Spoilers Starship Design in Star Trek: Picard

[Rahul]

It's not just the raw number of years spent on each ship. It's about the experiences made while on them.

It's quite obvious the years onboard the Ent-D have been way more formative for Picard as to who he is than the years on the Stargazer or Ent-E. Simply because more life-altering stuff happened there and he met more lifelong friends. That's perfectly reasonable.

 

[F. King Daniel]

Picard never dreams about his time on the StArgazer??

I'm convinced, based entirely on a whim, that season 2 will feature Stargazer flashbacks and the introduction of a new Young Picard.

 

[Noname Given]

It's not just the raw number of years spent on each ship. It's about the experiences made while on them.

It's quite obvious the years onboard the Ent-D have been way more formative for Picard as to who he is than the years on the Stargazer or Ent-E. Simply because more life-altering stuff happened there and he met more lifelong friends. That's perfectly reasonable.

From TNG S6 - "Relics":
http://www.chakoteya.net/NextGen/230.htm

PICARD: The first ship I ever served aboard as Captain was called the Stargazer. It was an overworked, underpowered vessel, always on the verge of flying apart at the seams. In every measurable sense, my Enterprise is far superior. But there are times when I would give almost anything to command the Stargazer again.

^^^
Just sayin'

 

[BillJ]

I'm convinced, based entirely on a whim, that season 2 will feature Stargazer flashbacks and the introduction of a new Young Picard.

Honestly, I'm surprised we aren't getting it with season one.

 

[cooleddie74]

If the creators know what's good for them we will.

 

[Tarek71]

Here's the S-31 Stealth ship from the Eaglemoss collection Booklet for comparison...

Also gives some support from my pre-existing cargo ship design.

 

[Lord Garth]

I'm convinced, based entirely on a whim, that season 2 will feature Stargazer flashbacks and the introduction of a new Young Picard.

They're saving that for the eventual prequel.

 

[cooleddie74]

PRE-CARD.

 

[Lakenheath 72]

Well, we know at least that his command between the Stargazer and Enterprise-D was a forgettable one for Picard, as he only mentioned it once, in the episode "Legacy".

 

[Crewman6]

Well, we know at least that his command between the Stargazer and Enterprise-D was a forgettable one for Picard, as he only mentioned it once, in the episode "Legacy".

I didn't know what you were referring to, so I checked memory alpha and the legacy script.

That sounds more like it could just as easily have been sloppy writing and forgetting continuity rather than a specific reference to Picard's interim command.

 

[Timo]

You mean the "command" that operated next to young Tasha Yar's "command"?

"My ship" isn't particularly informative: Jack Dawson would have spoken of the Titanic as "his ship", too. Doesn't mean the ship would have been irrelevant to Picard; the Titanic wasn't to Jack. But what I find more interesting about Picard's backstory is all those ships he served on before getting the captaincy of the Stargazer. What was he up to? What sort of adventures would really turn this brazen risk-taker into the mild-mannered, child-hating-and-fearing, Shakespeare-reading modern if baroque renaissance man we first meet?

Again, what we already know, PIC need not tell us. Give us some of the missing chapters of "I, Jean-Luc" instead.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Lakenheath 72]

According to materials prepared for Picard, and seen in an exhibit this past summer, Picard served aboard the Reliant for three years before being assigned to the Stargazer. The second Reliant was mentioned in the extended cut of "The Measure of a Man".

Crewman6, as far as I am concerned, Picard commanded a ship between Stargazer and Enterprise-D. I recognize that you disagree, and this is as far I as I will go to argue the point with you.

 

[Crewman6]

According to materials prepared for Picard, and seen in an exhibit this past summer, Picard served aboard the Reliant for three years before being assigned to the Stargazer. The second Reliant was mentioned in the extended cut of "The Measure of a Man".

Crewman6, as far as I am concerned, Picard commanded a ship between Stargazer and Enterprise-D. I recognize that you disagree, and this is as far I as I will go to argue the point with you.

I'm not arguing with you at all. I only said that the writing in "Legacy" is confusing and vague and could just as easily have been a mistake. It is literally the ONLY even fleeting reference to an interim command and, given the sloppy way it's written, I'd hardly call it ironclad proof.

That said, given the large gap between the Stargazer and the Enterprise, it certainly stands to reason that Picard WOULD have had another command. Otherwise, what the heck was he doing all that time? Were there NO other commands for him? Did he take a step back from command? If so, why would he have been given the flagship after having been out of the game for so long?

It certainly seems logical that he would have had such a command, but the "proof" of it is unconvincing at best. Many far more specific statements of fact have been ignored or retconned before.

 

[Timo]

We don't know when Picard took command of the old tub. But the longer he spent out there, the more he'd need "downtime" at Earth to forge all the important connections that would give him flagship command. A longterm field commander might be exceptionally unqualified for the job, really, having missed out on all the cocktail parties.

Then again, Picard might have made powerful friends before his Stargazer stint, too. But why would he then be given the rust bucket? Was he sent to the frontier by his handlers so that he would be out of sight and not gather San Francisco muck?

