Tag: Borg

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Picard Season 1 Star Trek

Stardust City Rag

Star Trek: Picard2386: Icheb, a former Borg removed from the collective and raised aboard the U.S.S. Voyager, now a lieutenant in Starfleet, has been captured by someone who is trying to remove any Borg implants or technology left in his body – even if it kills him. Seven of Nine, a fellow survivor of Borg assimilation from Voyager, comes to his aid, but only too late. Icheb begs to be put out of his misery; Seven obliges and vows to avenge him, the closest she ever came to having a child of her own.

2399: Rescued by La Sirena after sacrificing her own spacecraft in the battle against a Romulan warlord over Vashti, Seven reluctantly listens to Picard as he tells her of his mission to find Maddox, and then find Dahj’s sister. As the leader of a well-meaning vigilante ground called the Fenris Rangers, which sprang up after the Federation gave up any kind of rescue or law-enforcement efforts on newly Romulan-colonized worlds and nearby space, Seven is accustomed to stories about those in need of help. When she learns that Maddox is being held for the Tal Shiar by someone named Bjayzl on Freecloud, Seven offers herself up as a “hostage” – her Borg implants will prove irresistible to Bjayzl, as Icheb’s did thirteen years earlier. With each member of La Sirena‘s crew given a part to play, the effort to extract Maddox is expected to play out like a heist – until Seven, given the opportunity, turns it into a hostage crisis, ready to exact revenge on Bjayzl. She buys time for Picard, Rios, and Elnor to save Maddox, and only reluctantly beams back to La Sirena herself without killing Bjayzl…for the moment. But there is another killer aboard the ship, waiting for an opportunity to eliminate a very specific target.

Order DVDswritten by Kirsten Beyer
directed by Jonathan Frakes
music by Jeff Russo

Star Trek: PicardCast: Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard), Alison Pill (Dr. Agnes Jurati), Isa Briones (Dr. Soji Asha), Evan Evagora (Elnor), Michelle Hurd (Rafi Musiker), Santiago Cabrera (Captain Cristobal Rios), Harry Treadaway (Narek), Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine), Dominic Burgess (Mr. Vup), Necar Zadegan (Bjayzl), John Ales (Bruce Maddox), Mason Gooding (Gabriel Hwang), Landry Allbright (Chop Doc), Kay Bess (La Sirena Computer), Ayushi Chhabra (Pel), Nightbox Piano Player (Casey Childs), Casey King (Icheb), Sam Marra (Bartender)

Star Trek: PicardNotes: Though characters from past episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager play major parts in this episode, they have both been recast. Originally played by Brian Brophy in 1989‘s The Measure Of A Man, Maddox is portrayed by John Ales in this episode; while Maddox was mentioned by name in Data’s Day (1991), this is only the character’s second on-screen appearance. Icheb, a recurring character introduced in Voyager’s sixth season in the episode Collective, was previously played by Manu Intiraymi in a total of eleven episodes of that series; the part is played (very briefly) here by Star Trek: PicardCasey King. (The cortical node that Bjayzl’s underling can’t find was donated to Seven of Nine in 2000‘s Imperfection). Signs in Stardust City suggest that either Quark left Deep Space Nine to set up his bar on Freecloud, or that Quark’s Bar has become a franchised entity (the Grand Nagus would be proud); also seen is a sign for Mr. Mot’s Hair Emporium, presumably operated by the Bolian hairstylist who once ran the Enterprise-D’s barbershop (Ensign Ro, 1991; Schisms, 1992).

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Picard Season 1 Star Trek

The Impossible Box

Star Trek: Picard2399: Maddox has died in La Sirena‘s sick bay; though Agnes Jurati was with him at the time, she says his injuries were too severe. But he still had time to reveal Soji’s location – on the Borg cube in Romulan space known as the Artifact – to Picard. Rafi calls in a favor from an old friend to get Picard permission to visit the Artifact, but Rafi then returns to her quarters (and the bottle), still stung by her son’s rejection of her on Freecloud. Aboard the Artifact, Picard is haunted by memories of his own time as part of the Borg collective, but is brought back to the present by Hugh, a fellow reclaimed Borg who found his individuality aboard the Enterprise. Soji investigates her own personal belongings, finding out that photos, scrapbooks, and other personal effects are no more than three years old: her life has been a lie. Narek offers to share a Romulan ritual with Soji that would uncover the meaning of a series of disturbing dreams she has had – dreams that, in the end, reveal to her that she is constructed, not human. Once her dream/memory uncovers a clue to a possible location, Narek is done with Soji, sealing her in a room with a Romulan radioactive weapon and leaving her to her fate. Her strength as a synthetic life form now fully activated by the life-or-death situation, she tears through the floor of the room to escape, finding Picard and Hugh; Hugh reveals that the Borg long ago assimilated a Delta Quadrant technology that could allow Picard and Soji to escape, and Picard knows where Soji was constructed…but so do the Romulans.

