Q Q was a highly powerful entity from a race of godlike beings also known as . History . Q appeared to the crews of several Starfleet vessels and outposts during the 2360s and 2370s . As a consequence , all command level officers in Starfleet were briefed on his existence thereafter . One such briefing was attended by Benjamin Sisko in 2367 . ( ) Q typically appeared as a humanoid male ( though he could take on other forms if he wished ) , and was almost always dressed in the uniform of a Starfleet Captain . ( ) In every appearance , he demonstrated superior capabilities , but also a mindset that seemed quite unlike what Federation Scientist s expected for such a powerful being . He had been described , in turn , as " obnoxious , " " interfering , " and a " pest " . However , underneath his acerbic attitude , there seemed to be a hidden agenda to Q ' s visits that often had the best interests of Humanity at their core . On a planet called Brax , he was known as " The God of Lie s " . ( ) In the 22nd Century , Q had " some dealings " with the El - Aurian , Guinan . These encounters resulted in strong antipathy between them . ( ) When temporarily rendered Human by the Q Continuum , Q claimed to possess an IQ of 2005 . ( ) Picard and the " Enterprise " - D . Trial . Q was first encountered by the Federation when he appeared aboard the in early 2364 . He warned the crew of the " Enterprise " that Humanity should return to their home Star System or be destroyed . When he encountered resistance , Q placed Humanity on trial , with Jean - Luc Picard and his command crew as representatives . Q accused Humanity of being a " dangerous , savage child - race . " Picard managed to strike a deal with Q , however , and submitted to a test of conduct to prove that Humanity had evolved beyond its previously savage state . The " Enterprise " s mission to Farpoint Station served as this test . The Starfleet crew sufficiently proved their evolved state of being by discovering and assisting a Spaceborne entity that had been coerced by the Bandi to take the form of a Starbase . Q disappeared , but promised the crew they had not seen the last of him . ( ) Game . The next time Q appeared on the " Enterprise " later that year , he created a bizarre and deadly " game " for the ship ' s crew , in order to demonstrate that he had given Commander William T . Riker Q - like abilities . His motives for this were that Humans had a desire to grow and explore , which the Q did not have or understand . Q wanted Riker to join the Continuum so they could understand and possess this desire because , if they did not , Humanity could one day surpass the Q . Q and Picard settled on a bet that if Riker rejected his offer , the Q would leave Humanity alone forever . Ultimately , Riker rejected those new powers , and Q was forced back into the Continuum . ( ) Because of those actions , Q was asked to leave the Q Continuum . ( ) Guide . In his third appearance in 2365 , Q presented himself as homeless , and expressed an interest in joining Picard ' s crew , his reason being that Humanity would eventually push into uncharted territory and would need a guide , as they were ill - prepared to face what they would find . Q even offered to renounce his powers to prove that his offer was genuine . However , when Picard vehemently declined ( inspired by believing that Humanity could handle any threat ) , Q hurled the " Enterprise " into the path of a Borg cube . Ultimately , Picard had to beg for Q ' s help in escaping from the pursuit of the Borg ship . ( ) In that encounter , Q alluded to a past association with " Enterprise " Bartender , Guinan . Guinan declined to elaborate on the nature of her relationship , other than to express an extreme dislike for Q . Based on Q ' s reactions , the sentiment seemed mutual . ( ) Being Human . In 2366 , Q was stripped of his power and immortality and transformed into a Human by the Q Continuum , as punishment for his irresponsibility . He sought refuge on the " Enterprise " , and requested asylum and protection from the beings in the universe whom he had tormented . Although Captain Picard and the rest of the crew were unconvinced of the sincerity of Q ' s plea ( and indeed suspected that the entire situation was merely an elaborate prank ) , Picard agreed to provide Q temporary asylum . Although not a scientist , Q provided theoretical guidance for Geordi La Forge ' s analysis of Bre ' el IV ' s moon , which was in danger of colliding with its planet of Orbit . During that time , Data was assigned to watch Q , and Q gained an unusual perspective on Humanity and its condition from observing Data , in turn . However , after a Calamarain attack nearly destroyed Data ( who