449 – Picard Cast, The Emancipator, & FOMO | Priority One: A Roddenberry Star Trek Podcast

This week on Priority One — CBS is busy keeping the hype alive between episodes of Star Trek Picard with interviews with Michelle Hurd, Evan Evagora, and Jeri Ryan; LaVar Burton seems confident that Geordi might make an appearance; in gaming news, Star Trek Online lets you don a stovepipe hat and hack away at the big baddies; we’ve spent some time exploring the Legendary Star Ship Bundle; later, On Screen, we share our thoughts on Star Trek Picard, episode 4 – Absolute Candor.

Of course, as always, before we wrap up the show, we’ll open hailing frequencies for your incoming messages

Let us know on social media like Facebook, Twitter, or by visiting our website!

This Weeks Community Question Is:

CQ: Who is your favorite “Star Trek: Picard” character thus far?  Why?

TREK IT OUT

by Jake Morgan

Michelle Hurd on Raffi, Stewart, and Sir Patrick

Star Trek and its cultural importance is not lost on one of its newest stars, Michelle Hurd. The veteran actress, who plays Raffi in Star Trek Picard, understands what the iconic series means to its fans in a very personal way. During an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, the 53 year old Hurd recalls her memories of watching the Original series with her father, actor Hugh Hurd. ”It was really important [to my dad] that we see ourselves represented in the arts. So literally, when I got the job, I was like: ‘Oh my god — Uhura was literally involved in the first biracial kiss ever on television. The first woman of color, in a position of power, on a TV show like this. So when you think about the stories that were told [on The Original Series], using aliens and sci-fi to tell stories with themes like inclusion and immigration, I absolutely acknowledge and own my role in it. I’m so excited about it”

Hurd went on to mention her joy in playing Raffi, a flawed character in an organization like Starfleet. ”not only am I a woman of color, but I can tell that story about all of us who have struggled similarly. Who have some demons. And, in doing so, show that — not all of us are bad people. We’re all out here trying to do our best. We’re all human beings, with stories worth telling.”

Evan Evagora talks Elnor, Stewart, and Frakes

In “Star Trek: Picard”’s fourth episode,  “Absolute Candor”, we are introduced to the latest addition of the Rag-Tag group of rogues – the young, angsty warrior-hero – Luke Sky…

…wait-a-minute…

Elnor.

Elnor actor Evan Evagora sat down with SyFyWire to discuss his role on the series, and how some of Trek’s most important stars eased him into the franchise.

Of  Elnor, the young sheltered Romulan warrior raised by a group of Romulan warrior-priestesses, Evagora says ”He’s like a moody teenager, but every time he snaps, he has the potential to kill someone. That’s how I played him. What if a moody teenager could just do whatever he wants whenever he flips out?”

Evagora  recalled that, much like his character Elnor, he set off on an unprecedented adventure when he left his home in Melbourne Australia for Las Angeles California – and like the Romulan swordsman, he had wise guides. The young actor recalled his introduction to the series lead and Hollywood icon, Sir Patrick Stewart, saying The first time I met Patrick Stewart, I was terrified. It was the worst first meeting. And my first day of filming I was sooo nervous. Patrick took me aside because he could see the nervousness in me. But it’s not like he told me a story about being nervous or anything like that. He has this way of making you feel at ease. Him and Jonathan Frakes, they’re very similar that way. They make you feel comfortable on the set. And when you’re comfortable, you can really lose yourself in the moment and the character.”

Jeri Ryan’s Return!

“Absolute Candor”’s final, and arguably most exciting reveal, was the reintroduction of Seven of Nine? The Hollywood Reporter took the opportunity to catch up with Seven’s real-life-counterpart, Jeri Ryan to discuss what’s changed, and what’s stayed the same, since her last Star Trek appearance.

Ryan commented on the difference between UPN’s “Star Trek: Voyager” and CBS ALL ACCESS’ “Star Trek: Picard”, saying ”The scale of these sets, the costumes, it’s crazy. It’s like you’re doing a feature film every week.[…]In one of my scenes, where I had to go in and work a console, we go in for the first rehearsal and I had to touch buttons and the screen actually does something! And I totally flipped out, like: ‘Oh my god, actually having buttons that work!”

Though Ryan is no stranger to  trek, she still had first day jitters, telling the Hollywood Reporter ”My first scene, the big scene, was the one you see in the trailer, when we’re in his office/ready room. That was my first day on set. It was daunting — not just because it was Patrick — but because I was still petrified — or ‘Patrick-fied’ — of if I could find the character again. I was still trying to figure out who she was.”

Though she was “Patrick-fied”, another TNG alumnus helped ease her back into the role. ”I was so fortunate because Jonathan Frakes was directing my first episode. So with that, I knew I was in good hands. [Frakes], more than anyone else, would get the importance of revisiting and being true to these characters. Because the challenge for me is: Where has she been for nearly 20 years? Finding her voice was the hardest thing for me; when I read the first script — I just couldn’t hear her voice anywhere.”

LeVar Burton For Picard Season 2?

Is your favorite “Next Generation” character making an appearance on “Star Trek: Picard”. If your favorite is Geordie, LeVar Burton has good money on it.

At least that’s what he told Straight.com, or The Georgia Straight, during a call from Vancouver’s FanExpo. Burton said ”Star Trek has always been one of the most positive and hopeful visions for the future of humanity, and for that reason, among others, I’ve always embraced it.” before offering his predictions regarding a Picard/LaForge reunion. ”I’m not a betting man, but I would wager good money that you’ll probably see all of the Next Gen cast at some point or another, just not all at the same time. Besides, I understand that Hugh Borg [Jonathan Del Arco] is very, very prominent in Picard. And, you know, Geordi gave him his name. I think we’ll have to explore that at some point.”

