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UNCUT - True Q (TNG S6E6) | Star Trek Journey 240

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UNCUT - True Q (TNG S6E6) | Star Trek Journey 240

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John Delancie is just so good in this role that we all tend to forget that most Q episodes are lacking. I think Olivia D'Abo was capable of giving a better performance. She had spent 4 years on the Wonder Years at this point and had Q-esque arrogance in Conan the Destroyer. Either she or the director made wrong choices.

JoeMama47

I think it needed the whole community to kick Q out in Deja Q

Steven Cressler

She was a great serial killer on Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

Richard Finch

forget ST:VI, The Deja Q slander must stop...

kevin coleman

I am one of those people who's here for ideas and concepts. So I like this episode a lot from that standpoint. I find myself thinking about this one a lot just like The Host. However, like The Host, I can see that the execution here isn't the greatest, and I get why it's pretty mediocre for most people.

BN13

They were fun. Mediocre, but fun

Crankygrandma

I never realized how mediocre most of the Q episodes were. I always had this vague nostalgia feeling that Q Eps were always great. But it turns out they mostly weren't.

Boggle

Yes, I could definitely see that.

Collin Freeman

That or Geronimo

Collin Freeman

I can imagine Robert Walker Jr being in the running for Norman Bates.

Owen Madden

Was she your original ... d'Abo Girl? đŸ€Ł

Jovet

Beverly was probably thinking: "I WAS in the middle of examining a patient, but alright..." likely because by this point, just being magically moved from one part of the ship to another by Q is old hat for them.

Nolan

That's a good point, and like I said, she did stop herself pretty quick

Timothy Nikiforovs

The good news is: there is not much of TNG Q left but I think you will enjoy it. I do.

Sam Langanke

Fortunately, of ALL the people she could have done that to, I think Riker was the one who would be the most understanding. Of all of humanity, Riker's the one guy who knows exactly what it feels like to lose oneself in the absolute power of the Q and make some wish-fulfillment mistakes before coming to one's senses. Amanda could have had the grace to apologize though. Geez. Maybe she made everyone forget it ever happened, or just snip that timeline off at the starting point so that it never happened at all. Or maybe she just apologized off-screen.

Ian Westcott

as far as Colm Meany's absence the last several episodes - I believe he was filming his role in the Steven Segal movie "Under Siege"

penoyer79

Man, this whole non-consensual Q-teleporting of people always felt so invasive!

Ian Westcott

"nothing that you're really going to remember". I guess we're all getting old; Olivia d'Abo was a serious crush for this 14-year-old back in '95

Ee'char

I think that that's MOSTLY a good thing, and prefer it to the frenetic pace of a lot of modern stuff. But when the writing isn't as good, or the acting is flat, it does also make things drag more.

Steven Linden

Having mulled on it overnight, what seems like quick progression for you guys isn't so quick for us. I think many of us view this stage of the season as the Appetisers, which are nice, but we're chomping at the bit for you to get to the Entrées! ;)

James Knight

until they hit 3 a week things will def slow down. shouldnt be too long though. i imagine they'll get a bit of a boon to their goal once DS9 starts.

penoyer79

The score is designed to amplify the emotion of a scene. A score that’s lacking or non existent leaves the dialogue to carry all the weight of a scene; and in a dialogue heavy episode like this, with a lot of mild “filler” talk, the default mood of each scene becomes stuck in neutral. Just imagine, if you dare, the “Mr. Worf, fire” final scene from BOBW with season 6 music
 it just wouldn’t hit the same.

Lwaxana’s Poolboy

Further comment, looking forward to the reaction to next episode, I’m predicting your number 1 favourite


Worf and Riker Ride Again

I really like this one and disagree on the points made about the acting, I think she did well. Although I like the episode as a whole, I think it’s the writing that’s a bit sub par - the points you made about her and Picard having little reaction to her parents being killed, also everyone being relaxed about the near warp core breach. If I could rewrite, I’d have it build up to the reveal of her learning of her parents, then have a huge spectacular battle with her and Q that destroys half of the Enterprise, no expense spared

Worf and Riker Ride Again

Yes, exactly!

