Last week, a good friend of mine (@alexrclements), nervous about being in a room full of film buffs, worried that he couldn't answer questions on Jean Luc-Godard, but was confident he could talk about Jean-Luc Picard for hours.

Seeking to redress the balance of knowledge about these two frequently mixed up men (yeah, I made that part up), I promptly stole his comment and made a flimsy blog post out of it:

Can you tell your Jean-Luc-alikes apart? Here are some basic facts you can use to spot the difference when a Jean-Luc comes up in conversation:

1. Jean-Luc Godard made À bout de Souffle. Once. In 1960.

Jean-Luc Picard made it so. On a weekly basis. For seven years.

2. Jean-Luc Godard has declared that the auteur is dead and film is over. He argues that everyone is now an auteur - all we have to do is pick up a camera or a mobile phone.

Jean-Luc Picard has declared The Borg dead on several occasions. No matter what anyone does, there will only ever be one Jean-Luc Picard. Apart from the version of him The Borg assimilated. And that clone played by Tom Hardy.

3. Jean-Luc Picard can captain a spaceship.

Jean-Luc Godard cannot captain a spaceship. He has probably declared space travel dead on several occasions.

4. Jean-Luc Godard headed up the French New Wave. He has influenced filmmakers from Tarantino and John Woo to Fassbinder and Soderbergh.

Jean-Luc Picard headed up The Next Generation. He has inspired a countless number of geeks to shave their heads and drink Earl Grey tea.

5. Jean-Luc Godard was the contemporary of François Truffaut and André Bazin.

Jean-Luc Picard was the contemporary of a robot called Data. And Worf, an alien with a Walnut Whip for a head.

6. Jean-Luc Godard is not William Shatner. Sadly.

Jean-Luc Picard is also not William Shatner. Sadly.

(If you can think of other ways to tell Jean-Luc Godard and Jean-Luc Picard apart - preferably better ways than the rubbish ones above - then add them below. Or shout them @iFlicks.)