To those asking about the swear censoring. This was just a test. We've been getting age-restricted on TH-cam a lot recently. We never really know why or when. Next video will have more precious swearing. Maybe a mix of bleeps and swears. We're process of elimination-ing this fucking shit. We haven't gone soft. We're still swol AF.
there was new announcement 2 days ago where the guy responsible for this talked that they relaxed the rules a bit. you can search for Profanity Update - Advertiser Friendly Guidelines
Anyone have any idea how much Wheaton is being paid for his 'role' in these shows? It's almost like Paramount is throwing him a bone not to be complaining on social media about how he has had no role in any of the new Treks (other than that lame walk-on at the end of S2).
the story arc isn't over yet... Rich be like "[Star Trek] promised he won't beat me anymore, but do i take him back?" this arc isn't meant to end in reconciliation if you follow the trajectory of parallel stories.
@@asdffdsa541 It reminds me of game of thrones where the only thing it really had going for it was sex, violence and a wise cracking midget then as soon as they strayed from the book formula it went from mediocre/passable to dogshit garbage. I mean seriously go to the earlier seasons of game of thrones, cut out the sex and violence and ask yourself if you think its a good show or your brain got tricked by appealing to base human desires.
35:45 I am truly shocked that Rich settled on "Fake Ensign LaForge" when "Ensign LaForgery" was right there. This proves exactly how distracted the boys are by how good Season 3 has been so far.
To be fair, that's wicked clever, and as clever as they can be sometimes, you can't expect them to come up with every clever comment possible at a moments notice. I guess what I'm trying to say is: kudos to you on a brilliant nickname.
You mean so beaten down by bad content that they consider the third season of Picard 'good enough to watch the rest of the season veeery cautiously'. So wholesome -.-
Same. I watch RLM Star Trek videos despite never having watched more than a couple episodes of TOS because I've never been as devoted a fan of any series as they are of ST, and I find their passion endearing.
How mike found a clip of a person taking off their shoes in TNG without having to watch through every episode is the most astounding aspect of this review
@@DaanDobber How Daan found the foot page on Memory Alpha without having to go through every Memory Alpha page is the most astounding aspect of this comment
I was struck by that as well! I wonder how much time was spent tracking down and inserting the shot which only lasted for like a second or two. And these reviews are filled with small clips like that. Must be a lot of work to edit.
Mike’s question “would you want to work in a dark space ship” is such a great point. All of these “dark, dramatically lit” shows make me think “Why is this person’s apartment so frickin dark? Turn on a light!”
@@quintessenceSL True, but that's because the computer screen is where the work is done, almost everything else in the room doesn't matter. In star trek people aren't on computers, they're doing other things and moving around. They only use them when necessary.
In enterprise d, you know which panel is screen and buttons and which panels are just walls. I really do not know how anyone in disco or picard ships where the screen ends and where the "lean against this for support" begins
Seriously, I hate how the ships look in nu-trek. Mike is 100% in that they're barely distinguishable from each other. Places being way too fucking dark is a modern Hollywood problem in general really that goes well beyond trek.
This comment is so god damn annoying it’s almost a copy pasta. Why not enjoy their takes you have little to no idea why or how they feel as they feel if you don’t do the decent thing to watch the show. For fucks sake
Picard finally felt right in this episode. When he was eating alone at the bar, visibly winced at the enthusiastic cadets interrupting him and told them he wasnt one for telling stories, THAT was Picard.
That did feel like Picard, I agree. Patrick Stewart is so friendly and warm that people forget often that Picard is not warm and not friendly. Even when he's being diplomatic there is still a distance.
A lot of Picard's dialogue this season feels like authentic Picard. The way Picard confronted Beverly, the way Picard interrogated Jack Crusher, the way Picard handled Shaw's rant, the way Picard argued with Riker. All of it feels like the Picard we all know from TNG.
Not gonna lie, Rich and Mike experiencing genuine enjoyment of something Trek-related is pretty heartwarming to see. I'm not even leading into a "butterfly tears" joke; this is actually wholesome. Here's hoping things pick up even more.
As are many of us. So far it's pretty good and an enormous improvement over seasons 1 and 2 of Picard, there is though still plenty of room for improvement, not only with the writing but some of the very sloppy editing too. I'll give it a 7/10 so far.
I think Rich and Mike are at the "everything has fallen apart so we're gonna ram the ship" level. Everyone is basically already dead and the ship is falling apart, everyone already knows we're in danger, so they don't bother with alerts, they probably don't even work anymore. This is Year of Hell, except it's been going on for over half a decade at least now.
@@skeetsmcgrew3282 It's not pointless? It's to get people to be at the ready in case something goes wrong, as opposed to just sleeping in their room or playing cards or something. Yellow alert is to make sure that when you suddenly need to go to red alert, your people are already where they should be, not scrambling to get to their posts.
@@skeetsmcgrew3282 It's not a 100% on duty alert all the time rigid wartime military operation. It's also an exploration/science/diplomacy ship extremely often. Crews have morale, people aren't drones who do nothing but what their boss tells them. The Enterprise regularly had off-duty activities, the crew did not work and sleep only. You don't need a fully operational battle stations ready ship at all times. It's even detrimental to do so because you need to save resources. Yellow alert says "we're not currently in a totally safe area, make sure you're available should something go wrong". Or "we're now entering a potentially dangerous situation, be ready, don't be messing around with your side projects right now". Otherwise from the crews perspective it's "everything is exactly as it is every day, nothing to worry about" to a sudden jump of "WERE UNDER ATTACK NOW FIX IT". Pretty sure yellow alert is also a shorthand for ensuring weapons are online and shields are working. I understand the impulse to think they're all just perfect beings who are on 100% of the time, but that's not how actual human beings operate.
If you can stomach the early 2000s legal drama nonsense, Boston Legal has fantastic peformances from Auberjonois, Shatner, James Spader, Armin Shimerman, Betty White, Katey Sagal, and many others.
This is like watching a friend who has been repeatedly burned by the same type of love interest getting all excited again, telling you "I know what you're going to say, but I'm being careful this time, I'm keeping my guard up" but you see in their eyes they are ignoring every better instinct they should have developed after so many identical experiences.
The key to fixing what's going wrong in media right now is recognizing that the franchise name is meaningless. If we could truly get people to grasp this, it would solve -studios rehashing old IPs despite them being unrecognizable in the final product which wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't meant to be that IP -people trusting anything with the name on it -people mistrusting anything with the name on it, causing the studios to consider the IP poison somehow, instead of the idiots that ruined it etc. We've gotta look at the creative team behind stuff, and not the fact that it's technically part of the same program. Comic book fans have been doing this for ages. They understand "the (name) run" is the best part of a given superhero team's story, not just anything with those characters in it. And nobody looks at "ooh the latest drop from (record label)!" they care about the actual specific band. and not so much, once that band's members die off and get replaced.
@@KairuHakubi This is contributes to why so many shows don't end when they should and instead drag on until they stop being good. In Japan, animation studios have a reputation, so they get to end a show after 1 or 2 seasons because they can just make a different show similar to that one, without losing the name recognition. If the writers/producer for a hit TV show in the US end a show and start a new one, no one will have any idea and they need to build up the show's reputation from scratch. This is hard to replicate in the USA because the average job tenure at Japanese companies is almost 3 times as long, which means that consumers can rely more on the studio name; also, Japanese companies are less aggressive about using the same name on all their subsidiaries, so instead of everything being "Disney/Pixar" or (France's) "Ubisoft [city name]", each team gets a distinctive brand that can become known for a particular style of work. It's not a perfect system (Companies that last long enough for veterans to retire, like Blizzard Entertainment, will be subject to long-term shifts) but it works a lot better than whatever the USA is doing.
Spoken like the time laser red angel you are. Who put you up to this?? The Borg-Section 31 alliance? or the Dominion-Pakled force?? Talk or I'll stab you with a space-time crystal!
Their disdain for Kurtzman and his crew deserves its own video by now. The lenghty Picard monologue, the Akiva Goldsman impression ("Who's the biggest threat in Star Trek? The Borg."), the various Kurtzman impressions. They're all hilarious.
Hearing his utter defeat with Star Trek and even saying it was ruining the old shows was legitimately disheartening, seeing him genuinely enjoying Star Trek again is a treat in these dark times
@@may14ification I mean season 3 is absolutely terrible. The fact that they haven't watched Strange New Worlds, which is the only good New Trek, is kinda hilarious.
