Soldato
2x01 - "The Star Gazer"
1) Welp, here we go.
2) Seemingly in medias res.
3) Things are turning to worms on this ship.
4) An attack on the bridge. Picard setting an auto-destruct sequence. The Borg Queen (maybe?). Hell of an opening ~2 minutes.
5) The opening score appears to have had a buff. A definite improvement on the insipid S1 theme.
6) I'd still prefer a Courage/Goldsmith score with a ship belting across the screen, mind
7) Back to France, two days ago.
8) Number One is there
9) And Laris. Glad they brought her back for this series.
10) Cute moment between her and Picard
11) Oh, that's sad. Zhaban has passed.
12) Backstory and exposition.
13) Some great writing here.
14) Delivered brilliantly by these two.
15) Picard having himself a bit of a flashback.
16) Presumably his mother.
17) Meanwhile, in space...an anomaly.
18) And what looks like an Akira-class taking a bit of a knock there. Quick pause - the Akira was one of the new ships created for Star Trek: First Contact and the fight against the Borg in the beginning of that film. The design later 'inspired' (read: was virtually wholesale ripped off for) the NX-01 Enterprise.
19) Awkwardness between Picard and Laris. It'll be a shame if she, too, is getting written out.
20) Picard Speech™. And ah yes, this must be that 'lack of gravitas' that I keep reading fandom wanging on about
21) Foreshadowing.
22) Raffi back at work alongside Picard. And Elnor is getting himself a Starfleet education.
23) Fixing the split infinitive by going boldly
24) The La Sirena, looking distinctly second hand.
25) Seven got herself a pirate problem by the look of things. Did she end up with the ship to replace the one she lost in S1?
26) A quick spot of Emmet, the Tactical Holo
27) Yep, pirates. After her medical supplies.
28) A bit more Emmet.
29) *wince* That's gonna leave a mark there, Seven.
30) Exposition between Seven and Emmet.
31) There's that anomaly again.
32) Quick pause. So far, so 'pretty decent'. Lots of foreshadowing of the season arc - roads not taken, things not said. Pacing is an appropriate mix of slow and contemplative (the scenes in France) and breakneck (that sequence with the pirates). Visually the show remains stunning. The music department are on-point.
Hopefully the right lessons were learned from what didn't work in S1.
33) Over in the Beta Quadrant, and Raritan IV.
34) Soji With a bunch of bald folk (Deltans?).
35) And a half-cut Jurati getting flirted at. Managed to skirt jail for the murder of Bruce Maddox then. Hey ho.
36) Oh, okay. They went with the 'Manchurian Candidate' route to get Jurati out of that one. Might have been nice if they'd thrown some lines in about that in S1, though it was pretty obvious that it was the only sensible way to go if they didn't want to jail the character.
37) Expository cuteness between Jurati and Soji. And yes, these folk are Deltans (coming back to this - Deltans were created for the aborted Star Trek: Phase II series that became Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Their 'hats' as a race are baldness, empathic abilities and a society geared around sexy times).
38) Jurati and Rios got together a while back then, and it has since ended.
39) Rios back in the 'fleet as a Captain. On what appears to be a four-nacelle ship if that graphic in the turbolift is anything to go by. Quick pause - looks to me like a round primary hull which rules out a Prometheus class. And the nacelles look a bit different to a Constellation or Cheyenne class ship. So this is probably a new design done for this show.
40) The anomaly getting namechecked.
41) Rios' starship is the USS Stargazer Hence the Jurati jab regarding legacies - Stargazer was the name of Picard's first command (seen in the TNG episode "The Battle"). This ship very much retaining the TNG movie aesthetic. Me likey.
42) Meanwhile in San Francisco...cadets receiving assignments. A vessel called the Hikaru Sulu, another called the Grissom
43) Picard and Raffi having a natter.
44) More backstory. And that's going to have fandumb reverting to type, Raffi wanting a relationship with Seven (oh noes, the gay agenda!!111onetwothree).
