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Published May 5, 2021

Exclusive First Look at EXO-6's Jean-Luc Picard 1:6 Scale Figure

“The line must be drawn here! This far, no further! And I will make them pay for what they've done.”

StarTrek.com

EXO-6 is proud to present the next 1:6 scale articulated figure from Star Trek: First Contact – Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

Star Trek: The Next Generation rebooted Star Trek for a new generation and one of its most enduring contributions was Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard.  Although strict and formal at first, Picard was quickly embraced by the fans and Stewart’s portrayal has become the gold standard for captains in the franchise. The character led the series through seven television seasons and four movies and has returned for his own new series, twenty years later. No other Star Trek captain has had more on-screen adventures than Jean-Luc Picard.

In the feature film First Contact Picard must face his most fearsome foe, the one that has damaged him to his core – the Borg Collective.  With no less than the fate of all humanity at risk he must overcome his fear, shame, and thirst for revenge to save the entire galaxy from becoming Borg.

This 1:6-scale figure re-creates this iconic character in exquisite 1:6 detail. Standing approximately 12 inches tall, every element, from his 24th century tunic to his custom black boots, is authentically reproduced. The original portrait sculpt of Patrick Stewart has an authentic, hand-painted likeness.

The EXO-6 Data 1:6 Scale Articulated Figure includes:

• Fully Articulated Body: More than 30 points of articulation allow the figure to be displayed in multiple dynamic poses, approximately 30 cm tall.
• Realistic Portraits: Picard’s stern expression shows his resolve in taking on the Borg no matter what the cost.  Lovingly rendered by a top artist, this excellent likeness of Patrick Stewart as Captain Picard is specially hand-painted.
• Starfleet Duty Uniform: Meticulously researched, this duty uniform matches the pattern and color of the original costume recreated in 1:6 scale. Including the captain’s jacket, captain’s vest, and duty trousers – all exactingly matched to the original costume. Magnets are sewn into the pants so the holsters for the tricorder and phaser can be attached. An authentically scaled communicator badge is permanently affixed to the jacket and the vest. (Vest and jacket cannot be worn at the same time).
• Boots: Soft plastic boots sculpted to match the cut and style of the original movie footwear.
• Display Base: A hexagonal display base featuring the transporter pad will provide additional support for the figure. Two different inserts for the floor of the base can represent the transporter pad or the center of the transporter array.

Captain Picard is outfitted with everything needed for a Starfleet officer. He comes equipped with:

• Type II hand phaser: The phaser can be worn in a black holster that magnetically attaches to his pants.
• TR-590 Tricorder X: This standard tricorder can be opened or worn in a holster.
• Phaser rifle: Type 3B Phaser rifle used by the Enterprise crew to battle the invading Borg.

This fine collectible figure is a perfect rendition of everyone’s favorite Starfleet captain and a great addition to your EXO-6 Star Trek 1:6-scale figure collection.

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The figure will include multiple hands, a 2401-era Starfleet phaser, and a bottle of Chateau Picard wine as accessories, and this edition of Picard will arrive clad in his  Picard Season 3 jacket, pants, and boots — and with his unique Admiral’s badge.

From EXO-6’s official announcement:

This 1:6-scale figure re-creates this iconic character in exquisite 1:6 detail. Standing approximately 11 inches tall, every element, from his 24th century jacket to his custom black boots, is authentically reproduced. The original portrait sculpt of Patrick Stewart has an authentic, hand-painted likeness.   The EXO-6 Picard 1:6 Scale Articulated Figure includes:   – Fully Articulated Body: More than 30 points of articulation allow the figure to be displayed in multiple dynamic poses, approximately 28 cm tall.   – Realistic Portrait: Lovingly rendered by a top artist, this excellent likeness of Patrick Stewart as jean-Luc Picard is specially hand-painted.   – 24th Century Outfit: With research assisted by Costume Designer Michael Crow, this clothing set matches the onscreen costume as seen in Star Trek: Picard Season 3. Including the jacket, pants and trousers – all matched to the original costume. An authentically scaled communicator badge is permanently affixed to the jacket. – Boots: Plastic boots sculpted to match the cut and style of the original footwear.   – Display Base: A hexagonal display base featuring the transporter pad will provide additional support for the figure. Two different inserts for the floor of the base can represent the transporter pad or the center of the transporter array.

The new Admiral Picard figure is up for preorder at EXO-6’s website today for a price of $190, and is expected to ship to collectors in late 2023.

