| “ | Space: The final frontier... These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its continuing mission: To explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no one has gone before. | „ |
| ~ Jean-Luc Picard's Speech in the introduction of Star Trek: The Next Generation |
Jean-Luc Picard was the captain of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D from 2363 to 2371 followed by the Enterprise NCC-1701-E in 2372 onward in the science-fiction series Star Trek: The Next Generation and the movies based on the television series, in all of which he served as the main protagonist. He returned in Star Trek: Picard as the main protagonist, which took place mainly in 2399. Prior to 2385 Picard was promoted to Admiral but left Starfleet in protest over their handling of the Romulan supernova.
He is portrayed by Patrick Stewart, who was also well known for playing Charles Xavier in the X-Men movie series, Susie Swanson on Family Guy, and Deputy Director Avery Bullock on American Dad!.
History[]
Picard was born in France, on Earth in the year 2305. He was the son of Maurice and Yvette Picard, the younger brother of Robert Picard, and elder brother of Claude Picard.
Early Life[]
Picard experienced a turbulent childhood growing up. His younger brother Claude died at a very young age after falling into a well and breaking his neck. During Picard's childhood his mother Yvette suffered from severe mental illness. Despite pleas from Maurice, she refused to seek treatment for her condition and suffered from psychotic episodes as a result. Not knowing what else to do Maurice would lock his wife in their bedroom for her own safety during such episodes, which traumatized Picard for many years.
During one of her psychotic episodes a young Picard found a skeleton key that allowed him access to the bedroom Maurice had locked Yvette in. Entering the room he laid on the bed and went to asleep next to her. Later that night Yvette left the bedroom, went into the gazebo and committed suicide by hanging herself. Picard later discovered her hanging in the gazebo, a sight that traumatized him for life. Picard repressed the memory of his mother's suicide for many years. The act, however, drove Picard to do everything he could to save others. For years after her death Picard would envision what his mother would have been like had she lived longer, with her offering him tea and a chance for a nice, long talk. In 2364 when the Enterprise visited a part of the universe where thoughts became reality, Picard experienced a brief vision where that scenario played out.
It was not until Picard was elderly that he finally realized Maurice had acted as he did not to be cruel or abusive, but to instead help his wife the only way he knew how. Picard would later admit that he had never gotten to know his father.
Like most officers of the Federation Captain Jean-Luc Picard is sworn to uphold certain laws while still actively going "where no man has gone before" - unlike Kirk, Picard preferred to deploy diplomacy when dealing with threats and didn't engage in conflict unless absolutely necessary: both extremely moral yet logical at the same time Picard had a very different personality from Kirk but remains a fan favorite regardless, in some ways the difference of personality was part of Picard's charm as a protagonist.
However like Kirk before him, Picard appeared to be very attentive to the needs of his crew and as such was likely a popular leader even within his setting, Picard of course was also a leader who knew how to install disciple and although a caring individual who preferred peaceful resolutions to problems he was fully capable of using his gifted intelligence to formulate quick and effective means of disabling threats and engaging hostile enemies on relatively even ground.
Sarek[]
Escorting the 202 year old Ambassador Sarek to his conference with the Legarans it became obvious that Sarek's emotional control was starting to fail. Picard offered to let Sarek mind-meld with him, which gave Sarek the emotional control to conclude the treaty with the Legarans. Picard faced the full brunt of Vulcan emotion during this time, but came away carrying a piece of Sarek's memories and experiences with him.
The Best of Both Worlds, Part I-II[]
Towards the end in 2367 Picard was captured by the Borg and was unwillingly transformed into Locutus - a spokesperson for the Borg to the various peoples of the Federation. The Borg were able to rip information from Picard's mind and forced Picard as Locutus to direct the Borg ship at the Battle of Wolf 359 - which was a devastating loss for the Federation with over 35 starships destroyed and approximately 11,000 people dead. Picard was rescued by his crew and he was able to help them destroy the Borg ship by having Data shut down the ship via his link to the Borg, which caused a power overload that destroyed the cube. The implants were removed and Picard returned to duty a short time later.
