Started Star Trek: The Next Generation for the first time last night. How big of an ongoing factor is "Q?" Because I kind of hate him.

Idk John DeLancie has that "Tim Curry" energy where he chews the scenery well and is fun to watch but wasn't much a fan of Season 1 Q.

It gets better.

Hot take: you don't fully appreciate Q until you've watched all the episodes he's in. That includes the ones in Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

I hated him in the first couple of episodes too; but when TNG started, I felt like everything was overly dramatic. Picard bellowing out heavy-handed soliloquies, Worf growling and gnashing his teeth, Riker swaggering around pretending to be Kirk from the old days… things settle down pretty quickly though, and the characters become less two-dimensional.

As for Q specifically, he’s not around a whole lot, but he makes an appearance or two per season maybe. He ends up more curious about humanity than being adversarial against humanity, but he still sometimes just throws a monkey-wrench into everything for his own amusement or to test a theory, once in a while.

Stick with it, it’s a really good show.

You're supposed to kinda hate Q. He plays a recurring role here and there throughout the series, but not a central one.

The first season of TNG is a bit rough; it definitely improves.

Your supposed to hate Q thats part of the fun. Picard hates him

Unless you are a completist who's willing to sit through the less than good episodes, you may want to use an episode guide such as this one which I found useful when I went back to rewatch it. Yes Q is kind of annoying, that's actually his character and how everyone in the show feels about him too. But there are also some fantastic episodes with him, so once you get to those, you may not hate his presence as much.

How big of an ongoing factor is "Q?" Because I kind of hate him.

Blaspheme! Will no one rid me of this turbulent critique?

He's a pretty major character, but that only means one or two episodes per season. He's just got a thing for Picard

I felt the exact same way about Q after the first episode both as a character and as a concept for the show. They basically introduced God in the first episode of a science fiction show and he is annoying and arrogant.

But he is actually one of the best characters by the time the show is over and his all-powerful nature is toned down a little bit.

Season 1 is pretty goofy and inconsistent overall. Give it a chance and accept it for what it is and by season 4 the writing is some of the best in science fiction TV.

Au Contraire Mon Capitan! You are gonna love me!

Keep going. It get's much much better. Each season is better than the last, but Season 2 is where the feel of the show stablises and softens; it'll always be jarring when you go back to season 1 after you pass it. Season 3 is definitely where it starts to hit it's stride.

It's largely an episodic show; you could skip to season 3 and go back to the season 1 & 2 later without missing much. A few recurring characters and themese like do Q make more sense if you watch from the start though.

If you're really wavering definitely skip to season 3.

If it helps - Q introduces a "bad guy" to the series that is so famous that people who haven't seen the series have heard of them.

If you hated him on Next Gen, you'll really hate him on Deep Space Nine. Fortunately, he only appeared there once.

As great as TNG is, the first season is like the first season of any show: characters are less developed and the vibe is somewhat different than later offerings.

As the show progresses, everything kind of falls into a better place. In fact, the Q character allows for some of the best episodes in the series (e.g. Tapestry). So my advice would be to stick with it and you'll likely feel different later on.

You're supposed to hate Q. The Enterprise crew hates Q. He is an annoying trickster god.

He'll grow on you eventually. And if he doesn't, watch Voyager and DS9 to see him suffer 😈

He's kind of the main recurring antagonist for TNG and even shows up in Voyager. His character does get better written as the show goes on.

You’re not supposed to like Q.

I’m jealous that you’re getting your first go through, that was a pretty magical experience.

I usually watch the whole series every couple of years, and I’m due for a watch now, but I can’t. Star Trek was something I shared with my dad, who died two years ago, and I just can’t seem to make myself watch it anymore.

I had no idea there were people who didn’t like Q. His introduction is by far the weakest thing about him but Q is honestly hilarious in subsequent episodes and I think his race are a very poignant commentary on what an actual race of godlike beings would be like if real.

Since others have fully covered the Q portion of your comment I came to say that that cool saucer separation that’s so bad ass happens like 3 times max!

I get that maybe it’s “expensive” or awkward to write or something from the production standpoint that makes it underused, but seriously, is it “expensive” in-universe?! Because they spread that shit out more sparingly than me buying pine nuts!

Other show reference alert: it’s a lot like on Deep Space 9 how rarely Odo changes. If I had that fucking power I wouldn’t hold back! Let’s see, can I squeeze any more complaints in? I never understood the premise on Bewitched that Darren & Sam wouldn’t want to use her powers to make things better constantly! Ok I’m done. For now.

Honestly, if you started from scratch nothing you see in season one applies.

Just... assume everything reboots after but they keep the lore. It'll be fine.

I hate Q but love TNG.

Fortunately he is in few episodes, but unfortunately he is very influential plot-wise when he does appear.

It doesn't ruin how great TNG is to me at all, though

He shows up here and there, I don't know maybe 1.5 times a season or something. I'd need to check exact counts.

My wife hates him so much, but loved TNG.

He only show up like once or twice a season.

I like him, but I can see why people wouldn't.

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If you don't like him, you can just skip his episodes & not miss much.

His transformation during the series is interesting. He's developing as he learns about humanity.

Also don't miss the episodes in Voyager featuring him ;-)

He gets better. I remember not being a big fan when I first saw him too.