Q (Star Trek) - Televised Appearances

Televised Appearances

In his debut, "Encounter at Farpoint", Picard and the Enterprise crew are put on trial arguing that humanity is a dangerous race and should be destroyed. However, by saving the life of a kidnapped alien species, the crew proved humanity's worth. His next appearance was later in the first season in the episode "Hide and Q", where he wanted to have a human enter the Continuum, settling on Picard's first officer, Commander Riker (the reason being that humanity had the potential to one day evolve beyond the Q and Q wanted to understand how), but Riker remained human. Q also lost a wager he made with Picard, detailing that if he failed to turn Riker, then he has to stay out of humanity's path – forever.

After this he appears in "Q Who?". He offers to divest himself of his powers and guide humanity in its quest into uncharted territories and prepare it for unknown threats. When Picard argues that humans are capable of dealing with anything, Q whisks the U.S.S. Enterprise to the system J-25 for what is presumably the first human encounter with the Borg. Picard resorts to asking for Q to save the ship. Surprised, Q brings the Enterprise home and tells Picard that other men would rather have died than ask for help. It is implied in the episode and later stated in the Star Trek TNG Companion that the Borg already knew about Earth and were already en route, Q's actions actually giving humanity an early warning. It is possible that the Borg had already attacked both Federation and Romulan outposts, which bears the signatures of their attack style, in the first season finale "The Neutral Zone".

This is later proven true in the Star Trek: Enterprise episode "Regeneration". This is the result of Q's sending the Enterprise to system J-25, which then intensified the Borg's interest in humanity, prompting them to make a much more intense effort to capture the Federation's capital world (Earth). Their interest is such that they would go back in time, causing the alteration of the events of Star Trek: First Contact, and then encountering the Crew of the NX-01 Enterprise during "Regeneration", and enabling the Borg of the 24th Century to become aware of Earth in the first place. Q's actions created a stable time loop within the Star Trek Universe, explaining why the Borg were making their way to Earth by showing how they 'first' became aware of the Federation. The actions Q took in sending the Enterprise D to System J-25— and thus maintaining the time loop, are expanded upon in the Star Trek novels as being partially (though indirectly) the reason for the existence of the Mirror Universe, explaining that Zefram Cochrane attempted to warn Earth and the worlds that would become part of the Federation about the Borg after First Contact. In one reality, the one in which the regular continuity takes place, Cochrane's warnings go either unheeded or not understood at all.

In "Déjà Q", Q is punished by the Q Continuum by being made mortal; his committing of an uncharacteristically selfless act (sacrificing his life so that a race attacking him won't destroy the Enterprise) garners the return of his powers. In the same episode, Q says that Picard is "the closest thing in this universe that I have to a friend." Toward the end of The Next Generation, Q is less antagonistic toward Picard, even, in "Tapestry", apparently saving Picard and helping the captain better understand himself (although whether Q actually appeared in this episode or was merely a hallucination Picard experienced during surgery is deliberately left ambiguous). In the series finale, "All Good Things...", Q gives Picard a "helping hand" in saving humanity by helping him figure out what is causing "anti-time" to flow into the universe which will invariably stop humanity from ever being born.

In the DS9 episode "Q-Less", Q at one point goads Commander Benjamin Sisko into a bare-knuckle boxing match, all the while belittling and insulting him. When Sisko loses his temper and knocks Q down, an astonished Q says, "You hit me! Picard never hit me!" Sisko counters frankly that "I'm not Picard." Q responds with a smile, saying "Indeed not...you're much easier to provoke." While on the station, Q gives hints to help the crew keep their station from being destroyed by an artifact that has been brought aboard it.

In the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Death Wish" Q pursues a rogue member of the Continuum, named Quinn, who has been inadvertently released from his asteroid prison by the crew of that ship, and who seeks asylum on the Voyager. He demands that Q make him human, as he does not wish to be a member of the Continuum any more, but Q refuses, because Quinn intends to commit suicide if he becomes human. The two parties agree to allow Captain Janeway to mediate their dispute, and after Janeway eventually finds in favour of Quinn, Q makes Quinn human, after which Quinn commits suicide.

Later, in the Voyager episode "The Q and the Grey", Q reappears on the Voyager, asking Janeway to bear his child. He eventually reveals that he has started a war among members of the Continuum in a campaign for individual freedom, having been inspired by Quinn. Q believes that the birth of a new member of the Continuum could revitalize the Q. Janeway refuses, and after she and her crew bring about a ceasefire in the Continuum, Q eventually mates with the Female Q he had been involved with (referred to in Star Trek novels as 'Lady Q'), producing a son. Q makes Janeway his godmother.

Their progeny is born conscious and with all the power of any other Q, although lacking adult maturity.

In the episode "Q2", which is the last televised appearance of Q, Q appears on Voyager with his immature, rebellious son, who appears as a human teenager (played by John de Lancie's real-life son Keegan de Lancie, and referred to in the novels as "Little Q" or "q"). Q asks Janeway to mentor his son, and the two adults agree that the boy will remain on Voyager, without his powers, and either learn how to be a responsible, productive inhabitant of the cosmos, or spend eternity as an amoeba. Eventually the young Q comes around, but the Continuum is not entirely convinced, so in negotiation with Q, they come to an agreement. Q must eternally guard, observe, and accompany the boy to ensure his proper behavior.