Noah Hallett

Meh. Skippable at best, and actual waste of time at worst. I'm chock full of nostalgia for Captain Picard, and one full star from me comes from Patrick Stuart's performance here - the man, and the character, have still got it! Overall the casting, acting, production and effects are solid to excellent. ...but the premise, plot and writing of this show is complete and utter hot garbage, full of throwaway fan service that's super cool. Until it's not. Huge, huge pieces of Next Generation and Voyager lore come back in great ways, only to be completely and utterly wasted by the show's writers. Right on down to a finale (Season 1) that is an unsatisfying mess of loose ends and twists piled on unnecessary twists, none of which are given time to simmer or conclude. One example: a Romulan agent - a civilization famous for their patience, cunning, and viciousness - works for decades (off screen) to become a high-ranking member of the Federation Government. This show gives you a metaphorical five minutes to process what a tremendous threat that is, before this "brilliant operative" immediately, publicly, and unnecessarily blows their cover. The whole show is like that: great concepts, good introductions, immediately thrown out in ways that make no sense at all. I am still waiting for another Trek show or movie worthy of the franchise, but all of the new stuff rides high on glitz, glamor, action and rule-of-cool, with (almost) none of the heart and soul of the campy old shows.