From: jbn@forestfield.org   
      
   John Crane  wrote:   
   > On the years-long mourning... I think Data was only a part of it.   
   > Picard's life was defined by SF.  And to have it turn into (in his   
   > eyes) the antithesis of what SF should be... was just too much for   
   > him to bear.  He disconnected from everything.   
      
   Capt. Picard got over big conspiracies before (like the 1st season   
   creatures infesting Starfleet admiralty which included making a lot of   
   small maneuvering over years, a plan so complex it required Data to   
   see it all). The show needs to explain how he lost this ability but   
   the new writers are incapable of delivering that because that requires   
   doing the character research I doubt they've done. Then there are plot   
   points that ruin episodes or fundamentals of the larger plot. No,   
   there is too much bad writing on ST:Picard to ignore and the latest   
   episode is confirmation of this.   
      
   Gratuitous gore starts the show this week and it does nothing to get   
   the viewer interested in the character or the episode's plot. I'm   
   reminded of using gore as a distractive crutch for weak writing. Then   
   there's an ongoing theme of doing away with ethical tales (which is   
   what Star Trek was known for for decades). Then there is the meager   
   character exploration punctuated with unengaging action scenes. The   
   action is easy for me to dismiss because the show gives me no reason   
   to be emotionally invested in the characters.   
      
   Picard is a very different man post-TNG. In the movies he's hot-headed   
   and not at all reflective like he was before (one reason TNG movies   
   are bad; the last episode of TNG would have been a great movie). Now   
   Picard is too old to believably do the action scenes he's in and the   
   show won't give us the kinds of plots which older people can carry off   
   well (character-driven drama, shows where a life change happens and we   
   see someone dealing with the consequences, coming to grips with).   
      
   I can see why people would see a few episodes of this and not want to   
   pay to see another.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)