Order DVDswritten by Nick Zayas
directed by Maja Vrvilo
music by Jeff Russo

Star Trek: PicardCast: Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard), Alison Pill (Dr. Agnes Jurati), Isa Briones (Dr. Soji Asha), Evan Evagora (Elnor), Michelle Hurd (Rafi Musiker), Santiago Cabrera (Captain Cristobal Rios), Harry Treadaway (Narek), Jonathan Del Arco (Hugh), Peyton List (Narissa), Barbara Harris (Emmy), Sumalee Montano (Marisol Asha), Marti Matulis (XB Worker), Ella McKenzie (young Soji), Rico McClincton (Older XB), Charlie Newhart (Romulan Guard)

Star Trek: PicardNotes: Hugh reveals that the entirety of the series to this point has happened in a two-week period. Romulan scientists and doctors aboard the Artifact have devised a way to reverse much of the physical remnants of Borg assimilation, though not the psychological effects. Soji has an “Adventures Of Flotter” lunchbox, hearkening back to a character from a 1998 episode of Star Trek: Voyager, Once Upon A Time, of which Naomi Wildman was also a fan. Narek’s radiation-based weapon bears a strong similarity to the Thaleron radiation bomb deployed to eliminate the Romulan senate in the opening scenes of 2002’s Star Trek: Nemesis. The Borg acquired the spatial trajector technology from the same race that Captain Janeway and the Voyager crew met in Prime Factors (1995). Picard was assimilated by the Borg in part one of The Best Of Both Worlds (1990), an event that continued to haunt him, especially during later encounters with the Borg such as Star Trek: First Contact (1996), brief flashes of which are shown as part of Picard’s traumatic flashbacks.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Picard Season 1 Star Trek

Nepenthe

Star Trek: Picard2399: Picard and Soji escape to the planet Nepenthe – not the planet where Soji was constructed, but rather a planet where Picard knows he can find refuge in the home of Will Riker and Deanna Troi, how former Enterprise shipmates. He introduces them – and their daughter Kestra – to Soji, who is still unsure she can trust anyone in her life. On the Artifact, where Elnor stayed behind to cover Picard’s escape, the young Romulan now turns his sword to the task of defending Hugh from the Romulans. Whatever benefits the Romulans brought to the former Borg, Hugh now knows it wasn’t out of altruism, and plans to take the Borg cube away from the Romulans – an ambition that costs him his life, leaving Elnor alone with only one chance to ask for help. On Nepenthe, Picard has to gain Soji’s trust and try to elicit from her the same clues to her place of origin that the Romulans already have.

Order DVDswritten by Samantha Humphrey & Michael Chabon
directed by Doug Aarniokosky
music by Jeff Russo

Star Trek: PicardCast: Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard), Alison Pill (Dr. Agnes Jurati), Isa Briones (Dr. Soji Asha), Evan Evagora (Elnor), Michelle Hurd (Rafi Musiker), Santiago Cabrera (Captain Cristobal Rios), Harry Treadaway (Narek), Jonathan Frakes (Will Riker), Marina Sirtis (Deanna Troi), Jonathan Del Arco (Hugh), Peyton List (Narissa), Tamlyn Tomita (Commodore Oh), Lulu Wilson (Kestra Riker), Kay Bess (La Sirena Computer)

Star Trek: PicardNotes: Will Riker’s home defense system is in place due to recent problems with Kzinti, a cat-like race created by Larry Niven and “imported” into the Star Trek universe in Niven’s sole animated Star Trek episode The Slaver Weapon (1973). Kestra Riker is named after Deanna’s sister, who died when Deanna was a baby (Dark Page, 1993). Deanna apparently never rose higher in rank than commander, a rank she achieved during her tour of duty on the Enterprise (Thine Own Self, 1994). Kestra’s older brother, Thaddeus, was born around 2381, but died young due to a disease whose known cure would have to have been cultured in a synth’s positronic matrix, meaning that Thad died as a result of the synth ban; Riker and his family moved to Nepenthe, a planet with natural healing qualities, in the hope of restoring him to health. Thad was named after an ancestor of Riker’s who fought in the American Civil War (Death Wish, 1996).

