Being a major Star Trek fan, I’ve watched the first three episodes of Picard as they’ve come out. I was pretty excited when I learned they were actually doing this show (though I’d be 10x more excited if they’d do a show about Garak), so I really, really want to like it. But it’s just ok. And sometimes kind of not good. Spoiler-free:
–The villains are not complex. At no point (so far) do you feel the depth of character that you feel in villains in numerous other shows of the last ten years. The villains are just evil and dangerous, and we don’t know why. Presumably, the “why” will be a big “reveal” at some point, but it’s a lame construct put in at the expense of making those characters appear motivated by anything other than…dumb hatred?
–The dialogue, as with most Trek, is often awful. I don’t know why this is so hard for Trek. Even the most recent Star Wars movies have done dialogue better than Trek. Most of this is scripting, and some of this is acting. Though some of the acting is better than standard Trek (notably Stewart, of course, and his two caretakers at his vineyard), most of it is completely on par with the level of acting we’ve seen since TOS, sadly.
–Speaking of dialogue, there is occasional use of swear words (gasp). But this feels…weird. I mean, for one thing, who would feel comfortable swearing in front of Picard? Apparently plenty of people. Not me. And every time it happens, regardless of the context, it takes me out of it. It’s like the character has held up a sign that says, “New Edgier Trek Happening.”
–Inherent to the plot are: politics, history, sex, racism, mysticism and the unexplained, betrayals, mystery, and British accents. The same was true for, as one example, Game of Thrones. Yet even with those ingredients, Picard doesn’t get close to the feeling one had when watching even the later seasons of GoT. There is no sense of spectacle, grand drama, or gripping tension. Granted, we’re only 3 episodes in, but that stuff was evident in GoT within the first episode.
–Pacing-wise, Picard is sloooow-moving. And they can get away with it because, with every other Trek show, there was a lot of doubt as to whether it would get renewed after its first season. But there’s no question this will go on for as many seasons as Patrick Stewart is up for doing it.
–That being said, Picard is all long-arc. There is nothing episode-specific about the show. It’s telling one long story, which is right in my personal wheel-house—I love long-arc and will stop watching shows if they don’t have one. Yet the pacing here feels so glacial; from a plot pov, I want them to get to a moment we all know is coming but I fear they’re saving for the last ep of the season, which would be infuriating.
If this show had been made 10-15 years ago, I’d be a lot more forgiving, but TV has evolved beyond this. Instead of moving Trek forward at the same rate as TV in the 21st century, they’re edging it slightly forward in clunky ways that only serve to highlight its weaknesses. Hopefully Picard will get better, I really hope so.
