The first Star Trek: Strange New Worlds novel — The High Country by John Jackson Miller — is one of the best Star Trek novels published in years. Perfectly capturing the Strange New Worlds characters and aesthetic, Jackson Miller weaves a high adventure tale that is a lot of fun, and has a number of surprising connections to the Star Trek canon that deepen and enrich the story as a whole.
I have to admit: when I first heard the premise for The High Country, I was skeptical. Pike, Spock, Una, and Uhura get stranded on an alien planet without the use of technology, and the planet has a human population with a culture remarkably similar to the Old West. Really? Hasn’t that been done in Star Trek a couple of times before? And isn’t this just an excuse to write a Western novel with Star Trek’s closest analogue to the classic Western hero, Christopher Pike?
This isn’t the first time I have gone into his books with a little skepticism…really, Klingons and magic? (Prey.) Rios and the Sigma Iotians? (Rogue Elements.) Georgiou and the smoke monster that killed most of the crew on the Farragut? (Die Standing.)
Every time Jackson Miller has surprised me with a great story, and I’m privileged to be able to tell you: The High Country is the best of the lot.
Spock (Ethan Peck), Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) and Una Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn). (Paramount+)
I am going to keep the plot details of The High Country as spoiler free as possible in this review, because as a reader you deserve to be as surprised by it as I was. But any objections or questions you might have about the premise are, in fact, a key part of the story’s narrative. And it takes you to some surprising places along the way that makes The High Country part Strange New Worlds novel, part sequel to… something else!
Jackson Miller absolutely nails the Strange New Worlds characters to the wall. Sometimes, the first novel related to a new Star Trek show can feel a little ropey in the characterization. The author, often working on the novel before the series has even premiered, is working just from scripts or notes to build the characters’ voices and identities. I don’t know how much of Strange New Worlds Jackson Miller had access to when he wrote this novel, but he excelled at capturing exactly the voices, styles, and mannerisms of the Enterprise crew.
Christopher Pike is the perfect brooding, thoughtful, and kind captain that we see in the series. Una is serious, intelligent, and infused with all the regal qualities that Rebecca Romjin brings to her performance. Uhura is unsure, but determined, resourceful, and possessing an inner strength not obvious on the surface. The Spock of The High Country perfectly channels Ethan Peck’s interpretation of the character, and though he is more of a secondary character in this novel, Jackson Miller does the best with – and has the most fun with – the characterization of Chief Engineer Hemmer.
Chief Engineer Hemmer (Bruce Horak). (Paramount+)
That’s a word I cannot stress enough when it comes to The High Country: fun. This is a fun book. It’s a fun book filled with fun characters having fun adventures. And though the challenges our characters face our serious, and some of their experiences perilous, Jackson Miller infuses the same air of fun into The High Country as he did successfully into Rogue Elements before it. You’re going to be excited, and you’ll think, and you’ll have a lot of fun reading this book.
There is also a massive amount of worldbuilding that Jackson Miller has done to create this story. Our heroes become separated and trapped on a planet where technology will not function. And it’s a big planet, with lots of different aliens and cultures interacting with each other. Jackson Miller does an excellent job of fleshing out the different parts of the planet, with its different geographies, people, and eccentricities. The book even includes maps at the start of each section that help to ground you in the location of the events of the story relative to everything else.
And in addition to doing a great job with the established Strange New Worlds characters, The High Country includes a number of great original characters as well. One of the primary antagonists for Pike, a person from his past, is very well drawn with complex motives that lead to the character making a number of interesting choices. Having someone connected to Pike’s past also allows us to explore a bit more of the character’s backstory in an interesting way.
Christopher Pike on horseback near his Montana home. (Paramount+)
Since the pilot of Strange New Worlds opened with the iconic shot of Pike on horseback riding through the snow, it has felt inevitable – both in the show and in print media – that was something that would be revisited. Anson Mount is a natural horseman, and the Pike character shares the same rugged qualities that make Mount a little bit of a man out of time; if we wound the clock back 60 years, Mount would be one of the most recognizable faces in Hollywood’s glut of Westerns. The High Country grabs right at that, and where it could have been hokey, it’s completely successful. Just a good fun time all around.
If you enjoyed the first season of Strange New Worlds and are craving a sweeping, episodic adventure that has a surprising connection to Star Trek’s history and feels grander than even the already big TV show can accomplish, look no further than The High Country
Now if Simon & Schuster could see to announcing a few more Strange New Worlds novels, or more Star Trek novels of any kind (only one more Discovery novel and one more Prodigy middle grade book remain on the schedule), that would be great.
The gang at Super7 is back with another collection of fun entries into their Star Trek: The Next Generation “ReAction” figures — this time, venturing into the holodeck to celebrate 1988’s fan-favorite Holmesian adventure “Elementary, Dear Data.”
Available for purchase today, the four new entries in Super7’s third wave of Next Gen ReAction figures are Data (as Sherlock Holmes), Geordi La Forge (as Dr. John Watson), and both Captain Picard and Worf dressed in their Victorian-era costumes from their second-season encounter with Professor James Moriarty.
Surprisingly, this is the first action figure collection based upon the “Elementary Dear Data” episode; while Playmates Toys did release a pair of Data and Geordi 9″ dolls based upon their holodeck adventure, their more-popular 4.5″ plastic figure series never touched on the Sherlock Holmes story.
(Super7)(Super7)(Super7)(Super7)
Each of the new “Elementary, Dear Data” figures can be purchased individually (Data · Geordi · Picard · Worf) from Super7’s site for $20 each, or as a four-figure set for $80 total.
Keep checking back to TrekCore for the latest in Star Trek product news!
One of the highlights of Star Trek: Picard’s third and final season — aside from the reunion of the Star Trek: The Next Generation crew — has been the sweeping, cinematic musical score which has accompanied each episode of this year’s adventure.
Series composer Jeff Russo departed the show after Season 2 — and new composers Stephen Barton and Frederick Wiedmann took charge of musical efforts for the series’ final outing.
We caught up with the pair at the Star Trek: Picard Season 3 premiere in February, where we discussed their point of view on the show’s new musical identity, nailing the right version of the theme song used in the show’s closing credits, and referencing existing Star Trek themes properly in this new modern context.
Finally, we’ve also got the details of Season 3’s official soundtrack release, coming April 20!
TREKCORE: One of the standout things to me through the first six episodes is the score for the season. It’s got a real classic feeling — compared to the classic films and the older shows. What was your edict, or were you given an edict when you guys came on board for Picard Season 3?
STEPHEN BARTON: I think I think the biggest thing was — well, the first thing was, when I saw it had pretty much already been shot. I was on set a few times, so I think the biggest edict was a personal edict of “Don’t screw it up.”
Because, you know, when you watch… I’ve been on shows where you watch it and you’re like, “Eh, it’s pretty good.” This one, you watch it. I just sat and I binged and I watched it three or four times, and I’m like, “Oh my goodness me, this is really good.” So I think that was a big one.
But I mean, musically, for me, I think it was a little bit about bringing the sort of naval thing from Wrath of Khan and some of what James Horner brought, as well as obviously, the Jerry Goldsmith theme. But a bit more of that sort of militaristic feeling. Weaving that into it in a way that didn’t feel like it was sort of a time warp but in a way that felt sort of right for now, kind of.
I mean, [showrunner Terry Matalas] and I often talked about, like, what would James Horner do if he were here now? Kind of thing. And I think that was a lot of the approach. Yeah.
FREDERIK WIEDMANN: I think the big challenge was, times have changed slightly since The Next Generation was on the air. So how do we take this material and bring it into this current aesthetic of filmmaking without it feeling that we’ve pushed it too far into something modern, but still having the nostalgia feel alive and stay in the spirit of what fans want and want to go back to.
