John DeLancie, the man is a class act. “I only filled out the character”. Acknowledges what is probably Q’s origin, and gives credit where due. Polar opposite of Q.
Trelane 's" Parents" could have been members of the Q that came to take him away.And since the original Enterprise made first contact, the NCC-1701-D made 2nd contact with the Q in 2363 .
The series started with Jean Luc Picard and Q it also ended with Jean Luc Picard and Q. It seems like the entire theme of TNG was about growth as a species.
I think what Q was doing from the beginning was to show Picard and the others how to expand their minds in ways never before conceived, they just precieved him as an annoyance but almost every time, he left them with more knowledge, even being helpful, like when Picard died, he gave him a second chance at fixing a regret
Q was like a teacher that was a pain in the arse but in a lot of what he had to say he was right and Picard at the end of that started to realise that about Q.
“The trial never ends.” He also said early on “The jury’s still out on that one.” Q’s message is to never stop learning and evolving as a species. Exploring the potential of existence, not mapping stars and nebula.
Ladyhawk Misses Gabby - definitely. John DeLancie is a fabulous actor with amazing range. He captures the poutiness and mischievousness of Q just so. No one else could do as well.
Absolutely agree. I never remembered Trelane on TOS. I had to research it after first hearing about the comparison years ago and rewatch the ep. The acting was so stale. DeLancie is intriguing as a villain, a comic, and a "God" (I.e., "TNG: Tapestry").
I'd always thought that Trelane was one of the Q, just a rather young one. Whether or not that were the case, I guess we'll never know - unless someone is able to channel Gene at a seance.
i don't think Trelane is a Q. There are closely related beings who are not Q, such as the Douwd and the Organians. Trelane is simply a descendent of a cousin class of beings.
@@hagamapama Hate to break it to you, but Trelane is a Q. In the novel Q Squared, it’s revealed that Trelane is a young Q who finds a power that extends his own and tries to trap Picard and Q in his game.
I prefer the notion that Trelane wasn't just a Q, but was actually "Q" (the same exact one). It doesn't make much sense to me that any other Q would be out there dressing as Napoleon and harassing starships or putting crews on trial. That kind of thing seems unique to Trelane. I imagine that Q himself had been hanging around in the "humanoid" part of the universe for a long time, and he probably boarded and harassed multiple starships before he became more interested in humans as a species. In the hundred+ years between Kirk's enterprise encountering Trelane and Picard encountering Q, Q most likely matured a little and became more interested in humans on a philosophical level, which made him take a particular liking to Picard. Q was still very immature when he met Picard, but he threw fewer tantrums... the experience he had with Kirk had taught him to have a little more respect for humans, something which developed further over the next century or so. I think of Q as an adolescent in a lot of ways, anyway... I think he pestered Picard so much because he thought that Picard could teach him something that he hadn't yet fully grasped about humanity... and I think that could have started with Kirk, when Trelane realized that Kirk was more than just a "pet" to be tortured. And yes, I know that someone wrote fan fiction and suggested that Trelane and Q were different entities, but that's not canon, and I just don't find it as interesting a concept. I don't think that the Q Picard met was a "mentor" to anyone. More likely, he was just a slightly older version of Trelane.
I have never understood why Q was always portrayed as a willful and petulant child? He is supposed to have evolved into an all powerful being but somehow embodies so may childish personality traits. Would not those have evolved as well?
@@jonathandoelander6130 Maybe. But take into account how much a child's development is often stunted by getting whatever he wants all the time. I'm not saying that the Q in general don't have the _capacity_ to mature much faster, or that none of them ever do... I'm just suggesting that this one, in particular, is a spoiled brat that may or may not ever be much more than a cosmic manbaby. I imagine you could liken it to a family of squirrels who live in a tree by a yard encountering a human for the first time. Maybe the human is am emotionally mature 8-year-old who decides to protect the squirrels and bring them food. Or maybe the human is a developmentally-challenged, sociopathic 42 year old hillbilly man-boy with no empathy, who decides to pour kerosene on the tree and light a match just so he can laugh at the squirrels while they all try to run out. The cosmos could be a little like that too.
@@jesse_cole But how old is Q? And how how old is the Continuum? And I find no evidence that Q is seen as some sort of sociopath by them based on how he treats developing civilizations. At best the Continuum seems to be mildly disinterested in his machinations. Even in human society the reason we have words like “Sociopath“ is because that kind of behavior is viewed as negative, and outside of acceptable human norms. Remember, the Continuum is supposed to represent A much higher level of evolution than humans. And yet they have members of their race traveling the universe and freely indulging in childish mayhem at will. A human who burns down a tree full of squirrels is actually operating against human law, in most places. Not only for the sake of the squirrels, but because of the fact that it may burn down the forest. Yet the Continuum seems to have no such law or control of their infinitely more dangerous population. If beings that are billions of years old in a culture that is zillions of years old are still acting like 42-year-old hillbillies, then there is something very wrong with their development!
