NOTE: The article contains spoilers about the events of the recent episode of Star Trek: Picard season 3 titled "Vox." Read at your own risk.
Out of many moments that happened in the penultimate episode of Star Trek: Picard, the most talked-about moment is the sequence near the end where The Next Generation crew stepped into the restored Enterprise-D again with the design looking exactly like in the original series.
Due to the Borg assimilation of Starfleet, the crew escaped to the Fleet Museum where Geordi La Forge explained that he spent the last 20 years restoring Enterprise-D which made it possible for them to return to the ship that they served during their heyday. It also helps that it is operating outside the Starfleet mainframe, which is compromised at this point.
In an interview with Collider, showrunner Terry Matalas explained the behind-the-scenes stories behind the return of Enterprise-D where he revealed that not only they rebuilt the Enterprise bridge set, they have to film the scenes quickly due to time constraints and budgetary reasons.
"Because this season was really ambitious, we didn't have a lot of time and money. So, to build that Enterprise bridge, and we did, every square inch of it, as exact as it was, meant that we had to build it from the second we pulled the trigger on Season 3. But it also meant we only had two days to shoot on it," he said.
"The second we walked on the bridge, we didn't have a lot of time to look around and smell the roses. So, it was, 'Alright, everybody, let's have our quick moment.'"
Matalas also shared that it was difficult for them to move things quickly since the cast would spend a lot of time reminiscing the years when they were making The Next Generation on the set when the cameras are not rolling.
"Me as a director had to wrangle these cats who, wonderfully, wanted to lament about the time somebody fell and ran into the wall, and broke this and that, and they want to sing and dance and tell jokes, and all the things that you've heard about as fans throughout the years when you yell cut," he shared.
"And you think it's delightful as a fan, but as a director, it's hard, especially when you only have two hours... But it was undeniably incredible, this legendary moment to have them on."
The showrunner also confirmed that they used the late Majel Barrett's computer voice for the Enterprise-D and revealed that they used archive footage from The Next Generation instead of an A.I. technology.
He said, "It had to be her. And then we went back and forth as to whether or not we use AI, but at the time we were doing it, it wasn't quite there. So we used clips from [Star Trek: The New Generation] to make it even more authentic, but it had to be her on that ship or else it wasn't right."
It was certainly an emotional moment when the crew returned to Enterprise-D decades after we last saw them on that ship and it gave fans a lot of nostalgia feels. Now, it is exciting to see what will happen when we see them on the ship in action for the finale.
Also Read: Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Showrunner Explains Why [SPOILER] Died in Episode 9
The final episode of Star Trek: Picard will premiere this Thursday, April 20 on Paramount+.
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