risked his life to protect Q ) , Q resolved to leave on a shuttle , allow the Calamarain to kill him , and prevent further risk to the " Enterprise " crew . Another Q intervened at that point , acknowledged Q ' s selfless act , and restored Q ' s powers as a reward . In gratitude , Q corrected the orbit of the Moon and also gave a special gift to Data , his " professor of the Humanities " – a brief moment of genuine laughter . ( ) Meeting Vash and acting as benefactor . In 2367 , the " Enterprise " crew encountered a woman claiming to be the mythical Ardra of Ventax II . Her demonstrations of omnipotent power resembled those of Q , to the extent that the " Enterprise " crew speculated that she might be of the Q Continuum or perhaps Q himself . Picard pointed out that the woman ' s obsession with the Contract of Ardra was atypical of Q , and her powers were later proved to be the product of sophisticated technology , rather than any innate ability . ( ) Later , in 2367 , Q returned to the " Enterprise " to " properly " thank Captain Picard for his role in helping him regain his standing in the Continuum . At the time , Picard was meeting a past lover named Vash , whom he met on Risa , the year before . ( ) Q resolved to teach Picard a lesson about love , and cast Picard , Vash , and the " Enterprise " command crew into an elaborate scenario styled by the ancient legend of Robin Hood . Q himself assumed the role of the High Sheriff of Nottingham . Ultimately , Picard learned and everyone was returned to the " Enterprise " . Intrigued by Vash , though , Q offered to take her on a journey of exploration to various archaeological ruins of the galaxy , and she accepted . To pay his debt to Picard , he promised that no harm would come to Vash . ( ) In 2369 , Q once again appeared aboard the " Enterprise " - D , this time to instruct Amanda Rogers , a seemingly Human female who developed Q powers during an internship with Doctor Beverly Crusher . Shortly after Rogers ' birth , the Continuum had used a tornado to execute Rogers ' parents , two Q who had assumed life as Humans on Earth , for being unable to resist using their powers while in Human guise . Although Q ' s petulant and acerbic attitude did little to ingratiate himself to Amanda , he eventually convinced her to go with him to the Continuum , to learn to use her new - found abilities . ( ) A few months later , Q followed Vash back to the Alpha Quadrant , after the discovery of the Bajoran wormhole created a new avenue of travel between there and the Gamma Quadrant . Having had so much fun with Vash , Q wanted to continue exploring The Galaxy , but Vash wanted nothing to do with him . While the two were at Deep Space 9 , mysterious power drains were believed to be Q ' s doing , but they were , in fact , due to an Embryonic lifeform that Vash had unknowingly brought back from the Gamma Quadrant . Q also had a brief confrontation with Commander Benjamin Sisko during his visit and disrupted an Auction that Quark and Vash staged in Quark ' s Bar . Although he was intrigued by Sisko hitting him , Q eventually got bored because " Sisko was so different than Picard " . One might speculate that Q ' s actions were intended to ensure Vash ' s safety in regards to the promise that he made to Picard two years earlier . In the end , Vash and Q went their separate ways , though both eventually admitted to retaining a certain fondness for each other . ( ) Later that same year , Q appeared to Picard when the latter was critically injured in a Lenarian ambush . Appearing as " God " , Q told Picard that he had died because of his Artificial heart , and offered him the chance to return to the incident in his youth , which allowed him to relive the events leading up to his near - fatal injury and change history . Although Picard was successful in changing history , he eventually realized that the event – and his previous nature as an arrogant , brash young man – was a part of his identity , and had helped mold him into the successful Starfleet officer that he became . Although he was uncertain as to whether the experience had been real or simply a vision , Picard was grateful for Q ' s revelation . ( ) Never - ending trial . In 2370 , Q returned to the " Enterprise " to continue the trial against Humanity . Claiming that the seven - year - old trial had never actually ended , Q proclaimed Humanity guilty of " being inferior " and informed Picard that his race was to be destroyed . He sent Picard traveling through time to his own past and present , as well as to a potential future . In all three time periods , Picard was presented with a temporal paradox , in the form of an eruption of Anti - time in the Devron system . In that