I'm starting to think that maybe, perhaps you guys are just not Trek fans. No biggie, it's not for everyone

Understand. When she says "you just need Sleep", Q doesnt respond "What is Sleep?" He knows What Sleep is, he's just never felt tired. He knows what eating is, he's just never felt hungry. It's literally the FEELINGS he doesn't understand- not the concepts themselves.

As for Q, knowing isn't the same as experiencing

"oh its the Meme" !! lol funny when people find out where its from

While Q and Data were walking in a hallway, Data told Q he would never know what it's like to laugh or cry. So he gave him a good belly laugh at the end.

Alex just de-aged by ten years. Got a season one Riker face…..

The plot of the show wasn't the planet and the asteroid. The plot was Q's storyline.

"What must I do to convince you people?" "Die." Still the funniest exchange in TNG and I love that it's from Worf of all people.

Eat any good books lately? Lmao that line is so damn funny. Poor Worf.

The plot wasn’t the planet saving, it was just the b story to the main plot of Q being turned human.

The mariachi scene makes me laugh every time.

Q knows what sleeping and eating are. What he didn't know was what those strange sensations in his new body were. When he's told that he fell asleep or that he feels hungry, he is able to match the feelings with the concepts.

Remember guys, these are the same guys who are not fans of the doomsday machine, but really like Spock brain.

One of my favorite quotes comes from this episode. “ I’m not very good in groups. It’s hard to be a team player when you’re omnipotent.”

"Oh, you're so stolid! You weren't like that before the beard."

Q knows what sleeping and eating are. He's never experienced either of them or the sensations that come before them.

I’d say this episode is a key turning point in Q’s overall arc.

This one episode spawned 3 different memes: Picard facepalm, Mariachi band, and laughing Data.

This has always been a favorite episode of mine. I do get what you guys are saying and I agree. But sometimes it's just good to have simply a fun episode--especially when Q is involved!

Q knows what sleepiness and hunger are, he just doesn't know what they feel like.

Corbin Bernson as the other Q was a fun cameo at the time. He was a well known actor on a major network show called LA Law. That show was a ratings powerhouse and ran for 8 years. Incidentally LA Law is where Diana Mulduar went after leaving TNG.

Corbin Bernson appearing as Q was huge. He was a major character on LA Law. Which was one of NBC's dramas in the eighties and nineties.

Q likes and respects Data and his journey to humanity. He may gift him a laugh, but now wouldn't rob him of his journey. Especially since Data explicitly turned Q down when he was offered.

Wow, pretty tough crowd. One of my personal favourite episodes - but, then again, I'm a big fan of Q. I usually find "goofy fun" episodes forgettable - but the way they intertwined compelling issues made it work wonders for me. Not only does Q realize the meaning of self-sacrifice - he also manages to give Data one of the most potent experiences of his life out of sheer gratitude. About not knowing the concept of sleep and what not, I think you misunderstand completely. It's not that he doesn't know about it, it's that he never actually experienced it - so he never gave a second thought to how it would actually feel to fall asleep. In that same way, you can hear about what it means to suffer from, say, anxiety - but you would have absolutely no idea what it's like until you experience it for yourself. The plot, to me, is also very compelling. No, not the face-value plot - but the plot of discovering what it means to be human - and how it's less about the biology and more about how you act - especially under extreme pressure or when someone is in danger. I guess that's not for everyone - but it certainly works for me :)

"Very clever Worf. Eat any good books lately?" Gotta be one of my favorite comedic bits in all of Star Trek!

My favorite line in the episode is when Data says Q has earned a disgrace which he has always aspired to be. It is deeper the more you think about it.

In regards to eating and sleeping there's a difference between knowing something and understanding something.

He has an academic knowledge of eating and sleeping but he has never experienced it before.

A depowered Q seems like an interesting character.

