If you want everyStar Trekseries and movie withJean Luc-Picardin your collection, then Paramount Home Entertainment is making it so. The 54-discStar Trek: The Picard Legacy Collectionis entering our galaxy on November 7.
The full career of one of the greatest captains in Starfleet history can now be yours, in one enormous and handsomely-packaged box set. The set contains all seven seasons ofStar Trek: The Next Generation, all three seasons ofStar Trek: Picard, and the four theatrical movies featuring Picard and theNext Generationcast:Star Trek: Generations,Star Trek: First Contact,Star Trek: Insurrection, andStar Trek: Nemesis. The set includes over 35 hours of special features, a new edition ofThe Wisdom of Picardbook (now fully updated and illustrated through the end of thePicardseries), and a number of unique collectibles. The set will come with a custom deck of playing cards (to reflect theNext Generationcrew’s fondness for late-night poker games, although Picard himself only joined on special occasions), a set of four coasters from Picard’s family winery,Château Picard, and a set of magnets reflecting all of Picard’s combadges throughout his career.
Who Is Jean-Luc Picard?
A distinguished British stage actor then known to American audiences from his performances inDune,Lifeforce, andExcalibur,Patrick Stewartwas given the daunting task of steering theStar Trekfranchise, which was returning to TV for the first time in almost two decades, and without any of the iconic cast of the ’60s series. The first two seasons ofThe Next Generationwere troubled, but eventually the show found its footing, and became an enormous hit; Stewart’s character, Jean-Luc Picard, became one of the most beloved Star Trek characters of all time. In the series' 1987 pilot, Picard was assigned to theUSS Enterprise-D, Starfleet’s flagship; assisted by his stalwart crew, he commanded the ship with integrity, courage, and honor. His ship was the first to encounter the cybernetic Borg aliens; later, he wasassimilated by them and forced to lead an attack on Starfleet. Although he was later decoupled from the Borg Collective, the trauma of the incident stayed with him for decades.
Over the course of seven seasons and four movies, he met his predecessor, Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner); traveled back in time to help humanity make first contact with the Vulcans; and even faced off against an evil clone of himself. He retired from Starfleet in the wake of the planet Romulus' destruction (as seen in the 2009Star Trekreboot), but was roused out of retirement decades later in thePicardseries, where he had one final confrontation with his old enemy Q, made peace with a Borg offshoot, andunited his original crewto stop the destruction of Starfleet. Stewart seems to be done with the character for now, but one should never rule anything out.
Reviews for the first two seasons ofPicardwere mixed, although critics unanimously praised Stewart’s performance; Collider’sHaleigh Foutchsaid Stewart “remains an absolute joy to behold on screen, as dignified and charismatic as he ever was”. The third season, which reunited the entire cast ofThe Next Generation, was better-received, and has even spurred calls for aStar Trek: Legacyspinoff.
Star Trek: The Picard Legacy Collectionwill be released on November 7.Stay tuned to Collider for future updates, and watch Collider’s interview with Stewart and Gates McFadden below.
