Star Trek: Voyager (TV Series) Death Wish (1996) User Reviews

Yes, it must totally suck to be immortal and have ultimate power...

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 15 February 2015]

After making many appearances in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and one on "Star Trek: Deep Space 9", it's now John De Lancie's turn to appear as the irrepressible Q on "Star Trek: Voyager". He'll appear two more times on "Voyager".

The show begins with Q and Q Too (Gerrit Graham) appearing on Voyager. It seems that Q Too has been imprisoned on a meteor the ship has discovered. Why was he imprisoned? Well, the Continuum thinks he's crazy because he wants to kill himself. While this DOES sound crazy that a member of the Continuum would want to die, the ultimate tedium of his existence is explored in the show--and Janeway is allowed to make the decision for the Continuum--whether to allow him to die or whether he'll once again return to his lonely prison. But, to muck up the subsequent hearing, Q isn't above trying to bribe the Captain with what everyone wants on the ship--to return home.

Like almost all Q episodes, this one is enjoyable and rather fun despite the suicide angle. You also get a brief cameo from Jonathan Frakes as Commander Riker--which is a plus.

Ok, Voyager is a worthy Trek show

[dirvingman-62136 · 9/10 · 25 January 2021]

Voyager has been a spotty affair so far on my first watch-through. Some good episodes so far but it's required a lot of wading through some straight-up dumb stories.

This episode gives me hope for the rest of the series, which will almost assuredly improve around Season 3 as all Golden Age Trek Shows I've seen so far do. This is my favorite episode so far of Voyager. It's got alien life, courtroom drama that hashes out heavy philosophical material, and a story with a thought-provoking and character-driven emotional core. In other words, classic Trek. In particular, the scene where they visit the Q continuum was superbly written, performed, and directed. Spellbinding stuff. It feels like the writing, dialog, acting, and emotional stakes all took a major step up from the typical Voyager episode so far.

God wants to die.

[thevacinstaller · 8/10 · 6 April 2020]

For a philosopher a life without a creation outlet and way for society to progress/grow could very well be an intolerable existence and that certainly is the case for Q. This is a good episode that explores the question of individual rights verses the collective opinion/good.

Random thoughts:

• I found it interesting that Q mentioned that the Borg would have assimilated the federation had he not interfered and prepared them for the borg earlier.
• Q has a crush on Janeway ---- Must be that sweet satin nightgown.
• Q's back to being a distruptive influence in the continuum. Janeway/Starfleet have an effect on the Q's progression just like the Q had an effect on the federation.

This is good Star Trek story.

[marian_the_nightman · 10/10 · 16 January 2018]

-I watched this episode yesterday,once again,after 22 years and i must say it's much better than i remember.The episode doesn't have many vfx , the story is not full of action,but the main points and of the hole episode are very interesting,it is not a boring episode and this is one of the few episodes that bounds Star Trek Voyager from the other series of the franchise ,especially TNG.This series emains the series with the mos beautiful aesthetics and design of the ships and costumes too it is better even than Star Trek Discovery.The acting is good ,far above of the acting in the new series ,which doesn't even use filming the faces of the actors from a close point.I miss my old TNG/VOY/DS-9 and even ENT series.

10/10 for casting alone.

[dodobassoon · 10/10 · 18 January 2019]

T was not only brilliant casting de Lancie as the original Q...he has the perfect sense of play, humour and arragance...but it was ingenious casting the wonderful and underrated Garrit Graham as a second Q.

Graham (Used Cars, Phantom of the Paradise, Class Reunion, MULTIPLE television appearances, genre films and sequels) was perfectly cast. Not only is he well known for humorous campy horror, and quite capable of playing a de Lancie-type trickster Q himself, he sold us on a sympathetic Q...an adorably selfless and philosophical Q.

He maintained the Q humour, but where de Lancie plays (to perfection) fun arrogance, he played sweet whimsy. I also give this episode kudos for showing a pathos side of (de Lancie) Q. One that feels. One that understands immortality perhaps, even if he doesn't wish it upon himself like his counterpart.

Graham fits the Q family perfectly (above Bernsen or Plakson). He and de Lancie (along with some fun writing) showed a very entertaining yin and yang to the Q continuum.

A rare episode with Q that I like

[ghatbkk · 9/10 · 27 October 2018]

Q was overused in Next Generation so much that I simply got tired of seeing him and the simplistic philosophical ideas that those episodes typically dealt with.