While other third-party retailers will likely list the figure in the coming days, the fastest way to get the completed Admiral Picard figure once out of manufacturing is to order through EXO-6 directly.

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Monday 17 May 2021

Exo-6 preview captain picard action figure, and promise more first contact and captains releases.

High-end Star Trek action figure makers EXO-6 have opened pre-orders for their second release, the First Contact version of Captain Picard , and also teased several other forthcoming projects, including more from First Contact and an extensive captains series. Continue below for all the latest updates:

So first we have previews and details of the Captain Picard figure. Like their previous Data figure this is a 1:6 scale figure (30cm tall), featuring an unnervingly realistic head sculpt, a highly detailed miniature sewn uniform, and an assortment of accessories. The figure features 30 points of articulation, so can be posed in all sorts of life-like positions.

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Preview of the Star Trek Picard Figures from EXO-6

By Joe Moore on April 19, 2023 at 8:26 am under Star Trek Toy News

The first three figures based on Star Trek: Picard have been announced by EXO-6 . The upcoming 1/6 scale figures include Admiral Jean-Luc Picard , Worf , and Captain Vadic . The upcoming releases are based on the third season of the hit show, which airs on Paramount+. Each of the figure will stand approximately 12″ tall, and will include tailored fabric outfits, interchangeable parts, and character specific accessories. The preview comes courtesy of StarTrek.com .

Pre-orders and full reveals will happen at a later date. For now, you can see the first preview photos below.

EXO 6 Star Trek Picard Teasers 001

EXO 6 Star Trek Picard Teasers 002

EXO 6 Star Trek Picard Teasers 003

EXO 6 Star Trek Picard Teasers 004

Companies EXO-6 Characters Captain Picard Worf Captain Vadic Scale 1/6

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EXO-6 Star Trek: Picard Captain Liam Shaw 1/6 Scale Figure

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Well this one is a big fail. He looks like Butthead with a beard.

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EXO-6 Debuts First Three Star Trek: Picard Figures

By Luke Y. Thompson

Star Trek: Picard season 3, and the series as a whole, just ended. And if you’re any kind of fan, odds are some tears made their way down your face as the events unspooled. For anyone who wants to relive or reenact any of the ten-episode arc, EXO-6 has your back. The official toy company for 12-inch Star Trek collector figures just announced three figures from the season, via StarTrek.com . And since they’re from the first half, they don’t spoil anything climactic.

Jean-Luc Picard makes the obvious first choice. Now a retired Admiral, he’s depicted in civilian attire, with his Admiral’s combadge the only sign of his former career. Unless you count the phaser, perhaps. What are the Federation’s open carry laws, anyway?

RELATED: Terry Matalas on Robert Beltran’s Rejected Return In Star Trek: Picard

EXO-6 perfectly captures Vadic, the main villain of the season. Obviously the toy can’t duplicate her powers, but it replicates Amanda Plummer’s face perfectly. The Captain of the Shrike comes with “various accessories,” so we don’t know yet if EXO-6 observes any taboos surrounding smoking or not. Because they make the figures to order and not for retail, they have the freedom to make her crooked space cigars if they choose.

Finally, we get Worf. The Klingon officer, veteran of Deep Space Nine and more than one Enterprise , claims these days to be a pacifist. And he’ll cut off some heads to prove it, because swords are fun. Here’s a hoping the figure includes a severed Ferengi noggin.

EXO-6 will announce further details at a later date. For now, gaze upon their craftsmanship, and tell us what you think in comments!

Recommended Reading:  Star Trek: All Good Things. A Next Generation Companion

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. This affiliate advertising program also provides a means to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. 

Luke Y. Thompson has been a professional film critic since 1999, and part of the toy blogging community since the aughts. He was the first blogger to cover Comic-Con panel by panel for a major trade publication, and has several LA Press Club awards and honorable mentions, including one for reviewing fast food.

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EXO-6 Reveals ‘Star Trek: First Contact’ 1:6 Scale Captain Picard Figure

| May 6, 2021 | By: TrekMovie.com Staff 18 comments so far

In January the new Star Trek-focused collectibles company EXO-6 revealed the first in their line of one-sixth scale figures , starting with Data from Star Trek: First Contact . They have now revealed their First Contact Captain Picard.