It's very weird how much joy I find in watching two fans of something carefully start to enjoy the thing they loved again. It's just lovely and I'm here for it.
Yeah, I hope they go back to Strange New Worlds. The first couple episodes are just okay, but when that show HITS it hits. The Gorn episode was amazing and the finale where Pike gets to see the future if he was Captain instead of Kirk was great. Just to see how their difference as Captains isn't that one is better than the other, but how they handle situations.
@@Radb707 I love SNW so so so fucking much. I find it, frankly, impossible to believe it came from the same morons who gave us 4 seasons of DSC and 2 of PIC.
@@occono3543 New showrunner for Picard too. He did the first two episodes of S2 and then left to start work on S3 so they are technically independent productions.
I’m torn because I enjoyed the utter hatred and contempt for the first 2 seasons much more, but it’s cool they seem to have made decent new TNG finally. Might have to actually watch this season eventually. I still prefer when they’re destroying new media tho! Can’t lie
I want a Star Trek show with Captain Shaw where he travels around the galaxy very reluctantly solving everyone's problems while being kind of a dick about it too
Riker's arc represents the TNG fandom experience with this show. Grieving over loss, chooses to go on a new adventure with Picard. First he only finds bleakness. Yet in the end the crew being themselves turns it around and wonder returns to his life.
@@JiriTrubac Every time I remember that Wil Wheaton has to spend all day every day being Wil Wheaton, I feel bad for him. Then I remember what a dick he is and I laugh because he is stuck being Wil Wheaton.
That scene where Riker is talking straight to camera but actually to Troi about seeing the space babies, and it reminding him how he's supposed to be, and his apology for not being better before - I felt like that was the writers talking to directly to fans and apologizing for seasons 1&2
Picard so desperately wanting to attack the Shrike felt way out of character. Picard always uses violence as an absolute last resort. We aren't even given a real reason why he believes so vehemently that a surprise attack is more viable than an escape tactic. Worf going around massacaring people is also out of character. He's been violent and killed people yes, but never like that.
@@Scripture-Man I think you need to rewatch more TNG episodes, because you seem to just be remembering the bridge encounters where Picard has to put on a serious face for his adversaries. He was quite a gentle and caring man in the small moments throughout TNG. His hobby was theater and the arts after all. Tapestry specifically shows how his TNG personality is evolved and tempered from his maverick, macho youth and seeing that trend continue should be no surprise. And All Good Things ended with his progression to opening up his personal relationship with his crew leading to his current friendliness that wasn’t present earlier in TNG. And all through Picard he is taking initiative to face danger for his missions, so I don’t think you can call him meek.
RLM does tons of snide dismissive jaded (and yeah, funny) material, but it’s when they let their guard down and admit things matter to them that they’re at their best.
@@SenorBigDong69 Layers on layers on meaning and thoughts and emotion in such a simple scene. As you say, heartwarming in practically any other context, heartbreaking for Jack. And for Picard, not even probably what he'd say in a private conversation. His answer was a very canned response because he was in the throes of young Starfleet cadets looking up to him and excited about their pending careers. He's playing to the crowd, wanting to give them all an upbeat send-off. Prior to remembering Jack in the background, you get the sense that this was a memory that he cherished for the swell of respect and awe from the cadets. The cadets will later tell that story to other Starfleet personnel, "I actually met Jean-Luc Picard in a bar once, and he said..." Jack now realizes that his father wasn't turning from him and his mother, that his career with Starfleet was more of this experience he just had with him, the challenge, and the being a part of this team of star-hopping do-gooders risking their lives for the sake of one and all - a life that he can understand was worth living. Picard sees the road he didn't take, the infinite possibilities therein, the road that he never really considered. I thought the scene conveyed Picard accepting that Dr. Crusher was right in her thinking. He did put Starfleet first. This is one of the best illustrations of the downside of being a hero. As Nigel Terry said in Excalibur as King Arthur, "I was not meant to live the life of a man, but to be the stuff of... future memory." Seasons one and two of Picard were terrible to me, but this bit here at least was exceptional writing.
@@justinamerican8200 I quite liked Picard season 1 and thought there was a similar good emotional payoff of the regret and wondering for what could have been as a father figure in his relationships with Elnor, Hugh, and even a bit with Raffi. I wasn’t too impressed with the first three episodes of season 3, but hopefully episode 4 is a sign that they are almost done with setup.
There was a bit in ep4 where Riker is faced with the choice of whether to just wait for rescue, and potentially leave the ship to be recovered intact but with the crew dead, or try to escape, and potentially get the ship destroyed, and you see him glance at the message he's recorded for Deanna, and you can see that in that moment he would rather die and make sure that she knew that he still loved her than risk destroying the ship and having no way of getting that message to her, and I just thought that was so good. It wasn't overly signalled, you could easily miss it, but ah man, it's nice having someone in charge of this who understands these characters.
The Arcanis Lager thing is a super deep cut, that very same neon sign appeared in The Search for Spock, in the bar where McCoy was trying to book a ship to go back to Genesis.
Oh, that's tasty. I googled it and found some D&D thing about alternate reality fantasy worlds. So, either a reference to the holodec or that we're in the Moriarty simulation...
Now understanding the state of Star Trek I now understand what Picard season 3 is, an attempt to get the abused significant other to come back and not press charges.
Yes, such a waste when you consider its not like they can do more 4 seasons of this to recover it. But I suppose at least the TNG crew will go out with a bang now, nit a whimper
He's really holding RLM together. Wish they'd let him do something for Picard. (That was sarcasm. For real though Frakes is a staple of TNG directing for a reason.)
rumors are he's locked out till 2025 when the license expires. sadly the future of Trek might be on rocky ground, till then and after when the rights change hands. i can only hope that the competent writing and righting of season 3 brings people back but the chances are the damage has been done.
The funny thing about Mike's ideas about Voyager is that Ron Moore gave those exact same suggestions during his short time working on Voyager. He even gave an interview about it back in 2000 where he also gave a lot of good suggestions on how to do a Star Trek prequel. Arcanis was a planet in the TOS episode "Day of the Dove." It's also annexed by the Klingons in DS9, which started the short war between the Klingons and Federation. This season definitely seems to be addressing a lot of complaints about the earlier seasons. The cadets being in awe of Picard feels like they were put there specifically to make up for how no one recognized or respected Picard in season 1. I wonder if Admiral Sheer Fucking Hubris will be revealed to be a Changeling so they can vaporize her.
Everyone had ideas for Voyager. The actor who played Chakotay hated the later seasons so much, and nobody listened, so he said either pay me more or I quit. And they upped his salary. Several times. And the idiot fans at cons ate up that garbage. Lots of videos of him at cons going, "You like that episode? Are you an idiot?". Star Trek fans have been trash for a while now. Like when everyone was jerking it to 7 of 9 because it was a blonde in a bodysuit. She's not that great of a character. Just like people watch T'Pol on Enterprise for her "plot". That's some Harvey Weinstein bull. I've been done with it for decades.
@@ericjohnson9623 Only some of them. He also wanted Voyager to have aliens that are much weirder and different than previous shows. He wanted Voyager to feel truly far away from the Federation by having them discover things that are really unfamiliar, and not just old enemies like the Borg or meeting a new alien that's a slightly different version of aliens we've seen before like how the Kazons are just crappier Klingons.
@@KingOfMadCows VOYs biggest weakness is in being too much like TNG in that way. Too often had "wow what is this thing from the Alpha quadrant doing here" episodes. I even kind of groaned when the Borg were reintroduced since First Contact neutered them and were not scary, then of course Janeway in her tiny ship is just kicking their ass ironically with no resistance really., and yes I also hate the damned time travel / Borg stupid ending
Exactly. He and Troi being on the rocks on its own is eyerolly and predictable, but specifically tying it to her empathic perception of his mental state was a unique and interesting way to do it. So, kudos.
But why are they on the rocks now when their son died years or decades ago and they were just fine a year or two ago? Riker says he left home and went back into space to deal with this trauma but I thought he went back into space to save Picard from the evil AIs in season one.
