Star Trek: The Next Generation- "Deja Q"

The next chapter in the Q arc is quite humorous.

By the time of “Deja Q”, the fifth installment of…

The Rise and Fall of Q

…the character of Q had become beloved by fans. Some likened him to Harry Mudd in terms of his annoying playfulness (I’m only referring to the Mudd played by Roger C. Carmel in the original Star Trek series, as Discovery would fuck the character up royally by making him a murderer). Hence, each season of TNG gave the fans the exciting chance of seeing Q again.

This time around, the Enterprise is in orbit around planet Bre’el IV to assist the populace with their moon, which is falling out of orbit. The impact on the planet itself won’t be horrific, but it could result in disasters such as tsunamis and earthquakes. La Forge is attempting to work out a strategy and Picard tells Worf to see if any other nearby ships can assist.

Suddenly, there’s an almost deafening noise which briefly annoys everyone. When it ends, Q pops up, suspended in midair, and in the buff no less. He quickly plops onto the floor and says, “Red alert!” while Picard looks on in annoyance, no doubt worried that Q may soon piss all over the bridge.



After the title sequence, Picard and company sternly tell Q to stop his games and put the moon back in its orbit. But Q is busy bitching about the unflattering attire he’s now wearing. He then states that he can’t do anything about the moon because the Q Continuum has stripped him of his powers. Troi asks if being human was part of that punishment, but Q says that he only had to become something mortal, and human was his choice. He also asked his superiors to dump him on the Enterprise because he thinks of Picard as the closest thing he has to a friend, causing the captain’s expression to go from a priceless “This must be hell!”…



…to an equally priceless “Are you fucking kidding me?”



Q tells Picard that he simply wants sanctuary on the ship, but everyone is still skeptical. When Q asks what he must do to convince everyone he’s now mortal, Worf gives one of his best lines.

"Die."

But Picard says he’ll treat Q as human, and to that end, has him thrown in the brig, with Worf all too happy to comply. In the turbolift, Q keeps bitching about all the things he’ll have to do now that he’s human. He attempts to sweet talk Worf by saying he should’ve asked to be a Klingon, even though Klingons seem to have the same biological baggage as humans do. But Worf is unswayed and locks him up. Q insults him by calling him a Romulan.

Picard and Riker are discussing matters in Picard’s ready room. The captain admits to Riker that they have to at least consider the possibility that Q is telling the truth. In any case, they must continue with stopping the moon from hitting the planet. After checking in with the officials on the planet, bright white light appears everywhere. Data says that it’s a nonlethal medical scan. The light soon shrinks into a small circle and briefly hovers over Q, who’s napping in the brig, before vanishing.

Soon, Picard shows up in the brig asking Q what’s going on, but he still insists he doesn’t know. Instead, he tells Picard how scary he found it to be asleep. But Q convinces him that, despite being powerless, he has the necessary know-how to possibly stop the moon from wrecking havoc. Although still suspicious, Picard releases Q and assigns Data to keep an eye on him. En route to Engineering, Data says that he’s envious because Q is now human, as he would like to be. He states that he’d like to experience sensations such as laughter or sadness, but Q says it’s nothing to get excited about.

In Engineering, La Forge and Data are working out a plan, but Q is intrigued by the fact that he’s hurt his back. After calling Dr. Crusher to help, Q pooh-pooh’s La Forge’s idea, but has a simple alternative instead: change the gravitational constant of the universe. Which is rather impractical, but the suggestion does inspire La Forge to come up with a plan that could make the moon itself lighter to move. After Crusher humorously takes care of Q’s back in an anything-but-nice way, Q says his stomach is making noises. She suggests that he get something to eat.

Q and Data go to Ten Forward, where Data suggests Troi’s snack of choice, a chocolate sundae. Q orders ten of them. Then Guinan shows up, obviously in the know about Q’s new human status, given the huge grin on her face. Data tells her that Picard and the others still have doubts that Q is now human, but she’s pretty much convinced he is. She then confirms it when she reaches for a nearby fork and jams it into his hand. Guinan rubs it in Q’s face that he’s now on the receiving end of shit he’s dished out, causing him to lose his appetite (he’s a lousy human, for letting all those yummy sundaes go to waste).

The light from earlier reappears. Picard tries to contact it, but can’t understand the message the ship is receiving. Guinan identifies the light as a race called the Calamarain, which soon enters Ten Forward and begins engulfing Q. Data is unable to assist, but the ship is able to temporarily drive the Calamarain out as Q painfully slumps to the floor crying out for help.

He spills the beans to Picard and the others in the observation lounge, saying that he’s been a pain in the ass to the Calamarain in the past. Our heroes realize that this race, and presumably others, will wish to look Q up now that he has no powers. Picard decides to just dump Q off at the nearest Starbase, but Data vouches for him given how he’s helped with planning to stop the moon. Picard reluctantly agrees to let Q continue to do so.

As they head back to Engineering, Q is annoyed that Picard doesn’t think he’s up to the task. But Data says it’s not his ability, but his willingness to work with others that Picard doubts. That doubt isn’t helped when Q and La Forge get into a brief argument when they’re putting their plan into action. But the Calamarain appear again and attempt to take out Q. This time, however, Data manages to get a hold of Q before they take him away, and is knocked out for his trouble.

In sickbay, La Forge and Crusher are trying to revive Data, although Q doesn’t express much sympathy despite Data being the reason he isn’t dead. Picard calls Q out on this, and in private, La Forge tells Riker they should just give Q to the Calamarain so they can finish their work on the moon.

