Star Trek: Picard – Season One isn’t great especially with seeing Patrick Stewart returning to his iconic character, but I found it watchable however I’ve never been an avid viewer of TNG or any other Trek incarnation growing up.
Star Trek: Picard – Season One
(2020)
Genre(s): Science Fiction, Adventure, Drama
Paramount | NR – 488 min. – $47.99 | October 6, 2020
Date Published: 10/18/2020 | Author: The Movieman
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Paramount provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE SEASON — 3/5 |
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Season Synopsis: After the destruction of the Planet Romulus, we follow Captain Jean-Luc Picard, 14 years following retirement from Starfleet, as he tracks down a series of mysteries about his past. Quick Hit Review: I’ve mentioned this in my previous Star Trek reviews, I never grew up watching any of the numerous series or even movies, approaching a show like Star Trek: Discovery and now Star Trek: Picard the same I would with Star Wars, as a passive watcher with no emotional connection whatsoever. With that, this show pretty much has a similar dark look similar to Discovery with flashy camera techniques that JJ Abrams employed with his two Star Trek films, most notably the vaunted lens-flares which are abundant here in place of some genuine suspense-filled or dramatic scenes. I’m not sure where the lens-flared style started but it needs to be curtailed or stopped.
Aside from the actual look of this series, it is nice to see Patrick Stewart back as Picard and he’s in his element most of the time, however the storytelling isn’t nearly all that interesting and even with this only being eight episodes, the idea of A.I. being the central focus had some potential but still felt stretched. Also not helping matters is the employment of the memberberries, like Jonathan Frakes, Marina Sirtis, Jeri Ryan (who still looks fantastic all these years later) and lastly Brent Spiner, playing dual roles as Data (from Picard’s dreams) and Dr. Altan Inigo Soong, and at least he does play into the season long storyline. Star Trek: Picard isn’t altogether bad. In fact, the season had its moments and while writing-wise is far from some of the great episodes, or even merely average, of The Next Generation, I did like seeing Patrick Stewart as Picard once again as well as the shoehorned in other legacy characters clearly thrown in to attract a growingly weary fanbase.
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SPECIAL FEATURES – 3¾/5 |
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The 3-disc release comes with a slightly title-embossed slip cover. Video Commentary on “Remembrance” – Included on what is I assume a Zoom call, are creators Alex Kurtzman, Akiva Goldsman, Michael Chabon and Kirsten Beyer plus Hanelle M. Culpepper who directed the episode. Every episode comes with a Story Log which breaks down the different story and character elements. Deleted Scenes on “Remembrance”, “Broken Pieces”, “Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 1 and 2” Star Trek: Short Treks: Children of Mars (8:21) is a, well, short episode that helps flesh out events prior to the show. Included is an optional Audio Commentary with Alex Kurtzman, Jenny Lumet and Kirsten Beyer. Make It So (10:04) featurette delves into the process of developing the show and expanding the franchise. Aliens Alive: The xBs (12:34) on the prosthetics and make-up for the Borgs. Picard Props (13:20) is a tour of the prop department. Set Me Up (14:30) – This featurette is on the look, designs and tone to differentiate from other Trek shows. The Motley Crew (19:10) introduces us to the new cast members for the series. Last up is the Gag Reel (7:56). |
VIDEO – 4½/5 |
| Paramount releases Star Trek: Picard onto Blu-ray shown in what I assume was its originally televised, I mean streamed, 2.38 widescreen aspect ratio. Although it does have a dark look to the cinematography, the picture here is sharp and well defined from episode to episode. There are some really nice splashes of colors which does pop off the screen set against the black levels, most noticeably when involving the Borg ship. |
AUDIO – 4½/5 |
| Every episode comes with a standard but well balanced DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. With these, dialogue comes across with good clarity and when the action does eventually pick up, the depth is on display; front and rear speakers come to life providing some respectable depth. |
OVERALL – 3½/5 |
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Star Trek: Picard – Season One isn’t great especially with seeing Patrick Stewart returning to his iconic character, but I found it watchable however I’ve never been an avid viewer of TNG or any other Trek incarnation growing up, so I don’t have that background to notice any glaring issues. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.