No Formal Training

Star Trek Picard Episode 5 review   Stardust City Rag Star Trek Picard Episode 5 review Stardust City Rag Spoilers ahead, so beware.   In now true Star Trek Picard tradition, we open up with a flashback to the past, which in this shows case, is the past, but is still the future. And we catch up with Icheb. Now a Starfleet officer and in a lot of trouble as he is brutally experimented upon to steal his Borg implants, with his left eye being the first thing we see taken out, but presumably not the first thing removed.   He’s also fully awake and clearly not a willing participant. Seven thankfully shows up, killing all his torturers and tries to get him upright, but Icheb begs her to end his life. Regrettably, tearfully, she euthanizes him and holds him in her arms.  “I’m so sorry, my child.”   We return to the present and Maddox is indeed alive and in trouble on Freecloud. Turns out he had borrowed money for a new lab from a legitimate business woman, Bjayz...

Star Trek Picard Episode 4 review Absolute Candor Star Trek Picard Episode 4 review Spoilers ahead, so beware.   The opening shot is a flashback 14 years ago to the Romulan resettlement effort and the planet Vashti in the beta quadrant, swarming with starfleet shuttles going to and from the surface and with Picard beaming down looking like he’s about to go for a walk along the French riviera.   The Romulan relocation hub looks like a tropical village paradise with some tower blocks, surrounded by foliage and resting at the foot a mountain range, in turn surrounded by desert and lit by twin suns. There's even signs of more construction as a crane can be seen in the distance. We see the Romulans settlers playing cards and other games to pass the time while a young Elnor steals some fruit from an angry vendor who yells in Romulan at the thief “run sisterboy” to which Elnor retorts in Romulan “bite me”. Not something I think he would have picked up from Picard. It’s im...

Star Trek Picard Episode 3 review The End is The Beginning EDIT: This was supposed to go live last week but with a few issues slowing me down I wasn't able to get the article up on time and then forgot about it. Sorry, my bad. I'm aiming to have episode 4's review up tomorrow. Spoilers ahead, so beware.   We open up with a flashback to the martian attack as the attacking vessel lay waste to the red planet's surface and F-* taking out his colleague and security guards.   We then have another flashback to the day Picard resigned from Starfleet, his last gamble in an attempt to rescue the Romulan people. Sadly the Starfleet brass called his bluff, something he never believed they would accept, and Picard made good on his word. He discusses the outcome with Raffi who shows how cool and calm and collected she is until the news of his resignation hits home which makes her lose her cool somewhat. She is called away, angrily and correctly predicting she w...