"Q" idea in the original series???

sevenofninerocks · **Wed Apr 02, 2003 10:28 am "Q" idea in the original series???**

I've been watching TOS over again (I usually do this every now & then) and I came across an episode that to me, seemed like Q was in it. (Not John D'Lancy of course but his basic character) I don't know the name of the episode, but it went like this: Kirk and the crew were flying through space. Then Mr. Sulu gets up suddenly to tell the captain that something's wrong with the controls and he disappears.

Then Cpt. Kirk gets up and goes to where Sulu's supposed to be and
he disappears. So Mr. Spock and Dr. McCoy and Lt. Uhura beam down to the planet they're orbiting and find themselves close to this building. They go inside and find Kirk and Sulu frozen and this guy dressed liked Liberace playing the piano. So this guy tells them, "Oh you want your friends back?" so he unfreezes Kirk and Sulu. Turns out this guy can make himself disappear and re-appear anywhere, anytime. But Kirk finds out that this guy always stays close to the mirror. Kirk agrees to a dual with him. So the guy gets some guns and they agree to shoot each other. But Kirk instead shoots the mirror and when the mirror breaks this machine is behind it and the guy says, "You've ruined everything!"

So the guy tells him he's lonely, but that since he can do anything he wants, everything's too easy for him. So Kirk tells him if it's action, real anger, and basically some spice he wants, he'll agree to fight him. So they start fighting with swords and finally they're fighting and fighting and all of a sudden some voices start calling this guy (forgot his name) and they tell him that's enough. They say that he shouldn't be playing with species that are superior to him and that it's time for him to come home. He begs them to let him continue "playing", but they force him to leave Kirk and his crew alone. So this guy disappears and the voices apologize to Kirk.

My question is, do you think Roddenberry had already thought of the "Q" idea way before TNG came out with the Q character? I think this was an early attempt at this idea. It reminded me so much of Q when he was disappearing and re-appearing and making the crew disappear and re-appear in different places. He even put one of the female crewman in a 19th century dress! What do you guys think?

I guess I could've looked up the episode on the official ST website, but oh well.

thegame · **Thu Apr 03, 2003 11:16 pm**

The ep you refer to is the season 1 mark "The Squire of Gothos". And as to the Q connection, you are very right. There is a book out, several years ago now where there is a connection made to Q from Trelane, the menace in this ep. Of course the book isn't canon and no formal canon connection has been made between the two, but the similiarities are there to see. I'd try to find that book if you are interested. Perhaps someone else here remembers the name of it?

sevenofninerocks · **Fri Apr 04, 2003 12:25 pm**

Thanks for answering me. I will look for that book. I truly enjoyed that episode.

Hitomi · **Mon Jun 02, 2003 9:57 am**

The book is called "Q Squared" It's a good read, if you dont mind getting confused a few times.

MrsPicard · **Mon Jun 02, 2003 4:20 pm**

I've got this book too it is really very confusing and not easy to read but it's great if you read it more than one time.

Mrs. Captain Picard

sevenofninerocks · **Wed Jun 11, 2003 10:30 am**

Is it one of those that after you read a paragraph, you gotta read it again because you already forgot what it said?

Well at least that's what happens to me sometimes

.

Thanks for giving me the title.

I'll probably look for it at Barnes & Noble and read it there in my spare time.

Jeff Miller · **Fri Jun 13, 2003 6:03 pm**

that was a good episode one of the clasics

Kronocide · **Tue Aug 26, 2003 6:50 pm**

I haven't seen the ep, but the mirror thing sounds like a version of the Wizard of Oz. (The wizard uses a hidden machine to make his voice sound big and impressive, and when the protagonists reveal it, I think he says something very similar to "You've ruined everything!"

I have another question: When was the first encounter of Q in the series, in general, and for the Voyager? Been trying to find this out for a while.

Sonic74205 · **Sun May 16, 2004 7:14 pm**

^
Q was first seen in 'farpoint pt1' for TNG (first ever episode)
and u see Q first on voyager in 'death wish' along with another Q (season 2)
and he was in 'Q-less' DS9 season 1

voyager123456789 · **Tue May 18, 2004 7:30 pm**

HEY THATS NICE, but Q is so avanced. Kirk will freak out.

Sonic74205 · **Tue May 18, 2004 7:32 pm**

kirk would rip his shirt and challenge Q to a fight

~Voyager Fanatic~ · Super Genius Joined: 07 May 2004 Posts: 1787

But Q will definately win!...with one snap of his fingers...

superwoman · **Sun May 30, 2004 3:13 pm**

Yea! But what a hell of a fight...

Superman · Fleet Admiral Joined: 06 Dec 2003 Posts: 10220

Kirk would kick the butts of the entire Continuum.

Maybe that sentence was exaggerated just a little...

Zippy · **Fri Jul 02, 2004 4:08 am**

you see, Q wouldnt just finish someone with the snap of his fingers...he could, but he wouldnt. he enjoys the games he plays. like in "Q-less", when he's boxing with Sisko, Sisko actually hit him back. he ended the game, but if he wanted to win, he would have gotten up and kept going

ZiriDelvar · Lieutenant, Junior Grade Joined: 20 Aug 2005 Posts: 79

There were actually several episodes that explored the concept of a being like "Q". One was certainly the Squire of Gothos, but this theme also occured in Catspaw, the episode with Apollo, the episode with the people who all moved things with their minds, Menagerie I and II. The idea of Riker becoming a "Q" was also touched on with episodes like Shore Leave where people created whatever they thought.

The actual character of "Q" reminds me a lot of Harry Mudd in the general obnoxious nature of the character and the fact that like Harry Mudd, "Q" was never a regular cast member.

Lord Borg · **Wed Mar 15, 2006 10:47 pm**

The connection was never canologily made (Ie on screen, you can forget any connections the books made) But I wouldn't be to surprised if there was some sort of connection, at least in a sense of relation, if not the same "Species"

Untitled · **Sat Sep 16, 2006 2:09 am**

When the Q dvd's came out I read somewhere that some one said they would have liked the epi with Trelane instead of the crappy Voyager episode's, Q2 & The Q and the Grey.