There's no way Picard and Kirk "could stop the Q Continuum" from some plot they would have had... Instead, if you look back on all the shows featuring Q, it's evident the Continuum has some sort version of their own Prime Directive. But clearly, Q (deLancie) has been doing things to help humanity--sort of like Kirk did when he was violating the Federation's Prime Directive--just in a very snarky, underhanded, and insulting manner of doing so. And Q does so with the obvious entertainment value to those adventures, but Picard, Sisko, and Janeway learned valuable lessons in those encounters, and even Q learned a few on occasion.
makes you wonder how Q would have reacted to the Nexus or would he have have just been amused by it...same with being/entity called Nagilum woud they have known each other?
@Zoe Kin *always wanted for Guinen's father to show up on an episode which would have had to have been James Earl Jones without question...at least that's how it plays out in my own personal head canon*
It would be brilliant if the writers had the idea of naming Q´s son Trelane, insted of Q junior... would be the perfect circle... Since the Q live in the continuum time doesn´t make sense, so Trelane could well be given Gothos to "play" and found Kirk... in the end 2 beings as father and mother, much like the Q premise, appeared and said he was a child... it would be mind blowing!!! To bad they didn´t...
While I see the similarities in character, Q wasn’t the only Q, and it was hinted that the rest of his race were...enlightened and wise beyond humanity. I was always under the impression that the Q were the entities in the episode Errand of Mercy known as the Organians.
In one of the STO anniversary videos (not sure which but probably 25 or 30 years) there's a nice interview with William Campbell about how he came to play Trelane (he was generally a heavy and TPTB didn't think he could do comedy) and that it became his favorite role in a long career. Interestingly Ricardo Montalban (sp?) said the same thing about playing Khan.
Same here. That's why I got so excited when I saw "The Squire of Gothos". He has to be one of the Q. Just when Kirk thought he'd destroyed Trelane's sole source of power, he realized he was more powerful than he'd imagined. Very cool. I wish we'd seen more of this character, but at least Peter David explored a good deal of the idea that Trelane was a part of the q continuum. That really sated my hunger for more, I think.
I read that the writers had intended to cast Liberace in the role. De Lancie is one of the best parts of the TNG, and so fun to see him come back for Picard season 2.
Favorite scene in the book is where Picard, Riker, and Worf are in a hallway talking, and Q comes running at them, disappears, and they hear a high pitched sound. They look down and it's Q in thumbellina size yelling for help. Riker asks Picard "What should we do, Captain?" Work responds, "Sell Tickets."
According to the Canon in the book Q-Squared, they state that Trelane was a young Q. And that when his "parents" called him back, it was the elder Q that spawned him, bringing him back into the collective. It's actually a great book. It involves Q giving Lwaxona Troi (Deanna's Mother) Q powers, and she finds out later he was using her for an experiment, and proceeds to kick the shit out of him aboard the enterprise.
That was actually two separate books. Trelane was in Q-Squared and the Q/Lwaxana romance was in Q-in-Law. I had the audiobooks of both growing up, so I got them confused a couple times myself.
I never had no doubts about it. The omnipotence, the child-like behaviour, the curiosity about the human race and the arrogance... All the ingredients are there, repeated from Trelane to Q. In fact, i think there's a Star Trek novel where the 2 meet.
When I first saw Q I was convinced it was Trelane grown up. He was a child in TOS. I was very disapointed when I realized that wasn't the case. It would have been a great way to give next gen a story line connection with TOS.
I remember when I first got back into Star Trek as an adult and looked back, it being the only original series episode I remembered clearly, I was certain that Trelane was the first appearance of Q in the original series, there are obvious, striking similarities. I quite like the idea of it being left up to you to decide if he's part of the continuum or not.
There's a comic that features the various Star Trek crews being brought together and mixed up to participate in teams for a game held by the Organians, Q, Trelane, and the Wormhole aliens. Was pretty fun, seeing the various chars interact. I think for instance Data is on a team with Kirk, Riker with Sisco, etc. I'd have to look it up again.
A way to reconcile Trelane's Q-ness with that the mirror, as well as the "parents" at the end is that both were just for show/messing around with the humans, and Trelane was just more dedicated to staying in character than Q was. Maybe Trelane wanted to see if Kirk could "figure out" the mirror, and by the time it got to the end, Trelane was bored or realized that the "game" had been written into a corner and gave the crew a Deus Ex Machina, with his "parents."
They did. It was called "Q-Squared" by Peter David, and it says that the name "Trelane" comes from "Trey-Lane" because he somehow straddled/messed with three different parallel universes: the normal one, the one based on "Yesterday's Enterprise," and a third one where Jack Crusher was alive and the Big E's captain.
Ironically, De Lancie went on to narrate an audio adaption of a TNG Novel with Q and Trelane. In it, Trelane is a member of the continuum and is Q's mischievous godson.
In the beginning of the book, Q Squared, Trelane materializes on the bridge of Picard's Enterprise in the costume he wore in Kirk's encounter and shouts, "Tally Ho!" and sends the Enterprise D off at high warp...Very good story.
