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Jean-Luc Picard is a '' (''TNG'') and resulting Film s. The character was devised by Gene Roddenberry and named after Dr. Jean Piccard , a Swiss Scientist and high- Altitude Balloon ist. While there is no ''official'' source of the name Picard , the character makes occasional allusions to his "famous ancestors" — presumably Jean , Auguste , Jacques , and Bertrand Piccard . LIFE BEFORE COMMAND OF THE ''ENTERPRISE''-D Jean-Luc Picard was born in "). ) of Ensign Picard's near-fatal stabbing through the back by a "), and in 2369 because of damage sustained when Picard was shot in the chest point-blank with a Lenarian compressed tetryon beam weapon (" Tapestry "). This event was a turning point for the young Picard, forcing him to realize that his Arrogance was the main reason he was nearly killed. Picard served as first officer aboard the USS ''Stargazer'' (NCC-2893) in 2333 and became captain upon the death of the captain in battle. For the next 22 years, Picard commanded the ''Stargazer'' on a mission of Exploration . During his command of the ''Stargazer'', Captain Picard won the Battle Of Maxia in the Maxia Zeta system in 2355 versus an unknown combatant since determined to be a Ferengi ''D'Kora''-class Starship . During this battle, Picard devised a new tactic that later became known as the " Picard Maneuver ", which resulted in the loss of the Ferengi vessel with all hands. However, the ''Stargazer'' suffered irreparable damage during the battle and had to be abandoned. After the loss of the ''Stargazer'', Captain Picard was Court-martial ed in 2356 but cleared of wrongdoing (this is standard Starfleet practice whenever a ship is lost, following long naval tradition). What Picard did during the next nine years until he took command of the ''Enterprise''-D has mostly remained unrevealed. During this period, he was undoubtedly further molded into the familiar, accomplished Diplomat and Tactician of Star Trek, but with an illustrious career still ahead of him. In one episode, he makes reference to an event that occurred between his ''Stargazer'' and ''Enterprise''-D years where his ship had responded to a distress call. PERSONAL LIFE AND INTERESTS When enjoying the comforts of home on ''Enterprise''s-D and -E, Picard often ordered (from "); on occasion, he practiced his flute with the ship's computer. His love of music and Theatre , particularly Shakespeare , is shown throughout the series by his tutelage and sharing with the Android Data , instructing Data how to "feel" through works and to evoke the right human response. Picard is also a highly private man, as evidenced through his (intended) discreet romantic liaisons and when he underwent surgery at Starbase 212 in 2365 to replace his artificial heart (" Samaritan Snare "). ]]As a senior officer, Picard is a Mentor or father-figure for numerous characters particularly Data. Picard also shepherded Child Prodigy Wesley Crusher and field promoted him to Ensign – the son of colleague Dr. Beverly Crusher , the Chief Medical Officer on the ''Enterprise''-D and his best friend, Lt. Commander Jack Crusher – who was born before Jack was killed in 2354 while serving with Picard aboard the ''Stargazer''. Picard and Beverly Crusher After Jack Crusher's death, Picard and Dr. Crusher grew to become very good friends. Simultaneously, there was always a hint of Romantic attraction between Picard and Dr. Crusher. Their affection, however, was not revealed until it was forced into the open by a device implanted in the two by an Alien Species , the Prytt of Kesprytt, that allowed them to read each other's thoughts in the episode " Attached ". In one of Q 's timelines in the final episode " All Good Things... ", Picard had married and divorced Crusher, who had been promoted to Captain of a medical ship. She retained his name, which led to a moment of confusion when "Captain Picard" was addressed on the bridge of Beverly Picard's starship. Dixon Hill One of Picard's favourite Holodeck programs is that of Metafictional Detective Dixon Hill, who seems to be an homage to fictional detectives Philip Marlowe and Sam Spade . Dixon Hill's adventures take place in 1940s San Francisco on Earth , a welcome diversion from a life of interstellar travel. Picard first played the program alone but later Data , Beverly Crusher and others were interested and soon joined in as friends of Dixon Hill. The world of Dixon Hill contains many regular characters that only exist within the holodeck scenario including the criminal bosses Cyrus Redblock and Nicky The Nose . It was thought by some fans that the character of Dixon Hill was an attempt to re-use the themes of the ST-TOS episode "'' A Piece Of The Action ''." However, it should be pointed out that that episode dealt with 1930's Chicago gangsters, while Dixon Hill was a 1940's Film Noir type detective. The Star Trek novel '' A Hard Rain '' takes place almost completely in Dixon Hill's world, with only brief interludes taking place in the "real" world of Star Trek. If not for certain oddities (such as dead people coming back to life), the novel reads pretty much like a normal Detective Novel . Dixon Hill novels:
