Spoilers will be set on stun.
This is one of those series that already has its audiences waiting for it. Truth be told, you don’t need to read this to watch the show. If you are curious, you will watch it. If you are not, it’s probably not your cup of tea. I’m not sure if I can say you can watch it without knowing who Picard is, because it’s really hard to imagine. Patrick Stewart once again plays Jean-Luc and he’s still very much in command.
Picard also known as Star Trek: Picard is a web series created for CBS Access and distributed worldwide by Amazon Studios. In its first season, Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) is a former Admiral, he has renounced Starfleet after an incident that has never been publicly disclosed. He’s retired to his private vineyard. The visit of mysterious woman named Dahj (Isa Briones) will be the catalyst of a new mission to find her sister and unravel a conspiracy spanning several years and taking Picard into danger.
The tone initially is grave and sombering, as Admiral Picard finds he’s got more enemies than admirers. He will eventually have to assemble a crew. This is where the dark mood lifts a little and the adventure seems to filter in. I can’t say that I wasn’t looking forward to it. Yes, it’s a little graver and with considerably more swearing but this is still the same Star Trek universe we left two decades ago.
Joining Picard are Dr. Agnes Jurati (Alison Pill) from the Advanced Synthetic Research in Okinawa, Raffaella Musiker (Michelle Hurd) a former intelligence officer, Cristobal Rios (Santiago Cabrera) owner and pilot of La Sirena and Elnor (Evan Evagora) a Romulan refugee trained as an assassin. Working against them is Narek (Harry Treadway) and his sister Narissa (Peyton List). There’s more on either side, of course, but some of the fun is when a familiar face appears around the corner.
The pacing is a bit of a mixed bag. Sometimes the show excels more at its quiet moments and action is a distraction, which is the case of the first episodes. Other times, it seems we’re going into the adventure feel of The Next Generation and we’re supposed to strap in. There’s a few nostalgic moments that I won’t give away. They’re expected, they’re sometimes sweet and sometimes cheesy, but you’d be missing them if they didn’t happen.
Strongly recommended for fans of Star Trek, both casual and hardcore as obviously is another chapter of the franchise. The tone seems conflicted, as if the show wants to go for a more mature look but at the same time capture the classic sense of fun and adventure of the original show and its characters. It does have its shining moments when it commits to one. It’s worth the ride.
That will do for now.
Never Think Impossible 