Depiction
Jean-Luc Picard was born to Maurice and Yvette Picard in La Barre, France, on July 13, 2305, and dreamed of joining Starfleet. He and the rest of his family speak English, with English accents - the French language having become obsolete by the 24th century, as mentioned in the Next Generation episode "Code of Honor". The young Picard failed his first Starfleet Academy entrance exam, but was subsequently admitted and became the first freshman to win the Academy marathon. His academic training in archaeology is mentioned in numerous TNG episodes and he continues to pursue archaeology as a hobby; he also remarks at one point that he failed a semester of organic chemistry because of a distraction created by romantic issues. Shortly after graduation, Picard was stabbed in the heart by a Nausicaan, leaving the organ irreparable and requiring replacement with a parthenogenetic implant; this would prove near-fatal (or fatal; as Q discussed, life and death are not necessarily absolute concepts) later. Picard eventually served as first officer aboard the USS Stargazer, which he later commanded. During that time, he invented a starship evade and attack tactic that would become known as the Picard Maneuver.
Depicted as deeply moral, highly logical and intelligent, Picard is a master of diplomacy and debate who resolves seemingly intractable issues between multiple parties with a Solomon-like wisdom. Though such resolutions are usually peaceful, Picard is also shown using his remarkable tactical cunning in situations when it is required. Picard has a fondness for detective stories, Shakespearean drama, and archeology. He is frequently shown drinking Earl Grey tea and issuing an order by saying "Make it so."
Star Trek: The Next Generation depicts Picard's command of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D). The pilot episode shows the ship's mission to investigate a problem at Farpoint Station, which becomes sidetracked when Q makes Picard "representative" in a trial charging humanity with being a "dangerously savage child-race". Picard persuades Q to test humanity, and Q chooses as the test's first stage the crew's performance at Farpoint. The trial "ends" seven years later (when Q reminds Picard that it never does), in the series finale, when humanity is absolved by Picard's demonstration that the species has the capacity to explore the "possibilities of existence".
The third season finale, "The Best of Both Worlds, Part I", depicts Picard being assimilated by the Borg to serve as a bridge between humanity and the Borg; Picard's assimilation and recovery are a critical point in the character's development, and provided backstory for the film Star Trek: First Contact and the development of Benjamin Sisko, the protagonist of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Wheaton asked Roddenberry to keep Picard a Borg for a few more episodes beyond the third season finale, as he thought that would be more interesting than simply restoring Picard in Part II. It is later revealed in First Contact that parts of Borg machinery were removed from inside Picard, but that he retains traumatic memories of assimilation (which becomes a pivotal plot twist in Star Trek: First Contact).
The fourth-season episode "Family" reveals that Picard has a brother, Robert, who took charge of the family vineyards in La Barre after Picard joined Starfleet. Robert and his wife have a young son, René, who is Picard's nephew. During the film Star Trek Generations, Picard learns that Robert and René have both died in a fire. The fate of Robert's wife, Marie, is not revealed.
Picard joins forces with legendary Enterprise captain James T. Kirk in Star Trek Generations to fight the film's villain, Dr. Tolian Soran. Commanding the new USS Enterprise-E (after the Enterprise-D is destroyed in Generations), Picard again confronts the Borg in First Contact. Later, he fights a species' forced relocation in Star Trek: Insurrection, and encounters Shinzon, a Romulan-made clone of himself, in Star Trek Nemesis.
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