- Episode 956: You’re Still The Captain… Invincible.

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Peter Fenzel, Mark Lee, and Matthew Wrather salute Sir Patrick Stewart, who died this week at 86. For Matt, he was Space Daddy; for Mark, a steady hand at the rudder proving that the future was in good hands.

The crew overthink the Season 5 TNG episode “The Inner Light,” in which a mysterious beam from an alien probe causes Picard to live an entire life on a dying planet in a span of twenty-five minutes. Sir Patrick did the same week after week on Star Trek, giving us a slice of idealized life in an hour. Pete follows the episode’s title through George Harrison back to the Tao Te Ching and finds a captain who always looks outward compelled, for once, to look within.

Make it so.

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Further Reading

* Patrick Stewart (Wikipedia)

* Patrick Stewart on stage and screen (Wikipedia)

* “To baldly go: Patrick Stewart was an icon for bald men everywhere” (The Guardian)

* Happy Halloween (@SirPatStew on X)

* “Quadruple Take Masterclass” (YouTube)

* “Patrick Stewart on Extras” (YouTube)

* “Trailer: King of Texas” (YouTube)

* “The Inner Light” (Star Trek: The Next Generation) (Wikipedia)

* “The Inner Light” (song) (Wikipedia)

* Richard Riehle (Wikipedia)

* “Samaritan Snare” (Wikipedia)

* “Tapestry” (Wikipedia)

* “Lessons” (Wikipedia)

* “Darmok” (Wikipedia)

* “Chain of Command” (Wikipedia)

* “The Drumhead” (Wikipedia)

* Q (Star Trek) (Wikipedia)

* Method acting (Wikipedia)

* Make It HD: Star Trek TNG Remastered For Blu-ray (TechCrunch)

* Extras, Series 1, Episode 6: “Patrick Stewart” (British Comedy Guide)

* American Dad! (Wikipedia)

* Watch Sir Patrick Stewart do a quadruple take (The A.V. Club)

* King of Texas (Wikipedia)

* Thoughts and Prayers (Wikipedia)

* YTMND (Wikipedia)

* Avengers: Doomsday (Wikipedia)

* Devotions upon Emergent Occasions (Wikipedia)

* “‘The Inner Light’ Probe was a Terrible Plan” (YouTube)

Episode 956: You’re Still The Captain… Invincible. originally appeared on Overthinking It, the site subjecting the popular culture to a level of scrutiny it probably doesn't deserve. [Latest Posts | Podcast (iTunes Link)]