History Recap / StarTrekTheNextGenerationS3E13DejaQ

* TheCameo: The second Q is played by a very young and uncredited [[{{Series/Psych}} Corbin Bernsen]]. Due to his role as Arnold Becker on ''Series/LALaw'', Corbin was a major star at the time; his appearance was pretty much a CelebrityCameo. Bernsen is clearly having fun hamming it up right along with De Lancie.

Q visits the now-conscious Data in the sickbay and thanks him for saving his life, earnestly telling him that while he still finds the android's desire to be more human weird and rather ridiculous, he has already proven that he is a better human than himself. Q then takes a shuttle-craft out to offer himself up to the Calamarain and leave the ship free to save Bre'el IV. Picard contacts the shuttle-craft and tries to talk Q out of it, but Q refuses, saying that with this act of self-sacrifice he can at least achieve something worthwhile before he dies. Against Picard's better judgment, the crew tries to rescue him, but finds that all of the controls that could retrieve or protect the shuttle-craft are suddenly non-functional, without any explanation.

* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Riker has to hold back a laugh, and Picard smiles, when Worf tells Q to die.

* SimpleSolutionWontWork: The ''Enterprise'' crew ask the [[BroughtDownToNormal currently depowered]] Q how he would resolve the issue of a de-orbiting moon, and he says he'd just alter the gravitational constant of the universe. It's a simple solution ''if'' you happen to be a SufficientlyAdvancedAlien, but not much help to the cast -- until it gives Geordi a EurekaMoment on how they could ''locally'' reduce the gravitational constant (by [[{{Technobabble}} playing games]] with the warp drive).

'''Q:''' I think I just hurt my back. I'm feeling pain... I don't like it. Uh, what's the right thing to say, 'ow'?

--->'''Q:''' "Your bedside manner is admirable, Doctor. I'm sure your patients recover quickly just to get away from you."

* VisualPun: A ''very'' subtle one in the final scene when Q celebrates and breaks out the cigars. Everyone is, in essence, holding a [[JustForPun Q-ban Cigar]].

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tng_deja_q_hd_411.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Is this the end of Q? ''Au contraire, mon capitaine''! He's back!]]

* GratuitousMariachiBand: How Q celebrates becoming omnipotent again, to Picard's magisterial displeasure.

''[{{beat}} as Riker[[note]]or possibly Creator/JonathanFrakes himself[[/note]] [[{{corpsing}} desperately tries to not explode with laughter]]]''\\

* {{Facepalm}}: Picard is in the midst of one when Q tells him he's the closest thing Q has to a friend, causing him to look up in surprise. This is the source of the [[MemeticMutation iconic]] "Picard Single Hand Facepalm Maneuver", as well as the image on the main trope page -- which should tell you a lot about this episode.

After being given some clothes, Q announces that the Q Continuum has kicked him out, stripped him of his powers, and banished him to a mortal form. Given a fraction of a second to decide what to be turned into and where to be sent, he chose human form and requested to be sent to the ''Enterprise''. Since Q has toyed with the crew on numerous occasions already, Picard is not convinced that this isn't some attempt at a "puerile joke" and demands that Q fix the moon. Q insists he cannot because he has no powers. Picard is still skeptical. When asks what it would take to prove that he is indeed mortal now, Worf quips that he should "die."

* GratuitousMariachiBand: How Q celebrates becoming omnipotent again.

* FirstTimeFeeling: Q finds sleep (loss of consciousness) and pain to be terrifying experiences.

Further, the crew realize that Q has fixed the moon's orbit for them. The inhabitants of Bre'el IV joyfully thank Picard and his crew. The nonplussed Picard prepares to get the ship underway, and muses, "Perhaps there's a... residue of humanity in Q after all." He raises his hand to say "Engage" when a cigar flashes into his hand and Q's face appears in the smoke, saying, "Don't bet on it, Picard."

Another Q appears on Q's shuttlecraft and explains that, due to the selfless act he just committed, the Continuum decided he could have his powers back if he promises to at least try to show some better behavior and not randomly torment lower lifeforms for kicks as often as last time. Q snaps his fingers and gets his Starfleet uniform back. He then turns on the Calamarain, preparing to wreak his vengeance on them, but the other Q gives him a strong warning, so Q just dismisses them.

On the ''Enterprise'', the crew believe that Q has been destroyed by the Calamarain and have an awkward moment of silence as they process his sacrifice. But then Q appears on the bridge as part of a mariachi band, triumphantly proclaiming that has his powers back and he wants to celebrate. He tries to reward the bridge crew with cigars and floozies, but they settle back into their old routine of stiffly refusing to play his games.

