star trek next generation q who

Q Who? Stardate: 42761.3 Original Airdate: 8 May, 1989

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Star Trek: The Next Generation S2E16 "Q Who" » Recap

The one where the Enterprise-D makes first contact with... the Borg .

Original air date: May 8, 1989

Overeager young Ensign Sonya Gomez, a recent Academy graduate just assigned to the Enterprise, is carrying on a rambling conversation with Lt. La Forge in Engineering. When La Forge tells her that she ought to take her mug of hot chocolate away from the delicate machinery, Gomez turns around and spills all over Captain Picard himself , mortifying her.

On his way to change his uniform, Picard exits a turbolift without looking and finds himself aboard a shuttlecraft piloted by Q. Picard angrily reminds Q of his promise after their last encounter to never trouble the Enterprise again, and Q says he always keeps his word: The shuttlecraft is in the middle of nowhere . Picard tries to wait Q out, but Q has all the time in the universe, so Picard relents and agrees to hear his proposal.

Meanwhile, La Forge is in Ten-Forward trying to give Gomez a pep talk to ease her nerves. He notices that Guinan seems disturbed. She admits that she's been having a very dire premonition but can't put her finger on it. La Forge and Gomez return to Engineering to see if anything is amiss.

Q and Picard teleport to Ten-Forward, where Q immediately reacts with shock that Guinan is aboard. The pair have a history, and they square off, but Picard talks them down as Riker and Worf arrive. Q admits that he's been kicked out of the Q collective. He's bored and wants to join the crew of the Enterprise . Picard balks at the idea, but Q warns him that the Federation has no idea what lies in store for them. Picard confidently states that the Federation can handle any issues that may arise without Q.

Q decides to put that boast to the test. With a snap, he propels the ship 7,000 light years away, into an unknown part of space. They're 2.5 years away from the nearest starbase at maximum warp! Guinan recognizes this part of space and warns Picard to get the hell outta there. But Picard decides to go exploring first , and they come across an uninhabited M-class planet with great rends in the surface where the cities once were. It's exactly what happened to the outposts in the Neutral Zone in the Season 1 finale.

Suddenly the Enterprise is confronted with a completely new ship: a giant cube of metal, oddly genericized in its design. There's no bridge, engineering section, living quarters, or even life signs. Guinan identifies the ship as the source of her concern: the Borg. They nearly wiped her people out a few centuries ago, and they'll do it to the Federation if given the chance. Indeed, Borg scouts soon appear in Engineering and examine the Enterprise 's technology before beaming away. The Borg ship announces that the Enterprise has no hope of winning a fight.

The Borg ship begins tractoring the Enterprise in. Picard orders a volley with everything they've got, targeting the tractor beam. The Borg slice a chunk out of the Enterprise , killing 18 crew, but its transport beam gets destroyed. In a conference, Q warns Picard that the Borg are an existential threat to the Federation itself, interesting in nothing beyond consuming their technology.

Picard decides to send an away team into the Borg ship. Troi has sensed that they are a collective Hive Mind , and the away team confirms this. Each individual Borg behaves like an automaton when not plugged directly into the ship, ignoring the away team. After discovering a nursery where newborn children are augmented with Borg implants, the team realize that the Borg are rapidly repairing their ship. The away team beams away, and Picard orders a full retreat.

But the Borg follow hot on their heels. Picard orders another salvo, but the battle is entirely lopsided this time, and the Enterprise quickly finds itself at the Borg's mercy. Riker prepares to give the order to fire a photon torpedo at close range, likely annihilating the Enterprise . Q appears just in time to remind Picard of his claim that he could handle any threat.

This episode contains examples of:

• Aborted Arc : Geordi's relationship with Gomez, whether professional or personal, never developed, and she appeared only briefly in one other episode.
• Adaptive Ability : A Borg drone is shot dead by Worf. The one that comes to retrieve it has a personal shield to absorb phaser fire. Similarly, the Cube takes quite a lot of damage from the Enterprise's weapons during their first engagement. In the rematch, a volley of torpedoes does absolutely nothing.
• Picard admits that the chance to study Q would actually be quite intriguing.
• Q's descriptions of the Borg. Unlike humanity, he seems to genuinely admire them: Q : Interesting, isn't it? Not a he, not a she, not like anything you've ever seen before. An enhanced humanoid.
• Ain't Too Proud to Beg : Picard during his Patrick Stewart Speech at the end.
• Armed with Canon : Episode writer (and by this point, showrunner) Maurice Hurley had gone under the pseudonym "C.J. Holland" for the previous Q episode, " Hide and Q ," after Gene Roddenberry heavily rewrote his original draft for that episode while adding in a ton of Humans Are Special . By contrast, this episode seems dedicated to establishing that 24th century humans are actually nowhere near the pinnacle of civilization that they may have imagined themselves to be, and even introduces the klutzy Sonya Gomez as if to reinforce that point.
• Armor-Piercing Response : When Riker snaps at Q for his actions resulting in the Enterprise being sent halfway across the galaxy and indirectly getting 18 crewmembers killed, all Q can say is just a coldly delivered "Oh, please .", which firmly establishes how much he does not care about what he has done.
• Badass Fingersnap : This marks the first time Q uses his powers by snapping his fingers.
• Beware the Nice Ones : Q describes Guinan in terms that aren't that different from himself. When he raises his hand to vanish her, she brings up her own hands in a defensive posture, implying that she is in some way capable of thwarting Q.
• Beware the Silly Ones : As always, Q is a Large Ham prone to wisecracking, but he's also a godlike being with a twisted sense of morality.
• Bittersweet Ending : The Enterprise escapes and is safe, for now. But the Borg know the Federation exists, and they will be coming. 18 crewmen are dead from this incident. And the once confident crew, especially Picard, are shaken to their core.
• Blatant Lies : Q: Sir, do you mock me? Picard: Not at all; that's the last thing I would do.
• Brig Ball Bouncing : A version done by Q as he is waiting for Picard to agree to listen to him in the shuttle craft.
• Characterisation Click Moment : In the first season, Q was wacky, over-the-top and slightly comical. The scene where he coldly dismisses the deaths of eighteen crewmembers added a whole new dimension to the character. And it was all down to John de Lancie changing what was in the script.
• Chair Reveal : Q spins around in a chair, revealing that he's sitting there, for his first and last meetings.
• Cold Ham : Q switches to this from his usual Large Ham persona for most of the episode to a chilling effect. Q: Con permiso, Capitan. The hall is rented, the orchestra engaged. It's now time to see if you can dance .
• Companion Cube : Gomez makes a point to be polite to the ship's computer, which La Forge finds silly.
• Creator Cameo : Writer (and showrunner) Maurice Hurley and director Rob Bowman provide two of the voices that go into the Borg's message to the Enterprise .
• Cryptic Background Reference : Guinan and Q have met before, Guinan goes into a defensive position with oddly specific hand gestures and Q shows annoyance at her presence but otherwise restrained in confronting her. This is not explained at all in the episode, though Guinan is an El Aurian with abstractly defined qualities. Star Trek: Picard 30 years later provided a little more information, but is hardly conclusive note  El Aurians apparently made a treaty with the Q Continuum millennia prior, but the details are left just as vague
• Cruel to Be Kind : This is the first of several instances where Q's actions could be argued to be benevolent, but his methods make it seem like he's just sadistically toying with the ship. Here he warns Picard of an impending existential threat to the Federation, but in the process of learning the lesson, Picard loses 18 members of his crew and is reduced to begging for mercy.
• Cute Clumsy Girl : Sonya Gomez establishes herself as this by running into Picard and spilling her hot chocolate on him. First impressions, indeed.
• Dark and Troubled Past : This episode establishes that Guinan's people were massacred by the Borg in the distant past.
• David Versus Goliath : The Enterprise versus a Borg cube. Picard and crew get a few good shots in at first, due to the Borg being unfamiliar with their weaponry... and then the Borg become immune to it.
• Deadpan Snarker : Q, of course, is an endless stream of sarcastic comments and witty remarks as the Enterprise rebuffs his attempts to join them, and then during the struggle with the Borg.
• Death Glare : After the Borg take a sample out of the saucer section, Worf informs Picard that 18 people were in that section, and are now missing. Picard turns to the viewscreen and gives the cube an absolutely murderous glare. Without saying a word, his expression clearly communicates that he would like nothing better than to blow that ship to pieces. It almost comes as a relief when he calls a conference, instead.
• Delegation Relay : When the first Borg drone beams into Engineering, Picard orders Worf to deal with it. Worf then orders a Red Shirt to deal with it; said Red Shirt gets knocked on his ass.
• Do Not Taunt Cthulhu : Picard continues his policy of being completely irreverent to Q and his power, but in the end, he's forced to beg Q for help.
• The Dreaded : Q's description of what lies waiting for humanity as they continue out into the galaxy. The Borg are his immediate example. The Dominion shows up later. Q: You judge yourselves against the pitiful "adversaries" you've encountered so far... The Romulans , the Klingons ; they're nothing compared to what's waiting. Picard ! You are about to move into areas of the Galaxy containing wonders more incredible than you can possibly imagine . And terrors to freeze your soul . I offer myself as a guide , only to be rejected out-of-hand.
• The Borg's shield-draining weapon is never used again after this episode, though Borg tractor beams would pick up similar properties.
• This version of the Borg was conceived as a unique race that breed within their own species and are only interested in consuming outsiders' technology. For this reason, they threaten the Enterprise with "punishment" rather than assimilation, and the away team discovers a "nursery" of baby Borgs. * This would be explained that the Borg may assimilate babies, then put them in "maturation chambers" to rapidly age them. Later episodes would establish that they are more of a technological virus that propagates itself by assimilating civilizations to add to its collective.
• The Borg continue to "scoop up" technological elements from a planet and just leave them, suggesting that they are entirely space-based as a civilization; while "Best of Both Worlds" would continue this conceit, later works (most prominently starting with First Contact ) would instead begin to suggest that the Borg do in fact perform surface assimilation and will assimilate and build up technology on planets.
• Naturally, at this point the Borg appear to be a complete Hive Mind with absolutely no form of centralized decision-making. The idea of the Borg Queen would be nearly a decade off.
• Borg use of nanotechnology isn't referenced at all in this episode; at the time the episode was written, nanotech wasn't even widely known about as a concept. Their regeneration and whatnot simply "happens" somehow.
• The Borg threaten the Enterprise to not resist them, but their famous catchphrase "Resistance is futile" is not used. It shows up in their next appearance.
• After the away team beams on-board the cube, Riker initially assumes that they haven't been attacked because the Borg don't consider them a threat, but Data later clarifies that the Borg are actually focusing on repairing the damage their ship took in the firefight with the Enterprise , implying that they just saw the repairs as the more immediate priority and otherwise would probably have attacked the away team as soon as they beamed in. In their future appearances, the Borg never attack intruders until they actively become a threat.
• The Borg's Voice of the Legion sounds different in this episode and has a less prominent echo effect.
• Ensign Newbie : Sonya Gomez, who is just so eager to be out exploring the galaxy aboard the Enterprise .
• When the Borg hail the Enterprise , Picard starts introducing himself, only to be bluntly interrupted by their Voice of the Legion , who tell the heroes "If you defend yourselves, you will be punished."
• Ensign Gomez's first scene established her as an accident-prone Ensign Newbie with a nervous Motor Mouth .
• Evil Gloating : Cited by Picard; if the Borg kill them, then Q won't be able to gloat about it afterwards. Q, to his credit, respects Picard for being able to swallow his pride and doesn't do much.
• Evil Learns of Outside Context : Up until this point, the Borg were situated billions of miles from any Federation starbase. When Q takes the Enterprise into the deepest reaches of space, he alerts the assimilating race to the existence of both Earth and the Federation, and the Borg immediately begin heading for them with a vengeance.
• Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap! : Guinan and Picard's conversation at the end of the episode. Guinan : Perhaps when you're ready, it might be possible to establish a relationship with [the Borg]. But for now, for right now, you're just raw material to them. And, since they're aware of your existence... Picard : They will be coming.
• Final Boss Preview : The early encounter with the Borg, which the Enterprise was completely unprepared for.
• Gratuitous Spanish : Q. Con permiso , of course.
• Gut Feeling : Guinan gets a funny feeling after Picard disappears from the Enterprise , but suggests that It's Probably Nothing . Of course, it's not nothing.
• Hard Truth Aesop : The main plot is instigated when Picard tells Q that they are doing just fine and don't need his help. Q sends them into the path of the Borg, who are really not that far away (and previous episodes have been hinting at odd incidents reported along the Neutral Zone) as a demonstration of how outmatched they really are at what is coming. Picard is reduced to begging Q to save them, and muses at the end of the episode that Q did them a favor in letting them get kicked around as a warning . Picard: I understand what you've done here, Q, but I think the lesson could have been learned without the loss of eighteen members of my crew. Q: 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.
• Hollywood Hacking : The Borg do this on the Enterprise's computer by jamming an electronic arm into a display screen. Apparently, Starfleet computers are designed to be accessible that way .
• Hyperspeed Escape : The Enterprise jumps to warp when the Borg cube starts regenerating. Defied when the Borg catch up to them and knock them out of warp.
• Hypocritical Humor : Q describes Guinan as a troublemaker who brings chaos wherever she goes. Picard even lampshades the irony of his claim.
• I Have Many Names : When Picard refers to Guinan by name, Q reveals that the appellation is new.
• Idiot Ball : All there in his Captain's Log — "Despite Guinan's warnings, I have decided to explore this sector of space a bit before heading back."
• Picard ignores Guinan's advice to start back immediately and decides to explore the sector first, which causes 18 Enterprise crew members to be killed and the ship to almost be destroyed. They also ignore her advice not to beam an Away Team to the ship. All of this is after directly asking Guinan to monitor the bridge screen because "we might need your input."
• Arrogant as he is, Q's warnings are also ignored until Picard has to literally beg for his help.
• Implacable Man : The Borg. Q: They will follow this ship until you exhaust your fuel. They will wear down your defenses. Then you will be theirs. [...] You can't outrun them; you can't destroy them. If you damage them, the essence of what they are remains. They regenerate and keep coming . Eventually you will weaken, your reserves will be gone. They are relentless!
• Incoming Ham : After kidnapping Picard, Q interrupts him without looking at him, then turns and mugs for the camera. Picard: Crewmember, what is going o— Q: Welcome, Captain Picard, to Shuttlecraft 6!
• When Gomez returns to the ST universe in Lower Decks , she's become the Captain of her own ship, the Archimedes ; judging by the name, it's a science-focused vessel
• It Only Works Once : The Enterprise crew is able to dispatch one Borg with their phasers. When another comes on, it quickly adapts a personal force field to repel the phasers, making them useless.
• Jerkass Has a Point : Picard questions if Q's lesson could have been learned without the death of 18 members of his crew. Q responds that the galaxy isn't a safe place, and if Picard can't accept that people will die from the dangers note  Subtly reminding Picard that all the deaths that happened are because Picard taunted Q and ignored Guinan , then he should go back home.
• The Juggernaut : Riker describes the Borg this way while aboard the Borg Cube when he sees how intricate their collective consciousness is.
• Kick the Dog : Q simply does not care that eighteen crew members of the Enterprise are dead or worse to the Borg's machinations. To him, it's all to teach Picard a lesson in humility and the growing risks of interstellar travel, never mind a firm threat of the Borg that would come again soon enough.
• Know When to Fold 'Em : Picard decides in the end to confirm Q's insistence that they need him rather than be cut up like a pork chop by the Borg.
• Loophole Abuse : Picard reminds Q of their agreement that he would never trouble his ship again. Q joyfully points out that they're nowhere near his ship.
• Motor Mouth : Sonya Gomez admits to this, especially when she's excited. She eventually gets better about it .
• My Significance Sense Is Tingling : Guinan can feel that something bad is about to happen at the beginning of the episode, though she isn't sure what— however, when Q makes his appearance, she declares "I knew it was you," suggesting that she was actually more suspicious than she let on.
• Noodle Incident : Whatever "dealings" Q and Guinan had 200 years earlier.
• No-Nonsense Nemesis : This is why the Borg are absolutely terrifying. When Picard first tries to address the collective, they bluntly interrupt him before forcibly taking a piece of the Enterprise .
• Once the Borg cube adapts to the Enterprise 's weapons, a volley of photon torpedoes doesn't even scratch it.
• Similarly, the first drone that is shot in Engineering falls to the floor dead. The second one that appears has a defense shield that absorbs phaser fire.
• No, You : Q describes Guinan as an imp that trouble follows wherever she goes. Picard is not impressed. Picard : You're speaking of yourself, Q.
• Sonya Gomez's reaction to spilling hot chocolate on Picard.
• Just before Q snaps his fingers to propel the Enterprise into Borg territory, Guinan flat out panics ; she most likely anticipated what Q was about to do.
• Ominous Cube : Given all the streamlined Shiny-Looking Spaceships in this series, the strictly utilitarian form of the Borg Cube is quite jarring.
• Overall, this episode is the one time we see Q get genuinely angry and it's bone chilling. In particular, when Q explains the nature of the Borg to the senior staff, he's quiet, calm, and very direct, which is at odds with his Large Ham trickster persona. It's part of what makes his 'oh, please' line so memorable.
• Similarly, Q shows genuine fear when he sees Guinan and immediately warns Picard that she is dangerous. Considering that he's a nigh-omnipotent Reality Warper , the sudden terror makes it clear that there's a lot more to Guinan than we originally knew.
• Outside-Context Problem : The Borg, perhaps the greatest example of this Trope in the Trek 'Verse, are introduced here. The situation is deliberately set up by Q to prove to Picard just how unprepared the Federation is for something like them. Q : You judge yourselves against the pitiful adversaries you've encountered so far. The Romulans. The Klingons. They're nothing compared to what's waiting.
• Patrick Stewart Speech : One of the most brilliant of the series, when Picard tells Q he needs him.
• Resistance Is Futile : That particular catchphrase won't appear until "The Best of Both Worlds," but in this episode, they tell the Enterprise "If you defend yourselves, you will be punished."
• Rhyming Title : One of the few rhyming episode titles within the Star Trek franchise, along with "True Q."
• Riddle for the Ages : Upon meeting Guinan aboard the Enterprise for the first time, Q expresses what appears to be genuine alarm and unease, calling her a 'creature' whose danger Picard does not and cannot understand. When he threatens to remove her from the ship, raising his hands to work his 'magic', Guinan similarly raises her hands in what appears to be a defensive posture, implying that she has some ability to combat or thwart Q's powers. Unfortunately, Picard manages to defuse the situation before it comes to blows, and the viewer is left to wonder whether or not Guinan possesses such powers against the Q or not.
• Run or Die : When Riker informs Picard that the Borg cube is healing itself at an alarming rate, running like hell looks like the only possible chance the Enterprise crew has to survive the encounter. It is defied when the Borg are shown to be capable of running just a little faster and slowing the Enterprise down.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here! : When the away team reports that the Borg are using their combined efforts to repair the cube, Picard orders them beamed back immediately and orders the Enterprise to get the hell out of there at Warp 8. It's not fast enough.
• Secret Test of Character : Q ultimately reveals that his warping the Enterprise into Borg space was this. He already knew that the ship, and even the entire Federation, wasn't ready for the Borg and their power—he was more interested to see whether or not Picard would be humble enough to admit he was wrong and explicitly ask for Q's help. Once the captain does so, Q instantly teleports the Enterprise to safety and commends Picard for his choice, saying that most men would have rather died holding onto their pride than own up to such a mistake.
• Self-Recovery Surprise : It's not a good sign for our heroes when the damaged cube starts repairing itself, and can still chase them down at warp.
• To The Great Escape —Q passes the time on the shuttle by throwing a ball against the wall.
• The title is a shout out to Doctor Who — particularly fitting as this is the episode that introduces the Borg, which are also somewhat influenced by the Cybermen from that show. The title of this episode in French is even « Docteur Q »;».
• Shut Up, Kirk! : When Riker chews Q out for exposing them to the Borg and costing the lives of 18 shipmates, Q shuts him up with "Oh, please!" At the end of the episode, when Picard asks whether the entire affair and the casualties involved were really necessary, Q responds "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."
• Smug Super : Even when trying to get Picard to take him on as a member of the crew, Q can't help but throw shade on the Puny Earthlings . See the quote under Surrounded by Idiots .
• Surrounded by Idiots : Q's real opinion of the Enterprise crew, explicitly stated when he tries to get Picard to let him join. (Which is a strange thing to do during a job interview.) Q: This ship is already home for the indigent, the unwanted, the unworthy ; why not for a homeless entity? [...] And if necessary, though I can't imagine why, I will renounce my powers, and become as weak and as incompetent as all of you .
• Tempting Fate : Picard does this one too many times, and he winds up with 18 crewmen dead. You should've listened to Guinan, Jean-Luc.
• The Main Characters Do Everything : Slightly averted when Picard orders Worf to neutralize the invader and Worf immediately delegates it to an ensign. However, the ensign is quickly batted away and Worf has to do it anyway.
• This Is Reality : After 18 crewmen die, Picard asks if this is just another illusion. Q responds, "This is as real as your so-called life gets."
• The Unreveal : We never find out how Q and Guinan know each other, and why even the omnipotent Q seems wary of her; not even Star Trek: Picard , released almost 30 years later (and featuring both characters, though mostly at different times) ever answered the question.
• Tranquil Fury : Picard's reaction to Worf's report that 18 crew members have been killed by the Borg. He is clearly seething but he remains collected and never raises his voice.
• Unusually Uninteresting Sight : The away team is surprised that the Borg ignore their presence aboard the cube, before realizing that they're focused on repairing their ship. Though later episodes would state that it's in the Borg's nature to ignore intruders till they actively threaten them.
• Thousand-Yard Stare : After the Borg cube appears, this is Guinan's default expression for the rest of the episode. Not that you can really blame her.
• Villain Has a Point : Q's reason for all of this is purely egotistical, but he's right about the Federation not being prepared for the danger that awaits.
• Voice of the Legion : The Borg's method of communicating.
• We Have Become Complacent : The point that Q was trying to get across by introducing the Enterprise to the Borg, and a statement which Picard ultimately admits is not without merit.
• We'll See About That : Picard tells Q that his help is not required. Q declares that "We'll just have to see how ready you are," snaps his fingers, and sends the Enterprise to its encounter with the Borg.
• Wham Episode : The Borg are introduced in full—making this one of the most important episodes of the series and franchise as a whole.
• Wham Line : After the Borg's first attack kills eighteen crew members, Riker chews Q out for his reckless actions and fully blames him for their deaths. Up until this point, Q was a prankster and fun, if rude, Large Ham , using his powers largely to mess with the Enterprise for amusement. But upon hearing Riker's condemnation, he drops his cheerful persona with a single line: "Oh, please. " Those two words reveal that Q doesn't care about individuals, but the larger picture. Q's remaining appearances would continue to straddle that line between Trickster Mentor and genuinely terrifying foe.
• Wham Shot : While Riker, Data and Worf explore the Borg cube, the camera pans out to reveal hundreds, if not thousands, of Borg drones in their alcoves.
• Who's Laughing Now? : As the Borg cube is closing in on the Enterprise , Q returns to mock Picard. Q: Where's your stubbornness now, Picard, your arrogance? Do you still profess to be prepared for what awaits you?
• The Worf Effect : A brawny human security officer tries to take down the Borg scout and gets tossed on his ass. Unusually for this trope, Worf himself remains unscathed.
• "You!" Exclamation : Q's reaction to seeing Guinan on the Enterprise .
• Star Trek: The Next Generation S2E15 "Pen Pals"
• Recap/Star Trek: The Next Generation
• Star Trek: The Next Generation S2E17 "Samaritan Snare"

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Star Trek: The Next Generation

“Q Who?”

Air date: 5/8/1989 Written by Maurice Hurley Directed by Robert Bowman

Review by Jamahl Epsicokhan

Review Text

Ah, at last, here's the most absolutely necessary episode of TNG 's second season. Q forces Picard to hear his request to join the Enterprise crew as a guide. In a wonderful dialog scene that gets to the heart of the human drive for learning by personal experience, Picard refuses on the grounds that Q's presence would defeat the purpose of exploration. (That, and no one likes Q anyway.) To prove his point with a twist of the knife, Q hurls the Enterprise into an unexplored part of the galaxy (two years away from the nearest Federation outpost), bringing the Enterprise into contact with a cybernetic alien species called the Borg. (The episode also implies that the Borg were responsible for the destroyed colonies along the Romulan Neutral Zone.)

