star trek enterprise john luke picard

Jean-Luc Picard

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Jean-Luc Picard was a celebrated Starfleet officer , archaeologist , writer , historian , diplomat , and philanthropist , who served throughout much of the 24th century . The highlights of his career were centered around assignments as commanding officer of the Federation starships USS Stargazer , USS Enterprise -D , and the USS Enterprise -E . In these roles, Picard not only witnessed major turning points of recent galactic history, but played a key role in them also, from making first contact as captain of the Federation's flagship with no fewer than 27 alien species , including the Ferengi and the Borg . His successful contact with the Children of Tama resulted in his name being incorporated into the Tamarian language through the metaphor " Picard and Dathon at El-Adrel ".

He also became the chief contact point with the Q Continuum , and served as Arbiter of Succession of the Klingon Empire , where he presided over the investiture of Klingon Chancellor Gowron . Picard would expose the Romulan Star Empire as backers of Gowron's chief rivals , later aiding a Romulan underground movement of dissidents to gain a toehold on the Romulan homeworld . He continued to serve as captain of the Enterprise -E, the sixth Federation starship to bear the name, until at least the early 2380s . ( TNG : " The Battle ", " The Last Outpost ", " Q Who ", " Darmok ", " Encounter at Farpoint ", " All Good Things... ", " Redemption ", " Redemption II ", " Unification II "; Star Trek: First Contact ; Star Trek Nemesis ; PIC : " Remembrance ")

Following his command of the Enterprise -E, he rose to the rank of admiral , he resigned from Starfleet for a time, after he felt that the organization had strayed from its ideals, before eventually rejoining as the Chancellor of Starfleet Academy . ( PIC : " Remembrance ", " The End is the Beginning ", " The Star Gazer ")

• 1.1 Origins
• 1.2 Childhood
• 2.1 Academy years
• 2.2.1 Service aboard the Reliant
• 2.2.2 Other adventures
• 2.3 Service aboard the Stargazer
• 2.4 Meeting Natasha Yar
• 2.5.1 Encounters with the Q entity
• 2.5.2 Encounters with the Borg
• 2.5.3 Kamin and the Ressikan probe
• 2.5.4 Loss of the Enterprise -D
• 2.6.1 Stopping the Borg
• 2.6.2 The Ba'ku and the Son'a
• 2.6.3 Dealing with the Romulans
• 2.7.1 Evacuating the Romulan people
• 3.1 Zhat Vash mystery
• 3.2 "Death" and resurrection
• 4 Return to Starfleet
• 5 Second retirement
• 6 Anything but canon account
• 8.1 Energy vortex encounter
• 8.2 Federation-Klingon War
• 8.3 Nausicaan attack
• 8.4 Quantum fissure encounter
• 8.5 Anti-time encounters
• 8.6 The Nexus
• 8.7 Confederation of Earth
• 9 Holograms
• 10.1 Medical record
• 11.1.1 Jack Crusher
• 11.2.1 Lwaxana Troi
• 11.2.2 Vash
• 11.2.3 Kamala
• 11.2.4 Nella Daren
• 11.2.5 Anij
• 11.2.6 Beverly Crusher
• 11.2.7 Laris
• 11.3.1 Guinan
• 11.3.2 William T. Riker
• 11.3.3 Data
• 11.3.4 Worf
• 11.3.5 Geordi La Forge
• 11.3.6 Ro Laren
• 11.3.7 Elnor
• 11.4.1 James T. Kirk
• 11.4.2 Spock
• 11.4.3 Gowron
• 11.5.3 The Borg / Borg Queen
• 11.5.4 The House of Duras
• 11.5.5 Shinzon
• 12.1 Catchphrases
• 13.1 Quotes about Picard
• 14 Chronology
• 15.1 See also
• 15.2 Appearances
• 15.3.1 Trivia
• 15.3.2 Reception
• 15.4 Apocrypha
• 15.5 External links

Early history [ ]

Origins [ ].

Jean-Luc Picard was born in La Barre , France on Earth to Yvette and Maurice Picard on July 13 , 2305 . ( TNG : " Family ", " Conundrum ")

Childhood [ ]

He and his elder brother , Robert , spent their childhood tending to their family vineyards with their father . Concerned about the preservation of their familial values, Maurice and his wife educated their sons in the ancient traditions, avoiding, in particular, any superfluous technologies . ( TNG : " Family ")

Picard as a young boy

As a young boy, Jean-Luc watched his grandfather " [d]eteriorate from a powerful, intelligent figure to a frail wisp of a man, who could barely make his way home. " ( TNG : " Night Terrors ")

He took piano lessons, but eventually gave it up because he dreaded performing in front of an audience. In his later life, he would regret doing so, because his playing used to please his mother . ( TNG : " Lessons ", " The Perfect Mate ")

Picard had a loving relationship with his mother, Yvette Picard who often played games of hide and seek with him and encouraged him to "look up at the stars." ( PIC : " The Star Gazer ", " Monsters ") Unfortunately, what young Jean-Luc took as mere flights of fancy, was mental illness. At some point in the early 2310s , Yvette lost Jean-Luc while they were playing hide and seek in the tunnels underneath their home. After finding Jean-Luc, whose foot had gotten stuck, Maurice Picard found Yevette and locked her in a room for the night for her safety. Yvette pleaded with Jean-Luc to let her out. He did and the next morning, he found his mother dead by suicide. ( PIC : " Hide and Seek ") Later, as an adult, he'd often picture her as an old woman, inviting him to have some tea with her, and telling him that they would have a "nice, long talk." ( PIC : " Hide and Seek ")

One of Picard's childhood heroes was Dixon Hill , a fictional private detective living in the early 20th century . ( TNG : " The Big Goodbye ")

A fascination of his that intrigued him well into adulthood was the ship in a bottle . As a boy, he built model airships , and even a model of a Promellian battle cruiser . ( TNG : " Booby Trap "; PIC : " The Star Gazer ", " Hide and Seek ") Moreover, he was captivated by the Phoenix , mankind's first warp-capable vessel , which he admired "hundreds of times" at the Smithsonian , but was never able to touch. ( Star Trek: First Contact )

Picard, reverted to the age of 12

In grade school , Picard remembered singing such children's songs as "Frère Jacques". ( TNG : " Disaster ") Like his nephew René , Jean-Luc wrote a ribbon -winning report on starships in school . ( TNG : " Family ") Later in life, he recalled reading about the ancient Bajoran civilizations in his fifth grade reader . ( TNG : " Ensign Ro ")

Although Maurice intended his sons to work at the vineyards, it became obvious very early that Jean-Luc knew he wanted to join Starfleet, something that his father would never condone, up until his death. ( TNG : " Bloodlines ") Jean-Luc would later remember that he devoted his childhood to that end, which was like skipping that age altogether. ( TNG : " Suddenly Human ") His brother would later note that Jean-Luc always sought higher standards, such as becoming president of his school and later a valedictorian and even an athletic champion . Robert was also jealous of seeing Picard being the favored son and getting away after his mischiefs. Sometimes Robert had to bully his younger brother. ( TNG : " Family ")

When Picard joined the poker game with his senior officers for the first time in 2370 , he recalled that " actually, I used to be quite a card player in my youth. " ( TNG : " All Good Things... ")

Starfleet career [ ]

Academy years [ ].

Cadet Picard during his Academy years

Picard caused "quite a stir" by leaving his family's generational vineyard and applying to Starfleet Academy . ( TNG : " Family "; Star Trek Nemesis ) Although he failed to gain entry on his first attempt, Picard succeeded in his second attempt in 2323 . He subsequently became one of the most outstanding cadets in his class. ( TNG : " Coming of Age ", " The First Duty ")

Picard's career at the Academy was difficult, at best – years later, Picard credited Academy groundskeeper Boothby with helping him develop a mature attitude. ( TNG : " The First Duty "; VOY : " In the Flesh ") Among Picard's friends at the Academy were Donald Varley , Cortan Zweller , Marta Batanides , and an acquaintance called " A.F. ", whom he blamed for his failed semester of Organic Chemistry and whose initials Picard carved into Boothby's prized elm . ( TNG : " Contagion ", " The Game ", " Tapestry ")

At the Academy, Picard developed an interest in archaeology . His professor , Galen , encouraged him to continue in this field, but Picard ultimately refused his offer of becoming an archaeologist. He would nevertheless keep his interest in the subject, and became to be considered quite knowledgeable in the field. ( TNG : " The Chase ", " Qpid ") It was also during this time he took great interest in studying the Iconians . ( TNG : " Contagion ")

Picard also excelled in sports . He won the Starfleet Academy marathon in April 2323 on Danula II , becoming the first freshman to win the race. ( TNG : " The Best of Both Worlds, Part II "; Star Trek Generations Picard family album ) During a wrestling match, Picard caught a Ligonian with a reverse body lift and pinned him down in the first fourteen seconds. ( TNG : " The First Duty ")

During his sophomore year, Picard was assigned to training on Morikin VII where he had his first encounter with Nausicaans , who had an outpost on a nearby asteroid . ( TNG : " Tapestry ")

On 4 April 2327 , Cadet Picard joined the Speed of Light Club after he flew three hundred-thousand kilometers per second in level flight on the cruiser USS Leondegrance , commanded by Captain Nyota Uhura . He was awarded a certificate celebrating this occasion. ( PIC : " Remembrance ", " The Star Gazer ")

An Academy photo Picard kept in his study

Picard graduated at the top of his class. He recalled to Wesley Crusher in 2365 that, as he entered the ranks of being an officer , he was " green as hell. And oh, so cocky. " ( TNG : " Samaritan Snare ") Several years after this, in 2379 , Picard showed Beverly Crusher a photograph from his Academy days, asking, "remember him?" She replied that " he was a bit cocky, as I recall. " By that point in his life, Picard considered his younger self as " a damn fool. Selfish, ambitious, very much in need of seasoning. " ( Star Trek Nemesis )

Picard, later told Boothby that if it wasn't for the groundskeeper, Picard would have never graduated. Boothby assured Picard that " you made a mistake. There isn't a man among us who hasn't been young enough to make one. […] You did what you had to do. You did what you thought was best. I just made sure that you listened to yourself. " ( TNG : " The First Duty ")

Early postings and assignments [ ]

Ensign Picard stabbed

Shortly after graduation in 2327, Ensign Picard's promising career nearly ended abruptly while he was on shore leave at Farspace Starbase Earhart . During a bar brawl over a rigged game of dom-jot , he was stabbed through the heart by a Nausicaan, and had to undergo emergency surgery to replace his heart . He later related to Wesley Crusher that he laughed after looking down to see the knife protruding from his chest. This event helped him realize how fragile life could be, and thus made him more willing to take risks and make his mark in the universe, which he only realized when Q proposed him to change this event in 2369 . ( TNG : " Samaritan Snare ", " Tapestry ")

On the day of his first posting, Picard was so nervous he walked a light year in a circle before he mustered the courage to beam aboard. ( PIC : " The Last Generation ")

Service aboard the Reliant [ ]

As an ensign, Picard was posted to the USS Reliant , where he served with Lieutenant Nakamura . ( TNG-R : " The Measure Of A Man ") Picard served on the night watch on board the Reliant . ( PIC : " Broken Pieces ") Also while an ensign, Picard was capable of detecting by ear variations in a ship's torque sensors , as such, he was capable of hearing a three micron misalignment. ( Star Trek: Insurrection )

Other adventures [ ]

As a junior officer , Picard met Walker Keel at an exotic bar on Tau Ceti III , where the two became very close of friends; they later became friends with Jack R. Crusher and his fiancée , Beverly Howard. ( TNG : " Conspiracy ", " Journey's End ", " Attached ")

Picard demonstrated command abilities early in his career, in particular, when he led an away team on Milika III to save an ambassador . This incident would later be mentioned by Q as one of the crucial events forming Picard's personality. ( TNG : " Tapestry ")

As a young lieutenant, Picard attended the wedding of Sarek 's son, where he briefly met Sarek and Spock for the first and only time before the 2360s . ( TNG : " Sarek ", " Unification I ")

In his career, prior to 2365, Picard had been transferred "dozens of times", each of which was preceded by what he called "the practice of the feast before the transfer." ( TNG : " A Matter Of Honor ")

By 2369, he had spent "thirty years of [his] life aboard starships". ( TNG : " Rascals ")

Service aboard the Stargazer [ ]

Picard on the bridge of the Stargazer some years after its loss

Picard was assigned as a helmsman aboard the USS Stargazer . In 2333 , Picard assumed command of the vessel when the captain was killed on the bridge . Starfleet awarded Picard a promotion to the post of captain, making him one of the youngest Starfleet officers ever to attain the position. ( TNG : " Tapestry ") Picard remained in command of the Stargazer for twenty-two years. ( TNG : " The Battle ", " Relics ", " Bloodlines ")

In 2339 , Picard last visited with his archaeology professor, Doctor Galen. At this time in his life, Picard was seriously considering a career in this field of science . ( TNG : " The Chase ")

In 2342 , Picard dated a young woman named Jenice at the Café des Artistes in Paris . Unfortunately, he became afraid of a possible future relationship and stood up Jenice, who later married Paul Manheim . ( TNG : " We'll Always Have Paris ")

In 2346 , Picard met Miranda Vigo on Earth while he was on shore leave; they were introduced by a mutual friend . Picard described it the as being involved for a short time, detailing that the affair was " all very romantic, very intense, probably because we both knew I would be leaving in two weeks . " The two kept in touch for awhile, but never crossed paths again. ( TNG : " Bloodlines ")

During his time in command of the Stargazer Moritz Benayoun was his chief medical officer and undertook a mission to the Fireforest of Calyx . ( PIC : " Maps and Legends ")

During the Cardassian wars , the Stargazer was involved in a truce offering by the Federation. After making contact with a Cardassian warship, Picard lowered the ship's shields as a gesture of good will, but the Cardassian commander ignored the gesture and disabled the Stargazer 's weapons and impulse engines . The Stargazer managed to regroup and flee. ( TNG : " The Wounded ")

Picard in the early 2350s at Starbase 32

In 2353 , Picard was on an away mission when he saved the life of one team member at the expense of another; Jack R. Crusher was lost in the line of duty. Picard met with Crusher's widow, Beverly, on Starbase 32 to present the body; it was one of Wesley Crusher's earliest memories. ( TNG : " Encounter at Farpoint ", " Coming of Age ", " The Bonding ", " Violations ")

In 2355, the Stargazer was seriously damaged in a battle with an unknown enemy vessel , later discovered to be a Ferengi ship. Picard managed to destroy the enemy vessel using the Stargazer 's warp engines in a unique tactical maneuver (later named the " Picard Maneuver "), but was forced to abandon the Stargazer aboard a shuttlecraft , where he and the other survivors travelled for weeks through deep space before being picked up by passing Federation starship. ( TNG : " The Battle ")

His actions during the battle were called into question by Phillipa Louvois , an officer of the Judge Advocate General during his court martial , but he was exonerated by the inquiry board and was later awarded the Grankite Order of Tactics (Class of Excellence) for the development of the aforementioned "Picard Maneuver". ( TNG : " The Measure Of A Man "; Star Trek Generations Picard family album )

The encounter with the Ferengi vessel, later known as the Battle of Maxia , eventually came back to haunt Picard. DaiMon Bok , whose son was killed in the battle, twice tried to exact revenge on Picard. ( TNG : " The Battle ", " Bloodlines ")

Meeting Natasha Yar [ ]

Picard's next command found him responding to a distress call from colonists in the Carnelian minefield around 2363 . During this mission he first met Natasha Yar . ( TNG : " Legacy ")

Commanding the USS Enterprise -D [ ]

Picard, shortly after taking command of the Enterprise

In 2363, Picard was assigned command of the newly commissioned Galaxy -class starship USS Enterprise -D , the most prestigious captaincy in Starfleet. He commanded the flagship for eight years, participating in many important missions. Among these were the defeat of the Borg invasion of 2366 , and his command of the fleet which blockaded the Klingon-Romulan border during the Klingon Civil War .

" Let's see what's out there… "

Picard hand-picked most of his senior staff , such as two young officers who impressed him enough upon first meeting. Geordi La Forge once piloted Picard's inspection tour shuttle and stayed up all night to refit an engine part Picard had made a passing comment on, and Picard witnessed Natasha Yar risk her life to save colonists amid a Carnelian minefield. He had also picked William T. Riker as his first officer and promoted him to commander sight unseen, impressed by the young officer's record of independence. ( TNG : " The Next Phase ", " Legacy ", " The Pegasus "; PIC : " The Star Gazer " commemorative plaque )

Mere months after taking command, Picard was offered a promotion to commandant of Starfleet Academy with the rank of admiral by Admiral Gregory Quinn , but turned it down to retain command of the Enterprise . ( TNG : " Coming of Age ")

Picard on the bridge of the Enterprise in 2370

Although Picard often heatedly defended a strict interpretation of the Prime Directive , he broke it numerous times when he felt it was warranted. Thus, in 2364, he allowed an Edo woman to confront her "god" from space, and in 2366 , Picard brought a Mintakan leader aboard the Enterprise to undo the damage done by cultural contamination . ( TNG : " Justice ", " Who Watches The Watchers ", " The Drumhead ") Furthermore, in 2370 , the Enterprise , by hand of Dr. Nikolai Rozhenko , transported a primitive group of Boraalans into a holodeck from Boraal II before an atmospheric dissipation rendered it uninhabitable. Although in violation of the Prime Directive, Picard ordered that the Boraalans be stealthily resettled, having no other humanitarian options. ( TNG : " Homeward ")

In 2369, when the Enterprise was undergoing a baryon sweep at the Remmler Array , Picard uncovered a plan, by mercenaries, to steal toxic waste from the ship's warp core . He managed to take out all of the intruders by setting traps throughout the various sections of the ship. He even used the Vulcan nerve pinch technique on Devor . ( TNG : " Starship Mine ")

Encounters with the Q entity [ ]

Commanding the Enterprise on her first mission, Picard made first contact with a member of the Q Continuum – Q . Picard and his senior officers had to stand trial for Humanity 's immaturity. To prove their worthiness as a species, Picard had to solve the "mystery of Farpoint Station ." The crew of the Enterprise discovered that the inhabitants of Deneb IV , the Bandi , had captured a space-dwelling being to serve their own purpose. The Enterprise helped to free the creature, and Q, somewhat disappointed by the crew's success, retreated, though he hinted that it would not be their final encounter. ( TNG : " Encounter at Farpoint ")

Q explains to Picard that how Humans respond to a game tells him more about them than a direct confrontation would

Thus, later that year, Q created a bizarre and deadly "game" for the crew of the Enterprise in order to demonstrate that he had given Riker Q-like abilities. Ultimately, Riker rejected these new powers, and Q again disappeared. ( TNG : " Hide And Q ") One year later, in 2365, Q first expressed an interest in joining Picard's crew. When Picard declined, Q tried to show how much he could be of assistance by hurling the Enterprise into the path of a Borg cube . Q was hoping to show that the Federation was entirely unprepared to meet some of the more powerful races that existed in the universe. Ultimately, Picard had to beg for Q's help in escaping from the pursuit of the Borg vessel. ( TNG : " Q Who ")

A fourth encounter with Q occurred in 2366, when the other members of the Continuum had stripped him of his omnipotence and immortality as punishment for his irresponsibility. He sought refuge on the Enterprise and, although Picard and the rest of the crew were initially unconvinced of the sincerity of Q's pleas, the captain agreed to provide Q temporary asylum . As the Enterprise began to suffer from Calamarain attack, Q resolved to end his life to prevent further risk to the Enterprise crew, but another member of the Q Continuum prevented Q from sacrificing himself, and restored his powers as a reward for his selfless act. ( TNG : " Deja Q ")

Late in 2367 , Q returned to the Enterprise to "properly" thank Picard for his role in helping him regain his standing in the Continuum. At the time, Picard was meeting Vash , whom he had met on Risa the year before. Q resolved to teach Picard a lesson about love and cast the captain, Vash, and the Enterprise command crew into an elaborate scenario styled by the ancient legend of Robin Hood . Q himself assumed the role of the High Sheriff of Nottingham . Ultimately, Picard learned his lesson, and everyone was returned to the Enterprise . Intrigued by Vash, though, Q offered to take her on a journey of exploration to explore various archaeological ruins of the galaxy , and she accepted. ( TNG : " Qpid ")

In 2369, Q once again appeared aboard the Enterprise , this time to instruct Amanda Rogers , a Human who was the child of two Q and possessed Q powers herself. Although Q's petulant and acerbic attitude did little to ingratiate himself to Amanda, he eventually convinced her to go with him to the Continuum to learn to use her new-found abilities. ( TNG : " True Q ")

Later that same year, Q appeared to Picard when the latter was critically injured during an ambush from a group of Lenarians . Appearing as " God ", Q told Picard that he had died because of his artificial heart, and offered him the chance to return to the incident in his youth, allowing him to relive the events leading up to his near-fatal injury and change history. Although Picard was successful in changing history, he eventually realized that the event – and his previous nature as an arrogant, brash young man – was a part of his identity, and had helped mold him into the successful Starfleet officer he had become. Although he was uncertain as to whether the experience had been real or simply a vision, Picard was grateful for Q's revelation. ( TNG : " Tapestry ")

" You don't get it, do you, Jean-Luc? The trial never ends. "

In 2370, Q returned to the Enterprise to continue the trial against Humanity. Claiming that the seven-year-old trial had never actually ended, Q proclaimed Humanity guilty of "being inferior" and informed Picard that his race was to be destroyed. He sent Picard traveling through time to his past, present, and future, where he was presented with a temporal paradox in the form of an eruption of anti-time in the Devron system . In this paradox, Picard himself was responsible for the creation of the anomaly that propagated backwards in normal time (anti-time having the opposite properties of normal time), thus destroying Humanity in the past.

In addition to sending Picard jumping through time, Q also provided Picard with hints to understanding the nature of the paradox. Ultimately, Picard determined the solution and devised a way to close the anti-time anomaly in all three time periods. Following the captain's success, Q revealed that the entire experience had been a test, aimed at determining whether Humanity was capable of expanding its horizons to understand some of the advanced concepts of the universe. Departing, Q promised to continue watching Humanity, proclaiming that "The trial never ends." ( TNG : " All Good Things... ")

Encounters with the Borg [ ]

Abducted by the Borg in 2366

In 2365, Q sent the Enterprise 7,000 light years into uncharted space, into the path of a Borg cube . Although the Enterprise suffered losses, it became the first ship known by the Federation to survive an encounter with the Borg, and managed to inform Starfleet of the Borg's existence. ( TNG : " Q Who ")

One year later, in 2366, the Borg launched their first invasion of the Federation. A single cube destroyed the New Providence colony and the USS Lalo , and kidnapped Picard when the Enterprise attempted to intervene. Picard was partially assimilated and became a Borg drone known as Locutus of Borg . The cube proceeded towards Earth and engaged Starfleet in the Battle of Wolf 359 , resulting in the destruction of 39 Federation vessels. On arrival at Earth, an away team from the Enterprise successfully rescued Picard and used his connection to the Borg to implant false data in the cube, destroying it. ( TNG : " The Best of Both Worlds ", " The Best of Both Worlds, Part II ") It was revealed years later that his assimilation and time spent in the Collective had a profoundly disturbing effect on Picard's life. ( Star Trek: First Contact ) Unbeknownst to Picard or Starfleet, the Borg genetically altered Picard while he was Locutus, turning him into a receiver without the need for organic implants. This would result in Picard being able to hear the Borg Collective whenever they were in close proximity to him and later caused his physical death from what was misdiagnosed as Irumodic Syndrome . ( PIC : " Vox ")

Picard as Locutus of Borg, and the Borg Queen

The Enterprise again encountered the Borg in 2368 when they rescued a Borg drone from a crashed Borg shuttle. This drone was cut off from the Collective and slowly regained an individual identity, eventually being named Hugh . Initially, the plan was drafted to use Hugh to destroy the collective in its entirety, although Dr. Beverly Crusher resisted the extermination of an entire race – even if it was the Borg. Picard eventually confronted Hugh, who immediately recognized Picard as Locutus. Picard took the role of Locutus while talking to Hugh, to simulate the authority that Hugh was used to. Geordi La Forge, Data , Dr. Crusher, and other members of the Enterprise crew had a profound effect on the former drone. Even Guinan , who initially wanted nothing to do with Hugh, taught him that resistance is not futile. Guinan's homeworld had been destroyed long ago by the Borg, but the fact that Guinan was still alive was proof of this assertion.

When Picard reminded Hugh that "resistance is futile," Hugh informed him that it was not so. When Picard told Hugh that La Forge would be assimilated, Hugh stated that La Forge did not want to be assimilated. When Picard said that this was irrelevant, Hugh specifically said that he (and Hugh used the word "I") would not assist in the assimilation of La Forge. Picard was stunned that a Borg drone would say such things. He decided that he could not send Hugh back with the file that would destroy the Borg. Picard offered Hugh asylum on board the Enterprise , but Hugh said that the Collective would not stop looking for him until they found him. Hugh agreed to go back to the crash site and to be taken back into the Collective, to protect the Enterprise from harm. ( TNG : " I Borg ")

The individuality present in Hugh spread through the ship he returned to, causing a catastrophic separation of the ship from the rest of the Collective. This rogue mini-collective was unsure how to cope with its freedom, and so fell under the influence of the android Lore . Lore persuaded them to aid his plan to conquer Earth. Using the rogue ship , they attacked several outposts before being tracked down by the crew of the Enterprise -D. They destroyed the Borg ship and were able to persuade the remaining members of the mini-collective of Lore's unreliability. The mini-collective then disappeared into space and has not been encountered since. ( TNG : " Descent ", " Descent, Part II ")

There were some within Starfleet who blamed Picard for the destruction of the task force at Wolf 359 . Benjamin Sisko , who was serving as first officer of the USS Saratoga at the time, lost his wife Jennifer in the attack. Picard and Sisko finally met in 2369 , after the Enterprise was the first Starfleet vessel to arrive at Deep Space 9 . Sisko was, at first, hostile toward Picard, but later came to forgive him. Sisko also gave Picard his letter of resignation, which Picard did not send, feeling Sisko was the right person for command of Deep Space 9. ( DS9 : " Emissary ")

Meeting the Borg Queen again

In 2373 , the Borg launched their second invasion of the Federation, and again the crew of the Enterprise played a major role in their defeat. Initially, the Enterprise was not to have participated in the Battle of Sector 001 , because according to Starfleet Command , Picard would bring an "unstable element into a critical situation." Seeing that the Borg were getting the best of the fleet, Picard ordered the Enterprise to Earth to assist. He was instrumental in defeating both the main invasion and an attempt by the Borg to prevent the formation of the Federation by altering history. ( Star Trek: First Contact )

Kamin and the Ressikan probe [ ]

Picard plays his Ressikan flute in private

In 2368 , the Enterprise encountered a space probe of unknown origin, which emitted a nucleonic beam directly at Picard. This led to his fainting and awakening on an unknown world where he was known as an ironworker named Kamin and was married to Eline . Picard later found out that Kamin was a member of the Ressik community on a planet called Kataan . For five years, Picard clung to his life aboard the Enterprise and searched for ways to return, but eventually settled into his life as Kamin, having two children with Eline and eventually a grandchild. In the approximately thirty-five years Picard spent as Kamin, he learned to play the Ressikan flute , dabbled in astronomy , and analyzed soil samples from the planet, eventually confirming that Kataan was a dying world.

Near the end of his life on Kataan, it was revealed to Picard that Kataan had been destroyed more than a thousand years previously, and the residents of the Ressik community had engineered the probe to share the memory and experiences of their people with someone who could then teach others about their civilization. He awoke on the Enterprise as Jean-Luc Picard once more and discovered that he had lived a lifetime in only twenty-five minutes. The probe was collected by the Enterprise and disassembled. A Ressikan flute was found inside the probe, which Riker then presented to Picard. ( TNG : " The Inner Light ")

Picard considered the flute to be one of his most prized possessions. As of 2379 , he kept the flute on his desk in his ready room aboard the USS Enterprise -E . ( TNG : " Lessons "; Star Trek Nemesis )

Loss of the Enterprise -D [ ]

In 2371 , the USS Enterprise -D was lost over Veridian III , with the vessel's primary hull crash-landing on the planet's surface. Picard also met the legendary James T. Kirk while in the Nexus with him, and recruited him in defeating and killing Dr. Tolian Soran before he could have the chance to destroy the Veridian system. The casualties were light aboard the Enterprise , and most of the ship's senior crew was reassigned to the USS Enterprise -E , the sixth Federation starship to bear the name. ( Star Trek Generations ; Star Trek: First Contact )

Commanding the USS Enterprise -E [ ]

Stopping the borg [ ].

Picard in command of the Enterprise -E in 2373

Picard was installed as commanding officer and given a new authorization code : "Picard-4-7-alpha-tango." After a one-year shakedown cruise , the new Enterprise was nearly lost when the senior staff decided to sacrifice the ship in order to save Earth's future by preventing the Borg on board from changing history. Fortunately, the crew was able to repel the Borg attempt without having to destroy the Enterprise . ( Star Trek: First Contact )

The Ba'ku and the Son'a [ ]

Two years later, in 2375 , Picard ordered the Enterprise -E to the Ba'ku planet in the Briar Patch when it appeared that his operations officer, Lieutenant Commander Data, had malfunctioned and assaulted members of the research team there. Picard was able to capture Data and uncovered a plot by Admiral Dougherty , the Son'a and some in the Federation Council to relocate the Ba'ku against their will. Picard rebelled against Dougherty, bringing word of his actions to the public. Picard was able to protect the Ba'ku and stop Son'a leader Ru'afo from destroying the Ba'ku's homeworld. ( Star Trek: Insurrection )

Dealing with the Romulans [ ]

Picard and a dying Shinzon

Picard continued in command of the Enterprise through 2379 , when the ship was sent to Romulus after the coup by Praetor Shinzon . Shinzon was a clone of Picard created by a former Romulan government – they intended to replace the captain with a spy of their own. Following a change of government and concern that it would lead to war, the plan was abandoned and Shinzon was sent to Remus to die. Instead, he prospered, becoming a highly successful leader during the Dominion War . Shinzon used a thalaron radiation weapon to eradicate the Romulan Senate and had planned to do the same to Earth. He needed Picard in order to repair faults in his own genetic makeup.

In a pitched battle between the Enterprise and Shinzon's flagship , the Scimitar , Picard was eventually able to board the enemy ship and eliminate Shinzon. Data saved Picard's life by transporting the captain back to the Enterprise before sacrificing his own life; he destroyed the Scimitar by firing on the thalaron weapon with a hand phaser , thereby saving the crew of the Enterprise . ( Star Trek Nemesis )

In 2380 , Q remarked that Picard was "no fun, he's always quoting Shakespeare, he's always making wine." ( LD : " Veritas ")

Admiralty [ ]

By 2381 , Picard had been promoted to admiral and was substantially funding the work of independent archaeologist Petra Aberdeen as a patron of the Independent Archaeologists Guild . ( LD : " The Stars At Night ")

Admiral Jean-Luc Picard in 2381

Picard would meet Riker for a celebratory drink to toast Riker and Troi's newborn son Thaddeus . Riker informed Picard of the touch-and-go delivery and how Riker felt like he was about to lose his son then. ( PIC : " Seventeen Seconds ")

Evacuating the Romulan people [ ]

By 2385 , he was tasked with developing a fleet of ships to help rescue the populations of Romulus and other worlds of the Romulan Star Empire that were within the blast radius of an impending supernova . The Romulan government had requested the Federation's aid in this. ( PIC : " Remembrance ")

Sometime later, Picard had managed to help get some of the Romulan refugees to Vashti , in the Beta Quadrant . He visited the planet several times and on one occasion, brought Elnor , a young Romulan boy he had befriended and placed under the care of the Qowat Milat , a copy of the book The Three Musketeers , and on April 5, 2385 , began to teach him to fence. During the lesson, Raffi Musiker informed him that the rescue fleet under construction on Mars was under attack by rogue Synths . Picard, shocked at the news, bid farewell to the Qowat Milat and told them that he would try everything within his power to make sure the rest of their people could be saved. ( PIC : " Absolute Candor ")

Admiral Picard speaks with Commander Musiker about his meeting with the Federation Council

The attack destroyed not only all the ships of the rescue fleet but also Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards and ignited the stratosphere for years to come, rendering the terraformed planet uninhabitable. Picard called the attack, which cost over 92,000 lives, "devastating" in a Federation News Network broadcast at the time. Following this, the Federation chose both to enact a ban on the creation of synthetic lifeforms and to cancel the Romulan evacuation, dooming the majority of the population to death by the eventual supernova in 2387 . Picard met with the Federation Council with a plan for a new fleet, with "mothball ships" and significantly fewer officers but believed the evacuation could still work, he gave the council a choice: his new fleet or his resignation.