The steady quality of this season so far is setting up the greatest plot twist of all time: the writers actually make a satisfying and heartwarming conclusion to all of these TNG characters and make Mike cry butterfly tears for real
@@wabznasm9660 Star Trek homaging Galaxy Quest homaging Star Trek, it's like poetry. Actually loved ep 1-4, it's like a movie within the series with a clear enough beginning and ending and even character arcs (for all but Raffi and Worf I guess)
The missing link in the Riker plot is Riker's own relationship with his father. Estranged from a young age, barely reconciled as adults, undoubtedly that he lost his own son (who he probably wanted to be the dad to that his own dad wasn't to him) would have affected Will very deeply. I feel like Star Trek Picard is finally being written by people who actually understand these characters.
@@lolcats987654321 A couple writers are missing from season 2, but everyone on season also wrote on 3. However the showrunner for Season 3 was only showrunner of Season 2 for the first few episodes, he stepped down to concentrate on Season 3.
@@Tuskin38 He also got full creative control over the season. No Kurtzmen looking over his shoulder. He brought some of the people back from TNG/DS9 as well. I don't know if he reached out to any writers but he brought in some of the fx people and costume designers. Some of the people doing the makup were the same people doing Worf's makeup 20 years ago.
@@Bitchslapper316 none of the writers are from the old shows. One one of the make up artists worked on DS9, he just never worked on Worf while he was there. He’s also worked I think on all 3 seasons.
He is the reason I had any hope for this season. One of the very few people aside from the actors who was actually involved in Star Trek prior to the reboots as a writer on Enterprise.
@@ODSTGeneralYT I understand he worked on DS9 as an intern apart from being a fan of TNG. I don't want to lay too much on the poor man's shoulders or hail him as the second coming; but even as a baseline, after all these long barren years of "new Trek", it is so good to get someone who appears to understand the show and the fans to showrun. We've had phony after phony for show after show and movie after movie since 2009.
They've really done a number on these TH-cam reviewers, that's what I find most impressive about all this, and it's totally worked. it's a real case of emperors new clothes, this season has been awful.
@@abucketofelves You are certainly entitled to your opinion. Personally I think this is the best live action Trek we have had in ages, not perfect but a vast improvement. I am curious, why you dislike it so much
@@ODSTGeneralYT it's an improvement for sure, but a marginal one for me - a lot of which comes down to occasional feelings of nostalgia from seeing more of the original characters (although it was very jarring to hear Troi reverting to a cockney accent, I could almost hear the bow bells), I feel however the dialogue is often stilted, awkward and unrealistic. As has been pointed out the overall style is apocalyptic rather than optimistic - it's all far too dark, the lack of attention to detail for the fans who have watched star trek is also puzzling (the only changeling who used to sleep in a pot was Odo and he did so for a very specific and personal reason - is one of many examples of this) It's very much a nu-trek season in style and substance. /// I'll just add that their media push and how they've treated the "toxic fandom" has been genius - and I'm sure will be used as a template for future shows, by not treating them as the "enemy" and giving them early access/perks etc it has had a big impact on the overall general impression in people's minds, influencers are named as such for a reason, get them on side and you're halfway there.
Riker throwing an asteroid is very, very _Star Trek._ It shows intelligence and an application of ingenuity available at the time. I'm honestly surprised that this season is as respectful of the viewer as it has been.
The thing I am appreciating so far is that each scene is a one on one interaction. Not a constant barrage of comm badge back and forth to move it along. I kind of think that is making the difference this time.
The best example of lighting done right was Voyager. The ship would be brightly lit but would darken during red alert so that the crew would be more focused on their stations.
I was thinking of Voyager too and how much different episodes like "Year of Hell" would have been if you didn't have the bright day to day ship to contrast the dark and brutalised damaged version in those episodes. The perma-dark bridges that look barely functional have never done a service to Star Trek, and I wouldn't say they even look that particularly good unless the purpose is to hide a set that's underdeveloped/unfinished.
I wanna say that Shaw's scene in episode 4 when he describes what happened to him at Wolf 359 was beautifully acted. It actually moved me. That actor needs some kind of award or recognition, because it definitely shown through.
It’s a direct copy of Cisco experience at Wolf 359! Seriously why can’t people see this season is (again) just miss-mash of memberberries from Old Trek. The writing is abysmal.
@@aldunlop4622 Yeah it's rehashing the Cisco thing. And it sucks but it's better than the last two seasons lol. And it was acted well yeah so I'll give it a pass
Jay: recognizes obscure Canadian/David Lynch actors and clips from 80s weirdo movies in almost every movie on the show. Mike: recognizes obscure brewery labels out of focus in the background of darkly-lit scenes in Picard.
Colour me astonished that Mike didn't comment on the throwing an asteroid bit being a callback to the TNG episode where Riker requests someone find him a rock to throw at the enemy ship.
There was a deleted tweet from LeVar Burton that all but confirmed at least a visit to the D's bridge. Patrick Stewart also made what seemed to be a comment he shouldn't have made (at SDCC) where he said we would see both the old Enterprise and the new one.
What I’m hoping is that it’s a mothballed Galaxy Class that gets renamed Enterprise for nostalgia sake. Especially since at the end of Generations during Picards Captains Log he specifically states the Enterprise is “unsalvageable”
@@uchihaitachi181 Maybe Picard just _assumed_ it was unsalvageable, the way he assumed the Defiant was "adrift, but salvageable." But really, I am okay with them salvaging the saucer section after like 30 years in spite of a line of dialogue in a captain's log. Picard was probably thinking in terms of the practical needs of the fleet, as in it would be more resource efficient to just build a new ship, especially with the new ship designs like the Sovereign class that were coming into production. Unsalvageable for the short and medium term needs of Starfleet doesn't necessarily mean unsalvageable to someone with a historical and sentimental interest in the ship, who potentially has access to technology that would help with the salvage effort, technology which may not have been available at the time that Picard made that statement.
@@RTukka A fair counter argument, especially considering the lack of urgency at the time, this would be a pre-Dominion incursion, at least a few months before the Klingon invasion of Cardassian territory. It was likely labeled a non-priority, more likely so if the planet was uninhabited
@@uchihaitachi181 You can write that off easily. Picard: "Geordi, how is this possible?" Geordi: "They said she was unsalvageable. Who's the miracle worker now?"
Meeting death while on the holodeck was in an episode of Voyager, when John Savage played a captain of another ship trapped in the Delta Quadrant. Just as aliens began to kill everyone and destroy his ship (he deserved it), he turns on his ship's dollar store version of the holodeck and watches waves roll onto a beach.
Mike, Rich, don't apologise for not being disappointed in it! It seriously warms my jaded heart to see you both actually enjoying star trek. And I feel validated for enjoying it, myself :D
@@mikesmith3397 I get the impression he likes DS9, but his favorite star trek series is Next Gen. Nothing wrong with that. I know a lot of fans who feel the same. There are people who love Enterprise ffs...its been a long road....
I love that Riker, the backup Captain Kirk, went from being obsessed with death to rediscovering his spirituality and joy through his space travel. Unlike real life Kirk, who went to space and just thought "oh christ everything dies we're alone in this abyss"
You understand that a show is good when you get something at an emotional/entertainment level in each episode. The fourth episode in particular is so good that it feels like a complete experience even in isolation. This is in stark contrast with the first two seasons which were a slog towards the underwhelming revelation of each "mystery box".
Battlestar Galactica really was the gold standard in serialising a spaceship fleeing through a hostile galaxy. At one point they are fixing their work uniforms with staplers and having competitions for the last tube of toothpaste. And that ship gets wrecked over those seasons
My uncle has gotten me deep into Classic Trek and he got me into the new season of Picard. I was as shocked as him when we found out how good these episodes have been. Now I am glad that Mike and Rich to help me quell my Trek obsession.
Apparently as of a few days ago they've gone back on that policy change, claiming they somehow didn't realise it would become so unreasonably strict...
I feel very genuine relief for Mike and Rich that season 3 is proving more palatable. I don't know if they would ever consider it, but I would love to DS9 and Voyager get the "Top 10" treatment they gave TNG.
I have been watching you guys review Picard since the first season. And this is the first time you guys have gotten me to actually put the show on and watch it for myself
To those asking about the swear censoring. This was just a test. We've been getting age-restricted on TH-cam a lot recently. We never really know why or when. Next video will have more precious swearing. Maybe a mix of bleeps and swears. We're process of elimination-ing this fucking shit. We haven't gone soft. We're still swol AF.
