SPOILERS: Inside the Star Trek Picard Finale
After a brief summary of today's news, Melody Maia Monet and I explore what's behind the red door, who is the big baddie of Season 3 and that scene everyone's talking about! So yes: Spoiler Alert!
Thanks for rising up this Thursday, April 13, 2023. It was on this day in 1970 that Apollo 13 commander James Lovell said the immortal words: “Houston, we’ve had a problem here.” That’s what he really said to NASA following the catastrophe en route to the moon! Turns out Apollo 13 actor Tom Hanks said it a little differently in the film. Ingenuity, persistence and the idea that “Failure is not an option” brought the astronauts home, robbing them of a lunar visit, but saving all three of their lives.
Here Now the News
FIRST TO LEARN OF CLASSIFIED PENTAGON LEAK: MINECRAFT PLAYERS Insider reports the leaked documents appeared on a Discord server used by Minecraft players weeks before top brass discovered they’d been hacked.
WHO’S THE LEAKER: A FRIEND STEPS FORWARD —The Washington Post
APPEALS COURT RULING ON ABORTION PILLS: A federal appeals court ruled late yesterday that mifepristone is to remain available, but the judges blocked the drug from being mailed and rolled back other steps the government had taken to ease access in recent years. —The New York Times
STATES ARE STARTING TO STOCKPILE MIFEPRISTONE: WFAA
BIDEN ANGERS BRITISH DURING OFF THE CUFF REMARKS IN IRELAND: USA Today reports the president used the phrase “Black and Tans,” a pejorative for the brutal English paramilitary officers of yesteryear, when he was referring to the “All Blacks,” a rugby team. The transphobic right-wing tabloid The Daily Mail was particularly incensed.
MEMPHIS VOTES UNANIMOUSLY TO SEND JUSTIN P. PEARSON BACK TO TENNESSEE STATEHOUSE: CNN
IS DIANNE FEINSTEIN DONE? The longtime U.S. Senator from California has asked to be “temporarily replaced” on the Judiciary Committee as calls for her resignation grow due to ongoing lapses and absences. —CNN
ELON MUSK’S FIRST INTERVIEW SINCE TAKING OVER TWITTER: NYT
MUSK TURNS TABLES ON REPORTER: Mediaite
PBS JOINS NPR IN QUITTING TWITTER OVER “STATE SPONSORED” LABEL: Bloomberg
FORT LAUDERDALE SHUTS AIRPORT, SCHOOLS AFTER DOWNPOUR: NPR
SUPREME COURT TO RULE ON WORKERS WHO OBSERVE THE SABBATH ABC News
WHY CHRIS EVANS KEEPS TURNING DOWN OFFERS TO HOST SNL: “It’s terrifying to me,” the Captain America actor tells People
Politicukoos
TUCKER CARLSON INTERVIEWS DONALD TRUMP: Late night host Jimmy Kimmel called it “a 45-minute blabfest,” saying it made “one thing very clear: the fact that Donald Trump is a profoundly stupid person.” —NYT
FIRST INTERVIEW SINCE INDICTMENT: Rolling Stone says Trump steamrolled the Fox News host, turning him into a prop on his own show.
RON DeSANTIS IS NOT DONE YET OPPRESSING MARGINALIZED FLORIDIANS: The Guardian
Trans World
EQUALITY FLORIDA ISSUES “TRAVEL WARNING:” The Daily Beast
FORMER BRITISH P.M. GIVES TRANSPHOBIC SPEECH TO GROUP OF TRANSPHOBES: Pink News
COUNTRY MUSIC DIVIDED OVER TRANS ISSUES: Forbes
EXPERTS: DYLAN MULVANEY ENDORSEMENTS GOOD FOR BUSINESS —CNN
BUT FOX NEWS SAYS IT’S HURTING ANHEUSER-BUSCH BIG TIME: Fox News
PEDRO PASCAL CALLS HIS TRANSGENDER SISTER “POWERFUL": Pink News
OMG News
AIR NEW ZEALAND INTRODUCES FIRST FLIGHT WITH BUNK BEDS: Washington Post
FIFTH GRADER DISCOVERS MISTAKE IN TEXTBOOK: I guess the author and publisher are not smarter than a Fifth Grader! —NYT
Star Trek Corner
FIRST: A SPOILER-FREE REVIEW!
STAR TREK PICARD PART NINE, VOX, DIRECTED BY SHOWRUNNER AND EXECUTIVE PRODUCER TERRY MATALAS, IS A MASTERPIECE. With this episode, fans find out what’s been going on with the son of Adm. Jean-Luc Picard [Sir Patrick Stewart] and Dr. Beverly Crusher [Gates McFadden], Jack, played to the hilt by Ed Speleers.
We learn who’s really behind the plot targeting Frontier Day. And these two threads are indeed connected. Many fans guessed correctly; many did not.
The TNG crew is back in action, both in dramatic fashion and also in small comedy moments that will have fans cheering, crying and then cheering again. If you haven’t seen this episode, I’d recommend you do so now, here!
HEY! I WARNED YOU! HERE ARE SOME SPOILERS!
At the conclusion of this episode, a major character and fan favorite dies a heroic death, lesbian lovers are reunited by tragedy and the OG cast find themselves flying to the rescue of Starfleet in the most nostalgic way possible: aboard a refit Starship Enterprise, the NCC-1701-D. It is a moment of triumph, special effects and set design technical wizardry and absolute joy.
Elizabeth Shelby [Elizabeth Dennehy] is the latest TNG guest star to return to the franchise, this time as a Starfleet admiral in command of the brand new Enterprise-F, which is gorgeous. Her time in the chair is short.
Todd Stashwick grabs hold of a powerful scene and only lets go when his character, Capt. Liam Shaw, meets his maker. I’m so sad to see him go.
Picard accepts what he calls “a field demotion” to captain, a rank that Commodore Geordi LaForge [LeVar Burton] actually calls him, even before the computer [voiced by the late Majel Barrett] does so.
Picard, in turn, refers to Capt. William T. Riker [Jonathan Frakes] as “Number One” for the first time this season.
Clever phrases and lines from this episode that will be long remembered:
“Father protocols,” “Futility” and “I’m going home,” all uttered by Speleers.
Seven of Nine [Jeri Ryan] refers to Data [Brent Spiner] as LaForge’s “robot.”
“You have the conn, Seven of Nine,” says Shaw {Stashwick]
“I hope we die quickly!” —Data
“That was not my fault.” —Worf [Michael Dorn]
“The carpet.” —Stewart
And of course, the last spoken word of the episode is “Engage,” as only the captain, oh captain, my captain, can deliver.
Sharp-eared fans like Melody Maia Monet and yours truly will notice familiar TNG warp signature sounds, ship’s bells not heard since the films, and Bridge sound effects from TOS. Also, as before, the score is truly a work of fine art and I cannot wait until the soundtrack is released!
This set-up for Part Ten, titled The Last Generation, is nothing short of perfect (with just a few teeny tiny little quibbles that my BFF and fellow journalist Monet and I discuss in our spoiler-laden review on YouTube!):
HOW TO VIEW THIS EPISODE, THE ENTIRE SEASON OF STAR TREK PICARD AND PAST STAR TREK EPISODES: Subscribe to Paramount+
That’s all for today. I’ll be back Sunday night with your Bedtime Stories to prepare you for Monday and the week ahead. Until then… Live Long and Prosper!
© 2023 EnniBuddy Productions - All Rights Reserved