I fell in love with Trelane when I was 12 years old in 1967. He was wonderful!! I loved the set decor, the costumes, and the banter between Kirk and Trelane. Besides Miri, Squire Of Gothos is one of my favorites from the original series.
I wish the Trelane episode was included in the Q "Fan Collective" ... make whatever separation you want between them, the similarities cannot be dismissed. Disregarding the reality of aging, had DeLancie played Trelane - and no doubt he would've been fantastic in that role - or if a Q episode had merely mentioned once in passing e.g. "many years ago a Q named Trelane..." there would be no question or even doubt at all about it - Trelane was a Q.
Trelane was definitely a Q. Maybe even the same Q. The clothing, the mannerisms, the cynicism, the fascination with war, and the dismissing nature. Yup.
I remember watching the pilot and thinking Q was just an updated version of Trelane and that they deliberately cast an actor who was similar to the original version. I kept expecting the pilot to end with Q’s parents showing up to rein him in.
I always wanted see an episode where some one asks Q what he knows about Trelaine, and what he knows about Apollo and all of the rest of the Greek Gods. If Q would give a serious answer, I think that it would be very interesting.
I was reading in one of the many Star Trek wikis earlier, that these was a novel where Trelane was trying to destroy the universe and Picasrd and Q worked together to stop him. The reason i bring it up was that in the novel it was heavily hinted by Q that he is Trelane's father. Q did have a son on ST Voyager. YEs i know most novels are not canon, but i like the idea of this one has.
Indeed there was a lot of influence. the second episode of TNG was called The Naked Now, based on the TOS ep, The Naked Time. Also in TNG's first season there were a lot of one off encounters with aliens and planets. I believe they were trying to make TNG different, but not too different from TOS so that people would like it.
Trelane were shown to be a baby Q, which is why he still needed machines. Which, if so, doesn’t make sense that the Q had no children by Janeway’s time.
When I think of the Q my empression seems to go back to the episode from the original series with Charlie, and Charlie reminds me in some ways to how Amanda Q first started out before she came to grips that she was a Q.
If I had to pick the most powerful race of Star Trek lore are The Organians who are pure energy and thought. They stopped the war between the Federation and Klingon Empire and then "evaporated" as Kirk and Ku'ur offended their sensibilities. I loved John De Lancie recurring roles in The Next Generation, Voyager, and DS9 but William Campbell over the the top acting as Squire Trelane is a joy to watch over and over. Did Campbell play another evil character in an episode where Abe Lincoln and Surak come back to life?
Trelane uses tech such as behind the mirror in the TOS. the Q while they used tech such as when Q was chasing the Enterprise and in their civil war, their tech was far beyond our comprehension but Trelanes tech was damaged by Kirk and party.
Damn I love the Q character... someone who is totally disconnected from characters of the show but still takes time to screw with them to further learn about humanity and its threat to the continuum. I guess he's like a "chaotic neutral".
Everytime I see Squire Tralaine (and now Q), I can't help but remember the superb Futurama spoof Fry: All this time we thought he was a powerful superbeing, but he was just a child Alien: He's not a child, he's 34!
Never watched the original series much so i didn't know Trelane was it. I did love the TNg novel that had Trelane in it. Might have to go looking for it now
Star Trek The Next Generation: Q-Squared Novel by Peter David Published July 1994 so kind of confirms it. great book I listened to the audio version read by John DeLancie I cried, I laughed, I had goosepimples the size of tribbles.
My understanding is that the TNG pilot was originally just the Farpoint story as a 1 hour ep, but Paramount demanded a 2 hour pilot, so Roddenberry came up with the Q B-story to make it 2 hours.
it's interesting that John de Lancie apparently knows star trek well enough to come up with fan theories about the origins of his own character. It's not that he was told that his character was inspired by trelane but that he thinks that.
To be more specific, he's somehow Q's biological descendant, if memory of what I've read serves correctly. It truly is sad that this book isn't considered canon. :\
Dude, the front cover of the paperback shows Q on one side of Jean Luc Picard, and on the other side is . . . Trelane. The blurb on the back specifically mentions that Trelane is a member of the Q Continuum. So what did I spoil? The surprise of the cover?
Please look at how I worded my post. It wasn't about what /you/ could possibly spoil, it was that /I/ put down in /my/ post due to what I put down as not being apparent by just looking at the cover or the blurb. If it were about your post, I would have put something along the lines of "Gee, thanks for the spoiler warning" or something like that. I also put /possible/ spoiler warning because I'm not sure if I'm remembering "Q Squared" or another book due to how long it's been since I've read any Star Trek literature.
