Star Trek general thread

[Colt Ward]

You know, bloopers and out-takes of TNG would have been pretty interesting.

[ANS Kamas P81]

They're on youtube, and they are indeed hilarious.  Poor Michael Dorn.

[Lorcan Nagle]

You know, bloopers and out-takes of TNG would have been pretty interesting.

Like this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NOM-kLfDR8

[HobbesHurlbut]

It's always fun remembering that for all the serious characters he likes to play, Patrick Stewart is a giant goofball.

His personal life is also interesting. Do you know he grew up with a father who was a veteran and an angry violent drunk?

[Lorcan Nagle]

New Picard spot

https://www.facebook.com/CBSAllAccess/videos/539855039932776/

I try very hard to not get hyped for things, because building up expectations is the best way to ensure disappointment, but I'm getting really excited for this.  The last Short Trek, which is due on the 9th will be a lead-in.

Speaking of Short Treks, I watched the two animated ones.  I though Ephraim and Dot was cute, but very slight.  It basically existed for the audience to coo at the adorable Tardigrade and maintenance droid designs, and be amused by all the continuity references.  Fun, but devoid of substance.  By comparison I kinda bounced off The Girl Who Made The Stars, it was really just an animated fairy story with a Trek framing device - and I'll admit I stopped paying attention as i was watching, though it was the last thing I watched in a marathon of Expanse episodes, The Mandalorian, and both Short Treks.  The animation was pretty good, and I want to give it another shot.

[BirdofPrey]

So Picard is out this week.  I wonder how that's going to be.  I'm a bit disappointed I saw on a couple forums already people saying clearly this is going to suck; Patrick Stewart's political views this, old writers are gone that.  I'm staying optimistic myself.

That last Short trek confused me a bit, the shuttle they showed and the ships being built were the ones we see in Discovery and then when the news comes on they are talking about Picard.  I would have thought they'd have an use assets from the Picard show rather than Discovery to reflect the time period they wanted to set it in.  Really, though I think the first round of Short Treks has been stronger.  Q&A and Ask Not are good, but the rest have kinda been filler.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

I've found that my ability to enjoy a show or movie improves dramatically if I don't read what people are saying about it online beforehand.

[Lorcan Nagle]

that.  I'm staying optimistic myself.

That last Short trek confused me a bit, the shuttle they showed and the ships being built were the ones we see in Discovery and then when the news comes on they are talking about Picard.  I would have thought they'd have an use assets from the Picard show rather than Discovery to reflect the time period they wanted to set it in.  Really, though I think the first round of Short Treks has been stronger.  Q&A and Ask Not are good, but the rest have kinda been filler.

I'm not really bothered by the reuse of DISCO-era ships, it's a Star Trek tradition.  Leaving aside the Excelsiors, Oberths and Mirandas all over the 90s Trek productions, there was a Constitution refit in TNG,after all. There's also a TOS-era Romulan Bird of Prey in one of the Picard trailers so there might be a diegetic reason for old ships being pressed back into service or retained for a century or so.

But Short Treks are clearly done on a tight budget and are going to cut corners where they can in order to maintain the DISCO-level production values - tiny casts, minimal extras, few unique effects shots.  It's a hell of a lot cheaper to populate your effects shots with existing CG assets when you need to produce a couple of elaborate sequences.

Also, a friend of mine has seen the first three episodes, but is under embargo so he can't even say if he liked them.

[BirdofPrey]

I've found that my ability to enjoy a show or movie improves dramatically if I don't read what people are saying about it online beforehand.

Yeah, I tend to ignore stuff like that myself, I just ran across it randomly.  I just think it's a shame that a lot of modern fandom seems devoted to talking about how shows they haven't watched are bad and bringing up the no true scottsman fallacy.

I'm not really bothered by the reuse of DISCO-era ships, it's a Star Trek tradition.  Leaving aside the Excelsiors, Oberths and Mirandas all over the 90s Trek productions, there was a Constitution refit in TNG,after all. There's also a TOS-era Romulan Bird of Prey in one of the Picard trailers so there might be a diegetic reason for old ships being pressed back into service or retained for a century or so.

