Today, June 16, marks one of the most important days in Star Trek history. No, not First Contact, or the start of the Dominion War, or the destruction of Romulus. We are, of course, talking about Captain Picard Day.
As seen in the Star Trek The Next Generation episode The Pegasus, Captain Picard Day is an annual event celebrated by the crew of the Enterprise-D on star date 47457.1 (which is the equivalent to June 16). The crew uses the day the commemorate one of the best Star Trek captains of all time, with the children aboard the ship making banners, drawings, and (much to Riker’s amusement) dolls of the living legend.
We’ve outlined how you should celebrate Captain Picard Day by drinking lots of Earl Grey tea (hot), some fencing, and making ships in bottles. But, if you’re slightly less devoted you might just be content with watching some of your favorite TNG episodes. On that front, you’ll no doubt have plenty of options with TNG being the best Star Trek series ever, and one of the best TV series of all time too.
Or, you could keep up to date with the more recent voyages of the starship Enterprise by tracking back through the Star Trek timeline to check out the new Star Trek Strange New Worlds season 2.
In our Strange New Worlds season 2 review we praised the series for its TNG-esque nature, and Star Trek Strange New Worlds season 2 episode 1, which aired on June 15, got things off to a good start.
Captain Picard Day feels especially pertinent this year as 2023 could mark the final time we see the famous Star Trek character return to the screen. Picard season 3 was a send off to the Star Trek The Next Generation cast, and closed the book on Jean-Luc Picard rather definitively.
Whatever you end up doing, Captain Picard Day is a welcome reminder that we could all do our best to be a bit more Picard.
For more on Star Trek, check out our guide to the new species Lanthanites, or our breakdown of the Crossfield class. You can also find out what’s going on with the Star Trek 4 release date, and get the lowdown on Star Trek Discovery season 5 before seeing which Star Trek captains would survive a zombie apocalypse.