Here is the brilliant @ComposerBarton conducting his Titan theme with all those wonderful nods to Horner in his arrangement. String section only. It’s been stuck in my head for over a year. #StarTrekPicardpic.twitter.com/f5YCKXI6MS
BARTON: The biggest part of it for me also, is the themes. You have to use and treat them like absolute nuggets of gold. And one of the things you can’t do is plaster them everywhere. You can’t literally use them like the wallpaper on some kid’s bedroom or something.
We want to have that sort of sense of like we’re telling a story and not just sort of going… you don’t want the music to be a commentator the whole time going, “You’re watching Star Trek!” “Did you forget you’re watching Star Trek?” I mean, we get it. We know.
So it’s using them in a very respectful way and then sort of finding ways to develop them.
Because, I mean, that’s the other thing. Every time you look at Jerry Goldsmith’s work, in particular, every movie, he found a new way of putting a spin on it. When we re-recorded certain pieces of music — because there are a few — we would go back and I would look at the movies and they were different speeds in different movies and go back and say, “Okay, well, do we want to be the speed from Nemesis, or do we want to look at this? What are we trying to say with this?”
TREKCORE: Yeah, because certainly, like in the end titles, you use the main theme from Star Trek: First Contact, but then you also use the theatrical film version of the Next Generation main title theme.
BARTON: The funny thing is where we’ve recorded any of those [with the orchestra] and some of the players had played on those movies, and it was one of those things where they would just sit there — our French horn player is a fabulous French horn player, he’s the principal of the Hollywood Bowl, a guy called Dylan Hart. And you could just see every time he came up on the sheet music in front of him, we looked over at him and he just smiled back and it’s like, “Okay, this is going to be fun.”
Several themes play out as STAR TREK: PICARD visited Starfleet’s museum in “The Bounty.” (Paramount+)
TREKCORE: But I also noticed along the way, especially in “The Bounty,” there’s things like that little thread of the STAR TREK IV theme — just a little nugget along the way.
BARTON: Well spotted, firstly!
TREKCORE: Well, it’s one of my favorite films. Was it a challenge to use any of that score that was produced for film in a television production. Was there stuff where we had to fight battles?
WIEDMANN: I don’t think at all, because all of this is so timeless to me, at least. And musically speaking, none of it feels old or dated — so whatever we were given as material to use and incorporate, it felt very natural and organic.
BARTON: From just a standpoint with Paramount, I think it was one of those Paramount-CBS things, they both realized what we were trying to do. It was one of those ones if you show, not tell. And we sort of said, okay, there’s certainly moments specifically in [“The Bounty”] where we come back to five separate themes — and so, it’s like you couldn’t not do that.
I mean, if we didn’t do that, it would seem like a sort of disservice. But I mean, part of doing that was also then to say, how do you present it in a way that honors it and isn’t just like hitting a button exactly like a needle drop? And so I think a lot of what we did was look at the heart of why those tunes worked and what they were saying.
Particularly with Voyager’s tune, I think that was one that every time… we don’t use it much, but when we do use it, we want it to mean something.
Contemporary music plays multiple times this season, such as during this moment from “Seventeen Seconds.” (Paramount+)
TREKCORE: There’s a lot of contemporary needle drops, as you put it, in the first several episodes as well. Were you involved with any of those choices or is that separate from your department?
BARTON: Most of those are courtesy of Drew Nichols, our editor, who is also one of the most phenomenal music editors. He’s someone who’s able to cut those and really choose incredibly well.
Especially source music for Liam Shaw for the dinner sequence and a couple of the other scenes where you really want it to say something — it’s not just background music, but you’re sort of saying something about the character. And he understands that innately. So most of that was in when we got there.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
* * *
Lakeshore Records has announced the release date for Star Trek: Picard’s Season 3 soundtrack, a whopping 45-track collection of score from composers Stephen Barton and Frederick Wiedmann.
Arriving digitally on April 20, 2023 (coinciding with the Picard series finale), the extensive collection of music spans the entire ten-episode run of the show’s final adventure. There will also be a special vinyl release for the Season 3 soundtrack:
1. Beverly Crusher (3:02) 2. Old Communicator (1:58) 3. Hello, Beautiful (1:57) 4. Leaving Spacedock (3:44) 5. I Like That Seven! (3:29) 6. Breaking the Beam (3:59) 7. The Shrike (3:34) 8. Picard’s Answer (4:08) 9. Riker and Jack (2:08) 10. Call Me Number One (2:02) 11. No Win Scenario (3:57) 12. Blood in the Water (2:58) 13. Let’s Go Home (3:24) 14. Flying Blind (5:51) 15. A New Family (4:16) 16. Klingons Never Disappoint (5:32) 17. I Do See You (5:26) 18. Legacies (3:15) 19. Evolution (2:44) 20. La Forges (2:08) 21. Invisible Rescue (3:34) 22. Catch Me First (2:32) 23. Proteus (3:46) 24. Dominion (7:04) 25. Lower the Partition (3:38) 26. Get Off My Bridge (4:26) 27. Family Reunion (3:17) 28. Impossible (1:37) 29. Frontier Day (2:43) 30. Hail the Fleet (4:03) 31. You Have the Conn (3:44) 32. Make It So (6:02) 33. This Ends Tonight (3:07) 34. Battle On the Bridge (2:58) 35. All That’s Left (2:02) 36. Annihilate (3:05) 37. Trust Me (2:06) 38. The Last Generation (2:51) 39. Where It All Began (2:19) 40. The Missing Part of Me (4:30) 41. Must Come to an End (1:32) 42. A New Day (3:22) 43. Legacy and Future (1:44) 44. Names Mean Everything (1:43) 45. The Stars – End Credits (2:59)
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 will continue with “Dominion” on March 30 on Paramount+ in the United States and on CTV Sci Fi Channel and Crave in Canada — following the next day in the UK, Australia, Italy, France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The series is also available on Amazon’s Prime Video service in most other international locations.
In “The Bounty,” the full scope of what Star Trek: Picard has accomplished this season is on full display. Not only are all seven members of Star Trek: The Next Generation’s main cast back on screen for the first time in more than 20 years, but the impact of the impressive new characters that have been introduced this season is also in full effect.
In a truly remarkable achievement for a season filled with nothing but high points, the reintroduction of two Star Trek legends (LeVar Burton as Geordi La Forge and Brent Spiner as this new form of Data) is pulled off with a series of dynamic, interweaving stories that continue to highlight the impact of how each of us define family and what we take from ours.
That specific theme permeates throughout the action with Geordi butting heads with Sidney (Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut) and Alandra (Mica Burton), his two accomplished children, both of whom are following their own unique paths while highlighting the strengths of their father — even if he sometimes has difficulty seeing it.
Starfleet’s orbital museum. (Paramount+)
At the same time, we get Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers) figuring out that not only is he the recipient of his father’s genetics (according to Beverly he is suffering from Irumodic Syndrome), but also that deep in his core many of his personality traits are reflections of his parents, including the one he has only known for a few days, Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart). Jack comes to this realization after a heartfelt conversation with Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) remembering her own found family on the USS Voyager, the ship on which she was “re-born.”
These storylines flow together beautifully in this masterpiece of an episode that moves from one emotional revelation to another, highlighted by the discovery that what the crew has been looking for all along on Daystrom Station is actually Data himself, another offspring about to begin a journey to connect with the seeds of his creation.
