Star Trek: The Next Generation Quotes

Shmoop will make you a better lover...of quotes

ALL QUOTES POPULAR BROWSE BY AUTHOR BROWSE BY SOURCE BROWSE BY TOPIC BROWSE BY SUBJECT

Source: Star Trek: The Next Generation

Speaker: Captain Jean-Luc Picard

Make it so.

Context

The line is spoken by Captain Jean-Luc Picard, played by Patrick Stewart, in the TV Show Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994).

Twenty-one years after the original Star Trek series premiered, the Enterprise returned to TV with Star Trek: The Next Generation. Everything was bigger and better: a more diverse cast, flashier effects, and Patrick Stewart as a much better captain—and actor—than William Shatner. (Sorry, Bill.)

How did the creator, Gene Roddenberry, bring Trek back to TV? Maybe he walked into Paramount and said, "Make it so." That's Captain Jean-Luc Picard's catchphrase first spoken in the very first episode, "Encounter at Farpoint." 

Stewart and the rest of the cast continued to "make it so" for seven seasons.

Where you've heard it

When someone wants you to carry out their orders, they'll tell you "make it so." It's up to you to figure out how to do that.

Additional Notable References

  • One of about 9,234 Frozen parody songs, "Make it So"
  • At Christmastime, Make it Snow
  • A book on design lessons learned from sci-fi, titled Make it So

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

It's fine when Patrick Stewart says it, but until you've commanded a starship, led the X-Men, and played Antony in Antony and Cleopatra, maybe you shouldn't be so demanding. But if you must use this or any other Star Trek quote, this guide will teach you how to do it well.