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2018/08/08 19:05:25
Subject: Sir Patrick Stewart returns to Star Trek as Jean Luc Picard.
If we fail to anticipate the unforeseen or expect the unexpected in a universe of infinite possibilities, we may find ourselves at the mercy of anyone or anything that cannot be programmed, categorized or easily referenced.
- Fox Mulder
2018/08/08 19:47:23
Subject: Sir Patrick Stewart returns to Star Trek as Jean Luc Picard.
According to a Star Trek designer who let it slip that the DISCOverse had to be 25% different for legal reasons (and suddenly deleted the now viral post and shut down his facebook page after getting in trouble for posting it), it might be more like "Make it done!".
Crimson Devil wrote: Or you're just latching on to anything that will reinforce your fears.
Yes, they're just early rumors but they come from a source (check out the trekverse facebook group) that has broken news in the past and they mesh with what we've seen over the past two years of DISCOverse and it explains why Patrick Stuart is laying the groundwork early and clearly for a different Picard literally with the first announcement of his involvement. If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and walks like a duck, it probably is a duck. Things can change (for better or worse) though in the next year or two until it actually premieres.
- There are no scripts written yet, so it could go anywhere.
It could... but likely there probably is a first draft of the series "bible" already from which the writers are supposed to stay true to in those upcoming scripts. I suspect Patrick Stuart knows alot more than he's letting on (and the showrunner likely has a mostly complete picture of what he wants to as well).
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2018/08/08 19:50:19
We Munch for Macragge! FOR THE EMPRUH! Cheesesticks and Humus!
2018/08/08 20:27:25
Subject: Sir Patrick Stewart returns to Star Trek as Jean Luc Picard.
I can't wait for the episode where a scotch-drinking Picard has to order an entire deck full of people sealed and vented into space in order to kill a handful of mutineers.
For me the impact of that reveal was spoiled by the fact that it was so obvious you could see it coming from sometime around the first trailer.
Well, I entertained the notion that he was Joachim. But yeah...he was obviously one of the bunch or Khan himself, and there were no other actors in the cast who made sense to be playing the big bad.
Which is why you just cast an actor with passion, charisma and swagger in the first place instead of outsmarting yourself.
A guy like Pedro Pascal would have KILLED IT in that role, and helped a flawed film.
So, it's official. Jean Luc-Picard is returning to Star Trek for a new series on CBS All Access. And it won't be a recast reboot – Sir Patrick Stewart will be the one making it so.
The project will be headed up by Star Trek: Discovery co-creator/executive producer Alex Kurtzman, who will be joined by Discovery writer Kirsten Beyer.
The show will reportedly take place 20 years after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis and will place Picard in a 'different time and place'.
Post-Romulus Stress Disorder
This would put Picard in 2399, which is after everything we've previously seen on Star Trek. It's post Deep Space 9, after Voyager and even follows the events of JJ Abrams' Star Trek redux.
That means Romulus will be long gone by the time the new Picard series begins, and, if you're a fan of the spin-off comics, you'll know that the destruction of that planet was significantly connected to Picard.
After Picard resigns from Starfleet, he becomes an Ambassador, just like Spock. And, in fact, in the comic series Countdown, a canon prequel to Abrams' 2009 Trek reboot, Picard works with Spock to try to save Romulus. Obviously, he fails – and so he's partially responsible for everything that follows.
Could the weight of Romulus / Vulcan's subsequent destruction weigh heavily on the shoulders of Jean-Luc? That would definitely explain the 'different time and place' – not just physically, but emotionally as well.
A bad case of hives
Of course, if you've read the Star Trek: Destiny trilogy (Gods of Night, Mere Mortals, Lost Souls) by David Mack, you'll know that he has other stuff to feel bad about.
Namely, the Borg invasion of 2381, which saw Picard go properly dark – understandably, considering 40% of Starfleet was amongst the tens of billions of lifeforms who were wiped out by the cyberbastards during their attacks.
Picard, who was once assimilated, went to some unrecognisable extremes during that war. The Borg is a big part of Picard's identity, so it would be weird if the new show left them out of it completely.
Catching up with Jean-Luc 18 years after that event would be extremely interesting, as Picard tries to align who he was the last time we saw him on screen, with who he's become.
This certainly fits with what Stewart's said about the project. "He may not be a Captain anymore. He may be someone who has been changed by his experiences," Stewart said. "We have no scripts as yet. We're just talking storylines. It will be something very different, but it will come to you with the same passion."
There's more canon material covering Picard's post-Nemesis existence that could technically form the basis of a new series, but it's probably a bit too technical / political for a show with the main aim of pushing a streaming service.