paradox , Picard himself was responsible for the creation of the anomaly , which propagated backwards in normal time ( anti - time having the opposite properties of normal time ) , thus destroying Humanity in the past . However , in addition to sending Picard jumping through time , Q also provided Picard with hints to understanding the nature of the paradox . Ultimately , Picard determined the solution and devised a way to close the anti - time anomaly in all three time periods . Following the success , Q revealed that the entire experience had been a test that was devised by the Continuum , and was aimed at determining whether Humanity was capable of expanding its horizons to understand some of the advanced concepts of the universe , including the potential of Humanity ' s own evolution – but helping Picard was his idea . Q promised to continue watching Humanity , and proclaimed that : " The trial never ends . " ( ) Janeway and " Voyager " . Quinn . In 2372 , Q was sent by the Continuum to board the , whose crew had unintentionally released a renegade Q from confinement in a Rogue comet . When the other Q ( later known as " Quinn " ) asked for asylum on " Voyager " in order to fulfill his wish to commit suicide ( an act considered illegal in the Continuum ) , Q was permitted to represent the Continuum at a hearing to determine whether the requested asylum would be granted . Q argued that permitting a Q to commit suicide would cause unspeakable chaos and disorder – a profound irony , considering Q ' s own history as a prankster and renegade . ( When confronted with his past deeds , Q commented that " [ his ] record has been expunged . " ) Ultimately , Quinn ' s arguments prevailed , and he was made into a mortal being . Q himself was touched by Quinn ' s dedication and beliefs – Quinn had previously been an admirer of Q ' s , because of Q ' s propensity to stir controversy and cause disorder – and actually provided Quinn with the means with which to commit suicide . Q resolved to return to some of his old habits , and to encourage the Continuum to allow more chaos into their own order . ( ) War . Following the death of Quinn , a massive Q Civil War broke out , as the forces of the " status quo " resisted the calls for change in the Continuum , by a faction led by Q himself . Seeking to end the conflict , Q devised a plan to mate with Kathryn Janeway , the Captain of " Voyager " , in order to create a new Q / Human Hybrid – a new breed of Q that would help bring an end to the civil war . Janeway , however , flatly refused . Q then kidnapped Janeway and took her to the Continuum , where he again tried to persuade her , by explaining the nature of the conflict . However , Janeway again declined ( though she openly sympathized with Q for his inability to understand love ) , and attempted to negotiate a truce between the two sides . Those negotiations failed , however , because the " status quo " faction refused to accept any terms other than surrender . They attempted to execute both Q and Janeway , but they were stopped by personnel from " Voyager " , with the assistance of , an old flame of Q ' s . Q and the female Q were able to equip Janeway and the rest of " Voyager " s crew with Q weapon s , which they were able to use to battle the opposing " status quo " faction . Q then proposed mating with his old girlfriend ( instead of with Janeway ) and she agreed . The new child , nicknamed , became the first child born in the Continuum for millennia , and his presence brought an end to the civil war . ( ) Junior . Q ' s child , however , did not prove to become the perfect " savior " child that he was meant to be . Junior grew into a spoiled brat , and caused chaos and disorder . Q tried to briefly leave his son with " Aunt Kathy " aboard " Voyager " , and hoped that Janeway ' s " vaunted Starfleet ideals " would rub off on him . Q himself began to learn more about the role of being a parent ( revealing that much of Junior ' s actions were not punished properly by Q ) . However , after spending years with the child , Junior only began to behave worse . As a result , the Continuum stripped his son of his powers , left him aboard " Voyager " , again under the care of Janeway , and told him to reform his ways within a week or Junior would be sentenced to spend eternity as an Oprelian amoeba . Although Q was initially unimpressed by his son ' s progress , he devised a test of " Q - ness " to determine whether his son had improved his attitude . He masqueraded as a Chokuzan Captain and threatened Junior and his friend Icheb after they stole the " Delta Flyer II " from " Voyager " . Junior passed with flying colors , and offered to sacrifice himself to face the