Star Trek: Picard – Episode 1, The Next Generation (2023)

So it was with some trepidation that I began my journey, some may say boldly going, with the third and final season of Star Trek: Picard. I was, am, a big fan of The Next Generation (I hope to bring you a review of the forthcoming 4k UHD release of the movies very soon) and greatly enjoyed season one of Picard.

Season two however, left me with quite a bitter aftertaste. It promised so much yet failed to deliver on so many levels. Where would season three go? With everything pointing to the vast majority of the old TNG cast coming back together, hopes were raised, if not high exactly.

Things start well as we open on board a ship with none-other than Doctor Beverly Crusher, Gates McFadden. She is in a panic, on high alert, even more so when her ship informs her someone has docked and there are unauthorised people onboard.

She begins charging the warp drive, locks someone in another part of the ship, much to their chagrin, and begins fighting off the assailants until the ship is ready to warp out of there. But she is injured in the process. In a last ditch attempt at salvation she sends an encrypted message to…

Meanwhile, far far away, Jean-Luc Picard, Patrick Stewart (“Logan”, “The Kid Who Would Be King”), is packing his things away, preparing for his retirement with Laris, Orla Brady (“The Foreigner”, “Fringe (TV)”), when he receives the message.

It comes through on his old communicator that he wore whilst he was a captain. It doesn’t take him long to figure out the password and hear the message from Beverly. She says trust no-one and provides some coordinates and a word.

Laris sees the message too and tells Picard he must go to her, she obviously needs his help, she will be waiting for him when he returns. Picard calls an old friend.

Picard and Will Riker, Jonathan Frakes, need a ship, but Beverly has told them not to trust anyone, including Starfleet. Will has an idea. The pair head for his old ship, the Titan, under the guise of a surprise inspection for the forthcoming First Contact celebrations.

In reality, they plan to get the current captain, Liam Shaw, Todd Stashwick (“12 Monkey’s (TV)”, “You, Me And Dupree”), to head for Beverly’s coordinates, challenging him that it will test the ship, give him bragging rights. Unfortunately, Shaw is a stickler for rules and orders and flatly refuses.

Luckily for the pair, they have a friend on board in the form of Seven of Nine, Jeri Ryan, the second in command. She isn’t happy in the regimented life of Starfleet and is only to happy to divert the ship and get them on a shuttle. When the pair see who is chasing Beverly though, they probably wished she hadn’t bothered.

It’s a good opening to the final season of Star Trek: Picard. Things move quickly, we are straight in space and there’s a second story involving Raffi Musiker, Michelle Hurd (“Daredevil (TV)”, “Lethal Weapon (TV)”), undercover, attempting to find some stolen mining equipment that could be used as a weapon.

Hopefully, things continue like this and we get some good battles, interesting stories and the adventure(s) we so sorely missed last time round. We can but hope.