Turns out I feel about the three seasons of Picard very much like I do about the Star Wars Sequel trilogy - i.e. I liked the middle installment best, and then the last part throws out everything l loved and/or appreciated about said middle installment as if it didn't happen, not coincidentally story elements, character development and twists that felt genuinenly innovative, in favour of doing a last season that to me feels like a mixture of DO NOT WANT, squeezing the nostalgia well dry and a very very few bits I did like. And ST: Picard doesn't have the excuse of switching storytellers between installments (at least I'm assuming Matalas is responsible for all three seasons?)l. This is of course why I haven't reviewed the last few episodes. I disliked what whas going on so much that I wouldn't have continued watching if this wasn't the last season.

A few more detailed observations, but not too many, because I like these characters and actors, and I don't feel well trashing something they've worked on:

( Spoilers after writing this will now do a Terry Matalas and pretend a season of ST: Picard never happened, only in my case the last one )

Star Trek: DS9/TNG crossover:

On our hands: in which Sisko and Picard have another conversation, this one mid-Dominion War. I understood why DS9 didn't bring Picard back after the pilot, but in terms of fanfic, I always hope more people will write a later season Sisko and Jean-Luc encounter, and here it happens in a great ic for both of them way.

On a lighter note:

Male civilian fashion in the 24th century: let's just say TNG made a definite statement here, as evidenced by this pic spam

Babylon 5:

The other day I reread one of my all time favourite stories in the fandom, as well as one of my favourite Yuletide tales, from back when B5 was still eligible for Yuletide, to wit:

The Subtle Arrangement of Stones

If you know it already, you need no argument as to why it's great. If, however, you haven't read it upon original publication and have only since discovered B5: this gem has a season 1 setting in which Londo, G'Kar and Delenn are kidnapped by the Homeguard, and it's Vir, Na'Toth and Lennier to the rescue, because they are the best aides ever, and prove it once again. Everyone else from the s1 ensemble has cameos (the most hilarious being Garibaldi trying to get a statement out of Kosh), and it's just a rollicking grand tale as well as a love declaration to its central characters.

bimo asked: Imagine you were at a multi timezone social gathering at Starfleet Headquarters. How would you describe or introduce Captain Saru to Admiral Jean-Luc Picard?

Okay, first of all, I would let Captain Tilly - because you know some years into the future, she'll make Captain, too - do the introducing. In case you're wondering, she herself has met Jean-Luc through Kirk, with whom Tilly was at the academy. (This is is a popular fanon I'm fond of, ever since someone in fandom decided they are the same age and would have shared classes at the Academy.) Tilly:

( Spoilery description spoiling two and a half seasons of Discovery ensues )

The other days

First impression: a promising start. Which takes its time to introduce us into the new era, instead of bombarding us with non stop action, which I'm all for, is beautifully filmed, and seems to use ST to make a comment on the present in a way I haven't seen since DS9 did its "Past Tense" two parter, and does that by doing something with the, cough, less than stellar writing in not one but two movies.

( Spoilers are not Starfleet anymore )

Day 30 - Favorite Trek Series

...and thuis it ends. I'm currently hiking in the mountains and thus rarely onlne, so still haven't seen all replies to earlier entries. This one is relatively easy to reply to, despite the fact I've come to love Star Trek:Discovery quite a lot, imperfections not withstanding. I mean, let's face it, the duo whiich shares my number 1 spot and has done for years and years has had - well, s1 of TNG was notoriously weak, the occasional moment and potential not withstanding. And improvement didn't come with lighnting speed in the second season, either, though it started coming. And DS9 had a hit and miss first season and till the end kept doing things which infuriated me along with many more things that enthralled me. So who knows? By the time Disco is over, I might feel differently re: my number 1. But for now, it's still TNG when it isn't DS9, and vice versa. I love them both more than any of the others, which doesn't mean I don't like, enjoy, and in some cases love the others as well.


