Patrick Stewart to return to Picard role

I think any good scifi fan is probably aware of this stupendous news. The legendary Sir Patrick Stewart is going to reprise his role as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in a new Star Trek series. Just the fact that there is going to be new Star Trek is exciting and the fact that it features Picard is a good reason to break out the Romulan Ale.

The news was announced by Sir Patrick Stewart himself at a Star Trek convention in Las Vegas. He said: “It is an unexpected but delightful surprise to find myself excited and invigorated to be returning to Jean-Luc Picard and to explore new dimensions within him. Seeking out new life for him, when I thought that life was over.”

The details at present are somewhat sparse. As in, there aren’t any. Personally, I find it intriguing that the last episode of The Next Generation (TNG), called ‘All Good Things’, featured Picard travelling forward and backward in time. When becoming his future self, he is himself 25 years on from his then present. (If you know what I mean.) That was filmed in 1994 and the new series is unlikely to air until next year – so 25 years exactly. The producers back then thought that a 53-year-old Stewart with nothing more than an added beard would look like the great actor when he was 78. Like he was going to have the same face and not really age. It turned out to be completely correct as Stewart hasn’t actually aged.

Now it could be that this is just a coincidence. In ‘All Good Things’ it turns out that the anomaly he observes in all three time periods was just a fake test by Q. So Picard doesn’t necessarily have to become an old fella working on a vineyard. He changes at the end of the episode by joining his crew in playing poker so his character story might change. (Maybe he becomes a high stakes gambler or professional recorder player or Shakespearean actor.) I wouldn’t be surprised if Q features again along with the anomaly.

I look forward to seeing what they do. At least this one won’t be a prequel or a reimagining. It would be great if all the cast is back – Star Trek: The Aging Generation. Or The Previous Generation. Or… I’ll stop.