Picard S2

[Bloop]

Things left hanging for me:

- No resolution or reason why Q was dying, or even if he really did die, who even knows. I assume he's dead because I don't think DeLancie's coming back.

- The "entire fleet" (by my count, only 33 ships now, quite a bit fewer than we saw in last season's finale, I think) plus one borg vessel immediately stops a "galaxy threatening" energy doohicky with the spirit of cooperation! Oh and by combining their shields into one big shield. Not even a "Star Trek" type simplified analogy offered (ie "like putting too much air in a balloon," as Futurama taught us). Just a big energy beam stopped by a bigger energy wall.

- Unless I missed it, no one ever mentioned Jean-Luc's dead nephew Rene Picard. Seems like giving the female astronaut the same name would have some significance, and would remind Picard of his nephew (and brother) that died in a fire (I also always assumed the fire was at the Picard vineyard, but I don't think it was ever specified. Maybe they died in transporter fire, idk).

- Why was Soong's clone daughter made a "traveler?" Just to give Wil Wheaton something to do? I wish they hadn't brought back the whole "traveller" thing. It makes it even more confusing why the last time we saw Wesley Crusher was at Riker & Troi's wedding in ST: Nemesis, where he was a Starfleet officer for no reason. My own personal theory was that "The Traveller" was an intergalactic sex trafficker and gave Wes some space peyote to trick him into thinking he could stop time so he'd willingly go off with him to work in the sex mines on Risa. Guess that theory's shot to hell now.

 

[kalkamel]

Wil Wheaton as a sex slave. Thanks for giving me that nightmarish imagery. I won't be able to sleep for weeks.

 

[Gregatron]

Showing just how ridiculous and sad things have become, I recently found myself blocked by several people on another forum literally for making an offhand joke about how bad NuTREK is. That says a lot about where things stand, when A) Dissenting opinions are not allowed; B) The remaining, thin-skinned fans who care about these shows fly off the handle emotionally when the shows are criticized. I found myself deluged with “ better to have New TREK than no TREK” comments and so on.

 

[renaissance_man]

Stop asking sensible questions, you're all just being toxic against the writers who worked really hard on this. Just keep paying that P+ subscription to keep these people topped up with Soy lattes whilst they trawl the internet for top 10 episode lists to superficially copy and slap on a whole load of character tromuhhh (trauma) onto.
Thinking is futile.

 

[renaissance_man]

Showing just how ridiculous and sad things have become, I recently found myself blocked by several people on another forum literally for making an offhand joke about how bad NuTREK is. That says a lot about where things stand, when A) Dissenting opinions are not allowed; B) The remaining, thin-skinned fan who care about these shows fly off the handle emotionally when the shows are criticized. I found myself deluged with “ better to have New TREK than no TREK” comments and so on.

Which forum was that?

 

[Lightning]

Why is it when Talinn's eyes are bloodshot, they're red? Shouldn't they be green since she's Romulan?

Same reason Spock has pink lips and tounge.

I wish they hadn't brought back the whole "traveller" thing. It makes it even more confusing why the last time we saw Wesley Crusher was at Riker & Troi's wedding in ST: Nemesis, where he was a Starfleet officer for no reason.

I've got something for this. Officers who leave the service under honorable circumstances are allowed to wear their uniforms during special events like parades and weddings of other officers. Wesley wasn't forcibly kicked out of Starfleet so he should be fine to wear it. (Obviously, Starfleet would be less strict about these rules than the modern American military)

 

[renaissance_man]

Save the cheerleader, save the world.
Save your sanity, save your money.

 

[Gregatron]

Which forum was that?

I’d rather not say. The thread got nuked, anyway. But I get the feeling this sort of thing occurs all over the place, with thin-skinned people spurging out when confronted with—Gasp!—a different opinion. I’ve generally avoided TREK forums for the past few years, for the sake of my sanity.

In fact, I’ve dropped out of most forums and taken a “wait it out” mentality. The RPF is one of the few I’ve stayed on, and then only for the soothing purity of prop-talk. Of course, now that the pendulum is slowly starting to swing, I’ve enjoyed coming out of hibernation here to meme and to indulge in some venting therapy. The salt must flow.

And, remember, just because Access Media sites like IGN are now starting to call these things out as the tide slowly turns, that just means they’re pandering to try and save face and stay relevant. A great many people who bleated on and on for years about “toxic fans” will now pretend to be on the other side and claim to have ALWAYS been on the other side, as the tide shifts.

 

[Captain Dunsel]

Same reason Spock has pink lips and tounge.



I've got something for this. Officers who leave the service under honorable circumstances are allowed to wear their uniforms during special events like parades and weddings of other officers. Wesley wasn't forcibly kicked out of Starfleet so he should be fine to wear it. (Obviously, Starfleet would be less strict about these rules than the modern American military)

Well, in Nemesis Mr. Crusher was supposed to be an Engineer on the Titan and, inexplicably, back in Starfleet…but , of course, that scene ended up on the cutting room floor.

 

[jts1031]

I’d rather not say. The thread got nuked, anyway. But I get the feeling this sort of thing occurs all over the place, with thin-skinned people spurging out when confronted with—Gasp!—a different opinion. I’ve generally avoided TREK forums for the past few years, for the sake of my sanity.

The same thing is happening on Twitter, as I've seen multiple people comment that posts let them know who to block or mute because they don't like to hear an opinion that differs from theirs.