LOl
**** you
SCIENCE THIS SH*T, YEAH!
there was new announcement 2 days ago where the guy responsible for this talked that they relaxed the rules a bit. you can search for Profanity Update - Advertiser Friendly Guidelines
Make sure you say the ultimate Wisconsin swear on the next video: FIB
It is impressive to see how the writers are intentionally creating a compelling season merely to mess with Mike and Rich.
The fact shatner hates RLM and Picard continues to be mediocre at best is truly a time to be alive in
@@justtheaverageone3840 It's very very slightly above mediocre.
The new showrunner, Terry Matalas, did claim to be a fan of RLM around the time of the premiere of Picard season 2. Make of that what you will.
Mike and Rich have to hate on their own adlib fan fiction for this episode since they liked the episodes of Picard lol
They know how to cater to their entire fan base👍
Intercutting Wil Wheaton’s canned enthusiasm from the after-show is still gold.
I agree. I hope the RLM bois have him on one day
Anyone have any idea how much Wheaton is being paid for his 'role' in these shows? It's almost like Paramount is throwing him a bone not to be complaining on social media about how he has had no role in any of the new Treks (other than that lame walk-on at the end of S2).
@@Vicos I bet he'd do it for free lmao
It makes me both happy and sad
@Beth Jim I don't hate you, I'm just... Disappointed. Why did you say this? I was TRYING to be HAPPY!! 🤬😂
Seeing Mike and Rich go from losing faith in Star Trek to reacquiring it is one of my favorite RLM story arcs so far.
Seeing Rich looking better and better is cool as hell.
They have been assimilated by the Kurtzman cube.
the story arc isn't over yet...
Rich be like "[Star Trek] promised he won't beat me anymore, but do i take him back?"
this arc isn't meant to end in reconciliation if you follow the trajectory of parallel stories.
Who gives a shit about their thoughts? Seriously.
@@asdffdsa541 It reminds me of game of thrones where the only thing it really had going for it was sex, violence and a wise cracking midget then as soon as they strayed from the book formula it went from mediocre/passable to dogshit garbage. I mean seriously go to the earlier seasons of game of thrones, cut out the sex and violence and ask yourself if you think its a good show or your brain got tricked by appealing to base human desires.
35:45 I am truly shocked that Rich settled on "Fake Ensign LaForge" when "Ensign LaForgery" was right there. This proves exactly how distracted the boys are by how good Season 3 has been so far.
To be fair, that's wicked clever, and as clever as they can be sometimes, you can't expect them to come up with every clever comment possible at a moments notice. I guess what I'm trying to say is: kudos to you on a brilliant nickname.
RIGHT THERE
That's seems more like a Ricardo from newbie star trek type joke 😆
He may not have had his coffee yet.
Wouldn't really call it good, but it's certainly better than Season 1&2 together.
It's really wholesome to see these guys not disappointed in their favorite franchise.
Sorry got possessed by an idiot for a second.
Yeah, but unfunny. Here's hoping the second half of the season sucks.
@@johnnyjohnny-cg7np😘
You mean so beaten down by bad content that they consider the third season of Picard 'good enough to watch the rest of the season veeery cautiously'.
So wholesome -.-
@@johnnyjohnny-cg7np Oh, no worries there. The sociopaths in charge have zero idea what Star Trek is.
Mike and Rich mocking Kurtzman's writing room was comedy gold.
Time fire! :D
they were joking?
I imagined they were yelling at each other out their car windows whilst driving to the bank.
I’m just afraid Kurtzman is watching and taking notes.
@@dougkinzinger I burst out laughing in public because of that.
"A lot of people don't even watch the show, but watch these videos to hear us talk about 'Star Trek.'" Crap, they're onto me...
I finally watched the show. I was confused because it was spoiled so thoroughly that i swore i had already seen it.
Well if Red Letter Media is giving this Season the OK, than I guess I'll give a good 15min shot.
*"Star Track"
Same. I watch RLM Star Trek videos despite never having watched more than a couple episodes of TOS because I've never been as devoted a fan of any series as they are of ST, and I find their passion endearing.
Same
How mike found a clip of a person taking off their shoes in TNG without having to watch through every episode is the most astounding aspect of this review
Memory Alpha has a foot-page.
@@DaanDobber How Daan found the foot page on Memory Alpha without having to go through every Memory Alpha page is the most astounding aspect of this comment
I think he actually uses these clips as a justification to watch through every episode once again.
I was struck by that as well! I wonder how much time was spent tracking down and inserting the shot which only lasted for like a second or two. And these reviews are filled with small clips like that. Must be a lot of work to edit.
@@ketchup1993 It has a ketchup page too.
Mike’s question “would you want to work in a dark space ship” is such a great point. All of these “dark, dramatically lit” shows make me think “Why is this person’s apartment so frickin dark? Turn on a light!”
Yet dark mode is de rigor for any computer application and RGB everything for style.
It's just a reflection of current times.
@@quintessenceSL True, but that's because the computer screen is where the work is done, almost everything else in the room doesn't matter. In star trek people aren't on computers, they're doing other things and moving around. They only use them when necessary.
In enterprise d, you know which panel is screen and buttons and which panels are just walls.
I really do not know how anyone in disco or picard ships where the screen ends and where the "lean against this for support" begins
Seriously, I hate how the ships look in nu-trek. Mike is 100% in that they're barely distinguishable from each other.
Places being way too fucking dark is a modern Hollywood problem in general really that goes well beyond trek.
It's because they're all drunk all the time
Ive never seen an episode of star trek. I I've never missed an episode of Mike and Rich ride a roller coaster into their graves.
Same. ✋ 😂🍻
I have no interest in New Trek but will drop everything to watch these poor, tortured souls talk about it.
Same
This comment is so god damn annoying it’s almost a copy pasta. Why not enjoy their takes you have little to no idea why or how they feel as they feel if you don’t do the decent thing to watch the show. For fucks sake
That’s the best part, the ride never ends!
Picard finally felt right in this episode. When he was eating alone at the bar, visibly winced at the enthusiastic cadets interrupting him and told them he wasnt one for telling stories, THAT was Picard.
THAT was cringe worthy.
That did feel like Picard, I agree. Patrick Stewart is so friendly and warm that people forget often that Picard is not warm and not friendly. Even when he's being diplomatic there is still a distance.
A lot of Picard's dialogue this season feels like authentic Picard. The way Picard confronted Beverly, the way Picard interrogated Jack Crusher, the way Picard handled Shaw's rant, the way Picard argued with Riker. All of it feels like the Picard we all know from TNG.
Yet it still sucks.
@@greggasiorowski1326 I disagree! Definitely better than S1+2!
Not gonna lie, Rich and Mike experiencing genuine enjoyment of something Trek-related is pretty heartwarming to see. I'm not even leading into a "butterfly tears" joke; this is actually wholesome. Here's hoping things pick up even more.
Rich is at Yellow Alert on this season. Cautious but steady.
As are many of us. So far it's pretty good and an enormous improvement over seasons 1 and 2 of Picard, there is though still plenty of room for improvement, not only with the writing but some of the very sloppy editing too. I'll give it a 7/10 so far.
@@SlartiMarvinbartfast 7/10 is harsh tbh.
I think Rich and Mike are at the "everything has fallen apart so we're gonna ram the ship" level.
Everyone is basically already dead and the ship is falling apart, everyone already knows we're in danger, so they don't bother with alerts, they probably don't even work anymore.
This is Year of Hell, except it's been going on for over half a decade at least now.
@@skeetsmcgrew3282 It's not pointless? It's to get people to be at the ready in case something goes wrong, as opposed to just sleeping in their room or playing cards or something.
Yellow alert is to make sure that when you suddenly need to go to red alert, your people are already where they should be, not scrambling to get to their posts.
@@skeetsmcgrew3282 It's not a 100% on duty alert all the time rigid wartime military operation. It's also an exploration/science/diplomacy ship extremely often. Crews have morale, people aren't drones who do nothing but what their boss tells them.
The Enterprise regularly had off-duty activities, the crew did not work and sleep only. You don't need a fully operational battle stations ready ship at all times. It's even detrimental to do so because you need to save resources.
Yellow alert says "we're not currently in a totally safe area, make sure you're available should something go wrong". Or "we're now entering a potentially dangerous situation, be ready, don't be messing around with your side projects right now".
Otherwise from the crews perspective it's "everything is exactly as it is every day, nothing to worry about" to a sudden jump of "WERE UNDER ATTACK NOW FIX IT".
