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.
My biggest fear going into this season was that nostalgia would take over and ruin everything. In this episode, nostalgia takes over and gives us everything we wanted. From the hero ships over the years floating outside the fleet museum, letting us hear DS9 and Voyager themes playing as we see the Defiant and Voyager respectively on display – added in with Seven’s sentiment “I was reborn there”, to the trinkets and surprises scattered around Daystrom station.
But it all seems fitting as a tribute to the era and the era that made it all happen as the Next Generation crew finally gets back together. Worf and Raffi arrive to much rejoicing. They have the key to getting into Daystrom, and there’s a plan in motion. Even better. Titan’s gone off grid and dropped its transponder? Wonderful. From there we have to threads. The main one being a heist drama. Then the other running for help. Both complete the Next Generation crew puzzle nicely.
Breaking into Daystrom station almost felt like an alternate re-run of Picard and Riker boarding the Eleos. This time it’s Riker and Worf alongside Raffi with Riker expecting to play with nostalgia himself teaming up with Worf on a mission again. But as playful as he wants to be, the new Worf doesnt play back like he used to and Raffi’s more all business. When they get stuck, as Starfleet still finds the Titan despite dropping their transponder, forcing Titan to escape for help, the Daystrom mission becomes a tour of past Trek.
A Genesis device. Attack tribble. Kirk’s body taken from Veridian 3. But at the same time, it becomes so much more and all the better for it. What they need to uncover is what else Vadic has that’s significantly more valuable than a devastating weapon of mass destruction. The answers lie within the mainframe of Daystrom Station. To get there a riddle must be solved….
….but we’ll get to that. While Riker and the gang wander around Daystrom, Picard has a place to go as the Titan falls under fire. Despite objections from Sidney LaForge, she sets the course to the one person she doesnt want to see. Her father, a rather pissed off Geordie who’s not exactly pleased to see the man who put his daughter in danger.
Geordie’s story was in itself a fascinating character study. Years removed from the adventure and excitement of his time on two Enterprises’, he’s now a Commodore and curator of the fleet museum, looking for a quiet like where he can focus on family. Boith daughters have followed in his footsteps. One, Alandra, stayed with him in a safe job. The other is now in the thick of the action as a pilot on the Titan and the rift between them is obvious. Sidney is far from the favourite as she wanted the adventure her father had. He wanted her to be safe and lives in fear for her. Watching that story play out was a nice touch, having Geordie come to terms with her decision and how proud she was of her – while Alandra shows her own need for adventure by helping Jack steal a cloaking device from another ship in the museum – the Bird of Prey Kirk acquired in The Search for Spock.
The undercurrent of family differences being torn apart by all being too similar with different motivations was a very nice side plot anchored by the fact that LeVar Burton was given a story to get his teeth into. Right up to the realisation that his kids stole the cloaking device and tried to plug it into Titan, only to roll up his sleeves and show them how to make it work properly…. But the idea of family runs deeper than genetics in this episode. It’s the Next Gen Family that needs to be complete.
That completion comes from Daystrom. Strange Things are afoot at the Circle K. And Riker’s ahead of the game. Daystroms security system throws some tests. The big one being one anchored in the trailer. Moriarty. The holographic character brought to life to thwart Data as Geordie misspoke and the holodeck has shockingly bad security protocols. He appears as Riker’s trying to figure out torturing high pitched chords being played to taunt them. And then it all clicks into place.
With a flashback going right back to the first episode of their time together, Riker connects the dots. The chords he’s hearing make him whistle the tune. Pop goes the weasel. The entire thing is a wonderful tease, and the most obsessive fans know whats coming well before Moriarty appears. When they find the fragments of everything – B4’s body, a new golem body and the last surviving Soong’s message – there’s a certain emotion in seeing the resurrection of someone who struggled to feel them.
Look. I can see the utter nonsense in bringing Data back. We saw him sacrifice himself. Then found out he was still running and ask for death and Picard give it to him. We knew Brent Spiner was back as Lore. But to counter the idea that Adam Soong’s family, who started this all with his initial experiments in the 21st century, would end up realising the narcissism behind their work to leave behind a blend of everything to create perfection…. I’ll take that. If only because, despite the contrived backstory, there’s no Next Gen reunion without Data. Even if it’s a golem created with every Soongdroid mind absorbed into one.
It’s not the same Data. It’s Data 3.0. But that they convincingly pulled it off works wonders. Especially as, yet again, it only adds to the story. What does Data 3.0 know about what was stolen from Daystrom? “Jean Luc Picard.” Does that answer anything? No. But they stole Picards body. They wanted Jack in custody. If this episode focused on family, it ended on what exactly is Picard’s DNA worth?
Filled with Easter eggs, excitement and again more questions – the mystery continues and it’s oddly fascinating to see the climaxes every week making us want more…
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Worf playing his own little games in ‘practising deceit’ in trying to find out if Seven and Raffi are truly no longer together or if it was a cover. Sadly they are estranged.