Q agrees to cut it out but then announces that he does want to give Data one very special parting gift as his way of saying thanks for being his "professor of the humanities". Data starts to warn him not to transform him into a human, but Q assures him that he would never "curse" him by doing something like that. After Q leaves, Data suddenly breaks into hysterical laughter. When Geordi finally asks what's so funny, the spell is broken and Data settles down. He admits he has no idea what he was laughing at, but it was "a wonderful... feeling."

On the ''Enterprise'', the crew believe that Q has been destroyed by the Calamarain and have an awkward moment of silence as they process his sacrifice. But then Q appears on the bridge as part of a mariachi band, triumphantly proclaiming that he's back. He tries to reward the bridge crew with cigars and floozies, but they settle back into their old routine of stiffly refusing to play his games.

Q agrees to cut it out but then announces that he does want to give Data one special gift. Data starts to warn him not to transform him into a human, but Q assures him that he would never "curse" him by doing something like that. After Q leaves, Data suddenly breaks into hysterical laughter. When Geordi finally asks what's so funny, the spell is broken and Data settles down. He admits he has no idea what he was laughing at, but it was "a wonderful... feeling."

* BreatherEpisode: It’s one of the few episodes of ''Star Trek'' to be an out-and-out comedy, complete with [[LargeHam enough ham to feed a family of four]] and multiple sight gags, and it’s sandwiched in between an episode about the morality of terrorism and one about an alleged cold-blooded murder and possible sexual improprieties.

* BreatherEpisode: It’s one of the few episodes of ''Star Trek'' to be an out-and-out comedy, complete with [[LargeHam enough ham to feed a family of four]] and multiple sight gags, and it’s sandwiched in between an episode about the morality of terrorism and one about a cold-blooded murder.

* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Riker has to hold back a laugh when Worf tells Q to die.

The ''Enterprise'' is preparing to help the planet of Bre'el IV. A moon is slipping out of orbit, and if they don't do something, it will strike the planet and cause immense devastation. Suddenly Q appears on the bridge, floating in the air and completely naked. He falls lightly to the floor and says cheekily, "Red alert."

After being given clothes to put on, Q tells them that the Q Continuum has kicked him out, stripped him of his powers, and banished him to a mortal form. Given a fraction of a second to decide what to be turned into and where to be sent, he chose human form and requested to be sent to the ''Enterprise''. Since Q has toyed with the crew of the ''Enterprise'' on numerous occasions already, Picard is not convinced that this isn't some attempt by Q at a "puerile joke" and demands that Q fix the moon. Q insists he cannot because he has no powers. Picard is still skeptical. When Q further insists, asking what it would take to prove that he is indeed mortal now, Worf quips that he should "die".

Picard has Worf escort Q to the brig after Q insists on being treated like just any other human. After spending some time there, Q begs Picard to let him out, telling him that he can assist him with the whole moon problem, saying that while he might not have his powers any more, he still remembers a lot about astrophysics. Picard finally agrees to let him out and puts Data in charge of him. While working with Data and Geordi, Q comes up with the idea of changing the gravitational constant of the Universe. Geordi scoffs that changing the nature of the universe is not within their power, but then realizes that proper application of the ship's power could create a local warp field around a part of the moon, allowing for a gravitational adjustment sufficient to solve the problem.

Q is new to all human experiences, including sleep and pain. When he realizes that he's hungry, he accompanies Data to Ten-Forward, where he meets Guinan. The pair of nemeses square off, and Guinan tests his claim of being human by stabbing his hand with a fork, causing him to yelp in pain. Suddenly, aliens called the Calamarain find and attack him. Guinan remarks that some of Q's old enemies found out he was now mortal and have come to "[[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown look him up]]." Raising the shields succeeds in repulsing the Calamarain, but they don't leave. Q remarks that they have no sense of humor.

Calamarain contiue to attack the ship and manage to blast it into the planet's atmosphere. A Calamarain manages to get past the shield and attacks Q directly, but Data jumps to save him, taking the bulk of a powerful shock from the creature meant for Q, knocking both of them out.

While Q is relatively unphazed, the damage to Data is severe. As Doctor Crusher and Geordi try to repair the damaged android, Q downplays Data's heroics and makes a nuisance of himself until Crusher kicks him out of Sick Bay. With Calamarain still committed to attacking him, however, he's still a liability to the ship. Geordi tells Picard that they need to drop their shields to fix the moon, which would probably prompt the Calamarain to try to attack Q again. In Geordi's opinion, Q is not worth saving.

