Q Who

How I love this episode! Of all the Next Generations, this episode is still my favorite. Words cant describe the chill that went down my spine when they first encounter the Borg in the engine room. I think what I enjoy the most about it is the fact that the producers, writers and directors seemed to be working in complete harmony with regards to every faucet of the shows production. Comparatively, there is also very little background music, which to me only heightened the tensions inherent in the scenario. In an old issue of a European film magazine, they once had an issue dedicated to ST:TNG where they had a brief synopsis of every episode as well as behind the scene stories. With regards to this episode, it was said that Patrick Stewart actually grew angry with some members of the crew because they were goofing around and not taking things more seriously. He stated that it was a particularly difficult episode to do because of the themes introduced...and the fact that for the first time there was a large number of crew killed in the storyline. He thought the fact that they were encountering an enemy that had the capability to defeat them...and was actually on the verge of doing so before Q interceded...had a profound impact on how the mood of the shoot progressed.

As for myself, I enjoyed it so much because of those very reasons! In the entire history of Star Trek and through all of its incarnations, the rosy, happy or optimistic nature of the shows sometimes tended to overwhelm. This seemed to be a very realistic encounter...especially when you consider that the vast majority of the episodes or films that introduce a new species or culture invariably resolve in a very optimistic manner. Q Who simply, but effectively, went the other way and showed us a reality in which the Enterprise, and the Federation itself, was NOT up to the challenge and was very nearly doomed.

Like the episode, "Yesterday's Enterprise," all was not well in the universe and there was death without reason or purpose...as there is in real life. It was the first time that the Enterprise and crew had simply run out of options and/or hope of survival...and it was that theme that made the episode so strong.

Sorry but this Q episode is, in plot, feel, and narrative: inhuman, robotic, boring, and utterly predictable. (other than "this is the episode that introduces the borg!", it does nothing for us.) So, Q turns up out of nowhere, as he usually does. Picard is, as always, disdainful, annoyed, and blunt towards him. Yawn. Q as always, doesn't care. All Predictable and boring. Instead of the usual carefully constructed logical plotline that makes us fall in love with our beloved characters all over again and ponder philosophical questions on morality and what it is to be human, we get Picard somehow being downright flabbergasted that Q is actually being an annoyance and uses his infinite powers against them. There's no human interaction in this episode. Q's actions are so full-on he's beyond physics and logic. He can do what he wants, and does, just to mess with the crew. The crew sit around trying to be logical about things when obviously Q's powers aren't logical. It doesn't match up and it's stupid. The Picard character in this episode is a two dimensional fool. The plot, instead of being intricate, is as subtle as a sledgehammer, with infinite-powered Q defying the laws of physics and throwing the ship a million googiliums this way, then that way, until he decides, right at the 46 minute mark, to end it and make them go back to normal. No logical narrative, no development or lessons learned. Just predictable robotic soullessness. Picard is shocked and annoyed and of course surprised by Q's actions. We the audience are straight up bored with this one-dimensional storyline a 7 yr old could have come up with. It's like reading about someone's boring dream, and instead of constructing logic and warmth and a human touch, they decide to end it with "and then I woke up and realised it was all a dream". Ok yeah, whatever. At one point my Riker is wandering in the borg ship, saying something like "it's absolutely astonishing!!" Um, no, it's boring and robotic. Just because the writers tell me it's meant to be really really astonishing doesn't mean I have to think it is when they haven't earnt it by feel or logic.

Episodes just before this one with lower imdb ratings, like Time Squared, Pen Pals, and even The Royale, are all much better, they're universal for all humanity of any era with a human touch, a sensitivity to them. The Royale might be tacky but it's such a cool idea and makes us just want to read the darn book! (if it wasn't fictional, of course!). 'Q Who' does nothing like that. Sorry.

he may have been cocky, sarcastic, amusing etc. but he was right:they were not ready. But he also did us a hidden favor.The Borg were apparently coming anyway and now we know what we'd be up against, or at least know that they are out there. in my opinion it was more than a "kick in our complacency". this episode had at least one other interesting feature.

I found myself disagreeing with the protagonists. Picard said it was "not smugness not arrogance!", but that's what it seemed like to me. OK I'd seen the other Borg episodes before this one so I KNEW they weren't ready. I realize that I am giving a lower rating than my comment might indicate but there is some really dull and ultimately pointless stuff in the episode before Q shows up. it is unfortunate that the "dealings" were never explained. The ending is great! 3 of 5 stars. And what happened to the Borg not having a single leader.

As all Trek fans know, "Q Who" is the episode that introduced the Borg, arguably the greatest antagonist the Federation ever faced. Besides it's significance in the development of the Trek franchise, the ep boasts some pretty memorable lines, mostly delivered by Q (played by John de Lancie).

Unfortunately the episode is also flawed by several scenes (totaling about five minutes) devoted to introducing Ensign Sonya Gomez, a meaningless throwaway character. Perhaps the producers were auditioning the character for a larger role but if so nothing ever came of it.

The episode is also flawed by the showrunner's bizarre decision to have Picard stop in the middle of the battle with the Borg to leave the bridge and have a conference. The whole thing comes off as a joke on corporate culture in the Eighties.

Interestingly, "Q Who" was first shown on May 6, 1989 which is about six weeks after the beginning of the long-running Dilbert cartoon series. Ridiculing Eighties corporate culture was the original driving force of the Dilbert series. Given that Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert is a science fiction fan, it is highly likely he saw this ep and found it as ridiculous as many other Trek fans did.

"Q Who" is one of the ten most important episodes in the "Next Generations" series, and one of the top twenty in the development of the franchise, but for itself, as a dramatic production, I cannot rate this ep any higher than '7' on the IMDb scale.

The episode starts with a nice misdirect in the form of Ensign Gomez, a clumsy proto-Barclay who is new to the ship. You expect the episode to be about someone integrating into the crew, but instead Q shows up.

While we never really got to know who or what Guinan was, her interactions with Q are always fun and she was interesting and 'powerful' in a different way. Here she is used mostly to deliver exposé, which works really well. Whoopi might be a terrible person but she did a fine job here.

The Borg themselves are fantastic. Sure, they are somewhat derivative of the Daleks and Cybermen from Doctor Who, but they transcend both. Some people think they represent the threat of Communism, with their lack of individuality. In the episode itself they are ironically called the ultimate consumers, who absorb who and what they want.

Their design is fantastic, with their weird ship and their odd implants. Having seen Voyager it is easy to forget how menacing they originally were, especially because they methodically study the Enterprise and practically ignore the crew - even when they're boarded! Now humans have become the new life that is sought out.