Will other TNG characters appear in the new Picard series? Here are the odds

CBS has announced a new Star Trek series featuring Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard. After the euphoric excitement of this news faded a bit, we were able to get excited all over again at the prospect of seeing other favorite Trek characters from the 24th Century. In this post I do some back of the envelope calculations about which of those characters we are likely to see again.   

Note that this is deep fanboy/girl speculation of the highest order. We have very little to go on, and as of now (late summer 2018) no scripts have been written. Here is literally all we know:

• It will be a TV series
• It will revolve around Picard
• Picard will be in a different place in his life, and in a different position, possibly not a captain 
• About 20 years will have passed since we last saw him in the last TNG film Star Trek: Nemesis.    

Going on those bare facts, I offer three ways to think about how other characters may or may not fit into the story of the new series. I have assigned a point system to the range of possibilities for each category. 

Interest Level:	Story Fit:	Story Burden:
High (3): Medium (2): Low (1):	Strong (3): Unclear (2): Weak (1):	Low (3): Medium (2): High (1):

First is Interest Level: how badly do we want to see the character again? This is obviously subjective. Some have little interest in even seeing Picard again because they like the way his arc ended, and they are comfortable with the man frozen in time in their head canon, perched in his chair on the Enterprise. While Wesley and Dr Pulaski are certainly someone’s favorite character, interest level in seeing them again are probably middling to low. I try to guide my rankings with what I perceive to be fandom conventional wisdom. Most of the TNG regulars are ranked as high interest.

Second is Story Fit: how well would a character fit into the story of a Picard-centric series? This question attempts to address the wish that no character should be dropped in just so we can see them again, and that their presence should make sense for the larger story and even enhance that story. It’s hard to guess how well Riker or Worf would do that since we do not know anything about the story yet. So I judge this based on additional questions: 1) is the character’s position in the Trek universe flexible enough that he or she could conceivably pop up wherever the series happens to be set?; 2) how close is the character to Picard’s life history; 3) what would their presence add to the story? While it may be fun for a fan to see Reg Barclay and LaForge in engineering of some ship, those cameos might come off as gimmicky.     

Third is a related but slightly different element, Story Burden: How hard would it be to resurrect the character based on where we last saw them (pun intended)? Some characters’ future story arc is a blank page, and so the writers would have no trouble filling in the details. But others were deposited by their previous writers into a narrative sweet spot of an end point, so new writers would have to try to honor that previous story arc and/or carefully dislodge them and set them on a new story arc. Other characters were left in a place of such finality that bringing them back would almost be like creating a new character. Solving for either situation will take up precious screen time with exposition and perhaps expensive flashbacks. Having to explain the plot of obscure episodes that aired over twenty-five years ago will risk confusing or losing the interest of new audience members–hence s story burden. 

By factoring these three elements together, we can get a sense of who is likely to return and who is not. There may be some surprises, so let’s get to it.   

Riker: 9/9

Interest Level: HIGH

Story Fit: STRONG

Story Burden: LOW

Riker is a natural choice for a major role in the Picard series in part because he is “out there” exploring space as captain of the Titan or some other ship. He need not be an admiral behind a desk. Born in 2335, he will be in his mid-sixties during the new series, which was Picard’s age when he was captain of the 1701-D. He will have been a captain for less time than Picard was captain of his first ship, the Stargazer. Picard served as a captain for 46 years that we know of. So it would make Riker’s putting off the chair all those years on TNG look absurd if he gave it up after only 20 years. 

More importantly, Riker knows Picard as well as anyone, and could provide insight on new developments in Picard’s life. It would be cool to see their relationship as friends and equals outside of the command structure of captain and first officer.  

Troi: 9/9

Interest Level: HIGH

Story Fit: STRONG

Story Burden: LOW

You probably can’t have Riker without Troi, since they are married and presumably serving on the same ship. Troi also served as Picard’s professional and personal confidant for the 15 years they served together. It’s easy to imagine that once they were no longer serving together on the same ship, the three of them became even closer friends.  

Crusher: 9/9

Interest Level: HIGH

Story Fit: STRONG

Story Burden: LOW

Crusher has known Picard for over fifty years. It would be natural for her to still be in his life since they share so much history, from the death of her first husband, to Picard helping raise her son Wesley, to their will-they-or-won’t-they romance. We know that she is one of the loves of his life. What we don’t know is if they ever get together (in the post-Nemesis novels they get married and have a child together). The Picard series will definitively answer this one way or the other unless she is not seen or mentioned, which seems unlikely. Will Crusher be depicted as his wife, as an old flame, or just an old friend? The answer will depend which option would better serve the larger story, and how much time they want to devote to her storyline.    

Worf: 9/9

Interest Level: HIGH

Story Fit: STRONG

Story Burden: LOW

Let’s assume that where Worf ended up at the close of DS9’s run, as the right hand of the chancellor of the Klingon Empire, is where he stayed–because it is the pitch perfect resolution to his entire story arc going back to early TNG. So an argument that Worf would fit well in a Picard story is predicated on the idea that some element of the Picard series will involve the Klingons–a pretty safe bet. The empire is vast, and Picard has some strong links to the Klingons, so it makes sense he would cross paths with them (and Worf) in his future adventures.     

