10 Dumbest Things In Star Trek: Picard

We come to the legacy of The Next Generation in our exploration of Star Trek's dumbest things in each of its series. Star Trek: Picard. 

A bold project that would expand the story of arguably Starfleet's finest captain, the show was going to be a vibrant and different step forward in the Star Trek universe. It would take fans behind the ever-present Starfleet and into the machinations of the galaxy as never seen before. One man's adventure and a new journey as he explored life outside the boundaries of the Federation and the command of a starship. Alongside him, a cast of diverse non-Starfleet characters are his companions on this individual path.

For the first two seasons at least, and that might have slightly greyed in the second season.

On the whole, the producers stayed absolutely on track with their initial vision right to the end. Ok, there might be a hint of sarcasm in those words, yet Picard existed to honour a true cornerstone of the franchise. It dared to be different with its exploration of existing franchise characters as well as acknowledging the existence of the Kelvin movies through the off-screen but oft-mentioned destruction of Romulus. 

As the nearest thing to a proper continuation of 90's Trek, Picard had a lot to deal with, and as fans have come to expect, not everything was as smooth as a freshly shaved Riker.

No starships, no uniforms, no Starfleet.

Patrick Stewart was very clear on his vision for Picard when its first season went into production. This was Jean-Luc Picard's story, so it wouldn't be a Next Generation story. The show would be a "What JLP Did Next" and spin off in new directions away from the "confines" of the Starfleet rules and regulations. 

It was a vision that rang true for the first season, where Riker and Troi dropped in for an episode, and Data's legacy was the overarching thread that tied everything together. Indeed, the finale of that first year fairly firmly closed the Data story with his final ember being deactivated. Data was no more. For a second time.

Season two might have brought back the Borg Queen, Guinan, Wesley Crusher and Q, but once again steered firmly away from being a Next Generation narrative with mixed results. The Next Generation faces were guests on Picard rather than the main attraction. So fans would have expected similar from season three - until it was announced that it would be a TNG reunion with starships, uniforms and Starfleet.

Maybe unsurprisingly to the community of the three seasons, it was a far superior setup and execution than the previous two years, filled with familiar characters from start to finish. It was what fans had wanted since day one and took the producers, including Stewart, 20 episodes to realise that needed to happen to engage the fanbase. 

Can't knock them for trying, though.