Star Trek: 10 Best Captain Picard Speeches

9. There It Sits

Star Trek Picard
CBS Media Ventures

The Next Generation: The Measure Of A Man (Season 2, Episode 9)

The Measure of a Man is probably the Next Generation's first truly remarkable episode. It displayed a maturity and confidence in the series that had, to be blunt, been lacking to that point. Everything works here, from the performances, to the themes, to the very real sense that things may not end in the desired way.

Picard is charged with defending Lt. Cmdr. Data's rights as a sentient being, while Riker is tasked with prosecuting his friend. Lt. Bruce Maddox, who would return in Star Trek: Picard, is the scientist wishing to take Data apart, with the hope of replicating him. This, Guinan points out to Picard, will lay the first stones of the path to slavery of an entire race.

'Starfleet was founded to seek out new life. Well, there it sits. Waiting.'

Picard's defence of Data is passionate, direct, and effective. Data is awarded the rights of any sentient being, the first of his kind to do so. It is one of the strongest episodes of Star Trek for portraying the need for equal rights, hidden, as Star Trek often does, in the world of science-fiction, and in the voice of Jean-Luc Picard.

In this post: 
Star Trek
 
First Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Seán is the host and head writer/presenter for TrekCulture, as well as a writer/presenter on WhoCulture and WhatCulture Horror. He has authored two novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles for WhatCulture. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. As part of his work with TrekCulture, Seán has been invited to participate in collaborations with Roddenberry Entertainment, as well as contributing to several Star Trek community projects. An avid fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the horror genre at large, Seán's expertise has helped develop these channels to the successes they are today. As host of the Ups & Downs series on TrekCulture, Seán has become internationally recognised for his positive yet critically informed approach to reviewing every episode of modern Star Trek, ensuring he is one of the go-to voices in the Trek community. Favourite Quote to describe himself: "I'm serious about what I do, just not always about the way that I do it"