Patrick Stewart is back as Captain Picard 3 3

[Dr. Balls]

On 4/15/2023 at 5:51 PM, Beige said:

Enterprise - Terrible acting, poor scripts and lack of suspense had this struggling from The Get-Go.  Scott Bakula was a terrible choice as Captain, whilst it was hard to believe Dominic Keating had ever acted before. It was frequently boring - which is the worst thing you can say about a sci-fi show set in space in a world-class franchise. Special mention for 'Regeneration' -and that was only due to The Borg, and 'A Night In Sickbay' due to Linda Park and Jolene Blalock spending most of it in their undies. Yup, the show was that bad.

Best Episode - Yup - Picard - 'Vox'.

Best Movie - 'First Contact'

 

Please add your own choices guys!

 

It's hard to defend Enterprise - I really liked the show, but I'd say it was because I could somehow overlook the extremely accurate problems you point out. Bakula, horrible captain. Dominic Keating, not very good. Jolene Blalock (whom I always referred to as a budget Angelina Jolie) was actually my favorite actor on the show despite trying to plug her into annoyingly forced sexual situations through all 4 seasons (her and Trip? Please), with Phlox being my favorite character (I like the wise character with unique insights). Season 3 with the Xindi was the saving grace for me on the show, I loved the entire arc and the slow descent into desperation and exhaustion of the crew's characters with Episode 5 'Impulse' being one of my favorite shows in the whole franchise. Between T'Pol losing her shart, zombie Vulcans and the trippy/dark/gritty way it was filmed - I loved it. I wish more Enterprise shows had this much emotion, fear and panic plugged into them - especially since they were truly "going where no one had gone before". I imagine every encounter would have been intensely frightening and stressful - would have like to see more of that.

Man, favorite TNG episode? I have one for sure, but there are too many runner-ups for me to name, so I'll drop a few into categories:

Most emotional: The Offspring, where Data creates Lal. When the Admiral comes out to tell everyone what happened? Absolutely heartbreaking.

Most Enlightening: Measure of a Man. As early as the episode was in the show, it's a testament to where the characters were going and really great performances.

Most Twisted: Frame of Mind - where Riker keeps shifting between being on the Enterprise and in an alien insane asylum - and I think this may have been Jonathan Frakes first episode he directs.

Most Inspiring: Rightful Heir - where Kahless returns as Worf tries to reconcile his beliefs, with the Kahless clone giving him some of the greatest advice I'd ever hear regarding religion: "Kahless left us - all of us - a powerful legacy, a way of thinking and acting that makes us Klingon. If his words hold wisdom and his philosophy is honorable, what does it matter if he returns? What is important is that we follow his teachings. Perhaps the words are more important than the man. "

Most Action-packed: The Chase - every time I watch this episode, I can't believe it's only 42 minutes long. There is so much packed into this episode. And it has some great Klingon comedic timing. Picard and Professor Galen only get a few minutes of screentime, but MAN, do they sell the connection. Great acting and action.

Favorite Episode: Tapestry. I love every single Q episode, I love the actor, I love the character, I love the dialogue - but this one in particular, because we see Q show his admiration for Picard in his own weird way by having him learn an important life lesson. For me, the story itself is what I love, and that it might seem like an obvious plot device (going back in time to change the decisions you've made) - it really speaks to me as someone who lived a little like Picard in a sense in my youth: cocky, dumb, idiotic risk-taking tendencies, etc - with plenty of behaviors and choices to think back on with regret and wishing I'd done things different. But seeing Picard slowly realize that when he re-wrote his past and he ended up as a blue-shirt, lower-decks logistic clerk (or whatever he was) and Q making him live that life until he breaks down to Q:

Picard: I can't live out my days as that person. That man is bereft of passion... and imagination! That is not who I am!

Q : Au contraire. He's the person you wanted to be, one who was less arrogant and undisciplined in his youth, one who was less like me. ... He drifted through much of his career, with no plan or agenda, going from one assignment to the next, never seizing the opportunities that presented themselves... He learned to play it safe... and he never, ever, got noticed by anyone.

Picard: Give me a chance to put things back the way they were before.

Q : Before, you died in sickbay. Is that what you want?

Picard : I would rather die as the man I was than live the life I just saw.