Family[]
| “ | So...my brother is a human being after all. This is going to be with you a long time, Jean-Luc. A long time. You have to learn to live with it. You have a simple choice now: live with it below the sea with Louis - or above the clouds with the Enterprise. | „ |
| ~ Robert Picard to his brother Jean-Luc. |
The assault by the Borg would have a lasting impact on Picard, who felt much guilt over the deaths of over 11,000 Federation citizens that the Borg had caused using the information ripped from his mind.
After his immediate recovery from the surgery to remove the implants and some initial psychological counselling, Picard decided to return to the family home in Labarre, France for the first time in many years and spend time with his brother Robert, sister in law Marie, and nephew Rene.
During his time at the family home, Picard met with his old friend Louis, who offered him a position on the Atlantis Project to create a new subcontinent on Earth.
At first Robert was cold towards his brother, still harboring a life time of negative feelings. The two got into a fight in the vineyard, and wound up covered in mud and laughing at each other. Robert told his brother that he needed that release, and that Picard had been terribly hard on himself. Breaking down, Picard tearfully admitted to Robert that he felt so much pain and guilt over what had happened to him at the hands of the Borg. Robert told him he had to learn how to live with what happened, regardless of what he decided to do.
Picard decided that his life was still in Starfleet. Prior to Picard's leaving, Robert gave him a bottle of wine, with the advice not to drink it all at once or alone. The two embraced before Picard left to return to his life on the Enterprise.
Following his brother's death Picard learned from Marie that Robert had been quite proud of all his brother's accomplishments in Starfleet and always spoke about his brother with pride.
In 2379, while investigating a Reman coup against the Romulan Star Empire, Picard discovered that the new Praetor was Shinzon, a younger clone of himself made by the Romulans made to replace Picard, but was discarded. While technically not a member of the Picard family, Shinzon looked up to Picard as a father-figure at first, until Picard learned of his genocidal plans for Earth. During their final battle in the Bassen Rift, Picard tried to appeal to Shinzon using their common genetics, but Shinzon rejected him. Later, as Picard boarded the Scimitar to disable its superweapon, he was forced to impale Shinzon.
Unification[]
In 2368 Picard and Data went to Romulus to determine why Spock had gone there. Picard also had to deliver the sad news that Sarek had died. Once on Romulus Picard was able to confront Spock, who informed Picard that he was working with an underground movement to bring about a peaceful reunification between the Vulcan and Romulan peoples. Picard, Data, and Spock were able to defeat a plot by the Empire to invade the planet Vulcan. Spock decided to remain on Romulus and continue working with the underground's survivors to bring about a reformation of the Empire. Picard gave his friend Spock the opportunity to touch what Sarek had shared with him via mind meld.
Chain of Command[]
Picard was temporarily relieved of command of the Enterprise in 2369 so that he could undertake a secret mission to the Cardassian planet Celtris III in search of a research facility supposedly studying the manufacture of metagenic weapons. The intelligence on the research facility turned out to be false, part of a specific plot to capture Picard.
Once Picard was captured he was subjected to physical and psychological torture by Gul Madred. Madred would show Picard a series of lights and tell him that there were five lights when in fact there were only four. When Picard refused to state that there were four lights Madred would activate an implant that would cause Picard a great deal of pain.
| “ | THERE ARE FOUR LIGHTS! | „ |
| ~ Picard to Gul Madred |
When Captain Jellico was able to force the Cardassians to release Picard, Madred decided to try one more time to break Picard with the lights. As the guards came to escort Picard back to the Enterprise, Picard yelled at Madred that there were four lights. A short time later Picard reboarded the Enterprise and resumed his command of that ship. After resuming command of the Enterprise, Picard admitted to Troi that not only did he nearly gave in and tell Madred there were five lights, but that he thought he could actually see five lights.
Star Trek: Picard[]
Sometime prior to 2385 Picard was finally promoted to the rank of Admiral. He left the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-E) to help the Romulans in evacuating their homeworld as their sun was expected to become a supernova. When a group of synthetic lifeforms went rogue and attacked Mars, Picard returned to Earth. There he learned that Starfleet was discontinuing the assistance to the Romulans and banning synthetic lifeforms. Picard threatened to resign, hoping it would spur Starfleet into resuming providing aid to the Romulans, but they instead accepted his resignation.
