Déjà Q
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| Star Trek: TNG episode | |
| "Déjà Q" | |
 Data tries to make a powerless Q feel better. |
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| Episode no. | 61 |
|---|---|
| Prod. code | 161 |
| Airdate | February 5, 1990 |
| Writer(s) | Richard Danus |
| Director | Les Landau |
| Guest star(s) | John de Lancie Corbin Bernsen Richard Cansino Betty Muramato |
| Year | 2366 |
| Stardate | 43539.1 |
| Episode chronology | |
| Previous | "The High Ground" |
| Next | "A Matter of Perspective" |
"Déjà Q" is the 61st episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation and the 13th episode of the third season. It was first broadcast on February 5, 1990.
In this episode, as the crew of the Federation Starfleet Starship USS Enterprise-D struggles to prevent a moon from falling out of orbit, their situation is further complicated by a visit from their old friend Q, who informs them that he has been stripped of all his powers and must live out a mortal life.
[edit] Plot
As the episode opens, the Enterprise arrives at Bre'el IV to investigate the looming apocalyptic disaster of the planet's asteroidal moon inexplicably falling from its orbit, threatening the lives of millions of the planet's inhabitants. Scientists on Bre'el report that the moon's gravitational influence is triggering land quakes and deadly oceanic tsunami waves.
In the middle of attempting to deal with this planetary disaster, a nude Q unexpectedly appears floating on his side in mid air on the bridge of the Enterprise, and unceremoniously falls to the floor, where he mischievously says "red alert".
Q explains to Enterprise Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the rest of the Bridge crew that due to his continuous misdeeds the other 'denizens' of the Q Continuum stripped him of his powers and banished him from the Continuum, offering him the option of choosing what life form he wished to be and where he wanted to be sent. Grimly he adds that he chose to be made human and sent to the Enterprise, as he considers Jean-Luc the closest thing he has to a friend. The Federation officers are skeptical and Q pleads that he only desires their compassion as well as sanctuary aboard the Enterprise. Offering to treat Q as a normal human being, exactly as he has requested, Picard orders Worf to throw Q into the Brig.
Enterprise Chief Engineer Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge's first attempt to alter the moon's disintegrating orbit with the ship's tractor beam fails, buying the planet only one more orbit. Frustrated by the inability of the available technology to deal with the massive stellar body, Picard takes Q up on his offer to join, or at least cooperate with, the ship's crew, giving Q the opportunity to aid in averting the impending disaster. Q is released from confinement with the caveat that he is to offer all assistance required, and Picard assigns his Operations Officer Lt. Commander Data to work with and keep an eye on him.
Q and Data report to Main engineering where they aid Geordi in a second attempt to alter the moon's decaying orbit, but this effort is marked by failure as well. Piqued by Q's criticism as to the ineffectiveness of the techniques tried so far, La Forge asks Q what he would suggest, and Q matter-of-factly offers the advice that Geordi should "alter the gravitational constant of the universe". Explaining that the power to change natural laws is outside of his realm of influence, Geordi dismisses Q suggestion. Q experiences hunger, a sensation unfamiliar to an entity which has heretofore been omnipotent.
Data accompanies Q to Ten-Forward and advises him that dietary choice often seems to be dictated by one's mood, and he adds that he has observed ship's Counsellor Deanna Troi eat chocolate when in a bad mood. Taking Data's suggestion, Q orders ten chocolate sundaes, stating that he is "really in a dreadful mood". Q's impending repast is spoiled by the appearance of a vengeful Guinan, who stabs Q with a fork as a further test of his powerlessness. As Q nurses his wounded hand, she tells him that he is a "pitiful excuse for a human who must exist on the charity of others", and adds that Q could learn much about humility and humanity by observing his android custodian.
Q's offer to aid the crew soon becomes problematic as a large brightly-lit and flickering cloud of energenic plasma appears, the patterns of which Worf ascertains as being "highly organized", and the ship's computer identifies as "sentient". Guinan identifies the gaseous being as Calamarain. Apparently Q once tormented the extraterrestrial beings, and they return the favor by enveloping him with an electrical field. Picard has Geordi re-tune the ship's defensive shields, blocking the attack.
Picard and his senior staff now realize that despite Q's claims, the real reason for coming aboard the Enterprise is for protection from the many various entities he has tormented and tortured over the eons.
In Engineering, as Geordi continues to reflect on Q's suggestion, he perceives that it actually has merit as he realizes that extending a subspace field around the mass of the moon would isolate it from the limitations of the normal laws of inertia, possibly allowing its orbit to be stabilized. Unfortunately when Geordi attempts to test his theory, the Calamarain take advantage of the gap in defences to attack Q again. Data attempts to intervene and is thrown aside as Q is dropped to the floor, the electrical currents nearly frying Data's positronic brain as well as causing the pressure in his fluidic system to spike.
Accompanying the crippled android to sick bay, Q observes that Data is actually a better human than he is, and for probably the first time in his existence has a selfless thought. Q decides to leave the protection of the Enterprise, diverting the Calamarain so that the Starship can complete its mission without further interference.
Notified that an unauthorized shuttle launch has occurred, Picard learns that Q is aboard the craft, and tries to convince him to return to the Enterprise as the Calamarain moves to intercept the shuttle. Failing at this, Jean-Luc orders the ship's shields extended to protect Q, but they do not respond. Jean-Luc then tries to have the shuttle beamed back aboard ship, and when the transporter malfunctions, Riker orders it tractored back aboard, but inexplicably the tractor beams also fail to work.
As the Calamarain closes in, a second Q-being (played by Corbin Bernsen) appears aboard the shuttle. It turns out that the second Q (Q2) was responsible for the failures of the attempts to rescue Q, as he wanted to see if Q was actually going to sacrifice himself. He informs Q that he has been watching him, adding that the Continuum has agreed to give him a second chance and restore his powers if he will behave himself. Q quickly accepts, when Q2 leaves he uses his restored powers to miniaturize the Calamarain and materialize them in the palm of his hand. He tells them that if it thought he had tormented them before they haven't seen anything yet, but Q2 pops its head back through the bulkhead of the shuttlecraft, and chides Q. Telling Q2 that he was merely seeing if Q2 was still watching, Q releases the Calamarain.
Appearing aboard the Enterprise with a Mariachi band and scantily clad women, Q tells the Bridge crew that he is omnipotent and omniscient again, and grateful for their help. He adds that he feels like celebrating, and materializes cigars in the mouths of Picard and Riker. Once again unimpressed with Q's antics they fail to rise to the spirit of Q's occasion, so he says he will take his leave as he feels he has overstayed his welcome, but he continues that he has a small "going away present" for his erstwhile "Professor of the Humanities", Data. Data protests that if Q is planning on making him human he wants no part of it, but Q replies that he would never curse Data with such an affliction. Q vanishes, and Data breaks into bouts of uncontrollable laughter.
A call comes in from Bre'el IV and the planet's scientists congratulate Picard for restoring the world's moon to its normal orbit. Picard replies that the Enterprise has done nothing, but realizing that Q is probably responsible, observes that perhaps Q retains "a residue of humanity after all". At this revelation the cigar reappears in Picard's hand, the plume of its smoke containing Q's visage, which says: "Don't bet on it, Picard."
[edit] References
- Star Trek The Next Generation DVD set, volume 3, disk 4, selection 1.
[edit] External links
- Déjà Q article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki
- Déjà Q at StarTrek.com
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