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Picard Season 1 Star Trek

Broken Pieces

Star Trek: Picard2384: Ramdha and her niece, Narissa, are present at a ceremony held for a select few members of the secretive Romulan organization known as the Zhat Vash. On a distant planet, they tap into an ancient device known only as the Admonition, which gives all of them the same vision – a vision of synthetic life destroying organic life and laying waste to the universe. Some of the Romulans are driven mad by this vision; Ramdha and Narissa vow to prevent it from ever happening, no matter the cost.

2399: Agnes Jurati’s sins have been revealed: not only was she the means through which the Romulans were tracking La Sirena, but she murdered Bruce Maddox. At the sight of Soji, Captain Rios withdraws to his quarters, leaving his holograms to run the ship. Rafi tries to get him to reveal what is bothering him, only to find that his story – of his former life as a Starfleet officer, serving under a captain who killed himself under mysterious circumstances – connects to information that Jurati, Soji, and Picard have. The scope of the Romulans’ plan is finally apparent. Acting upon an urge to prevent the events seen in the Admonition, and learning of the cybernetic experiments of Noonian Soong, the Romulans infiltrated Starfleet, and engineered the synthetic life forms’ attack on Mars. The resulting synth ban drove Bruce Maddox underground, and led him to create an entire race of synths on another planet – the world Soji sees in her dreams. The Romulans are prepared to commit genocide to prevent synths from gaining a place alongside organic life…and only Picard and the others aboard La Sirena stand in their way.

Order DVDswritten by Michael Chabon
directed by Maja Vrvilo
music by Jeff Russo

Star Trek: PicardCast: Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard), Alison Pill (Dr. Agnes Jurati), Isa Briones (Dr. Soji Asha), Evan Evagora (Elnor), Michelle Hurd (Rafi Musiker), Santiago Cabrera (Captain Cristobal Rios), Harry Treadaway (Narek), Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine), Peyton List (Narissa), Tamlyn Tomita (Commodore Oh), Rebecca Wisocky (Ramdha), Ann Magnuson (Admiral Clancy), Derek Webster (Romulan Centurion), Jane Hae Kim (Tal Shiar Female #1), Kendra Munger (Tal Shiar Female #2)

Star Trek: PicardNotes: Derek Webster, whose Romulan character has a very brief scene with Narissa, is a Star Trek veteran: one of his first TV roles was as Lt. Sanders in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode Gambit Part I (1993). Other genre appearances include Stargate, seaQuest 2032, M.A.N.T.I.S., Independence Day, and he was a regular in the first season of the late ’90s Glen A. Larson superhero series Nightman.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Picard Season 1 Star Trek

Et In Arcadia Ego – Part 1

Star Trek: Picard2399: Using the knowledge of Borg transwarp conduits that Soji gained while working aboard the Artifact, La Sirena reaches Soji’s home planet in mere minutes, while the Romulan fleet going there to destroy the planet lags about a day behind at mere warp speeds. Narek, following in a Romulan fighter, tries to take down La Sirena, but the crews of both ships are caught off guard by the arrival of a Borg cube: the Artifact is now fully functional again thanks to Seven of Nine. All three ships are immediately attacked by bio-organic automated defense systems around the planet and forced to land. The Borg ship suffers severe damage as a result, but both Elnor and Seven survive. Picard and the others from La Sirena walk to the home settlement of the synths, finding a lone human there: Altan Soong, son of Data’s creator, Noonian Soong, and former secret collaborator of Bruce Maddox. It is Soong who created Dahj and Soji, and has created an entire community of other synthetic twins, one of which has learned how to mind meld, and does so with Jurati. But this reveals that the Admonition is an offer of help from a union of synthetics beyond the Federation’s home galaxy – an offer of help that also means the eradication of organic life. Worse yet, knowing that a fleet of over 200 Romulan ships draws near, the synths decide to accept that offer and send out a distress signal.