That's The Typhon Pact, covering the threat to the Federation by the formation of an alliance between the Holy Order of the Kinshaya, Tzenkethi Coalition, Breen Confederacy, Romulan Star Empire, Gorn Hegemony and Tholian Assembly. As a premise, it doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, but if you're interested in Picard's role, we'd say you should probably pick up the seven-novel series Star Trek: Typhon Pact.
Some more pulp fiction
But there's another major element to the announcement that seems to have been overlooked by a lot of people, which doesn't require you to read a book, just a quote: Patrick Stewart's feelings towards Quentin Tarantino.
"One of my dreams is to work with Tarantino. I admire his work so much, and to be in a Tarantino film would give me so much satisfaction. So, if he is going to direct something to do with Star Trek and there was the possibility of dear old Jean-Luc showing up again and doing that for Mr Tarantino, I would embrace it," Stewart said in 2017.
Did this statement provide the Warp drive that propelled the new Picard show forward?
Is the priority to bring Picard back to telly, so he's on-deck when the Tarantino project is ready to go at Paramount? We can't imagine many directors turning down an open invitation to work with Patrick Stewart, so it must have been discussed by Tarantino and his producers.
There could also be a canon clue in the hiring of Star Trek: Discovery writer Beyer – the Picard show could cross over with Discovery in an intriguing way.
An interesting discovery
In Next Generation season three episode 'Sarek', Picard has to mind-meld with Discovery lead Michael Burnham's adoptive dad Sarek, in order to save his life.
In doing so, Picard gets all of the old Vulcan's memories – which would include a significant amount of information about Burnham.
In Next Generation season four episode 'First Contact', Picard talks about how Starfleet messed up their first meeting with the Klingons – an event Burnham was directly involved with.
Could this connection be used to crossover the two shows? Trek traditionally uses old characters to transition new series – could this be the first time a new character appears in the return of an old one? Established timey-wimey nonsense could see Burnham showing up in Picard's future, after all.
Of course, there's a very real chance that CBS will be keeping things simple and going the other way. Picard's show could operate as a farewell to the character while introducing a new crew.
Discovery is very much a standalone prequel, albeit one that seems to be increasingly leaning on the nostalgia factor, with season two's introduction of Captain Christopher Pike and the suggestion that we'll be meeting a younger Spock.
A Picard series would be the perfect vehicle to bring in a die-hard Trek audience for the first Enterprise-based series since, well, Enterprise (another prequel show).
And, one important thing to note; in 2399, Picard will be 96. If they start shooting it right now, Patrick Stewart will be 78. Unless the rules of television change significantly in the time it takes this thing to get to our iPads, there will be young people on this show, and we'll be very surprised if they're not a new Enterprise crew.
But whatever path the show takes, Jean-Luc Picard is returning to Star Trek – and that makes us feel more passionate than a Vulcan during Pon Farr. Make it so, sure – but make it good.
The character deserves nothing less.
The poor man really has a stake in the country. The rich man hasn't; he can go away to New Guinea in a yacht. The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly; the rich have always objected to being governed at all
We love our superheroes because they refuse to give up on us. We can analyze them out of existence, kill them, ban them, mock them, and still they return, patiently reminding us of who we are and what we wish we could be.
"the play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king,
2018/08/09 14:18:04
Subject: Re:Sir Patrick Stewart returns to Star Trek as Jean Luc Picard.
In Next Generation season four episode 'First Contact', Picard talks about how Starfleet messed up their first meeting with the Klingons – an event Burnham was directly involved with.
I'm guessing the article's author never watched Enterprise where the actual first contact happened and not on DISCO.
We Munch for Macragge! FOR THE EMPRUH! Cheesesticks and Humus!
2018/08/09 15:56:08
Subject: Re:Sir Patrick Stewart returns to Star Trek as Jean Luc Picard.
On the one hand, I think the stuff from Destiny would definitely work on the small screen with some revisions and that's honestly the most exciting 'dark star trek' idea for me (I don't really have nostalgia for the OG series), and it'd be a wasted opportunity to skip over it.
On the other hand, Kristen Beyer's only direct credit for Discovery was Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum; which was Discovery's only really Star Trek like 'go to planet, find wierd stuff' episode - it's very wierd tonally.
I don't know how I feel about the idea of them tapping the novels for material TBH. I really, really, really dislike how they handled the Borg, and the fact the backstory they gave them essentially only existed to allow for a ridiculous Deus Ex Machina to get them back out of the situation their handling of the Borg created.
