#Q-Less

[skybson]

1x06 - Q-less

[writergeekrhw]

Besides you punching Q in the face, was there any other reason the character never returned to DS9?

I like to imagine the Prophets told Q that Sisko was spoken for

As I've mentioned before, IRL Rick & Michael & Jeri decided they wanted Q (and the Borg) to be a big part of Voyager, so they requested we not use him anymore (same with the Borg). He wasn't a great fit for the show, IMO, so we were fine with that. We felt a little more bummed about the Borg, since they were such a huge part of Sisko's backstory, but so it goes.

If you want an in universe reason, yeah, I think the Prophets freaked Q out a bit and he decided to avoid DS9 because of them. Plus Sisko, being less inclined to humor Q, was less fun for him to play with.

[stopthatbluecat]

When Sisko punched Q he felt the entirety of Sisko's collective pasts, presents, and futures, and that's the true reason he never returned.

He would always be nothing to him in any existence.

[filmjunky-99]

s t a r t r e k d e e p s p a c e n i n e created by rick berman, michael piller [q-less, s1ep7]

'Three thousand bars of latinum. My final offer.' - kolos

'Three thousand bars.' - quark

'A million.' - q

'A million bars of gold press latinum?' - quark

[usstrekart]

Starting today and running for the next two weeks is a special limited time sale in my Threadless shop. I have had many requests to make a lot of my Star Trek episode posters available as prints so I am doing just that! I am starting with some of the most popular and most requested posters from Deep Space Nine for this first run. 

If you want more than a print, each piece is also available on magnets, stickers, shirts and more! You can find the collection at https://doctorheadly.threadless.com/collections/limited-time

For more of my episode-by-episode rewatch that has been the origination of these episode posters visit TrexReExamined on Twitter/X (for full episode live-tweets and episode posters).

[meefstewk]

rewatched q-less and jadzia was totally eyefucking vash when she left with quark at the end

[spectraspecs-writes]

I think the only one on the DS9 crew who wouldn’t punch Q is Bashir, he just doesn’t have the upper body strength. Quark would do it but he’d scream the whole time

[benedictusantonius]

Star Trek: Deep Space 9 s01e07 "Q-Less"

[thoughts-i-have-had-in-passing]

I think my favourite part of Q’s one and only episode of DS9 is the slow but steady reframing it among the fans from ‘That was a bad episode’ to ‘Sisko told Q to GTFO and he did, because Sisko is not here for this shit.’

Like, I know it’s still a bad episode compared to all the absolutely brilliant ones, but it does make the whole story just that little bit better for me on rewatch.

February 8, 1993, the date Sisko told Q to GTFO.

[episodicnostalgia]

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, 106 (February 7, 1993) - "Q-Less"

The Breakdown

Jadzia returns from a trip to the Gamma Quadrant with a human woman named Vash, who claims to have been there for a couple years.  Regularly that wouldn’t make sense (the Gamma quadrant is very far away, and the wormhole was only just discovered a few episodes ago), but fans of TNG will recognize her as Picard’s old flame who became pet-travel-buddy to Q, a guy notable for being able to do literally anything he wants. We find out that Vash has parted ways with Q because she grew tired of dealing with his narcissistic bullshit, and she’s ready to retire on the profits of all the treasures she collected with her omnipotent sponsor.  But Q is pretty choked about Vash leaving him, and so he decides to hang around DS9 and see if he can’t change her mind.

While Quark sets up an auction for Vash’s Gamma treasures, Q sets about giving Sisko grief over the station’s latest technical troubles. It turns out one of Vash’s items-for-sale (a fancy glowing orb) is actually some kind of unhatched stingray-space-baby that’s dragging the entire station towards the wormhole (and destruction) in an attempt to return home.  Thanks to a few helpful hints from Q, along with a healthy dose of technobabble, Sisko and Co. figure out what's going on in time to beam the Stingray-baby back into space.  The Station is safe, and Q agrees to leave Vash alone.

The Verdict

The problem with this episode is that it kind of expects that you to know what Q’s deal is. The writers do their best to bring the audience up to speed on Q and Vash’s backstory, but it feels like we’re getting the sloppy seconds to a TNG story arc. At the end of the day I think Q’s dynamic is just better tailored to Picard’s more rigid demeanour; besides Sisko already has his own nonlinear space-deities to contend with.

2 Stars (out of 5)

Additional Observations

(Future) Hetero-Boyfriends: It’s hard to like Julian Bashir in these early episodes. He’s fairly sexist, and trying way too hard to be a Fuck boi, but thankfully his friendship with Miles O���Brien will become a saving grace for the character. That’s still a ways off as O’Brien’s disdain over witnessing Bashir’s conduct on a date is all too apparent, and it’s fun to watch.

Q notes that Sisko is easier to provoke than Picard, but afterward the commander and his entire crew are pretty good at keeping their cool while mostly ignoring him. Maybe that’s why he never came back.

[malewifeboimler]

ok but vash's jacket is really cool tho

[cathartic-crypt]

my collection of poorly made fallout memes

p.s. i havent played old world blues

[writergeekrhw]

Just wondering what went on with Q-Less? I adore ds9 for sure but in a recent rewatch we got to this episode and it felt uncharacteristically poor compared to other season 1 episodes. Vaush and the Ferengi and Q all as the A plot just kind of jammed together, and basically a nothingburger as the B-plot? Don't get me wrong the Q punching scene and the sisko banter in the episode was great, it just felt like the plot didn't really go anywhere or bring anything to the table. I hope this doesn't come off wrong, I love your work!

About a year ago, I rewatched "Q-Less" for Cirroc and Ryan's podcast, The Seventh Rule, and I pretty much agree with everything you said. It's definitely not a strong episode. In my defense, it was early days and we were still finding the show. Also, I was handed a mostly fleshed out, fully structured story and asked to execute the script. But the focus on the guest stars really bothered me during my recent rewatch. None of the DS9 crew had a satisfying story. Q and Vash are driving all the action, robbing our characters of agency and making the story feel weak. I still think there's some fun dialogue and a few memorable moments, but overall, not the best episode I did.

Thankfully, the show (and I) got better.

C'est la TV.

Here's the podcast episode:

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Deep Dive | Episode 6, "Q Less" with ROBERT HEWITT WOLFE | T7R #233 - YouTube

[stopthatbluecat]

Q got face to face with Benjamin and then immediately changed him into a tight fitting outfit with a sleeveless shirt.

[rozugold]

You go king!! Get your classified information!!

[desicinema]

You had no right to sell Imaad, Aapa! What else could I have done? Have him become a pimp? Let him become an addict? Or let him become a eunuch? HEERAMANDI, 1.01 (Mallikajaan: The Queen of Heeramandi)