- In Nemesis, Riker couldn’t remember what Data was whistling when they first met. As a practised musician, and a man suffering nostalgia bug, it was nice to see him working it all out. Not only that, but seeing a remastered scene of that first encounter between Riker and Data was wonderful.
- Though the emphasis in the fleet museum was the Defiant, a Constitution class in the TOS configuration, and the Voyager, others appeared in the background including Doug Drexlers refit NX01 with secondary hull and an Akira Class: The USS Wersching. Named after Annie Wershing who played the Borg Queen in Picard and died of cancer in January.
About the author
Comms/Comms Relay Revisions from Beta Quarter 2025 Onwards
Following our last released issue of Comms as a downloadable publication, we've been moving to an easier and more accessible format by using Q2's website for various articles and updates throughout the year which has included some carry over features from Comms itself. After some trial and error experimentation, our 2025 plan began with some tests through the first quarter and a new comms line up for the site ahead of any plans by our next Fleet Comms Officer. To mirror the old style, reduce workload and offer some variety to our regular posts, we've broken down the year of updates through our operating quarters and scheduled in a rotation of our regular features to keep the fleet updated, entertained with some positive Trek hijinks and more. The current quarter (Beta Quarter: April, May, June) is the first full use […]
[Q2&A] If I Could Get Serial For A Minute…
With a long history and many people coming to SFC over the decades, there can often be a lot of curiosity for members – both old and new – about various subjects. From questions about our base structure, how to get four pips, how Q2 and Q1 diverged many moons ago.... even questions on the curse of the Daring. Sometimes we have questions where the answers are as mundane as the question. One of the most common.... what is my serial number and why do I have it? Like any account number in the known universe – whether it's your broadband provider or local Blockbusters – your service ID is a unique membership number that helps us identify each member whether we're updating a record or assessing a Fleet Support application form. With our structure and organisational systems based on […]
[Retro Review] Latent Image; Voyager S5E11
Running through annual check-ups and playing around with a 24th century version of a digital camera, the Doctor spots some weird scars on Ensign Kim. Scars that could only have come from a surgical procedure he developed, but has no memory of ever performing. The surgery isn't the only gap in the Doctors memory. What else has he forgotten? And how...? No matter the show or the season, Star Trek loves diving into the lives of it's artificial characters. Data explored everything from his basic rights to the meaning of dreams as he developed to become more of a person. For the Doctor, things had always been a bit more complicated. He was a program developed for short term use. A piece of equipment built into sickbay that could be turned off and on at will. While Deep Space Nine's […]
A New Class: Academy Revisions For The Class of 2402
It's only April and the year has been one for us to take a step back and review our operations to do some much overdue maintenance on our overall performance and offerings. One of the major hurdles for the second quarter is one of the tougher parts of Q2: The Academy. Once upon a time the Academy was a core part of the experience in joining SFC. After singing up new members would pass through the Academy, completing a series of tests before becoming an ensign, joining their unit and becoming an active member of the club. Many people over the years enjoyed the more immersive and playful nature of being part of an organisation modelled after Starfleet. Some didn't. As years went by, the franchise itself evolved, opening it's door to new fans who'd want to reach out and […]
A Fistful of Vulcan Emotions
Being a key element in the Sstar Trek lore from the very beginning, Vulcan mythology can often seem distorted by simplicity. Seen as a stoney emotionless species, their society is built on logic and science in helping them understand and navigate through the complexities of the universe. Though when it comes to them being emotionless, nothing could be farther from the truth. Once a volatile and primitive species, the Vulcan culture came from the teaching of Surak who learned to repress his violent urges and find peace within logical thought. Surak's teachings would become the basis for Vulcan core values for centuries. When it came to the original series, Vulcans were introduced through Spock – a half Vulcan with a human mother who often wrestled with the cultural norm of repressing emotions alongside the human half's more emotional state. Over […]
[Retro Review] Year Of Hell: Voyager Season 4
Embracing all aspects of science fiction has been Star Trek's thing since it's inception and time travel was no exception. Ever since the first time travel adventure with Kirk's Enterprise ending up in the 1960's, we've seen the various crews out of time and desperately trying not to change their own history. In one adventure, history would constantly change around the USS Voyager. One of the most memorable and loved two parters, Year of Hell remains a symbol of how desperate the situation could have been for the Voyager crew. As Janeway negotiations with an alien species for free travel through their region, a small annoyance of a ship interrupts them. Then suddenly, the timeline changed. The aliens, the Zahl, were gone. Erased from history. And the unsophisticated Krenim ship that was no match for Voyager one second was now […]
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.
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.
No Win Scenario: Picard S304 Review.
With time running out, Picard, Riker, and the crew must confront the sins of their past and heal fresh wounds, while the Titan drifts helplessly toward certain destruction within a mysterious space anomaly.
