Opinion: With Debut Of Star Trek: Picard Poster, Awe And Worry Go Hand In Hand

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Jul 11, 2019

Fans of Star Trek were treated to the first official poster of the upcoming Picard centered series, Star Trek: Picard. Patrick Stewart shared the poster on Twitter.

Upon seeing the poster, I like many felt excitement. However, it was quickly followed by concern and a creeping feeling that this new series is influenced by the Kelvin Timeline, first introduced by J.J. Abrams in the Star Trek movie from 2009.

What’ I’m Excited About

The Picard Vineyard

Before we get to the concerning parts of the poster, let’s get to the exciting parts. The poster is a call back to one of Patrick Stewart’s best performances as Jean-Luc Picard in The Next Generation (TNG) episode “Family.”  The episode immediately followed the conclusion of the two-parter “The Best of Both Worlds” which saw the Enterprise crew not only fight off the Borg, but also rescue their captured and assimilated Captain from their clutches.

As you look at the poster you can see the Picard vineyard taking up a great deal of space. In my view, this signals that the writers are heavily invested in exploring aspects of the character that aren’t just stoic in nature.

Seeing the Captain back on the family farm to me is a good sign overall.

The Desire to Explore

In the poster, you also see that the sun is creating a halo, one in the shape of a planet. I believe this is a call to Picard’s desire to explore the stars. So even though he’s been on the farm for some time; that desire to explore still burns within him.

Patrick Stewart’s Passion for Dogs

Another aspect of the poster I just really enjoyed was how they incorporated his passion for dogs. If you follow Patrick Stewart on social media, you know this is a major passion for the actor. His work with animal shelters and rescues are all too well documented on his Twitter and Instagram accounts.

Finally, and related to the dog, we see on his collar a Starfleet insignia. We all know dogs are man’s best friend, so seeing the insignia on the pup displays that though he has been out of Starfleet for some time, according to the teaser, the Federation is still in Jean Luc’s heart.

What Worries Me

To be honest it has to be the aesthetics and color pallet. Much of it, in my view, screams Bad Robot/Nu-Trek style that heavily bled into Star Trek: Discovery. Since the Kelvin Timeline debut back in 2009, the fandom has been a bit divided on how it’s affected the franchise. I’m firmly in the camp of the original Star Trek aesthetic of the Alpha timeline.

With the announcement of Star Trek: Picard and having Patrick Stewart return to the character, many of us were/are hoping that the show would pull the series back (at least in the Alpha timeline) back to the old aesthetics of the franchise.

Those are my thoughts on the new poster for Star Trek: Picard, but I want to hear yours! What do you think of the first poster of the upcoming series? Are you like me holding a mix of hope and worry? Or are you already on one side or the other? Let me know your thoughts here and on Twitter!

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