The death of Sir Patrick Stewart, announced today “following a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s Disease and Lewy Body Dementia” leaves a massive hole in our hearts as he is, like to many others, my Captain. It was his leadership, his gravitas, as Jean-Luc Picard that saw Star Trek: The Next Generation overcome a bumpy start to become one of the greatest Sci-Fi TV series of all time.
The big difference between The Original Series and The Next Generation is the ‘science’ and sets. The touchscreen design (no knobs or switches) and realistic interaction with the Enterprise’s computer gave TNG a truly futuristic look, technically. The technobabble was the best in Trek but could get a little out of hand.
But what could not be denied is Picard’s believability as a starship captain. He made the Enterprise feel real to me as I watched each episode late on Tuesday nights on Channel 9 in Australia. I recorded all the episodes on VHS because back then, if you missed it, you missed it.
Patrick Stewart gave the role of Picard authority and there is no other character that lived up to Star Trek’s optimistic vision of humanity’s future better than Captain Picard. And that rubbed off on Sir Patrick in real life. There is no other TV series I can rewatch as much as TNG. In fact, I still watch at least an episode a week. He performed some of the greatest monologues in television history, about morality, duty, and friendship. However, Sir Patrick wasn’t just about superb word delivery; he had excellent technical knowledge of 24th-century systems and the physical ability to kick-ass.
It’s been a difficult week for Trekkies after the passing of Walter Koenig, the beloved TOS character Pavel Chekov. I’ll be forever thankful to showrunner and executive producer Terry Matalas for bringing the TNG gang back together for season three of Picard. It was bonus send off for Sir Patrick and his TNG crew. One that we will cherish until our dying days.
I think most of all, Sir Patrick embraced the fan culture of Star Trek and never looked down on the people who put him there in the first place. Although it is a sad day, we must be grateful that Patrick Stewart lived on this Earth so we could dream about the stars every Tuesday night.
Vale Sir Patrick Stewart 1940-2026.
