“Déjà Q”
Written by Richard Danus
Directed by Les Landau
Season 3, Episode 13
Original air date: February 5, 1990
Star date: 43539.1
Mission summary
Enterprise is rendering assistance to Bre’el IV, which is about to say “goodnight, moon”— an asteroidal body on a decaying orbit will slam into the planet in twenty-nine hours unless they can devise a way to shove it back where it belongs. It’s just too damn big for the tractor beams to nudge it, which La Forge eloquently compares to “an ant pushing a tricycle.” To further complicate the situation, they’re paid an unexpected visit by an old adversary: Q literally drops in on the Bridge, in the buff. He smirks and greets them with, “Red alert.”
Q has apparently been stripped of his powers as well as his clothes; he tries to convince them that he’s been banished from the Q Continuum and trapped in human form, but strangely enough, no one believes him. Picard surmises that Q is behind the moon’s inexplicable behavior and that this is all another trick to test them. Just to be safe, he tosses the frustrated Q into the brig. While he rests there, the ship is scanned by intense Berthold radiation, and the probe takes a particular interest in Q.
Determined to prove his worth to Picard, Q offers his services to help them figure out how to save Bre’el IV; though he lacks his omnipotent powers, he’s still a super genius, after all. Picard assigns Data the thankless task of chaperoning their doubtful guest, and the two of them compare notes on what it means to be human. Data says, “You have achieved in disgrace what I have always aspired to be,” and expresses his curiosity over what it would be like to experience emotion.
In Engineering, Q does inadvertently inspire a solution to La Forge, who theorizes that the ship could push the moon with the tractor beam if they can decrease its mass enough by extending their warp field around it. Meanwhile, Q wrestles with the realities of mortality and a corporeal existence: first he injures his back, then he gets hungry. The latter forces an interaction with a delighted Guinan who cheerfully proves he’s telling the truth about being human by sticking a fork in him. Q is nearly finished off when an alien race of ionized gases, the Calamarain, attack him in Ten Forward. Data holds onto him as they try to whisk him off and suffers serious damage.
Q’s help may not be worth keeping him around; now that he’s mortal, some of the other beings he has annoyed in the past are out for revenge. Picard surmises that Q chose to be exiled to Enterprise because he knew they would protect him. With the Calamarain waiting around for another attempt to kill him, and preventing the ship from lassoing the moon with a warp field, Picard really doesn’t have time to deal with Q.
But Q was unexpectedly touched by Data’s willingness to sacrifice himself and can’t bear to live on as a human, so he steals a shuttlecraft to lure off the Calamarain and meet his end. Enterprise tries to save him, but another Q prevents their efforts; after realizing that Q1 was committing a selfless act, Q2 has decided to restore his powers, on probation.
Jubilant and omnipotent once more, Q returns to Enterprise to lavish them with cigars, music, and women. As a going away present, he allows Data to briefly experience a true emotion: a spontaneous, uncontrolled fit of laughter. He also delivers a timely deus ex machina by hanging the moon back in the sky. Picard seems perturbed by the thought that “perhaps there’s a residue of humanity in Q after all.” Q delivers a final message, along with a burning cigar: “Don’t bet on it.”
Analysis
I have the nagging feeling that I’ve seen this one before… “Déjà Q” was always one of my favorite episodes, and it’s still highly enjoyable. Though this firmly establishes itself as a comedic episode, typical of most Q episodes, it also deals with some weighty issues: the matter of moving a ginormous, heavy moon, anyway. (Coincidentally, I also just re-watched the film Deep Impact for the first time since it was released, in which no one suggested changing the gravitational constant of the universe to alter the course of the asteroid.)
The “serious” question of what it means to be human is mostly played for laughs, with the only gravitas coming from Data’s lament that he lacks emotions. I would have enjoyed the setup of the android showing Q what it was like to be human more if it hadn’t been directly stated in dialogue, but then we know this show doesn’t excel at subtlety. Still, they had some unexpectedly endearing interactions, and Q’s “gift” to Data is actually a very nice gesture—unlike his other gifts. Half the fun is watching Picard’s utter exasperation, Riker’s annoyance, and especially Dr. Crusher’s undisguised contempt for Q throughout the episode. (Another neat touch: Q reminds us again that Dr. Crusher was away at Starfleet and has recently returned to Enterprise.)
So some of the gags fell a little flat for me this time around, especially the last bit with the cigar and the cheesy face in the smoke, but overall this episode continues to be quotable, with many of my favorite lines from the series—which work especially well when uttered by John de Lancie. Seeing Corbin Bernsen’s performance as another Q only highlights just how talented de Lancie is, though he of course originated the role and had a bit more practice with it. I was always intrigued by Guinan’s interactions with Q and the suggestion that there’s a lot more to her and that they’ve crossed paths before, but unfortunately this was never explored.
