Man, I really didn't want to end the week by writing a tribute to Patrick Stewart. But I realized if I wait until Monday to post, THAT would be the anniversary of my father's death and there's no way I want to deal with that emotional double-whammy, so here I am, posting this about 12 hours after hearing that Patrick Stewart has left us at 86.
As far as the internet and social media are concerned, this is mourning on the scale of the passing of a Pope or President. And as expected much of that morning is being expressed through clips of STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION's Captain Jean-Luc Picard. Indeed, there are moments it feels as though the internet is mourning Picard at least as much as the man who portrayed him.
And I include myself in this, for I have done this for a long time. My grandfather died on November 26, 1994. He was pretty much the first adult I knew well that I remember dying. I was helped in processing this loss by a movie I had seen just over a week earlier - STAR TREK: GENERATIONS. It's a movie that deals very directly with death - not just that of Captain James T. Kirk, but also Picard's brother and nephew. Their loss hits Picard hard, but when he comes to terms with it at the end of the film, he gives a speech that I have returned to again and again when I've lost someone:
"Someone once told me that time was a predator that stalked us all our lives. But I rather believe that time is a companion who goes with us on the journey, and reminds us to cherish every moment, because they'll never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we lived. After all, Number One, we're only mortal."
But Jean-Luc Picard has not died. He lives on, both in reruns and - as far as we know, in the early 25th Century where we left him in the final episode of PICARD. And the words we quote in tribute are NOT truly the words of Picard or Sir Patrick, but of many talented writers. The speech I used above was written by Ron Moore and Brannon Braga.
So how to pay tribute to Sir Patrick? This will probably take knowledgeable fans by surprise, but I will honor him not by citing the work he did in front of the camera as Picard, but what he did behind the scene to shape Picard and TNG follow-ups when he had creative control.
Those of you in the know probably howled at that, but I ask you to allow me to explain myself.
Patrick Stewart's memoirs make it clear that he's not Captain Picard and that at various points in his career, there was friction between who the creators decided Picard was and what Patrick wanted to be playing. Multiple TNG writers who joined in the third and fourth seasons have reported that the first time they met Patrick, he reminded them that "the captain doesn't do nearly enough screwing and shooting on this show." Picard was a thoughtful introspective man, but it's clear that Patrick was often pushing at the limits of his characterization.
By the time of the third TNG film, INSURRECTION, Stewart had considerable influence over not just Picard, but the tone and aim of the entire film. He vetoed several story paths that would have taken a darker territory and pushed hard for a fun adventure romp that would put Picard as the action hero at the center of it. Would I have preferred writer Michael Piller's earlier ambition to make a TREK take on HEART OF DARKNESS, with Picard grappling with a year of a costly war? Of course. But unlike many fans, I don't begrudge Patrick his terms for reprising the role.
Even more notorious are the restrictions he laid down when he agreed - after 18 years away from STAR TREK - to return for the PICARD TV series. His terms were that he would not wear a uniform, he would not be the Captain of the Enterprise and that there was to be no appearances by other returning characters. If he was to return as Jean-Luc Picard, it would be to explore new facets of the man, not merely trying to recreate past glories.
There are fans who take this as evidence that "Patrick Stewart never understood Picard or STAR TREK. He doesn't get it at all." That's a judgement I find rooted in ignorance. When we met this older Picard, now estranged from Starfleet, in fact, not even on friendly terms with the Admirality that he deals with in the premiere. I'm well aware those fans, presented with a Picard who left Starfleet, reacted with a typical expression of obstinance - "Picard would NEVER do that!"
As Spock once said to Picard, "I sense you speak with a closed mind."
This is the central tension of the PICARD series - Patrick wants to explore new territory. The fans only want what they've seen before. A character revealing a new facet of themselves is not a violation of "canon." The sum total of any person's existence does not extend merely to what they have done before or how they have behaved.
You can groan that Patrick is all wrong about the character he's played for decades, or you could understand that this kind of conflict between writer and portrayer is not only normal, but often produces more interesting work than just coloring in the lines. Sometimes the most enduring work is the result of the friction between what the writers are putting on the page and where the actor challenges those choices.
