Jean-Luc Picard
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| Jean-Luc Picard | |
 Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise-D |
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| Species | Human |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
| Date of birth | July 13, 2305 |
| Home planet | Earth (La Barre, France) |
| Affiliation | Starfleet |
| Posting | USS Stargazer executive officer, commanding officer USS Enterprise-D commanding officer Celtris III special operations USS Enterprise-E commanding officer |
| Rank | Captain |
| Actor | Patrick Stewart |
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.
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.[1][2]
Patrick Stewart, a Shakespearean actor,[3] was at first considered for the role of Data.[4] 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."[5] 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.[6] 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."[6] 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'."[7]
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[edit] Depiction
Jean-Luc Picard was born to Maurice and Yvette Picard in La Barre, France, in 2305 and dreamed of joining Starfleet.[8] He failed his first Starfleet Academy entrance exam, but was subsequently admitted and became the first freshman to win the Academy marathon.[8] Picard's academic training in archaeology is mentioned in several TNG episodes. Shortly after graduation, he was stabbed in the heart by a Nausicaan; the organ was irreparable and required replacement with a parthenogenetic implantthis would prove near-fatal later.[8] Picard eventually served as first officer aboard the USS Stargazer, and later commanded the ship.[8] 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).[9] 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".[9] Picard persuades Q to test humanity, and Q chooses as the test's first stage the crew's performance at Farpoint.[9] 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."[9]
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. 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.[9][10] 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.[4]
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.
[edit] Love interests
One of the recurring themes of TNG involves Picard having long-standing feelings for ship's doctor Beverly Crusher from his cadet days. He was initially reluctant for her to serve on the Enterprise, as she was the widow of one of his good friends, Jack Crusher, and he felt guilty for his feelings toward her. 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 reluctantly agrees. They remain close in later installments and the subsequent movies. The season finale reveals that they become married in a version of their future.
It has been noted on many key episode that the relationship between doctor Beverly Crusher and the Captain is felt from both sides, it is revealed on numerous episodes that they have breakfast with each other most mornings at 0700 hours (7 o'clock) on an episode involving Vash called Q Pid the doctor walks in on Captain Picard and Vash who have already started breakfast. Beverly, who obviously is jealous, intrudes on their conversation and persuades Vash to join her on a tour of this ship, subsequently leaving Picard alone.
Picard also had a brief relationship with Commander Neela Darren, who served as chief of stellar cartography onboard the Enterprise-D. The relationship stemmed at first from a mutual love of music, and continued to blossom until a mission required 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. As far as records show, Picard was never romantically involved with a subordinate again, most likely due to this unfortunate series of events.
[edit] Reception
Many often contrast Picard's leadership style to James T. Kirk's: 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."[11] Both Kirk and Picard are considered to be attentive to the needs of their respective crews.[12]
[edit] The Picard Song
In 2001, a mashup dance song featuring voice samples from Picard, titled "The Picard Song", was released.[13] 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.[14][15] At the end of 2005, it was considered to be the most popular page on the site.[16] After reaching high levels of popularity, it was incorporated into dozens of viral videos and machinima.[17][18]
[edit] References
- ^ University of California, Berkeley et al. [and informal sources on Jean Piccard talk page] (2003). Living With A Star: 3: Balloon/Rocket Mission: Scientific Ballooning. The Regents of the University of California.
- ^ Piccard, Elizabeth (2004-01-23). Talk of the Nation: Science on Stage. National Public Radio. Retrieved on 2007-01-29.
- ^ Phillip Brochbank, ed., Players of Shakespeare Cambridge: Cambride University Press (1995)
- ^ a b James Hatfield, George Burt, Patrick Stewart: The Unauthorized Biography New York: Kensington Publishing (1996)
- ^ Adam Schrager, "Patrick Stewart: Thespian on the Bridge" The Finest Crew in the Fleet: The Next Generation's Cast On Screen and Off. New York: Wolf Valley Books (1997): 23. This book gives the actor's name as "Steven Mocked".
- ^ a b The Journal Arts: Patrick Stewart
- ^ Patrick Stewart interview (BBC)
- ^ a b c d Okuda, Mike and Denise Okuda, with Debbie Mirek (1999). The Star Trek Encyclopedia. Pocket Books. ISBN 0-671-53609-5.
- ^ a b c d e Nemeck, Larry (2003). Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion. Pocket Books. ISBN 0-7434-5798-6.
- ^ Erdmann, Terry J.; Paula M. Block (2000). Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion. Pocket Books. ISBN 1-0671-5010-62.
- ^ Paul Kimmerly & David R. Webb, "Leadership, The Final Frontier: Lessons From the Captains of Star Trek" CrossTalk: The Journal of Defense Software Engineering Oct. 2006
- ^ John D. W. Beck & Neil M. Yeager, The Leader's Window: Mastering the Four Styles of Leadership to Build High-Performing Teams New York: Wiley (1994): 38
- ^ Dark Materia's homepage Creator of the song
- ^ The Picard Song profile page
- ^ The Picard Song's asset page
- ^ OC Register: healthscience - Techno file: 'You're the man now, dog' strains at its leash
- ^ The Picard Song video on ifilm
- ^ Google Video listings for "Picard Song"
[edit] External links
- Biography of Jean-Luc Picard at the official Star Trek website
- Jean-Luc Picard article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki
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| Captains of Star Trek vessels named Enterprise | ||||||||||
| Jonathan Archer | Robert April | Christopher Pike | James T. Kirk | Willard Decker | Spock | John Harriman | Rachel Garrett | Jean-Luc Picard | William Riker | Edward Jellico |