It's nice seeing this other side of Q, see him be more somber because he's both missing his powers and being deadly afraid without them. Him giving Data the laugh he wanted was a nice touch at the End. Also Guinan stabbing his hand is hilarious.😂

John “Dee-Lan-SEE”

Doug Drexler, who earned an academy award for makeup for Dick Tracey was a makeup artist on the show at that time. Doug once told a story about this episode.. Levar Burton had joked with him behind the scenes always acting like a big announcer saying "ladies and gentlemen, academy award winner Doug Drexler!" When they were shooting the scene of Q first appearing, Les Landau yelled cut then "makeup!" And pointed to de Lancie's a$$. So when Doug applied more makeup Landau announced "ladies and gentlemen, Academy award winner Doug Drexler!" He said everyone busted out laughing.

I think others have rightly pointed out, the main plot was Q's introduction to being human/vulnerable/etc, the B plot was the asteroid stuff. I think it's fitting that the B plot is so mundane because, to Q, every type of problem like that would be mundane and boring. An omnipotent being finds stuff like that ho-hum. You know, you just change the gravitational constant of the universe when you encounter problems like these... mere child's play! What was really rocking his world were the new sensations of falling asleep, being hungry, experiencing pain.... and then the more complex emotions like shame, anxiety, fear, helplessness... likely loneliness/rejection. You are right this is a very simple episode plot-wise, but I think it serves as a major character change for Q, who went from an antagonistic/patronizing force in seasons 1+2, to actually facing some humility in this episode and perhaps acquiring a "residue" of humanity. FWIW, the Data laugh is one of my all-time favorite TNG moments.

Q was the plot of this episode. And of course he does not get bogged down in all the minutiae - that's your job!

I don't think it was so much a matter of Q's not knowing what sleeping or eating was, but that he didn't know the experience of being hungry or falling asleep, as he'd never experienced them himself. He had to be educated that "this feeling" or "this happening" means "this."

I get the impression Q knew _of_ things like sleep and hunger, but doesn't realise what they are when experiencing them. " _This_ is hunger?" type thing.

The thing about this episode is that it’s a God learning how to be a man. To also go directly to the point that was brought up about, “why wouldn’t Q know that?“, I compare it to a quote from Jurassic Park III by Alan Grant, “there are two kinds of boys: those who want to be astronomers, and those who want to be astronauts.” Q is an astronomer, he knows everything about everybody, but there’s still room for him to learn because he’s never actually experienced it. It’s kind of like a foreign exchange student learning about different cultures. Also, this episode is worth it just to hear data laugh. I especially love that he got the inspiration from watching old Laurel and Hardy shorts from the 1920s and 30’s. He specifically said that there’s one episode where Stan Laurel gets drunk and just giggles like crazy which he used for Data. It’s so perfect!

Q knows what sleeping and eating is but he never felt it.

This is one of my all-time favourite Star Trek TNG episodes... I struggle with depression and whenever my depression gets bad I watch this episode, it doesn't cure the depression but this episode always cheers me up a bit and gets me to laugh.

To be fair, Q has never claimed to be all knowing, that would be omniscient. He always states that the Q are omnipotent, which is all powerful.

“I don’t need your fantasy women, i have the holodeck…. And the occasional infiltrator from a rogue society with some sort of mind control device….

I think you guys really missed the mark on this episode. Q obviously knows what sleep is but never experienced it. He also listed all the things he may have to endure now, having never had to consider being mortal. Also Q is the main plot of this episode, having to do anything else is a cake walk compared to dealing with Q.

Damn! I am disappointed. I really thought you would love this episode. It is one of my favorites. A great dive into Q's and Data's characters. Great moments for most of the crew. Some very funny moments. Q's Red Alert entrance, Guinan's stabbing Q, Worf's "Die". Also no smart ass kid saving the day. The B story of the planet and moon?...well they do have time to fill. The one real drawback for me in this episode is no Chief O'Brian. Like you I love Colm Meaney.

This episode is almost full on comedy and makes fantastic use of John DeLance (that's de-lance-ee). I agree that "the plot" is a bit lackluster, but the real interest of this episode is with Q's fish out of water behaviour and a little growth to his character. The interesting line here is that Q considers Picard a sort of friend, this is something that has long reaching implications.