Lwaxana’s Poolboy

Agreed but it never bothered me that Crusher was her councilor and advocate. Crusher is sometimes criminally underutilized so it was nice to see her taking a more active role in this episode. Aside from that, it was clear to me that Marina was not available much to film this episode except for that one-ish scene and that's okay. Without checking, and judging by her new hairstyle the past couple episodes kinda hints that she may have been filming a movie or something during this period.

River Acheron

The guest actress was rather flat and the lack of score compounded that trait, but Q was still mischievous enough to make it fun. The little Hide and Seek game they played was hilarious especially with Q squatting inside of a barrel. I loved Picard's speech in this one, as always, it's the highlight of the episode. Only other note to add, I think Q could have taken her powers from her, but he acted as if he couldn't because if he offered to remove the powers for her, she'd have opted to do that, and they'd have lost another potential Q member. That's my head cannon anyways. Overall, in the C+ to B- range. And don't worry Alex, many giga God-tier episodes remain ahead of us, for years to come.

Paul

Season six is the best season of TNG

General Trelane

One thing I'm noticing more generally on this rewatch is how the PACE of TNG is just slower than modern TV. Not just story pacing, but dialog pacing is slower, there are long gaps in conversation that today would be removed, everything breathes more which isn't always a good thing. Instead of feeling rushed, it feels like a lot of scenes just take too long to say what little stuff they need to say - and when you don't have a score to offer an emotional reason behind that pacing, it starts to feel weird.

Darin Starr

One of the most lowkey hilarious parts of this episode is at the end, when Amanda brings Beverly on to the bridge. Tricorder in hand, "wtf?" look on her face...I always chuckle at that

Darin Starr

One of my favorite reviewers / rewatchers of TNG is Keith Decandido, who has written and published many TNG extended universe novels. He has great insights on what makes these episodes great or.. not so great. A lot of people think Season 3 was the high point, and he agrees it was a good season, and season 4 was good too. Season 5 was good, but a notch below Season 4. But his (and my) favorite season is Season 6. A spoiler-free note: "where the third had the bad stuff mixed in here and there amidst the brilliance, most of the awfulness of this season was stuffed into the first nine episodes." I really enjoy the latter 2/3 of this season, it's maybe not as mind-blowing incredible as The Inner Light or Reunion or Redemption, but it's just one solid banger after another. And you'll get to savor those a little more, since I'm assuming you'll be interleaving DS9 Season 1 in there as well. As much as it might feel like you're really rushing through TNG, you're about to slow down (I hope. Wouldn't want to overload you with Star Trek. Binging sucks)

Ian Westcott

Precocious.... I never noticed it will I was in my 30s.

Greg Quinn

Yes but when Picard is talking with Q and Q initially says "she either has to come back with me or die" (words to that effect) wouldn't have Picard had said "can't you or the whole continuum remove her powers the way yours removed?". đŸ€·â€â™‚ïž

Greg Quinn

The very definition of “its fine” for me, a little repetitive with themes Trek has done before. Never have much to say on this one some of it feels like a half hearted course correction for Q’s character too after The previous two outings

Darren Seal

Yeah but why couldn't they just turn off her parents powers the way they turned off Qs. Or turn off her powers? Eh whatever it's a show...

Greg Quinn

This is a pretty typical C tier ep for me. Some people really seem to hate it, but it's just mediocre to me. In regards to why they didn't just take away her powers, if I'm generous to the episode, perhaps the Q could take away her powers, but they wanted to force a fake choice knowing she wouldn't be able to resist and would therefore have to return to the continuum. It might well be that there hasn't been a new Q in many millions of years. They might have been able to depower her quite easily, but perhaps they forced the whole false choice because they wanted to nudge her into going to the continuum. The prospect of "new blood" might have been too tempting to just throw away. A lot of people criticize First Contact for the Lanel scene, but since she had no obligation to help him and could have suffered pretty severe consequences for doing so, I saw it more as a "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours"(maybe literally😉) kind of situation. Besides Riker hardly seemed all that upset afterward. Amanda literally forcing Riker to love her was much more rapey in my book. Now thankfully she stopped herself, but overriding someone's free will is pretty disturbing. It also makes Q's concerns more understandably. Maybe it starts with a little "harmless" love spell, but if Amanda fully embraces her powers, she'd be immortal. After a few million or a billion years with nobody to set boundaries, how far might she end up going? But can you imagine if that barrel hit Riker and he had to ask Worf to help him kill himself because he didn't want to live as a cripple, and Worf was all "Ohh, so when you're paralyzed it's all well and good, but when it happens to me AND it's part of my culture, you start making excuses".

