this era: Season 1 was in many respects about learning how to make ‘Star Trek: Picard.’ Both in a production sense, but also in terms of storytelling and who our cast is, how these characters end up forming surprising links and attachments to each other.
It’s in a way that I think was probably true back with TNG, and what I was talking about — everyone agrees, once Riker grew the beard, the show got better. It was because they learned what they had.
Going forward, we’re only going to be doing more of what we did, with greater confidence and with a greater sense of what this show feels like when it’s firing on all engines.”
Star Trek: Picard is in pre-production for Season 2 now, expected to return with new episodes in 2021.
Star Trek: Picard just wrapped up its first season, and this week we’ve got a host of post-finale coverage set to beam down that covers all angles of the show’s conclusion — starting today with comments from two Picard stars on their characters’ journeys this season.
Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Data (Brent Spiner) share a final moment. (CBS All Access)
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, series lead Patrick Stewart shared that he didn’t know where Jean-Luc Picard’s story — and life — was headed until well into the season’s production.
“I only learned of [Picard’s death] way into [shooting] the first season, because that final episode wasn’t written yet, and I didn’t know it was part of the storyline. There was a moment where I thought: ‘Oh, lord, am I being killed off? What did I do wrong?’
I remember the writers worked on that up to the evening before we shot it, and I suggested one or two little tweaks to the script. And [the writers] got it so right. I was looking forward to shooting it so very much, because I adore working with Brent [Spiner].
But the content of this scene was so serious, and so important to the characters — and the affection and mutual respect — was so clear and so strong. Picard knew that this would probably be the last time that he was ever with [Data] and we — we had to address that.”
Closing out the 30-plus-year on-screen relationship between Picard and Data once and for all weighed emotionally on Stewart, and he told THR that he made sure to take home a permanent souvenir to remember the scene.
“The guilt Picard felt over Data’s loss at the beginning of the season, that the two characters never had a proper goodbye, or resolution, in [Nemesis] … We took almost the entire day, not quite, as I recall, [to shoot the scene], but it was a very, very intense experience.
The following day, when I came to work again after we shot that scene, they were stripping that set down, and there was the chair that I had sat in. I went to ask if there was any possibility if I could buy that chair. Because it was in that chair where I was, in effect, saying goodbye to Data.
It was also an incredibly comfortable chair [laughs] — so, yes, we struck a deal that everyone was happy with and now it’s in my 200-year-old house in Oxfordshire.”
Stewart wouldn’t offer any specifics as to where he sees Season 2’s adventure taking him, noting that it’s still quite early in development.
“I am having a big meeting — an all-day meeting — with all of the writing team and I might have some feeling about the way things are going to go.”
Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd) aboard La Sirena. (CBS All Access)
Meanwhile, co-star Michelle Hurdspoke with Entertainment Tonight to share her views on the evolution of her character Raffi Musiker’s relationship with Picard — or “J.L.” — from their contentious reunion early in the season to the season’s closing moments aboard La Sirena.
“When we first see Raffi and Picard together, she is still harboring deep feelings of betrayal. When she knows something’s wrong, she just goes after it, right? And she knew that something was wrong with what was happening in the Federation. She felt that she and Picard were going to team up together to rescue millions of Romulans, millions of lives. And when the Federation let her down, Picard let her down.
It’s something she carried and felt responsible for. She felt that it was her fault those individuals died. She drank, smoked and burrowed into her trailer in the desert because of that, left her child. When she sees Picard, it’s heartbreak, and betrayal, and anger, and rage, and frustration. But at the end of it, if there’s a possibility that she can fix or right the wrong that was done, she’s going to go for it.
The hope was, “I think he might understand that there really was something wrong and he might actually be doing this. I’m going to do it because it was to fix what was broken, what was wrong.” During the whole journey, she sees him as more human and not perfect, and having the same human traits that we all do. We all make mistakes, he’s struggling and he’s trying to do the best he can.
And when he tells them of his diagnosis, it surprises her how much it hurts her because he was more to her than just a captain. He was a mentor. He was the person that helped her get out of her addiction. He was a lifesaver. He helped her pull herself back out even though it’s been a little bumpy, and she’ll be an addict for the rest of her life. She’s been working hard to get a handle on that, and to hear that he’s got a terminal diagnosis just breaks her heart again.
To get to the place at the end where there’s now hope, there’s now a possibility for her to stay at a sober place as best she can. It will always be up and down. But to see that he’s renewed in a way that she hadn’t seen him before.”
Raffi and “J.L.” share their feelings. (CBS All Access)
She also took a moment to shed light on the brief “I love you” moment shared between Raffi and Picard in “Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 1,” and how it was important for the two characters to share their feelings with one another.
“When she says ‘I love you,’ I remember we had to stop and we had to work on some other verbiage because I said, ‘I don’t want people to read into it like they’re lovers.’
But it’s important for these two adult individuals to say these words to each other for so many reasons because it’s that moment when somebody in your life has helped you in ways that you didn’t even know you could be helped, and it’s that moment in time where you’ve been able to be mature enough and forgive yourself enough, to reach your hand out and say, ‘Thank you. Thank you for helping me.’
And that’s what we really wanted to convey, that there’s been a growth on both sides… I think that’s why Raffi really needed to say what she needed to say.”
Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) and Raffi connect over kal-toh. (CBS All Access)
Finally, Hurd spoke to the surprising moment shared between her character and Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) in the closing moments of “Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2,” where it seemed the two women began a bit of a love connection over shots and kal-toh aboard La Sirena.
“I have no idea what the second season is going to bring about…. I don’t know what will go forward, but I will tell you that what I would love because ‘Star Trek’ is so good about this kind of stuff. I would love for us to be able to effortlessly introduce, not even introduce, but effortlessly reveal a non-labeling sexuality for everyone. Wouldn’t it be lovely?
We already know that Raffi has a son, so we know that she’s already indulged in the man, but wouldn’t it be great if we could somehow really bring that in to these stories, embrace it and not label it, not make it taboo, but empower it? Make it almost fluid. If you think about it, Raffi and Seven, that would be pretty cool. They would totally get along. Raffi would be obsessed with what Seven of Nine does.
First of all, male, female, whatever, who wouldn’t be ecstatic if Seven of Nine looked their way? So yeah, I’m excited about that.”
Stick around as we’ve got plenty more Star Trek: Picard Season 1 wrap-coverage yet to come as the week continues!