The line must be drawn with this figure

Star Trek: First Contact tested the resolve of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and EXO-6 has been studying the film carefully to capture Sir Patrick Stewart’s performance as a fully articulated figure. The result is the 12-inch tall 1:6 figure recreating Picard in exquisite detail. EXO-6 promises every element has been authentically reproduced, “from his 24th-century tunic to his custom black boots.”

The Picard figure features an original portrait sculpt of Sir Patrick Stewart with an authentic, hand-painted likeness. According to EXO-6 Picard’s stern expression “shows his resolve in taking on the Borg no matter what the cost.” The sculpt was “lovingly rendered by a top artist.”

The EXO-6 1:6 figure has a fully articulated body with more than 30 points of articulation. This allows the figure to be displayed in multiple dynamic poses.

EXO-6 did meticulous research when developing the figure, including the Starfleet Duty Uniform which matches the pattern and color of the original costume recreated in 1:6 scale. The figure comes with the captain’s jacket, captain’s vest, and duty trousers – all exactingly matched to the original costume. Magnets are sewn into the pants so the holsters for the tricorder and phaser can be attached. An authentically scaled communicator badge is permanently affixed to the jacket and the vest. The soft plastic boots sculpted to match the cut and style of the original movie footwear.

The figure comes with a number of accessories:

• Type II hand phaser. The phaser can be worn in a black holster that magnetically attaches to his pants.
• TR-590 Tricorder X: This standard tricorder can be opened or worn in a holster.
• Phaser rifle: Type 3B Phaser rifle used by the Enterprise crew to battle the invading Borg.

There is also a hexagonal display base featuring the transporter pad which provides additional support for the figure.

EXO-6 was launched by the same team behind the highly-regarded 1:6 figures made by QMx. The company has the sole focus of making premium quality Star Trek collectibles. The Captain Picard and Lt. Cmdr. Data First Contact figures are just the first in their collection. EXO-6’s license with ViacomCBS covers the entire Star Trek franchise of film and television and they are planning on rolling out a variety of releases in 2021 and beyond.

Picard figure arrives in October, Data in June

The Picard First Contact figure arrives in October and is priced at $189.99. You can pre-order it at Entertainment Earth .

The First Contact Data figure is set to be released in June. You can pre-order it for $189.99 from Entertainment Earth .

Check out more Star Trek merchandise news and reviews at TrekMovie.com .

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1:6? Is he fully functional? (Sorry, I couldn’t resist)

The First Contact uniforms are still the coolest ever… even on an action figure.

Yes, I’ve been rewatching DS9. The seasons post-First Contact just look so sleek and awesome because of those uniforms.

<—true

Yes still my favorite uniforms in Star Trek too. Was thrilled to see Riker and Troi wearing them on the Titan in LDS even if its animated.

Agree! My favourite uniforms too. Still remember seeing the first FC promo shot of Data and Picard with phaser rifles in the Enterprise-E corridor with the new uniforms 😎 I was instantly in love with them. Great times

Incredible work!

Great figure! However, I have a hard time calling an item an “action figure” if it wears cloth clothes. Wouldn’t this be more like a posable doll?

Anyway, looks pretty cool.

Tell that to legions to boys who collected the early GI Joe action figures in the 1950s-1970s.

Good point. GI Joe is the original action figure and they had cloth clothes

I want to share something I learned recently from a Youtube channel called Spector Creative. The channel is run by a guy who has had a career working in toys (Mattel being one company he worked for) and the thing which differentiates action figure and doll has to do with the intended play style of the toy.

Dolls are intended to be used in a “nurture” play type while action figures are meant to be played in an “adventure” type play type. Soft goods on a figure tend to be more common with dolls but that’s apparently not how the toy industry determines the type of toy it is.

That said, based on other stuff from that channel, this isn’t an action figure but more a high end collectors figure and not really either a doll or an action figure as the intended “play type” is “On a shelf to be looked at.”

Yeah, I’m going to drop the money on this. Picard is my favorite character, and the First Contact uniforms are my absolute favorite. The uniform looks stunning on this figure.I only wish it came with the captain’s chair!

Don’t be sad, Picard.

YOU IDIOTS! You captured his stunt double!

Seriously, that’s just not Picard’s face. It’s close-yet-wrong enough to be incredibly disturbing to me.

Doesn’t look anything like Patrick Stewart.

Weird. I think the resemblance is pretty good. *shrug*

Looks like a man with his dentures out.