But Short Treks are clearly done on a tight budget and are going to cut corners where they can in order to maintain the DISCO-level production values - tiny casts, minimal extras, few unique effects shots.  It's a hell of a lot cheaper to populate your effects shots with existing CG assets when you need to produce a couple of elaborate sequences.

Also, a friend of mine has seen the first three episodes, but is under embargo so he can't even say if he liked them.

Yeah, I get that, just added some confusion.  I do know reuse is a thing that happens all of the time, Star Trek is ESPECIALLY good at that, I just wonder why there aren't any stock assets from Picard to use.

Speaking of, though, it would have been cool to see a couple more Short treks tied to Picard.  The first season of Short treks did a great job setting up Disco season 2, and even had some plot relevance.  Something like a vignette of the daily life of a former captain would have made a nice additional tie in with the new Series.

[Lorcan Nagle]

Yeah, I tend to ignore stuff like that myself, I just ran across it randomly.  I just think it's a shame that a lot of modern fandom seems devoted to talking about how shows they haven't watched are bad and bringing up the no true scottsman fallacy.Yeah, I get that, just added some confusion.  I do know reuse is a thing that happens all of the time, Star Trek is ESPECIALLY good at that, I just wonder why there aren't any stock assets from Picard to use.

Speaking of, though, it would have been cool to see a couple more Short treks tied to Picard.  The first season of Short treks did a great job setting up Disco season 2, and even had some plot relevance.  Something like a vignette of the daily life of a former captain would have made a nice additional tie in with the new Series.

I just rewatched the international Picard trailer, and there are clips of the Synth attack as seen in Children of Mars in there.  Which either means the shots are used in both productions, or the Children of Mars shots were further along than any of the Picard effects sequences aside from the Borg Cube and Bird of Prey sequences and they wanted to pad the trailer with more starship action. but it could be that the reason there are no Picard effect assets to put in there is because those Magee-class ships are in Picard too.

[I am Belch II]

I always looked at the Short Treks done on a limited budget. Didn't have the money to make new ships for such a small show.

It could also be that they needed every ship they can find and brought those ships out of mothball to help Romulus? Like all the Mirandas and Excelsiors in the Dominion War.

It could also be more of breaking canon and the rewriting of Star Trek History??

[Lorcan Nagle]

It could also be more of breaking canon and the rewriting of Star Trek History??

The ships in question in Children of Mars are Magee class, which first showed up in Discovery (they're called Shran class in STO), so it's not a case of them taking something that existed before the new era of shows and putting it somewhere it clearly didn't belong.  It's an aesthetic or practical decision made by the producers.

[Wrangler]

Star Trek canon been mess for years.  Worse now than Star Wars.  I wish i could watch Picard, but alas paywall.

[I am Belch II]

Star Trek canon been mess for years.  Worse now than Star Wars.  I wish i could watch Picard, but alas paywall.

Disco really blew that out of the water. But everytime you do a prequel you have that problem. Maybe with the time jump 900 years in the future it will get around that a lot.

[Death Monkey]

It could also be more of breaking canon and the rewriting of Star Trek History??

The reason for the reuse of ST:Discovery designs and the lack of classics designs seems to be the licensing that Secret Hideout has. They have to pay licensing rights for for everything they use al a carte. So it’s cheaper for them just to reuse assets they created, and own, than to license STNG/DS9 background ships.

[Lorcan Nagle]

Well, episode 1 of Picard offers an explanation for why 23rd century ships were are Utopia Planitia

They were being refit to serve as part of a fleet to evacuate Romulus before the Hobus Supernova destroyed it.
 The fleet was destroyed in the rogue Synth attack leading to the events of the show.

Episode 1 was pretty good.  Very excited for what's to come.

[BirdofPrey]

I guess that makes sense.

I enjoyed this first episode, but I'm surprised how short it was.  Premiers usually tend to be longer, and Star Trek usually begins on a 2-parter.
Where the shit did that cube come from?  When and how did the Romulans get a hold of one of those?  Is Picard taking some influence from Star Trek Online?  Speaking of which, there was a shot of some drones in the preview for future episodes.