Well, not quite Data: instead we have an updated version of the android that has been compiled into a new body, along with pieces of Lore, Lal. B4, and even bits of cyberneticist Altan Soong (Spiner reprising his role from season 1), who died before the work could be completed. Soong’s vision of this version of Data is that “in totality, something, someone, will rise to be the best of us,” but as it currently sits, the integration of these different minds has failed, leaving behind only anonymous personalities. We see these different personalities on display later in a typically inspired performance from Spiner who smoothly alternates between many of the incarnations of the characters he has previously portrayed.
In discovering this new version of Data, it’s Riker (Jonathan Frakes), Raffi (Michelle Hurd), and Worf (Michael Dorn) who are dispatched to infiltrate Daystrom Station, the home to Starfleet’s most experimental tech. As the trio work their way past the station’s elaborate security protocols, it becomes clear that Daystrom’s protective subroutines are connected to Soong’s new positronic AI and it is trying to communicate with the away team, not necessarily hurt them.
A version of Moriarty (Daniel Davis) returns. (Paramount+)
This is beautifully portrayed in the holographic crow seen flying through the corridors and the piercing notes of “Pop Goes the Weasel” echoing through the station, both are connections to the mind of Data. Of course, the harrowing presence of Professor Moriarty (Daniel Davis) is also there — but once Riker recognizes the tune and whistles a few bars, it deactivates the 19th century holographic villain and grants them access to Data’s location. Marvelous.
Seeing this version of Moriarty being used as a puzzle piece from the darker subconscious of “amalgamation Data” was an absolute treat, and Davis is as insightful and menacing as ever in stepping back into the role, no matter how brief. “Villain doesn’t do justice to my complexity, and only reveals your simplicity,” says Moriarty, perhaps foreshadowing the many layers of this new Soong android we are going to see in the episodes to follow.
Accompanying the exciting happenings on Daystrom Station is the re-introduction of La Forge, who is now a commodore and running things at the Fleet Museum in orbit at Athon Prime, where the Titan has arrived to ask for help while trying to stay one step ahead of the vessels pursuing them. Burton is at the top of his game, stepping back into a La Forge that feels comfortably similar to the two alternate future versions of the character we saw at the end of The Next Generation (as an author in “All Good Things” and as a captain of the USS Challenger in Voyager’s “Timeless”).
Even after a reunion on the ship and after Picard explains the dire situation they are in surrounding the Changeling infiltration at Starfleet and after Geordi acknowledges being very concerned about the Frontier Day plans he will be at the center of at the Fleet Museum – the longtime Enterprise engineer is still pissed off at Picard for getting him and his kids mixed up in all this. He’s worried that a compromised Starfleet could come after his family.
Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) and daughter Alandra (Mica Burton). (Paramount+)
That family now includes Sidney, the pilot at the helm of the Titan with whom his relationship is strained, and his daughter Alandra, who has followed in Geordi’s footsteps and is being portrayed here by the legendary actor’s real-life daughter Mica. Even in the shadow of her famous father, Alandra is sharp and confident in her own actions and seamlessly slides into the wonderful trifecta of the true next Next Generation characters alongside her sister Sidney and Jack Crusher.
Geordi is lamenting his own efforts to pass on the best aspects of himself to his kids, but Picard is way ahead of him, having experienced these same thoughts recently with Jack. Whether positive traits like strength and wisdom or negative flaws and “sins of the past,” Picard knows no one is in control of what elements are passed on to their children, something likely to be discovered in Soong’s creation as the production switches back at this moment to a recording of the positronic tinkerer discussing his efforts to imbue these elements on his new version of Data. A great example of the smooth connections in the like-minded narratives taking place in this episode.
In the end, La Forge tells Picard he can’t help the Titan, while at the same time protect his kids, a ridiculous notion that Sidney quickly relieves him of when he tries to tell her she needs to stay behind with him for her protection. Incredibly, the exchange that follows might be the best moment of the episode behind two masterful performances from Sharpe Chestnut and her on-screen dad.
After telling him that, “You would believe in this, if you believed in me,” Sidney crushes her father’s self-doubt by responding to his misguided advice (“They are not your family!”) by screaming at him, “Yes, they are! You taught me that! And I’m not scared to step up and help them. You are.”
Wow. Not sure how this show keeps pulling off scenes like this one, but what a stunning, jaw-dropping, hero moment for Sidney La Forge. A moment personifying the vast array of familial discovery we’ve seen throughout the season thus far.
La Forge and daughter Sidney (Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut) square off. (Paramount+)
Ultimately, the moment leads to the trifecta of Jack, Sidney and Alandra concocting the joyous plan to steal the Klingon cloaking device from the famed HMS Bounty — yep, it’s that ship! The time-traveling Klingon Bird of Prey from Star Trek IV: The Voyager Home.
It was Jack’s quiet conversation with Seven on the bridge of the Titan that helped spur his idea to steal the cloaking device. The conversation with Seven is a majestic, spine-tingling deep dive into Star Trek’s lore. A beautiful treatise on these starships and what they mean to each and every one of us (viewers and characters alike) as a connection to something more. Even Jack, who’s not that into Starfleet, loves a starship – he’s “a Constitution-class man.”
As composer Stephen Barton lays the notes from Jerry Goldsmith’s classic Voyager theme underneath their conversation, Seven shows Jack her ship, the USS Voyager, telling him “she made her name farther out than any of these other relics had ever gone. I was re-born there. She was my home. They were my family.”
They continue talking about longing for connections and everyone being a little bit alone in the galaxy before Seven stops him and lets him know he really is his father’s son with these poetic, drive-by observations, but also acknowledging that they do help “make a person feel seen.”
As for Geordi, that confrontation between himself and Sidney spurs him to do the right thing, as he admits to his daughter that he is very proud of her and also disappointed in himself for not immediately doing what his younger self would have done. In the end, it’s Geordi’s engineering expertise that helps get that Klingon cloak functioning properly on the Titan — after all, the masterminds of the heist, Jack and Sidney, aren’t engineers.
A look at a 23rd century Klingon cloaking device. (Paramount+)
The addition of that “superior Klingon technology” gives the Titan the cover they need in getting back to Daystrom Station just in time to attempt a last second rescue of Riker, Worf and Raffi, who are now under siege from “Starfleet” personnel (wink!) on board the station. And speaking of hero moments, this one belongs to Riker, who looks like a TNG-era version of himself fighting off their attackers.
Riker ends up doing just enough for Worf, Raffi and “Data” to escape on board the Titan who swoop in, decloak, beam them out and then warp away, just as Riker is being detained by “Starfleet” (wink!).
Back on board the Titan, Geordi is touched to see his best friend again and is now overseeing an attempt to activate what he refers to as “Data… something else.” La Forge knows that the information is all there and they can reboot android Data, but there is no way to isolate his specific personality, “so, we just don’t know what we’re going to get.”
And as previously mentioned, what we do get is a stellar performance from Spiner who slowly comes to life sounding lake Data, saying the names of his friends while acknowledging, “there are many of myself … but currently, one voice speaks to you more, more fondly than the others.”
It’s an effortless performance from Spiner, who before long is sounding like Lore, then B4, then Soong – none of which stops him from finally revealing to the crew what the Changelings were really after when they broke into the station — and boy, is this reveal ever worth the wait.
An organic Soong android (Brent Spiner) made of Data, Lore, B4, Lal, and Alton Soong. (Paramount+)
In a nice callback to the conclusion of Picard Season 1, apparently the Changelings are now in possession of the remains of Jean-Luc Picard’s original body — replaced by a positronic upgrade in “Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2” — which seems to correlate nicely with their mysterious need to get their hands on Picard’s only child, Jack Crusher.