The best aspect of "Q Who" is its ability to mix the intellectual with the visceral. In other words, it's the best kind of TNG action show, and should stand as a lesson to sci-fi shows that are action-oriented: Your action works only if it grows from a point of emotion, in this case genuine scariness. The Borg are scary precisely because they cannot be reasoned with and because their technology is vastly superior to the Enterprise 's — and those two avenues are the basis by which nearly all TNG stories are typically solved. The Borg have often been described simply as "implacable," and I agree that that's the best adjective for them. They are an implacable foe, and we learn that very quickly by their behavior in this episode.

The industrial-cube design of the Borg vessel is brilliant in its simplicity: Here's a society that has no regard for style or aesthetics but simply raw function. When they communicate, it's with terse directives; they epitomize the laconic. The episode puts good use to Guinan by revealing that not only has she had past dealings with Q, but that her people's world was destroyed by the Borg, essentially turning them into nomads.

Because this is an episode of TNG , the crew is still genuinely curious about the Borg, as are we. An away team beams over to the Borg ship and we get a chance to see their hive-like society, with imaginative visuals and production design. The "Borg nursery" is an intriguingly chilling detail. Such ominous concepts are all the more interesting to ponder when considering the presence of the young and naïve, evidenced here by the cute and plucky Ensign Sonya Gomez (Lycia Naff), whose infectious drive to do her part as a member of the Enterprise crew is met here only with danger. If the show had truly wanted to punch us in the stomach with its dark ambitions, it would've had Gomez die.

The episode plays by its rules. The Borg are a superior and implacable enemy, period, and the only way out is through Q, to whom Picard makes an urgent plea for help when there are no other options. Q sums it up nicely when he says, "It's not safe out here." Indeed, and it's nice to be reminded of that by an episode that is equally as visceral as it is curious, and all but promises that the Borg will be coming for us. If ever an episode deserved to be saved for a season finale in a season that didn't have an adequate (or even tolerable) finale, it's this one.

Previous episode: Pen Pals Next episode: Samaritan Snare

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Comment Section

135 comments on this post, john campbell.

Regarding "Q Who?": I love how Picard attempts to get on his moral high horse about the crewmen who were killed, and Q basically tells him to stop being such a big baby.

I love Q episodes. I've always wondered why they never included Q into any of the feature films. His dialoge writes itself and hes a fantastic charactor.

Latex Zebra

This episode gives me chills. Even now, the intro of the Borg was well worthy.

awesome episode

Now if only the Borg had stayed like this, or at least evolved into something different than what was done with them in Voyager. Wheeling and dealing, bribing and coercing, cunning and untrustworthy etc. None of those adjectives should apply to a race of cybernetic zombies who seek perfection through the assimilation of other species. You're either pursued and assimilated (or escape) or you're ignored as too primitive. No deals!

The Borg should have just ignored Enterprise, since it is way too "primitive" compared to their technology. What would be their gain by assimilating them? Just a waste of time! The episode is awesome, possibly the best of this season. But having watched Voyager and First Contact movie, Borg in this episode look less frightening and simple, wearing too much plastic.

The dialog in this episode really sells it. Picard's reasoning for not accepting Q is pitch perfect ("Learning about you is frankly provocative. But you're next of kin to chaos."). The dialog on the bridge at the end is great, too. The episode is also probably the best use of Guinan in the entire series (next to "Yesterday's Enterprise"). Also, I think this is the first episode where Q becomes focused on Picard (as opposed to Riker in "Hide and Q" and just general mayhem in "Farpoint"). I think the scene in Ten Forward is where Q changes his focus that then carries through to the end of the series. In that way, this episode does far more than put the Borg storyline in motion. Also, it's interesting that TNG -- which wasn't much into continuing storylines up until this point -- drops hints about the Borg for the next season and a half ("Peak Performance", "Evolution").

The claim that Q "brought contact with the Borg much sooner than it should have been", which Guinan alludes here, would seem to run counter to the notion that the Borg are responsible for he destruction in the Neutral Zone...the Neutral Zone isn't remote.

Wonderful episode. As xaaos said, it's probably this season's best. It is funny now, my first reaction to it was negative. I wasn't very conviced by the episode and when Ginan started talking about the evil aliens that destroyed her world I was ready for yet another disposable alien of the week. But...the BORG, the B-O-R-G! They were just awesome and I didn't mind their suits, sure they'd get better but it's still light-years ahead of most early TNG designs (The Ferengi, anyone?) And, of course, Q is great. He always is :)

One of the best things about making the introduction to the Borg happen in a Q episode is that it allows an "out" fully consistent with the TNG universe and the episode's own rules which do nothing to diminish the threat the Borg pose. There is no way the Enterprise could escape the Borg in this episode, full stop. Essentially, Q tells Picard (and the audience) that the only way to get out of being destroyed by the Borg is to ask for Q's help, which runs *hard* counter to Picard's wishes and to our desire to see the Enterprise triumph. We also get the clear indication that since Q won't get them into the next mess, he will not get them out of it.

This episode is just plain genius. Ron Jones' score is haunting and memorable. And beyond the introduction to the Borg, we get a cryptic backstory for both Q and Guinan whose dealings were 2 centuries ago (the 22nd century). Just think of it: we could have had an episode of Star Trek: Enterprise with a clever story showing Q and Guinan's "dealings". (I think they were husband and wife at some point...) It could have been epic and mythic during the Manny Coto years. No, instead we get the Ferengi and the Borg shoehorned in instead...*puke*

Chuck AzEee!

Arguably the funniest episode of TNG I have ever seen. Just plain hilarious, so funny it seemed at times the cast was trying to hold their composure during most of the scenes.

I'm sorry about my previous review which was meant for Deja Q.

Chuck... Let's pretend your comment suits either episode. :) Now that I think about it, mixing Q with the Borg is a fundamentally flawed idea, contrary to what William B suggests. Taking Q at his word, he believes Homo sapiens (and presumably allied species) to be a "grievously savage child race" worthy of extermination... unless we solve his puzzles and play his games. Yet the Borg, which Q is clearly aware of, have escaped his judgment. Why? Maybe Q is lying about his attitude toward humanity. Or maybe, in the fullness of time, the Borg will meet the same judgment, but not this century (and, apparently, not in centuries past). Or maybe Q's indictment was for all non-transcendental beings, not Earthlings alone, and Q lumps humans and the Borg in the same category. Or maybe Q is a huge hypocrite who applies a double standard. Which is what it looks like when the writers ignore their previous premise for the sake of introducing the new Big Bad.

@Grumpy The Borg are like a force of nature. What good is it for Q to put them on trial. It would like trying to prosecute locusts. There would be no entertainment value in that. The Dominion, on the other hand would be interesting. I'd love to have seen the Female Changeling try to intimidate Judge Q and fail miserably.

The more obvious possibility (which I overlooked earlier) is suggested by Q's admiration for the Borg in this episode. He has judged them; they meet his approval.

I think it's a bit more complicated -- it's stated several times that the Q Continuum is *interested* in humanity, e.g. their interest in giving Riker Q powers to test him out, Amanda Rogers' parents taking such an interest in humans they decided to turn human, etc. Either Picard or Riker in "Hide and Q" theorize that the Q Continuum is actually worried about what will happen when humanity increase in power. The Borg assimilate but it stands to reason that the Q Continuum don't see in the Borg the human capacity for growth that make the Q Continuum interested in humanity and _possibly_ concerned about it in its future. As far as Q himself, we know that he doesn't have the right to toy with whole races (like the Callamarain in Deja Q) and the Q Continuum punishes him for doing so. It would not surprise me if he couldn't wipe out the Borg if the Q Continuum has no interest in doing so, without severe punishment or expulsion. Q himself at least does seem to *want* humanity and Picard to pass the tests he puts in front of them (made explicit in All Good Things). He doesn't interfere enough to save humanity from the Borg, but he gives them a head's up which is mostly what allows them the mild level of preparedness they have by TBOBW. I don't want to overstate Q's helpfulness -- he does that trickster figure thing of giving enough information to inflame the thoughts of Picard et al. to get to the character growth they need, but he does so at a price and refuses to hold to human moral standards or respect for life.

To bring Voyager into this for a second, "Death Wish" even suggests that Quinn is responsible for Riker's existence and thus for Riker's saving humanity from the Borg; and the idea that humanity can expand in creative ways but the Borg can simply assimilate other tech comes up in "Scorpion." I don't know if my suggestion about the Continuum being interested and concerned about humanity because it has greater possibility to expand than other species (like the Borg) is text exactly, but I think it is consistent. This still leaves open the question, which comes up so often in Trekdom, of why humanity is so awesome, as opposed to the Vulcans/Klingons/Romulans/Cardassians/Bajorans/Betazoids/whatever. I like Grumpy's idea that maybe Q was lumping all these races in with humans, but All Good Things suggests that it's Earth in particular that is in jeopardy.

"...All Good Things suggests that it's Earth in particular that is in jeopardy." An anomaly in the Romulan Neutral Zone that disrupts all life isn't going to affect Earth alone. However, I'm not so sure there was ever any threat at all... Q doesn't evolve from judge to trickster, I'm now convinced. He was *never* a judge; the trial was a sham. It was his way of tormenting humanity. The most exquisite torment Roddenberry conceived for his evolved humans is to accuse them of not evolving enough. This is especially hurtful to Picard, ever the mouthpiece for Roddenberry's humanism. Q's needling in "All Good Things..." brings it full circle: his examples of *not* trying to change and grow -- Riker's career and Data's quest -- are precisely how most humans would try to better themselves. In other words, Q is neither judge nor teacher. He is, as Picard observes, "next of kin to chaos," and his only motivation is to screw with people. The screwing takes the form of a thorough humbling in "Q Who?" and (barring events outside his control in "Deja Q") that's all he ever did in one form or another. No wonder Picard hated him. Fair to bring Voyager into it, William B, especially the contrast with the Borg in "Scorpion." In that sense, perhaps "Endgame" should be read as extending the theme of "All Good Things..." but in a way that was muddled by its crappiness.

@Grumpy, good point about the anomaly starting in the Neutral Zone -- I was just flashing back to Q showing Picard the amino acids not forming on Earth, but of course it would basically destroy life in most of the Alpha/Beta quadrants. I agree about Q as trickster, though I think he actually is a bit of a teacher and a judge in some ways too -- he's ... a bit of everything. I do think humanity (and other races) would have been destroyed had Picard not resolved the dilemma, but then again I think Q always suspected (knew?) Picard would win, so.... "The most exquisite torment Roddenberry conceived for his evolved humans is to accuse them of not evolving enough. This is especially hurtful to Picard, ever the mouthpiece for Roddenberry's humanism. Q's needling in "All Good Things..." brings it full circle: his examples of *not* trying to change and grow -- Riker's career and Data's quest -- are precisely how most humans would try to better themselves." Agreed -- I would go further and say that that is what the show is arguing too. Picard needs to use his personal connections as resources to solve the mystery; if he hadn't worried about Commander Riker's career future!Riker wouldn't be the admiral ready to save him despite an unstable political situation based on Picard's role in getting him to admiralty (though we also know that future didn't end up coming to pass), for example.

I really wish the Q - Guinan story had been built up a bit more... seems like it would have been interesting, plus the poses they struck when they saw each other, would have helped us to learn a bit more about Guinan's species.

Frank Wallace

A great episode. But for me, the problem is that each time the Borg were used afterwards, except for Best of Both Worlds, they got less and less worthwhile. Voyager just totally destroyed most of what was interesting and good about the Borg as a villain and as a species. First Contact as well established some real stupidity with the Borg Sex Queen.

Can anyone answer why Guinan seems to be the only crewmember not wearing a communicator badge (combadge)?

@dipads: She's not a crewmember. And like other civilians on the ship (Alexander?) she doesn't wear a com badge.

This episode is obviously brilliant, but it's also incredibly ambitious. There are moments here where I forget that I'm watching TV and not a movie. The dialogue is poetic at times. The lighting choices gives it an air of intimacy and intrigue. The acting is superb. The drama is very real. And since I'm a musician, I have to call out Ron Jones here for special acclaim. Whenever I consider what was lost when he was removed before season 5, I think of this episode. The music is inventive and communicates the feelings of the characters clearly and without taking attention away from them. Just the variety of tools he uses from his original instrumentation to stark dissonance .... it's very impressive. And at the end - for total contrast - once the Enterprise is safe, he introduces a sweeping theme (the "They will be coming" theme) that at once is reassuring but suggestive and hauntingly beautiful. To me, it suggests that the crew has entered a new paradigm now that they've encountered the Borg. Hear it here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxklAsl2v2I Just watch a few fifth season episodes where the music is mostly wallpaper, and hop back to this episode. It was a serious loss for the series to have that change in values about what the music could bring the show. What an episode.

Ian, finally, someone like me with regards to trek music. Despite everyone saying how TNG got better as it went along, I find season 5-7 almost unwatchable because of the scoring. If you watch the borg episode from the season 6 and this one back to back, the season 6 one cannot even compare. whether it is acting or affects, but most importantly the music. Trek lost something huge in Jones (or at least the era).

SkepticalMI

"Oh please" With those two words, and years before the words Deep Space 9 were ever uttered, Gene Roddenberry's magical utopia finally and thankfully died. I'm not one of those people who think that morally gray storylines, edgy stories, and corrupt societies automatically make stories better; quite the opposite in fact. I like the broad optimism of Star Trek. I like the moral decency of Picard. It's a strong and necessary part of Trek, and one I agree with completely. But there's a difference between a generally positive look to the future and a silly perfectionist world that Roddenberry envisioned for TNG. That just reeks of smug superiority, as if he knew better than the rest of us how to live. It made for insufferable speeches and boring stories. It's difficult to write for Superman; not impossible, but difficult. And if done incorrectly, it reeks of arrogance and a holier-than-thou attitude. I don't want to hear about how much smarter and better Gene Roddenberry is. I want to see wondrous sci fi stories set in a fun space opera universe. Optimism is fine, perfection isn't. Think about it. What was the theme of this episode, once you get past the awesome music and the fun Q antics and the bizarre and incredible presence of the Borg? Q humbling Picard. Picard, who represents all that is right with humanity, "evolved" past all frailties and irrationalities and failures of us simple modern day humans, thought he was ready for anything. Thought the Enterprise was the pinnacle of existence. And Q simply proved him wrong. And Picard admitted it. He was smug. He was arrogant. He needed to be humbled. "Perhaps what we needed was a kick in our own complacency, to prepare us for what lies ahead" It is, in fact, the exact opposite of the first two Q episodes. In both of them, it ends with Picard proving Q wrong (first about humanity in general, then about Riker). And in both of them, Q acts very much like Trelane by the end of the episode, essentially a whiny petulant child. It's all part of the greatness of humanity in that we're even better than an omnipresent being with an IQ of 2,005. But Q here, being smarter than Picard and more importantly being right works so much better. Of course, he's still a complete jerk about the whole thing. He's certainly not llikable. But by providing a more than adequate foil for Picard, a foil that he can at best tolerate but never defeat, works so much better. Sure, it regresses a bit after this, but Tapestry and True Q have Q right back in the mode he was in here. A mode he is perfect for. And a mode that sets up All Good Things very very well. In any case, the first two Q episodes were emblematic of Roddenberry's view of humanity, which is completely rewritten with this episode. And it doesn't go too far in cutting down the utopia either (Like DS9 arguably did). Despite being wrong, Picard's still the hero. And he's still the hero by the end of the episode, and he's still the best that humanity has to offer. He is absolutely right to be concerned and angry about the death of 18 people. But Q is absolutely right that, in the grand scheme of things, 18 people is nothing. It is to Picard, because he's responsible for them. But Q's actions here may have saved all of humanity by preparing the Federation for the Borg. So in that perspective, the death of 18 people may have led to a greater good. And so Picard doesn't press the point. He doesn't let his pride get in the way. He begs for his life from Q. And he recognizes the value of what Q did. He recognizes his mistakes and moves on. Just like Trek. And so we can still maintain the optimism of the Trek world, we can still maintain hope in the future. We just need to understand that it's "good", not "perfect". It's Spider-Man instead of Superman. And this action by Q was all that was needed to get TNG to that point, and thus allowing the series to shine. And even if my thematic interpretation is way off base, this is the best episode of the series so far, hands down. An absolute joy to watch from beginning to end.

@SkepticalMI, brilliant analysis. I think you're right, and this is what makes this episode change the series for the better. This episode is the thing that allows both "The Best of Both Worlds" and "All Good Things" (among others) because both episodes rely on the possibility that humans might not survive; in BOBW that they are not strong enough, in AGT that Picard himself is not good enough. There is real humility in both stories, and that humility begins here.

Thanks for the kind words William. And I enjoy your analyses as well; even if I don't agree with you it's usually a unique insight into the episodes. One other minor thing I noticed. In Q Who, Tapestry, and All Good Things, Q is generally fond of Picard and is trying to help him out, albeit in his own alien way that is difficult for Picard to accept. And indeed, Picard is very opposed to Q throughout the episode(s), but ends up at least understanding Q at the end. It's probably the best portrayal of Q. It's also the portrayal in QPid, but I guess it didn't really work out in that one...

This is for me the first truly great TNG episode so far. For the first time, the Enterprise is confronted with a threat that's genuinely scary. The Borg will become the most iconic of any Star Trek antagonist, save perhaps for the Klingons. They're scary in a way that the silly all-powerful beings or self-reproducing crystals of earlier episodes were not (not to mention tarpit monsters). As SkepticalMI stated, I agree that this is a watershed moment, or at least, since I haven't watched the rest of the series yet, it's the first time that the Enterprise crew gets its own smugness rubbed in its face. I think this is especially welcome after all the arrogance displayed in the previous episode, Pen Pals. The Enterprise is vulnerable, not invincible. It's the first time that we see it being defeated. Picard has to beg Q. I think that this is much better than in previous episodes when the Federation super heroes were shown defeating Q, who is supposed to be an all-powerful being after all. They also don't get their 18 crew members back. That hurts. I also love the brilliant acting by John de Lancie. My only criticism is when Guinan is shown as potentially having magical powers like Q. That seemed to come out of nowhere.

Tom, my criticism is related to the same issue you have, but from a different angle. I thought it was quite intriguing that they set Guinan up to have a lot more to her than meets the eye; my disappointment is that they dropped this thread and never went back to flesh it out (other than showing she could perceive alternate timelines to a degree).

Dave B in MN

We all know it's a great episode, so I'll have to echo what others have said and praise Ron Jones again for such a wonderful musical score. He's a part of the reason I love earlier TNG (before Season 6) so much.

SkepticalMI, I love your analysis, particularly the part about the "broad optimism" of Trek. I don't think the "magical utopia" ever truly died, especially in TNG. Case in point: Picard not destroying the collective when presented with the opportunity. I guess the writers didn't have the courage to let him go through with it. A pity, because that's as close as TNG could have come to a "In The Pale Moonlight" moment, discounting alternate (Yesterday's Enterprise) timelines and such. The Borg were hands down the scariest Trek villains. One could have lived under Dominion Rule, with hope of a better tomorrow. Not so in the Borg Collective. I can watch this episode and BoBW two decades after the fact and still get chills up my spine. Can't say that any of the Dominion episodes invoke that sort of response.

Can't help but think that if this were BSG, Gomez would have been blown into space/machine-gunned by Cylons/nuked/met some other grisly end early on in the encounter with the Borg. Great episode, best use of Q since "Hide and Q" and still sends chills down my spine on repeat viewings despite the relatively cheap effects and costumes by today's standards. I guess that goes to say there's only so much CGI can do and in the end, it all depends on good writers. If I ever run a TV show, I would splurge extra money to get the best writers possible even if it meant below average effects. Just look at Doctor Who, or even the original Star Trek. This is the one episode that can end with our heroes on the NCC-1701-D getting their ass handed to them and it still comes off as awesome. TNG solves problems usually with some variance of negotiation and technology. The Borg won't negotiate - they just want your ship and won't listen to you - and their tech is light years ahead of Starfleet's, knocking out their main advantage. And no matter what ingenious solution you come up with, the Borg will just adapt and keep on coming. At the root, I think that's what made the Borg so scary this time around. Best line goes to Q: "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." (I had that quote in mind during the closing scene of VOY's lame "Friendship One".)

No you didn't. You watched sfdebris' review of "Friendship One" and came here to tout it as your own opinion. I think it's great to bring in other reviewer's opinions here for debate, but plagiarising is a step too far.

Was always amused in this episode when Picard orders Worf to "locate the exact source of that tractor beam, lock on phasers" and it takes Worf 4 shots to actually even come close to remotely hitting it =D

I'm sorry, but I can't jump on the bandwagon for this episode. Now, it certainly doesn't suck, but some of the editing/pacing of this episode is really choppy. Primarily where it concerns Guinan. Guinan, for some reason, gives only bits and pieces of information about the Borg at any one time. You'd think that as someone whose race has been hit by Borg, she'd be a little more aggressive about telling the Enterprise to get out of there. But no, instead she sits down in a conference with the officers, then a battle happens, and then another conference with Guinan where she (and Q) finally explain what the Borg are. It makes sense for Q to hide things, but Guinan really should just get it all out there. Other than that, this episode is good. The Borg are interesting, Q is Q, and the annoying girl in engineering isn't that bad.

FlyingSquirrel

[unconvincing rationalization] Guinan isn't more concerned because she knows that the events of "Time's Arrow II" have not yet occurred from Picard's point of view, and therefore Picard and the Enterprise will survive their encounter with the Borg for their future to intersect with her past. [/unconvincing rationalization]

Sonya Gomez should have died. Too much makeup and not enough acting skills. Rest of episode was great.

This was the first episode I showed my wife, followed up with The Best of Both Worlds 1 & 2 to see if she like TNG. Unfortunately, she didn't really like them and actually though TBOBW1 was boring (!!!!) I think a lot of how much these 3 episodes impact the viewer depends on how much the crew has grown on you. In her case, she never followed Picard and co so you might not really care what happens to them in these dire circumstances. Oh well, at least she liked DS9's "The Visitor" so there's some hope.

Sonya is fine and she doesn't have to much make up she is beautiful. And she is a fine actress.

I always cut Sonya Gomez some slack because she is walking around with that third breast.(Cookie for you if you know what I am talking about).

Haha, I know what you're talking about. What kind of cookie do I get?

Diamond Dave

A classic episode by any criteria. The introduction of the Borg as a new existential threat is extremely well handled - especially compared to the introduction of the Romulans earlier on in the series. As a harbinger of doom this is also nicely done - we now know the Borg are out there, know they are coming, but know it will be a while before they arrive. The seriousness of the threat is nailed home by having the crew fail to overcome the problem - and Picard forced to beg to Q to get them out of trouble subverts our expectations of the series. Elsewhere, the back story for Guinan gives sudden and unexpected depth to that character. The score, as noted above, is excellent. The character design - while it will be still improved in the future - is right there, and the Borg cube design is genius. These are not beings who care about form - just brutal, efficient functionality. You also have to wonder why Gomez was introduced and not the first to be assimilated - perhaps a further clever twist on our expectations? A worthy 4 stars.

Three brief comments: 1) yes, brilliant score! 2) Sonya dying would have been too predictable and I think it was smart to not kill her. 3) great shot when the away team is on the Borg cube and it pans out so show layer upon layer of Borg chambers. Seems The Matrix would borrow this idea. Great wow factor.

grumpy_otter

@Del_Duio If your wife is anything like me, show her "The Host" and "Lessons" and see if that piques her interest. You chose some very hard sci-fi episodes to get her started, so go for the romantic side. If not, try "Data's Day" to see if she likes humor. (And really--you married a non-Trekker? Wasn't that risky? ;-)

Now, to all you people up above me writing words and words and lines and lines and paragraphs and paragraphs to try and analyze Q's motives and what it all means-- THANK YOU! And that includes Jammer, of course. The best part of this site is that the original reviews are never the end. Lots of smart and insightful people come and say smart and insightful things. I just love it. The first comment on this episode was 6 years ago and still we talk! Yay! I've been sick for a couple of days, so have been forced to do nothing--I am not too unhappy since I just started rewatching some TNG and coming here to comment. My tummy is sick but my brain is happy. Thank you to all who contribute here. And now my input. Q is a psychopathic toddler squatting over an anthill with a magnifying glass, and not half as interesting.

