Okay, show, that was pretty awesome. But we both know the pattern by now: Strong opening, but falls apart after a few episodes. I'm not letting my guard down.
Beverly's ship gets attacked by... somebody (the attacking ships are recolored Elachi ships from STO, but reusing ships is hardly new for Trek). She manages to fight off the attackers, but is badly wounded. She sends out a coded distress call to Picard himself.
Laris has got a new job on some planet, and she and Picard are both in the process of moving. It's really great to see Orla Brady again: She is one of the few things from Picard that was awesome right out of the gate.
Picard receives Beverly's distress call, which warns him not to involve Starfleet. After talking with Laris, he goes to meet Riker at Guinan's Ten Forward bar, where the poor Enterprise-D gets described as "the fat one". Riker and Picard figure out where Beverly is, but have to find a way to get out there as its outside Federation space.
Meanwhile, Raffi FINALLY has something to do as she's hunting down stolen weapons. While it's very clear she's undercover and working for Starfleet Intelligence, I'm left wondering how much of her cover story is actually true. Did she and Seven break up? Is Raffi still actually in Starfleet (officially)?
Riker comes up with a plan to do a "surprise inspection" on the Titan-A (Neo-Constitution class IS spoken in dialogue), where Seven is first officer. Right off the bat, something is amiss, as the captain makes Seven go by Annika Hansen, which is clearly NOT what she prefers. After Riker completely embarrasses Geordi's daughter, the three have dinner with Captain Shaw, who is a complete jackass. Shaw refuses to alter course to get Picard and Riker close to Beverly (which by itself is reasonable), but insults everybody left and right and even ends the conversation by showing he is very prejudiced against ex-Borg.
Raffi finds out the stolen weapons have something to do with a "Red Lady". After a lot of dead ends, she finally determines that the Red Lady is a new statue of Rachel Garrett (nice reference!). Also, Raffi's mysterious contact only communicates by computer voice, so that's a dead giveaway it's somebody we know. Raffi tries to warn the targets, but is too late. A weaponized Portal gun causes a Starfleet recruitment center to fall down through a portal only to reappear high in the sky and fall crashing to the ground.
Seven, clearly fed up with Shaw, orders the course change while Shaw is asleep. Shaw wakes up too late to stop Picard and Riker from taking a shuttlecraft out to Beverly's ship. The two are able to determine what happened and find Beverly in a cryopod... defended by someone identifying himself as Beverly's son. They're interrupted by the bad guy ship showing up, which clearly dwarfs Beverly's little cruiser.
So yeah, great episode. Lots of obvious nostalgia bait, both visual and audio. We'll see how it goes from here.
Posted by Spike (Member # 322) on :
Colour me unimpressed. This episode suffered heavily from small universe syndrome. Picard talked about sending his painting to La Forge and a few hours later he coincidentally meets his daughter. Who coincidentally serves aboard the same ship as Seven. Which is supposed to be Riker's old ship, but totally refitted and now a Neo Constitution.
It rubbed me the wrong way how they retconned Picard's mother last season and I'm sure I'll not be happy how they gonna make Beverly's son also Picard's son.
Most annoying was the set lighting. Every single scene was dark.
Well, at least I got two good laughs out of it. The ridiculous pump gun phaser Vs machine gun phaser fight and the cheap 3D printed Rachel Garrett statue.
[ February 16, 2023, 02:01 PM: Message edited by: Spike ]
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
Yeah, this lack of light is bullshit. This whole thing is just a Costco-sized box of Cap'n Crunch OOPS! All 'Memberberries. The references. The musical cues. The way some shots are set up.
Also, written by Matalas & the planet is M'Talas Prime? Fuck outta here.
Posted by Spike (Member # 322) on :
To be fair the planet wasn't named in dialogue, so it might've been named by the FX department. Also it was a seedy drug den, befitting his shitty social media behaviour. Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
Also, now that I think about it, let's talk about 50+-year-old Beverly Crusher having another kid. Born in 2327, right? And this is in the early 2500s, making her almost 80. Kid is about 23 (& so fucking obviously Picard's son, like holy shit, so telegraphed) making Bev 55-ish at birth.
Now, I know medical advances extend lifespan then, but extended childbearing years, too? When she was almost certainly already well into or beyond menopause? Or is that reversable now? (Note that I had the same issue/question in DS9 with pregnant Lwaxana, but wrote that off as an unknown nebulous Betazoid biology issue.)
Posted by Spike (Member # 322) on :
Early 2400s. But happens even today so I have no issue with her age. But it feels like character assassination if she hid their son from him. I‘m sure she knew how much it troubled him being the last Picard after his nephew died in GEN.