If that cliffhanger wasn’t enough, showrunner Terry Matalas and episode scribe Chris Monfette have one more in store for us, as one of the Starfleet officers torturing and interrogating Riker turns out to be Captain Vadic (Amanda Plummer), who has outdone herself in terms of her villainy status by moving Riker to the Shrike… where she reveals Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) in a holding cell, ready to be used as leverage.
MOMENTS OF STASHWICK
We think Todd Stashwick and his portrayal of USS Titan captain Liam Shaw is destined for Trek icon status — each week this season, we’ll be highlighting one one of the character’s (and actor’s) best moments.
Easiest pick ever! Captain Liam Shaw, a former engineer and grease monkey, nervously idolizing the great Geordi La Forge is a gleeful moment for all involved.
SHAW: “Mr. La Forge, uh, as a former engineer, I just want to say what an honor it is to have you on board.”
Of course, Shaw can’t help himself when La Forge critiques his ship, letting him know it is “spewing fumes through layers of 21st century duct tape.”
SHAW: “Yeah, it’s been a weird week.”
Hopefully the two of them will get time to geek out together later.
One of the Starfleet ships pursuing the Titan early in this episode is the USS Sternbach, named for longtime Trek illustrator/designer (and co-writer of the Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual) Rick Sternbach.
This is now Michael Dorn’s 278th episode as Worf, extending his record appearance tally in Star Trek. According to Worf it has been 11 years, five months and four days since he’s seen Jean-Luc Picard in person.
“The Bounty” marks the first time in Star Trek history that series regulars from three different shows (in this case TNG, DS9 and Voyager) appear together on screen on a fourth show.
A number of clips from Riker’s first meeting with Data are used from “Encounter at Farpoint.”
I love the technobabble from Sidney that led the Titan to run from the Starfleet ships at Daystrom Station — they could become permanently trackable if hit by the “residual ionic energy” in the weapons being used by the Starfleet ships pursuing them. “Spoken like a true La Forge,” says Picard.
Perhaps surprisingly, Seven identifies herself as Commander Hansen when contacting Picard to let him know Worf and Raffi are beaming on board.
Some of the dark secrets held inside Daystrom Station. (Paramount+)
Stored in the dark recesses of Daystrom Station are fascinating objects like a genetically-modified ‘attack’ tribble, a Borg vinculum, a Reman Thalaron device (from Star Trek: Nemesis), a second Genesis device, and — most surprisingly — the body of Captain James T. Kirk, presumably recovered from his rocky grave on Veridian III (Star Trek: Generations). Even more curiously, there is audio of Original Series-era medical scan devices playing as the group passes by Kirk’s storage chamber… are those life signs!?
For the first-time ever a cloak being engaged is shown via part of the interior of the ship warbling in-and-out of focus, so you can see out into space through a disappearing wall console. A fun and cool visual effect.
“Stay away from my daughter,” is another great moment for Geordi as he jumps in to help align the Klingon cloaking device to get it working, after Jack and Sidney seemed to be hitting it off following their “minor larceny.”
For those wondering whether Sidney and Alandra’s mother is still in the picture, we can confirm she is, as Geordi instructs his daughter “to tell mom we aren’t going to be home for dinner.”
On Geordi’s office desk is a small statue of Zefram Cochrane. This is the same statue he described to Cochrane in person in Star Trek: First Contact, also seen in Jonathan Archer’s quarters aboard Enterprise NX-01. (This can be seen in production photography for this episode, but it does not appear on screen.)
Will Riker’s Starfleet service record; the photo is from STAR TREK: NEMESIS publicity. (Paramount+)
Will Riker’s mother is named “Betty” per his Starfleet personnel file (displayed at Daystrom Station); this is the first time Kyle Riker’s wife has been named.
The transponder decoy from the USS Titan seen in the opening shot of the episode looks like the 25th century version of the subspace amplifiers deployed by the NX-01 at the start of the Enterprise episode “Silent Enemy.”
Where is La Sirena now? With Raffi along for the ride aboard the USS Titan, is the ship simply parked back at M’Talas Prime, or has it docked inside a shuttlebay?
Data’s holographic crows are references to his dreams in “Birthright.”
There are two references to Data previously dying. “Twice.” (One from Raffi and one from Picard.)
Upon being awoke, new Data refers to himself as Daystrom Android M-5-10. Seems appropriate for the Daystrom Station. (Also, Data’s R2-D2 mode of showing a holographic presentation from lights shining out of his eyes is a cool addition for the android.)
Jean-Luc Picard’s original body. (Paramount+)
The whole “no Changeling has ever harmed another” thing sure seems to be out the window with Vadic, who is seen early in the episode killing off one of her Changeling crew members when they push back on her failed attempts to get their hands on Jack.
What is meant to be parked in Hangar Bay 12?!? Fairly sure we are going to find out. (In case you missed it, Alandra suggests “Hangar Bay 12” as potential solution to help the Titan during a debate between Geordi and Picard. But neither she or Geordi elaborate on it.)
There is an episode of Enterprise called “Bounty.” The similar naming convention in Star Trek is also seen with “The Emissary” (TNG) and “Emissary” (DS9), “The Muse” (DS9) and “Muse” (Voyager), “The Eye of the Beholder” (TAS) and “Eye of the Beholder” (TNG), and “The Sanctuary” (Discovery) and “Sanctuary” (DS9).
The episode is the second in Dan Liu’s two-episode directorial block, the third overall episode of Star Trek he has helmed.
The episode was written by Chris Monfette, who now has four writing credits on the series.
Hello, old friends. (Paramount+)
STARSHIP SPOTTER
Starfleet’s orbital museum began its life as the massive Earth-orbiting Spacedock seen in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock — and has since been relocated to Athan Prime for historical preservation along with its collection of starships, which include:
The Defiant-class USS Defiant (NX-74205), which clearly survived its encounter with the USS Protostar in Star Trek: Prodigy last season;
The Constitution-class USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A), last seen in Star Trek IV: The Undiscovered Country;
The Intrepid-class USS Voyager (NCC-74656), safely home after its adventures in Star Trek: Voyager;
The Klingon Bird of Prey dubbed HMS Bounty, brought back to Earth in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home;
The Constitution-class USS New Jersey (NCC-1975), a previously-unseen ship of Original Series design named for showrunner Terry Matalas’ birthplace (and the year he was born), notably NOT the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds starship model;
A Constellation-class starship, perhaps Picard’s original USS Stargazer (seen in “The Battle”);
An Akira-class, a Nebula-class, and a small Sabre-class starship;
An Original Series-era Romulan bird of prey;
A Klingon K’t’inga-class starship, perhaps the Kronos One vessel from Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country;
The Excelsior-class USS Excelsior (NCC-2000) and USS Pioneer (from Star Trek Online), both listed seen in the end credits sequence;
The Doug Drexler-designed refit Enterprise NX-01, the updated version of Captain Archer’s starship from Star Trek: Enterprise. This modification of the ship was unveiled in the 2011 Star Trek: Ships of the Line calendar, and was finally canonized last season when the Eaglemoss model of the NX-refit appeared in the Picard family home seen in “Hide and Seek.”
Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) held aboard Vadic’s ship. (Paramount+)
Never in a million years would we have guessed an episode called “The Bounty” would have been about the return of THAT ship! But that’s what we got in this inspired episode of Star Trek: Picard — even if it did take them awhile to find the ship cloaked at the bottom of San Francisco Bay.
Next week: “Dominion.” I wonder what that might be about?