Star Trek Online and Gaming News

by Shane Hoover

Steam Accounts Get Linked To ARC Accounts

Arc Games has announced a new feature aimed at making life easier for its players who use Steam for their gaming. Previously, in order to play Star Trek Online or Neverwinter through Steam, a player would have to navigate multiple layers of login screens. First you had to login to Steam, then you had to login to an Arc account to get into the game. Starting February 18th for a few users, and expanding to all users by February 20th, Steam users will be able to link their Steam account to their Arc account.  After launching the game and providing your Arc account credentials, the accounts will automatically be linked. Once the process is complete, players will only need to authenticate to Steam to get into either Star Trek Online or Neverwinter.

Abraham Lincoln Costume Giveaway

For a brief time this past week, Star Trek Online was giving away a new cross-faction costume based on its 10th anniversary celebrations. From February 13th to February 17th, all players were able to claim “The Emancipator” costume. As seen in-game on the 16th President of the United States, this costume gives players tailor options for the Long Coat, Bowtie, and Top Hat. The top hat came in two varieties, a full-sized hat and a mini-hat placed at a jaunty angle. As you’d expect from such a costume giveaway, players have already embraced the Space Barbie potential! From dapper top-hatted Gorn to brightly colored circus ringmasters to whimsical looking Borg drones, it seems like hats and tails are everywhere right now.  

Notable PC Patch Changes

This week saw a number of systems improvements appear in the weekly Patch Notes for PC players. The Ship Vendor UI was updated to provide additional details on the effects of ship scaling on ship statistics, as well as a new indicator for any current ship mastery progress.  Similarly, the player Drydock UI now displays whether you’ve completed a docked ship’s mastery. The development team has also opened up the Kelvin Timeline Constitution starship to use all standard Federation bridges. 

Hero Collector’s Awaited STO Ships Coming In May

If you remember late last year, Hero Collector announced two upcoming ship models based on Star Trek Online – the Gagarin-Class Federation Battlecruiser and the Chimera-Class Federation Heavy Destroyer. Well, StarTrek.com and Hero Collector have officially announced that these new ships will become available in May. Each ship will be priced at $22.95. If you haven’t added STO to your ship collection already, these ships are a great chance to get started. Or you can hop over to GamePrint to take advantage of their 10th Anniversary discount code and add almost any ship in the game to your model collection!

EVENTS

Captains on Consoles won’t have long to wait before they can join in the 10th Anniversary celebrations. Ambassador Kael announced in a news blog this week that the Anniversary Event and STO Legacy release is scheduled to hit consoles on March 3rd. Event and mission rewards are the same as those we’ve previously described for the PC event release. The big prize, of course, is the T6 Khitomer-class Alliance Battlecruiser, which can be claimed for 20 days of event progress by March 31st.

PRIORITY ONE ARMADA NEWS

Join us for TFO Tuesday – each Tuesday we team up with other Armada members to earn marks and dilithium. 

• Tribbles and Bits – new ongoing weekly event – we want to hear from you – so each week, we are going to ask a random question about Star Trek and about STO and we want your responses. Link posted on the website: https://www.priorityonearmada.com/forum/m/38628939/viewthread/33010253-tribbles-bits-weekly-random-trek-questions/post/138379909#p138379909

• Speaking of getting people’s opinions – we have new poll posted on the website to find out how members feel about TS vs. Discord. Have a preference? 
• TeamSpeak vs Discord Poll: https://www.priorityonearmada.com/forum/m/38628939/viewthread/33040594-cast-your-vote-now-voice-server-poll

• The House of Martok 2nd Tier V Colony on cooldown this week – unlocking the Dranuur Scout ship. 

WEEKLY TOP TIP

If you want to do the daily Omega Event minigame as fast as you can, without all that sector space travel, here’s a tip to get you through. To begin, use the Event UI itself to instantly transwarp you to Q’s location on ESD. After Q assigns you three random space or ground locations to scan Omega Particles, use more free transwarps to get you there faster. Just take a few minutes to pick up some game missions that begin in systems where Omega Particles appear. Then, when a location appears in your Omega Event list, you can use the mission hailing UI to transwarp immediately to that system. Just remember to leave the mission right away so it’s not removed from your active mission list. Here are a few of the systems you can reach this way, and which episode or optional mission arc will get you there.

Starbase 39 from “The Vault” in the “Romulan Mystery” arc

Vulcan from “Diplomatic Orders” in the “Klingon War” arc

Drozana Station from “Spin The Wheel” in the “Specters” optional mission arc

Defera from “Cold Call” in the “Cold War” optional mission arc

Bajor from “Jabberwocky” in the “Cardassian Struggle” arc

DS9 from “Renegade’s Regret” in the “New Frontiers” arc

Once the Omega Event is over, you can just drop the missions to clean them up from your UI.

Other Gaming News

Star Trek Timelines Mega-Event Continues

In other Star Trek Gaming News: A month long Star Trek Timelines Mega-Event began on February 6th and will carry on through the week of February 27th. The event introduces new crew characters for retired Admiral Picard and Cadet Picard, as well as new variants of many existing crew characters. A special recurrent “threshold” reward will be the new “Picard and Number One” crew. The “Forever As One” event brings the Borg front and center in the game, with a rogue Borg element introduced looking to bring back Locutus of Borg.

Tagged as: Giveaways, Hurd, Ryan, Roddenberry, Evagora, Burton, Star Trek, Emancipator, STO, Armada, picard, ViacomCBS, MMo, Legends.