The Q and the Grey

"The Q and the Grey" is the 11th episode of the third season of Star Trek: Voyager,[1] the 53rd episode overall.[2] This is a science fiction television episode of the Star Trek franchise that aired on UPN in 1996, featuring John de Lancie as the alien Q.

"The Q and the Grey"
Star Trek: Voyager episode
Episode no.Season 3
Episode 11
Directed byCliff Bole[1]
Story byShawn Piller[2]
Teleplay byKenneth Biller[2]
Featured musicDennis McCarthy
Production code153
Original air dateNovember 27, 1996 (1996-11-27)
Guest appearance(s)

The Q character debuted with the Star Trek: The Next Generation and was also featured in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. This episode further explores this type of alien being, and its dealings with USS Voyager, with a focus on its Captain Janeway.

Releases

The episode first aired in the United States on November 27, 1996, and subsequently in Germany and Hungary in 1998 and 2001, respectively.[4] In the USA it was aired on the television network UPN.[5]

This was released as a single episode on VHS video cassette tape in July 2002.[6] This episode was also released in 2006, on DVD as part of the Q Collective, which features episodes from across the Star Trek franchise featuring this character.[7]

Plot

Captain Kathryn Janeway is surprised when Q appears in her quarters – and in her bed – one night. Q is intent on Janeway becoming the mother of his child,[8] and plies the Captain with gifts in an attempt to win her affections.[9] Q believes that his desire for Janeway should be regarded as an honour, but Janeway insists that he leave, and eventually he does.

Q's absence does not last long, as he abducts the captain and takes her to the Q Continuum,[8] now appearing as an American Civil War period piece. He explains that there is a civil war brewing among the Q race, and Q hopes that he and Janeway can bring a child into the Continuum to avert the war. The Q authorities (represented as Confederate soldiers) fire on them, wounding Q, then arrive and capture Q and Janeway. The Q leader, appearing as a Confederate colonel, intends to execute them both.

On Voyager, the remaining crew have been observing dozens of supernovae taking place throughout the area. A Q female (Suzie Plakson), Q's ex-wife, appears and says that the civil war among the Q is the cause. She helps the crew reach the Q Continuum by flying into a supernova, and provides the Voyager crew with Q weapons, which they use to attack the Q authorities' camp and free Q and Janeway. Q and his wife resume their relationship and decide to become parents themselves, thus ending the war. Captain Janeway is witness to the two Q mating, which consists of simply touching fingers.

Q returns later to Janeway's quarters with his infant son and asks her to be his godmother, which she happily accepts.

Background

The trigger for the civil war among the Q was the suicide of the Q Quinn, the focus of the Voyager episode "Death Wish".[10]:220 The underlying cause for the civil war, though, was longstanding tension between two Q factions which maintain a tenuous balance between simple survival and creative advance as a species.[10]:220

Q made his television debut in 1987, in the pilot episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation season 1 launch "Encounter at Farpoint" (2-part episode).[11] Q has appeared twelve times in the television shows Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager.[11]

gollark: I'd go so far as to say that most programs over a few hundred lines are pretty hard for anyone but the original creator to understand.
gollark: `software they don't fully understand` = most code.
gollark: ```Encouraging players to install software they don’t fully understand is forbidden.```
gollark: <@!152960219390017538> No, that is utterly false.
gollark: Well, it has some uses, just not many.

References
  1. ""Star Trek: Voyager" The Q and the Grey (TV Episode 1996)". IMDb. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  2. Okuda, Michael; Okuda, Denise; Mirek, Debbie (17 May 2011). "Q". The Star Trek Encyclopedia. Pocket Books (Simon & Schuster). "Q and the Grey, The.". ISBN 9781451646887. OCLC 682113602. Retrieved 16 January 2017 – via Google Books.
  3. "Suzie Plakson". IMDb. Filmography:Actress:Star Trek Voyager (TV Series). Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  4. ""Star Trek: Voyager" The Q and the Grey (TV Episode 1996) - Release Info". IMDb. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  5. "Star Trek: Voyager: The Q and the Grey".
  6. "Star Trek - Voyager, Episode 53: The Q and The Grey VHS". Amazon.
  7. "Star Trek Fan Collective - Q". Amazon. 6 June 2006.
  8. Decker, Kevin S.; Eberl, Jason T. (2008). Star Trek and Philosophy: The Wrath of Kant. Popular Culture and Philosophy. Chicago: Open Court (Carus). Will Power Spoil Commander Riker?. ISBN 9780812697049. OCLC 651880141 – via Internet Archive.
  9. "Mollie (Capt. Janeway's dog) – Star Trek: Voyager". Dog Actors. 26 August 2011. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  10. Decker, Kevin S.; Eberl, Jason T., eds. (2016). The Ultimate Star Trek and Philosophy: The Search for Socrates. The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series. Wiley-Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons). ISBN 9781119146001. OCLC 926050643 – via Google Books.
  11. "Star Trek Fan Collective - Q". 6 June 2006 – via Amazon.

Further reading
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