This post is coming to you late because I fell asleep! I was tired this afternoon and decided to take a twenty minute nap. That ended up being a one hour and forty minute nap. As my mum might say: ‘You must have needed it.’ – I guess it just shows that I don’t get enough sleep in the week. Here I am now though to ramble at you for a few minutes. Can you ramble at someone? Is that a contradiction? I do not know. Here is a cat for no reason.
I want to talk about two things today. They don’t have anything to do with each other; which is why this post is going to be rambley – is that a word? – it is now. I want to talk about Picard and Brexit.
First there is Picard, the new Star Trek series, which, after two episodes, I’m still not sure about. I don’t hate it but there is something off about it and I can’t quite put my finger on what that is. It is not even a case of expectation versus reality. I am not sure what I was expecting.
There is an old saying: ‘You can’t go home again’. Perhaps this is the problem – it is different. I think there is more to it than that and I would like to think I am not that shallow.
I grew up on TNG and DS9. I was seven when TNG ended and six when DS9 started. Those are the shows I remember the most from the original five live action shows. DS9 is especially important to me as I was able to watch it as it came out. I remember fondly the cliffhanger from Call to Arms with the Federation Fleet filling the screen. It was so cool to see this wall of ships.
Star Trek: Picard is such a different animal to its predecessors. Star Trek has always been about the ensemble but this show is focusing on just one character. Picard is one of my favourite characters but I still see this as a problem.
Also a problem is the name of the show. The way it is structured I am not sure what else it could be called but making it just about him is a mistake.
Come on! Without my crew I’m not a commander, huh?
Jason Nesmith (Galaxy Quest)
I would have started in space with the crew assembled and told this part of the story in flashback. Perhaps calling it Star Trek: Dunkirk – that would be a good name for a ship given what was said in the opening episode.
We are two episodes in and still not in space. DS9 was, essentially, a ground based show too but we got a full cast of characters from the beginning. Then again Picard is not episodic so I should just be patient and wait to see what happens.
Final words… Picard is a good show. I am not sure it is a good Star Trek show. How it all comes together remains to be seen. I look forward to finding out. I thought about writing a review of the episodes so far but I don’t think I could do that justice. Sometimes you need to see the whole picture to know if it was worth it.
The other thing I want to talk about is Brexit. The UK has now left the EU and I am not happy about it. I know – I know – I was in the minority when it comes to EU membership. That doesn’t mean I have to like it. There is the small matter of the leave campaign lying to the people which, for reasons I don’t understand, never mattered in the government’s plans. I am not even sure how to put all my thoughts on this subject in order.
I want to travel and have been putting it off for almost a decade. I figured one day I would meet someone and the two of us would go together. The meeting someone didn’t pan out so, next month, I am going to The Netherlands. It will be the first time I have ever travelled abroad by myself – incidentally the prospect is rather scary.
Leaving the EU won’t effect me much this time around, I will have to join the queue for non-EU counties, but as time goes on travelling may get more difficult. I hope I am wrong about that.
Nevertheless I plan to go abroad as much as possible. There is a huge world to explore and The Netherlands seems a good place to start. I can fly from my local air port and, from what I hear, Dutch public transport is pretty good so getting about won’t be difficult. (Public transport is one of many things we need to learn about in the UK.)
It is funny thinking about Brexit. All this time and I still don’t understand. I can see no upside to leaving but leave we have. On the one hand I hope the doom and gloom proves to be false. On the other hand if this does all go belly up I, and other remainers, can laugh and say: ‘I told you so.’
Well hasn’t this been a ramble? It is funny but some weeks I don’t know what to say and other weeks I write an essay!
I hope you have a wonderful week ahead of you. See you next time.
I just wanted to say that I have checked this post. I really have. Unfortunately my particular combination of dyslexia and dyspraxia makes it really hard for me to spot typos. Please enjoy and I’ll try not to make too many errors.
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