Q shows up in Picard’s ready room and admits he’s being selfish. He’s also thinking more and more about Data risking his neck for him and feels ashamed when he realizes he wouldn’t have done the same had their positions been reversed. Picard won’t give Q any reassurance though, and says he’s still not 100% convinced that Q isn’t lying about being powerless. But Q replies that if anyone is being played for a fool, it’s him. He’s getting nowhere as a human and doesn’t see that improving anytime soon.

Arriving in sickbay, Q tells Data, who’s conscious but has temporarily lost his voice, that while not human himself, he’s a much better human than Q. With that, Q goes to the main shuttlebay and makes off with a shuttle. Picard contacts him, but Q says that this is so the Calamarain won’t bother their work on the moon, and that as a human, he has no point in existing.

Picard attempts to beam the shuttle back into the bay, and then tries to put a tractor beam on it. But none of these options are working. We see why when another Q shows up, this one played by Corbin Bernsen. The two Qs are delighted to see each other, with Bernsen saying that he’s the reason the Enterprise and the Calamarain haven’t gotten to Q yet. But he’s been keeping an eye on him, and despite his history of mischief, his selfless act to protect the Enterprise has convinced the Continuum to give him his powers back.

After putting himself in the captain’s uniform he so loves, Q attempts to get back at the Calamarain, but Bernsen stops him. Picard and the others think Q is gone when they lose the shuttle and the Calamarain. But Q pops up to celebrate the return of his powers with a mariachi band and even whips up cigars as well as fantasy girls to drool over Riker and Worf. Picard’s annoyance makes Q lose the band and the girls, and then Q thanks everyone for their attention during his time as a human. He departs by giving Data a thank you gift, which is a brief moment of Data laughing his ass off.

The good vibes continue when Bre’el IV contacts the ship thanking them for taking care of the moon. Picard grudgingly admits that he may have underestimated how human Q can be. Before he orders the ship to warp out, Q pops up in cigar smoke, telling the captain not to insult him like that.

Like “The Trouble with Tribbles”, “Deja Q” has nice laughs that are never at the expense of the story itself (although I wonder why no other ships came to assist with the moon). This was in the middle of The Next Generation‘s pivotal third season, which took TNG and the Trek franchise itself in a new direction. Q’s scenes with Data especially hit the mark, as Data, someone who wishes to be human, tries to teach Q, who has been forced to become human. Bernsen’s appearance is also memorable (no wonder Shawn Spencer is so insufferable; his old man is a Q!). It’s also a pity that we have yet to see Q and Guinan share the screen again. Regardless, this episode ensured that Q would remain an enduring part of TNG.

Star Trek: The Next Generation-"Q Who"

This is the point where TNG really starts getting good!

Q returns for “Q Who”, which is in the middle of The Next Generation‘s second season. This season, overall, proved superior to the show’s first season, despite clunkers such as “Unnatural Selection”, “Up the Long Ladder”, and the second season finale “Shades of Gray”. In addition, the season had a delayed start, like other TV shows of the time, due to the Writer’s Guild strike. As a result, there were only 22 episodes, rather than the usual 26.

Some also took exception to the fact that Crusher was replaced in this season with Dr. Katherine Pulaski, played by Diana Muldaur, who previously appeared in the original series episodes “Return to Tomorrow” and “Is There in Truth No Beauty?” But as TNG was still relatively new with its second season, such a cast change didn’t disrupt the dynamic of the show the way Terry Farrell’s absence disrupted Deep Space Nine‘s final season. Yes, Pulaski was a bitch who didn’t do anything Bones didn’t do better, but the whole season shouldn’t be condemned for that. It all worked out as Crusher returned the following season, and besides, I just can’t imagine TNG continuing its run with one of its regulars getting “Special Appearance” billing. And in this case, it’s also moot, as Pulaski doesn’t show up in this episode.

The fourth installment of…

The Rise and Fall of Q

…begins in Engineering, where new recruit Ensign Sonya Gomez (Lycia Naff) politely asks the replicator for hot chocolate. This amuses La Forge, which leads to her stating how excited she is at getting a post on the Enterprise straight out of the Academy. In other words, Gomez is Harry Kim, but hotter and with a personality. La Forge then suggests that she enjoy her hot chocolate outside of Engineering. Our wondering of why food replicators are in Engineering at all is reinforced when Gomez politely excuses herself… only to have her beverage spill on Picard.


She’s beside herself with embarrassment, so La Forge apologizes on her behalf. Picard, while obviously not enjoying a beverage that isn’t his Earl Grey, simply tells her to calm down as he goes off to change.

The captain goes into a turbolift, but upon exiting, realizes that he’s now in a shuttlecraft. Specifically, one piloted by Q.

Although he cleans up Picard’s messy uniform, the captain angrily reminds Q of their agreement to leave his ship the hell alone. Q states he’s doing so, pointing out that the Enterprise is nowhere in sight.

After the title sequence, La Forge and Gomez head to Ten Forward to chill out. While there, Guinan begins to experience unusual premonitions. She contacts the bridge, but Riker says that there’s nothing wrong.

On the shuttlecraft, Q tells Picard that the ship won’t find him this far out, despite the captain’s best efforts. Q says he wants to discuss something with Picard, who says that stranding him out in the middle of nowhere like this won’t make that likely. Q says it will, while looking like he’s about to kiss Picard’s ear in the process, which I assume is another reason Picard is pissed right now.

Troi comes to the bridge asking where Picard is. The computer states he’s not onboard and Worf reports a shuttle missing. After Wesley needlessly overreacts, Riker tells Data to begin a sweep from their present position.