OTOH, once all that guff is out of the way, I actually quite enjoyed some of the Voyager Relaunch novels when they weren't directly referencing it.
I'd much rather they used the already-established destruction of Romulus as the catalyst for political changes, as the Star Trek Online storyline did.
"Your society's broken, so who should we blame? Should we blame the rich, powerful people who caused it? No, lets blame the people with no power and no money and those immigrants who don't even have the vote. Yea, it must be their fething fault." - Iain M Banks
-----
"The language of modern British politics is meant to sound benign. But words do not mean what they seem to mean. 'Reform' actually means 'cut' or 'end'. 'Flexibility' really means 'exploit'. 'Prudence' really means 'don't invest'. And 'efficient'? That means whatever you want it to mean, usually 'cut'. All really mean 'keep wages low for the masses, taxes low for the rich, profits high for the corporations, and accept the decline in public services and amenities this will cause'." - Robin McAlpine from Common Weal
2018/08/09 18:43:19
Subject: Sir Patrick Stewart returns to Star Trek as Jean Luc Picard.
The Borg have been a disaster since Voyager, maybe even First Contact. The novelverse worked much more smoothly once they were taken out of the setting.
BobtheInquisitor wrote: The Borg have been a disaster since Voyager, maybe even First Contact. The novelverse worked much more smoothly once they were taken out of the setting.
That doesn't mean taking them out of the setting was the best choice, or that the way they did it was a good execution of the concept. TNG and DS9 managed to rehabilitate the Klingons, the Borg were entirely salvageable(STO uses them to fair effect, they're just no longer the Big Bad), and even if they weren't the whole Caeliar/Columbia gakshow was IMO a pretty rubbish way to go about it. They could have explained away Voyager's actions as only seeming significant to them at the time because the Borg Queen made Seven think the hub was a bigger deal that it was, but in reality they're still a threat or whatever. They could have taken the hub thing at face value and kicked that can waaaaaaaay down the road - the Borg only came back so soon because the authors brought them back, they had an opening to leave them stranded and weakened on the other side of the galaxy if they liked. Further, the "logic" behind the Borg's actions in their final outing makes no sense based on what we've seen of them before. They spent centuries patiently trying to assimilate Species 116(Arturis's people from the Voyager Season 4 finale), but a few irritating encounters with humanity and they go full Hitler? Bleugh.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/08/09 21:45:24
"Your society's broken, so who should we blame? Should we blame the rich, powerful people who caused it? No, lets blame the people with no power and no money and those immigrants who don't even have the vote. Yea, it must be their fething fault." - Iain M Banks
-----
"The language of modern British politics is meant to sound benign. But words do not mean what they seem to mean. 'Reform' actually means 'cut' or 'end'. 'Flexibility' really means 'exploit'. 'Prudence' really means 'don't invest'. And 'efficient'? That means whatever you want it to mean, usually 'cut'. All really mean 'keep wages low for the masses, taxes low for the rich, profits high for the corporations, and accept the decline in public services and amenities this will cause'." - Robin McAlpine from Common Weal
2018/08/09 23:04:32
Subject: Sir Patrick Stewart returns to Star Trek as Jean Luc Picard.
I hope this is just a personal journey where he solo goes to recover the kurlan naiskos he casually tossed aside in Generations to get to a stupid family photo album. After the transparent aluminum shattered into chunks of glass.
Oooh, now that I am thinking about it - I would also accept a 23 episode arc that is just Picard and the Children of Tama. Temba, his arms open!
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/08/09 23:11:18
2018/08/10 00:15:51
Subject: Re:Sir Patrick Stewart returns to Star Trek as Jean Luc Picard.
For those who haven't been following the rumors that then turn into news for Star Trek Discovery, here is a video that summarizes alot of the issues over the past two years. If you've got 25 minutes of free time, it's a good watch.
We Munch for Macragge! FOR THE EMPRUH! Cheesesticks and Humus!
2018/08/10 02:46:50
Subject: Sir Patrick Stewart returns to Star Trek as Jean Luc Picard.
Bromsy wrote: I hope this is just a personal journey where he solo goes to recover the kurlan naiskos he casually tossed aside in Generations to get to a stupid family photo album. After the transparent aluminum shattered into chunks of glass.
That wasn't a "family photo album", it was his Shakespeare.
"Through the darkness of future past, the magician longs to see.
One chants out between two worlds: Fire, walk with me." - Twin Peaks
"You listen to me. While I will admit to a certain cynicism, the fact is that I am a naysayer and hatchetman in the fight against violence. I pride myself in taking a punch and I'll gladly take another because I choose to live my life in the company of Gandhi and King. My concerns are global. I reject absolutely revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method... is love. I love you Sheriff Truman." - Twin Peaks
2018/08/10 10:44:14
Subject: Sir Patrick Stewart returns to Star Trek as Jean Luc Picard.
