Captain Jean Luc Picard

Picard is a native of Earth, from France. His diction sounds so upperclass Brit to twentieth century ears, however, that we are led to assume that European union proceeded apace in the years between now and the time of the Enterprise-D.

Patrick Stewart

Picard is created by Patrick Stewart, a veteran of the Royal Shakespeare Company. His regal portrayal of Picard is of a man in control of himself, his subordinates and his environment. Histrionics are not his style, he drinks tea, chairs meetings, takes things under advisement and commands his troops to 'make it so'. And they do.

Picard and Others

One of Picard's best friends was Lt. Jack Crusher, who dies while serving with Picard on the USS Stargazer. Jack's widow, Dr. Beverly Crusher, serves now as Chief Medical Officer aboard the Enterprise-D. She lives with her son Wesley Crusher, a young prodigy who serves, first unofficially and then officially, as a crewman as well. Picard plays mentor and father-figure to young Wesley, a situation that would cause considerable discontent in our time; words like 'favoritism' and even 'nepotism' might be murmured if such a relationship were to come to light in the 20th or even the 21st century.

There are hints of romantic attachment between Dr. Crusher and Picard, but these remain unresolved.

Picard also has a mentor relationship with android officer Data, the only android serving in Star Fleet, whose express desire is to become more human.

One of his greatest friends is the mysterious Guinan, who serves as bartender in the Ten-Forward Lounge on the Enterprise-D and has unspecified powers.

Picard's nemesis is Q, the omnipotent entity we meet in the series premier. First putting the human race on trial for its existence, Q ultimately becomes fascinated with humanity, and with Picard in particular, often interfering with the running of the starship for his own amusement.

The ultimate nemeses, of course, are the Borg, which Q introduces Picard to in first season ST:TNG. These implacable overlords assimilate everything their path into their hiveminded hegemony, and all the deadliest battles Picard will experience will be against the Borg. He even spends a period of time as a Borg, the spokesborg Locutus, from which position he is rescued and rehabilitated, although the experience leaves a lingering trauma.

Picard at Rest and Play

Picard's leisure pursuits are somewhat sedate. He enjoys chamber music, riding and literature. He might come off as something of a stuffed shirt, were it not his taste for detective fiction of the hard-boiled Dashiell Hammett variety and he often enjoys experiencing life as Private Eye Dixon Hill in a holodeck game.