During it’s premiere season, Star Trek Picard dipped a toe into the titular characters past as we caught up with the disconnected Borg Hugh and dropped in on former Captain Riker and his wife, Deanna Troi in a sries that ended with saying a final farewell to what was left of Data. For Season 2, we’ll have another familiar face from the Next Generation join the adventure, though maybe not one Picard would be eager to meet again…
During it’s premiere season, Star Trek Picard dipped a toe into the titular characters past as we caught up with the disconnected Borg Hugh and dropped in on former Captain Riker and his wife, Deanna Troi in a series that ended with saying a final farewell to what was left of Data. For Season 2, we’ll have another familiar face from the Next Generation join the adventure, though maybe not one Picard would be eager to meet again…
Kicking off First Contact day, hosted by StarTrek.com and Paramount+, Sir Patrick Stewart offered a teaser of Picard’s office and a voiceover from a familiar foe, Q. Later in the day John de Lancie jumped into an interview with Stewart to confirm that he’s coming back for Season 2!
“Q’s arrival is, as it often was, utterly unexpected, but also comes at a shattering moment in the episode.” Stewart explained to host Wil Wheaton, “And I do mean a shattering moment. Whether it is connected to Q or not, I am not actually quite sure, but there is significant trauma. And in fact at the moment I am working on working on how the trauma of this moment hangs around Picard for quite a substantial part of the episode. And then, there he is.”
You can watch the interview with the Star Trek stars below.
Introduced in the pilot episode of Next Generation, Encounter at Farpoint, Q has become one of the franchises’ most iconic recurring characters. Introduced as a villain withihn that first season, Q’s eight overall appearances in Next Generation allowed us to see more sides of him, from being ejected from the Continuum and forced into human form to his mission to push the boundaries of Picard’s mind and trying to teach him more about the universe in the series finale All Good Things.
De Lancie also made a one off appearance in Deep Space Nine, infamously getting punched by Sisko in contrast to Picard’s politeness, and continued to appear in three episodes of Voyager.
Aside from a brief voice cameo in Lower Decks’ first season and lending his voice to external media, de Lancie hasn’t been seen on screen as Q in twenty years; his last live action appearance being in Voyager episode Q2 in 2001. How he’ll fit into the darker world of Picard remains to be seen, but it’ll be interesting finding out!
De Lancie isn’t the only Next Generation star to return. Brent Spiner will again feature in the next season reprising his role as the lost son of Soong, Altan, while Whoopie Goldberg is also set to return for a one off appearance as Guinan.
With 12 Monkeys creator Terry Matalas at the helm for this season, replacing former showrunner Michael Chabon, Picard is set for a 2022 release following Lower Decks Season 2, Prodigy’s debut and Discovery Season 4. Picard Season 1 can be streamed now on Amazon Prime Video.
Our latest issue of Comms takes a look at the bluray release of Picard Season 1 and talks in depth – and we mean in depth! – about Discovery’s Third Season with episodic reviews, an overall season analysis and special featuring including a look at the 32nd century tech, the Crossfield Class, Tilly’s Journey, Georgiou’s exit and more! Comms is available as part of SFCQ2’s free membership! To find out more visit our Comms preview or Enlist Today!
About the author
[Retro Review] The Doomsday Machine
Responding to a distress call from the USS Constellation, the Enterprise race to the rescue but they arrive too late to save the day. Coming under fire from an alien entity, the Constellation has been heavily damaged and with only one survivor within it's charred shell; Commodore Matt Decker... Still in shock from the attack, Decker isn't able to say if it was an alien ship, or a creature that tore his ship apart. It doesn't take long to track the aliens flight path. It's not from around these parts, entering the Galaxy and on course towards populated areas that would undoubtedly be next in it's devastating path. Beaming on board with an away team, Kirk aims to try and get whats left of the ship back up and running while getting Decker to safety. But during the transit, the […]
Under Pressure: ‘Orders Of Magnitude’, Strange New Worlds S4E08
Boarding as a hero and legend, Admiral Joe Reeger arrives, take command and leaves Pike stranded as he leads the remaining Enterprise crew on an urgent mission. With a visiting (again!) James Kirk picked out as first officer, Reegers mission and motivations come into question and puts Kirk's leadership to task... Writers: Alan B McElroy Director: Sharon Lewis One thing about season four that's been a highlight through some uneven episodes is how it's guiding it's characters form our first contact with them in this series, and how we originally met them sixty years earlier. While it's been more obvious with Spock's pivot towards being closer to his logical side, we've had Chapel make the choice to become a permanent part of the Enterprise and Scotty's move towards being the 'miracle worker'. Even Pike seems to be on the […]
Days of Our Unreal Lives: ‘Like Chronitons Through The Hourglass’, Strange New Worlds S4E07
Waking up in sickbay with a comical bandage on his head following a shuttle accident, Pike quickly notices things are a bit off. The lights are too bright. The medical staff are behaving oddly with dramatic pauses aplenty. And he's fairly certain space madness isn't a genuine diagnosis. As the hour continues with devious secret siblings, dramatic feats of medicine and family drama aplenty, Pike is drawn further into the strangest of all worlds; the soap opera. Writers: Dana Horgan and Bill WolkoffDirector: Anna Dozoka Soap opera's are mental. And for a theme it's even more mental than it seems. But considering soap opera's are basically just overly dramatic premises with long lost relatives you'd never before heard of, absolutely insane scenario's that make Maggie Simpson shooting Mr Burns seem normal and plot twists so insane you genuinely have to […]
Star Trek Day 2026: Celebrating 60 Years of the Final Frontier!
