Jean-Luc Picard

Jean-Luc Picard is a character in Star Trek: The Next Generation, the commanding officer (having the rank of Captain) of the USS Enterprise-D and the USS Enterprise-E. He was played by English actor Patrick Stewart in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) and resulting films. The character was devised by Gene Roddenberry and named after Dr. Jean Piccard, a Swiss scientist and high-altitude balloonist. While there is no official source of the name Picard, the character makes occasional allusions to his "famous ancestors" &mdash; presumably Jean, Auguste, Jacques, and Bertrand Piccard.

Life before command of the Enterprise-D
Jean-Luc Picard was born in Labarre, France, Earth on July 13, 2305 to Maurice and Yvette Gessard Picard. As a child, he yearned for adventure and exploration and caused "quite a stir" by leaving his family's generational vineyard and applying to Starfleet Academy. As of 2366, both of his parents are deceased. His brother, Robert and nephew, René, were his only remaining family and were killed in a fire in 2371 (Star Trek: Generations). He failed his first entrance exam into Starfleet Academy, but was subsequently successful in being admitted. He graduated from Starfleet Academy in 2327 at or near the top of his class and was the first freshman to win the Academy marathon at Delulin II. Picard's Starfleet serial number was SP-937-215 (TNG: "Chain of Command, Part 1").

Shortly after his graduation, Picard briefly stayed at Starbase Earhart in 2328 waiting for his assigned ship to arrive. While there, he was stabbed in the heart by one of three Nausicaans during a fight (that he started) at the Bonestell Recreation Center. The damage was irreparable and his natural heart was replaced with an artificial heart. This event was a turning point for the young Picard, forcing him to realize that his arrogance was the main reason he was nearly killed.

Picard served as first officer aboard the USS Stargazer (NCC-2893) in 2333 and became captain upon the death of the captain in battle. For the next 22 years, Picard commanded the Stargazer on a mission of exploration.

During his command of the Stargazer, Captain Picard won the Battle of Maxia in the Maxia Zeta system in 2355 versus an unknown combatant since determined to be a Ferengi D'Kora-class starship. During this battle, Picard devised a new tactic that later became known as the "Picard maneuver", which resulted in the loss of the Ferengi vessel with all hands. However, the Stargazer suffered irreparable damage during the battle and had to be abandoned. After the loss of the Stargazer, Captain Picard was court-martialed in 2356 but cleared of wrongdoing (this is standard Starfleet practice whenever a ship is lost, following long naval tradition).

What Picard did during the next nine years until he took command of the Enterprise-D has mostly remained unrevealed. During this period, he was undoubtedly further molded into the familiar, accomplished diplomat and tactician of Star Trek, but with an illustrious career still ahead of him. In one episode, he makes reference to an event that occurred between his Stargazer and Enterprise-D years where his ship had responded to a distress call, indicating at least one command between the two ships.

Personal life and interests
When enjoying the comforts of home on Enterprises-D and -E, Picard often ordered (from replicators) the beverage "Tea, Earl Grey, hot". Picard is a sort of "Renaissance man" with diverse interests such as classic literature, archaeology, physics, fencing, horseback riding, and his scale models of various Starfleet vessels. A fan of Berlioz, among other composers, Picard's interest in music is evident through his playing a Ressikan flute, which he learned to play when interfaced with a space probe carrying the memories of a man and his civilization long after it was destroyed (TNG: "The Inner Light"); on occasion, he practiced his flute with the ship's computer. His love of music and theatre, particularly Shakespeare, is shown throughout the series by his tutelage and sharing with the android Data, instructing Data how to "feel" through works and to evoke the right human response. Picard is also a highly private man, as evidenced through his (intended) discreet romantic liaisons and when he underwent surgery at Starbase 212 in 2365 to replace his artificial heart ("Samaritan Snare").

As a senior officer, Picard is a mentor or father-figure for numerous characters, particularly Data. Picard also shepherded child prodigy Wesley Crusher and field promoted him to Ensign – the son of colleague Dr. Beverly Crusher, the chief medical officer on the Enterprise-D and his best friend, Lt. Commander Jack Crusher – who was born before Jack was killed in 2354 while serving with Picard aboard the Stargazer.

Picard and Beverly Crusher
After Jack Crusher's death, Picard and Dr. Crusher grew to become very good friends. Simultaneously, there was always a hint of romantic attraction between Picard and Dr. Crusher. Their affection, however, was not revealed until it was forced into the open by a device (psi-wave devices) implanted in the two by an alien species, the Prytt of Kesprytt, that allowed them to read each other's thoughts in the episode "Attached". In one of Q's timelines in the final episode "All Good Things...", Picard had married and divorced Crusher, who had been promoted to Captain of a medical ship. She retained his name, which led to a moment of confusion when "Captain Picard" was addressed on the bridge of Beverly Picard's starship.