As Picard mulls over the events in the ready room, Q enters to speak with him. Q admits that Picard is completely right in calling him extremely selfish, noticing that it served him well when he was omnipotent, but he realizes that now that he is mortal it is a really poor trait. In fact, the brush of death he received with the Calamarain's attack has caused Q to seriously ponder his mortality and himself. He realizes that if he died, no one would miss him. Further, he never would have made the same sacrifice for Data, which makes him ashamed. He announces that, without his powers, he's just a frightened, miserable coward and concludes, "I can't go on this way."

Q visits the now conscious Data in the sickbay, and thanks him for saving his life, earnestly telling him that while he still finds the android's desire to be more human weird and rather ridiculous, he has already proven that he is a better human than himself. Q then takes a shuttle-craft out to offer himself up to the Calamarain and leave the ship free to save Bre'el IV. Picard contacts the shuttle-craft and tries to talk Q out of it, but Q refuses, saying that with this act of self-sacrifice he can at least achieve something worthwhile before he dies. Against Picard's better judgment, the crew tries to rescue him, but finds that all of the controls that could retrieve or protect the shuttle-craft are suddenly non-functional, without any explanation.

Another Q appears on Q's shuttlecraft and explains that, due to the selfless act he just committed, the Continuum decided he could have his powers back, if he promises to at least try to show some better behavior and not randomly torment lower lifeforms for kicks as often as last time. Q snaps his fingers and gets his Starfleet uniform back. He then turns on the Calamarain, preparing to wreak his vengeance on them, but the other Q gives him a strong warning, so Q just dismisses them.

Q agrees to cut it out, but announces that he does want to give Data one special gift. Data tries to warn him not to transform him into a human, but Q assures him that he would never "curse" him to be become human. After Q leaves, Data suddenly breaks into hysterical laughter. When Geordi finally asks what he's laughing it, the spell is broken and Data settles down. He admits he has no idea what he was laughing at, but it was "a wonderful... feeling."

Further, the crew realize that Q has fixed the moon's orbit for them. The inhabitants of Bre'el IV joyfully thank Picard and his crew. The nonplussed Picard prepares to get the ship underway, and muses, "Perhaps there's a... residue of humanity in Q after all." He raises his hand to say Engage when a cigar flashes into his hand and Q's face appears in the smoke, saying, "Don't bet on it, Picard."

[[caption-width-right:350:So, yeah, this is a goofy one.]]

The ''Enterprise'' is preparing to help the planet of Bre'el IV; a moon is slipping out of orbit, and if they don't do something, it will strike the planet and cause immense devastation. Suddenly Q appears, suspended high in midair and completely naked. He falls lightly to the floor and says cheekily, "Red alert."

After being given clothes to put on (which he whines about, since the gray-and-green jumpsuit is not the captain's uniform he usually adopts), Q tells them that the Q Continuum has kicked him out, stripped him of his powers, and banished him to a mortal form. Given a fraction of a second to decide what to be turned into and where to be sent, he chose human form and requested to be sent to the ''Enterprise''. Since Q has toyed with the crew of the ''Enterprise'' on numerous occasions already, Picard is not convinced that this isn't some attempt by Q at a "puerile joke" and demands that Q fix the moon. Q insists he cannot, because he has no powers. Picard is still skeptical. When Q further insists, asking what it would take to prove that he is indeed mortal now, Worf quips that he should "die".

Picard has Worf escort Q to the brig after Q insists on being treated like just any other human. After spending some time there, Q begs Picard to let him out, telling him that he can assist him with the whole moon problem, saying that while he might not have his powers any more, he still remembers a lot about astrophysics. Picard finally agrees to let him out, and puts Data in charge of him. While working with Data and Geordi, Q comes up with the idea of changing the gravitational constant of the Universe. Geordi scoffs that changing the nature of the universe is not within their power, but then realizes that proper application of the ship's power could create a local warp field around a part of the moon, allowing for a gravitational adjustment sufficient to solve the problem.