Sometime prior to 2399 Picard learned that he had a brain abnormality.
Following his departure from Starfleet Picard returned to his family home near La Barre and took over the production of Chateau Picard wine. His quiet existence continued until 2399 when a young android named Dahj Asha came to him for help. Dahj was killed by a group of Romulans known as the Zhat Vash. After her death Picard decidied that he was done running out the clock and waiting to die.
After Dahj's death, Picard decided to seek out her sister Soji to keep her safe from the Romulan Zhat Vash seeking her death. In order to convince Starfleet to let him return and command a mission to find her, Picard had a physician examine him. The doctor found that he met the medical requirements, but did find that the abnormality in Picard's brain would likely develop into any one of a number of terminal conditions. Going to Starfleet he found them less than receptive to his returning even on a temporary basis, so he hired a private ship for his mission.
Picard's original body died in 2399 at Coppelius Station on Coppelius. After the death of his original body Picard's memories and consciousness were transferred in to a new android body via mind transfer. Picard's new body had no special abilities and was designed to last as long as he would have lived otherwise without the abnormality that killed his original body. With the ban on synthetic life lifted, Picard noted that he was now free to travel as he pleased.
Returning to Earth, Picard resumed his work as a winemaker, and also returned to Starfleet at his previous rank of Admiral - becoming the Chancellor of Starfleet Academy. In a 2401 speech he welcomed Elnor to the Academy - noting that Elnor was the first fully Romulan to join Starfleet.
Later that year, Picard receives a message from his old friend Beverly Crusher that he hadn't seen in years. After talking it over with Riker, the two board the USS Titan-A under the guise of a surprise visit and then hijack a shuttle to reach the ship Beverly sent the message from. They find her in a capsule, badly injured, and also meet a young man who turns out to be her second son, Jack Crusher II.
Shortly after returning Beverly to the Titan, the ship is stormed by the Shrike ship commanded by the rouge Changeling Vadic demanding that Jack be delivered to her, apparently under the surmise of seeking revenge on the Federation for the events of the Dominion War. It is not until Beverly regains consciousness that Picard realizes that Jack is also her son, Beverly didn't tell him because she feared his continued life of danger would be bad for their son.
After the Titan escapes a gravity well, Picard reunites with Ro Laren, a Bajoran who was part of the crew of the Enterprise-D until she betrayed him and joined the now extinct Maquis faction. Despite having held a deep resentment against her for thirty years, Picard and Ro Laren begin with a very heated exchange where the two vent their own resentment, and they end up trusting each other again once they have proven themselves to the truth. Either way, they proved each of them are not Changelings. As Ro's shuttle gets trapped with her inside, she exchanges a final transmission with her former mentor, encouraging him to undo the Changeling plot before she sacrifices herself by crashing her shuttle into the USS Intrepid ship's reactors, killing herself, but incapacitating the Intrepid to allow the Titan to escape, with Picard remaining greatly affected by her death.