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 will continue with “Dominion” on March 30 on Paramount+ in the United States and on CTV Sci Fi Channel and Crave in Canada — following the next day in the UK, Australia, Italy, France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The series is also available on Amazon’s Prime Video service in most other international locations.
In addition, stick around to hear Carlos and Alex talk about how much they want a 25th century successor show to Star Trek: Picard, and Alex’s fear that all this talk of satisfying endings… might be the end!
WeeklyTrek is available to subscribe and download each week on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, YouTube, and Spotify— and we’ll be sharing the details of each new episode right here on TrekCore each week if you’re simply just looking to listen in from the web.
Do you have a wish or theory you’d like to share on the show? Tweet to Alex at @WeeklyTrek, or email us with your thoughts about wishes, theories, or anything else about the latest in Star Trek news!
The final season of Star Trek: Picard continues this week, and we’ve got a new collection of photos from “The Bounty” to share with you today!
After connecting with Worf (Michael Dorn) and Raffi (Michelle Hurd) after Ro Laren’s death, Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the USS Titan crew — now on the run from Changeling-infested Starfleet Command — make their way to the secretive Daystrom Station to find out what else Vadic’s forces stole from the classified facility.l
Here are eighteen photos from this week’s episode, which highlight the return of Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) and the first appearance of his daughter, Alandra La Forge (Mica Burton).
STAR TREK: PICARD — Episode 306: 'The Bounty'
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STAR TREK: PICARD — "Dominion" (Paramount+)
STAR TREK: PICARD — "The Bounty" (Paramount+)
STAR TREK: PICARD — "The Bounty" (Paramount+)
STAR TREK: PICARD — "The Bounty" (Paramount+)
STAR TREK: PICARD — "The Bounty" (Paramount+)
STAR TREK: PICARD — "The Bounty" (Paramount+)
STAR TREK: PICARD — "The Bounty" (Paramount+)
STAR TREK: PICARD — "The Bounty" (Paramount+)
STAR TREK: PICARD — "The Bounty" (Paramount+)
STAR TREK: PICARD — "The Bounty" (Paramount+)
STAR TREK: PICARD — "The Bounty" (Paramount+)
STAR TREK: PICARD — "The Bounty" (Paramount+)
STAR TREK: PICARD — "The Bounty" (Paramount+)
STAR TREK: PICARD — "The Bounty" (Paramount+)
STAR TREK: PICARD — "The Bounty" (Paramount+)
STAR TREK: PICARD — "The Bounty" (Paramount+)
STAR TREK: PICARD — "The Bounty" (Paramount+)
STAR TREK: PICARD — "The Bounty" (Paramount+)
STAR TREK: PICARD — "The Bounty" (Paramount+)
In case you missed it, here’s a preview clip for the new episode from last week’s edition of The Ready Room with Wil Wheaton.
THE BOUNTY — Now on the run, Picard and the skeleton crew of the U.S.S. Titan must break into Starfleet’s most top-secret facility to expose a plot that could destroy the Federation. Picard must turn to the only soul in the galaxy who can help – an old friend.
Written by Christopher Monfette. Directed by Dan Liu.
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 will continue March 23 on Paramount+ the United States, and on CTV Sci Fi Channel and Crave in Canada, following the next day in the UK, Australia, Italy, France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The series is also available on Amazon’s Prime Video service in most other international locations.
The first season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds beams down on Blu-ray this week, and we’re giving three lucky TrekCore readers a chance to score their own copies in a new giveaway.
From Paramount Home Entertainment and CBS Home Entertainment, the ten-episode first year of Captain Pike adventures arrives on Blu-ray Tuesday, March 21,including all ten first-year episodes and these special features:
PIKE’S PEAK — Anson Mount takes fans through his journey as Captain Christopher Pike in the first season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, providing a glimpse into his portrayal with intimate footage throughout the season.
WORLD BUILDING — Led by Production Designer Jonathan Lee and his team, the season’s production design utilized cutting-edge technology to create worlds prior to shoots, allowing the actors to fully immerse themselves into scenes rather than imagine the worlds around them in a green room. Through interviews with producers, cast and crew, fans will learn about the expertise involved in the development process and how the powerful technology was seamlessly integrated into the show.
EXPLORING NEW WORLDS — Fans will explore the storylines and characters that bring Star Trek: Strange New Worlds to life with writers, cast and crew.
COMMENTARY — Anson Mount and Akiva Goldsman: “Strange New Worlds”
DELETED SCENES
GAG REEL
Three TrekCore readers will get a copy of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds — Season 1 on Blu-ray, and to have your shot at landing one for yourself, you can enter to win in one of two ways:
You have until 11:59 PM (Eastern time) on Friday, March 24 to get your entry in — we’ll reach out to the winners through Twitter DMs and Facebook private messages after the contest closes to arrange for fulfillment.
Good luck to all!
Contest open to TrekCore readers in the United States only due to supplier restrictions — sorry, international readers, that part’s not up to us.
The comments section of this article will not be considered for contest entries.
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In addition, for those of you in the Los Angeles area, be sure to head to the Scum and Villainy Cantina in Hollywood this Friday (March 24) for a special Star Trek: Strange New Worlds trivia night — where you can have your own chance to win exclusive prizes and more.
Hosted by Star Trek series advisor Dr. Erin Macdonald, the one-night-only event features special guests, giveaways, a limited-time menu with Star Trek-themed food and drinks and an exclusive Q&A with the host and special guest!
Fans will also receive a special sneak peek at behind-the-scenes footage from the first season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, taking place at Scum and Villainy Cantina – 6377 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028 – doors will open at 6:30 p.m. PST and trivia will begin at 7:00 p.m. PST.
If you head to the event, have a great time!
Keep checking back to TrekCore for the latest in Star Trek franchise news!
Star Trek: The Original Series — Harm’s Way marks a return to one of Star Trek fiction’s most impressive and ambitious ventures, with a sometimes successful — and sometimes not — addition to the overarching Star Trek: Vanguard meta-narrative. David Mack’s Harm’s Way is at once a tense submarine cat and mouse drama between two classic Star Trek characters, and also an overly violent gore fest that has a few interesting ideas that are mostly lost among pages and pages of mass death.
Running from 2005 to 2012, the Vanguard series of novels from authors David Mack, Dayton Ward, and Kevin Dilmore told a serialized story over the course of eight novels that saw Starfleet investigating the mysteries of the ancient galaxy after establishing a starbase at the edge of Federation space — all while contending with the Klingons and the Tholians.
Vanguard was a triumphant masterpiece, and highly recommended reading for any Star Trek fan looking to explore the novels. The books are packed with big ideas, bold stories, and great characters. The narrative has an epic scale, and really established the idea that Star Trek novels did not need the main characters from any of the television shows in order to be successful. Vanguard also established that Star Trek could be more mature than what was on television, with great drama, violence appropriate to the story, and some sexual themes that were more adult than anything we saw on screen.
Selections from the STAR TREK: VANGUARD novel series.
If you’re just interested in Harm’s Way as an Original Series novel, or you’ve read Vanguard and are interested in seeing what Harm’s Way adds to the story, stick around. But if you have never read Vanguard and you’re interested in checking out Harm’s Way stop now. Go get yourself a copy of the first Vanguard novel (Harbinger, also by David Mack), and enjoy going from there.
David Mack is an accomplished Star Trek novelist. He’s written some of my all-time favorite Star Trek novels, and has never been shy about taking his books to dark or adult places, oftentimes to great effect. Unfortunately, while Harm’s Way has a compelling narrative, it’s not one of Mack’s greatest books. It’s a mixed bag that adds almost nothing substantive to the Vanguard narrative and has uneven execution throughout.