I think this is a scenario, were you need to have the characters having to deal with SOMETHING besides Q, but once its established that they have another thing to do, its sole purpose for existing is to do so in the background.

Surprised these guys seemed so unimpressed. This has always been one of my favorite episodes. The dynamic between Brent Spiner and John de Lancie is a big reason why.

Nice! Always loved this one. Getting to see Q, John DeLancie gets to flex his comedy chops, and it's got some fun banter. I often come back to this episode.

Originally Q was just a single entity when Gene Roddenberry came up with the character for Encounter at Farpoint. It was John de Lancie who came up with the idea to make the Q multiple beings.

Josh: Oh, I never got the part about it being Deck Ten Forward Alex: Oh, I'm sure someone told us about it, but I wasn't paying attention... Fans: 😮🤨 🤣

I think you guys need to roll with it a bit more. It's not like Q freaked out about falling asleep, being hungry etc. He was more puzzled or curious at feelings he never experienced before. And I always thought the plot was about Q and the asteroid thing was a B story. But we all watch things differently.

Perhaps what this episode displayed the most is that Q wasn't as "omnipotent" as he thought. He had superficial knowledge, but not direct experience. His defrocking was to instill that subjective knowledge in him, and improve his ability to sympathetically interact with other species. Somewhat like the Squire of Gothos, he always had a bit of a childish "what are you going to do about it?" approach to everything, and this humbling was needed.

Stopped another video on the spot to watch this lol

he knows what it IS, he doesn't know how it FEELS

Corbin Bernsen, the other Q, who was uncredited, was from the very popular show LA Law on NBC in the 1980s. This was the first of many actors from other shows who wanted to be on TNG. The new Trek was becoming so popular that many well known actors of the time made cameo appearances, Bernsen being the first.

This one was almost a pure character study of Q. We're given real insight into what it's like being Q, by being shown what is surprising to him when fully restricted to the physical realm. He likes to galavant in a human appearance but he doesn't fully contain his omnipotent form in a way where he gets the full human experience. Whether from lack of desire, ability, or risk, as doing so may require some loss of omnipotence.

Seriously, one of my favorite "comedy" episodes of Next Gen. Not everything has to be serious drama. It's just a fun, funny character ep. for Q, and to an extent for Data. Guinan stabbing Q is probably my favorite laugh of the episode. And has there been a funnier cold opener than "Red Alert..." ? Love it.

I love the Q episodes, but I think the thing that stands out to me with this one is that it gives just a little more depth to the character.

Love this episode, one of my favorites, should've known you guys would think it was just OK lol

Data laughing uncontrollably is the highlight of the episode. Close second is Guinan stabbing Q with the fork. What a move!

I always hated how some characters keep saying Picard like, "Pee-card!"

Q's knowledge of humans is like reading a biogrphy of Abraham Lincoln. How often would everyday things (sleeping, eating, using the bathroom...) come up? In this he's very similar to Trelane.- He's not omnixcient - he knows a lot - but he's avoided the boring stuff.

John DeLancie shared the story of the opening scene at a convention I attended. He had just flown in from someplace and didn't have much sleep. The director and crew were taking too long to figure out how to cover him up for his appearance. John was tired and wanted get the scene filmed, so he warned everyone and gave them a chance to get out before dropping his robe and going "au naturale", as he put it.

I absolutely love this episode. So many of my favorite characters get to shine, and a genuinely emotional moment between Q and Data. We're getting so close to the episode I can't wait for.

Ten Forwards name was explained in the first episode of season two. When Picard enters the turbolift to go see Dr. Palaski who is in Ten Forward he tells the computer to take him to, "Deck 10, FORWARD station 1." Hence Ten Forward.

I love when he shrinks the aliens into his hand at the end then blows them away.

Q feeling human emotions is probably like how you can say a dog is "excited", knocking shit over and whatnot. But you'll never feel Dog Excited in your life, right? And we have a place for people who do...