Dixon Hill
One of Picard's favourite holodeck programs is that of metafictional detective Dixon Hill, who seems to be an homage to fictional detectives Philip Marlowe and Sam Spade.

Dixon Hill's adventures take place in 1940s San Francisco on Earth, a welcome diversion from a life of interstellar travel. Picard first played the program alone but later Data, Beverly Crusher and others were interested and soon joined in as friends of Dixon Hill.

The world of Dixon Hill contains many regular characters that only exist within the holodeck scenario including the criminal bosses Cyrus Redblock and Nicky the Nose. It was thought by some fans that the character of Dixon Hill was an attempt to re-use the themes of the ST-TOS episode "A Piece of the Action." However, it should be pointed out that that episode dealt with 1930's Chicago gangsters, while Dixon Hill was a 1940's film noir type detective.

The Star Trek novel A Hard Rain takes place almost completely in Dixon Hill's world, with only brief interludes taking place in the "real" world of Star Trek. If not for certain oddities (such as dead people coming back to life), the novel reads pretty much like a normal detective novel.

Dixon Hill novels:
 * The Big Goodbye
 * The Long Dark Tunnel
 * The Parrot's Claw

The title The Big Goodbye combines The Big Sleep with The Long Goodbye

During the events of Star Trek: First Contact, Picard used a holodeck simulation of a Dixon Hill story (The Big Goodbye, chapters 12 and 13) to confound and kill pursuing Borg drones with gunfire from a Tommy Gun: this weapon had the ability to kill the Borg only because Picard turned off the holodeck safety protocols.

Star Trek: The Next Generation


The series The Next Generation began shortly after Picard's assumption of command of the new Galaxy class starship USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D), Starfleet's new flagship on stardate 41124 (14 February 2364). On her first mission, circa stardate 41153.7 (4 days after assuming command), Picard was called upon as a representative for the human race to stand trial before Q. Picard eventually persuaded Q to give humanity a chance and this was left as is (TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint"). Circa stardate 47988 (26 December 2370), Q staged another trial to test Picard; Picard duly passed the test and humanity was saved (TNG: "All Good Things..."). Q stated that the test "never ended" at Farpoint Station, implying the entire series was monitored by the Q Continuum as a test of humanity.

In relation to the Battle of Maxia, Bok, a Ferengi DaiMon, later found the hull of the Stargazer and brought it back to Picard, whom he accused for the murder of his son, who was onboard the enemy vessel. Using mind control, he subjected Picard to intense memories of the events, which led him to attack the Enterprise-D; this was prevented by Picard's crewmembers ("The Battle"). Some years later, Bok found a man, Jason Vigo, whose DNA he altered to appear as if he was Picard's son. He planned to introduce him to Picard and then kill him to serve as retribution for Picard having a part in his son's death. This plan was subverted when it was discovered that Jason Vigo was not actually Picard's son ("Bloodlines").

In 2365, Q facilitated Starfleet's first formal contact with the Borg: after vaulting the Enterprise-D some 7,000 light-years, Picard and crew encountered a single, immense Borg cube ship in the nearby System J-25. Subsequently, the Enterprise-D was vastly outmatched, fled, and was only spared when Picard pleaded with Q to again intervene, who returned them to Federation space ("Q Who?").

The following year, Picard was asked by Chancellor K'mpec of the Klingon Empire to serve as an impartial Arbiter of Succession in the transfer of power upon K'mpec's imminent death, which was known to be caused by poison, and to expose any collusion. Soon afterwards, Picard would scrutinize two challengers: Duras and Gowron. During the succession process aboard the Enterprise-D, Duras killed Klingon Ambassador K'Ehleyr, the mate of Security Officer Lt. Worf who assisted Picard; in turn Worf later killed Duras ("Reunion").

In late December 2366 - early January 2367 (circa stardate 43989.1), Captain Picard and the Enterprise-D engaged a single Borg cube headed straight for Earth. During these engagements, Picard was abducted and assimilated by the Borg. Designated Locutus of Borg (Latin for "he who has spoken", as a perfect participle), he was used as a mouthpiece and representative for the Borg in its attempt to force Earth's unconditional surrender and as a prelude to assimilating it and the entire Federation although, as was later shown in Star Trek: First Contact, the Borg Queen had planned on making Locutus her equal.

