Star Trek: Picard - Episode 1 "Remembrance" Recap
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
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Spoilers ahead, so if that matters to you, back away now. 
Join host Wil Wheaton (Star Trek: The Next Generation) as he sits down with Executive Producer Michael Chabon and Director Hanelle Culpepper to discuss the series premiere of Star Trek: Picard. Stream all-new episodes of Star Trek: Picard on Thursdays, exclusively in the U.S. on CBS All Access, then come back here at 10 AM PT / 7 AM PT to watch another new installment of ""The Ready Room"" hosted by Wil Wheaton.
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Learn more about Jean-Luc Picard's falling out with Starfleet—which was sparked by the Romulan crisis on Mars—and how it ultimately impacted his relationship with the Federation.
Star Trek: Picard has officially beamed down with Episode One, "Remembrance". Today Trek Central is breaking down and reviewing the latest episode.
Jean-Luc Picard is back for a new adventure in Star Trek: Picard, once again boldly going where no one has gone before. The CBS All-Access show is filled with callbacks to Star Trek past, including some that might elude even the most dedicated of fans.
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Is anyone watching or planning to watch?
I'm planning to sign up for CBS All-Access tonight. "Discovery" couldn't tempt me. The return of Picard does. I'll read the article later to avoid spoilers.
Signed up last night and watched the first episode. It was great! Have zero interest in Discovery.
It's hard to watch for multiple reasons. However, I will watch even crappy Star Trek stuff, so they have me right where they want me.
I have to say that I really liked Discovery.
There is also this really cool Youtube series on all the various Star Treks and they discuss, what might seem like inconsistencies/ mistakes. Believe it or not, nothing is. You can find this on youtube : Trekspertise
I've only seen the first season so far. I have the first two seasons on DVD because for a long time I refused to pay for CBS All Access (I had to break down for Picard, though).
Several things pissed me off about it when I first started watching it, but I have to admit it grew on me over time. I really do like some of the characters. Tilly cracks me up, and Saru is interesting. I'm also intrigued by that cyborg or android or whatever the heck she is, the bridge officer with the robot-looking face. Still don't like the new (or is it old?) Klingons, though.
Looks like Cpt. Pike, Spock and the original USS Enterprise show up in season 2. I really need to get that watched.
It's season 2 that brings it all together. Btw, the way the Klingons look is explained well here: 6.1.3
Saw the first episode last Fri on the SciFi channel. It was a little slow because it was setting up the rest of the story but still held my interest.
I wonder what the distinctly cube shape of the Romulan reclamation centre portends?
It certainly looks very Borg-like, doesn't it.
I had to wonder if they had salvaged a Borg cube and repurposed it. If Janeway killed the Borg, as implied in Voyager, there may have been some nonfunctional but intact Borg cubes in the Alpha Quadrant.
It's Borg for sure. Why it is in the Alpha quat. is the big question.
If it's Borg, I'm going to assume it was stranded when Janeway infected the collective with a fatal virus in "Endgame". Or maybe something happened sometime between that and "Picard". One of the writers (or producers, maybe) is Kirsten Byer, who wrote some Voyager novels. In one, the Borg come after Janeway and Earth for revenge, so they'd have returned to the Alpha Quadrant then. I'm not sure if those novels are considered canon or not, and I haven't read them, so I only know the basic outlines, not the details.
I had no idea it was on Syfy (grr, still hate that spelling). Just the first episode I assume?
That's my guess. The cybernetic tech on board might have something to do with the Daughters being possible as well. Or is it the twins? I wonder what we're supposed to call them? Anyway, Dr. Jurati made a big deal in the episode about how it was supposed to be impossible to replicate Data's neural machinery. Maybe the Borg ship plays into that? The other twin was on board, after all.
The Borg can't be completely gone, can they? I doubt the producers would want to let such an awesome villain species go forever. We should find out soon enough, though, with Seven being in this show. I can hardly wait to see her.
I would have to agree with you about the Borg. I think they are still around... but maybe confused. They could be the reason that Mars got attacked by the "synths"
Don't know, I'm kinda playing it by ear. I would guess so tho as that's where I caught the Discovery series, I think I heard the channel is rebranding itself so I guess we'll see.
Note I'm referring to the Canadian SciFi channel so it could be completely different with you
I doubt they'd kill off one of the best sci-fi villains we've ever had. I imagine most were killed by Janeway, but some likely were able to adapt. "Your virus is irrelevant."