In a perfect situation, there are probably choices Picard would not make. But all of us probably have moments where it's been impossible to be our best selves. Everyone makes mistakes, even Starship captains. The promise of PICARD was exploring what happens after the guy who always had the right answers has to live with the consequences of making a bad decision?
Think of the most enduring episodes of TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds," "Chain of Command," "Tapestry"... do you know what those three Patrick Stewart acting showcases have in common? Picard is challenged. He loses. He's broken down. The antagonists have power over him in some way. And those moments of adversity force Picard to rise to the occasion. He has to fight for his very survival in one way or another.
We like Picard when he's challenged. And nothing could challenge him more than remove him from his ship, his rank, and even Starfleet. He's not the man he once was... so how does he confront that?
Certainly, you can take issue with the creative team's solutions to those problems. I had many an issue with creative choices during the first two seasons. But the fact that questionable creative choices were made in reaction to Patrick's instincts does not mean those artistic instincts were wrong. As an artist, he wasn't content to stand still. He was inspired by how LOGAN found entirely unexpected ways to tell a story about Wolverine and Professor Xavier and PICARD grew out of his desire to bring that spirit to STAR TREK.
As it played out, two years of putting Picard in new situations with different characters meant that the final season that reunited all of the TNG cast had more weight to it than a simple reunion from the start might have. We had seen Picard changed in those two seasons and it mentally prepared us to discover time hadn't stood still for his shipmates either. This changed so many of those relationships so that when the reunions happened across the season, it didn't feel like everyone was playing the same notes they did in the late 80s and early 90s.
I loved season 3 of PICARD. One of my favorite scenes in all of Trek is the moment where the crew takes the bridge of the restored Enterprise-D, ready to ride it into battle one last time. I'm aware there are criticisms of this choice. They're all wrong.
There's a beautiful moment in there when everyone takes their stations. Picard still pointedly hasn't taken the captain's chair. He orders a course to Earth and then FINALLY, he sits down. That's emotional enough, but then in a tiny wink to the past, he tugs down on his tunic, a habitual gesture on the show that fans dubbed, "The Picard Maneuver." And then he does what we've seen him do over a hundred times before... he points with two fingers and says one word: "Engage."
If this had been where PICARD started, there might have been something vaguely sad and uninspired by going immediately back to that well. But those two seasons of new ground were enough to prove to Patrick that he wasn't out of challenges in playing Picard. In doing so, I hope he found a fresh way to appreciate what was already there.
And so if there's truly a way to honor Patrick - not Picard - in our own lives, it's to practice what he did. Push outside your comfort zone. Seek out fresh challenges. Don't retreat to the familiar but when it's there, appreciate every moment.
Make the creative choices that scare you, the ones that have people telling you are out of your mind. The familiar will always be there later - push yourself NOW. Great work rarely came from someone always playing it safe.
I took some time tonight (well, technically LAST night, I guess) searching for the appropriate Trek to watch to honor Sir Patrick. Had I not just recently rewatched the final two episodes of PICARD, I probably would have chosen those. But after considering The Best of Both Worlds and Tapestry, I arrived at "Sarek."
It's a story about Spock's Vulcan father Sarek conducting the final negotiations of his career, a crowing achievement that is compromised by his secret medical condition. He's losing control of his emotions to the Vulcan equivalent of Alzheimer's. Had this been just a guest-star-of-the-week, it would have been a tragic story, but seeing happen to Sarek, a character with 20 years of history in STAR TREK at that point made it painful and devastating.
TNG showrunner Michael Piller said that using Sarek in that manner "brings home the idea that even the greatest of men is subject to mental illness." Knowing that Stewart was grappling with a similar condition in his final days is painful indeed. And watching Picard help Sarek through that difficult time felt like honoring Patrick's own struggle as well.
Patrick Stewart left behind Picard, but even more important is how he lived. Farewell, sir.
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