I'm sure the vaguely mischievous among us would love to teach a few cocky people a lesson and if we had powers, all the better. Would we murder several innocent work colleagues of that person to prove a point... Perhaps not. I actually think Picard is a little arrogant at the start and Q, being Q, is bang on by teaching them a lesson. Picard: Yeah we're awesome. Q: Shit gets real out here. Picard: Bring it... Q: *Rolls eyes* The fact that Picard realises this at the end is smart writing as well. I never tire of this episode and even among the likes of Breaking Bad, Walking Dead or Game of Thrones this is quality, timeless TV.

Ian, finally, someone like me with regards to trek music. Despite everyone saying how TNG got better as it went along, I find season 5-7 almost unwatchable because of the scoring. If you watch the borg episode from the season 6 and this one back to back, the season 6 one cannot even compare. whether it is acting or affects, but most importantly the music. Trek lost something huge in Jones (or at least the era).--Nick P. Sir, I totally agree with you.

nothingoriginal55

A goid episode...the first scene is horrible...i could do without the sonya gomez character...but the borg were wicked.

Just watching this for the first time in awhile. I think the teaser with Ensign Sonya Gomez is actually relevant to the meeting with the Borg. Sonya is incredibly eager to be out on the Enterprise exploring the unknown. The crew of the Enterprise, as representatives of humanity, are also eager to explore the unknown. Q points out the pitfalls of sprinting blindly into something new. This can apply as much to Sonya's over-enthusiasm on the Enterprise as it does to the crew exploring space. Another fine touch for what is a great episode.

This is a classic episode and deserves full marks for good reason, a true original that open the doors to many other stories down the line. Most people don't read the novels post TNG/DS9/VOY, but I like the take on the Borg, except for Voyager novel with Janeway's stupid death. Q is actually trying to help humanity in this initial encounter, giving the Enterprise a clear first contact with the Borg, not in our own backyard, but in the Delta Quadrant itself. It's semantics, but it could have been the key factor for why the Borg invasion did not occur earlier in Season 2/3 and it gave people like Commander Shelby a chance to prepare along with others in Starfleet, I wonder what Section 31 would have done at the last moment if the Enterprise didn't stop the cube in BoBw-2 (probably throw out a planet killer to take on the cube or launch a protomatter bomb). Also to address an interesting discussion from years back on this blog, the novels explained a reason why Q do not judge theBorg in the same way they do other species. In the Novel series Canon, Destiny Series, the Borg originated from a species called the Caeliar, who have mastered the control of Omega molecules, the very essence of what created the universe itself. Basically, we're talking God-Like equivalent species, so the Q Continuum would not have oversight over another advanced civilization's messes, they got their screw ups and others have their problems. The Q, specifically De Lancie's Q and maybe even Graham Q from Voy Death Wish, though are guiding mankind on a path and destiny towards some kind of future, potentially to the same state of evolutionary advancement, so their interest only intersect up to a certain point as teachers. Even the novels don't explain everything, there's a lot of guesswork in Star Trek and we can argue for eternity or into "Forever" without a clear answer as to the Borg or what Q intent was.

It seems I am in extreme minority about some of the characters of Star Trek. For me, Q was one of the most annoying characters, no only in Star Trek universe, but about any single piece of television or mainstream movies I have ever seen. If I will ever re-watch Star Trek from start to finish, I will make sure to skip ANY episode with Q or Lwaxana Troi. What I hate most about Star Trek is god-like, omnipotent, invulnerable characters, who you can't seemingly oppose in any way. And for the necessity of plot to go through, you have to invent either Deus Ex Machina, or some unbelievable piece of influential speech which affects such characters, when in reality, with IQ of Q and his disregard of most life forms (especially petty humans... why is he interested in us so much anyway?), it would be impossible for any minor humanoid to influence or change his mind in any way. Like there's no way that earth-worm will do anything to convince me to not use it for fishing purposes when I can. I loath Q with passion and any episode he is in, is zero for me

As I recall the body count / "red shirts" factor in TNG at this point was extremely low, so the death of 18 crew members at once, even off-screen, came as a big shock to the characters and audience alike. Previous to this, the lack of death of Starfleet personnel on TNG (especially of the gruesome variety) was almost comically opposite the TOS cliche (with only a few exceptions, like "Conspiracy"). I assume this was Roddenberry's utopian influence again. This episode brought the season 1 and 2 redshirt average up to typical Trek standards in a single show. They upped the ante again in The Best of Both Worlds with the battle of Wolf 359, but by then, they had to so we'd feel the same kind of gut punch. Incidentally, I saw the Enterprise D cross-section model (the one the Borg carve out) at the Star Trek exhibit in Seattle, it was impressively detailed. I got the chills all over again. No sign of the 18 crew members though :(

What a great episode. Q's deflation of the egos of those smugly arrogant pompous 24th century humans was long overdue but very satisfying. The episode was well paced and John de Lancie's acting was top notch. There were some low points-Whoopi Goldberg's super powered magic posing with Q in ten forward was just dead silly-what ,so Guinan is another god like creature is she? The eager-to- please ensign really ought to have been killed or assimilated to justify her presence. These are minor points though-this episode shines like a beacon in the first two seasons and the Borg really are scary for their first outing.

Great episode and the foreboding of doom that comes in BOBW is one of the things that made TNG great. The Borg are truly a scary adversary and their relentlessness is well thought out / created. However, I'm not a fan of Q. To have an alien with the power to do whatever he wants gives a convenient solution when needed. He does prove to be an interesting character though. The episode makes a great point about the smugness/arrogance of Picard and the Enterprise and the encounter with the Borg does instill some humility in the crew which is much-needed. For this purpose, Q's role is useful. Great Trek episodes sometimes get the added boost from a great soundtrack - this episode gets that added benefit. I'll have to watch this one a few more times and see how it measures up with some of the great TOS soundtracks. The early part of the episode with "Selena" Gomez was wasteful - an annoying ensign who had no bearing on the rest of the episode other than being annoying. Could have done without that. How about some more background on Q/Guinan to kick off the episode? Didn't realize she had some power to fend off Q... This is one of the very important TNG episodes - the Borg are a terrific creation. Seeing the baby getting implants was...interesting. I give this a strong 3.5 stars out of 4. Almost perfect episode.

@ Rahul, Not that it adds anything to the episode, but I believe Gomez spilling the coffee on Picard while being eager to please is meant to be representative of the human race bungling through space, optimistically unaware that they're about to get burned by their own enthusiasm. Q's point, which Picard seems to not even compute by the end, is that humanity *actually isn't* prepared for everything that's out there, and that being too aggressive in expansion can have serious risks. It is probably factually the case that any number of things in the galaxy could wipe out the Federation, and that their positive attitude can't overcome all odds. It's counterfactual since Q showed them the Borg here, but imagining that he hadn't, maybe the real first contact would have been when a Borg ship happened by Earth one day. The Borg may have been alerted to the Federation's presence earlier than it should have because of Q, but the Federation was made aware of them sooner too. Maybe the net effect was that Q saved the Federation, who knows.

A question I have is so what if the Borg became aware of the Federation? Why would that even matter to the Borg? Consider that throughout TNG and later Voyager we learn that the galaxy is teeming with life. There are Federations and empires big and small. What made the Federation such a tempting target? I also found the plot detail about the destroyed Romulan and Federation bases curious. If the Borg already assimilated a Federation base, wouldn't that mean they already knew about earth and the Federation before Q Who?

@ Peter G., Yes, I can see your point about Gomez and spilling coffee on Picard -- I guess I didn't make that connection with it being sort of a microcosm of the broader theme of this terrific episode. However, Picard doesn't react like the Borg did toward the Enterprise (fortunately for Gomez!) I just thought the Gomez part dragged on too long and the Guinan/Q/Borg backstory could have used that airtime. No doubt introducing Q into TNG gives the writers the ability to create some interesting situations for Picard & Co., given Q's incredible powers. But I still think the best episodes come about where there is no "waving of a magic wand" and it's just dealing with the situation in the "normal" paradigm of Trek sci-fi.

@ Jason R., I think the question of why the Borg were interested in the Federation is a decent one, but perhaps one best left to the imagination rather than somehow to be found in series lore. I could suggest a few scenarios, with the proviso that they are all products of my imagination and have no basis in fact: -The Federation was in some way more advanced than most races out there, and had something or other the Borg wanted to assimilate. (this would be later contradicted in Voyager, but for the purposes of "Q Who" that's not really relevant. I think Voyager jumped the shark big-time in making any kind of sense of what the Borg do in the Delta Quadrant, which should properly have been a massive warzone and interstellar graveyard). -The Borg had access to some weird information, maybe even from the future, telling them the Federation would eventually be a threat to them. -The Borg remembered the probe they repaired which went back to Earth (V'Ger) and when they came in contact with the Enterprise realized that for some reason the probe didn't destroy the Earth, and wanted to know why. Note that this is real fan-fiction stuff, since the Borg being the race that repaired the probe is two steps separated from canon, since it was only an idea Gene had that never materialized. -Maybe Q whisking the Enterprise away is what made the Borg antsy, since how could they possibly know it was Q that rescued them at the end? They probably thought that in scanning the ship they failed to note some crazy advanced gadget that could hurl the Enteprise across the galaxy. No kidding they wanted to ransack Earth to find it! If this is the right answer then Q actually instigated the confrontation, which maybe made the Federation take a bit more seriously developing weapons of war like the Defiant. I think (in hindsight) we could say that while losing 39 ships sucks, without those advances (and the Defiant) the Federation wouldn't have beaten the Dominion. Yeah, that's all I got for now. As to your second question, it is undoubtedly a plot hole. "The Neutral Zone" made is clear the Borg had already learned about them, but that point was utterly forgotten. I think back then the "Conspiracy" aliens were meant to be the threat that took out some colonies, and once they decided to switch it to a cyborg race they scrapped whatever continuity had come before and started over. @ Rahul, I agree with you that the Gomez parts don't amount to much more than being tedious, despite the attempt to show the episode message though them. But about Q and the magic wand ending, I think the main takeaway to me is that Picard was forced into a situation where he had to admit he was helpless and they needed Q. The issue of Q himself isn't so much the point but rather that up until that point in the series the crew was pretty darn cocky and needed to be put in their place. For an atheistic Starfleet captain to be reduced to basically saying "God help us!" is a statement to the effect that no matter how advanced your technology is, there's always a bigger fish as Qui-Gon said, so don't let the size of your phasors make you think you're all that. The quality of the race should be in its enlightenment, not in its technology, and that theme bookends the series in the pilot and the finale. "Q Who" seems to underline that theme by showing them that they still have a lot of learning to do.

Peter along your point I always thought of humans as the Mary Sue of the galaxy, prancing around titans and Gods and always somehow coming out winners. I was watching Peak Performance yesterday and the part where Data notes the Zackdorn were renowned in the galaxy as master strategists for FIVE THOUSAND years. So basically they were intergalactic celebrities at a time when earth was still marvelling the wonder of agrigulture and written language. And yet these guys are just some aliens that belongs to a Federation run by humans from Earth... Even in Encounter at Farpoint (and certainly in subsequent episodes like Hide and Q) we get this sense that the Gods themselves must be weary of mighty mankind. Q Who is the first episode to my mind that really takes seriously the idea that man is not the centre of the universe. Even previous episodes (like EAF) which SAY this never quite SHOW it or convince us that the story really believes it. Part of this is just due to the conventions of TV at the time and maybe part of it is due to Rodenberry's influence? I can't rightly say.

@ Jason R., It's definitely a premise in Trek that there is some sort of manifest destiny for the humans/Federation. They're not just another of infinite random species. There is something definitively American about that premise, I think.

Daniel Blumentritt

I'm surprised how many people love the "Oh please" line. Q just was an accessory to the murder of 18 people. No different than throwing them on a rail-line in front a moving train you know can't stop. But they are offscreen nobodies so it's ok b/c he made Picard say he was wrong. What? { I was watching Peak Performance yesterday and the part where Data notes the Zackdorn were renowned in the galaxy as master strategists for FIVE THOUSAND years. So basically they were intergalactic celebrities at a time when earth was still marvelling the wonder of agrigulture and written language. And yet these guys are just some aliens that belongs to a Federation run by humans from Earth... } It's really Worf who shines there. First he (possibly correctly) calls out the Zakdorns by saying that maybe they are just coasting on reputation - a reputation which has kept people from challenging them. Then it's his genius that saves the day, not the humans'

Startrekwatcher

4 stars! A true gem. Classic science fiction featuring fascinating ideas and concepts that stimulate the imagination When the Enterprise was catapulted 2000 light years. I could viscerally feel the sense of isolation. It also felt that the crew had genuinely been thrown into the Unknown--in a way Voyager, who was in a similiar situation, didn't do nearly as well as was done here. There was a genuine sense of awe and wonder to the proceedings The Borg were another fantastic idea featured. The idea of a race which functioned as a whole with no emotion and no leader characterized as a force of nature with none of the common human motives--a truly alien race--something we should have seen more of and I was hoping for when Voyager was first announced would be set in the unexplored Demta Quadrant. And the Borg's superior knowledge and technology that overpowered the Enterprise--a true genuine terrifying threat . I loved their alien design and the background actors used for the Borg did a really great job looking truly androgynous. The Borg cube design was so iconic and atypical. I loved the Borg nursery I loved the neat idea of literally thinking their ship fixed and seeing it repairing itself. Q could be hit or miss but here he was out to good use. Q would definitely lash out when his request to become a part of the crew is rejected by Picard. I also enjoyed the introduction of a secret mysterious history between Q and Guinan. It was an intriguing added wrinkle that made the story all that great. A willingness by Mauruce Hurley to go that extra mile and is a clever story detail and shows Maurice's skills as a writer and was one of TNG's best writers. By the same token bringing Guinan in as a consultant and revealing her species history with the Borg was a smart way to provide information on the Borg. And the episode further adds to Guinan's mysterious abilities from her defensive stance when it appears Q is about to act against her or her gut instinct something amiss when Picard first disappears The episode also featured some of the most sophisticated and descriptive dialog--pretty much everything out of Q's mouth throughout the episode I loved to pieces seeing some action and battle sequences on TNG. And the carving up of the enterprise. I also loved when the first Borg beamed to Engineering and began accessing the ship systems--Picard approaches the Borg but his requests fall on deaf ears, the drone continues his probing with that cold stare. I much preferred this depiction of the Borg with each drone a true threat with the collective intelligence visible in their stare rather than post First Contact with the drones behaving like mindless servants acting on commands from a Borg Queen, lumbering around. I also preferred the idea here that the Borg were an actual species with offspring that they augment with technology and that the Collective is a composer of "born" Borg as well as assimilated species The music was great especially the music accompanying the first pan out from the away team aboard the cube to the massive interior of the borg vessel. And you can't beat the Picard/Guinan conversation in the final scene with the realization that now that the Borg are aware of the Federation then the Borg will be coming. Terrifying

PS. And I don t know how many remember the trailer back that aired in 1997 ahead of Voyager's fourth season for Scorpion part two II that talked about how that episode would elevate sci-fi to an art form--well that promo VoiceOver would better apply to THIS episode

That ending. After seeing it nearly ten times, it still gives me the creeps. Guinan putting it out there, almost shy. "Since they are aware of your existence..." Picard's hesitation in moving the pawn, the sudden realisation of an awful truth. "...they will be coming." "You can bet on it." Picard taking it in for a moment and seamingly hiding nervousness standing up from of his seat. Oh yeah, space will never be the same again.

"If the show had truly wanted to punch us in the stomach with its dark ambitions, it would've had Gomez die." More like if the show had truly wanted to be trite, cliche and predictable. What is the American audience's need for everything to follow the exact same predictable lines? That said, this is the amazing and breathtakingly scary introduction to the greatest sci-fi enemy of all time.

I hate the way they wrote Guinan. "What can you tell us?" "Only that if I were you I'd start back now." Actually there's a whole lot else she could tell them, and maybe if the writers had let them, they would have started back now. btw, what is Riker doing in that scene? He's leaning so steeply over the bar and looking unwaveringly into her eyes. Is he trying to seduce her? LOL!

Sarjenka's Little Brother

Another one I haven't seen in forever. ON FIRE. I liked even better than I remembered. Excellent direction. Q at his best. Great script and lines for Q and Picard. Yeah, the Sonya Gomez thing could have been better, but still, a Next Gen classic. The episode that introduces the Borg has to be!

Peter Swinkels

Nice episode. Not much to add.

By now TNG had at least a couple of top-notch eps under its belt, and its average was improving rapidly. Still, this is probably the most important of them. And BTW look how far we've come since the Ferengi were introduced as the new bad guys in season one, and proceeded to caper about like disturbed chimpanzees. Yes, the whole Borg thing was reduced to banality by Voyager and its familiarity breeds boredom, yea even unto the point of a Borg Brady Bunch, but that only strengthens the solemnity and impact of this debut performance. Speaking of the score, I particularly liked the moments where complete silence was employed whilst contemplating the Borg Cube (which BTW has to rank as one of the most audacious and iconic spacecraft deaigns since Disovery in 2001). So much has been said, I can't find much to add, except that if there is one little moment that doesn t work for me, it,s when Guinan faces off against Q, with her fingers poised like cats claws. It looked really corny. I half expected lightning to suddenly shoot out of her fingers. Were we supposed to believe that she has some powers which would have serioualy threatened Q? It's implied here, but I don't remember it being taken up again; at least not in 'wizard battle' sort of way. But it's a minor thing, and I admit that Guinan is capable of periodically annoying me a little.

When this episode aired STTNG became untouchable. You can like TOS for introducing the Trekverse. You can prefer DS9, Voyager, Babylon5 etc, but you won't find a series that can match the scifi greatness that STTNG reached beginning with this episode. Dr. Who introduced a species more terrifying than the Borg called Weeping Angels. That first episode for me is probably the single greatest scifi horror writing for a tv show. But as far as scifi series go, STTNG has never been matched after The Borg came on the scene.

Star Trek: TNG

Great episode! I finally understood... Geordi's seducer skills :-D SONYA: Hot chocolate, please. GEORDI: We don't ordinarily say please to food dispensers around here. SONYA: Who gives a shit! COMPUTER: *ptooey!* your coffee is ready, Geordi GEORDI: not-thanx a lot, computer. []-) Poor Geordi. My clumsiness with girls is not so "spectacular" :-P

Bobbington Mc Bob

So Guinan might have crane style Q-Fu master skills eh? I don't recall that ever being revisited. Makes you wonder ... if she has Q's powers, why doesn't she use them? Maybe on the ship she adheres to some kind of rule that means she cannot interfere with lesser species ... possibly the most important one she has. They could call it something like a 'First Instruction'. Or an Alpha Law. A Principal Principle. A Pr ... ok you get it.

Episode contains not just one of my favorite Star Trek quotes, but one of my favorite quotes in all of TV/film/literature: Q: "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." I've used this line or variations of it in a number of instances. Often as self-motivation. Whenever I get into a rut where things seem harder than usual, or life feels particularly unfair, I like to use this quote as a reminder that life as an adult isn't always fair. It's not easy. It's not safe. And it's not supposed to be. Q is being brash in his normally abrasive way, but he isn't just being a jerk. He poetically acknowledges the Life IS, as Q says, "Wondrous!" And there are many great treasures out there in the world to be found and explored and enjoyed in life. But it is not for the timid. There will be setbacks in life. There will be pitfalls. There will be completely unfair times where you are going along happily minding your own business--and then suddenly, out of nowhere, Q/Life will just throw you into a dangerous encounter you weren't ready for, for absolutely no reason. But that is how the world goes sometimes. And if you can't handle a little bloody nose from time to time and you only want to stay where it's safe, you will never be able to experience or enjoy all the great treasures that can only be experienced if you come out from underneath the covers and expose yourself to the potential for being hurt. This is peak Trek for me....a great episode with a fun and engaging story, thought-provoking characters, and it culminates with a line that provides an immutable rule of thumb for life itself--struggle and sacrifice are necessary parts of the journey of existence, but the rewards are worth it.

^^ Brian S, that's also one of my all-time favourite Trek quotes and one I often think about in modern contexts, whenever there's a demand for government to "do something" about accidents, natural disasters, etc. There's also an old TOS novel called "The Disinherited" that was one of my favourites as a kid. There's a scene where Kirk gives a similar speech to some colonists who've just been brutally attacked: --- "We should move somplace safer!" "There is no safe place." The last statement came not from any of the colonists but from Kirk. "Nowhere is safe," he said again, more quietly but with no less conviction. One of the colonists - a short, belligerent-looking man - stepped forward. "Starfleet is supposed to make it safe!" he said. "Starfleet makes it safer," said Kirk. "But to live is to face hazards every day. If you want utter safety, climb into a sensory deprivation capsule and live your life cut off from humanity - and even then, a building could fall on you or a groundquake could open up under you and swallow you. Or an undetected blood clot could cause you to drop dead on the spot, with no warning, at any time. The only safety in life is death." --- Trek taught me a lot of life lessons as a kid. This kind of message was one of them. The future is unknown, life is uncertain, and all you can do is put your best foot forward, keep your chin up and roll with the punches.

9/10 This was a good intro to the Borg. I usually don't enjoy Q episodes but this one wasn't so bad. A couple of nitpicks: Picard telling the Borg to stop using the computers like he is addressing a naughty child. Seriously a being beams into your ship and you let them have access? wouldn't they have tactics and policies for encountering new life forms and what activities would not be allowed? second nitpick was about Riker and his response to the first Borg attack. He seemed a little too cavalier in commenting on them slicing open the Saucer section.

Man, the Borg were cool at this point in the Trek canon. The foreboding from Q and at the end between Picard/Guinan (did Q do them a service?) bring that genuine feeling of dread -- even after seeing everything that VOY would do with the Borg. "Q Who" stands the test of time. The naivety of Picard & co. upon seeing the first Borg drone examining their systems in engineering is shocking in retrospect knowing what we know of the Borg now. But it is entirely in keeping with the innocent, green, and somewhat smug nature the crew had at this point in their adventures. It takes forever for Worf to use deadly force with his phaser on the 1st Borg drone invader. A couple of nitpicks jumped out at me though: Just prior to the first Borg beaming aboard the Enterprise into engineering where Geordi first spots him, Riker had ordered the shields to be raised. So are the Borg able to transport thru shields? Also, the ship reaches warp 9.65 even with force fields holding its hull integrity after the Borg cut out a section of the saucer. Technically, I don't think this should be possible but we can suspend disbelief. The story would have still worked if the ship could only reach full impulse, for example. They're still totally overmatched and would have to beg Q to save them. I still feel the "Selena" Gomez parts are a bit of a drawback on the episode but as has been discussed before -- she is a microcosm (innocence, curiosity, eagerness, complacency) of the Enterprise. I think it's been said by some others that she should have been 1 of the 18 to die -- I agree that that would be more impactful. Now we just kind of wonder what becomes of her. The first two acts of this episode are ordinary at best, but once it gets going it's riveting. A top-10 TNG episode.

@Rahul "Also, the ship reaches warp 9.65 even with force fields holding its hull integrity after the Borg cut out a section of the saucer. Technically, I don't think this should be possible but we can suspend disbelief." Why not? From what I understand, warp doesn't propel the ship any faster it just changes the space around it. So it's really no different from impulse in terms of whatever forces would be acting on it. And since there is no friction in space a hull breach shouldn't make any difference unless it affects the integrity of the structure connecting the engines.