In truth, his threat to resign from Starfleet was the last, desperate card Picard had to play to continue the evacuation plan, and he was stunned when the council simply accepted it. Picard called the ban on synths "a mistake." His resignation angered Raffi Musiker, who had believed in his idea and suspected possible Tal Shiar involvement in the attack on Mars. ( PIC : " Remembrance "; ST : " Children of Mars "; PIC : " The End is the Beginning "; Star Trek )

Retirement [ ]

Following his resignation, Picard returned to his childhood home in France where he lived a pleasant but unfulfilling life. Living with him were two Romulan refugees Laris and Zhaban who joined his household about four years later, and also his dog Number One . He spent the next twelve years writing history books and tending to the vineyard. As the years wore on, Picard started to be plagued with dreams of Data and the destruction of Mars. ( PIC : " Remembrance ")

Zhat Vash mystery [ ]

Picard meets Dahj

In 2399 , now ninety-four years old, Picard was sought out by Dahj Asha , an android created from the remaining neural code from Lieutenant Commander Data. After having a dream about Data painting, Picard went to his vault inside the Starfleet Archive Museum to inspect a painting that Data had given him in 2369 . The woman in the painting looked exactly like Dahj, and since Data had named the painting "daughter", Picard concluded that Dahj must be an android, too. Dahj found Picard outside the archive, where he explained to her what he had learned. They were chased by Romulan operatives and Dahj was killed. Picard sought out cyberneticist Dr. Agnes Jurati at the Daystrom Institute to find more information about the deceased young woman. Jurati told him that Bruce Maddox might have managed to create androids based on Data's code, including Dahj and a "twin" sister . ( PIC : " Remembrance ")

Back at Château Picard, Laris , Picard, and Zhaban reviewed the security footage from Starfleet Headquarters where Dahj was killed. The computer told them that there was no trace of Dahj. This led Laris to believe that the Tal Shiar or even the Zhat Vash were behind the attack and were covering up their tracks. Soon after, Picard and Laris investigated Dahj's apartment in the greater Boston area. They discovered that their fears were true and the Zhat Vash were behind the events that were unfolding. Later that night, Dr. Moritz Benayoun visited Picard to inform him that he could not clear Picard for interstellar travel. Picard had passed all the tests Starfleet required, save for the abnormality in his parietal lobe . Picard went to Starfleet Headquarters to speak with Fleet admiral Kirsten Clancy to be reinstated and given a small ship and crew to track down Maddox and the second android. Still angered by the interview Picard gave only days before condemning Starfleet for abandoning the Romulan Rescue, Clancy denied his request. Later, Picard was visited by Dr. Jurati who informed him that Dahj's background had been created within the last few years, and there was no record of her before that time. Picard sought the help of his former first officer, Raffi Musiker , to find an unregistered ship and off the books pilot he could hire to help him track down Bruce Maddox and solve the Zhat Vash mystery. ( PIC : " Maps and Legends ")

Picard orders Rios to head to warp

Picard was able to get Musiker to agree to help after having a heart-to-heart with her. He apologized for letting her down and not being there when she needed him most. She put him in contact with Cristóbal Rios , the experienced pilot and CO of La Sirena . Picard beamed aboard Rios's ship, where he met the captain and his Emergency Medical Hologram . Picard and Rios discussed the latter's past with Starfleet and the job Picard was offering, which Rios seemed willing to accept. Back at the Château, Picard revealed to Laris that he never really felt at home at the vineyard and always felt he was best suited for life out among the stars. After Zhaban entered with provisions for Picard's journey, the three were attacked by Zhat Vash agents. They managed to defend themselves and dispatch the attackers. When a straggler came into the room after the main group, trying to shoot Picard, he was killed by Agnes Jurati, who had showed up unannounced. Jurati told Picard that Commodore Oh visited her and asked her about her conversations with him. Picard then interrogated one of the Romulan attackers and learned that they believed that Soji was "the Destroyer", " the end of all ". Before Picard and the others could learn more, the Romulan agent committed suicide with an acid capsule hidden in his teeth. Moments later, Rios called Picard to warn him of more trouble headed his way. Dr. Jurati convinced Picard to take her along on his mission, and the two beamed aboard La Sirena . To Picard's surprise, he found that Musiker was there, too. She told Picard that, based on the information he gave her, she had discovered that Bruce Maddox was on Freecloud . Picard ordered Rios to jump to warp to begin their mission. ( PIC : " The End is the Beginning ")

Picard speaks with Elnor on Vashti

A short while into the mission, Picard decided to have Rios change course to Vashti . Ostensibly, he wished to visit the Qowat Milat , an all female order of Romulan warrior nuns, and find a qalankhkai , a sworn blade, to join his cause. Musiker suspected he was really looking for Elnor , a young Romulan Picard had developed paternal feelings towards during the Romulan Rescue Mission. Musiker informed Picard that Vashti had become grimmer since he had last visited, and the destruction of the Romulan homeworld left many with bitter feelings towards the Federation. Once on Vashti, Picard reunited with the Qowat Milat. He was surprised to find Elnor still living among them. Elnor, who had once admired Picard, was now feeling resentful since Picard had abandoned him and his people. Picard asked Elnor to become his qalankkhai , but Elnor refused. While waiting for a transporter window to return to the ship, Picard decided to have a drink in a tavern with a "Romulans Only" sign, which he tore down. A former Romulan senator confronted Picard about the failures of the Federation, and escalated the conflict to a physical fight. Picard refused to fight the man, and was saved by Elnor, who declared himself Picard's qalankkhai . Once the two of them were back on La Sirena , the ship was attacked by Kar Kantar , a local warlord commanding an old Romulan Bird-of-Prey . During the fight, a mysterious ship appeared to help but was nearly destroyed in the process. Once the Bird of Prey was disabled Picard, Rios, and Musiker beamed the pilot on board La Sirena , to discover it was Seven of Nine , who was working for the Fenris Rangers . As soon as she was safe on board, Seven quipped, "You owe me a ship, Picard." and passed out. ( PIC : " Absolute Candor ")

Picard in his bounty hunter disguise

Back en route to Freecloud, Seven and Picard met in his study on La Sirena's holodeck and discussed Picard's mission and Seven's work as a vigilante. Seven thought Picard was on a typical grandiose diplomatic mission, but when he told her he was trying to save someone who had no-one else to help her, Seven agreed to help him. Upon arriving at Freecloud, Picard and the others came up with a plan to extract Bruce Maddox from Bjayzl , the nightclub owner and ruthless merchant of Borg parts who was holding him prisoner. Picard played the part of a bounty hunter who offered Seven of Nine in exchange for Maddox. During the meeting, Seven revealed that she knew Bjayzl and was planning to kill her as revenge for Bjayzl killing Icheb , the ex-Borg who was like a son to Seven. Rios and Picard managed to de-escalate the situation and rescue Maddox. Back on La Sirena , Picard appealed to Seven not to try and seek revenge. Seven asked him if after his time in the Borg Collective he felt he had gained back his humanity. Picard admitted he did not think he had gained back all of it, " but we're both working on it, aren't we? " Seven agreed, but beamed back down to Freecloud to kill Bjayzl anyway. Later Picard met with Maddox in sickbay, and Maddox told him about Soji and revealed that she was on the Artifact . ( PIC : " Stardust City Rag ")

Picard and Hugh share a hug upon meeting again after many years

On the way to the Artifact, Jurati and Picard discussed the death of Bruce Maddox and Picard's past as Locutus of Borg. It became clear that Picard was still traumatized by his time in the collective and he got angry when Jurati suggested the isolated Borg on the Artifact might have changed. He retreated to his holographic study, where he had been researching the Borg Reclamation Project and its director, Hugh , a former Borg Picard had encountered decades earlier. In order to gain access to the Artifact, Picard asked Musiker to use her connection to Captain Emily Bosch to get him diplomatic credentials. Bosch made him a special envoy to the Reclamation Project, but the Romulans refused to let Sirena land and insisted Picard had to beam over alone. Once on board the cube, was plagued by more flashbacks until he was welcomed by Hugh, and the two had a heartfelt reunion. Hugh showed Picard around the Reclamation Project and explained his work and the plight of the xBs . He agreed to help Picard in finding Soji, but when they went to her quarters they found them empty and in disarray. At first, Hugh was unable to track Soji, leading Picard to guess someone might be keeping her hidden. Once Soji freed herself from the death trap Narek set for her, though, her signal reappeared and Hugh and Picard tracked her down. Although Picard told Soji he was a friend of her father's and her sister had come to Picard for help, she was hesitant to trust him. Ultimately, though, she believed him when he said he was trying to help her, and Picard, Hugh and Soji fled from the Romulans that were pursuing them to the queencell . Hugh activated the spatial trajector hidden in the cell to help Picard and Soji escape. When they were accosted by Romulan guards, Elnor came to the rescue, after having gained access to the Artifact despite Picard's orders to stay on La Sirena . Picard told Musiker and Rios he was going to take Soji to Nepenthe and they should rendezvous there. He ordered Elnor to come along, but Elnor refused, insisting he should cover Picard's escape. ( PIC : " The Impossible Box ")

Picard shares a moment with Riker

Upon arriving on Nepenthe, Picard and Soji were greeted by Kestra Troi-Riker , the daughter of William T. Riker and Deanna Troi . Kestra took the two visitors to the Riker residence, where Picard joyfully reunited with Deanna and Will. Picard explained the situation to them and they welcomed him and Soji to stay as long as they needed. During the visit, Picard spent time with his old friends, reminiscing about the Rikers' late son Thaddeus Troi-Riker and discussing Soji and his current mission. Initially, Picard did not want to give away the details, Will was able to guess that Soji was Data's daughter, and thus an android. At dinner, Deanna and Will helped Picard to convince Soji she could trust him, and Soji revealed how Narek had manipulated her into telling him about her homeworld. Going off the details she mentions and with the help of a friend, Kestra was able to identify the planet Soji was describing as Ghulion IV , and they all agreed Picard should get help from Starfleet and take Soji to her homeworld. ( PIC : " Nepenthe ")

Picard speaks with Soji about her past and Commander Data on board La Sirena .

After getting back to La Sirena and making introductions, Picard asked Rios to plot a course for Deep Space 12 and to get him a secure channel to Starfleet Command. In his holographic study, Picard spoke with Admiral Clancy about Soji and the other possible synths and asked for a squadron to travel to the Vayt sector . He proceeded to add arguments to his cause before Clancy bluntly shushed him, telling him that a squadron would meet him at DS12. After this, Picard spoke with Dr. Jurati in sickbay, where told her she would be turning herself in at DS12 for the murder of Bruce Maddox. Jurati told him about the mission Commodore Oh gave her and the Admonition , though Picard remained somewhat skeptical. Soon after, the crew gathered and, guided by Musiker, pieced together the truth about the Zhat Vash, the Attack on Mars, Commodore Oh, and the synths. Realizing she had given the Romulans the means to eradicate her people, Soji tried to hijack La Sirena and change their course to head directly for her homeworld and warn the synths there of the impending attack. Rios was able to regain control of the ship, but Picard agreed with Soji and tried to take command of Sirena himself. He was foiled when he was unable to work the ship's controls. Soji managed to convince Rios to help take her home, and together, they headed for the transwarp conduit that would take them to Ghulion IV. ( PIC : " Broken Pieces ")

"Death" and resurrection [ ]

Upon arriving on the synth homeworld of Coppelius , in which the La Sirena crashed on the surface, Jurati was able to discover the abnormality in Picard's brain, which he revealed to the rest of the crew as being diagnosed as terminal just before La Sirena left Earth. He made a point of saying he would not be treated like a dying man, and they would continue with the mission. As he had promised, he delivered Soji to her people at Coppelius Station , a community of synths led by Dr. Altan Soong , the son of Data's creator Noonian Soong. Picard and Soji told the assembled synths that the Romulans were en route to their world to destroy them. Picard sent a secure message to Starfleet informing them that he had made first contact and requested diplomatic negotiations and Starfleet protection for Coppelius and its inhabitants. The synth community, led by Sutra , had come to another conclusion: They had discovered that the " Admonition " that the Zhat Vash believed to be a warning against synthetics was in fact a message meant for synthetics, to call for help from a hidden race of advanced artificial lifeforms to preserve their existence… even if it meant exterminating organic life in the process. In order to stop him from trying to instill doubt in the others, Soong and Sutra ordered that Picard be held under house arrest. ( PIC : " Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 1 ")

Picard leaving a complex quantum simulation as his consciousness is transferred into a golem

Picard was eventually rescued by Jurati, and the two of them traveled to the La Sirena ; unbeknownst to them, the others had returned to Coppelius Station to stop the construction of the transmitter. Having learned the ship's controls from his observations of Rios, Picard was able to take the ship back into orbit and face down the Romulan fleet, led by Commodore Oh, now revealed as a Romulan general. A fleet of Starfleet ships, led by Riker aboard the USS Zheng He , arrived in response to Picard's transmission, informing the Romulans that Coppelius was under Federation protection. Picard pleaded on an open channel with Soji, who was working to build the transmitter, to not become the "Destroyer" that the Romulans believed her to be. Finally giving in, Soji destroyed the transmitter, leaving the Romulans no choice but to withdraw in the face of the overwhelming Starfleet force. With Coppelius saved, Picard collapsed, his body beginning to fail as the result of his illness. He was beamed to the planet's surface, where he died in the company of the crew he had led on this mission. Soong had been working to create a golem to transfer his consciousness into, and had just completed the work before the Romulans arrived; working with Jurati and Soji, Soong was able to transfer Picard's consciousness and memories into the golem before his brain functions ceased completely. ( PIC : " Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2 ")

With a second chance at life, he continued on with the crew of the La Sirena , noting along with Soji Asha that with the Federation's synthetic ban lifted, they were both free to travel as they pleased. Notably, the golem 's neural net did not contain the defect in Picard's parietal lobe that caused the death of his Human body. The android body was built to be identical to his Human body in all other ways, lacking any enhanced physical or mental abilities and having the same remaining lifespan Picard's Human body would have had if not for his brain defect. ( PIC : " Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2 ")

Return to Starfleet [ ]

Picard chancelloring in 2401

By 2401 , Picard was reinstated as an admiral in Starfleet, and appointed Chancellor of Starfleet Academy . He also continued to run Château Picard . At this time, Laris , Romulan refugee under his employ, made her feelings of affection known to him. Despite clearly having romantic feelings for her, Picard's sense of duty left him unable to reciprocate. When Picard suggested that nothing had to change between them following her confession, Laris responded that ruing would be awkward she was too old for awkward.

Shortly after giving the opening statement at Starfleet Academy , Picard was visited by Fleet Admiral Sally Whitley on a very sensitive matter. Whitley explained that an anomaly showed up in space, caused a large spike in Adler-Lasky temporal radiation , and then began to broadcast. She played the initial distorted broadcast, then filters it out to " help us, Picard ". Whitley explained the transmission fell under Article 15 , an entreaty to join the Federation and apparently, they only wished to speak to Picard about it. She held out a combadge for him, which he reluctantly accepted.

Picard boarded the USS Stargazer , now under Rios’s command, in order to initiate contact with the anomaly. When there was no reply to his hail, he tried again, only for a legion of voices to speak his name. Energy spikes caused the consoles and viewscreen to stutter and something began coming through the rift. Rios called for red alert and ordered the helm to give them distance. A massive vessel came through the rift and emitted a shock wave . It soon became apparent that the vessel was Borg. While Picard and others debated whether the Borg should be trusted, the Borg Queen , covered in metallic armor, arrived on the Stargazer and began to take control of the ship. In order to stop the Borg Queen from taking over the vessel, Picard called for the ship to self-destruct .

Picard suddently found himself in an alternate timeline where the Federation had been replaced by a militaristic Confederation of Earth whose goal to eliminate all other life in the galaxy. He was then visited by Q who reminded Picard about the words that he said to him when they last parted ways, " the trial never ends. " Q reminded Picard about how he had talked about second chances and told him that he was now at the " very end of the road not taken. " ( PIC : " The Star Gazer ")

Picard soon discovered that he wasn’t alone in this timeline – Q had brought Rios, Agnes, Raffi, Elnor, and Seven as well. A captured Borg Queen, scheduled for execution, revealed that, since the Borg have insight into various timeline ]s, she knew the when the timeline divergence occurred—the year 2024 . After hooking up the Queen to the CSS La Sirena .

Thanks to a Watcher named Tallinn , Picard discovered that the focal point of the divergence was his ancestor, Renee Picard who was scheduled to depart on the Europa space mission. ( PIC : " Watcher ") Tallinn informed Picard that Renee suffered from debilitating bouts of depression, which reminded Picard of his own mother who suffered from the same condition. ( PIC : " Monsters ")

Ultimately, the entire scenario was Q’s effort to help Jean-Luc deal with the trauma of his mother’s suicide when he was a child. The timeline was restored, and Q sent the group, minus Rios, who elected to stay in 2024, back to the Stargazer just before Picard called for the self-destruct. He quickly realized that the mysterious Borg Queen was Agnes, who’d been assimilated by the Queen in 2024. Her intent was not malicious – it was to warn the Federation of the real threat the anomaly posed. Though the Queen knew how the anomaly could be defended against, she didn’t know the nature of the threat and asked for provisional membership in the Federation so that she could be "the guardian at the gate."

Picard returned to the Chateau and discovered that Laris arranged for the solarium to be restored to its former glory. She also began preparing to leave the chateau for good. Having come to understand the origin of his difficulties regarding long-term relationships, Picard admitted his foolish behavior and asked Laris for her forgiveness and a second chance. Laris agreed. ( PIC : " Farewell ")

Second retirement [ ]

Picard's original body

Later that year, Picard retired from Starfleet again and made preparations to accompany Laris to Chaltok IV where she would be setting up diplomatic security. The plan changed when he received an encrypted message from Dr. Beverly Crusher, asking for his help. ( PIC : " The Next Generation ")

Subsequently, Picard was reunited with his old command crew and Seven of Nine on the USS Titan -A and discovered that Jack Crusher , the target of Vadic and a rogue faction of the Changelings , was actually his son.

Vadic had stolen Picard's body from where it was stored at Daystrom Station in order to extract a part of his brain. Ultimately, his body was destroyed along with Vadic and her ship, the Shrike . ( PIC : " The Bounty ", " Surrender ", " Võx ")

Following the defeat of Vadic, it was discovered that Picard had been genetically altered when he was Locutus of Borg to be a Borg receiver. This resulted in Picard subsequently being able to hear the Borg Collective even without implants in the years following his rescue from assimilation. The alteration had been misdiagnosed as Irumodic Syndrome and was what had actually killed him. Jack inherited this genetic abnormality from Picard, but he instead become a transmitter capable of communicating with the Collective. The Changelings used the abnormality, extracted from Picard's original body, to allow the Borg to take over Starfleet officers and begin the assimilation of the Federation, virtually unchallenged.

With the Titan -A falling under Borg control, Seven and Raffi Musiker fighting a rebellion, and Jack captured, Picard, Beverly, Will Riker, Worf, Data, Deanna Troi, and Geordi La Forge retreated to the Fleet Museum , which was under La Forge's command. Geordi revealed that he had spent the last twenty years secretly rebuilding the destroyed USS Enterprise -D, the saucer section of which had been recovered from Veridian III to avoid impacting the planet's development in accordance with the Prime Directive. As an older ship, the Enterprise was not linked into Starfleet's mainframe and its modern fleet automation system and was thus unaffected by the Borg takeover. Picard resumed command of his old ship to once again fight the Borg, humorously accepting a field demotion to the rank of captain after the Enterprise computer identified him as Captain Jean-Luc Picard, due to the long-outdated crew manifest . ( PIC : " Võx ") He, in turn, ordered everyone to take their stations and to set course for Earth.

Under Picard's leadership, the Enterprise engaged a Borg cube over Jupiter , where Jack was held and used to communicate with all assimilated Starfleet officers. Picard beamed aboard the Borg ship to rescue Jack, while Riker and Worf boarded to locate a beacon used to command the compromised fleet. Picard was confronted by his old enemy, the Borg Queen. She revealed that the Borg Collective had been decimated to the point of near destruction by the neurolytic pathogen spread by an alternate timeline version of Admiral Kathryn Janeway decades earlier ( VOY : " Endgame "). The Queen resorted to cannibalism to survive; the collective had been reduced to a handful of drones, a single cube, and the aged and starving Queen.

In an effort to save his son, Picard linked with Jack, who eventually broke free as the Enterprise destroyed the beacon. With a chain reaction desolating the cube, Deanna took the Enterprise helm to intercept and retrieve the away team. She detected their position via her mental link with Riker, beaming Picard, Jack, Worf, and her husband out at the last moment. The Enterprise raced free of the cube as it exploded, ending the Borg once and for all and breaking their control over Starfleet. As a reward for saving the Federation, Picard and his crew all received full pardons for their criminal actions while Seven was promoted to the rank of Captain.

A year later, Picard and La Forge returned a fully-restored Enterprise- D to the Fleet Museum for display. Picard, having returned to his retirement, enjoyed a drink and a game of poker with his old command crew at 10 Forward Avenue . He also accompanied Jack to the former Titan -A to see his son off on his first assignment as a Starfleet ensign . Now under the command of Captain Seven, the ship was rechristened the USS Enterprise -G in honor of the actions of Picard and his command crew. While on the Enterprise -G, Jack was visited by Q, who revealed that while the trial of humanity was over for Picard, it had just begun for Jack. ( PIC : " The Last Generation ")

Anything but canon account [ ]

A 24th century photo of Jean-Luc Picard being viewed in the late 32nd century

By the 32nd century , Picard's personal files were still part of the Federation and Starfleet databases that survived the Burn . In 3189 , the USS Discovery 's chief science officer , Commander Michael Burnham , examined his files and saw his encounter with her brother Spock on Romulus. ( DIS : " Unification III ", " Terra Firma, Part 1 "; TNG : " Unification II ")

In 3190 , Hugh Culber cited Picard's resurrection as the first successful implementation of the Soong Method when he was preparing to use it to provide Gray Tal with a new body. Following the success with Picard, there was a low success rate with other people, and it was eventually abandoned. ( DIS : " Anomaly (DIS) ")

In 3191 , Doctor Kovich told Burnham about Picard's involvement with the discovery of the Progenitors and showed Burnham footage of Picard receiving the Progenitors' message. Kovich revealed that following Picard's discovery, Doctor Vellek -- one of the Romulans present when Picard uncovered the Progenitors' message -- had subsequently discovered the technology used by the Progenitors to create humanoid life. Starfleet had also kept the discovery top secret for centuries out of fear of what might happen should the technology fall into the wrong hands. The discovery of Vellek's science ship started a treasure hunt for the Progenitors' technology. ( TNG : " The Chase "; DIS : " Red Directive ")

Alternate realities and timelines [ ]

Energy vortex encounter [ ].

Picard from six hours in the future

In 2365 , the Enterprise -D was pulled into an energy vortex and could not return to normal space. In order not to be pulled even further, La Forge had to hold the ship at maximum warp, but such power drainage threatened to destroy the Enterprise . Thinking that the vortex recognized him as the "brain" of the ship and wanted him, and not the Enterprise , Picard boarded the shuttle El-Baz and left the vessel. The Enterprise was still destroyed, and the El-Baz was pulled six hours back in time, where it was picked up by that time period's Enterprise . Picard encountered his past self, who wanted to discover what would happen to the ship in the future and how to prevent it. Frantic, the future Picard tried to depart in the El-Baz again, but his past counterpart decided that it was time "to end the cycle" and killed him with a phaser. The Enterprise was then able to escape the vortex. ( TNG : " Time Squared ")

Federation-Klingon War [ ]

A wartorn Picard making a final stand against a Klingon attack

In 2366 , the USS Enterprise -C emerged from a temporal rift . Its disappearance from the year 2344 caused an altered timeline, where the Federation was losing a war against the Klingon Empire . Picard was still the Enterprise -D's commanding officer, though more toughened due to the horrors of war. Upon Guinan's advice, Picard decided to send the Enterprise -C back to the past. After Captain Rachel Garrett was killed during a Klingon attack, Picard allowed Richard Castillo to assume command and return the Enterprise -C to 2344 . ( TNG : " Yesterday's Enterprise ")

Nausicaan attack [ ]

Lieutenant junior grade Jean-Luc Picard

In an alternate timeline created by Q, Picard was given the chance to walk away from his fight with the Nausicaan that caused serious injury to his heart, forcing a bionic replacement to be installed. When he returned to the present, Picard was a mere lieutenant junior grade , with Worf as his supervisor. This was because his near-death experience made the young Picard realize just how fragile life was and how important it could be, thus making him even more determined to make his mark in the universe and take risks; as it was, all Picard learned from the incident was to play it safe and not take risks. Picard convinced Q to allow him to correct the damage to his timeline and returned to his reality (although it was never confirmed whether this actually happened or if it was just a near-death hallucination). ( TNG : " Tapestry ")

Quantum fissure encounter [ ]

Picard from another quantum reality

In 2370 , Lieutenant Worf encountered a quantum fissure which caused him to begin shifting between quantum realities . In several universes, Picard was still captain of the Enterprise and attended a surprise birthday party for Worf, though his services were stated to be required on the bridge. In the final universe in which Worf arrived, William Riker was the captain, as Picard was lost in the Borg encounter of 2367 . In another reality, the Borg had invaded the Federation and the Enterprise was one of the few ships left. Worf was finally returned to his own quantum reality and the quantum fissure was sealed. ( TNG : " Parallels ")

Anti-time encounters [ ]

Picard in an alternate timeline

Also in 2370, while standing trial by Q, Picard's consciousness was shifting between three alternate timelines. In an alternate 2364 , Picard disobeyed Starfleet orders from the moment he arrived on board the Enterprise at Earth Station McKinley. He called a red alert while docked at the station, ordered the ship to the Devron system instead of to Farpoint Station and took the vessel into a temporal anomaly there. In an alternate 2370 , Picard was diagnosed with Irumodic Syndrome by Dr. Crusher. This caused her to reconsider her relationship with Picard, and she reversed her earlier decision to remain just friends. The Enterprise was dispatched to the Devron system near the Romulan Neutral Zone where it discovered the temporal anomaly. In an unknown, alternate future timeframe , Picard found himself at his family's vineyard with Geordi La Forge. Picard contacted Riker, now an admiral and commanding officer of Starbase 247 , for help in investigating the anomaly, but Riker refused to allow him passage to the Neutral Zone, thinking Picard had been affected by his Irumodic Syndrome and was delusional. Later, Picard convinced his ex-wife, Beverly Picard, to take her medical ship, the USS Pasteur , to investigate the anomaly. The Pasteur was attacked and destroyed by Klingon battleships , but the Enterprise , under command of Admiral Riker, arrived to rescue the crew and fight off the Klingons. Picard once again pleaded with Riker to return to the Devron system , but he was then sedated and returned to quarters. Armed with new information gathered from the other two timeframes, Picard woke and went to talk to Riker and the other former Enterprise officers, and convinced them that the anomaly existed. The Enterprise returned just in time to watch it form, and Riker ordered the Enterprise into the anomaly, where it used a static warp shell in concert with the other Enterprise s to collapse it. After the anomaly was sealed, the timelines were erased, and only Picard retained memory of those events. He told his staff of his experiences in the future, in hopes that things such as the conflict between Worf and Riker that followed Deanna Troi's death never happen. ( TNG : " All Good Things... ")

The Nexus [ ]

Picard in the Nexus

In 2371 , Picard was briefly trapped in the Nexus during a mission to stop renegade El-Aurian scientist Dr. Tolian Soran from destroying the Veridian system . In the perfect world in the Nexus, his nephew René (who had recently died in a fire) was still alive, and he had a wife and four children. Realizing that it wasn't real, he rejected the reality offered to him and left the Nexus to defeat Soran with the aid of Captain James T. Kirk. ( Star Trek Generations )

Confederation of Earth [ ]

A young Jean-Luc Picard

In an alternate timeline created by Q where Earth had become the Confederation of Earth by the 25th century , Picard was a ruthless and highly successful general in the Confederation Corps . During his years of service, he subjugated and conquered hundreds of species and annihilated several planets, such as Qo'noS . At one point, he had either overseen or directly commanded the CSS World Razer .

A holographic recording of General Picard

By 2401 , General Picard had obtained a synthetic body, as a result of his battle with Gul Dukat . That year, Picard was to speak at the Eradication Day ceremonies on Earth, where he was to publicly execute the Borg Queen and receive the title of " Borgslayer ".

General Picard had a large home on Earth, maintained by android servants and Romulan slaves. In one room of the house, he maintained a large trophy room . ( PIC : " The Star Gazer ", " Penance ")

Holograms [ ]

Picard as an Admiral in Barash's holoprogram

• As part of Reginald Barclay 's holo-addiction , he had created at least two programs that had recreations of Jean-Luc. One was a recreation of the Enterprise -D, the other, Barclay Program 15 , had Picard as one of The Three Musketeers . ( TNG : " Hollow Pursuits ")
• A Jean-Luc Picard hologram was in Barash 's holoprogram , this future Picard was a full admiral. ( TNG : " Future Imperfect ")

Personal life [ ]

Picard in a Dixon Hill holographic novel

Picard held diverse intellectual interests and recreational pursuits. He was a lifelong avocational archaeologist, inspired by his Academy instructor, Galen, having studied the Iconian culture since his cadet days. Picard even addressed the Federation Archaeology Council as keynote speaker in 2367 , on the subject of his oft-studied Tagus III ruins.

He also had a deep love of Terran literature, from the works of William Shakespeare to detective stories featuring Dixon Hill , and preferred to read them in their written form rather than on a holo-visual display. Picard had studied semantics and kept his Latin fresh. ( TNG : " The Chase ", " Qpid ", " Hide And Q ", " Clues ", " The Game ")

Other subjects that enthralled Picard were physics and celestial mechanics. He kept up with the Atlantis Project on Earth through journals. Picard was fascinated to be the first to reveal an ancient Promellian battle cruiser , as visiting such an elegant craft was always a dream of Picard's, a dream he had held on to ever since he was a child when he used to build model airships and starships in bottles, surmising that he likely had a Promellian battle cruiser in his collection. ( TNG : " Family ", " Booby Trap ")

Picard, while painting on the Enterprise

After his experience with the Kataan probe, Picard began to play the Ressikan flute and was good enough to perform works by Mozart . He considered the flute to be one of his most prized possessions. It represented, to him, an entire lifetime he lived in only 25 minutes. As of 2379 , Picard kept the flute on his desk in his ready room aboard the Enterprise -E. His attempts at painting were less successful. ( TNG : " The Chase ", " Family ", " The Inner Light ", " A Fistful of Datas ", " A Matter of Perspective "; Star Trek Nemesis )

Despite Picard being a rather private person, he maintained a good relationship with the members of his senior staff on board the Enterprise , but only joined in their weekly game of poker after seven years. ( TNG : " All Good Things... ")

When enjoying the comforts of home on the Enterprise , Picard drank Earl Grey tea . He delighted in fencing , horseback riding , and his scale models of various Starfleet vessels. His opponents in fencing included Lieutenant Dean and Guinan , whom Picard coached in the sport. She initially lost one of their matches and said she did not think she liked the sport. Picard replied she liked it well enough two weeks prior, when she scored him two touches. ( TNG : " We'll Always Have Paris ", " I Borg ")

Picard on holiday

Only rarely did Picard take extended time off to relax. In 2366 , several of the members of his crew persuaded him to go on holiday on Risa . While intending to just relax in the suns, reading a book, he ended up going on a treasure hunt for the Tox Uthat , an artifact from the future. ( TNG : " Captain's Holiday ")

Philosophically, Picard saw life and death as more than two choices of eternal or momentary existence. In fact, he believed there was another concept yet beyond Human understanding due to the marvelous complexity and the clockwork precision of the universe. In 2364 , confronted by Q, Picard quoted from Shakespeare: " 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… " Upon Q's interruption that surely he did not see his own species like that, Picard answered that he saw Humankind one day becoming so. In Picard's opinion, genetic engineering with its predetermination robbed Humanity of the unknown factor that makes life worth living. ( TNG : " Lonely Among Us ", " Hide And Q ", " The Masterpiece Society ")

Medical record [ ]

Picard always remained in excellent health, thanks to a regimen carried over from his days as an athlete, and at the age of seventy-four (in 2379), was still a vibrant and healthy man. Even twenty years later, Dr. Moritz Benayoun told Picard, "For a relic, you're in excellent shape." ( Star Trek Nemesis ; PIC : " Maps and Legends ")

Despite his captaincy of the Enterprise , Picard still found time for fencing, racquetball , and equine sports, usually on the holodeck . Nevertheless, he did show a tendency to overwork, avoided formal vacations, and had reported bouts of insomnia . Additionally, Picard usually tried to avoid his annual physicals, to the great irritation of Dr. Crusher. ( TNG : " We'll Always Have Paris ", " Pen Pals ", " Suddenly Human ", " Captain's Holiday ", " Allegiance ")

At a very young age, Picard was diagnosed with Shalaft's Syndrome , a rare congenital defect that left him hypersensitive to any kind of sound. His condition was treated, but his hearing was still highly acute. As an ensign, Picard could sense subtleties as faint as a starship's torque sensors out of alignment by three microns. ( Star Trek: Insurrection ; Star Trek Nemesis )

Picard lost his hair by the 2350s , although he was known to have had a shaved head for some time as a student at Starfleet Academy . ( TNG : " Rascals ", " Tapestry ", " Violations "; Star Trek Nemesis )

Undergoing cardiac replacement surgery in 2365

Owing to a near-fatal stabbing through the heart in 2328 , an artificial heart was implanted to save Picard's life. The unit required replacement when it malfunctioned in 2365 , overseen at Starbase 515 by Dr. Katherine Pulaski . Four years later, the unit was damaged and again replaced following a near-fatal Lenarian compressed tetryon weaponry attack. ( TNG : " Samaritan Snare ", " Tapestry ")

Following his assimilation by the Borg in 2366, Picard was formally declared dead as a casualty of war by Admiral J.P. Hanson . The ruling was rescinded six days later when Picard was recaptured by the crew of the Enterprise . Along with the physical recovery, the incident took an enormous emotional toll and required several weeks of intensive counseling. Even after over thirty years since his assimilation, Picard would tell Seven of Nine that he didn't feel as if he had regained all of his humanity since his liberation from the Collective . Picard underwent similar, though less lengthy, recuperation following his capture and torture by Cardassians in 2369 . ( TNG : " The Best of Both Worlds ", " Chain Of Command, Part I ", PIC : " Stardust City Rag ")

In an alternate future timeline, Jean-Luc developed Irumodic Syndrome , and in the corresponding alternate "present" timeline in 2370 he became aware of his future condition due to being shifted through time by Q . When Picard asked Dr. Crusher to perform medical scans on him in regards to this apparent fate, Crusher confirmed that Picard had a small structural defect in his parietal lobe that could possibly lead to Irumodic Syndrome, among other possible disorders. ( TNG : " All Good Things... ")

In 2399 , Picard asked Dr. Moritz Benayoun to provide him with a certificate for interstellar service . Picard's results were at or above Starfleet standards in every category ( cardiovascular , metabolic , and cognitive ), but the defect in his parietal lobe had developed further. Dr. Benayoun said the defect indicated one of several syndromes, all of which were fatal. ( PIC : " Maps and Legends ") He ultimately died just after the Defense of Coppelius due to the defect, only continuing to live on when his consciousness was transferred into a golem lacking the defect but otherwise identical to his Human body. ( PIC : " Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2 ") It was later revealed that Picard did not in fact have Irumodic Syndrome as was previously believed, but rather it was a false positive. In reality, Picard's condition was a result of the Borg changing him on a genetic level when he was Locutus of Borg . This turned Picard into a receiver for the Borg Collective , meaning that he could hear them even without his implants, and it was inherited by his son Jack Crusher as a transceiver. Even as a golem, Picard retained this residual link to the Collective. This was a part of the Borg Queen 's long-term plans. ( PIC : " Võx ", " The Last Generation ")

Personal relationships [ ]

Picard shows Deanna Troi his family photos

Picard claimed that he was able to trace his family's roots in western Europe back to the time of Charlemagne in the 8th century . He had "never been a family man," and was thus long uncomfortable with the presence of children aboard the Galaxy -class Enterprise . The orphaned son of Lieutenant Marla Aster again raised his concern about the vessel's civilian family contingent, although his unease with children had lessened since being stranded with three youths during a shipboard quantum filament crisis. His time on Kataan also affected his views concerning family and children, as he admitted not being able to imagine a life without them. His initial reaction to family was also reflected in the friction with his father, and later his older brother, over leaving the family business. Upon the sudden accidental deaths of his brother Robert and his nephew René, the issue of lineage and Picard's lack of offspring caused a strong yet brief period of depression. ( TNG : " Journey's End ", " The Bonding ", " Disaster ", " The Inner Light ", " Family "; Star Trek Generations )

In 2370, DaiMon Bok threatened Jason Vigo , claiming that Jason was Picard's son. It was soon revealed that Jason was not actually Picard's son. As a parting gift, Picard gave Jason an archaeological artifact of significant sentimental value. ( TNG : " Bloodlines ")

Jack Crusher [ ]

Jack Crusher in 2401

Picard's romance with Beverly Crusher produced a son, Jack Crusher. Jack grew up never knowing he was Picard's son as Beverly kept Jack's father's identity a secret. Following the Changeling and Borg crisis on Frontier Day , the two grew close with Picard accompanying his son to his first assignment on the USS Enterprise -G . ( PIC : " The Next Generation ", " Disengage ", " The Last Generation ")

Romance [ ]

Lwaxana troi [ ].

Picard and Ambassador Lwaxana Troi in 2365

When Ambassador Lwaxana Troi visited the Enterprise in 2365 , she had just entered her Betazoid phase , and so she set her sights on several male crewmembers as potential mates, including Picard. She announced her " wedding " with William Riker on the bridge of the Enterprise shortly before moving on to Picard. Following an intimate dinner with the ambassador, Picard hid himself on the holodeck in a Dixon Hill holonovel . Lwaxana continued to teasingly flirt with Picard during her future visits to the Enterprise . On one occasion, Picard pretended to be in love with Lwaxana in order to save the ambassador's daughter, Deanna Troi, and Riker from Ferengi captivity. Lwaxana was most impressed with his Shakespearian poetry. ( TNG : " Manhunt ", " Ménage à Troi ")

Picard had a relationship with an "adventurer" and some-time criminal named Vash . They initially met when Picard aided her attempts to find a rare artifact. Over the course of their adventure, the two developed an intimate relationship. Vash later returned to the Enterprise as part of an archaeological advisory team and was upset to find that Picard had not told his friends about their relationship. At the same time, Q appeared on the ship, and in return for Picard's aid in getting back to the Q Continuum, he created a Robin Hood fantasy world in which Picard (Robin) had to save Vash ( Maid Marian ). Eventually, Vash and Picard parted on good terms, as she decided to travel the universe with Q. She later reappeared one last time on Deep Space 9 after being unceremoniously abandoned by her "partner" Q. ( TNG : " Qpid "; DS9 : " Q-Less ")

In 2368 , while mediating negotiations between the warring planets Krios and Valt Minor , Picard encountered Kamala , an empathic metamorph intended as a gift for Valtese Chancellor Alrik . Due to premature emergence from stasis, Kamala underwent her bonding phase before the marriage could be completed. When circumstances placed Picard and Kamala in close proximity to each other, she eventually bonded with the captain. Having adapted to be perfectly compatible with Picard, Kamala found that her sense of duty demanded that she proceed with the marriage rather than pursue a relationship with Picard. Picard was deeply affected by Kamala, as shown by his reaction to Ambassador Briam 's inquiry about the experience. ( TNG : " The Perfect Mate ")

Nella Daren [ ]

Picard and Nella Daren in 2369

In 2369 , Lieutenant Commander Nella Daren came aboard the Enterprise to become head of the ship's Stellar sciences department . In her new role, she was very forthright in her requests for ship resources to support her department's studies. Soon after coming aboard, she and Picard met. A friendship quickly formed, based on their shared love for music. Daren accompanied the captain on a portable piano while he played the Ressikan flute. Their friendship soon blossomed into love. The crew reacted differently to Picard and Daren's romance: Deanna Troi was happy for Picard and gave her blessing; Beverly Crusher seemed jealous; and Riker felt that Daren was asking for special treatment because she was the captain's "girlfriend."