45) Elnor. Sounds like he's assigned to the USS Excelsior. More names with a legacy. If this was STD I'd say that the namedropping with these ships was a shameless attempt to win back the crowd. But PIC has already shown rather more of a reverence for Trek canon throughout S1 than STD could manage.
46) Picard with that book - a book written by Spock.
47) Raffi heading out with Elnor to look after him.
48) Picard looking at a picture of his old Stargazer.
49) The current Stargazer at the anomaly. As is Seven with the La Sirena.
50) Rios distinctly miffed at the condition of his old ship.
51) We get signal.
52) Jurati staggering up into action to figure out the signal.
53) "Help us, Picard." Sounds rather Borg-like. Dun dun DUUNNNNNNNNNN...
54) Back on Earth, in future LA.
55) Soundtrack going full Goldsmith. Picard with a bottle.
56) Oh, wait a minute...
57) Guinan!
58) Who knows that Picard can't just be there for a chat.
59) Breaking out the Saurian brandy.
60) A pep talk.
61) "There are worse things than being dead. You know that better than anybody." Damn, does that line slap.
62) Exposition.
63) Things that Picard can't quite get the words out for.
64) Pausing. That was a genuinely great scene. Two old friends, him clearly wrestling with something, her ready to help once he's found the words to explain what he's feeling.
65) We're back in France.
66) An admiral briefing Picard on the anomaly. And the message.
67) Left without even saying goodbye to Laris
68) Either that anomaly is pretty close to Earth, or runabout-type warp drives have gotten better at long-range travel over the decades.
69) Nice.
70) Exposition.
71) "Admiral on the bridge."
72) If in doubt, try hailing something.
73) Ruh roh.
74) This is why you should use physical buttons for your starship control interfaces. Less chance that a hack will fool around with your ability to drive the ship.
75) Incoming Borg.
76) The fleet assembling, and - joy of joys! - some variety. Looks like at least one Sovereign class in the mix, an Excelsior (presumably the ship Raffi and Elnor headed to earlier), an Akira, a bunch of Luna class ships...
77) Yep, there's Raffi.
78) A spot of poetry from Rios. Matched by Picard.
79) Seven pointing out the obvious regarding the nature of the Borg. And advocating a strong response, i.e. destroying the Borg ship.
80) Well, we know where this progresses to because we saw it in the cold open. Still gonna be interesting to see how they get there.
81) Here they come.
82) "That's new." Jurati has a keen grasp of the obvious
83) If the Stargazer makes it out of these she's gonna need some new control panels.
84) Queenie 'merely' stunning the Stargazer crew. And hacking the fleet.
85) Same destruct code used in Star Trek III. Hooray for continuity!
86) "Picard. Look up." Uh...
87) Big boom.
88) Picard back in France. Wearing a very different badge.
89) And it's not the only thing that's different.
90) Alex Diehl playing an android - called Harvey, apparently - again (he played the A500 type androids who went tonto on Mars).
91) Literally just got a huge grin on my face from hearing that voice
92) "The trial never ends." I am hard as a rock. Tidy bit of CG work that, starting young and aging.
93) More arc words.
94) Season preview.
95) Damn.
2) Seemingly in medias res.
3) Things are turning to worms on this ship.
4) An attack on the bridge. Picard setting an auto-destruct sequence. The Borg Queen (maybe?). Hell of an opening ~2 minutes.
5) The opening score appears to have had a buff. A definite improvement on the insipid S1 theme.
6) I'd still prefer a Courage/Goldsmith score with a ship belting across the screen, mind
7) Back to France, two days ago.
8) Number One is there
9) And Laris. Glad they brought her back for this series.
10) Cute moment between her and Picard
11) Oh, that's sad. Zhaban has passed.
12) Backstory and exposition.
13) Some great writing here.
14) Delivered brilliantly by these two.
15) Picard having himself a bit of a flashback.
16) Presumably his mother.