Timothy Nikiforovs

I guess when the dialogue isn’t necessarily engaging I notice the silence more

Josh (Target Audience)

I’ve always liked the scene between Q and Picard when they talk about how Amanda’s parents died. Q doesn’t have to entertain this interrogation but he does. He speaks to Picard with an element of respect even though they aren’t equals in any sense.

tyranusfan

Well, yeah, I was saying he's rude. It doesn't offend me or anything. That's one of the reasons he's funny.

Joe Concepts

The episode is decently good, but not great. I don't understand the fixation with the score. I suppose this episode is a bit more dialog-heavy than average. and correspondingly the score is a bit more subdued than average. But that basic feel of reducing the score during dialog-heavy scenes has been part of the style for like 3 seasons now. I genuinely have no idea why this episode would particularly stand out in that regard in anyone's mind.

Jeff Cornell

To Q or Not to Q

Timothy Nikiforovs

Agree. All the S6 eps I actually have any real issues with are in the first half. There are a few "just ok" ones in the back half, but I find the back half a lot more consistent.

Timothy Nikiforovs

I was really dreading this episode, cuz I remember it being so goddayum dull. When you introduce and then discard a Mary Sue within 45 minutes, you don't have a very compelling storyline. It's one reason why I disliked The Offspring so much, while most people seem to lurve it. But, per usual, watching it along with y'all makes even something mundane feel more entertaining. Funny how the Picard speech is the only really good part of this episode, just like the Picard speech in the A Matter of Time was the only good piece of that. Nice that Patrick Stewart still put in the work, regardless of the plot. I used to always think that S3 and S4 of TNG were the peak of that particular show. But the "wow" factor really seems to drop off way more dramatically on this watch through with you guys. That's not to say that all of the good is GONE. There are still bangers. But boy are there some true stinkers~

Shortskirtsandexplosions

Sure thing! You do you.

BN13

I’m glad you enjoy them
 we will still be doing skits not directly related to the episode. You are free to not enjoy those.

Josh (Target Audience)

Were seasons 3-5 the best? Probably. But that doesn't mean that it's all downhill and that seasons 6-7 are all terrible episodes. There are a few really awful episodes to come (one absolute E and a handful of Ds) and there are several that I consider to be the best of the series. But most of the episodes in the next two seasons are just what Star Trek should be: great stories that really deliver some fun sci-fi and good character moments. (For the record, that's where I rate this episode: it's certainly not the best episode ever and it has its flaws, but it still provided a solid story that I can say I enjoy). So although the next two seasons are not full of top rated episodes, I would say that there are more successes than absolute disasters. I would certainly place season 6-7 over season 1-2.

L J

I really like these new skits that tie into the episodes. I had no interest in the old skits. But since these tie into the episodes now, they add a nice a touch before watching.

BN13

On this episode feeling weird
 the overwhelming flatness, visually and musically, has always bugged me about this era of trek. It robs every story of punch or real drama. True Q really could’ve benefited from a season 3/4 “vibe”

Lwaxana’s Poolboy

I don't know what it is about this episode. It's not bad, but not good either, but not average either. It's like a literal no stakes random day on the enterprise but unfortunately this day revolves around somewhere we've never met before. De lancie and Stewart do make a lot of their scenes fun though. It's cool to get a bit of a glimpse into Q politics/society though.

Wrestling With Gaming

There's a long deleted scene between Amanda and troi on the Blu-ray. The scene makes total sense but is also kind of boring so I get why they deleted it for time. They should've written a better scene for Troi and replaced one of the crusher scenes with it

Wrestling With Gaming

Its not a plot hole they could take her powers but giving her the choice not to use them and her not being able to not use them is the point

Scarpad’s Domain

Yes, but as said, this is a guest-of-the-week situation. I have no attachment to this character, hence no particular emotional stake in a story that's all about her fate. It's up to the episode to get things from from the default "that would be awful, in theory" to my actually caring about what happens to the guest character. The episode doesn't have a particularly good script nor a particularly charismatic actor in the central role, so it just never really gets there.

