Remembering Sir Patrick Stewart
“He who was my companion, through adventure, and hardship… is gone forever.” — Jean-Luc Picard to Captain Dathon, “Darmok”
Only a few hours after I posted yesterday’s news round-up came the word that Sir Patrick Stewart had died.
I watched “Encounter at Farpoint”, the premiere episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, when it first aired on Sept. 28, 1987, and I’ve been a forever fan of Sir Patrick Stewart’s ever since.
I had the pleasure of seeing him perform live on Broadway in The Tempest in the nineties with my family.
Thank the Great Bird of the Galaxy (and Terry Matalas) for the miracle of Picard season three, that brought the story of Jean-Luc Picard to a satisfying conclusion (after the disappointments of Star Trek: Nemesis and the first two seasons of Picard).
Sir Patrick Stewart blessed us with so much great work over his life… am I greedy for saying I still wanted more?
Here are just a handful of the many, many incredible moments that Sir Patrick Stewart gave us:
Gurney Halleck in David Lynch’s Dune (1984) — It’s a small role in the film, but Sir Patrick brings such dignity & gravity to the performance, he made the character instantly memorable. “Not in the mood??”
Restaurant Owner in L.A. Story (1991) — Sir Patrick kills in this very funny scene, emasculating Steve Martin’s character for not being rich enough to eat in his restaurant.
Stonecutter “Number One” on The Simpsons (“Homer the Great”, 1995) — Sir Patrick’s gravitas is used for perfect comedic effect in this classic Simpsons episode.
Captain Ahab in Moby Dick (1998) — Sir Patrick elevates this made-for-TV mini-series with his commanding performance as Ahab.
Darcy Banker in Green Room (2015) — Sir Patrick is monstrous & terrifying as a white supremacist leader in Jeremy Saulnier’s intense film. This is one of the great movie-villain roles!
I of course loved Sir Patrick in all of his many appearances as Professor Charles Xavier. He was perfect dream-casting when he first appeared in the 2000 X-Men film, where he was instantly iconic and memorable as Professor X:
He continued to be amazing in all of his many re-appearances. I want to particularly highlight Days of Future Past (2014):
But always first and foremost is Sir Patrick’s decades of astounding work as Captain Jean-Luc Picard. Here are just a few of the astounding array of memorable moments he gave us in this role:
“Yesterday’s Enterprise” (TNG season 3) — This is one of the all-time best episodes of Star Trek ever, and Sir Patrick’s triumphant delivery of the line: “let us be sure that history never forgets the name… Enterprise” is everything I want in my TV heroes. (Skip to 1:11 in the video below for this great monologue!)
The Drumhead (TNG season 4) — This underrated episode gives us one of the best Picard monologues ever, holding forth on the slippery slope of curtailing personal freedoms in the name of security.
“Darmok” (TNG season 5) — This is a phenomenally clever episode of TNG, in which Picard must find some way of communicating with an alien captain (played brilliantly by Paul Winfield) who communicates only using metaphor.
“Chain of Command Part II” (TNG season 5) — This whole episode is wrenching, as we watch Picard being tortured by the Cardassian played by David Warner. Sir Patrick’s delivery of “there are four lights!” at the end is much-loved by Trek fans, but for me it’s the power of the episode’s concluding scene, in which Picard admits that the Cardassian torturer did succeed in breaking him, that is the tour-de-force moment in the episode and the reason this story is so devastating.
“The Inner Light” (TNG season 5) — Possibly the greatest episode of Star Trek ever, this incredible episode builds to a heartbreaking climax; as Picard realizes that he has led an entire life that has all been in his mind, the result of an alien probe. Look how amazing Sir Patrick is in this scene, even under a ton of old-age make-up. It’s so sad that this scene also includes Richard Riehle, who also died just last month.
The ready room scene in Star Trek: First Contact — This might be my favorite single scene in Star Trek ever, as Lily (played by the mesmerizing Alfre Woodard) pushes Picard to confront all the hatred he’s kept bottled up inside after being violated by the Borg:
There are so many more scenes I could have included. How about a young Sir Patrick’s silent role as the villainous Karla in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1979)?? I look forward to revisiting all of these great performances, and so many more, in the years ahead.
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