Pretty sure yellow alert is also a shorthand for ensuring weapons are online and shields are working.
I understand the impulse to think they're all just perfect beings who are on 100% of the time, but that's not how actual human beings operate.
I love seeing Odo's face on Shaw's datapad. RIP René Auberjonois. His performance as Odo is among the best performances from the entire franchise.
For fuck sakes I didn't even know Rene was dead. I was excited he may show up when the changelings were revealed.
Man, I finished watching through DS9 for the first time on the day René passed away
Garak was my favorite but he never got enough screen time. Odo is deffinetly one of the best characters written for star trek
@@jameshutchinson3672 Agreed. DS9 was one of the best Star Trek shows. It had the most character development in it, IMO.
If you can stomach the early 2000s legal drama nonsense, Boston Legal has fantastic peformances from Auberjonois, Shatner, James Spader, Armin Shimerman, Betty White, Katey Sagal, and many others.
This is like watching a friend who has been repeatedly burned by the same type of love interest getting all excited again, telling you "I know what you're going to say, but I'm being careful this time, I'm keeping my guard up" but you see in their eyes they are ignoring every better instinct they should have developed after so many identical experiences.
The key to fixing what's going wrong in media right now is recognizing that the franchise name is meaningless. If we could truly get people to grasp this, it would solve
-studios rehashing old IPs despite them being unrecognizable in the final product which wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't meant to be that IP
-people trusting anything with the name on it
-people mistrusting anything with the name on it, causing the studios to consider the IP poison somehow, instead of the idiots that ruined it
etc. We've gotta look at the creative team behind stuff, and not the fact that it's technically part of the same program. Comic book fans have been doing this for ages. They understand "the (name) run" is the best part of a given superhero team's story, not just anything with those characters in it. And nobody looks at "ooh the latest drop from (record label)!" they care about the actual specific band. and not so much, once that band's members die off and get replaced.
Those are the best friends to have. Watching the fall and downward spiral is always entertaining.
@@KairuHakubi This is contributes to why so many shows don't end when they should and instead drag on until they stop being good. In Japan, animation studios have a reputation, so they get to end a show after 1 or 2 seasons because they can just make a different show similar to that one, without losing the name recognition. If the writers/producer for a hit TV show in the US end a show and start a new one, no one will have any idea and they need to build up the show's reputation from scratch.
This is hard to replicate in the USA because the average job tenure at Japanese companies is almost 3 times as long, which means that consumers can rely more on the studio name; also, Japanese companies are less aggressive about using the same name on all their subsidiaries, so instead of everything being "Disney/Pixar" or (France's) "Ubisoft [city name]", each team gets a distinctive brand that can become known for a particular style of work.
It's not a perfect system (Companies that last long enough for veterans to retire, like Blizzard Entertainment, will be subject to long-term shifts) but it works a lot better than whatever the USA is doing.
@@Mr_Wallet yar, you get it.
Mike and Rich could start a spinoff channel where all they do is talk about Star Trek, and I would watch every episode.
It's dangerously close to being a podcast.
Yes please
Third that
@@luckyspursjust don’t tell Shatner
I thought this was that Podcast with effort Ole Man Shatner was mentioning about all those years ago
I would take several hours of Mike and Rich doing impressions of Alex Kurtzman's creation process.
Even the impersonation of the poetic ramblings of Season One Picard
The episode where Mike imitated Akiva's voice was spot on.
Hours? Give me several days of it
Spoken like the time laser red angel you are. Who put you up to this?? The Borg-Section 31 alliance? or the Dominion-Pakled force?? Talk or I'll stab you with a space-time crystal!
Their disdain for Kurtzman and his crew deserves its own video by now.
The lenghty Picard monologue, the Akiva Goldsman impression ("Who's the biggest threat in Star Trek? The Borg."), the various Kurtzman impressions. They're all hilarious.
Mike's mood is dramatically improved since season three
It helps when the show doesn’t suck.
Hearing his utter defeat with Star Trek and even saying it was ruining the old shows was legitimately disheartening, seeing him genuinely enjoying Star Trek again is a treat in these dark times
The frog is getting used to the temperature of the water in the pot .
@@may14ification I mean season 3 is absolutely terrible.
The fact that they haven't watched Strange New Worlds, which is the only good New Trek, is kinda hilarious.
@@hannibalb8276 If you're skipping Lower Decks, you're missing out. It's wonderful, and by far the Trekkiest thing going. :)
Mike's Worf Impression is actually the best Vincent D'Onofrio impression I've ever heard.
Holy shit! Spot fucking on! And D'Onofrio always sounds like he's trying to do an impression of a human.
A "time fire" is probably the best Rich Evans invention of all time
"They say time is the fire in which we burn." 😂
Please don't give Kurtzman more ideas
the nature of humanity is just that every so often...
In "All Good Things" we had an eruption of anti-time, so "time fire" can't be far behind...
"HOW DOES A TIME FIRE WORK? IT BURNS TIME, YOU CAN'T BURN TIME!"
It's very weird how much joy I find in watching two fans of something carefully start to enjoy the thing they loved again. It's just lovely and I'm here for it.
I think it's extremely saddening that they both have to feel so cautious due to fear of being let down again. That's gotta be horrible.
Yeah, I hope they go back to Strange New Worlds. The first couple episodes are just okay, but when that show HITS it hits. The Gorn episode was amazing and the finale where Pike gets to see the future if he was Captain instead of Kirk was great. Just to see how their difference as Captains isn't that one is better than the other, but how they handle situations.
@@Radb707 I love SNW so so so fucking much. I find it, frankly, impossible to believe it came from the same morons who gave us 4 seasons of DSC and 2 of PIC.
@@MadSpectre47 It didn't. Different showrunners. Even Picard S3 is like a reboot with different writers.
@@occono3543 New showrunner for Picard too. He did the first two episodes of S2 and then left to start work on S3 so they are technically independent productions.
I'm just really enjoying seeing them watch newer Star Trek content that they're actually enjoying. It feels good
Give it time
I don't understand it. Picard season 3 is terrible, Strange New Worlds is the only good new Trek and they haven't even watched it...
I’m torn because I enjoyed the utter hatred and contempt for the first 2 seasons much more, but it’s cool they seem to have made decent new TNG finally. Might have to actually watch this season eventually. I still prefer when they’re destroying new media tho! Can’t lie
Yeah the bait and switch is coming
@@hannibalb8276 One of them I don't remember, couldn't get past the first 1.5 episodes of Strange New Worlds.
I want a Star Trek show with Captain Shaw where he travels around the galaxy very reluctantly solving everyone's problems while being kind of a dick about it too
me too🤣🤣🤣
What an unexpected character to be likeable in Star Trek... Did NuTrek break us?? I am so confused...
@@maidros85 Star Trek really has an underrepresented number of curmudgeon Captains.
Star Trek:dipshit from chicago
@@uscdave1124 yeah! Like capt. Jellico. Damn, what is that old bastard up to these days...?
Riker's arc represents the TNG fandom experience with this show. Grieving over loss, chooses to go on a new adventure with Picard. First he only finds bleakness. Yet in the end the crew being themselves turns it around and wonder returns to his life.
This metaphor needs far more likes.
Funny how he didn't seem distraught about it when he was making pizza in season 1.
@@samuelshafik2778 That was the antidepressants.
I feel like Riker is a secret bad guy…maybe not even Riker really.
The wil wheaton edits always get me 😂
He's so enthusiastic it comes across as sarcastic.
He has the flowery energy of a straight Paul Lynde.
Every cut away to Will, makes me feel bad for him.
@@JiriTrubac Every time I remember that Wil Wheaton has to spend all day every day being Wil Wheaton, I feel bad for him. Then I remember what a dick he is and I laugh because he is stuck being Wil Wheaton.
@@JiriTrubac You can tell that he's just happy to be involved in the franchise again. He seems like he has a real desire to be liked and wanted.
Mike’s tone immediately set me on edge for what I was about to experience in this video
That scene where Riker is talking straight to camera but actually to Troi about seeing the space babies, and it reminding him how he's supposed to be, and his apology for not being better before - I felt like that was the writers talking to directly to fans and apologizing for seasons 1&2
I had the same thought. Came here to see if Mike picked it up.
Episode 3 is the first time Patrick Stewart has, for me, truly felt in character as Picard since this series began.
End of Episode 2 for me.