Q Dude, 'please' look at what you DID. The purpose of social media is to interact with people via replies to comments. But instead of allowing people to interact with me, you warn them away with a spoiler alert with the first reply to my comment. You poisoned my entire comment thread with your stupid spoiler. Did it occur to you that if you're going to post spoilers, you should either post them to a comment thread that begins with a spoiler or you should start your own comment thread instead of spoiling someone else's comment thread? Sheesh, what do you want from me? Should I apologize for you being thoughtless, insensitive, stupid, and non-value added? The latter because your comment is like, "I think maybe that such and such, but I don't remember exactly." Well then, shut up!
implicaverse Fine, I've fixed the problem. Happy now? I apologize for supposedly "ruining" anything you posted and not being the best at wording. I really didn't intend to piss you off. I usually leave room for error in anything I say or post because...well, since I don't have an eidetic memory, anything I DO remember may or may not be correct. But what I did post isn't like it couldn't be found out anyways. I need to remember that this is the Internet and there really isn't such a thing as spoilers anymore. Again, I apologize.
Yea I read it years ago my age still started with a 1 in front it. But I do remember thinking that Trelane was his son or at least the book left me with that impression
John DeLancie, the man is a class act. “I only filled out the character”. Acknowledges what is probably Q’s origin, and gives credit where due. Polar opposite of Q.
Trelane 's" Parents" could have been members of the Q that came to take him away.And since the original Enterprise made first contact, the NCC-1701-D made 2nd contact with the Q in 2363 .
So he's watched the Flinstones and saw The Great Gazoo, or he heard the story of Rumplestiltskin.
All he did was act like a twat.
@@johnbockelie3899The book “Q-Squared” states that Trelane belongs to the Continuum, making the connection between TOS and TNG.
The series started with Jean Luc Picard and Q it also ended with Jean Luc Picard and Q. It seems like the entire theme of TNG was about growth as a species.
That was the point.
thats the theme of the entire series not just tng!
I think what Q was doing from the beginning was to show Picard and the others how to expand their minds in ways never before conceived, they just precieved him as an annoyance but almost every time, he left them with more knowledge, even being helpful, like when Picard died, he gave him a second chance at fixing a regret
Q was like a teacher that was a pain in the arse but in a lot of what he had to say he was right and Picard at the end of that started to realise that about Q.
“The trial never ends.”
He also said early on “The jury’s still out on that one.”
Q’s message is to never stop learning and evolving as a species. Exploring the potential of existence, not mapping stars and nebula.
I always thought Trelane inspired the Q character, but John de Lancie knocked it out of the park.
Ladyhawk Misses Gabby - definitely. John DeLancie is a fabulous actor with amazing range. He captures the poutiness and mischievousness of Q just so. No one else could do as well.
Absolutely agree. I never remembered Trelane on TOS. I had to research it after first hearing about the comparison years ago and rewatch the ep. The acting was so stale. DeLancie is intriguing as a villain, a comic, and a "God" (I.e., "TNG: Tapestry").
@wmfivethree Sounds like a fun read. Maybe I should check it out. :)
At first.sight of Q,.I thought of Trelane.
William Campbell loved playing Trelane because it gave him a chance to step away from serious roles and heavies both were great
I always thought Q was inspired by Trelane, even before I first saw this John de Lancie interview.
I'd always thought that Trelane was one of the Q, just a rather young one. Whether or not that were the case, I guess we'll never know - unless someone is able to channel Gene at a seance.
Andrew Chapman I did too...it is all too apparent...
According to 1 of the novels Trelane and Q do interact with each other. I don't want to say much more, so that I can avoid spoiling the story.
@@eugenetswong Which book? I have a lot of ST and TNG paperbacks and I've never run across this story.
I knew it as soon as I set eyes on Q.
I don't know how I feel about Trelane being a Q, but he definitely was a fun character. William Campbell was just a joy to watch in any role.
i don't think Trelane is a Q. There are closely related beings who are not Q, such as the Douwd and the Organians. Trelane is simply a descendent of a cousin class of beings.
@@hagamapama Hate to break it to you, but Trelane is a Q. In the novel Q Squared, it’s revealed that Trelane is a young Q who finds a power that extends his own and tries to trap Picard and Q in his game.
I prefer the notion that Trelane wasn't just a Q, but was actually "Q" (the same exact one). It doesn't make much sense to me that any other Q would be out there dressing as Napoleon and harassing starships or putting crews on trial. That kind of thing seems unique to Trelane. I imagine that Q himself had been hanging around in the "humanoid" part of the universe for a long time, and he probably boarded and harassed multiple starships before he became more interested in humans as a species. In the hundred+ years between Kirk's enterprise encountering Trelane and Picard encountering Q, Q most likely matured a little and became more interested in humans on a philosophical level, which made him take a particular liking to Picard. Q was still very immature when he met Picard, but he threw fewer tantrums... the experience he had with Kirk had taught him to have a little more respect for humans, something which developed further over the next century or so. I think of Q as an adolescent in a lot of ways, anyway... I think he pestered Picard so much because he thought that Picard could teach him something that he hadn't yet fully grasped about humanity... and I think that could have started with Kirk, when Trelane realized that Kirk was more than just a "pet" to be tortured. And yes, I know that someone wrote fan fiction and suggested that Trelane and Q were different entities, but that's not canon, and I just don't find it as interesting a concept. I don't think that the Q Picard met was a "mentor" to anyone. More likely, he was just a slightly older version of Trelane.