This episode isnt like high art or anything, but its one of the episodes I've rewatched the most. Of the episodes that are kind of silly, this is the most fun so far. I love John De Lancie to death, and Q even gets some surprising chsrscter development. Just a comfort episode with a lot of memes

This was such a fun episode. The next one…will have a different tone.

The fact Wesley is not there is a nice touch you'll appreciate later, when they'll show more about the shifts on the Enteprise, because they have job pauses and also have to sleep of course.

Wait they've lost a beard does this mean the reactions going forward will get worse and worse now? Pulling a reverse Riker!

Yeah, this is a Q and Data episode, they drive the A-story, and that's why this episode shines for me. The B-plot is just to track a particular deadline that keeps pressure on the rest of the crew, otherwise they'd have nothing to do. As these Q episodes progress, I think it's important to look at them as their own mini-show for Q's character to develop. Q was a pet project for Gene Roddenberry and I think the day-to-day showrunners/writers wanted to honor Gene by giving Q the occasional spotlight. So far, Q Who is the best of the bunch because that story had the most interesting story, and Q was a facilitator mostly.

There’s two ways to interpret this episode. One: the whole thing is an act by Q to test the crew or teach them a lesson before he helps with the moon. Two: it’s real and things like falling a sleep and experiencing hunger took Q by surprise because while he knew about them intellectually, he’d never had the physical experience of them. A someone who once passed out in public due to an unexpected medical problem, I can attest to the fact that losing consciousness when you don’t expect it is terrifying even if you’ve spent your whole life as a human.

Like you said, the "plot" here is not the point of this episode, yet this episode is one I love (though not one I put in a top 10 list or anything) because of those interactions with Data and that moment of laughter Q gives him. It's a sweet gesture that shows to me that while Q often appears as an antagonist, he's not evil, more like a bored kid looking to have a little fun.

This is a "for funsies" episode. The plot's not the strongest but it's just a fun little romp before the main event. In wrestling terms, it's a Bushwhackers match. Famed car designer Caroll Shelby used to play a trick on his passengers where he'd tuck a $100 bill in the air vent and as soon as his guest reached for it, he'd slam on the gas and send them back into their seat. This episode is the hundred bucks.

I love season 3 of TNG, but the best season of all Trek is season 6 of DS9. Season 5 of DS9 has been voted by many as the near perfection in it`s storytelling! 🤩🤩

For what it's worth, its valid to say it *starts* getting amazing at s3, and it's *also* the back half of it onwards. I don't think thats moving the goalposts, but I get it because of how frustrating it is to like the first bit and everyone keeps telling you how bad it is haha. I Really do thing TNG hits such highs that you'll understand looking back on it. And going forward into the other shows. I adore this episode, Q is such a good character, and you will come across him a *lot*.

Doesn't crack my top five for the season, but is solidly number six. This episode is so beautifully written, including one of my favorite TNG lines: "You're so stolid, Commander. You weren't like that BEFORE the beard." Also the moment when Q encouters Guinan is fantastic. Whoopi Goldberg just takes every scene she's in to a whole 'nother level.

He clearly knows about 'human things' when he is talking to Worf about what he has to look forward to as a human. He probably just doesn't know about the minor details of how things like sleep or hunger work, just that humans need to eat and sleep (and get pimples and bad breath). hahaha

I think you missed the point on the eating and sleeping. I knew boat rocked back and forth but until I was on one in the middle of a storm I didn't understand how my body would have to adjust to it. Q knows sleep exists but if he's never slept then how else would he view it than as this terrible thing where he lost consciousness. There's a difference between knowing and experiencing.

Knowing and doing are 2 different things. Knowing and EXPERIENCING are 2 different things. Anyone expecting deepness from a comedic Q episode is expecting a bit much. If thats the case then it's best to skip these comedic non deep episodes. For those who don't mind a goofy comedic Trek episode (like myself) especially if it's funny and well done will absolutely LOVE this episode. My only complaint was Guinan. Their little rivalry always seemed very forced, unnecessary and shoe horned in IMO. Everything else was great. I love ALL the Q episodes.

2:46 one of my favorite lines in all of TNG.

