"You know, Will, I've come to believe that the stars have always been in my favor."
It's been one year since the premiere of Star Trek Picard's third and final season. In those 365 days, my love and appreciation for what that final season accomplished has only grown, and for at least ten weeks, Picard season three brought Star Trek fandom together.
It was everything I had wanted from Picard since its premiere in 2020: a reunion of the crew of the USS Enterprise that so many had asked for since 2002's Star Trek Nemesis. However you feel about that film, it was not the send-off that Captain Picard and his crew deserved. Terry Matalas and his team knew this, picked up the ball, and pardon the football reference as I write this on Superbowl Sunday, scored a touchdown along with a two-point conversion.
On our podcast reviewing the penultimate episode of the season, I spoke about how fan service and nostalgia are important to some people. Emcee said we shouldn't dismiss people for being moved by or enjoying fan service and nostalgia. And again, one year later, I still agree with that sentiment.
Jean-Luc and his crew were my defacto family growing up in an apartment with my mother, who was an addict. Their weekly adventures, struggles against Q and the Borg, and triumphs, whether against a foe or on a first contact mission: no matter where I was during what was most certainly a rough childhood, I had them to keep me going. And seeing Captain Picard take the center seat on the newly restored Enterprise-D will be a moment that I will never forget.
Saturn Award Winner Jonathan Frakes put in the performance of his career as Will Riker in Picard Season three - Photo Credit: Trae Patton
That was the final season of Star Trek Picard in a nutshell. There are so many unforgettable moments, some right from the word go. Beverly Crusher taking out Vadic's goons with a phaser rifle fashioned as a shotgun, Jonathan Frakes putting in an all-time performance as Will Riker while directing multiple episodes, and, of course, Todd Stashwick making every Trekkie in the world fall in love with the dip-shit from Chicago himself Liam Shaw.
Earlier, I talked about how Picard's final season united the fandom. I'm not blind to the fact that it also brought out some of the internet's worst bad actors, who, to their credit, enjoyed the hell out of the show, but perhaps for all the wrong reasons. Showrunner Terry Matalas even called out one in particular for being "back on his bullshit." That same bad actor would later threaten to sue me after I basically said the same thing as Terry. Spoilers: they didn't.
But this behavior was not uncommon during the final season, with some clickbait outlets even having to defend their love for the season against their own fans. It's unfortunately not surprising after said outlets have spent the better part of seven years otherwise trashing the current golden age of Trek we're living in.
And it wasn't just pay-to-hate outlets acting entitled like this season of Picard was specifically made for them (it wasn't). "OG" Trekkies spent much of the season talking about how amazing Picard season three was, how it was a return to form, how Alex Kurtzman couldn't dream of making Trek like this....not realizing that Kurtzman is the head of all of new Trek and an executive producer on the series. It was disappointing and hard to see when this was otherwise very much a celebration among most of the fandom.
This next part is the first time I'm talking about this outside of a private conversation between two of my dear friends. I had a tough time seeing that discourse among the fandom. Yes, from the people who make their streaming money to generate drama and controversy, but also from fellow content creators that I respect the hell out of. As podcasters, and dare I say as journalists, it's our job to analyze all aspects of the shows that we review.
At points, it felt like my colleagues were pulling controversy out of thin air, even after previously praising the show. Even on Strange New Pod, I struggled to understand how some other points of view came up (this is nothing I haven't talked about already during the show run with my co-hosts). For the first time in SNP's existence, there were a couple of times when I wanted to call it quits and just enjoy something I had been so looking forward to as a fan. I'm glad I didn't.
A highlight of my podcasting career. Stephen Barton recently won a Grammy in the Best Video Game Score for Star Wars: Jedi Survivor
I think Strange New Pod's coverage of Picard season three produced some of our best shows. We had the honor of interviewing Todd Stashwick. Erik and I recorded quite possibly my favorite episode we've ever done, sitting down with composers Stephen Barton and Frederik Wiedmann. Our engagement? Through the roof. So, despite whatever personal misgivings I may have had, those ten weeks were some of the most fun I've had as a podcaster.
A couple of months ago, I got to see Star Trek Lower Decks in the theater with a couple of our Patron Collective members, whom I have the privilege of calling friends. At dinner afterward, I was utterly blown away when I was gifted a signed panorama of the Enterprise-D bridge with signatures from all the amazing folks like Dave Blass and Liz Kloczkowski, who helped bring the bridge set to life. In that bag were also two pieces of carpet from the very rolls they used on the set. The only thing I can say is to thank you. Trekkies, we just get each other.
To close, I want to thank Terry Matalas one last time. For much of Picard season three, I felt like Terry was just another fan, going with us for the ride at Warp 9.99. There is undoubtedly much more epic Trek to be made. We are truly blessed with creators like the Hageman brothers, Mike McMahan, Michelle Paradise, and Henry Alonso Myers, who continue to create quality adventures in the final frontier. Here's hoping Terry gets another shot at the chair...or even the starship Enterprise.