With Vadic dead and the Changelings defeated, Picard subsequently reassembles his former original officers, including a resurrected Data, to fight the real threat behind the Changelings, The Borg. It is also revealed that Picard did not actually die of a brain abnormality in 2399, but of a biological alteration dating back to his transformation into Locutus, an alteration he passed on to Jack. Worse still, Vadic and her Changelings had recovered Picard's original body, recovered a piece of it that still carried his Borg DNA in it from his brain, and were able to hack into the Federation transport system and upload it, meaning any Starfleet personnel who used the transporter now had Borg DNA in their bodies, but there was a catch: Anyone above the age of 25 was immune to the assimilation, but those under 25, such as Geordi LaForge's daughters Sidney and Alandra, were not. It was only a matter of time before the Borg Queen would activate those nanoprobes and turn Starfleet's youth into murderous, emotionless, Borg Drones. Picard and his crew race back to Earth and Sector 001 to warn Fleet Admiral Elizabeth Shelby, who was in the middle of celebrating Frontier Day and introducing the Fleet Formation protocol, which was another step by the Changelings to allow the Borg Queen to carry out her endgame, but when they try to warn her of the Borg threat, though she is immediately alarmed at the mention of the Borg due to the previous events with them at Wolf 359 and the Battle of Sector 001, it is too late. The Borg Queen activates her endgame after capturing and assimilating Jack, turning him into Vox, the voice of the Borg Collective, successor of Locutus, and the USS Enterprise-F and other ships in the fleet are taken over by the assimilated young Starfleet crew members, killing Shelby and anyone not assimilated, before turning the fleet on Spacedock, the reinforced and fortified space station maintaining the Earth's planetary shield. If Spacedock falls, the shield falls, and Earth will be vulnerable to the assimilated fleet unleashing an orbital bombardment on all its major cities, and if Earth falls, the Federation will capitulate with the loss of the capital planet. Picard and his command staff escape and flee to the Fleet Museum, where Geordi reveals the restored USS Enterprise-D, having replaced its destroyed stardrive section that was destroyed at Veridian III from a warp core breach with that of its sister ship, the USS Syracuse, though the Enterprise saucer section still bears the scars from the crash landing on Veridian III.
After reactivating the ship, and the ship computer still recognizes Picard as the captain of the Enterprise on the outdated crew manifest, they take the Enterprise-D back to Earth, listening to an emergency distress message from UFP President Anton Chekov, urging any ships who can hear him to avoid Earth due to the grim situation there as his aides urge him to evacuate in an escape pod before the assimilated Starfleet youth aboard Spacedock can kill them, but soon locate the Borg Queen's Cube inside the Big Red Spot on Jupiter's surface upon knowing they would have to be nearby to transmit the command signal for the assimilation. Realizing that Jack is inside the Cube and is serving as the command signal for the Collective controlling Starfleet's youth and the Enterprise-F and its fleet against Spacedock, Picard knows this is it. The threat of the Borg over the Federation must end here and now.
| “ | The only way to save the fleet, to save Earth, is to sever that connection, no matter the cost. What began over 35 years ago ends tonight! | „ |
| ~ Jean-Luc Picard |
Before beaming over to the Cube with Riker and Worf, Picard exchanges goodbyes with Crusher, Data, LaForge, and Troi, declaring it an honor to have worked with them, believing the trip onto the Cube is a one-way suicide mission. Inside the Cube, Picard again confronts the Borg Queen who had turned him into Locutus long ago and saves Jack from assimilation. To do so, he willingly reconnects with the Collective, meeting Jack in the hive mind, but despite his best efforts, Jack seems unwilling to break free from the Collective as it finally gives him what he wants. Only when Picard offers to join him in it forever, to the death, out of love, Jack, moved by Picard's love for him, snaps back to his senses, breaks free, and severs both his and Picard's connection to the Collective. The Borg Queen viciously hisses at Jack for his decision to abandon the Borg, but he makes it clear that the Borg's time is at an end and he won't be alone in the universe as long as he has his parents and the extended family they made in the Enterprise crew and throughout Starfleet. The Enterprise eventually detonates the Cube's core, killing the Borg Queen once and for all and freeing the assimilates, who upon being restored to their true selves, are horrified by the atrocities they committed while under the control of the Borg Queen, with Geordi's daughter Sidney collapsing in grief-stricken tears in Seven of Nine's arms as she comforts her over what happened and how it is over now. The Borg are gone forever, and a dark chapter in the history of the Federation is closed.
In 2402, Picard, Riker, and Geordi bid farewell to the Enterprise-D, now fully restored and kept at the Starfleet museum with Captain James T. Kirk's Enterprise-A and Picard's former command, the USS Stargazer, then Picard and Beverly accompany Jack, now an Ensign of Starfleet, aboard the rebuilt Titan, now rechristened Enterprise-G in honor of Picard and his friends. Picard is last seen at the Ten Forward, playing poker with his friends, finally content with his life.
Legacy[]
Recordings that Picard had made of his meeting Spock in the mid 24th century were preserved by Starfleet. In 3189 Commander Michael Burnham accessed these recordings, finally learning what happened to her foster brother and how instrumental he had been in bringing the Romulan and Vulcan people back together.