During the events of '''', Picard used a holodeck simulation of a Dixon Hill story ("The Big Goodbye", chapters 12 and 13) to confound and kill pursuing Borg drones with Gun fire from a Tommy Gun : this weapon had the ability to kill the Borg only because Picard turned off the holodeck safety protocols. COMMAND OF THE ''ENTERPRISE''-D ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' ]] The series ''The Next Generation'' began with Picard's assumption of command of the new "). Q stated that the test "never ended" at Farpoint Station, implying the entire series was monitored by the Q Continuum as a test of humanity. In relation to the Battle Of Maxia , Bok, a Ferengi DaiMon, later found the hull of the ''Stargazer'' and brought it back to Picard, whom he accused for the murder of his son, who was onboard the enemy vessel. Using mind control, he subjected Picard to intense memories of the events, which led him to attack the ''Enterprise''-D; this was prevented by Picard's crewmembers (" The Battle "). Some years later, Bok found a man, Jason Vigo , whose DNA he altered to appear as if he was Picard's son. He planned to introduce him to Picard and then kill him to serve as retribution for Picard having a part in his son's death. This plan was subverted when it was discovered that Jason Vigo was not actually Picard's son (" Bloodlines "). In 2365, Q facilitated Starfleet's first formal contact with the s, Picard and crew encountered a single, immense Borg Cube Ship in the nearby System J-25. Subsequently, the ''Enterprise''-D was vastly outmatched, fled, and was only spared when Picard pleaded with Q to again intervene, who returned them to Federation space (" Q Who? "). The following year, Picard was asked by Chancellor and Gowron . During the succession process aboard the ''Enterprise''-D, Duras killed Klingon Ambassador K'Ehleyr , the mate of Security Officer Lt. Worf who assisted Picard; in turn Worf later killed Duras (" Reunion "). ]] In late December 2366 - early January 2367 (circa stardate 43989.1), Captain Picard and the ''Enterprise''-D engaged a single Borg cube headed straight for '', the Borg Queen had planned on making Locutus her equal. Picard's assimilation provided the Borg access to all of his experience and knowledge including that of Federation and "). After the Borg incident, while the ''Enterprise''-D underwent extensive repairs at Earth Station McKinley for damage it had sustained during the incursion, Captain Picard rehabilitated and took time to visit his family in France (" Family "). His assimilation and time spent in the collective is later revealed to have had a profoundly disturbing effect on Picard's life; as a result, Picard was able to partially reconcile long-simmering differences with his brother, Robert. Later in 2367, Picard was recalled to Qo'noS to certify Gowron as Klingon Chancellor; however, Toral, Duras' Illegitimate son, would also lay claim to the leadership. The Duras' family, which had significant support within the Klingon Empire and was backed by the Romulan s, triggered a brief Civil War . After the Romulan connection was exposed, Gowron's forces emerged victorious (" Redemption "). During a covert mission against the Cardassian s in 2369, Picard was captured and held hostage for questioning on Federation military secrets. During this time, Captain Edward Jellico was placed in command of the ''Enterprise''-D. Captain Picard was later rescued and restored as the ship's commanding officer (" Chain Of Command "). Picard nearly died when he was attacked at a diplomatic conference. His artificial heart was damaged in the attack and was afterward replaced again. For a few minutes, Picard hovered between life and death. Q apparently came to him in this state and offered to let him change the mistake that resulted in his needing an artificial heart. He took Q up on that offer, but came to regret that mistake when he realized that the event had been such a turning point in his life that it shaped everything that he had done during his career. Picard was shown an existence where his career had gone nowhere and was unlikely to do so. When Picard told Q that he would rather die than live that life, Q released him (" Tapestry "). At one point, Data estimated that there is only a 17% chance that Picard would be so indecisive in a crisis as to contact Starfleet for instructions. ''Star Trek: Generations'' Circa stardate 48650.1 (25 August 2371), the ''Enterprise''-D was pulled into an elaborate scheme hatched by Dr. Tolian Soran . He wanted to return to a spatial anomaly known as The Nexus and was prepared to go to any lengths to achieve this. He led the ''Enterprise''-D on a chase, culminating on Veridian III, where he was confronted by Captain Picard. Soran intended to disrupt