One of the big surprises of the Star Trek: Picard trailer shown at San Diego Comic-Con was the reveal that Jeri Ryan would be returning to the Trek world as Seven of Nine. Unlike Brent Spiner and other former Next Generation characters set to return for Picard, Ryan’s character never once appeared on TNG. Instead, she was on Star Trek: Voyager, a spin-off that had little connection to any characters on the Enterprise.
This confirms that Star Trek: Picard isn’t just a sequel to TNG, but to the 24th Century era of Star Trek in general, which included not only Voyager, but also Deep Space Nine. This has us wondering which other characters from those shows could appear. In honor of Seven of Nine, here are seven of our choices for familiar faces from other Trek series we’d love to see in some form on Star Trek: Picard.
Admiral Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew)
The last time we saw the former Captain of Voyager, it was in the form a cameo on Captain Picard’s viewscreen as the newly promoted Admiral Janeway. This took place only a year after she got her lost ship back home to Earth. She traded friendly repartee with Picard as she gave him his assignment, suggesting the two at least knew one another. The fact that she got promoted to Admiral after getting Voyager home means she could have risen up in the ranks at Starfleet rather quickly since then. It’s not inconceivable to believe that by the time we get to the events of Picard, she is even the head of Starfleet.
Chancellor Martok (J. G. Hertzler)
Introduced on Deep Space Nine, General Martok was one of the key Klingon characters on the series aside from Worf. Shown as being gruff and easily irritated, the honorable-to-a-fault warrior rose through the ranks of the Klingon military during the events of the Dominion War. By the end of the series, he had ascended to the role of Chancellor of the Klingon Empire. If we get to the Klingons at some point during Picard, and we almost certainly will, then it stands to reason we should see Martok as their leader.
Tuvok (Tim Russ)
Voyager’s resident Vulcan officer, he served with Captain Janeway on several different assignments prior to their seven years together on Voyager. Now, it would make sense for most of the other Voyager crew members to have moved onto other assignments outside Starfleet after being stuck in the far end of space for so long. Several weren’t even officially part of Starfleet anyway. But Tuvok was fiercely loyal to Janeway, and I would like to believe that he’d still be by her side. If she shows up, I say he shows up right alongside her. Besides, Tuvok would only be around 140 years of age at circa Picard. That’s only middle age for Vulcans!
Chief Miles O’ Brien (Colm Meaney)
This one’s a little bit of a cheat, as the character of Miles O’Brien appeared on The Next Generation in a recurring role for six seasons before becoming a main character on Deep Space Nine. When DS9 ended, he was seen leaving the station with his family to start a teaching job at Starfleet Academy back on Earth. If Picard takes its titular character to Academy grounds at any point, it would be great for Jean-Luc to see his trusty transporter chief again.
Nog (Aron Eisenberg)
When we were first introduced to Nog in the first season of Deep Space Nine, he was still a child. He exhibited all the misogynistic and materialistic traits usually associated with his race, the Ferengi. But as the series moved on, his time interacting with the human Jake Sisko and with other species on DS9 caused his character to grow significantly. And he eventually joined Starfleet Academy and became an officer. One of Captain Sisko’s last acts before joining the Prophets was to promote Nog to the rank of Lt. Twenty years later, we’d like to see him as Captain Nog, first Ferengi commanding officer in Starfleet.
Harry Kim (Garrett Wang)
Poor Harry Kim. Much of his time of Voyager found him kidnapped and held hostage by the alien species of the week, or having his romantic interests fizzle out. He just couldn’t catch a break. On top of that, in seven seasons of the show (on which he was played by the affable Garrett Wang), his rank remained at ensign level. Janeway never thought to promote him! We think this character, only the second Asian lead in a Star Trek series, deserves redemption. Instead of having some random no-name starship captain when the plot calls for it, why not finally give Kim the big promotion he deserves? It’s been nearly 20 years since Voyager; we must assume Harry rose in the ranks of Starfleet by now.
Dax (played by ???)
One of the most fascinating alien races in all of Star Trek are the Trill. A joined species, they consist of host body and symbiont. When one humanoid host body dies, the symbiote joins with a new host. This then carries on the previous host’s memories, and part of their personality too. On Deep Space Nine, we had two different Trill who joined with the Dax symbiote: Jadzia Dax (Terry Farell) and Ezri Dax (Nicole de Boer). We think it would be fascinating if 20 years later, the Dax symbiote would reappear, only now attached to yet another host body. Given that the last two were female, it would throw the audience a bit to suddenly see Dax as a man this time.
Picard premieres January 23, 2020 on CBS All Access.
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