17) Meanwhile, in space...an anomaly.
18) And what looks like an Akira-class taking a bit of a knock there. Quick pause - the Akira was one of the new ships created for Star Trek: First Contact and the fight against the Borg in the beginning of that film. The design later 'inspired' (read: was virtually wholesale ripped off for) the NX-01 Enterprise.
19) Awkwardness between Picard and Laris. It'll be a shame if she, too, is getting written out.
20) Picard Speech™. And ah yes, this must be that 'lack of gravitas' that I keep reading fandom wanging on about
21) Foreshadowing.
22) Raffi back at work alongside Picard. And Elnor is getting himself a Starfleet education.
23) Fixing the split infinitive by going boldly
24) The La Sirena, looking distinctly second hand.
25) Seven got herself a pirate problem by the look of things. Did she end up with the ship to replace the one she lost in S1?
26) A quick spot of Emmet, the Tactical Holo
27) Yep, pirates. After her medical supplies.
28) A bit more Emmet.
29) *wince* That's gonna leave a mark there, Seven.
30) Exposition between Seven and Emmet.
31) There's that anomaly again.
32) Quick pause. So far, so 'pretty decent'. Lots of foreshadowing of the season arc - roads not taken, things not said. Pacing is an appropriate mix of slow and contemplative (the scenes in France) and breakneck (that sequence with the pirates). Visually the show remains stunning. The music department are on-point.
Hopefully the right lessons were learned from what didn't work in S1.
33) Over in the Beta Quadrant, and Raritan IV.
34) Soji
With a bunch of bald folk (Deltans?).35) And a half-cut Jurati getting flirted at. Managed to skirt jail for the murder of Bruce Maddox then. Hey ho.
36) Oh, okay. They went with the 'Manchurian Candidate' route to get Jurati out of that one. Might have been nice if they'd thrown some lines in about that in S1, though it was pretty obvious that it was the only sensible way to go if they didn't want to jail the character.
37) Expository cuteness between Jurati and Soji. And yes, these folk are Deltans (coming back to this - Deltans were created for the aborted Star Trek: Phase II series that became Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Their 'hats' as a race are baldness, empathic abilities and a society geared around sexy times).
38) Jurati and Rios got together a while back then, and it has since ended.
39) Rios back in the 'fleet as a Captain. On what appears to be a four-nacelle ship if that graphic in the turbolift is anything to go by. Quick pause - looks to me like a round primary hull which rules out a Prometheus class. And the nacelles look a bit different to a Constellation or Cheyenne class ship. So this is probably a new design done for this show.
40) The anomaly getting namechecked.
41) Rios' starship is the USS Stargazer
Hence the Jurati jab regarding legacies - Stargazer was the name of Picard's first command (seen in the TNG episode "The Battle"). This ship very much retaining the TNG movie aesthetic. Me likey.42) Meanwhile in San Francisco...cadets receiving assignments. A vessel called the Hikaru Sulu, another called the Grissom
43) Picard and Raffi having a natter.
44) More backstory. And that's going to have fandumb reverting to type, Raffi wanting a relationship with Seven (oh noes, the gay agenda!!111onetwothree).
45) Elnor. Sounds like he's assigned to the USS Excelsior. More names with a legacy. If this was STD I'd say that the namedropping with these ships was a shameless attempt to win back the crowd. But PIC has already shown rather more of a reverence for Trek canon throughout S1 than STD could manage.
46) Picard with that book - a book written by Spock.
47) Raffi heading out with Elnor to look after him.
48) Picard looking at a picture of his old Stargazer.
49) The current Stargazer at the anomaly. As is Seven with the La Sirena.
50) Rios distinctly miffed at the condition of his old ship.
51) We get signal.
52) Jurati staggering up into action to figure out the signal.
53) "Help us, Picard." Sounds rather Borg-like. Dun dun DUUNNNNNNNNNN...
54) Back on Earth, in future LA.