Bromsy wrote: I hope this is just a personal journey where he solo goes to recover the kurlan naiskos he casually tossed aside in Generations to get to a stupid family photo album. After the transparent aluminum shattered into chunks of glass.
That wasn't a "family photo album", it was his Shakespeare.
It was a 12,000+ year old artifact given to him by his former mentor
But some Polaroids....
2018/08/10 15:13:25
Subject: Sir Patrick Stewart returns to Star Trek as Jean Luc Picard.
Bromsy wrote: I hope this is just a personal journey where he solo goes to recover the kurlan naiskos he casually tossed aside in Generations to get to a stupid family photo album. After the transparent aluminum shattered into chunks of glass.
That wasn't a "family photo album", it was his Shakespeare.
It was a 12,000+ year old artifact given to him by his former mentor
But some Polaroids....
Again, it wasn't some polaroids, it was his Shakespeare book.
And he doesn't actually smash the thing either, he just sets it down on an overturned couch: that scene is a long take requiring them to stumble over debris no way they'd let them break a prop intentionally.
My head cannon for that bit is that the one Picard kept on the ship was a replica, anyway.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Hm, actually Memory Alpha says it really was the photo album!
Go figure...
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/08/10 15:15:23
warboss wrote: For those who haven't been following the rumors that then turn into news for Star Trek Discovery, here is a video that summarizes alot of the issues over the past two years. If you've got 25 minutes of free time, it's a good watch.
Seeing that makes me realize it was a good decision for me to not bother watching the show. They seem to have really jacked it up.
2018/08/20 18:09:55
Subject: Sir Patrick Stewart returns to Star Trek as Jean Luc Picard.
Bromsy wrote: I hope this is just a personal journey where he solo goes to recover the kurlan naiskos he casually tossed aside in Generations to get to a stupid family photo album. After the transparent aluminum shattered into chunks of glass.
Oooh, now that I am thinking about it - I would also accept a 23 episode arc that is just Picard and the Children of Tama. Temba, his arms open!
YES!
If we fail to anticipate the unforeseen or expect the unexpected in a universe of infinite possibilities, we may find ourselves at the mercy of anyone or anything that cannot be programmed, categorized or easily referenced.
- Fox Mulder
2018/12/11 13:49:12
Subject: Re:Sir Patrick Stewart returns to Star Trek as Jean Luc Picard.
Star Trek: The Next Generation fans are a hard lot to please. With a franchise spanning 50+ years, that’s not really surprising, but the core value of optimism and striving for a better future often times seems forgotten by those fans.
Take the most recent TV foray into space, Star Trek: Discovery. Not really ‘classic’ Trek, but in some ways holding to the original ideals better than the last two JJ Abrams Kelvin timeline films. DISCO has caused yet another rift in the Starfleet community, one that may start to see some repair come 2019 and the release of Captain Jean Luc Picard’s own series.
DISCO showrunner and Executive Producer for the unnamed Picard series Alex Kurtzman offered some insight to Entertainment Weekly as to what the Sir Patrick Stewart show will be, mostly in terms of being a balance point for TNG and DISCO:
“It’s an extremely different rhythm than Discovery. Discovery is a bullet. Picard is a very contemplative show. It will find a balance between the speed of Discovery and the nature of what Next Gen was, but I believe it will have its own rhythm.
Without revealing too much about it, people have so many questions about Picard and what happened to him, and the idea we get to take time to answer those questions in the wake of the many, many things he’s had to deal with in Next Gen is really exciting. ‘More grounded’ is not the right way to put it, because season 2 of Discovery is also grounded. It will feel more… real-world? If that’s the right way to put it.”
While the Picard series hasn’t entered production yet, Kurtzman did say there are at least 8 episodes completed on the script side of things. We don’t have a set release date yet either, other than sometime in 2019 following the season 2 premiere of Star Trek: Discovery on January 17th on CBS ALL ACCESS.
The poor man really has a stake in the country. The rich man hasn't; he can go away to New Guinea in a yacht. The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly; the rich have always objected to being governed at all
We love our superheroes because they refuse to give up on us. We can analyze them out of existence, kill them, ban them, mock them, and still they return, patiently reminding us of who we are and what we wish we could be.
"the play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king,
2018/12/11 15:26:38
Subject: Sir Patrick Stewart returns to Star Trek as Jean Luc Picard.
