61 – Déjà Q

Grade: B

Summary

Q returns in this episode, claiming to have been exiled from the Q Continuum, and that he has been made human. Meanwhile, a moon is on a collision course with a planet within the Federation, and the Enterprise is sent to help.

Commentary

Of all the recurring guest characters in the Star Trek franchise, Q is definitely among my favorites. In this episode, he is his usual crazy self, getting into mischief and burning bridges with the Enterprise crew along the way. But he really is a great outside character because he pokes fun at the franchise with statements like “please, don’t fall back on your tired cliché of charging to the rescue just in the nick of time.”

One of the best lines in the entire TV series is when Q asks what he has to do to prove he is mortal and Worf says “die.” Fantastic. Another great line is when Data tells Q, “you have achieved in disgrace what I have always aspired to be.” One other great line is when Q tells Picard, “You only dislike me. There are those in the universe who truly despise me.” The writing in this episode is just outstanding.

One of my other favorite scenes is when Q talks to Data, who is in repair and can’t talk yet. During that conversation, Q tells Data, “you’re a better human than I am.” It’s great stuff.

Oh yeah, there’s the little notion of the runaway moon, which is about to crash into a planet. The storyline doesn’t do much with this, but then again, this really is a secondary issue. The main point of the episode is the character development of one of its greatest guests.

Overall, though, there are some bits of overacting and some assorted oddities, but overall, it’s an excellent episode.

Of Note

Corbin Bernsen has a small cameo in this episode as someone from the Q Continuum. He does a great job, but then again, these ominpotent characters are so great that who couldn’t do a good job?