So far, Season 3 is a treat and its a long time coming. However there is one tiny detail that needs to be rewritten.
Replace Captain Shaw with Captain Julien Bashir.
Julien Bashir would fit the roll of Titan's Captain perfectly and tie in the 24th Century spin-offs. I can imagine at this point in Bashir's career having switched career tracks that he is a "by-the-book" officer unlike the frontier medicine style of his youth. However unlike Shaw, Bashir wouldn't be a jerk about it, forceful yes, but not rude. Kind of a like Saavik in TWOK but with command authority. Also the coldness toward Picard could be a nice easter egg from how Sisko reacted to Picard in the pilot episode of DS9 (Emissary). The "ex-borg" line Captain Shaw coldly uses would be a nice touch. During the course of his career at DS9, Bashir no doubt was told about Picard's Locutus by Sisko, Jadzia/Ezri or Miles at some point.
Instead of Picard overriding Shaw's command authority to protect "Jack Crusher", Bashir would have a change of heart thinking of Sisko's son Jake and how he tried to protect him from the Klingons in "Nor the Battle to the Strong" (DS9 Season 4). Picard convincing Bashir to help shows his diplomatic skills and would bring out his long dormant "Doctor" in him. Using Admiral authority to take command of the Titan to save your own son just seems wrong to me. Riker could also make a few quips about Bashir acting like Picard had did in S1-S3 in TNG. Just for a few laughs. Bashir could also note that "how did Miles ever put up with you two, or Worf for that matter". etc. Bashir was featured on TNG Season 5-6 "Birthright" so it wouldn't be that out of the blue to have him be included in the final season of Picard.
In an ironic twist since showrunner Terry Metalas clearly is going for the "Wrath of Kahn" formula, having a genetically engineered human who's akin to Khan play the reluctant hero Captain would be a nice touch and show Starfleet's maturity. Worf and Bashir would also have a shot at some old school DS9 banter and help fill in the gaps of the DS9 story. Also the crazy villain lady could give Bashir some serious "Dukat" or "Weyoun" PTSD just for kicks. Shaw's character is trying to be too much like Captain Jellico was in TNG "Chain of Command", Bashir would provide balance because he is a "matter-of-fact" type of character who's a war vet and he served with Captain Sisko, so he's immune to the "legends" line that Seven uses, since he has served with some legends of his own.
What do you guys think? Personally Shaw is a nothing more than an antagonist for the sake of creating headaches for the old gang and serves no purpose but to be a nuisance. At least Bashir would provide some likeability and some friction to make mature drama. Shaw was written to be a jerk and there is absolutely no reason for it.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC] "This planet smells, it must be the Klingons"
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