Talk:Jean-Luc Picard

Why did they pick a British actor to play a French captain?

He was supposedly born and raised in France. Shouldn't he at least have a French accent? Or does this imply that France was conquered by the UK at some point in the future? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.243.221.144 (talk) 20:41, 9 February 2010 (UTC)

It's not unlikely that after being born his family took up residence in Britain.68.0.181.163 (talk) 06:56, 5 March 2010 (UTC)

It is more likely due to the preferences of US TV audiences. Perhaps it was thought a French accent would put audiences off ... I can imagine some critic writing: "I like the character of Captain Picard, but that French accent is so hard to understand", despite it probably not being hard to understand at all. The casting of Patrick Stewart, a reknowned Shakespearean actor, was considered quite a coup. More puzzling is why, once Stewart was cast, they didn't rename the character to something more British sounding and reinvent a British back-story for the character. Astronaut (talk) 18:04, 8 March 2010 (UTC)

its kinda part of the humor of it, he does things that are British more then french, remember when he sang heart of oak, the royal navy song that is about beating up the french? i laughed at that hard. even patrick stewart joked about this, if i recall he said something along the lines of his character must have had a british nanny. Smitty1337 (talk) 23:15, 8 March 2010 (UTC)

They were worried someone might think he was in fact Canadian, eh? Alastairward (talk) 09:54, 9 March 2010 (UTC)

Patrick Stewart NOT Sir Patrick NOT Sir Stewart

Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style_(biographies)#Honorific_titles

it says this "Wikipedia guidelines permit inline use of titles but forbid inline use of honorifics. Honorific titles (e.g. "Sir"/"Dame" prenominals used by some knights)" Smitty1337 (talk) 23:46, 8 March 2010 (UTC)

Kirk vs Picard

um reallly? I'm going to delete this section because it obviously doesn't belong on fb...