Eventually, Picard tells Q he’ll hear him out, and they’re suddenly in Ten Forward. As Riker and Worf head that way, having been alerted that the shuttle and Picard have returned, we find that Guinan and Q already know each other, and not in the “old friends” way, as their hostile reactions to each other demonstrate.

After Riker and Worf arrive, Q states that he wants to be part of the crew. He says that, after the events of “Hide and Q”, he basically became persona non grata with the Q Continuum. He wandered for a while and then realized that, given their past history, he could join Picard’s crew, offering insight into the road ahead. He even offers to give up his powers.

While Riker, Worf, and Guinan are annoyed, Picard admits he finds Q one of the most unique lifeforms he’s encountered, but eloquently states that Q is “kin to chaos.” The captain turns Q down, saying that they don’t need an extra hand because their reason for being in space is to encounter that which is unique and unexpected. Picard is too classy to just say that Q is an asshole.

Q unexpectedly responds with a snap of his fingers, sending the ship hurling through space. When it stops, Data says that they’re at least three years from the nearest starbase. Q says that the stage is set for Picard to prove his stance and vanishes. Picard asks Guinan what to expect in this area of space, and she tells him they should just get the hell out now.

But Picard’s explorer streak just can’t resist a little look-see first. As they travel, they come across planets with cities that have been basically ripped out of the ground. Data even likens the pattern of destruction to those missing Federation and Romulan bases in the first season finale “The Neutral Zone”.

That’s when the crew comes across a large cube-shaped ship heading for them. Data is unable to detect any lifeforms, or any structure similar to other ships. Picard contacts Guinan, who goes to her quarters to get a look at the ship on her viewscreen. She tells them that the ship is from a race of beings called the Borg, who decimated her people a century earlier.

We see one of the crew of this ship suddenly beam into Engineering. La Forge calls security, which arrives with Picard and Worf. Q pops up to point out to them how different this lifeform is from others they’ve encountered. Picard attempts to communicate with the Borg, but is ignored. When the Borg attempts to interface with one of the computers, Picard tells Worf to stop it. Worf, in turn, sends one of his gold shirts, who quickly gets tossed to the ground for his trouble. As the lights start to flicker, Worf uses his phaser, which manages to damage the Borg and send it to the ground. But another Borg pops up and has a force field to protect it from Worf’s phaser. After playing with the computer some more, the Borg picks a couple of doohickeys out of the corpse of the other Borg before they both vanish.

In the observation lounge, Guinan tells everyone that there’s no reasoning with the Borg, and that they beamed into Engineering to get info on the ship. Troi says that she doesn’t sense a single leader, but rather that the minds of all the Borg on the ship are acting as one. The Borg ship hails them, saying that they’re no match for them. Q then pops up on the viewscreen to gloat about Picard turning him down.

The Borg then put a tractor beam on the Enterprise. As the ship attempts to break free, a second beam cuts into the saucer, taking a little chunk out of the ship and carrying it into the cube. But the ship manages to destroy the tractor beam and damage the cube. But the mood is soured, when Worf reports that the chunk of ship getting ripped out killed 18 crewmembers. Gomez laments this loss before La Forge tells her to stay focused on the job at hand.

Back in the observation lounge, the crew is discussing what to do next when Q pops up in a chair in the back of the room. He says that the Borg are unique, and all they want is the Enterprise and its technology. Riker mentions the 18 killed crewmembers, which only prompts Q to roll his eyes. He assures Picard that this isn’t one of his usual encounters before leaving. Riker suggests that since both ships are licking their wounds, now would be the time to go to the Borg cube to learn more about them. Picard agrees, although Guinan objects.

Riker, Worf, and Data beam over and see Borg everywhere, even though Chief O’Brien (by the way, this is the episode where we first learn his name) said there were no lifeforms in the area before transporting them. The Borg in the vicinity take no notice of them. The trio get a good look at the ship as well as the nursery, where the Borg are born as organic life before getting artificial implants.

They soon realize that all the Borg on the ship are combining their efforts to repair the ship. Picard has O’Brien transport the away team to the bridge, and tells Wesley to get the ship away from the Borg. But the Borg quickly follow them, even as the cube is regenerating. The Enterprise’s photon torpedoes have no effect.

Q pops up again to gloat about how right he was. The warp drive is being pushed to its limit and soon, thanks to another fancy Borg weapon, the shields are gone. Picard readies the photon torpedoes again before Q says he’ll be taking his leave. But Picard convinces him to save everyone by basically saying “pretty please” like Q wanted him to. This convinces Q to snap his fingers again and the Enterprise is quickly back home.

Taking Riker’s spot, Q commends Picard for swallowing his pride. But Picard is still bummed about the 18 crewmembers killed, which prompts Q to give a great line before departing.

"If you can’t take a little bloody nose, maybe you ought to go back home and crawl under your bed. It’s not safe out here. It’s wondrous, with treasures to satiate desires both subtle and gross. But it’s not for the timid."

The episode ends with Picard and Guinan chatting about what occurred. She says that contact with the Borg was premature, but that they’ll be coming for them now that they know about the Federation.

While “Encounter at Farpoint” and “Hide and Q” had their good points, “Q Who” would be the first episode featuring the Q character to be hailed as a classic. One reason being that the Borg, while compared to the Cybermen on Doctor Who by some, are truly unlike anything we’ve encountered in Star Trek previously. And the tension of the story keeps building once Q sends the ship far away. In other words, with this episode, TNG accomplished what Voyager failed to do during its entire run: make the audience truly feel as if they were in an unknown area of space.

