What could arguably be the best season of Star Trek featuring The Next Generation crew, comes to physical media today from Paramount Canada; Star Trek: Picard – Season 3 hits Blu-ray and DVD, and the ten-episode series is a perfect bow not only on the past seasons of Picard, but of the entire Next Generation story.

It features a sweeping tale that sees the return not only of Picard (Patrick Stewart) but of Riker (Jonathan Frakes), Troi (Marina Sirtis), Crusher (Gates McFadden), LaForge (LeVar Burton), Worf (Michael Dorn) and Data (Brent Spiner), as well as fan favourites, Raffi (Michelle Hurd), Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) Picard – Season 3 delivers a rocketing story filled with (oh so many) easter eggs, some wonderful fan service and some beautiful character moments.

It also introduces us to the awesome captain of the Titan, Liam Shaw (Todd Stashwick) the villainous Vadic (Amanda Plummer), Beverly Crusher’s son, Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers) and LaForge’s daughters, Sidney (Ashlei Sharpei Chestnut) and Alandra (Mica Burton).

Basically, a ten-hour film that lets us send off The Next Gen crew properly, showrunner Terry Matalas delivers a tale of legacy, parenthood and family. He knows the moments fans want to see, and he and his creative team deliver some outstanding cinematic sequences.

It’s a fantastic ride, and one I want to revisit over and over again. Not only does the picture and sound look great on the Blu-ray, but the three-disc collection comes packed with extras. There’s a forty-minute doc on the making of the series, a forty-minute recording of the cast Q&A session following the IMAX screening of the finale, featurettes about the (re)making of the Enterprise D, Vadic, the return of the classic cast, a gag reel, a collection of deleted scenes and some incredibly informative and enjoyable audio commentaries featuring cast and crew.

Picard Season 3 is almost perfect Star Trek, it advances the story and philosophy that we can be better, it explores our own humanity, it delivers great visuals, wonderful character beats, great fan moments, and pushes the Legacy forward.

Star Trek: Picard as a whole could be hit and miss, you either enjoyed where the first two seasons went and the things it explored or you didn’t, but season three ties everything up fairly nicely, and lets each of the classic characters shine, while introducing us to the idea of legacy characters continuing the story.

Whether you enjoyed the previous Picard entries or not, this one is a must for Next Generation fans. They got the band back together one last time, and it’s a helluva ride.

Star Trek: Picard – Season 3 is available on physical media today from Paramount Pictures.