Veridian's stellar core and cause it to explode, altering the region's Gravity and thus the Nexus' course by bringing it to Soran on Veridian III. Soran did not care that his actions would destroy the entire Veridian system including the inhabited planet Veridian IV. , meets his good friend Guinan ]] Meanwhile, the ''Enterprise''-D was involved in a battle with a of the ship crash-landed on Veridian III and the Stardrive Section was destroyed in space. Shortly afterward, the temporal Nexus took Captain Picard and Soran, while the mass/gravity wave destroyed the planets, including all the inhabitants of Veridian IV and the entire crew of the ''Enterprise''-D on Veridian III. (right), with Dr. hood (and regrets), was to have a family. After being informed of his new situation by Guinan , Picard chose to enter another dimension of the Nexus where he found legendary ''Enterprise'' Captain James T. Kirk , who had himself entered the Nexus while onboard the ''Enterprise''-B 's maiden voyage. There both he and Kirk decided to return back in time to stop Soran and prevent the Nexus from destroying Veridian III. Kirk was killed in the final confrontation but Picard managed to avert the Nexus' diversion and shortly after Soran died as well. After the surviving crew of the ''Enterprise''-D was rescued, Picard was given command of the ''Enterprise''-E, a new ''Sovereign'' Class Starship . COMMAND OF THE ''ENTERPRISE''-E ]] ''Star Trek: First Contact'' On stardate 49827.5 (28 October 2372), Picard was chosen to command the new al instability, Starfleet Command factored out the ''Enterprise''-E as part of the task force, ordering them to patrol the Romulan Neutral Zone instead. However, Captain Picard – after learning of the destruction being caused by the invading Borg - and his crew decided to engage the Borg. During the Battle Of Sector 001 , Picard's residual 'link' with the Borg (as a result of his prior assimilation) enabled Picard and the task force to destroy the Borg cube near Earth, thereby averting another attempt at systemic assimilation. Prior to the cube's destruction, a smaller Sphere Ship was released from the Borg cube; the sphere created a Temporal anomaly and Time Travel led over 300 years into Earth's past to assimilate Human ity. The Borg intended to prevent First Contact , a historic event in which Zefram Cochrane tested the first Warp Drive and, in so doing, made contact with another alien race (the Vulcan s) for the first time. The ''Enterprise'' fired on and destroyed the sphere while it fired at Bozeman, Montana. When it was discovered that the Borg had secretly boarded the ship in an attempt to seize control and assimilate the crew, Picard personally led the fight against them. He became obsessive in his efforts; Lily Sloane – Dr. Cochrane's assistant – confronted Picard about his stubbornness, likening him to Captain Ahab in his self-destructive pursuit of Moby Dick , and eventually convinced him to moderate his enthusiasm for the fight. Consequently, Picard ordered his crew to abandon ship in order to self-destruct the vessel. Picard stayed on board to rescue Data, who was captured and being subverted by the Borg. Data, however, was surreptitiously playing along and did so for long enough to strike at a key moment; both stopped the Borg and saved the ship. ''Star Trek: Insurrection'' In 2375, Captain Picard and the ''Enterprise''-E were called into a region of space known as the Briarpatch to rescue Data , who suffered a malfunction while on a mission secretly observing an apparently Technologically undeveloped Culture . While visiting the planet he was working on, the crew discovered a plot to relocate the planet's inhabitants in order to supplant them with a new race. Furthermore, the planet had properties that caused greatly slowed Aging and Rejuvenation in the inhabitants. This new race, the Son'a , were interested in the Ba'ku planet because of the metagenic healing properties of the rings around the planet which have the effect of reversing age, as seen on some ''Enterprise''-E crew members. During this mission, Picard fell in love with a local inhabitant, and this further strengthened his resolve to stop the Ba'ku from being relocated. '']] ''Star Trek: Nemesis'' Circa stardate 56844.9 in 2379, Captain Picard and the ''Enterprise''-E were ordered by Vice Admiral Kathryn Janeway to the Romulan Neutral Zone to investigate peace overtures from the Romulan Senate . Upon arrival, they discovered that Shinzon , a Reman , had gained control of the Romulan Senate and became the new Praetor (head of the Romulan Senate). After further meetings with Praetor Shinzon, it was discovered he was a Clone of Picard, created to replace him and recover information about Starfleet. Owing to the unstable nature of Romulan internal politics, this plot never came to fruition. Even though he was a clone, Shinzon was missing some vital parts of his DNA that he needed from Captain Picard and it was emphasized that the same "noble Picard blood" flowed through him, but he walked a different path. On top of this, he had a plan for domination of the quadrant using his advanced warship, the '' Scimitar '', and its superweapon. Captain Picard and the crew of the ''Enterprise''-E stopped this from happening but suffered severe damage and crew losses, most notably Data who sacrificed himself to save Picard and destroy the ''Scimitar''. The ''Enterprise''-E later returned to Earth for repairs. KEY EPISODES AND MILESTONES Episodes in which Picard's character is expanded or takes a key role:
