Picard Season 3
Paramount +
by paulieb2003@gmail.com
So Season 3 has finally come around to our sweet little awaiting eyes and let me tell you. My first thought is – thank God Patrick Stewart is still alive! I mean he really is our last beloved captain in Starfleet. Sorry, I mean Admiral. Well, either way, he is beloved.
So this season of Picard comes to us from Terry Matalas. Terry has worked his way up from PA on Star Trek: Voyager, to writer/creator of the tv show 12 Monkeys. So Terry is a fan, and he is the show runner for Picard, Season 3.
The thing is – he brings the whole crew in – and it seems kind of weird at this point. I mean really, when have Will and Jean Luc ever just hung out? Will was always with the crew jamming on his trombone or playing poker. Jean Luc mainly kept himself or with Beverly. So seeing them together, away from work – really doesn’t ring any memories or nostalgia for me. I love them both dearly, but their banter really never feels comfortable. Although, yea – it feels hella good to see them together again.
Let’s talk about the real star – Jeri Ryan. This woman has the John Wayne strut down better then Will Ryker, and he’s been practicing for 20 years! 7 is tough as nails, pretty as a picture and an unpredictable character who fights against authority with every fiber in her being. If she does not get her own show, it would be the biggest travesty in Hollywood. Jeri steals the show from Sir Patrick and from Frakes, which is tough to do.
Have I seen Seasons 1 and 2? Yes, and I loved them both. Now, however, Terry Matalas seems to have raised everything up a level and made this a mini movie for ST:TNG, which I am all for. They really never got a good film, though not from a lack of trying. I think Terry may have shown writers and directors the way. Stop being so reverent with all the iconic characters and just have fun.
This season seems like a lot of fun, and I think Terry had fun writing some of it and helping mold the season. Jean Luc has foregone all pretenses, he is disobeyed and not so much looked up to anymore. Neither is Will, and it’s a joy to have them fight against the grain like they did in the old days. Even though they are much, much older now, and that is a running joke throughout.
As the season goes on, more crew members will arrive, and I’m sure the tone of fun will continue. We already met Sidney La Forge, Geordi’s daughter, and she already got a ribbing, instead of instant adulation, which is usually done in these matters. That alone is a great indication of things to come. That these characters are no longer taken as Greek Gods, but as normal people who had a great run and now are just getting old. I like the direction Terry is going. I hope it continues, and maybe perchance, a good movie can come out of all this, if Sir Patrick can stay alive.