When a fire storm threatened the Bersallis III Federation outpost, Daren suggested a plan to shield the outpost against the heat while the Enterprise evacuated the colonists. Eight crewmen lost their lives, but Daren survived. Afterward, it became obvious to Picard and Daren that it would be extremely difficult to continue their relationship while serving on the same ship, thus Daren requested a transfer. As they said goodbye, they promised to keep seeing each other, but knew their relationship would never be the same. ( TNG : " Lessons ")

Picard and Anij on Ba'ku

In 2375 , Picard developed a short, though intimate relationship with the Ba'ku woman Anij , while protecting her planet from the combined Starfleet- Son'a threat. Anij, while over three hundred years old, appeared as a woman in her late thirties. Despite their intimacy, Picard returned to the Enterprise after the planned relocation of the Ba'ku was averted. Shortly before leaving, Picard said he had 318 days of vacation time coming, and that he planned on using them. ( Star Trek: Insurrection )

Beverly Crusher [ ]

Picard and Crusher in the captain's ready room

Beverly Crusher and Picard maintained a close friendship while serving on the Enterprise -D, usually sharing their morning meal together. Crusher usually tried to serve a new and exotic food, although both she and Picard preferred something simple. ( TNG : " Attached ")

Their relationship stayed platonic, for the most part. They considered one another close friends and would give each other advice when dealing with difficult decisions. While Crusher was in anguish over Odan 's failing health while the symbiont was in Riker's body, Picard gave her a hug, and assured her that he would always be her friend and be willing to help her any way he could. ( TNG : " The Host ")

Crusher's anger over the treatment of Kamala led to Picard spending time with her, where he quickly learned that he was falling for the metamorph. Crusher did not know what to say, but reciprocated the emotional support he had offered the year prior. ( TNG : " The Perfect Mate ")

Picard tried to make Crusher realize that the deaths of Jo'Bril and later Reyga were not her fault and that she should not try to rush her investigation. Crusher was too upset and preoccupied to understand his words, and Picard was extremely disappointed when she broke the Prime Directive and performed an autopsy on Reyga. ( TNG : " Suspicions ")

Picard knew that Crusher's odd decisions after meeting Ronin were not normal and confronted her on Caldos colony . Although Crusher initially resisted his demands for an explanation, she broke free of Ronin's influence after he attacked Picard. ( TNG : " Sub Rosa ")

Early on, Crusher and Picard experienced several romantically close calls. Once she was under the influence of the Psi 2000 intoxication , Crusher flirted with Picard and attempted to seduce him on the bridge of the Enterprise . Later, Crusher seemed hopeful for some time alone with Picard in the Dixon Hill holodeck simulation, but Picard seemed oblivious to her and invited Data and Whalen as well, much to Crusher's dismay. Commander Dexter Remmick interrogated Crusher about Picard in mid- 2364 and questioned her about her true feelings towards Picard. Crusher refused to answer, claiming that they were irrelevant to the operation of the ship. ( TNG : " The Naked Now ", " The Big Goodbye ", " Coming of Age ")

In 2366 , a duplicate of Picard replaced the captain in order to learn about Human relationships. The replica had all of the memories and experiences of Picard but his behavior was different from the captain. He was more outgoing and especially flirtatious with Dr. Crusher, inviting her to dinner, where the two had a romantic evening, including dancing. Once the duplicate had enough information, it unceremoniously bade Crusher farewell. She teasingly held the real Picard responsible for his duplicate's actions when he was returned to the Enterprise . ( TNG : " Allegiance ")

Several times, Crusher began to explain her true feelings to Picard, once while they were held captive on Rutia IV , and another time with Picard's duplicate in the warp bubble universe, but she was interrupted in both instances. Both also displayed some jealousy when the other found a love interest, such as Crusher with Odan or Picard with Jenice Manheim and Nella Daren . ( TNG : " The High Ground ", " Remember Me ", " The Host ", " We'll Always Have Paris ", " Lessons ")

Crusher and Picard telepathically attached on Kesprytt

In 2370 , Picard and Crusher were taken captive on the planet Kesprytt , and linked together by psi-wave devices in order to decrease their odds of escaping. The devices transmitted their thoughts to one another, where they learned each other's most intimate secrets. Crusher stayed up one night to listen to Picard's dreams, and Picard discovered that Crusher almost always had some biting comment at the ready, although she had learned to repress the urge to say them out loud. One night, Crusher brought up her late husband Jack , and feelings of guilt washed over Picard. She finally learned that he, too, felt an attraction, but did not act on it out of respect for his dead friend. Once they returned to the Enterprise , Picard expressed desire to further their relationship. Crusher ultimately decided that she did not want to ruin their friendship or be placed in a conflict of interest, and they decided to remain mutual friends. ( TNG : " Attached ")

In an unknown, alternate future timeframe , Picard and Crusher were married, but eventually separated. Dr. Beverly Picard agreed to take her ex-husband to the Romulan Neutral Zone aboard the USS Pasteur , an Olympic -class medical vessel of which she was in command. They shared a kiss in the "present" during that time. ( TNG : " All Good Things... ")

Sometime around the early 2380s , Picard and Crusher entered into a relationship. In lieu of wine or roses, Picard made her a compilation of classical music. Eventually, the two had a falling out and the two did not speak to one another for nearly twenty years . Picard later found out that Crusher bore his son, Jack Crusher and the fractured family unit was briefly reunited. It's unknown if they resumed a romantic relationship following the conclusion of the Changeling and Borg crisis, but Picard and Crusher were at the very least co-parenting Jack together a year later. ( PIC : " The Next Generation ", " Disengage ", " The Last Generation ")

Laris in 2401

Following the Romulan supernova , the former Tal Shiar agents Laris and her husband Zhaban were employed by Picard at his family’s Château Picard . Following Zhaban’s death in 2400 Laris and Picard developed romantic feelings for one another. Despite this, when she confessed her feelings Picard’s childhood trauma left him unable to enter into a relationship with her. He tried to assure her that nothing had to change between them; she disagreed and began planning to leave the Château for good. ( PIC : " The Star Gazer ")

During Picard’s stint in 2024 Q and Tallinn were able to help him work through the rota of his trauma-the death of his mother Yvette . He apologised to Laris and asked for a second chance, which she was open to. However, their plans were interupted by a distress call from Dr. Beverly Crusher which Laris instructed Picard to respond to, promising to be waiting for him when he returned. ( PIC : " Farewell ", " The Next Generation ")

Friendships [ ]

With Guinan in her quarters in 2371

Guinan and Picard shared a long-term relationship, which, according to her, went "beyond friendship and beyond family." ( TNG : " The Best of Both Worlds ") She also once said to Geordi La Forge that she was attracted to bald men. ( TNG : " Booby Trap ") In return, Picard once observed Guinan to be "very selective about whom she calls a friend." ( TNG : " Ensign Ro ")

Guinan originally met Picard in 1893 when he, Data, Riker, La Forge, Troi, and Dr. Crusher had traveled back in time from the 24th century to stop some Devidians from stealing energy from Humans in the 19th century . Guinan, learning of their predicament from Data who had thought she was the Guinan from the Enterprise -D, agreed to help in any way she could. When she was injured in the confrontation with the Devidians, Picard stayed behind to make sure she was all right. Samuel Clemens , returning from the 24th century, helped Picard return. ( TNG : " Time's Arrow, Part II ")

In 2365 , Data's rights as an individual were challenged when cybernetics expert Commander Bruce Maddox wanted to disassemble the android for study. Picard challenged Maddox's assessment before the local Judge Advocate General . As the hearing neared its end, Picard admitted to Guinan he feared he was losing the case. Guinan asked what Maddox gained if he would be successful in disassembling and reassembling Data, and Picard responded he would possess the ability to build many more androids. He remembered Guinan's words that the decisions made today have implications for the future, and so Picard reasoned that if it would be decided that Data was indeed Starfleet property, all future androids would be also. Guinan noted there was an ancient word for that: slavery . Eventually, Picard won Data's case by pointing out that an entire race of Datas would be used as slaves, strictly against Federation principles. ( TNG : " The Measure Of A Man ")

In 2367 , Guinan played the role of Gloria in one of Picard's Dixon Hill holonovels . She was not much impressed with the program. ( TNG : " Clues ")

Besides joining Picard on the holodeck, they would occasionally share a game of chess , and Guinan was also coached in fencing by Picard in 2368 , begun when she considered exercise to strengthen her arm. Shortly prior to their match, the Enterprise had taken a Borg drone, later named Hugh , on board. Although Guinan initially questioned Picard's decision to have done so, she was convinced by La Forge to speak with the former drone. She could not, but acknowledged this Borg was developing a personality, becoming an individual. Upon her conversation with Hugh, she convinced Picard to speak with him as well. ( TNG : " I Borg ")

In 2400, Picard and Guinan reunited when he showed up at Ten Forward to ask her for advice regarding his changing relationship with Laris and his fear of pursuing her. Guinan listened to his troubles and supported him in opening his heart to love again. ( PIC : " The Star Gazer ")

When Picard and his friends were thrown into 2024 by the machinations of Q, he encountered a younger version of Guinan. She had grown disillusioned with attempting to help humanity and was prepared to leave Earth. At first, this version of Guinan did not recognize him and threatened him. Picard told her about the bond they would share in the future, and convinced Guinan to help him find the contact he needed, a Watcher. She led him to the person he needed, and then left, so that the Watcher could feel comfortable speaking to him alone. Before she left, Picard pleaded with her not to leave the Earth "just yet". ( PIC : " Watcher ")

William T. Riker [ ]

Picard with Riker in 2364

When choosing a first officer prior to the launch of the Enterprise -D in 2363, Picard accessed the records of a number of candidates for the job. He eventually came across the record of one William T. Riker. Picard saw it as a glowing record filled with statistics and the Letter of recommendation that he felt told him nothing about the kind of officer Riker actually was. Picard was about to move on to the next candidate's record but stopped when he saw that a notation in Riker's record regarding an incident that took place on board the USS Hood in which Riker refused to allow Captain Robert DeSoto to beam down to Altair III . Picard was impressed that Riker would challenge his captain's authority if needed, and put the safety of the captain and the crew ahead of his own career if the need arose. This was a major factor in Picard's selection of Riker as his first officer – Picard wanted an officer who would not be afraid to stand up to him and be more concerned about the safety of the ship and mission than his personnel records. ( TNG : " The Pegasus ")

Picard and Riker on the holodeck

Picard was very cold towards Riker during their first meeting and ordered the manual docking as a test of Riker's abilities. When he performed the docking with great expertise and skill, Picard formally greeted Riker, requesting that his new first officer make sure that he not allow Picard to "make an ass of himself" in front of the many children aboard the ship. One year later, Picard felt as if he had not done a good job of congratulating Riker, so he did it once more, this time making his feelings clear. ( TNG : " Encounter at Farpoint ", " The Icarus Factor ")

Eventually, Riker and Picard became very good friends. With the best of intentions, Riker suggested that Picard vacation at Risa in 2366 , asking him to return with a horga'hn . Picard did not realize the history behind the statue and kept it with him after purchasing it for Riker, making it appear as if the captain was seeking jamaharon . ( TNG : " Captain's Holiday ")

The only time Riker and Picard ever verbally fought in front of the Enterprise crew was in 2366 while under the influence of emotions projected by Ambassador Sarek , who was suffering from Bendii Syndrome . ( TNG : " Sarek ")

Picard tried to counsel Riker when he was offered command of the USS Melbourne in 2366 , reminding him that the Enterprise would continue without his presence and that officers like Elizabeth Shelby were very much as he was before he learned the lessons necessary for command of a starship. Riker also came to Picard for advice when Worf wanted his help with the hegh'bat and when he struggled with a decision involving Soren . ( TNG : " The Best of Both Worlds ", " Ethics ", " The Outcast ")

An age-reverted Picard pretends to be Riker's son

In early 2369 , members of the Enterprise crew, including Picard, were turned into twelve-year-olds due to the effects of a molecular reversion field . Unfortunately, a group of Ferengi commandeered the Enterprise about that time. Believed to be a child, Picard was confined to a classroom aboard the ship while Riker was held in the observation lounge . Picard threw a tantrum and demanded to see his "father," Riker. They pretended to be father and son in order for Picard to plant a suggestive message to Riker, requesting access to the Enterprise main computer from the classroom. Picard, along with the other affected Enterprise crewmembers, were able to design a plan to retake the Enterprise from the Ferengi. ( TNG : " Rascals ")

During the Pegasus incident of 2370 , Picard tried to investigate the circumstances surrounding the ship's disappearance. He ran into many dead-ends as most records had been sealed, and had to use many favors in Starfleet Command to even get a look at the findings of the board convened to investigate the loss of the Pegasus . Riker would not divulge further information under the orders of Admiral Erik Pressman , and Picard reluctantly continued the search. He made it clear to Riker that he hoped he still placed the safety of the Enterprise as his top priority, and if Picard had found this to be untrue, he would reevaluate his trust in Riker. After the crisis was resolved, Picard visited Riker in the brig and returned him to duty aboard the Enterprise , understanding of Will's mistake in the past and satisfied that he had made the correct decisions in the present. ( TNG : " The Pegasus ")

Picard served as Riker's best man during his wedding to Deanna Troi in 2379 . He gave a toast to Riker, calling him his "trusted right arm" and lamenting his loss of a fine first officer. ( Star Trek Nemesis )

Picard remained in contact with Riker after Riker became captain of the USS Titan . He met Riker's son Thaddeus at least twice, once when Thad was a baby and once when he was five. ( PIC : " Nepenthe ")

Picard and Riker are reunited on Nepenthe

Although Picard initially intended not to involve Riker (or any of the rest of his surviving Enterprise crew) in his quest for Soji Asha , once he found her on the Artifact and needed a safe haven, he brought Soji to Riker and Troi's home on Nepenthe . Picard was grateful for Riker's friendship, and that he did not attempt to talk him out of helping Soji and her siblings . After Picard left, Riker requested temporary reassignment to Starfleet in order to help him with his mission, and led a squadron of starships to Coppelius . ( PIC : " Maps and Legends ", " Nepenthe ", " Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2 ")

From 2364 to 2371 , Lieutenant Commander Data was appointed as head of operations when serving on board the USS Enterprise -D, and head of operations from 2372 to 2379 on board the USS Enterprise -E. Data looked up to Picard as something of a father figure throughout his service under the captain, asking for his advice on numerous occasions in his quest to become more Human. Picard always gave Data advice whenever he could.

Following Natasha Yar's death in 2364, Data was puzzled about her death, thinking not about Tasha but rather how he would feel in her absence, thinking that he missed the purpose of her memorial, but Picard assured him that he understood the purpose of the memorial perfectly. ( TNG : " Skin Of Evil ")

Picard defends Data's rights as an individual

In 2365 , Data's existence was threatened when Commander Bruce Maddox wished to disassemble and study Data to gain a better understanding of how his positronic brain functioned. Data refused to submit to Maddox's procedure, finding his research flawed, but Maddox claimed that Data was property of Starfleet and therefore not a sentient being and as a result had no choice other than to submit to the procedure. Captain Phillipa Louvois supported Maddox's claim, and Picard intervened by challenging their reasoning, saying that Data was indeed sentient and deserved the freedom to make his own decisions. He also said that Data represented an entire race and that forcing him to submit to Maddox's procedure is tantamount to slavery – strictly against Federation law. Ultimately, Louvois sided with Picard's standpoint and agreed that Data, android or not, was indeed sentient and entitled to the same rights as any other Starfleet officer. ( TNG : " The Measure Of A Man ")

Picard with Data in 2367

In 2367 , Picard's seemingly unbreakable trust in Data was tested when Data refused to fully cooperate with an investigation into a number of events that happened within a 24-hour time span, although Data claimed that the time span was only 30 seconds. Data's intransigence threatened to end his Starfleet career and even his own existence, but it was later revealed that Picard was himself responsible for Data's unusual behavior after an encounter with the Paxans in a T-Tauri type star system . ( TNG : " Clues ")

During the Klingon Civil War , the Federation made an indirect intervention with a blockade of Starfleet vessels placed in formation to use the pioneering tachyon detection grid in an effort to expose Romulan support for the House of Duras . Picard assigned all of his senior officers positions on board other ships, except for Data. Data questioned Picard about why he was not assigned command of a vessel, considering that there was a severe lack of senior officers available for the mission, wondering if he felt that his being an android made him unsuitable for command. Picard, slightly embarrassed by Data's question, assigned Data command of the USS Sutherland . During the blockade, Data disobeyed direct orders from Picard and was able to expose the Romulans' involvement in the civil war. Later, Data wished to submit himself for disciplinary action for disobeying a direct order from his superior officer, but Picard instead praised Data for not complying, summing up his belief of too many tragedies throughout history being directly traceable to officers "just following orders" rather than independently assessing their situations, with the words, " Mr. Data: nicely done. " ( TNG : " Redemption II ")

In 2369 , Data refused to allow a group of exocomps to be sacrificed in order to save the lives of Picard and Geordi La Forge, who were trapped on board the Tyrus VIIA station , believing that they were sentient and, therefore, capable of making their own decisions. After agreeing to a compromise suggested by Commander William Riker, the exocomps were released and able to save the lives of Picard and La Forge. Picard understood the predicament that Data was faced with as he had defended Data's sentience just a few years previously, but this time the exocomps had no advocate and Data felt compelled to act on their behalf. Picard considered Data's actions to be the most "Human" decision that he had ever made. ( TNG : " The Quality of Life ")

Later that year, following an accident in main engineering that activated a dormant program in his positronic brain, Data sought advice from several officers, including Picard, on his "visions." Picard was curious why Data was studying thousands of different cultures to interpret his visions. Data said that he had no culture of his own, but Picard told Data that he did have a culture – a culture of one and that its validity is no less than that of a billion. Picard suggested that Data should consider what the visions meant to him instead of what they mean to other people. ( TNG : " Birthright, Part I ")

After a malfunctioning emotion chip fused with Data's positronic net in 2371 , Data felt guilty for not saving La Forge from capture by Tolian Soran on board the Amargosa observatory . Overwhelmed by emotions, Data requested to be shut down until the chip could be removed. Although Picard felt sympathy for Data, he told him that part of having emotions is integrating them into one's life and learning to live with them, and denied Data his request. ( Star Trek Generations )

Picard and Data defend the Enterprise -E from a Borg invasion

In 2373 , when the Enterprise -E traveled back to the year 2063 on Earth, Picard and Data initially went down to the planet to observe the damage the Borg had done to Zefram Cochrane 's missile complex in Montana . Down in the missile silo of the Phoenix , Picard, upon touching the missile that would make history by becoming the first Human starship traveling at warp , explained to Data that sometimes a touch can make objects more "real." Upon suspecting a Borg presence aboard the Enterprise , Picard and Data transported back to the ship. Fighting off the Borg near main engineering, Data was soon captured and brought to the Borg Queen. Instead of attempting to assimilate Data, the Queen made him physically more Human by attaching Human skin onto his android skeleton.

When it appeared impossible to hold off the Borg any longer, Picard was convinced to initiate the Enterprise 's auto-destruct sequence and ordered all remaining crew to evacuate. He himself went on to engineering to find Data and to convince the Queen, who he had encountered several years previously, to let Data go. Picard was even prepared to take Data's place at the Queen's side, willingly becoming her equal. Data claimed he did not wish to go, even after the Queen ordered him away. Thus, the Queen ordered Picard's assimilation, but not before witnessing the destruction of the Phoenix by Data.

Data fired a spread of quantum torpedoes , but they missed by the smallest of margins. Quickly thereafter, he burst a plasma coolant tank, releasing plasma coolant which liquefied organic material on contact, killing the Borg. The Queen was killed, but Picard survived. Helping Data standing up, Picard asked him if he was ever tempted to join the Borg's cause. Data replied that, for a fraction of a second, hinting at his kiss with the Queen, he was. He added that, for an android, that brief moment was like an eternity. ( Star Trek: First Contact )

Following the wedding of Riker and Deanna Troi in 2379 , Data was confused by Picard's mixed feelings for the couple – although the captain was happy that Will was due to accept promotion to the rank of captain and take command of the USS Titan , and that his new wife was to transfer over to the Titan and take position as the ship's counselor , Picard was somewhat saddened by their departure and tried to explain to Data that experiencing feelings of both happiness and sadness at the same time are common in these situations.

Data sacrifices himself to save Picard aboard the Reman vessel

At the climax of the Battle in the Bassen Rift , Data jumped across the void of space from the Enterprise -E to the Scimitar , saving Picard by using a prototype emergency transport unit , but sacrificed his own life to save the crew of the Enterprise by firing at the thalaron radiation generator and so destroying the Scimitar . Following the battle, Picard held a toast with the Enterprise -E's senior officers as a tribute to their fallen comrade. ( Star Trek Nemesis )

Picard helps a copy of Data's consciousness to die

The death of Data weighed heavily on Picard, who continued to have dreams about his lost friend for decades. Picard's feelings about the loss of Data helped motivate him to help Dahj and Soji , whom he regarded as Data's daughters. Picard resolved his guilt over Data's death when he met a surviving copy of Data's consciousness in a quantum simulation , and helped that version of Data to die, as he wished to have a finite existence. ( PIC : " Remembrance ", " The Impossible Box ", " Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2 ")

By 2364 , Lieutenant junior grade Worf was serving on the Enterprise -D as a junior bridge officer under Picard's command. Upon the death of Lieutenant Natasha Yar, he was promoted to chief tactical officer and security chief . ( TNG : " Encounter at Farpoint ", " Skin Of Evil ", " The Child ")

In 2366 , the Klingon High Council accused Mogh , the deceased father of Lieutenant Worf, of treason. Picard, understanding the severity of the charges and their implications for Worf, had the Enterprise change course to Qo'noS . Worf's brother Kurn initially served as his Cha'DIch , but after an assassination attempt left him in critical condition, Worf asked Picard to take up the role. Picard initially declined, saying that there were younger, more able men on the ship from which Worf could choose. Worf insisted that there was no one he would rather have at his side. Picard accepted and stood by Worf when the conspiracy against his family was uncovered. ( TNG : " Sins of The Father ")

When the Klingon Civil War erupted in 2367 , Worf resigned from Starfleet and fought on the side of Gowron against the forces of the Duras family. With the help of Picard, Worf and other Gowron supporters revealed Romulan assistance to the Duras cause. This collapsed support for the House of Duras, and Gowron won the chancellorship. Gowron restored the honor of the House of Mogh in thanks for its assistance during the war. Worf returned to Starfleet, but was reprimanded because he killed Duras in revenge. ( TNG : " Redemption ", " Redemption II ")

Worf and Picard shake hands aboard the Enterprise -E

Worf commanded the USS Defiant in the battle against the Borg at Sector 001 , and fought the Borg temporal incursion into 2063 . A heated conflict occurred between the two when Picard had called Worf a "coward" for not wanting to continue fighting the Borg aboard the Enterprise -E, and a furious Worf stating that if he were any other man he would kill him where he stood, to which Picard angrily ordered Worf off his bridge. Picard later apologized to Worf for his harsh comments and admitted that Worf was "the bravest man" he had ever known, and their friendship was restored. ( Star Trek: First Contact )

Geordi La Forge [ ]

Like several crew members, Geordi La Forge was hand-picked by Picard to serve aboard the Enterprise -D. La Forge impressed Picard with his above average work ethic during an inspection tour. ( TNG : " The Next Phase ") Picard had tremendous confidence in La Forge's ability to accomplish tasks he was assigned, which led to his eventual promotion to chief engineer, earning him the rank of lieutenant commander. ( TNG : " The Child ") He was one of the very few officers Picard addressed by his first name, indicating a close bond between them.

Ro Laren [ ]

Picard and Ro had what could be described as a father/daughter-like relationship. When they first met, Picard wrote her off as dishonorable. He did eventually take her under his wing and help her along a path towards redemption. ( TNG : " Ensign Ro ") Upon Ro's defection to the terrorist organization, the Maquis , she asked Will Riker to convey her deepest regrets to Picard for letting him down. Despite this, Picard was severely disillusioned by Ro's actions and felt betrayed in a very personal way. ( TNG : " Preemptive Strike ")

When Picard began evacuation efforts of Romulus in cooperation with the Qowat Milat, he grew close to Elnor, despite his discomfort around children. The two spent a lot of time together, with Picard teaching him to Fence, telling him stories of Data, and reading him stories, such as The Three Musketeers . After the attack on the Utopia Planitia Shipyards, Picard resigned from Starfleet, and did not return to Vashti for 13 years. Elnor was angered at Picard's sudden disappearance, and when Picard returned in 2399, asking Elnor to bind himself to his mission to find Soji, he at first refused, but rescinded this decision. Picard always regretted not being able to find a proper home for Elnor, as the Qowat Milat was by tradition, an all-female organization, and Elnor could never be fully recognized as one. ( PIC : " Absolute Candor ")

Despite the years apart, Elnor's admiration of Picard carried into his service with him, and he admitted feeling joy when Picard said he did not wish to leave him behind on the Artifact when he chose to stay behind to cover Picard and Soji's escape from the Zhat Vash. ( PIC : " The Impossible Box ")

When they met up again on Coppelius, Elnor embraced Picard in happiness that he'd survived the assault on the Artifact, and was hesitant to leave his side as Picard's health began to deteriorate. Picard convinced him that the xBs needed him more, and Elnor agreed to protect them, leaving Picard's service. The two were briefly reunited before Picard's death, and Picard expressed happiness at seeing him one last time. Elnor took Picard's passing very hard, and mourned heavily while Raffaela Musiker attempted to comfort him. When Picard was revived shortly afterwards, Elnor chose to travel with him once again. ( PIC : " Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 1 ", " Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2 ")

James T. Kirk [ ]

Although their association was brief, James T. Kirk and Jean-Luc Picard had profound personal effects on one another. Having been a captain of the Federation's flagship, an admiral, and back to a captain again, Kirk advised Picard to not do anything that would have Starfleet move him away from the Enterprise , because as captain, he could make a difference. Very much like Spock and Leonard McCoy, Picard was instrumental in helping Kirk find meaning in his life after his greatest adventures were essentially over. In fact, it could be argued that Picard was one of the most significant people in Kirk's entire life, as he embarked on his final adventure with him and passed away knowing that he had "made a difference." Picard laid Kirk to rest on Veridian III and was his lone mourner. ( Star Trek Generations )

Spock was confronted by Picard and Data on Romulus , where he was suspected to have betrayed the Federation. To the contrary, Spock was on a "personal mission of peace," and Picard insisted on staying until Spock's affairs were complete. Spock saw much of his father, Sarek , in Picard and was very resentful of his perceived meddling in his affairs. Picard and Spock eventually developed a mutual respect for each other, with Picard offering Spock to mind meld with him to see how Sarek truly saw his son. ( TNG : " Unification I ", " Unification II ") Spock later utilized Picard and Deanna Troi in delivering defecting Romulan officials to the Federation. ( TNG : " Face Of The Enemy ")

In 3189 , a recording of Spock made on stardate 45825 was retrieved from the personal files of Admiral Picard and viewed by Michael Burnham and Cleveland Booker . ( DIS : " Unification III ")

Picard was Gowron 's Arbiter of Succession following the deaths of K'mpec and Duras . ( TNG : " Reunion ") Although he initially refused to aid him during the Klingon Civil War, Picard later convinced Starfleet to assist Gowron's forces by exposing the alliance between Lursa and B'Etor and Sela , a high-ranking Romulan officer. ( TNG : " Redemption ", " Redemption II "). Although he considered Picard an honorable ally of the Klingon Empire, Gowron was less than accommodating when asked to assist Starfleet find Spock on Romulus. Nevertheless, on more than one occasion, Picard used his relationship with Gowron as leverage against other Klingons. ( TNG : " Unification I ", " Aquiel ") These events appeared to be reconciled during the events surrounding the resurrection of Kahless . ( TNG : " Rightful Heir ")

Q and Picard had a complicated relationship. Even though he was very antagonistic towards them, Q clearly had a great respect and affection for the crew of the Enterprise -D, particularly Picard, ( TNG : " Qpid ") who in contrast viewed Q with a tremendous amount of disdain and distrust. ( TNG : " Deja Q ") It was not until their final two encounters that Picard became grateful to Q for their association. ( TNG : " Tapestry ", " All Good Things... ")

After the death of his son caused by Captain Picard during the Battle of Maxia , Bok had tried to seek vengeance on him twice. First by having him destroy the Enterprise -D through a mind altering device he hid within the derelict of the USS Stargazer , then by attempting to kill his alleged son Jason Vigo (which whom he re-sequenced his DNA in order to fool Picard into thinking he was his son). ( TNG : " The Battle ", " Bloodlines ")

The Borg / Borg Queen [ ]

After being assimilated by the Borg, Picard (assuming the identity of Locutus) then went to destroy nearly all Federation starships at the Battle of Wolf 359 before proceeding to Earth for an attempted assimilation of that planet. After being de-assimilated, Picard had long resented the fact that the Borg had used his knowledge and experience to kill and/or assimilate innocent people, and developed a hatred for the Borg that would become a defining trait in his later encounters with them; during the incident in which the Borg attempted to disrupt First Contact, he became increasingly volatile and irrational, and would destroy drones with a modicum of enjoyment – even if they were former members of his crew that had only just been injected with nanoprobes. This resentment stayed with him at least six years after he was first assimilated. ( TNG : " The Best of Both Worlds ", " The Best of Both Worlds, Part II ", " Reunion ", " I Borg ", " Descent ", " Descent, Part II "; Star Trek: First Contact )

The House of Duras [ ]

Jean-Luc Picard became a prominent figure in Klingon politics, largely due to his loyalty to Worf during the trial of the House of Mogh in 2366. Picard was determined to uncover the conspiracy that was attempting to frame Mogh for crimes committed by Ja'rod . During his investigation, Duras, son of Ja'rod sent an assassin to murder Picard, but the attempt was unsuccessful and ultimately revealed the complicity of K'mpec and the High Council in these crimes. Even after the death of Duras at the hands of Worf, the House of Duras continued to be antagonistic towards the Federation, with particular emphasis placed on Picard and the crew of the Enterprise -D, which was eventually destroyed by Lursa and B'Etor . ( TNG : " Sins of The Father ", " Redemption ", " Redemption II "; Star Trek Generations )

Shinzon [ ]

As a direct clone of Picard, Shinzon developed a distinctive and deadly rivalry with the captain of the Enterprise , much like Will Riker's rivalry with Thomas Riker and Data's rivalry with Lore . ( TNG : " Second Chances ", " Brothers ") Picard saw traits in Shinzon that he perceived to be flaws within himself. He was bothered by the fact that Shinzon was capable of genocides of interstellar magnitude and was haunted by the notion that he may have chosen the same path as Shinzon had he led his life. During Shinzon's attempt to carry out these genocides, Picard implored him to let go of his past and embrace change, which Shinzon quickly rejected. Picard was significantly pained at the death of Shinzon, but this pain was replaced mere moments later after Data sacrificed himself to save Picard. ( Star Trek Nemesis )

Memorable quotes [ ]

" 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. "

" Shut off that damn noise! Go to yellow alert. "

" If we're going to be damned, let's be damned for what we really are. "

" Let's see what's out there. Engage. "

" The quest for youth, Number One. So futile. "

" The first duty of every Starfleet officer is to the truth, whether it is scientific truth or historical truth or personal truth. It is the guiding principle on which Starfleet is based! And if you can't find it within yourself to stand up and tell the truth about what happened, you don't deserve to wear that uniform! "

"Federation starship Enterprise : Surrender and prepare to be boarded." "That will be the day."

" 'With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably.' Those words were uttered by Judge Aaron Satie as wisdom and warning. The first time any man's freedom is trodden on, we're all damaged. "

" There… are… four … lights! "

" It's been a long time, Captain. " " Have we met before? " " Yes, sir. We met in battle. I was on the Saratoga at Wolf 359. "

" Good luck, Mister Sisko. "

" There is a way out of every box, a solution to every puzzle, it's just a matter of finding it. "

" He's James T. Kirk . Don’t you read history? "

" Someone once told me that time is a predator that stalks us all our lives but I rather believe that time is a companion that goes with us on a journey and reminds us to cherish every moment… because it will never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we've lived. "

" 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. "

" 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! "

" Mr. Data? " " Sir? " " Shut up. " " Yes, sir. " " Fifteen years, I've been waiting to say that. "

" Things are only impossible until they're not! "

" Let us make sure history never forgets the name, Enterprise . "

" It says a great deal about the mind of Commander Data, that looking at the human race with all its violence and corruption and willful ignorance. He could still see kindness, immense curiosity, and greatness of spirit. And he wanted, more than anything else, to be part of that. To be a part of the human family. We are such stuff as dreams are made of. And out little life is rounded, with a sleep. "

Catchphrases [ ]

" Make it so! "

" Engage. "

" Tea, Earl Grey, hot. "

" Number One "

" What the devil? " or " What in Heaven's name? "

Reminiscences [ ]

In 2369 , after Vash arrived on Deep Space 9, Miles O'Brien told Benjamin Sisko about her relationship with Picard, explaining " Well sir, Vash and Captain Picard were friends. Close friends, if you follow my meaning. " While Sisko replied " Somehow she doesn't seem to be his type, " O'Brien thought it was because Picard "likes a good challenge."

Later when Q saw Vash working over Quark , he described her actions as "perfectly vile," adding " If that's the kind of company you kept before meeting me, it's no wonder you ended up with Picard. "

Later yet, when Q placed Sisko in a boxing match, he was shocked after Sisko knocked him to the ground. " You hit me… Picard never hit me! ", to which Sisko shot back, " I'm not Picard! "

Finally, when the crew of the station could not tie the odd happening on the station to one of the artifacts Vash had brought aboard, Q appeared before the senior staff and claimed how " Picard and his lackeys would have solved all this technobabble hours ago, " before directing to Sisko, that it was " No wonder you're not commanding a starship. " ( DS9 : " Q-Less ")

In 2372 , Worf and Miles O'Brien reminisced in Quark's about rescuing Picard from the Borg Collective. ( DS9 : " The Way of the Warrior ")

Later that year, after a member of the Q Continuum arrived on her ship seeking asylum, Captain Janeway automatically assumed he was Picard's Q – which instead made him nervous and agitated. When that Q, tasked with capturing the renegade, appeared on the bridge, she realized that he was the being she'd heard so much about, he laughed and asked her, " Has Jean-Luc been whispering about me behind my back? " ( VOY : " Death Wish ")

In her effort to look through every log entry of Starfleet captains who had contact with the Borg, Captain Janeway cited Picard's words among others: " In their collective state, the Borg are utterly without mercy – driven by one will alone, the will to conquer. They are beyond redemption, beyond reason ", with Chakotay claiming that she had unknowingly mimicked Picard's vocal mannerisms while quoting him. ( VOY : " Scorpion ")

According to Valerie Archer , while discussing Boothby to Chakotay , " Half the captains in Starfleet wouldn't be where they are today if it weren't for Boothby, " including Picard. ( VOY : " In the Flesh ")

In 2375 , Ensign Nog mentioned Al Lorenzo having a curious interest in taking holophotos of himself sitting behind the desks of famous Starfleet captains. Usually, he would sneak into their offices, but the Dominion War made it difficult for him to get away. Among the photos in his collection included Lorenzo sitting behind the desks of such famous commanders as Robert DeSoto and Jean-Luc Picard. ( DS9 : " Treachery, Faith and the Great River ")

Q mentioned "Jean-Luc" as another option for helping to raise his son to the satisfaction of the Q Continuum. He wondered aloud if it was not too late to ask Picard instead of Janeway. ( VOY : " Q2 ")

Quotes about Picard [ ]

" … the heart of an explorer, and the soul of a poet. "

" You know, I never thought I would say this, but it's good to see you again. It brings a sense of order and stability to my universe to know that you're still a pompous ass. And a damn sexy man. "

" I've never known anyone with more drive, determination or more courage than Jean-Luc Picard. "

" I had such high hopes for you, Picard. I thought you were a bit more evolved than the rest of your species. But now I realize you're just as weak as all the others. Still, it pains me to see the great Jean-Luc Picard brought down by a woman. "

" Jean-Luc, I never knew you were such a cad . I'm impressed. "

" Really, Vash, I can't believe you're still pining for Jean-Luc, that self righteous do-gooder. "

" Actually, what I was hoping for was a little witty repartee, but I see I'm not going to get any of that either. At least your beloved Jean-Luc knows how to turn a phrase… "

" You know Picard. Every part of that guy that's not ego is rampaging id. "

Chronology [ ]

• 2305 : Born in La Barre , France , on Earth .
• 2322 : Applies to Starfleet Academy for the first time, but is rejected.
• 2323 : Is admitted to Starfleet Academy, wins Academy marathon.
• 2327 : Graduates Starfleet Academy, and has to be implanted with an artificial heart after a fight with a Nausicaan .
• 2333 : Assumes command of the Constellation -class starship USS Stargazer . ( TNG : " The Battle ")
• 2346 : Has a relationship with Miranda Vigo . ( TNG : " Bloodlines ")
• 2355 : Participates in the Battle of Maxia against a Ferengi vessel; invents a new tactical ploy to win the battle, later dubbed the " Picard Maneuver ." ( TNG : " The Battle ")
• Early 2360s : Picard, while commanding an interim starship responds to a distress call from colonists in the Carnelian minefield .
• 2363 : Assumes command of the USS Enterprise -D ; his first mission as captain involves contact with the Q entity. ( TNG : " Encounter at Farpoint ", PIC : " The Star Gazer " commemorative plaque )
• 2366 : Is captured by the Borg and forced to become a member of the Borg Collective , leading the invasion of the Federation as Locutus of Borg ; this includes leading the Borg victory over the Federation at the Battle of Wolf 359 . Despite Borg control over him, Picard manages to relay information to the crew of the Enterprise which allows the Borg to be defeated. ( TNG : " The Best of Both Worlds ", " The Best of Both Worlds, Part II ")
• 2367 : Prevents an attempt by the Romulans to take over the Klingon Empire by indirectly interfering in the Klingon Civil War . ( TNG : " Redemption ", " Redemption II ")
• 2369 : Discovers an ancient message left by the first humanoid beings in our galaxy. ( TNG : " The Chase ")
• 2370 : Blights the second Borg invasion of the Federation , led by individualized Borg drones under the influence of the android Lore . ( TNG : " Descent ", " Descent, Part II ")
• 2371 : The Enterprise -D is destroyed over Veridian III . ( Star Trek Generations )
• 2372 : Is assigned command of the USS Enterprise -E . ( Star Trek: First Contact )
• 2373 : Travels back in time to 2063 to defeat an attempt by the Borg to create an alternate timeline in which the Federation is never created. ( Star Trek: First Contact )
• 2375 : Rebels against Starfleet Admiral Dougherty in order to protect the Ba'ku . ( Star Trek: Insurrection )
• 2379 : Travels to Romulus to meet Praetor Shinzon , a clone of himself. Kills Shinzon during the battle with the Scimitar . ( Star Trek Nemesis )
• 2385 : Retires from Starfleet in protest after Federation denies continued aid to the Romulans and bans synthetic lifeforms following the attack on Mars and the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards by Synths . ( PIC : " Remembrance ", " The End is the Beginning ")
• 2399 : Visited by a female android named Dahj Asha who is seeking his help. Later dies on Coppelius and has his memories and consciousness transferred into a golem . ( PIC : " Remembrance ", " Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2 ")
• Between 2399 and 2401 : Appointed Chancellor of Starfleet Academy
• 2401: Retires from Starfleet

Appendices [ ]

See also [ ], appearances [ ].