Picard so desperately wanting to attack the Shrike felt way out of character. Picard always uses violence as an absolute last resort. We aren't even given a real reason why he believes so vehemently that a surprise attack is more viable than an escape tactic. Worf going around massacaring people is also out of character. He's been violent and killed people yes, but never like that.
Not really, when cornered, Picard has been known to strike back in some violent way.
@@Scripture-Man thanks for reminding me why I shouldn't read the comments
@@Scripture-Man I think you need to rewatch more TNG episodes, because you seem to just be remembering the bridge encounters where Picard has to put on a serious face for his adversaries. He was quite a gentle and caring man in the small moments throughout TNG. His hobby was theater and the arts after all. Tapestry specifically shows how his TNG personality is evolved and tempered from his maverick, macho youth and seeing that trend continue should be no surprise. And All Good Things ended with his progression to opening up his personal relationship with his crew leading to his current friendliness that wasn’t present earlier in TNG. And all through Picard he is taking initiative to face danger for his missions, so I don’t think you can call him meek.
We like listening to you talk about star trek because you truly care about it.
RLM does tons of snide dismissive jaded (and yeah, funny) material, but it’s when they let their guard down and admit things matter to them that they’re at their best.
@@muddlewait8844 Truth.
This is the finest episode of The Nerd Crew EVER!! I'm so glad you brought it back
Very cool.
VERY cool.
Loved IT.
The memory that Picard had in episode 4 where he eventually remembered having met Jack was worth the four-episode arc.
That got me unexpectedly in the feels…
Such a great moment of dramatic irony. That would have been a heartwarming line from Picard in any other episode.
@@SenorBigDong69 Layers on layers on meaning and thoughts and emotion in such a simple scene.
As you say, heartwarming in practically any other context, heartbreaking for Jack. And for Picard, not even probably what he'd say in a private conversation. His answer was a very canned response because he was in the throes of young Starfleet cadets looking up to him and excited about their pending careers. He's playing to the crowd, wanting to give them all an upbeat send-off. Prior to remembering Jack in the background, you get the sense that this was a memory that he cherished for the swell of respect and awe from the cadets. The cadets will later tell that story to other Starfleet personnel, "I actually met Jean-Luc Picard in a bar once, and he said..."
Jack now realizes that his father wasn't turning from him and his mother, that his career with Starfleet was more of this experience he just had with him, the challenge, and the being a part of this team of star-hopping do-gooders risking their lives for the sake of one and all - a life that he can understand was worth living.
Picard sees the road he didn't take, the infinite possibilities therein, the road that he never really considered. I thought the scene conveyed Picard accepting that Dr. Crusher was right in her thinking. He did put Starfleet first. This is one of the best illustrations of the downside of being a hero. As Nigel Terry said in Excalibur as King Arthur, "I was not meant to live the life of a man, but to be the stuff of... future memory."
Seasons one and two of Picard were terrible to me, but this bit here at least was exceptional writing.
@@justinamerican8200 I quite liked Picard season 1 and thought there was a similar good emotional payoff of the regret and wondering for what could have been as a father figure in his relationships with Elnor, Hugh, and even a bit with Raffi. I wasn’t too impressed with the first three episodes of season 3, but hopefully episode 4 is a sign that they are almost done with setup.
I loved that
"Maybe you come up with something that's the Klingon equivalent to the Vulcan nerve pinch"
That's just punching someone in the jaw
yeah well the thing about that is...
Since I don't watch Star Trek, I feel like I'm witnessing second hand character development by watching Mike and Rich actually enjoying the show.
There was a bit in ep4 where Riker is faced with the choice of whether to just wait for rescue, and potentially leave the ship to be recovered intact but with the crew dead, or try to escape, and potentially get the ship destroyed, and you see him glance at the message he's recorded for Deanna, and you can see that in that moment he would rather die and make sure that she knew that he still loved her than risk destroying the ship and having no way of getting that message to her, and I just thought that was so good. It wasn't overly signalled, you could easily miss it, but ah man, it's nice having someone in charge of this who understands these characters.
It was a breath of fresh air
Romulus exploded, and all surviving Romulans instantly became elves. it was a terrible and confusing time.
"Time fire" is the single hardest I've laughed so far this year.
They’re gonna blow up time
They Say Time Is The Fire In Which We Burn.
Chekhov's Time Fire
Cautiously optimistic should be this series’s tagline.
Not angry, just disappointed.
To boldly go, where no real writer has gone before.
Picard: "Enga-eh-aaaa-ummmm-gage?"
Too little too late would be apt as well.
Boldlyish going.
"HOW MANY LASERS CAN WE FIT IN THE COMPUTER" God I wish this was the show
It's weird when you read a comment at the exact same time it happens in the video
Back to watching this all almost a year later... It really did turn out better than any of us could have expected, after S1 & S2.
The Arcanis Lager thing is a super deep cut, that very same neon sign appeared in The Search for Spock, in the bar where McCoy was trying to book a ship to go back to Genesis.
Genesis!? Is planet forbidden!
REMEMBER
@Bear is Driving YES! GENESIS! How can you deaf with ears that big!
Oh, that's tasty. I googled it and found some D&D thing about alternate reality fantasy worlds. So, either a reference to the holodec or that we're in the Moriarty simulation...
*tastes the scene for random Star Trek II: TWOK flavors*
Never watched a single episode of Picard but I watch every review of the episodes. I feel acknowledged.
I've watched EVERYTHING about Star Trek by RLM... yet I've only watched like 2 scenes from one of JJ's Star Trek movies
Now understanding the state of Star Trek I now understand what Picard season 3 is, an attempt to get the abused significant other to come back and not press charges.
legitimately happy to see Rich and Mike enjoying this
Observing insanity has it's pleasures I guess. 🤷♂
@@greggasiorowski1326 I love how insecure you people are because you expected them to hate this season and they actually liked it lmao
@@NeroSparda99
I love how you misconstrue insecurity with taste.
Man I wish Picard had started off like this back in season 1.
We all did mate. At least we have got one decent season so far.
Picard was always going to suck. But two shitty seasons lead to someone asking themselves ”maybe this ISNT what fans want”
Yes, such a waste when you consider its not like they can do more 4 seasons of this to recover it. But I suppose at least the TNG crew will go out with a bang now, nit a whimper
It could’ve been this good in Season One had smart people thrown the Woke a-holes into the Grand Canyon.
@@FallenHellscape you don’t think the ”woke a-holes” are working on this season as well? Because they 100% are lol
Johnathan Frakes is carrying this show acting and directing
He's really holding RLM together. Wish they'd let him do something for Picard.
(That was sarcasm. For real though Frakes is a staple of TNG directing for a reason.)
He can actually act.
He has great chemistry with Jeri Ryan.
I badly want a riker jack crusher enterprise series now…he’s so compelling and weirdly was never my favorite on tng but now I can’t get enough
Indubitably. I've been going across social media saying he should get his own show; Star Trek: RIKER
Man, deep discussion on lore and trivia about older star trek? I bet Jay was having an absolute blast running the cameras for this one
Speaking from the future, after seeing ep9, Rich made a lot of prescient calls.
Holy shit, he called it exactly.
So...someone gave Kurtzman a coloring book and then quietly locked the door to his office?
Maybe they hired someone to jiggle car keys in front of Kurtzman every time he's about to open his mouth?
They replaced his meth with roofies.
He IS a special, special boy...
God I hope so.
rumors are he's locked out till 2025 when the license expires. sadly the future of Trek might be on rocky ground, till then and after when the rights change hands. i can only hope that the competent writing and righting of season 3 brings people back but the chances are the damage has been done.
Wow, Mike can do an incredible Worf impersonation!
“Youuu are withOUT honor.”
@oommoo187 that really did sound just like him
The funny thing about Mike's ideas about Voyager is that Ron Moore gave those exact same suggestions during his short time working on Voyager. He even gave an interview about it back in 2000 where he also gave a lot of good suggestions on how to do a Star Trek prequel.
Arcanis was a planet in the TOS episode "Day of the Dove." It's also annexed by the Klingons in DS9, which started the short war between the Klingons and Federation.
This season definitely seems to be addressing a lot of complaints about the earlier seasons. The cadets being in awe of Picard feels like they were put there specifically to make up for how no one recognized or respected Picard in season 1.
I wonder if Admiral Sheer Fucking Hubris will be revealed to be a Changeling so they can vaporize her.