consequence of his actions , which had endangered Icheb . However , the Continuum was not impressed by Junior ' s progress , and sentenced him to remain Human . Outraged , Q proclaimed that he would leave the Continuum if his son was not allowed to rejoin – the pair was a " packaged deal . " " Begging for [ Q ' s ] return " as a deterrent to instability ( Q earlier stated that he " holds them all together " ) , the Continuum acquiesced , on one condition – that Q retain eternal custody of the boy . Grateful for her assistance , Q provided Janeway with a map to a shortcut that would shave three years off " Voyager " s journey home . Janeway asked Q why he didn ' t send them all the way back to Earth , and his response being that it would be setting a bad example for his son if he did all the work for them . ( ) Appendices . Background information . Q was played by actor John de Lancie ; Q as the Chozukan Commander was played by Michael Kagan . The character of Q was thought up by Gene Roddenberry , as a way to help fill out the events of " Encounter at Farpoint " from a one - hour to two - hour running time . ( ) The name " Q " was chosen by Roddenberry , in honor of an English " Star Trek " fan , Janet Quarton . She was the first president of the UK " Star Trek " fan club , and Roddenberry and many others spent time at her home , in the Scottish highlands . ( ; ) Immediately after Gene Roddenberry invented the character of Q , the other members of the TNG preproduction staff realized it was very reminiscent of the character Trelane from the TOS episode . " " We ' re all looking at each other , saying , ' It ' s Trelane [ from the original series ] all over again , " " remembered David Gerrold . " " We all hated it , and very gently suggested to Gene that it wasn ' t very good . Of course , this fell on deaf ears . He said , ' Trust me , the way I ' ll do it , the fans will love it . " " ( " " , p . 67 ) In an interview , John de Lancie likewise drew parallels between Q and Trelane , believing Gene Roddenberry had explored his storehouse of effective creations in writing " The Next Generation " and had found one that would turn out to be highly successful again in TNG . In another interview , de Lancie said that , upon thinking of ways to describe Q ' s character , he had remembered a famous quote made about Lord Byron : that he was " mad , bad , and dangerous to know . " ( " Star Trek 25th Anniversary Special " ) Minimal makeup was used for the character of Q . " " We always defined Q with a little eye makeup and a little lip color , just to make him stand out , " " recalled Makeup Supervisor Michael Westmore . ( ) Production Designer Herman Zimmerman was influential in the depiction of Q as a judge presiding over a courtroom . In the script of " Encounter at Farpoint " , Q seemed to be floating in that area , though none of the production crew could figure out precisely how to show the character floating without resorting to visual effects for every one of those shots . Ultimately , Zimmerman suggested putting John de Lancie on a camera crane and bringing him into the courtroom out of a black hole , which was exactly how Q ' s arrival in that scene was shot . ( ) The depiction of Q in " Encounter at Farpoint " turned out to be extremely popular . Yar actress Denise Crosby commented , " " The character of Q , and the way John de Lancie was playing it , was really interesting . " " Noted Rick Berman , " " I think [ Q ] was certainly the most memorable element of that opening episode . " " " Encounter at Farpoint " Director Corey Allen remarked , " " Q was so clearly a wonderful idea of Gene [ Roddenberry ] ' s , about the questions we all ask ourselves ; he was the interrogator that each of us carries on our shoulder . " " Herman Zimmerman observed that his idea of having Q arrive in the courtroom on a camera crane " worked very well . " ( , pp . 19 , 28 & 30 ) Although a first draft script of TNG Season 1 episode that Maurice Hurley penned was substantially rewritten by Gene Roddenberry , the character of Q still intrigued Hurley thereafter . He thought of Q as an unreliable god and subsequently intended for the character to feature in a story arc through the second season . Due to a writers ' strike , though , Q was only brought back in the Season 2 episode before Hurley left the series . ( ) Rob Bowman , who got an opportunity to direct John de Lancie as Q in " Q Who " , enjoyed the experience , finding that de Lancie was easy to direct in the role . " " He really had a grasp of the peculiarities of that character , " " Bowman remarked . ( ) Although Q was a recurring character over a relatively long time , he was used sparingly by the " Star Trek " producers , in case fans tired of him . Gowron actor Robert O ' Reilly once likened these circumstances to his own situation , regarding his portrayal of Gowron . ( ) Writing staffer Ronald D . Moore commented , " " Q was a fascinating character , but I thought that he should be carefully rationed through the series . I thought if you played him about once a season , that was the most you wanted to use him . " " ( " " , issue 90 , p . 