I have never understood why Q was always portrayed as a willful and petulant child? He is supposed to have evolved into an all powerful being but somehow embodies so may childish personality traits. Would not those have evolved as well?
@@jonathandoelander6130 Maybe. But take into account how much a child's development is often stunted by getting whatever he wants all the time. I'm not saying that the Q in general don't have the _capacity_ to mature much faster, or that none of them ever do... I'm just suggesting that this one, in particular, is a spoiled brat that may or may not ever be much more than a cosmic manbaby.
I imagine you could liken it to a family of squirrels who live in a tree by a yard encountering a human for the first time. Maybe the human is am emotionally mature 8-year-old who decides to protect the squirrels and bring them food. Or maybe the human is a developmentally-challenged, sociopathic 42 year old hillbilly man-boy with no empathy, who decides to pour kerosene on the tree and light a match just so he can laugh at the squirrels while they all try to run out. The cosmos could be a little like that too.
@@jesse_cole But how old is Q? And how how old is the Continuum? And I find no evidence that Q is seen as some sort of sociopath by them based on how he treats developing civilizations. At best the Continuum seems to be mildly disinterested in his machinations. Even in human society the reason we have words like “Sociopath“ is because that kind of behavior is viewed as negative, and outside of acceptable human norms.
Remember, the Continuum is supposed to represent A much higher level of evolution than humans. And yet they have members of their race traveling the universe and freely indulging in childish mayhem at will. A human who burns down a tree full of squirrels is actually operating against human law, in most places. Not only for the sake of the squirrels, but because of the fact that it may burn down the forest. Yet the Continuum seems to have no such law or control of their infinitely more dangerous population.
If beings that are billions of years old in a culture that is zillions of years old are still acting like 42-year-old hillbillies, then there is something very wrong with their development!
SO upset Q never made an appearance in the movies! So upset they gave up on TNG time-line in lieu of Star Trek 2009.
There's no way Picard and Kirk "could stop the Q Continuum" from some plot they would have had...
Instead, if you look back on all the shows featuring Q, it's evident the Continuum has some sort version of their own Prime Directive. But clearly, Q (deLancie) has been doing things to help humanity--sort of like Kirk did when he was violating the Federation's Prime Directive--just in a very snarky, underhanded, and insulting manner of doing so. And Q does so with the obvious entertainment value to those adventures, but Picard, Sisko, and Janeway learned valuable lessons in those encounters, and even Q learned a few on occasion.
Me too!
MacIntyreStudio me too! I want De Lancie to show up if they ever do a reboot of TNG and Q is completely unaffected by the time change.
makes you wonder how Q would have reacted to the Nexus or would he have have just been amused by it...same with being/entity called Nagilum woud they have known each other?
@Zoe Kin *always wanted for Guinen's father to show up on an episode which would have had to have been James Earl Jones without question...at least that's how it plays out in my own personal head canon*
In the book Q Squared, you find out Trelane was part of the continuum and Q was supposed to mentor him into adulthood. Very good novel.
The back-to-back shots of Trelane and Q in full military regalia at 1:27 make the similarities between the two characters almost undeniable.
JD is one of the most underrated actors of our time..... not sure why he didn't have more roles.
Characters played by two very fine actors.
Q, my favorite character in TNG, I would always look forward to the episodes he was in. Now that I think about it...he should have been in the movies.
Absolutely see the resemblance.
Trelaine was such a memorable episode!!
i've watched TNG before TOS and when i saw trelane, I was reminded of Q... like trelane being a young Q...... so I agree here, trelane is a Q.
I love how in the original series the 'parental' superpowers are always shown as kind of a lavalamp.
It would be brilliant if the writers had the idea of naming Q´s son Trelane, insted of Q junior... would be the perfect circle...
Since the Q live in the continuum time doesn´t make sense, so Trelane could well be given Gothos to "play" and found Kirk... in the end 2 beings as father and mother, much like the Q premise, appeared and said he was a child... it would be mind blowing!!!
To bad they didn´t...
Completely agree with you
Yeah, that would certainly have brought the entire franchise full circle with an interesting twist at the end :D
"Q-Squared" by Peter David is the book for you!
yeah
But then we would never have known to call Icheb - "Itchy"
Too great a loss!
Always thought of Trelane as protoype Q. He was already considered a child Q in a non-canon novel.
I have often wondered if Trelane, and his parents, were part of the Q Continuum?
Read "Q-Squared" by Peter David ;)
OzBaxter will do.Thanks
Sector 001 Not sure, because Trelane needed technology for his powers.
I know "it's a small Galaxy" and all that,
But why *would* they be?
Surely there are other super advanced noncorporeal beings in our Galaxy.
Also, The Q didn't have children back in Kirk's era.
So, they couldn't be the same.
Adore John as Q ❤❤❤❤ Some amazing shows we've been given
While I see the similarities in character, Q wasn’t the only Q, and it was hinted that the rest of his race were...enlightened and wise beyond humanity. I was always under the impression that the Q were the entities in the episode Errand of Mercy known as the Organians.
I believe the Q are older than the Organians.