This episode deals also with simple philosophical ideas, but for once, deals intelligently with them, specifically the rights of the individual in comparison with the power of the state.

Two Q's: A Question of Morality in Another Dimension

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 19 August 2018]

Our old friend Q and Q Too show up on Voyager. The latter has been imprisoned in a comet. He is suffering from serious depression as an immortal creature. He wants to become mortal so he can die. The original Q won't hear of this because it could tear at the fabric of the continuum (or something like that]. Anyway, it is left to Janeway to be judge and jury. She is strongly opposed to suicide, but she also realizes the eternal unhappiness of Q Too. What will she do. This is a very "human" story. Q provides a host of shenanigans along the way.

Chemistry & Juice

[Bolesroor · 9/10 · 2 February 2011]

Star Trek: Schizophrenic rolls on, this time with an out-of-left-field episode devoted to Q and Q2, a bad Q who wants to do things that the good Q don't usually do. Mainly, killing himself, with the help of Suicidal Sue.

Okay, I made up that part about Sue but the rest is all true. I can't stop rhyming, and neither can you! Don't worry, I'm slapping my own face. There, that's better.

John DeLancie is back as the ultimate effeminate community theater playhouse performer, the kind of guy who gives you his home number after rehearsal and tells you to call him anytime, and as usual he brings an energy and life that's oddly missing from ALL of the Trek series, even in their best episodes. Here he demands that the escaped Q2 be returned to his prison cell in the tail of a comet (don't ask) and be denied the right to die like a mortal.

The high points here the trial, in which Q2 pleads for his right to die and brings to mind classic TOS Trek. Also great is the look inside the Q continuum in a metaphoric representation that we humans can understand. It's full of just the right amount of surreal imagery and disconnect that we can almost comprehend that which we know is incomprehensible. Also good is the romantic, erotic relationship Q develops with Janeway, who seems to be getting sexier and more moist with every episode. She also seems to be in desperate need of a good bang, which only makes her more hot and desirable. Sometimes she whispers her lines like a mother to a baby and sometimes she hisses them like a snake protecting her den... either way it's a sultry, sensual experience and I can definitely see the attraction.

The episode is thought-provoking, featuring a forgettable cameo by Johnathan Frakes as William Riker, and we're left wondering yet again what the mission of the Voyager series really is... getting home? Fighting the Kazon? Dusting off old Next Generation scripts like this one? Boldy going where no man has gone before or hurrying home? No answers here... but an interesting diversion.

GRADE: A-

The most thought provoking episode of Star Trek from all it's incarnations.

[jeffhayhoe · 24 September 2020]

The subject matter in this episode is a grand feast to anyone who likes to contemplate the mysteries of the universe. This is an incredible thought experiment about the ultimate nature of eternity, time, mortality, and why an immortal consciousness might want death. To be or not to be, this subject even reaches into philosophical issues such as the existence of evil, free will, higher intelligent civilizations, multiple timelines, war in heaven, ultimate reality beyond out perceptions, etc, etc, etc. To me, this episode is an orgy of profound deep thought and contemplation on the highest level.

A good Q episode?

[Ar_Pharazon_the_golden · 9/10 · 13 February 2019]

Why, yes. I am sure there have been others, but I have trouble remembering them, since at some point it got silly how a childish god kept interfering with the Enterprise.

But here, the issue explored is serious. Not only the right to suicide, but the rights of the individual against the state as well. And it is approached in simple, yet effective and thoughtful terms. Unending ennuis for constant pain. An irrational fear of change limiting individual liberties.

Of course, in the end (primary) Q doesn't seem to hold any resentment towards the Captain so you might think she could at least ask him to take them home. Still, this is authentic Star Trek stuff.

A suicidal Q

[Tweekums · 7/10 · 21 July 2010]

When Voyager investigates an unusual comet they are surprised to find it contains a person who claims to be Q, he is not the Q first seen in The Next Generation though, this one had been imprisoned in the comet for three hundred years because his desire to commit suicide was deemed to be a danger to the continuum. When the Q we know turns up to return him to his prison he bounces Voyager across time and space in a futile attempt to evade his pursuer. Eventually he realises he can't escape and asks Janeway for asylum and she agrees to have a hearing to decide the matter. Q brings witnesses including Commander Riker to show how the other Q had changed human history for the better and for the first time in any series we see the Continuum, or at least a representation of it that humans can understand, here it is clear that the Q do not lead interesting lives, being immortal they have done everything and discussed everything and seem indifferent to everything. As the hearing draws to a close the captain has a difficult decision to make; condemn Q to eternity in a prison or allow him to become mortal and take his own life.