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
OK, so a mixed bag for me. It reminded me oddly of the start of a TOS movie, not necessarily a bad thing in itself.
Far too dark throughout.
Shaw being an asshole is hardly unprecedented in the annals of Other Starfleet Officers. But you know what? It would be great if that turned out to be the sole cause of Seven’s disquiet with her new role, and by the end of the season she’s regained her conviction that she is on the right path.
The pump-action on a ST:FC rifle is a bit odd, have to say.
The Eleos is very Eavesian.
So the -A is in a museum. Nice to know. A little Easter egg or will it be significant later?
Was the guy lurking in Guinan’s bar the same one who is in the inspection detail on the Titan, Riker makes eye contact with him? It’d explain how the Titan “led ‘them’ here.”
Raffi’s control is obviously Worf. The line about her being a warrior. He’s back in Ops division as a captain, which says Starfleet Security to me, after all.
Posted by Zipacna (Member # 1881) on :
quote:Originally posted by Shik: Also, now that I think about it, let's talk about 50+-year-old Beverly Crusher having another kid. Born in 2327, right? And this is in the early 2500s, making her almost 80. Kid is about 23 (& so fucking obviously Picard's son, like holy shit, so telegraphed) making Bev 55-ish at birth.
Now, I know medical advances extend lifespan then, but extended childbearing years, too? When she was almost certainly already well into or beyond menopause? Or is that reversable now? (Note that I had the same issue/question in DS9 with pregnant Lwaxana, but wrote that off as an unknown nebulous Betazoid biology issue.)
According to Memory Alpha, Bev was born in 2324 - and 55 when Nemesis took place. 2379 is the very earliest she could have had another son (as I'm fairly sure that the Enterprise crew would have noticed if she was up the duff). It's not completely impossible given 21st Century technology has resulted in a 66-year old having a kid. Would be a lot easier, though, if they just made that kid Wesley and half-assed a reason why he looks different...Travellers can change their faces or some nonsense.
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
“OK, so we need to have Crusher send Picard a message that tells him not to trust anyone, but requires him to trust someone enough to tell them about it so they can spot the added little bit of code she inserted in there?” “Like what?” “Um… er… How about, we invent some virus that infected the Ent-D during a time when he wasn’t onboard like… er, when he was Locutus, and use that name, and I’m sure one of all the people he was told not to trust will recognise it and crack the code.” “Where would this virus come from? And why wouldn’t he have heard about it after the fact? I’m sure a virus like that would be something he’d need to know about as ship captain? And what will this virus have done and why would it help them crack the code?” “Aha! That’s the clever part. It’ll add a 3 to the coordinates in the message!” “Three? Why three?” “Why not?” “But… Bev would know that the guest person he’d go to would be Riker. So why not have the keyword be Bozeman, and thus remind Riker of the events of “Cause and Effect” when a number three was very crucial?”
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lee: “OK, so we need to have Crusher send Picard a message that tells him not to trust anyone, but requires him to trust someone enough to tell them about it so they can spot the added little bit of code she inserted in there?” “Like what?” “Um… er… How about, we invent some virus that infected the Ent-D during a time when he wasn’t onboard like… er, when he was Locutus, and use that name, and I’m sure one of all the people he was told not to trust will recognise it and crack the code.” “Where would this virus come from? And why wouldn’t he have heard about it after the fact? I’m sure a virus like that would be something he’d need to know about as ship captain? And what will this virus have done and why would it help them crack the code?” “Aha! That’s the clever part. It’ll add a 3 to the coordinates in the message!” “Three? Why three?” “Why not?” “But… Bev would know that the first person he’d go to would be Riker. So why not have the keyword be Bozeman, and thus remind Riker of the events of “Cause and Effect” when a number three was very crucial?”
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
Oops meant to edit not quote. Oh well.
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
Another instance where I lament the lack of a like button.
[ February 19, 2023, 02:06 AM: Message edited by: Shik ]
Posted by Hobbes (Member # 138) on :
No one wants the fat ones. I was right there with you Riker.
Posted by Malnurtured Snay (Member # 411) on :
There are things I like about the episode, and things I don't.
I like how they handled discussing the Codec -- "Oh, remember, it was from our adventure on Rigel VI." "VII, actually." I don't understand why they didn't take the same approach to that computer virus that now happened in BOBWI&II.
I don't understand all the Star Trek II visual and musical references.
I dislike that they ditched the S1 & S2 theme music.