Picard's assimilation provided the Borg access to all of his experience and knowledge including that of Federation and Starfleet tactics and technology. This led to the overwhelming Borg victory in the Battle of Wolf 359 where a flotilla of thirty-nine Starfleet starships assembled to halt the Borg advance were destroyed. On the other hand, after Locutus was captured by Cmdr. William Riker (field promoted to Capt.) and unassimilated by Dr. Beverly Crusher and Lt. Commander. Data, Locutus' link to the 'hive mind' allowed the Enterprise-D crew to command the invading Borg to "sleep" – to enter into an unnecessary regenerative state. This caused an overload of the cube's power systems and resulted in its self-destruction in Earth orbit (TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds").

After the Borg incident, while the Enterprise-D underwent extensive repairs at Earth Station McKinley for damage it had sustained during the incursion, Captain Picard rehabilitated and took time to visit his family in France ("Family"). His assimilation and time spent in the collective is later revealed to have had a profoundly disturbing effect on Picard's life; as a result, Picard was able to partially reconcile long-simmering differences with his brother, Robert.

Later in 2367, Picard was recalled to Qo'noS to certify Gowron as Klingon Chancellor; however, Toral, Duras' illegitimate son, would also lay claim to the leadership. The Duras' family, which had significant support within the Klingon Empire and was backed by the Romulans, triggered a brief civil war. After the Romulan connection was exposed, Gowron's forces emerged victorious ("Redemption").

During a covert mission against the Cardassians in 2369, Picard was captured and held hostage for questioning on Federation military secrets. During this time, Captain Edward Jellico was placed in command of the Enterprise-D. Captain Picard was later rescued and restored as the ship's commanding officer ("Chain of Command").

Picard nearly died when he was attacked at a diplomatic conference. His artificial heart was damaged in the attack and was afterward replaced again. For a few minutes, Picard hovered between life and death. Q apparently came to him in this state and offered to let him change the mistake that resulted in his needing an artificial heart. He took Q up on that offer, but came to regret that mistake when he realized that the event had been such a turning point in his life that it shaped everything that he had done during his career. Picard was shown an existence where his career had gone nowhere and was unlikely to do so. When Picard told Q that he would rather die than live that life, Q released him ("Tapestry").

At one point, Data estimated that there is only a 17% chance that Picard would be so indecisive in a crisis as to contact Starfleet for instructions.

Star Trek: Generations
Circa stardate 48650.1 (25 August 2371), the Enterprise-D was pulled into an elaborate scheme hatched by Dr. Tolian Soran. He wanted to return to a spatial anomaly known as the Nexus and was prepared to go to any lengths to achieve this. He led the Enterprise-D on a chase, culminating on Veridian III, where he was confronted by Captain Picard. Soran intended to disrupt Veridian's stellar core and cause it to explode, altering the region's gravity and thus the Nexus' course by bringing it to Soran on Veridian III. Soran did not care that his actions would destroy the entire Veridian system including the inhabited planet Veridian IV.

Meanwhile, the Enterprise-D was involved in a battle with a Klingon D-12 class Bird of Prey commanded by the Duras sisters, Lursa and Betor. The Bird of Prey was destroyed but not before causing a warp core breach on the Enterprise-D which meant she too would be destroyed. Riker ordered an emergency saucer separation: the saucer section of the ship crash-landed on Veridian III and the stardrive section was destroyed in space. Shortly afterward, the temporal Nexus took Captain Picard and Soran, while the mass/gravity wave destroyed the planets, including all the inhabitants of Veridian IV and the entire crew of the Enterprise-D on Veridian III.

By entering the Nexus, Picard found himself in an alternate reality in which all his wishes were fulfilled: one of which despite his career emphasis and bachelorhood (and regrets), was to have a family. After being informed of his new situation by Guinan, Picard chose to enter another dimension of the Nexus where he found legendary Enterprise Captain James T. Kirk, who had himself entered the Nexus while onboard the Enterprise-B's maiden voyage. There both he and Kirk decided to return back in time to stop Soran and prevent the Nexus from destroying Veridian III. Kirk was killed in the final confrontation but Picard managed to avert the Nexus' diversion and shortly after Soran died as well.

After the surviving crew of the Enterprise-D was rescued, Picard was given command of the Enterprise-E, a new Sovereign class starship.