QUOTES Picard: "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!" – ''Picard's introduction spoken during the opening credits of each episode.'' Picard: "Make it so!" – ''Picard's common utterance to crew to execute an order; various episodes.'' Q : "It's an unknown – isn't that enough?" Picard: "If you'd earned that uniform you're wearing, you'd know it's the unknown that brings us out here!" – "''Encounter at Farpoint''" Picard: "Oh, I know Hamlet . And what he might say with irony I say with conviction. ‘What a piece of work is man! How noble in reason! How infinite in faculty! In form, in moving, how express and admirable! In action, how like an angel! In apprehension, how like a god....’" Q: "Surely you don't see your species like that, do you?!" Picard: "I see us one day becoming that, Q. Is it ''that'' which concerns you?" – ''Picard realizing the true intent of the Q Continuum in " Hide And Q ".'' Picard: "Shut up, Wesley !" – ''Picard in " Datalore ".'' Data: Her name is Sarjenka. We have been in regular communication... Picard: ''(cutting him off)'' Data, her species is aware that there is interstellar life? Data: No, sir. Picard: ''(long pause)'' Oops... -- ''Upon realizing the ship has violated the Prime Directive in " Pen Pals ". Picard: "Let us make sure that history never forgets... the name... Enterprise" – ''Picard, before engaging in a hopeless battle with Klingon ships in " Yesterday's Enterprise ".'' Picard (as Locutus): "I am Locutus of Borg . Resistance is futile. Your life, as it has been, is over. From this time forward, you will service us." – ''Picard to Riker after being Assimilated by the Borg in " The Best Of Both Worlds ".'' Picard: "They took everything I was! They used me to kill ... and to destroy. And I couldn't stop them! I should've been able to stop them. I tried so hard!" Robert Picard: "So my brother is a human being after all. This will be with you a long time, Jean-Luc. A long time." – ''Picard's tearful confession to his brother Robert in " Family ".'' Picard: "There... are...four... lights!" – ''Picard's final retort to Madred after being released from Cardassian captivity in " Chain Of Command : Part II", asserting that he could not be subjugated.'' Picard: "Dr. Vassbinder gave an hour long dissertation on the ionization of warp nacelles before he realized that the topic was supposed to be psychology." La Forge : "Why didn't anybody tell him?" Picard: "There was no opportunity. There was no pause. {Link without Title} He just kept talking in one long incredibly unbroken sentence moving from topic to topic so that no one had a chance to interrupt. It was really quite hypnotic." – ''A humorous scene in " Timescape ".'' Picard: We have journeyed to countless new worlds... made contact with new species... we have expanded our understanding of the universe... Q: In your own paltry, limited way. You have no idea how far you still have to go. Picard: We are what we are, Q -- and we're doing the best we can. It's not for you to set the standard by which we're judged. ... Picard: We're to be denied travel through space? Q: No, you obtuse piece of flotsam. You are to be denied existence. Humanity's fate has been sealed — you will be destroyed. Picard: Q, I do not believe even you are capable of such an act... -- ''Picard defending his race against the Q Continuum's trial of humanity, " All Good Things... ". '' Picard: "The line must be drawn ''here!'' This far, no farther!" - ''Picard to Lily Sloan, defending his decision to not give in to the Borg by destroying his ship'' CULTURAL REFERENCES The rock band The Refreshments had a minor hit "Banditos" on their album ''Fizzy Fuzzy Big and Buzzy''. The chorus of the song refers to Picard. The lyrics are: So give your ID card to the border guard Your alias says you're Captain Jean-Luc Picard Of the United Federation of Planets 'Cause they won't speak English anyways In 2003, the artist Darkmateria released " The Picard Song ", a string of Picard and ''TNG'' quotes, set to a techno beat. The song spread across the web very quickly, also spawning several parodies and tributes, the most famous one being on created by Jeremy Lokken, which has also become quite popular. A more recent (released September 07, 2005) innovation of the song is a Machinima film created in the popular Computer Game The Sims 2 by Brian Castro. NOTES EXTERNAL LINKS
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