Why is Picard... French?

[Mikey]

While the issue deserves an IU explanation, the true cause is simple. Most American shows have American casts. Picard sounds British, even though the character is French, because Patrick Stewart is British (yes, we know, Thorin. )

BTW - does anyone know if his name came from the French astronomer Jean Picard?

[Mark]

No clue

[Sionnach Glic]

I've never heard of any connection being made between the two names. It's possible, of course, but the writers could just as easily have pulled it out of their asses.

[Tsukiyumi]

...the writers could just as easily have pulled it out of their asses.

Like they do most of the time?

[Sionnach Glic]

Yeah, pretty much.

[Mithrandir]

Indeed, but it's still rather bizzare to hear someone with a strong British accent being called French. Why not just call him English?

Because then we wouldn't have seen a single major character from continental europe. I really would have enjoyed seeing an Italian ("Computer, Pizza Mafiosa - presto!" "Bridge to Captain Veltroni.." "Pronto?" ) or (yes, it's chauvinistic and unrealistic) Austrian Officer.

[Sionnach Glic]

It'd be nice to have more than one or two officers on the ship who have something other than a US accent.

[shran]

Preferably two widely different acents, for example a Hawaiian and an Irish one. that should give some nice mutual misunderstandings, especially if they'd try talking to each other in each others language...

[Graham Kennedy]

I always loved how Picard boasted in Generations about his family lineage... including "the Picard who fought at Trafalgar."

Dude, you're FRENCH. An ancestor who fought at Trafalgar is nothing to boast about!

[Captain Seafort]

It wasn't the first time he'd bragged about Trafalgar either. From BoBW 1:

Picard: "It's something of a tradition, Guinan, captain touring the ship before a battle."
Guinan: "Before a hopeless battle, if I remember the tradition correctly."
Picard: "Not necessarily. Nelson toured the H.M.S. Victory before Trafalgar."
Guinan: "Yes, but Nelson never returned from Trafalgar, did he?"
Picard: "No, but the battle was won."

There was a distinctly un-French note of pride in his voice for the last sentence.

And then there's this.

[Graham Kennedy]

"But the battle was won... and Nelson killed my great great great great great great great granddaddy! Ba***rd!"

Picard is SO British. Except when he's French.

How weird is it that anybody else in the crew even knew the words to Heart of Oak?

[Mark]

[Mikey]

How weird is his encyclopedic knowledge of Gilbert & Sullivan?

[Tsukiyumi]

How weird is his encyclopedic knowledge of Gilbert & Sullivan?

[Mark]