"Star Trek: Deep Space Nine"
Q-Less (1993)

Director:

Paul Lynch

Writers:

Gene Roddenberry (creator: "Star Trek")
Rick Berman (creator) ...

TV Series:

"Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (1993)

Original Air Date:

7 February 1993 (Season 1, Episode 6)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Plot:

Q, the Enterprise-D's consistent omnipotent annoyance, comes to harass the DS9 crew when his traveling companion, Vash, refuses to travel with Q any longer.

Plot Keywords:

Auction | Archeologist | Fisticuffs | Character Name In Title | Shipper

Cast

Avery Brooks	...	Commander Sisko
Rene Auberjonois	...	Odo
Alexander Siddig	...	Doctor Bashir (as Siddig El Fadil)
Terry Farrell	...	Lieutenant Jadzia Dax
Cirroc Lofton	...	Jake Sisko (credit only)
Colm Meaney	...	Chief O'Brien
Armin Shimerman	...	Quark
Nana Visitor	...	Major Kira
Jennifer Hetrick	...	Vash
John de Lancie	...	Q
Van Epperson	...	Bajoran Clerk
Tom McCleister	...	Kolos
Laura Cameron	...	Bajoran Woman

Goofs:

Factual errors: The operations crew tries to track the power drain by releasing tritium gas into the station's atmosphere. It is frequently mentioned that tritium is extremely toxic. However, tritium is simply a heavy form of hydrogen, which is not toxic even in fairly strong concentrations, provided there is oxygen present for people to breathe. The principal danger in a case like this is from igniting the oxygen-hydrogen (i.e. tritium) mixture, not from poisoning the station inhabitants.

Quotes:

Q: You hit me! Picard never hit me.
Sisko: I'm not Picard.
Q: Indeed not. You're much easier to provoke. How fortunate for me.

Conclusion of the Vash Story Arc from TNG

John De Lancie and Jennifer Hetrick reprise their TNG roles as omnipotent cosmic pest and ethically-challenged archaeologist. Vash arrives on a ship which appears to be experiencing inexplicable problems. Soon, Q shows up and DS9's crew thinks they've found the explanation for the problems. But it seems that Q has only one thing in mind - convincing Vash to return to his sidecar. As Q becomes more frustrated in his attempts at persuasion, DS9 begins to experience inexplicable problems as well.

The plots seems a bit disjointed and - more than once - one has to question the intelligence of the station's safety protocols. But the real purpose of this episode seems to have been to lend DS9 some ratings through the appearance of a popular TNG character (Q) and to resolve the Vash story arc without doing another dull romance between her and Picard.

De Lancie's performances have always been heavily dependent on the script he is presented with. This DS9 episode presents Q as the intergalactic trickster, not the child-like god which he typically plays in the heavier TNG Q episodes. The dialog here is written well and both Hetrick and De Lancie do well with their roles.

Although I like Vash's risky personality and Jennifer Hetrick's smile, I have to point out - as a professional archaeologist - that it is unlikely that Vash would be permitted to exist for any length of time in a lawfully constituted government, let alone being accepted into a major scientific think-tank. As cool as she may be, she's as much of a looter as Indiana Jones.