I'm not a big fan of the Q, while they are interesting characters their god-like powers make them a bit too all powerful to be believable even within the realms of Star Trek. Seeing them inside the Continuum was interesting though. Guest stars John de Lancie and Gerrit Graham did good jobs as the two Qs. While I won't spoil the ending I will say it was not quite what I'd expected to happen which was a nice surprise.

Very profound episode!

[rafatellez · 9/10 · 24 November 2021]

This is a very profound episode since it touches very human controversies like the right to terminate ones own life; but too the highly mystical cabalistic subject of the Elohim, the co-creator gods that bring into existence all God's Creation and that can follow God's rules, commands and order or rebel and provoke mischief or destruction (like the fallen Lucifer that use to be the respectable Luzbel).

A work of art in symbolism and metaphor!

Star Trek: Voyager - Death Wish

[Scarecrow-88 · 8/10 · 7 January 2017]

Defiant member of the Q Continuum (the great Gerrit Graham) seeks asylum on board the Voyager and hopes to be granted a mortal life so he can commit suicide! A trial to determine if he would be able to do so is underway as John De Lancie returns as Q, working as "prosecutor" against Graham, with Tuvok representing Graham as defense. Janeway will be the deciding factor in favor of or against Graham. The very state of the Continuum's existence could be deeply affected by Janeway's ruling. To think, Graham's Q was found imprisoned inside a comet, put there by the Continuum because they felt he was mentally imbalanced and a threat to them! To think, the Voyager's journey through the unknown quadrant had them encountering a sentenced Q who now has the opportunity to be freed from a sentence of immortality he no longer desires but wished to escape. If you see Jonathan Frakes in the credits, don't get too giddy as his part in this episode is brief. If he had a greater part, Frakes' Riker would have overwhelmed the story. De Lancie, as he always did in the Trek Universe, knows how to make an entrance and dominate his screen time. Here he even makes no qualms about his attraction to Janeway! The trial itself questions suicide and if Graham's conditions warrant such, but Janeway's ruling, even as Q offers a trip back to Earth (!), is made with great judgment and perception. Seeing the Continuum come under review, with Graham calling their current status into question (boring immortality where little "fun" or "irresponsibility" disrupts the apple cart) and Q entrapped by his reasoning for wanting to leave is quite compelling and contemplative. De Lancie calling himself as a witness and offering up both questions and answers is just exactly what his Q would do. Q sacrificing his disruptive antics which allowed him to cause all kind of trouble and catering to the Continuum's demands to behave also used against him by Graham…De Lancie's reaction is part of why this episode works so well. That De Lancie would cave and grant Graham what he wishes really says that his words made an impact. Riker's momentary visit to the ship was nice (but all too short) while it lasts, and his chance to shake Janeway's hand is a rub from The Next Generation to Voyager. Except for the visit to the Continuum which is like walking off a desert road to a shack in the middle of nowhere is a bit too small scale for my tastes…you always try to imagine just what it would be like, and I felt this was far from it. Mulgrew's performance at the end, as Janeway looks down at Graham who was aided by De Lancie with poison, hits the right note...you can't help but feel such loss of potential in "Quinn". Most bizarre sequence: the Voyager find themselves on a Christmas tree thanks to Q who looks at them as if they are an ornament! How Quinn impacted Earth in ways like influencing the apple that would fall to Isaac Newton and help Ginsberg get to Woodstock so the music would play is a nifty bit of history, as Q telling Janeway that he inadvertently caused the 100 year war between the Vulcans and Romulans!

One of the Best Episodes in All of Trek

[CharoleaWood · 10/10 · 17 April 2023]

Following up on DS9's exploration into the theme of suicide (s4 e14 "Sons of Mogh") Death Wish gets more philosophical with the subject and stands out to me as a singularly pointed journey into the nature of existence.

This was an episode that played a lot on reruns where I was at as a youth, it is a quiet and pensive episode and for the longest time I had remembered it as belonging to Next Generation --- Janeway's role as arbiter between Qs somehow feels very Jean-Luc, like a lost Next Gen script.

Anyway, Death Wish deliciously sets up a continuing Q ark for Voyager.

