Star Trek: Picard 3-02: Disengage (Quick Review)

Episode:

22

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Writer:

Christopher Monfette & Sean Tretta

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Director:

Doug Aarniokoski

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Air Date:

23-Feb-2023

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Today on Sci-Fi Adventures, I'm watching another episode of Picard, called Disengage. Hey, I see what they did there.

It was written by Christopher Monfette & Sean Tretta. I recognise Monfette from season 2, he worked on some of the better eps, but I don't think I've seen Tretta's name on anything before. Director Doug Aarniokoski has been there since the start, he's the one that did Nepenthe, The Star Gazer, Penance... lots of the good episodes. Aarniokoski was on Discovery as well, starting with the episode Lethe, so he's a proper Star Trek veteran. He hasn't done any of Strange New Worlds yet, but I suppose there's plenty of time for that now it's been renewed.

There will be SPOILERS below, so beware.

Star Trek: Picard 3-01: The Next Generation (Quick Review)

Episode:

21

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Writer:

Terry Matalas

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Director:

Doug Aarniokoski

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Air Date:

16-Feb-2023

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This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, I'm starting Star Trek: Picard season 3 with the episode The Next Generation.

There's nothing weird about Star Trek shows switching showrunners, but it's funny how every season of Picard is clearly a new creator's story. The first season was helmed by novelist Michael Chabon, the second was by Akiva Goldsman, and the third was by Terry Matalas. Okay, that's an oversimplification, as Goldsman also worked on season 1 and Matalas worked on season 2, and the episodes themselves were by a bunch of different writers, but this was definitely Matalas' turn to steer the ship.

I'm one of the people who enjoyed season 2 but I have to concede that it was a bit of a mess. In fact, a lot of Trek fans consider it to be a complete train wreck, an embarrassing disaster, perhaps the worst season of Star Trek ever made. The trouble is, it's hard to tell how much of that was due to Terry Matalas' presence and how much was due to his absence. There was some overlap with the production of the second and third seasons, and Matalas switched his attention to season 3 after just a few episodes. So it could be that season 2 collapsed without him or it could be that his decisions set the season on a course for catastrophe.

Anyway, at the time I'm writing this intro I already know how season 3 went, but my episode reviews were written back when they were coming out so they're all full of authentic ignorance. It just took me a year to publish them because, I dunno, it seemed more important to write about The Trouble with Tribbles and Doctor Who's 60th anniversary, and Picard got pushed to the back burner.

There will be SPOILERS in this review for the whole episode, and things like Star Trek: Discovery, but it won't give away anything that happens later as I didn't actually know what happens later.

Star Trek: Discovery 5-02: Under the Twin Moons (Quick Review)

Episode:

57

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Writer:

Alan McElroy

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Director:

Doug Aarniokoski

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Air Date:

04-Apr-2024

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This week on Sci-Fi Adventures I'm writing about the second episode of Star Trek: Discovery's final season, Under the Twin Moons! I need to pick up the pace though, as I'm falling behind. We waited two years for the series to return then they dropped two episodes on us on the same day, so they're a week ahead of me.

There are some familiar names up there under the picture. Director Doug Aarniokoski had been with the series since the beginning, or since the episode Lethe anyway. But he had more success over on Star Trek: Picard, with series highlights like Nepenthe, The Star Gazer and Penance having his name on them. Writer Alan McElroy hasn't impressed me as much, but I did like An Obol for Charon at least. I think there's the potential there for this to be a good one.

There will be SPOILERS after this point. Though I won't spoil anything that happens later, partly because episode 3 wasn't even out yet at the time I wrote this.

Star Trek: Discovery 1-06: Lethe (Quick Review)

Episode:

06

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Writer:

Joe Menosky & Ted Sullivan

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Air Date:

22-Oct-2017

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Today on Sci-Fi Adventures, I'm trying to get some words written up about the new episode of Star Trek: Discovery in a hurry before a newer one comes along.

Lethe was written by Supergirl writer Ted Sullivan and Star Trek legend Joe Menosky... who wrote that episode of Deep Space Nine I hated. He's written better stuff than Dramatis Personae though, like Next Gen's Darmok and almost every Voyager two-parter. To be honest, I wasn't all that keen on a lot of his Voyager or Next Gen work, but I've got no worries about this episode. Discovery's been so consistent for me so far that I'm sure I'll like this episode exactly as much as I've liked the other five so far. Probably.

This is one of my quick reviews, so there'll be no recap, but there will be lots of SPOILERS, both for events in this episode and maybe a couple of other Trek stories. I won't spoil any episode that hasn't aired yet though.