Even though very little is known about the new Star Trek: Picardseries, what we do know is enough for pundits and fans to already start making thematic assumptions. If you’re wrapped-up in the geek internet, you’ve probably already heard this one: Having a grumpy, retired Captain Picard in the new Star Trek series is similar to having a grumpy, exhilted Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

However, pundits forget: unlike Star Wars, The Next Generation was always been about olds, and Star Trek often draws its narratives not from coming-of-age tropes, but, instead, has always been about adults dealing with adult problems. If Picard is old and grumpy in the new show, it’s not subversive or imitative of a trend; it’s a natural progression of what The Next Generation was all about: examinations of middle age and old age in a science fiction setting.

read more: Star Trek: Picard May Not Reunite TNG Cast

When I think of describing the character of Jean-Luc Picard on Star Trek: The Next Generation, I often hear the voice of Dan Aykroyd, slapping Bill Murray upside of the head in Ghostbusters and saying: “Nobody every made them like this!” And that’s because, in contrast to so many big characters in pop science fiction and fantasy, the appeal of Patrick Stewart’s beloved starship captain isn’t connected to Picard being archetypal. Instead, Picard endures because the character is specific.