One of the most heartwarming additions to Star Trek: Picard is Jean-Luc's adopted pit bull, whom he named Number One in a nod to his loyal first officer from The Next Generation.
Rarely seen away from the side of the retired Starfleet admiral as he runs his family vineyard in France, Number One is a constant, gentle companion to Picard in the series premiere. For star and executive producer Patrick Stewart, the actor drew from his own personal background when it came to the creative decision to give his character a dog.
"I wanted a dog because I have, only in the last four years, renewed my acquaintance with dogs," Stewart explained to StarTrek.com. "I thought all we need to do is to have a dog at Picard's side. And that, without any dialogue or any dramatic reference, will say a lot about this man, that he now has a dog always at his side.”
In selecting a pit bull to accompany Picard, Stewart continued to pull from his own experiences, including his and his wife's ongoing campaign to rehabilitate the breed's public image after years of being labeled a naturally aggressive breed of dog.
"The question was what kind of dog? Well, I am obsessed with pitbulls," Stewart said. "What a dog, and how ill used they have been, appalling used. In England they're a banned breed. I adopted my first pit bull and we already were excited about the thought of taking her back to England, and we couldn't do it. They won't be let in the country. I'm now part of a campaign working in the UK to get this legislation changed because they are the most sensitive, the most loving, the most giving, the most affectionate creatures that you could ever possibly hope to meet.”
Star Trek: Picard stars Patrick Stewart, Alison Pill, Michelle Hurd, Evan Evagora, Isa Briones, Santiago Cabrera and Harry Treadaway. New episodes of the series premiere every Thursday on CBS All Access.