In one of the STO anniversary videos (not sure which but probably 25 or 30 years) there's a nice interview with William Campbell about how he came to play Trelane (he was generally a heavy and TPTB didn't think he could do comedy) and that it became his favorite role in a long career. Interestingly Ricardo Montalban (sp?) said the same thing about playing Khan.
Same here. That's why I got so excited when I saw "The Squire of Gothos". He has to be one of the Q. Just when Kirk thought he'd destroyed Trelane's sole source of power, he realized he was more powerful than he'd imagined. Very cool. I wish we'd seen more of this character, but at least Peter David explored a good deal of the idea that Trelane was a part of the q continuum. That really sated my hunger for more, I think.
Read Q-Squared. It’s a story featuring Enterprise Q, Trelane, Picard, and Kirk.
@@williamleewolverine that’s my favorite book. :-)
@@maybellique I’m so glad, may. :)
I read that the writers had intended to cast Liberace in the role. De Lancie is one of the best parts of the TNG, and so fun to see him come back for Picard season 2.
Agree about De Lancie and Q character, but I hate that the showrunners if Picard are destroying it. That series sucks azz so bad.
@@willyjimmy8881 The third season had some good moments
when i was a kid and saw Trelane for the first time, i thought its Tony Curtis
Favorite scene in the book is where Picard, Riker, and Worf are in a hallway talking, and Q comes running at them, disappears, and they hear a high pitched sound. They look down and it's Q in thumbellina size yelling for help.
Riker asks Picard "What should we do, Captain?"
Work responds, "Sell Tickets."
OH THAT IS EPIC. On par with his "die." bit.
Q Squared. Yes, that was my favorite ST book! Still is. :) I'd recommend it to anyone.
Kirk probably would have punched Q
+Cyanakrli They would make an amusing couple.
Q already told Picard that if he knew him better he would have appeared to him as a woman on their first encounter. ;-)
Danger Mouse Oh the prose. You should have played Captain Picard instead of Sir Paddy.
pixel girl Oh come come, Mon Capitan, you disappoint me.
@Cyanakrli well Kirk fucks women people, any color any whatever but they gotta have a pussy hehe
John DeLancie is a great actor and class act.
I wanted to meet him at a convention near me. Said convention was in 2020....and Jonathan Frakes was to be another guest. Thanks covid.
Its interesting to think that if Trelane and his parents where Q then they had also evolved since their interaction with Kirk.
What a wonderful connection. Outstanding, John. I'm a fan of both characters, in in both ST worlds...
Right, I remember that episode in the original series. It was very good.
I like them both. Q (John de Lancie) just had more time spreading chaos throughout TNG and Voyager ; )
+AndersonNeo12 and DS9. Though sadly he was only there for an episode.
"My contribution to to continue that idea..."
If only we could put John DeLancie in charge of Star Trek today.
I could so listen to John De Lancie talk all day
According to the Canon in the book Q-Squared, they state that Trelane was a young Q. And that when his "parents" called him back, it was the elder Q that spawned him, bringing him back into the collective.
It's actually a great book. It involves Q giving Lwaxona Troi (Deanna's Mother) Q powers, and she finds out later he was using her for an experiment, and proceeds to kick the shit out of him aboard the enterprise.
That was actually two separate books. Trelane was in Q-Squared and the Q/Lwaxana romance was in Q-in-Law. I had the audiobooks of both growing up, so I got them confused a couple times myself.
"Q-Squared" in not canon.
Q was my favorite character although I do wish they had explained the history between him and Guinan.
I never had no doubts about it. The omnipotence, the child-like behaviour, the curiosity about the human race and the arrogance... All the ingredients are there, repeated from Trelane to Q.
In fact, i think there's a Star Trek novel where the 2 meet.
John DeLancie was awesome in Breaking bad. I love him as Q, but all around great actor
When I first saw Q I was convinced it was Trelane grown up. He was a child in TOS. I was very disapointed when I realized that wasn't the case. It would have been a great way to give next gen a story line connection with TOS.
The "god turns out to be a child or mad or both" theme was one that Roddenberry returned to several times. It was one of his favorite ideas.
Great book, nice how they fitted Tralane into the Q continuum.
Wonderful!
Thanks for posting!
I remember when I first got back into Star Trek as an adult and looked back, it being the only original series episode I remembered clearly, I was certain that Trelane was the first appearance of Q in the original series, there are obvious, striking similarities. I quite like the idea of it being left up to you to decide if he's part of the continuum or not.
There's a comic that features the various Star Trek crews being brought together and mixed up to participate in teams for a game held by the Organians, Q, Trelane, and the Wormhole aliens. Was pretty fun, seeing the various chars interact. I think for instance Data is on a team with Kirk, Riker with Sisco, etc. I'd have to look it up again.
and we are so happy it started some where.