The USS Enterprise is asked to team up with the USS Sagittarius, one of the key starships from the Vanguard series, to track down a Federation scientist who crash landed on Kolasi III and is potentially experimenting with the dangerous Shedai metagenome — the DNA of an ancient and powerful extinct race that enslaved portions of the galaxy millions of years prior. Meanwhile, Captain Kang of the Klingon Defense Force has also been dispatched to the same planet, with similar motives in mind.
The standout part of the novel for me is everything that happens in space. There aren’t enough straight Kirk-versus-Kang stories, and reading the two square off against each other as Kirk works hard to evade Kang and Kang works hard to try and find Kirk, is great reading. Mack successfully gets inside the heads of Kirk and Kang, showing us more about their thinking process, and the fears and insecurities that they conceal from their crew as commanding officers of their respective ships.
Captain Kirk and Captain Kang in “Day of the Dove.” (Paramount)
Harm’s Way is set shortly after the events of “The Doomsday Machine,” and the impact of those events plays an effective role in shaping Kirk’s thinking. It’s a nice little narrative arc that allows him to deal with what happened in the Doomsday Machine incident, and considering what he might have done in the same position as Commodore Decker. And on Kang’s side, we get to see more about how the fabled Klingon commander became the man that we saw in “Day of the Dove,” and later in “Blood Oath,” to great effect. Kang is a great character, and was a good choice of foil for Kirk in this novel.
The cat and mouse game between Kirk and Kang in orbit is by far the best part of the book, but it’s definitely the B-plot to the storyline that takes place on the surface of Kolasi III, where Starfleet and Klingon away teams must work together to destroy a threat to bother galactic powers. The away teams are led by Spock and Mara, and while there is some great stuff in this story about Starfleet and the Klingons being forced to work together, and what that might mean for the future of Federation/Klingon relations, I just can’t get over what an extremely violent slog the last act of the novel was as Mack continuously ups the body count.
Harm’s Way leans hard into darkness without, in my opinion, successfully pulling me back to the light again at the end. There are a couple of scenes, as Starfleet officers are murdering whole ranks of the native sentients on the planet’s surface, where the characters begin to grapple with what they are doing, but these thoughtful moments are quickly swept aside in favor of more grimdark violence in service of the relentless narrative.
Mara and Spock in “Day of the Dove.” (Paramount)
It’s definitely exciting –- David Mack has always known how to skillfully and capably capture the reader and serve you an engrossing tale –- but I didn’t feel good by the time I reached the end. I suppose that’s how Mack wants you to feel, the same as the Starfleet officers put in an impossible situation and forced to compromise their morals for a mission of utmost importance.
But this is the second book in a row of Mack’s, following last year’s Oblivion’s Gate (the concluding chapter of the Coda trilogy), that I have finished feeling… empty. And even though Vanguard –- and lots of other amazing books that Mack has written –- have a lot of violence, the violence always felt important, measured, and important to the story. This just felt violent for the sake of it, and I don’t like that to be my Star Trek.
Overall, David Mack is a great storyteller, and you’ll find yourself swept along in the narrative of Harm’s Way. If that’s all you’re looking for from your Star Trek books, then I recommend it. If you are looking for something a little deeper, or that makes a substantive contribution to the excellent Star Trek: Vanguard, I don’t think that you will find it here.
Now, those of you who missed out on the Official Starship Collection releases have cause for celebration, as the remaining stock of starships produced by Eaglemoss has been bought and is being prepared for sale by Master Replicas… starting this Sunday, March 19!
We caught up with with Ben Robinson, the architect of Eaglemoss’ extensive line of Star Trek collectibles, and who is now helping Master Replicas with the sale of Eaglemoss’ remaining stock.
He walked us through how the Master Replicas sales will work:
They will list 25 products at a time, every two weeks. I think the good thing about that is that people don’t have to find hundreds and hundreds of dollars in one go to try and get anything that they’re missing.
It’s not all going to be swept up by the scalpers and sold at these vastly inflated prices, just because you couldn’t afford to get the one you wanted.
I think logistically, the idea of dumping all 400 of them in one go was just a complete nightmare and would have been really difficult for everybody. The idea of doing it 25 at a time is to keep it reasonable and to give people a chance.
Every two weeks for as long as they have new products to sell, Master Replicas will be listing 25 new collectibles for sale. This includes all the Star Trek starship model categories — the regular collection, specials, XLs, ships from Star Trek Online, Discovery, Picard, and Lower Decks collections — as well as a limited selection of busts, plaques, and other Star Trek collectibles produced by the company during the 10 years they were in the Trek business.
On top of all the Star Trek products, these sales will also include select other items from various licensed product lines, including The Orville, Stargate, The Expanse and Doctor Who. What Master Replicas will have to sell through their new storefront is dependent on what stock was available at the time Eaglemoss went out of business last year.
Some of the many ships in the Master Replicas inventory. (Photo: Master Replicas)
“There is some of pretty much everything,” Robinson told us, but that doesn’t mean that every model will come with the printed magazines which originally accompanied the Eaglemoss releases. Listings on Master Replicas’ site will indicate whether the ship is accompanied by a magazine or not.
It also means that some of the listings may be very limited quantities, so you will want to move quickly to purchase any “must have” ships on your wish list when they go live every two weeks.
Robinson also stressed that, while there might be efforts underway to identify a new licensee who wants to make new Star Trek starship models in the same vein as the Ealgemoss lines, for the more obscure ships that Eaglemoss produced, the Master Replicas sale is likely your best (and maybe only) opportunity to purchase these again at retail prices.
Said Robinson:
“If you want [a certain ship in the Master Replicas sale], this is probably your best chance to buy it. I think it’s pretty clear that there are lots of ships where we did that were really obscure, that nobody’s going to make again.”
Prices will vary depending on the size of the model, but will mostly align fairly closely to the original Eaglemoss retail prices. That will make Master Replicas the most affordable place for purchasing many of the rarer ship models, which can be listed today on eBay for hundreds of dollars. Additionally, Master Replicas will ship almost anywhere in the world, though expect some shipping charges (and potentially import) duty depending on where you are purchasing.
In addition to the collectibles that had already been released by Eaglemoss that are now getting a re-release, the sales are expected to include some ships that only received very limited releases — or were announced but never offered for sale — including the USS Nog and the USS Liu Cixin, but also items like the Caretaker’s Array, the XL-sized Stargazer, the USS Vancouver from Lower Decks, and the gold-plated XL-sized Enterprise-E.
* * *
TrekCore can today reveal the first releases that will be part of the initial round of Master Replicas’ sales, beginning this Sunday:
From the Official Starships Collection subscription lineup:
U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 (Constitution Class Refit)
U.S.S Enterprise (Star Trek: Phase2 Matt Jefferies Concept)
U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-C (Ambassador Class)
U.S.S. Defiant NX-74205 (Defiant Class)
I.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D (Mirror Universe)
U.S.S. Bozeman NCC-1941 (Soyuz Class)
USS Appalachia (Steamrunner Class)
U.S.S. Voyager (Rick Sternbach Concept)
U.S.S. Valiant (Jim Martin U.S.S. Defiant concept)
Valdore (Romulan Warbird)
The Baxial (Neelix’s Ship)
Steth’s Coaxial Drive Ship
From the XL Starships line:
XL: Enterprise NX-01
XL: Deep Space 9
XL: U.S.S. Prometheus NX-59650
XL: U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-E
From Star Trek: Lower Decks:
U.S.S. Titan NCC-80102 (Luna Class)
XL: U.S.S. Cerritos NCC-75567 (California Class)
From Star Trek: Discovery:
U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 (2257)
U.S.S. Liu Cixin (Mars Class)
U.S.S. Nog NCC-325070 (Eisenberg Class)
U.S.S. Kerala NCC-1255 (Shepard Class)
From Star Trek: Picard:
U.S.S. Toussaint NCC-87111
From Star Trek Online:
U.S.S. Concorde NCC-94500 (Command Battlecruiser)
U.S.S. Edison NCC-95160 (Temporal Warship)
These first releases will be available from Sunday, March 19 through Sunday, April 2, when they’ll be replaced by the second round of model ships — that means, if you want one of the ships included in the current wave of sales, you’ll need to move quickly… because once they sell out or leave the Master Replicas site, they may never be available for direct sale again.