Star Trek: First Contact
On stardate 49827.5 (28 October 2372), Picard was chosen to command the new USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-E). Nine months after this, circa stardate 50893.5 (22 November 2373), the Borg launched another invasion of the Federation: a single Borg cube again headed straight for Earth. Because of Captain Picard's previous involvement with the Borg and his alleged emotional instability, Starfleet Command factored out the Enterprise-E as part of the task force, ordering them to patrol the Romulan Neutral Zone instead. However, Captain Picard – after learning of the destruction being caused by the invading Borg - and his crew decided to engage the Borg.

During the Battle of Sector 001, Picard's residual 'link' with the Borg (as a result of his prior assimilation) enabled Picard and the task force to destroy the Borg cube near Earth, thereby averting another attempt at systemic assimilation. Prior to the cube's destruction, a smaller sphere ship was released from the Borg cube; the sphere created a temporal anomaly and time travelled over 300 years into Earth's past to assimilate humanity. The Borg intended to prevent first contact, a historic event in which Zefram Cochrane tested the first warp drive and, in so doing, made contact with another alien race (the Vulcans) for the first time. The Enterprise fired on and destroyed the sphere while it fired at Bozeman, Montana.

When it was discovered that the Borg had secretly boarded the ship in an attempt to seize control and assimilate the crew, Picard personally led the fight against them. He became obsessive in his efforts; Lily Sloane – Dr. Cochrane's assistant – confronted Picard about his stubbornness, likening him to Captain Ahab in his self-destructive pursuit of Moby Dick, and eventually convinced him to moderate his enthusiasm for the fight. Consequently, Picard ordered his crew to abandon ship in order to self-destruct the vessel. Picard stayed on board to rescue Data, who was captured and being subverted by the Borg. Data, however, was surreptitiously playing along and did so for long enough to strike at a key moment; both stopped the Borg and saved the ship.

Star Trek: Insurrection
In 2375, Captain Picard and the Enterprise-E were called into a region of space known as the Briarpatch to rescue Data, who suffered a malfunction while on a mission secretly observing an apparently technologically undeveloped culture. While visiting the planet he was working on, the crew discovered a plot to relocate the planet's inhabitants in order to supplant them with a new race. Furthermore, the planet had properties that caused greatly slowed aging and rejuvenation in the inhabitants. This new race, the Son'a, were interested in the Ba'ku planet because of the metagenic healing properties of the rings around the planet which have the effect of reversing age, as seen on some Enterprise-E crew members. During this mission, Picard fell in love with a local inhabitant, and this further strengthened his resolve to stop the Ba'ku from being relocated.



Star Trek: Nemesis
Circa stardate 56844.9 in 2379, Captain Picard and the Enterprise-E were ordered by Vice Admiral Kathryn Janeway to the Romulan Neutral Zone to investigate peace overtures from the Romulan Senate. Upon arrival, they discovered that Shinzon, a Reman, had gained control of the Romulan Senate and became the new praetor (head of the Romulan Senate).

After further meetings with Praetor Shinzon, it was discovered he was a clone of Picard, created to replace him and recover information about Starfleet. Owing to the unstable nature of Romulan internal politics, this plot never came to fruition. Even though he was a clone, Shinzon was missing some vital parts of his DNA that he needed from Captain Picard and it was emphasized that the same "noble Picard blood" flowed through him, but he walked a different path. On top of this, he had a plan for domination of the quadrant using his advanced warship, the Scimitar, and its superweapon. Captain Picard and the crew of the Enterprise-E stopped this from happening but suffered severe damage and crew losses, most notably Data who sacrificed himself to save Picard and destroy the Scimitar. The Enterprise-E later returned to Earth for repairs.

Key Episodes
Episodes in which Picard's character is expanded or takes a key role:
 * "Encounter at Farpoint" – pilot episode; beginning of long-standing rivalry with Q
 * "The Battle" – reveals his previous command of the USS Stargazer
 * "Coming of Age" – declines promotion to head of Starfleet Academy; reveals he failed his first attempt at the Starfleet entrance exam
 * "Conspiracy" – uncovers conspiracy in Starfleet
 * "The Measure of a Man" – defends Data's rights as a sentient being
 * "Samaritan Snare" – has a heart operation
 * "Captain's Holiday" – meets Vash
 * "Sarek" – mind-melds with Sarek
 * "The Best of Both Worlds" – abducted and assimilated into Locutus of Borg, later rescued
 * "Family" – seeks rest after Borg Ordeal
 * "Unification" – meets (and mind-melds with) Spock on Romulus
 * "The Perfect Mate" – falls in love with empathic diplomat
 * "The Inner Light" – relives the memories of a man on an extinct world
 * "Rascals" – turned into a child due to transporter malfunction
 * "Chain of Command" – relieved of command for special mission, captured and tortured by Cardassians
 * "Tapestry" – Q apparently shows Picard alternate life with different personal choices
 * "Lessons" – falls in love with subordinate
 * "The Chase" – discovers common DNA heritage among different humanoid species
 * "Gambit" – poses as mercenary, discovers Vulcan artifact
 * "Bloodlines" – discovers possible son
 * "Attached" - abducted by aliens with Dr. Crusher; both altered mentally and share intimate thoughts
 * "All Good Things..." – saves humanity from disappearing
 * Star Trek: Generations – meets Kirk in temporal nexus
 * Star Trek: First Contact – encounters Borg Queen
 * Star Trek: Insurrection – challenges illegal Federation authority in forced relocation
 * Star Trek: Nemesis – meets and kills diabolical clone, Shinzon