A powerful episode for anyone who forgets that those ill-advised life choices make you who you are, and if you're lucky enough to come out of them being a better person in the long run or you lose sight of your accomplishments - you realize that there should be no regrets.

Plus, it gave us the greatest Picard/Q burn of all time when Q tells Picard he's God and Jean Luc is in the afterlife:

No... I am not dead. Because I refuse to believe that the afterlife is run by you. The universe is not so badly designed.

Edited April 16, 2023 by Dr. Balls

[Drummy]

Great picks here!  Two epidodes I loved that often get overlooked are "Booby Trap" (with apologies to LeVar Burton, who hated the stereotype that an engineer can't be comfortable around women) and "The Defector", a cool Romulan-based episode which kept you guessing throughout.

Dan

[MattTheDuck]

"The Inner Light"

"Darmok"

"Cause and Effect"

[Mystafo]

Here are a couple of my all time TNG faves:

Q Who?

The Survivors

The Wounded

Remember Me

The First Duty

Data's Day

Chain of Command 1 & 2

All Good Things will always be the supreme ending...what this Picard season wishes it could recapture.

[Mystafo]

I actually like ENT.  Nobody can tell me otherwise.  I think they nailed the pre-TOS, post-NASA-esqe look to the tech.  And it was fun to see origins of things like the PD, transporters, UT, etc.  I found Archer & company's naivete' as to the way things work out there believable...the Vulcan's prudence and experience largely ignored by the impulsive humans.  And Tripp is my boy.

 

AND Phlox is the ish as well.

Edited April 16, 2023 by Mystafo

[Dr. Balls]

On 4/16/2023 at 2:50 PM, MattTheDuck said:

"The Inner Light"

"Darmok"

"Cause and Effect"

Cause and Effect definitely has my vote for favorite time anomaly episode, and that scene where Picard is telling Captain Dathon the story about Gilgamesh and Enkidu by the fire is incredibly captivating.

[Dr. Balls]

On 4/16/2023 at 3:53 PM, Mystafo said:

Here are a couple of my all time TNG faves:

Q Who?

The Survivors

The Wounded

Remember Me

The First Duty

Data's Day

Chain of Command 1 & 2

All Good Things will always be the supreme ending...what this Picard season wishes it could recapture.

I loved the war veteran overtones to The Wounded - I wished they'd have fleshed out more of O'Brien's backstory with regards to this, the one episode left me wanting more characterization. And yeah, All Good Things... is probably my favorite series finales of any show. I know people take issue with certain things, but I felt that it was very close to being perfect. I always consider myself lucky to actually have watched this episode the week it came out and watched it in real time with my friends - which is probably part of the nostalgia I feel towards it.

[Lazyboy]

On 4/16/2023 at 11:44 AM, Dr. Balls said:

On 4/15/2023 at 11:38 PM, Hulksdaddy1 said:

Full on fan service...and I LOVE it!

Quick question: can someone explain to me the Borg from S2 and the Borg in S3? I'm confused.

Going strictly from memory here:

...

I think he meant how they changed the nature of the Borg in S2 of Picard, with Jurati becoming the Borg Queen, versus how they are seemingly back to normal in S3 of Picard.

[Bosco685]

Digital billboard from Paramount

 

[Dr. Balls]

On 4/16/2023 at 11:28 PM, Lazyboy said:

I think he meant how they changed the nature of the Borg in S2 of Picard, with Jurati becoming the Borg Queen, versus how they are seemingly back to normal in S3 of Picard.

Oh  well, I guess I got my typing exercises yesterday. That is a more normal question regarding the current show. 

[Beige]

Well, it's nearly here.

The last time we will ever see the TNG cast in Star Trek.

Episode 10 is "The Last Generation"

 

At the end, I hope I have fond memories, and the crew roster for the TNG reboot coming soon.

 

Anyone know what the new series will be called?

 

[Dr. Balls]

On 4/19/2023 at 3:24 AM, Beige said:

At the end, I hope I have fond memories, and the crew roster for the TNG reboot coming soon.

For me, I have no problems with a TNG reboot - I worry that the spirit of that show gets lost in the politically-charged social environment we now have. One of my favorite parts of TNG was their ability to show both sides of the argument on those types of episodes. They were a little unique in that fashion, and maybe it was unheard of to be so slanted in opinions back in the late 80's/early 90's so it worked.