Sadly, we would see Gomez only once more (in “Samaritan Snare”) although she would pop up in some Star Trek novels. The Guinan/Q relationship is also a welcome new dynamic. Both Q and the crew themselves, by this point, were starting to become a bit more complex. Riker understandably complains that the 18 crewmembers wouldn’t have died had Q not sent the ship to that area. At the same time though, our heroes were kind of asking for it when they flat out tell Q they can handle anything that’s thrown at them.

As with Q, it wouldn’t be long until we saw the Borg again. “Q Who” certainly represents a major turning point in the series.

Star Trek: The Next Generation: "Hide and Q"

My look at Star Trek's Q saga continues.

Q’s promise to return at the end of “Encounter at Farpoint” excited fans. Hence, it was a pleasant surprise when we didn’t have to wait long for that return, which came just eight episodes later with “Hide and Q.”

The third installment of…

The Rise and Fall of Q

…begins with the Enterprise en route to a colony to deliver medical aid because of a mining accident. La Forge detects something approaching, which turns into the force-field Q whipped up during “Farpoint”.

Q himself pops up on the bridge in the form of a three-headed snake atop a glowing transparent ball, prompting Worf to do a nice leap over the panel that would soon be his professional move.

Picard tries to tell Q that they’re on an urgent mission, but Q says screw that, then turns into his human form, wearing a Starfleet admiral’s uniform.

After the title sequence, Q says that he’s returned with the promise of fulfilling any desires the crew may have. His attention shifts to Riker when the latter tries to object. When Riker says the crew doesn’t have time for games, Q’s ears perk up and whisks Riker, Yar, Worf, La Forge, and Data off. Picard is left alone on the bridge, unable to call any department on the ship or use the turbolifts.

The others are brought to an unknown world with green skies and twin moons, although it isn’t Tatooine. Apparently, Barry Lyndon is in Q’s top 10 favorite films, as the others spot him wearing French regalia from Napoleon’s time. He invites Riker to sit with him, giving him lemonade while giving the others drinks as well. Worf promptly dumps his on the ground. Q tries to lay out the rules of the “game” that they’ll be playing. Yar objects when Q says the game won’t be fair, leading to him making her vanish. He tells the others that Yar is in a penalty box. But if anyone else gets sent into it, Yar is basically screwed.

Yar soon returns to the bridge after Picard is unable to make a log entry. She starts to break down in a less-than-convincing way, prompting Picard to calm her down. Q pops up and says that the penalty is over (well, that was remarkably suspense-free). Q then reveals that he plans to see if Riker is worthy of what Q has to offer. Picard says that Riker will prevail and Q even agrees to leave everyone the hell alone if Riker wins.

On the planet, La Forge is tracking Worf, who’s getting a closer look at the soldiers that have suddenly appeared. The soldiers are dressed like Napoleon’s guards, but have the appearance of what Worf describes as “vicious animal things”.

Q is in Picard’s ready room looking at the captain’s nice volume of Shakespeare. He quickly learns not to debate about Shakespeare with Picard, who talks about how the Bard illustrates that humanity is not the easy pickings Q thinks it is. This pisses Q off enough to toss that nice, big book at Picard before vanishing.

Riker startles a returning Worf by testing the phasers, and then the latter reports on his findings. The guards are approaching as Riker asks Data for advice. But he turns around to reveal he’s Q with Data’s makeup on. The guards’ muskets shoot not bullets, but phaser-like fire. Q tells Riker that he now has the powers of the Q, and can send the others back by whisking them away. Riker does so and is left alone on the planet.

Q’s force-field vanishes and the ship is up and running again. Picard tells Yar to take the conn as he calls Engineering to see if everything’s back online. But this week’s chief engineer says that systems were never offline. Picard and Yar realize that Q suspended time, and talk as if they didn’t know he could do that (more on that later). Worf, La Forge, and Data return and Picard tells everyone that Q’s intention is to try to recruit Riker to his cause. But since they don’t know where Riker is, they have no choice but to resume their rescue mission.

Riker is on the planet laughing his ass off. Q teleports in, asking Riker why he doesn’t appreciate the power he now has. But Riker knows there’s a catch to this, and actually thanks Q when he says Riker sounds just like Picard. They have a debate on the nature of humanity with Q saying that his realm, the Q Continuum, simply wants to know more about humanity. But Riker still says thanks but no thanks. After Q vanishes, the others return to the planet, this time joined by Picard and Wesley. La Forge speaks for all of us when he says, “Come on, not again!”

Yar realizes they’re now unarmed as the soldiers approach again. Worf impulsively takes them on and is soon skewered. Wesley runs to help and is skewered as well and because we’re still in the first half of the first season, we know this brought nothing but cheers. In anger, Riker uses his power to wipe out the soldiers, while bringing the others back to the ship, restoring Worf and Wesley to life.

As the ship approaches its destination, Picard chats with Riker in his ready room. The captain cautions Riker not to use his powers, and Riker assures him that he’ll restrain himself.

Riker beams down with an away team to help survivors of that mining accident. La Forge sees someone in a pile of rubble with his VISOR. Sadly, it’s a young girl who’s now dead. Riker is pissed because he can’t use his new powers to revive her, and he even vents to Picard about it. But the captain says he did the right thing, leading to Riker wanting a meeting with the bridge crew after the mission is finished.

