Star Trek: Picard will reintroduce us to Patrick Stewart’s titular Jean-Luc Picard after an almost 20-year absence from the franchise (he was last seen in 2002’s Star Trek: Nemesis). However, the former captain of the Enterprise-D won’t be the same man we knew in this upcoming CBS All Access series. We’ve been promised a sombre, psychological character study of someone so broken that he’s left Starfleet behind and taken to living in isolation on his family’s vineyard.
As seen in a recent poster, though, Picard will have one companion by his side – a pet dog. If you looked closely at the dog’s collar on that poster you’d also have noticed that Jean-Luc has called his pet Number One, in honor of the designation he gave his right-hand man Riker in the good old days. So, it seems Picard does miss his time with Starfleet somewhat.
We know that the show will eventually take him into space again, but his feet will be firmly planted on Terra Firma to begin with. This still from the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly, for instance, offers a new look at the retired Picard wandering around his vineyard with Number One in tow. With a cap and cane, Stewart’s character is far from the commanding, er, commanding officer from The Next Generation.
Speaking of, it’s looking more likely that Picard may reunite with some old friends in the show as LeVar “Georgi LaForge” Burton believes the whole TNG crew will turn up on Picard eventually (at least three seasons are in the planning). Likewise, rumors point to Jonathan Frakes and Brent Spiner returning for guest spots in season 1 as well.
As for what led Picard to his life of retirement, the leading theory is that he tried to save the Romulans when Romulus was destroyed (as seen in 2009’s Star Trek) but the rescue mission went wrong, crushing his spirit. We’ll see how he finds hope again when Star Trek: Picard arrives later this year.