We're nearing the endgame now. This is the lull before the storm.

Good episode. Love the Data and Q scenes, especially at the end. What's Q and Guinan's history?!?!?! Riker doesn't need help getting women, give them to Geordi. Alex looks good.

It makes sense to me that creating something doesn’t necessarily allow you to understand how that creation feels. For example, a deity would realize that a being would require nourishment but not appreciate the feeling of satisfaction when we eat a pizza, burger or ice cream. Or knows what pain - like a headache or stubbed toe feels like.

Just a couple episodes from one of my all time favorite, rewatchable episodes… can’t wait

SO glad that Yukon Cornelius has left the building !

'That other Q' was played by Corbin Bernsen, who was a huge TV star at those days, being in the number one show "LA Law" (the same show that Diana Muldaur also starred in, BTW), so it was a big surprise that he made that Q cameo...

"We're being hit by a field of energetic tachyons!" You know, as opposed to the non-energetic tachyons...

I can't wait for you guys to finally get to DS9. Hands down the best show in the franchise.

When this episode was first aired, it was about a few years since I had a lecture about orbital mechanics, and I posted extensively on a pre-browser Internet that the mechanics of the plot were completely backwards. The crew keep trying to change the velocity of the moon at its perigee (lowest altitude), but sit idly when it’s at the apogee (furthest distance from the planet), where with very little effort they could have given it a tiny push faster and that would have lifted the orbit perigee away from the planet… problem solved. It was like watching idiots try to trim your toenails by digging down from the top of your skull.

Good reaction, love your channel. But you skipped over the "Change the gravitational constant of the universe!" scene!

Data saved Q's life. I don't think there is many beings in the universe that can say that.

So behind the scenes, apparently the original concept for the story was that Q was just screwing with them, but it was actually Gene Roddenberry who told them "If you're going to do a story about a God becoming a man, then just do that story" and so they reworked a more serious tale into a comedy, which is all the better for both Q's character and just for having an overall fun time considering how many serious episodes there are in a row here.

A sillly episode, but one I always enjoy. It's character development all around. And Q goes full Mxyzptlk for the first time! :D

I see that others have already addressed the sleep/eating issue and that Alrx was on target. Thus, I will go with this reminder: Q are omni-potent, not omniscient.

The *other* Q is played by Corben Bernsen (sp?) who was on a hit Network show (there were only four at the time), L.A. Law. Him guest starring was a huge deal at the time.

Q is definitely aware that humans sleep and eat but knowing something and experiencing it are very different things.

Q may know of hunger and sleep, but experiencing it would have been very shocking, unusual, and caught him off guard. It would be easy to momentarily forget the minutia of mortal existence that doesn't interest you in the slightest once your whole being is succumbing to said minutia in a very intensely real way. I can totally see him wondering what that was, hearing Picard say "you fell asleep", and then going ".....oh....that's what that's like?" Being book smart and having lived experience are two entirely universally different things. Especially between am omnipotent being and a mortal human.

What I loved so much about this episode (for a long time this was my favourite Q episode ever) was that heroic moments where Data saves Q from certain doom. Especially the scene in Engineering. That got me excited and amped as a kid and I totally went "Whoa did you see that?!" But not only was it visually awesome, but thematically the fact that Data, the one without emotion, treats him with the same respect he treats everybody else and does everything he can to save Q while the rest of the crew treats him with nothing and believes he's not worth saving. They all would have saved him (and they try to at the end), but it was just great how Data was the one who was always there. Which makes the scene at the end where Q gives him a gift all the more redeeming for his character. And to that end, Q's character has changed just a little bit to becoming more sympathetic and almost somewhat of a friend. They have history now and both the crew and Q are perhaps just a little more appreciative (or at least understanding) of the other. One thing you guys keep ragging on is the "plot" getting in the way, but it's not like it's supposed to be central. Just seems like you're acting like it IS. It's supposed to just be a backdrop to the central problem. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I find it strange that it's so annoying to you guys though lol. But different strokes 'n all.

One of the all-time greatest Trek episodes.