#captain jean-luc picard

[atomic-chronoscaph]

Star Trek: The Next Generation - art by Dusty Abell (2017)

[chernobog13]

[maintitle]

Genuinely horrifying that Picard spent eight years as the Captain in Starfleet, and in that time he took so little shore leave that he had nearly a full calendar year saved up by Insurrection. And in that time he went to Risa exactly once, and only started playing cards with the rest of the crew toward the end of the Enterprise-D's time.

[gameraboy2]

Captain Jean-Luc Picard by "Plate of the Year" Artist, Thomas Blackshear, 1994

[starleska]

just watched the Darmok episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation and i can feel my heart ripping in two. the joy of gradual shared understanding. the language based on an evolving mythos of events which can reflect any and every future event. Picard and Dathon becoming part of that mythos because of Dathon's sacrifice and Picard forging a new path for their species' relations. ohhhh God it's so good 💔💔💔

[stitching-in-time]

Ok so we all agree that ‘The Naked Now’ is an absolutely terrible episode, but you have to admit that Dr. Crusher delivers the sickest burn to Captain Picard when she’s tells him how the sex pollen virus has judgement impairing qualities, and then says ‘for example, right now I find you very attractive’! 

LOL Drag him, honey! Serves him right for telling Wesley to shut up!!

[anna-neko]

sometimes..... u just wanna get a warm drink and sink into the ancient of old interwebz memes

[rabbitcruiser]

First Contact Day 

On April 5th, 2063, Zefram Cochrane makes first contact between man and extraterrestrials: this day is for Trekkies everywhere to let their geekdom out.

Are you one of those people who is considered to be a real, committed Trekkie? Did you spend your youth trying to Vulcan Nerve Pinch those problems away? Is there a regulation StarFleet uniform in the closet and is speaking Klingon as a second language a lifelong pursuit?

Then it’s time to get that uniform on and prepare to celebrate First Contact! First Contact Day is celebrated by fans everywhere. Even those people who don’t know Zefram Cochrane from Zac Efron are still absolutely welcome to join in!

First Contact Day is a great time to learn more about the entire Star Trek franchise and what it has meant to Science Fiction fans over the years.

History of First Contact Day

There is one day in the history of mankind in the Star Trek universe that stands out above all others, even though it’s only celebrated as a relatively minor holiday. It is none other than First Contact Day.

According to Star Trek “history”, on that day in 2063, Zefram Cochrane first took a flight at speeds in excess of Warp 1 in the Phoenix, alerting the Vulcan race to their entrance into the interstellar community and initiating the first contact. Some 300 years later it was commemorated as First Contact Day, and the celebration went on from there. Star Trek: First Contact Day commemorates this particular day in real life, in earth time, and fans all over the world have the opportunity to get together to celebrate the most pivotal moment in Star Trek human history!

First Contact is an important part of the introduction of a species into the galactic community and is handled very carefully by the extant species of StarFleet. Generally speaking, it has been found to be beneficial to privately approach the scientists and other intellectuals of the target species with the belief that they’ll be ready to accept the existence of off-world species. The approach is generally timed for when the species is about to enter the galactic community by engaging in their first faster-than-light travel.

From that point, the new species receives an explanation about what the universe outside their solar system is like and then are welcomed in. It’s a bit of a complicated process but it’s ultimately effective in solving a lot of problems in the universe.

So why does First Contact Day happen on April 5th? It seems that the show’s co-creator, Ronald D. Moore, chose the day because it is his eldest son’s birthday. That sounds like another great reason to celebrate!

How to Celebrate First Contact Day

Celebrating this pivotal moment in all of human history is no small feat! Especially since the day hasn’t technically happened yet. It will happen in the future–in 2063.

Join in on these fun activities for honoring the day, or come up with some other creative Trekkie ideas:

Watch Star Trek Shows and Films

The first step to celebrating this day is getting out Star Trek: First Contact and giving it a fresh watch. This 1996 film was the 8th in the Star Trek film series, and the second to star the beloved cast from the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation.

But watching this one film can be just the beginning because the shows and movies have come and gone since the 1960s, so the options for watching are probably just about endless. To get some background information particularly on First Contact Day, it might be helpful to watch the original Star Trek series episode, Metamorphosis, in which the crew meets a very young Zefram Cochrane.

Host a Star Trek: First Contact Party

One great idea is to have a Star Trek: First Contact Day celebration like they do in Star Trek! Just get together with various Trekkie friends, preferably dressed in uniform, and bring out Zefram Cochrane’s favorite foods such as cheeses and cheese pierogi. Don’t forget to play some old style rock and roll on the radio and party like it’s 2063!

That’s the beginning of a fantastic celebration, and since everyone is already together, it would be a great time to go ahead and run a complete marathon of all the movies!

