Deer In Headlines: Special Edition
By Gery L. Deer
On September 28, 1987, I sat in front of the television, skeptical about the premiere of “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” A new Enterprise? Without Kirk, Spock, or McCoy? And its captain was a bald Frenchman with an unmistakably British voice? I wasn’t convinced. Portrayed by Sir Patrick Stewart, Captain Jean-Luc Picard spent seven seasons and four feature films, and a streaming series boldly going where the original Enterprise crew never had the opportunity to go.
The news of Stewart’s death on October 29th hit me harder than I expected. Perhaps it shouldn’t have. For nearly four decades, Stewart and the character he brought to life helped shape my understanding of leadership, kindness, courage, and what it means to be human.
I grew up with William Shatner’s Captain Kirk. His Enterprise was my first voyage into Gene Roddenberry’s hopeful future. Kirk was bold, impulsive, and fiercely protective of his ship and crew. I admired him. But for the last 40 years, through Stewart’s brilliant acting and award-winning writing, Captain Picard taught me something different, and I couldn’t imagine the bridge without him.
Picard didn’t need to raise his voice to command a room. He listened before deciding, questioned his own assumptions, and understood that strength without compassion was merely force. He could be stern, stubborn, and occasionally wrong. That made him believable. His willingness to confront those shortcomings made him admirable.
In the ST:TNG episode, “Chain of Command,” Picard’s enemy captor tortures him, demanding that he acknowledge five lights where only four exist. Stewart’s performance strips away Picard’s composure until we see a frightened, suffering man fighting to hold on to the truth. His defiance is unforgettable. So is his later admission that, near the end, he actually saw five lights.
That moment taught me something about courage. It isn’t always an unshakable voice or a heroic speech. Sometimes it’s surviving what nearly breaks you and finding the honesty to admit how close you came.
Stewart knew something about suffering beyond a script. He spoke openly about growing up with an abusive father and later advocated for people affected by domestic violence. He also possessed the extraordinary talent to command a Shakespearean stage or become an entire household of characters in his one-man “A Christmas Carol.” His artistry was much larger than a starship bridge. Still, that bridge is where I came to know him.
His passing follows the death of Walter Koenig, the original Star Trek’s Pavel Chekov, by only a few days. I had the privilege of meeting Walter on several occasions. He was thoughtful, generous with his time, and genuinely appreciative of the people who loved his work. Losing both men in one week feels like watching pieces of my own history disappear.
Of the principal “Next Generation” cast, Stewart was one of only two I never met. Yet I’ve met enough of his other colleagues to recognize the affection behind their stories about him. They described a disciplined professional who expected everyone to take the work seriously, even when the cameras stopped and the laughter began.
Some people will say it was only television. They’re right, technically. But stories have always helped us decide who we want to become. Sometimes a fictional starship offers a clearer moral compass than the very real world outside our windows.
The Enterprise showed us people of different backgrounds working together, arguing respectfully, learning from mistakes, and believing tomorrow could be better. Picard reminded us that dignity matters, especially when disagreement would make cruelty easier. Those lessons stayed with me long after the closing credits.
I know actors aren’t their characters. Patrick Stewart was a complicated human being, not a perfect fictional captain. But through his work, he gave millions of us someone worth listening to, and perhaps a little worth becoming.
Every beloved ensemble has a sad truth. Eventually, they will gather to say goodbye to one another, until only one remains to remember them all. Stewart is the first of the principal “Next Generation” cast to leave us, and that realization hurts.
His star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame may someday tarnish. What he taught us need not. So to his fans, I say this: let’s make sure history never forgets the name, Patrick Stewart. He… made it so. “Let’s see what’s out there.”