FC getting the posh action figure treatment as its the ‘Wrath’ of the TNG films.. That being said i wouldn’t be shocked to see future figures for Generations Kirk or Soran or even Shinzon

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Captain Picard's Best Story Is in a Surprising Star Trek Show

• Patrick Stewart's iconic performance as Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine is a career highlight.
• Picard's traumatic assimilation by the Borg in "The Best of Both Worlds" shaped his character and haunted him throughout the series.
• Deep Space Nine delves into Picard's guilt and trauma from the perspective of Benjamin Sisko, offering a new angle on forgiveness and healing.

Jean-Luc Picard made Patrick Stewart a household name, launching him from the comparative obscurity of the English stage thanks to the now-classic Star Trek: The Next Generation . Stewart's long association with the role let him deliver a number of performances as Picard that now stand as career highlights. That includes Season 5, Episode 24, "The Inner Light" in which he lived out the life of an ordinary man on an alien world, and Season 2, Episode 9, "The Measure of a Man," when he delivered a stunning courtroom argument in defense of Data's free will.

However, out of all of Stewart's Star Trek appearances, his best performance as Jean-Luc Picard might not have come in The Next Generation or even the de facto follow-up series Star Trek: Picard . Star Trek: Deep Space Nine features a cameo by Stewart in the series' premiere, in which Picard encounters one of the survivors of Wolf 359. Not only did it signal a key moment in the character's biggest ongoing plot thread, but it gave Stewart a moment to quietly shine in his signature role.

The Borg Will Always Haunt Jean-Luc Picard

Picard was famously abducted by the Borg in The Next Generation Season 3, Episode 26, "The Best of Both Worlds, Part 1." He spent six days as a member of the Collective, which referred to him as "Locutus" and intended to use him as a go-between for a presumably soon-to-be-assimilated humanity. Season 4, Episode 1, "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II" depicted the infamous Battle of Wolf 359, in which the vast bulk of Starfleet engaged a single Borg cube under Locutus's directive, and was utterly destroyed. 11,000 people lost their lives, and the cube continued unopposed to Earth, where it intended to assimilate the entire population.

They were thwarted by the Enterprise-D, now under Will Riker's command, who abducted Locutus and used his link to the Collective to put the Borg to sleep. The cube imploded, and Picard was freed from Borg control, though he remembered everything he did while he was assimilated. "The Best of Both Worlds" was a watershed moment for the franchise, bringing the Borg back for a triumphant curtain call after their celebrated introduction in Season 2, Episode 16, "Q Who." Besides introducing one of the greatest villains in the entire franchise, it marked Star Trek's first real departure from stand-alone episodes and towards more complex arcs.

That came part and parcel with growth and change for the protagonists -- something that never happened in Star Trek: The Original Series . The Next Generation even punctuated the severity of Picard's assimilation with the very next episode -- Season 4, Episode 2, "Family" -- which acknowledged the extent of his trauma and devoted the bulk of its running time to exploring it. That was unprecedented for a Star Trek series, which typically just warped off to the next planet once a given crisis was resolved. Picard's psychological wounds have never truly healed, and much of his character in the ensuing years has been defined by the way he grappled with that dark legacy.

Exploring the extent of Picard's trauma began during The Next Generation's run, most notably in Season 5, Episode 23, "I, Borg" when he learned to accept another ex-Borg in spite of his hatred for the Collective. His big moment of catharsis arrived in the feature film Star Trek: First Contact , where he must first halt another Collective attack on Earth, and then stop them from traveling back in time to assimilate the Earth of the past. Even then, however, his time as Locutus haunted him, which all three seasons of Picard developed in some detail.

Deep Space Nine Confronts Picard with His Victims

How star trek: deep space nine was created.

Picard feels unconscionable guilt for his role in Wolf 359 , but the fact remains that he had been assimilated and was a helpless puppet to their will. He's a victim of the Collective as well, and there's a fair amount of survivor's guilt that factors into his trauma. All of that, however, is centered around Picard himself, and not Locutus's victims. Most of the time, that process is largely internal. "Family" aside, The Next Generation rolled merrily along after "The Best of Both Worlds" without any indication of the devastation left behind, with Starfleet in shambles and tens of thousands of its personnel dead. The slow rebuilding took place almost entirely off-screen.