Everyone had ideas for Voyager. The actor who played Chakotay hated the later seasons so much, and nobody listened, so he said either pay me more or I quit. And they upped his salary. Several times. And the idiot fans at cons ate up that garbage. Lots of videos of him at cons going, "You like that episode? Are you an idiot?".
Star Trek fans have been trash for a while now. Like when everyone was jerking it to 7 of 9 because it was a blonde in a bodysuit. She's not that great of a character. Just like people watch T'Pol on Enterprise for her "plot". That's some Harvey Weinstein bull. I've been done with it for decades.
Ron Moore's ideas for Voyager also basically ended up being BSG.
@@ericjohnson9623 Only some of them. He also wanted Voyager to have aliens that are much weirder and different than previous shows. He wanted Voyager to feel truly far away from the Federation by having them discover things that are really unfamiliar, and not just old enemies like the Borg or meeting a new alien that's a slightly different version of aliens we've seen before like how the Kazons are just crappier Klingons.
@@KevinJDildonik Well then it's nice to meet you here! Slumming with the trash, right?
@@KingOfMadCows VOYs biggest weakness is in being too much like TNG in that way. Too often had "wow what is this thing from the Alpha quadrant doing here" episodes. I even kind of groaned when the Borg were reintroduced since First Contact neutered them and were not scary, then of course Janeway in her tiny ship is just kicking their ass ironically with no resistance really., and yes I also hate the damned time travel / Borg stupid ending
The Left Hand Brewing commercial while showing scenes from the changling chopping off her left hand. Chef kiss.
Riker cutting off his emotions as a way to cope and resulting in relationship troubles with Troi, an *empath* almost sold me on this. ALMOST!
Ah, so the Star Wars “mind hiding” technique could work here too
Exactly. He and Troi being on the rocks on its own is eyerolly and predictable, but specifically tying it to her empathic perception of his mental state was a unique and interesting way to do it. So, kudos.
I'm VOMMING
But why are they on the rocks now when their son died years or decades ago and they were just fine a year or two ago? Riker says he left home and went back into space to deal with this trauma but I thought he went back into space to save Picard from the evil AIs in season one.
@@FanboyFilms season 1 and 2 never happened.
The steady quality of this season so far is setting up the greatest plot twist of all time: the writers actually make a satisfying and heartwarming conclusion to all of these TNG characters and make Mike cry butterfly tears for real
When Riker used the Titan's tractor beam to "throw" the asteroid made me immediately think of Galaxy Quest.
I’m so fucking gleeful at this being an entertaining show that I shouted “it’s like Galaxy Quest it’s a Galaxy Quest homage” at the screen
@@wabznasm9660 Star Trek homaging Galaxy Quest homaging Star Trek, it's like poetry. Actually loved ep 1-4, it's like a movie within the series with a clear enough beginning and ending and even character arcs (for all but Raffi and Worf I guess)
I loved how the captain dismissed the previous season as "that weird shit." That was hilarious.
Kind of funny considering he personally made changes in that same script.
Which captain?
@@greggasiorowski1326 lol, Shaw.
The missing link in the Riker plot is Riker's own relationship with his father. Estranged from a young age, barely reconciled as adults, undoubtedly that he lost his own son (who he probably wanted to be the dad to that his own dad wasn't to him) would have affected Will very deeply. I feel like Star Trek Picard is finally being written by people who actually understand these characters.
Seasons 2 and 3 had the same writing team. It's funny how different the two seasons are.
@@Tuskin38 someone must have been fired
@@lolcats987654321 A couple writers are missing from season 2, but everyone on season also wrote on 3. However the showrunner for Season 3 was only showrunner of Season 2 for the first few episodes, he stepped down to concentrate on Season 3.
@@Tuskin38 He also got full creative control over the season. No Kurtzmen looking over his shoulder.
He brought some of the people back from TNG/DS9 as well. I don't know if he reached out to any writers but he brought in some of the fx people and costume designers. Some of the people doing the makup were the same people doing Worf's makeup 20 years ago.
@@Bitchslapper316 none of the writers are from the old shows. One one of the make up artists worked on DS9, he just never worked on Worf while he was there. He’s also worked I think on all 3 seasons.
The reactions of Wil Wheaton make me crack up every time
I just watched Terry Matalas talking to other TH-cam nerds about the show and it’s great to see a show runner who genuinely cares about their fans.
He is the reason I had any hope for this season. One of the very few people aside from the actors who was actually involved in Star Trek prior to the reboots as a writer on Enterprise.
@@ODSTGeneralYT I understand he worked on DS9 as an intern apart from being a fan of TNG. I don't want to lay too much on the poor man's shoulders or hail him as the second coming; but even as a baseline, after all these long barren years of "new Trek", it is so good to get someone who appears to understand the show and the fans to showrun. We've had phony after phony for show after show and movie after movie since 2009.
They've really done a number on these TH-cam reviewers, that's what I find most impressive about all this, and it's totally worked. it's a real case of emperors new clothes, this season has been awful.
@@abucketofelves You are certainly entitled to your opinion. Personally I think this is the best live action Trek we have had in ages, not perfect but a vast improvement. I am curious, why you dislike it so much
@@ODSTGeneralYT it's an improvement for sure, but a marginal one for me - a lot of which comes down to occasional feelings of nostalgia from seeing more of the original characters (although it was very jarring to hear Troi reverting to a cockney accent, I could almost hear the bow bells), I feel however the dialogue is often stilted, awkward and unrealistic. As has been pointed out the overall style is apocalyptic rather than optimistic - it's all far too dark, the lack of attention to detail for the fans who have watched star trek is also puzzling (the only changeling who used to sleep in a pot was Odo and he did so for a very specific and personal reason - is one of many examples of this) It's very much a nu-trek season in style and substance. /// I'll just add that their media push and how they've treated the "toxic fandom" has been genius - and I'm sure will be used as a template for future shows, by not treating them as the "enemy" and giving them early access/perks etc it has had a big impact on the overall general impression in people's minds, influencers are named as such for a reason, get them on side and you're halfway there.
"He was in a Time Fire" is a great callback to "Time is the fire in which we burn"
I don't think I've been more eagerly awaiting a RLM video than this one. I just knew they'd be flustered with positivity.
Riker throwing an asteroid is very, very _Star Trek._
It shows intelligence and an application of ingenuity available at the time. I'm honestly surprised that this season is as respectful of the viewer as it has been.
Yeah its very deep plot, exactly like old ST.... NO IT IS NOT its just something 15 year old could conjure or ai these days :D
Love the way Frakes delivered that line when asked about the asteroid though. He was always a very natural actor.
It was straight out of Galaxy Quest.
@@thel1355 On and on 🙂
I choose to believe that it was a shout out to Galaxy Quest, when they threw the magnetized mines at Saras.
Riker using a tractor-beam to throw an asteroid was maybe my fave Star Trek action sequence ever.
they already did it TNG 1st season...
@@robertulrich3964 It's like poetry; it rhymes.
Not as good as Riker channeling Colonel Jessup from "A Few Good Men."
was ruined a bit by Crusher calling it out
@@FrankDuffner yep like the audience didn't notice it
This season is exactly what the show should have been the whole time. Finally.
I love that you guys have reconciled with wil wheaton and you 3 have joined forces in this review!
It was either that or killing him off off camera...
@@matthewbowen5841 Will Wheaton died on the way to his home planet.
@@d3nza482 are we ever going to get to the fireworks factory???
The thing I am appreciating so far is that each scene is a one on one interaction. Not a constant barrage of comm badge back and forth to move it along. I kind of think that is making the difference this time.
The best example of lighting done right was Voyager. The ship would be brightly lit but would darken during red alert so that the crew would be more focused on their stations.
I was thinking of Voyager too and how much different episodes like "Year of Hell" would have been if you didn't have the bright day to day ship to contrast the dark and brutalised damaged version in those episodes. The perma-dark bridges that look barely functional have never done a service to Star Trek, and I wouldn't say they even look that particularly good unless the purpose is to hide a set that's underdeveloped/unfinished.
say what you will, the lighting on voyager was top notch
@@davidbates3057 yeah I don't think this season of Picard looks good at all. Dark does not equal cinematic to me.
@@FanboyFilms It looks like the opposite of Star Trek 2009. Like Picard could be a mirror-universe of that Trek.
The Voyager bridge was fucking lit tbh, and the NX enterprise bridge got the job done since as well.
