It’s finally here. Odin demanded a list, and by Valhalla, I gave it to him. This week we close out our list with RNR’s No. 1 recurring Star Trek character! Hopefully Odin’s appetite for all things Trek will be sated after today.
(find out who got the top spot after the jump)
Q (TNG, DS9, VOY)
Was there any doubt it would be him? Come on. There is not a single waste of screen time when Q is involved. John deLancie once said of Q and villains in general, that “they are the irritant in the oyster that makes the pearl.” And Q is certainly irritating. But not to us. It’s the various Starfleet crews he drives mad. But us, he delights.
Much like TOS’s Trelane, who was later revealed to be a Q in the Trek book Q Squared by Peter David, “Q Prime” is a childish, mischievous and supremely powerful entity. But where Trelane only got one episode to play with his “toys” (the Enterprise crew), Q had three entire series to enjoy himself. And each episode was as fun to watch as it must be to actually be a Q. Even so, Q was more than just a fun character — he actually had his own unique character journey that spanned three series. He had romances, friendships, a son. He was turned human by the Continuum for his misdeeds. He was even God once!
As a villain, Q was not inherently evil. He was just such a highly evolved being that, to him, mere humans were simply a source of entertainment. To Q, sending the Enterprise-D to the Delta Quadrant to meet the Borg was like dropping ants in a spider web. They are lower creatures, so it doesn’t really count as killing. However, what made him so interesting was that as much as he was a menace, he was fond of the crews he tormented. He looked at Picard as a beloved pet and Janeway as a prospective mate, which made for some interesting character development. In fact, his character changed so much over the course of three series that he went from being a trickster god to a freedom fighter, striving to inspire Q everywhere to be free to live the life they choose. Yet even with such a noble goal, he retained his ability to get on Janeway’s nerves, make us laugh and create havoc for the Voyager crew. No wonder he is such a popular character that Lauren Faust turned him into a pony.
Now, I certainly did not pick Q as No. 1 because I was afraid if I didn’t he would snap his fingers and turn me into Erik. No, he earned this spot by being an entertaining villain and a catalyst for some really fun Trek stories. Congratulations on being named No. 1, Q! Now please return me to my normal size.