A way to reconcile Trelane's Q-ness with that the mirror, as well as the "parents" at the end is that both were just for show/messing around with the humans, and Trelane was just more dedicated to staying in character than Q was. Maybe Trelane wanted to see if Kirk could "figure out" the mirror, and by the time it got to the end, Trelane was bored or realized that the "game" had been written into a corner and gave the crew a Deus Ex Machina, with his "parents."
absolutely adored the novel Q-Squared, tying the two of them together
I read somewhere that Trelane was a "baby Q", and "0" (the god at the center of the galaxy in Star Trek V) was also a Q (that had been exiled).
I always thought the coincidence of these two characters was really quite interesting. Thanks for posting this!
They did. It was called "Q-Squared" by Peter David, and it says that the name "Trelane" comes from "Trey-Lane" because he somehow straddled/messed with three different parallel universes: the normal one, the one based on "Yesterday's Enterprise," and a third one where Jack Crusher was alive and the Big E's captain.
Ironically, De Lancie went on to narrate an audio adaption of a TNG Novel with Q and Trelane. In it, Trelane is a member of the continuum and is Q's mischievous godson.
Trippy
When I watched TNG after finishing TOS, I instantly thought that Q was supposed to be Trelane. He looked so damn similar, even.
There is a novel where Q meets Trelane.
+summer20105707 In one novel it is hinted that Trelane is Q's son.
Xonx68 Now that would be interesting.
rely? What is it called?
I remember that book: "Q Squared" by Peter David. Another good Continuum story was "I, Q" by both Lancie and David.
In the beginning of the book, Q Squared, Trelane materializes on the bridge of Picard's Enterprise in the costume he wore in Kirk's encounter and shouts, "Tally Ho!" and sends the Enterprise D off at high warp...Very good story.
I fell in love with Trelane when I was 12 years old in 1967. He was wonderful!! I loved the set decor, the costumes, and the banter between Kirk and Trelane. Besides Miri, Squire Of Gothos is one of my favorites from the original series.
PS Trelane is a Q.
@@Becky_Theroux_Gockel No. That book isn't canon.
@@tomf3150 canon? what is canon?
I wish the Trelane episode was included in the Q "Fan Collective" ... make whatever separation you want between them, the similarities cannot be dismissed. Disregarding the reality of aging, had DeLancie played Trelane - and no doubt he would've been fantastic in that role - or if a Q episode had merely mentioned once in passing e.g. "many years ago a Q named Trelane..." there would be no question or even doubt at all about it - Trelane was a Q.
Trelane was definitely a Q. Maybe even the same Q. The clothing, the mannerisms, the cynicism, the fascination with war, and the dismissing nature. Yup.
The first Next Generation episode introduced us to Q. Any half Trekkie at the time immediately recognized this as Trelane, I know I did :)
Fascinating
I remember watching the pilot and thinking Q was just an updated version of Trelane and that they deliberately cast an actor who was similar to the original version. I kept expecting the pilot to end with Q’s parents showing up to rein him in.
Trek should do a story that places Trelane in the Q Continuum...
The first time I saw the Q it reminded me of Trelane so not a surprise he would compare them.
People forget that Trelane needed to be near his mirror for his powers. He wasn't freely omnipotent.
I always wanted see an episode where some one asks Q what he knows about Trelaine, and what he knows about Apollo and all of the rest of the Greek Gods. If Q would give a serious answer, I think that it would be very interesting.
Actually in Q Squared, a Canon novel, it is explained that Trelane was an adolescent Q
According to wikipedia it's not canon.
I was reading in one of the many Star Trek wikis earlier, that these was a novel where Trelane was trying to destroy the universe and Picasrd and Q worked together to stop him. The reason i bring it up was that in the novel it was heavily hinted by Q that he is Trelane's father. Q did have a son on ST Voyager. YEs i know most novels are not canon, but i like the idea of this one has.
I met J DeLancie in San Fran back in the day. Charming guy.
They should bring Trelane back as a Q in a new movie...DeLancie's portayal was brilliant, just find the right actor and away we go.
Perhaps it is time for a Star Trek movie that is less about fancy action and one-liners. (J.J. and Pegg did not create the mess, they inherited it.)
Star Trek 4 had comedy!
True.
Weird Al yenkavich.
Hahaha, now I can't get the bizarre image of Weird Al as Q out of my head!
I am surprised there was no ultimate Q movie with a return of an adult Trelane.
They were great characters.
The first time I saw Q in TNG I thought it was a relative of Trelane.
Absolute gent.
Indeed there was a lot of influence. the second episode of TNG was called The Naked Now, based on the TOS ep, The Naked Time. Also in TNG's first season there were a lot of one off encounters with aliens and planets. I believe they were trying to make TNG different, but not too different from TOS so that people would like it.
That's an AWESOME book!!
Trelane were shown to be a baby Q, which is why he still needed machines.
Which, if so, doesn’t make sense that the Q had no children by Janeway’s time.
When I saw the first TNG episode all those years ago and I immediately thought 'thats Trelane'.
Just like Q, Trelane is my most favorite intergalactic trickster.
13 year old video starring Q/John DeLancie. You nailed it this time youtube!
When I think of the Q my empression seems to go back to the episode from the original series with Charlie, and Charlie reminds me in some ways to how Amanda Q first started out before she came to grips that she was a Q.