Noncanon material goes with the idea that Picard never even served on any other ship besides the Stargazer, and did that for two decades straight. Canon doesn't claim that, but it does claim that the relic was Picard's first command as a Captain. Most of the stuff at Memory Alpha is bullshit, though: no onscreen source says he was aboard in 2333 or held any particular rank at that time or got the command of the ship straight away after his heroic standing in for the skipper, say.

I used to think there was a canon reference to the Stargazer also having been the first ship Picard served on, but nothing of the sort seems to exist. All we know is that she was the first ship he actually commanded (although with the definer "as a Captain" or "as a captain", so there may have been less formal or temporary stints, or a command while he held Commander rank, or whatever).

Timo Saloniemi

 

[NCC-73515]

The autobiography says he was on the Reliant as an ensign, then on the Stargazer which he later took command of, but when Stargazer was lost and Louvois inquired so hard, he was called to serve under Quinn on Earth. He thought the Stargazer tragedy was bad enough that they wouldn't give him another ship. But then years later Quinn revealed why he held on to Picard on Earth: The Enterprise was finally constructed and he wanted him to command it.

In every measurable sense, my Enterprise is far superior. But there are times when I would give almost anything to command the Stargazer again.
Just sayin'

He of course dreamed about his previous ship, cause there's no need to dream about having his current ship that he currently has

 

[Timo]

The concept of Picard being married to the Stargazer at an early age IMHO paints the character as a loser, a tragic figure like Kirk who is prisoner to his fame. Except Picard got no fame at that early age: the "required reading" he is remembered for came quite literally during the last minute of him commanding the vessel.

Little in the onscreen material suggests early adventures aboard the Stargazer. It is an era to be explored, but I can't see PIC doing that exploring, except through minimalist event-drops that don't even amount to anecdotes.

I wonder whether the Stargazer was considered a hopeless relic back around Picard's graduation in the 2320s, early 2330s already - or only in the 2350s when he got the command at the latest?

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Ronald Held]

I believe after he lost the Stargazer, he had various desk jobs and building relationships leading to his getting the E-D.

 

[Dukhat]

The lines from “Legacy,” at the time the script was written, clearly implied that Picard was in command of the Enterprise-D (literally right before “Encounter at Farpoint”) and that he met Tasha who was serving on another ship, and immediately requested her transfer to the Enterprise. The first edition of the Star Trek Chronology even assumes this.

Then comes AGT, which completely invalidates this, and the lines “Her ship had responded to their distress call, as had mine. When it was all over, I requested that she be assigned to the Enterprise” then implied that Picard was at least aboard another ship at the time, possibly in command, possibly just a passenger, and that the Enterprise had at least been constructed for Tasha to be transferred to, even if Picard hadn’t officially taken over as her captain yet.

The Reliant award in 2364 also seems to imply that he was on another ship immediately preceding the Enterprise. Perhaps it’s the same Reliant he served on as an ensign, or a newer Reliant. But unless STP mentions anything about it, it’s still an unknown.

 

[Lord Garth]

I wonder whether the Stargazer was considered a hopeless relic back around Picard's graduation in the 2320s, early 2330s already - or only in the 2350s when he got the command at the latest?

The ship looks like it's from 2280, inside and out. You could've had the Stargazer in one of the early TOS Films and it wouldn't have looked out of place. Right down to the bridge being the same set. So, I think that in Picard's experience, the Stargazer was old to begin with.

There's another reason I like that they're going with the Enterprise-D and not the E. If Picard was dreaming about the Enterprise-E, you'd think there might be a chance that he'd be able go back to that life. We don't know what happened to the E, it still might be out there. But with the D, there's no chance. You know he can't ever go back to that. It's firmly in the past. Forever. And the past has been closed off to him at every turn. So he has to look elsewhere by force.

 

[Noname Given]

The concept of Picard being married to the Stargazer at an early age IMHO paints the character as a loser, a tragic figure like Kirk who is prisoner to his fame. Except Picard got no fame at that early age: the "required reading" he is remembered for came quite literally during the last minute of him commanding the vessel.

Little in the onscreen material suggests early adventures aboard the Stargazer. It is an era to be explored, but I can't see PIC doing that exploring, except through minimalist event-drops that don't even amount to anecdotes.

I wonder whether the Stargazer was considered a hopeless relic back around Picard's graduation in the 2320s, early 2330s already - or only in the 2350s when he got the command at the latest?

Timo Saloniemi

Well, either he was commanding the Stargazer for a long time - OR the Federation Cardassian War lasted decades because in TNG S4 - "The Wounded" , Picard relates an incident while he was Captain of the Stargazer during said war:
http://www.chakoteya.net/NextGen/186.htm

PICARD: Last time I was in this sector, I was on the Stargazer, running at warp speed ahead of a Cardassian warship.

TROI: Running, Captain? You? That's hard to believe.

PICARD: Believe it. I'd been sent to make preliminary overtures to a truce. I'd lowered my shields as a gesture of good will. But the Cardassians were not impressed. They had taken out most of my weapons and damaged the impulse engines before I could regroup and run.