Second Contact
Revisiting our future, 9Qs with Charlie Brigden, and links that will assimilate you
Well, I’ve finally seen all ten episodes of Picard.
And that’s all I have to say about that.
For now, at least.
SECOND CONTACT
On Sunday, aka First Contact Day, I tricked my family into watching Star Trek - First Contact.
This was the first time my wife and kids had seen the movie. It was pretty much the first time they’d watched anything Next Generation related.
Somewhat shockingly, this was only the second time I’d ever seen the movie.
I saw it opening weekend - probably opening night. But as much as I recall enjoying it, it never resonated as much as the original cast movies did. I didn’t even bother to buy the soundtrack album, even though I love Jerry Goldsmith and love Star Trek music. In fact, I didn’t buy any of the Next Gen movie soundtracks until the expanded editions came out a few years ago.
And that was my pattern with all the Next Gen era films. I saw it once in the theater and never again. It’s somewhat true of the Next Gen series as well. I watched the whole thing first run on TV, and would catch reruns now and again, but largely I’ve not seen any of it in twenty years. I need to rectify that.
Anyway, now I’ve seen First Contact a second time.
I worried that my family would have no idea that Picard had a Borg past, so I mentioned it to them as we started the movie. Fortunately, the movie did a fine job of acquainting them with Picard’s Locutus-ness. Which, you know, duh, of course they would sketch out those details in case any regular snorks saw the movie.
My family took particular delight in the appearance of Neal McDonough. We are big Captain America fans and rejoiced when we realized that he played our beloved Dum-Dum Dugan in The First Avenger (and in Peggy Carter). I was also delighted at the EMH cameo. Had completely forgotten about that. Guess I need to rewatch Voyager, too.
After the movie, my kids said they thought it was okay. They didn’t like it as much as the original crew movies they’ve seen. But I’m keen to introduce them to the others. And, in so doing, reacquaint myself with them. Generations should be of interest to them, and I’m also keen to see Nemesis again since Picard really leaned into it for back story.
In a sign of the times, I got very worried about too much physical contact during the moment of first contact - when Cochrane offered his hand to the Vulcans, I thought, oh, man, he’s going to give them earth diseases! Social distance yourself, Cochrane!
Now I’m going to go listen to the music. That big sweeping First Contact theme really is up there in the Goldsmith pantheon of great themes. It’s a real magic carpet ride.
Sorry.
(Not sorry.)
NINE QUESTIONS
With Charlie Brigden
In which we get to know someone just a little bit better.
Today we talk to “redoubtable film music tweeter” and horror film expert Charlie Brigden.
What’s your first Star Trek memory?
I'm going to cheat, because I have two that have equal meaning. Technically it's three. My first was a fleeting encounter in 1984. My dad worked for a popular UK holiday camp called Butlins, and I got certain privileges across the park, including watching movies for free. One day they had Star Trek III, and my mum took me to see it, but they had a problem with the projector so I saw like a minute, and then went to a different screen and saw Supergirl with Helen Slater.
Around the same time, they were showing repeats of the original series on BBC2. It was awesome really, because previously they had a season of classic SF movies like Forbidden Planet and Fantastic Voyage and This Island Earth, so while I didn't understand them, as I was five or so, the images still burned into my brain where they remain today. And Star Trek followed this season, so I continued watching that and it was amazing. I think the first episode I saw was "Operation: Annihilate!" because I remember thinking everyone was being attacked by flying pancakes. The next (final one, I promise) was watching Search For Spock after videotaping it from TV, and when they blew up the Big E, I ran to my mum to tell her all about it, such was my shock.
What Star Trek quote have you used regularly in real life?
Usually, Spock is the one I quote. "Fascinating" gets a lot of mileage, and find myself saying "There are always possibilities" a lot because I think it has a lot of relevance both to me and to the world today. We're so used to labelling things as impossible, and my mental health does it a lot, but it's important to know that there is always a way out, whether it's logical thinking or saying you're going to destroy baby Clint Howard's ship. Wait, after Discovery and Picard, does the F-bomb count as a Star Trek quote?
Underrated composer?
