Jean-Luc Picard is one of the most important characters in Star Trek history, and his lengthy timeline touches several generations of the franchise. First seen as the captain of the USS Enterprise-D, Jean-Luc Picard immediately stood out from the captains that came before him because of his strict moral code. Though he was somewhat stern and inflexible, Picard's character was always the shining example of the Federation's lofty ideals, and he embodied the utopian future that Star Trek took place in. Whether on the small screen or the large, Jean-Luc Picard has never failed to live up to his high standards of excellence.
While he appears in every episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and the TNG films, Jean-Luc Picard's adventures started long before he boarded the Enterprise, and they carried on after the ship was decommissioned. Though Picard changed after his days on TNG, the foundation of his character remained fixed, and he was even seen to be an example to future Starfleet officers centuries in the future. Even so, Picard wasn't immune to making mistakes of his own, and his flaws were an important part of the leader that he would become.