For more, head over to the Master Replicas website to sign up for their mailing list, and to bring home any of the first wave of surplus Official Starships models when they go on sale March 19.
Keep checking back to TrekCore for all the latest in Star Trek merchandise news!
It’s been almost 30 years since Jean-Luc Picard suffered possibly the most significant betrayal of his career, memorialized brilliantly in the final shot Next Gen’s “Preemptive Strike” — a stone-faced Captain Picard stares silently, with Commander Riker’s final words echoing in his mind, “Her only real regret was that she let you down.”
“Imposters” reaches yet another high point with the reintroduction of a fan-favorite character, combined with a return to that infamous moment in the Enterprise-D ready room. It’s a satisfying and heart-breaking conclusion to one of the series’ most memorable, untapped story threads.
Showrunner Terry Matalas has mastered the art of showcasing meaningful individual arcs in the first half of this season, by introducing both old and new characters and walking us through their lived-in experiences. (From Picard to Riker to Beverly and her son Jack, to Seven of Nine and Captain Liam Shaw, they’ve all had profound narrative reveals about their characters across four episodes — mostly related to themes of friends, family and finding yourself.)
And now, suddenly, the production team has upped the ante again by surprisingly bringing back Ro Laren (Michelle Forbes), who has worked her way back into the good graces of Starfleet as a commander, despite her betrayal of both the Federation and her mentor in joining the Maquis so long ago.
Michelle Forbes as Ro Laren. (Paramount+)
It’s a wonderful twist, backed by a brilliant, compelling script that takes the art of exposing your true self to a level I’m not sure we’ve ever seen in Star Trek. You can have all the blood screenings you want — and Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden) has figured out that those are pretty much useless with these new-look Changelings — but nothing quite reveals who you really are like the deep, biting truth of humanoid pain, loss and regret.
And, boy, do we ever get that truth in the beautiful, one-on-one confrontation between Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Ro in this episode. No Changeling can replicate that, and as writers Cindy Appel and Chris Derrick showcase here, the only way to truly be real is to expose yourself and admit, understand, and embrace your pain.
In the key set-up for this episode, the Titan has escaped the Shrike and is heading back to Federation space for Picard and Riker (Jonathan Frakes) to face the music. Of course, Captain Shaw (Todd Stashwick) has already notified Starfleet, and the USS Intrepid is on its way to intercept them.
Before long, Ro is on the Titan and face-to-face with Picard and Riker, who — despite having a phaser pointed at him the last time he saw her — is more understanding about her return to Starfleet than Picard, who can’t get past the irony that she of all people is now investigating them for treason.
The set-up with Ro checks a lot of satisfying boxes. First, her untrusting and direct formality is enjoyably framed so the viewer suspects she could be a Changeling, while at the same time, she is slyly setting up the Titan for as much success as possible in avoiding what is later revealed to be a Changeling infestation of Starfleet. (There have apparently been fleetwide issues for months, and Ro suspects it is all pointed to Frontier Day, when Starfleet will have their entire fleet on display.)
Ro has specifically set it up so the Titan will be left with a skeleton crew, even as the officers she has arrived with conduct an exhaustive search for Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers). The son of Jean-Luc and Beverly is being hidden in plain sight in a Starfleet uniform, while also experiencing a myriad of waking dreams and actual heightened experiences.
Tiffany Shepis as Dr. Ohk; Gates McFadden as Dr. Beverly Crusher; Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut as Sidney La Forge. (Paramount+)
In one disturbing vision, he takes out the bridge crew as Ensign Esmar (Jin Maley) says, “I know what you really are.” Uh, that’s cryptic! Elsewhere, he hears a women’s voice saying, “Find me” and “Come home” as part of different dream sequences. And in yet another waking vision, when he is actually discovered by four Changelings, he is triggered by them and easily kills all four, before snapping back to himself.
Beverly compares the incidents to childhood nightmares he previously suffered through, but when he tells her that he had no idea the four people he killed were Changelings, he also must cop to the fact that, “I think there is something very wrong with me.”
The Jack Crusher conundrum layered throughout the season has a little bit of a mystery box feel to it, and certainly is narratively familiar, but it is also undeniably interesting. The mystery of exactly why the Changelings need this one particular human alive is fantastic and being teed up exquisitely.
Elsewhere in the episode, Worf (Michael Dorn) and Raffi (Michelle Hurd) are back and they are having a blast, and passing their fun straight to the viewer. A number of fantastic scenes featuring the crime-fighting friends (Worffi?) begin with Raffi and her former incognito handler sparring in an old school, Worf fight scene straight out of “Sons of Mogh,” among other episodes. In their workout, Worf is basically schooling Raffi and after dropping into a meditative pose, leaves her with the valuable lesson that her “enemies’ aggression will always reveal their weakness.”
It’s a fun moment, accompanied by composer Stephen Barton’s wry version of the familiar Klingon fanfare music, and it leads to a discussion of their plans to try and get to Daystrom Station to further investigate what the Changelings stole from the facility (a disclosure from the previous episode, “No Win Scenario”). However, Worf’s handler denies them — sort of — sending them a message to “Find another way.”
Michael Dorn as Worf; Michelle Hurd as Raffi Musiker. (Paramount+)
The pair don’t exactly listen and instead take the first steps to organize a Daystrom break-in by tracking down Krinn an old associate of the Ferengi Sneed (beheaded by Worf in “Seventeen Seconds”), who specializes in high-security infiltration. When the pair find Krinn, who by design gets the jump on them, we are the recipients of the glorious, surprise reveal of the great Kirk Acevedo playing a scenery-chewing Vulcan who is the kingpin of a local crime-syndicate.
Acevedo is incredible. A genre actor of some renown with standout roles in “12 Monkeys” and “Fringe,” he dives into his role as a kickass, warlord Vulcan with face tattoos and a gnarled ear, who pontificates logically about the world of crime: “There could be no utopia without crime, ergo an organized criminal enterprise is logical.” It’s a special performance and a special moment in the world-building of Vulcans.
I could go on about Krinn (who summarizes the entire season thus far when he says, “In my world, loyalty is what passes for family”), but suffice it to say, despite his belief he has the upper hand on Worffi (yes, we are really doing this; these plutonic friends are henceforth known as Worffi), the pair stage the Klingon’s death via Raffi’s blade to get the jump on the Vulcan warlord, who is now more than happy to provide them with the necessary tech they will need to break into Daystrom Station (“That… would be logical.”).
In the end, the episode comes back to the emotionally charged confrontation between Picard and Ro, as they not so delicately try to work out if the other is a Changeling or not. It’s just an absolutely brilliant set-up for this conversation that Picard angrily admits he has been rehearsing for 30 years.
Ro acquits herself quite well in telling her former mentor that his respect for her was always “conditional” and that his dishonor was in confusing “morality with duty.” For her it was about “standing up to injustice even if it meant betraying” Starfleet.