Q eventually gets hungry, and goes to Ten-Forward with Data. Being new to the whole concept of having to consume nutrition, Q struggles decide on what he should eat for his first meal, so Data remarks that Counselor Troi often eats a chocolate sundae when she feels depressed. Q reasons that since he is in an absolutely dreadful mood from being made human, the solution must be to eat ''ten'' chocolate sundaes. As they wait for Q's order, Guinan decides to check on them, much to Q's outspoken chagrin. Having heard that Q has lost his powers, Guinan decides to test it by stabbing his hand with a fork. "Seems human enough to me," she quips as Q cries out in pain. When the sundaes arrive, Q grumbles that he's lost his appetite.

While Q is in Ten-Forward, aliens called the Calamarain find and attack him. Guinan remarks that some of Q's old enemies found out he was now mortal and have come to "[[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown look him up]]." Raising the shields succeeds in discouraging the Calamarain. Q remarks that they have no sense of humor.

Riker and Picard question Q on the appearance of the Calamarain, asking Q what exactly he did to make them so angry at him. "Nothing bizarre, nothing grotesque," answers Q, trying to be vague, but Riker effortlessly sees through this: Q, as usual, used his powers to torment them for kicks. Picard then figures that Q actually had a ulterior motive in asking to become a human and be placed on the ''Enterprise''. Q being Q, he must have made numerous lifeforms across the universe mad at him for some reason or another, and he definitely knew some of them would be angry enough to try to exact revenge on him now that he was mortal. And he figured that being placed on the ''Enterprise'' could offer him some means of protection against them. Q answers that he is indeed right; he knows that it is in human nature to value forgiveness and compassion, and he therefore reasoned that the crew of the ''Enterprise'' would feel compelled to protect him, even if they disliked him. Riker points out that keeping Q's enemies at bay could easily become a full time job; a really annoying one. Picard agrees, and says he is sorely tempted to drop off Q at the nearest starbase and let them deal with him. Q protests that now that he is human, he has the ability to learn to better himself and could prove a valuable member of the crew. Data vouches for him, pointing out that he did indeed help Geordi in coming up with the solution to the moon problem. Realizing the logic in Data's statement, the crew reluctantly agrees to have Q stay for now and send back him to Engineering to continue to help Geordi and Data with the problem.

The presence of the Calamarain is starting to interfere with the ''Enterprise'''s mission. In trying to attack Q again, they start blasting the ship so it is knocked into the planet's atmosphere. A Calamarain manages to get past the shield and attacks Q directly, but Data jumps to save him, taking the bulk of a powerful shock from the creature, meant for Q, knocking both of them out.

As Doctor Crusher and Geordi try to repair the damaged Data in sickbay, Crusher notices that if Data had been mortal, he would have been done for. Q sulks that he actually is mortal, but managed to survive the attack, and points out Data is stronger than him, so obviously it should not be that big of a problem for him, prompting Picard to chew Q out for his selfishness and order him escorted out. Geordi tells Picard that while they can continue with the current plan to accomplish their mission, it would require lowering the shields which would probably prompt the Calamarain to try to attack Q again, but in Geordi's opinion Q is not worth saving.

As Picard mulls over the events in the ready room, Q enters to speak with him. Q admits that Picard is completely right in calling him extremely selfish, noticing that it served him well when he was omnipotent, but he realizes that now that he is mortal it is a really poor trait. In fact, the brush of death he received with the Calamarain's attack has caused Q to seriously ponder his mortality. "I could have been killed. If it hadn't been for Data and that one brief delay he created, I would have been gone. No more me. And no one would have missed me, would they? Data may have sacrificed himself for me. Why?" asks Q. "That is his special nature. He learned the lessons of humanity well," answers Picard. Q replies that he knows he would not have done the same for Data, and that makes him feel rather ashamed. Q concludes that, all in all, he truly doesn't have what it takes to be human. "Without my powers, I'm frightened of everything. I'm a coward, and I'm miserable, and I can't go on this way."

Q visits the now conscious Data in the sickbay, and thanks him for saving his life, earnestly telling him that while he still finds the android's desire to be more human weird and rather ridiculous, he has already proven that he is a better human than himself. Q then takes a shuttle-craft out to distract the Calamarain so that the ''Enterprise'' can try another tractor beam on the moon. Picard contacts the shuttle-craft and tries to talk Q out of it, but Q refuses, dismissing his life as a human as a "dismal failure", and hopes that with this act of self-sacrifice he can at least achieve something worthwhile before he dies. Against Picard's better judgment, the crew tries to rescue him, but finds that all of the controls that could retrieve or protect the shuttle-craft are suddenly non-functional, without any explanation.

