Star Trek: Picard 3-09: Võx (Quick Review)

Episode:

29

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Writer:

Sean Tretta & Kiley Rossetter

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Director:

Terry Matalas

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Air Date:

13-Apr-2023

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This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, I'm writing about Picard's penultimate episode, Võx, which has a weird title. At least, that's what the experts say. Personally I have no idea if it's right or not, I didn't even know that it was Latin, but the internet seems pretty sure that tilde shouldn't be over the o. It may have been meant to be Vōx, but plain simple Vox would've worked just fine. It means 'voice' by the way.

One thing you don't often see on Star Trek is the showrunner directing an episode themselves, but Terry Matalas was at the helm for this one. He'd directed a few episodes of Twelve Monkeys previously, including the finale, so I'm sure he knew what he was doing. It would've been hilarious if he didn't though, and Picard ended as a complete train wreck on a basic production level. I guess I'll find out!

I'm going to start discussing SPOILERS now, so avert your eyes if you'd rather not know anything about this episode or what led up to it.

Star Trek: Picard 3-04: No Win Scenario (Quick Review)

Episode:

24

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Writer:

Terry Matalas & Sean Tretta

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Director:

Jonathan Frakes

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Air Date:

09-Mar-2023

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This week on Sci-Fi Adventures I'm writing about more Star Trek: Picard. It's season 3, episode 4: No Win Scenario.

In Star Trek, a no win scenario is a situation where there's no possible way to achieve any kind of good outcome. It's a mythical thing, like Rumpelstiltskin or the Greek god Apollo, except less likely to be encountered by a veteran crew with an ongoing series. Sure the heroes lose sometimes, but if they ever think a situation looks hopeless they're just not looking at it from the right perspective yet.

The episode was written by Terry Matalas and Sean Tretta, so the showrunner scripted this one personally. You'll see often a showrunner's name on the most crucial and impressive episodes in a season, the opening chapters, the epic finales, the format-breaking stories, the ones that reveal something about the characters... though on Deep Space Nine you'd also see it on all those Ferengi stories. Ira Behr did love them Ferengi.

I hope you're okay with SPOILERS because this is where they start.

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.