17 ) Devising Q stories challenged the writing staff of " Star Trek : The Next Generation " , due to the character ' s omnipotence . Q couldn ' t be made completely into an adversary , as he could simply wipe all the protagonists out of existence . The fact he was intended to be all - powerful also raised the question of why he even bothered with Humans and their allies . Both Ronald D . Moore and Jeri Taylor found it difficult to write for the character , though Moore also regarded doing so as " fun " because Q ' s extreme powers allowed the writers a wide variety of stories they could feature him in . ( ) Following Q ' s appearance in , the possibility of him making another visit to DS9 was dismissed by Ira Steven Behr , when he remarked , " " I don ' t forsee Q being back on the show . To me , his relationship with Picard was gold . And I don ' t think we can top it . " " Ron Moore agreed , " " The secret to Q was the Q and Picard relationship . Q was in love with Picard , for some reason . That was the underpinning of the relationship , which was why , when he came to " Deep Space Nine " , he wasn ' t as effective a character . The weird love affair that he had going with Jean - Luc made that whole thing work , and it made " work , and ultimately it made " work . " " ( " " , issue 90 , p . 17 ) Q was originally rumored to make an appearance in . However , Michael Piller put those rumors to rest . In , Q placed eleventh in " TV Zone " s list of the top twenty science fiction television villains , along with several other " Star Trek " characters ; the Borg Queen was second , Dukat was fourth , Weyoun was eighth , and Seska was nineteenth . Along with Quark , Morn and Evek , Q is one of only four characters to appear in all three " Star Trek " series based in the 24th century : " Star Trek : The Next Generation " , , and . Of these four , Q is the only one who did not appear in . Of the twelve " Star Trek " episodes featuring Q , eight of them use the letter " Q " in the title , often forming a pun . In , having Harcourt Fenton Mudd say , " " Adieu , mon capitaine " " ( to Captain ) was intended as an homage to Q . Q was the first character to ever use the word " trek " in a " Star Trek " film or episode , which he does in the " Star Trek : The Next Generation " series finale , . However , Zefram Cochrane is the only character to utter the phrase " star trek " , doing so in . Apocrypha . According to Q in the " String Theory " books , omnipotent beings were actually rather fond of games of choice and chance , as it was only under those conditions that beings such as Q could feel the thrill of not being in total control . Besides the character of Trelane having been an inspiration on the conception of Q in reality , they were both featured in the novel " Q - Squared " , in which Trelane was actually described as a " child " member of the Q Continuum ( Even implied to be Q ' s own illegitimate son ) . When The Original Series was re - digitalized , Trelane ' s character was supported during one particular scene by a background character using added - in imaging of John de Lancie who , though he never spoke , was confirmed in the producer ' s commentary to be Q . Given that a relation between the two was never fully explored , and that many of the re - digitalized series ' changes were met with disapproval by fans , the canonicity of that change was questionable . The reason for Q ' s original interest in Picard in particular was explained in the novel , " The Buried Age " , which also revealed that he chose to call himself ' Q ' as he felt that his original choice of ' The Inquisitor ' would be too complicated for Humans to say regularly , speculating that , if ever asked why he called himself ' Q ' , he would reply " Because U will always be behind me " . The audio play , " Spock Vs . Q : The Sequel " , suggested that there was at least one individual " above " Q , naming herself " Petunia " , who , in the play , seemed to have taken Q ' s powers and placed him , together with Spock , on an asteroid . After alternate reality Spock melded with Q in the 2014 comics series " " , he received one of the Bajoran Prophet s and became even more powerful than he had been before . Q and the Q Continuum appeared in the following non - canon works :