North

Best part of the episode, by far!

Jovet

The writer(s) probably don't even know what was written before.

Jovet

See Also: Picard's Uncle Nephew

Jovet

I used to work for a 30 year woman dating a 69 year old farmer. So there's that to look forward to.

Jovet

They can criticize it all they like, I just believe they're wrong sometimes.

Jovet

Q is self-centered and rude. Get over it.

Jovet

The Q are not truly omnipotent and are not gods. Even this episode's writing proved that!

Jovet

It's absolutely hilarious!!

Jovet

*"True Q Too"

Jovet

@Sherpa Jones The difference is Q becoming merely human or Q just *zap* no longer existing.

Jovet

I don’t find this boring. Pace is off for sure, but I enjoyed the scenario presented. A good but not great episode.

Mel Primus

Yes and no. What's her name in this episode was never given that option that we saw, but supposedly her parents were and they just couldn't refrain. The "superior morality" of that and their necessary demise doesn't speak to me any more than it did Picard. There's another writing bodge in this episode regarding Q continuity and it just zapped out of my head, grrrr

Jovet

His bulge was the story.

Jovet

YEP!!!

Jovet

The stakes are we do not want a seemingly innocent person to die (for no real reason).

Jovet

BTW guys, volume is good. The guy who complained already left, so fuck him.

Timothy Nikiforovs

Emporer Q was manipulating her from moment 1. My take is that the actual choice was still join the Q or die. The fake “pinkeye swear you won’t use them” was bullshit. It was designed (and succeeded) in getting her to join the Q willingly. If she hadn’t used her powers and then said she was coming- he or the shadow Q would have smoked her.

John Pierce

Transfigurations mentioned!

Josh (Target Audience)

You are now 68.

Sherpa Jones

And back in the 90's I don't think it mattered too much that a couple of guys on Patreon in 2025 would be criticizing it.

Sherpa Jones

This is one of those episodes where it's hard to put a finger on something being bad per se, but everything is so low stakes. We don't care enough about the guest of the week for there to be much suspense and the moral conundrum is similarly small potatoes. It is nice to see Q back in bastard trickster mode, but that's not much of a high point.

North

Yeah, turning her into a dog was disrespectful to women. No argument here.

Sherpa Jones

Forget the power of a god. Give a lottery winner a few million dollars and they will destroy their lives 10x over. They would have been better to never win a penny.

Sherpa Jones

Q did make a good point about the responsibilities of having unlimited power. That is a piece of morality that Picard did not concede. For whatever reason, the Q have a vested interest on not having a catastrophic impact on the physical universe. And part of me wants to believe that Q are simply the human race having evolved into non-corporeal beings. As much as they despise the limitations of their ancestors, they are survival bound to protect them.

Sherpa Jones

"Q Meh" works for me.

Sherpa Jones

The episode title kinda spoiled it anyway.

Sherpa Jones

What is the difference between stripping a Q of their power or killing them?

Sherpa Jones

I started perceiving this on my own in 1st grade.

Sherpa Jones

I think a disappointment for me was the opportunity for Riker to talk to her about the time he was given Q powers and was unable to resist using them. That would have been a much more impactful scene than Riker being forced to romance her. And even though doctors are capable of counseling duties, Troi was criminally underutilized in this episode. And the B plot stakes just never felt impactful.

Sherpa Jones

The worst episode of all the Q episodes - not because it's bad, but because it's so boring that it makes me wish it *were* bad so I could at least feel *something* at some point during the hour.

Shane Coombs

This episode is exactly like the one that was I think sandwiched between "Sarek" and "Best", where the guy comes on the ship ready to ascend to godhood, only instead of being like Gary Mitchell and having that lead to a life and death struggle, he was all "oh I'm still a nice guy" and there was no story whatsoever. It's quintessential TNG.