Everyone gathers on the bridge, with Riker referring to Picard by his first name in a condescending way. He says that he’s still the same person even with these new powers, but Picard brings up the adage that “Power corrupts.” Riker points out that he saved the crew from Q’s soldiers, although Picard points out that that was something Q himself manufactured. The others argue that the Q don’t really admire them as Riker was told.

Q then adds spice to this party by popping up dressed as a Franciscan monk (he obviously likes The Name of the Rose, too). Picard tells Riker that Q is simply full of shit and always has been. But Q says that Riker can prove his case by giving each of his friends something they always wanted. Riker starts with Wesley, turning him into an adult over Dr. Crusher’s objections. And nothing against the actor in this scene, but he looks nothing like Wil Wheaton.

Riker next tries to turn Data into a human, but Data says thanks but no thanks. Undaunted, Riker gives La Forge real eyes. He briefly takes in what his new eyes show him, even telling Yar that she’s beautiful. But like Data, La Forge respectfully tells Riker that he doesn’t want such a gift in this manner and asks for his previous eyes back, which Riker gives him.

Next up is Worf, whom Riker gives a generic Klingon lady to mate with. But Worf angrily knocks her down (foreplay, I guess) before telling Riker that this kind of life is not for him now.

Wesley also asks for his normal body back, despite Q’s pleas. This convinces Riker to side with Picard. And as in “Farpoint”, this episode ends with Picard telling Q to piss off, but this time, the Q Continuum gives him a hand with that when Picard reminds him of the agreement they made. As a result, Q vanishes in a cry of anguish as Wesley is back to his own age and the generic Klingon lady vanishes. The crew briefly ponder Q’s ability to suspend time once more before heading off.

De Lancie has stated that this is his least favorite of Q’s episodes. That’s understandable, because the implications of suddenly getting great power and knowing when it’s wise to use it has been done to death. One could call this episode a microcosm of Voyager, where Janeway didn’t give a shit when it came to helping others escape imminent disaster.

And I always wondered why the crew is so surprised all of a sudden at Q’s ability to suspend time. He did precisely the same thing in “Farpoint” when he took Picard, Yar, Troi, and Data to that post-apocalyptic court and O’Brien didn’t seem to be any the wiser.

But one intriguing aspect was when Picard points out that Riker saving the crew from Q’s soldiers was just something Q whipped up. The same can’t be said for that little girl’s death, so would those powers have worked in her case? This episode ends with the Continuum pissed off at Q, so could Q really have had an ulterior motive of his own in giving Riker those powers? Was this a plan of his to gain a greater voice in the Continuum by using Riker as a pawn? This could have made the episode quite intriguing. Alas, all we get is the more simplistic “absolute power corrupts absolutely” argument.

I must say, though, Worf says “flimflam” in the same funny way Spock said “Tallyho!” Also like “Farpoint,” “Hide and Q” is watchable thanks to De Lancie. Happily, for our next recap, we actually get a great script to compliment his great charisma.

Star Trek: The Next Generation: "Encounter at Farpoint"

The second chapter in the Q series looks at the premiere episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

We finally meet Q himself in the second installment of…

The Rise and Fall of Q

We also meet the entire crew of Star Trek: The Next Generation, because this is the premiere episode of that series, “Encounter at Farpoint”.

The series begins with a lovely shot revealing the Enterprise NCC-1701-D. We also see a nice first shot of its captain, Jean-Luc Picard, as he makes his first log entry of the series. Why he’s in total darkness, I don’t know, but this is a cool shot of him.

Picard explains that the ship’s first mission is to go to Deneb IV to take a look at a new station called Farpoint to see if Starfleet can use it. At the same time, he’s getting acquainted with his new ship, which is still missing some personnel, such as a first officer, although the ship is set to pick up its remaining staff when they reach Farpoint.

Picard goes to the bridge and we see Worf, Yar, Troi, and Data for the first time. Not long after Picard settles into his chair, sensors pick up a strange force-field. Picard humorously says to cut the red alert by stating, “Shut off that damn noise!”

The ship stops and a man suddenly pops up on the bridge dressed like a character from a Shakespeare play. He tells Picard and company to get the hell out before identifying himself as “Q”. He also makes it clear that he’s not to be confused with the James Bond character of the same name as he whips up a mini force-field to keep two crew members from getting out of the turbolift. On top of that, he freezes a crew member for pulling a phaser on him.

Q then changes his attire to that of a 20th Century military officer and says, “You must return to your world and put an end to the Commies! All it takes are a few good men!”

But faster than you can say “You can’t handle the truth,” Q transforms himself again, this time into what we’re told is a 21st century policeman in order to illustrate that things on Earth didn’t improve like Picard says they did, because apparently policemen in this century will have gadgets attached to their uniforms to snort drugs at their leisure.

After Picard gets word that the frozen crewman will recover, Q tells him they’ll see each other again soon and vanishes.

Worf and Yar suggest fighting or escaping, while Troi says that Q is too powerful to take on. Picard decides it’s time to break in his new ship’s engines by getting the hell away from Q’s force-field. But said force-field collapses and goes after the ship. As it gets closer, Picard decides to distract it by separating the ship’s saucer section, so non-essential personnel can escape. He puts Worf in charge of the saucer while he goes to the “battle bridge” in the stardrive section with Data, Troi, and Yar, along with O’Brien (although we don’t know his name at this point).

Yar fires torpedoes in Q’s direction before the ship shows off its cool separation trick. Picard takes the stardrive section back toward Q, stopping the engines. He then tells Troi to signal their surrender. The stardrive section is surrounded by the force-field and Picard, Yar, Data, and Troi suddenly find themselves in what we’re told is a courtroom from the late 21st century. I guess O’Brien isn’t with them because Colm Meaney’s name isn’t in the credits.