• " Encounter at Farpoint "
• " The Naked Now "
• " Code of Honor "
• " The Last Outpost "
• " Where No One Has Gone Before "
• " Lonely Among Us "
• " Justice "
• " The Battle "
• " Hide And Q "
• " The Big Goodbye "
• " Datalore "
• " Angel One "
• " 11001001 "
• " Too Short A Season "
• " When The Bough Breaks "
• " Home Soil "
• " Coming of Age "
• " Heart of Glory "
• " The Arsenal of Freedom "
• " Symbiosis "
• " Skin Of Evil "
• " We'll Always Have Paris "
• " Conspiracy "
• " The Neutral Zone "
• " The Child "
• " Where Silence Has Lease "
• " Elementary, Dear Data "
• " The Outrageous Okona "
• " Loud As A Whisper "
• " The Schizoid Man "
• " Unnatural Selection "
• " A Matter Of Honor "
• " The Measure Of A Man "
• " The Dauphin "
• " Contagion "
• " The Royale "
• " Time Squared "
• " The Icarus Factor "
• " Pen Pals "
• " Samaritan Snare "
• " Up The Long Ladder "
• " Manhunt "
• " The Emissary "
• " Peak Performance "
• " Shades of Gray "
• " Evolution "
• " The Ensigns of Command "
• " The Survivors "
• " Who Watches The Watchers "
• " The Bonding "
• " Booby Trap "
• " The Enemy "
• " The Price "
• " The Vengeance Factor "
• " The Defector "
• " The Hunted "
• " The High Ground "
• " A Matter of Perspective "
• " Yesterday's Enterprise "
• " The Offspring "
• " Sins of The Father "
• " Allegiance "
• " Captain's Holiday "
• " Tin Man "
• " Hollow Pursuits "
• " The Most Toys "
• " Ménage à Troi "
• " Transfigurations "
• " The Best of Both Worlds "
• " The Best of Both Worlds, Part II "
• " Brothers "
• " Suddenly Human "
• " Remember Me "
• " Reunion "
• " Future Imperfect "
• " Final Mission "
• " The Loss "
• " Data's Day "
• " The Wounded "
• " Devil's Due "
• " First Contact "
• " Galaxy's Child "
• " Night Terrors "
• " Identity Crisis "
• " The Nth Degree "
• " The Drumhead "
• " Half a Life "
• " The Host "
• " The Mind's Eye "
• " In Theory "
• " Redemption "
• " Redemption II "
• " Ensign Ro "
• " Silicon Avatar "
• " Disaster "
• " The Game "
• " Unification I "
• " Unification II "
• " A Matter Of Time "
• " New Ground "
• " Hero Worship "
• " Violations "
• " The Masterpiece Society "
• " Conundrum "
• " Power Play "
• " The Outcast "
• " Cause And Effect "
• " The First Duty "
• " Cost Of Living "
• " The Perfect Mate "
• " Imaginary Friend "
• " The Next Phase "
• " The Inner Light "
• " Time's Arrow "
• " Time's Arrow, Part II "
• " Realm Of Fear "
• " Man Of The People "
• " Schisms "
• " Rascals "
• " A Fistful of Datas "
• " The Quality of Life "
• " Chain Of Command, Part I "
• " Chain Of Command, Part II "
• " Ship In A Bottle "
• " Face Of The Enemy "
• " Tapestry "
• " Birthright, Part I "
• " Birthright, Part II "
• " Starship Mine "
• " Lessons "
• " The Chase "
• " Frame of Mind "
• " Suspicions "
• " Rightful Heir "
• " Second Chances "
• " Timescape "
• " Descent "
• " Descent, Part II "
• " Liaisons "
• " Interface "
• " Gambit, Part I "
• " Gambit, Part II "
• " Phantasms "
• " Dark Page "
• " Attached "
• " Force of Nature "
• " Inheritance "
• " Parallels "
• " The Pegasus "
• " Homeward "
• " Sub Rosa "
• " Lower Decks "
• " Thine Own Self "
• " Eye of the Beholder "
• " Genesis "
• " Journey's End "
• " Firstborn "
• " Bloodlines "
• " Emergence "
• " Preemptive Strike "
• " All Good Things... "
• DS9 : " Emissary "
• Star Trek Generations
• Star Trek: First Contact
• Star Trek: Insurrection
• Star Trek Nemesis
• ENT : " These Are the Voyages... " (voice only; archive audio)
• ST : " Children of Mars " (picture only)
• " Remembrance "
• " Maps and Legends "
• " The End is the Beginning "
• " Absolute Candor "
• " Stardust City Rag "
• " The Impossible Box "
• " Nepenthe "
• " Broken Pieces "
• " Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 1 "
• " Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2 "
• " The Star Gazer "
• " Penance "
• " Assimilation "
• " Watcher "
• " Fly Me to the Moon "
• " Two of One "
• " Monsters "
• " Hide and Seek "
• " Farewell "
• " The Next Generation "
• " Disengage "
• " Seventeen Seconds "
• " No Win Scenario "
• " Imposters "
• " The Bounty "
• " Dominion "
• " Surrender "
• " The Last Generation "
• DIS : " Red Directive " (archive image)

Background information [ ]

Patrick Stewart wears a hairpiece during a flashback sequence from " Violations "

Patrick Stewart during the filming of Star Trek Nemesis , with Director Stuart Baird

Picard was played by Patrick Stewart in all of the character's television and film appearances. David Tristan Birkin played Picard as a child in TNG : " Rascals ", while Marcus Nash appeared as Picard as a young ensign in " Tapestry ". Tom Hardy was seen as Cadet Picard in a photograph in Star Trek Nemesis ; Hardy also played Picard's clone, Shinzon , in the same film.

According to the Star Trek Encyclopedia  (4th ed., vol. 2, p. 145), Robert H. Justman said that Picard was named after oceanographer Jacques Piccard .

According to the Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion  (2nd ed., p. 13) the original casting call sent out to agents asked for the following:

" CAPT. Julien Picard – A Caucasian man in his 50s who is very youthful and in prime physical condition. Born in Paris , his Gallic accent appears when deep emotions are triggered. He is definitely a 'romantic' and believes strongly in concepts like honor and duty. Capt. Picard commands the Enterprise . He should have a mid-Atlantic accent, and a wonderfully rich speaking voice. "

The character of Picard changed quite a bit from the March 1987 version of the Writers/Directors Guide. In that guide, he was born in Paris, carried a touch of French phrasing in his speech, and pretended that France is "the only true civilization" on Earth (reminiscent of Pavel Chekov ).

In 1986 , D.C. Fontana made an attempt to recruit actor Stephen Macht for the role. " She called me in 1986 and said she wanted me to come in and meet Gene Roddenberry , " said Macht. " She told me he was the writer of Star Trek and she wanted him to meet me. So I went in, I sit down opposite him in his office, and D.C. was with me. He said, 'D.C. has brought me clips of everything you've done since you've been in Hollywood. You are my next Star Trek hero, Picard.' And I'm full of piss and vinegar at that time. I was forty-two and doing well. I said to him, 'I've seen these things, and I don't want to do them. I don't want to speak to guys with six heads for the rest of my life.' He said, 'It's not about that, Stephen. They're morality tales. I want you to do it. You just have to come read for the studio head.' 'I don't want to read. You want me to do it? Offer it to me. You know who my agent is.' " ( The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years , p. 92)

Also considered for the role of Picard were Louis Gossett, Jr. , Yaphet Kotto , James Earl Jones , Billy Dee Williams , Avery Brooks , and Keir Dullea . By 9 April 1987 , a meeting between the studio and Kotto was scheduled (with no audition to be held) on 14 April 1987. On or shortly before 9 April, Kotto's agent called TNG Casting Director Junie Lowry , suggesting Kotto would fly down only if Paramount paid to have him flown down, and that Kotto would prefer to take Gene Roddenberry for lunch rather than having a meeting. Lowry replied that a meeting would be preferable to everyone at the studio, owing to all the busy schedules involved, and notified the agent that Kotto would be meeting not only Roddenberry but also both producers and Jeff Hayes. She also said it was unlikely that the studio would pay to fly Kotto in for a meeting, to which the agent quickly began to concede on that point. He then enquired as to how serious the studio's interest was in casting Kotto, a question already asked. Lowry answered that, if the studio decided to go for a black captain as the series lead, Kotto was under extremely serious consideration. The meeting remained scheduled, and Lowry included a written account of the phone call in a casting availability update memo she sent to "all concerned" on 9 April 1987. In the memo, she listed Gossett, Kotto, and Williams as being available, whereas Jones and Brooks were noted as unavailable. As noted in the same document, Gossett's agent doubted that Gossett would be interested, and a VHS tape of Dullea was meanwhile being shot in New York. The casting notes also mentioned Stephen Macht, without specifying the role he was being considered for, though the memo did state, " He is certainly very interested. "

Robert Justman was instrumental in the casting of Picard. Patrick Stewart was discovered by Justman and his wife when pre-production work for the then-forthcoming Star Trek series had been taking place at Paramount for about a month or two. The event occurred one night while Stewart was giving a dramatic reading at the University of California at Los Angeles, as part of a UCLA extension course on humor which Justman and his wife were taking. That night, Stewart was one of two speakers reading from Shakespearean comedies and Noël Coward. While Justman sat with his wife and watched the readings, he thought Stewart looked familiar, but couldn't quite place him. " Patrick sat down, pushed up his jacket sleeves to display his massive forearms, and commenced to read, " Justman reflected. " He spoke a few sentences and I was thunderstruck. I turned to my wife, Jackie, and I said, 'I think I found our new captain!' " Justman was so impressed by Stewart's performance that night that, the next day, he called the Screen Actor's Guild and determined who Stewart's agent was in Los Angeles, because the actor was living in London and was temporarily in America just to perform the reading at UCLA. Contacting the agent, Justman arranged for Stewart to meet with Gene Roddenberry and Justman himself at Roddenberry's house the following Monday. " Patrick came in his rental car, and we sat around for thirty-forty minutes, " Justman continued, " and then he made his good-byes and left to fly back to England. After he drove away, Gene closed the door and turned to me, and I will quote him exactly. He said, 'I won't have him.' " Roddenberry himself noted, " My first reaction was, 'Jesus Christ, Bob, I don't want a bald man.' " ( The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years , pp. 89-90 & 91)

As of 13 April 1987, the performers who were being considered to play Picard included Mitch Ryan , Roy Thinnes , Yaphet Kotto, and Patrick Bauchau . On that day Bauchau successfully auditioned for Gene Roddenberry; the "favorites" for the part were meanwhile regarded as Bauchau as well as Patrick Stewart, with the other three performers scheduled to start auditioning the following week. These developments were included in a general TNG casting memo from John Ferraro to John Pike (also forwarded to Jeff Hayes), sent the same day as Bachau's audition – 13 April 1987. [5]

Another memo sent on that date specifically pertained to the casting of Picard, and was from Junie Lowry to, again, "all concerned." It noted about Yaphet Kotto that, although he was available for the part, the studio was still waiting to find out if he would fly down or would only send a tape of himself. The same memo listed Keir Dullea, John Saxon , George Hearn , Lee Van Cleef , Andrew Duggan , John McMartin , Theodore Bikel , Thomas Hill , Edward Mulhare , Dick Shawn , James Olson , Don Ameche , James Gammon , Telly Savalas , and Billy Dee Williams as all being available for the part. Both Mulhare and Savalas were noted as actually being interested in it, too. Both Dullea and McMartin were in New York, and the studio was yet to receive a tape from Dullea, who refused to audition for the role without a test option agreement first being arranged. Hearn and Williams weren't interested (in Williams' case, his disinterest was because the series would be syndicated), and Hill would only be available after 24 April . Anthony Quayle was listed as possibly being interested, though he was currently in London. Performers who, despite having been considered, were listed as not available included Paul Gleason , Noble Willingham , Moses Gunn , William Devane , John Hillerman , Robert Hogan , Fred Gwynne , Dana Elcar , Peter Donat , and Peter Michael Goetz . Listed as uninterested were George Grizzard , Rip Torn , and Scott Glenn (Torn wasn't interested in doing any TV at that point in his career). [6]

Shortly after Robert Justman discovered Patrick Stewart, Rick Berman met Stewart. Like Justman, Berman was impressed, so he advised Justman that they needed to persuade Roddenberry to cast Stewart as Picard. " Bob said to me, 'We can't. When Gene makes up his mind, it's a waste of time to try and change it,' " Berman recounted. " But in my case, ignorance was bliss. I didn't believe that. " Justman himself stated about Roddenberry, " No matter what I said, he was adamant, and the reason was because the character he had created in his own mind was a very hairy Frenchman, so we embarked upon a campaign that lasted for some months, and when Rick Berman came on the show and became supervising producer with me, Rick jumped all over it, too, and said, 'He's perfect!' " Berman characterized himself as "the guy who basically bugged Gene into realizing that Patrick was the best Picard." Roddenberry recalled, " In his wisdom, Justman kept his mouth shut and let me grow accustomed to him. " Said Justman, " Our casting director was for it, everyone was for it, except Gene. We went through everybody in town and in foreign countries trying to find the right person to play the captain, and couldn't. Finally, our last candidate came in, read for us and left, and we were sitting there – the casting director, Rick, Gene, and myself – and he finally turned around and looked at us and said, 'All right, I'll go with Patrick,' and that was it. It was so right, I've never been more sure of anything in my life, at least in the business, than casting Patrick in that role. He was everything that a captain ought to be. " ( The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years , pp. 90 & 91)

At first, Gene Roddenberry's acceptance of Patrick Stewart as Picard was conditional. " He said, 'But when we bring him to the studio for the final audition, I want him to wear a wig, because I don't want this guy going in bald,' " Rick Berman remembered. Via phone call to London, Stewart had a wig made by one of the most well-renowned theatrical wig makers in England, then had the wig dispatched to America. When TNG Supervising Producer David Livingston first met Stewart, the actor visited Livingston's trailer (where Livingston was otherwise alone) with a box of wigs, and asked where he could find the make-up and hair staff, as the production crew wanted to see what he looked like with the wigs on. Stewart eventually found someone who helped him put on the wig. He then auditioned for John Pike, who was well aware that Stewart was really bald. " He had seen all the photographs of him, and we had played him a tape of Patrick's clips, " Berman noted. ( The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years , pp. 91-92)

By this time, the only remaining contender for the part, according to Rick Berman, was Stephen Macht. Like Stewart, he also auditioned for John Pike. Despite regarding Macht as "a very good actor," Berman believed he wasn't anywhere near as suitable for the role as Patrick Stewart was. Years later, Macht admitted that, at that point in his life, he hadn't been prepared to play such a major role, partly because he had been too young and egotistical, and partly because he had been uninterested in doing a series. " I just was not ready, " he declared. " I would be now, but I wasn't then. In the intervening years, of course, after so much experience, I found that there are so many layers to who I am that I can reveal slowly and that would have made a TV series like The Next Generation more appealing. Looking back at it, I thank Dorothy and Gene for a marker in my life that I can really think about in terms of seeing what the trajectory has been over a whole period of years [… ] Had I known then what I know now, I would have knocked the shit out of that role. " ( The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years , p. 92)

Ultimately, John Pike opted for Patrick Stewart rather than Stephen Macht. Pike did so with one extra piece of advice: that Stewart "lose the wig." Remarked Berman, " That was the best three words we could have heard. " ( The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years , p. 92) In a one-line memo Helen Mossler sent Gene Roddenberry on 1 May 1987 , Mossler announced, " Patrick Stewart's deal has been finalized and has been sent to his agent for his signature. " [7]

Picard was originally intended to be in his early fifties, with a twenty-two-year stint captaining the Stargazer ( citation needed • edit ) ; Stewart himself was forty-seven in 1987 . The show established a long gap between the Stargazer and the Enterprise -D; the Okuda timeline states he was 59 in TNG Season 1 (and thus is 74 in Star Trek Nemesis , compared to Stewart having been 62 when that film was made). ( citation needed • edit ) Similarly, although Stewart was 79 when he filmed the first season of Star Trek: Picard , set in 2399, Picard is 94.

When Patrick Stewart accepted the offer to play Picard, a friend of his asked him what he thought it would feel like to portray "an American icon." At the time, that prospect made Stewart feel uneasy. ( The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years , p. 93)

During an interview with Michael Parkinson , Patrick Stewart related how, in his first press conference for The Next Generation , a reporter asked Gene Roddenberry how Captain Picard could be bald, figuring that baldness would surely be cured by the 24th century . Roddenberry replied, " By the 24th century, no one will care. " [8]

In a 2014 appearance on NPR 's quiz show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! , Patrick Stewart indicated that the real life reason for Picard lacking a French accent was that it sounded silly when he attempted it:

Patrick Stewart was, though, fascinated with attempting to assert strength in his portrayal of Picard. " It was always important to me to try and establish and affirm the quiet, but absolute authority he has on the ship, " said Stewart, " and that seemed to be successful. " ( The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years , p. 94)

Picard was irrevocably altered by his ordeal as Locutus, in " The Best of Both Worlds " and " The Best of Both Worlds, Part II ". " Picard became more Human than ever before, " commented writer Michael Piller . " He was the indestructible captain, untouchable, above all risk and danger, and suddenly, in this two-parter, he is a man who's been raped by the Borg and has to deal emotionally with huge consequences [… ] And after that, Picard was more complex, never the same; he was a far more interesting character after that. " ( Mission Overview , TNG Season 4 DVD special feature) Ira Steven Behr agreed that temporarily having Picard, "who, compared to Kirk, was an administrator more than an adventurer," be transformed into a Borg "kind of gave his humanity back to him" and was a "genius" idea. Patrick Stewart concurred, " Making the man more human and vulnerable and prone to error and mistake was a great decision. " ( William Shatner Presents: Chaos on the Bridge )

David Livingston , who directed the TNG episodes " The Mind's Eye " and " Power Play ", found it was relatively very easy to direct Patrick Stewart's characterization of Picard. " The only run-in I ever had with him, I was on the set as a producer and I thought I heard him say a line wrong, and the director said 'cut, print.' I told the director, I think Patrick got that line wrong. Patrick said, 'No, I didn't.' The director said, 'It sounded fine to me.' I had the sound man, Alan Bernard , play back the take, and I was right. They did the line over again, and Patrick said thanks. That was dangerous. I could have kept my mouth shut, but I had a responsibility. That seems like a minor thing, but when you tell Patrick Stewart he went up on a line and nobody else heard it, that's dangerous. " ( The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years , pp. 94-95)

The idea that Picard served under Captain Uhura while at the Academy has its roots in a story proposed for Star Trek: Short Treks , in which a young Picard would have been mentored by an elderly Uhura. Although the proposed Short Treks episode never came to fruition, two pieces of set dressing for Star Trek: Picard (the Speed of Light Club certificate in Picard's quantum archive, seen in " Remembrance ", and the commemorative plaque for the USS Leondegrance seen in " The Star Gazer ") establish the relationship canonically. [9]

Jean-Luc Picard was the first character to be seen on Star Trek: The Next Generation . Likewise, he was the last person to be seen in the final TNG outing, Star Trek Nemesis .

Other than in alternate timelines , Picard appeared as a captain throughout the entire run of TNG and the subsequent films. Data and Dr. Crusher are the only other characters from TNG to remain at the ranks they started with, though a costuming error in " All Good Things... " has Data wearing the wrong insignia for part of that episode.

Picard is the only character to have appeared in the pilot episodes of three Star Trek series ( TNG : " Encounter at Farpoint ", DS9 : " Emissary " and PIC : " Remembrance "). Patrick Stewart is also the first actor seen on screen in each episode, and speaks the first lines in each episode, although in " Emissary " he appears and speaks first as Locutus of Borg.

Apart from James T. Kirk , Picard is the only person to captain two Enterprise s, commanding the Enterprise -D and the Enterprise -E. With the restoration of a cut scene from an extended version of the episode " The Measure Of A Man ", Picard also shares with Pavel Chekov the distinction of having served aboard two starships named Enterprise and one named USS Reliant .

Picard has the distinction of having on-screen dialogue with three of the other main Star Trek captains, the most by any other captain. Picard meets with James T. Kirk in the film Star Trek Generations , Benjamin Sisko in the DS9 pilot "Emissary", and Kathryn Janeway in the film Star Trek Nemesis .

Picard is the only lead character in any Star Trek production who is unambiguously not American . Jonathan Archer was born in upstate New York and raised in San Francisco , California ; Christopher Pike was born in Mojave , California; James T. Kirk was from Iowa ( his alternate reality counterpart was born in space, but raised in Iowa); Benjamin Sisko was born in New Orleans , Louisiana ; and Kathryn Janeway was born in Bloomington , Indiana . Michael Burnham was also born on Earth, and while her nationality hasn't yet been confirmed outright, she speaks with an American accent.

Picard's name, Jean-Luc, is the hyphenated French variants of John and Luke. Picard's sense of French national pride only surfaced briefly in some early episodes, most notably " The Last Outpost ". Over the run of TNG, the character adopted several characteristics commonly associated with the English: he enjoys the works of William Shakespeare , and is never seen reading any works of literature by a French author. He drinks Earl Grey tea , an English beverage named after an English nobleman, and is rarely seen drinking wine , a beverage which is commonplace in French life, only drinking it on five occasions, in " Family ", again in " First Contact ", at the end of Star Trek Nemesis , and in PIC : " Remembrance " and " Nepenthe ". Additionally, his father, brother, and nephew all spoke with English accents.

Reception [ ]

At least initially, fans of Star Trek: The Original Series responded unfavorably to a new captain of the Enterprise being introduced in TNG. Rick Berman later remembered, " They felt, how can you put a new captain at the seat of the Enterprise ? [… ] And when they heard it was going to be a forty-year-old bald Englishman, they kind of went nuts. " ( The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years , p. 89) Eventually, the viewers became more accepting towards Picard, much to Patrick Stewart's relief. He commented, " I'm happy that people accepted the captain as a non-American [… ] They refer to the vivid contrast between the previous captain and myself, not in a competitive way, but in that they are so different there isn't any sense of overlap. " ( The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years , p. 93) Berman has proclaimed that, ultimately, the fact that Captain Picard was bald was "the greatest sales point for The Next Generation ." ( The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years , p. 92)

The cast and crew of TNG approved of Patrick Stewart as Picard. Co-Producer Brannon Braga offered, " So much of the success of Next Generation was Patrick Stewart, quite frankly. We always used to say the guy could read a phone book and we'd watch him. He just was so good. I always said a Star Trek series is only as good as its captain, and Picard was pretty fucking great. " ( The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years , p. 93) David Livingston agreed, " If anyone would captain a starship, it would be [Stewart]. He would never blink. Only when he was off-camera. If you watch him on-camera, I defy you to find a time he was blinking, because of the intensity of his captain [… ] It was a delight to direct him. " ( The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years , pp. 92 & 94)

Thomas Dougherty, professor of American Studies at Brandeis University, observed, " Captain Picard – he of the balding dome and clipped accents – blossomed as the unchallenged power, the series' pivotal character and controlling force. Ensemble sensibilities aside, the writing staff conceded the obvious – that a strong central protagonist is as necessary to drive the narrative as command the Enterprise . In Shakesperean actor Patrick Stewart, the new crew found a perfect tribal patriarch. Stewart exudes authority and presence, consistently keeping the proceedings away from Space Patrol kitsch. Even in a dumb costume, declaiming deep-space doubletalk, he brings a kind of Elizabethan stature to his role. " ( The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years , pp. 93-94)

The infamous Picard facepalm

In recent years, several popular Internet meme s have surfaced in connection with Picard, most notably the "Picard facepalm" (originally based on a scene from " Deja Q "), and its numerous derivatives. [10]

There are a number of musical tributes to Picard, most notably DarkMateria's "Picard Song Tribute" [11] and Bryan Erickson's "Futile". [12]

Apocrypha [ ]

In the alternate future of the DS9 book series Millennium , Picard was captain of the Enterprise -E. He took Ensign Nog under his wing after Nog was assigned to the Enterprise . On stardate 52145.7, Picard attempted to intercept a Dominion warship carrying Weyoun 5 . Weyoun escaped into the Pah-wraith wormhole . In 2381 , the Enterprise was destroyed at the Battle of Rigel VII. According to Thomas Riker , a Starfleet hearing was called, since Picard had lost his third ship (the Stargazer , the Enterprise -D, and the Enterprise -E), but the case was dismissed and Picard was given command of the Enterprise -F in 2383 , described as the "first of its class." In 2385 , Picard accepted a promotion to admiral, and William T. Riker was given command of the Enterprise . When Earth was destroyed by the Grigari, Picard survived. By 2399, Picard was stricken with Irumodic Syndrome, and would occasionally do such things as speak to nobody (although he claimed to be speaking to Q), or mistake other officers for his old crew (for example, he called Nog "Will" and Jake Sisko "Geordi"). It is implied that he married Beverly Crusher , as he comments to Julian Bashir that, between Bashir and Leonard McCoy , he was always worried that his wife would leave him for one of her heroes. Picard headed up a task force to build a timeship known as the USS Phoenix to try and undo the timeline. The Phoenix was destroyed before it could accomplish its mission, but Picard, Nog, and Vash traveled back in time twenty-five thousand years, where they became three Bajoran mystics who wrote prophecies of the events they had experienced; it is also implied that Vash and the elder Picard were married. The entire timeline was later reset thanks to the actions of Benjamin Sisko.

The novel Death in Winter by Michael Jan Friedman told of Picard beginning a romantic relationship with Dr. Beverly Crusher after rescuing her from a planet under Romulan control. A subsequent book, Greater than the Sum , by Christopher L. Bennett , portrayed them as married and expecting a child. The later Paths of Disharmony , by Dayton Ward , shows them with a son, René.

The graphic novel The Gorn Crisis showed Picard undertaking a mission during the Dominion War to make an alliance with the Gorn .

Picard in Star Trek: Countdown

The comic book series Star Trek: Countdown , a tie-in to the 2009 Star Trek film, depicted Picard as having left Starfleet by 2387 to become the Federation Ambassador to Vulcan ; with Data, resurrected in B-4 's body, succeeding him as captain of the Enterprise -E. When the Enterprise arrived at Vulcan, with the Romulan mining vessel Narada in tow, Picard arranged so that the Vulcan High Council would put aside their prejudices and allow Spock to make his case regarding the Hobus supernova. Despite their best efforts, the Council could not be convinced to give the red matter to the Romulans. After Nero had set off, Hobus erupted with the shock wave of the detonation threatening to destroy Earth and Vulcan in a matter of weeks. After La Forge had been called on and the Jellyfish procured as a vessel to launch the red matter, Picard received several Starfleet reports of ships from all the major galactic powers being destroyed when they neared Romulan space. Suspecting Nero, Picard contacted Worf and requested he intercept the madman with his fleet. When the Jellyfish was ready for launch, Picard boarded the Enterprise to join Worf's fleet. Upon arrival, they found the Narada to have been augmented with Borg technology, the Klingon fleet in pieces and Worf near death. Nero offered to return Worf to them, provided they lowered their shields. Though Picard convinced Data to do so, the Enterprise was crippled as a result, leaving her unable to pursue the Narada . Once repairs were complete, the Enterprise arrived to a collapsing singularity with no sign of Spock or Nero. Concluding that Spock had always known his journey would end like this, Picard led the crew in mourning their departed friend.

Picard's image appeared in the comic book adaptation of the 2009 film as part of a collage from Countdown used to depict Spock's mind-meld with the younger Kirk .

The comic miniseries Star Trek: Spock: Reflections established that after the events of Star Trek Generations , Picard sent a message to Spock explaining how Kirk did not die on the Enterprise -B , but was pulled into the Nexus and how he left it to help Picard defeat Soran from killing two hundred million people in order to re-enter the Nexus and in the process, Kirk was killed while saving Picard and millions of others. Since Kirk was already thought dead, and explaining the nature of the Nexus to Starfleet would be difficult, Picard buried Kirk on Veridian III where he gave his life to save millions. Nonetheless, he felt Spock should know of Kirk's fate. Picard met with Spock a year later at the Kirk family farm in Iowa where he realized Spock had traveled to Veridian III to retrieve Kirk's body and brought him back home to Earth. Spock explained how Kirk did the same for him, at a terrible cost and that he needed to be equal to Kirk's sacrifice. Picard then tells Spock that he would be welcomed to return to Starfleet duty, in any capacity, but Spock planned to return to Romulus to continue his work. Picard asks whether arrangements can be made to make Spock's presence there official, but Spock declined, saying he has always led "a life of solitude and duty". As Spock remembers how he once worked with remarkable friends and comrades, he tells Picard to treasure those times in his own life, since they will someday end. They exchange the Vulcan salute and Picard walks away, but turned back to see Spock still standing quietly by his friend's grave.

Picard returned in the Star Trek: Ongoing story arc The Q Gambit . Beginning shortly after the events of Countdown , Picard is visited by Q, who informed him that Spock still lived, and that the black hole actually sent him into an alternate reality . When Q attempted to discuss this timeline, Picard cut him off, believing that the various timelines should remain separate from one another. Annoyed, Q reveals he had come for Picard's counsel as Spock had set off a chain of events that would doom that timeline. But since the former captain was uninterested, Q took his leave for the other timeline despite Picard's attempt to call him back. Picard reappeared at the end of the arc where Q returned, now enveloped by the energies of a Prophet . Flatly, Picard said he didn't want to know.

The 3-issue comic miniseries Star Trek: Picard - Countdown , a tie-in to the television series , detailed the efforts of Picard and his first officer, Lt. Cmdr. Raffi Musiker , to aid in the evacuation of Romulan citizens ahead of the impending supernova depicted in Star Trek . In 2381 , now promoted to admiral, Picard left the Enterprise to take command of the USS Verity ( β ) on an envoy mission to offer aid to the empire after Starfleet intercepted communications and learned of the coming catastrophe. Through tense negotiations, Picard convinced the Romulans to allow Starfleet to help evacuate soon-to-be affected worlds, a logistical challenge that he would later compare to the evacuation at Dunkirk during World War II . Picard directed Commander Geordi La Forge to build a specialized fleet at the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards above Mars to better assist in the relocation. By 2385 , a number of worlds had slowly been evacuated. As the first of La Forge's new fleet was near ready to come off the line, the Verity was ordered to to evacuate Romulan colonists from Yuyat Beta, where Picard and Musiker learned of a massive native population the Romulans were prepared to let die. They thwarted a plot by the governor and the Tal Shiar to capture the Verity to use against Starfleet, who they believed was using evacuations as a ruse to sabotage the Romulan Empire. Evacuation of the Romulans and Yuyati proceeded. Picard was introduced to Laris Avem and Zhaban Noctis , two Tal Shiar agents in an illicit love affair who aided in de-escalating the situation. Picard offered them safe haven from retribution on his family's vineyard on Earth.

The alternate future of Star Trek Online established Picard's retirement to private life as occurring in 2402 when he settled in his ancestral home of France.

External links [ ]

• Jean-Luc Picard at Wikipedia
• Jean-Luc Picard at Wikiquote
• Jean-Luc Picard at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• Jean-Luc Picard at the Star Trek Online Wiki
• 2 ISS Enterprise (NCC-1701)

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

Star Trek: Picard

Follow-up series to Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) that centers on Jean-Luc Picard in the next chapter of his life. Follow-up series to Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) that centers on Jean-Luc Picard in the next chapter of his life. Follow-up series to Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) that centers on Jean-Luc Picard in the next chapter of his life.

• Kirsten Beyer
• Michael Chabon
• Akiva Goldsman
• Patrick Stewart
• Michelle Hurd
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Episodes 30

• Jean-Luc Picard

• Raffi Musiker

• Seven of Nine

• Dr. Agnes Jurati

• Cristóbal Rios …

• Adam Soong …

• La Sirena Computer

• Jack Crusher

• Doctor Beverly Crusher

• Captain Liam Shaw

• Ensign Sidney La Forge

• Ensign Esmar

• Titan Computer …
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• Trivia The Chateau Picard vineyard first appeared in Family (1990) . It was run by Jean-Luc Picard's brother Robert and his wife Marie, and their son René. Jean-Luc would learn in Star Trek: Generations (1994) that Robert and René had both burned to death in a fire, leaving Jean-Luc as the last in the Picard line.
• Goofs Commodore Oh often wears sunglasses. Star Trek lore establishes that Vulcans have an inner eyelid to protect against harsh sunlight on their desert planet. Oh's shades are a fashion statement, not a protective measure.
• The first season features a Borg cube and the planet Romulus.
• The second season features a Borg ship, a wormhole and hourglass, and the Borg Queen's silhouette.
• The third season does not have an opening titles sequence.
• Connections Featured in Half in the Bag: Comic Con 2019, The Picard Trailer, Streaming Services, and Midsommar (2019)

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• January 23, 2020 (United States)
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• Star Trek: Captain Picard
• The Sunstone Villa and Vineyard, Santa Ynes, California, USA (Château Picard)
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• Runtime 46 minutes
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Jean-Luc Picard's Entire Timeline Explained

From Jonathan Archer to Philippa Georgiou,  "Star Trek"   captains are the heroes who hold their crews together as they explore strange new worlds and boldly go where no man has gone before. But while the sci-fi franchise has seen some impressive leaders like Benjamin Sisko and Christopher Pike, Captain Jean-Luc Picard ( Patrick Stewart ) stands head and shoulders above the rest.

Introducing himself to fans as the captain of a newer, more advanced version of the iconic Enterprise in 1987's "Encounter at Farpoint" – the first episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation"  –   Picard went on lead his crew into danger and glory for seven seasons and four major motion pictures. Compared to his predecessor, James T. Kirk of the original series, Picard was less of a ladies' man and nowhere near as trigger-happy. But that didn't mean he shied from adventure. In his time aboard the Enterprise, Picard struck bargains with interstellar gods, waged war on cyborg collectives, and altered the courses of alien empires forever. He made Earl Grey tea famous, he didn't like kids, and he regularly quoted the all-important Prime Directive (usually right before breaking it).

But if you haven't seen "The Next Generation (TNG)" and want to know more about the man, or if you just need a refresher on your "Star Trek" history, then read on as we explain Jean-Luc Picard's entire timeline.

A traumatic childhood

Born in La Barre, France, young Jean-Luc Picard had a troubled upbringing. The first glimpse of his childhood comes in the "TNG" episode titled "Family," where he visits his brother Robert on Earth. In this episode, we learn that Jean-Luc and Robert helped their father take care of the family's vineyards. We also learn that the rest of Jean-Luc's family are traditionalists, don't favor advanced technology like replicators, and certainly don't have a high opinion of the vaunted Starfleet. Meanwhile, his brother is something of a bully to him.

But we learn much more about the young Picard's early life in Season 2 of "Star Trek: Picard." Apparently, he had an especially close relationship with his mother Yvette. But Yvette suffers from severe mental illness, and despite her husband Maurice's pleas, she refuses to seek help. As a result, Maurice is often forced to lock her in her room to prevent her from self-harm during particularly difficult episodes, which leads to one of the most life-altering moments in Jean-Luc's life.

Amid one of his mother's episodes, she calls to Jean-Luc to let her out of her room. When he does, it ultimately leads his mother to ending her own life. Picard carries the guilt of this incident with him all of his life, only finally coming to terms with it as an older man.

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by dialing 988 or by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.

Picard's academy days

Moving past tragedy, Jean-Luc's time on the family vineyard continues to frustrate him, as he has little interest in the family business of wine making. It doesn't take long for Jean-Luc to figure out that his path leads to the stars, and the future Enterprise captain soon gains a reputation as an overachiever, becoming a sports champion as well as valedictorian of his high school. Against his father's wishes, Jean-Luc leaves home for Starfleet Academy as soon as the opportunity arises, though it takes him two attempts before his application is accepted.

In Season 6's "Tapestry," we learn a little bit more about what kind of man he is during his Academy days. Far from the steady, stoic, commanding leader, Picard is a brash, fiery, cavalier sort, and even something of a womanizer while at Starfleet Academy. It's there that he meets both Jack Crusher and Beverly Howard, with the three becoming close friends. We also learned he had something of an unrequited crush on Academy mate Marta Batanides.

But we also witnessed an event just after his exit from the Academy that leaves its deepest mark on him. While waiting for his first assignments, Picard gets into a brawl with a group of Nausicaans over a game of dom-jot. Overmatched but refusing to back down, Picard is stabbed through the heart, and while he survives the injury, he's left with an artificial organ in his heart's place.