I hate these terms usually but I'll play along. I think probably Rosenman, who got slated a lot for delivering a different score stylistically to James Horner. I mean, he's always been a composer whose music has a very deliberate tone, and sometimes that's difficult to penetrate initially, but I think his music to The Voyage Home is excellent and some of his most accessible. Giacchino gets a lot of flak that I don't understand, I mean his scores are uniformly excellent but he seems to be approached with a touch of sneering and bitterness, some I think because he got picked over other composers. Jay Chattaway as well, he did a lot of great work for those shows and he often doesn't get the plaudits that he deserves.
Overrated composer?
I want to say Ron Jones. I mean, there's nothing bad about his stuff and it's more interesting than, say, McCarthy, but I guess I don't understand the massive love for his TNG stuff. Maybe I'll give it another listen.
Scariest Star Trek episode?
"Chain of Command" is rough, just from Picard's point of view. To go through that is just awful, but then Picard tends to go through the wringer a lot. "Best of Both Worlds" is another obvious one, having someone go through that process of having such a distinctive personality and morality just be erased, and then to be used as emotional warfare against your closest friends. That's just horrifying, and I think that that episode should always be followed by a watch of "Family", just to really pull back out of the space setting and try and unpack exactly what has happened to Picard. I'm literally crying thinking about it. In a more overt way, I think "Q Who" is maybe the scariest, because the Borg back then seemed just absolutely unbeatable, and it was seriously demoralising to see the Enterprise and her crew, who are used to being the top dog, just be dismantled like that. After that, the Borg never really retained their power to scare.
Underrated character?
Tilly immediately comes to mind, because she has such enthusiasm for everything and I also have a thing for plus-size redheads. I think Sisko is still underrated and probably always will be, I mean he's really the Captain who has had to go through the hardest choices and his solutions are not necessarily compatible with commanders of the same era, like Picard or Janeway. He's really a soldier in a lot of ways, and you see him become a war-weary veteran throughout DS9, and it's really powerful and compelling. He's probably the angriest Captain too, and I respect how he struggles with releasing that in an appropriate manner.
Overrated character?
Barclay maybe. I mean he's okay in small doses, but when he suddenly got everywhere he was just unbearable. I don't really like Mirror Georgiou that much either, I think she was used too much and her sense of "fun" really hurt the tone of that show, so safe to say I'm not looking forward to her show either. The Mirror stuff always seems really forced, and I think there's only really been a couple of good episodes from that conceit ("Mirror, Mirror" and "Trials and Tribble-ations").
What did you think of the music for Picard?
I really liked the theme, it’s a wonderful piece of music and the opening titles are quite stirring. The snippets of Courage’s fanfare and Jerry’s theme were nice, although it did feel somewhat unmemorable outside of the episodes, although I suppose that is its purpose. It’s a stylistic choice that began with Discovery and is very much in line with contemporary scoring for television. It works but I do wish the sonic palette felt more expansive at times.
Favorite Star Trek related item you own?
Does my tattoo count? I have a tattoo of the TOS Enterprise on my right inner forearm. I don't have as much Trek stuff as I used to, but I love the Enterprise model that I built. I mean, it's not the best kit and I don't know if I did the best job, but I built it and it has pride of place on top of a display cabinet. I still have a couple of things in my stash, including the big Polar Lights K'Tinga, so that may win overall when I build that. I just wish CBS would work with LEGO instead of continually giving their licence to inferior block-building companies. I already buy Star Wars LEGO so a Trek line would lead to me setting my wallet to kill.
You can find out more about Charlie at his website: https://charlie-brigden-hydb.squarespace.com/ceevee/
Keep up with him on Twitter: @moviedrone
DIRECTIVES
I had a great time talking to Dr. Erin Macdonald about her new book, The Science of Sci-Fi, and her work as Star Trek’s official science consultant. https://trekmovie.com/2020/03/31/interview-star-treks-new-science-advisor-dr-erin-macdonald-on-putting-the-sci-in-sci-fi/
Really enjoyed this article examining the role of friendship in Picard as well as the atypical (for Star Trek) set design.
If Picard (and many other shows) had a coronavirus episode.
Not specifically Star Trek, but it made me think about Star Trek and our relationship with it: The lifelong fan.
Star Trek Phase II opening credits?
Really, this pretty much mirrors my thoughts on Picard.
Like Charlie, I did enjoy some of the music from Picard.
Thanks for reading. I’d love to hear from you. Please share with other folks who might enjoy it.
And until next time, live long and prosper.
Seriously, I need us ALL to live long and prosper.