The quartet is surrounded by jeering crowds and policemen such as the one Q was dressed as earlier. Q himself soon appears sitting on a big chair that’s being brought forward, while dressed as (again, what we’re told is) a judge from the same time period. Q sure loves to make an entrance. One of the policemen tells our heroes to get to their feet, prompting Yar to kick his ass. This leads Q to execute him.

Q then tells Picard to admit that humanity is worthless. This prompts Yar to object, which not surprisingly leads to Q freezing her. But he soon unfreezes her before threatening to kill Data and Troi if Picard doesn’t plead guilty that his race has a history of savagery. Picard does so, but suggests that Q test them with regard to their mission at Farpoint. Intrigued, Q agrees and returns them to the Enterprise, although he makes it clear that he doubts Picard is up to the challenge. The quartet is back on the battle bridge where O’Brien tells them that they’re still headed to Farpoint.

We next see Farpoint itself with Riker making his first log entry, saying the USS Hood has dropped him off and he’s waiting to begin his first officer duties on the Enterprise.

Riker meets with Farpoint’s administrator Zorn (Michael Bell) in the city that’s near Farpoint. He tells Zorn that his stay at Farpoint has been pleasant and asks how his people were able to build such an advanced station considering their level of technology. Zorn simply says Deneb IV has a shit ton of geothermic energy before offering fruit to Riker, who says he’s in the mood for an apple. Zorn apologizes for the lack of apples, and Riker shrugs it off until he spots a bowl full of apples next to Zorn. The latter offers a weak apology for neglecting to present it. After Riker leaves, Zorn talks to the air, telling… something not to do things like that again or it’ll get a spanking.

At Farpoint itself, Riker meets up with Dr. Crusher and Wesley in a market. He begins to tell them about what happened in Zorn’s office before Crusher gets a similar surprise when a ream of fabric she’s admiring suddenly has a gold pattern, just as she was thinking of it. They agree that this is something they should bring to Picard’s attention. This also leads to Riker learning that Crusher and Wesley already know their new captain, because he was a friend of Wesley’s late father. After they part, La Forge shows up to inform Riker that the Enterprise is in orbit but without its saucer section, and Riker has to beam up ASAP.

Riker does so and meets Yar in the transporter room. She escorts him to Picard on the battle bridge, where he gives his new XO an indifferent “Welcome aboard” before bringing Riker up to speed on what happened thanks to footage on a nearby console.

Picard and Riker meet up and we learn the saucer has arrived. Picard tells Riker to perform a manual reconnection, which takes Riker and the others briefly aback. When the ship is in one piece again, Picard and his new first officer meet in the observation lounge. Picard brings up an incident where Riker deliberately disobeyed his previous captain in order to keep him out of harm’s way. Riker admits he did so and won’t think twice about repeating himself when it comes to Picard’s safety. The captain also asks for Riker’s help regarding the children on the ship, as he’s never been comfortable with kids and “The Inner Light” is still five seasons away. The conversation concludes with Picard officially welcoming Riker aboard.

Riker is soon getting acquainted with the ship himself as he comes to the bridge and asks Worf where Data is. Worf says that Data is giving a tour of the ship to a visiting admiral who arrived via shuttlecraft. Riker wonders why the admiral didn’t just beam aboard. The next scene answers that question as the admiral is none other than Dr. McCoy, who says that Data (more or less) reminds him of Spock and wishes him and the ship happy trails ahead.

Later, Riker meets Data on one of the holodecks where Data is running an outdoor nature program. They’re joined by Wesley, who makes a fool of himself by falling into a stream. Afterwards, he sweet talks his mom into letting him get a peek at the bridge.

After Bones’s nice cameo, Picard comes to the bridge to confirm a transmission from the departing Hood when Q appears on the viewscreen to inform everyone of the 24-hour deadline they now have. Picard sees no choice but to just carry on, and we next see him in his ready room talking to Riker about how Farpoint was built. Picard tells Troi to join them in their meeting with Zorn, while Picard learns that Riker and Troi already know each other.

As they meet with Zorn, Troi senses pain, although it isn’t coming from Zorn or anyone else in the city. But Zorn’s reluctance to come clean leads to Picard and company leaving, which leads to Zorn threatening to cut off negotiations with Starfleet and start doing business with the Ferengi. To which Picard replies:

"Let’s hope that they find you as tasty as they did their past associates!"

No wonder Quark got pissed with Harry Kim in Voyager‘s premiere episode, although in fairness there are many things Harry does to piss people off.

Picard sends Riker and Data to search Farpoint above ground, while Troi, La Forge, and Yar look in the tunnels below. La Forge can’t see anything unusual with his VISOR, but Troi is soon overcome by feelings of intense pain, prompting Riker and Data to join them at their location.

On the ship, Picard is initially miffed when Wesley arrives on the bridge, but the captain’s mood changes when he sees Dr. Crusher. Her presence prompts Picard to allow Wesley to tour the bridge and even sit in his chair. Picard is surprised at how much Wesley knows about the Enterprise’s operations. An alert then prompts the captain to kick mom and son off the bridge just before he sees the cause of the alarm: an alien ship approaching. Picard contacts Zorn asking if he knows anything about it and Zorn says he doesn’t. Once the ship is in orbit, it begins firing on the city next to Farpoint. Riker and his team head for Zorn’s office only to see him beamed away by the alien ship. After the party returns to the ship, Q arrives again to harass everyone. Riker suggests beaming aboard the alien ship itself to investigate, impressing Q, although he still has his doubts.

