Hide and Q (S01E10)
Airdate: November 23rd 1987
Written by: C. J. Holland & Gene Roddenberry Directed by: Cliff Bolle
Running Time: 46 minutes
The inaugural season of Star Trek: The Next Generation remains one of the most contentious periods in the franchise's history, much-maligned by both fans and critics for its uneven quality and creative missteps. The series suffered considerably during its early episodes as Gene Roddenberry and his production team grappled with the monumental task of reviving Star Trek for a new generation while simultaneously distancing it from the original series' shadow. While the creative team struggled to identify precisely what wasn't working with their new iteration, they possessed an intuitive understanding of what elements were functioning effectively. Chief among these strengths was the introduction of Q, the enigmatic, god-like entity first encountered in the two-part pilot Encounter at Farpoint. This character would evolve into one of Star Trek's most enduring and recognisable icons, appearing across multiple series and becoming a cornerstone of the franchise's mythology. His first reappearance occurred in the first season's tenth episode, Hide and Q, which, while flawed, demonstrated the character's immediate potential to elevate the series beyond its early growing pains.
The narrative of Hide and Q commences with the USS Enterprise-D en route to the Quadra Sigma colony to provide medical assistance following a catastrophic methane explosion. This humanitarian mission is abruptly interrupted by Q's unannounced arrival aboard the ship. The omnipotent being insists the crew participate in a "game" to be conducted on the surface of an unnamed Class M planet. Captain Picard remains aboard the Enterprise while Commander Riker leads an away team that encounters bizarre aliens dressed in Napoleonic-era military uniforms—a creative choice that appears both whimsical and somewhat incongruous with the episode's purported seriousness. Q explains his fascination with humanity and proposes a test to determine whether humans might eventually evolve to the level of the Q Continuum. The central challenge involves Q bestowing his god-like powers upon Riker, with the stipulation that if Riker accepts, Picard must relinquish command of the Enterprise. The moral dilemma intensifies when Riker's newly acquired powers could restore life to a young colonist girl killed in the methane disaster. Despite this profound temptation, Riker, demonstrating unwavering loyalty to both Picard and Starfleet principles, refuses the offer. His discomfort with the situation is palpable, and Picard, seeking to push the test to its logical conclusion, summons his senior officers and offers them the opportunity to request anything through Riker's newfound abilities. Each officer declines, effectively passing Q's test, after which Q appears to be summoned away by other members of the Q Continuum.
The episode was written by Maurice Hurley, a writer who, despite his close relationship with Roddenberry and significant influence during the series' first two seasons, reportedly grew increasingly dissatisfied with Roddenberry's rewrites of his script. This tension culminated in Hurley demanding to be credited under the pen name "C. J. Holland" for this very episode—a telling indicator of the creative friction that characterised TNG's tumultuous early development. This behind-the-scenes discord is somewhat reflected in the episode's uneven execution, which struggles to balance philosophical depth with narrative coherence.
From a structural perspective, Hide and Q cannot claim originality, as it heavily borrows from the classic Original Series episode The Squire of Gothos, featuring Trelane, a character with striking similarities to Q. Both Hurley and Roddenberry appear to have attempted elevating the concept beyond its TOS predecessor by framing it as a more profound examination of human morality and potential. Unfortunately, these efforts largely manifest as a simplistic morality play that fails to challenge the audience's expectations. Thanks to the episodic nature of 1980s television, viewers had little reason to doubt the Enterprise crew would ultimately pass Q's test and return to their regular adventures—a narrative safety net that significantly diminishes the episode's dramatic tension.
One of the episode's more interesting creative decisions involves shifting focus from Picard to Riker as Q's primary subject of examination. This choice makes narrative sense, as Riker had already been established as a more active, Kirk-like Starfleet officer compared to Picard's contemplative nature, making him a seemingly more compelling candidate for Q's temptation. Jonathan Frakes delivers a commendable performance, subtly conveying the internal conflict Riker experiences when confronted with near-omnipotent power. His nuanced portrayal captures the character's discomfort with the situation while hinting at the seductive nature of such power—a complexity that elevates what might otherwise have been a one-dimensional test of loyalty.
