Transcript
Star Trek Picard is coming out early next year, and you’re wanting to relive some of the glory days while you wait for Jean-Luc’s next adventure.
Or maybe you’re interested in this new show, but you didn’t watch the Next Generation back in the day, so you want to get all caught up.
Either way, you might be wondering, what should I watch before Star Trek Picard. Well, have no fear. I’ve put together a list of my recommendations.
Number 1.Star Trek: The Next Generation: Best of Both Worlds.
We know the Borg are going to play an important role in Star Trek Picard, and while this isn’t the very first time we see them in Star Trek, it is the one that really impacts Picard as a character. And frankly, it’s one of the best episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, so why wouldn’t you want to watch it again?
The events of this two-parter have a profound impact on Picard. He will never be the same again. But in a lot of ways, this is Riker’s episode. It’s a time of growth for both of them.
You can bet that in some ways, the events of this story will still be haunting Picard as he has to come face to face with the Borg once more.
Number 2: Star Trek: The Next Generation – Family
You can’t watch Best of Both Worlds without following it up with Family. This episode takes the time to really explore the emotional impact of Picard’s harrowing time with the Borg. It’s a beautiful character piece. In addition, we get to meet some of Picard’s family. If this episode doesn’t make you emotional, you’d better check your soul, because you might not have one.
Number 3: Star Trek: The Next Generation – I Borg
This one continues to explore the impact of Best of Both Worlds on Picard, but it also introduces us to an important character that we know will be showing up in the new show. Hugh. A Borg drone who begins to regain his individuality after being disconnected from the collective.
Number 4: Star Trek: The Next Generation – Descent.
I swear, not all the items on my list are Borg episodes, but this one brings back Hugh and explores the impact his individuality has had on the collective. This two-part story is the last time we’ll see Hugh on screen until we see him in Star Trek: Picard. The episode also gives us some character development for Data, who we know will show up in the new show in some form.
Number 5: Star Trek: The Next Generation – All Good Things.
No Borg in this one. This is the finale episode of TNG. In this story, Picard is travelling through time between three different time periods, the present, the time of the pilot episode, and the far future. And by far future I mean, well, roughly the time that Star Trek Picard is set. The general consensus is that it’s about 4 years prior to Picard, but some of it is open to interpretation.
In this episode, the characters all acknowledge that what Picard saw was a possible future, and the one they experience could be quite different. And we know this is true since the Enterprise D (which showed up in the future) was destroyed in Star Trek: Generations. This is just a great story, which is full of easter eggs for the whole of TNG, but it’s interesting to see one possible interpretation of the time the new show will be set in.
Number 6: Star Trek: First Contact
This is worth watching simply because it’s a great movie, my favourite Star Trek movie, in fact, but it gives us another encounter between Picard and the Borg. During the course of this story, Picard comes to term with the fact that he hasn’t yet let go of all the hurt and pain from his experiences in Best of Both Worlds. It’s all still there. Dealing with this will be a constant battle, probably for the rest of his life. This all climaxes in a fantastic scene between Picard and a character called Lily, played by Alfre Woodard.
Number 7: Star Trek Voyager: Scorpion
Another character that we know is returning in Star Trek: Picard is Seven of Nine, another borg drone, who, like hugh, regained her individuality after being disconnected from the collective. Scorpion is one of my favourite Voyager stories. In it, we first meet Seven of Nine. The end of this episode lead directly into the next one.
Number 8: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Now, this episode really explores the transformation that Seven is going through. And it’s quite a different experience for her, than it was for Hugh. The episode also deals with the character of Kes, who leaves the show at this point.
Number 8: Star Trek: Nemesis.
Yes, I know, it’s the movie that everyone hates. I’m not gonna tell you this is a great movie, but it’s important. First of all, this is the last time we saw Jean-Luc PIcard on screen. We know from the trailer, that the events of this movie have an impact on where Picard and his fellow crewmates are at the time of Star Trek: Picard.
In particular, the events that surround Data. So I think it’s worth revisiting this one. If it’s not your favourite, then, you probably haven’t seen it in a long time, so that alone gives it a sense of novelty. So get caught up with this one, because it’s events will matter.
And Number 10: Star Trek (2009)
This is the movie that kicked off J J Abram’s Kelvin universe. And while the events of this movie take place in an alternate timeline, the inciting incident that caused the creation of that alternate universe took place in the prime timeline, where Picard is set. Alex Kurtzman has told us that the destruction of Romulas has had a significant impact on Jean-Luc Picard’s life. We don’t know all the details, but it’s a good assumption that Picard was tasked with helping the Romulan refugees that were left behind by the loss of their homeworld. We’ve seen several Romulans in the trailer for the new show. So this movie gives us some important groundwork for that.
Now I’m going to be going back and watching everything on this list myself. And I’ll be sharing my thoughts on all these stories right here. Maybe you’d like to do the same. Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss any of those episodes.
But this is just my list. What would your list look like? What would you include that I haven’t? Would you exclude any from my list? I’d be interested to find out.
If you love Star Trek, you might be interested in my book series, Jewel of The Stars. It’s about a cruise ship in space that has to flee into unexplored space when Earth falls to an alien occupation. Now they have to learn to survive amongst all these strange new worlds, but they’re not exactly prepared for this. Jewel of the Stars is a flying hotel full of tourists. Book 2 is coming out in a few weeks, and book 1 is just 99 cents. I even have a free prequel story called FAll of the HMAS Adelaide, which you can get at adamdavidcollings.com/free
So live long and prosper.
And I’ll see you … out there.
If you like this, share the love
by 