Deep Space Nine changed all of that with its own central protagonist, Benjamin Sisko, whose wife was killed at Wolf 359 and who has had to raise their son Jake by himself ever since. "Emissary" opens with the battle itself, which hadn't been depicted onscreen before. For example, the Enterprise-D arrives in the aftermath during "The Best of Both Worlds." Sisko is a lieutenant commander onboard the starship Saratoga during the battle, only to see his vessel and its crew taken apart in the space of moments. He's able to rescue Jake, but his wife Jennifer is killed, and he's forced to abandon her body as the survivors flee the ship in an escape pod. All the time, Locutus's passive, indifferent face seems to loom above it all.

"Emissary" officially begins three years later, as Sisko takes command of Deep Space 9 for the first time. He's consumed by feelings of reluctance for the job, and is considering resigning Starfleet to take Jake back to Earth. Picard arrives to give him the assignment: ensure Bajor's reconstruction and application to the Federation. In the course of their conversation, it becomes clear that Sisko blames Picard for the death of his wife, and hasn't begun to forgive him for the loss. That changes during the course of the series pilot, as Sisko has his encounter with the Bajoran Prophets (who are advanced alien beings who dwell within the wormhole), and finds closure for Jennifer's death. He and Picard meet again, and Sisko rescinds his desire to return to Earth, then shakes Picard's hand before the two return to their respective posts.

Picard's Journey to Forgiveness Will Never End

How star trek's vulcans evolved beyond gene roddenberry's creation.

The two scenes speak volumes about both men, as Sisko finds new purpose in his life and learns to forgive Picard for his part in his wife's death. That serves as the launching point for Sisko's journey, ending with him joining the Prophets at the end of Deep Space Nine's run. Picard faces a darker reality: for the first time onscreen, he's properly confronted with someone who lost a loved one at Wolf 359. While he earns Sisko's forgiveness, it's a task he'll need to do over and over again, sometimes for no one's sake but his own. That pays dividends in Star Trek: Picard Season 3, when Captain Liam Shaw reveals he too is a survivor of Wolf 359. Like Sisko, he's not inclined to forgive the once and former Locutus either, and unlike Sisko, he never really reconciles with the man.

All of that is set up with Stewart's performance in "Emissary." Though brief, it establishes a strong baseline for the trauma inflicted by the Borg, as well as Picard's somewhat halting ability to confront his complicity in Wolf 359. He masks it behind duty, pushing through Sisko's obvious anger and falling back on military protocol to complete the assigned task. Stewart conveys the oceans of emotional turmoil going on beneath the surface without overtly tipping his hand. The audience can see how much Picard's guilt weighs on him without diminishing Sisko's anger or pain in the process. There's no undoing what's been done, however, and no matter what steps he takes, forgiveness and reconciliation will always be slow in coming.

The actor reveals this vulnerability in the space of a few short minutes, in a story that isn't his. Yet the way he uses that time is quietly awe-inspiring. He doesn't overshadow Sisko in these scenes, and the attention remains firmly where it should be on Deep Space Nine's lead. At the same time, he lays the groundwork for what becomes Picard's central emotional wound as a character, and the ways he can't always heal the damage no matter how hard he tries. It's a reasonably quiet moment in a long career, both within the franchise and without. But amid a bumper crop of brilliant performances from the actor, its brevity and emotional resonance may have no peer.

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Star Trek: Discovery is cracking open a box Next Gen closed on purpose

The USS Discovery is on a mad chase across the galaxy for one of Star Trek’s biggest secrets

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Calling back to a single 30-year-old episode of television is a time-honored Star Trek tradition , one that’s led the franchise to some of its most fascinating detours. And in its two-episode season premiere, Star Trek: Discovery seems to be kicking off an entire season calling back to one particular episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation .

And not just any episode! The 1993 installment of Next Gen in question delivered a revelation so seemingly earth-shaking that it should have rewritten galactic politics on a massive scale. But then, as was the way in the 1990s era of episodic TV, nobody ever mentioned it again.

At least until now.

[ Ed. note: This piece contains spoilers for the first two episodes of Star Trek: Discovery season 5.]

Writer Michelle Paradise and director Olatunde Osunsanmi lay out the connection at the end of the first of two episodes released this week, “Red Directive.” Discovery’s mission is to follow a series of ancient clues leading to a cache of ancient technology, and to get there before a couple of professional thieves, Moll (Eve Harlow) and L’ak (Elias Toufexis), do.

The technology, as Doctor Kovich (David Cronenberg) explains, belongs to the so-called Progenitors, a barely understood ancient spacefaring species that “created life as we know it […] every humanoid species in the galaxy.” Presumably such tech holds the key to understanding how the Progenitors did that, and how that power could be used again.