Picard's commands before the Enterprise

We don't know a lot of details about Picard's post-Academy life before he got command of his own ship. From the Season 2 episode "The Measure of a Man," we learn that at one point, he served on the USS Reliant, but we know few details about his time there. We know a bit more about his first command aboard the USS Stargazer. He started there as a bridge officer, but he made his way up the ranks the old-fashioned way – being the highest ranked officer left alive in the middle of a battle. 

Jean-Luc commanded the Stargazer   for two decades, until he and the surviving crew were forced to abandon the vessel after a battle with a Ferengi ship (though the Stargazer   would be recovered years later in the Season 1 episode "The Battle"). Among some of the more relevant events in Starfleet history, the Stargazer   saw action in the Federation's wars with Cardassia, and the ship's final battle led to the "Picard Maneuver " being coined for the unorthodox move Jean-Luc made   to destroy the enemy vessel.

More personally relevant to Picard was his friendship with Jack Crusher aboard the Stargazer.   Jack was the late husband of Beverly Crusher and father to Wesley, both of whom wind up serving aboard the Enterprise. It's Picard who, while commanding the Stargazer, sent Jack Crusher on an away mission that led to his death .

Jean-Luc Picard, captain of the Enterprise

There are some dark years between the loss of the Stargazer   and Picard's command of the Enterprise. It seems clear Picard enjoyed command over at least one other ship in that time span, but we don't know its name or if it was his only post before "Encounter at Farpoint."

Regardless, when we meet Picard in the "TNG"   series premiere, he's already taken command of his famous ship. His orders send him to Deneb IV, "beyond which lies the great, unexplored mass of the galaxy." On the way there, the Enterprise   has its first fateful meeting with the trickster, god-like alien Q.

With a few short breaks here and there, Picard remains in command of the Enterprise-D   until its destruction in 1994's "Star Trek: Generations" (which, by the way, is one of the worst "Star Trek" movies ). He and his stalwart crew get to explore quite a bit of that "great, unexplored mass," and along the way, they encounter aliens both benevolent and hostile, including the fan-favorite Borg. Some of the more memorable Picard-focused episodes include "Darmok" when the captain struggles to communicate with a race that speaks in metaphors, "The Inner Light" when a mysterious satellite telepathically causes Picard to live an entire lifetime in a matter of minutes, and the two-part "Chain of Command" when Picard is captured by the Cardassians and subjected to horrific torture. 

His connection to the Borg

In the Season 2 episode "Q-Who?" the deceitful Q uses his powers to send the Enterprise deep into unexplored parts of the galaxy where they encounter the Borg for the first time. The Borg act as a single collective mind and rebuff all attempts at communication in favor of seeking to overpower the Enterprise. Q eventually sends the ship back to Federation space, but before the episode ends, Guinan implies the Borg are sure to return. 

The Borg re-emerge in the two-parter "Best of Both Worlds" (which are some of the best "TNG" episodes ), when they kidnap Picard and assimilate him into their collective. Picard is eventually rescued, and it proves the Borg's Achilles' heel as his connection to the collective allows Data to command the invaders to sleep. But as early as the following episode, "Family," it's clear Picard is severely traumatized by the experience.

This wouldn't be Picard's last encounter with the Borg, however. In "I, Borg," the Enterprise   crew rescues a Borg calling himself Hugh who's somehow capable of independent thought. They meet him again in the two-part "Descent" as the leader of a group of liberated Borg resisting the control of Data's twin brother, Lore. And finally, Picard would be forced to confront the Borg and his overwhelming need for vengeance against them in 1996's "Star Trek: First Contact," when the aliens attempt to assimilate the Federation by going back in time before the Federation's founding. 

The captain and his Tin Man

One of the most interesting relationships on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" is the kinship that develops between Picard and the android Data. By the end of the series and the subsequent films, it's clear Picard holds the android close to his heart. He sees Data as, at the very least, a close friend. However, at times their connection doesn't seem all that different than that between a father and a son. 

Picard reveals part of his fascination with, and admiration for, Data in the Season 2 episode "The Measure of a Man." Data attempts to resign his commission so that an insistent Starfleet scientist can't run experiments on him which will wipe out his memory. The scientist argues Data, as a machine, doesn't have the right to resign his commission, and Picard assumes the difficult task of proving that Data is a sentient being with the right to make his own choices and not be subjected to anyone else's ownership. Picard famously tells the presiding judge, "Your Honor, Starfleet was founded to seek out new life." Then, pointing to Data, he says, "Well, there it sits ." 

Data is tragically forced to sacrifice himself at the end of the final "TNG" film, 2002's "Star Trek: Nemesis," though it's hinted he could return in a new form.

That time he got involved with Klingons

In Season 4's "Reunion" and later in the two-parter "Redemption," Picard helps alter the course of the Klingon Empire as the "arbiter of succession." Picard is appointed as arbiter by the dying Klingon chancellor, K'mpec, who insists tensions in the empire are at the point that no Klingon can be trusted with the task. As arbiter, Picard's job is to weigh the worth of the two challengers, Gowron and Duras. By the end of "Reunion," K'mpec is dead, and no new chancellor has been officially announced. Things get even more complicated when Worf, claiming vengeance for the murder of his mate K'Ehleyr at Duras' hands, transports over to Duras' ship and kills him. 

The rite is finally completed in "Redemption," when Picard finally announces Gowron as the rightful chancellor. But then, two Klingon sisters from the House of Duras, B'Etor and Lursa, appear with a boy named Toral who they claim is the son of Duras, so should be considered a challenger in the rite. Picard later confirms Toral is the son of Duras, but that he is too young and inexperienced to be considered chancellor. The decision pushes the Klingon Empire into open civil war. Eventually, the House of Duras' conspiracy with the Romulans is exposed, and Gowron resides over a reunited empire. As an added benefit, Worf and his house are redeemed in the eyes of his people.

Picard and the legacy of Spock

In spite of their respective series being separated by two decades, Jean-Luc Picard proves to be an important figure in the life of Spock. 

The first time Picard significantly touches Spock's life is in the third season's "Sarek." Spock himself doesn't appear but his father, Sarek – who appears in both the original series and many of the original crew's movies as an important Federation diplomat – boards the Enterprise   to negotiate a trade deal with the Legarans. Unfortunately, it soon becomes clear that Sarek suffers from a rare degenerative disorder called Bendii Syndrome that causes his emotions to run wild. So that Sarek can maintain enough control to continue with the negotiations, Picard agrees to a mind meld which transfers Sarek's mental chaos to him temporarily. 

In the two-part "Unification," Picard comes face-to-face with Spock himself. He's sent to Romulus to find Spock because Starfleet fears the Vulcan may have defected to their rivals. Instead, Picard learns Spock is involved in secret negotiations with the hopes of bringing the Vulcan and Romulan people back together. By the end of the two-parter, Sarek finally succumbs to Bendii, and "Unification" ends with a compassionate and tender gesture on Picard's part. He allows Spock to mind meld with him, so that Spock may connect with the parts of his father that Picard experienced in the earlier episode. 

The TNG finale shows Picard a possible future

Of all the "Star Trek"   series of the past six decades, none can boast as inventive or satisfying a finale as "All Good Things...", the final episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation." Q is causing Picard to jump both backwards and forwards in time, so that the story takes place in the present, during the events of the first episode "Encounter at Farpoint," and decades in the future when Picard is suffering the degenerative mental disease Irumodic Syndrome.   Picard's   trips to the future are particularly difficult. With future versions of Beverly Crusher, Data, and Geordi La Forge all aware of his condition, it makes it that much more challenging to convince anyone in that time that he actually is experiencing what he says he's experiencing. 

After one of his trips to the future, Picard visits Beverly Crusher in sick bay, and she doesn't have good news for him. We learn that while Dr. Crusher can't definitively diagnose Irumodic Syndrome, she does find markers in his brain which could point to it developing later on. None of the movies hinted towards the illness beginning to emerge, but with a much older Jean-Luc appearing in "Star Trek: Picard," it's possible the syndrome may finally rear its ugly head.

Jean-Luc loses his family and the Enterprise

When the "TNG"   crew gets on the big screen for the first time in 1994's "Star Trek: Generations," it sadly comes with the death of William Shatner's Captain Kirk. And unfortunately, Jean-Luc Picard suffers some much more personal losses both in the beginning and at the end of the game-changing film. 

Early in "Generations," the Enterprise's empathic counselor Deanna Troi senses something is terribly wrong, and when she finds Captain Picard flipping through a photo album, Jean-Luc reveals he's just received news that his brother Robert and his family have been killed in a fire. We met Robert, his wife Marie, and their son René in the "TNG" Season 4 episode "Family" when Picard visited them in the wake of his assimilation by the Borg. Without a wife or children of his own, the loss has Picard lamenting the likelihood that he'll be the last one in his family line.

By the end of the movie, Picard loses the Enterprise   itself. The ship barely survives a battle with a Klingon Bird of Prey run by the villainous sisters Lursa and B'Etor. The crew evacuates to the ship's saucer section, which crashes on the surface of Veridian III. Thankfully, as Picard predicts, the  Enterprise -D won't be the last ship to carry the name Enterprise. 

We last see Picard on the big screen in Nemesis

After "Generations," Starfleet builds the Enterprise-E. Then the crew once again confronts the Borg in 1996's "Star Trek: First Contact ,"  and they stop a race of benevolent aliens from being forced from their home in 1998's "Star Trek: Insurrection." The final big screen appearance of Jean-Luc Picard comes with 2002's "Star Trek: Nemesis." The Enterprise   is sent to Romulus to meet the Romulan Empire's new leader, who we soon learn has an unexpected connection to Picard. As it turns out, Praetor Shinzon (played by Tom Hardy ) is a clone of Jean-Luc. The Romulans cloned the captain in hopes of one day replacing him with their own identical agent, but when one of the empire's many power shifts took place, the clone was sent to a labor colony with the enslaved people of Remus. 

Shinzon lures Picard to Romulus because the cloning process that created him is now killing him, and his only potential cure is a complete blood transfusion with Picard. Ultimately, Shinzon's plans to kill Picard and destroy the Federation are foiled, and the clone villain dies fighting his older counterpart. On top of all that, "Nemesis"   includes huge shifts in Picard's life. For example, he loses Riker as his "number one." We learn early in the film that Riker is finally taking the captain's chair on the USS Titan, and his new wife, Deanna Troi, is coming with him. Picard means for Data to replace Riker as his first officer, but the android sacrifices himself to save his friends in the final battle.

Attack on Mars

Later in his career, Picard leaves command of the Enterprise-E and is promoted to admiral. Soon Picard sets out on a monumental mission — overseeing the evacuation of Romulus, which is under threat from an impending supernova. At his side is Lt. Commander Raffi Musiker, and the two prepare to scramble a massive fleet to relocate the population of the twin Romulan home worlds. This fleet is being assembled at the Utopia Planitia Shipyards with a workforce of mostly android Synths.

In a shocking turn of events, however, a plot masterminded by Romulan splinter group orchestrates a Synth uprising in a historical attack on Mars that destroys the entire Romulan Rescue Armada. Though Picard manages to get some Romulan refugees moved to the planet Vashti, the destruction of the fleet leaves his relocation plan in tatters and results in a ban on synthetic lifeforms. Desperate to fulfill his promise to rescue the Romulan people, Picard makes a plea to Starfleet to assemble a ragtag fleet of formerly mothballed ships, even threatening to resign if they refuse. In a shocking twist, however, Starfleet command accepts his resignation. 

Now haunted by his failures and unable to muster the same kind of respect he had in his prime, Picard leaves Starfleet life behind and goes into seclusion at his vineyard in La Barre, France. There he relocates a number of Romulan refugees personally, including former Tal Shiar agents Laris and Zhaban, a married couple who he remains close with.

Out of retirement

Trekkies were surprised when they tuned in to "Star Trek: Picard" for the first time; instead of the bold, commanding captain they recalled from "TNG," they saw a dreary, tired old man. Following his failure to save Romulus, Picard spends more than a decade living a mostly solitary life with infrequent visits with old friends from his days on the Enterprise and the Stargazer. But his quiet life in France is upended by the arrival of a young woman named Dahj, who appears to be the spitting image of his old friend, the android Data, and she's being hunted by mysterious unknown forces. 

As it turns out, Dahj is actually a synthetic life form, and she may be the key to stopping an emerging galactic threat. Without the clout he had in his heyday, Picard is forced to recruit a new crew, which includes Dr. Agnes Jurati, rogue pilot Cristóbal Rios, a young Romulan monk named Elnor, and his old friend Raffi Musiker, on a mission to unravel a conspiracy and stop a cosmic cataclysm. After making several other stops, he eventually makes his way to the Borg Reclamation Project, where Picard is reunited with the former Borg drone named Hugh who's taken it upon himself to assist other Borg to regain their former lives. 

More than just another chance to play hero, Picard's mission also allows him to finally come to terms with the death of Commander Data.

The Zhat Vash gambit

While the story in Season 1 of "Star Trek: Picard" is kicked off by the discovery of Data's daughter, the action is propelled by a mystery involving the Synths and a threat that could wipe out all life in the galaxy. From his Romulan housekeepers, Picard learns that the threat may involve the Zhat Vash. To get to the bottom of the conspiracy, Picard and the crew of the La Sirena — captained by former Starfleet officer Cristóbal Rios — must go on an unsanctioned mission that makes Picard a rogue agent in an unlikely role reversal.

During the mission, Picard meets Dahj's twin sister Sonji and is reunited with old friends Will Riker and Deanna Troi for the first time in many years. They help get him information regarding the location of a planet called Coppelius. It's there that a new race of synthetic lifeforms is being created, which the Zhat Vash believe pose an existential threat. As the planet comes under attack from a Romulan fleet, Picard gets assistance from Captain Riker — recently reinstated — who commands a Federation fleet to stop them. In the aftermath, Picard successfully convinces Starfleet to lift the ban on synthetic life, allowing Soji and others like them to live in peace.

Another victory for the valiant and noble Jean-Luc Picard, the former Enterprise captain once again saves the galaxy from total annihilation and fights for the freedom of those in need.

Death, rebirth, and return to Starfleet

The end of the first season of "Star Trek: Picard" includes a life-altering change in the story of Jean-Luc Picard, and we mean that as literally as it can possibly be. Because in the aftermath of the Romulan-Federation clash in the skies above Coppelius, Picard finally succumbs to the apparent Irumodic Syndrome that has long-plagued him, and he dies surrounded by his new crew. But on Coppelius, Picard gets a second chance at life, and it all hinges on his old friend Commander Data. 

Because also on Coppelius is Data's human "brother," Altan Soong, who has created a bio-organic golem body. With the help of Jurati, Soong is able to transfer Picard's consciousness into this new golem, which is given the form of Picard's old body. But before he does, Picard's mind is transferred into a simulation module where the consciousness of Data also resides, and his old friend has one final request. Later, Picard enters the simulation again, and says a tearful goodbye as he shuts down Data's program one final time.

Now rejuvenated with a new body, Jean-Luc Picard still has the form of an elderly man but is free of his Irumodic Syndrome. Healthy enough to live decades more, he sets out with a renewed spirit and returns to active Starfleet duty. He's accepted back into the service and appointed to the role of Chancellor of Starfleet Academy.

Q reveals a dark Picard

Just when Jean-Luc thought things are quieting down and his life is returning to normal — he's back in Starfleet and a respected leader again — an old enemy shows up to make trouble. That enemy turns out to be the not-so-immortal Q in Season 2 of "Star Trek: Picard." Much like he has in the past, he arrives to teach Picard a valuable life lesson, and he does it by throwing Picard and his new crew – Rios, Jurati, Raffi, and Seven of Nine — into an alternate timeline where Starfleet is a fascist dictatorship and Picard is their iron-fisted tyrant ruler. 

In this twisted reality, Picard has defeated all of the Confederation's greatest enemies, from Klingon General Martok to Cardassian Gul Dukat, even beheading Sarek, Director of the Vulcan Science Academy. In this dark parallel universe created by altering one thread in the history of humanity, Picard must travel back in time to find where history diverged and set right what once went wrong. To solve the mystery and fix the past, however, Picard needs the help of the Borg Queen. He also has to come face to face with his own history when he meets Renée Picard, a young woman and ancestor of Jean-Luc Picard who also plays a key role in the history of space exploration in the 21st century, and whose mission to Europa is critical to ensuring the Federation's future.

Countering a changeling threat with his old crew

Season 3 of "Star Trek: Picard" was heavily promoted as the reunion of the crew of Picard's old Enterprise, and it's all thanks to an emerging threat from one of the Federation's most deadly foes. After using the USS Titan to come to the rescue of his dear friend and on-again-off-again lover Beverly Crusher — and discovering a son he never knew (but more on that later) — Picard uncovers a conspiracy to infiltrate the Federation, and the mastermind is a vengeful villain named Vadic.

A rogue Changeling who has been kept prisoner by Section 31 following the end of the Dominion War seen on "Deep Space Nine," Vadic is bent on revenge, and seeks Picard's son to achieve it. With the help of the Titan's irascible captain Liam Shaw and his first officer Seven of Nine, they help keep his son safe while the reasons for the pursuit remain unclear. Before all is said and done, however, Picard has reassembled his old crew: the Klingon warrior Worf, engineer Geordi La Forge, and a new version of the android Data.

Bloodlines revealed ... for real this time

Season 3 of "Star Trek: Picard" introduced Ed Speleers as Jack Crusher, the son of Jean-Luc Picard and Beverly Crusher,  whose discovery forever alters Jean-Luc Picard's life. He is the product of a whirlwind romance following the events of "Star Trek: Nemesis," and was hidden from Picard by Dr. Crusher because she feared he might become the target of his father's worst enemies.

To keep him a secret, Dr. Crusher cut off all contact with Jean-Luc and the rest of her old Enterprise shipmates. Alongside his mother, Jack grew up on the edges of the Federation frontier, helping to provide aid and supplies to those in need, but they came under attack from what would later be revealed to be enemy Changeling agents, they were forced to go to Jean-Luc Picard for help.

Incredulous and heartbroken that he had been denied the opportunity to be a father for more than 20 years, Picard nevertheless helps keep Dr. Crusher and Jack safe from their pursuers. With the help of Captain Will Riker, Picard even hijacks the USS Titan to do it, before exposing the Changeling plot. Ultimately, it's revealed that Jack has also inherited a part of Jean-Luc's Borg-assimilated biology and was being used as part of a plan by the Borg Queen to destroy the Federation.

But after Picard makes a heartfelt plea to his son within the Borg collective unconscious, Jack rejects the Borg Queen and the pair thwart her diabolical plans.

‘Star Trek: Picard’ Season 3 Cast and Character Guide (Photos)

Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the Enterprise embark on one final adventure in space

The crew of the “U.S.S. Enterprise” reunites for one final mission in Season 3 of “Star Trek: Picard.”

It marks the first time the entire cast from “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (“TNG”) — Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis, LeVar Burton and Michael Dorn — have reunited on screen since 2002’s “Star Trek Nemesis.”

See what your favorite “TNG” cast members look like now.

Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard

Now retired and residing at his family vineyard, the Starfleet admiral is called into action for one final mission after receiving a distress call from Beverly Crusher.

Aside from Picard, Stewart is best known for playing Professor Charles Xavier in the “X-Men” movie franchise. His character recently crossed over to the MCU, appearing as a member of the Illuminati in “Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness.”

Jonathan Frakes as William Riker

Picard calls upon his former first officer for assistance. Riker, no longer in command of the U.S.S. Titan and needing some time away from his family, jumps at the opportunity.

After “TNG,” Frakes appeared in numerous shows and hosted “Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction.” He’s also a prolific director, with episodes of “Roswell,” “The Librarians,” “Star Trek: Discovery” and even “Picard” under his belt.

Marina Sirtis as Deanna Troi

Troi is the former ship’s counselor and is married to Will Riker. They have a daughter, Kestra. As a half-Betazoid, she is able to read the emotions of others.

Sirtis (and Frakes) voiced lead roles in the animated series “Gargoyles.” She’s appeared in numerous shows in the U.S. and U.K. including “NCIS.” She reprised the role of Troi in Season 1 of “Picard.”

Brent Spiner as TBD

Data, the beloved android who served on board the Enterprise and perished in a battle against the Romulan warlord Shinzon. Whether Spiner is playing Data, his evil brother Lore, or some other being is to be determined.

Although his character Data was killed in “Nemesis,” Spiner has played various characters with familial connections to Data in other “Trek” series and films. He’s also known for playing Dr. Okum in the “Independence Day” films.

Michael Dorn as Worf

Worf is the former Enterprise security chief. Despite being raised by humans, his Klingon heritage imparts a strong sense of honor, particularly in battle.

After “TNG,” Dorn joined the cast of “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.” He’s appeared in more “Trek” shows than any other character. He’s also lent his voice talent to numerous shows.

LeVar Burton as Geordi La Forge

La Forge is the former Enterprise chief engineer. He is currently running the Starfleet museum. He also has two daughters in Starfleet.

Prior to “TNG,” Burton was the beloved host of “Reading Rainbow.” There was a campaign to have him replace Alex Trebek as the host of “Jeopardy,” and he even guest-hosted. Like Frakes, Burton has directed numerous episodes of “Trek” series.

Gates McFadden as Beverly Crusher

Crusher is the former Enterprise chief medical officer. She lost contact with her crewmates but reaches out to them in a time of need. She and Picard had a former romantic relationship that became a close friendship.

McFadden starred in “Marker” and “Mad About You” after her stint on “TNG.” She’s also reprised the role of Dr. Crusher on “Star Trek: Prodigy.”

Jeri Ryan as Annika Hansen/Seven of Nine

After being rescued from the Borg, Seven joined the crew of the U.S.S. Voyager. She later joined the Rangers, a space vigilante group, before re-enlisting in Starfleet. She is currently the first officer on the U.S.S. Titan, where she goes by Annika Hansen, her human name before assimilation.

Ryan wasn’t a part of the “TNG” cast. She joined “Star Trek: Voyager” in 1997. Her character was extremely popular, and she reprised her role in Season 1 of “Picard.” After “Voyager” Ryan starred in “Boston Public.”

Michelle Hurd as Raffaela “Raffi” Musiker

Musiker served with Picard late in his Starfleet career but burned out. She eventually helped him root out Romulan spies. She re-enlisted in Starfleet and joined the U.S.S. Excelsior crew, but has since taken on a special mission.

Hurd is best known for playing Monique Jeffries in “Law and Order: SVU” and Ellen Briggs in “Blindspot.”

Amanda Plummer as Vadic

Very little is known about the villainous Vadic. She captains the warship Shrike and has a grudge against Picard and the Enterprise crew.

Plummer, the daughter of legendary thesp Christopher Plummer, had had a long career on stage and screen. But her most memorable role might be playing “Honey Bunny,” one of the restaurant robbers in “Pulp Fiction.”

Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut as Sidney La Forge

La Forge is the eldest daughter of Geordi La Forge and the helmsman on the U.S.S. Titan.

Chestnut has had recurring roles in “Rap Sh!t” and “NCIS: Los Angeles.”

Todd Stashwick as Liam Shaw

Shaw is the no-nonsense captain of the U.S.S. Titan. He took over command from Will Riker. He previously served on the U.S.S. Constance, one of 40 ships destroyed in the Battle of Wolf 359 against the Borg and an assimilated Picard.

Stashwick is no stranger to the “Trek” universe, having appeared in “Star Trek: Enterprise” as Talok. He appeared in the sci-fi show “12 Monkeys” from 2016-18.

Ed Speleers as Jack Crusher

Speleers’ character is the son of Beverly Crusher and Jean-Luc Picard. He never knew his father while growing up.

Speleers played the title role in the fantasy film “Eragon,” and had a memorable stint playing Jimmy the handsome footman on “Downton Abbey.”

Michelle Forbes as Ro Laren

Ro served aboard the Enterprise as an ensign before defecting to the Maquis. She is back with Starfleet working in the Intelligence division. She is sent to interrogate Picard and Riker for treason.

Forbes previously appeared on “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and “Battlestar Galactica.”

Mica Burton as Ensign Alandra La Forge

Alandra is the youngest daughter of Geordi La Forge who works with her father at the fleet museum. She has an interest in engineering.

Burton is the real-life daughter of castmember LeVar Burton.

Daniel Davis as Moriarty

Moriarity was a hologram created to be a foil to Data’s Sherlock Holmes. He gained sentience and outwitted the Enterprise crew. Eventually, he was placed in a memory module to continue running but appears to have escaped his program.

Davis is best known for playing Niles, the sharp-tongued butler on “The Nanny.”

Tim Russ as Tuvok (doppleganger)

Tuvok was the former security officer aboard the U.S.S. Voyager. Seven of Nine turns to her former crewmate for information about the kidnapped Captain Riker.

Elizabeth Dennehy as Elizabeth Shelby

Admiral Shelby is the commander-in-chief of the U.S.S. Enterprise F during the Frontier Day celebration. She previously served aboard the Enterprise D during the Federation’s earlier encounter with The Borg.

For Patrick Stewart, Jean-Luc Picard is ‘the biggest thing that’s ever happened to me’

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As the august space voyager Jean-Luc Picard, Patrick Stewart commanded the Starship Enterprise on and off across seven seasons of “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” four feature films, and, after a two-decade pause, three seasons of “Picard.” It’s a role he took only because he was assured by confidants that “The Next Generation,” which required a six-year contract, wouldn’t run a year, freeing him to return to England and the theater.

The final season of “ Picard ,” which concludes Thursday on Paramount+ , brings down the curtain on the character and, in bringing back most of the original show’s cast, “The Next Generation” saga as well. I spoke with Stewart, 82, a genial, funny, casually dapper gent, at the home he shares with his wife, singer Sunny Ozell — an old Spanish-style house on a leafy Los Angeles street, purchased just before the pandemic. (“I never thought I’d live in a house that had archways everywhere — no doors!” He counted six from where we were sitting.) Stewart had watched the finale that morning, and he had thoughts and more.

Did you fall in love with Shakespeare before you decided to become an actor?

No. Because “fall in love” doesn’t fit my experience. But something happened, and it happened the first time I held a copy of Shakespeare in my hand and read aloud. And that was because of an English teacher, Cecil Dormand; he had that wonderful ability of being intense and serious about the work and also entertaining and comical at times.

And one day he went around our classroom, dropping a little thin book onto [our desks] and said, “Right, ‘Merchant of Venice.’ This is William Shakespeare, and you’re reading so and so,” and finally, “Patrick, you’re reading Shylock. OK, Act 4, Scene 1 — you know, who you’re playing, start reading it.” So we all went [mimes students reading silently], and he said, “Not to yourselves, you idiots. This is life, it’s drama. It’s the real world. Aloud!” And I had a big speech — it’s the trial scene — I didn’t know what the hell I was saying. There were words I’d never encountered before. I didn’t understand it, but there was something that made my breathing deeper. I can only remember the physical sensation because I was 12 — it wasn’t comprehension, I just felt weight in myself, which I hadn’t felt before. And I was hooked.

Tell me about Murph Swander.

Murph Swander ! His real name was Homer. Homer D. Swander. In one sense, he’s why this huge event happened in my career and life. Murph came knocking on my dressing room at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, in Stratford-on-Avon. He was standing there with a bottle of malt whiskey in his hand, and he introduced himself and said, “I’m here with a group of young people from California and we’re coming to see your show tonight and we’d love you to come talk to us tomorrow.” I said, “I’m sorry, I don’t do that. My work is what I do onstage, not talking about it.” And he said, “Well, it would give the students a lot of pleasure if you came, and by the way, this is for you.” I couldn’t afford to drink single malt whiskey in those days, so I said, “All right. Ten o’clock tomorrow morning.” And I talked for the whole hour without taking a breath.

Jumping forward many years, he set up a sort of institution which was run by Murph and myself and another actor, may he rest in peace, called Tony Church, and we went to Santa Barbara [where Swander taught] and did a week of classes, and we’d go to UCLA and up to Santa Cruz — it was mostly the University of California circuit. I got to know some of the teachers very well. And one of them, professor David Rodes, a specialist in Shakespeare at UCLA, called me one day and said, “I’m giving a public lecture on campus, and if you wouldn’t mind reading some passages to illustrate it, I thought it would be great.” So I said, “Sure, of course.” And he said, “There’s $100 in it for you.” “Wow, yes, I’ll do that.”

So I did, and the next morning, I got a call from a man who told me he was my agent — I’d never met him, never talked to him before, but he was my agent in California — and he said, “I’ve got two questions for you. What the hell were you doing at UCLA last night and why would Gene Roddenberry want to see you this morning?” And I said, “Jean who? I don’t know her.” And he told me who Gene Roddenberry was.

What were your first impressions of him?

Impressions ... not good. What I learned many months later was that one of the producers of this new series, which I’d never heard of —

You’d never heard of “Star Trek” at all?

I may have heard of it. When my children were young, I used to race home from the theater in Stratford after the matinee so I could help with their supper and read them a story before racing back to do an evening performance. And they’d watch this show, which I used to occasionally see when I came home on Saturday afternoon, these guys wearing different color T-shirts. That’s all I knew.

So I was told that it was a new “Star Trek” series , and I went to Gene Roddenberry’s house and was greeted at the door by this man, Robert Justman, who had been at the university the previous night and had called Gene Roddenberry and said, “I think we found an actor we’ve got to have in the show.” When I arrived, there were two other men there, besides Gene and Robert, and nobody asked me sit down. We talked for about 10 minutes standing up, and then Gene said, “Thanks for coming over,” and goodbye. And I was back on the street, and I thought, “Bloody hell, what the heck was that about?”

Yes, Hollywood. So I called my agent and told him and he said, “Well, it’s funny you should say that because we’ve had another call and they want to see you again. “

Were there things that attracted you to the show, other than that it was work?

Nnnnnope . It was a style of work I never associated with, or even particularly watched when I was younger. Sci-fi didn’t have any interest for me. What was of interest was that it was on camera, it was in California, it was in Hollywood. My agent took me out to lunch and said, “I’ve got to walk you through the deal.” And when he told me some of the details I was totally disbelieving, what my salary per episode would be — incomprehensible. I couldn’t imagine that, nor indeed had I ever wanted it. I just loved the work I was doing, [playing] Shakespeare and other great dramatists.

Was there a point where it became emotionally satisfying, more than just a job?

It took a long time. I worked very, very hard. I wanted to do good work because I thought this might be my passport to Hollywood. Well, seven years later, we wrapped the series and then we did four movies. It was the biggest thing that’s ever happened to me.

More for better than for worse.

Unquestionably.

How different was it playing Picard in “Picard” ?

Oh, so different. I turned it down at first. And then I thought about the offer and decided I would do it, but I made two conditions. I didn’t want to wear a uniform, and it must not be a series that is fundamentally a sentimental reunion of “The Next Generation.” And they agreed to that. And I think the first “Next Generation” character who came on the show was Jonathan Frakes [as Will Riker] and then in Season 2, Marina Sirtis, who played Counselor Troi, was also in it. And to my great pleasure, I enjoyed having them back on the soundstage. We’ve all aged, all of us. I mean, Michael Dorn [who plays Worf], whose hair is white! And Jonathan with his grizzled gray beard. And me, of course, with my hollowed cheeks and exhausted appearance.

I think it was [producer] Alex Kurtzman who said, “Look, 20 years have passed, and in those 20 years, surely a lot has happened to you, Patrick. I know enough about your life to know there have been upheavals and changes. Surely, the same has happened to Jean-Luc Picard. What might those things be?” Well, I actually invented a whole story about those missing years; this may sound a little pretentious, but to create that past, which I assume will never, ever be known, was very intimate, and it influenced me when we began shooting “Picard.” Because I knew he had needs, longings, desires that were not being fulfilled. Disappointment that things had not gone the way he had hoped. Loneliness. Separation from these people he had loved and admired.

There are moments when I look at scenes in “Picard” and think, “Poor guy, [laughing] he looks terrible. He’s having such a bad time.” That wasn’t my intention, but that was what was being communicated. Anxiety, stress, irritation. I never yelled as Picard — I mean, I may have done — “ The line must be drawn here! ” [pronounced “hee-yah,” much-memed dialogue from the film “ Star Trek: First Contact ”], for which I was made fun of for decades. Actually, there was one like it in the last episode, and I thought, “At least, because there aren’t any more episodes, nobody will be making fun of me.” We made fun of one another a lot.

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Were there any kinds of scenes you particularly enjoyed or didn’t enjoy playing?

I have to admit that when we got into Season 5, 6 and 7 [of “The Next Generation”], there were days I wished I could be doing something different — when you do 178 episodes there’s bound to be repetition. And there were some things about “Picard” I was uncomfortable with, when I thought it was nudging its way toward being a reunion show. But there were not many. And the way the show has been directed, and lit, and staged, it’s so impressive. So many times I feel I’m watching a movie and not a TV series.

I looked forward to those scenes where Picard was not just anxious but actually frightened. Or confused. Or not knowing what to do. I got great satisfaction out of playing those things, because they allowed me to investigate, and release, aspects of Jean-Luc that had really never appeared in “Next Generation.”

What do you think you brought to the character that wasn’t necessarily on the page?

Well, I very quickly came to understand that “ Star Trek ” was not naturalistic television. And there was a sort of formality about being the captain. I was the captain of a starship, and I sat in the center seat, and I had assistants on either side of me and people running the ship down there in front, and it very much reminded me of numerous Shakespearean situations I’d been in onstage. And I thought, “That’s how I should regard this role, as if it were ‘Henry IV,’” which is about brave men. And very quickly I got to know the cast.

Does that family of actors reflect on the family of characters?

I think so, yes. Your use of the word family is in fact very accurate. That is what we became. If you add Whoopi Goldberg, who joined us in the second season, and John de Lancie, who came in as Q. We became so close, and that’s grown over the years.

Last night, I watched Episode 9of Season 3, and this morning, I watched the final episode. There had been a little conflict about how it should end, and the script we held when we started shooting had an ending I was thrilled by — I thought it was absolutely perfect — I can’t tell you what it was — and then when we were shooting, a problem occurred. It was the last day and, oh, it was getting so late and we had so much to do. And I said, “We can pick that up anytime, it’s only me involved.” We never did it. So the ending I loved was never filmed. Instead, it was one I wasn’t happy about — until this morning.

Until you saw it.

The impact that the final episode had on me was unexpected and almost overwhelming. When it finally finished, I had to call out for my wife and go give her a hug because I felt so deeply connected with what I’d watched.

The way the series ends is wonderful. And I so badly thought it was totally wrong when we shot it. But the director and producers, in particular Terry Matalas, who directed it, his instinct was absolutely right, and my instinct was only protective, whereas he was going deeper into what made me feel this morning the whole effect it had on my life and career, this show. And I promise you, if you’d come to see me at half past 8 this morning, you would have found me in my wife’s arms, wiping away the tears.

It has the necessary elements: a bar, Shakespeare and poker.

But it has something else, doesn’t it? It has feelings.

‘Star Trek: Picard’

Where: Paramount+ When: Any time Rating: TV-14 (may be unsuitable for children under age 14)

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10 best Star Trek moments from Patrick Stewart's Jean-Luc Picard

Picard is back!

Fighter. Diplomat. Tea lover. Tea spiller. Poet. Commander. This is Patrick Stewart's Jean-Luc Picard, Captain of the Enterprise in Star Trek: The Next Generation . And he's back! Stewart will return in the Trek universe as his legendary character in a brand new series for CBS All Access . What makes him so iconic? What makes him stand out from the other commanders to grace the small screen? From man-in-tights Picard to Borg slayer to intergalactic peace keeper, delve into Picard's past to predict what might become of Picard's future.

"Q-Pid"

Q wants to know what love is so he transports Picard and Vash into a Robin Hood-esque scenario to watch the captain save his gal. Alter-ego Picards are the most entertaining Picards.

"Menage a Troi"

Speaking of love, Lwaxana Troi, Picard's official stalker, wants a ride in the captain's seat. Picard is definitely not interested, but he sets aside his lack of enthusiasm to save Lwaxana when she's kidnapped by Ferengi DaiMon Tog. You see, she was playing hard to get and was refusing to come back to the Enterprise. So Picard throws out his best Shakespearean love lines to win back her heart.

"The Best of Both Worlds"

Picard lives the borg life in "The Best of Both Worlds, Part I" and "Part II." Well, technically it's Locutus, but still. When the Borg race invades the Federation space, they kidnap Picard to make him one of their own, erasing a symbol of humanity's best parts. From the single tear dripping down the face of a seemingly gone Picard to Picard struggling to tell Data "sleep," the goodness in the commander remained intact.

Star Trek: First Contact

Once again, Starfleet grapples with the Borg. Once again, it seems like the villains might prevail. When Lily Sloane pushes Picard to the edge of his patience to blow up the ship, he gives a passionate reply: "They invade our space and we fall back. They decimate entire worlds and we fall back. Not again. The line must be drawn here."

"Tapestry"

If Picard had to redo his entire history, he wouldn't change a thing. He learned that lesson after getting stabbed in the heart and seeing a heavenly vision of how his life would've been if he played it safe. Picard would rather get stabbed in the heart again than embrace a menial existence.

