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Picard Facepalm

This Picard Facepalm image is very famous. You can find it in countless memes. Everyone keeps using it on social media. Even Fortune.com has used it.

It is so famous outside its dimension that when I do a reverse image search, Star Trek is nowhere to be found. This is actually funny.

From which Star Trek TNG episode or movie has this image been taken?

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    Ooh. I'm surprised this hasn't been asked before; it seems like an obvious question to ask, and perfectly suited for this site.
    – Rand al'Thor ♦
    Commented Dec 6, 2017 at 19:26
  • 1
    I didn't downvote, but my guess is that the downvotes are because this is a very easily googled question.
    – Kevin Workman
    Commented Dec 6, 2017 at 19:37
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    @MrLister no because that's asking about Riker, not Picard and is a different episode.
    – Edlothiad
    Commented Dec 6, 2017 at 20:56
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    @MrLister I almost dupehammered this after seeing the older question, but on checking more closely, the older question is only about Riker, not Picard. The lowest-voted (third) answer there does mention Picard, but it's a one-liner with no support or evidence whatsoever.
    – Rand al'Thor ♦
    Commented Dec 6, 2017 at 21:08
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    @MrLister - So if someone asks What is 6 x 7, we should vote to close and direct the OP to the What is the Meaning of Life question just because the same answer is there even though the question is different?
    – Hannover Fist
    Commented Dec 6, 2017 at 22:43

1 Answer 1

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From KnowYourMeme.com, emphasis mine:

One of the most popular facepalm images is one of Captain Jean-Luc Picard from Star Trek the Next Generation taken from the episode “Deja Q,” in which Picard is shown reacting to a stressful situation

(This was the first result for googling Picard facepalm btw.)

From Wikipedia:

"Deja Q" is the 13th episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation...

In this episode, as the crew of the starship Enterprise struggle to prevent a moon from falling out of orbit, their situation is further complicated by a visit from a powerful nemesis named "Q" (John de Lancie), who informs them that he has been stripped of all his powers and must live out a mortal life.

Here's a video:

Picard facepalm video

In this scene, Q (a character that the rest of the crew finds very annoying) is explaining to the bridge crew that he has been stripped of his powers and is human now. Picard is reacting to this news with skepticism and annoyance, based on previous encounters with Q.

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    Knew it would have to do either with Q or Lwaxana.
    – starpilotsix
    Commented Dec 6, 2017 at 21:46
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    @starpilotsix - Note (as mentioned in the answer) that he's sitting on the bridge. I can't see him allowing that public a reaction to anything involving Lwaxana. In the ready room, sure - on the bridge, no.
    – RDFozz
    Commented Dec 6, 2017 at 22:18
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    Very clever answer. Eat any good books lately?
    – BrainSlugs83
    Commented Dec 7, 2017 at 3:05
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    @starpilotsix Lwaxana is the reason for the annoyed Picard meme
    – André Stannek
    Commented Dec 7, 2017 at 8:40
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    @RDFozz: Picard came very close to such a reaction related to Lwaxana; in the episode where he doesn't want to take a vacation (to... Risa?), and Troi informs him that Lwaxana will visit the Enterprise (during the period he's suggested to take a vacation). In reality, Picard's annoyance came from seeing through Troi's ploy; but he only revealed that in private to Riker. Publically, he practically stormed out of the bridge as a response to being informed of Lwaxana's impending presence.
    – Flater
    Commented Dec 7, 2017 at 10:33

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