I won't believe anything a DISCO showrunner says until I see it with my own eyes. DISCO was supposed to be faithful prequel to the original series; it wasn't (and I'm not talking about the emulating TOS exactly visually, e.g. I didn't expect candy crush/jolly rancher computer inputs).
We Munch for Macragge! FOR THE EMPRUH! Cheesesticks and Humus!
2018/12/11 18:23:09
Subject: Sir Patrick Stewart returns to Star Trek as Jean Luc Picard.
-"Wait a minute.....who is that Frazz is talking to in the gallery? Hmmm something is going on here.....Oh.... it seems there is some dispute over video taping of some sort......Frazz is really upset now..........wait a minute......whats he go there.......is it? Can it be?....Frazz has just unleashed his hidden weiner dog from his mini bag, while quoting shakespeares "Let slip the dogs the war!!" GG
-"Don't mind Frazzled. He's just Dakka's crazy old dude locked in the attic. He's harmless. Mostly."
-TBone the Magnificent 1999-2014, Long Live the King!
2018/12/11 18:33:20
Subject: Sir Patrick Stewart returns to Star Trek as Jean Luc Picard.
Ayup. I mean, this is pretty much what I was expecting - Kurtzman doesn't "get" Trek - but it's sad to see it confirmed.
It seems he also doesn't "get" the point of bringing back beloved stuff to placate the fans - this is like Lucasfilm OK'ing the new season of Clone Wars, only to turn around and announce the new showrunner will be Rian Johnson
"Your society's broken, so who should we blame? Should we blame the rich, powerful people who caused it? No, lets blame the people with no power and no money and those immigrants who don't even have the vote. Yea, it must be their fething fault." - Iain M Banks
-----
"The language of modern British politics is meant to sound benign. But words do not mean what they seem to mean. 'Reform' actually means 'cut' or 'end'. 'Flexibility' really means 'exploit'. 'Prudence' really means 'don't invest'. And 'efficient'? That means whatever you want it to mean, usually 'cut'. All really mean 'keep wages low for the masses, taxes low for the rich, profits high for the corporations, and accept the decline in public services and amenities this will cause'." - Robin McAlpine from Common Weal
2018/12/17 18:13:02
Subject: Sir Patrick Stewart returns to Star Trek as Jean Luc Picard.
Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote: I reckon another visit from Q could be the way to kick it off, but I otherwise agree.
Possibly. The thing about the Q episodes of TNG is that, almost every time, Q was there to teach Picard & Company a lesson. After "All Good Things", what is there for him to teach Picard now?
Perhaps Picard could "teach" Q something about genuine empathy, and cures Picard of the genetic thing that was going to kill him in "All Good Things" ?? Would be ham-fisted I know, but as it did play a central role in some stuff, it does make sense to try and deal with that elephant in the room somehow.
2018/12/17 22:28:15
Subject: Sir Patrick Stewart returns to Star Trek as Jean Luc Picard.
Er... Mortals teaching Q about human values and empathy is a thing that already happened. Multiple times. It started out as Q presenting challenges, but quickly switched gears, especially with the kid, on Voyager with his own kid and the Q civil war, and even that time on TNG when he was kicked out and powerless.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/12/17 22:29:09
Efficiency is the highest virtue.
2018/12/17 23:54:13
Subject: Sir Patrick Stewart returns to Star Trek as Jean Luc Picard.
Voss wrote: Er... Mortals teaching Q about human values and empathy is a thing that already happened. Multiple times. It started out as Q presenting challenges, but quickly switched gears, especially with the kid, on Voyager with his own kid and the Q civil war, and even that time on TNG when he was kicked out and powerless.
Yeah I hope they cover some new ground. It was one thing that started to annoy me with the Next Generation films was the whole heavy reliance on Data becoming more human. Any fan had seen him going through multiple phases in the series (and one could argue that that story line even peaked several times such as his first try of the emotion chip or his relationship with Tasha); so that it happened in one film was ok; two films was getting repetitive and then three films and one was starting to wonder if the writers had forgotten about the rest of the cast.
warboss wrote: The rumor now on some trek sites is that the new series will not be a continuation of Prime trek but rather something more in line with the JJ verse and Disco. If true, that hope truly was fleeting. That might also explain why Patrick Stuart was stressing so early on that it would be a different Picard from the one we know.
This is highly unfortunate. When Ds9/Voyager ended, there was so much potential for progressing the greater universe. But it never happened, and now we're stuck with extremely sub-par, mindless modern drivel.
2018/12/18 18:31:38
Subject: Sir Patrick Stewart returns to Star Trek as Jean Luc Picard.