"Chain of Command"

"There are four lights!" When you get captured by the Cardassians and tortured for information with no hope in sight, never forget this line from Picard's moving speech.

"The Drumhead"

In another moment that resulted in a famous Picard meme, he faced McCarthy-esque villain Norah Satie with great gusto. On trial as the admiral fell into xenophobia in an investigation of potential sabotage, Picard spoke these words: "The first time any man's freedom is trodden on, they're all damaged." Hmm. If only there was some real-world equivalent this applies to.

"Starship Mine"

Don't let Picard's love of tea fool you. This commander can kick some serious butt. He demonstrated his skills by single-handedly taking out a band of thieves infiltrating the ship.

"The Inner Light"

After being taken over by an alien probe, Picard wakes as a Kamin, a resident of the planet Kataan. During a simulation, he lives through the last days of his home world’s existence in a 20-minute span, giving us this image of Stewart playing a flute.

"Darmok"

Universal translators can only go so far. When Starfleet encounters a new alien civilization and their metaphorical speak confounds even their language translators, Picard must connect with the Tamarians, being to being.

Related Articles

The 10 Best Jean-Luc Picard Episodes on 'Star Trek,' Ranked

"We have powerful tools: Openness, optimism and the spirit of curiosity."

Star Trek fans know their captains, and everyone has a favorite who is ready to go boldly where no one has gone before. Jean-Luc Picard, played by Sir Patrick Stewart , is considered to be one of the best and most beloved captains in Star Trek . Stewart first appeared in the pilot episode of Star Trek: Next Generation , “Encounter at Farpoint” and, more recently, has reprised his role in Star Trek: Picard .

Picard’s journey as Captain of the Enterprise, and his eventual promotion to Starfleet Admiral, is full of twists and turns as he navigates everything from his assimilation by the Borg to long-lost love. The best episodes make Jean-Luc come to terms with (and sometimes ignore) his emotions, which provides Star Trek fans with insight into how complex he is as a character. In most of Picard’s best episodes, his identity as a Starfleet captain becomes secondary, and they explore who he is as a person.

10 "The Impossible Box"

'star trek: picard' s.1, ep.6.

In "The Impossible Box," directed by Maja Vrvilo, Picard and the Enterprise crew head to a “retired” Borg Cube run by Cardassians. Jean-Luc is hesitant to board the cube due to his traumatic encounters with the Borg. He tries to push away those feelings as he is set on meeting with Hugh, a friend who happens to be a former borg. Picard boards the Borg cube alone and instantly is overwhelmed by memories of his assimilation. His emotional state becomes somewhat calmer after he learns about Hugh’s plans for the Borg Reclamation Project . Hugh proposes to Picard that he should become an advocate for Borg rights.

This episode provides Star Trek fans with a look at Picard, who still hasn’t yet processed what he did and experienced under Borg control. Even after all of those years, the only Borg that Jean-Luc trusts is Hugh. Picard’s attitude towards the Borg shifts when he realizes that not all of them are seeking to assimilate everyone.

Star Trek: Picard

WATCH ON PARAMOUNT+

9 "We’ll Always Have Paris"

'star trek: the next generation' s.1, ep.24.

Captain Picard and the Enterprise crew’s shore leave is interrupted by the occurrence of a time loop. They receive a distress call from a scientist, Dr. Paul Manheim ( Rod Loomis ), who is well-known for his work related to time theory. Counselor Deanna Troi ( Marina Sirtis ) senses that Picard is feeling emotional, but he tells Troi that he is fine. Henry goes to the hologram for some unsuccessful therapy. It turns out that the wife of Paul, Jenice ( Michelle Phillips ), is an old flame of Picard’s. Picard had stood up Jenice while they were in Paris. He puts his feelings aside to help Dr. Manheim, but he finds it to be challenging.

There have been quite a few cases where Star Trek fans witnessed Captain Picard falling in love. However, this particular romance shows a different side of Picard. He is haunted by this lost love and wishes deep down that things would have turned out differently with Jenice. There is definitely romantic tension between Jenice and Picard, but this episode wouldn’t be anything without Dr. Crusher pouring out her feelings about Jean-Luc to Troi. While Picard isn’t present in this crucial scene, fans get to see how the two most prominent women in his life see him.

Star Trek: The Next Generation

8 "q who", 'star trek: the next generation' s.2, ep.16.

Q ( John de Lancie ) sends the Enterprise crew straight into unknown territory. Guinan ( Whoopi Goldberg ), a close confidant of Picard, warns Jean-Luc to return to Federation territory. However, Picard only listens to the pull of exploration. The Enterprise faces off with the Borg. The result is many crew deaths and the ship being close to destruction. Despite all of this, Picard refuses Q’s help until he is out of options. Q transports the Enterprise back home. Jean-Luc is left to deal with his losses and prepare for future Borg encounters.

Picard is usually fine with letting his crew help him, but not so much when it comes to Q. As a Starfleet captain, Jean-Luc can be overconfident. However, in this episode, Star Trek fans watch as Captain Picard lets his ego get in his way, and he does not want to ask Q for help to get out of the situation with the Borg. Picard does not even listen to Guinan because he usually thinks very highly of her advice. Picard's ego is very bruised from his confrontation with the Borg, but he does learn that being a risk-taker sometimes doesn't provide him with the best results. This is an interesting character arc that Jean-Luc goes through, and it sets the foundation for his tumultuous relationship with the Borg.

7 "Devil’s Due"

'star trek: the next generation' s.4, ep.13.

The Enterprise gets a distress call from Dr. Howard Clarke, played by Paul Lambert , about a planet called Ventax II. The scientist tells Picard and his crew that the people on this planet are thinking that their world is going to end soon. Jean-Luc along with Data ( Brent Spiner ) and a few other officers, meet with Jared ( Marcelo Tubert ), who is a Ventaxian leader, to discuss their beliefs around Andra. Suddenly, Adra ( Marta DuBois ) herself appears and offers up a contract. Picard starts to suspect that Andra is a con artist. Picard, Data, Jared, and Adra hold an arbitration hearing, and Picard defends the Ventaxian people. It turns out that Picard's instincts are right, and Adra is really a con artist. The contract becomes voided, and Ventax II is saved.

It's not often that fans get to see Captain Picard go to court for a planet. He becomes a hero to the Ventaxian people for saving them from the clutches of "Adra." Jean-Luc is very humble about his role in stopping Adra. After all, he didn't do it alone, and he teamed up, for the most part, with Data to discredit Adra. He forgoes his ego and gives the people of Ventax II credit for saving themselves. It's refreshing to see Jean-Luc go to bat for those who are vulnerable.

6 "The Emissary"

'star trek: the next generation' s.2, ep.20.

The Enterprise receives a classified mission to help out the Klingons. An emissary named K'Ehleyr ( Suzie Plakson ), a former lover of Worf ( Michael Dorn ), arrives and informs the crew that a Klingon ship is in a "sleep state," which means the Klingons on that ship don't know that the war with the Federation is over. K'Ehleyr wants to destroy the ship, but Picard doesn't want to. She wants them to die in battle. Picard encourages Worf to work with K'Ehleyr; however, this only leads to tension between the two. Ultimately, Worf comes up with a plan where he and K'Ehleyr disguise themselves as Klingon commanders and inform them that the war is over.

While this episode might be considered to be more Worf-centric, this is also a Jean-Luc episode. Picard pushes against what K'Ehleyr says because he is firm in his beliefs and his duty as a Starfleet captain. He doesn't want to kill innocent Klingons, even if they might fight back. This is one of the big reasons why Captain Picard is one of the most complex characters in the Star Trek universe. Yes, Jean-Luc loves taking risks, but he knows when something is too risky.

5 "Tapestry"

'star trek: the next generation' s.6, ep.15.

Picard gets shot by a terrorist and becomes unconscious. When Jean-Luc "wakes" up, he is greeted by Q, who says that he is dead because his artificial heart couldn't take the weapon. Picard says that he regrets his past actions of starting a bar fight as a young officer. During the fight, Jean-Luc was stabbed in his heart and had to get it replaced with an artificial one. Q transports Picard back in time and Jean-Luc prevents the bar fight from happening. He is taken back to the present, where he is no longer a Starfleet captain. Picard realizes that the risk he took during the fight made him the person that he was. With help from Q, Jean-Luc relives the bar fight as it originally was, and then he wakes back up on the Enterprise as a captain.

Star Trek fans know Jean-Luc as a risk-tasker, and it is fascinating to see how Picard's life would have been different from the result of one single event. This is yet another instance of Q providing Picard with a valuable life lesson, whether Jean-Luc knows it or not. If this "dream" had not happened, then Picard would have been afraid to take risks, and that would have prevented him from growing to become the captain that fans know and love.

4 "The Star Gazer"

'star trek: picard' s.2 ep.1.

Picard is getting used to his new body . He relaxes at his family home in France with Laris (Orla Brady). Both Laris and Picard want a romance, but the two stay distant from each other. He thinks about his relationship with his parents, and how his mother and father fought a lot. A mystery around a signal reunites Picard with new and old friends. They eventually make contact, and the Borg unexpectedly appear, and they seem to be asking to make peace. Jean-Luc self-destructs the ship. When he wakes up, he is face to face with Q.

There's so much going on in this very Picard-centric episode, and poor Jean-Luc gets a lot of challenges thrown his way all at once. Not only is Picard processing his "rebirth," he is also trying to live his best life after being a captain for such a long time. He is having a bit of an identity crisis and revisiting traumatic childhood memories on top of all of this. Picard's mother encouraged him to look at the stars, and Jean-Luc certainly couldn't look away from them. He becomes a Starfleet Admiral and continues to, unfortunately, ignore his life beyond his work. In this episode, Star Trek fans might at first be under the impression that Jean-Luc is set for "retirement," but this captain doesn't want to stop exploring, which is one of his most admirable personality traits. Another bonus in this episode is that fans witness the reunion of Q and Picard – a reliable formula for a great episode.

3 "Family"

'star trek: the next generation' s.4, ep.2.

Gene Roddenberry wasn't a big fan of this episode , but fans love this one because they actually get to know Picard's family. Picard visits his brother Robert ( Jeremy Kemp ), sister-in-law, and nephew René ( David Birkin ) in France. Jean-Luc is trying to recover from being assimilated by the Borg. He is reconsidering his career as a Starfleet captain. Jean-Luc and Robert get into a big argument with each other. They fight in the mud! Picard confesses that he feels that he has lost his humanity after being assimilated by the Borg. However, the fight results in them becoming closer together, and the two brothers bond over laughter and wine.

Patrick Stewart's acting is always remarkable, and in this episode, he digs deep into who Picard is with and without his family. That emotional scene where Jean-Luc breaks down is so intense and provides a glimpse into how he is processing what he is going through.

2 "Chain of Command, Part II"

'star trek: the next generation' s.6, ep.11.

In a previous episode, Picard is captured as a prisoner after a covert mission goes array. Picard is tortured by Gul Madred ( David Warner ), a Cardassian. Madred tries different methods to try to get Jean-Luc to talk, but Picard refuses to give him any information. The Cardassians are not able to successfully get Minos Korva, and are forced to retreat. Madred continues to torture Picard for information and lies to him about the Enterprise being destroyed. He wants Jean-Luc to admit that there are five lights instead of four. However, Madred's plan is ruined by one of his henchmen, and Picard is rescued.

This episode, like part one, deals with a lot of heavy topics like torture, which makes it hard to watch. Partick Stewart gives a heart-wrenching performance as a tortured Jean-Luc. Picard becomes almost broken to the point of no return, and that is scary. It's frightening to see a hero like Jean-Luc having to endure such pain. It is definitely one of those episodes that leaves fans on the edge of their seats hoping that Picard will be saved.

1 "The Inner Light"

'star trek: the next generation' s.5, ep.25.

Picard is knocked unconscious by a beam of light, and is transported into the body of another man named Kamin, who lives on a planet called Kattan. Picard falls in love, gets married, has children, and even learns to play the flute. He lives Kamin's life to its fullest. However, there are some signs that the planet Kamin calls home isn't doing well. There are signs of drought and a supernova set to destroy the planet. The citizens of Kattan store their memories in a rocket. After Picard wakes up, he realizes that he was experiencing Kamin's memories.

This is one of the best Jean-Luc Picard episodes, and it has been declared as Star Trek' s Magnus Opus . Both critics and fans love this one because it shows Picard outside his role as captain. This is the life that Picard would have had if he hadn't become a risk-tasking Starfleet captain.

NEXT: These Star Trek Episodes Were Banned in the U.K. for Almost 20 Years

Star Trek: Picard's final trailer features the Enterprise's return

Stream Picard starting this week

The almost two-decade wait for Patrick Stewart to reprise his role as Jean-Luc Picard is nearly over, and CBS has released one more extended trailer for Star Trek : Picard ahead of the show's streaming debut on January 23 (January 24 internationally). 

You'll be able to spot the Enterprise-D in a brief shot – the ship was previously destroyed in 1994's Star Trek: Generations, and replaced by the Enterprise-E in subsequent spin-off movies based on the Next Generation TV series. The trailer ends with a glimpse of Brent Spiner reprising his role as Data. Check it out: 

“The past is written, but the future is left for us to write.”#StarTrekPicard #StarTrek https://t.co/jK2ZP2U1Id pic.twitter.com/NTBGsDuhPY January 19, 2020

• Why now is the perfect time for Star Trek: Picard
• How to watch Star Trek: Picard online
• Star Trek: Picard episode 1 recap

Picard returns

Picking up 18 years after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis, Star Trek: Picard brings Jean-Luc Picard out of retirement after a young girl seeks his help. It apparently took a lot of convincing to get Stewart to return to the role, and this show looks like a very different proposition to TNG. It's more in line with the high-budget modern drama feel of Star Trek: Discovery, and the producers are no doubt hoping that people other than TNG diehards will check it out. 

TNG fans will have more than just cameos from the Enterprise-D and Data to enjoy: Jeri Ryan reprises her role as Seven of Nine from Star Trek: Voyager, as seen in the trailer above, while Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis return as Riker and Troi. Star Trek: Picard season 2 has already been confirmed, which demonstrates some confidence in this show. 

If you're in the US, Star Trek: Picard is exclusively available on CBS All Access from January 23, while all other international territories will be able to watch it on Amazon Prime Video starting on January 24.

Thanks, CBR . 

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How Star Trek: Picard Pulled Off Jean-Luc's Journey Into The Borg Hive Mind

Throughout the third season of "Star Trek: Picard," a mystery was afoot. A vicious cadre of vengeful Changelings had broken into a Starfleet black site and absconded with the dead body of Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart). One might recall that the first season of "Picard" ended with the title character dying, and his consciousness being shunted into an android golem. The dead biological body had a mysterious illness in its brain that the Changelings intended to use for nefarious purposes. The mysterious illness was also connected to Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers), Picard's adult son who seemed to be manifesting psychic X-Men powers. 

The reveal in the penultimate episode of the show was that Picard's mysterious brain illness was not a disease at all, but a gene left behind by the Borg when he was briefly assimilated into their collective decades ago. The gene manifested in Jack as psychic superpowers, and allowed the Borg to "call" to him and suck him into their fold. The gene was also implanted into hundreds of Starfleet transporters, effectively assimilating anyone who used them. The final episode featured an assimilated Jack doing the Borg's dirty work, and an assimilated fleet of Starfleet vessels attacking Earth. 

The only way to save the day was for the 110-year-old Picard to meet the Borg-ified Jack in person, plug his brain into the Borg hive mind, and communicate with his son in a mysterious interdimensional psychic space. While in said pocket dimension, Picard weeps that he loves his son, and Jack weeps that he loves his dad, everything is cleared up with the power of love, and Jack — also Earth — is rescued. 

In a recent interview with Awards Radar , "Picard" editor Drew Nichols explained that he needed to invent what the Borg subliminal space looked like. 

The Borg dreamspace

Despite multiple assimilations throughout the "Star Trek" timeline, and many elaborate descriptions of how horrible it felt. No Trek show had ever really visualized a dream-like first-person perspective of what it was like inside the hive mind. "Star Trek: Discovery" recently featured a psychic dreamspace between a Trill and their lover, and "Picard" featured a similar dreamspace shared by Data (Brent Spiner) and his evil twin Lore, so it was high time for Picard to try. 

Nichols was tasked by showrunner Terry Matalas with what the assimilation rescue might look like, and he immediately began mentally accruing Borg moments from older Trek shows hoping to construct a montage.

"One of the cooler things I think, was probably in the finale, where Jean-Luc goes back into the Borg cube. He plugs himself back into the collective to go rescue his son. And that was in the script. Terry was like, 'We got to see this journey.' What's it like going into the Collective? So it was just a question that he put out there. And he's like, 'Why don't you just try to figure something out?' So me and my assistant editor, Justin Block, we pored through some of the shows and the movies to see if there's anything with Locutus that we could possibly use, and some stock footage bits." 

Locutus was Picard's name when he was assimilated. The Locutus story appeared in the two-part "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode "The Best of Both Worlds." Picard also experienced flashbacks to being locutus in the 1996 feature film "Star Trek: First Contact." That was plenty for Nichols and Block to start with. 

Inside the Collective

Nichols visualized the psychic interior of the Borg Collective to look like a manufactured simulation, pumped directly into a drone's mind. While in there, the drone doesn't appear to be Borg-ified, and can still communicate with other Borgs in their original, pre-assimilated state. In the final in-Borg scene, Picard and Jack converse in an open, black space, surrounded by massive, eerie, green lights. The lights appeared to represent Borg neurons and thought patterns. 

Nichols liked the look, and he used the word "cool" multiple times. He also edited together a lot of old Locutus footage, as well as a great deal of vintage Borg sound effects from older "Star Trek" episodes. Also of note: the Borg played a large part in "Star Trek: Voyager," so there was more than just the specific Locutus appearances that Nichols could draw from. He said: 

"So that was fun. And kind of, you know, crazy, because again, I had kind of no directive beyond just 'make it cool'. We're going into the Borg Collective. And then we're in the Borg Collective, which again, we've never really seen before, what's that like to be in a simulation? It was through some bits from 'First Contact,' and some stock footage and some clever sound design stuff that Dustin and our sound design team did. And I think it turned out kind of really cool."

After the rescue, Jack went off to Starfleet Academy, the Borg were all blown up, the assimilated were cured, and Picard got to have a drink with his buddies. Farewell, Jean-Luc. We shall ne'er see your like again.

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Jean-Luc Picard

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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! .

• 1.1 Early Life
• 1.3 The Best of Both Worlds, Part I-II
• 1.5 Unification
• 1.6 Chain of Command
• 1.7 Star Trek: Picard
• 1.9 First Splinter Timeline
• 5 Navigation

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

• 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: Picard and other productions, especially as it related to Picard and fellow officers.

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Jean-Luc Picard

• View history
• 1.1 Early life
• 1.2 Starfleet Academy
• 1.3 Early career
• 1.4.1 First tests of command
• 1.4.2 A seasoned captain
• 1.4.3 The Battle of Maxia
• 1.5 Interim years
• 1.6.4.1 Mirror universe problems
• 1.7.1 Old loyalties
• 1.7.2 Making first contact
• 1.7.3 Collapse of the Thallonian Empire
• 1.7.4.1 Behind enemy lines
• 1.7.4.2 The Return of Q
• 1.7.4.3 Gorn Crisis
• 1.7.4.4 The Battle of Betazed
• 1.7.4.5 Insurrection
• 1.7.4.6 The Battle of Ricktor Prime and Gul Madred
• 1.7.4.7 The Raid on San Francisco
• 1.7.5.1 Mission to Gemworld
• 1.7.5.2 Dead zones
• 1.7.5.3 Badlands mission and Jem'Hadar attack on DS9
• 1.7.5.4 Gateway crisis
• 1.7.5.5 Return of the Borg
• 1.7.5.6 Genesis wave
• 1.7.5.7 Strange bedfellows
• 1.7.6.1 Incident at Rashanar
• 1.7.6.2 The Dokaalan
• 1.7.6.3 The Bader and Dorset
• 1.7.6.4 Tezwa
• 1.7.6.5 Redemption
• 1.7.6.6 The Borg time wave
• 1.7.7 Shinzon
• 1.7.8 Confrontation with T'Uerell
• 1.7.9 Recruiting the hazard team
• 1.8.1 Ambassador Picard
• 1.9.1 Mystery of the Zhat Vash
• 2 Personal life
• 3 Alternate realities
• 4 Starfleet service record
• 6.1 Connections
• 6.2 Background
• 6.3.1 Appearances
• 6.4 External links

Biography [ ]

Early life [ ].

Jean-Luc Picard, the second son of Maurice Picard and Yvette Gessard Picard , was born in La Barre , France , on Earth on 13 July , 2305 . ( TNG episodes : " Conundrum ", " Family ", " Chain of Command ")

He adored his troubled mother Yvette, who would steep tea to the robust flavor which he continued to savor as an adult. ( PIC season 2 [ citation needed ] )

His aunt Adele also left an impression on his taste in the beverage . From an early age, Jean-Luc and his elder brother Robert Picard fought constantly, but shared friends such as Louis Blanchard and Claude . ( TNG episodes : " Where No One Has Gone Before ", " Family ", " Ensign Ro ", " Schisms "; TNG comic : " The Gift "; TNG novel : Perchance to Dream )

In addition to tea, Jean-Luc's aunt Adele had several home remedies, such as ginger tea with honey for the common cold , or a milk toddy for insomnia. ( TNG episodes : " Ensign Ro ", " Schisms ", " Cause and Effect ")

Jean-Luc's interest in history and archeology began in 2313 , when he was forced to escape to a small parish church to escape the bullying and torment of his brother. He was so captivated by the church that he wanted to know everything about the building. ( TNG novel : Guises of the Mind )

When he was young, one of Jean-Luc's aunts gave him an astronomy text. Maurice said that it was too advanced for a boy of his age, but the section of color photographs captured his imagination, and Jean-Luc dreamed of being in space "amongst objects of such rare elegance." ( TNG novel : Here There Be Dragons )

As a youth, he auditioned for a school production of Romeo and Juliet in order to get closer to the girl playing Juliet. Though hoping to be cast as Romeo, Jean-Luc ended up playing the role of the nurse. ( TNG novel : Q-in-Law )

Starfleet Academy [ ]

17-year-old Picard resolves to reapply to Starfleet Academy .

Picard first applied for admittance into Starfleet Academy at the age of 17 in 2322 . He failed the entrance exam, due in part to his problem with mathematics. Picard's friend Donald Varley convinced a crestfallen Jean-Luc that he belonged in Starfleet. The following year, Picard passed the exam, and was admitted into the Academy as a cadet . ( TNG comic : " The Noise of Justice ")

In his first year, Jean-Luc was supervised by Cadet First Lieutenant Ivan Gruzinov , and began taking extra math tutoring at Cal Tech in Old Pasadena with Adrienne Tillstrom . Picard also made good friends with Cadets Marta Batanides and Corey Zweller , and some adversaries, including Cadet Morgan Korsmo . He was the top scorer in his marksmanship course. ( TNG episodes : " Coming of Age ", " Tapestry "; TNG novels : Nightshade , Grounded , Vendetta ; TNG comic : " Hidden Agendas! ")

At one point during his Academy career, Picard, along with Zweller, risked possible expulsion and imprisonment for bringing the comatose Batanides to the black-market genetics laboratory on the world Yrskatdon , after discovering that the only known cure for Batanides's Fetal Incompatibility Syndrome was a banned genetic resequencing procedure. ( SA comic : " Judgment "; TNG novel : Rogue )

Picard was an excellent shuttle pilot at Starfleet Academy. ( TNG video game : Echoes from the Past )

In 2324 , Jean-Luc won the 41st Starfleet Academy Marathon against a number of competitors, and became the first freshmen to win the marathon, beating many favorites, including Fergus McLeod and David Gold . ( TNG episode : " The Best of Both Worlds, Part II "; ST short story : " The Footfalls of Tradition "; SCE eBook : The Belly of the Beast )

Picard later credited Ivan Gruzinov as the man who ultimately "drummed him into shape." ( TNG novel : Blaze of Glory )

Ensign Picard enjoys drinks, shortly before being stabbed.

After graduating from Starfleet Academy in 2327 , Ensign Picard and his friends, Batanides and Zweller, awaited their first assignments at Starbase Earhart .

Young Picard stabbed by a Nausicaan.

While on the base, Picard was stabbed through the heart and nearly killed after brawling with three Nausicaans after a game of dom-jot . Picard's friend Anson Peters was also there and was the person who did not panic, getting help and performing first aid. "Jeannie" - as his friends called him - received an artificial heart at the starbase 's medical center. ( TNG episodes : " Samaritan Snare ", " Tapestry ", TNG comic : " Honor Bound! ")

Looking back at his personal Graduation Day photo, Picard thought of himself as a mischievous "damn fool", even though Beverly Crusher said otherwise and that his youth was what made them lifelong friends and not the man he is today. ( TNG movie : Star Trek Nemesis )

On his first shakedown cruise, his department head was Phillip Boom . ( TNG novel : Balance of Power )

Early career [ ]

After a few weeks of recovery, Ensign Picard was assigned to the USS Antares with his former supervisor, Ivan Gruzinov. ( TNG novel : Blaze of Glory )

In 2328 , Picard was granted a special shore leave to run an elite, long-distance race on a barren planet in the Elyrion system . Unfortunately, he did not finish in the top five. However, during his time on the planet, he befriended a young Zartani named Nuadra Demmix , and also gained experience with the Ubarrak . ( STA novel : Oblivion )

Around this time, as lieutenants , Picard and Robert DeSoto served together and became friends. ( TNG episode : " Tin Man ")

Lieutenant Jean-Luc Picard in ( 2329 )

In early 2329 , Picard was assigned to a starship under the command of Captain Anton Manning , where he was assigned as flight controller . Later that year, Picard attended the wedding of Ambassador Spock and Commander Saavik , of the USS Armstrong . ( TOS novel : Vulcan's Heart )

The Stargazer [ ]

In 2333 , Picard was a lieutenant commander , and second officer of the USS Stargazer under the command of Captain Daithan Ruhalter . The Stargazer was ordered to investigate the threat of a Nuyyad attack from beyond the galactic barrier . After crossing the barrier, the Stargazer was attacked and crippled by the Nuyyad, which left Captain Ruhlater dead, and first officer Commander Stephen Leach in a coma. Picard assumed command and got the Stargazer to safety at Magnia colony.

While undergoing repairs at the colony, the Stargazer 's crew, uncomfortable with such an inexperienced commander, mutinied. Picard managed to quell the mutiny and appointed Lt. Gilaad Ben Zoma as first officer and Lt. Vigo as tactical officer .

With the mutiny resolved, Picard had the Stargazer refitted with enhanced Kelvan weaponry and defended the Magnians from a Nuyyad attack and destroyed one of their weapons depots, before returning to Federation space.

Following the successful completion of the mission, Admiral Mehdi promoted Picard to captain and placed him in permanent command of the Stargazer . ( TNG novel : The Valiant )

In 2333, Picard was serving as first officer on the USS Stargazer when the ship was monitoring a fight between the Romulans and the Vulcan T'Uerell 's ship. As she was vastly outgunned and outnumbered, T'Uerell activated a Borg device, which destroyed an unpopulated planet and caused large pieces of debris to break off from the planetoid and head for the Phidian system , which had a population of hundreds of millions of people. The resulting shockwave from the planetoid's core hit the Stargazer , killing Captain Ruhalter. Picard took command and headed to a starbase. After the ship was somewhat repaired, the Stargazer took a task force inside the system to destroy much of the debris. Later, the task force saved three heavily populated planets; Phidian I , II and III , with the help of modified sensor pods armed with phasers, which the task force dragged into orbit using tractor beams .

Later, a huge piece of debris broke off the planetoid and headed for Phidian III. Picard realized that he would not be able to break it up with his ship's phasers and photon torpedoes, but could destroy it by using the ship's tractor beam to drag other debris into the larger piece’s path. After obliterating the immense piece of debris, the system was saved from annihilation. Picard was then promoted to Captain and command of the Stargazer . ( ST video game : Legacy )

First tests of command [ ]

Second Officer Picard.

Following the Nuyyad encounter, Stargazer proceeded to Starbase 32 , where Picard and Ben Zoma attended a meeting of Starfleet captains and admirals. Admiral Arlen McAteer ordered Picard to find and apprehend the pirate known as the White Wolf , who had been haunting the Beta Barritus system .

The Stargazer succeeded in traversing the systems, magnetic vortex belt while tracking White Wolf, but instead encountered the Constellation -class USS Cochise . Captain Greenbriar of the Cochise informed Picard that White Wolf was actually the famed exobiologist Emil Carridine , who was protecting a Prime Directive world. Picard decided not to apprehend Carridine, but returned to Starbase 32 with White Wolf's cargo, which angered Admiral McAteer. ( STA novel : Gauntlet )

Over the next few months, tensions between Picard and McAteer continued to mount. Following his failure to apprehend White Wolf, McAteer ordered the Stargazer to survey the Egreggedor system . Defying orders, Picard diverted the ship to Gnala at the request of his chief engineer , Phigus Simenon . The reptilian Simenon needed to return home so that he could participate in the traditional competition amongst males of his people that allowed the winner to be the one who fertilized the next generation of his clan's eggs. ( STA novel : Progenitor )

Picard first met the El-Aurian woman named Guinan while on an undercover assignment in the orbital city Oblivion . In the years that followed, Picard and Guinan would form a friendship that Guinan once described as, "Beyond friendship, beyond family". ( STA novel : Oblivion )

McAteer eventually held a competency hearing for Picard a few months later, but he failed to strip Picard of command, and Picard remained in command of the Stargazer .

After the competency hearing, Admiral Mehndi assigned the Stargazer to a long-term mission of exploration in uncharted regions of space. ( STA novel : Maker )

A seasoned captain [ ]

Captain Picard.

In the early 2340s the Stargazer returned to Earth for an extensive overhaul and refitting. While nominally still in command, Picard was given a temporary assignment in Paris, where he met and courted the future Jenice Manheim . On 9 April 2342, the day before the Stargazer was due to depart spacedock, he arranged to meet her at the Café des Artistes , but in the end he never showed up. ( TNG episode : " We'll Always Have Paris ")

In 2343 , Picard first met Lieutenant Elias Vaughn of Starfleet Intelligence . The two would meet several times over the coming years, including a coup on the planet Darnak VII .

In late 2343, Picard was forced to order the Stargazer to retreat after an intense battle with a vessel from the newly aggressive Cardassian Union . ( TLE novel : The Art of the Impossible ; ST comic : " Divided We Fall ")

In early 2344 , the Stargazer underwent several weeks of repairs and upgrades following the Cardassian battle at the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards on Mars . It was during this time that Picard first made the acquaintance of Beverly Howard , the fiancée of his good friend and shipmate, Jack Crusher .

Soon after, the Stargazer rescued Ambassador Spock, who was undergoing pon farr and had escaped from the Romulans with the help of a Romulan defector, Subcommander Ruanek . ( TOS novel : Vulcan's Heart )

In 2345 , while en route to Alpha Pensura , the Stargazer received a priority message from a Gorn ship. The Gorn requested that the starship divert to Vontalimar IV . Arriving at the planet, Captain Picard met with the Gorn leader, Keeyah , who declared war on the Federation, because of their expansion in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants .

Not wanting to drag the Federation into a war with the Gorn, Picard challenged Keeyah to talk and negotiate through their differences instead. Picard's challenge was successful and war was averted, for the time being. ( TNG novel : Requiem )

In 2345 or 2346 , Picard became romantically involved with Miranda Vigo . It apparently was not an exclusive relationship (at least on her part), and after they parted ways she bore a son, Jason , for whom Picard was not the only possible father. However, Picard was completely unaware of this development until 2370 . ( TNG episode : " Bloodlines ")

In 2348 , Picard attended the wedding of Jack and Beverly Crusher in San Francisco . It was here that a Romulan spy named Manathas gathered the genetic material from Picard that was eventually used to grow the Picard-clone, Shinzon . ( TNG novel : Death in Winter )

Jean-Luc Picard circa 2349.

In 2349 , the Stargazer was ordered to the Debennius system after a series of terrorist attacks threatened to destabilize the region. The Stargazer s response to the attacks resulted in the death of Thallonian terrorist, Mendan Thul , son of General Gerrid Thul , who vowed revenge against Picard. ( TNG novel : The First Virtue )

In 2353 , the Stargazer was dispatched to the planet Xenex to talk with the Xenexians in an attempt to stop further bloodshed against the Danteri , who were seeking Federation membership. Picard and Jack Crusher met with a 19-year old warlord named M'k'n'zy of Calhoun . Picard was very impressed with M'k'n'zy, and he encouraged him to enter Starfleet Academy. ( NF novel : House of Cards )

Shortly after the assignment to Xenex, the Stargazer was the first Federation starship to encounter the Nensi phenomenon , a ball of energy and matter thought to have its origin in a special category of supernova . The encounter caused multiple systems failures and began an overload in the ships starboard warp field generator .

In order to save the ship, Picard reluctantly ordered Jack Crusher and chief of security , Peter "Pug" Joseph to sever the starboard warp nacelle from the ship with laser rifles before it could explode.

When communications went dead, Picard went out to investigate. He found his two officers apparently rendered unconscious after successfully detaching the nacelle. Unfortunately, he only had time to bring one officer back to the ship before the nacelle exploded. He chose Joseph, who was closer.

Picard later traveled to Earth to personally deliver Jack Crusher's body to Jack's widow, Beverly, and their son, Wesley . ( TNG novel : Reunion )

The Battle of Maxia [ ]

In 2355 , while exploring the Maxia Zeta system, the Stargazer was approached by an unidentified vessel (later revealed to be Ferengi ). The vessel attacked the Stargazer causing severe damage, and the Stargazer crew was only saved when Picard performed what became known as the Picard Maneuver , which destroyed the Ferengi vessel. The Stargazer was so badly damaged that the crew was forced to abandon the ship and leave it for dead. ( TNG episode : " The Battle "; TNG novels : Reunion , The Buried Age )

This became known as "The Stargazer Incident." ( TNG video game : The Transinium Challenge )

According to The Transinium Challenge video game this is considered the first time Picard's name ended up in the headlines and that up to this point, his record was clean.

Following the loss of the Stargazer , Picard faced a brutal court-martial hearing by JAG officer Phillipa Louvois . Picard and Louvois were romantically linked at the time and Picard in fact, asked for Phillipa to be his defense attorney but he found that she was already assigned as assistant trial counsel for the prosecution and as such, she was ruthless in her prosecution of Picard. In fact, she was so relentless that after using a bedroom confession against Picard in court, (which left Picard absolutely stunned as to her betrayal) , Louvois was removed from the case and she promptly resigned from Starfleet before she could be formally censured. ( TNG novel : The Buried Age ) Nonetheless, the grueling hearing found Picard innocent of any negligence, however his relationship with Louvois was ended. As a result of his actions at the Battle of Maxia , Picard was awarded the Grankite Order of Tactics on Stardate 38946.2. ( STA short story : " Darkness ")

Interim years [ ]

Picard explores Adonis II.

Following the court-martial hearings, Picard, who was feeling at ends following the destruction of the Stargazer , began to wonder if starship command was really for him. He decided to visit his former second officer Elizabeth Wu on the Hydra IV colony. Wu had left the Stargazer in 2336 , but Picard had kept in touch with her over the years, and desired the perspective of someone who had been in Starfleet, but left it behind.

Picard's craft crash-landed on an uncharted and unexplored planet. There, he encountered a group of Rhitori , whose ancestors owed their freedom to the Stargazer responding to their distress call over 20 years prior. The incident made Picard realize all the good that he had done, and could continue to do, as a starship captain. Picard decided to remain in Starfleet. ( STA short story : " Darkness ")

Soon after, Picard began guest lecturing at Starfleet Academy, as well as transferring between numerous assignments. ( TNG novel : Doors Into Chaos )

Picard also enrolled as a Ph.D. student in archaeology at the University of Alpha Centauri in 2355. Three years into this program, he was teaching an introductory class in archaeology when Guinan paid him a visit, and questioned whether he really wanted to avoid going back to commanding a starship.

During his time at the University of Alpha Centauri Picard assembled a group of archeologists who wanted discovered some survivors of the ancient race of Manraloth . Picard fell in love with the first survivor they were able to rescue from a time stasis field. Not remembering her past, she accepted the name "Ariel". Picard and Ariel spent many months together putting together a team of Starfleet specialists who would eventually search for other Manraloth. Knowing that he could achieve their goal only with the help of Starfleet, Picard rejoined the fleet and was given command of the Miranda -class USS Portia . For this mission he recruited Lieutenant Data as his science officer .

After they found other survivors, Picard realized that Ariel (who in the meanwhile regained her memory, and remembered her true name: Giriaenn) had tricked him by using his feelings for her.

The Manraloth planned to destroy the Federation in order to save the galaxy. It took Picard three years to hunt them down, but in 2363 , he lead a fleet of seven starships to prevent the Regnancy of the Carnelian Throne from accessing the Manraloth archive.

The fleet, which was made up of the USS Cybele , USS Thelian , USS Tecumseh , USS Malinche , USS Victory , USS Puttkamer and the USS Nautilus , assembled in the Mirfak system before travelling at high warp to the Kirisha system where they engaged the Carnelian warships .