Riker, Troi, Data, and Yar beam over and see that the inside of the ship is the same configuration as the tunnels beneath Farpoint. Troi is experiencing feelings of anger from the ship. They also find Zorn and free him. Picard tries to get them back but Q pops in, saying that their deadline is up. The captain says he’ll do what Q asks if he can get his people back. Just then, what do you know, Riker, Zorn, and the others are beamed onto the bridge. Troi says that the ship itself returned them, and talks about how similar it looks to Farpoint.

Zorn says that he and his people encountered a creature that was dying and helped it, with Picard noting that they exploited it for its matter-altering powers to create Farpoint. The ship itself soon transform itself into a glowing jellyfish, leading to the ship beaming everyone out of Farpoint before the station itself makes a similar transformation as it joins the other and heads off.

Picard then tells Q to piss off, saying that they have nothing more to prove to him. Q obliges, but promises to return.

The episode ends with Picard stating in his log that Farpoint will be rebuilt. On the bridge, he assures Riker that future missions will be more interesting, thankfully.

On a dramatic level, this episode did nothing that “The Squire of Gothos” didn’t do better. Repeating dramatic ground would be a criticism of TNG’s first season. Also, like Star Trek: The Motion Picture, the episode has a number of moments that are simply there for their own sake, such as the separation sequence and reattachment as well as an inexplicable close-up of a nameless Vulcan crew member in engineering, as if to remind us that Vulcans still exist.

But there are some nice aspects to “Farpoint” as well, such as DeForest Kelley’s cameo, and De Lancie’s charisma makes Q instantly watchable. Also, Starfleet communicators now being something one can just tap on their chest also caught on quickly. Picard officially welcoming Riker aboard would later get a nice bookend with the scene in Nemesis where they bid each other farewell as Riker goes off to command the Titan. It’s a pity that there wasn’t a better movie to go with that nice moment.

Another thing “Farpoint” succeeds at is setting the right kind of tone in that a new era of Star Trek has begun. Many of the subsequent episodes of this season would hit the same dramatic potholes as this one did, but positive elements would also be present; elements which would be amplified in the coming seasons, making Picard’s final line of the episode all the more meaningful.

Star Trek: "The Squire of Gothos"

This is the first in a series I'm now working on which looks at the Trek episodes involving the character of Q, although, ironically, this one doesn't have the character.

I’ll begin by giving thanks to my colleague Tyler Peterson, who penned the delightful Trials of Miles recaps which inspired me to do this series, which will look at the artistic rise and fall of John de Lancie’s Q, spanning 14 years across three Star Trek series. Fittingly, I’m calling it…

The Rise and Fall of Q

Ironically, the first episode I’m looking at for this is one in which Q himself doesn’t appear. It’s an episode of the original Star Trek series featuring a character many fans now lovingly regard as “proto-Q”.

The episode begins with the Enterprise en route to a planet for a supply mission. This week’s Rand substitute, Yeoman Teresa Ross (Venita Wolf) is giving the bridge crew cups of coffee because the bridge seats have yet to become the super-fine leather they became on Picard’s Enterprise. At the same time, Spock and McCoy are having another of their funny arguments when Bones and Kirk seem to romanticize the idea of a “star desert”.

This banter is interrupted when sensors pick up a planet that went undetected earlier. Sulu attempts to change course, but slowly stands before he suddenly vanishes. Kirk rushes to Sulu’s station before vanishing as well.

After the title sequence, Spock makes a log entry stating that Kirk and Sulu may have somehow been taken to that mysterious planet. But the ship’s meteorologist Karl Jaeger (Richard Carlyle) says that the planet’s atmosphere is poisonous. The theory, however, gains a little more credence when Uhura receives a message on the screen above her station, which reads:

Spock tells her to reply, asking the person who sent it to identify themselves and gets this in response:

This convinces everyone that someone’s on that planet and Spock sends McCoy, Jaeger, and DeSalle down to investigate. Upon arriving, the trio discover that the air is actually breathable, making the masks they’re wearing unnecessary. However, the beacon Spock gave them is blocked, as are their attempts to contact the ship. When they try to find open ground, they come across a castle. Cautiously entering, they see various displays, including one of the salt vampire from “The Man Trap” earlier in the season. The owner of this place obviously gets around.

They also find Kirk and Sulu, seemingly frozen. The door closes and we see a man (William Campbell, who would later play the Klingon Koloth on both the original Trek series and Deep Space Nine) playing a piano, dressed like he’s binge-watched Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon thousands of times—not that there’s anything wrong with that. He grudgingly unfreezes Kirk and Sulu before introducing himself as “General Trelane, Retired” and telling them the planet is called Gothos.

DeSalle tells Kirk that they can’t contact the ship, while Trelane talks about how much he admires Earth, which is why he whipped up the castle they’re all now in. But he’s taken aback when Kirk says that the setting is 500 years off. But Trelane tells them that he just wants them to stay and be entertained. When Kirk tries to clandestinely tell DeSalle to stun Trelane, the latter notes that the navigator’s surname is French, continuing his affinity for all things Barry Lyndon by saying how much he admires Napoleon. He also greets McCoy, Sulu, and Jaeger in a somewhat condescending tone before managing to momentarily freeze DeSalle in order to get a better look at his phaser. Kirk uses this to try to learn how Trelane created his castle, which is described as a process somewhat akin to the ship’s transporter. But Trelane says they shouldn’t ask questions, and just enjoy themselves. Kirk says thanks but no thanks, prompting Trelane to momentarily whisk him off in order to get a dose of Gothos’s lethal atmosphere.

