TNG Flashback: Deja Q

As I've worked my way through episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, I've written on several occasions about the restrictions and demands set by Gene Roddenberry, which the staff writers had to work through. Often, I've commented how I think the stories were actually made worse for these requests, but on this occasion, I'm reviewing an episode where Roddenberry got it absolutely right: Deja Q.

Q appears on the bridge, stripped of his powers (and of his clothing) by the fellow members of the Q Continuum. They've kicked him out for his Loki-like behavior, and have forced him to live as a human. The Enterprise crew believes this story is just another of Q's games, a game that somehow involves a suddenly unstable moon falling from orbit and threatening an apocalypse on the planet the ship is visiting. But when a strange alien race of energy, the Calamarain, arrives to exact retribution on the now-mortal Q, the truth is made clear. Picard and his crew must find a way to restore the moon's natural orbit while keeping the Calamarain at bay.

In the original concept for this episode, the nature of the crisis was considerably different -- a sudden event was precipitating the end of the Federation-Klingon alliance, and a return to war seemed imminent. Moreover, Q indeed was behind the crisis, and was faking the loss of his powers. Though Gene Roddenberry's demand to avoid conflict among his future-enlightened characters was often a killer of good drama, this time he saw right to the heart of what would be good drama. The story of a man who had godlike powers and suddenly lost them, his struggle to come to grips with that unthinkable loss -- wasn't that the more interesting story to be told here?

Indeed it was. And the fact that it was Q rather than some other super-powerful character not seen before made it better still. The audience and all of the characters had a history with Q, and that history made for a classic bit of "ripples in the pond" storytelling. Everyone had their own reaction to Q's predicament. It made for a rare occasion where Dr. Crusher had no sympathy for her patient. It made for a nearly-as-rare occasion in which Counselor Troi was able to sense an emotion that was not readily apparent on the surface (when she notes that Q is in fact truly terrified; his mirth is only a mask).

It made for more marvelous scenes between Patrick Stewart and John de Lancie, as Picard shows contempt for Q without seeming unfair. It made for an avalanche of great comic exchanges between Worf and Q. And it made for an excellent scene featuring Whoopi Goldberg. We see a truly different -- and somewhat scary -- side of Guinan, delighting in Q's torment and delighting in adding to it.

But most of all, this is an excellent episode for Data. A very well-written scene spells out the irony here: Q has achieved in disgrace the very thing Data has always aspired to -- humanity. And yet, in the course of the episode, as Data tries to teach Q about what it is to be human, the defrocked alien is forced to concede that Data is in fact already a better human that he could ever be.

John de Lancie is exceptional in this episode. Q still displays all his characteristic playfulness and haughtiness, but you can tell that on this occasion, it's all gallows humor. There are plenty of serious moments too, including one of those great Picard-Q scenes I mentioned earlier, in which Q reaches the decision to commit suicide. And on top of all this, de Lancie had other challenges in this episode. The finale required him to mime playing the trumpet with a mariachi band, a scene which reportedly required numerous takes to nail. And when the time allotted to film the opening scene ran out due to struggles trying out how to fake Q's nudity, de Lancie tucked away his modesty and went au naturel.

Other observations:

• The episode juggles the multiple plot threads of Q, Calamarain, and falling moon quite well... but the aliens threatened by the moon more than a bit awkward. Their strange lamprey-mouthed makeup apparently required all their dialogue to be overdubbed after shooting.

• Dennis McCarthy composed some great music for Guinan's encounter with Q, very dark and sinister.

• Corbin Bernsen makes a brief appearance as "Q2." Though he was a regular on L.A. Law at the time, he sought this appearance here because he wanted to be in a Star Trek episode. He said it wasn't that he was a Star Trek fan as such, but rather that he liked the franchise's overall philosophy. At the time this episode aired, I thought Bernsen's slightly unhinged performance here was unusual, but appropriate for the role. In the time since, having seen him in other TV series (like Psych) and in his total batshit craziness on Celebrity Mole (yes, I watched it; we can have that discussion another time), I now suspect that in truth, Q2's personality is actually pretty close to his own.

• Capping off a great episode for Data, Brent Spiner just completely goes for it in the final scene in which Q gives the android the gift of experiencing laughter. It's a fantastic performance, especially brilliant in the sudden recovery Data makes to instantly return to his usual self.

This was immediately one of my favorite episodes when I first saw it, and it remains a favorite of mine today. I give it an A.