Star Trek: Picard - The Watcher

I must preface this review by being transparent on my feelings towards PICARD SEASON TWO.
For me, it is the worst written single season of Star Trek. EVER.
And I hate feeling that way.

So when Asterixsmeagol announced their fan edit, I grew secretly hopeful that he could redeem this story arc for me.

And did he? Yes and No.

The most atrocious or ill conceived elements are thankfully gone. No repressed childhood trauma for Picard. Seriously, how did he ever pass his Starfleet psych evaluation? Rios's character is saved, He no longer comes across as shallow and self absorbed. And both Young Guinan and Not-Soji are completely removed and the story does not miss a single beat.

But with all those story point no longer to distract the audience, the thinness and weakness of the narrative structure becomes even more apparent. But the editor does a solid job given what they have to work with and I must commend them at moving the story a solid, engaging pace. And one of the great strengths of this weeded out fan edit, the plot line of how the timeline was changed plays cleaner and clearer.

Unfortunately, in removing some of the more awful subplots, certain scenes now flow awkwardly or transition poorly. Such as the removal of Jurati singing or Dr. Ramirez using the healing device. Also, the final scene with an out of nowhere cameo, did not work for me in the new story context. I can't help but wonder if it should have ended on the dramatic "Guardians of the Gate" moment?

Audio-wise, it is overall good. I did noticed a couple audio dips and there were some scenes I think that could have benefited from the removal of the dramatic moment/commercial music cue. I think there are three such cues in less than 2 minutes during the first Picard/Q scene.

There are also video frame tech issues which I know the editor endeavored hard to correct but regrettably continue to persist. At multiple points in the edit there are brief frame rate issues (almost like a bad slo-mo stutter) and I noticed 3 flash frames. For a 3 hour movie with a less than 4G file size, the video quality is good.

Considering how bad imo the source material is, I think Asterixsmeagol has done a remarkable job and has culled as about as good as a narrative that is possible. If season two of Picard disappointed you, this might be the version you are looking for.

Watched this last night and loved it. I'm a sucker for time travel movies so this was right up my alley.

The story had a good flow, everything made sense. I'm keeping this for my collection..

Great tightening up of the plot, skillfully removes all of the worst and over indulgent plot elements that go nowhere (ICE, police chase, FBI X-Files agent), while creating a much more coherent and entertaining experience than the source material.



Tiny nitpicks and personal preferences (spoiler warning): I wish more of Guinean could have been left in, but I do think this version’s series of works much better narratively. Wish the gala part could be cut entirely, but astrixmeagol did a fantastic job of toning down the ridiculous oceans 11 vibe and god bless you for managing to seamlessly remove the BQ song & dance. I also wish we could just remove the whole Rios romance subplot and final decision (such a waist of a great character). Though by cutting out a lot of the fluff, I think astrixmeagol manages to make him seem more competent and his decision somehow more believable. I’m impressed and happy that astrixmeagol managed to completely remove the character of Kore, though I find her absence does make Soong even less comprehensible as a character (not that his motivations made a lot of sense to begin with). Also really wish the ridiculous Vineyard siege could be cut down even more (particularly Raffia & Seven’s’ 100 meter dash), It’s obviously necessary but unsalvageable. Thank god holo Elnor was cut, though it made the final confrontation with the BQ one of roughest edits, still worth it. I almost wish we could get rid of the whole portion at the Europa launch site, and just end Soong’s arc by implying he died in the phaser explosion, but I suppose it is necessary to have an ending for Talin & Renee. This portion is definitely improved with the removal the drone subplot. Overall I think astrixmeagol cut exactly what needed to be cut, while leaving everything of value.

A few cuts here and there are particularly noticeable, for example Picard & Talen’s first conversation seems really rough, although that may entirely be the fault of the source material. Also there were a few times when split second flashes of other scenes popped up which was jarring (around 1:39:00 & 2:49:35). Besides that though I was genuinely impressed with how seamless everything else felt & looked.


The only change I’m really unsure about is the complete removal of Picard’s childhood trauma. I’m happy not to have young Picard, but his dealing with past trauma was the biggest character development and main driving force of the season, and while I’m not exactly happy with how the show originally dealt with it, not having it certainly removes some of the emotional weight of the adventure. However I feel astrixmeagol version does bring it much more in line with classic Trek which I do really appreciate.

Overall I think this is a fantastic edit that manages do the impossible, turn what is probably the worst season of Star Trek ever produced into an entertaining adventure.
This to me is the difinitive version of Picard season 2, and is the only one I would go for if rewatching.

I have joked with many a fan-editor over the last couple of years who've tried their hand at salvaging the first season of Picard that, no matter how much they struggled with season one, at least they didn't have to make sense of the disastrous season two.

Well, I now take that back because this edit not only salvaged season two, but it actually made it enjoyable. The extraneous fat has been trimmed and, in its place is a lean, mean, and genuinely compelling 3 hour and change Trek adventure that clears the decks admirably for the vastly superior final season.

For any Trek fan who was scared off by the truly terrible reception season two received, this is the edit to show them.