Meanwhile as Q continues onward, another Q joins him on the shuttle and explains that, due to the selfless act he just committed, the Continuum decided he could have his powers back, if he promises to at least try to show some better behavior and not randomly torment lower lifeforms for kicks as often as last time. (Besides, if Q actually died, there would be questions and investigations for millennia.) Q snaps his fingers and gets his Starfleet uniform back. The other Q disappears. The Calamarain reappear, and Q gathers them into a tiny little ball that he can hold in the palm of his hand, and begins to say that if they thought he tormented them ''before''... but then Other Q's head appears in the wall, giving him an admonishing look. "Just checking to see if you were still watching," Q says, then blows on the Calamarain as if blowing out a candle, sending them away.

On the ''Enterprise'', they find no further reading from the shuttle, and Picard concludes that maybe this could really be the last they will ever hear of Q. A strangely wistful moment of silence amongst the crew passes, before the shuttle is suddenly back in its bay and Q appears on the bridge, shouting "''Au contraire'', mon capitaine! He's ''back''!", at the top of his lungs, before breaking into a trumpet solo with a Mariachi band accompanying him. Happy to have his powers and immortality back, he declares that he is in the mood to celebrate, and everybody gets cigars! Two women appear on each side of Commander Riker, fawning over him. Riker says, "I don't need your fantasy women", to which Q replies "Oh, you're so stolid! You weren't like that before the beard!" Riker gives him a rather cryptic look, and in a flash, the same women appear next to a bewildered Worf. Picard gets angry and tells Q to get rid of everything, the band, the women, "ALL of it." and the cigars.

Q reluctantly complies, but then says he wants to give a special gift to Data, his tutor in the humanities. Data says, "If your intention is to make me human, Q--" and Q quickly says, "No, no, no, no, no, I would never curse you by making you human. Think of it... as a going-away present." Q disappears, and seconds later, Data makes a snerking sound, like he's trying to suppress a laugh. He does it again, and then breaks out into full-blown hysterical laughter. Geordi asks why he's laughing; Data, regaining composure, says he doesn't know, but it's a wonderful... feeling.

Soon afterwards, the inhabitants of Bre'el IV contact the ship and say, "Picard, you've done it!" Their moon is back in a stable orbit. Picard is naturally confused, but humbly accepts the credit for saving their world. Picard prepares to get the ship underway, and muses, "Perhaps there's a... residue of humanity in Q after all." He raises his hand to say Engage, getting as far as "En--" when a cigar flashes into his hand and Q's face appears in the smoke, saying, '''"Don't bet on it, Picard."'''

* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Riker has to hold back a laugh following Worf's single word DeadpanSnarker moment below.

* BigShutUp: When Q really gets on Worf's nerves:
--> '''Worf:''' '''BE QUIET!''' Or disappear back where you came from!\\
'''Q:''' I ''can't'' disappear, any more than you could win a beauty contest.

* TheCameo: The second Q is played by a very young and uncredited [[{{Series/Psych}} Corbin Bernsen]]. Due to his role as Arnold Becker on ''Series/LALaw'', Corbin was a major star at the time; his appearance was pretty much a CelebrityCameo.

* EveryoneHasStandards: Turns out that the rest of the Continuum don't approve of Q tormenting other beings for his own amusement.

* JerkassBall: Guinan takes firm hold of this in relation to Q.
-->'''Data:''' The captain and many of the crew are not yet convinced he is truly human.\\
'''Guinan:''' Really? ''[stabs Q's hand with a fork, eliciting a pained response]'' Seems human enough to me.

* NakedPeopleAreFunny: The Q Continuum clearly has a twisted sense of humor.

* RealityEnsues: Riker suggest blasting the moon. This is shot down since as Data points out, blasting it to pieces would simply mean a greater number of smaller chunks of rock raining down.
** Q is so used to being a RealityWarper that his advice is based around being one, so his advice about changing the gravitational constant of the universe is no help since humans can't do that. Geordi does however get an idea that could use.

* ThisIsGonnaSuck: Q's reaction when Guinan shows up in Ten Forward and sees him as a mortal:

* YouWouldDoTheSameForMe: Averted. After Data saves Q from a Calamarain attack, Q is actually sufficiently embarrassed and humbled to admit to Picard that he would ''not'' have done the same for Data.

* InformedAttribute. Picard calls Q a liar and Worf says, "You have fooled us too often, Q." When did he fool them? When he pretended to put them on trial for the crimes of humanity? Oh, wait, he did that for real. When he pretended to give Riker powers? Oh. How about when he pretended to throw them in the path of the Bor-- Hmm.