Star Trek wouldn’t be the cultural phenomenon it is today without Patrick Stewart. Sure, William Shatner launched the franchise by playing the USS Enterprise Captain James T. But Stewart led the United Federation of Planets’ flagship as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in 178 episodes over seven seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and then returned to the role for 30 more episodes in Star Trek: Picard.
Even more significant than the quantity of Star Trek that Stewart made was the quality. Kirk is in many ways a classic pulp action hero. He faces conflicts head on, never afraid to throw a punch or flirt with a sexy alien.
Picard represents a different form of masculinity, valuing compassion, knowledge, and communication above all else. He is the endlessly patient father figure for his crew, and for the next generation of Star Trek viewers, presiding over one of the most beautiful visions of what the future could look like. It’s that connection that has left fans in mourning following his death on Thursday at the age of 86.
Any list of Stewart’s best episodes will closely mirror a general list of TNG’s best moments. Stewart brought incredible gravitas to the show’s most emotionally brutal scenes and gentle humor to its silliest scenarios. Stewart’s death is devastating, but TNG already taught fans how to deal with loss and embrace the best parts of life.
Celebrate Stewart by reliving some of his finest moments in TNG’s six best Picard episodes. Writer Michael Piller and director Cliff Bole shocked fans with a rare cliffhanger, where the Borg capture and assimilate Picard. The Borg had only been teased in a single episode before establishing themselves as one of the series’ most devastating villains by using Picard’s knowledge to wipe out Starfleet’s entire armada.
Stewart absolutely sells his transformation into the Borg emissary Locutus, bringing new menace to his dynamic with first officer William Riker (Jonathan Frakes), and pure heartbreak to the moment where Locutus sheds a single tear to show Picard was still locked in there somewhere. Star Trek repeated the tactic of introducing a new villain by having them capture Picard in the two-parter Chain of Command, which set up the Cardassians ahead of the premiere of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Stewart brings the full weight of his Shakespearean training to his performance as he’s brutally tortured.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