( The Other Days )

Day 15 - Favorite First Officer

Here I have to differentiate between "character I love who is also a first officer" and "favorite of the first officers who is actually good at being a first officer". And I choose to answer to the second category. (I mean: Michael is among my favourite ST characters, but going from the s1 opening two parter, I'm not sure she was a great first first officer, even when not committing mutiny, because she was too invested in Philippa vis a vis also caring about the big picture. Only caring about the later and losing sight of the individual is wrong, sure, but also the other extreme.)

Ideally, tv has taught me, a First Officer should be a good counterpart to the Captain, not the same type of personality, supportive when needed, but also offering other perspectives and, should the Captain be in the wrong, not afraid to put his/her conscience first. A good relationship between them is important, but if the XO is too much into his or her Captain, he or she might not be an ideal XO for the crew. (This, in case you're wondering, is why Spock isn't my choice any more than Michael is.)

Saru would have been a contender - despite, err, being hindered by his s1 Captain - but for certain s2 plot points and his behavior during same. I still love him, but he's not No1. in this category.

Kira definitely fits all the criteria and after the first few months, she develops a good working relationship with Sisko, neither too close nor to distant... but I feel Sisko has an unfair advantage here because he's the Emissary, and Kira is a True Believer. As she says in the episode with the other Emissary, if he'd ever used his position to give orders like the ones his "rival" does, she'd have obeyed.

Number One we've so far seen not enough of to judge her on the same type of canonical basis as we can the others.

In conclusion: It's Riker, William T. Riker isn't my favorite TNG character or even among the top three or four, but I do like him, and I think he's an excellent CO both for Picard and the Enterprise crew.



( The Other Days )

Day 7 - Favorite TNG Episode

As often, it depends on the kind of mood I’m in, and what I want. If I just want to be cheered up and/or feel the ensemble love, I’m going for episodes like Deja Q or Data’s Day. The former is hilarious and endlessly quotable (notably for Worf finally getting the better of Q verbally in their „What can I do to convince you people?“ (that he’s lost his powers) „Die“ exchange), the later was the first use of the „day in the life“ trope I’d seen in my young fannish days, everyone is charming, and hey, DS9 backstory! (The O’Briens get married.)

If I want drama, otoh, it’s time for either „Face of the Enemy“ (fantastic Troi story to fling at all Deanna haters, awesome Romulan shenanigans, and a thorny ethical dilemma along with the spy plot (the Romulan commander is an honorable woman, whereas Troi is posing as the worst type of functionary and has to play her role convincingly) or „Measure of a Man“ (court room drama without sneering villains but with really high ethical stakes, way beyond Data, excellent female guest star, and poignant Tasha Yar call back).

And lastly, if I want hurt/comfort and family dynamics, then, of course, the choice is clear: Family. Both for the Picard-tries-not-to-deal-with-the-Borg-experience main plot, in which Patrick Stewart is awesome, and the „Worf’s parents visit“ subplot, which is both funny and touching, since of course the Rozhenkos know what went down on the Klingon homeworld; btw, note that for all of the importance Worf places on his Klingon heritage, neither he nor the episode narrative doubt for one moment he loves his adoptive parents, the Rozhenkos, that they love him, and that they are his parents.


( The Other Days )

Day 3 - Favorite Starship

The Enterprise – D. No, it’s not the original, and it doesn’t have the sleek elegance of later starships. But the fact that it’s so big and unmilitarily comfy is what appeals to me – this one really is designed to offer room for families to live in as well. Not to mention that TNG was shot before darkly lit starships became all the rage, and I like the bright, beige look, sue me. Also: the observation deck on Ten Forward makes this the bar with the most gorgeous view on a star ship, hands down. And while you have to pay Quark for the use of his holosuites on DS9, the holodeck on the big D is free of charge. Lastly: having a therapist on board (instead of dumping any psychological care on the ship’s doctor) looks like a better and better innovation TNG made the more time passes. I like my counsellors on my starships, yes I do.


( The Other Days )

"If your fic were an album, what would the track list be?"