Order DVDsteleplay by Michael Chabon & Ayelet Waldman
story by Michael Chabon & Ayelet Waldman & Akiva Goldsman
directed by Akiva Goldsman
music by Jeff Russo

Star Trek: PicardCast: Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard), Alison Pill (Dr. Agnes Jurati), Isa Briones (Dr. Soji Asha), Evan Evagora (Elnor), Michelle Hurd (Rafi Musiker), Santiago Cabrera (Captain Cristobal Rios), Harry Treadaway (Narek), Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine), Brent Spiner (Altan Inigo Soong), Peyton List (Narissa), Brian DeRozan (Romulan Officer), Matt Perfetuo (Rune), Mike Perfetuo (Codex), Jade Ramsey (Arcana), Nikita Ramsey (Saga), Zachary James Rukavina (XB/Nameless), and Spot II

Star Trek: PicardNotes: The episode’s namesake is a 1638 painting by Nicolas Poussin, now held in the Louvre, and is generally understood to mean that even in a utopia or other ideal place, death still exists. The clothes worn by some of the synthetic life forms created by Soong and Maddox are strongly reminiscent of fashions from 1960s Star Trek, including the barely-there outfits worn by such past synthetic life forms as Rayna (Requiem For Methuselah, 1969) and Andrea (What Are Little Girls Made Of?, 1966), suggesting a connection between those androids and the work of the Soong family (and suggesting that classic series costume designer William Ware Theiss Star Trek: Picardcasts a vast shadow across the entire franchise). It is worth noting, in light of the Romulans’ aversion to artificial life (and their apparent contact with sympathetic members of Starfleet), that every developer of artificial life in Star Trek lore, from Dr. Roger Korby to Flint to Noonian Soong, has worked on their creations in seclusion. Alluded to in previous episodes but never named, Picard’s terminal brain-related ailment is hinted to be the irumodic syndrome detected by Dr. Crusher in All Good Things… (1994), though the third season contradicts this by saying that Picard never developed that condition in this timeline.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Picard Season 2 Star Trek

The Star Gazer

Star Trek: Picard2401: A year and a half after the death of his organic body, Jean-Luc Picard has become the Chancellor of Starfleet Academy, but still spends his downtime at the Picard family vineyard. Laris, now a widow, tries to drop a hint that she has an interest in him, but something distracts him. In deep space, an anomaly forms, attracting the immediate attention of everyone from Starfleet (represented by Captain Rios aboard the new U.S.S. Stargazer) to Seven of Nine, aboard Rios’ old freighter, La Sirena. Something in the anomaly begins broadcasting a very specific plea for help, including the portions of the Federation Charter governing the acceptance of new members – and specifically asks for Picard. The ship that emerges is of an unfamiliar design, though Seven immediately recognizes it as Borg technology. The Borg insist on beaming their Queen over to negotiate in person with Picard; when Rios raises the shields, the Borg force the issue. Understandably interpreting these very aggressive moves as hostility, Picard sets the Stargazer to self-destruct. Moments before the countdown reaches zero, the Borg Queen cryptically repeats something Picard’s mother once told him: “Look up.”

And when he does, Picard finds himself in a completely different world – one where he is awaited by Q.

Order DVDswritten by Akiva Goldsman & Terry Matalas
directed by Doug Aarniokoski
music by Jeff Russo
additional music by Sam Lucas

Star Trek: PicardCast: Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard), Alison Pill (Dr. Agnes Jurati), Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine), Michelle Hurd (Commander Raffi Musiker), Evan Evagora (Cadet Elnor), ORla Brady (Laris), Isa Briones (Dr. Soji Asha), Santiago Cabrera (Captain Cristobal Rios), Whoopi Goldberg (Guinan), John de Lancie (Q), Madeline Wise (Yvette Picard), Menik Goonerathe (Alien Emissary), April Grace (Admiral Sally Whitley), Rich Ceraulo Ko (HAndsome Deltan), Kay Bess (La Sirena Computer), Alex Diehl (Harvey), Dylan von Halle (Young Picard), Richard Jin (Moshe), Floyd Anthony Johns Jr. (Pirate #1), Swati Kapila (Decorated Officer), Geri-Nikole Love (Urtern), Adele Pomerenke (Kemi), Anushka Rani (Sing), and Number One

Star Trek: PicardNotes: This episode marks the first appearance of Guinan since Star Trek: Nemesis, and the first appearance of Q in a live action Star Trek episode since Voyager (Q2); John de Lancie had reprised the role of Q in animation on Star Trek: Lower Decks prior to this season of Picard. Perhaps in response to the previous season’s finale featuring the U.S.S. Zheng He and an enormous fleet of identical ships, the Borg threat receives a response from a much more varied contingent of Starfleet ships, including ships that had originally been designed for the game Star Trek Online. Though Isa Briones continues to appear in other roles this season, this episode marks the final appearance of Soji in the series. Although April Grace played a recurring role as a transporter chief aboard Picard’s Enterprise in both The Next Generation and the first episode of Deep Space Nine, she plays an unrelated Starfleet Admiral here.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Picard Season 2 Star Trek

