What I’m Watching: Star Trek: Picard (Season Premiere)

Star Trek: Picard: Season 3, Episode 1 “The Next Generation” (B+)

I’ll start off by saying that I grew up watching “Star Trek: Voyager” rather than “The Next Generation,” and therefore I don’t have the excitement for the reunion of the entire original cast that most Trekkies do. But I can appreciate the fact that they’re all coming back for what promises to be an intense and worthwhile swan song following up an already enlivening and interesting second season with Q changing everything. I may miss some cues others will get right away, but I have to imagine there’s a new audience that can appreciate this as if all the characters were entirely new. Bringing Riker back in this episode was particularly fun, and I very much enjoyed the banter the two of them have. Putting Seven in an uncomfortable position was unfortunate, and her captain is not soon going to forgive her for what she’s done. I will note that actor Todd Stashwick always plays despicable people, but in real life, he’s a very nice guy - I spotted him walking near the red carpet for “Ted Lasso” and pulled him over to talk about his support for his “12 Monkeys” costar Hannah Waddingham. Raffi seemed to be on her own undercover mission, but that major explosion feels like it has to be connected to what they’re doing, a typically uphill battle that’s going to require quite a few allies for them to win. I liked Picard’s quote at the start of the episode: “I am not a man who needs a legacy. I want a new adventure.”