Star Trek Picard Episode Three

Was able to watch Episode 3 of Picard tonight with Brian, another stellar episode, this series continues to impress. More detailed review below.

Here's a quick synopsis of episode 3 titled "The End is the Beginning":

A flashback reveals how, in the aftermath of the synth attack on Mars, Picard demanded that Starfleet either agree to his evacuation plan or accept his resignation. They chose the latter; his executive officer Raffi, who suspected Romulan involvement in the attack, was fired. In the present, Picard asks Raffi for help; she throws him out, but recommends a pilot for his mission, Chris Rios. Meanwhile, aboard the Borg cube, project director Hugh, a former Borg drone, takes Soji to see a group of Romulan former drones. One of the reclaimed Romulans declares Soji to be "the destroyer" and tries to kill herself; Soji uses her enhanced speed to stop her. Narek's sister warns him not to get emotionally attached to Soji. Picard, Laris, and Zhaban are attacked by Zhat Vash operatives. They kill all but one, who also calls Soji "the destroyer" under interrogation, before dissolving in a pool of acid. Dr. Jurati is approached by Commodore Oh, who demands to know what was said during Jurati's meeting with Picard. Jurati decides to join Picard on his journey. They board Rios' ship, La Sirena, and find Raffi already there. She directs them to Freecloud, where she believes Bruce Maddox is located.

At the start of this episode it was great to see a younger Picard in their new uniforms which I really liked. We see the close relationship between Raffi and Picard and why she's hates him so much in the present. Raffi is a damaged person, you could tell how much Picard meant to her and when he up an left her she swirled down even further down the drug and alcohol hole.

We meet another new character Captain Rios, I really like him, he's a former Starfleet officer who is also disenchanted by Starfleet. His ship Ls Sierna is a cool looking ship and ran completely my Emergency Holo beings. We've met the EMH (Emergency Medical Hologram) and the ENH (Emergency Navigation Hologram). They all look like Rio (with various hair/beard styles but all have different accents. This guys is going to be an interesting character.

We were reintroduced to one of my favorite side characters from TNG, former borg Hugh. We find out that he's "in charge" of the restoration of the Borg on the Romulan artifact and is friends with Soji. He takes her to a holding cell where previously Borg converted Romulans are being held. Soji meets a reclaimed Romulan who is "psychic" she proclaims that Soji is The Destroyer but we don't have a clue what she means. Can't wait to see what that is about.

Commodore Oh visit Dr Jurati but they didn't show us the scene then Dr. Jurati shows up at Picards and wants to join him. It's making people suspicious of her. I hope she's not working for Commodore Oh because I really like Agnus. Guess time will tell.

We get a great action sequence when Picard, Laris, and Zhaban are attacked. Both Laris and Zhaban can kick some but thought I was worried that one of them was going to get killed. Luckily everyone survived. We also got an explanation as to who Romulans looks different (ridges vs no ridges) it was a throw away line but I love that they finally explained it. They captured one of their attackers and before he killed himself he said the Soji was the Destroyer.

And of course we had the very end where Picard has the majority of his crew and they set out but not before Picard says one of his most famous lines "Engage". I literally started to tear up, I mean we knew it was coming but still.. FANTASTIC!!!

So overall another stellar episode. I loved the new characters, we got to know a little bit more about Soji, though still a mystery. And now it looks like we are leaving Earth and starting the adventure. Can't wait to episode 4 next week.

Recording New Episodes of The Geek Roundtable

Tonight after work I assembled a rag tag group of friends to record four new episodes for my latest podcast, The Geek Roundtable podcast.

Friends Jenni, Rita, Adam and Kent gathered around my roundtable (actually a square) to discuss Disneyland Park, The Mandalorian, John Hughes Files and the Back to the Future Trilogy. Jenni has been a guest host before but Rita, Adam and Kent were all new to guest hosting. Previous episodes were me asking questions of my guest hosts on the topic at hand. This round I decided to not only do questions on the topic to discuss interesting facts that I had found. I really liked this new edition and the three hours flew by. All of my guests were fantastic and knowledgeable in each subject that we discussed. I think doing this on a weekend after work really worked out. I'll be recording more and more of these as time goes on. This podcast has found a small audience but I hope it continues to grow and it's one of my favorite podcasts to record.

Fishy Green Ale

They announced a new drink at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter's Three Broomsticks, they are now serving Fishy Green Ale! I have to say that the name of this drink doesn't sound appealing but the description, "creamy mint drink with cinnamon notes and tasty blueberry ‘fish eggs’"does. I think another trip to Hogwarts is in order. I love mint, cinnamon and blueberries, I hope they taste amazing together. I'll report back here once I have tried it. I don't think it will replace Butterbeer but it's nice to change up things from time to time.

5 Years at Nerdstrong Gym

Today marks 5 years at Nerdstrong Gym, from the moment I walked in and met owner/head coach Andrew I knew this was the gym for me, I’ve been going roughly five days a week for five years which means I’ve gone to the gym around 1300 times since I started. It’s been an amazing journey and it’s far from over. I’ve met so many amazing people through the years at this gym who will be life long friends. I’m still challenged with every workout and find myself sore more often then not. I’ve pushed myself beyond any limits that I set for myself and constantly setting new limits to reach. I’m one of the oldest gym members but still managed to keep up with the younglings. Nerdstrong has instilled in me my love of fitness, which is a statement that I didn’t think I’d ever say. I’m living my best life theses days and Nerdstrong gym is a big reason for that. Thank you to Nerdstrong and thank you to all my friends who have supported me over the years with your kind words and encouragement. Five years has flown by and I can’t wait to see what the next five years has in store for me... my story continues... 

Upcoming Marvel Awesomeness

Today they released a 30 second video of the three upcoming Marvel/Disney + series. Falcon and the Winter Solider, WandaVision and Loki. I mean it's only 30 seconds so it's not a lot of footage but it's enough to get you excited for what's to come. Falcon and the Winter Solider looks pretty straight forward, a continuation of their story after the final Avenger's movie. WandaVision looks bizarre and it very confusing, from what we saw it looks like alot will be taking place in her head (I'm assuming) but I have to say this one is the one I'm most excited to see. Loki hasn't even started yet but they had one quick clip of Loki talking to the camera. I'm not a huge Loki fan, I mean I like him but I know folks who are obsessed with him. Falcon and the Winter Solider comes out in August, WandaVision in December and Loki sometime next year. We got lots of awesome shows to look forward to and I'm sure I'll be blogging about them here.. so stay tuned.