Penance

Star Trek: PicardWhisked into an alternate timeline by Q in the midst of a crisis involving the Borg, Picard is understandably annoyed at his old nemesis’ presence. Q’s cryptic answers do little to tell Picard why he is now in a timeline where Earth is the center of a Confederation that values human life above all others. The polluted Earth is kept habitable only by a system of solar shields, and Picard’s chateau is now a museum of trophies of a life spent conquering and destroying other species. Q will leave Picard in this reality to atone for some unspecified sin, plunging Picard in the deep end since “General” Picard is soon to make a public appearance on Eradication Day, a holiday celebrating the Confederation’s conquests. Picard is not alone in this timeline, however: Seven awakens in ornate surroundings, free of Borg implants since she was never assimilated. As the President of the Confederation, she too is expected to speak on Eradication Day. She contacts Rios, who is very surprised to find himself commanding an all-out assault on Vulcan space. Raffi and Elnor find themselves in the middle of an uprising, one where Raffi has to take Elnor “prisoner” to keep up appearances (and keep him alive), and Agnes is a cyberneticist in a facility that is keeping one of the Confederation’s worst enemies – the Borg Queen herself, who seems very aware of the changes to the timeline – alive in containment until her public execution. Everyone converges on Earth for Eradication Day, which is to be capped off by a public execution of the Borg Queen. Before the ceremony, the Queen calculates that a single change made in 2024, in Los Angeles, changed the timeline, and that a Watcher at that point in history could help restore history. She also agrees to help them travel back in time, but first, everyone involved has to participate in the ceremony, in reality buying time for Raffi and Elnor to lower the security countermeasures enough for all of them to beam up to La Sirena. But snatching the President of the Confederation, her top General, and public enemy #1 away in front of a huge crowd can’t be accomplished easily…and won’t be accomplished without a high price.

Order DVDsteleplay by Akiva Goldsman & Terry Matalas and Christopher Monfette
story by Michael Chabon and Akiva Goldsman & Terry Matalas and Christopher Monfette
directed by Doug Aarniokoski
music by Jeff Russo
additional music by Sam Lucas

Star Trek: PicardCast: Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard), Alison Pill (Dr. Agnes Jurati), Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine), Michelle Hurd (Commander Raffi Musiker), Evan Evagora (Cadet Elnor), Isa Briones (Dr. Soji Asha), Santiago Cabrera (Captain Cristobal Rios), John de Lancie (Q), Annie Wersching (Borg Queen), Jon Jon Briones (First Magistrate), Patton Oswalt (Spot-73), Toni Belafonte (Zilah), Alex Diehl (Harvey), Paula Andrea Placido (Palace Guard), Hanna-Lee Sakakibara (Romulan Rebel)

Star Trek: PicardNotes: Kirk time-traveling via a slingshot around the sun in a purloined Klingon ship (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, 1986) is identified as a “crude” means of time travel, but likely the only one available. Since the divergence in time is as “early” in Star Trek’s future history as 2024, which son of Sarek’s witnessed his execution is left nebulous, though the hostility between Earth and Vulcan in the altered timeline makes Spock’s very birth unlikely, so it was probably Sybok. Tuvok is mentioned as a leader in the Vulcan war effort on a display screen, but not in dialogue. Annie Wersching’s (1977-2023) first television role was in an early episode of Star Trek: Enterprise, Oasis (2002). Aside from a couple of final appearances in her recurring role on The Rookie, her appearance as the Borg Queen during this season of Star Trek: Picard was her final acting role before she died of cancer in January 2023. Actor Jon Jon Briones is the father of series regular Isa Briones.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Picard Season 2 Star Trek

