Star Trek: Picardseason 2 castingBattlestar Galacticaicon James Callis as Admiral Jean-Luc Picard’s (Patrick Stewart) father was worth the controversy.Star Trek: Picardseason 2 was a time-travel adventure that brought Admiral Picard and his motley La Sirena crew to 2024 Los Angeles. Picard’s mission was to stop Q (John de Lancie) from alteringStar Trek’s timelineand prevent the rise of the fascistConfederation of Earthinstead of the United Federation of Planets.
However,Star Trek: Picardseason 2 had another Prime Directive: to definitively answer the lingering question about why Jean-Luc Picard chose to never marry or have children (untilJean-Luc learned he fathered Jack Crusher(Ed Speleers) inStar Trek: Picardseason 3).Star Trek: Picardseason 2 staged an elaborate retcon of what was known about Jean-Luc’s childhoodfromStar Trek: The Next Generation, especially involving his parents, Maurice (Clive Church) and Yvette Picard (Herta Ware).Picardseason 2’s controversial new revelations involved recasting Madeline Wise as Yvette andJames Callis as Maurice Picard.
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James Callis appearing inStar Trek: Picardseason 2 was a welcome surprise, even if his version of Maurice Picard contradictedStar Trek: The Next Generation. At first, Callis appeared inStar Trek: Picardseason 2 as a Starfleet therapist questioning Admiral Jean-Luc Picard, who was comatose. Gradually, it became clear that Jean-Luc’s therapist was really his father, Maurice Picard, and Jean-Luc’s memories from his childhood in La Barre, France, bore this out. Regardless of whatever issues arose aboutStar Trek: Picard’s retcon,James Callis' performance was riveting.
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Of course, James Callis is best known for playing the morally questionableDr. Gaius Baltar inBattlestar Galactica.Baltar alternated from reprehensible villain to desperate victim, yet Callis rose to every acting challenge and made Gaius compelling, maddening, but always magnetic. Callis has appeared in numerous other TV shows and movies, including12 MonkeysbyStar Trek: Picardseason 3 showrunner Terry Matalas.James Callis was a casting coup forStar Trek,and his reinvention of Maurice Picard was one of the strongest aspects ofStar Trek: Picardseason 2.
Why Star Trek: Picard’s Retcon Of Jean-Luc’s Childhood Was So Controversial
Forget What We Thought We Knew About Picard’s Life
Star Trek: The Next Generationpreviously introduced Captain Jean-Luc Picard’s parents. Yvette Picard briefly shared a scene and tea with Jean-Luc inStar Trek: The Next Generationseason 1’s “Where No One Has Gone Before.” Maurice Picard was seen inStar Trek: The Next Generationseason 6’s “Tapestry.” In both instances,Captain Picard’s parents were elderly. However, Yvette’s appearance was an illusion, and Maurice was a manifestation byQ (John De Lancie), which leftStar Trek: Picard’s executive producers wiggle room to retcon Jean-Luc’s life.
Battlestar Galactica’s Rekha Sharma and Callum Keith Rennie both joined the cast ofStar Trek: Discovery.
Star Trek: Picardseason 2 established that Jean-Luc’s memories of an abusive father and an angelic mother who died were faulty. Flashbacks and buried memories revealed thatYvette Picard died young because she was mentally ill and refused to be treated. YoungJean-Luc repressed his memories of his mother’s tragic suicide. Further, Jean-Luc learned Maurice’s sternness resulted from shielding his sons from the reality of their mother’s illness, and Maurice’s own inability to help Yvette.
Star Trek: Picard season 2’s controversies aside, no blame can fall on James Callis.
Star Trek: Picardposited that these were the reasons Jean-Luc escaped to outer space and submerged his own desire to pursue a long-term relationship, which doesn’t quite gel. Nor doesStar Trek: Picardseason 2’s finale’s revelation that Q’s ultimate goal was to force Jean-Luc to confront his past and heal. Further,Star Trek: Picardseason 2 omitted Jean-Luc’s older brother Robert, played by Jeremy Kemp inStar Trek: The Next Generation.Star Trek: Picardseason 2’s controversies aside, no blame can fall on James Callis, who elevated Maurice Picard into a more complex character than he ever was inStar Trek: The Next Generation.