Ken R

It is a plot hole that they could take the powers from Q (our Q) but for some unexplained reason couldn't take her powers. Just not brought up. Lol

Greg Quinn

First time I ever heard that time goes faster as you get older was from my dad about 13 years. I don't think he had heard it elsewhere. It was something he observed for himself, and he said it in a most depressing way. He was 79...having a ton of health problems, and was a month away from his death. I think he was reviewing his life at that point. It wasn't really hitting me at that point. But now at 45? I look back at events that seem like they were maybe two years and I realize it was 20 years ago....then I realize in 20 years ill be 65. An age that isn't too far off the death of many people in my family... Sorry to be depressing. But that should get you in the mood for DS9. Lol

Greg Quinn

Haven't watched the whole reaction yet, but I want you to know that opening gag is easily my favourite one you guys have ever done!! XDD

GreenCauldron08

I’ve never liked Crusher much, but seeing her through the guts eyes in beginning to appreciate her more.

Philbot

I think the Q shadow is representative of the entire continuum watching over him. Not just like one snitch.

Philbot

Fair enough. I just find the second half episodes to be overall far more consistently engaging than the first half.

Lovok

I think Starfleet needs a training seminar on how to secure these barrels that are always falling off that level of the cargo bay.

Alan Thompson

It’s like the gas tank in your car, the second half always goes down way way faster

Derek Orr

I agree, lazy writing, we're just going to disregard what we did before.

Marko

Respectfully I disagree, I find it more or less equal. There are good episodes in the first half and also in the second, so I do agree with your second sentence. But to me there isn't anything that sets the second part much better than the first. But it is in the eye of the beholder.

Marko

I don’t think it’s that the Q couldn’t take her powers away it’s that they at least wanted to give her the choice. & test her? I think Q knew she couldn’t resist for altruistic reasons. Also maybe all the Q have to gang up on one rogue to rob them of their powers otherwise you just have a super shootout between two “gods” so it’s easier to take her home and depower her.

Philbot

Honestly, I think they kind of cheated by having those puppies not appear and disappear in a flash of light. Because if they used the same effect as they did when Q does that stuff, it would've given everything away. At least, ya know, assuming no one knew the episode title or plot in advance, as we often did back in the day.

Joe Concepts

2 Q, 2 Furious

Josh (Target Audience)

A better title for this episode would have been Q Too

Mark Chrisco

I give this credit for decentralising Q, as Seasons 1 through 4 the episodes always revolved around Q whereas here he's more of a catalyst for the guest character's story arc. Edit: Also the "Mon Capitan" was Chef's Kiss. =D

James Knight

On the subject of people's favorite seasons, there are definitely people who rate season 6 the highest - notably including Ron Moore.

Steven Linden

Robert Walker Jr isn't my type. Btw, since you've already seen Conan the Barbarian, you should check out Conan the Destroyer (hint, hint). Most people like the first movie better, but I lean more to the Destroyer for entertainment value.

Collin Freeman

Pretty much agree with your takes on this episode (except that, since I do like "Deja Q" and "QPid", I'd call this one of the weaker Q episodes). Not a terrible episode, but the guest actor's performance wasn't great, and between that and the lack of score, it was dull.

Steven Linden

Hey now, Charlie was a good looking chap

Josh (Target Audience)

Yeah, agreed.

Steven Linden

The only thing I like in this episode is Q turning Dr. Crusher into an Irish Setter.

Jonathan Llyr

"the continuity of Q" I would say take nothing at face value and imagine there are far more complex things going on here. Q may be a trickster god, but I think he is also not what he appears to be.

paultardspambot .

1:08:17 It's always been my understanding that a bitch is a female adult dog that is intact and fertile (e.g. not a puppy, and has not been spayed and can get pregnant). But I can't quickly find any source to corroborate all that.

Jovet

A more benign version of Charlie X from TOS. An okay episode (B/C), but nothing great here, except Olivia D'Abo is easier on the eyes than Charlie.

Collin Freeman

I'm right there with you.

Collin Freeman

eh, I think you fail to realize how it would really be irrestiable to use the power of a god. Maybe :Picard could hold out for awhile, but most people, no way.

paultardspambot .

I was won over by her cuteness

paultardspambot .

Q realizes hes on a tv show, duh. In the infinite multiverse, of course he is

paultardspambot .

