The secret behind B-4’s parts on Star Trek: Picard

The first season of Star Trek: Picard brought back B-4, but it took a lot of work to make the viewing realistic. 

The android, B-4, who was played by Brent Spiner on Star Trek: The Next Generation, hadn’t been seen since Star Trek: Nemesis. That was until it made an appearance in the first episode of the first season of Star Trek: Picard, at least partially anyway. When Admiral Picard (Patrick Stewart) went to the Daystrom Institute to find out more about Dahj, Dr. Agnes Jurati opened a drawer to reveal B-4’s dismembered body, all of which looked like they’d been through the ringer. And there’s a good reason for that.

Picard’s prop master, Jeff Lombardi, wanted to lend a little authenticity to the viewing so he decided not to recreate the android’s body. He wanted to use as many of Data’s “old parts” as possible. The problem with this decision, according to Whatculture, was that a lot of the old Star Trek props weren’t within easy reach. In fact, some weren’t even in the United States any more.

Star Trek: Picard had a dedicated prop master in Jeff Lombardi.

Many of Data’s parts had been auctioned off, and some were sent halfway around the world which meant Lombardi and a CBS archivist had to go to work. They contacted the people who’d purchased these parts so they could be used in the brief scene.

They discovered that Data’s head was in a crate in Calgary, and his torso was in a crate in Hong Kong. Once Lombardi received permission to use the parts, they were brought back to the set and used with little to no alterations or touch-ups, which means this episode showcased over twenty-five years of history in one shot. Kudos to the prop master for doing such a thorough job. It might be the last time we’ll ever see all of those dismembered Data parts in the same place!