Star Trek: 10 Times Picard Proved The Future Was Worth Fighting For
8. Star Trek Generations
The first feature for The Next Generation crew sees Picard lose his family back on Earth to a fire. The theme of burning runs throughout the story, from the fiery Nexus to the explosive end of Soran. Time is the fire in which we burn, Soran tells Picard.
The film itself contains time travel and Kirk and Picard finally meet. While Generations rarely tops fans' list of favourite Trek movies, it is a valid entry to the canon in that Picard's personal journey in the film mirrors that of some of the stronger episodes in the canon.
He is ageing. He is lonely. He is duty bound.
Losing his family throws into sharp relief the idea that he is past his prime and staring to decline. What he learns through his meeting with Kirk is that this aging that he feels is a symptom of the loss he has been dealt. It is a lesson that, be it in the 24th century or in the present day, the happenings around a man may bring him down but internal certainty and internal strength will-out.
Kirk mirrors his journey, beginning as a retired Captain watching another man sit in the big chair and eventually accepting his place is just to make a difference. Generations may have benefitted from existing as an episode rather than a feature film but it is no less important in the Picard pantheon of lessons.