"of all the places this could have happened" You're forgetting the trial never ended. Picard is still on trial as a stand in for humanity. None of this is coincidence. You're thinking too linearly. If the Q know all and have always been, everything that came before and happens since is all part of the Q putting humanity on trial with Picard as the stand in.

paultardspambot .

The phrase that kept entering my mind during rewatching this one was "by the numbers". A lackluster execution of a good idea.

David Wayne Fox

Same here...

David Wayne Fox

I don't know if this is gonna be seen by some as a "woke" take, but besides the possible "bitch" implication in this episode, Q at times makes some sexist remarks. Earlier he calls Crusher shrill, which I've always found is usually a term reserved for annoying women only.

Joe Concepts

The time speeding up sounds so right. Like it's crazy to me to think the whole COVID thing started about 5 years ago. Feels to me like it was at the very most 2 years. But especially spot on using high school as an example. It's a big, long life changing experience back in the day. Now 4 years is nothing.

Joe Concepts

1:00:50 I'm glad you brought up "Hide and Q" ... Riker had experience he could have given her counsel from, but that was totally ignored. Unless it was wiped from his memory. "Plot convenience and not keeping up with the continuity of the show" = poor writing

Jovet

Ah yes, good old Dobo.

Joe Concepts

59:28 The whole episode is weird. Q breeding like humans and making a human-but-later-Q baby? Dumb.

Jovet

For me this is B/C borderline. My amusement at Crusher being turned into a dog just about pushes it to low B.

jon bolton

56:54 When the show shows the facts of who's in it, that's called a hook. The pre-titles may not have been enough to keep people interested and watching, but for someone familiar with Q, the title and guest star could. This is why I state that the episode can't spoil itself. Just because you know what kind of car it is doesn't mean it's obvious how it will be driven. That still has to play out within the episode.

Jovet

I'm 67 I can really relate to time speeding up.

Keith S

Like many TNG seasons, the second half of S6 is a lot better than the first half. That being said, the first half has its gems!

Lovok

I have never been happier in a review than hearing Alex use the word milquetoast. No worries Gents, this was a low bar but it's the start of some serious fun with off-beat stories. Can't wait for the next couple!

Ross Townsend

I like this episode more than TA, but I agree that it falls a little flat in places. This is where a typical Ron Jones more immersive score could have helped a bit. Too bad Rick Berman let him go a few seasons earlier.

DG

60's, it gets exponential 😭

Dan Here

I agree with everything y'all said.

Josef Nitervol

Yeah it’s very much up to the writer of that episode lol

Josh (Target Audience)

textbook definition of a C episode IMO.

Jonathon Tsagris

Rene E is a man. Rene is a French name for a man, Renee is for a woman.

Ron Hubbard Jr

I enjoy the nitpicking on this one because the slightest adjustments could have improved it. While I love the concept, I think to explore it properly, it needs more than 45 minutes and while it's cool... it ain't worth two parts. I will say, I always get a chill when Q says "The jury is still out" on humanity's trial, it's said nonchalantly but seeing how cool he is about potentially executing Amanda, it feels a bit threatening. Plus, it's a cool callback.

THE LORE!!!

Having two daughters who were once 18 like Amanda is in this episode, I’d say her behavior and decisions changing from one minute to the next is fairly accurate. I know when I was 18, I was very impulsive and making decisions without considering possible consequences and I was very impatient.

Ron Hubbard Jr

I didn't hate this one on a rewatch as much as I remember. But the lack of consistency on the Q still irks me. Can you take their powers or not? can you kill them or not? Are they supposed to be allowed to do 'anything' or not?

#MaxwellDidNothingWrong

43:30 Yep. Plot hole. Just make her human again.

Jovet

The Dr Crusher dog scene is absolutely priceless
 😂

Ron Hubbard Jr

You are exactly right about time speeding up as you age. I started noticing it after I turned 30. Every decade has gotten faster. My 40s flew by and I’m 56 now and my 50s have been a blink basically.

Ron Hubbard Jr

i can attest to time getting faster as you get older. it felt like eternity to get through high school. and then i woke up yesterday and i'm 45. having kids really accelerates things- but you guys dont have that problem

penoyer79

And another banger opening 👏👏👏 Could have been worse, Alex. He could have DeJa'd Q you.

A G


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