If I had to pick the most powerful race of Star Trek lore are The Organians who are pure energy and thought. They stopped the war between the Federation and Klingon Empire and then "evaporated" as Kirk and Ku'ur offended their sensibilities.
I loved John De Lancie recurring roles in The Next Generation, Voyager, and DS9 but William Campbell over the the top acting as Squire Trelane is a joy to watch over and over. Did Campbell play another evil character in an episode where Abe Lincoln and Surak come back to life?
Q does resemble Trelane, just with less fruitiness.
well it could be Q but WAY WAY WAY Younger
The Q don't have children, or at least they didn't at that point in the Star Trek genré.
He wasn't fruity, just foppish.
MartyMonster Lol!
Trelane uses tech such as behind the mirror in the TOS. the Q while they used tech such as when Q was chasing the Enterprise and in their civil war, their tech was far beyond our comprehension but Trelanes tech was damaged by Kirk and party.
Damn I love the Q character... someone who is totally disconnected from characters of the show but still takes time to screw with them to further learn about humanity and its threat to the continuum. I guess he's like a "chaotic neutral".
Everytime I see Squire Tralaine (and now Q), I can't help but remember the superb Futurama spoof
Fry: All this time we thought he was a powerful superbeing, but he was just a child
Alien: He's not a child, he's 34!
I like that book, very well made.
Was hoping to see Q in a movie.
DeLancie, always so angsty and melancholic.
Reminds me of the late Gary Shandling.
Never watched the original series much so i didn't know Trelane was it. I did love the TNg novel that had Trelane in it. Might have to go looking for it now
John D'L so handsome still
Star Trek The Next Generation: Q-Squared
Novel by Peter David Published July 1994 so kind of confirms it. great book I listened to the audio version read by John DeLancie I cried, I laughed, I had goosepimples the size of tribbles.
I just watched "The Squire of Gothos" the other day and I am ashamed I did not draw this parallel.
I remember a novel where trelane and q team up for some crazy reason, it was pretty damn fun
nice video.
My understanding is that the TNG pilot was originally just the Farpoint story as a 1 hour ep, but Paramount demanded a 2 hour pilot, so Roddenberry came up with the Q B-story to make it 2 hours.
Gene was a genius taking the idea of Charlie X Thasian, and combing it with Liberace's flamboyance to create Trelane which became Q in TNG.
Also Gene was hoping for a legacy character with Q as Gary 7 from Assignment Earth was shot down as a spin off series.
Q was my favorite character from TNG
it's interesting that John de Lancie apparently knows star trek well enough to come up with fan theories about the origins of his own character. It's not that he was told that his character was inspired by trelane but that he thinks that.
he wrote a star trek book
There's a Star Trek Next Generation novel called Q-Squared in which Trelane is one of the Q.
To be more specific, he's somehow Q's biological descendant, if memory of what I've read serves correctly. It truly is sad that this book isn't considered canon. :\
Dude, the front cover of the paperback shows Q on one side of Jean Luc Picard, and on the other side is . . . Trelane. The blurb on the back specifically mentions that Trelane is a member of the Q Continuum. So what did I spoil? The surprise of the cover?
Please look at how I worded my post. It wasn't about what /you/ could possibly spoil, it was that /I/ put down in /my/ post due to what I put down as not being apparent by just looking at the cover or the blurb. If it were about your post, I would have put something along the lines of "Gee, thanks for the spoiler warning" or something like that. I also put /possible/ spoiler warning because I'm not sure if I'm remembering "Q Squared" or another book due to how long it's been since I've read any Star Trek literature.
Q
Dude, 'please' look at what you DID. The purpose of social media is to interact with people via replies to comments. But instead of allowing people to interact with me, you warn them away with a spoiler alert with the first reply to my comment. You poisoned my entire comment thread with your stupid spoiler. Did it occur to you that if you're going to post spoilers, you should either post them to a comment thread that begins with a spoiler or you should start your own comment thread instead of spoiling someone else's comment thread?
Sheesh, what do you want from me? Should I apologize for you being thoughtless, insensitive, stupid, and non-value added? The latter because your comment is like, "I think maybe that such and such, but I don't remember exactly." Well then, shut up!
implicaverse
Fine, I've fixed the problem. Happy now? I apologize for supposedly "ruining" anything you posted and not being the best at wording. I really didn't intend to piss you off. I usually leave room for error in anything I say or post because...well, since I don't have an eidetic memory, anything I DO remember may or may not be correct. But what I did post isn't like it couldn't be found out anyways. I need to remember that this is the Internet and there really isn't such a thing as spoilers anymore. Again, I apologize.
Yea I read it years ago my age still started with a 1 in front it. But I do remember thinking that Trelane was his son or at least the book left me with that impression
And John did a _very good job_.
From the original Star Trek episode, it looks like Gene Roddenberry wrote a story called, "Capt. Kirk meets Liberace".
It does make sense ! Definitively a continuity !
D'awwwww.... Stop it, you're making me blush :)