Jean-Luc Picard

Jean-Luc Picard is a Star Trek character portrayed by Patrick Stewart. He appears in Star Trek: The Next Generation as the captain of the Federation flagship Enterprise-D. Picard also appears in the TNG-era films Generations, First Contact, Insurrection, and Nemesis, and has a cameo appearance in the pilot episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Jean-Luc Picard is depicted as a deeply moral, highly intelligent man who is a master of diplomacy and debate. He prefers to peacefully resolve disputes rather than fight, although as captain of the most powerful ship in the fleet, he is well equipped to do so, and when forced into combat,very few can match his tactical prowess. Picard's signature phrase from the captain's chair was "Make it so" - a quotation from the Hornblower novels of CS Forester. Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry named Picard for one or both of the twin brothers Auguste Piccard and Jean Felix Piccard. Patrick Stewart, a Shakespearean actor, was at first considered for the role of Data. Roddenberry's first choice for Picard was Stephen Macht, and it took "weeks of discussion" with Robert H. Justman to convince Roddenberry that "Stewart was the one they had been looking for to sit in the captain's chair." Stewart, who has a background of theatre at the Royal Shakespeare Company, has been appreciative of his role, but pointed out he is not nearly as serious or brooding as his alter ego. Stewart also stated, "One of the delights of having done this series and played this role is that people are so attracted to the whole idea of Star Trek... several years after the series has ended... I enjoy hearing how much people enjoyed the work we did... It's always gratifying to me that this bald, middle-aged Englishman seems to connect with them." Stewart has also commented that his role has helped opening up Shakespeare to science fiction fans. He has noted "regular presence of Trekkies in the audience" whenever he plays theatre, and added: "I meet these people afterwards, I get letters from them and see them at the stage door... And they say, 'I've never seen Shakespeare before, I didn't think I'd understand it, but it was wonderful and I can't wait to come back'."

Depiction

Picard was born to Maurice and Yvette Picard in La Barre, France, in 2305 and dreamed of joining Starfleet. He failed his first Starfleet Academy entrance exam, but was subsequently admitted and became the first freshman to win the Academy marathon. Jean-Luc Picard's academic training in archaeology is mentioned in several TNG episodes. Shortly after graduation, he was stabbed in the heart by a Nausicaan, leaving the organ irreparable and requiring replacement with a parthenogenetic implant; this would prove near-fatal later. Picard eventually served as first officer aboard the USS Stargazer, and later commanded the ship. During that time, he invented a starship combat maneuver that would become known as the Picard Maneuver.

Star Trek: The Next Generation depicts Picard's command of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D). The pilot episode shows the crew's mission to investigate Farpoint Station being sidetracked when Q makes Picard humanity's "representative" in a trial charging the species with being a "dangerously savage child race". Picard persuades Q to test humanity, and Q chooses as the test's first stage the crew's performance at Farpoint. The trial "ends" seven years later (when Q reminds Picard that it never does), in the series finale, when humanity is absolved by Picard's demonstration that the species has the capacity to explore the "possibilities of existence."

The third season finale, "The Best of Both Worlds, Part I", depicts Picard being assimilated by the Borg to serve as a bridge between humanity and the Borg. Jean-Luc Picard is renamed Locutus in the process. Picard's assimilation and recovery are a critical point in the character's development, and provided backstory for the film Star Trek: First Contact and the development of Benjamin Sisko, the protagonist of the Deep Space Nine spin-off. Stewart asked Roddenberry to keep Picard a Borg for a few more episodes beyond the third season finale, as he thought that would be more interesting than simply restoring Picard in Part II.

Picard works with James T. Kirk in Star Trek: Generations to fight the film's villain, Dr. Tolian Soran. Commanding the new USS Enterprise-E, Picard again confronts the Borg in the following film, First Contact. Later, he fights a species' forced relocation in Insurrection, and in Nemesis encounters Shinzon, a Romulan-made clone of himself.

Love interests

One of the recurring themes of TNG involves Jean-Luc Picard having long-standing feelings for ship's doctor Beverly Crusher. He was initially reluctant for her to serve on the Enterprise, as she was the widow of one of his good friends, Jack Crusher; he felt guilty for his feelings toward her, as he had ordered Jack to his death. Beverly obviously reciprocated, but the two evaded the issue until the seventh season episode, "Attached," in which they were connected by a neural transponder and forced to acknowledge their feelings for one another. Beverly expresses a wish that they remain simply friends for the time being, and Picard agrees. They remain close in later installments and the subsequent movies. The series finale "All Good Things..." reveals that they become married—and divorce—in a version of their future.

Picard and Dr. Crusher have breakfast with each other most mornings at 0700. When another love interest, archeologist Vash, is already eating with him one morning and Beverly enters, she intrudes on their conversation and persuades Vash to join her on a tour of this ship, leaving Jean-Luc Picard alone ("Qpid").

Picard also had a brief relationship with Lt. Commander Nella Darren, who briefly served as chief of stellar cartography on board the Enterprise-D. The relationship stemmed at first from a mutual love of music, and continued to blossom until a mission required Jean-Luc Picard to place Darren in a life-threatening situation, upon which the two realized that as captain of a starship, he may have been forced to do so again. The two subsequently parted ways ("Lessons").

Reception

Many often contrast Picard's leadership style to James T. Kirk's: Jean-Luc Picard is deemed the ultimate delegator of authority, knowing "how to gather and use data better than any other Star Trek captain." His leadership style "is best suited to a large, process-centric, either geographically identical or diverse team." Both Kirk and Jean-Luc Picard are considered to be attentive to the needs of their respective crews.

The Picard Song

In 2001, a mashup dance song featuring voice samples from Jean-Luc Picard, titled "The Picard Song", was released. After being used on the viral media site YTMND in 2004, it garnered significant attention, receiving over 3 million views and prompting nearly 100 similar YTMND pages. At the end of 2005, it was considered to be the most popular page on the site. After reaching high levels of popularity, it was incorporated into dozens of viral videos and machinima.

Source (wikipedia.com)

Return from Jean-Luc Picard to Sci Fi Heroes

Share your Comments!