Patrick Stewart Made It So

 

Late this afternoon, I read of the passing of actor Patrick Stewart, best known for his portrayal of Captain Jean-Luc Picard on Star Trek: The Next Generation. 

Stewart died following what his spokesperson described as “a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia.” He was 86.

This has been a sad week for Star Trek fans as Stewart's passing comes only 72 hours after the death of Walter Koenig, who portrayed Ensign Chekov on Star Trek. 

I must admit it took me a while to accept and appreciate Stewart as the Captain of the USS Enterprise. Then again, it took Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry some time to be sold on the idea of having an otherwise obscure bald middle-aged British Shakespearean actor be at the helm of the Enterprise. 

Patrick Stewart was not William Shatner. While I personally prefer Captain Kirk over Captain Picard, Kirk's successor had to be distinct and display his own kind of strength. Stewart's voice could recite a technical manual and make it sound like a sonnet.

In other words, he made it so. R.I.P.