Create a Star Trek Playlist

Space themed music is so next year! While hosting that party, some excellent tunes (including some oldies that Zefram Cochrane loved!) will be necessary to get everyone grooving. Try these songs out on a playlist:

Magic Carpet Ride (1968) Steppenwolf

Ooby Dooby (1961) Roy Orbison

Star Trekkin’ (1987) The Firm

The Picard Song (2001) Dark Materia

Space Song (2015) Beach House

Intergalactic (1998) Beastie Boys

Mr. Spock’s Brain (1993) S.P.O.C.K.

Enjoy Some Whiskey in Honor of Dr. Cochrane

Whether at a full party or with just a few friends, celebrating First Contact Day should honor Zefram Cochrane, and he did love his whiskey! In fact, he claims he has a hangover from whiskey just before using his rocket, Phoenix, to become the first ever human to break warp speed. And this paved the way to the development of the United Federation of Planets. So that’s surely something worth toasting!

Check Out the Star Trek Website

To learn more about First Contact Day and the entire Star Trek franchise, take a little peek at the website. This online resource offers all kinds of background information for fans and novices to go one step further, and maybe even — “to go boldly where no man has gone before”!

Source

[sweet-suzume]

Picard's: "Captains[sic] log: We've been assigned to the Sikoro System where we are to test the soil on Jas'den Prime in hopes to gain a sample of a rare substance which may finally cure the common cold. Im [sic] confident that we will succeed."

Janeway's: "Captains[sic] log: Darkness. Are we even moving? Nothing but fucking darkness. If this interminable void has done anything, it has made me realize the futility of hope. Shame and regret have become my only companions. I am d e s o l a t i o n

Love both TNG and VOY. But Voyager has that lil' strain of "we're almost certainly going to die out here, but at least it'll be rad" that's just so appealing to me

[atomic-chronoscaph]

Patrick Stewart - Wardrobe and make-up test for Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)

[chernobog13]

This scene gets me in the feels every time.

[maintitle]

I think Insurrection might be the weakest of the main-canon Trek movies, but I will admit it seems like the movie was made to just do Enterprise joke bits and I CAN appreciate that. Where else would we get a pilot battle where they sing to each other, a Klingon pimple, Picard dancing to the mambo, and Data using his feetsies to activate water wings?

An important movie. I'm glad it exists.

[vulcanlovetriangles]

I feel deprived that we never saw these two meet, though they likely crossed paths at some point in their careers.

[jdawg696911]

Captain Picard tries out his new trampoline on the bridge

[stitching-in-time]

‘Where No Man Has Gone Before’ is one of the better early Next Gen episodes, and honestly the score being so good really helps. There’s genuine emotion and a sense of wonder in the music in this episode, it doesn’t sound like anything else in the whole show, and I'm disappointed they didn’t play up the emotion in the stories with music like this very often. The scene where Picard sees his mom is just such a heart wrenching little gem- we rarely get to see Captain Picard talk about his family or show his feelings, and seeing him so visibly affected by suddenly meeting her, admitting that he always felt her presence with him, it’s a beautiful little glimpse beneath his guarded exterior. And the music really underscores how magical that moment is for him. It’s one of my favorite little scenes. 

Also this glimpse of his mom gives us some intriguing clues about his upbringing. She looks like she’s wearing an outfit from the 1900s, which would be pretty eccentric now, but in the 24th century would probably be even weirder, and she’s drinking tea, even though she’s married to a man whose family business is making wine. She seems pretty laid back and open-minded, and he clearly has great affection for her. On the flip side, the glimpse of Picard’s dad in ‘Tapestry’ shows us a very stern man who was harshly critical of his son’s choices, so I think we can safely conclude that little Jean-Luc liked his mom better and took after her. His oddly un-French love of Earl Grey tea is obviously something he picked up from his eccentric mom. One wonders how his parents ended up together in the first place, but who knows, maybe they were just really good looking when they were younger lol. Anyway, it explains a lot about his relationship with his brother, who was obviously their dad’s favorite, following in his footsteps by entering the family business and doing everything the proper way. I can picture Jean-Luc as a kid with this free-spirited mom who probably took him on picnics and adventures dressed up in historical clothes, while all the neighbors gawked at them and called them weird, and meanwhile she’s the one encouraging him in all his nerdy interests, and telling him not to worry about what his father and brother think, or what anyone thinks, to just read his books about space and archaeology and do whatever makes him happy. 

And maybe, when he’s on his starship as a bald old man in his captain’s chair, surrounded by his found family of fellow Starfleet nerds, with all his accolades and his place in the history books assured, he thinks back to his mom and her costumed tea parties, who lived her life on her own terms, even if everyone else thought it was crazy. And he’s grateful to her for encouraging him, knowing he owes a lot of his success to her, and happy because he knows that she would be proud of him for living his life his own way, and making his own happiness, even if everyone else might not understand it.

And I get a little misty eyed tbh.

(Sorry, this was supposed to be a normal analysis of the episode, instead of a side-trip to my head canons about Captain Picard’s childhood but oh well)

[the-autistic-vulcan]

i think they're better than Riker and Troi

is that controversial? maybe

do i care? no

Picard/Cusher

Star Trek: The Next Generation / Star Trek Picard