55) Soundtrack going full Goldsmith. Picard with a bottle.
56) Oh, wait a minute...
57) Guinan!
58) Who knows that Picard can't just be there for a chat.
59) Breaking out the Saurian brandy.
60) A pep talk.
61) "There are worse things than being dead. You know that better than anybody." Damn, does that line slap.
62) Exposition.
63) Things that Picard can't quite get the words out for.
64) Pausing. That was a genuinely great scene. Two old friends, him clearly wrestling with something, her ready to help once he's found the words to explain what he's feeling.
65) We're back in France.
66) An admiral briefing Picard on the anomaly. And the message.
67) Left without even saying goodbye to Laris
68) Either that anomaly is pretty close to Earth, or runabout-type warp drives have gotten better at long-range travel over the decades.
69) Nice.
70) Exposition.
71) "Admiral on the bridge."
72) If in doubt, try hailing something.
73) Ruh roh.
74) This is why you should use physical buttons for your starship control interfaces. Less chance that a hack will fool around with your ability to drive the ship.
75) Incoming Borg.
76) The fleet assembling, and - joy of joys! - some variety. Looks like at least one Sovereign class in the mix, an Excelsior (presumably the ship Raffi and Elnor headed to earlier), an Akira, a bunch of Luna class ships...
77) Yep, there's Raffi.
78) A spot of poetry from Rios. Matched by Picard.
79) Seven pointing out the obvious regarding the nature of the Borg. And advocating a strong response, i.e. destroying the Borg ship.
80) Well, we know where this progresses to because we saw it in the cold open. Still gonna be interesting to see how they get there.
81) Here they come.
82) "That's new." Jurati has a keen grasp of the obvious
83) If the Stargazer makes it out of these she's gonna need some new control panels.
84) Queenie 'merely' stunning the Stargazer crew. And hacking the fleet.
85) Same destruct code used in Star Trek III. Hooray for continuity!
86) "Picard. Look up." Uh...
87) Big boom.
88) Picard back in France. Wearing a very different badge.
89) And it's not the only thing that's different.
90) Alex Diehl playing an android - called Harvey, apparently - again (he played the A500 type androids who went tonto on Mars).
91) Literally just got a huge grin on my face from hearing that voice
92) "The trial never ends." I am hard as a rock. Tidy bit of CG work that, starting young and aging.
93) More arc words.
94) Season preview.
95) Damn.
Wow.
Yeah.
So...
That was a lot
First, the good. Some top notch dialogue, delivered beautifully. Great visuals. Tidy direction. Nice continuity nods. And the one-two punch of the return of Guinan and then Q. The bad...there's not really much to say. Yeah, the pacing changes got a bit schizophrenic after a while. And the Picard-Guinan meetup ended very abruptly with the switch back to France for Picard to get briefed on the anomaly. But these are pretty minor quibbles compared to the litany of issues I was finding with STD week-in-week-out.
Going forward, the season arc is about the road not taken. And Lord knows Picard's life is strewn with those. Got to wait and see if the shift back to 2024 genuinely works...or was just so that the showrunners could save money on depicting the early 2400s.
But yeah. Great opener. Let's hope the show can sustain this level.
Yeah.
So...
That was a lot
First, the good. Some top notch dialogue, delivered beautifully. Great visuals. Tidy direction. Nice continuity nods. And the one-two punch of the return of Guinan and then Q. The bad...there's not really much to say. Yeah, the pacing changes got a bit schizophrenic after a while. And the Picard-Guinan meetup ended very abruptly with the switch back to France for Picard to get briefed on the anomaly. But these are pretty minor quibbles compared to the litany of issues I was finding with STD week-in-week-out.
Going forward, the season arc is about the road not taken. And Lord knows Picard's life is strewn with those. Got to wait and see if the shift back to 2024 genuinely works...or was just so that the showrunners could save money on depicting the early 2400s.
But yeah. Great opener. Let's hope the show can sustain this level.
