The announcement, a month or two ago, that Patrick Stewart is set to return to the role of Jean-Luc Picard in a new Star Trek series, was met with great enthusiasm and excitement by a huge number of Trek fans.

We don’t really know anything so far. Anything at all: except that Picard is going to be back on our screens.

Is it to be an entirely Picard-centered show? Or is it more like a re-launch of TNG, with the whole supporting cast also coming back to the screen? There seem to be rumours of both and hints that the likes of Brent Spiner, Marina Sirtis and others could be involved.

Is to be set on the Enterprise?

Where will it sit in the timeline? We do know that it is set in the 24th century, which means it probably sits somewhere after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis.

If it is set after Nemesis, I’m not sure how Data’s character could be handled – but that’s assuming this show will involve all of the old TNG cast and not just be a Picard-centered show.

I also wonder – given years of fruitless speculation about a Captain Worf series – whether Michael Dorn was annoyed to have his thunder completely stolen suddenly by Patrick Stewart and the Picard announcement.

I’m glad Picard is coming back – and particularly glad that Trek is reviving the 24th century era. I’m not necessarily as over-the-moon as other people I know: partly because it hasn’t been long enough for me to really feel massive nostalgia, given that some of those TNG movies don’t seem like that long ago to me (and, to  be honest, the TNG movies weren’t that great).

The fact, however, that they’re apparently re-centering the franchise in the 24th century time-frame of TNG, DS9 and Voyager is both telling and potentially rich with potential. ‘Telling’ because it represents a departure from everything that the Star Trek franchise has been doing since after 2002 (the Enterprise series, the 2009 film reboot, and the current Star Trek Discovery series) and a return to what was arguably the most popular era of the franchise.

And ‘rich in potential’ because it may pave the way for more of that era of televisual Star Trek to be revisited or revived. A show set back in that 24th century time-period, even if it is centered on Picard or the TNG faces, could also open up a space for some of those great Deep Space Nine characters or even Voyager.

Maybe that’s being too optimistic, but we’ll see.

Does it indicate a loss of faith in the other time periods or timelines that have been explored in all post-2002 Star Trek? Perhaps. Though not entirely – after all, Discovery is still going to be running parallel to whatever this new Picard-centered show is going to be, and the Star Trek movie franchise (starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, etc) is still ongoing. It just means a further diversification of ongoing Star Trek.

There is a case to be made that the 24th century time period of TNG, DS9 and Voyager is still the most popular among the majority of Trek fans, because it provided the richest, longest-running tapestry of shows, stories, arcs and characters.

I love Shatner, Nimoy and co and anything TOS-related and I also like the current film franchise set in its alternate timeline: but the Star Trek I feel fondest for is that 24th century era.

My favorite Star Trek of all is still Deep Space Nine: and while I doubt there’ll be any revival of or return to DS9, the door at least seems slightly more open now with this Picard announcement than it did before.

There is, in truth, perhaps a question as to what motivated this decision to return Patrick Stewart and co to televisual Star Trek at this time. It may have been simple nostalgia rather than because there’s any genuine story to be told. But if the producers’ or writers’ nostalgia is matched by fan nostalgia – and if a good writing team can be brought on board (how great would it be for a Ronald D. Moore or an Ira Steven Behr to be brought back for this) – the possibilities should be stellar.

If we’re going to see a return to that time period and some of those characters, my choice would logically be to approach some of those classic writers like the aforementioned Moore or Behr or some of the others. Go back to some of those guys who have a decades-long handle on these characters, this universe and this time period, right?

I don’t know if that’s what’s going to happen.

We don’t know much of anything right now, other than that Patrick Stewart is reprising the role of Jean-Luc Picard.

Everything else it totally unknown. And, alas, if ever I hear it announced that Benjamin Sisko is coming back for a DS9 revival, it probably means I’m asleep and in dreamland.