Michelle Forbes as Ro Laren; Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard. (Paramount+)
Picard, of course, thinks she’s dishonored herself and tells her as much in calling out the fact she isn’t wearing her beloved earring that at one time he believed was a symbol of her heritage and the family she lost. He practically screams at her in Bajoran that it was her “ego that would lead you to betray me!”
With tension between the two reaching a boiling point as they both begin to acknowledge that their betrayal was mutual, Picard tells her that he believed in her, to which Ro responds, “Only when it was easy for you. If I’d meant so much, you would have understood.”
Picard: “You broke my heart.” Ro: “And you broke mine.”
And with that, the two former shipmates lower their phasers, as that level of pain can only be achieved by being a good ol’ fashioned solid. It’s a fantastic moment. A miraculous near-conclusion to a story arc that began in 1991 when the character was introduced in a similarly conflicted fashion in The Next Generation episode, “Ensign Ro.”
We say “near-conclusion,” because sadly it doesn’t end there. After informing Picard that Starfleet is compromised at the highest level, she asks him if he trusts her, and, of course, he still does. She then tells him that she’s been working to buy him some time so that the Titan can go on the run and try and fight this thing from the edges. She then slips her previously unseen earring into his hands, a symbol of both the bond between the two, and, of course, a hidden message.
“All these years, I wish you’d known me. And that I had known you. Goodbye, admiral.” It’s now Ro’s time to make the ultimate sacrifice, as her shuttle is commandeered by the aforementioned Changelings that Jack Crusher ends up taking out, planting an explosive on her ship that leaves her with only one option: to destroy the Intrepid’s nacelle so it can’t pursue the Titan.
In a moving exchange just before her death, she tells Picard she is giving back to him what he had given her so many years ago, “a fighting chance.” To which Picard responds, “I do see you, everything. Forgive me it’s only now.” Connection lost. Cue the waterworks.
Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard; Jonathan Frakes as Will Riker. (Paramount+)
Despite trying to follow his instincts and fall back into his world of structure and meter, Captain Shaw realizes (with the help of Picard, Riker and Seven in his ear) he now has no choice, putting the ship on red alert and getting the Titan the hell out of Dodge.
If all that wasn’t enough, Matalas and his production team have one more storytelling trick in store for us when we find out that Ro had been Worf’s intelligence handler all along, as the Klingon happily reconnects with Picard and Riker when they discover Ro’s earring is actually a data device detailing her investigation.
The reunion of the three Trek stalwarts is a sad one, as they relay the news of Ro’s demise, but it is also the perfect launch into the second half of this outstanding season.
MOMENTS OF STASHWICK
We think Todd Stashwick and his portrayal of USS Titan captain Liam Shaw is destined for Trek icon status — each week this season, we’ll be highlighting one one of the character’s (and actor’s) best moments.
As always, we have a lot to choose from — a chipper turbolift ride, his “reinstatement” of Seven, his reference to the “fastest court martial I’ve ever seen” — but this week we are going with another subtle choice, which serves as a great character revealing moment.
Our pick for “Imposters” is when Shaw leaves the observation lounge early in the episode by saying to Picard, Riker and Seven that as a courtesy: “I’m going to step outside so the three of you can get your bullshit story straight!”
On the surface, yes, this is him being a bit of a dick to our heroes (again), but also if you take a step back, it’s another example of him truly being cool and legitimately giving them an off-the-books chance to try and help themselves. He is a by-the-book Captain that understands there are some necessary grey areas that need to be operated in. He just wants to be left out of them.
Todd Stashwick as Liam Shaw. (Paramount+)
Our second choice this week was Shaw once again showcasing just how good an officer and leader he actually is. Once he moves past his first instinct to have the Titan fall in line with the Intrepid, and as the gravity of their situation becomes clear, he snaps into awesome captain mode by instantly barking out the commands that showcase just how informed and buttoned up he is.
“Red Alert! Battle stations. Starfleet has been compromised. Emergency order 762-Alpha now in effect.”
So cool. The man is ready for all circumstances, he just needs to fight through his own instincts and trauma sometimes to get there. A legendary Star Trek character.
Ok, one more!
During Captain Shaw’s chipper turbolift ride with Picard and Riker, he relays some great moments from TNG lore, referencing: “hot-dropping” the saucer section of the Enterprise-D on a planet (Star Trek: Generations), Picard throwing the Prime Directive out the window to “snog” a villager on Ba’ku (Star Trek: Insurrection), and the averted Devron System time paradox from “All Good Things.”
Shaw: “Basically when it comes to rescues from danger, you two have a real chicken and egg thing happening.”
Picard: “Those were the days….”
OBSERVATION LOUNGE
Ro Laren’s moment of betrayal in “Preemptive Strike” is, incredibly, the final scene of a regular one-hour episode of The Next Generation’s seven-year run, and the last event prior to the show’s series finale. It’s a big moment, and it’s incredible to see that story continued here.
This is now Michael Dorn’s 277th episode as Worf, extending his record appearance tally in Star Trek. As for Worf’s body count in Picard Season 3, we have completely lost track after only five episodes… there’s just too many to count.
In staging his death, Worf references having mastered the Kahless technique of regulating his heartrate to nearly imperceptible levels. Prior to his collapse, he utters his most famous quote, telling Raffi, “Today was a good day to die! You are a warrior, and this is a worthy death.”
In the moment where Krinn hands over the tech necessary to break into the Daystrom Station, we see a great visual effects shot of the station model and a few shots inside the station for the first time — the station appears to be a blending of design principles found in Jupiter Station and the MIDAS Array.
Jin Maley as Ensign Kova Rin Esmar. (Paramount+)
Commander Ro’s ship is the USS Intrepid, the first Duderstadt-class vessel in Trek to date. It’s likely named for Dorothy Duder, the Star Trek: Enterprise food stylist who was also the late wife of Star Trek ship designer and visual-effects artist Doug Drexler.
We get yet another reference to Admiral Janeway in this episode, as Ro explains the difficulty reaching Starfleet leadership about the Changeling threat.
Following the Dominion War, new Starfleet protocols include having every person on a ship pass through an “internal imaging chamber” before reporting for duty — to verify they are not a Changeling.
Crusher verifies that these new-look Changelings are not a new or different species, but an evolution of what we’ve seen before… which means they could be anywhere or anyone and know one would ever know.
Krinn wears a large, rather ostentatious, version of the IDIC around his neck. That is only logical for a Vulcan crime lord.
It seems there is always an extra phaser or two under the bar at Guinan’s, which Picard puts to good use in his showdown with Ro.
Ro’s journey back to Starfleet was just like her first path back to Starfleet service, after the incident on Garon II referenced in “Ensign Ro.” After her defection to the Maquis in “Preemptive Strike,” she eventually turned herself in to Starfleet, was court-martialed and imprisoned, and then was recruited again by Starfleet intelligence. After an arduous rehabilitation program, she proved herself and worked her way up again.
Writer Cindy Appel now has five Picard writing credits to her name, while this is the second script for co-writer Chris Derrick.
Michelle Forbes as Ro Laren. (Paramount+)
You may find more variety in specific five-episode runs of Star Trek through the past 50-plus years, but recency bias be damned: there is really no doubt that this first half of Picard Season 3 is right up there with the best in the history of the franchise…. and incredibly, it quite literally has gotten better with each episode.
Next week? The streak continues — but we’ll have lots more to say about that next Thursday!
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 will continue with “The Bounty” on March 23 on Paramount+ the United States and on CTV Sci Fi Channel and Crave in Canada — following the next day in the UK, Australia, Italy, France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The series is also available on Amazon’s Prime Video service in most other international locations.