The only other unresolved issue from this episode is what altered the moon’s orbit in the first place? Q suggested that it was a passing black hole, which seems as feasible as anything else, but I wonder if the Q Continuum has engineered this whole situation to test Q, which has an element of poetic justice to it.
Eugene’s Rating: Warp 4 (on a scale of 1-6)
Thread Alert: For once, the show seems to be trying to make the ugliest costume possible, but even so, Q’s green and gray jumpsuit is not the worst thing we’ve seen in the series. Still, I like the idea that the crew intentionally came up with something humiliating for him to wear because they dislike him so much, and perhaps in payback for his insistence on cheapening Starfleet uniforms by casually wearing them. It’s kind of amusing that the first thing he does when he gets his powers back is use them for a wardrobe change.
Best Line: Lots of great one liners, especially between Q and Worf, but my favorite this time is one I hadn’t truly appreciated before. Q: “I’m not good in groups. It’s difficult working in a group when you’re omnipotent.”
Trivia/Other Notes: The original premise was much more predictable: Q is actually pretending that he has lost his powers, hoping to make himself look like a hero while the Federation and the Klingons are on the brink of war. Yawn. Roddenberry suggested that they take the more straightforward approach and play out the scenario of a powerless god for reals.
John de Lancie was actually completely naked when filming his grand entrance on the Bridge.
This is the first time we see another member of the Q Continuum, who is also simply called Q.
The Berthold rays of the Calamarain’s probe were first referenced in the original series episode “This Side of Paradise.”
This episode was nominated for two Emmy Awards, for editing and special effects.
Previous episode: Season 3, Episode 12 – “The High Ground.”
Next episode: Season 3, Episode 14 – “A Matter of Perspective.”
As I’ve said before, I generally hate the Q episodes, but this one of the better ones (“Tapestry” is far and away the best, by miles). Corbin Bernsen here (uncredited no less) was another of their stunt casting and it really doesn’t work at all. He made his fame by being a douchebag on LA Law and a huge jerk in the Major League movies, but he just can’t pull it off here. I suppose part of it is that De Lancie had already fully established our expectations of a Q in much the same way Leonard Nimoy established Vulcans. Bernsen can’t fill those shoes, most especially not when he’s in the exact same scene as the ur-Q.
The quality pendulum is really going to start swinging over the next few weeks, indeed just about for the rest of the season. On the one hand, we’ve got Sarek and the Borg, but we’re also looking at Barclay and Vash. We’re all gonna need neckbraces.
@1 DemetriosX
Aw, I kind of like Barclay. I used to, anyway. Maybe my opinion will change when I see him again.
@2 Eugene
OK, it’s probably unfair to put Barclay in the same category as Vash. The real problem with Barclay is that they went to the well too often. I actually like “Hollow Pursuits” myself, but some of the later episodes were less than good.
This episode has one thing that is actually rather surprising, if not outright mind-boggling. Roddenberry made a change and improved the story! How many times in this rewatch and even in the TOS rewatch have we seen GR perform some sort of ham-fisted surgery on a script and suck the life right out of it? And here, this is a much better episode with Q really stripped of his powers than it would have been if he’d been faking.
@3 DemetriosX
+1
“Roddenberry made a change and improved the story! How many times in this rewatch and even in the TOS rewatch have we seen GR perform some sort of ham-fisted surgery on a script and suck the life right out of it?”
while I will agree with you about many of the early TNG episodes, I must take issue with your take on Roddenberry and TOS. . I’ve read some of the original script drafts of TOS episodes before Roddenberry did his rewrites, and they were often much less effective than what ended up on film ( just go back and re-read some of the Blish adaptations, which were often written using earlier versions of scripts for proof ). In their book, “Inside Star Trek” ( an excellent read, BTW ) Solow and Justman credit Roddenberry with much of the quality rewriting on the first season, before Gene Coon came onboard. Although there were many talented people who contributed in HUGE ways to it’s quality, without Roddenberry TOS would not be the legend it remains today.
Unfortunately, by the time of TNG, Roddenberry began to believe what fans were telling him at every opportunity; that he was a far-seeing genius…some kind of oracle for a better future. I suppose it would be hard for many of us not to bask in the glow of unabashed adulation from hundreds of thousands of people hanging on your every word, but it seems as though Gene saw himself as the one who needed to “show the way”. Hence the bland “no petty conflict between the main characters” and the “humanity in the future is highly evolved and nearly perfect” tropes that did suck the life out of much of TNG and would continue to plague much of the rest of Trek.
Gene’s heart ( although not his ego ) might have been in the right place, but it made him a lousy dramatist in the end.
