“Make it so.”

I have been reflecting on the death of Sir Patrick Stewart this past Wednesday. He was 86 and battling Alzheimers Disease. I had never heard of him until he entered Star Trek lore as the calm and rational Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the starship Enterprise.

There are very few actors who have made as deep an impression on this occasional viewer of television programming as Patrick Stewart. And his ability went far beyond “Space, the final frontier.” Known as a great stage actor and for his X-Men role, Stewart was popular among legions of fans.

My personal favorite episode of Star Trek TNG was one from season five which first aired on June 1, 1992 It was called ‘The Inner Light’ and was the story of a dying planet and its people who wanted to preserve their culture and history for some future person who could be entrusted to tell their story.

That person, of course, was Captain Picard, who is forced back in time more than 1,000 years to live another life as Kamin, who remembers his former life, but lives an entirely different existence for 40 years, has children, and uses his scientific background to help the people of the dying planet.

At the climax of the story. Stewart, as the character of Kamin, is talking with his adult daughter, Meribor, and he speaks to her with depth of wisdom: counsel that each one of us should consider and heed:

“Seize the time, Meribor. Live now. Make now always
the precious time. Now will never come again.”

The great actor delivers the lines to perfection, with genuine feeling, providing powerful depth of wisdom to all who will listen and consider.

Moments later, as the episode peacefully concludes, the final seconds artfully play on the emotions, leaving the viewer to contemplate one’s own mortality and what we leave behind.

I absolutely love a great story that’s well-told and ‘The Inner Light’ is one of the finest television programs I have seen in my entire life. Of course, it’s also true that any great story needs compelling characters to bring the story to life. Patrick Stewart was more than able to fill that role and this particular episode is one of his many shining examples.

Well done, Sir Patrick Stewart. The roles you have played will continue, even with your departure from this world.

© 2026 Jeffery J. Michaels / Plain English Publications
(Quotations allowed with attribution to this blog)