Portal:Star Trek/Featured character February 2007
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The most notable member of the Q Continuum is played by John de Lancie, a mischievous Q who, having taken an interest in humans, periodically harasses the crews of starships and space stations. He also has a flair for the dramatic, whisking away the crew to exotic locations, engaging in elaborate speeches, and snapping his fingers to engender many of his manifestations. He has a highly mercurial personality, switching rapidly between a joking, campy style and a much more ominous and even dangerous manner. While he is very boastful, condescending and occasionally threatening, he arguably seems to have humanity's best interests at heart. This Q was apparently something of a rebel within the Q race, and his antics occasionally got him into trouble with his fellow Q and served as an inspiration for the Q that the Voyager crew would know as Quinn.
Q is one of the most beloved recurring characters on Star Trek: The Next Generation, in large part because of the comedic and dramatic chemistry between actors de Lancie and Patrick Stewart (who plays Picard, captain of the Enterprise). Data characterized the relationship between the two much like that between a master and its pet. Q served as something of a foil to the sometimes high-flown idealism of Picard: "Really, Jean-Luc, I think the only reason I come here is to listen to those wonderful speeches" he says once. Not surprisingly, even though Q's Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager appearances were less appreciated by many people, he remains as one of Star Trek's most beloved and timeless characters.
Q often manifests himself wearing a Starfleet Captain's uniform, particularly to annoy Picard
