10 Greatest Star Trek Convention Moments
8. And One Man In His Time…
Star Trek: Picard's first and second seasons may have divided opinion, but to have Jean-Luc back on our screens was a momentous moment in and of itself. To end the close-to-20-year wait for Picard's return, it was up to "unknown British Shakespearean actor" Patrick Stewart to announce the new series with an appearance at the 2018 Star Trek Las Vegas Convention.
Introduced to the stage simply as a "good friend" by creator-executive producer Alex Kurtzman, Stewart was evidently immediately recognisable to the amassed crowd as he emerged through the replica holodeck doors. Cheers and hollers the likes of which you hadn't heard since your last Tsunkatse match filled the auditorium.
At that point, any announcement seemed moderately redundant — it was hardly going to be 'Trip's not really dead, guys, so get ready for some more Enterprise!' — but Stewart's four words (one hyphenated!), "Jean-Luc Picard is back," were the epic confirmation we needed. The subsequent standing ovation and applause from the audience had the actor in tears.
Stewart then laid out a few caveats for the return that we're now eminently familiar with: Jean-Luc may not be a captain anymore, nor even the Jean-Luc we would recognise. In a recent interview with the L.A. Times, Stewart revealed that he had two very specific stipulations for reprising the role: no uniform and no "sentimental" TNG reunion. 0 for 2 there, Sir Patrick, but homerun on 3!