Nevertheless, the script suffers from several serious logical inconsistencies that undermine its thematic ambitions. The most glaring issue stems from Q's established omnipotence—when dealing with an entity capable of manipulating space and time at will, the stakes feel inherently artificial. The absence of certain characters, particularly Deanna Troi, feels conspicuous and highlights the episode's narrative contrivances. Feminist critics might reasonably object to Tasha Yar's reduction to a weeping figure after being sent to Q's "penalty box," requiring Picard's comforting embrace—a portrayal that diminishes her established competence as security chief. Furthermore, when Riker offers to grant wishes, his offer extends exclusively to male members of Picard's staff, with both Yar and Dr. Crusher notably absent from these scenes, reinforcing problematic gender dynamics.
The episode was competently directed by Cliff Bole, though the Class M planet where most of the action unfolds appears suspiciously like a recycled set from The Original Series era. Some creative choices border on the bizarre, particularly the decision to dress alien entities in Earth's Napoleonic military uniforms—a visual anachronism that serves little narrative purpose. One memorable, if ultimately superfluous, moment occurs when Q impersonates Data in a manner reminiscent of a horror film jump scare—a stylistic choice that, while visually striking, contributes little to the episode's thematic development.
The scenes where Riker offers his crewmates their heart's desires prove particularly underwhelming. While William A. Wallece delivers a respectable performance as an adult version of Wesley Crusher, stuntwoman Faith Minton is burdened with grotesque prosthetics and poor choreography in her portrayal of Worf's Klingon mate—a sequence that feels more comical than meaningful. This highlights another recurring issue with early TNG: the series' inconsistent approach to special effects and makeup, which often undermined otherwise thoughtful concepts.
An unexpectedly dark element permeates Hide and Q, marking it as somewhat groundbreaking for 1980s broadcast television. It features the first onscreen child death in TNG—a rarity for network television of the era. During the planetary "game," Wesley Crusher suffers an explicitly gory impalement by an alien bayonet, a shocking moment that, despite his immediate resurrection by Riker, reportedly resonated with viewers who had grown weary of the character. Some fans have interpreted this sequence as a form of subconscious fan service to those who had developed antipathy toward Wesley by this point in the series.
What ultimately elevates Hide and Q beyond its numerous flaws is John de Lancie's masterful performance as Q. From the moment he first appeared in Encounter at Farpoint, de Lancie imbued the character with a unique blend of cosmic menace and playful charm that Roddenberry initially resisted—reportedly instructing de Lancie to tone down the humour. Fortunately, de Lancie persisted with his interpretation, understanding that Q's appeal lay precisely in this duality. His scenes with Patrick Stewart's Picard represent the episode's strongest moments, particularly when Stewart, drawing on his extensive Shakespearean background, quotes the Bard with appropriate gravitas. De Lancie's ability to match Stewart's theatricality while maintaining Q's otherworldly detachment creates a dynamic that would become central to TNG's most memorable episodes.
In retrospect, Hide and Q serves as a crucial stepping stone in The Next Generation's evolution. While imperfect and derivative, it successfully establishes Q as more than a one-off gimmick, demonstrating the character's potential to serve as both antagonist and philosophical provocateur. The episode's weaknesses—predictable plot, logical inconsistencies, and uneven character moments—reflect the series' broader growing pains during its first season. Yet its strengths, particularly de Lancie's charismatic performance and the intriguing moral questions it raises about power and responsibility, point toward the more sophisticated storytelling that would characterise TNG's later seasons. Ultimately, Hide and Q represents a transitional moment in Star Trek history—a flawed but necessary experiment that helped define one of the franchise's most enduring characters while simultaneously demonstrating the creative team's growing understanding of what made their new series work.
RATING: 5/10 (++)
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