Assimilation

Star Trek: PicardLa Sirena is briefly taken over by a boarding party led by the First Magistrate, the husband of this timeline’s President. Seven tries to make a convincing show of pulling rank on him, but her lack of any knowledge about the man only intensifies his suspicion, and in the meantime, his men have already shot Elnor, who lies bleeding out on La Sirena’s deck. But Seven’s bluff is enough of a distraction for her and Raffi to deal with the boarding party. Agnes continues connecting the Borg Queen to La Sirena’s systems, but eventually the Queen proves capable of connecting herself, destroying the pursuing Confederation ships, and initiating the slingshot around the sun for time warp. La Sirena arrives in Earth’s 21st century, and just enough control is regained for Picard to bring the ship in for a rough landing near his family home in France, a place isolated enough to not draw immediate attention. Raffi is powerless to save Elnor’s life and begins expressing doubts in Picard’s leadership. The Borg Queen, having used her power to achieve time travel, is in a comatose state, is key to pinpointing the exact source of the divergence in history, and Agnes embarks on a very risky interface with the Queen’s mind to restore her and retrieve that information, something that draws an unhealthy amount of the Queen’s attention to her. The event involves a Watcher somewhere in the city of Los Angeles; just enough power can be routed to the transporters to beam Seven, Raffi, and Rios there, where they must search without drawing attention. While Raffi and Seven are able to fly under the radar, Rios is injured, and just receiving first aid without identification puts him in the crosshairs of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Order DVDswritten by Kiley Rossetter and Christopher Monfette
directed by Lea Thompson
music by Jeff Russo
additional music by Sam Lucas

Star Trek: PicardCast: Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard), Alison Pill (Dr. Agnes Jurati), Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine), Michelle Hurd (Commander Raffi Musiker), Evan Evagora (Cadet Elnor), Isa Briones (Dr. Soji Asha), Santiago Cabrera (Captain Cristobal Rios), John de Lancie (Q), Annie Wersching (Borg Queen), Chloe Wepper (Gabi), Jon Jon Briones (First Magistrate), Sol Rodriguez (Dr. Teresa Ramirez), Richard Chio (Driver), Gattlin Griffith (Mugger), Steve Gutierrez (Ricardo), Matt Kaminsky (Security Guard), Peter Lindstedt (ICE Officer #1), Maggie Pacleb (Little Girl), Marcelo Tubert (Mr. Alvarez)

Star Trek: PicardNotes: If L.A. seems less populated than it should, there’s a real historical reason: season 2 of Picard was filmed as soon as COVID-19 restrictions were lifted just enough to allow film and TV production to continue. Like many other productions, with on-set COVID testing and protective measures required, the production had to keep crowd scenes to an absolute minimum, employing them only for maximum impact (i.e. the ICE raid). At one point, a positive COVID test among the production crew shut down filming yet again. Director Lea Thompson is indeed the actor who played Marty McFly’s mother in the Back To The Future trilogy, making her a good choice to direct a time-travel-heavy episode; she has an on-screen role later in the season. During the scenes of the Borg Queen’s emergence from her stasis chamber, Joel Goldsmith‘s four-note Borg theme from Star Trek: First Contact is heard prominently, though this was omitted from the later soundtrack release.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Picard Season 2 Star Trek

Watcher

Star Trek: PicardSeeking better shelter than the power-drained La Sirena can offer, Picard and Jurati set up camp in the currently abandoned Picard family chateau. They also use the time to compare notes about the information Jurati took from the Borg Queen’s mind, and realize that they have only three days to set the future right. Other information gleaned by Jurati leads Picard to Los Angeles as well – specifically, #10 Forward Avenue, where he finds a young Guinan getting ready to retire from the business of tending bar and listening. She’s not just going out of business, but preparing to leave Earth rather than watching the human race tragically squandering its potential, but she’s also not the watcher that Picard is looking for – nor does she want to tangle with that watcher. Rios is fast-tracked for deportation, and Raffi and Seven stop worrying about how much attention they’re drawing in their quest to save him. Jurati finds herself having to continue upping the stakes in her deal with the devil (or at least the Borg Queen) to help the others. And when Picard finally does meet the watcher, he is surprised to find she has a familiar face.

Order DVDsteleplay by Juliana James & Jane Maggs and Christopher Monfette
story by Travis Fickett and Juliana James
directed by Lea Thompson
music by Jeff Russo
additional music by Sam Lucas

Star Trek: PicardCast: Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard), Alison Pill (Dr. Agnes Jurati), Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine), Michelle Hurd (Commander Raffi Musiker), Orla Brady (Tailinn), Santiago Cabrera (Captain Cristobal Rios), John de Lancie (Q), Annie Wersching (Borg Queen), Madeline Wise (Yvette Picard), Ito Aghayere (Guinan), Leif Gantvoort (ICE Officer #1), Penelope Mitchell (Renee Picard), Sol Rodriguez (Dr. Teresa Ramirez), Chloe Wepper (Gabi), Karl T. Wright (Francis Puga), Oscar Camacho (Pedro), Sean Freeland (Tall Man), Kelli Dawn Hancock (Officer Stauss), Isabella Meneses (Small Girl), Brian Quinn (Dale), Kirk Randolph Thatcher (Mohawk Punk), Danielle Thorpe (LAPD Officer #1), Dylan Von Halle (Young Picard) and Luna

