Monday, March 13, 2017

Star Trek: The Next Generation - Episode 61 (Déjà Q)

Note:  This review was originally posted to my Epinions account.


Q isn’t very well liked among the bridge crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise. You see, he’s this omnipotent being that put humanity on trial and used the bridge crew specifically to answer for the crimes of their species. Now, all of a sudden, Q drops in and claims that he’s lost his powers. Because of all the trouble that he’s caused humanity, he’s been kicked out of the Q Continuum. He chose to be human and deposited on the Enterprise.

Normally, it would have been funny. However, the Enterprise is in the middle of an important mission. The orbit of a moon has destabilized and it’s going to crash into the planet that it normally orbits. When that happens, we’re talking mass extinction. Considering that Q has caused the Enterprise so much trouble, it looks like Q destabilized the moon and dropped in to watch everyone squirm.

All becomes clear when the Calamarains arrive. They’re another race that Q apparently toyed with; now, they want revenge. Q was apparently hoping for protection. The Enterprise tries its best, but ultimately can’t fend off the Calamarains. Q eventually realizes that he can’t stay; if he does, the Enterprise will be destroyed.

Those that haven’t seen the series up to this point aren’t going to understand the animosity that the bridge crew feels for Q. The Enterprise is basically forced to protect one of its enemies. Plus, the problem with being omnipotent, it’s hard to prove that you’re no longer all-powerful. How does Q prove that he’s really human?

Data, the android observer of humanity, gets to play teacher about all that he’s learned about humanity with Q as his reluctant student. It’s kind of ironic since Data really doesn’t fully understand humanity, himself. This is also something that someone might not fully appreciate if they haven’t seen the series.

During the run of The Next Generation, I always liked the Q episodes. The only drawback was that the names were difficult to remember. With the exception of “Encounter at Farpoint” and “All Good Things…”, all of the episodes that feature Q have Q in the title. For instance, this one is called Deja Q.

I can’t say that I’d recommend this episode to everyone, but I could see buying this episode if I was looking to start a collection. Normally, Q is brought in to basically toy with the crew of the Enterprise. Q is forced to grow a little in this episode, even if there is some question as to whether or not he’s really integrated that grown into his character.


IMDb page

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