@Michael I think you still need considerable propulsion forces to accelerate the ship and then create the warp subspace field which then shifts space/time around it. My thinking is the inertial dampers might not or should not work if hull integrity is relying on force fields during the propulsion. So I guess I should correct myself and say that the acceleration/propulsion should be iffy with force fields holding the hull together. But I get what you're saying about hull integrity not being affected by being at warp -- it's just getting to warp [or full impulse] that I'd take issue with.

"Makes you wonder ... if she has Q's powers, why doesn't she use them?" I got the sense that maybe Guinan is somehow capable of thwarting Q (at least if he does something directly to her, she can't seem to stop him from sending the ship vast distances away), but doesn't have any active powers similar to his. But yeah it was weird how they introduced that and then never developed it.

"Maybe on the ship she adheres to some kind of rule that means she cannot interfere with lesser species" Q's description of Guinan was reminiscent of Kevin Uxbridge's description of himself. Another Douwd?

Wait... If the "history" between Picard and Guinan is that she's a Dauwd and he knows it then that would explain how Picard caught on so fast in "The Survivors". Oy.

Watching and commenting --Ensign Sonja, Q -- everyone wants to serve on The Enterprise. --I like the Guinan connection stuff. --"You're not prepared for what awaits you," says Q. OH. Oh, oh, oh. I'd forgotten what this was all about. Oh, oh, oh, oh. --Oh, oh, oh, oh - the Cube. Lord. So very disturbing. "They're called The Borg. Protect yourself, Captain, or they'll destroy you," says Guinan. --Nicely done. So eerie. Love Whoopi. --The Borg is truly the best ST enemy ever. Nothing they came up with on Voyager or DS9 or Enterprise really compares. They all had some good stuff. But wow. --Q saves the day and they're back where they started. --The introduction of The Borg. A classic. -Really got lost in the story on this one - a good thing. I've got little comment on parallels being drawn or this week's theme - though The Borg is certainly a fantastical and wonderful culmination of all the "what is life, are androids alive, individual identity vs the need for community" stuff we've seen all Season. So we've been prepped, yet we are not prepared. And here we are now: Face to face with this abomination, this unholy, absolutely literal combination of the biological and mechanical, the individual and the collective. Only all has been subverted, distorted - the biological made secondary to the mechanical, the individual made slave to the collective. Hang on humanity, and buckle up Trekeroonies: We're in for a bumpy ride.

@Springy I agree that the Borg probably the most implacable foe of the TNG era, and for the most part, they're the most difficult villain for Federation values to handle. They work similarly to Federation in that they're comprised of a unique mixture of different intelligent species. Yet unlike the Federation, they don't grow by learning from others - they grow by conquering and acquiring. The Borg's really a society that works in complete antithesis to the Trek mantra, with humanism being thrown out the window in favor of authoritarian and single-minded purpose. That the Borg even work so well as a society might be hinted at in Trek as early as TOS's "Patterns of Force" where Nazism was chosen as a form of government because it ostensibly was the most efficient way for a torn people to unite and be productive. I think this week's theme is supposed to be indictment of the series as we knew it to this point. Prior to this episode, Gene's TNG ideals baked into season 1 gave us the impression that the Enterprise could do *anything*, that humanity's flaws had largely been surpassed, and they may be on their way to transcending existence, similar to the Q. 'Q Who" puts the brakes on that naïve idealism to a degree. Sure, humanity has accomplished much and is very powerful in the 24th century, but without accepting help from even scoundrels like Q who in some ways know the universe better, humanity may be overwhelmed by the very forces it looks to explore.

As far as I can tell, Sonya Gomez is a stand-in for humanity here, where in our great excitement to get out on the flagship and do cool stuff we're actually a clutz who will spill hot chocolate and look like a fool. And yet, while this stupid-looking portrayal initially looks un-Starfleet, we later realize that the opposite is much worse: that everyone should act the same as each other, effiicient and organized. So Sonya's clutzy silliness is actually our greatest feature: individual differentiation and foibles, compared to "perfection at all costs". Another thing I think this episode touches on is the need for Starfleet to stop pretending it's on a purely peaceful mission. We don't hear word about it all the time, but Starfleet obviously begins making defensive plans for the Borg immediately after this and ramping up its military capabilities to some extent. SPOILERS Although it wasn't in the heads of the creators this early in the franchise, obviously it was very important for Starfleet to have been ready for the Borg because otherwise they would have been totally hammered by the Dominion later on.

Thanks @Chrome and @Peter G for your thinky thoughts. When it comes to Sonja, agree she's a stand in for humanity, as Picard is. I think her first encounter with Picard somewhat parallels Picard's with the Borg. She thought she was totally prepared, but she wasn't. She screws up her first encounter, Geordi (sorta) comes to the rescue, etc. I think there's some suggestion, too, that like Geordi with Sonja, Q doesn't randomly choose Picard for his little visits. There's a bunch of references to experience vs first time . . . Q knows Guinan, it's Guinan's first time to call the bridge and such. I always wonder about the ep title, though I'm not sure where to go with this one. There's no question mark in Q Who, but tacklin and identifying the unknown is a big part of the ep. "Who" as a last name makes me think of the Whos in Whoville, thinking they're the whole Universe when they're really just a speck. But if they were going for that, you'd think there'd be another reference or two, sneaking in. Other thoughts but a five year old is tugging at me. Onward to the next ep.

I thought about the title a bit the other day. I came up with two possible ideas: 1) It's some kind of reference to Dr. Who, except instead of a doctor helping humanity it's Q-Who. This may be a bit of a stretch since I'm not sure how on the radar for Americans Dr. Who was in the late 80's. 2) It's some kind of play on the phrase "yoo-hoo", as in trying to get someone's attention playfully. In this case, it would be saying 'yoo-hoo' to the Borg as if to pique their interest in a Q-esque sort of playful way that turns into a nightmare for the Enterprise. Or maybe it's even Q saying 'yoo-hoo' to Picard, as if to say "we beings that are far beyond you are out here and you're not ready". I dunno if either of these holds water.

Peter it could also refer to the question "who is q?" Mischievous prankster? Vengeful entity? Guardian and guide to humanity? It plays into Q's claim to want to join the crew, which is the setup for his little demonstration. A total role reversal, but one that is a disguise for something more interesting. And let's be frank - Q's role fundamentally changes in this episode. After Q Who he is a very different character from what we knew before (I'll just ignore Q Pid here) One thing though that is weird about the continuity that always bugged me is that Q Who takes place *before* Deja Q yet the crew asks him if he has been kicked out by the continuum again?! Totally weird. This episode feels like it should be after Q Pid. Indeed imagine how cool it would have been if throwing the Enterprise into Borg space was him paying his debt to Picard? Now that would have been neat. Again I am just going to edit Q Pid 9ut of my head canon on this.

Sorry that should say after Deja Q.

I think Peter’s answer #2 is the correct reading as it plays into the running gag of a Q pun title. Q is tapping humanity on the shoulder and letting it know there’s more to space exploration than it thinks. Jason wrote: “One thing though that is weird about the continuity that always bugged me is that Q Who takes place *before* Deja Q yet the crew asks him if he has been kicked out by the continuum again?! Totally weird.” Yes, this was a bit confusing and read as a straight chain of events it feels like a plot hole. I suppose the correct way to interpret Deja Q is that offscreen Q was toying with species like those light beings which got him in even more serious trouble. And in that case, we could just say the events of Hide and Q put him on probation.

I guess at that point it's worth asking what Q was actually doing with the Calamarain and other races that got him in trouble. We as viewers can look back on pretty much any Q episode and see a lesson for humanity in it, and assuming the Continuum isn't a bunch of clowns they would draw a distinction between torment for torment's sake versus a hard lesson. Or would they? On the basis of pure speculation, maybe what Q gets into trouble over is looking like he's randomly tormenting sprecies, when in fact he's giving them hard lessons that of course they object to. Or maybe humanity is the only species where his penchant for mayhem ends up turned into something helpful. It seems hard to reconcile our head canons of "Q was doing it all along to guide us" (which was the impression I got, even from the pilot) with what we learn in Deja Q about how he's out of control. The only way I can see to reconcile these two is that the Continuum maybe doesn't like it when he helps species in this manner.

Title- , with Peter#2, wouldn't it be Q-hoo? Or double pun, somehow? Not that I've got any better idea. ON Q'S HELPFULNESS: I think he's like the parent who decides to help a kid learn to swim by throwing him into the deep-end. But he's an impatient, sub-optimal parent with a sadistic streak: Sure, really wants to teach the kid a lesson, and sure he really is watching closely and he's not going to let the kid drown. But he deliberately picks this drastic method, and even taunts the kid and even lets him go down a third time. Why? Because he's got issues, and he genuinely enjoys watching the kid struggle. He takes glee in it, and his immaturity and lack of empathy means he has no patience or motivation for using kinder but slower methods. There's some Q in Kyle Riker.

If I had to create a reasonable timeline of Q's character... I assume, prior to S1, Q (only DeLancie Q will be referred to as Q here) was already on thin ice with the Q Continuum. Presumably, he's been mucking with races and shirking his Q duties (Quties?) or whatever. However, at Encounter at Farpoint, I assume he was under the direction of the QC, at least to some extent. They had become interested in humanity recently (conveniently ignoring Quinn being involved in humanity and Amanda's parents becoming human and the fact that the QC had become uber boring with nothing new under the sun, but there just ain't no way to close all the plotholes), and so sent Q to test them. Maybe they weren't THAT interested, and thus thought this was a "minor" job that they could trust the delinQuent person to do as a way of Q getting back into the QC's good graces. But Q had a lot of freedom in this job, and I'd say he did it poorly, mainly due to his dismissive attitude toward humans (which coincides with his role as a "tormentor"). It seemed Q made up the Farpoint Station test on the spot, and even afterwards lamented that it was too easy (indeed, compared to the temporal paradox in AGT, that plot did seem kinda beneath the Q...). I think it's safe to that, at this time, Q didn't care at all about humanity. ("'At this time'? How little do you mortals understand time. Must you be so linear, Skeptical?" Shut up Q! The idea of an immortal, omnipotent, omniscient being having a story arc over 7 years is already kinda dumb, but it happened so we have to use linear time to deal with it!) But, perhaps because he was bested, it did spark an interest. I wouldn't say he fell in love with humans at this point; perhaps he was just frustrated and wanted a second round. So Hide and Q happened, where he again tested humanity, or Riker in this case. I imagine this was NOT at the behest of the QC, and they may not have known about it at first. But he also made a bet with Picard about the outcome of his test, and he lost that one too. But when the time came, he refused to honor his side of the bargain (leave humanity alone forever), and IIRC it was the QC that forcefully removed him. I imagine, at some point around here, the QC started coming down in judgement against Q. Like I said, he was on thin ice beforehand, but the ice is now cracking. Maybe it was botching the first trial of humanity, maybe it was intervening with humanity a second time in unauthorized ways despite humanity still being "on trial" (particularly with a bet that the Q would avoid humanity forever, which the QC had no intention of holding up), or perhaps it had nothing to do with humanity at all. Either way, Q was kicked out of the QC, and perhaps it wasn't the first time. He was presumably a troublemaker for quite a while. So I don't think it's a mistake in the script here. Guinan correctly noted that Q was in trouble again. But in any case, Q is starting to show his interest in humanity now. But enough to help them? I don't think so. He's bored, listless, and decides to go hang out with the strange people that bested him twice and he's not sure why. Perhaps, at this point, he's now curious about them. But Picard outright rejects him. And rejects him by saying they don't need him. "In your own paltry, limited way, you have no idea how far you still have to go." That quote from AGT was even more true in S2 of TNG. And maybe now Q is just frustrated. Humans obviously have some potential, they outsmarted him twice. But Picard was just so overly arrogant and smug. Q knew the QC was interested in seeing just where humanity would go, but thanks to their arrogance at this point they weren't going to go anywhere. You can't learn something if you already think you know everything. And while Q is not an agent of the QC anymore, he can't help but be annoyed at the smugness going on here and wanted to push Picard down a peg or so. So no, I DON'T think that QWho is part of the grand scheme of Q, or that it was his subtle way of pushing humanity along. I do think it worked out in that way, that Picard and company did learn their lesson. And I do think Q was happy they learned their lesson, but not necessarily to prepare them for AGT or whatever, or even to prepare them for BoBW. He was just happy that HIS point, that humanity was still kinda dumb, was proven for once. It's not until later, perhaps after the events of Deja Q, that Q actually becomes humanity's advocate. He treated Picard with kid gloves during True Q when humanity was tangentially in the way of QC business (being willing to take Picard's advice on how to approach Amanda, etc), and he helped Picard out in Tapestry (my personal theory is that it was less about Picard learning his lesson regarding the stabbing, and more about subtly expanding Picard's understanding of cause and effect in preparation for AGT, and of course he acted as Picard's aide in AGT. It wasn't there from the beginning, but Q sort of grew attached to humanity throughout the course of TNG, rather than just having different ways of showing it. Or, in TLDR format: EF: Q completely dismissive of humanity, but on QC business HQ: Q wounded and angry at humanity for beating him, not on QC business QW: Q curious about yet frustrated at humanity, not on QC business DQ: Q coming to acceptance of humanity, gaining empathy with humanity TQ: Q chummy with humanity while on QC business Tapestry: Q secretly prepping humanity for the upcoming QC trial AGT: Q secretly aiding humanity while on QC business

I agree this was great fun to watch with a high entertainment value. There are however a number of discordant points. The introduction of Sonia Gomez was amusing but played no subsequent part in the story. I really don't think her presence was allegorical; it's not the Trek way, their social messages are pretty 'in-yourface' rather than allusive allegories more appropriate to a Tudor period portrait. It might have carried more punch if she'd been one of the 18 lost in the incident, but actually I saw she was engaged for three stories and dropped after two. Guinan's prior relationship with Q was hinted at but sadly, never picked up which makes you wonder why the scene was there at all. Her odd defensive stance makes it seem more like a Harry potter type battle. Even more strange, Guinan knew all about the Borg but despite her close relationship with Picard, never saw fit to mention them or give the Federation a heads-up on them! If Q hadn't taken the trouble, The Fed would have had no warning of them at all. Two years journey sounds a lot, but to a collective bent upon adding new species to their flock, it's nothing. If we could send a ship to the next star on a four years round journey, there would have been no shortage of volunteers and it would have been long accomplished. Q always seems to me overall a beneficial entity, but the attitude of the Enterprise (and later Voyager) is quite unbelievable. Despite his incredible powers, he is always treated with undisguised contempt. Is that wise? Quite apart from the benefits he could confer (and which are almost always pointlessly spurned by the needy beneficiaries), he is one of the few beings (like the Dawd) with the power to annihilate at will. Remember what Kevin did to the Husnock? Presumably Q could do the same, so why not take the trouble to show a little respect? (It's pretty worrying to discover that teenage Q are no better than human teenagers....bye bye, world?) The trouble with beings with virtually infinite power is what to do with them. In trek, they never seem to have wisdom appropriate, despite the fact they presumably have a several billion years head start on us. There seem to be few other Organians...

George Monet

I want to like this episode because it is a lot of fun but the constant plot holes keeping throwing me out. Such as Guinan telling Picard he should leave the space without warning Picard about the Borg specifically. Or Picard's blase response to the threat the Borg pose to the ship. They had a perfect chance to blowup the Borg cube and pick over the pieces and instead they shoot the ship a couple of times (despite having already seen that the Borg had the ability to perfectly adapt to the Federation's phasers) and then decide to hang around and let the Borg repair the ship. This also makes one wonder just how weak the Borg cube is without its shielding as three phaser hits destroy 20% of the Borg cube whereas the Enterprise has been hit by more and only taken minor structural damage. Nothing anyone does in this episode actually makes any sense. Picard sees that the Borg are apparently technologically superior but also apparently inferior in materials and tactics. Deanna says there is a communal mind but never mentions how that is a weakness they could take advantage of by creating dissent within the collective mind or making use of group think that would prevent the Borg from considering alternatives. The lack of shielding on the Borg cube before they had scanned the Enterprise or learned of its defensive capabilities was a grave tactical error which calls the threat of the Borg into question. Suppose Q had sent over Klingons or Romulans instead. They would have immediately destroyed the Cube while its shields were down and then taken home the technology to study as a prize. Or what if Picard had ordered the away team to place a bomb inside the cube as a backup plan in case the Borg cube wasn't actually disabled. Instead the Borg leave themselves completely vulnerable and only survive destruction because Picard makes just as many grievous tactical errors as the Borg.

George my hypothesis is that in an initial encounter the Borg do not bother making a full defence. Their priority is to assess the potential of the other ship, not to destroy it. In effect, they just stand there and let the other ship do its worst. If that results in the destruction of a cube, that's an acceptable outcome for them - lesson learned. For them a single ship is expendable. As for beaming over bombs to the borg ship - has a Federation captain ever done such a thing in a first contact scenario? Not exactly the Trek ethos... Regarding Guinan, her failure to provide a more urgent warning is strange. The best explanation I can come up with is much like my original point - once they were there, they needed to learn their lesson. That wouldn't happen if they were convinced to hightail it and run at the outset.

Andy's Friend

@George Monet You have to look at it from the perspective of classic storytelling, and forget about such silly modern notions as 'plot holes'. Take for example Picard's initial assertion that Starfleet is prepared for whatever is out there. This is admittedly out of character for Picard and outright silly. But it is nothing but an instance of Classical hamartia, the hero's 'tragic flaw', moving the plot forward and leading to catharsis as he is humbled by Q and learns his lesson: "I need you!" We know Picard to be better than this. And therein lies the greatness of this episode. Facing Q and letting his animosity toward that entity get the better of him, Picard, our hero, errs. And it costs him eighteen of his crew to learn that. In other words, his over-confident initial stance is not a 'plot hole', it is a time-honoured plot device. Star Trek is rife with such classic storytelling devices, which we must know to recognise in order to fully appreciate many of the stories told. Star Trek, more often than not, is not about 'realism': it is about archetypes, classic tropes, and ancient lessons. This was understood thirty years ago when this episode aired. The problem is that viewers these days have an exaggerated appetite for realism, all while they seem to have forgotten all about classic dramaturgy and apparently only know how to shout 'plot hole!'

"Take for example Picard's initial assertion that Starfleet is prepared for whatever is out there. This is admittedly out of character for Picard and outright silly." You are misquoting Picard. What he says is: "How can we be prepared for that which we do not know? But I do know we are ready to encounter it." Picard never claimed to be *prepared*; he claimed they were *ready*. In this context, giving Picard the full benefit of the doubt, I'd say that readiness suggests that whatever the dangers, mankind belongs out there, that the project of exploration is worthy and wise. It is a rebuke of Q's original assertion from EAF that mankind had gone too far and should retreat. It is not an assertion of infallibility or a denial of certain risk, but simply the claim that exploration, whatever its risk, is worthwhile. The encounter with the Borg in Q Who us the first time that assertion of readiness ever came into real question, possibly in the entire Trek canon. The Borg can't be reasoned with and they can't be tricked or defeated through conventional means. They cannot be overcome by the usual magical plot contrivances of a 45 minute episode. They are utterly implacable . As I see it, until Q Who mankind was the Mary Sue of the galaxy even when encountering seemingly superior beings (like Q). Q Who was the first splash of cold water on that notion. Until, sigh, Voyager.......

You're quite right, Jason, but let's not split hairs: you remember the episode as well as I do, and what matters is not the above, but *how* Picard delivers this line: PICARD: Absolutely. That's why we are out here. That is what causes Q's response: Picard's nonchalant 'absolute' certainty. For it is (to be blunt) sheer nonsense: Starfleet could of course never be 'ready to encounter' all things, and Picard should have known this. So in the end, while I appreciate the difference between being 'prepared' and being 'ready' that you mention, it is largely academic, and beside the point. Other than that, you are obviously right.

I really get a good chuckle out of reading plot hole being used as shorthand for "I didn't like it" or "I would've written it differently". Guinan not describing the Borg in detail isn't a plot hole. It's not even clear what she knows except that the Borg are conquerors (and we don't even know that at this point in the series). Telling him to leave now or face terrible consequences is about all that needs to be said.

Jeffrey Jakucyk

I never thought too much about the Q/Guinan thing until reading through all the discussion here. I think FlyingSquirrel has a good point that she knows they'll get through it since the events of Time's Arrow are several years off. Hence her rather casual attitude towards the situation. She also seems to agree that humans need a bit of a kick in their complacency, as Picard would say later. As to her powers and what they might mean, again, I didn't think much of it, but this quote popped into my mind. "They're called The Borg. Protect yourself, Captain, or they'll destroy you." The choice of "protect YOURSELF," and "or they'll destroy YOU," is very telling dialog. She's not concerned for her own well-being, because she has the power to escape. She's acting like an observer more than a participant, not unlike her time in 19th century San Francisco. Now, that does raise the question, if she's so powerful and unconcerned, then what of the rest of her species that was wiped out or assimilated? Why couldn't they elude the Borg? Maybe she's a more evolved individual, or what she says of her history isn't entirely true, or she's learned how to protect herself in the last few centuries, or something else. Either way, the backstory here is quite intriguing.

I wonder about The Borg became the Borg. At some point one of their scientists said "Right, I've got cracking idea. We'll all link our thoughts together and be really efficient. Only downside is we lose all traces of individuality. Apart from this Queen thing but don't worry about that." Did the whole planet say "Yep, in!" I can't help but think the first race The Borg assimilated against it's will was it's own.

Latex Zebra - I wouldn't be so sure it would be against their will. The desire to be joined to others is the motivation for a lot of what we do. Work, sex, communication, our social life. You might as well say you could never understand why someone would get married. I would also hope that to an advanced scientist the notion of individuality would be seen as archaic myth.

Jillyenator

Guinan is supposed to be on season 2 of ST: Picard. Maybe we'll learn about her past dealings with Q and what the frak was up with their standoff. Although heck, if Guinan doesn't move in linear time, she could appear on Discovery. Q too. But since Guinan is so closely associated with Jean-Luc, it makes more organic sense to have her there, and less like fan service. Again, Q too. Re: The Neutral Zone colonies that were 'scooped off' (both Federation and Romulan), we just have to accept that the Borg knew about at least two Alpha Quadrant powers, and didn't consider their assimilation a priority until Q tossed them into the DQ and then whisked them away. I'm okay with this. One could say it's Early Installment Weirdness, but then would have to add Late Installment Weirdness into the mix because of First Contact's events, Seven's family debacle in Voyager, and "Regeneration" in Enterprise, all of which are earlier in the timeline than The Neutral Zone. So I'm going with 'Not worth a full scale invasion' until Q made it appear the Federation had something very advanced the Borg wanted. Remember that the Borg had no interest in the Kazon. (But really, who did?) I always find that interesting. Why detract from perfection, as Seven would say? I assume they'd be uninterested in the Packleds too. So...maybe the best defense against the Borg is to be entirely unremarkable.

Picard is really tempted to take on Q because how much they could learn from him. But they just don’t much like Q, so, nope. One of the great episodes, to be sure, but— Prime Directive? One episode of many that shows Starfleet’s hypocrisy. No, no, we can’t give technology to primitive races, because it will screw them up. There is a lot of sense to that. But when the shoe is on the other foot? “Hello, godlike figure, tell us EVERYTHING!!!!”

Very intresting to watch this "first" Borg contact. I would be very intresting to know how much of the Borg conset that was settled at this stage and what developed. It was really frigtning, Guinans warning that had almost no effect on Picard. Well as an audiance we can only be happy that he did not listen otherwis we wouldn't have hat so many Borg encounters. Q then? I find him as irritating as Picard does. I must admit that his accting is excellent and mostly funny but to me his character really doesn't have a place in star trek.

I can't stand watching Great Gazoo episodes. Woops, sorry, wrong show. I can't stand watching Q episodes. This one is as good as it gets because it introduces the Borg and it finally feels like we're starting to hit our stride. Soon we'll be in all the good episodes when Klingon episodes and time travel episodes were fun and interesting and not tedious. Also, Ensign Gomez is a goddamn smokeshow. The little hint of rasp to her voice makes me want to have private holodeck time. Too bad they made her a joke. I cannot stand how the writers of this show can't seem to give us a character who is nuanced. Instead we end up with Gomez babbling inanely and spilling coffee on her captain or Lt. Barclay who suffers from so much nervousness I'm pretty sure he has a routine built to transport the diarrhea out of his pants every time he makes eye contact with a superior officer. Imagine giving this actress a character who is new on the Enterprise and who has flaws and strengths that aren't shown to us in such an over-the-top fashion. Show us that she's someone who deserves to be on the FLAGSHIP of Starfleet don't give us some terrible trope of the airheaded chick who won't shut up. Yeah, I'm mad, I could listen to her talk all day and just wish the actress had been given this character. I can't remember her story maybe she's redeemed later.