Star Trek: PicardNotes: The boom-box-toting punk on Raffi and Seven’s bus ride is, indeed, the same character who ran afoul of Kirk and Spock in 1986 (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home), hence his more cooperative attitude on lowering his volume, and he’s played by the same actor. When we first meet Renee Picard (and see Q again), they are both at Jackson Roykirk Plaza, named after the scientist responsible for the Nomad robotic probe launched in 2000 and lost shortly afterward (The Changeling, 1967).

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Picard Season 2 Star Trek

Two Of One

Star Trek: PicardPicard and his crew try to stay inconspicuous and keep eyes on Renee, while Jurati finds herself in a constant negotiation for control of her own mind and body with the Borg Queen. Picard is startled to see another familiar face at the gala, one who knows at least something about who he really is: Adam Soong. Soong tries to give him a warning, and then tries to turn the tables on Picard, but before things can go any further, Jurati provides a distraction, the endorphin bump from which allows the Queen to take over completely. Picard finds Renee and tries to give her a pep talk designed to keep her from backing out of the Europa mission, unaware that Soong is there to force that decision by targeting Renee for a hit-and-run “accident”. Picard pushes her out of the way and he becomes the victim of the hit-and-run instead. Rios calls on Dr. Ramirez, whose clinic he was admitted to earlier, to try to save Picard’s life, but even with his vital signs stabilized, he remains in a coma with an unusually high amount of brain activity. Tallinn thinks she can gain access to his subconscious and bring him out of it, but while Picard’s crew is occupied with his immediate fate, Renee is not protected – and Jurati, with the Borg Queen now fully in control, is at large in Los Angeles.

Order DVDswritten by Cindy Appel & Jane Maggs
directed by Jonathan Frakes
music by Jeff Russo
additional music by Sam Lucas

Star Trek: PicardCast: Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard), Alison Pill (Dr. Agnes Jurati), Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine), Michelle Hurd (Commander Raffi Musiker), Evan Evagora (Elnor), Orla Brady (Tallinn), Isa Briones (Kore Soong), Santiago Cabrera (Captain Cristobal Rios), Brent Spiner (Adam Soong), John de Lancie (Q), Annie Wersching (Borg Queen), Penelope Mitchell (Renee Picard), Sol Rodriguez (Dr. Teresa Ramirez), Alexandre Chen (Cute Waiter), Ren Hanami (Director Lee), Michelle Haro (Guard #1), Shaw Jones (Guard #2), Richard Leacock (Commander Musa), Zach Sowers (Security Guard #1), Kareem Stroud (Security Guard #2)

Star Trek: PicardNotes: The OV-165 shuttle identified by Renee Picard can also be seen in the opening credits of every episode of Star Trek: Enterprise. The song “Shadows Of The Night”, made famous by Pat Benatar’s 1982 recording, actually dated back to being written for the soundtrack of the 1980 Tim Curry film Times Square, though the song was left out of the movie and thus dropped from the soundtrack. Other artists recorded the song before Benatar’s version, which made it to #3 and won her a Grammy Award. Amusingly, either Jurati/the Queen selected a song that was already on the band’s setlist, or the band was unusually well-prepared in the event of an impromptu performance of “Shadows Of The Night”. Alison Pill did do her own singing, which appears on the season two soundtrack.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Picard Season 2 Star Trek

Monsters

Star Trek: Picard

Inside Picard’s subconscious with him, Tallinn can only watch as Picard psychoanalyzes himself (in the guise of his own father, in a Starfleet uniform his father never wore) and constantly hearkens back to memories of his mother when he was a young boy. His memories center on the family chateau, and the tunnels beneath it, and other than fleeting glimpses of a physical struggle between his parents, Picard’s mind gives up only hints of anything further. He awakens and decides to go on the offensive, asking Guinan to summon Q, an ability he knows she possesses as an El-Aurian. Returning to La Sirena, Seven and Raffi discover that Agnes Jurati is, to some unknown but growing extent, occupied by the Borg Queen; Seven worries that their trip back in time may have brought a far greater danger with them than anything Q has done. After witnessing Tallinn’s mindlink with Picard in her clinic, Dr. Ramirez asks Rios, point-blank, who he is…and he tells her, and then takes her and her son to La Sirena to prove it. In a Los Angeles dive bar, the Queen-as-Jurati no longer cares how much attention she is drawing to herself. In another bar, Guinan uses an ancient ritual to bring Q to her and Picard…but instead they’re arrested in an FBI raid.

