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.
I also had no idea the top portion of the Starship Enterprise could separate like that. That was pretty sweet.
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.
For some reason I feel compelled to up-boop the reference to MLP 🤔😅
don't forget the old compaq videos.
I wish we could create playlists like this for shows. I don't have the interest to watch deep space 9 but I love Q. Same goes for Clone Wars, don't have the time but a few threads are important.
And StarCraft 2 and Heroes of the Storm
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.
When you see Riker grow his beard, you'll know the series has matured.
Picard bellowing out heavy-handed soliloquies
Hahaha put him in his captain’s uniform and it’s virtually indistinguishable!
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.
Season two also isn't the greatest. But its got some solid stories that do affect things later.
Mostly I just can't stand Pulaski
He's like Murdoc from MacGyver. You hate the character but you can sense that he's going to be defeated eventually and it'll be a fun ride getting there.
Your supposed to hate Q thats part of the fun. Picard hates him
I'm not sure Picard actively hates him. However, I do think his reaction is basically the Picard facepalm jpg whenever he interacts with Q.
I'm pretty sure the Picard face palm is a shot from S3 episode "Deja Q". He literally is facepalming at Q.
I think to Picard, Q is just this buffoon with god powers and chooses to use them purely for wind ups. He knows he can’t do jack to stop him but scolds him at every opportunity.
I would have loved one character to just disappear on a massive bender with Q for a while and come back totally fried but just slot back into their spot on the ship
Yeah, whereas Sisko punched Q.
I'm with Sisko on that.
I haven't watched Picard, but I assume the finale is a Qwedding.
Picard doesn't hate him, but Picard understands that Q isn't operating in good faith and is always aimed at undermining humanity.
The problem I would think, as Picard sees it, is there is no reasonable way to do battle with Q or stop him, and so instead of a radical path of eliminating Q's ability to interfere entirely, we're given what appears to be a very tepid, liberal response where we're supposed to work with terrible people who aren't operating in good faith simply because they have power and aren't afraid to use it.
Picard is from a strictly socialist society, and that means at some point, they understood how to deal with people like this, who are operating in bad faith. The new wrinkle is that Q is so powerful, you have to hope that you can just talk him down, because there is no way to remove him from the equation or remove his powers.
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.
I feel compelled to recommend this guide by a long time Daystrom Institute contributor. It does an excellent job identifying episodes as essential, unnecessary but fun, mediocre, or outright bad. A good place to work from if you want a more flexible recommendation of what to try and what not to.
How big of an ongoing factor is "Q?" Because I kind of hate him.
Blaspheme! Will no one rid me of this turbulent critique?
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.
There’s literally a trope for how bad TNG was in the first seasons… until Riker grew a beard.
introduced God... he is annoying and arrogant
I mean, if you had those powers too, wouldn't you be a little arrogant?
TOS had so many "god" characters. At least they condensed them into 1.
That's a fair point. I remember there being several but honestly don't remember any specifically other than the Gamemaster of Triskelion because he gave such a funny performance.
He's a pretty major character, but that only means one or two episodes per season. He's just got a thing for Picard
Yeah, a thing. Minor spoiler.
I don't know why it's hilarious to me that Picard pulls up his covers like he's ashamed at Q seeing him in the nude, as though he isn't a multidimensional demigod who probably can see through Picard's clothes anyway if he so wished.
It's just such a cute and pointless attempt at privacy with a nearly all powerful being. Like dude he just magicked himself into your bed, you think he didn't already get a good look?
Patrick Stewart : So in my film, I play a man who controls the world with his mind.
Andy Millman : Right. Oh, that's interesting.
Patrick Stewart : Yeah. For instance, I'm walking along, and I see this beautiful girl, and I think I'd like to see her naked, and so all her clothes fall off.
Andy Millman : All her - clothes fall off?
Patrick Stewart : Yes, and she's scrabbling around to get them back on again, but even before she can get her knickers on, I've seen everything. Yeah. I've seen it all.
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.
This advice here is it, OP. I've watched the whole series close to 10 times by now, and sometimes even I skip season 1. However, it does add some good context, and flashbacks in later seasons will make sense and give you a better feeling of attachment to the events if you've seen them.
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.
Voyager. You'll see.
They saw then Picard
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 😈
Sisko's whole attitude to Q is just so damn funny. "I'M NOT PICARD!"
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 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.
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 watched Star Trek because my dad introduced me to it. I'm now a dad and I am sharing it with my kids.
I don't know you, and I don't know your family, but if your father liked Star Trek enough to introduce you to it, my guess is that he wouldn't want his death to take that away from you. If anything, my bet would be he'd hope it would bring you comfort and fond memories and hope for the future.
I hope you can get there when enough time has passed, and I hope this message might help it all hurt a little less.
Oh yeah he totally would want me to keep on going, and I’m trying, but there’s just too much emotion there. It’s a show that I love because it’s a testament to what humanity could accomplish if we just got our shit together, and I’ve always felt emotionally attached to the show… it’s just too much right now.
Eventually.
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.
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
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.
In season 1 Riker doesn't have a beard, which is your first clue it's a holodeck simulation.
I saw some people say to start with Season 3, but it felt weird. Should I just skip Season 1?
I'd agree with the other comment as well. The first two seasons are bumpy but they build a lot.
Skipping them, even where they're rough, does you a disservice in the long run. It's well worth the trouble.
I'd say no, but muscle through it even if it's not clicking.
Frankly, there are great episodes in the first two seasons, it just hadn't fully hit a groove where you can just watch it and at least expect it to be ok to good (or hilarious) every time. The hatred for the first seasons is overhyped.
But yeah, a lot of the creaky joints, be it Picard being weirdly hostile and disengaged from the action, Q being weird and grating and Wesley being mishandled do go away eventually.
The first couple seasons were still under Gene Roddenberry's control. He maintained that there should not be any conflict between the crew members. That made the first couple seasons a little strange.
When I first started TNG I just looked up a list of the best episodes from season 1 and 2 and watched those then went straight to season 3. After I finished the show and loved it, I went back and rewatched seasons 1 and 2 fully. So that's a good option if you just wanna get to the good stuff quicker, and each episode is (for the most part) it's own self contained episode so you don't miss much by skipping parts of seasons 1 and 2 IMO as long as you watch the good episodes.
I'm on break at work so I don't have time to find the list I used but sure you can find something easily with a Google search or someone else here might recommend the best episodes of those seasons.
Just skip the Riker Clip Show at the end of season 2, and you'll be fine. Apparently that episode was created because writers were on strike at the time
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.
I remember complaining about things like that when my parents watched Bewitched. I always preferred I Dream of Jeannie for the plot.
FOR NOW
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.
He gets better. I remember not being a big fan when I first saw him too.
He doesn't really get better, but later on the circumstances that appear around him make Q more palatable.
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 ;-)
And miss "The Measure of a Man"?
If you don't like him, you can just skip his episodes & not miss much.
I mean, "Q Who" is kind of important to the series, if not the franchise as a whole.
Well... and the finale.
Does Tapestry count? Because that's a great episode that shouldn't be skipped.
I disagree. Borg much?
That said, I was never able to decide whether I hated Q or Wesley more.
It’s always Wesley in questions like this.
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.
I agree. It got unexpectedly trippy and weird at times, which was a pleasant surprise. He just came across really cornbally. I could imagine him maybe growing on me.
Penalty!
His best line: "Eat any good books lately?"