Ohhhh. Yeah. I thought you were talking about Syfy, because it used to be called the Sci Fi Channel. I didn't even realize Canada had a channel called Sci Fi. Looks like Space changed its name. I remember hearing Space had broadcast rights to Discovery in Canada, so they probably have them for Picard as well. Looks like you do get to see it for free (well, you know what I mean). Lucky you. All of these different streaming services are starting to drive me mad.
Yup not sure when it happened but pretty recently I think
Lol there are some perks to living up here.
Watched and enjoyed it. I think the intro could use some work. If you've seen "The Crown", well, the similarity is obvious, and I'm not sure it works for "Picard".
Patrick Stewart plays his role quite well. I'm not sure he's capable of doing otherwise. His break with Starfleet is believable, as he's already resigned once, during "Insurrection". Isa Briones is excellent as Dahj. So far, I wish the Romulans were more, well, Romulan. But perhaps as the series progresses, they will be. And the memories of Data brought a tear to my eye.
I'm going to have to disagree with the list of Easter eggs. Sometimes, a mention of anything that occurred in an earlier series or movie isn't meant to be an Easter egg; it's just continuity. Rapunzel from Disney's "Tangled" appearing in "Frozen" is an Easter egg. Utopia Planitia shipyard being mentioned in a Trek production is not. Dixon Hill's fedora escaped my notice, though. Nice touch.
I wasn't impressed with the theme music at all. I've only heard it once, though, so maybe I shouldn't judge quite yet.
He's showing his age, though, isn't he? His speech has slowed somewhat. That made me a little sad. It's going to take some getting used to on my part. It was still great to see him playing Jean Luc Picard again, though.
I was really liking that character name. Sounded like Dodge. I though that was pretty cool, but then they had to go and slime her (literally, it seems). I couldn't believe that when I saw it. Talk about a WTF moment. She was a bad ass, too! I wonder if her twin will be as well?
Totally agree. I kind of need the forehead to distinguish them from Vulcans. I can't figure out why they did that. It's not a huge or overly complex prosthetic or anything. I can see making them a little less pronounced if they wanted, but completely gone? I don't get it.
Or the Millennium Falcon hidden in the opening battle scene of 'Star Trek: First Contact'.
But yeah, they probably should have just described them as homages or call backs.
He is, a bit. I guess it was inevitable, and he has aged quite well, but he's aged.
As far as the Romulans, I'd also like for them to act more like Romulans. To me, Romulans were generally a bit arrogant - sure they were superior to humans. The Romulans we see at Chateau Picard are like humans with pointy ears and slanted eyebrows. No species-wide superciliousness. And I don't recall seeing any Romulans with curly hair until now - it has always been black and straight, like Vulcans'. Are perms a thing in Picard's retirement years?
Yeah, you're right. They were completely off character. I can't remember how many Romulan civilians we've seen before, though.
One thing I forgot to say I didn't like about the show was that damn nasty reporter. She reminded me of the toxic news environment we have today, and that doesn't exactly line up with Gene's vision for humanity's future, IMO. What the hell was her problem?
Didn't really like the pesticide being sprayed on Picard's vineyard either. It's probably supposed to be some kind of environmentally harmless sci-fi stuff, but still, spraying chemical poison all over the place seemed out of place to me. They could have come up with something more high tech, something going up and down the rows scanning and zapping bugs with little flashes of light, maybe. They could have made that look pretty cool. Cooler than chemical pesticide, anyway.
I didn't like her, either. But she provides conflict, and conflict propels the plot.
She's the Rita Skeeter of Star Trek.
Lol, why not? It looks like we're going to have a Legolas as well.
I watched it the first night and I loved the storyline. I am not sure what Sandy means about the similarity to "The Crown". I'm not seeing it, so I would like further explanation.
I think that the plot they laid out was good and has a lot of places to go. I would like to know why Picard is living with Romulans, although I am sure it is out of some sort of loyalty to him after the death of their planet. Finding out that data is dead, was quite upsetting, but I think that is the path that they are traveling. How to restore him?
Maybe also now that the Romulans have no homeworld, they will be exposed to their Vulcan brothers and sister.
Can wait for ep 2.
Just the intro. To me, it's very similar to the intro to "The Crown" in which vines grow to form the crown. Maybe because I've been watching both recently, "Picard" using similar imagery in its intro makes it seem unoriginal.
I'm not sure there is a plan to restore Data, much as I'd like to see him again. In a way, his sacrifice of himself to save his friends and crewmates in "Nemesis" fulfilled his lifelong endeavour to be more human. It may be that, like humans, we have to be content to let Data be mortal, and live on through his remaining daughter.