Battlestar took that a bit further (I'm guessing with Ronald Moore's style) where the omni-present military faced heavier and heavier resistance as the show went on - which worked really well. It felt as if they had a stronger message they wanted to send, but the flipside of the message was equally as strong. I don't feel that is how things are written anymore. Even Picard season 2 was very heavy-handed in that regard, with almost no discussion to the other side of the "facism" they faced.

I'm not rote in much of TOS, but TNG seemed to really embody what the Star Trek universe was to be like, and it gave us a consistent view of the philosophies, behaviors, conduct and expectations of the citizens in and out of the Federation. I really hope that if they reboot the show, they capture that time in the Federation that made the 24th century special.

[BuscemasAvengers]

On 4/19/2023 at 5:24 AM, Beige said:

Well, it's nearly here.

The last time we will ever see the TNG cast in Star Trek.

Episode 10 is "The Last Generation"

[Bosco685]

[Bosco685]

NCC-1701-G

[Beige]

On 4/20/2023 at 7:23 PM, Bosco685 said:

NCC-1701-G

Yup - we saw it last week.

Voyager + Enterprise cross.

 

I hope from that poster above that Shaw somehow is saved...........

[jimjum12]

On 4/20/2023 at 4:40 PM, Beige said:

Shaw

... and to think I started out hating him. GOD BLESS ...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

 

[ExNihilo]

On 4/20/2023 at 11:27 PM, jimjum12 said:

... and to think I started out hating him. GOD BLESS ...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

 

Shaw's death is probably the "worst" thing to have happened this season.  I imagine the writers didn't realize the fans would gravitate towards him so much.  And I guess they needed a death to make it feel like there were actual stakes.

Spoiler

The second "worst" thing?  The absence of Janeway.

 

Edited April 21, 2023 by ExNihilo

[ExNihilo]

Spoiler

When TNG ended, I remember it was the first show I was sad to see end. And now with Picard ending, I find myself in the same position, seeing this cast, this crew, sign off for the last time. What a send off. Maybe some people are upset that everyone emerged alive, but I just don't think I would have been prepared to lose anyone. And I would not have been happy to lose the Enterprise-D again. (God almighty, I love that ship). I know there's a lot of fan service, but it's just done so well. The character writing (with exception to a few moments) carries over so perfectly from TNG. Worf's bluntness. Data's dry humor. Riker's playfulness. I just marvel at seeing something clearly written by a fan of the series and these characters. That ending around the poker table...I think we knew it had to be coming. But I also think many of us would have been disappointed if their last shot was anything other than that.  I like to think that when Picard pulled the ace of spades and the crew yelled "Yes", that that was the same reaction from most viewers.  I know I certainly felt that way.

Last but not least, I'd like to just say that orchestral score of the TNG theme...it brings back memories from my childhood. It's just such an uplifting theme. And to be honest, the movie theme that gets interspersed in some scenes is wonderful as well. This entire season was a perfect gift for longtime fans.

 

Edited April 21, 2023 by ExNihilo

[ExNihilo]

On 4/19/2023 at 9:38 AM, Dr. Balls said:

I'm not rote in much of TOS, but TNG seemed to really embody what the Star Trek universe was to be like, and it gave us a consistent view of the philosophies, behaviors, conduct and expectations of the citizens in and out of the Federation. I really hope that if they reboot the show, they capture that time in the Federation that made the 24th century special.

My concern is that shows like TNG just don't work in todays world where viewers have short attention spans and prefer action and conflict over science and one off episodes.  TNG never carried over many storylines.  Sure, some elements like Locutus and Q and Worf's background would re-emerge from time to time.  But for the most part, each episode was fully contained.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVED TNG.  Some of the best Star Trek episodes are one offs.  If you go back to TOS you have City on the Edge of Forever, and the Trouble with Tribbles.  If you look at TNG, you've got Darmok, Yesterdays Enterprise, Cause and Effect, etc.  But I see fans these days complain about how slow episodes of Andor are.  Or how Bad Batch has "filler episodes".  It's a shame because all those "filler episodes" is where characters are developed.  And that's how we fall in love with these characters, and how we wind up heartbroken when bad things happen to them.  So I worry that any TNG reboot might lose the essence of what the original was.