Favorite Picard quirks and moments?

leviathan99

I've been playing with a Foundry mission a bit. One of the things that's entailed has been a look at what makes Trek characters tick.

I think I've nailed writing Picard-like dialogue but rewatching TNG, I'm struck by how much we learn about him and his crew.

For example, that he began studying Iconia as a cadet. Or the running bit about Picard taking piano lessons as a child but giving it up due to a mix of lack of discipline in keeping up with rehearsal and stagefright.

Throughout Trek, there's this delightful tendency to take what COULD be a straightforward conversation and have characters reveal details about themselves. Sometimes through analogy but often through nice character work by the writers. Someone about to go into battle, instead of just kissing their gun and going, would always have some story about an uncle or a childhood toy or a favorite meal. It's just... nice. Sometimes (maybe often) I felt like the characters were deeper than the actors playing them and that's not as common as you might think.

But especially Picard.

So... What stands out in your mind about Picard?

centersolace

Everyone hates on Generations, I am no exception. But there is that one part, where Picard is first in the Nexus, and when it gives him what he's always wanted, he's so happy he starts to cry. It's kind of a tender moment for a man who's always been the one we look up to, and be the serious, in control, leader figure, rather than the gentle father figure we see for those few moments.

Then when he realizes it's all fake, and the Nexus merely created these for him, he gets kind of angry and upset, almost genuinely hurt that it's not real, and this is what brings back out the captain in him, and goes to stop Soran.

And that's basically Picard in a nutshell right there. To bad the rest of the movie was so silly.

voporak

Picard tugs down on his shirt at least once in basically every episode. Not like it isn't known...

[Local] Voporak@voporak performs the Picard Manuver.

briitta

We can argue or Picard was the best Captain. But he was certainly the best actor.

There is a TNG episode when he is recuperating from being Locutus of Borg, and he goes back home, to the vineyard of his father, now run by his brother. They have a lot of tension and arguments. But at the end they get in a physical fight, roll in the dirt, and eventually realise the sillyness of it all and laugh at themselves. And then Picards laughter turns into crying and all his feelings of failure and guilt come out over how he could not resist the Borg. A scene where I never manage to keep my eyes dry.

Another great scene where he defends Data's human rights. At the final trial he gives a speech that makes the hairs on my arms stand up.

Or the episode where he was tortured by the Cardassians into admitting he saw four lights where there were three (I think). Eventually, after all the torture, he is released, and sits there, calmly and controlled, talking to Diana about it. And then he breaks...again, it always moves me.

He really played so many wonderful scenes, being this utterly lonely man, brilliant in so many ways, but tragically lonely and uncomfortable with people, you just had to feel for him.

mimey2

briitta wrote: »

Or the episode where he was tortured by the Cardassians into admitting he saw four lights where there were three (I think). Eventually, after all the torture, he is released, and sits there, calmly and controlled, talking to Diana about it. And then he breaks...again, it always moves me.

It was four lights, and he was tortured to believe it was 5. Gotta love the nod to 1984.

hydaspes

mimey2 wrote: »

It was four lights, and he was tortured to believe it was 5. Gotta love the nod to 1984.

Or were they really 5, and was he tortured into believing they were 4 from the start?

I think Picard himself was a little confused about that at the end.

Personally, I saw three lights at the beginning of the episode, for a while there was only one, but eight at the end, of different colors. But I did smoke something.