Deja Q (episode)

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"Deja Q"
TNG, Episode 3x13
Production number: 40273-161
First aired: 5 February 1990
←  60th of 176 produced in TNG  →
←  60th of 176 released in TNG  →
←  167th of 911 released in all  →

Q is seeking asylum on the Enterprise after he has been thrown out of the Continuum and stripped of his powers.

Summary

Teaser

The USS Enterprise-D is called to Bre'el IV to help them with their moon that is falling out of orbit and threatening the planet. As they are trying to find a way to get the moon back into its orbit, Q suddenly drops in, literally, and Picard jumps to the conclusion that Q is responsible for what is happening to the Bre'el.

Act One

However, Q reveals that he had nothing to do with it and that he has been stripped off his powers and was given the choice to be turned into anything he so desires, as long as it was mortal. He chooses to be Human and sent to the Enterprise because out of all the universe he considers 'Jean-Luc' the closest thing to a friend. When a desperate Q practically begs to know what he can do to convince the crew that he has lost his powers, Worf succinctly suggests that he die.

Counselor Troi confirms that she can sense emotions from Q which reveal that he is terrified. While not believing Q entirely, Picard has Worf throw him into the brig for safekeeping. Moments later, broadband emissions illuminate the Enterprise until they shrink down to sneak into the brig, where Q has fallen asleep.

Act Two

Picard is suspicious of Q's motives and keeps asking him to stop torturing these people and get their moon back. Q insists that he has nothing to do with it and finally convinces Picard that he can help return the moon to its natural orbit with his knowledge of spatial phenomena from all over the universe. Picard, still in doubt that Q is Human, releases him from the brig and assigns Data to keep him out of trouble.

In engineering, Q is not very helpful, as he complains mainly about his limited abilities as a human and makes suggestions that no one on the Enterprise with their current level of scientific knowledge can follow. Still thinking as a Q, he suggests to Geordi that he just change the gravitational constant of the universe, thereby altering the mass of the object. That suggestion is quickly dismissed as impossible, since clearly they cannot change the gravitational constant of the universe. However, Geordi realizes that even though they cannot change the gravitational constant of the universe, they could wrap a low level warp field around the moon, reducing its gravitational constant, making it lighter so they can push it. Q is glad he could help and then suddenly starts complaining about back-pain and a noisy stomach that, as Doctor Crusher tells him, is probably a sign that he is hungry.

Data takes Q to Ten Forward where he suggests something chocolate as it is Deanna Troi's favorite food when she's in a bad mood. Q orders ten chocolate sundaes, since he certainly is in a really bad mood. Guinan enters, which gives Q a sense of uneasiness as this is not a moment he was looking forward to. Data explains Q's transformation to Guinan, who stabs him with a fork to test if he's really human. The encounter understandably causes Q to lose his appetite, so he is unable to enjoy his huge chocolate treat. He warns them of Guinan as being a dangerous creature.

While Q sulks miserably in Ten Forward, the Calamarain, a species Q tormented in the past, tries to kill Q to return the favor. The crew is able to repel them and Q screams for help, while Guinan looks down on him and says, "How the mighty have fallen."

Act Three

While elaborating about the Calamarain, Q is forced to admit that for all his protestations of friendship, his real reason for being on the Enterprise is protection from all the enemies he made as an omnipotent being.

Nonetheless, his knowledge is still useful in the task of moving the moon. During their attempt to surround the moon in a subspace field, the Calamarain attack again, nearly killing Q. Data intervenes at great peril to himself, and though he saves Q, he himself is injured.

Act Four

Q comes to the conclusion that being human has made him a miserable coward, so he goes to thank Data for saving him, and tells him that Data made a better Human than he does. Q figures the ship and planet will never be safe so long as he is on board the Enterprise, so he takes a shuttlecraft and leaves the ship to distract the Calamarain.

Act Five

All attempts to rescue Q fail as Q2, who had Q stripped of his powers and was watching him to see how he reacted, disables the tractor beam, transporters, shields, etc. He pops in to see Q and says that his display of selflessness has convinced him to give Q's powers back so long as he behaves himself.

Q is about to seek revenge on the Calamarain, but Q2 pops in again, so Q puts the Calamarain back, blowing them out like a candle. He appears on the bridge with a mariachi band, cigars, and a pair of scantily-clad women to celebrate. The crew rejects his thanks and Q leaves, vowing to return the favor sometime soon. Upon his departure Q leaves Data a little going-away present - not using his powers to make him human as Data suspects, but allowing him to experience laughter for a few surreal moments. Also it emerges that, as a final gesture of thanks, Q has returned Bre'el IV's errant moon to its correct orbit. But as Picard says there may be a residue of Humanity in Q, he appears as a cigar in Picard's hand and tells him not to bet on it.

Memorable Quotes

"Q!"
"Red alert!"

- Picard and Q, after Q appears on the bridge naked

"Perhaps there is a... residue of Humanity in Q after all."
"Don't bet on it, Picard."

- Jean-Luc Picard and Q, who mischievously causes a lit cigar to materialize in Picard's hand

"But I'm mortal! What must I do to convince you?"
"Die."
"Oh, very clever, Worf. Eat any good books lately?"

- Q and Worf

"What are you looking at?"
"I was considering the possibility that you are telling the truth, that you really are Human."
"It's the ghastly truth, Mr. Data. I can now stub my toe with the best of them."
"An irony. It means that you have achieved in disgrace what I have always aspired to be."

- Q and Data • Listen to this quote ^file info

"Simple: Change the gravitational constant of the universe."
"What?"
"Change the gravitational constant of the universe, thereby altering the mass of the asteroid."
"Redefine gravity. And how the hell am I supposed to do that?"
"You just DO it. GAHH! Where's that doctor, anyway?"
"Geordi is trying to say that changing the gravitational constant of the universe is beyond our capabilities."
"Well, then... never mind."

