Every Star Trek fan has an opinion on the franchise's greatest captain. Some prefer the swagger of James T. Others admire Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) for his conviction, or Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) for her resilience.
But ultimately, Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) usually wins those debates because he embodied the very best of Starfleet: intelligence, diplomacy, curiosity, and compassion. To celebrate the life of Sir Patrick Stewart, Polygon is republishing this tribute to his seminal performance as Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Not surprisingly, the Stewart quote that best captures why Jean-Luc Picard remains so beloved isn't about command.
It isn't, "Make it so." It isn't, "Engage." It isn't even, "Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra," although I absolutely want that on a T-shirt. The best words Picard ever utters come quietly near the end of The Next Generation's fifth-season masterpiece, "The Inner Light." "Seize the time... Make now always the most precious time.
Now will never come again." It's the greatest quote Jean-Luc Picard ever speaks because it explains the man beneath the captain's uniform better than any order he ever gave from the bridge of the Enterprise. Oddly enough, he isn't Jean-Luc Picard when he says it. First broadcast on June 1, 1992, "The Inner Light" begins with one of the simplest premises in Star Trek history.
While surveying a seemingly lifeless planet, the Enterprise encounters an ancient probe that strikes Picard with an energy beam. Only about 25 minutes pass aboard the ship, but inside his mind, Picard lives an entirely different life. He awakens as Kamin, an iron weaver on the planet Kataan.
Over the course of decades, he falls in love, raises a family, watches his children grow up, learns to play the ressikan flute, and slowly realizes his world's sun is dying. By the time Picard returns to the Enterprise, he's experienced another man's entire life. The quote comes near the end of that life as Kamin encourages his daughter to treasure every moment she has.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