1. Picard would have gone back to check on Khan when Ceti Alpha 5 shifted its orbit, thus Khan would not have been angry, thus Chekov would probably never have landed there, thus Khan would not have stolen the Genesis torpedo, thus Starfleet would still have the USS Reliant, thus Spock would not have died, thus Kirk wouldn't have stolen the Enterprise, thus the Enterprise would never had been destroyed, thus Kirk's son and Savek would still be alive, thus Kirk would not be a prime candidate in the murder of Chancellor Gorko because he would not want vengeance for the death of his son, thus the galaxy would be a better place. So there! 2. One word - velour 3. Kirk had low performance technology because he couldn't handle high performance technology. 4. Picard isn't picky about who sits in his chair on the bridge. 5. Picard can actually speak to an android of high intelligence and be understood. 6. Picard drinks Earl Grey tea. 7. Picard has sex more than once, but doesn't feel the need for us to know about every conquest. 8. Picard can pilot the Enterprise through a mine field. 9. Picard doesn't use cologne to mask his natural scent. 10. Picard can be in the same room for five minutes with a woman without groping her. 11. A holodeck would have been a waster to Kirk. 12. Kirk was scard of a little Tribble. 13. Kirk never said: 'Abandon ship, all hands abandon ship!' because he was already out of there at the first hint of trouble. 14. Picard's helmsman at the conn is highly proficient in complex space-time relationships. Kirk's helmsman is highly proficient at fencing. 15. A bartender wouldn't have bothered wasting time talking to Kirk. 16. DO women swoon when they hear 'beam me up, Scotty?' No? How about 'make it so?' See the difference? 17. If there was ever a Klingon on Kirk's bridge, Kirk would be dead. 18. Kirk couldn't go anywhere alone. He was a scaredy cat. 19. Kirk has save Starfleet and the Federation. Picard has saved the entire universe more than once. 20. Picard can speak in several languages - and he knows more than just the swear words for each one. 21. Picard looks great in Lycra. 22. Picard has aged beautifully. 23. Kirk has not aged well. 24. Kirk left the Enterprise to become a police captain. 25. Picard is still on the Enterprise. 26. Kirk has a short neck. 27. Kirk has a short forehead. 28. Picard's ship logs contain more syllables per word than Kirk's. 29. Picard collects antiques - such as books. 30. Picard is curious. 31. Picard has tossed away beautiful women because they were airheads. 32. Kirk's girlfriends looked best in complete darkness. 33. Starfleet knew Kirk couldn't handle other species that might make him feel inferior. 34. Picard has a multi-ethnic ship. 35. Kirk's doctor was named Bones. 36. Kirk's doctor was a guy. 37. Picard had the sense to get rid of the ugly doctor and get Beverly back. 38. Picard could have have Beverly if he crooked his little finger. Kirk wouldn't have the chance. 39. Picard hasn't contributed to the population explosion. 40. Two words - line delivery. 41. When Picard doesn't trust the Romulans, he forms an intricate plan to discover what they are really up to. 42. Kirk only worries about himself. 43. Picard cares if the crew lives or dies. 44. Key word - intelligence. 45. Picard dates the wives of scientific geniuses. And then only in Paris. 46. Kirk thinks himself a futuristic swashbuckler, but is more suited to prehistoric man. 47. Kirk doesn't have a sexy counsellor, or a sexy chief medical officer. 48. If Deanna read Kirk's thoughts, she would find he never had an original one. 49. Picard doesn't have to worry that Deanna can read his thoughts. 50. Picard has the guts to stand amoung hundreds of Klingons and argue with them. 51. The Borg only assimilate intelligent life. 52. If Kirk had met the Borg, they wouldn't have assimilated him. They would have discarded him as space debris. 53. Kirk wouldn't wear a kilt because people would have laughed at his legs and he would have had to kill the entire crew. 54. Picard doesn't need to wear a wig to feel a man. 55. Picard has lasted more seasons as the Captain of the Enterprise for a reason. 56. Kirk would never have allowed an episode involving a dream sequence in which Deanna and Worf become lovers. It would have taken attention away from him. 57. Kirk is rude. 58. Kirk could never have handled a first officer like Riker. RIker would have grown impatient with his halting, gasping sentences and thrown him into the cargo bay. 59. Wesley Crusher would have running the Enterprise had Kirk been his Captain, and Kirk would have never known. 60. Beverly Crusher would have zapped Kirk had he made a move on her. 61. Kirk can do neither without seeming like an ape. 62. Picard can talk the talk. 63. Picard can walk the walk. 64. Kirk never knew Scotty lied to him about the status of the engines because he didn't understand the Enterprise didn't use gas. 65. Picard can speak intelligently with his officers about anything on the Enterprise. 66. Picard like painting nudes, which allows him plent of time to properly court the model. 67. Picard can do much better than Joan Collins. 68. If it was Picard, Kirk's favourite fantasy would come true. 69. If a group of 10 sex-starved women were being rescued by the Captain of the Enterprise, and it was Kirk, they'd run away screaming 'we'll wait for the next ship!' 70. Picard is a man of culture. 71. Picard has taste. 72. Kirk was merely a first draft. Picard is the refined, edited version. 73. Picard drinks ale, yet where is his 'beer belly?' 74. Picard wears a more natural, less caked make-up. 75. Picard can tell the difference between a real woman and a mirage. 76. Picard doesn't stare at himself for hours in the mirror. 77. Picard doesn't believe himself to be omni-perfect. 78. Kirk wouldn't have known what archaeology was if it bit him on the bottom. 79. Picard knows how to spell his middle name. 80. Picard is a seasoned vetern. He has lasted seven seasons. 81. Picard admits he's made mistakes. It takes a real man to admit thier errors. 82. Picard is rational. 83. Picard listens to his first officer, considers the information, then makes a appropriate decision. 84. Kirk only though he beat a Vulcan at chess; Picard did. 85. Kirk never straightened his shirt because he was a slob. 86. Kirk didn't have the brains to read a book or appreciate fictional characters such as Dixon Hill. 87. Picard is sexier with his shirt unbuttoned to his waist than Kirk is completely naked. 88. Picard would rather sing to children to comfort them than kill them. 89. Picard is self-confident. 90. Picard has learned patience. Kirk couldn't learn the alphabet. 91. Picard is a man of reason, who isn't afraid to show his strength when necessary, but only when necessary. 92. Picard is a class act. 93. Picard has morals. 94. If Kirk had been killed in the first episode, the show would have been reduced to 30 minutes of good acting. 95. Two words - sexy smile. 96. Picard's picture is beside the word confidence in the dictionary. 97. Hair doesn't mean diddly if the personality is all air. 98. Picard doesn't need to hop in the sack to prove his masculinity. 99. Picard is thin enough to wear a jmp suit with panache. 100. Picard can say more than two words without gasping for air. is offline Reply With Quote —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.89.159.69 (talk) 04:19, 28 March 2010 (UTC)

