The third season of Star Trek: Picard is finally here, and it launched on the Paramount+ streaming service with all engines to full and engaging at maximum speed. Its been almost 21 years since the last gathering of the Star Trek: The Next Generation cast on the film Star Trek: Nemesis, and the premiere of Picard provides a substantial amount of satisfaction and nostalgia to please longtime Trek fans. With that said, don’t expect the premiere to fall subject to the much confusing term of “fan service,” because Terry Matalas, 3rd season showrunner, reintroduces what has been familiar to fans of the TNG television series while also making this premiere a very friendly watch to those who may be new to Star Trek. Instead, this season looks to be much like opening up a time capsule full of keepsake memories of good times past while looking forward to what’s to come. Read on for our Star Trek: Picard season 3 review, and please be warned that there are SPOILERS AHEAD!
The Next Generation for This Generation
The premiere episode of this third season of Picard, aptly titled “The Next Generation”, hits the ground running from all different angles when looking at all the visuals, taking in the writing, the use and composition of the episode’s score (thanks to composer Christopher Barton), and how the episode utilizes all of its characters to create immediate appeal to its story. The synopsis of the episode even calls attention to an event that will be central to the story and inevitably reunite the TNG cast for what may be their last mission and proper sendoff:
After receiving a cryptic, urgent distress call from Dr. Beverly Crusher, Admiral Jean-Luc Picard enlists help from generations old and new to embark on one final adventure: a daring mission that will change Starfleet, and his old crew forever.
Noting that Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) appears in first episode, it will be interesting to see how she embraces this new direction for the character and what the effects of reuniting with Picard may have on the rest of this season. After all, they have a long-winded, somewhat complicated (and romantic at times) relationship. This season also looks to embrace the ongoing relationship and dynamic between two of its powerhouse characters in Captain William Riker (albeit retired) and Admiral Jean-Luc Picard, played by Jonathan Frakes and Sir Patrick Stewart, respectively. These two have grown to be such a force on screen that seeing them interact again and engaging in bits of verbal jabs and jokes at each other feel so natural.
After being revealed in the first trailer for this third season, it was fulfilling to see Jeri Ryan’s character Seven and her arc from Star Trek: Voyager to don the rank of Commander and First Officer aboard the Titan. This time around, she carries her actual name, Annika Hansen, pre-assimilation by The Borg, and even got to sit in the Captain’s chair, a callback and tease at the end of Picard season 2. Seven’s fast track to a position in Starfleet might raise some eyebrows, yet it is well deserved for her character, and you can see that Jeri has definitely embraced her role as Seven even to the point of appearing nervous as she was directed to take command of the crew and lead them out of spacedock aboard the Titan.
On Twitter, Terry Matalas introduced some fresh and new faces to the Trek Universe as the new faces that will be seen aboard the U.S.S. Titan:
THREAD! Meet THE BRIDGE CREW of the USS TITAN!
Starting with: Ensign Sidney LaForge – Helm. Unlike her sister, Alandra, she didn't want to build ships, she wanted to fly them. pic.twitter.com/sqUxb6P03b— Terry Matalas (@TerryMatalas) February 4, 2023
The full thread can be read through the replies by Terry Matalas, but of interest is the inclusion of Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut, who, as seen above, plays Ensign Sidney LaForge. If the last name doesn’t ring a bell, Chestnut plays one of the daughters to famed Enterprise engineer, Geordi LaForge and was briefly mentioned as one of the daughters of Geordi from the final episode “All Good Things” of the TNG series set in a future timeline. While this episode did not feature the sister and other daughter of Geordi, it has already been confirmed that Mica Burton, LeVar Burton’s daughter in real life, will be playing Ensign Alandra LaForge.
On the topic of children, Ed Speelers makes his Star Trek debut by playing Jack Crusher. If there are any eyebrows being raised as to his character’s last name, it was revealed that this is Dr. Crusher’s son. Jack Crusher also happens to be the name of Dr. Crusher’s previous husband. He died later in an accident while serving under Picard on his former ship, the U.S.S. Stargazer. Dr. Crusher then had a son named Wesley (played by longtime Star Trek fan and guest cast member Wil Wheaton) who was the son of Beverly and Jack. Today’s Jack Crusher played by Speelers is now the second child of Beverly. It will be interesting to see how his inclusion and this twist further add to how Picard’s relationship with Beverly might have an effect on Picard, and may provide further motivation towards the crucial decisions he makes.
No stranger to Matalas (from their work on 12 Monkeys) and a self-confessed fan of Star Trek himself, Todd Stashwick plays Captain Liam Shaw. As mentioned earlier, he is the Captain of the U.S.S. Titan, and adds to the great character dynamic on the show. It’s almost a common trope to have Star Trek bring those characters that have that notorious flair of intrigue and hate-to-love and love-to-hate vibe, but Stashwick does such a great job in carrying that torch as Shaw, and it was nice to see some of that presence when he expressed his dismay towards the history of Picard and Riker and denied them their request for their mission.
Michelle Hurd’s character Raffi Musiker’s story happens parallel to Picard’s, a story that gets more mysterious and delves more into her background as a Starfleet Intelligence Officer to gain insight on any critical situation that could have any disastrous effect on the fleet. She is being guided by a handler who only contacts her by secret messages, and we never get to see who that person is, though the tone of the messages might giveaway as to who that may be. Regardless, Michelle’s acting deserves high praise, and seeing her being able to flex some of that range in Star Trek from a uniformed officer to working in the shadows of intelligence while battling some of her own personal issues creates depth and cultivate.
Praise for the U.S.S. Titan-A
Concept art for the USS TITAN in Spacedock. #StarTrekPicard pic.twitter.com/xW5po4ep5w
— Terry Matalas (@TerryMatalas) February 13, 2023
Scroll through the Twitter feed of showrunner Terry Matalas, and you might run into multiple posts showing off the U.S.S. Titan-A, and you’ll see why the ships of Star Trek have played such a vital role in the Trek fandom as much as the actors do. The visual effects teams did an incredible job of introducing the Titan-A to fans, and it’s no wonder that Riker conveys an obvious bit of glee in the scene where he and Picard are transported his former ship. Yes, the U.S.S. Titan was formerly led by Riker and introduced in the animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks. In Picard, the designation has now become the Titan-A due to its refit and is considered a Neo-Constitution class ship led by Captain Liam Shaw. This new look is comparable to the original U.S.S. Enterprise from the TV series and the first two films featuring the original cast members with Kirk and Spock when the designation was changed from Enterprise to Enterprise-A. Backed by the score of this season’s composer Stephen Barton, the U.S.S. Titan-A’s entrance was nothing but grand and paid proper homage to its entire sequence of Seven’s leading the ship out of spacedock to the visuals of the ship leaving out the doors of the spacedock station. If there aren’t any plans to feature an artbook of this season of Picard after its completion, there should be, and it would be great to see all the details and people involved in the design of the ship.
It’s All in the Details
There is no doubt that careful attention was paid to all the details involved in making this season of Star Trek: Picard appeal to fans of the The Next Generation cast and Star Trek fans as a whole. Much of the sights, sounds and music are there to appeal to generations of Trek fans who have embraced this fandom. Fans who stick around to watch the credits will also be in for a treat because it includes images, text, and teases what may come in future episodes. Overall, it appears that this final season was given the white glove treatment, and despite some tweaks to characters or continuing previous lingering storylines, making those adjustments should please fans while possibly creating further stories for future Trek generations.
The episode was directed by Doug Aarniokoski and written by Terry Matalas.
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