Picard the Next Iteration

As a Star Trek fan starting up a Science Fiction comment blog site it would be extremely remiss of me if I did not at least remark on the news that Patrick Stewart will be reprising his role as Jean Luc Picard.

This teased about announcement came out of the Star Trek Las Vegas convention and was made by Patrick himself. Alex Kurtzman the executive producer got the ball rolling by getting Patrick to announce the new Star Trek series. Details are very sketchy, all that we really know is that Picard will be in it and that it will be set 20 years after Nemesis.

This new series has a number of avenues it could take and fans are already postulating wildly. Its hinted at that Picard will no longer be a Captain and so theories abound:

1. Picard will be an Admiral
2. Picard will be an instructor at the Academy
3. Picard will be an Ambassador on Vulcan – As seen on in IDW Countdown comic prior to JJ’s Star Trek
4. Picard will be a civilian working on his vineyard

It’s fun to speculate and speculation is rife on the internet and before I get too coloured by what else I see I wanted to lay out my ideas for what they can do with the series within the following parameters.

1. I doubt the series will follow the shared continuity established in the novels
2. I doubt Picard will be with Dr Crusher, although that would be good
3. I doubt the series will fully line up with Star Trek Online’s timeline

So what do I see happening;

I think the new focus of the series will be around diplomacy and politics. We find Picard struggling to adjust to new circumstances he married Beverley and had a child not long after the events of Nemesis (c.2387), to raise them in a safe environment Picard resigns as Captain of the Enterprise and takes up a role as Federation Ambassador to Vulcan (c.2387), things go well to start with before the marriage breaks down due to Picard missing life in the stars. Beverly and the child return to Earth.

Picard calls on Starfleet to help him out and whilst there are no starships around he manages to get various jobs, for several years he listlessly pings around as a mission specialist and instructor unable to find his place in a new universe.

By 2399 Picard is at his lowest ebb when Admiral Riker still based on the USS Titan is asked to head up a new team. This Federation led mission is to be a mixed team from Starfleet and Federation Diplomatic Corps who have been sent to assist the newly reassembled Romulan Senate.

The series will focus on the rebuilding of a Romulan people without Romulus, there are multiple interested parties – the Reunification Party is strong and backed up by Vulcans, there are Romulan Purists, Reman interests and former Tal Shiar. Some races do not want to see Romulus strong again, others want to take advantage. Picard is the lead diplomat which sees his estranged child as one of the team. He must chart a course through choppy political waters whilst learning to reconnect with his child.

There is huge scope for including many of the alumni from TNG, DS9 and VOY and I hope that they bring them back as well. It would be interesting to see the Data/B4 storyline tied up as well, but as there is no comment on Brent Spiner this is just a wish at present.

What do you think? What do you want to see from Picard back in Star Trek?