Bob (a different one)

Crobert said: "Ensign Gomez is a goddamn smokeshow" FYI: Lycia Naff (Sonya Gomez) played a very memorable character in Total Recall (1990).

{{ I cannot stand how the writers of this show can't seem to give us a character who is nuanced. }} I think they finally got it right with Ro.

EmpressHoshiSato

Q's speech near the end is pure gold.

Yes, a truly great episode. The Borg are the most imaginatively chilling and genuinely scary aliens that Star Trek ever created. Anyone not even slightly frightened by this first encounter would have to be a bit dead inside. Q’s dialogue with Picard is unwaveringly good, and Guinan’s role is brilliant support to the development of the story. The best touch is the introduction of the neurotically driven ensign Sonia Gomez who initially provides a comic touch (you think the episode is going somewhere else), then is absorbed into the crew in a most un-Borglike way. There’s little more to add. 4 stars.

I just want to add - in addition to all the others who commented - that the musical score is stupendous. @Lado I also can’t stand either Q or Troi’s mother. However, the dialogue given to John de Lancie is usually top notch, and his acting is equally so. And in this episode he really shines. Having said that, we didn’t actually need Q for an encounter with the Borg, though it’s difficult to imagine how the ship would have escaped without him. I noticed that there is no mention of assimilation in this episode - the Borg are regarded as a separate species rather than a collective of absorbed species as we clearly got by the time of BOBW, and later in Voyager’s Seven Of Nine. I agree with the reviewers who pointed out that Q destroys the smugly arrogant perfection of the Roddenberry universe so even though he is an un-Treklike imp, he does fulfill a very useful role. Less mysterious and nebulous compared to the Traveller perhaps, but a good counterbalance to the “humanity has eliminated all negative traits” thing which gets SO irritating!

"I noticed that there is no mention of assimilation in this episode - the Borg are regarded as a separate species rather than a collective of absorbed species as we clearly got by the time of BOBW, and later in Voyager’s Seven Of Nine." That's a great point and one that must be remembered going into BOBW. The crew had no idea assimilation was a thing at first, nor did they know that the assimilated individual's knowledge and experiences would be folded into the Borg collective consciousness. That makes Locutus' statement "The knowledge and experience of the human Picard is part of us now. It has prepared us for all possible courses of action. Your resistance is hopeless, Number One." all the more chilling since for all they knew, the Borg had only taken Picard's body, not his mind.

This is truly a spectacular introduction to a terrifying threat. It was ultimately a deus ex machina, but an entirely justifiable one considering it was set up by a well established deus to begin with. And that resolution also serves quite well to make the the potential Borg threat even more terrifying. It's clear that Q won't be around to save their ass next time. @Daniel Blumentritt Q's "oh please" line isn't loved as much as it makes it clear that despite Q's prior shenanigans, this encounter is quite bloody real. And Q was absolutely right, the Enterprise and Starfleet at large ARE smug and arrogant. In a broader sense, Q likely was giving Starfleet a heads up, because, as referenced in this very episode, the Borg have already staged incursions deep in/near the Federation.

It was weird how much development they put into Sonya Gomez then dropped her after one more episode. I always wondered about that considering she's given all the hallmarks of a new regular or at least recurring character. She's almost like a proto-Barclay. It could be that they didn't have anything for her to do at the time. Other than being very pretty and rambling to Geordi, she's only barely helping him. Watch later in the episode and she's just standing around staring at the warp core. It's possible the character was in some way a casualty of the 1989 writer strike. I really liked Guinan wandering around looking worried, and didn't blatantly lay out her worries. For whatever reason, she holds her cards quite close and reveals very little. I also liked the use of Troi here when she comes to the bridge and asks where Picard is. For some reason (perhaps just her empathy) she's aware Picard is missing, but I like the economy of story here by not going into why. Why doesn't Guinan tell Picard or Starfleet about the Borg? It's not specified, but she may well be worried that doing so would simply make Starfleet extremely curious of the Borg and that it would trigger a disastrous encounter, more or less like this. It's likely true considering Picard immediately dismisses her advice and they go exploring. Later, he again ignores her advice to explore the ship with an away team. "Q Who", a possible unique reference to Doctor Who? Maybe. Doctor Who was widely shown on PBS stations. As a teenager in the south, I watched it and even went to a Doctor Who convention (with Tom Baker and Colin Baker) around 1985 or so. Certainly the TNG producers and writers would be aware of it. Q actually does behave a lot like a Doctor in this episode, albeit far more aggressively and overtly and of course with substantially more powers.

Gomez: I'm glad she didn't die here because it really would have been terribly cliché to introduce a character only to immediately kill them off. One nitpick for me- Gomez goes on and about still seeing the faces of the 18 killed. But she just got assigned to the ship. Had she even met them? That line just seemed off.

I figure "Q Who" refers to Q's role on the show. If we retcon it so that Q Less precedes Q Who and Qpid doesn't exist then Q Who is the turning point in the series from Q as villainous antagonist to Q as helpful trickster and even mentor. In Q Who we ask: who is Q? And the answer at the end is different than at the beginning.

Maybe the title is a reference to the Grinch Who Stole Chrismas. Maybe Q is the trickster from Whoville and Q Who his proper name.

They should've named Amanda or the Suzie Plakson character "Cindy Q Who."

@Sullivan "btw, what is Riker doing in that scene? He's leaning so steeply over the bar and looking unwaveringly into her eyes." I think it was just for cinematography reasons. Jonathan Frakes is 5 inches taller than Patrick Stewart and it's a tight shot. If Frakes weren't leaning over, much of his head wouldn't be in shot. I was watching a season one (IIRC) episode and at one point, Geordi and Riker stand facing each other, and it's almost comical because Burton is 8 inches shorter than Frakes. I think they rarely used them both in the same shot like that later on for this reason.

I'm watching this one right now. An interesting thought occurred to me: one of the issues Q Who brings up is human (Federation) arrogance, at assuming they're ready to encounter what's out there. At first glance this is Q's point, to which Picard relents and finally agrees he needs help. Except there's an interesting moment after the initial death of the 18 crew members, during the senior staff meeting, when Riker announces that the only tactical choice that makes sense is to board the Borg ship rather than flee. Guinan's "What?!" is very telling: most experienced commanders would have taken her advice and tried to return as quickly as possible and get away from the Borg. Which of course, would have been useless anyhow. But Riker is always thinking of how to win, rather than how to cut his losses. This occurs in a big way in Peak Performance, and culminates in BoBW when he goes against even Picard's logic (as Locutus) and conducts an extremely brash and arrogant plan to do the unexpected. So on the one hand Q (and the episode) is teaching us that the Federation is *so* not ready for what's out there. But Riker on the other hand, to Guinan's shock, seems *completely* ready to encounter it on his terms, no matter how overwhelming it is. So whereas Q is claiming the human's arrogance is a danger to them, in fact Riker's arrogance (later showing big in BoBW) is the only reason they learn as much as they do and have any chance at all against them.

@Silly "It was weird how much development they put into Sonya Gomez then dropped her after one more episode. I always wondered about that considering she's given all the hallmarks of a new regular or at least recurring character. She's almost like a proto-Barclay." Gomez as "a proto-Barclay" ; perceptive, wish that her character had been retained. The coffee scene still resonates. The actresses comedic talent is evident, although it got squelched by the Borg disaster. A similar thing happened with a female character named Kaplan in Voyager....introduced, used in a few episodes, then dispatched.

Well said. Imo it's absolutely one of the best TNG episodes ever.

One of my favorite all time episodes of any Trek. The Borg thing is so scary, they do a genuinely good job of making this episode feel scary. Its a cool idea that the Federation needs to be humbled, and this is certainly a dose of humility.

I liked the Borg better here, when they were all just one mind with no leader. When they came up with the Borg Queen it kind of ruined that. Apparently in this episode the Borg had babies though, they had not come up with the idea of assimilation yet. What was that silly thing Guinan was doing with her hands, does she have some kind of Q like powers also? I don't think they ever brought that up again. Nice that we finally got some more backstory about her and Q in season 2 of Picard.

The Bishop of Battle

Gomez was totally intended to be one of those recurring second stringers like Barclay and O'Brien but audiences hated her so they dropped her. At least she got her own command years later.

Todayshorse

Great episode. I also love how the camera follows Picard as he's heading for the turbolift just before he ends up on the shuttle.

Sjdrake: I have to disagree with you about Gomez. Star Trek does use their teasers as allegories for the episodes. I went back and looked at the openings of all of Season 2 so far, and 10 of the 16 are either foreshadowing or allegorical. The most obvious are Ep 5 (Loud as a Whisper), 6 (The Schizoid Man), 8 (A Matter of Honor), 9 (The Measure of a Man), and this one. Ep 5 opens with Picard trying to figure out how a planet’s erratic orbit, which shouldn’t work, does in fact work. The episode concludes with the mediator trying something that shouldn’t work but that we are led to believe will work. Ep 6 opening scene: Data is trying out a new look via a beard, and in the episode he gets taken over by a second personality. Ep 8 opens with a new ensign successfully adjusting to his new ship, and the episode is about Riker successfully adjusting to a new ship. Ep 9 opening scene, Data loses at poker because he can’t detect a bluff, and the whole episode is about whether he’s a sapient being or a machine. For this episode 16, someone else has already analyzed that. I believe eppies 2, 3, and 12 are also in this category, and 1, 10, and 15 are good candidates. I’ve gotten curious about this now and might go back and look at TOS episodes.

One nice detail I never thought about before is the detail of Sonya Gomez spilling the coffee on Picard. Of course it's a 'big deal' in the office politics of a Starship and its Captain. But the airtime it gets, with the drawn out embarrassment of Geordi in the background, and Picard clearly irritated, is a very nice counterpoint to this exchange: PICARD: I understand what you've done here, Q, but I think the lesson could have been learned without the loss of eighteen members of my crew. Q: 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. To Q the lost crewmen are like spilling coffee on a shirt, something trivial in the grand scheme. I think his argument isn't only about human arrogance and its presumption that it's ready for anything out there, but also in its expectation that things can avoid getting messy and unpleasant. Going out into space and exploring could mean opening up a Pandora's box that could even permanently make things far less pleasant. As a little aside, the online transcript for this episode does have a question mark in the episode title. I'm not sure if that's relevant to anything or represents some canonical original version of the title that existed prior to airing.

Beard of Sisko

In which Q transforms (and for the better) from an over-the-top Saturday morning cartoon villain into a more complex anti-villain. His callousness toward the 18 dead crew members prevents him from crossing into full blown hero territory, but from here on out it can at least be inferred that Q cares about humanity and wishes for them to thrive. Indeed, but for him giving them a premature encounter with the Borg, the Federation would have remained complacent and more than likely not have been able to thwart the attempted assimilation of Earth a year later.

Neo the Beagle

Gomez spills hot chocolate on Picard, not coffee

Masterpiece. Masterclass. A true chef's kiss of an episode, and what a performance from de Lancie. Pity there was never any development for Guinan and her history except for a few vague mentions here and there. Every so often Star Trek serves up a truly frightening alien, such as the Borg and the fish-faced chap from Where Silence Has Lease. I don't recall anything else reaching this level of fear and threat until Voyager encounters Species 8472, something like six years later! Why can't we have more scary, unknowable aliens? Peter G (three comments up): what a clever and interesting idea. Too subtle for most of us, I think: there is so much excitement and interest here that I forgot Gomez as soon as she was off the screen.

Paul Johnson

Something always seemed to be missing in Q-Who until I watched it again last night. Something that would have made this episode far more threatening. The phrases "we are the Borg. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile," and, "we will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own." Or did I just miss that exchange? Pretty sure the verbal threats wern't there, though. May stating them would have diffused the mystery and future peril of Borg contact.

"Something always seemed to be missing in Q-Who until I watched it again last night. Something that would have made this episode far more threatening. The phrases "we are the Borg. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile," and, "we will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own." Or did I just miss that exchange? Pretty sure the verbal threats wern't there, though. May stating them would have diffused the mystery and future peril of Borg contact." That's because the original concept didn't include biological assimilation; Q explicitly says that they are "raw material" and only their technology is of interest. In Best of Both Worlds this is perhaps retconned, although I'd say it's less a retroactive change and more a logical development - while it somewhat contradicts the literal statement made by Q it is certainly in keeping with its spirit and I guess if you want to really technical, all Q said was they only were interested in technology as in at that specific moment in that encounter; he never guaranteed the Borg wouldn't have some other priority in future encounters.

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Star Trek History: Q Who?

On this day in 1989, this classic Star Trek: The Next Generation episode premiered.

On this day in 1989, the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Q Who?" premiered.

Star Trek: The Next Generation : "Q Who?"/"Samaritan Snare"/"Up The Long Ladder"

It’s easy to get lost in the wild. Call it the arrogance of the path. You see the trail under your feet, you follow it for miles through thick forest growth, and after so many steps, you get to feeling sure of yourself. The path is important, but surely it’s your native wit and instincts that have gotten you this far. You are prepared for the occasional crash of branches in the distance, the stray rocks, the signs pointing forward so caked in moss and sun baked it takes careful detective work to read them. You brought a good supply of snacks, you’re wearing proper shoes, and the blister on your left heel, well, that’s the price of having an adventure. After a while, you look through all the greenery and you think, I don’t really need the trail, do I? There’s a hill over there I wouldn’t mind seeing the other side of, or that maple tree a few hundred yards off that looks like easy climbing. What’s a day in the woods without a little risk.

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So you step off the path in the boots you bought mail order and your good thick slacks are stained brown in seconds. You trudge through mud you didn’t notice, and the moisture seeps into your wool socks and you sweat. The swarm of flies around you grows so thick that you can taste bug whenever you open your mouth and the buzzing becomes a never-ending howl. The hill is taller than it seemed, the maple tree is dead inside and groans at your touch, and you’re getting sick of this. You already finished the Gatorade and the granola bars you brought, and the pack straps rub your shoulders. The path really was important, because the path was the way back, and having it beneath you meant all these difficulties were simply irritants to be endured. Now they’re something else. And then you realize you aren’t entirely sure what direction you started out from, and when you try and backtrack you go at least twice the distance you came in without finding your own trail. The crashing sound is closer now. You want to run, but you’re already sinking.

I love the moment when a good show becomes great. I love feeling all your investment and increasingly desperate optimism suddenly pay off. We’ve had good TNG episodes before this, but “Q Who?” goes that one extra step, and finally, finally takes the show out from behind TOS ’s shadow once and for all. There’ll be backtracking in the weeks to come, no doubt (and we’ve got one fairly painful episode to look at in a few paragraphs), but before now, it was possible to legitimately question if TNG could ever stand on its own feet. That is no longer an issue. From now on, even when the writing sucks and the characters are annoying and the special effects insult our ocular abilities, we know for certain that the series is at least capable of kicking some serious ass.

Admittedly, “Who?” doesn’t start with a bang. The title is cutesy, and our first scene is all about introducing the new hottie ensign in Engineering, a motormouth named Sonya who talks Geordi’s ear off before spilling hot chocolate on a less than amused Captain Picard. Given that the episode marks our first introduction to the Borg, I half-wondered if this wasn’t all a set-up to kill Sonya in the third act and create some pathos, but she’s actually a semi-recurring character. (I think “Who?” is a rare case where such a cliched structure might’ve worked, given how rarely people die on the show by now. Still, the almost incidental horror of the crew deaths we do get works fine on its own.) Intentionally or not, a scene like this provides a false sense of security, because it’s nothing we haven’t seen before. Geordi is friendly, the new personnel is gawky and excited, and Picard is just barely polite. Quell surprise.

It gets interesting fast, though. Q reappears, snatching Picard off the Enterprise and onto a shuttlecraft in order to follow the letter of the law of his previous “stay away from this ship!” promise. Q has been booted out of the continuum, and wants to join up with Picard’s crew. He argues that he’d be a valuable, even essential asset, with all his crazy semi-magical powers and willingness to insult Worf. Picard understandably balks at the idea. Q insists, “You’re not prepared for what awaits you.” Picard disagrees, and what makes this scene (and the rest of the episode) work so well is that we’re fully on his side. We’ve seen the Enterprise struggle against all manner of aliens, god-like beings, and internal strife, and while there’s been the occasional tense situation, no challenge has ever proven insurmountable. In fact, that’s one of the central tenets of the Trek universe: intelligence, compassion, and force of will are enough to solve any problem. As Guinan points out, that’s what human’s do—we adapt, and we learn, and sooner or later, we will kick ass.

So Q decides to prove his point, by throwing the Enterprise 7,000 light years off course and forcing the crew to face an enemy they can’t beat. And you know why “Who?” is brilliant? Because for once, Q is right.

Before they became the vampires of the Trek- verse (I would totally read a Twilight -esque series about a whiny teenage girl and the cyborg who wants to utterly erase any vestige of her individuality. You wouldn’t even have to change much from the original books), the Borg were terrifying. They’re zombies, which is part of it—each individual body is valueless, they can’t be reasoned with directly, and whenever you kill one, another follows soon after. It gets worse, though. Zombies don’t work together, they don’t handle tools well, and they don’t have a philosophy beyond grabbing and chewing. The Borg have a purpose that is at odds with nearly everything we value about life. They don’t parlay, or conquer, or even massacre. They assimilate. They homogenize. And they learn very, very fast.

It’s scary to watch how thoroughly ill-equipped our heroes are to deal with such a threat. They try peaceful communication, with no response. There’s a great sequence when one of the Borg beams aboard and starts trying to take over the ship. Picard attempts to reason with him, then someone moves to physically restrain the creature, then Worf fires his phaser, first on stun, then on the kill setting. The first Borg dies. Another beams aboard and takes over where the first left off, and this time, when Worf fires his phaser, the Borg has a shield that blocks the beam. It’s an exciting, tense scene, but what really matters is how little attention the Borg pay to any of the Enterprise crew. They are irrelevant to the process. Picard asks Guinan, who’s had dealings with the Borg before, how to defeat them. “You don’t,” she says. Given how generally positive her character is, that brutal two word negative is dark stuff indeed.

Things get worse. There’s a brief hope when the Enterprise manages to do some damage to the Borg ship, but considering the ship’s design, it’s not surprising that even 20 percent destruction fails to slow them down that much. So we get to the big climax, and we have our expectations. This is when Picard pulls out the big guns, or Data comes up with a clever technical fix, or Wesley is annoyingly perfect, or any of a dozen possible solutions we’ve come to expect from our heroes. If that had happened, this still would’ve been a strong episode. The Borg are a creative and effective threat, Q is at his most entertainingly obnoxious, and the stakes are very high indeed.

Instead, though, Picard turns to Q and he begs for help. There’s really no nice way to put it. He admits that the Enterprise isn’t ready to face this danger, and he pleads with Q to save them. You could argue this is a cheat, a weak resolution that betrays an inability on the part of writer Maurice Hurley to come up with a clever twist—and you’d be wrong. “Who?” isn’t the best TNG episode. It lacks an emotional impact that later storylines would manage. It is, however, the first great episode, because it admits that these humans, who have been walking that path for so long that they seem to have forgotten there ever was a wilderness, can be arrogant, and weak, and that they can be bested. It introduces us to an alien force which for once truly is alien, and it doesn’t cheapen the introduction by engineering a conclusion just to let Picard save face. The 18 crewmembers who die here stay dead even after Q brings the ship back home. In the end, Picard learns that there are some dangers that the human spirit can’t overcome through ability alone, and that their escape is a temporary one. The Borg know the Enterprise is out there. And they’re not ones to forget a name.

Stray Observations:

• Q is really at his best here—his motives are plausible, his theatrics are enthusiastic without becoming overly flamboyant, and De Lancie is gets the most out of some really excellent lines. “The hall is rented. The orchestra engaged. It’s now time to see if you can dance,” could’ve been corny, but it plays very well.
• Hey, Guinan has a purpose! The hand gesture stand-off between her and Q is hilarious, and we have a very different look at her character here: she’s still wise and Yoda-esque, but there’s a deep sadness behind it, and, once the Borg show up, her resignation is as unsettling as any histrionics would’ve been. (Come to think of it, that’s also Yoda-esque.)
• Speaking of arrogance, how cocky do you have to be to beam over to an enemy ship with a phaser you already know is ineffective? Riker, Worf, and Data’s brief trip to the Borg cube is worth it for the view of all those resting bodies, and the creepy as hell Borg nursery, but Riker puts a lot of faith in his and his men’s ability to protect themselves. Which fits in with the rest of the episode, really. (And you gotta love Picard   beaming them back to the bridge immediately upon realizing that the Borg ship is regenerating.)

“Samaritan Snare”

The other two episodes this week aren’t anywhere near the same class as “Q Who?”, although I suppose I should be grateful for the order I watched them in. “Snare” is decent, and deals with some of the same themes as “Who?,” albeit on a much smaller, less effective scale. “Up the Long Ladder,” on the other hand… Well, I appreciate decompression as much as the next man, is what I’m saying. If I’d had to face the Space Irish after hanging out with the Borg, I think I would’ve stapled a fax machine to my chest and told everyone to call me Locutus.

Anyway, “Snare.” We’ve got two main plots here which don’t connect till the finale. There’s Picard travelling with Wesley to Starbase 515; and back on the Enterprise , there’s Riker and company meeting the idiotic Pakleds, who turn out to be not quite as idiotic as they initially appear. (Although even then, they’re still pretty dumb.) It’s a sign of how far the show has come that even plots as relatively straightforward and, well, uninspired as these go down painlessly. The Pakleds, who look like a bunch of fat clowns out of make-up, are less a race than a physical representation of a satirical construct, but it’s not like that’s new to the show, and they’re less offensive than the Ferengi. As for Picard’s story, it’s mundane, and Wesley is as much a sap as ever, but it’s always fun to see Patrick Stewart glowering at people.

All right, Picard first—he has a broken heart. Literally. Pulaski is demanding he get a replacement, but Picard refuses to have the work done on ship, because he can’t bear the idea that anyone on board know about his weakness. So he hitches a ride with Wesley, who’s headed to the Starbase for some kind of Starfleet Academy testing. (He has to prove his work on the Enterprise should count for course credit.) There’s mild comedy in Wesley being nervous about having to make small talk with a clearly irritable captain, and the kid doesn’t do himself any favors with comments like, “You might have made a good father.” (That’s the line I have in my notes. I can’t help thinking “would” makes more sense than “might,” but hey, a man has to trust his notes.) I’ve come to expect this kind of behavior from the character, and while it still makes me wince, it could’ve been worse.

At least it gives us a chance for back-story. Picard talks about duty and obligation, which isn’t a huge surprise, but he also reveals the heart problem, and explains that it stems from his wild and crazy youth, when he got in a fight with some Nausicaans (apparently Robert McCullough is a Miyazaki fan) and wound up with a spear through his chest. It’s a nice speech, well delivered, and it gives some context for Picard’s obsessive image concerns which generally play as forced drama. Picard doesn’t exactly regret his past, but he’s aware of the separation between who he was, and who he is, and it’s important to him to keep that distinction. Which makes you wonder how much he’s still trying to prove, really.

As for the Pakleds, once again we see a commanding officer’s confidence getting him (and others) into hot water. The Pakleds show up with a damaged ship, Riker offers to send Geordi over to help with repairs, and when Worf, quite reasonably, objects to sending over the Chief of Engineering to strangers whose true intentions aren’t clear, Riker dismisses the warning out of hand. We’ve seen the Enterprise offering assistance to those in need before, so Riker’s behavior here isn’t out of character, but it’s nice that Worf gets a chance to be right for once. The TNG crew are far, far more trusting than they really ought to be, and while their willingness to help when they can speaks well of them as people, it’s not the best policy to expect everyone else to return that kindness. Riker is all about the bold choices, and having a race as borderline mentally incompetent as the Pakleds briefly get the better of him makes for a solid reversal.

