It is kind of interesting to see people who generally like Picard s3 commenting on the scene at the end of the final episode where they rename the Titan-A the Enterprise-G because, as far as I can tell, absolutely no one actually likes that change. It's the moment where the nostalgia-baiting gets too heavy even for people who'd been nodding along completely to the first 98% of the season.
A wish list for Legacy that embraces as best as it can the warring tribes of Star Trek and could avoid another "The Last Jedi" scenario.
People who have read my Season Three commentary will know that I am far from the last person to cry "memberberry" (did I spell that right? I actually really dislike the concept.)
In processing the broad swath of fandom reaction, it breaks down into a few categories worth thinking about:
People who enjoyed it and see no flaws.
People who enjoyed it in spite of the flaws.
People who disliked it for narrative reasons.
People who disliked it for "meta" reasons.
I would say I'm firmly in that second category. Take for instance Jack Crusher. There's a lot of commentary about him that strikes me as bizarre. A backlash to the implication that there is a portion of the fanbase that is uncritically fawning over him. A segment of the fanbase that I have yet to encounter, although I will admit to not having sought it out.
My initial reaction was to dislike the character for both narrative and meta reasons. Narratively I thought his very existence ran counter to a lot of preconceived notions I had about what the "definitive" version of Jean luc and Beverly are, whether or not they'd even conceive, and if they did how they would handle it. Frankly I felt their relationship had largely been put to bed late in TNG's run and in a very mature way. Not everyone who loves each other needs to be in a relationship or actively bonking. This is a lesson I myself have learned in the fallout of relationships after coming to terms with certain incompatibilities while retaining affection for the whole person in spite of the illogic of maintaining a conventional romantic relationship.
The meta reasons are that he's rather clearly "replaced" in some sense both Elnor and Wesley, although they are both alluded to in the dialogue. I do believe its reasonable to assume we were meant to insert either Elnor or Picard's ex post facto reconciliation with his memories of his father into what is left unstated when he says he would never have been his father. Beverly also references losing both a husband and a son to the stars that Picard was infatuated with.
However, I held my own feelings about this loosely enough that the character was able to prove to me that he "deserved" to exist. That he could be an interesting part of the story.
I was not any less disappointed by the absence of Elnor and Wesley not showing up at all seems completely daft, but the narrative made a satisfying argument to me that Jack could have a place in the story if I was willing to give a little.
As I told the Anon who messaged a while back to say I was being snotty to people who prefer more plausible and immersive worldbuilding and less of the camp and contrivances (and presumably the "memberberries" although I would not want to put words in your mouth if you're still following):
Star Trek belongs to all of us. I believe in a big tent fandom.
Which is why I think that if there is to be a "Star Trek Legacy" it needs to not so much move on from fan service, but to be holistic in its fan service. A particular kind of TNG fan got love bombed by Season Three. I find no sin in this but this also isn't the ideal format for an entire series.
I have repeatedly made note that I think the entire Enterprise-G stuff is not ideal. I don't think the starship service pathway makes sense for Seven, Raffi, or Jack. I think it does a disservice to their character arcs and the broader argument that Star Trek Picard has been making that Starfleet is not the sole source of moral authority in the universe. There are other valid ways to do much needed and good work in the universe. The Fenris Rangers being one example. Jack and Beverly acting as a sort of "Doctors Without Borders" in space being another.
I also don't believe in petty retcons and I do recognize the symbolism of re-christening a heroic ship that is already filled with heroic people "Enterprise" in order to say that what makes Starfleet great isn't its scientific acumen, how many cool gadgets can be stuffed into a frame, or the number and potency of its phasers and photon torpedo launchers, but rather the courage, grace, and openness of its people.
It is in someways symbolic that a path that began with the Federation putting itself between the Romulans and the Synths has now hit another mile marker: with a crew of people who are willing to bend rules in the name of radical decency we are returning to a more "bottom up" Starfleet.
That we arguably already have this in the form of Strange New Worlds is beside the point.
So duly noting that I would have preferred something more like Star Trek La Sirena with our more anarchist characters doing their own thing in their way plugging the gaps that Starfleet can't plug for itself for all of the reasons that Shaw continuously argued, I'm going to lay out a vision of how Star Trek Legacy could be awesome.