Up on the ship, Spock is searching for the landing party when he detects a small pocket on the planet and decides to try beaming up whatever life may be in that area. Meanwhile, Trelane shows off his collection of flags carried during Earth battles before going back to his piano. McCoy tells the others that nothing came up on his tricorder when he scanned Trelane. Kirk tries to explain to Trelane that they can’t stay because of their duties. Trelane’s ears perk up when Kirk mentions that his crew consists of women as well as men. Obviously anxious for some romance, Trelane becomes ticked when Kirk stops him from teleporting the ladies down from the ship. That’s when they get a signal from Spock, allowing them to beam back to the ship, while Trelane angrily protests.

Kirk and the rest are on the bridge, but Trelane soon pops up asking Kirk who Spock is, as Kirk mentioned him by name when they beamed up. Spock introduces himself before Kirk tells Trelane to piss off. But Trelane replies by bringing everyone back down to his castle, including Spock, Uhura, and Ross.

Trelane then goes on to temporarily freeze a pissed-off DeSalle, have a brief verbal spat with Spock, and compliment Uhura and Ross on how hot they are. He then asks Ross to dance, while giving Uhura the ability to play his piano to provide the appropriate music. Trelane even changes Ross’s attire into a ball gown. Kirk and the others comment that Trelane’s food and wine have no taste, and his fireplace doesn’t give off heat. They speculate that there must be some sort of machine that allows Trelane to do all this, and they narrow down its location to the big mirror next to his piano, which he always seems to stay close to.

To that end, Kirk insults Trelane and even challenges him to a duel, to Trelane’s delight. He brings out pistols, and they’re the same kind that killed Alexander Hamilton. As they take their positions, Trelane says he’ll have the first shot, and threatens to shoot Spock if Kirk doesn’t participate. Kirk agrees, but all Trelane does is fire a shot toward the ceiling. Kirk then fires his shot into the mirror, revealing machinery and causing all the lights to flicker. Trelane angrily tells Kirk to take his crew and leave, promising retribution before he vanishes.

Kirk quickly gets them all beamed up and tells Sulu to get the hell away from Gothos. But as the ship makes it escape, the planet just keeps appearing in front of them even though Sulu says that they’re on the right track. This pisses Kirk off enough to return to Gothos to confront Trelane. But he gets saved the trouble of beaming down as he suddenly finds himself in a courtroom, with Trelane wearing a white wig, and with a shadow of a noose in the background.

He formally charges Kirk with treason, conspiracy, and insurrection. Kirk once again forcefully tells Trelane to leave his ship alone, but Trelane condemns Kirk to death by hanging.

Fortunately, Kirk doesn’t end up with his head in the noose, because Trelane says that this was too easy and he’s now bored. Kirk builds upon this by suggesting that Trelane could make a sport out of capturing Kirk. Trelane is intrigued and suggests a hunt. Kirk agrees as long as the Enterprise can leave. He instantly finds himself outside the castle and tries to contact the ship. But Trelane pops up and attempts to use his sword on Kirk. The original Star Trek was noted for some nicely staged action moments, but this isn’t one of them, as the pacing doesn’t exactly put the viewer on edge as other fight scenes in the series did.

Kirk still has trouble contacting the ship, and Trelane eventually traps him behind bars at the castle entrance. He goes in for the kill, thrilled at how much he enjoys hunting in this manner, and tells Kirk to get on his knees. But Kirk tells him to piss off and even breaks Trelane’s sword. Trelane throws a fit (can’t he just make another sword?) until voices tell him to stop. Those voices are coming from two glowing green lights in the sky who are apparently Trelane’s “parents”, who tell Trelane to come home and stop bothering Kirk and company. Trelane becomes saddened, saying he was just having fun. But the lights are adamant and Trelane slowly vanishes.

The lights apologize for the behavior of their “son” before allowing Kirk to return to the ship. The episode ends with Kirk telling Spock that Trelane should be classified as a child, albeit an unusually powerful one. Spock is then perplexed when Kirk likens Trelane’s behavior to how mischievous children are when they do things like dipping girl’s pony tails in ink wells. Judging by Spock’s confused expression, I guess there were never any ink wells on Vulcan.

As I noted earlier, the climatic fight in the episode is not exactly an intense moment, although that may be part of the point here. The story is an enjoyable romp (I love how Spock says “Tallyho!”), and while we can see why our heroes may not find Trelane endearing, the character remains engaging thanks to William Campbell’s work. He makes the character a force to be reckoned with, but not exactly villainous. Indeed, the worst he does is briefly giving Kirk a taste of Gothos’s atmosphere.

Today, it’s easy to pick out the similarities between Trelane and Q, not the least of which is the court setting with the respective omniscient being as the “judge”. Also noteworthy is that the machine aspect was taken out of the equation as The Next Generation got underway—it was initially implied that Q’s powers came from technology indistinguishable from magic, but not much was made of this. Still, while Trelane never appeared again, he did appear with Q in Peter David’s Star Trek novel titled Q-Squared.

Trelane’s interest in Earth and humans would also be mirrored by Q’s fascination with Picard and his crew, which would be a recurring theme throughout TNG. Speaking of which, the beginnings of that theme will be on display in the next recap, as we meet not only Q but also the Enterprise-D crew for the first time in “Encounter at Farpoint”.