Trivia / Star Trek: Picard S3E06 "The Bounty"

• Acting for Four: When the Data golem is brought aboard the Titan and briefly goes schizophrenic, Brent Spiner seamlessly vocally and physically alternates between all his past distinct performances as the logical Data, the childlike B-4, the malevolent Lore, and the grumpy Soong.
• Acting in the Dark: Daniel Davis has revealed he was given little to no context for Moriarty's characterization in this episode. He was just as confused as fans about why the Professor had regressed from where he'd been left at the end of "Ship in a Bottle". He didn't fully understand the intention until seeing a pre-release screener of this episode.
• Awesome, Dear Boy: Daniel Davis has revealed he immediately signed on to return as Moriarty without being told the role or plot of the character's return. He was just happy at the chance to come back to Trek, reprise one of his most beloved roles, and act with the TNG Cast again.
• Creator Backlash: Daniel Davis has admitted that while he was happy to return to Star Trek, he was also understandably disappointed that he didn't get to interact with LeVar Burton or Patrick Stewart on-screen again. Davis is also disappointed that Moriarty didn't get to have a final reckoning with Picard over his broken promise and trickery from "Ship in a Bottle".
• Deleted Scenes: In September 2023, it was revealed that the Daystrom subplot lost a Worf-centric scene in the final cut. This deleted scene would have paid off Riker's frustrations with the post-Nemesis Worf throughout the episode and answered what the specific catalyst was for this turn towards pacifism.
• Real-Life Relative: Alandra LaForge is played by LeVar Burton's real-life daughter Mica Burton.
• Real Life Writes the Plot:
  • In this week's Ready Room, Production Designer David Blass admits this is why the Daystrom Vaults have holographic screens showing their contents. As much as they wanted to show all the vaults and all their contents open and visible, budgetary costs obviously didn't allow it beyond a handful of items.
  • Complicated, if arguable example with the Data Golem. Season Three's big selling point, of course, is the reunion of the entire TNG Cast for the first time since Nemesis. However, Brent Spiner had retired from playing Data after his character's sendoff in the Season One finale. Daystrom Android M-5-10 is thus a workaround to bring Spiner back (while playing into the final Season's theme of legacy and without having to contrive another long-lost Soong relative), while still "technically" playing all four Soongs (Data, Lore, B-4, and Altan) at once.
• Recycled Set: The Ready Room indirectly reveals that the set for Geordi's office at the Fleet Museum is actually a redress of the Titan conference room.
• Refitted for Sequel: An early storyboard for Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country had the Bounty in spacedock getting disassembled by Starfleet engineers. In this episode, it's revealed that following the events of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, the Federation recovered the Bounty and eventually added it to the Fleet Museum.
• Role Reprise: Daniel Davis reprises the role of Moriarty for the first time since "Ship In A Bottle" back in 1993. Likewise, Brent Spiner reprises the role of Lore (kinda) for the first time since "Descent" in 1993 (and likewise B-4 for the first time since Star Trek: Nemesis in 2002).
• What Could Have Been: According to Brent Spiner, he and Terry Matalas had discussions about not giving the Data golem the trademark Soong Android golden eyes. However, because the eyes are such an iconic part of the legacy of Data and his 'siblings', both creators ultimately agreed the eyes should be kept.

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