Q-Less
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Star Trek: DS9 episode | |
| "Q-Less" | |
 Q the Q-Less |
|
| Episode no. | 6 |
|---|---|
| Prod. code | 407 |
| Airdate | February 7, 1993 |
| Writer(s) | Robert Hewitt Wolfe Hannah Louise Shearer |
| Director | Paul Lynch |
| Guest star(s) | John de Lancie as Q Jennifer Hetrick as Vash Laura Cameron as Bajoran woman Van Epperson as Clerk Tom McCleister as Kolos |
| Year | 2369 |
| Stardate | 46531.2 |
| Episode chronology | |
| Previous | "Captive Pursuit" |
| Next | "Dax" |
"Q-Less" is a first-season episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
Quick Overview: Q and Vash arrive aboard Deep Space Nine.
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
Dax returns from the Gamma Quadrant in her runabout with a woman O'Brien recognizes as Vash. Although the crew is unaware of his presence, Q — a semi-omnipotent prankster — has also stowed away on the runabout. Vash explains that she has spent the past two years in the Gamma Quadrant, but she describes her method of getting there as a "private matter."
Soon after Vash's arrival, the station begins to experience power drains similar to those experienced by Dax's runabout. In the meantime, Q appears to Vash, apparently infatuated with her. Q was the one who transported Vash to the Gamma Quadrant two years ago, but now she wants nothing to do with him, much to Q's annoyance. When Dr. Bashir asks Vash out for dinner, a jealous Q uses his powers to send Bashir off to sleep. Meanwhile, Quark arranges to auction off various items Vash has found in the Gamma Quadrant, most notably an unknown but extremely valuable crystal of some kind, and in the meantime O'Brien spots Q.
O'Brien warns Sisko of Q's presence and the likely cause of the power drains. Q denies any wrongdoing, although he offers no alternative explanation. As the power drains become more severe, some type of gravometric field begins pulling the station toward the nearby wormhole. Vash and Quark go about their auction and the crystal receives bids in excess of one thousand bars of gold-press latinum.
Casually joining the bid process, Q ups the ante on Vash's crystal to 2500 bars before bidding one million. Soon after, however, the source of the gravometric field and the power is found to be the crystal. The crystal is beamed into space before it can destroy the station, and once outside, it reveals itself to be a mysterious life form and travels into the wormhole. After the trouble is over, Bashir finally awakes. Unaware of what has happened, he yawns and tells Dax that he feels like he has been asleep for days. A bemused Dax gives him a strange look at which Bashir replies "What did I miss something?"
[edit] Notes
- This was Q's first and only appearance on DS9.
- This episode is a follow-up to the events of the episode Q-Pid. At the end of that episode, Q and Vash left together to explore the galaxy.
- Despite featuring the immensely popular Q, this episode received harsh criticisms from fans of Star Trek: The Next Generation,[citation needed] who claimed Q was out of character. Additionally, a scene in which Q challenges Sisko to a boxing match was seen by some as an attempt to replicate the chemistry between Q and TNG's Captain Jean-Luc Picard. Indeed, the boxing scene even references Q's encounters with Picard. When Sisko punches Q, the alien exclaims, "You hit me! Picard never hit me!", to which Sisko replies "I'm not Picard."
[edit] Reference
- P. Farrand, Nitpicker's Guide for Deep space Nine Trekkers New York: Dell (1996): 29 - 32
[edit] External links
- Q-Less article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki.
- Q-Less article at StarTrek.com, the official Star Trek website