From muccamukk:

1. The popular, catchy one: Teachers, about Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano, written after I had marathoned The Clone Wars. It's by far my most popular fanfiction, which was such a weird experience after being grateful to get into double digits with kudos at all in fandoms less popular than Star Wars. And with a story that's not about a romantic pairing (either het or slash)! I still can't believe it.

2. The obscure early one no one bought at the time: Facets, which was my second Alias (the tv show, not the comic) story and an Arvin Sloane character portrait, for a given value of "no one" - all four of us who were really into Sloane liked it. :)

3. The "experimental" one, written when you were possibly on some substance: Ten leagues beyond the wild world's end , which was the answer to a challenge; likeadeuce had dared me to connect Hank McCoy (X-Men comics edition) to Elizabeth Swann (Pirates of the Caribbean). This was the result, which plays a bit with two timelines as well.

4. The slushy one: Miracles, which is my unabashedly sentimental take on what a Babylon 5 Christmas Special, Centauri edition, would be like - set in late s3, after A rock cried out, no hiding place left poor Vir badly bruised in both the physical and emotional sense.

5. The brash, loud one, mid album: Five in One, a Buffy the Vampire Slayer tale about Spike from the pov of his (canonical) victims, which was the first time I consciously wrote (angry) meta via fanfiction. I mean, I otherwise avoided the Spike Wars at the time they were waged, and these days the point I was trying to make feels more than redundant, but at the time this was the result of reading one too many "Spike never diid anything wrong" posts and stories.

6. The one born of your depressive introspection: Last one before closing (Angel, Wesley in late s5 which should tell you all you need to know). This one come to be because bimo asked for a story featuring Wesley and Lorne. I suspect she wanted something uplifting. Instead...

7. The bitter one about your ex/former manager/cat: Second Coming, which isn't about any of the above, but it's definitely me being bitter about one of my few DS9 pet peeves, the s7 Sarah Sisko story and how it was (not) dealt with.

8. The one only you like, you insular weirdo: Fear no more (The May-December Remix): "only me" would be going too far, but it's probably the least popular of my stories in a reasonably big fandom (DS9), and still one of my favourites. It takes a bit of backstory for Dax from one of the (deservedly) least popular DS9 eps as its basis, and was my attempt to do something with an older man/young woman pairing that felt real to me.

9. The genre-hopping crossover hit: Tea and Sympathy, which is probably (in terms of kudos) my most successful crossover, imagining a friendship between Guinan from Star Trek: The Next Generatiion and the Doctor (from Doctor Who). Though the genre in this one is pretty straightforward (i.e. a crossover). If, otoh, I put the emphasis on "genre-hopping" instead of crossover, then probably The Lay of Sir William of Daira, which is a Merlin story that both qualifies as an entry into the "crack fic" (it's unabashedly silly), the "fleshing out one shot character", and the minor character pov genres. I was having great fun writing it, and I'm pleased it still gets read.

10. The one where you tried to be "modern": when yours truly had only a very few fanfic stories beneath her belt, starting ouit with missing scenes and daringly advancing to stories with a plot, Death and the Maiden (Hilghlander) was the first time I tried to write something non-linear, it was definitely the darkest thing I ever wrote until that point, and it was also me trying out different tenses in a story written in a language not my own. I suppose this qualifes as trying to be "modern" at the time?

11. The anthemic final track:Anthemic, hm? Well, Falling Towards Apotheosis, aka my attempt to write the ultimate Penny Dreadful story as well as the ending to satisfy my epic needs certainly qualifies in ambition.

Because I'm not all doom and gloom, not I. :)



Spot and Data centric TNG comic: I think if I try really hard, I can still recite a few lines from Data's "Ode to Spot". Anyway, this is a delightful treat for cat lovers and TNG fans alike.

Peter Capaldi reads "The Magic Wood" by Henry Treece. Put up by the BBC, which means it won't be there endlessly, so check it out now and enjoy.

Twentytwo Movie Musicals in 12 Minutes, starring Emily Blunt, James Corden and Lin-Manuel Miranda: