73
votes
What does "Et In Arcadia, Ego" refer to?
The line Et in Arcadia ego has been used in many works of art and literature. The first clear use, which established it as a set phrase/motif, is a painting by Guercino from c.1620, showing two ...
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48
votes
Accepted
If Brent Spiner said he couldn't continue playing Data due to his aging, why did he return in Picard?
In this interview it seems like Brent thought the CGI used for de-aging was 'very convincing' and that it's 'gone a long way':
"Obviously, I was reluctant to do it again because I'm a bit long ...
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47
votes
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What do I need to watch before watching Star Trek: Picard?
You can enjoy the show without having to watch anything in advance - as you mentioned yourself. That having said, Star Trek: Picard is dealing with a few themes that can be better understood by ...
44
votes
Accepted
Why did Picard not recognize this individual in the first episode of Star Trek: Picard?
It is unlikely that Dahj is a copy of Lal.
Lal, introduced as Data's daughter in TNG Season 3, Episode 16 ("The Offspring"), and Dahj Asha, introduced in Picard Season 1, Episode 1 ("Remembrance") ...
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42
votes
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Why not bring back the original actors for Maddox and Icheb in Star Trek: Picard?
Manu Intiraymi / Icheb.
Manu Intiraymi's recent behaviour (on twitter and elsewhere) in mocking Trek actor Anthony Rapp's allegations that he was assaulted by Kevin Spacey and then expressing vocal ...
- 677k
30
votes
Accepted
Is the EMH AI somehow technologically inferior to Soong androids?
The holodeck accidentally created a self-aware Moriarty when Geordi asked it to create an opponent that could beat Data.
Data himself discovered a group of maintenance robots that had accidentally ...
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28
votes
How does Picard recognize Seven of Nine?
Why wouldn't Picard recognize Seven of Nine?
Looking just at the canon of Star Trek: Voyager, we know that the Voyager crew is the only ship to make it to the Delta Quadrant and back. In addition, ...
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27
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How can Picard have a Romulan housekeeper?
The Romulan Star Empire appears to be gone
The supernova decimated the Romulans. While they may still have a government, they clearly are no longer the political power they were during the TNG era. We ...
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26
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Why did the last episode of "Star Trek: Picard" hint that Seven of Nine is a lesbian when she was married to Chakotay at the end of "Voyager"?
The present-day versions of Seven and Chakotay weren't married in the final episode of Voyager, "Endgame"; they were only dating at the time. It was revealed that they later married in the ...
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26
votes
Accepted
What happened to Ro Laren's nose ridges?
She does have nose ridges:
(image from https://www.giantfreakinrobot.com/ent/star-trek-ro-laren-picard.html)
These look to be about the same as her nose when she last appeared, in "Preemptive ...
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24
votes
Why is there a Golden Gate Bridge and a road in "Star Trek: Picard" in San Francisco?
Sept 2023 Update
It seems that the Golden Gate Bridge is mostly seen as some kind of monument. This is specifically discussed in Lower Decks, Season 3, Episode 1, Grounded:
Beckett Mariner: The ...
- 8,035
24
votes
Accepted
Sheet music shown in Picard S3 end credits: what song is this?
It is indeed Pop Goes the Weasel, but written quite irregularly.
I've filled in the end of the first line with what the tune normally is, but the second line is some sort of variation.
In the video ...
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23
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Why was Seven of Nine upset at Borg drones being ejected into space, when they can survive in a vacuum?
According to the top-voted answer on this question, Star Trek: Voyager establishes that Borg drones can only survive in the vacuum of space temporarily, not indefinitely. The question itself notes ...
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23
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How do the Borg switch from being "kinder, gentler" (S2 finale) to evil, necro-y villains again (S3 finale) in Star Trek Picard?
Multiple, independent Borg Collectives are an old characteristic of the Borg
The Borg are introduced as a huge, completely interconnected hive mind, which is one characteristic that makes them ...
- 8,035
20
votes
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Which timeline is Picard set in?
Picard is set in the original Prime timeline
As Kurtzman told GamesRadar: "[Picard is] in the Prime timeline, we're not in the Kelvin timeline. But the thing that was interesting about that movie ...
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18
votes
For how many years has Picard been the commanding officer of a spaceship?
Picard (according to the TNG Writer/Director's Guide) was in command of the Stargazer for 22 years. Since we know he lost command in 2355 (with the loss of the Stargazer), that places his taking ...
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16
votes
Did previous Star Trek series establish Romulan distrust of androids?
No. This anti-android stuff is new to the Picard show. See a comparison to TNG's the Defector.
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16
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Why is there a Golden Gate Bridge and a road in "Star Trek: Picard" in San Francisco?
As you can see from VOY: Endgame, the Golden Gate Bridge of 2394 houses some manner of travel system, comprising individual small cars traveling at high speeds inside a series of transparent tubes, ...
- 677k
16
votes
Is the EMH AI somehow technologically inferior to Soong androids?
Portability
Most of the AIs seen in Star Trek are housed in starship Main Computers.
The ship's computer AI is (obviously) housed in the Main Computer.
The Holodeck characters that gained spontaneous ...
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15
votes
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Were Data and Lore created as a 'pair'?
No. Soong created Lore first, then Data.
This is confirmed by Soong himself in TNG: Brothers:
DATA: Lore also told me the colonists petitioned you to replace him with a less perfect android.
...
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15
votes
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Why does this person not recognize Picard?
Quite simple, actually.
In this timeline there was no 24th century Enterprise-D so the time travel shenanigans that sent the crew back to the nineteenth century in "Time's Arrow" never ...
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14
votes
How can Picard have a Romulan housekeeper?
The political landscape has changed dramatically.
First of all, we learned in Star Trek (2009) that the destruction of the Hobus star in 2387 had obliterated the home solar system of the Romulan ...
- 111k
14
votes
How is this ageless Data realized?
I think, and I admit that this is just speculation, that it's a mix of Spiner wearing an improved version of the Data makeup and some digital de-aging but not an entirely CGI character. Data's face in ...
- 8,358
14
votes
Why is agriculture still in existence in 24th century?
Memory Alpha mentions that some people simply objected to replicators, either because they felt that they made people complacent or that they couldn't produce the best food. One of these objectors was ...
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13
votes
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How to reconcile the events of the year 2024?
Picard's second season, Episode3: "Assimilation" does show the Los Angeles version of a Sanctuary District, even though it is not of the same strict nature as the one shown in DS9: Past ...
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12
votes
What do I need to watch before watching Star Trek: Picard?
In addition to Philipp's list, there's some other contextual episodes worth noting.
TNG S4E03 Brothers. This helps to explain
There are several inside references and jokes in PIC S1E09 and E10 that ...
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11
votes
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Are there more instances of the Data "head tilt" before it is called out in Nepenthe?
In PIC: Absolute Candor (Season 1, episode 4), just before Narek teaches Soji the "ancient Borg ritual", we see her doing the head tilt.
Approx. 22:19
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10
votes
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Why does Riker not have to be Admiral to command a fleet?
Being a Starfleet Admiral doesn't appear to be a pre-requisite for being granted command of a fleet of ships.
In DS9: Sacrifice of Angels, Captain Sisko is appointed to lead the fleet (comprising ...
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10
votes
What do I need to watch before watching Star Trek: Picard?
Aside from the answer above regarding Picard, the Borg, Seven, and androids, here are some other episodes dealing with the other big part of the show: the Romulans.
The Original Series episode "...
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