Ranking Star Trek Pilots From Every Series Worst To Best
4. Blue Skies, Smiling At Me. Nothing But Blue Skies, And A Gorgeous Rendering Of The Enterprise D
For that image alone, the pilot of Star Trek Picard could have done nothing else and still worked its way into the hearts of audiences. However, and thankfully, it did a lot more than that.
The opening shot, similar to Discovery in its stunning use of visuals, becomes a scene between Jean-Luc and Data, offering us a hint of what was to come in the first season of STP. This was not going be a rehash of The Next Generation, and many people found that jarring. Captain Picard was always the most reasoned and calming force - yet here he is fighting with a reporter, being blown backwards by explosions and, for all intents and purposes, showing his age.
And that is exactly the point.
Many of us (yes, US!) would have loved TNG: Season 8, but that was never what was on the table. There is both action and moments of calm here, with enough to hook new viewers while offering tidbits to the returning viewers. The closing shot of the episode, revealing the immensity of the Borg Cube, stands out as one of the moments of the season and, in fact, Trek in general from the last twenty years.
Rememberance is an excellent pilot to what would become a mixed bag of a season.