Now do DS9
I've long been captivated by the idea of a show that is inspired by the Global War on Terror and the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, but not in the same way that Enterprise or Picard were. Originally my thought was that the post Dominion War Cardassian space would be a good setting for this. Show the reconstruction and the painful work of trying to knit Cardassian society back together and trying to create something that is both pluralistic and functional.
Now I am skeptical of the potential of the real world analogs of post war Cardassia (Iraq and Afghanistan) to have been successful regime changes even under conditions of maximum cultural sensitivity on the part of the occupier and the prudent allocation of resources rather than wildly throwing money at problems in ever growing boondoggles that are utterly useless to the people on the ground but sound logical to the vulture capitalists and well intentioned but largely clueless political scientists infesting the State Department and the staffs of politicians. Consequently I would be very wary of normalizing the idea of military occupations.
However, Starfleet is a good vehicle for exploring the ins and outs of trying to rebuild a society shattered by war. Something that is even more relevant than it was when DS9 first started dabbling in this with its stories centering Bajor.
Now if we're to keep going under the assumption that its been more than two decades since the Dominion War, we could update this to the Romulan resettlement zone. Dropping this storyline like a hot potato after season one is one of my great frustrations with Picard because I desperately wanted to see explicit confirmation that the Federation had indeed been thoroughly shamed into rediscovering its wide eyed, do gooder spirit.
With Discovery and Picard ending, there is a space for a serialized narrative show. While I am very wary of this based on how not great the meta-narratives of Discovery and Picard have been and the addiction to epic stakes, I think it could be done and done well.
So an opportunity presents itself to tie up other loose ends.
Nazi Hunting and Church Committees
Give me more Raffi/Worf buddy cop action.
Give me accountability for Section 31.
Give me justice for the Romulans.
Justice for Elnor!
Put Seven, Raffi, and Jack's skillsets and personality to their best use.
How?
Bring back Sloan.
Whoa whoa whoa. Don't click away. Hear me out. You've read this far.
Project Phoenix? That wasn't for Kirk.
Here's the setup. Section 31 was lobotomized by Sloan's death. By its very nature Section 31 was set up in a set of cells with no one but Sloan knowing the full picture. Independent cells were able to keep going after but after the agency's existence became public knowledge, their existence became ever more precarious. Their list of allies in Starfleet growing ever thinner as their collaborators were exposed or burned Section 31 to prevent exposure. They needed Sloan or at least the contents of his head to find more safe houses, caches, and closets with skeletons in them.
Laris catches wind of Sloan via old contacts. This time its Jean luc who is off world on business and doesn't need to know the details.
With the assistance of Worf and Raffi, a team is assembled to pursue Sloan. The Enterprise-G as it happens, is already there on an errand of mercy making good on almost two decades of back owed aide.
Already aboard? At least two individuals with relevant knowledge and an axe to grind:
Elim Garak, plain, simple reconstruction and conflict resolution specialist.
Julian Bashir, frontier medicine and medical infrastructure reconstruction expert.
If the performers are down for it, I'm okay with canonizing them as queer representation. I'm not necessarily a big shipper in general, but I'm not anti-ship.
Elnor's affinity with the Sisters of the Absolute Candor would also feature in as the Sisters are about as likely to love Section 31 as they do the Tal'Shiar.
Jack is...slightly expendable. Not because he's a bad character but because I'm scratching my head trying to figure out how he's not redundant skills wise. His knowledge of the less savory parts of the galaxy would be a bit fresher than Seven and unlike her, he's not the Captain. Overall I think that he should hew closer to his mother in this role because I think the Jack that was doing orderly work was more interesting than action hero Jack. Him being a legitimate counselor would also be an interesting twist as we have yet to see a male mental health worker in Trek IIRC.
For more like this check out my other essays reevaluating Star Trek Picard and interrogating the widely held fandom criticism that Picard made the Federation into a Dystopia.
Marc Bell released his CG model of the new Titan-A/Enterprise-G a few days ago, and I decided it was high time I got back into the groove and made some pretty spaceship pictures. Process details on my blog.