The Manraloth realised that their plans were wrong and evolved into the next stage of being. Soon after that Picard accepted to take command of the USS Enterprise -D . ( TNG novel : The Buried Age )

Before moving back into a starship command role in 2364 , Picard served as the special liaison officer to the Federation President . ( FASA RPG module : Star Trek: The Next Generation Officer's Manual )

The USS Enterprise -D [ ]

Jean Luc-Picard in 2364 .

Picard was ferried from Starbase 52 and assumed command of the Enterprise -D on stardate 41124.0 in 2364 , on the order of Rear Admiral Norah Satie . Also assigned to the Enterprise as chief medical officer was Jack Crusher's widow, Beverly Crusher. ( TNG novel : Reunion ; TNG novelization : All Good Things... ; TNG episode : " The Drumhead ")

Upon arriving on the Enterprise , he was greeted by his second officer Lieutenant Commander Data, who escorted him to the bridge. Upon arriving on the bridge, he informed the ship's computer that he was taking command of the ship, and began the Captain's log of the Enterprise . ( TNG novelization : Encounter at Farpoint )

During his first day as Captain of the Enterprise , Data interrupted Picard 12 times with questions or requests regarding starship operations. Picard eventually asked Data if he intended to check with him before breathing, and told Data that he was not a Captain that needed to be made aware of or approve every little detail involved with running the ship. ( TNG novelization : Relics )

Soon after taking command of the Enterprise-D , Picard and crew had their first encounter with omnipotent being known as Q . Q accused Picard and the humanity he represented as being unworthy of further access to the stars and put Picard and members of his crew on trial. Picard challenged Q to allow his crew to be tested as a barometer of humanity's progress. After Picard solved the mystery of Farpoint Station , Q agreed to let the Enterprise , and by extension, humanity itself continue its explorations. Q warned them, however, that the trial wasn't over. ( TNG novelization : Encounter at Farpoint )

In mid 2364, the Enterprise met with a Ferengi vessel in the Xendi Sabu system commanded by DaiMon Bok , who presented the long-lost Stargazer as a gift to Picard. Bok claimed to have found the starship adrift. He was actually the father of the Ferengi DaiMon defeated by Picard at Maxia-Zeta nine years earlier, and his 'gift' was actually part of an elaborate plan of revenge. Bok was arrested by his own crew for engaging in such an unprofitable venture as revenge. ( TNG episode : " The Battle ")

Picard in 2365.

The Enterprise was present when the Romulans returned to the galactic stage in late 2364, after a fifty-three year absence, since the Tomed Incident of 2311 . ( TNG episode : " The Neutral Zone ")

In early 2365 , the Enterprise was ordered to chair negotiations between the Klingons and the Kreel , after the Kreel had taken over an uninhabited planet designated DQN 1196 that contained a stash of advanced weaponry, and had begun attacking Klingon ships. The situation was very intense, as relations between the two adversaries were never good, but Picard and the Klingon Ambassador , The Honorable Kobry , managed to keep the situation on an even keel for the most part.

In the end, the weapons, and thus the point of contention, vanished when the weapons creators, the advanced race known as the Cognocenti , finished their tests on the species involved in the affair and moved on. ( TNG novel : Strike Zone )

Soon after, the Enterprise was summoned to the planet Raimon to attend the death ceremony of the planet's Primarch , Sarlis Gaspadral , an old friend of Picard's. When the Primarch was murdered, Picard was accused of the crime. Commander William T. Riker fought in Picard's place in the societies traditional trial by combat, and was nearly killed himself before the identity of the true killer, Lutina , the Primarch's daughter, was revealed. ( TNG comics : " Return to Raimon ", " Murder, Most Foul ")

When the USS Yamato , under the command of Captain Donald Varley was destroyed by an Iconian computer virus in 2365 , Picard and the Enterprise raced to find Iconia and stop the virus from destroying his own ship, and as it turned out, a cloaked Romulan warbird that had been stalking them. ( TNG episode : " Contagion ")

Picard and the Enterprise first encountered the Borg in System J-25 of the Delta Quadrant after a tense argument with Q. The Enterprise barely survived the encounter, and it was only with Q's help that the starship returned to the Alpha Quadrant . ( TNG episode : " Q Who ")

Picard as Locutus of Borg in 2366.

The Enterprise was assigned to transport Ambassador Sarek to Legara IV , in order to conclude his negotiations with the Legarans , which took nearly 100 years to complete. During the voyage it was discovered that Sarek had contracted Bendii Syndrome , and that his emotions were starting to control him. Picard volunteered to mind meld with Sarek, so that he could act as an emotional anchor for the Vulcan as he concluded the talks, which were successful. ( TNG episode : " Sarek "; TNG novelization : Unification )

The Borg kidnapped and assimilated Picard in late 2366 . The Borg intended the Picard-drone, designated as Locutus , to act as a liaison between the Borg and humanity. Using Picard's knowledge of Starfleet procedures, Locutus led the Borg at the Battle of Wolf 359 which resulted in the loss of 11,000 lives and 39 starships.

The Borg were stopped when Picard's first officer , William T. Riker , captured Locutus and managed to use Locutus' link to the collective against the Borg. ( TNG episodes : " The Best of Both Worlds, Part I ", " The Best of Both Worlds, Part II "; TNG novelization : Star Trek: First Contact )

In early 2367 , the former surviving crew of the Stargazer gathered aboard the Enterprise to travel with Captain Morgen , the hereditary leader of the planet Daa'V , to his coronation ceremony. During the voyage, attempts were made on the lives of both Morgen and Captain Ben Zoma. Evidence was planted implicating Idun Asmund as the killer, and she was confined. Enterprise Chief of security Worf investigated further, and discovered that the would-be killer was actually Dr. Carter Greyhorse . Greyhorse had grown despondent since the death of his lover, Idun's twin sister Gerda Asmund . Greyhorse was seeking revenge on those he believed to be responsible for Gerda's death. ( TNG novel : Reunion )

Later that year, the Borg launched a renewed assault on the Federation, sending several ships into the Alpha Quadrant . The Borg were defeated by the woman known as Delcara , who had commandeered an ancient Doomsday machine built by a long-forgotten race. Delcara used the weapon viscously in her personal vendetta against the Borg. In the end, Delcara proved to be as big of a threat as the Borg. Delcara vanished, never to return, after attempting to use her vessel to break the Warp 10 barrier . ( TNG novel : Vendetta )

Mirror universe problems [ ]

Picard discovered that several doppelgangers from the mirror universe had been raiding Federation facilities and allied ships. Following a raid on a Andorian cruiser, Picard discovered that they were doppelgangers of himself and Riker . Picard became suspicious when Admiral Owen Paris sent the Enterprise to the Martorelles array . Picard then met his counterpart and his crew when they attempted to take the Enterprise .( TNG - Through the Mirror comics : " Issue 2 ", " Issue 3 ", " Issue 4 " )

Picard playing his flute.

In 2368 , Picard was disabled by an alien probe while onboard the Enterprise . He woke up as a resident of the planet Kataan , being called by his wife as "Kamin". During a time period of approximately 20 minutes, Picard lived as Kamin during the planet's final decades. After five years since his first experience on Kataan, he accepted his life as a Starfleet officer had actually been some kind of illusion created by his own mind. During his life as Kamin, Picard devoted most of his time on playing flute. He was married to Eline and later had two children, daughter Meribor and son Batai, and one grandson, Kamie.

One day, Kamin was called by his family to witness "the launching", which only he seemed not to know about. As he witnessed the event, he recognized that the probe being launched from the planet's surface was actually the same probe that disabled him during his time on the Enterprise decades ago. Kamin's family then explained to him that that probe was launched so the Kataanian people would not be forgotten after their planet was destroyed. Picard then regained consciousness on the bridge of the Enterprise. Shocked and disoriented, Picard realized he had lived an entire lifetime in only a few real-time minutes. After the Enterprise is able to examine the probe's interior, they find a flute inside, the same one which Picard played while living as Kamin. He kept the flute for himself so he would always have a memory from his experience as Kamin. ( TNG episode : " The Inner Light ")

Picard in 2368.

In this same year, Picard went undercover on Romulus to investigate the activity of ambassador Spock on the planet. Following this mission he returned to the Enterprise to find correspondence from an old friend, Dr Marjorie Devarona , inviting him to join an expedition to recently discovered ruins on the planet Rajatha Prime . Picard gladly accepted and left Commander Riker in charge of the Enterprise for a week whilst he joined the expedition. ( TNG novelization : Unification ; TNG comic : " Captain's Pleasure ")

Shortly into his visit the team discovered a collection of harmonic diamonds , unknown to them at the time the gems stimulating areas of the brain associated with primitive emotions , including anger , envy , and greed , they soon began to affect the team. By the next morning the expedition’s comm. had been sabotaged and Dr Devarona had been killed. Picard had not touched the diamonds himself so remained unaffected but the rest of the group consumed by greed and suspicion gradually killed each other through the day. In short time only Picard and the first person to touch the gems, Gest , survived. As Gest made her move to attack Picard an away team from the Enterprise arrived, alerted by the lack in communications from the expedition. Per Dr. Devarona's last wishes Picard had the valuable diamonds invested in funding archaeological digs across the quadrant. ( TNG comic : " Captain's Pleasure ")

During this year, Picard and the entire crew of the Enterprise -D were temporarily transformed into Klingons by Q . ( TNG comic : " The Way of the Warrior "), ( TNG comic : " Devil's Brew ")

In 2369, Captain Picard met with Benjamin Sisko , who had been assigned to Deep Space 9 to assist the Bajorans in joining the Federation. Sisko was initially wary of Picard due to Jennifer Sisko having been killed aboard the USS Saratoga when Picard led the Borg at the Battle of Wolf 359 as Locutus. Following Sisko's encounter with the Prophets in the Bajoran wormhole , Sisko seemed to forgive Picard. ( DS9 episode : " Emissary ")

Picard decided to act as a secret benefactor for Jake Sisko after reading that Jennifer Sisko had died at Wolf 359 . ( DS9 novelization : Emissary )

At some point, Picard and the Enterprise received a report from Captain Buck Stratton of the USS Yandro , indicating that retired Captain Scotty had responded to a distress call ; Scott and the Goddard contacted the Enterprise directly, asking if Picard's offer to share their library computer was still available. While Scott was aboard, Guinan met with him and found herself uneasy about his presence and told her suspicions to the Captain, who agreed to speak with him only to discover the Goddard had departed. The shuttlecraft boarded a Klingon bird-of-prey and headed for the Arhennius star and appeared to be preparing for a gravity slingshot back through time. Guinan insisted they must follow, and when they emerged, they found themselves in 2293, and realized Scott intended to save his former commanding officer, James T. Kirk.

Guinan offered no further assistance, and Picard became cross with her; without her guidance, they decided to head towards Earth. En route, they came to Andor and found it surrounded by a Borg fleet, slowly assimilating the planet; Guinan revealed that they would find Earth similarly assimilated and the Collective entrenched in the Alpha Quadrant. A vessel, the D'Zidran hailed them, revealing the alternate versions of Tal and Guinan. When asked to explain their presence, Picard explained they were from an alternate reality, but lied that they were searching for alternate universes where the Borg had been destroyed.

Picard met with the alternate Guinan, who then convinced Tal to issue a fleet-wide alert for Scott. A vessel, the Wisdom had located the time traveling engineer and contacted the Enterprise , revealing the Sarek of this universe, now leader of the interstellar Alliance , who agreed to rendezvous with the Enterprise . While waiting for the Wisdom , while trying to sleep, Picard experienced the whispers of the Borg Collective, and he discovered a Borg spy amongst Sarek's crew, but could not determine their exact identity. Picard convinced Sarek to allow them to beam over and scan the Wisdom 's crew, and the spy - a Narisian named Baltior now possessed by the Borg Queen - attacked when she realized she was revealed.

With the Borg aware of their presence, and the Queen remembering false visions of seeing her own death at his hands, the Borg moved to destroy Picard and the Enterprise . Sarek logically but incorrectly assumed that the Borg would not deviate from their typical behavior of ignoring all starships that did not engage the Borg directly, but Kirk convinced Picard to act rather than delay when a Borg cube came for them. After this cube was destroyed via a secret weapon of the Alliance, the sensor shield around the Sol system lowered and they could see Earth assimilated, the cradle of the Borg in the Alpha Quadrant, as thousands of cubes emerged. Picard set a course for the Nexus, but Kirk instead convinced them to head for Gateway to utilize the Guardian of Forever . Suspecting that Kirk himself was the key to the altered timeline, he offered to kill himself, but Guinan insisted he could not, but must be returned to the Nexus, and the Enterprise doubled back for the energy ribbon. The Enterprise was successful in returning Kirk to the anomaly and the timeline returned to normal. ( Star Trek novel : Engines of Destiny )

At stardate 47111.1 the Enterprise was involved in the discovery of the Unity Device . Captain Picard worked together with the Garidian Captain Pentara and the Chodak Admiral Brodnack to send the Device into the future, feeling that the galaxy was not ready for such advanced technology. ( TNG video game : A Final Unity )

In late 2370, the Enterprise was sent to the Gorn homeworld to attend a peace summit with the Gorn. Enroute, the Enterprise encountered a long-abandoned alien station. When the starship approached, the station's systems became active and transported Captain Picard back in time to Cestus III in 2267 , four days before it was attacked by the Gorn.

On arrival at the outpost, Picard gave the false name of Dixon Hill to the commander of the outpost, Commodore Travers . In his time on the base, Picard was successful in preventing the base's reactor from exploding and witnessed first hand the brutal attack made on the outpost by the Gorn. Picard was eventually recovered from the past by the same transporter technology that sent him there. Following Picard's return to the 24th century, the Enterprise continued on to the Gorn homeworld. ( TNG novel : Requiem )

At stardate 47993.3 Picard, with the research assistance of Data discovered a conspiracy within Starfleet that was using findings reported in the Enterprise 's logs to create offensive weapons and tip the political scales in the Federation's favour. Picard somehow tracked this conspiracy to a secret complex on Earth and sent an away team of his senior staff to infiltrate it and reveal the conspiracy to the rest of Starfleet, with orders to destroy it as a last resort if necessary. ( TNG comics : " Space Seeds ", " An Inconvenient Truth ")

Picard narrowly avoids a phaser beam

Meanwhile Picard contacted Admiral Nechayev to inform her of his findings but received a cold reply warning him off taking the matter further. Picard (correctly) suspected the admiral might be involved in the conspiracy and went to talk to Mr. Boothby to ask his opinion on her and the conspiracy. Boothby confirmed rumours of a shady group within Starfleet, but was not sure whether or not Nechayev could be trusted.

Just as Boothby departed to go back to bed Picard found himself under attack, from a Tellarite lurking in the shadows. He made a dash through the flower beds but was unable to avoid the assassin’s phaser beams. Fortunately just as a beam pierced his torso he was beamed away.

Picard is greeted by one of the conspirators

He materialised within the conspirator's complex, and was greeted by one of the conspirators. After a brief debate on both mens' ethics Picard’s away team arrived to rescue him, but in response more of the conspirators beamed in to even the numbers. At an apparent stalemate Picard ordered Geordie to activate the explosive charges the team had set, but they failed to detonate - the conspirators had deactivated them moments after the away team set them. The conspirators then beamed away leaving Picard empty-handed. ( TNG comic : " An Inconvenient Truth ")

After the destruction of the Enterprise-D at the world of Veridian III , there was a brief hearing at Starfleet Command , in which Picard was cleared of any negligence or wrongdoing. It was announced that there would be another starship Enterprise built, the USS Enterprise -E , and it was assumed that command of the ship would be given to Picard. ( TNG novel : Triangle: Imzadi II ) Picard also sent word to Ambassador Spock on Romulus about Kirk's body. After the Ambassador removed Kirk's body from the Veridian gravesite, Picard met him at a place of burial in Iowa, and both men interred Kirk there. ( TNG comic : " Spock: Reflections ")

The USS Enterprise -E [ ]

Picard in 2372.

The USS Enterprise -E , was launched in early 2372 , but Picard wasn't offered the command as expected. Instead, command of the Enterprise went to Captain Morgan Bateson . Picard was ordered to go into Cardassian space and confront Gul Madred and negotiate for the release of Federation prisoners.

En route to Cardassia Prime , Picard relived some adventures of the USS Enterprise , under the command of James T. Kirk , on the vessel's holodeck . Kirk's adventures persuaded Picard that negotiation would be useless. Picard began planning to kidnap Madred and demand the prisoners' release. His move was successful and all Federation prisoners were released into Picard's custody.

Picard and the prisoners were later successful in regaining control of the Enterprise -E after the ship had been captured by the Klingon renegade Kozara , who attempted to use the ship to invade Cardassia. Following the Enterprise -E's recapture, Morgan Bateson turned the ship over to Picard's command. ( TNG novel : Ship of the Line )

Old loyalties [ ]

In early 2373 , Picard was reunited with Marta Batanides and Cortin Zweller , when the Enterprise -E was ordered to Chiaros IV to find the missing USS Slayton . The Enterprise -E was tasked to complete the Slayton s mission to convince the Chiarosians to join the Federation instead of the Romulan Star Empire.

Enroute to Chiaros, the Enterprise -E rendezvoused with the USS Thunderchild and took aboard Admiral Batanides and Ambassador Aubin Tabor . Upon reaching Chiaros, Ambassador Tabor was killed in the first diplomatic meeting. Afterward, Captain Picard learned that the first diplomatic team from the Slayton , led by Commander Zweller, had been taken prisoner by Chiarosian rebels.

Section 31: Rogue

The Enterprise -E crew managed to rescue the prisoners and learned that the Slayton had been destroyed after discovering a cloaked Romulan experimental facility that was studying a subspace singularity near Chiaros IV. The singularity was a huge potential supply of energy to whoever controlled it.

Picard soon discovered that Zweller was an agent of rogue intelligence agency Section 31 , and that Zweller's true mission on Chiaros was to make sure that the planet joined the Romulan Star Empire. In return from the Romulans, Zweller was to receive a list of all Tal Shiar agents currently operating in the Federation.

Picard allowed Zweller to complete his mission and Chiaros joined the Romulans . However, Picard, Data , and Lt. Sean Hawk managed to sneak aboard the secret Romulan facility in a stolen scout ship and destroy the base and the singularity it was studying, depriving the Romulans of their prize.

Picard felt betrayed by Zweller and handed him over to the USS Tian An Men to face charges, but those charges were cleared by Admiral Connaught Rossa . Picard strongly protested, but he was powerless to do anything. Afterward, Batanides swore that she would do everything in her power to bring down Section 31. ( TNG novel : Rogue )

Making first contact [ ]

In early 2373 , the Borg returned to the Alpha Quadrant and attacked Earth with a single cube. Picard, taking command of the Federation's fleet, destroyed the Borg cube, but not before it sent a small vessel into the past to change Earth's history by preventing Zefram Cochrane 's first warp flight in 2063 .

Picard and the Enterprise followed the Borg to 2063 where Commanders Riker and Geordi La Forge assisted Cochrane with his historic flight.

On the Enterprise -E, Picard confronted the Borg Queen , and fought off a Borg attempt to assimilate the ship and crew. After being assured that the timeline had been saved, The Enterprise -E returned to the 24th Century . ( TNG novelization : Star Trek: First Contact )

After the Enterprise -E's return to 2373, she was docked at McKinley Station , and the crew was quarantined, scanned, and decontaminated for any possible Borg infections. While the Enterprise -E orbited Earth, Captain Picard and Lt. Commander Ranul Keru took a shuttlecraft to Bradbury City on Mars to return to personal effects of Lt. Sean Hawk , who was killed in the battle with the Borg, to his parents. ( TNG novel : Rogue )

Collapse of the Thallonian Empire [ ]

In late 2373, the Thallonian Empire in Sector 221-G collapsed and thousands of refugees were yearning to escape. The Enterprise was one of the first ships on the scene and was responsible for transporting refugees to Deep Space 5 .

On arrival at DS5, a meeting was held aboard the Enterprise , between Admirals Alynna Nechayev and Edward Jellico , Captain Picard, Commander Riker, Thallonian prince Si Cwan , and Danteri Ambassador Ryjaan . The meeting was to discuss the future of Thallonian space, to which all parties had different ideas. Captain Picard and Admiral Nechayev's suggestion was that a single Federation starship be assigned to the region, and with some negotiation, the plan was implemented.

At Picard's suggestion, command of the ship in question, the USS Excalibur , was given to former Starfleet officer, Mackenzie Calhoun, whose commission was reinstated with the rank of captain. ( NF novel : House of Cards )

The Dominion War [ ]

Behind enemy lines [ ].

In early 2374 , the Enterprise saw extensive action along the front-line in the Dominion War . After extensive battles with Jem'Hadar forces, the Enterprise received a distress call from the Ambassador -class , USS Aurora . They proceed to the scene and engaged several Cardassian vessels, which they dispatched, but not in time to save the Aurora . During the battle, the Bajoran vessel Orb of Peace , containing Maquis refugees, including Ro Laren *, arrived and aided in the battle.

Picard had the Maquis beamed aboard and Ro informed him that the Dominion was using slave labor in Sector 283 to construct an artificial wormhole . Completion of the project would allow the Dominion access to the Alpha Quadrant without needing to use the Bajoran wormhole . Picard agreed that they should investigate, and they left in the Orb of Peace donning Bajoran disguises. Meanwhile, Commander Riker took the Enterprise to be repaired at Starbase 209 , and left Lt. Commander Data behind in the shuttlecraft Cook to monitor the captain's process.

After dodging several patrols, the Orb of Peace made it to the OK Corral station in the Badlands . In the Badlands, the crew liberated slaves from the Cardassian tanker Tag Garwal . The slaves were mining corzanium from a black hole for the Dominion, for the construction of the wormhole. Among the survivors are former Enterprise -D personnel, Sam Lavelle and Taurik . ( TNG novel : Behind Enemy Lines )

As they proceed to Sector 283, the progress of the Orb of Peace was impeded by a Changeling who had taken the form of Taurik. Data managed to rescue the Orb of Peace and destroy the artificial wormhole by using the shuttle's escape pod as a meteoroid. The crew was later rescued by the Enterprise and proceeded to Deep Space 9 , which has recently been liberated by Captain Benjamin Sisko and a large task force. ( TNG novel : Tunnel Through the Stars )

The Return of Q [ ]

In mid-2374, the Enterprise arrived at Betazed and took aboard Professor Lem Faal and his family. The Enterprise was assigned to transport Faal to the edge of the galaxy, so that Faal could conduct experiments based on his life-long research to break through the galactic barrier using a specially designed wormhole probe .

Just before the test was about to be implemented, Q arrived on the Enterprise , along with his mate and child, q . He immediately vanished with Picard and took him through time to view his own personal history, and view its relevance to the current situation. Meanwhile, the Enterprise came under attack by the Calamarain , a species that had a grudge against Q. ( TNG novel : Q-Zone )

When Picard and Q return to the Enterprise , Professor Faal (under the control of 0 , another omnipotent being), launched the wormhole torpedo into the barrier and allowed 0 to return to the galaxy. 0 immediately hunted down Q, but Q was able to unite with the Calamarain and defeat 0. ( TNG novel : Q-Strike )

Gorn Crisis [ ]

In late 2374, Starfleet Command dispatched Captain Picard and the Enterprise to the Gorn Hegemony , to gain their support in the Dominion War. On arrival at the Gorn homeworld, the Enterprise crew discovered that the Black Crest faction had staged a coup and overthrew the government.

The Black Crest aimed to expand Gorn territory and launched several attacks on Federation outposts. Thankfully, Commander Riker and a Klingon task force were defending the outposts, and the attack was repelled. Meanwhile, Picard remained behind on the Gorn homeworld to try and solve the situation. ( TNG comic : " The Gorn Crisis ")

The Battle of Betazed [ ]

In early 2375 , the Enterprise was fighting Dominion forces deep inside Federation territory following the invasion of Betazed in late 2374. The Enterprise had suffered damage following the Battle of Rigel , but managed to dock at Starbase 133 for repairs.

A few weeks later, while docked at the starbase, Commander Elias Vaughn boarded the Enterprise on a top-priority assignment. Vaughn told Picard that the Enterprise was to lead a small Starfleet task force, comprising the USS Defiant and three Saber -class vessels, the USS Tulwar , USS Katana , and USS Scimitar , to attack the Dominion station, Sentok Nor in orbit of Betazed. While Vaughn was to lead a small team to the prison facility on Darona to free the murderer, Hunt Tevren , whose skills were needed by the Betazed resistance .

The attack on the station proved a success, and the Enterprise managed to rescue a large number of Betazoid slaves before the station self-destructed. However, the Katana was lost in the battle.

Vaughn's team was also partially successful, they managed to find Tevren, but he later died in battle with Jem'Hadar soldiers. Fortunately, before he died he taught some of his telepathic secrets to Commander Troi. Using the information gleaned from Troi, the most powerful members of the Betazed Resistance used their telepathic powers to empathically overload the minds of the Jem'Hadar occupation forces. Betazed was liberated; however, 1,200 Betazoid telepaths died from the strain of the attack. ( TNG novel : The Battle of Betazed )

Insurrection [ ]

In mid 2375 , the Enterprise proceeded into the Briar Patch to the planet Ba'ku , after Commander Data had appeared to have malfunctioned and sabotaged a joint Starfleet- Son'a duckblind mission on the surface. Eventually Picard and the Enterprise crew learned that Ba'ku's metaphasic rings were like a fountain of youth, and Admiral Matthew Dougherty and the Son'a leader, Ru'afo were determined to have the planet. Picard and the crew staged an insurrection and stopped the 600 Ba'ku from being transplanted from the planet, and discovered that the Son'a are actually Ba'ku. ( TNG novelization : Insurrection )

The Battle of Ricktor Prime and Gul Madred [ ]

The Enterprise was at the forefront of the allied forces at the Battle of Ricktor Prime in 2375. It was one of only four of the six allied ships at that battle to survive, though the day was won. After the battle, while en route to meet with a Klingon civilian, the Enterprise received a distress call from a Cardassian Akril -class vessel, the Pakliros .

The ship had suffered catastrophic engine damage, and there were only two survivors: Glinn Driana and Gul Madred . Driana died of radiation poisoning; Picard had Madred placed in the brig, and insisted on conducting the interrogation himself, over the objections of Troi and security chief Lieutenant Padraig Daniels .

Despite their positions being reversed from what they had been on Cardassia six years prior, Madred continued to manipulate Picard, including trying to get him to use his desire to see Driana against him. Eventually, with Troi's help, Picard ceased speaking to Madred, and stopped allowing the gul to continue to victimize him. ( TNG short story : " Four Lights ")

The Raid on San Francisco [ ]

In 2375, Picard was on Earth visiting his niece, Amarante Lebel , when she graduated from the Academy and the Enterprise was on a short-range mission. At the same time the Breen Confederacy launched an attack on Starfleet in San Francisco , destroying Starfleet Headquarters . Then, Picard led a group of newly graduated officers into Bunker SF-Zero-One , which housed backup controls for headquarters, then coordinated between the Enterprise and Columbia in an effort to stop the ships still pounding San Francisco, but they were engaged by DP-7 , a weapons platform responsible for the defense of North America . Picard determined that there was someone aboard the platform, so he beamed aboard, stunned the Breen agent , and disabled the platform; allowing Enterprise and Columbia to destroy the Breen ships. ( TNG short story : " Eleven Hours Out ")

Post-war crises [ ]

Mission to gemworld [ ].

In late 2375, the Enterprise was due to conduct a low-gravity survey of planet Primus IV , when they were summoned to Gemworld , home planet of Lieutenant Melora Pazlar , who was temporarily assigned to the Enterprise . Upon arriving on Gemworld, Captain Picard and the crew discovered that a dimensional rift was streaming dark matter onto the planet and destabilizing the artificial planet's support program.

Picard and the crew needed to obtain the crystal key shards from all of the races on Gemworld that were required to power down the planet's protective shell, and allow the Enterprise to power the force fields. The Alpusta seized control of the Enterprise and attempted to use its phaser banks to destroy the rift. The plan is thwarted, and the situation is resolved when Counselor Troi managed to contact an entity in the rift and convinced it to close the rift. ( TNG novels : Gemworld, Book One , Gemworld, Book Two )

Dead zones [ ]

In early 2376 , while attempting to rescue a Federation cargo hauler that had become stranded in the Romulan Neutral Zone, the Enterprise was the first of many ships across the galaxy to encounter a warp dead zone . Captain Picard soon learned that the dead zones were affecting the entire galaxy, and took aboard Ambassador Spock and the infamous Romulan mass-murderer, T'sart .

Spock believed that T'sart held vital information about the phenomena. However, T'sart was poisoned by a Klingon governor named Kalor before he could talk. Picard suspected that they needed to travel into Romulan space, so he sent Commander Riker, Counselor Troi, and Data in the runabout USS Kaku into Romulan territory to obtain a sample of barantium from a Romulan station to mask the Enterprise 's warp trail. However, Commander Folan of the IRW Makluan anticipated the action and rigged the station to explode.

Ambassador Spock managed to convince Commander Folan of the threat of the dead zones and he allowed the Enterprise to travel to the Caltiskan system . Upon reaching Caltiskan, the Enterprise (along with several other Enterprise s from around the multi-verse) penetrated the alien sphere that was responsible for the dead zones and shut the sphere down. ( TNG novels : Dead Zone , Forever Dark )

Badlands mission and Jem'Hadar attack on DS9 [ ]

In April of 2376 the Enterprise was assigned to patrol near the Badlands in response to rumored Breen activity. Traveling aboard the Enterprise was Commander Elias Vaughn, who confided in Picard about his thoughts of retirement. Picard suggested Vaughn would not be happy sitting back and letting worlds go by, and suggested he turned to writing or teaching.

After three weeks of the patrol, the Enterprise discovered a lost Cardassian freighter, the Kamal . Commander Vaughn led an away team to the freighter and discovered one of the lost Bajoran Orbs , the Orb of Memory , whose mind-affecting properties affected the entire away team. After recovering the Orb, Picard ordered a course set to starbase Deep Space 9 in the Bajoran sector, to return the Orb to the Bajoran people and have the Enterprise repaired after being damaged by the Badlands' plasma activity. ( DS9 novel : Avatar, Book One )

The Enterprise arrived at the station in the aftermath of a Jem'Hadar assault, and a planned Federation Alliance assault on the Dominion . Picard had time to enjoy delivering the recovered orb to Kira Nerys before the Enterprise and station personnel were called into action again to stop a Jem'Hadar assault on the station's fusion core . After the crisis was averted, Vaughn chose to stay behind on DS9 and fill the vacant post of station's first officer. Before the Enterprise departed Picard suggested each Federation ship in the allied task force , which had arrived shortly after the incident, donate an energy generator to the station to provide power until a replacement for the fusion core, which was destroyed by the Jem'Hadar, could be found. Also before departing, Picard took the opportunity to make peace with Ro Laren , who was then serving as a chief of security on the station. ( DS9 novel : Avatar, Book Two )

Gateway crisis [ ]

In early 2376, beings claiming to be the ancient Iconians opened up their entire network of Gateways , and began offering the technology to the highest bidder.

Captain Picard, given his prior experience with Iconian technology, was summoned back to Earth and conferred with Starfleet Command over the matter. Admiral William Ross temporarily re-assigned Picard to command the Saber -class USS Marco Polo on a mission to unite the Alpha Quadrant powers against the "Iconians".

Picard and Deanna Troi managed to assemble a fleet of seventeen vessels from various races to confront the "Iconians". During the confrontation, Picard discovered that, as suspected, these aliens were not the Iconians at all, but rather a race known as the Petraw . Picard discovered that, although the Petraw figured out how to activate the Gateways network, they did not know how to shut it down.

In an act of desperation, Picard stepped through a gateway aboard the Petraw ship in an attempt to make contact with the real Iconians. Upon meeting the real Iconians, Picard learned that they employed a non-intervention policy similar to the Prime Directive , and would not intervene in the matter. They did, however, send Picard to a world where the systems Master Resonator was located, which would close down the Gateway system. On the world, Picard managed to obtain all of the resonator keys and was returned to the bridge of the Enterprise .

The various keys were sent to different ships, and the ships were sent to specific gateways. The simultaneous use of the keys at the various gateway locations shut down the system, ending the threat. ( TNG - Gateways novel : Doors Into Chaos ; TNG - Gateways short story : " The Other Side ")

Return of the Borg [ ]

In mid 2376 , the Enterprise was leading a colonization effort in the Barissa Sector , when they received a distress call from the USS Premonition . Upon arriving at the Premonition 's coordinates, they found her under attack by two Borg Spheres. After destroying the Spheres, the Premonition 's captain, Thaddius Deming , informed Picard that he was from a future where the Borg had assimilated the Alpha Quadrant and that the attack was about to begin, starting with Starbase 612 .

Captain Picard would also learn that the Borg had used genetic samples from himself to recreate Locutus of Borg who served as the leader of the Collective's assimilation forces within the quadrant.

Upon arriving at the starbase, the Enterprise found that the base had been attacked. With Picard's assistance, the station was able to get its defenses back online and stop the Borg from assimilating the base. However, the crisis was far from over, with rumours that the Borg were also attacking the Klingons, and had forged an uneasy truce with Romulan Admiral Sela , who had allegedly established control of an Omega particle .

Problems grew worse for Picard and Starfleet when they learned that Ambassador Spock, who was to negotiate a truce between the Klingons and Romulans so they could help repel the invasion, had been assimilated en route. Picard was charged with defending Earth from the invasion, which he discovered was led by Locutus, after the Borg assimilated a clone of Picard.

The Borg were successful in assimilating Earth, but the Enterprise traveled back in time via the Premonition 's temporal systems. The Enterprise managed to stop the assimilation of Spock and help him forge an alliance with the Klingons and Romulans, and with their help stopped the Borg assimilating Earth.

Following this, Picard led a joint Federation/Klingon/Romulan task force into the Delta Quadrant and destroyed Unimatrix 001 by destabilizing the Omega particle. ( TNG video game : Armada )

Genesis wave [ ]

In late 2376 , Starfleet lost contact with many worlds in Sector 4368 , including Outpost Seran-T-1 and the planet Haken in the Hivernia system . The Enterprise was dispatched to the area to investigate and found that worlds that had once been inhabited, but are now lifeless terraformed worlds. The Enterprise discovered the Genesis Wave moving away from the worlds and set out to investigate.

After the destruction of the Pellean Principality , Dr. Leah Brahms was rescued by the Enterprise . She was the only survivor from Seran-T-1, because she was testing an experimental phase-shifting suit. Realizing that the suit could be the answer to surviving the wave, the suit is replicated en masse and tested at the waves next target, Persephone V . The test proved successful, and after the reformation of Sarona VIII , the wave was plotted as heading toward Earth and the Romulan Star Empire.

After rendezvousing with Admiral Nechayev and the USS Sovereign , the decision was made to make a stand on the Bolian colony world, Myrmidon . Starfleet constructed shelters on the planet to protect the population and used interphase generators from the Romulans to protect them. ( TNG novel : The Genesis Wave, Book 1 )

A tenuous Federation-Klingon-Romulan alliance was created and managed to assemble 40,000 vessels to form a "Ring of Fire" around the wave and dissipate it.

It was discovered that the wave had been activated by a species of Moss Creatures who were to use the transformed worlds as their new homeworlds. ( TNG novel : The Genesis Wave, Book 2 )

After repairs to Enterprise were completed at Starbase 302 in early 2377 , the Enterprise was one of many starships assigned to clean-up operations. Soon after, a portable version of the Genesis Device fell into the hands of a zealous Bajoran Vedek named Yorka , who believed it to be "The Orb of Life", one of the Bajoran Orbs of the Prophets . The Enterprise caught up with Yorka and confiscated the device on the planet Solosos III . ( TNG novel : The Genesis Wave, Book 3 )

The Enterprise was then sent to the planet Aluwna , a planet transformed by the Genesis Wave that managed to save its population in a series of transporter satellites. Once there, they assisted a group of Klingons that included Ambassador Worf and his son, Alexander Rozhenko , and humans that included Dr. Leah Brahms take on the dangers of the transformed world and restore its population from the satellites. ( TNG novel : Genesis Force )

Strange bedfellows [ ]

In mid-2377 ( Stardate 54522.2), the Borg once again returned to menace the Alpha Quadrant. The Enterprise and a small task force was sent to investigate a reported Borg presence in the Regula Badlands along the Romulan Neutral Zone. On arrival, they discovered a large Borg presence.

Shortly after, the Enterprise rushed to Starbase 176 after receiving a distress call stating that the Borg had attacked. The Enterprise arrived in time to restore the base and its defences into for the second Borg wave. This time, the Borg attacked the base with assimilated Starfleet vessels. The Borg were stopped and the assimilated vessels were retaken, including the Nebula -class USS Douglass .

Using information gathered from the Douglass ' sensor logs, Starfleet began to gather forces along the Neutral Zone as a staging ground for an attack into the Delta Quadrant , with the Enterprise leading the way. The fleet entered the transwarp portal and began the offensive in the Delta Quadrant. The invasion was a success as the Borg were caught unaware and their plans defeated.