Like the Borg, the Pakleds are more dangerous then they initially appear, because they “innovate” by stealing the technology they want from their intellectual superiors. But where the Borg’s theft is done via advanced weaponry and utter ruthlessness (I’m not even sure “ruthlessness” is the right word, because it implies a disregard for morality, and the Borg are beyond even disregard), as far as we can tell, the Pakleds steal by taking advantage of others’ kindness. While Riker is able to find a way to save Geordi without too much trouble (the complicated ruse he puts on was less impressive in action than I was hoping, given the Sting -like conning that precedes it), these are still some deeply creepy mofos. They blast Geordi with his own phaser multiple times without any change in demeanor, and I couldn’t help wondering how many bodies they buried to get their own ship. Sure, they don’t have much of a weapons system, but imagine three or four of the things just charging you at once, and… brrr.

The two plotlines come together when Picard’s supposedly safe heart surgery goes wrong, and only Dr. Pulaski has the necessary training to save the day. It’s a little silly. The episode would’ve worked better without forced suspense, and really, might’ve been better served by jettisoning the Picard story entirely. I can understand needing him off the ship, as Picard would’ve been more cautious than Riker during the initial dealings with the Pakleds, but I wouldn’t have minded a few more turns of the screw on Geordi’s kidnapping. We’ve yet to see a really effective two-storyline episode, but I’ll keep hope alive a little while longer.

• Picard gave Wesley a William James book. I was assigned James’ Principles of Psychology in college, and much like Wesley, I didn’t read much of it. (Although I hear it’s quite good.)
• Why do so many of the doctors on this show dress like Jeremy Irons in Dead Ringers ?

“Up The Long Ladder”

And then things just get stupid.

There are a handful of scenes I really enjoyed in “Long Ladder,” and they’re good enough that I would champion them even if they hadn’t stood out in such stark contrast to the rest of this crap heap. Those scenes are: Worf faints, Pulaski treats him, they bond, and she takes part in a Klingon Tea Ceremony. It’s excellent. Pulaski’s coldness works to her favor, and her clear respect for Worf makes for a strong connection between the characters. The Ceremony itself is fascinating—the tea is poisonous, and while the poison isn’t fatal to Klingons, drinking it isn’t pleasant. Like most everything else the Klingons do in ritual, it’s all about proving one’s abilities as a warrior, and Pulaski shows herself more than equal to the challenge when she pre-doses herself with an antidote that makes it possible for her to drink the tea with Worf. In a few minutes, the scene does everything you want out of TNG , demonstrating respect for another culture, a sly sense of humor, and an eagerness to explore.

Then there’s the friggin Space Irish, who eat up half the running time and plague us with comic relief and tedious stereotypes. I honestly don’t really have a lot to say about this. I’ve been writing about Trek for a while now, and I’ve ranted at length about both TOS and TNG ’s lapses into cultural cliche. There’s not much to add here, so this is probably going to be a short review. Go watch “Q Who?” again with the time you’ll save. You can thank me later.

All right, once upon a time there were two groups of people who traveled together to the stars in search of a new home. One group wanted to stick with the old ways, full of butter-churning and venereal disease and hateful, shrewish women who are also hot, so it’s okay that they’re evil. The other group was big on science. Group one ended up with Planet The Quiet Man, group two ended up with Planet Parts: The Clonus Horror, and it’s up to the Enterprise to rejoin the disparate halves into one destined to implode after the first month whole. Everything is terribly convenient. Riker bangs an attractive woman, we get a lot of horrid comic relief, and we learn Riker really hates clones.

About that hot woman: yeah, Brenna (Rosalyn Landor), the daughter of the clan chief of the Space Irish (who irritated me so much I’m not even going to search through my notes for his proper name), is easy on the eyes, but that doesn’t excuse her being a twerp. I suppose growing up with Paddy O’Predictable as a da would ruin anyone’s outlook, but our first introduction to Brenna has her screaming at Picard because she’s not happy with the Enterprise . Picard gets this look on his face like he’s having a Private Moment, and when Riker stays behind to put the moves on the shouty Irish lass, he and Picard exchange a glance that seems to indicate both men know exactly what will happen next. Which could’ve led to a really nasty, In The Company of Men scenario, but instead is meant to convince us that Brenna is irresistible. I’m not seeing it. Sure, the midriff-bearing outfit she wears is striking, and sure, she seems to be fairly easy to impress, but this is a character with two settings: “YOU’RE DOING IT WRONG” and “kissing.” I’m probably alone on this, but I find the unpleasantness of the former outweighs the promise of the latter.

The cloning storyline isn’t awful. Riker and Pulaski’s vehement opposition to the idea of donating their own DNA to the land of Xerox made sense, as did Riker’s complete willingness to destroy his clone when he discovers his genetic material was stolen. (Another nice moment here when Riker checks with Pulaski before destroying her clone as well.) I guess there was some kind of point being made about the sterility of one colony needing the chaotic life force of the Space Irish to survive, and how both groups could stand for some moderation of their core principles, but it mostly just felt like two concepts grafted onto one another because neither was developed enough to fill a full episode. There’s only so many times you can say that bad comic relief is always painful, and bad ethnic comic relief is worse than that. I’m glad someone working for TNG saw Darby O’Gill And The Little People at a young age and was forever haunted by it. Maybe if we’d had a few more leprechauns here, I might’ve had more fun.

• Funny how Riker once again falls for the “we could use some help with repairs” trick. At least this time he’s the one who gets screwed over and not poor Geordi.
• Oh, and there’s talk of how all the men will need to father at least three children with three different women, which everybody gets very excited about. If these Space Irish are supposed to be holding to the old ways, wouldn’t some of them be offended by the enforced promiscuity? And is there any reason why, since the clone colony caves and allows the influx of new blood, that they can’t just put the call out for more settlers so the romantic relations don’t have to be quite so mathematical?
• Next week, join me as I hopefully find some more interesting things to say about “Manhunt,” “The Emissary,” and “Peak Performance.”

10 Most Memorable Star Trek TNG Episodes, Ranked

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The now-massive franchise of Star Trek owes a great deal to its second live-action series, Star Trek: The Next Generation for its revival in popular culture. Released a massive eighteen years after the original series, The Next Generation began with a slow start that was gingerly viewed in its first season. By the second season onwards, it had won the hearts of the fan base.

From profound questions about humanity and perspectives boldly shown on television that sowed the seeds for social change generations before they surfaced, The Next Generation excited, enticed and challenged its audiences to dare to be optimistic and open-minded, and stand for it. Amid its profoundness, it also had its Star Trek signature diversions to comedic camp and action adventure. Well-rounded and widely loved, which episodes of these seven seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation are the most memorable?

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There isn't one Q episode that has been remembered or referenced more than Deja Q. Although the crew of the Enterprise has already encountered him several times, the power of Q constantly bewilders, annoys, and confuses them. In the case of this episode, Q is exiled from the continuum and is stripped of his powers.

This study on how an omnipotent and immortal being deals with the confines of a vulnerable, material, and emotional body is both an interesting introspective into Q's character development, and a humorously satisfying experience for the crew who have had enough of his unlimited powers. All philosophy aside, the episode is most known for Q's very naked entrance as well as his celebratory mariachi appearance when his powers are returned. Furthermore, he gives Data a temporary but parting gift of spontaneous laughter.

9 The Naked Now

This early-days revisit of the plot of 1966 The Naked Time episode from the original Star Trek series involved a key and plot-echoing moment for Data in later seasons. When a virus that drops inhibitions infects the crew, the bulk of the key crew is heavily affected. The very rigid and stern Tasha Yarr ends up in bed with Data, presumably a first for Data in terms of intimate interactions.

Although this episode was more of a one-off with a recycled plot, that moment is echoed as an important key to proving Data's sentience in the later episode The Measure of a Man, when a holographic image is brought to the stand as proof of Data's capability to feel and develop complex emotions.

8 Hollow Pursuits

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Lieutenant Barclay becomes a sympathetic favorite among the Star Trek fandom after the events of Hollow Pursuits. Lt. Barclay is one of the brighter, but also shy officers on the Enterprise and uses the Holodeck far too much to cope with his social anxieties. This becomes problematic, especially when he is discovered to have created heroic simulations for himself that pit his superiors as romantic interests or caricature villains.

Although comical, this episode touches on the questions of how to overcome the advancement of technology and its stranglehold on hindering human challenges like socialization. Long before social media and free online video services and streaming were realized, Hollow Pursuits acted as a sort of morality play and a cautionary tale about using simulative technology to excess as a coping mechanism. On a lighter note, Barclay would eventually rise in popularity and real heroism in later seasons and other Star Trek Series, becoming a much better man than he could simulate on the Holodeck.

From cautionary satire to pure sci-fi horror, Lt. Barclay returns to strange form, quite literally. When a volatile disease begins messing with the crew's DNA, devolving them into various animals, the Enterprise is turned into a shop of horrors as the few crew able to troubleshoot the spread of this disease scramble for solutions.

Star Trek rarely goes full-boar into the horrors of space and science, but this particular episode is memorable for its grungy practical effects and prosthetics. From Barclay's half-spider face and mandibles to Troi's change into an amphibious state, this episode is a memorable one if for any other reason than unlocking a traumatic memory of retro television. This would also be Lt. Barclay's final appearance on The Next Generation, but he would go on to appear in First Contact , and several episodes of Star Trek: Voyager afterward.

6 The Outcast

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An episode incredibly understated and ahead of its time, The Outcast begins as a simple "problem of the week" with the Enterprise crew helping an androgynous species known as the J'naii find a couple of their own who were lost in space. As this search continues, Commander Riker becomes more friendly with one of them named Soren, who then reveals to him that they are feeling more female than androgynous, and must keep it secret.

With the prime directive and the oppressively strict J'naii's ideals standing in their way, the romance and quest for amnesty that Soren and Riker experience tragically ends with her being sent to a facility for psychotectic therapy. This heavy ending, mixed with the legacy of this episode, resonates heavily with Star Trek fans in the LGBTQUIA+ community .

One of the more unique one-off episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation is when Picard is stuck on a planet with a Tamarian, whose language has the federation's translators confounded as it is completely allegorical to their legends. This incredibly simple premise raised the stakes with a creature pursuing the two captains on the planet's surface.

Unfortunately, the Tamarian captain does not make it out of the planet alive. However, after days of toiling to communicate with him, Picard has finally learned how to honor him and build a meaningful base of contact with his people. Writers of this episode reference The Epic of Gilgamesh as their inspiration for the history of "Darmok and Gelad" whose deeds and sentiments are the basis of the Tamarian language. The human epic is also referenced by Picard as a way of realizing how their language works.

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A power vacuum on the Klingon High Council sucks in the aid of Captain Picard and Lt. Worf as tensions boil over and conspiracy and old family wounds swell. Picard is made the mediator in choosing the next leader of the council, but was also tasked by the leader before their poisoning, to discover the identity of the killer to make sure they do not gain the seat of power.

Full of intrigue and the revelation of Worf's family's legacy of taking the blame for crimes his father didn't commit, Reunion opened up the can of worms about the Klingon intrigues and Worf's direct involvement in it.

3 Chain of Command: Part 2

The haunting cries of Picard reiterating "There are FOUR LIGHTS" is engraved in every Star Trek: The Next Generation fan's hearts. First, it was the Borg who assimilated him and took away his agency, and after the trauma of surviving that ordeal, only to be completely dehumanized by the Cardassians, it is nothing short of a miracle that Picard remained one of the most level-headed and forward-thinking Captains of the federation.

After a covert mission goes wrong, and Captain Picard is captured by Cardassian Gul Madred, he is stripped naked and psychologically and physically tortured for information that Gul Madred knows he won't be able to get out of Picard. This sadistic venture breaks Picard in many ways as Riker and the crew scramble to find a way to save Picard from this diplomatic nightmare.

2 The Best of Both Worlds: Part 1

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"I am Locutus of Borg..." one of the most foreboding and terrifying reveals and cliffhangers in Star Trek 's history comes from one of the series, and arguably, the franchise's most memorable episodes. This two-episode arc is often given laurels for propelling the franchise into an intriguing and action-heavy genre, whilst still maintaining the mold and form of Star Trek 's storytelling conventions.

After arriving at a Federation colony that is all but destroyed, the Enterprise discovers the Borg is responsible for its destruction . The Borg eventually catches up with the Enterprise and captures Picard, converting him into an information siphon for the Borg to fight easily against the federation. This was one of the more enticing endings to an episode in the series and created the two-episode arc convention as a more common staple for the franchise's television shows moving forward.

1 The Measure of a Man

This episode is a classic framework of the storytelling brilliance and lesson-taking nature of Star Trek as a whole. A scientist, excited by Data's programming and technology , goes so far as to demand he be privy to research and testing against his own will since he is a machine. This leads to a complicated court case involving Riker and Picard, pitted on opposite sides of the debate of which Data's definition as a species hangs in the balance.

Full of intriguing takes on what defines sentience, emotions, and the right to choose, The Measure of a Man continues to be more relevant than ever for numerous reasons and continues to emotionally hit right as Picard delivers his final speech. The thought of this episode alone triggers chills of writing and performance brilliance among fans of the series and is incredibly rewatchable.

Star Trek: The Next Generation

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Set almost 100 years after Captain Kirk's 5-year mission, a new generation of Starfleet officers sets off in the U.S.S. Enterprise-D on its own mission to go where no one has gone before.

Q was a highly powerful individual from a race of godlike aliens known as the Q .

• 1.1.1 Trial
• 1.1.3 Guide
• 1.1.4 Being Human
• 1.1.5 Meeting Vash and acting as benefactor
• 1.1.6 Never-ending trial
• 1.2.1 Quinn
• 1.2.3 Junior
• 1.3 The Cerritos
• 1.4 The Road Not Taken
• 1.5 Visiting Jack Crusher
• 2 Q's disguises
• 3 Locations "created" by Q
• 4.1 Appearances
• 4.2 Background information
• 4.3 Apocrypha
• 4.4 External links

History [ ]

Q appeared to the crews of several Starfleet vessels and outposts during the 2360s and 2370s . As a consequence, all command level officers in Starfleet were briefed on his existence thereafter. One such briefing was attended by Benjamin Sisko in 2367 . ( DS9 : " Q-Less ") Q typically appeared as a humanoid male , though he could take on other forms if he wished, and was almost always dressed in the uniform of a Starfleet captain . ( VOY : " Death Wish ")

In every appearance, he demonstrates superior capabilities, but also a mindset that seemed quite unlike what Federation scientists expected for such a powerful being. He had been described, in turn, as "obnoxious," "interfering," and a "pest." However, underneath his acerbic attitude, there seemed to be a hidden agenda to Q's visits that often had the best interests of Humanity at their core.

On Brax , he was known as "The God of Lies ." ( DS9 : " Q-Less ")

In the 22nd century , Q had "some dealings" with the El-Aurian Guinan . These encounters resulted in strong antipathy between them. ( TNG : " Q Who ")

When temporarily rendered Human by the Q Continuum , Q claimed to possess an IQ of "two thousand and five". ( TNG : " Deja Q ")

Q occasionally used verbal contractions in regular speech, but not often, as part of his chaotic god title. ( citation needed • edit )

By 2401 , Q was, for an unknown reason, dying, something that he had not believed to be possible. ( PIC : " Mercy ") Not wanting Picard to die alone as Q was about to, he endeavored to unshackle Picard from his past guilt so that he could move forward with his life simply because Q genuinely cared about Picard and wished to help his friend rather than for a grander design of some kind. To this end, Q intervened to save Picard and his friends from the destruction of the USS Stargazer and created an alternate timeline by altering the history of the Europa Mission in 2024 . After Picard and his friends restored the original timeline, Q revealed his true intentions and used the last of his power to send them home and to resurrect Elnor . Q's death saddened Picard who had come to see the being as a true friend and who ensured that Q was not alone when he finally met his end. ( PIC : " Farewell ")

In 2402 , despite his apparent death, Q appeared to Picard's son Jack Crusher , simply chiding him for thinking too linearly when asked about his death. Q told Jack that while the trial of Humanity had ended for Picard, it had only just begun for Jack. Q's response to Jack's question about his death suggests that either Q never died or Jack was not meeting him in linear order to Picard's last encounter with Q, meaning that this Q may have been a version from before his supposed death. ( PIC : " The Last Generation ")

Picard and the Enterprise -D [ ]

Q was first encountered by the Federation when he appeared aboard the USS Enterprise -D in early 2364 . He warned the crew of the Enterprise that Humanity should return to their home star system or be destroyed.

Q appearing as a soldier of the Third World War

When he encountered resistance, Q placed Humanity on trial, with Jean-Luc Picard and his command crew as representatives. Q accused Humanity of being a "dangerous, savage child-race". Picard managed to strike a deal with Q, however, and submitted to a test of conduct to prove that Humanity had evolved beyond its previously savage state.

The Enterprise 's mission to Farpoint Station served as this test. The Starfleet crew sufficiently proved their evolved state of being by discovering and assisting a space vessel lifeform that had been coerced by the Bandi to take the form of a starbase . Q disappeared, but promised the crew they had not seen the last of him. ( TNG : " Encounter at Farpoint ")

Q explaining to Picard that how Humans respond to a game tells more about them than a direct confrontation

The next time Q appeared on the Enterprise later that year, he created a bizarre and deadly "game" for the ship's crew, in order to demonstrate that he had given Commander William T. Riker Q-like abilities. His motives for this were that Humans had a desire to grow and explore, which the Q did not have or understand. Q wanted Riker to join the Continuum so they could understand and possess this desire because if they did not, Humanity could one day surpass the Q.

Q and Picard settled on a bet that, if Riker rejected his offer, the Q would leave Humanity alone forever. Ultimately, Riker rejected these new powers, and Q was forced back into the Continuum. ( TNG : " Hide And Q ")

Because of those actions, Q was asked to leave the Q Continuum. ( TNG : " Q Who ")

" Do we stay out here years? Decades? "

Q's third appearance on the Enterprise was in 2365 . He presented himself as homeless and expressed an interest in joining Picard's crew, his reason being that Humanity would eventually push into uncharted territory and would need a guide as they were ill-prepared to face what they would find. He even offered to renounce his powers to prove that his offer was genuine. However, when Picard vehemently declined (inspired by thinking that Humanity could handle any threat), Q hurled the Enterprise into the path of a Borg cube . Ultimately, Picard had to beg for Q's help in escaping from the pursuit of the Borg ship. ( TNG : " Q Who ")

It was once contested ( citation needed • edit ) whether Q's actions provided the Borg Collective with knowledge of the Federation's existence, directly contributing to the invasion a year later, or if the Borg had preexisting knowledge of Humanity and that Q, whatever his motives, gave the Federation an early warning it would not have had, otherwise. In the Star Trek: Enterprise episode " Regeneration ", it was implied that the Borg became aware of Humanity ca. 2153 and that the Borg cube in "Q Who" had been traveling in the general direction of Earth since then, confirming the latter. Additionally, Star Trek: Voyager established that Magnus and Erin Hansen had been studying the Borg in the 2350s until their capture and assimilation in 2356 . In " Q Who ", it was insinuated, though never confirmed, that the Borg were behind the destruction of Starfleet and Romulan Neutral Zone outposts in 2364 , a series of attacks first established in " The Neutral Zone ".

In that encounter, Q alluded to a past association with Enterprise bartender Guinan. She declined to elaborate on the nature of their relationship, other than to express an extreme dislike for Q. Based on Q's reactions, the sentiment seemed mutual. ( TNG : " Q Who ")

Being Human [ ]

Powerless, Q meets Guinan in Ten Forward

In 2366 , Q was stripped of his power and immortality and transformed into a Human by the Q Continuum, as punishment for his irresponsibility. He sought refuge on the Enterprise , and requested asylum and protection from the beings in the universe whom he had tormented. Though Captain Picard and the rest of the crew were unconvinced of the sincerity of Q's plea and indeed suspected the entire situation was merely an elaborate prank, Picard agreed to provide Q temporary asylum. During a visit to Ten Forward (almost humorously), Guinan took advantage of the situation and stabbed Q in the hand with a fork. Though not a scientist, Q provided theoretical guidance for Geordi La Forge 's analysis of Bre'el IV 's moon , which was in danger of colliding with its planet of orbit . During that time, Data was assigned to watch Q and Q gained an unusual perspective on Humanity and its condition from observing Data, in turn. However, after a Calamarain attack nearly destroyed Data (who risked his life to protect Q), Q became ashamed of his newly-discovered lack of empathy for other beings, and resolved to leave on a shuttle, allow the Calamarain to kill him, and prevent further risk to the Enterprise crew. Another Q intervened at that point, acknowledged Q's selfless act and restored his powers as a reward. In gratitude, Q corrected the orbit of the moon and also gave a special gift to Data, his "professor of the Humanities", a brief moment of genuine laughter. ( TNG : " Deja Q ")

Meeting Vash and acting as benefactor [ ]

In 2367 , the Enterprise crew encountered a woman claiming to be the mythical Ardra of Ventax II . Her demonstrations of omnipotent power resembled those of Q, to the extent that the Enterprise crew speculated that she might be of the Q Continuum or perhaps Q himself. Picard pointed out that the woman's obsession with the Contract of Ardra was atypical of Q and her powers were later proved to be the product of sophisticated technology rather than any innate ability. ( TNG : " Devil's Due ")

Q and Vash visiting Deep Space 9 in 2369

Later, in 2367 , Q returned to the Enterprise to "properly" thank Captain Picard for his role in helping him regain his standing in the Continuum. At the time, Picard was meeting a past lover named Vash (whom he had met on Risa ) the year before. ( TNG : " Captain's Holiday ") Q resolved to teach Picard a lesson about love, and cast Picard, Vash, and the Enterprise command crew into an elaborate scenario styled by the ancient legend of Robin Hood . Q himself assumed the role of the High Sheriff of Nottingham . Ultimately, Picard learned and everyone was returned to the Enterprise . However, intrigued by Vash, Q offered to take her on a journey of exploration to various archaeological ruins of the galaxy and she accepted. To pay his debt to Picard, he promised no harm would come to Vash. ( TNG : " Qpid ")

Q encouraging Amanda Rogers to use her Q powers

In 2369 , he once again appeared aboard the Enterprise -D, this time to instruct Amanda Rogers , a seemingly Human female who developed Q powers during an internship with Doctor Beverly Crusher . Shortly after Rogers' birth, the Continuum used a tornado to execute Rogers' parents, two Q who had assumed life as Humans on Earth, for being unable to resist using their powers while in Human guise. Although Q's petulant and acerbic attitude did little to ingratiate himself to Amanda, he eventually convinced her to go with him to the Continuum to learn to use her new-found abilities. ( TNG : " True Q ")

A few months later, Q followed Vash back to the Alpha Quadrant , after the discovery of the Bajoran wormhole created a new avenue of travel between there and the Gamma Quadrant . Having had so much fun with Vash, Q wanted to continue exploring the galaxy , but Vash wanted nothing to do with him. While the two were at Deep Space 9 , mysterious power drains were thought to be Q's doing, but they were, in fact, due to an embryonic lifeform that Vash had unknowingly returned from the Gamma Quadrant. Q had a brief confrontation with Commander Benjamin Sisko during his visit and disrupted an auction that Quark and Vash staged in Quark's . Though he was intrigued by Sisko hitting him as Picard never did, Q eventually became bored because "Sisko was so different than Picard," being so much easier to provoke. One might speculate that Q's actions were intended to ensure Vash's safety in regards to the promise that he had made to Picard two years earlier. In the end, Q and Vash went their separate ways, though both eventually admitted to retaining a certain fondness for each other. ( DS9 : " Q-Less ")

Q appearing to Picard as "God" in the afterlife

Later that same year, Q appeared to Picard when the latter was critically injured in a Lenarian ambush. Appearing as "God", Q told Picard he died because of his artificial heart and offered him the chance to return to the incident in his youth, which allowed him to relive the events leading up to his near-fatal injury and change history. Though Picard was successful in changing history, he eventually realized the event – and his previous nature as an arrogant, brash young man – was a part of his identity, and had helped mold him into the successful Starfleet officer he became. Even though he was uncertain as to whether the experience had been real or simply a vision, Picard was grateful for Q's revelation. ( TNG : " Tapestry ")

Never-ending trial [ ]

Q congratulating Picard for his method of collapsing the anomaly

In 2370 , Q returned to the Enterprise to continue the trial against Humanity. Claiming the seven-year-old trial never actually ended, Q proclaimed Humanity guilty of "being inferior" and informed Picard that his race was to be destroyed. He sent him traveling through time to his own past and present, as well as to a potential future. In all three time periods, Picard was presented with a temporal paradox in the form of an eruption of anti-time in the Devron system . In that paradox, Picard himself was responsible for the creation of the anomaly, which propagated backward in normal time, anti-time having the opposite properties of normal time, thus destroying Humanity in the past.

