“The Best of Both Worlds” operates as an outlier to this examination of Picard episodes. While the story of what occurs centers on Picard and the assault that he receives from the Borg, this two-parter is ostensibly focused on Commander Riker. From beginning to end, it deals with Riker’s readiness and overall qualifications of captaincy. …
Author Archives: michaeldstark
Star Trek: Picard – Thoughts on Nostalgia, Expectations, & Quality
The series premiere of Star Trek: Picard is less than three weeks away. It feels as though many of us Trek fans have been waiting longer than the year and a half since this was announced. I suppose there’s a degree of truth to that. There seems to be a clamoring online for years now …
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The Measure of a Man
A pre-Law and Order courtroom drama set in space? Let’s get into this! As much as I love The Next Generation, its first two seasons are, well, not particularly great. The first season is a disaster. It borders on the unwatchable. The second season improves, but there are still a lot of clunkers along the …
Picard: A Reflection of a Character
For as long as my memory can recall, Star Trek has been a part of my life. As incomplete as early memory can be, there are vivid recollections of time watching Trek with my mom. I was seven years-old when Star Trek: Generations released in theatersin the fall of 1994, and that theater-going experience is …
Reflections on 2019 in Film
Michael’s Top 10 of 2019 Over the past five or six years, I’ve found myself surrounded by friends who have a love for the art of film. We hit the spectrum on what we see and enjoy. We’re there for a lot of the franchise films – the Marvels and Star Warses – but particularly …
Thoughts from a Rising Tide
As I stood on the shore practicing the tradition of people everywhere — letting my feet be buried in the sand by the tide — I knew I was ready to begin writing again. I’ve taken a bit of an unplanned but necessary break from writing. Between 2013 and 2017 I published as much as …
What’s Next
It’s been a while, hasn’t it? For the past year, I have been a wilderness season. This period is a conglomerate of happenstance and intentionality. While trying to decide some next steps for myself in a fluid world, I likewise recognized a need for me to take a step back to listen, reflect, learn. Part of …
The Sacred Art of Shutting Up
Over the past six months or so, I have intentionally withdrawn from much of the public dialogue and writing that I had become accustomed to over the past few years. Practicality played a role in this decision. I was in the last phase of completing the manuscript for my first book, which consumed much of …
‘mother!’ and the Honest Portrayal of Christian Living
By the time the end credits roll on Darren Aronofosky’s new film, mother!, you sit speechless in your seat, nearly paralyzed, by what you just experienced. And there is no more appropriate word to describe this film than experience. Make no mistake, this is not a fun film. Hell, it’s not even enjoyable. Yet in all its …
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Theology of Fear
At the close of 2016, it seemed as if people everywhere were clamoring for the year to end and for a new year to begin. I was less optimistic. The negative energy, the constant yelling, dividing communities, and rabid fear didn’t seem like it would stop simply because the calendar page flipped. And it didn’t. …
Former Aspiring Philosopher 