Yes, I'm going to watch any new Star Trek that comes along. But I was especially eager for Star Trek: Picard -- eager, but trying not to get my hopes too high -- if for no other reason than the fact that Nemesis would no longer be The End. Needless to say, I was practically giddy that not only was Picard's first episode, "Remembrance," actually good, it was in my view the strongest first episode of any Star Trek series.
In the proudest traditions of the franchise, Star Trek: Picard is an allegory built for our times. Its backdrop is the story of a society that suffered a galvanizing trauma... and responded in all the wrong ways. Putting Jean-Luc Picard, the most morally upright captain in all of Star Trek, at the center of that story is more than enough justification to bring back the character.
Crucially and correctly, though, this Jean-Luc Picard is not the character we last saw 18 years ago -- and I don't just mean that he's clearly become embittered and disillusioned for the reasons he expresses in the episode. Picard was always a character with warmth at his core, but it took many seasons of The Next Generation to truly see that. He was always a captain first, cloaking his warmth beneath authority and duty. In this new series, free of that burden, we actually see a more outwardly caring Picard than we've ever seen before. He's demonstrably, openly kind -- to his Romulan housekeepers, to the mysterious Dahj... and, of course, to his dog. The character development of the intervening years is not all for the worse, and it's great to see the show present that.
This compelling back story and compelling lead character are met with a compelling narrative. "Remembrance" does a great job of letting the audience be ahead in some ways (we know the secret of Dahj long before any of the characters do), while leaving us to speculate in others (why did the synths attack Mars?). The episode does a great job allowing moments for introspection while generally unfolding at a breakneck pace -- 44 minutes sails by before you know it.
If the new isn't why you're here, there's plenty of nostalgia too. I could only guess how it all plays to someone not steeped in the minutia of Star Trek, but I thought they did a great job of peppering in the past in fun ways. From the J.J. Abrams' film's cataclysm on Romulus, to the death of Data and thread of B-4, to all the way back to cybernetics expert Bruce Maddox, this story embraces elements of others that came before. Then there were all the visual references for those who could recognize them -- the Captain Picard Day banner, the Kurlan Naiskos, an ad for a business run by Kasidy Yates... and probably more I'll spot when I watch the episode again. (They weren't only playing the classics, though -- the species of Dahj's alien boyfriend, Xehean, was introduced on Star Trek: Discovery.)
Even though this first episode was largely Earthbound, there were plenty of great sci-fi visuals to feast your eyes upon. Earth on Star Trek has never looked as vital and lived in as it did here -- and we got to see many parts of it, from Boston to Paris, from San Francisco to the French countryside, and even to the much-talked-about-but-never-before-seen Daystrom Institute. Sure, modern visual effects allow you to do so much now that it's easy to be jaded; it's still great to see those techniques brought to bear on Star Trek.
There were perhaps a few moments like the rooftop fight that felt a bit more obligatory than organic. But even in that example, it was a great looking fight with lots of clever choreography (including tricky use of the transporter) and hits that looked painful. Overall, "Remembrance" set the table for a story I'm eager to see more of. I'm not much for binge TV, but if I could have started the next episode, I would have done so immediately.
I give "Remembrance" an A-. If Star Trek: Picard can keep up at anywhere near this level, it's going to be a great season of television.
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