In addition to sending Picard jumping through time, Q provided him with hints to understanding the nature of the paradox. Ultimately, Picard determined the solution and devised a way to close the anti-time anomaly in all three time periods. Following the success, Q revealed that the entire experience had been a test devised by the Continuum and had been aimed at determining whether Humanity was capable of expanding its horizons to understand some of the advanced concepts of the universe, including the potential of Humanity's own evolution – but helping Picard had been his idea. Q promised to continue watching Humanity and proclaimed that " the trial never ends. " ( TNG : " All Good Things... ")

Janeway and Voyager [ ]

Q debuting on Voyager

In 2372 , Q was sent by the Continuum to board the USS Voyager , whose crew had unintentionally released a renegade Q from confinement in a rogue comet . When the other Q (later known as "Quinn") asked for asylum on Voyager in order to fulfill his wish to commit suicide , an act considered illegal in the Continuum, Q was permitted to represent the Continuum at a hearing to determine whether the requested asylum would be granted. Q argued that permitting a Q to commit suicide would cause unspeakable chaos and disorder – a profound irony, considering Q's own history as a prankster and renegade. When confronted with his past deeds, Q commented that [his] record has been expunged.

Ultimately, Quinn's arguments prevailed and he was made into a mortal being. Q himself was touched by Quinn's dedication and beliefs – Quinn had previously been an admirer of Q's because of Q's propensity to stir controversy and spread chaos – and actually provided Quinn with the means with which to commit suicide. Q resolved to return to some of his old habits and to encourage the Continuum to allow more chaos into their own order. ( VOY : " Death Wish ")

Following the death of Quinn, a massive Q Civil War broke out as the forces of the status quo resisted the calls for change in the Continuum, by a faction led by Q himself. Seeking to end the conflict, Q devised a plan to mate with Kathryn Janeway , the captain of Voyager , in order to create a new Q / Human hybrid – a new breed of Q that would help bring an end to the civil war. However, Janeway flatly refused.

Q kidnapped Janeway and took her to the Continuum, where he again tried to persuade her by explaining the nature of the conflict. However, Janeway again declined, though she openly sympathized with Q for his inability to understand love and tried to negotiate a truce between the two sides. However, those negotiations failed because the status quo faction refused to accept any terms other than surrender. They tried to execute both Q and Janeway, but they were stopped by personnel from Voyager , with the assistance of Q female , an old flame of Q's. Q and the female Q were able to equip Janeway and the rest of Voyager 's crew with Q weapons , which they were able to use to battle the opposing status quo faction.

Q proposed mating with his old girlfriend instead of with Janeway and she agreed. The new child, nicknamed " Q junior ," became the first child born in the Continuum for millennia and his presence brought an end to the civil war. ( VOY : " The Q and the Grey ")

Q giving Janeway a PADD

Regardless, Q's child did not prove to become the perfect "savior" child he was meant to be; he grew into a spoiled brat and caused chaos and disorder. Q tried to briefly leave his son with "Aunt Kathy" aboard Voyager and hoped that Janeway's "vaunted Starfleet ideals" would rub off on him. Q himself began to learn more about the role of being a parent, revealing that much of Junior's actions were not punished properly by Q. However, after spending years with the child, Junior only began to behave worse. As a result, the Continuum stripped his son of his powers, left him aboard Voyager (again under the care of Janeway), and told him to change his ways within a week or he would be sentenced to spend eternity as an Oprelian amoeba .

Though Q was initially unimpressed by his son's progress, he devised a test of "Q-ness" to determine whether his son had improved his attitude. He masqueraded as a Chokuzan captain and threatened Junior and his friend Icheb after they took the Delta Flyer from Voyager . Junior passed with flying colors and offered to sacrifice himself to face the consequence of his actions, which had endangered Icheb.

However, the Continuum was not impressed by Junior's progress and sentenced him to remain a Human. Outraged, Q proclaimed he would leave the Continuum if his son was not allowed to rejoin – the pair was a "package deal". "Begging for [Q's] return" as a deterrent to instability, Q earlier stated that he "holds them all together", the Continuum acquiesced, on one condition – that Q retain eternal custody of the boy. Grateful for her assistance, Q provided Janeway with a map to a shortcut that would shave three years off Voyager 's journey home. Janeway asked Q why he did not send them all the way back to Earth and his response was that it would be setting a bad example for his son if he did all the work for them. ( VOY : " Q2 ")

The novel Q&A states that this was to cause Voyager to encounter a transwarp hub that the ship later destroyed, an event depicted in the series finale " Endgame ".

The Cerritos [ ]

Q aboard the Cerritos

Q's reputation preceded him aboard the USS Cerritos , when in 2380 , he was referenced by Ensign Brad Boimler in a simile explaining the existence of his girlfriend , Lieutenant Barbara Brinson , whom he described as being "as real as a hopped-up Q on Captain Picard Day ." ( LD : " Cupid's Errant Arrow ")

That same year, he made multiple appearances aboard Cerritos . At one point, while wearing a variation of his judge's garb, he abducted four members of the bridge crew to participate in one of his challenges. He dressed the crew up as chess pieces , and put them on a large chessboard, but had anthropomorphic playing cards holding hockey sticks as the opposing pieces, football goal posts at either end of the game board , and a singing , dancing soccer ball .

After the Cerritos left K'Tuevon Prime , Q appeared before Ensigns Beckett Mariner , Brad Boimler, Sam Rutherford , and D'Vana Tendi to challenge them. Mariner told him they were not in the mood and walked away, even as Q followed them and urged them – in vain – to continue, and lamented that he found Picard to be boring. ( LD : " Veritas ")

The Road Not Taken [ ]

Q appears before Picard following the destruction of the Stargazer

At some point prior to 2401 , Q began to experience a change he believed was impossible: despite everything he believed about the Q as a species, Q was not truly immortal, and he realised that he was going to die. Symptoms of this phenomenon were that Q had begun to lose his powers. Q thought of it as being on "the threshold of the unknowable" and believed that he was about to be "enveloped in the warm glow of meaning" now that his life had a definite end in sight. ( PIC : " Mercy ")

In 2401, three decades after their last encounter, Q visited Picard at his home on Earth . After having ordered USS Stargazer to self-destruct in order to stop the Borg from seizing control of the Starfleet armada, Q had intervened to stop Picard's death. ( PIC : " Penance ") Picard had awoken in his home to find that not only was he alive, but several things had changed. Picard turned to face Q, and Q remarked that Picard was older than he imagined. Snapping his fingers, Q updated his appearance to more closely match the aged Picard and reminded Picard about the words that he imparted to him when they last parted ways, " the trial never ends. " Q reminded Picard about how he had talked about second chances and told him that he was now at the " very end of the road not taken. " ( PIC : " The Star Gazer ")

Following Picard's question as to where they were, Q explained to Picard that he had brought him "home". After Picard inquired about the whereabouts of the Stargazer crew, Q admitted that there was no Stargazer . Picard demanded to know what Q had done, to which Q responded that he had merely shown Picard a world of his own making and stated that it was "Human" of Picard to instead blame him. Picard angrily asked if Q had had enough of playing games with other peoples' lives and exclaimed that he was no longer Q's pawn, to which Q answered that Picard was much more than a pawn – he was instead the " very board upon which this game is played ". When Picard told him that he was too old for Q's "bullshit", Q angrily affirmed that Picard was old, and lamented that time was unfair and had presented Picard with " so many wrinkles... so many disappointments. " Picard demanded that Q get to the point, to " cut to the chase ". Q rambled to Picard about the chase bleeding out and how he was a suture on the wound. Noticing Q's odd behavior, Picard asked Q if he was unwell. Q responded by transporting them both to the vineyard.

At the vineyard, Picard asked again what had happened to the crew of the Stargazer , and Q acknowledged that he had intervened because he had wanted to see him. Picard demanded that Q tell him what he wanted, and Q told him that while he could tell him, Picard was too clever to listen. Picard told Q that he had enough of Q's patronizing, and Q struck Picard, angrily telling Picard that he had had enough of Picard's stubbornness, obstinance, and " insistence on changing in all ways but the one that matters ". Q declared the situation was not a lesson but instead a penance. Q explained that in Picard's original history, Humanity had found a way to spare the planet they were "murdering", but in this timeline, Humanity " keeps the corpse on life support ". Q once again transported Picard back inside the château, where he revealed several alien slaves working for Picard. Despite Picard's insistence that he would never do this, Q stated that " such moral convictions are the luxury of the victors ".

Q offers Picard a choice between remaining as he is, or a chance at "atonement"

Q brought Picard inside the trophy room , explaining the life that Picard had led in this new timeline. Q talked through several of Picard's trophies – including the skulls of Dukat , Martok , and Sarek , all of whom this timeline's Picard had executed in brutal fashion. Q called Picard " the most bloodthirsty, merciless, ruthless Human to ever set out to conquer the galaxy " and asked if Picard wished to see what else had been lost thanks to Picard's fear. He offered Picard a choice: he could remain as he was in this world, trapped inside " the body of a madman, in the world of a madman ", and try to " wash the blood " from his hands for the brutal murders committed by his counterpart – though Q deemed that to be "unwashable". Q offered an alternative: Picard could show atonement, possibly forgiveness. When Picard asked what he would be forgiving, Q answered cryptically that Picard already knew. Q stated that he would not let Picard take this on alone. Picard refused Q's choice and Q left him alone.

Picard would later inform Seven of Nine and Raffaela Musiker of his encounter with Q, and explained that Q would in the past put him to the test using "games" such as the situation they found themselves in. He told them that he felt that there was something wrong with Q, as he was acting stranger than usual.

A Borg Queen held captive in Agnes Jurati 's laboratory was able to perceive the fracture in the timeline and calculated that Q had implemented a single change in the year 2024 to create the current timeline. ( PIC : " Penance ") Q briefly appeared again to Picard aboard CSS La Sirena to repeat his words about this being the only life Picard understood. ( PIC : " Assimilation ")

Q observing Renée Picard, about to attempt to interfere with her mission

Q later observed Renée Picard reading a book before she undertook the Europa Mission . Q attempted to amplify Renée's fear about the upcoming mission, but his powers failed. ( PIC : " Watcher ")

He next attempted to get assistance from Adam Soong , whom he promised to give a cure for his daughter 's genetic disorder . ( PIC : " Fly Me to the Moon ")

During a gala celebrating the Europa Mission, Q, posing as Renée's therapist, encouraged her not to go on the mission and nearly succeeded. However, Picard successfully foiled Q's plan. In response, a desperate Soong tried to run down Renée, only to have Picard take the hit himself in order to save her life. ( PIC : " Two of One ")

Jean-Luc survived and met with Guinan, who performed an El-Aurian ritual in an effort to summon Q. The ritual appeared to fail, and shortly after, Guinan and Jean-Luc were arrested by a team of FBI agents led by Martin Wells . ( PIC : " Monsters ") Q had heard the summons, however, and visited Guinan in prison, where she realized that Q was dying. Q imparted to her that he was trying to find meaning in his remaining time, and that he was using Jean-Luc as a means to that end. He also demonstrated his loss of power by attempting unsuccessfully to vaporize Guinan. Q left with a parting statement that Humans were " all trapped in the past ", which gave Guinan the clue she needed in order for Jean-Luc to pry into Agent Wells' past in order to secure their release. ( PIC : " Mercy ")

Q later hacked himself into a virtual reality program operated by Kore Soong, to reveal to her the truth and offer himself as an ally, in spite of Adam Soong not keeping his end of their bargain. Kore removed the VR headset to end the conversation, but Q had left the permanent cure – labeled "freedom" – in the airlock for her. ( PIC : " Mercy ")

Q before his "death"

After the success of the Europa Mission and the restoration of the original timeline, Picard encountered Q in his home after leaving the skeleton key for his younger self to find in the future. Q noted that although Picard had the chance to potentially save his mother and change his own future, he instead accepted himself as he was and absolved himself. Because Picard had chosen himself, he may now be worthy for someone else to choose and he may even give himself the chance to be loved. Q reminded Picard that he'd told Picard that this was about forgiveness: Picard's own forgiveness of himself. Q stated that Picard had fixed all of the deaths that Q had caused by altering the timeline aside from Tallinn and Elnor . However, Tallinn was always destined to die in every timeline, but thanks to Picard's intervention, Tallinn had met Renée in this one. Picard asked why Q had taken such an interest in him for over thirty years and Q explained that he was dying alone and he didn't want that for Picard. Q had elaborated: " Even gods have favorites and you've always been one of mine. " As such, he had set it up so that Picard would travel back in time and in a round about way come to terms with his mother's death and absolve himself of his perceived responsibility for the event. " As I leave, I leave you free. " For once, Q was not acting as part of some grander design but simply because he cared about Picard and genuinely wanted to help his friend.

Gathering outside, Q prepared to use the last of his power to send Picard and his friends back to their own time, something that would kill Q in his weakened state. With Rios choosing to stay in 2024, Q told Picard that he had an unexpected surplus of energy that he would use to give Picard one last surprise gift. Stating that Q didn't have to die alone, Picard hugged him and an emotional Q promised to " see you out there " and snapped his fingers, sending Picard, Musiker, and Seven back to 2401 moments before the Stargazer 's destruction, allowing Picard the chance to change his future. Shortly thereafter, the group discovered Q's final gift: Q had resurrected Elnor and returned him to the Excelsior . ( PIC : " Farewell ")

Visiting Jack Crusher [ ]

Q in Jack Crusher's quarters aboard the USS Enterprise -G

In 2402 , Q appeared to Jack Crusher aboard the USS Enterprise -G . Jack immediately recognized the being, having heard about Q from his father Jean-Luc Picard . Jack was surprised as Q was supposed to be dead, but Q simply stated that he was hoping that "the next generation wouldn't think [time] so linearly", echoing what Q had tried to teach Picard decades earlier , and told him that Jack had much ahead of him. While Humanity's trial was over for Picard, Q was here to inform Jack that his trial had only just begun. ( PIC : " The Last Generation ")

Q's disguises [ ]

Locations "created" by Q [ ]

• A post-atomic horror courtroom of 2079 ( TNG : " Encounter at Farpoint ", " All Good Things... ")
• The planet of the animal things ( TNG : " Hide And Q ")
• Sherwood Forest ( TNG : " Qpid ")
• The afterlife ( TNG : " Tapestry ")
• The puzzle planetoid ( LD : " Veritas ")

Appendices [ ]

Appearances [ ].

• " Encounter at Farpoint " ( Season 1 )
• " Hide And Q "
• " Q Who " ( Season 2 )
• " Deja Q " ( Season 3 )
• " Qpid " ( Season 4 )
• " True Q " ( Season 6 )
• " Tapestry "
• " All Good Things... " ( Season 7 )
• DS9 : " Q-Less " ( Season 1 )
• " Death Wish " ( Season 2 )
• " The Q and the Grey " ( Season 3 )
• " Q2 " ( Season 7 )
• LD : " Veritas "
• " The Star Gazer " ( Season 2 )
• " Penance "
• " Assimilation "
• " Watcher "
• " Fly Me to the Moon "
• " Two of One " ( flashback ; archive footage)
• " Farewell "
• " The Last Generation " ( Season 3 )

Background information [ ]

Filming Q's scene in The Next Generation series finale " All Good Things... "

Q was played by John de Lancie ; Q as the Chozukan commander was played by Michael Kagan .

The idea of Q was conceived by Gene Roddenberry as a way to help fill out the events of "Encounter at Farpoint" from a one-hour to two-hour running time. ( Star Trek: The Magazine  Volume 2, Issue 12 , p. 28) The name "Q" was chosen by Roddenberry in honor of an English Star Trek fan named Janet Quarton. She was the first president of the UK Star Trek fan club, and Roddenberry and many others spent time at her home, in the Scottish highlands. ( Star Trek Encyclopedia , 4th ed., vol. 2, p. 191; [1] )

Immediately after Roddenberry invented the character of Q, the other members of the TNG preproduction staff realized it was very reminiscent of the character Trelane from the Star Trek: The Original Series episode " The Squire of Gothos ". " We're all looking at each other, saying, 'It's Trelane [from the original series] all over again,' " remembered David Gerrold . " We all hated it and very gently suggested to Gene that it wasn't very good. Of course, this fell on deaf ears. He said, 'Trust me, the way I'll do it, the fans will love it.' " ( The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years , p. 67)

In an interview, de Lancie likewise drew parallels between Q and Trelane, feeling Gene Roddenberry had explored his storehouse of effective creations in writing The Next Generation and had found one that would turn out to be highly successful again in The Next Generation . [2] In another interview, de Lancie stated that, upon thinking of ways to describe Q's character, he had remembered a famous quote made about Lord Byron : That he was "mad, bad, and dangerous to know." ( Star Trek 25th Anniversary Special )

Minimal makeup was used for the character of Q. " We always defined Q with a little eye makeup and a little lip color, just to make him stand out, " recalled Makeup Supervisor Michael Westmore . ( Star Trek: The Magazine  Volume 2, Issue 12 , p. 26)

Production designer Herman Zimmerman was influential in the depiction of Q as a judge presiding over a courtroom . In the script of "Encounter at Farpoint," Q seemed to be floating in that area, though none of the production crew could figure out precisely how to show Q floating without resorting to visual effects for every one of those shots. Ultimately, Zimmerman suggested putting de Lancie on a camera crane and bringing him into the courtroom out of a black hole, which was exactly how Q's arrival in that scene was shot. ( Star Trek: The Magazine  Volume 2, Issue 12 , p. 30)

The depiction of Q in "Encounter at Farpoint" turned out to be extremely popular. Yar actress Denise Crosby commented, " The character of Q, and the way John de Lancie was playing it, was really interesting. " Rick Berman noted, " I think [Q] was certainly the most memorable element of that opening episode. " "Encounter at Farpoint" Director Corey Allen remarked, " Q was so clearly a wonderful idea of Gene's, about the questions we all ask ourselves; he was the interrogator that each of us carries on our shoulder. " Herman Zimmerman observed that his idea of having Q arrive in the courtroom on a camera crane "worked very well." ( Star Trek: The Magazine  Volume 2, Issue 12 , pp. 19, 28, & 30)

Though a first draft script of TNG Season 1 episode " Hide And Q " that Maurice Hurley penned was substantially rewritten by Gene Roddenberry, the character of Q still intrigued Hurley thereafter. He thought of Q as an unreliable god and subsequently intended for him to feature in a story arc through the second season . Due to a writers' strike though, he was only returned in the Season 2 episode " Q Who " before Hurley left the series. ( Star Trek: The Magazine  Volume 2, Issue 12 , pp. 52 & 53)

Rob Bowman , who got an opportunity to direct de Lancie as Q in "Q Who," enjoyed the experience, finding that de Lancie was easy to direct in the role. " He really had a grasp of the peculiarities of that character, " Bowman remarked. ( Star Trek: The Magazine  Volume 2, Issue 12 , p. 95)

Though Q was a recurring character over a relatively long time, he was used sparingly by the Star Trek producers in case fans got tired of him. Gowron actor Robert O'Reilly once likened these circumstances to his own situation, regarding his portrayal of Gowron. ( The Official Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Magazine  issue 16 , p. 22) Writing staffer Ronald D. Moore commented, " Q was a fascinating character, but I thought that he should be carefully rationed through the series. I thought if you played him about once a season, that was the most you wanted to use him. " ( Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection , issue 90, p. 17)

Devising Q stories challenged the writing staff of Star Trek: The Next Generation due to the character's omnipotence. Q could not be made completely into an adversary as he could simply wipe all the characters out of existence. The fact he was intended to be all-powerful also raised the question of why he even bothered with Humans and their allies. Both Ronald D. Moore and Jeri Taylor found it difficult to write for the character, though Moore also regarded doing so as "fun" because Q's extreme powers allowed the writers a wide variety of stories they could feature him in. ( Star Trek: Communicator  issue 113 , p. 68)

Patrick Stewart and John de Lancie during the filming of " Tapestry "

Following Q's appearance in " Q-Less ", the possibility of him making another visit to DS9 was dismissed by Ira Steven Behr , when he remarked, " I don't foresee Q being back on the show. To me, his relationship with Picard was gold. And I don't think we can top it. " ( AOL chat , 1997 ) Ron Moore agreed, " The secret to Q was the Q and Picard relationship. Q was in love with Picard, for some reason. That was the underpinning of the relationship, which was why, when he came to Deep Space Nine , he wasn't as effective a character. The weird love affair that he had going with Jean-Luc made that whole thing work, and it made ' Tapestry [!] ' work, and ultimately it made ' All Good Things... [!] ' work. " ( Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection , issue 90, p. 17)

Q was originally rumored to make an appearance in Star Trek: Insurrection ; however, Michael Piller ultimately put those rumors to rest. ( AOL chat , 1997 )

In 2002 , Q placed eleventh in TV Zone 's list of the top twenty science fiction television villains, along with several other Star Trek characters; the Borg Queen was second, Dukat was fourth, Weyoun was eighth, and Seska was nineteenth. However, despite his listing, Q is not necessarily a villain, but more of an anti-hero.

Along with Quark, Morn , and Evek , Q is one of only four characters to appear in all of the first three Star Trek series based in the 24th century : Star Trek: The Next Generation , Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , and Star Trek: Voyager . Of these four, Q is the only one who did not appear in " Caretaker ".

Of the thirteen Star Trek episodes featuring Q prior to Star Trek: Picard Season 2 , eight of them use the letter "Q" in the title, often forming a pun.

In " Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad ", having Harcourt Fenton Mudd say " Adieu, mon capitaine " to Captain Gabriel Lorca was intended as an homage to Q. [3]

Q was the first character to ever use the word "trek" in a Star Trek film or episode, which he does in the Star Trek: The Next Generation series finale "All Good Things...". However, Zefram Cochrane is the only character to utter the phrase "star trek," doing so in Star Trek: First Contact .

Apocrypha [ ]

According to Q in the String Theory books, omnipotent beings were actually rather fond of games of choice and chance as it was only under those conditions that beings such as Q could feel the thrill of not being in total control.

Besides the character of Trelane having been an inspiration on the conception of Q in reality, they were both featured in Q-Squared , in which Trelane was actually described as a "child" member of the Q Continuum, even implied to be Q's own illegitimate son.

The reason for Q's original interest in Picard in particular was explained in the novel The Buried Age , which also revealed he chose to call himself "Q" as he felt that his original choice of 'The Inquisitor' would be too complicated for Humans to say regularly, speculating that, if ever asked why he called himself 'Q', he would reply, "Because U will always be behind me."

The audio play " Spock Vs. Q: The Sequel " suggested there was at least one individual "above" Q, naming herself "Petunia", who, in the play, seemed to have taken Q's powers and placed him, together with Spock, on an asteroid.

In the novel Q-in-Law , Q meets Lwaxana Troi who developed romantic feelings toward him when the two came to the Enterprise during a significant wedding in 2366. Q used this to his advantage to perform a cruel experiment on the nature of the Human emotion of love and Q briefly shared his vast power with Lwaxana. When Q was finished with his experiment to prove that love made others blind to faults in their chosen partner and fixated on their own desires, citing as proof how Lwaxana had ignored all the warnings that he would do exactly this, he tried to take the power back without success. Lwaxana used her power to thoroughly humiliate Q as he had humiliated her. It was later revealed that Q2 was responsible for preventing Q from removing Lwaxana's powers as a way to teach Q another lesson about interfering in the lives of mortals.

