I didn’t think this Kirk was written or acted very well. As much as I love SNW and thought they were serious TOS heads, emphasizing Kirk’s rule breaker, risk taker side kinda had me wondering. He was dead f’ing serious in “Balance of Terror” and wracked with self doubt. This guy was just guns blazin.’ 

They have their formula tightly calibrated at the very start. So well done. Loved it. Highly optimistic. 

One of the things I loved about Picard is that it was not a sentimental journey. Loved the new characters and what they demanded of Picard. Excellent actors and characters with such promise. It was fresh and exciting. 

Last seasons contemplation of mortality had some magical moments, despite some of the weird misfires. Data was the spiritual core. This seasons core is pretty suspect to me.

We learned more about the inner life of Rafi, whose character was laid emotionally bare in like seven episodes, then we learned about any of the supporting cast members of the next generation over seven seasons of television and four movies. You don’t like the format? That’s fine with me. But you’re off-base in your…

I think his films are actually pretty mundane and his acting, which is not great at baseline, gets even more zombielike when he directs. I’m sorry for his personal problems but I honestly think it would’ve come off as a run of the mill action movie with a guy in a bat outfit. 

Just finished the rewatch. If anything, the show suffers from too much plot being shoved into only 10 episodes. It’s imperfect for sure with backstory after backstory needing to be explained but even that is a symptom of too dense of a story. 

I’m rewatching Picard right now and I’m really enjoying it. Actually even more than the first time I saw it, because I’m catching a lot of subtle acting bits that are great specifically because there is room in the story. The first season of any show can be clunky. The show is no different. And certainly the show does…

You correctly point out the potential weaknesses of the prestige tv format but I disagree with you about Picard. I enjoyed the nuances and the time spent. I watch a lot more British tv these days and I frankly enjoy people standing there talking to each other, which is what drama actually is. Human interaction.

It’s my favorite movie and all… But it was 40 years ago! 40 years! Why is everybody still waiting for another Wrath of Khan?

Blade Runner 2049 was absolutely brilliant.

And when we see that no Native people will be involved in the writing, producing, directing etc. we will know that Hollywood hasn’t changed at all. 

The more you try to prove you can put your own unique spin on this character, the more glaring the tropes become.

Absolutely. It could be fun, but it feels pretty calculated. 

They’re so desperate. He’s just a vehicle for some nostalgia and a swipe at a “multiverse.”

Agreed. I think we struggle to change. We want to, but it’s hard. 

I want to be clear that I’m not saying there “should” have been God, like my own God or someone else’s, I’m just saying that without that option of union with a truly benevolent supreme being or energy and without us actually “being” different, the show was really about the human condition and not as much about the…

I just want to add to this respectful dialogue that, as a fan of the show, I just found the show about our human experience and not an effective commentary on religious ideas or the afterlife. In fact, their original idea was to do something about all religions and they backed off, fearing it would be too…

I hear you, but this show has strived for depth in most cases and I thought the final view of what “the good place” ultimately was, was really lacking. If heaven so to speak, is just a party with endless activities, thAt is a very narrow and childish view of an afterlife. It was individualistic and shallow, especially…

I thought the last episode was horrible. With all the wonderful ideas about what it means to be alive( or dead?) that they grappled with in that show, that their big finale was essentially suicide was a pretty huge letdown for me. I’ll skip that last episode on the rewatch...if that ever happens.