I was more excited to sit down and watch the most recent episode of Graveyard Cars than I was the finale. Everything that was in the finale felt shoehorned and half-slapped together to tie everything up. The Wheaton stuff felt shoe-horned in, like they realized they hadn't tied up the Kore character. Even the bit about Elnor at the end seemed like post recorded dialog with Patrick Stewart because they were afraid the audience dozed off during the part where Q explained a gift. This entire season could've been a two-parter, but instead they drug it out over ten episodes.

 

[Gregatron]

The same thing is happening on Twitter, as I've seen multiple people comment that posts let them know who to block or mute because they don't like to hear an opinion that differs from theirs.

Yep. I didn’t attack anyone and I didn’t say no one is allowed to like these shows. I just expressed my own dislike of the shows in a jokey way. Again, this goes to show how divisive things are, now. Things are SO polarized that it’s unreal.

 

[Picard102]

So people are upset that he has a folder of a historical document we already know happened in universe?

 

[Captain Dunsel]

So people are upset that he has a folder of a historical document we already know happened in universe?

Nope—reacting to the fact that something so colossally stupid as linking Data’s great-great-great-great-great…grandfather to the creation of Khan (which is overtly implied by him pulling out the folder) was previously predicted in this very thread and then came to be.

The reactions in this thread are more than merited.

The often heard statement regarding predictions for STP of “…that’s so lazy and dumb it HAS to happen” has unfortunately been proven to be a truism for this series.

 

[Gregatron]

Nope—reacting to the fact that something so colossally stupid as linking Data’s great-great-great-great-great…grandfather to the creation of Khan (which is overtly implied by him pulling out the folder) was previously predicted in this very thread and then came to be.

The reactions in this thread are more than merited.

The often heard statement regarding predictions for STP of “That’s so lazy and dumb it has to happen” has unfortunately been proven to be a truism for this series.

The next logical step:

 

[Captain Dunsel]

The next logical step:

View attachment 1572788

I would not be surprised if this all came about because one of the writers made an error and thought Khan’s name was Khan Noonien Soong and thought they made a “genius” move by connecting him to the Soong Family.

Even after an intern corrected them and advised that they had the last name incorrect, the reaction in the writer’s room was “…dude, let’s just go with it; the fans will love it.”

 

[Gregatron]

I would not be surprised if this all came about because one of the writers made an error and thought Khan’s name was Khan Noonien Soong and thought they made a “genius” move by connecting him to the Soong Family.

Even after an intern corrected them and advised that they had the last name incorrect, the reaction in the writer’s room was “…dude, let’s just go with it; the fans will love it.”

I’m sure an intern noted the Memory Alpha trivia about how Roddenberry supposedly put the name Noonien Singh/Soong into the shows to try and get the attention of an old friend he’d lost contact with, and the writers said, “Great! Let’s connect them!”

One clear sign of hackery in a long-running franchise is when new writers come in and say, “Everything you know is wrong!”, “subvert expectations”, and/or answer long-standing questions and connect certain details in cutesy ways.


Good writing is laser-focused on organic storytelling and internal logic. “Does this make logical sense in terms of the universe and characters as established? Is this what Character X would think, say, or do?”.

Once you start piling on cutesy references and meta references and whatnot, it shows just how shallow and bad the writing is. To say nothing of using characters to tell stories instead of telling stories about the characters. Stewart has said that he is Picard and Picard is him, which is patently false. What we have here is an actor and his ego getting into the writing room, and the writers bowing to all of his demands, like his not having to wear a uniform and so on. Putting other considerations ahead of the storytelling and the characters.

When it comes to today’s glut of reboots and adaptations, it’s all about those articles and videos pointing out Easter Eggs and references. Key-jangling references to past glory, instead of blazing new trails. “STAR TREK PICARD connects Data and Khan”, rather than “STAR TREK PICARD tells a thought-provoking and exciting story”.

 

[Lightning]

I would not be surprised if this all came about because one of the writers made an error and thought Khan’s name was Khan Noonien Soong and thought they made a “genius” move by connecting him to the Soong Family.

That may have happened, but if it did,it was during the Augment episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise, you know, the first time they tied the Soong family to Khan?

 

[Captain Dunsel]

That may have happened, but if it did,it was during the Augment episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise, you know, the first time they tied the Soong family to Khan?

Yes, yes, the Augments were preserved embryos from the Eugenics Wars but there was no direct tie of a Soong to the actual creation of Khan.

 

[Picard102]

Nope—reacting to the fact that something so colossally stupid as linking Data’s great-great-great-great-great…grandfather to the creation of Khan (which is overtly implied by him pulling out the folder) was previously predicted in this very thread and then came to be.

That's an assumption on your part. He would have been in his 40's in 1996 when Khan left Earth (Project Khan is the Botany Bay, not his creation), and would have been born around the same time the supermen were created. His failing at producing viable subjects doesn't suggest he's adept at eugenics.

This merely connects him to Arik who was obsessed with the augments likely outlined in Project Khan, in ENT.

 

[Captain Dunsel]

The intended implication by the writers that Soong was somehow involved in the creation of Khan is clear. That’s no assumption on my part. That is knowledge clearly obtained from my eyes and ears.

Please feel free to continue to debate the subject and to delve deeply into Trek lore in the search for false equivalencies to justify what is really sloppy and lazy storytelling for the sake of the Easter Egg hunt that is Star Trek Picard.

The matter is pretty much settled for me.