The Progenitors are from the Star Trek episode “The Chase”

Kovich also calls up a helpful video presentation of the moment the Progenitors were discovered by an assembled group of Federation, Klingon, Romulan, and Cardassian captains, including Jean-Luc Picard. But you don’t have to be a Star Trek lore nerd to know you’re actually just looking at clips from an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation .

Specifically, from the 20th episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation ’s sixth season, “The Chase,” in which Picard and crew discover pieces of a computer program hidden inside the DNA of species from dozens of different planets. Questions abound: What does the program do? And what kind of entity could have been so ancient and powerful that it had determined the genetic legacy of most of the known galaxy before sentient life had even evolved here — and then left no trace of its existence except the genetic codes themselves?

In a nutshell, the mysterious death of Captain Picard’s old archeology professor (did you know that if he hadn’t gone into Starfleet, Jean-Luc was studying to be a space archeologist? Well, now you do) sets the captain and the Enterprise on a search for the missing DNA fragments necessary to complete his unfinished work.

The action of the episode becomes a grand chase, as Klingon and Cardassian captains come to believe the program must be a great weapon or dangerous secret. Eventually Picard and his rivals all discover the lonely planet with the final DNA strain — and when they get there, some Romulans who’ve been secretly following all of them show up, too, just to make things even more tense.

In the end, the program isn’t a weapon or a secret, but a message from an ancient race of humanoids that apparently created sentient life in our galaxy as we know it.

Actor Salome Jens appears as a Progenitor hologram, and delivers a speech that’s stirring by any standard of Star Trek monologues, telling the story of a race of sentients that took to the stars and found them empty. They had evolved too early to meet other forms of sentient life, and knew that their time was too limited to ever expect to.

“We knew that one day we would be gone; that nothing of us would survive, so we left you,” Jens’ Progenitor explains. The Progenitors seeded humanoid life across the galaxy in their own image; life that tended to evolve into bipedal, tailless, largely hairless creatures with two eyes and two arms and five fingers on each hand. And they left clues in the genetic signature of their work, broken up among the stars.

Wait, was this really all about lampshading the limits of Star Trek’s alien design?

Kinda, yes! The writers of “The Chase,” Ron Moore and Joe Menosky, were inspired by elements of Carl Sagan’s Contact , but also by Menosky’s pet fascination creating an in-universe explanation for why all the common alien species in Star Trek are basically shaped like humans (albeit with latex on their faces).

In other hands, it would be hokey and trite, but even under heavy makeup, Jens sells the hell out of her single scene on voice and stance alone — it’s no wonder she was asked back to the Trek fold to play a major antagonist role in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine .

“It was our hope that you would have to come together in fellowship and companionship to hear this message, and if you can see and hear me, our hope has been fulfilled,” the Progenitor hologram concludes, with gentle compassion. “You are a monument, not to our greatness, but to our existence. That was our wish: That you, too, would know life. [...] There is something of us in each of you, and so something of you in each other.”

But though “The Chase” carried a sweeping revelation, nothing ever really panned out from it. You’d think that a message of togetherness that fundamentally rewrote the origin of life in the universe would have to have tweaked Star Trek’s galactic politics a bit, right? Seems like this would give the Star Trek setting a radically different understanding of the origins of life than we have in the real world — this is literally intelligent design! At the very least there’d be some other characters talking about how humans and Vulcans, Klingons and Romulans and Ferengi and Cardassians and Trill and Bajorans, all share the same genetic ancestor.

But nope: The Pandora’s box of Progenitor lore remained closed. Gene Roddenberry’s successor and Trek producer Rick Berman seems to have been disenchanted with the episode’s reveal — and you can’t really blame him for not wanting to rock the whole cosmology of Star Trek in an episode that’s mostly about explaining how if you turn the DNA snippets like this they make a cool spiral. Now look at this computer screen with the spiral :

Except now, Star Trek: Discovery is opening the box and rocking the boat. This new mad, puzzle-box chase around the galaxy promises to expand on the Progenitors, an idea so big that not even The Next Generation was willing to touch it. It’s a tall order, but Discovery has never been more free to shake up Star Trek continuity than it is right now — we’ll have to wait for more episodes of the show’s final season to find out how free it intends to be.

Star Trek: Discovery is finally free to do whatever it wants

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