Order DVDswritten by Jane Maggs
directed by Joe Menendez
music by Jeff Russo
additional music by Sam Lucas

Star Trek: PicardCast: Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard), Alison Pill (Dr. Agnes Jurati), Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine), Michelle Hurd (Commander Raffi Musiker), Orla Brady (Tallinn), Isa Briones (Kore Soong), Santiago Cabrera (Captain Cristobal Rios), James Callis (Maurice Picard), Madeline Wise (Yvette Picard), Sol Rodriguez (Dr. Teresa Ramirez), Ito Aghayere (Guinan), Jay Karnes (Agent Wells), Ivo Nandi (LeClerc), Steve Gutierrez (Ricardo), Dylan Von Halle (Young Picard), Marti Matulis (Prisoner), Oscar Torre (Bartender), Travis Walck (Jester), Cyrus Zoghi (Red Bearded Guy)

Star Trek: PicardNotes: Maurice Picard had been seen before, again courtesy of Q, in an older form in Tapestry (1993), though he had died some time before that (and, as he claims here, with his hair intact). Guinan’s ritual hand gestures were previously glimpsed in another comfrontation with Q in Q Who? (1989). Jay Karnes previously guest starred in another time-hopping Star Trek story (Voyager‘s Relativity episode in 1999), and his appearance here had some corners of internet fandom convinced that he must be playing the same character. Another guest star, James Callis, is better known to genre TV fans as Gaius Balter in the 21st century reboot of Battlestar Galactica.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Picard Season 2 Star Trek

Mercy

Star Trek: PicardIn FBI custody, Picard and Guinan begin to suspect that Agent Wells, their captor, may be acting without authorization. But whether he’s unhinged or not, Wells is also aware that Picard and a group of other uninvited guests were present at the Europa mission gala. Wells has Guinan taken to another room while he interrogates Picard. Guinan gets a visitor as well – Q finally appears, annoyed to find her on Earth in this time period. Raffi and Seven find Jurati, but everything points toward the Borg Queen being in complete control, until Jurati passes up an opportunity to kill Raffi. Having exposed Dr. Ramirez and her son to the truth, Rios finds that he can’t control anything on his ship, thanks to Borg encryption forced into his system by Jurati before she left. A message left for her by Q tells Kore everything about her past and her father’s history of genetic experimentation – and Q offers her the ability to step into the outside world. Picard turns the tables on Wells, asking why it’s so important for him to prove the existence of aliens in 2024, and the results dredged up from Wells’ childhood memories prove fascinating. Jurati, needing advanced electronic components to give her the ability to assimilate, finds an appropriately unethical ally in Adam Soong.

Order DVDswritten by Cindy Appel & Kirsten Beyer
directed by Joe Menendez
music by Jeff Russo
additional music by Sam Lucas

Star Trek: PicardCast: Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard), Alison Pill (Dr. Agnes Jurati), Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine), Michelle Hurd (Commander Raffi Musiker), Evan Evagora (Elnor), Orla Brady (Tallinn), Isa Briones (Kore Soong), Santiago Cabrera (Captain Cristobal Rios), Brent Spiner (Adam Soong), John de Lancie (Q), Sol Rodriguez (Dr. Teresa Ramirez), Ito Aghayere (Guinan), Jay Karnes (Agent Wells), Kay Bess (La Sirena Computer), Jackson Garner (Young Wells), Steve Gutierrez (Ricardo), Nanrisa Lee (FBI Agent), Charles Maceo (Merc One), Eduardo Roman (Vulcan #1), Chuti Tiu (Vulcan #2), Oscar Torre (Bartender), Cyrus Zoghi (Red Bearded Guy)

Star Trek: PicardNotes: Seven’s memories of being assimilated at a young age were explored in more detail in numerous episodes of Star Trek: Voyager (The Raven, 1997; Dark Frontier Part I and Part II, 1999). Voyager fans who had spent the week since Monsters speculating that Jay Karnes’ Picard and Voyager characters were related were in for a letdown, but Agent Wells’ flashbacks to meeting Vulcans at a young age may (or, just as easily since they apparently had a ship with working transporters, may not) have had some connection to the Vulcans left behind on Earth to live in Carbon Creek (2002).

LogBook entry by Earl Green