LaForge: 7/9

Interest Level: MEDIUM

Story Fit: UNCLEAR

Story Burden: LOW

Unlike the others, the Geordie LaForge Memory Alpha entry doesn’t take that long to read. Most of what we know about his life is based on random bits of Geordie dialogue that were in service of someone else’s storyline and does not reveal much about his character (e.g., the fact that he survived a house fire as a child). When describing his personality, the best Memory Alpha could do was that “his outstanding characteristic was his adaptability to change and satisfaction with life. His sense of humor and affable nature remained strong, despite his growing responsibilities.” While there were many good Geordie episodes (“The Enemy”; “I, Borg”; “The Next Phase” to name only a few) these did not develop his character beyond that anodyne description. When the writers needed to depict future Geordie in “All Good Things” they had so little to go on that they made him a novelist, which had no basis in any previous episode. The best thing he gets to do in that timeline is make an in-joke about how awful it was to spew all that technobabble as chief engineer of the Enterprise.

If they choose to bring him back, the writers of the Picard series will hit a similar wall with the character: Who is Geordie 20 years after the Enterprise? Who was he when he on the Enterprise? If he’s going to play just another happy-go-lucky, competent Starfleet officer who helps Picard out on his adventure, maybe invent a new, more complex character for that role. For these reasons, I downgraded his ranks for interest level and story fit.          

Data: 6/9

Interest Level: HIGH

Story Fit: UNCLEAR  

Story Burden: HIGH

While Data is a beloved character, it would be difficult to bring him back for the Picard series. Story fit is one reason. The high interest in his character, combined with Brent Spiner’s acting chops, would bend the Picard storyline toward Data, or at least distract from it. In all four TNG movies Data received his own storyline that ran parallel to the Picard storyline, and so far this new series is billed as a Picard series, not the Picard & Data series.

Another complication is that Data’s presence would necessitate a detailed and likely technobabble-laden explanation to account for the fact that his physical body was completely destroyed in the last movie. Yes, his programming was downloaded into another Soong android, but that movie strongly implied that Data was dead, and the fact that his memories were preserved was just a sop to the the fans so they could pretend in their head canon that Data might return somehow. Actually resurrecting him would require some creative writing, which would distract from the main storyline.

As a side note: it was a mistake to kill Data, and would have been even if they found a more dramatically satisfying way to do it. One of the most interesting aspects of the character, which we first realized in “Time’s Arrow,” is his near immortality. It is possible that Data’s lifespan could last centuries if not thousands of years, with repairs, upgrades and replacements made along the way. Think of the perspective of such a being. We knew him as a “young man” who was still figuring out his programming and how to get along in the universe. To meet him again, twenty years later and over sixty years after being activated, he might have undergone a paradigm shift in his consciousness, making him a new and different character. I admit that I still hope we get to see this in the Picard series or a spin off season that features Data. We can all just agree to pretend that Data’s soul was transplanted in the new android’s body and then continue forgetting Nemesis ever happened. As for Brent Spiner’s age, it was always an easy explanation to say that Data has total control over his physical appearance and could make his synthetic flesh age with whatever peer group he joined. The only reason this idea was not floated, I presume, was that Spiner himself wanted a handy in-universe explanation to justify not wanting to keep playing the character. But that was years ago, and the quality CBS is offering is evident, and Stewart has agreed to come back, so… never say never.                        

Wesley: 4/9

Interest Level: MEDIUM

Story Fit: WEAK

Story Burden: HIGH

While some were fans of Wesley, including me, he was not part of the seven regulars and I doubt there is a huge fanbase clamoring to see him again. He would be an awkward presence in a Picard series because while he was part of Picard’s life, it was not a large part, especially compared to some other characters. And despite the scene of him in a Starfleet uniform at Riker and Troi’s wedding (which was cut from Nemesis), his story arc placed him on an extra-dimensional plane with the Traveller. It is unlikely that the CBS writers will want to devote precious airtime to revisiting those old TNG episodes just to fit in a Wesley cameo.

Guinan: 9/9

Interest Level: HIGH

Story Fit: STRONG

Story Burden: LOW

Guinan is a fan favorite, and audiences would love to see Whoopie Goldberg and Patrick Stewart perform together. If she popped up in the new series it would not feel intrusive because the character was designed to pop up in other character’s stories to offer sage advice and then slip away behind the bar. She and Picard are very close, with much shared history, it would be neat to see their relationship as Picard enters a new phase of his life. And if the CBS writers are looking to pepper in familiar faces without flirting with revival territory by bringing back some or all of the primary cast, Guinan is a natural choice.   

Q: 6/9

Interest Level: MEDIUM

Story Fit: UNCLEAR

Story Burden: MEDIUM

Q is also a fan favorite who has appeared in three of the five modern Trek series, and what fan would not love to see John de Lancie and Stewart banter with one another again? But his over-the-top personality may dampen some fan’s interest in seeing him on the new series. While Guinan can be an unobtrusive presence, Q certainly cannot. The character’s gravitational pull is so great that he can’t just show up for a cameo. When Q is in an episode it is a Q episode, and the writers may not want that for their Picard-focused storyline. Since he can literally appear anywhere and anytime, it’s certainly easy to bring him back. But writers will have to come up with an important reason for Q to flash back into Picard’s life, and that will have a large impact on the overall story.  

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As a TNG fan since September 1987, I would eat up a TNG revival where all of these character were seen again. But I know that the artistry of the show would suffer from being over-stuffed with fan service. The new series promises to be an intimate character study of a great character staring down the last phase of a long life, and played by the best actor Trek has ever had. This is blessing enough for the fans. However, if the series is a success it could launch more seasons or offshoot miniseries where all of our favorite characters can have a chance to shine. The cards have been dealt and we fans are holding a strong hand. Sky’s the limit.