you dont need to quote vandalism on the talk page to delete it, its obvious vandalism and can be reverted immediatly without discussion...Make it so! ... Everyone knows Kirk was better JK. Smitty1337 (talk) 18:28, 28 March 2010 (UTC)

I like that this was pasted out of the article, it is a good laugh. But no, it does not belong in the article itself. Akuvar (talk) 20:35, 8 October 2010 (UTC)

Picard Song

The Picard Song redirects here. There is no mention of it in this article however. I'm sure a pop culture references section could be created and the song be listed there.NiX0n (talk) 13:35, 25 August 2010 (UTC)

Plenty of mention in the talk archives, in archive 1 and archive 2. There was no consensus that it was notable enough to include here just yet. WikiuserNI (talk) 14:14, 25 August 2010 (UTC)

But all they say there is that that maybe The Picard Song should be talked about on the YTMND page. Which is fine, but then "The Picard Song" should redirect there. If we don't want to talk about it there or here, and it doesn't warrant it's own page (it doesn't) "The Picard Song" should redirect to nothing (red link). If we're going to have a redirect, the redirect should point to something about the topic and not end in space. CatCube (talk) 22:54, 27 August 2010 (UTC)

Kirk vs. Picard

Why is the article James T. Kirk over 3 times as long as the article Jean-Luc Picard? It can't be all because Kirk is better known among non-Trekk{er,ie}s. JIP | Talk 19:52, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

Perhaps it's because older trekkies have more time to edit Wikipedia? In contrast, those whose first contact with Star Trek was TNG in the late 80s - early 90s, are now in the busiest phase of their working careers. Still, I think Picard's article should be expanded a lot. Nanobear (talk) 20:11, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

Well, the Picard article used to be longer than the Kirk article is now until August 2007, when it was decided to trim away over two thirds of it. In contrast, the Kirk article is currently almost at the longest it's ever been during the eight and a half years of its existence, with no such major trimming ever having happened. JIP | Talk 20:25, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

Looking at the old 2007 version, I think much of this material could be reinserted. Nanobear (talk) 20:31, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

I think I largely got the ball rolling on expanding the Kirk article, and a couple of ther folks joined in to expand key sections. Picked it largely because I was spotting a lot of real-world coverage and interest in the character with the newest film coming out. Has nothing to do with being a younger/older fan (I was barely old enough to "get" TNG when it first aired). I'm sure this article could similarly be improved. The 2007 version linked earlier, though, is utter crap (admittedly, a lot of which I contributed before I understood e.g WP:RS and WP:WAF), consisting almost entirely of in-universe plot summary, trivia, and WP:OR. --EEMIV (talk) 03:22, 15 February 2011 (UTC)

Character depiction in movies?

I think there should at least be a 2-3 sentence paragraph about the character being depicted so differently from the TNG series, e.g. the "series-Picard" would never have acted the way he did in First Contact (diplomat vs. action hero). CaptainWorf (talk) 13:02, 18 February 2012 (UTC)