As the Enterprise led the fleet back towards the Alpha Quadrant, the Borg mounted a counterstrike. Species 8472 arrived in the middle of the battle, and began attacking the Borg. Most ships managed to escape back home, but Species 8472 destroyed the Transwarp Portal and stranded the Enterprise in the Delta Quadrant. Picard was forced to form an alliance with the Borg Queen to stop the Species 8472 in exchange for getting the Enterprise home. As a result, a massive Federation-Borg task force entered fluidic space and defeated Species 8472. Following the battle, the Enterprise and the other surviving Federation ships, were returned to the Alpha Quadrant. ( TNG video game : Armada II )

The fall and rise of Jean-Luc Picard [ ]

In early 2378 , Picard was one of several Starfleet officers present at the first official debriefing of Captain Kathryn Janeway after her ship, the USS Voyager returned from the Delta Quadrant . Picard was also on the short list of high-ranking officers that may have been involved in the sale of intelligence and technology to the Orion Syndicate . ( VOY novel : Homecoming )

Incident at Rashanar [ ]

In 2378 , the Enterprise , along with the USS Juno , was assigned to patrol against pirates and scavengers at the site of the Battle of Rashanar , one of the deadliest conflicts of the Dominion War. From the start of the mission, things went completely wrong for Picard and the Enterprise . First, the captain's yacht , the Calypso , was stolen by the Androssi , and then the Enterprise had to deal with the strange anomalies in the region.

Acting solely on the word of his second officer , Data , Picard ordered an attack on what appeared to be the Ontailian heavy cruiser Vuxhal . In response to the attack, the Ontailians destroyed the Juno with all hands. ( TNG novel : A Time to Be Born )

Upon returning to Earth, Picard's competence as captain was called into question. Picard was relieved, and Riker assumed command. Picard was eventually allowed to return to the Enterprise under the supervision of Counselor Colleen Cabot , but only in the role of observer.

On Admiral Nechayev's orders the Enterprise returned to Rashanar and discovered that the "Onatailian" ship that they had destroyed was actually a shapeshifting creature. With some help from fledgling Traveler Wesley Crusher , the Enterprise vanquished the creature. Picard re-assumed command of the Enterprise . However, in order to save face with the Ontailian government and preserve their Federation membership, "official" blame still fell on the shoulders of Picard. ( TNG novel : A Time to Die )

The Dokaalan [ ]

Now in poor favor with Starfleet Command , Picard was ordered by Admiral Nechayev to investigate a 200-year-old distress signal sent by the Dokaalan . Starfleet fully expected the race to be long doomed, as the Dokalaan homeworld was breaking apart at the time of the signal. However, it was felt that the current political atmosphere of the Federation would benefit if the "tainted" Captain Picard were far away.

Upon arriving at the Dokaaalan system, Picard was astonished to find that a portion of the Dokaalan people had managed to save themselves in a series of asteroid outposts. Picard offered the service of the Federation to assist in their efforts to terraform another planet in the system to their needs, and uncovered a plot by the Satarrans to steal that world from them. ( TNG novels : A Time to Sow , A Time to Harvest )

The Bader and Dorset [ ]

The Enterprise was then ordered to the distant planet of Delta Sigma IV , a world co-inhabited by the Bader and the Dorset , two races that had traditionally been adversaries.

When it was discovered that a Starfleet-created medication was restoring the aggressive natures of the two races, thereby cancelling the calming effect of the planet's atmosphere, Picard, Riker, and Riker's father Kyle Riker struggled to find a workable solution. ( TNG novels : A Time to Love , A Time to Hate )

When Kinchawn , the ruler of a minor world named Tezwa , threatened war with the Klingon Empire , Picard and the Enterprise were sent in to mediate. Kinchawn, however, was not interested in mediation. He attacked the Klingon fleet with advanced nadion-pulse cannons , which killed over 6,000 warriors.

The weapons were of Federation origin, and Picard was ordered to take the planet out from under the nose of the Klingons, and destroy the weapons. To this end, Picard contacted Ambassador Worf , his former chief of security . Worf obtained the command codes for the Klingon fleet and provided them to Picard, which enabled him to defeat the Klingon fleet without ever firing a shot. ( TNG novel : A Time to Kill )

After the removal of Kinchawn, who managed to escape custody, the Enterprise remained at Tezwa acting as peacekeepers in the unstable region. an action made more difficult by the insurgency started by Kinchawn and his loyalists.

Picard and his crew eventually managed to trace the origins of the nadion pulse cannons all the way to the office of Koll Azernal , Chief of Staff to Federation President , Min Zife . Picard, and those of his crew who knew the truth, agreed to maintain their silence on the matter, as if it were to be discovered that 6,000 Klingons had died due to orders of the Federation President, war with the Klingon Empire would have been inevitable. Soon after, Zife resigned from office, and disappeared from public view. ( TNG novel : A Time to Heal )

Redemption [ ]

A year after the Rashanar incident, the Enterprise , and Picard in particular were forced to endure a grueling inspection from Starfleet Command. The inspection team included Captain Wai-Lin Go , Doctor Toby Russell and Betazoid Sabin Genestra , all of whom had some sort of personal grudge against Picard or his crew. The legendary Montgomery Scott , fearing that Starfleet was putting together a "stacked deck," volunteered for the last spot on the inspection team. The Enterprise and crew passed the inspection with flying colors, and were returned to grace with Starfleet Command.

Soon after, the Enterprise was assigned to help the Klingon Empire find their missing Emperor , who had replaced himself with a hologram , and found a secluded world on which he could pass his days painting landscapes. ( TNG novel : A Time for War, A Time for Peace )

The Borg time wave [ ]

On stardate 56344.5 in 2379, Picard and his ship were one of three that experienced the aftershock of the time wave created by the Borg. Picard was the first to learn about the Borg's plan to change their history when Geordi was partially assimilated by the Borg. ( TNG comic : " Alien Spotlight: Borg ")

Shinzon [ ]

Picard in 2379.

In late 2379, Captain Picard and the Enterprise were diverted to Romulus by Admiral Kathryn Janeway . Picard's mission was to greet the new Romulan Praetor , Shinzon of Remus . After a tense first meeting, it was discovered that Shinzon was a clone of Picard, previously part of an attempt to infiltrate the Federation. It was revealed that Shinzon needed Picard's DNA to stop himself from dying, and continue his mission to destroy Earth with his thalaron weapon aboard the Scimitar .

The Enterprise promptly left Romulus to warn Starfleet, but was pursued by the Scimitar , which cornered the starship near the Bassen Rift . Even with the assistance of Commander Donatra and the IRW Valdore , the Reman vessel soon overcame the Enterprise . In an act of desperation, to prevent the Scimitar reaching Earth, Picard ordered the Enterprise to ram the Scimitar . The tactic left both ships severely damaged, but the Enterprise at the disadvantage. To save his crew, Picard had Geordi La Forge transport him to the Scimitar to destroy it from within before it could kill the Enterprise ' crew with its thalaron weapon. He ended up dueling with, and killing Shinzon, but was left stunned as Shinzon's corpse rested upon him. Fortunately Data had reached the Scimitar and attached an emergency transporter device to Picard, sending him back to the Enterprise . Data then fired a phaser into the Scimitar 's thalaron core, destroying the vessel, and sacrificing his own life to save Picard and the Enterprise . ( TNG movie : Star Trek Nemesis )

Confrontation with T'Uerell [ ]

In 2380 , Picard and the Enterprise headed into a final confrontation with the Vulcan T'Uerell , a Vulcan who had been working with the Borg, inciting conflicts throughout local space, for two hundred years. Picard, with the assistance of Admiral Kathryn Janeway and her old starship, the USS Voyager . met with T'Uerell and learned of her true intentions; She planned to conquer the Alpha Quadrant with the Borg . She believed that everything she had done, including the deaths of many Starfleet personnel, have been for the greater good. Picard and Janeway attempted to convince her otherwise, but she refused. Janeway left the system and told Picard that "[she'd] be back with some friends" and ordered Picard to defend Federation colonies from assimilation. Picard succeeded, and then ordered that the ship be taken to Deep Space 9 .

T'Uerell and the Borg cubes made their way to Bajor and Deep Space 9 where Picard and his task force helped defend the Klingon and Romulan forces under threat of attack. With the loyalty Picard garnered, the Romulan and Klingon starships placed themselves under his flag. The forces engaged T'Uerell and her Borg allies and were victorious. With that, T'Uerell escaped with the Enterprise in hot pursuit.

T'Uerell fled to a star system with many Borg vessels, with Janeway noting that she would not be able to leave, because of all the ships surrounding her. After destroying a Borg tactical cube, the Federation/Klingon/Romulan forces, along with the Enterprise and its task force, engaged T'Uerell. After destroying the strain that protected her, all ships opened fire. T'Uerell's ship could not stand the intense weapons fire and was finally destroyed, thus bringing to an end 221 years of unending conflict. Picard heard T'Uerell calling out to him in her final minutes, though could not tell whether it was the Vulcan or the Borg in her who was calling. ( TNG video game : Legacy )

Recruiting the hazard team [ ]

Soon after, on a visit to Starfleet Academy , Captain Picard viewed a holodeck training session featuring Lieutenant Alexander Munro , who at the time, taught small unit tactics at the Academy. After talking with the young Lieutenant, he learned of the USS Voyager 's hazard team , and decided that he could put such a team to great use aboard the Federation's flagship. Not long after, the Captain had Munro, prospective recruits, as well as other officers who'd served on the previous incarnation of the team transferred to the Enterprise to restart the Hazard Team.

Not only did the team end up saving Picard's ship from Idryll invaders, but it also helped in lifting a cover-up perpetrated by the Attrexian people, (which proved that the Idryll had been a star-faring race many millennia ago) and located and exposed a Romulan militant group known as the " Empty Crown ," which sought to overthrow the Romulan government. Captain Picard stated that he would personally recommend that Hazard Teams be deployed throughout Starfleet, and he commended Lieutenant Munro for his valor and heroism as the team's leader. ( TNG video game : Elite Force II )

Admiralty and retirement [ ]

Between 2381 and 2385 , Picard left the Enterprise -E and was promoted to Admiral. He attended meeting of Starfleet Command, where he learned that the Romulan star was going Supernova within a few years. The Romulan Empire requested help in evacuating their territory. Picard was place in charge of the operation to ensure that many Romulans were evacuated. Picard was given command of the USS Verity and requested Intelligence officer, Commander Raffi Musiker as his XO . One of the first worlds the Verity evacuated was Ectis II ; those refugees were transported to Arnath , despite Picard's protests over conditions there. Following the evacuation at Ectis II, Picard evacuated a group of Qowat Milat nuns on Inxtis , relocating them and others to the Federation colony world of Vashti . Afterwards, at Nimbus III , Picard ran into difficulty with the Tal Shiar , who prevented the evacuation and massacred more than 50 colonists. ( PIC episode : " Remembrance "; PIC novel : The Last Best Hope )

Picard and the Verity were then diverted to Yuyat Beta to evacuate some 10,000 Romulans. There, Picard and Musiker met with Governor Shiana and her maior-domus , Athus to discuss the evacuation. At the colony's vineyard, Picard discovered the Yuyati and that their some four or five million of them. Picard demanded that the Governor to allow them to make a full assessment of the colony the Governor refused and them stay as her guests.

Picard refused to cooperate with the governor. As Picard was taken back to his cell, several Yuyati attacked and rescued him and Musiker. They were then taken to meet with two undercover agents of the Tal Shiar: Zhaban and Laris . Picard doubted that they wanted to help but agreed when they told Picard about Tal Shiar discovering their union. with Zhaban's help, Picard and Musiker was able get back inside the Governor's palace. Picard contacted the governor, who had taken control of the Verity . Picard and Musiker were able to transport themselves, Laris and Zhaban aboard the Verity . Picard placed Shiana in the brig.

Unfortunately, a Romulan warbird of the Tal Shiar arrived. Picard lost control of the Verity when Zhaban took control of it. However, Laris convinced him to stand down as two other warbirds arrived to assist Picard in response to his message to the Romulan Senate. Zhaban, seeing the truth, gave Picard back control of the Verity . Despite their duplicity, Picard decided to help them. Knowing they could not return let alone rejoin their people, Picard offered them a job working the vineyards at Château Picard on Earth.( PIC - Countdown comics : " Issue 1 ", " Issue 2 ", " Issue 3 ")

With the Qowat Milat's help, Picard was able to evacuate some 250,000 Romulans to Vashti . There, he met a young boy named Elnor , gave him a copy of The Three Musketeers and taught him how to fence . Following the evacuation, Picard was informed of the attack by rogue synthetics on Mars.( PIC episode : " Absolute Candor ")

Following the attack on First Contact Day in 2385 and the loss of the entire evacuation fleet, Picard called it a "devastating" attack in a  Federation News Network  broadcast at the time. Picard presented a plan to the Federation council to use mothballed vessels to continue the evacuation of Romulans or he would resign. Unfortunately, the council chose to end the evacuation, enact a ban on synthetic lifeforms, and accepted Picard's resignation. Picard saw the synthetic ban a mistake.( Short Treks episode : " Children of Mars "; PIC episodes : " Remembrance ", " The End is the Beginning ")

Following his resignation, Picard returned to his childhood home in France. There, he lived with his house keepers, Laris, Zhaban and a dog, Number One . There, he tended to his family's vineyard and wrote history books. ( PIC episode : " Remembrance ")

In 2393 saw the opening of the El-Adrel IV linguistic research facility at which Meltha invoked the names of Picard and Dathon. ( ST website  : StarTrek.com )

Mystery of the Zhat Vash [ ]

During his retirement, Picard had dreams about Data. In 2399 , at the age of 94, Picard met Dahj Asha , an android created by Bruce Maddox using Commander Data's remaining neural code. Following another dream about Data, Picard discovered that Asha was based off one of Data's paintings that was given to Picard and stored at the Starfleet Archive Museum . ( PIC episode : " Remembrance ")

Personal life [ ]

Picard was an amateur archaeologist from an early age, and the interest would last all his life. Even as a Starfleet Captain, he often pondered what his life as an archaeologist would have been like; his knowledge of ancient artifacts and cultures often proved valuable during his command of the Stargazer and Enterprise . ( TNG episodes : " Rascals ", " The Chase ", " Gambit "; TNG novel : The Devil's Heart )

During his younger days, Picard enjoyed flying solar sail spacecraft. He sailed the near-Earth courses at Lambda Scorpii and L2 Puppis , among others, and almost qualified with a crew for the three-kilometer cup. ( TNG comic : " Ill Wind ")

Picard helping to cut down a tree in The Armada

In his youth Picard was dissatisfied with life as a farmer and never wanted to help around the vineyard. Later in life he expressed disappointment that he never got involved, and he relished the opportunity to help work the land when he visited The Armada , an agricultural colony, in 2365 . ( TNG comic : " Space Seeds ")

Alternate realities [ ]

Starfleet service record [ ], appendices [ ], connections [ ], background [ ].

Captain Jean-Luc Picard was portrayed by British actor Sir Patrick Stewart in Star Trek: The Next Generation from 1987 - 1994 , the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine pilot episode " Emissary ", Star Trek: Generations (1994), Star Trek: First Contact ( 1996 ), Star Trek: Insurrection ( 1998 ), and Star Trek: Nemesis ( 2002 ). He reprised the role for Star Trek: Picard in 2020 . The 12-year-old Picard in TNG episode : " Rascals " was portrayed by David Tristan Birkin in 1992 , Marcus Nash portrayed Ensign Picard in TNG episode : " Tapestry " in 1993 , while Tom Hardy portrayed Cadet Picard (as well as Picard's clone, Shinzon) in a photograph in Star Trek: Nemesis in 2002.

Appearances and references [ ]

Appearances [ ], external links [ ].

• Jean-Luc Picard article at Memory Alpha , the wiki for canon Star Trek .
• Jean-Luc Picard article at Tardis Data Core , the Doctor Who wiki
• Jean-Luc Picard article at the Star Trek Timelines Wiki .

• 1 Ferengi Rules of Acquisition
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Published May 2, 2024

It's The (Other) Enterprise! How Discovery's I.S.S. Enterprise Connects Three Eras of Star Trek

The Mirror Enterprise had a long road getting from there to here.

SPOILER WARNING: This article contains story details and plot points for Star Trek: Discovery's "Mirrors."

StarTrek.com

In the classic 1967 episode, " Mirror, Mirror ," when Kirk, Bones, Scotty, and Uhura accidentally beamed across dimensions, and onto another version of the Enterprise , the first clue that this was a parallel universe was the fact that the ship was orbiting around the Halkan homeworld from right-to-left, rather than left-to-right. So, the first glimpse of the I.S.S. Enterprise was simply that it was taking a different path, literally, zagging when it should have been zigging.

Ever since the debut of "Mirror, Mirror," the idea of an evil Enterprise grew in our imaginations, even if we didn't get to actually see it on-screen again. Even as the Mirror Universe expanded in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , Star Trek: Enterprise , and Star Trek: Discovery , an on-screen glimpse of the I.S.S. Enterprise — traveling on a very different path from the U.S.S. Enterprise — remained elusive. That is, until now.

In the Discovery episode " Mirrors ," the final destination of this version of the Enterprise has been revealed, and in that revelation, the entire timeline of the Star Trek universe has been traversed. Unlike the classic 1701 of the Prime Universe, the I.S.S. Enterprise 's journey has lasted centuries. Here's how that journey unites at least three different aspects of the larger Star Trek story.

How Discovery Brings Back the Mirror Enterprise

"Mirrors"

In "Mirrors," the fifth episode of Discovery 's fifth season, Book and Burnham take a shuttlecraft into an unstable wormhole, hoping to find a trace of Moll and L'ak and the next piece of the puzzle that can lead them to the Progenitor 's elusive technology. But instead, adrift and displaced by nine centuries, and an entirely different dimension, they find the I.S.S. Enterprise , a ship Burnham never actually encountered while she was in the Mirror Universe in Discovery 's first season, but is nonetheless instantly familiar with.

While aboard, we learn that while this ship was part of the Terran Starfleet. At some point after the events of "Mirror, Mirror," a group of rebellious reformers commandeered this Enterprise , turning it into a ship of hope. Book finds a plaque on the ship which commemorates the ship's journey, pointing out that "The Terran High Chancellor was killed for trying to make reforms." This could reference Mirror Spock, though Burnham and Book would have no way of knowing that.

In "Mirror, Mirror," Kirk challenged Mirror Spock to be better, and try to reform the Empire which, we learned, actually did happen. But, interestingly, Burnham and Book only have one piece of the puzzle, the audience of all of the Star Trek franchise, has the rest.

The Deep Space Nine Connection

"Crossover"

In the 1994  Deep Space Nine episode " Crossover ," Kira and Bashir find themselves in the Mirror Universe after a warp bubble kerfuffle spits them out the Bajorian wormhole and into very unfamiliar territory. They’re in the Mirror Universe all right, but this is the 24th Century version of the Mirror Universe, not the 23rd Century time frame from "Mirror, Mirror." Kira comes face to face with her Mirror self, Intendant Kira, who tells her all about how Spock became the leader of the Empire, and began "preaching reforms" and "peace."

This neatly parallels what Book says in "Mirrors," but now, we learn that some Terrans who believed in peace escaped on the I.S.S. Enterprise . While the DS9 future of the Mirror Universe was bleak for Terrans, we now learn that some survived, and even made it to the Prime Universe thanks to the Enterprise . 

The Story of Another Wayward, Vintage Starship

"In A Mirror Darkly, Part 2"

The Constitution -class I.S.S. Enterprise 's journey from the Mirror Universe of the 23rd Century to the 32nd Century is also reminiscent of another TOS Mirror Universe starship crossover. Back in Discovery 's first season, the crew learns everything they need to know about the Mirror Universe thanks to information about the U.S.S. Defiant , a ship, which like the I.S.S. Enterprise , eventually moved across universes and time, as well.

In the 1968 Original Series episode " The Tholian Web ," the U.S.S. Defiant vanishes, only to reappear in the 2005 Enterprise two-parter, " In a Mirror, Darkly ." As Burnham puts it in "Despite Yourself," this journey is unorthodox, "Data suggests that in the future, the Defiant will encounter a phenomenon that'll bring it into this alternative universe's past." This means that not only did the Defiant cross universes, but time-traveled too, from the 23rd Century setting of The Original Series , to the 22nd Century setting of Star Trek: Enterprise . 

The I.S.S. Enterprise didn't travel from the 23rd century Mirror Universe straight to the 32nd century Prime Universe. As we learned in Discovery 's third season, crossing over directly between these universes at this point in time is impossible. But, it did crossover sometime before the end of the 24th Century; one of the mysterious 24th Century scientists, Dr. Cho, was Terran. And, that detail, brings the journey of the I.S.S. Enterprise , all the way back to the story of Discovery .

Discovery 's Hopeful Mirror Universe Tale

Book reads the journey of the I.S.S. Enterprise to Burnham, mentioning that this crew escaped all thanks to the help of a "Keplian slave turned rebel leader." Instantly, Book and Burnham know this can only mean "Action Saru" himself, from the Mirror Universe.

This detail ties into Season 3's two-parter, " Terra Firma ," in which Georgiou re-entered the Mirror Universe in the 23rd Century, at a point in time prior to Burnham's crossover in Season 1. But, in this version of the Mirror Universe, Georgiou, like Mirror Spock, tried to affect some positive change, which had dire consequences for her. But, at the same time, in this Mirror Universe, Georgiou had also freed Saru, and we did see him leading a rebellion toward the end of the episode. As the Guardian of Forever told Georgiou in " Terra Firma, Part 2 ," her actions in at least one version of the Mirror Universe had a big, positive impact, "You saved a Kelpien. And you didn't have to do that. And he'll save others. A lot of them."

So, thanks to Georgiou, Mirror Spock, and Action Saru, the story of the Mirror Universe in Star Trek: Discovery 's final season has become an optimistic one. Like the idealistic Terran rebels in Deep Space Nine 's " Through the Looking Glass ," not all stories about the darkest dimension in Star Trek have to end in despair. And thanks to crossover between dimensions, the I.S.S. Enterprise has now become a beacon of hope in not one universe, but two.

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Ryan Britt is the author of the nonfiction books Phasers on Stun! How the Making and Remaking of Star Trek Changed the World (2022), The Spice Must Flow: The Journey of Dune from Cult Novels to Visionary Sci-Fi Movies (2023), and the essay collection Luke Skywalker Can’t Read (2015). He is a longtime contributor to Star Trek.com and his writing regularly appears with Inverse, Den of Geek!, Esquire and elsewhere. He lives in Portland, Maine with his family.

Star Trek: Discovery Seasons 1-4 are streaming exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S., the UK, Canada, Switzerland, South Korea, Latin America, Germany, France, Italy, Australia and Austria. Seasons 2 and 3 also are available on the Pluto TV “Star Trek” channel in Switzerland, Germany and Austria. The series streams on Super Drama in Japan, TVNZ in New Zealand, and SkyShowtime in Spain, Portugal, Poland, The Nordics, The Netherlands, and Central and Eastern Europe and also airs on Cosmote TV in Greece. The series is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.

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Star trek: discovery’s 5 tng progenitors scientists & clues meanings explained.

Star Trek: Discovery revealed the five scientists who hid clues to the Progenitors' treasure, and they all have links to Star Trek's legacy.

Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, Episode 6 - "Whistlespeak"

• Star Trek: Discovery season 5 creates a treasure hunt with moral and ethical lessons for Captain Burnham.
• Hidden clues from the Progenitors' treasure left by a team of scientists challenge the USS Discovery crew's respect and compassion.
• The final clue from Betazoid scientist Marina Derex may teach empathy from whoever possesses the galaxy's greatest treasure.

Star Trek: Discovery season 5 revealed the identities of the 24th century scientists who hid the clues to the ancient treasure of the Progenitors, and here are the dots that Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and the USS Discovery have connected and what they mean. Written by Kenneth Lin and Brandon Schultz and directed by Chris Byrne, Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 6, "Whistlespeak", contains a huge breakthrough as Dr. Kovich (David Cronenberg) reveals the identities of the scientists to Captain Burnham. The names of the scientists were purged from United Federation of Planets databases in the 24th century to protect the Progenitors' treasure.

Star Trek: Discovery season 5 is a sequel to Star Trek: The Next Generation season 6's "The Chase", which introduced the ancient humanoids who seeded the galaxy and created humanoid life billions of years ago. In the 24th century, the Progenitors' wondrous but dangerous technology was found by a team of scientists assembled in secret by the President of the United Federation of Planets. There were originally six scientists who found the Progenitors' treasure, but one died horribly when they tried to activate it. The remaining five scientists hid the technology and left various secret clues behind that came with moral and ethical lessons in the hopes that only someone truly worthy would find the greatest treasure in the known galaxy.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Returning Cast & New Character Guide

5 doctor vellek, romulan scientist hid his clue on lyrek.

Star Trek: Discovery season 5 retconned Dr. Vellek (Michael Copeman) as one of the Romulan scientists who first learned about the Progenitors along with Cardassians, Klingons, and Starfleet Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the USS Enterprise-D in Star Trek: The Next Generation 's "The Chase." Vellek kept a detailed diary of his findings about the Progenitors, which led to the first clue to the Progenitors' treasure. Vellek hid his clue on Lyrek, a necropolis planet heavily guarded by deadly ancient technology.

Moll (Eve Harlow) and L'ak (Elias Toufexis) arrived on Lyrek first but left empty-handed.

On their final away mission together as USS Discovery crew mates, Captain Michael Bunham and Captain Saru (Doug Jones) survived the necropolis planet and acquired the first clue beneath a burial structure. What Burnham and Saru learned on Lyrek was the importance of cultural context as they strove to maintain the ancient grave site despite weapons trying to kill them. Since the Progenitors created countless different species, the lesson is respect for other cultures, which Burnham and Saru proved they possess.

4 Jinaal Bix

Joined trill scientist hid his clue on trill.

Dr. Vellek's clue led the USS Discovery to Trill in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 3, "Jinaal" . Trill scientist Jinaal Bix hid his clue on his homeworld, and his symbiont is miraculously still alive. Temporarily joining with and possessing Dr. Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz), Jinaal led Captain Burnham and Cleveland Booker (David Ajala) into a canyon near the Caves of Mak'ala, which were the nesting grounds of huge creatures who can cloak called itronoks. It was a test by Jinaal to see how Burnham and Book would deal with the itronoks .

Jinaal was suitably impressed at the compassion shown by Burnham and Booker.

Captain Burnham and Cleveland Booker proved their respect for lifeforms other than themselves . Rather than kill the itronoks, Michael and Book realized the itronoks were merely protecting their young. Even after Booker was injured by the creatures, he and Burnham found a non-violent solution. Jinaal was suitably impressed at the compassion shown by Burnham and Booker and willingly surrendered his clue, confident that the USS Discovery would treat other lifeforms with respect if they find the Progenitors' treasure.

The experience of bonding with Jinaal through the Trill zhian'tara left Dr. Hugh Culber with a new sense of spirituality.

3 Carmen Cho

Terran scientist hid her clue on iss enterprise.

Jinaal's clue leads the USS Discovery to the Tzenkethi system where a wormhole leading to interdimensional space is hidden. In Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 5, "Mirrors", Captain Burnham and Cleveland Booker entered interdimensional space and found the derelict ISS Enterprise from the Mirror Universe, where the third clue was hidden and found by Moll and L'ak. Burnham and Book eventually acquired the clue and piloted the ISS Enterprise into Star Trek' s Prime Universe , although Moll and L'ak escaped.

The refugees aboard the ISS Enterprise left a plaque behind with new details of the history of the Mirror Universe .

The third clue was a vial of distilled water hidden by Dr. Carmen Cho, who was a member of the Terran Empire and the junior Science Officer of the ISS Enterprise. Cho was among the refugees who fled the Mirror Universe aboard the Enterprise and escaped to the Prime Universe. Cho joined Starfleet, became a branch Admiral and one of the Progenitors' science team, and returned to the ISS Enterprise to hide her clue. The lesson Burnham learned was to have the courage to overcome impossible odds to shape your future for the better.

When assembled, the five clues will create a map to the Progenitors' treasure. Commander Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) learned that replicating the clue pieces doesn't work, and it has to be the real thing.

2 Hitoroshi Kreel

Denobulan scientist hid his clue on halem'no.

The fourth clue, a vial of distilled water, pointed to Dr. Hitoroshi Kreel, a Denobulan scientist, who hid his clue on the planet Halem'no. In Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 6 , "Whistlespeak", Captain Burnham and Lt. Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman) infiltrate Halem'no's pre-warp civilization to gain access to the disguised, artificial weather tower where the Denobulan Dr. Kreel stashed his clue. Tilly ultimately learns that Kreel's clue is located in the fifth of five weather towers built by the Denobulans to bring rain to the arid planet.

4 of the 5 Denobulan weather towers failed over time, and the remaining Halem'nites created a religion of sacrificing themselves to their gods so that it might rain.

Clue number 4 had a metal card attached with a Betazoid inscription, pointing to the final scientist and clue. In their time living among the Halem'nites, Burnham and Tilly realized the lesson was what a massive responsibility technology is , and that whoever wields the Progenitors' power to create life (and possibly resurrect the dead) has to be extremely careful how they use it.

Dr. Vellek and Jinaal Bix are the only scientists who 'appear' in Star Trek: Discovery season 5 (so far), and the remaining scientists (so far) are only spoken of.

1 Marina Derex

Betazoid scientist hid the final clue yet to be found.

Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 7, "Erigah," takes a detour from the treasure hunt to deal with the captured Moll and L'ak. This means a short break before the USS Discovery pursues the final clue hidden by Betazoid scientist Marina Derex. Commander Paul Stamets was still analyzing Dr. Kreel's fourth clue from Halem'no at the end of Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 6, "Whistlespeak," so it's unclear where Captain Burnham's final stop for the fifth and final clue will be, or what lesson will accompany it.

Perhaps the lesson Captain Burnham must learn from the final clue is empathy, either for others or for oneself.

The fact that Dr. Marina Derex is Betazoid may be a clue unto itself. The Betazoids are known for their empathic abilities, especially Star Trek 's most famous Betazoid, Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) from Star Trek: The Next Generation . The name Marina Derex seems to be a direct nod to the beloved actress who plays Deanna Troi. Perhaps the lesson Captain Burnham must learn from the final clue is empathy, either for others or for oneself, in order to find the Progenitors' treasure in Star Trek: Discovery season 5.

New episodes of Star Trek: Discovery season 5 stream Thursdays on Paramount+

Weird Star Trek Novels That Are Enjoyable To Read

I n February 1970, Bantam Books published the first original Star Trek novel. James Blish's Spock Must Die! received mixed reviews from critics, but it laid the foundation for many hundreds of further novels . Perhaps the golden era of Star Trek prose was under Pocket Books, who produced an ambitious continuation of TNG and DS9 long before Star Trek: Picard .

Some of the tie-in novels are good, some are bad, and some are just plain strange. From vanity projects to starship-sized plot holes, Star Trek's authors went where no one had gone before (and sometimes where they shouldn't have gone). Though they may be on the stranger side, here are a few books that fans of the franchise will doubtless enjoy.

The Enterprise War - John Jackson Miller

John Jackson Miller's 2019 novel answers a pertinent question: where was the Enterprise during Star Trek: Discovery 's Federation–Klingon War? Miller shows Pike's Enterprise caught in a different war between the Boundless and the Rengru, aliens who hope to use the starship to tip the scales in their favor.

RELATED: Most Charismatic Star Trek: The Next Generation Characters, Ranked

The Enterprise War has an exciting plot, but stumbles slightly when it comes to reconciling the Pike era with the rest of contemporary Trek. Spock's references to Michael Burnham seem out of place alongside obscure characters from Star Trek 's failed pilot, while the Enterprise 's saucer separation recalls TNG rather than TOS or Discovery . Miller's novel walks a fine line between anachronisms and tropes. The result is a weird blend of eras, but one that readers are sure to enjoy.

The Good That Men Do - Andy Mangels & Michael A. Martin

Few fans were impressed when Star Trek: Enterprise ended by killing off one of its crew. In terms of both scriptwriting and direction, the noble sacrifice of engineer Trip Tucker is an anticlimax. This shortcoming inspired authors Andy Mangels and Michael A. Martin to consider an alternative: what if Tucker's death was a hoax?

RELATED: Star Trek: The Relationship Between Vulcans & Romulans, Explained

The Good That Men Do (2007) claims that Tucker never died; instead, he left the Enterprise to work for Section 31 . This coverup allowed him to investigate a new threat posed by the Romulans. The book holds a strange place in Star Trek canon: it is as much an apology as it is a novel, although the Romulans' machinations make for an entertaining read.

Disavowed - David Mack

While the Star Trek Relaunch series provided fans with some franchise highpoints, it had started to stumble by the time of David Mack's Disavowed (2014). Six years earlier, Mack had torn up the status quo with his Destiny trilogy, focusing on a massive Borg invasion . The trilogy is excellent—but its fallout left subsequent novels unsure of where to take the series.

Mack's story, centered on Julian Bashir, reinvents the Star Trek novel as a tense espionage thriller as the Starfleet doctor and Section 31 operative travels to the Mirror Universe to halt a scheme by the evil Breen. Mack's prose is propulsive, but Disavowed represents the Star Trek world at a crossroads. The book's weirdness lays not in its writing, but in its attempt to reinvigorate the series with a focus on espionage rather than exploration.

Broken Bow - Diane Carey

Star Trek 's writing has been the subject of parodies aplenty, from shows like The Orville to movies like Galaxy Quest . In 2020, the franchise itself got in on the fun, with cartoon series Lower Decks spoofing on Star Trek 's tropes. Yet Lower Decks was not the first time that Star Trek' s own writers took a swipe at the franchise. The 2001 novelization of "Broken Bow" derided the Star Trek: Enterprise episode it was meant to retell.

RELATED: Star Trek: Enterprise Actor Slams How Her Character Was Written

Author Diane Carey wrote extensively for Star Trek 's novels (the hero of her 2000 novel Challenger was written to resemble Enterprise 's Scott Bakula, though the book predated his casting). Yet when it came to novelizing Bakula's first real adventure, Carey was so unimpressed with the script that she used the characters' internal monologues to criticize the story's plot. The author was allegedly blacklisted for her mischief, but she turned an otherwise by-the-numbers novelization into a sneaky practical joke.

A Singular Destiny - Keith R.A. DeCandido

Readers might expect a sequel to TNG and DS9 to feature a hero like Captain Picard, or a fan favorite like Kira Nerys. Yet although Keith R.A. DeCandido's 2009 novel does feature DS9 's Ezri Dax, its star is diplomat Sonek Pran, a wholly original character. This stylistic deviation allows A Singular Destiny to interrogate the state of the Relaunch universe . The Borg may be gone, but a new threat is rising in the form of the Typhon Pact, an alliance of several hostile states including the Breen and the Gorn.

Despite the scope of its universe, Star Trek can become bogged down by revisiting the same characters and tropes. DeCandido's novel bucks this trend, making this immersive political thriller an essential chapter in the Relaunch saga.

Fearful Symmetry - Olivia Woods

Viewers of DS9 may recall the episode "Second Skin," in which Bajoran Kira Nerys was disguised as a Cardassian. Fearful Symmetry claims that the woman that Kira impersonated, Iliana Ghemor, was also altered to look like Kira, but fell into the clutches of Gul Dukat , who imprisoned and abused her. Driven mad, the impostor plots her revenge in Olivia Woods' 2008 novel.

While it's odd that Dukat never mentioned his prisoner, the novel's true weirdness is its two-in-one physical format. Fearful Symmetry is made up of two narratives: the front cover depicts Kira, while the rear is an alternate cover showing Ghemor. Starting the book in one direction shows Kira's investigation into her duplicate, while starting in the opposite direction provides the troubled life of Ghemor. This parallel structuring allows the novel's form to mirror its content, a clever gimmick.

Killing Time - Della Van Hise

The possibility of a deeper, potentially romantic bond between Kirk and Spock has intrigued fans for decades (the term "slash fiction" is attributed to stories about the pair), but Star Trek 's writers were unwilling to offer any confirmation. Father of the franchise Gene Roddenberry was particularly opposed to the idea. He was displeased, to say the least, when author Della Van Hise snuck suggestive material into her 1985 novel.

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First editions of Killing Time (which involves the Romulans altering history to try and defeat the Federation) were recalled and destroyed, although some were purchased by fans. A revised edition removed the offending content. Rumors circulated that an even more explicit version existed, although Van Hise denied these claims. If nothing else, Killing Time demonstrates the importance of checking a book before it's sent to the printers.

The Return - Garfield Reeves-Steven & William Shatner

Actor Leonard Nimoy was so impressed by Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , in which his character died, that he asked for Spock to return from the dead . William Shatner, on the other hand, was so unimpressed by Kirk's death in Star Trek: Generations that he decided to take matters into his own hands, co-writing a series of novels in which a resurrected Kirk continues the fight against evil.

The resulting Shatnerverse (comprising ten novels by Shatner and Judith and Garfield Reeves-Steven) is generally considered non-canon even by novel fans, with some regarding it as an ego trip for Shatner. Kirk's transition into a quasi-Messianic figure certainly has all the hallmarks of a vanity project, as does his role in the total defeat of the Borg in 1996's The Return . The Shatnerverse novels may not fit into any version of canon aside from their own, but they represent an interesting diversion for those who like their books heavy on fan-service and light on common sense.

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