- Q, La Forge, and Data

"Not bad, Q. Not great, but not bad."
"Q!"
"Ah! Sacrificing yourself for these Humans? Do I detect a little selfless act?"
"You flatter me. I was only trying to put an end to a miserable existence."
"Ugh, what a dreadful color!"
"Yeah..."

- Q2 and Q

"Well, I suppose that is the end of Q."
"Au contraire, mon capitan! He's back!"

- Picard and Q

"I'm immortal again! I'm omnipotent again!"
"Swell."

- Q and Riker, after Q appears on the bridge, and blares a trumpet with a mariachi band

"I don't need your fantasy women!"
"Oh, you're so stolid. You weren't like that before the beard!"

- Q and Riker, after Q appears on the bridge and surrounds Riker with scantily-clad females

"Q!"
"But I feel like celebrating!"
"I DON'T!"

- Picard and Q, in response to lit cigars and the mariachi band

"Data, I've decided to give you something very, very special."
"If your intention is to make me Human..."
"No, no, no, no, no, no I would never curse you by making you Human. Think of it as a going-away present..."

- Q and Data

"Data, why are you laughing?"
"I do not know. But it was a wonderful... feeling."

- La Forge and Data

"I know human beings. They are all sopping over with compassion and forgiveness. They can't wait to absolve almost any offense. It's an inherent weakness of breed."

- Q

"There are creatures in the universe who would consider you the ultimate achievement, android. No feelings, no emotions, no pain – and yet you covet those qualities of Humanity. Believe me, you're missing nothing. But if it means anything to you, you're a better Human than I."

- Q, talking to the disabled Data

"This goes against my better judgment. Transporter room three, lock on to shuttle one. Beam it back into its bay."
"Aye, Captain."
(to Riker) "It's a perfectly good shuttlecraft."

- Captain Picard and a transporter chief, after Q escapes in a shuttlecraft

Background

Story and production

• Michael Piller recalled, "Our first take on it was that Q lost his powers, came on board and we developed a whole story about how we were about to come into a war with the Klingons. It turns out that Q didn't really lose his powers after all, he was just playing with us and pulling our strings just so that he could make himself a hero, become an officer and prove his value. It wasn't a bad story, but ultimately we sat down with Gene and Rick, and Gene said, 'If you're going to do a story – Godlike and brought to Earth – then do it. Do a story about what it's like to lose everything that you are and having to discover your own humanity.' He kind of threw cold water on us and suggested we do it straight forward and that's what we did. We made it a comedy, we made it fun, but I think it has some extraordinary things to say about humanity." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages)
• Melinda Snodgrass remarked, "I always think of Q as Loki. He's chaos. Maury Hurley always thought Q was here to teach us a lesson, to guide and instruct us. I can understand that to some extent, but I really see him as a mischief maker. He really just wants to fold Picard's head." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages)
• John de Lancie considered the bridge scenes of this episode among his hardest to film. His simulated trumpet playing took several takes, and with no way found to fake the scene in which he appears suspended in the nude, he had to do it au naturel. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion)
• The Mariachi band was playing the folk-song "La Paloma". The English version is called "No More" , and was made popular by Elvis Presley in the movie "Blue Hawaii" (1961).

Continuity

• This episode marks the first appearance by another member of the Q Continuum (Q2) besides "our" Q. Other members of the Continuum would later appear in "True Q" and various episodes of Star Trek: Voyager.

Props and costumes

• A Bre'el IV scientist costume was auctioned off in the It's A Wrap! sale and auction. The tag mistakenly states that it was for use of portraying a "Calamarain Scientist". This is an error as the Calamarains were shown as non-corporeal.
• Among the costumes and props from this episode which were sold off on the It's A Wrap! sale and auction on eBay, was Sandra Wild's costume which was re-used in further Trek episodes such as Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's "Sanctuary" as the dress Haneek found more than ugly. [1]

Awards

• This episode was nominated for Emmy Awards for Outstanding Editing for a Series - Single Camera Production (Robert Lederman) and for Outstanding Achievement in Special Visual Effects.

Video and DVD releases

• Original UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 31, 6 December 1991
• As part of the UK VHS collection Star Trek: The Next Generation - Q Continuum: 5 December 1994
• As part of the US VHS collection Star Trek: The Next Generation - Q Continuum: 8 September 1998
• UK re-release (three-episode tapes, Paramount Home Entertainment): Volume 3.5, 3 July 2000
• As part of the TNG Season 3 DVD collection
• As part of the Star Trek: Fan Collective - Q collection

Links and references

Guest stars

• John de Lancie as Q
• Corbin Bernsen as Q2
• Whoopi Goldberg as Guinan
• Richard Cansino as Garin
• Betty Muramoto as a Bre'el IV scientist

Uncredited co-stars

• Michael Braveheart as Martinez
• Benny Gong as a Bre'el IV scientist
• Guy Vardaman as Darien Wallace
• Sandra Wild as a fantasy woman
• Unknown actress as a fantasy woman

References

ant; Belzoidian flea; berthold rays; black hole; Bre'el IV; Bre'el IV moon; Bre'el IV native; Calamarain; chocolate; chocolate sundae; Deltived asteroid belt; delta-vee; earthquake; father confessor; gravitational constant; Markoffian sea lizard; Nigala IV; perigee; plasma; Q Continuum; Sakharov; silicon; suicide; tachyons; tractor beam; tricycle; tsunami; type-7 shuttlecraft; warp field

Previous episode: "The High Ground"

Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 3

Next episode: "A Matter of Perspective"