I think the Titan-A is ugly. I think it's also pretty clear it's not a refit of the Titan we saw in Lower Decks. Shaw says he's been in command of the ship for five years, and that he had to purge a lot of Riker's musical stuff out of the computer. So perhaps an explanation is that something happened to the Luna-Class Titan, Riker transferred to the new Titan-A (similar to how Picard & Co. went from the -D to the -E), then he left Starfleet, and Shaw came in on command. Sometime before the events of this episode the Titan-A went through a full refit which is why Riker has his line about "smells like a brand new car."
I don't buy Shaw as a Starfleet captain, in that he's not on the bridge for spacedock departure, he doesn't know the ship changes course pretty dramatically, and he doesn't seem particularly interested in the operation of the ship. I do like how he refuses to just change course on Picard's request.
The Galaxy-Class is a beautiful design representing the best of Star Trek's ideology. It is, as Guinan said, "a ship of peace." Come at me, you haters!
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
Proof positive that you just can’t please some people. That bit with the “fat one” was obviously written to appeal to fans of the big D (and wind up us haters)… and yet you’re still mad that people don’t like the Galaxy-class!!
Posted by Malnurtured Snay (Member # 411) on :
THAT'S GALAXY CLASS TO YOU YOUNG LADY! Well, young man! Well, old man. Well, you know what I mean.
Posted by Spike (Member # 322) on :
According to Terry Matalas Season 3 is set in 2401 and Frontier Day commemorates the launch of NX-01 in April 2151.
Which means they‘ve retconned the date for Season 2 which was originally set in late 2401 to shoehorn in this „new“ holiday.
Official instagram says Titan-A was launched in 2402. So go figure.
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
That explains some bad math, because I was like 2161+250=2411.
Posted by Malnurtured Snay (Member # 411) on :
On Wil Wheaton's "The Ready Room," the Titan is described as "a starship that shares its name with his first command." So, since TRR is an official Paramount+ production, can we accept this as additional canon evidence that the Titan-A is a brand-new vessel?
(I'm okay with the notion that Riker commanded the Titan-A for a time, explaining Shaw's line about purging his music from the computer; and also explains Riker's line about "smells brand new" because the Titan-A would've come through a full refit including a new bridge module).
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
Also, why would he need to purge music from the computer? New command of a starship isn't like giving your niece your old laptop & you gotta make hundo-P certain it's porn-free.
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
Also, why would he need to purge music from the computer? New command of a starship isn't like giving your niece your old laptop & you gotta make hundo-P certain it's porn-free.
Posted by Spike (Member # 322) on :
quote:can we accept this as additional canon evidence that the Titan-A is a brand-new vessel?
Except actual dialogue and the head honchos say otherwise.
Posted by Brown_supahero (Member # 83) on :
Posted by Brown_supahero (Member # 83) on :
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
Fucking ugh.
Posted by Malnurtured Snay (Member # 411) on :
The ship identified as the Azetbur actually has "Gorkon" written on the hull.
Spike: Star Trek has a long and proud history of ignoring spoken dialogue. For example, Data is not a member of the Class of '78.
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
I suppose I should be annoyed that they’re doubling down on the STO ships’ further canonisation, but the hell with it, whatever. It’s not like we’ll ever see the bloody things again after about two months from now.
Unless they get the spin-off/continuation they’re frantically dropping so many hints about, that is… which is probably already a done deal, they’re just leaving us hanging, making us think some key characters might get deaded.
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
I gotta find Matalas' address. I just wanna talk. Maybe with a sledgehammer.
Posted by Spike (Member # 322) on :
quote:The ship identified as the Azetbur actually has "Gorkon" written on the hull.
Indeed. And as Dukhat has pointed out over at TrekBBS the information provided by Blass doesn't exactly match another VFX-guy's tweet. The Mushashi is also incorrectly labelled (USS Pachacuti NCC-74181). The Shras has the Reliant's registry. I'll let the guys at MA hash it out.
quote:I gotta find Matalas' address. I just wanna talk.
Good luck with that. Since even Bernd has managed to get blocked by him, you'll probably end up with a restraining order. Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
Blocked where/how/why?
Posted by Spike (Member # 322) on :
On Twitter. I don't know exactly why but if I had to hazard a guess I'd say he probably dared to criticize the Titan-A design. That will usually earn you a block by Matalas.
Bernd hasn’t been pulling his punches. I guess I’m mellowing in my old age, but I just can’t be doing with beefs anymore. Matalas won’t be around forever, Trek will outlast him.
Posted by Brown_supahero (Member # 83) on :
I don’t like the conny III. Skinny piece between main and secondary hull should have ended on 9566.2.
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
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