I think they're supposed to be refugees from destroyed Romulus. He apparently led an effort to help Romulan refugees, so I can see how a couple might have ended up just going home with him. Storywise, it's an efficient way of exploring the interaction of humans and refugees from a former enemy. I can't explain why a Romulan might have an Irish accent, though.
Did you see Nemesis?
They're talking about restoring him entirely from some minuscule portion of him. I have seen that idea in comics with regard to the AI villain Brainiac. I'm not sure there is a foundation for that kind of science in Star Trek canon, but I guess they can do whatever they want.
You mean it never bothered you that a guy named Jean Luc living in France has an English accent?
Of course. I still don't want to think of Data is unplugged.
That is what I thought they might be talking about...
I tend to rationalize it that at some point, the UK just takes over France, culturally or militarily. That, or he went to school in England. I think the writers rely on the audience to figure these things out on our own. Or they just said "screw it" and decided to let the actor use his own voice.
Hey, at least they had him speaking French to his dog in this one.
Pretty sure he sang Frere Jacques once in TNG, too.
LMAO! Good one!
I just remembered that any language problem with any character on Star Trek can be resolved with that little piece of future tech they call a universal translator. So, maybe Picard really is speaking French all of the time and we just don't know it.
missed it. hope to catch up
It's only on CBS All Access, so you have to pay for the service. Since I signed up last night, I also watched the first ep of "Discovery". I guess since I'm paying for it, I'll catch up and see what all the fuss (positive and negative) is about.
I will sign up and watch it if you folks think it is worthwhile.
I'm glad I signed up. I'm still a bit concerned about how the Romulans will be portrayed, though. I wish they'd kept the TNG esthetic, instead of making them look like they should be getting ready for the battle of Helm's Deep.
I just watched the first episode. I am in. Hope it turns out as good as it seems.
It has potential
I have the all access already. Haven't watched it yet. Don't know if it interests me.
I use to always watch TNG. Then with all the offshoots and new movies I lost interest. The new movies I didn't really care for. Imo kind of got over saturated and boring for me. Lost any luster.
Patrick Stewart cracks me up though with his cartoon and voice over work.
I agree about the new movies. I enjoyed the first one well enough, but felt something was missing. Didn't like the second, and haven't bothered watching the third. I think J. J. Abrams really doesn't get what Trek is about.
That can be a problem with non canonical offshoots and reboots. I have trouble with Discovery as canon.
I enjoyed Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto's performances, so I gave it a chance. But it lacked the heart of Trek, and I just had to roll my eyes at Kirk going from disgraced cadet who hadn't even graduated to jumping right past ensign, lieutenant (junior and senior grades), lieutenant commander, and commander all the way to captain in one mission. That was ridiculous.
Ed I did, too. But then I watched this and it all got cleared up.
that was interesting, thanks for posting it
So far in Discovery, the Klingons are annoying. They speak like a kindergartener just learning to read.
I like it. It's not perfect or anything, but so far, it's pretty good. Definitely better (based on one episode) than ST Discovery.
I like part two of Discovery much better than part 1. It brought it all together... but then I had to watch this to figure out all the timelines:
I'd like the show a lot better, I think, without Michael. She's the closest thing to a main character and I just hate her. Every other character on the show is more appealing. I actually really enjoy a lot of the other characters, but Michael is terrible.
I could also do without the rotating cameras, lens flare, dutch angles and so on. Those things are made worse by the bizarre lighting on the bridge. Who mounts huge bright lights in the walls facing out horizontally into the eyes of people who need to be working? It's weird.
At first I thought I was going to be hopelessly hung up on what they did to the Klingons, but all that other stuff moved Klingons way down on the list of complaints.
Michael is OK. She is supposed to be hard to understand, I think. This is the only Trek, where the Captain is not the main character and I think that is part of the disconnect for some. I just went along with the ride.
I just . . . if she makes that "about to cry" face one more time, I'm going to throw my remote through the TV screen.
Not to mention she committed mutiny and technically started a war single-handedly. She's arguably the biggest villain in the history of the Federation and she totally got her life back.
How someone like her could manage to make First Officer on a starship is just baffling to me. I get that she's smart, but she is terrible about following orders and has the emotional stability of a bowl of jell-o.
I don't want to be all Negative Nellie, though. I love me some Saru, Tilly, Jett Reno, Georgiou, and Lorca.
And if Anson Mount doesn't get to keep playing Pike somewhere, a crime has been committed.