TRUE Q


One of the two most annoying and useless characters in the Star Trek
universe returns... to a decidedly dull story.  A quick character rundown:

Q:  Acting an even bigger boor than usual, pompously full of himself and
peculiarly returning to his "Encounter At Farpoint" days of ostensibly
having no interest at all in humanity, and having nothing but contempt for
Picard and company.  (Never mind that this attitude directly contradicts
his character as presented in "Q Who", "Deja Q" and "Qpid".)

Amanda Rogers:  Nothing much to say about her.  A schoolgirl struck by
omniscience (and by Will Riker) who goes through some angst before finally
deciding that Q is right.

Captain Picard:  The best line in the episode was Q's put-down of Picard's
sometimes annoying tendency to pontificate.  Along with the rest of the crew,
Picard was never really able to get a word in edgewise here.  They were
mainly just bystanders.

I'm not really sure what TNG's obsession with omnipotence in the form of Q
is, but it really *doesn't* work, guys!  Q is far too much of a blowhard to
pull it off regularly (the "omnipotent blowhard" routine having been done
oh-so-much better in Classic Star Trek's "The Squire Of Gothos").  The only
time he was really used to good effect was in "Q Who", where his character
acquired a bit more depth and his actions were more deliberate, less
capricious.  I think it's long past time he be jettisoned from the Star
Trek ouvre (even if it means losing the pleasure of seeing John De Lancie
act once a year; it's just not worth it).

Amanda's dilemma was not especially innovative, nor cleverly handled.  The
last five minutes where she comes to her decision in a flash was truly
rushed and completely unconvicing.

The area where this episode showed promise was in the question, "What right
does the Q have to kill Amanda, or her parents?"  And not only are we given
any answer to this question (or even a proposed answer), but there's not
even any real debate over it.  There are at least two other omnipotent
races in the cosmos (Trelayne's people and the Organians, and possibly
the Excalbians and the race of the title character of "The Survivors" as
well); by what authority are the Q the policemen of omnipotence?  And if
the Q care so damned little for humanity, why should they give a fig if
Amanda is unleashed into the universe?  There's a fundamental inconsistency
here, which this episode doesn't even TRY to address.

No, this wasn't an outright BAD episode like "Qpid" (which has the "honor
of being IMO the worst Star Trek story ever broadcast), as it certainly
didn't make me squirm waiting for it to be OVER.  But it was just, well,
*dumb*.  Annoying, shallow characters, asinine plot, unbelievable resolution,
and poorly handled themes.  It could have been worse, but, lord, it
wasn't good.

Now I guess we get to look forward to this season's Lwaxana Troi episode...

Grade: D-

SEASON SIX AT A GLANCE:
Time's Arrow II: B-
Realm Of Fear: C
Man Of The People: C
Relics: B+
Schisms: B-
True Q: D-
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Total Points: 13 1/3
Season Average: 2.222 (C+)
(Fall of 0.311 from last episode)