Picard would go down in history as one of the few people whose consciousness was successfully transferred to a new android body. The technology used to transfer him into a new body was later used to transfer Grey Tal into an android body in 3190.
First Splinter Timeline[]
Picard in 2386 of the First Splinter Timeline.
The Borg in the timeline where they had conquered Earth attempted to remove Picard and the Enterprise-E from history so that their timeline would continue. They did this by firing a temporal beam at the Enterprise while she was returning to the 24th century from the mid 21st century. While the beam did not harm the Enterprise, it created two alternate timelines. The first was a timeline in which the Borg continued to occupy Earth and the Alpha Quadrant. The second timeline was one where the Enterprise returned victorious to the 24th century like its prime reality counterpart. This timeline - which would later become known as the First Splinter Timeline - is the timeline in which most licensed literature took place until the first season of Star Trek: Picard.
At first the First Splinter Timeline and prime reality timeline were largely identical except for the instability of the new alternate timeline. In this timeline Picard helped Section 31 to remove the corrupt President Min Zife from office. (What he did not realize was that Zife was soon murdered by Section 31 agents after resigning his office).
In the course of this timeline the Borg invaded the Alpha Quadrant in 2381. Picard was instrumental in stopping the Borg before they could completely destroy the Federation, and aided in having the Borg absorbed into the Caelier gestalt. After the invasion, Picard did not accept a promotion to Admiral, and cited Captain Kirk's advice to him about not letting Starfleet promote him out of the chair and not being able to make a difference as the reason why he did not want to be an Admiral to Leonard James Akaar.
After Picard's role in the removal of President Min Zife from office was discovered he was formally reprimanded and barred from further promotion beyond the rank of Captain. He remained as Captain of the USS Enterprise until 2387, when he died ensuring the alternate timeline the Borg created were completely erased and the Devidians did not discover how to destroy entire timelines, which the Borg had accidentally allowed to happen when they created the timeline in the first place. The Picard of this timeline died satisfied that he had saved the prime reality.
Quotes[]
| “ | They took everything I was. They used me to kill and to destroy, and I couldn't stop them! I should have been able to stop them! I tried. *begins sobbing* I tried so hard. But I wasn't strong enough! I wasn't good enough! I should have been able to stop them. I should...I should... | „ |
| ~ Picard telling about the traumatic experience he went through when he became Locutus of Borg. |
| “ | Have we met before? | „ |
| ~ Picard recognizing Benjamin Sisko. |
| “ | Good luck, Mister Sisko. | „ |
| ~ Picard's farewell to Sisko. |
| “ | He's James T. Kirk. Don’t you read history? | „ |
| ~ introducing James T. Kirk to Tolian Soran before they fight him together. |
| “ | I'm about to commit a direct violation of our orders. Any of you who wish to object should do so, now. It will be noted in my log. | „ |
| ~ to his crew about disobeying his orders before heading back to Earth. |
| “ | I will not sacrifice the Enterprise. We've made too many compromises already, too many retreats. They invade our space and we fall back. They assimilate entire worlds and we fall back. Not again! The line must be drawn HERE! THIS far, NO further! And I will make them PAY for what they've done!!! | „ |
| ~ Picard's breakdown about seeking revenge on the Borg and not losing his ship. |
Videos[]
Trivia[]
- The late Yaphet Kotto, Roy Thinnes, Patrick Bauchau, the late Mitchell Ryan, the late Donald Pleasence and the late Patrick McGoohan were all considered for the role of Jean-Luc Picard before Stewart was cast.
- Picard's Voyager-style uniform in Star Trek: Generations looks a lot different than the ones seen on Star Trek: Voyager and the first five seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as he wears a black belt.
- Picard, along with Riker, Data and LaForge are the only four in the TNG main cast to wear the Voyager-style uniform in Star Trek: Generations.
- The First Splinter Timeline alternate reality was introduced in Star Trek: Coda as a way of handling the divergence between the novelverse and the continuity established by Star Trek: Picardand other productions, especially as it related to Picard and fellow officers.
