Episode complete credited cast: | |||
Patrick Stewart | ... | Capt. Jean-Luc Picard | |
Jonathan Frakes | ... | Cmdr. William Riker | |
LeVar Burton | ... | Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge | |
Michael Dorn | ... | Lt. Worf | |
Gates McFadden | ... | Dr. Beverly Crusher | |
Marina Sirtis | ... | Counselor Deanna Troi | |
Brent Spiner | ... | Lt. Cmdr. Data | |
Wil Wheaton | ... | Wesley Crusher (credit only) | |
John de Lancie | ... | Q | |
Whoopi Goldberg | ... | Guinan | |
Richard Cansino | ... | Dr. Garin | |
Betty Muramoto | ... | Scientist |
The Enterprise assists the planet Brial 4 which is threatened by its moon which falls onto the Western continent, reason unknown and impossible to shatter without even greater damage. The tractor beam proves too weak; then suddenly the dreaded Q appears aboard, naked, claiming to be stripped of his omnipotence too, thrown out of the Continuum and forced to chose a mortal life form: human. While Q makes a brilliant engineering suggestion and wrestles with the human condition, the Calimarane, a species with a grudge against him, and next a deus ex machina appears... Written by KGF Vissers
This is what Roddenberry allegedly told De Lancie after his Q audition, and I totally concur. It is a good summary of De Lancie's amazing performance as Q.
The episode itself has a few good storylines: Q's fall from grace, Data's "humanness", and how people can learn and develop. It's a good sci-fi/philosophical funny episode. However, as a stand-alone episode to someone who is not familiar with the Star Trek characters it might appear a bit plain.