Kate Mulgrew is always wonderful but the episode is really about Graham and Delancy --- two Qs at odds but also, in their own way, in love.

Nobody wants to lose a beloved sibling, Worf didn't and neither does Q.

I've seen several reviews comment negatively about the Qs and their presence in Trek but I think that most Q episodes are gold, I love the character and I also love that his episodes are few enough and far between to keep me fond of him.

5/5, an EXCELLENT episode.

Good Q episode

[snoozejonc · 8/10 · 17 September 2022]

Voyager comes across a member of the Q continuum.

This is a solid episode with strong performances.

There is a good reflective character driven story involving Q. Although the subject matter is relatively downbeat, it is portrayed in an entertaining way by great delivery of strong dialogue. Interesting topics like state control, individual rights, suicide and existentialist themes are explored using Q's dilemma and the decision Janeway has to make.

There are some humorous and inventive moments involving the use of Q powers that are quite entertaining. Some of it is suitably random as you expect from this type of episode.

Gerrit Graham, John de Lancie, Katie Mulgrew are on great form with Tim Russ having some good moments too.

For me it's a 7.510, but I round upwards.

Q times 2

[tomsly-40015 · 9/10 · 16 December 2023]

This episode, although sprinkled with some humor and funny scenes, has a deep philosophical question hidden under its surface. More than one actually.

First: Is a society allowed to decide about life and death of individuals?

Second: Is a society allowed to restrict the wishes of an individual if it serves the greater good?

Third: Is immortality and omnipotence worthwile if you know everything, can do everything and if there is nothing more to explore or surprise you?

Here, we have another Q that is done with life but the continuum forbids him to commit suicide for it could have unforseen consequences to their dimension. Instead the continuum locked him inside a meteor, drifting forever in space - until the Voyager finds it and beams him to their ship by accident. This Q requests asylum on the Voyager and Janeway is willing to decide about his request in a hearing. The opposing side is represented by the well-known and beloved Q that has terrorized the Enterprise in numerous episodes. Sharp and eloquent as always he tries to convince Janeway to deny the other Q his request while Tuvok (counseling the other Q) together with the suicidal Q bring up reasons to substantiate their claims.

The end is rather melancholic. Janeway unfortunately does not have the farsightedness to predict how this Q would feel in the end and if he would be happy in living a life as a mortal. She and Tuvok have no clue what to do with him. So, the end is inevitable and Q ultimately fades away.

More mismanagement of something that should have been handled better.

[davidhiggins-89756 · 8/10 · 16 February 2021]

As usual the Q are mishandled. The Federation & in this case Janeway seen to be out of their depth yet again. The problem here being a Q that was fed up of being part of the Q continuum.

The solution if Janeway found in favour of granting asylum (and agreed to from the start), would have been for Q to have stripped Q of not only his powers but also of the memory of being Q.

Setting up a bogus time line of a life that he was a Starfleet graduate, trained up in engineering or some useful trait. Just one of the crew right from the start, though with great expertise and highly regarded. With crew memories altered to fit.

Yes Janeway to be fair wanted to integrate him into the ships crew, but having gone through what he had been through and with his known intent to put an end to himself it was lack of foresight & imagination on Janeways part things ended up the way they did. Her fault, as many things were.

Not even the council of Tuvok came up with a proper solution. Shows all their limitations. With the mortalised Q on board there would have been an expectation that Q would have on occasion got them out of ongoing scrapes in aid to keep him alive. Not wanting to see him dead, thus not upsetting the Continuum, as later did happen.

Starfleet just never got to grips with the opportunities they had with the numerous Q encounters. They never had the foresight.

9/19/2022

[awbusa · 10/10 · 20 September 2022]

The character of QUINN is easy for me to sympathize with because I've suffered from ACUTE CLINICAL DEPRESSION and SUICIDAL IDEATIONS including feeling like LIFE SUCKS and isn't WORTH LIVING ANYMORE but UNFORTUNATELY his character is UNLIKABLE because he's TOO MUCH like a PETULANT MAN CHILD that just wants to SUBVERT the STATUS QUO and to go against the WILL OF THE MAJORITY which is similar to a REAL LIFE PETULANT MAN CHILD that OPENLY REFUSED to accept the WILL OF THE MAJORITY in 2016 and 2020 and tried to overthrow the WILL OF THE MAJORITY --- MY SCORE 7 STARS ⭐ --- there's room for improvement in writing and acting ---