That being said, I love this episode. I didn’t really care for Q the first 2 times we saw him, but with this episode and “Q Who”, he became a much more enjoyable opponent. As another poster said, it’s too bad the Q /Guinan backstory was never further developed, but their brief scene here is priceless – stick a fork in him…he’s done!
…and I forgot to add in my previous post; Note the sharp drop in overall quality of TOS stories during the third season when Roddenberry all but abandoned the show ( as did Coon, Fontana, Justman and Solow ). The opposite occured with TNG. As Roddenberry’s health began to fail and he was forced to take a step back, the quality of stories slowly improved.
@ dep1701
Good points about the Younger Roddenberry having everything to gain in his career and gaining it, and the Elder Roddenberry having everything to lose and losing it. I’ve often found the parallels between Gene and George Lucas intriguing—creative, even visionary icons who later in life become mostly trophy polishers, and who lose sight of the essential charms of their own creations.
OTOH, [cough]Omega Glory[cough]
@#7
You are dead on with the comparison between Roddenberry and Lucas. If you’ve never seen it, there’s a very interesting documentary titled “The People Vs. George Lucas”. I found myself going,”Yes! YES!” many times while watching it.
I quite enjoyed this episode as well. There are certainly a number of problems with it that Eugene did a great job of summing up but for sheer entertainment value, this episode was pretty well chock full of fun.
I didn’t really even mind Corbin Bernsen; he was awkward and dopey but I thought it actually fit pretty well, since he was a Q who didn’t mess around with humans. Maybe that’s just a reach I made to make the whole thing work for me, but I still kind of remember the appearance of another Q rather fondly.
Guinan’s response to Q’s mortality still cracks me up no matter how many times I see it.
For the record, I’ve always like Barclay too. I look forward to his episodes.
@3 DemetriosX
I nearly made the same comment in the trivia about Roddenberry actually improving on the original idea for once, but for the reasons others have put forth, I decided that wasn’t entirely fair. I wonder if the writers felt particularly pressured to listen to him in this instance since he came up with Q in the first place.
We should probably also acknowledge that regardless of his contributions from script to script, he came up with the basic foundation for TNG, from the ship to the original crew–and their casting. There were some hiccups along the way, and characters evolved as the actors and better writers left their marks on the show, but the core of the show remained all the way through the films. Though of course, I wonder how much of that was decided by committee in the end.
In contrast, Lucas never really was much of a writer, and somehow got even worse along with his ability to direct. And as far as the prequels go, many of his ideas were flawed from the start.
La Forge was a busy guy in this episode. While in the middle of figuring out a way to move a moon, he was asked to stop what he was doing so he could modulate the shields and save Q. Then later on, he dropped everything and spend who knows how long in sickbay fixing Data. Considering his primary task was to try and save the lives of millions of people, couldn’t some more junior engineer handle that other stuff? Or are all those extras in the background really that useless?
@9 JohnSteed7
He’s probably just gotten used to waiting for Wesley to save the day at the last minute.
You make a great point; I also thought that focusing on Data considering everything else that was going on was somewhat indulgent, but we all know that the needs of the one outweigh the needs of the many.
Damn, late as always.
I completely love and embrace this episode. Yes, it’s cheesy, with the mariachi band and the goofy grins and the silly other Q. But it manages to take the classic narrative of hubris/the fall and turn it into something booth hilarious and moving. You have more than Oedipus or Caesar figure here–you have a god come low. This is classic comedy, and classic tragedy as well. Even though he’s a pompous jerk it’s hard to imagine the flood of emotions that must be overwhelming him, as he realizes his time in the universe is now limited, he’s responsible for his actions, and he has to make his own way in the world. And I love watching the crew roll their eyes at his new and exciting experiences that are so mundane to us, like eating and sleeping (not to mention the very subtle play at a kind of class tourism, because hunger and sleep are of course “new” and “exciting” to him but of course very real to others in the universe and highlight his privileged existence up to that point). And then it all comes around full circle, not with a complete and utter change of heart but with just a moment–a glimmer of goodness–less in his act to save the ship than in his gesture to Data, which is so sweet and so memorable.
It’s just a win-win all around as far as I’m concerned, executed with flair. Warp 6.
Oh, and Guinan’s scene-stealing moment! Yes yes yes.
I liked this episode but something caught my attention that made me wonder..
can someone explain what data meant when he said something along the lines of:
I have the curiosity of humans; but there are questions that I will never have the answers to – what it is like to laugh or… or cry. Or to experience any human emotions
he implies that he cant experienced human emotions but he just expressed curiosity??
My thought, not having the precise quote: capacity for enquiry ≠ curiosity.
If Data lacked the capacity to ask questions in pursuit of accumulating knowledge, he would not be a fit science officer.