Confession: Early in pandemic, while everyone was working on their sourdoughs, I lost my mind over how much I hated Picard S1. Literally spite-scripted screenplays for a series that used the same elements in service to something that felt more "Trek". (Hey, we all coped differently. 🙃)
I didn't watch S2 & S3, while my fellow #Trekkies hatewatched. I plan to pour my love of Trek into more new SF material, but... I think this review also neatly sums up the ongoing problem:
https://observer.com/2023/04/star-trek-picard-finale-review-to-not-so-boldly-go-backwards/
@MLClark I walked away from Star Trek way back in 2002. Nemesis did me in. I never looked back after that. And Kurtzman trek has done nothing to court me back, just reenforce to me why it was a good decision to take my leave. Star Trek used to be cutting edge storytelling, but now it’s nothing more than petty soap opera 3D nonsense that’s boring at best and insulting at its worst. Can it be saved? I believe it can be but not by the current “talent” at the helm.
@MLClark Yeah I’m pretty convinced at the point the studios just don’t want to make money anymore.
@Siren_six Nemesis broke me, too! The soap-operating nonsense continues to break my heart. When you go back to TNG and DS9 you see an era when theatre still deeply informed TV series design, and required robust writing. The *scripts* on these latest outings are awful - & the franchise has also lost the ability to hold ideas in tension, which used to be a core feature of a Trek outing. Current "talent" has made such blatantly cynical choices... but also, too many are fine with them. So it goes.