Picard just brought back a Star Trek legend – but there's a twist
Star Trek: Picard spoilers follow.
Star Treklegend Brent Spiner returned for the Picardseason 1 finale this week, but not quite how we expected.
Known to sci-fi audiences for his role as Data from The Next Generation, Spiner made an appearance in Patrick Stewart's spin-off as a human relation to his famous character, named Dr Altan Inigo Soong.
Related: Star Trek: Picard season 2: Release date, cast, episodes, plot and everything you need to know
Here, Altan is the son of Dr Noonian Soong (also played by Spiner), who was the original creator of Data in The Next Generation.
Technically, fans can consider Altan to be Data's half-brother, as his mum is presumed to be human Juliana Soong, while Data calls the android version of Juliana his mum.
In other words, this family tree could get confusing very quickly...
Picard fans already knew that Spiner would be returning for the new show, with the actor making a surprise appearance at Comic-Con International last year.
And we can look forward to another iconic cast member returning for the show's second season, as earlier this year Sir Patrick Stewart personally invited Guinan star Whoopi Goldberg back for the new episodes.
"It was wonderful having you, and we cannot wait to have you with us again one more time," he said as he made the offer on Whoopi's daytime talk show The View.
Star Trek: Picard airs on CBS All Access in the US and Amazon Prime internationally, including the UK.
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