[DammitJim]

firstly, this is NOT criticism of TNG, Patrick Stewart, Picard or anything else.

I'm just curious, and if this has been asked before I'm sorry but I can't find it.

when Roddenberry and company cast Patrick Stewart as the lead in TNG, why did they not just change his character to English instead of keeping him French
?

[celticarchie]

Probably because Roddenberry wanted him to swear in French.

[DammitJim]

Originally Posted by celticarchie

Probably because Roddenberry wanted him to swear in French.

but did he?

[DammitJim]

while checking Google for an answer I found this

http://picardisfrench.ytmnd.com/

[celticarchie]

I couldn't view that due to lack of plugins too lazy to install them, maybe later.

Check this out, "merde", French for "sh!t", was used in a few TNG first and second season episodes. It was a characteristic that was phased out over later seasons, obviously when Paramount/Studios realized what Roddenberry was up to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rICFoH5P5A

Actually though, being a Brit myself, I would have been cool with Picard being British

[DammitJim]

Originally Posted by celticarchie

I couldn't view that due to lack of plugins too lazy to install them, maybe later.

Check this out, "merde", French for "sh!t", was used in a few TNG first and second season episodes. It was a characteristic that was phased out over later seasons, obviously when Paramount/Studios realized what Roddenberry was up to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rICFoH5P5A

Actually though, being a Brit myself, I would have been cool with Picard being British

I never realized that... Picard's coolness level just went up a notch.

he now has a 0.5 coolness level

[horatio]

Is there a John-Luck Pickard here?

[chator]

Originally Posted by DammitJim

firstly, this is NOT criticism of TNG, Patrick Stewart, Picard or anything else.

I'm just curious, and if this has been asked before I'm sorry but I can't find it.

when Roddenberry and company cast Patrick Stewart as the lead in TNG, why did they not just change his character to English instead of keeping him French
?

I've always wondered that myself, Picard's accent is just too cool to discard. I wonder if Stewart ever even tried to play him using a French accent, but just couldn't do it. I always thought they should have done this. It's just too hard to buy into him being a Frenchman with a British accent. Maybe the novel was already out and they couldn't change the character, maybe they were too pressed for time? So many possibilities. I haven't come across anything in the interviews i've seen or read relating to this. But i know Roddenberry had a problem with Stewart because of his baldness, even wanting him to wear a toupe to play the Captain.

[Scribbler]

Originally Posted by chator

I've always wondered that myself, Picard's accent is just too cool to discard. I wonder if Stewart ever even tried to play him using a French accent, do just couldn't do it. I always thought they should have done this. It's just too hard to buy into him being a Frenchman with a British accent. Maybe the novel was already out and they couldn't change the character, maybe they were too pressed for time?

Perhaps the English will conquer the French sometime over the next few years.

[horatio]

A french guy reading British literature and drinking British beverages. Although unintentionally, Picard made the United Earth idea of Trek pretty clear.