I wanna say that Shaw's scene in episode 4 when he describes what happened to him at Wolf 359 was beautifully acted. It actually moved me. That actor needs some kind of award or recognition, because it definitely shown through.
It’s a direct copy of Cisco experience at Wolf 359! Seriously why can’t people see this season is (again) just miss-mash of memberberries from Old Trek. The writing is abysmal.
@@aldunlop4622 lots of people died at Wolf 359. Half the fleet. It's actually odd that Picard hasn't had to face this more often.
@@aldunlop4622 Yeah it's rehashing the Cisco thing. And it sucks but it's better than the last two seasons lol. And it was acted well yeah so I'll give it a pass
It was actually one of the worst parts like in season 2 where Raffi blames Picard for Elnor death.
Actor did well, but the speech was written way over the top, IMO. Less is more, I think. Looks like I'm in the minority though.
Happy to see you guys smiling and laughing about the Star Track again.
Mike & Rich's take on Kurtzman and his ideas are scarily accurate. Don't give the man ideas fellas.
Yes finally they're continuing their reviews for Picard
10 for accuracy.
1 for creatively interesting.
Jay: recognizes obscure Canadian/David Lynch actors and clips from 80s weirdo movies in almost every movie on the show.
Mike: recognizes obscure brewery labels out of focus in the background of darkly-lit scenes in Picard.
Does he have a problem
I love the idea of having Worf a Miyagi like badass fighter who knocks everyone out easily. Even beams them all out so they can be taken for trial.
Picard confronting Jack in episode 2 was the first time in many years I felt I was actually hearing the character Picard again.
I applauded when I saw Rich Evans!
I cried.
@@nicolewilson8891 "A T S Ts, A T S Ts..."
@@vonPook83 I remember those.
Very cool .
I clapped and clapped, until I could clap no more.
Colour me astonished that Mike didn't comment on the throwing an asteroid bit being a callback to the TNG episode where Riker requests someone find him a rock to throw at the enemy ship.
“Contagion”…one of the best of S2!
@@destroyer84 that is a good episode. Pretty crazy when they watch the fellow ship blow up with all of those people on board. Poor mr crusher.
"Can we have him throw a sun at them?"
Mike’s sweatshirt has that classic Picard line: “Make it go.”
"Enrage."
Thought it was "make it so."
Nah, that's Pakled Picard's line.
" Coffee , Columbian .... and make it a frappé" . Classic Picard .
@@deathsdoor07 That's the joke. The sweatshirt is cropped so it looks like it says "Make it go"
20:06 Remember guys that in Episode 1 Picard said that Geordi runs a Starfleet ship museum. Of course he had the Enterprise D salvaged and restored!
There was a deleted tweet from LeVar Burton that all but confirmed at least a visit to the D's bridge. Patrick Stewart also made what seemed to be a comment he shouldn't have made (at SDCC) where he said we would see both the old Enterprise and the new one.
What I’m hoping is that it’s a mothballed Galaxy Class that gets renamed Enterprise for nostalgia sake. Especially since at the end of Generations during Picards Captains Log he specifically states the Enterprise is “unsalvageable”
@@uchihaitachi181 Maybe Picard just _assumed_ it was unsalvageable, the way he assumed the Defiant was "adrift, but salvageable."
But really, I am okay with them salvaging the saucer section after like 30 years in spite of a line of dialogue in a captain's log. Picard was probably thinking in terms of the practical needs of the fleet, as in it would be more resource efficient to just build a new ship, especially with the new ship designs like the Sovereign class that were coming into production.
Unsalvageable for the short and medium term needs of Starfleet doesn't necessarily mean unsalvageable to someone with a historical and sentimental interest in the ship, who potentially has access to technology that would help with the salvage effort, technology which may not have been available at the time that Picard made that statement.
@@RTukka A fair counter argument, especially considering the lack of urgency at the time, this would be a pre-Dominion incursion, at least a few months before the Klingon invasion of Cardassian territory. It was likely labeled a non-priority, more likely so if the planet was uninhabited
@@uchihaitachi181 You can write that off easily. Picard: "Geordi, how is this possible?" Geordi: "They said she was unsalvageable. Who's the miracle worker now?"
Can't help but wish that we got writing like this from Season 1, so that we got a couple more seasons with Jean Luc Picard like this
I feel like they probably needed the two stinkers of season to get to this point
Remember season 1-2 of TNG? They just had to get into the groove of things.
@@popermen694 they should know what they are doing within the first few episodes.
@@broceliandeforest7420 both first seasons were horrible. They are not Star Trek.
Honestly, all of the sampled Wil Wheaton reactions make this episode so fun to watch. Thank you for brightening my day!
I don't understand how these bring me so much joy
Meeting death while on the holodeck was in an episode of Voyager, when John Savage played a captain of another ship trapped in the Delta Quadrant. Just as aliens began to kill everyone and destroy his ship (he deserved it), he turns on his ship's dollar store version of the holodeck and watches waves roll onto a beach.
Laughing my ass off at 42:22 where the PADD’s changeling overview prominently features Odo’s bucket 😂😂😂
Mike, Rich, don't apologise for not being disappointed in it! It seriously warms my jaded heart to see you both actually enjoying star trek.
And I feel validated for enjoying it, myself :D
No, no... Let them squirm.
This is historic; the first time since 1994 Mike has enjoyed Star Trek.
DS9 didn't end until 1999 though.
Mike also liked Star Trek 09 and Star Trek Beyond
@@jasonfenton8250 I've always had the feeling that he doesn't particularly love DS9.
@@mikesmith3397 I get the impression he likes DS9, but his favorite star trek series is Next Gen. Nothing wrong with that. I know a lot of fans who feel the same.
There are people who love Enterprise ffs...its been a long road....
@@jameshutchinson3672 Slaps? What is that supposed to mean?
The relief when you're watching Best of the Worst episodes for the millionth time and then a new redletter media video hits! 😌🤤
I love their review vids, but they feel like they're so few and far between
The Kurtzman overlay with Mike's voice just goes to show that AI and deepfake will never overtake our jobs
I love that Riker, the backup Captain Kirk, went from being obsessed with death to rediscovering his spirituality and joy through his space travel. Unlike real life Kirk, who went to space and just thought "oh christ everything dies we're alone in this abyss"
I'm glad the third season seems to be going well so far
havent seen Mike and Rich Evans so not dead inside in a while
You understand that a show is good when you get something at an emotional/entertainment level in each episode. The fourth episode in particular is so good that it feels like a complete experience even in isolation. This is in stark contrast with the first two seasons which were a slog towards the underwhelming revelation of each "mystery box".
Battlestar Galactica really was the gold standard in serialising a spaceship fleeing through a hostile galaxy. At one point they are fixing their work uniforms with staplers and having competitions for the last tube of toothpaste. And that ship gets wrecked over those seasons
When Shaw tells his crew to get some rest because they've pulled a 36 hour shift, I immediately thought of the pilot to Battlestar Galactica.
My uncle has gotten me deep into Classic Trek and he got me into the new season of Picard. I was as shocked as him when we found out how good these episodes have been. Now I am glad that Mike and Rich to help me quell my Trek obsession.
Hearing Rich's mad cackle really soothes the soul
Their mics have a reverb effect on them it's fucking hilarious
Rich's laugh when he heard Moriarty coming back was infectious.
Sounded like Marge
I would love to see Mike's idea for that holodeck cold open become a reality.
Whenever I see a new _Picard_ video, I hear Mike's voice in my head saying "Oh, Nooooooooo"
This entire video, I am reminded of what Mike said in a previous Half in the Bag, "TH-cam won't let us swear anymore."
Apparently as of a few days ago they've gone back on that policy change, claiming they somehow didn't realise it would become so unreasonably strict...
@@rade-blunner7824 From what I understand, they used to just demonetize you if you swore in the first 15 seconds of the video.
I'm really enjoying this new season of "Space Cop: Picard". 🖖
I feel very genuine relief for Mike and Rich that season 3 is proving more palatable. I don't know if they would ever consider it, but I would love to DS9 and Voyager get the "Top 10" treatment they gave TNG.
I have been watching you guys review Picard since the first season. And this is the first time you guys have gotten me to actually put the show on and watch it for myself
Im so tempted to right now
Yeah this Season is light years better than the others, so far
Actually feels like the first true TNG era show since Voyager