Sixty years ago the world was introduced to a sci fi series that planted a seed of adventure, imagination and inspiration that would blossom into a juggernaut of media. After launching with the Man Trap on September 8th in the United States, the series would later grow into a pop culture icon spawning 9 Live Action Series, 3 Animated Series, 13 Feature Films & more including Streaming Events, Shorts and a huge amount of offshoot media across games, comics and books. With generations of fans discovering new era's and new adventures for decades, today we celebrate not only that first flight of the USS Enterprise and it's original crew, but an entire franchise that continued to grow, evolve, building a world of adventure, inspiration and hope for a better future! As we celebrate Star Trek at 60, we'd love to hear how […]
Away Team, Assemble! The USS Tesla Set To Beam Down to Epic Comic Con!
Returning to Glasgow this September, the Tesla Crew are once again in action at Fan Frontiers Epic Comic Con in the SEC Hosted by Fan Frontiers, Epic Comic Con has been one of the core places to meet the crew of the Tesla since it’s origins as Acme Comic Con and has become a firm part of the diverse and welcoming fan centric communities hosting everything from Rebel Legions to Ghostbusters! Taking their regular spot once again the Tesla crew will have Star Trek props and collectables on display as the team get ready to share the wonders of the final frontier! With possibly the biggest and most intriguing line ups to date, Epic will be hosting some surprises including Lord of the Rings' hobbit Duo Billy Boyd & Dominic Monaghan, What We Do in the Shadows Star Kayvan Novak, […]
60 Year Mission Celebrations!
This month Star Trek celebrates 60 years since the continuing mission launched and this year we've decided.... one Star Trek Day isn't enough. We're having a whole month of celebration! With plans including virtual meets, Europa chats, competitions and more, we're inviting the whole fleet to jump on board, get involved and join the fun of celebrating sixty years othe final frontier! Virtual Meet Sunday September 6th 8pm Starbase Europa 60 YEAR MISSION Meet the Fleet in Celebration with an evening of catching up, sharing stories, maybe a few bad jokes and general shenanigans! As we open a month of celebrating one of sci fi's most enduring franchises, grab a drink, pull up a chair and have a few laughs to begin the month! Discussion Sunday September 6th All Day Starbase Europa STAR TREK DAY 2026 From dusk 'till dawn, […]
Related
Starfleet Academy Welcomes It’s First Class!
The first batch of cast announcements for Academy focused on veteran actors Paul Giamatti and Holly Hunter, the latter in the role of the new Academy Commandant, but now we're getting a full look at the shows first class of cadets as the first five are ready to enlist!
Paul Giamatti joins Holly Hunter for Starfleet Academy!
Looking ahead to the next generation of Star Trek shows, Paramount and Secret Hideout have already began announcing new cast members to lead the Starfleet Academy series coming to the streaming platform in the near future. News of the show has already turned heads with notes that the new academy campus will be the largest seen on TV so far, being filmed in Pinewood';s largest stage in Canada, though in terms of what to fully expect from the young adult drama, things are largely being kept under Red Directive secrecy. However we now at least know who will be leading the new class ahead of the shows production...
The Last Generation: Picard S310 Review
In a desperate last stand, Jean-Luc Picard and generations of crews, both old and new, fight together to save the galaxy from the greatest threat they've ever faced as Picard and the Next Generation era comes to an end.
Starfleet Academy Series Announced
An idea teased and thrown around for decades will finally come to life as Paramount+ confirmed the next venture of Star Trek. As Picard and Discovery come to an end, we'll see a new brand of hero come to the forefront in Starfleet Academy in the near future.
The Bounty: Picard S306 Review.
Now on the run, Picard and the skeleton crew of the USS Titan must break into Starfleet's most top-secret facility to expose a plot that could destroy the Federation. Picard must turn to the only soul in the galaxy who can help: an old friend.
Imposters: Picard S305 Review.
Caught by Starfleet and facing court martial, paranoia grows as Picard struggles to uncover whether a prodigal crewman from his past has returned as an ally or an enemy hell-bent on destroying them all.