Quotations
Q: "It's an unknown – isn't that enough?" Picard: "If you'd earned that uniform you're wearing, you'd know it's the unknown that brings us out here!" – "Encounter at Farpoint"

Picard: "Oh, I know Hamlet. And what he might say with irony I say with conviction. ‘What a piece of work is man! How noble in reason! How infinite in faculty! In form, in moving, how express and admirable! In action, how like an angel! In apprehension, how like a god....’" Q: "Surely you don't see your species like that, do you?!" Picard: "I see us one day becoming that, Q. Is it that which concerns you?" – Picard realizing the true intent of the Q Continuum in "Hide and Q".

Picard: "Shut up, Wesley!" – Picard in "Datalore".

Data: Her name is Sarjenka. We have been in regular communication... Picard: (cutting him off) Data, her species is aware that there is interstellar life? Data: No, sir. Picard: (long pause) Oops... -- ''Upon realizing the ship has violated the Prime Directive in "Pen Pals".

Picard: "We may not survive, but we must succeed! Let us make sure that history never forgets... the name... Enterprise" – Picard, before engaging in a hopeless battle with Klingon ships in "Yesterday's Enterprise".

Picard: "That will be the day." – Picard, when ordered to surrender by the Klingons after the aforementioned battle in "Yesterday's Enterprise"; a reaction to fan complaints that Picard surrendered too quickly from the pilot Encounter at Farpoint.

Picard (as Locutus): "I am Locutus of Borg. Resistance is futile.  Your life, as it has been, is over.  From this time forward, you will service us." – Picard to Riker after being assimilated by the Borg in "The Best of Both Worlds".

Picard: "There... are...four... lights!" – Picard's final retort to Madred after being released from Cardassian captivity in "Chain of Command: Part II", asserting that he could not be subjugated.

Picard: "Dr. Vassbinder gave an hour long dissertation on the ionization of warp nacelles before he realized that the topic was supposed to be psychology." La Forge: "Why didn't anybody tell him?" Picard: "There was no opportunity. There was no pause. [monotone] He just kept talking in one long incredibly unbroken sentence moving from topic to topic so that no one had a chance to interrupt. It was really quite hypnotic." – A humorous scene in "Timescape".

Picard: We have journeyed to countless new worlds... made contact with new species... we have expanded our understanding of the universe... Q: In your own paltry, limited way. You have no idea how far you still have to go. Picard: We are what we are, Q -- and we're doing the best we can. It's not for you to set the standard by which we're judged. ... Picard: We're to be denied travel through space? Q: No, you obtuse piece of flotsam. You are to be denied existence. Humanity's fate has been sealed &mdash; you will be destroyed. Picard: Q, I do not believe even you are capable of such an act... -- Picard defending his race against the Q Continuum's trial of humanity, "All Good Things...".

Cultural references
The rock band The Refreshments had a minor hit, "Banditos", on their album Fizzy Fuzzy Big and Buzzy. The chorus of the song refers to Picard. The lyrics are:


 * So give your ID card to the border guard
 * Your alias says you're Captain Jean-Luc Picard
 * Of the United Federation of Planets
 * 'Cause they won't speak English anyways

In 2003, the artist Darkmateria released "The Picard Song", a string of Picard and TNG quotes, set to a techno beat in a manner to sound as if Picard is rapping. The song spread across the web very quickly, also spawning several parodies and tributes, the most famous one being on YTMND. Also based on the song is a Flash animation created by Jeremy Lokken, which has also become quite popular. A more recent (released September 07, 2005) innovation of the song is a Machinima film created in the popular computer game The Sims 2 by Brian Castro.