Q (star Trek) Article Index for
Q
 

Information About

Q (star Trek)




  Image Q_portraitjpg
  Caption Q takes many guises this is just one of the ways he appeared in the episode " Tapestry ", where he appeared as " God " to Picard
  Size 250px
  Species Q
  Gender Q (appears Male )
  Hair Color brown (by Q's preference)
  Eye Color brown (by Q's preference)
  Birth unknown approximately 137 BYA (ie, since the Big Bang )
  Planet unknown
  Position Q
  Portrayed John De Lancie , and others (as different Q)


In the '' (see below).

The most notable of these is Q as played by John De Lancie , a mischievous Q who periodically harasses the crews of Starship s and Space Station s. He also has a flair for the dramatic, whisking away the crew to exotic locations, engaging in elaborate speeches, and snapping his fingers to engender many of his manifestations.

Other members of the Continuum featured on the series are Q's spouse Q, their son '''q''' (called ''Junior'' or ''Little Q'' by his father, and signified by a lowercase q in writing), '''Q2''' who is a friend of Q (not to be confused with '''Q2''', the now-teenaged "Little Q" in the ''Voyager'' episode of the same title), '''Quinn''' - a rogue Q who demands to be allowed to commit Suicide , and Amanda Rogers who was raised like a human but eventually discovered her true identity. Fans have speculated that Trelane from the original series episode " The Squire Of Gothos " was also a Q.

Some episodes have suggested that the Q Evolved since the Big Bang to their current state, and that possibly they were like Human s very early on. One member of the Q once referred to a "New Era" among the Continuum, during which an important change occurred in the species. No further details were given, although the New Era may have been the time at which the ancient Q finally abandoned their material bodies and became incorporeal about 10,000 B.C. It has been suggested by Quinn that when the Q gave up their physicality and achieved their godlike powers, they also gave up any chance of growth or evolution since change was unnecessary.

Q is one of the most beloved recurring characters on '' to anger, and attempted to win the romantic affections of Kathryn Janeway , in both cases purely for his own amusement.

Q began the series as a villain, who threatened all of humanity with annihilation. In later episodes he became more of a Trickster , although there was always a reason for his presence. Q evolved over time into a sympathetic, and sometimes even pitiable character. In one Season 3 episode, " Déjà Q ", Q is punished by the Continuum by being turned into a mortal, in this case a (by his own choosing) human on board the Enterprise.

Toward the end of the Next Generation series, Q is less antagonistic towards Picard, even, in the episode " Tapestry " apparently saving Picard's life and helping the captain to understand himself better. In the final episode of the series, " All Good Things... ", Q seems to have reverted to his previous villainy, ruling the human race inferior and threatening their destruction, but he does give Picard a "helping hand" in saving humanity, something for which Picard expresses thanks. This unchanged attitude by Q may be explainable by what he said in "All Good Things...", "The trial never ended, Captain. We never reached a verdict. But, now we have: you're guilty...of being inferior" This would seem to indicate that from Q's point of view, the two episodes were contiguous.

In Q's later appearances on '') featured the first recorded visit by outsiders to the Q Continuum – the Q were surprised at this, as they usually do not get visitors. The native appearance of the Continuum is completely unknown to outsiders, as most non-Q would be unable to perceive or understand it. Upon such visits by humans, the Continuum decided that reinterpretations would be used to make it comprehensible, appearing as a Truck Stop on a desert road, a Civil War battlefield, and other forms.

The relationship between Q and Picard is often misunderstood. They don't completely hate each other; in fact in the episode Déjà Q, Q said that Picard was "the closest thing in this universe that I have to a friend".


TRIVIA


  • In his portrayal of Q, John de Lancie used as his inspiration a description attributed to Lord Byron : "Mad, bad and dangerous to know."

  • The letter Q was chosen for the character/race name by Gene Roddenberry , in honor of his friend Janet Quarton.

  • In his first appearance - '' - Q briefly assumes the uniform of a U.S. Marine . Q's Marine uniform and insignia are identical to the uniform worn by a real Marine - Oliver North .

  • In All Good Things... , Q became the first Star Trek character ever to use the word "trek" in dialogue.

  • In Q claimed his name was "short for Q". Conversely, in the radio drama Spock Vs. Q , he claimed his full name was two light years long and that he'd "love to pronounce it for you, but explaining Cold Fusion would be easier."

  • In the Voyager episode Q2 , Q introduced his son (Q Junior) who is actually played by Keegan De Lancie , John De Lancie 's real-life son.

  • Episodes featuring Q often have titles based on wordplays (for example, "Q-pid")



EPISODES FEATURING ONE OR MORE Q

and All Good Things... ]]

† Note: Many fans have speculated that Squire Trelane was a Q; this formed the basis for Peter David 's book '' Q-Squared ''. However, this link is only Speculation , not Canon .


EXTERNAL LINKS



  • Q Rules! - An Unauthorized History by Atara Stein