[Tymers Realm]

Is Picard taking some influence from Star Trek Online?

Unspoilered for clarity...

There's been mention of the Picard writers being in touch with the STO Devs within the STO community. There's also the appearance of the Odyssey class showing up in the tie-in comics to the Picard series.

So I'd say the answer is yes.

[Luciora]

I only liked STO for the ship combat.  The land combat really needed to be redone and overhauled.  Also makes a good source for CGI ship models as they have multiple variants already in place when you customize your ship.

[Wrangler]

That's cool STO content is contributing to the show!

[dgorsman]

Not bad for a first episode.  I hope they don't depend too heavily on STO, otherwise it will be like the last set of SW movies and books/comics that are required reading.  Could use a little more information on the rogue synth attack.  Good fight choreography.  Acting fell very flat at the end, between describing something as beautiful and the end conversation it felt like simply reading lines.

[Lorcan Nagle]

One detail that was really cool was that Zhaban has head ridges of the TNG design Romulans, while Laris looks more like a TOS-era one. For all the hue and cry over Klingon redesigns, nobody ever seems to mention the changes to the Romulans for TNG. I've heard that later in the show there's going to be shots of Movie/TNG and DISCO-type Klingons side-by-side too.

And Dahl's boyfriend was Xahean, the same species as Po from DISCO and Short Treks

[I am Belch II]

What I dont understand that the attack on Mars and the destruction of the shipyards and they are like thats it......don't save Romulus. There are many many other shipyards in the Federation maybe not as large and as equipped as the Utopia yards, so just give up saving Romulus?? That was weird to me.

Hopefully some of that will be cleared up.

[hoosierhick]

I guess that makes sense.

I enjoyed this first episode, but I'm surprised how short it was.  Premiers usually tend to be longer, and Star Trek usually begins on a 2-parter.

The premier of TNG originally ran as a 2 hour episode. I remember staying up with my dad after midnight on a school night to watch it.  I think DS9 and Voyager were the same.  I don't remember if Enterprise was.

From what I've heard it sounds like they're also setting up the events that happened prior (or after?) to the JJ verse movies.

[Lorcan Nagle]

From what I've heard it sounds like they're also setting up the events that happened prior (or after?) to the JJ verse movies.

Picard takes place roughly 10 years after the supernova that destroyed Romulus.

[Lorcan Nagle]

What I dont understand that the attack on Mars and the destruction of the shipyards and they are like thats it......don't save Romulus. There are many many other shipyards in the Federation maybe not as large and as equipped as the Utopia yards, so just give up saving Romulus?? That was weird to me.

Hopefully some of that will be cleared up.

The implication is that the decision to not proceed with the rescue was political rather than practical - Picard says he convinced the Federation to help.  Given the reporter seemed hostile to the idea of helping Romulans in general on account of their belligerent history and how senior officers and politicians have been portrayed in Star Trek, it's entirely plausible that people used the attack on Mars as an excuse to not help and/or to stick it to the Romulans.

[roosterboy]

In case anyone’s curious, the Star Trek: Picard - Countdown miniseries from IDW delves into Picard’s actions during the evac and introduces characters we’ll be seeing in the TV series, including Zhaban, Laris and Raffi Musiker

[Øystein]

Awesomejuice show - continues the amazing new Trek we've been seeing now (Discovery and now this).

Can't wait for the other shows they are developing!

[ActionButler]

So, I was a little confused throughout, especially when they were talking about the supernova, but it’s been a loooong time since I watched Insurrection. Other than that, it was an amazing return for Picard and I can’t wait for the next episode. Really enjoyed it, even though I still would have been perfectly happy with just watching Picard run his vineyard.

[roosterboy]

The supernova was explained in Star Trek (2009), the first of the rebooted "Kelvin Timeline" films. It's the inciting event of that film that caused Nero to travel back in time and spawn a new timeline. This series takes place in the Prime Timeline some two decades or so later.