An Incident has occurred, and it’s a sad one, I’m afraid.
I received a notification via Instagram that Sir Patrick Stewart passed away today at 86. It’s kind of weird to read that. Stewart was just kind of always there in the background, even when I didn’t know who he was. I was just playing Dune: Awakening earlier this week, muttering “This is a Harkonnen Animal! This saddens me so much, though I suspect Star Trek fans are feeling it worse, also losing Walter Koenig in the same week.
The earliest my memory goes back when it comes to Sir Patrick was John Boorman’s Excalibur, where he worked alongside legends like Ciaran Hinds, Helen Mirren, and Liam Neeson, where he played Sir Leondegrance. He’d become a familiar face in features over the years in the 80s, particularly with Lifeforce and David Lynch’s Dune, where he played the original Gurney Halleck and stood toe to toe with the likes of Freddie Jones and Jose Ferrer.
It wouldn’t be until the late 80s that Stewart picked up some major exposure with Star Trek: The Next Generation, which premiered just around my 13th birthday. As Captain Jean-Luc Picard, it took some getting used to both him and the cast, but by the end of the first season, Stewart’s sense of style and charm stuck with me. To this day, when I drink tea, it’s usually “Earl Grey, hot. ” I don’t know if that’s more a Picard thing or a Stewart one. Up until 1994, Sir Patrick and the crew were regulars on tv screens each week. He would go on to make 4 films in Star Trek series, and while they’re all good in their own way (even you, Nemesis) , Star Trek: First Contact is easily the best one. He also happens to have one of the best Scrooge performances around, second only to Michael Caine (who did have Muppets to help, which honestly is a little hard to top).
Stewart rarely had a performance where he didn’t shine, and it came to no one’s surprise when he took on the role of Charles Xavier for Bryan Singer’s X-Men in 2000. He was easily a fan favorite pick for the role, and I personally think he was just pretty much playing himself there alongside Ian McKellen. Stewart would go on to star in four of those films as well, along with Logan, The Sheep Detectives and the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday. During the lockdown, Stewart would share some of his favorite Shakespeare sonnets online, similar to the morning greetings/weather reports David Lynch would give.
Sir Patrick Stewart, may he rest in peace. I’m thankful to have lived in a time to see him work. He’ll be missed. As such, we’re marking the day as an Incident, and are resetting the clock.