Q returned in the Star Trek: Ongoing story arc The Q Gambit . Beginning shortly after the events of Star Trek: Countdown , Q visits Picard on board the USS Enterprise -E , informing Picard that Spock was still alive and that the black hole he was pulled into actually sent him into an alternate reality . When Q tries to discuss this timeline, Picard cuts him off, believing that the various timelines should remain separate from one another. Annoyed, Q reveals he had come for Picard's counsel as Spock had set off a chain of events that would doom that timeline. But since the former captain was uninterested, Q took his leave for the other timeline despite Picard's attempt to call him back. Materializing aboard the USS Enterprise on Stardate 2261.34 , Q introduces himself to James T. Kirk by way of masquerading as a security officer (and complimenting the shiny aesthetic of the ship).

To test Kirk's established lack of belief in a " no-win scenario ", Q replicates the Kobayashi Maru scenario in an attempt to teach Kirk that no-win scenarios are a reality. Kirk is undaunted and reveals that no matter what, he does not believe in a no-win scenario. Q takes them both back in time to when Kirk died saving the Enterprise . As the two watch the event, Q asks Kirk if this constitutes Kirk beating the ultimate no-win scenario before revealing he will show Kirk a scenario where failure is a certainty. He then sends the Enterprise and its crew over a hundred years into the future where the Federation no longer exists and the Dominion established an alliance with the Cardassian Union and took over the Alpha Quadrant while existing in a state of cold war against the Klingon Empire .

Q sporadically appears to Kirk throughout the adventure, offering vague advice as well as assuring that he and his crew would not be confined to these dire circumstances forever. After Gul Dukat had merged with a Pah-wraith and intended to ascend to godhood, Q finally appears to Kirk and reveals to him the true magnitude of the stakes: The higher species are at war and the Q Continuum is on the verge of defeat. Galvanized by their victory over the Prophets , the Pah-wraiths have turned on their other neighbors. Not even the Q can stop their onslaught because in spite of all the power they wield in the three-dimensional universe , they are as powerless and clueless as Humans in their own realm. Unable to find a path to victory, Q left to seek the counsel of Picard on what action to take. But when he could not get an answer, Q intended to instead seek the counsel of Kirk for his experience in triumphing over no-win scenarios.

When Q, Kirk, Spock , and Sisko are brought aboard the Enterprise as prisoners, Dukat kills Sisko, who transfers the last Prophet to Spock, and Spock then transfers the Prophet into Q through a mind meld . This causes the two to merge into an even more powerful entity, one readily capable of quelling the Pah-wraith threat. After returning the Enterprise and its crew back to their proper places in time and making it so that only Kirk and Spock remember what happened throughout their ordeal, Q returns to Picard to inform him of his latest adventure. Flatly, Picard said he did not want to know.

In " Connection, Part 1 ", Q is mentioned when Kirk switches minds with his prime timeline counterpart and Kirk initially assumes Q was messing with him again, with a confused Chekov asking who Q is.

John de Lancie shared his own origin story for the Q in an interview following the conclusion of his arc in Star Trek: Picard : " I gave myself a story, which was, Plato’s Cave. “There’s a cave with an entrance [that] the sunlight goes through, there are Humans who are chained inside the cave and can only see the wall of the cave. Therefore, everything that goes in front of the cave becomes a projection on the wall. So they are only seeing shadows. Continuing the story, one of them breaks his chains, goes out to the entrance, goes outside, and goes ‘Oh, my God, that is reality – that is truth out there.’ Comes back, [and] tells the Humans, ‘These are just shadows, I’m a philosopher now, I’m giving you the truth.’ And of course, they kill him. So I had in my head, what are the Q? The Q are in fact the [people] who are chained, who watch the wall. We are the witnesses, but we are only seeing the shadows. So what have I done? I’m the one who has broken out. And I’m traipsing through the universe trying to actually get the real deal. That was my backstory. " [4]

Q and the Q Continuum appeared in the following non- canon works:

• Spock Vs. Q
• Spock Vs. Q: The Sequel
• Star Trek: Borg - Experience the Collective
• #9: Requiem
• #13: Gods Above
• The Buried Age
• The Eternal Tide
• Encounter at Farpoint
• All Good Things...
• Q's Guide to the Continuum
• " All Good Things... "
• #3: " Q Factor "
• #4: " Q's Day "
• #5: " Q Affects! "
• #33: " The Way of the Warrior "
• #34: " Devil's Brew! "
• #35: " The Dogs of War "
• #79: " Artificiality "
• #80: " The Abandoned "
• Annual #1: " The Gift "
• Star Trek Unlimited #7: " An Infinite Jest "
• " The Q Gambit, Part 1 "
• " The Q Gambit, Part 2 "
• " The Q Gambit, Part 3 "
• " The Q Gambit, Part 4 "
• " The Q Gambit, Part 5 "
• " The Q Gambit, Part 6 "
• Star Trek: Borg
• Star Trek: The Game Show
• Star Trek: ConQuest Online
• Star Trek Online
• Star Trek Timelines

External links [ ]

• Q at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• Q at Wikipedia
• 1 Daniels (Crewman)
• 3 World War III

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Star trek: ds9 almost made a big change to 2 tng characters.

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Every Star Trek: DS9 & TNG Crossover Ranked Worst To Best

I can’t believe that we’re now living in a star trek: ds9 episode, i think star trek: ds9 actually gets good before worf shows up.

• Deleted dialog in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine would have revealed a connection between Lwaxana Troi and Admiral Nechayev, changing their dynamic in The Next Generation.
• The cut scene would have shown Lwaxana and Nechayev as friends, potentially affecting Admiral Nechayev's relationship with Captain Picard.
• The deleted line about Lwaxana and Nechayev's friendship could have added depth to their characters, showcasing a more relaxed side of Admiral Nechayev.

Deleted dialog from an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine would have drastically changed how viewers perceived two previously unconnected Star Trek: The Next Generation characters. As a spinoff from TNG , it was understandable that DS9 featured many crossover appearances from characters like Q (John de Lancie) and Thomas Riker (Jonathan Frakes). The addition of Michael Dorn to the cast of Deep Space Nine in season 4 further solidified the show's links to TNG and pushed the character of Lt. Commander Worf in new and interesting directions, and allowed TNG characters like Chancellor Gowron to recur.

With the exception of series regular Chief O'Brien (Colm Meaney), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine only featured Star Trek: The Next Generation characters in guest spots before Worf turned up. Two semiregular TNG guest characters were Lwaxana Troi (Majel Barrett) and Admiral Nechayev (Natalia Nogulich), who each appeared in a handful of episodes of DS9 . Troi and Nechayev never shared a scene , but information cut from DS9 season 3, episode 10, "Fascination", directed by Avery Brooks , would have revealed a hitherto unknown link between them.

Star Trek: DS9 had several TNG crossover episodes over the years, with everyone from Thomas Riker to Q passing through the station, but which is best?

Star Trek: DS9 Almost Revealed TNG’s Lwaxana Troi & Admiral Nechayev Were Friends

"...the sister i never had.".

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 3, episode 10, "Fascination" is the first Lwaxana Troi episode since the Federation entered into the Cold War with the Dominion. In the episode, Lwaxana is attending the Bajoran Gratitude Festival, but is really there to comfort Odo (Rene Auberjonois) after he discovered his people were the Founders of the Dominion. The Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion reveals that dialog cut from the shooting script would have explained how Lwaxana came to learn about the Changelings. In the broadcast episode, Odo and Lwaxana's interaction plays out like this:

LWAXANA : Officially I'm here as the Betazoid representative to the Gratitude Festival. But the truth is, I came to see you, you poor sweet tortured man. ODO : Excuse me? LWAXANA : I know the torment you must be going through. To spend your whole life searching for your people only to discover that they're the leaders of that awful Dominion. ODO : You heard about that? LWAXANA : Odo, don't worry. I'm here to help you.

In the shooting script, however, there was a line of dialog about Lwaxana Troi having friends in high places. One of these friends was Admiral Nechayev, whom Lwaxana Troi describes as " the sister I never had. " Although it's a throwaway gag that never made it into the finished episode, the concept of Lwaxana and Nechayev being friends dramatically changes how you see Star Trek: The Next Generation 's Admiral.

How DS9’s Deleted Scene Changes Troi And Nechayev In Star Trek: TNG

"there has been a certain amount of tension between us in the past.".

In each of her Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine appearances, Admiral Nechayev is always portrayed as a tough, no-nonsense authority figure. So much so that in Star Trek: TNG season 7, episode 20, "Journey's End", Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) is desperately trying to repair their working relationship. If DS9 had revealed that Nechayev and Lwaxana Troi were "sisters" then it would shed new light on her antagonistic relationship with Captain Picard. Perhaps Admiral Nechayev is so stern with Captain Picard because of how he had previously spurned Lwaxana Troi's advances.

Despite her initial ambivalence toward him in her first Star Trek: The Next Generation appearance, Lwaxana Troi pursued Picard in "Manhunt", forcing him to take refuge in the holodeck. It's easy to imagine, therefore, that Lwaxana would recount Picard's cowardly behavior over drinks with Admiral Nechayev, coloring her opinion of the Enterprise captain as a result. In many ways, it's a shame that Star Trek: Deep Space Nine cut the line about Lwaxana and Nechayev's friendship as it reveals that, stern as she may be, TNG 's admiral clearly knows how to let her hair down.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

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Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, also known as DS9, is the fourth series in the long-running Sci-Fi franchise, Star Trek. DS9 was created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller, and stars Avery Brooks, René Auberjonois, Terry Farrell, and Cirroc Lofton. This particular series follows a group of individuals in a space station near a planet called Bajor.

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Star Trek: The Next Generation is the third installment in the sci-fi franchise and follows the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew members of the USS Enterprise. Set around one hundred years after the original series, Picard and his crew travel through the galaxy in largely self-contained episodes exploring the crew dynamics and their own political discourse. The series also had several overarching plots that would develop over the course of the isolated episodes, with four films released in tandem with the series to further some of these story elements.

William Shatner thought Star Trek: The Next Generation was initially a mistake

T he entire idea of Star Trek: The Next Generation wasn't welcomed by the diehard Star Trek: The Original Series fans. They weren't interested in a show that didn't have Captain Kirk ( William Shatner ), Spock (Leonard Nimoy), and Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley). In fact, many swore they would never watch it. But they weren't the only ones thinking the series was a mistake.

According to an interview William Shatner gave in Starlog Magazine in 1987 [ via Fandomwire ], he wasn't enthused by the project, either. In fact, he thought there was the possibility of The Next Generation not having the quality that fans were used to.

I think it is a mistake. To call a series Star Trek that doesn’t have the cast and the ship in it is an error. The error seems to me to be overexposure of the Star Trek name and the possibility of not having the Star Trek quality we’ve become accustomed to. It remains to be seen.William Shatner

In all fairness, this is an actor who was (and remains) a big part of Star Trek, especially the beginning. The Original Series movies were successful at the time, and fans would have undoubtedly preferred a newer version of The Original Series rather than a series starting from scratch. The only thing familiar about The Next Generation was the Enterprise, and though the ship is a character in an of itself, most everyone felt that the ship needed the other characters to make the show succesful.

You can't fault someone for believing the powers-that-be were making a mistake. Even several of The Next Generation actors themselves didn't believe the show would last very long so Shatner was just saying what the fans were saying. The only difference is they didn't have a public platform like Shatner did.

This article was originally published on redshirtsalwaysdie.com as William Shatner thought Star Trek: The Next Generation was initially a mistake .

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

Episode list

Star trek: the next generation.

S1.E1 ∙ Encounter at Farpoint

S1.E2 ∙ The Naked Now

S1.E3 ∙ Code of Honor

S1.E4 ∙ The Last Outpost

S1.E5 ∙ Where No One Has Gone Before

S1.E6 ∙ Lonely Among Us

S1.E7 ∙ Justice

S1.E8 ∙ The Battle

S1.E9 ∙ Hide and Q

S1.E10 ∙ Haven

S1.E11 ∙ The Big Goodbye

S1.E12 ∙ Datalore

S1.E13 ∙ Angel One

S1.E14 ∙ 11001001

S1.E15 ∙ Too Short a Season

S1.E16 ∙ When the Bough Breaks

S1.E17 ∙ Home Soil

S1.E18 ∙ Coming of Age

S1.E19 ∙ Heart of Glory

S1.E20 ∙ The Arsenal of Freedom

S1.E21 ∙ Symbiosis

S1.E22 ∙ Skin of Evil

S1.E23 ∙ We'll Always Have Paris

S1.E24 ∙ Conspiracy

S1.E25 ∙ The Neutral Zone

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The Star Trek: Voyager Sequel You’ve Always Wanted Already Exists

The story of Star Trek: Voyager continues in Prodigy, the animated series that is as much for fans of '90s Trek as it is for a new generation of fans.

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Star Trek is an ever-growing franchise, with 11 television series, plus two series of shorts and two separate film series. But despite all these spinoffs and spinoffs of spinoffs, only a couple of branches of the franchise have been given sequels. The Original Series has The Animated Series as a continuation, then its run of six sequel movies (seven, if you include Generations ), plus a prequel series ( Strange New Worlds ); and The Next Generation has four films and a sequel series ( Picard ), plus a spiritual sequel in Lower Decks . But Deep Space Nine has had to make do with a single episode of Lower Decks and Enterprise gets nothing but the occasional mention as easter eggs.

Voyager , however, has been more fortunate. The inclusion of Seven of Nine as a main character in Picard has already given at least one Voyager character the full sequel treatment, but some fans might not realize that there is another series that functions as a Voyager sequel in more ways than one— Star Trek: Prodigy .

Prodigy’s Two Audiences

One of Prodigy ’s biggest challenges has been to capture the interest of two separate target audiences. The series was produced with and also aired on the children’s channel Nickelodeon, and is aimed at children and teenagers. This also means it is aimed at new viewers, as no one assumes that children watching it will have seen any Star Trek before. The series introduces core concepts like what Starfleet is and how starships function in the Trek universe to brand new fans, and it does so very well.

However, it is also aimed at existing Star Trek fans of all ages. Season 1 of the show includes many callbacks and references to earlier Star Trek series that fans of those shows can appreciate. The episode “Crossroads,” for example, is a sequel to The Next Generation’ s “The Outrageous Okona”; “All the World’s a Stage” is a sequel to the Original Series ’ “Obsession” and the whole episode is basically an Original Series homage; and “Kobayashi” hasn’t just taken its name from the most overly referenced Star Trek story of all time ( The Wrath of Khan ), it actually features guest appearances from several past Star Trek stars who are no longer with us in the form of original audio clips (Leonard Nimoy, Nichelle Nichols, James Doohan, and Rene Auberjonois) and a guest appearance from Gates McFadden as The Next Generation ’s Doctor Crusher in newly recorded dialogue.

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Prodigy Features Several Main Characters From Voyager

Most fans will be aware that one of its main characters is a hologram of Voyager ’s Captain and main character, Kathryn Janeway, played by Kate Mulgrew. Janeway primarily appears in the form of a hologram of Captain Janeway at around the age she was when Voyager was lost in the Delta Quadrant (based on her rank, as she was promoted to Admiral not long after they got back, and on her hairstyle, which matches Janeway’s famous “bun of steel” from Seasons 1-3 of Voyager ). This hologram is programmed with all of Janeway’s memories (including post- Voyager , as it would hardly make sense for her to exist like a time traveler who doesn’t know what’s going on) and with her personality, making Kathryn Janeway an integral part of Prodigy from the start.

What viewers who have not watched the series might not know, though, is that hologram Janeway is not the only character from Voyager who appears in Prodigy . As the season goes on, we also get to meet Admiral Janeway—the flesh and blood Janeway we followed for seven years on her journey through the Delta Quadrant, as she is at the time Prodigy is set, which is in the year 2383. (This is just after the setting of Lower Decks , which is set in 2380-2381, and a couple of decades before Picard , which is set primarily in 2399-2401). As the storyline develops, we get to meet another main character from Voyager as well, and a third, Robert Picardo’s Doctor, is lined up to appear in season 2.

One thing grown up fans might not realize is that Prodigy is aimed at middle grade and teenage children. It’s not like some other animated spin-offs of major franchises, like Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures or Marvel’s Spidey and His Amazing Friends , which are aimed at pre-schoolers and which, although fun, don’t have all that much appeal to an adult audience. Prodigy may be animated, but it is much more similar to something like The Whoniverse’s The Sarah Jane Adventures ; the lead characters are children and teenagers, but the plot, tone, and themes are all sophisticated enough to be enjoyed by grown ups as well—in fact, Prodigy probably skews slightly older even than The Sarah Jane Adventures .

This means, among other things, that the adult and mentor characters—primarily Janeway—in Prodigy get as much attention and character development as the young leads. The Captain Janeway hologram has a lovely little story arc that builds to an emotional climax across the whole of season 1. But even more importantly for Voyager fans, Admiral Janeway has her own story arc going on as well. Over the course of the season, we see her reacting to a deeply personal loss, and we see some of her most notorious character traits playing out in a new setting—this Janeway may be older and rank higher, but she still leads with her heart, and she still makes mistakes sometimes when she trusts the wrong person, or jumps to conclusions. This is recognizably the character we know and love from Voyager !

Towards the end of the season and in the cliffhanger going into season 2, Prodigy also picks up on one of Voyager ’s best character relationships, which was notoriously neglected in the original show’s series finale—Janeway’s relationship with her First Officer, Chakotay (Robert Beltran). These two were one of the show’s most popular couples to “ship” romantically and the show itself dedicated at least two episodes to that idea (season 2’s “Resolutions” and Season 7’s “Shattered”) though in both cases they decided to stay just friends. Chakotay was paired with Seven of Nine towards the end of season 7, but that pairing was so unpopular with both fans and even the actors that it has never been mentioned again, and a suggested appearance from an alternate timeline version of Chakotay in Picard season 2 was turned down by Beltran .

Chakotay has made several guest appearances in Prodigy , though, including a flashback sequence that shows him and Admiral Janeway hugging, and there is a moment towards the end of the season in which Janeway is seen reaching out towards his image while he is missing in action. Since Prodigy is aimed at teenagers, not young children, it’s free to explore romantic storylines in a family-friendly way, and one of its recurring threads is the somewhat romantic tension between its main character Dal R’El (Brett Gray) and Gwyndala (Ella Purnell), so there is hope for Janeway/Chakotay shippers yet.

Whether or not the show intends to develop Janeway and Chakotay’s relationship romantically, it is certainly bringing their friendship to the front and center of its storyline—he cliffhanger which ended season 1 is built entirely around Admiral Janeway’s determination to find and rescue Chakotay. In other words, all of the tension around the end of the first season of Prodigy is about this central Voyager relationship and is carrying on a Voyager plot thread. Thank goodness Netflix has picked up season 2 after it was dropped by Paramount+, as having that particular carrot dangled in front of Voyager fans only to have it taken away again was just too cruel!

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Prodigy Is Also a Sequel to Voyager’s Plot and Story Arcs

Prodigy also functions as a continuation of Voyager ’s central concept and is able to pick up on other aspects of its story. In Voyager ’s pilot episode, the ship was stranded in the Delta Quadrant, a distant part of the galaxy more than 70,000 light years from Earth, a distance it would take “more than 75 years” to cover, even going at top speed all the time. The series followed the ship’s journey back home, combining Trek’ s traditional theme of exploration with episodes centered around trying to find a quicker way to get back. It featured a crew that had absorbed a non-Starfleet Maquis ship (a resistance group fighting the Cardassians) alongside the Starfleet crew.

The show became notorious for using an episodic style similar to The Original Series and The Next Generation rather than leaning more on its story arcs like Deep Space Nine as many fans would have preferred, and the concept of two conflicting crews working together was largely ignored after a handful of episodes in season 1. However, the ideas were still there, driving the show. There were occasional stories looking at the conflicts between crewmembers in later seasons, like season 7’s “Repression,” and although the format was primarily Space Anomaly of the Week, the journey home was a story that developed across all seven seasons, with multiple episodes focused on attempts to get home more quickly.

The Delta Quadrant setting also allowed Voyager to put a lot of focus on exploration and Original Series -style Planets of the Week, introducing viewers to lots of new alien species that the show added to the Star Trek universe. The Talaxians, the Kazon, the Hirogen, the Vidiians, and the Malon are probably the most memorable, but there were many others, as well as many interactions with Delta Quadrant-based Next Generation baddies the Borg .

The core concept of Prodigy follows on directly from Voyager ’s. In the pilot episode, we meet our motley crew of young aliens in the Tars Lamora prison colony in the Delta Quadrant. They are all of different races and one of them, Gwyndala, is initially an antagonist to the others, just like Voyager ’s two opposing crews.

By the end of the initial two-parter, our heroes have got their hands on the USS Protostar , a prototype for a small Starfleet ship that can travel much, much faster than any others we have seen. The ship was sent out to return to the Delta Quadrant, captained by Chakotay and accompanied by the Captain Janeway hologram, because they are the experts in that part of the galaxy and already have some contacts there, but it was attacked and lost before being found by Dal R’El and the others.

The Show Is Full of Voyager References and Easter Eggs

The action kicks off in the Delta Quadrant, picking up the pieces from a mission that was specifically designed to follow up on Voyager ’s journey. Over the course of season 1, we have seen appearances from the Kazon, the Borg, and the Brenari (a telepathic species whose refugees were helped by Voyager ’s crew in season 5’s “Counterpoint”), and we have heard references to the Talaxians as well as a more obscure Voyager species, such as the Sakari (the species living underground in season 3’s “Blood Fever”). Janeway has even mentioned the events of Voyager ’s most infamous episode, one so unpopular on its initial release that fans thought it had been written out of the continuity, but which is actually really rather fun and entertaining and is now probably one of its best known hours—she mentions that she was “once turned into a salamander,” a reference to her and Lt. Paris’s (Robert Duncan McNeil) transformation into lizards before abandoning their lizard babies in season 2’s “Threshold.”

The writers have even given the Protostar a new feature to fix one of Voyager ’s most notorious plot holes. The USS Voyager was lost in the Delta Quadrant with minimal resources, and several episodes revolved around the search for deuterium fuel. And yet somehow, despite numerous shuttlecraft crashes, many of which were specifically described as having destroyed the shuttlecraft, the ship never seemed to run out of shuttles.

Starfleet ships of this era are generally equipped with two shuttlecraft, as was Voyager , plus they had Neelix’s (Ethan Phillips) ship, which they hardly ever used. In season 5, they built their own shuttle, the Delta Flyer, which they proceeded to crash just as often as the other shuttles, if not more so. And yet they never ever ran out. Entire websites were devoted to counting how many shuttlecraft Voyager had lost and apparently replaced with identical shuttles. Were the crewmembers Janeway didn’t like trapped in the bowels of the ship somewhere, building and re-building shuttles? Why did they build them exactly the same every time, and keep giving them the same names? How were they constantly running out of fuel, having to ration replicator food, forcing everyone to eat Neelix’s hair pasta and leola root stew because they didn’t have energy to spare, but they were able to keep up a constant stream of replicated shuttles? This mystery has never been solved, but the writers of Prodigy thought ahead—the Protostar has a replicator specifically designed to replicate shuttlecraft-sized vehicles.

Voyager is not the only Star Trek series referenced in Prodigy . The show is absolutely bursting with references, easter Eggs, and follow-ups to stories, species, and tech from all of the pre-2017 Star Trek series. But its plot, setup, and story and character development make it not just a “spiritual sequel” to Star Trek: Voyager —it is literally a sequel series to Voyager , continuing Voyager ’s plot threads and further developing its setting. If you’re a Star Trek: Voyager fan and you haven’t yet watched Prodigy , you’re missing out.

Star Trek: Prodigy season 3 hits Netflix on July 1.

Juliette Harrisson | @ClassicalJG

Juliette Harrisson is a writer and historian, and a lifelong Trekkie whose childhood heroes were JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis. She runs a YouTube channel called…