Am I the best person in the world to be reviewing Star Trek Fan Collective: Q,
the one who’s going to inundate you with all manner of minutiae about
the technological specs of the spacecraft and various linguistic
derivations of Klingons? No, not by a long shot. And yet my outsider
perspective is probably a better fit for something like Star Trek Fan Collective: Q, the sort of one-off collection that’s aimed at more casual fans of the sci-fi franchise.
A word about my own background: I came to Star Trek: The Next Generation as an occasional reader of science fiction, and someone who’d only casually seen the original Star Trek series in reruns, but not followed it with any religious fervor. The late night showings of The Next Generation
dovetailed perfectly with my schedule for a few years, and it was here
that I happened across the familiar face of John de Lancie, whom my
mother knew better as Eugene Bradford from Days of Our Lives.
De Lancie was perfectly serviceable in that role, and many others in
which I’ve seen him, but his distinctive timbre (he would also go on to
be an uncredited letter-reader in Saving Private Ryan) and
expressive face would be best put to use as the impish, omnipotent Q, a
lowercase-G god-like being who would float in from a plane of parallel
existence called the Q Continuum. It was a perfect merging of rascally
talent and character.
Possessing a self-touted IQ of over 2,000, and claiming to be
ageless and beyond the grasp of emotion, Q nonetheless was prone to
petty outbursts and tantrums. The dozen episodes here include eight
from The Next Generation, where Q saw the bulk of his work; three from Star Trek Voyager; and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s “Q-Less.” The arc of his relationship with Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), though, and the rest of The Next Generation’s
Enterprise crew, is the main attraction here, as Q goes from attempting
to put them all on trial for being a grievously savage race to reaching
a somewhat illuminated respect for humanity, as glimpsed in the series
finale “All Good Things…” Part device of moral engagement, part testily
colorful figure of self-involvement, de Lancie’s Q was never boring,
and he’s over the years brought a lot to the venerable Star Trek franchise, which makes this set plenty of fun.
Star Trek Fan Collective: Q is spread out over four discs
housed in their own plastic trays, and it comes in a sturdy cardboard
casing that in turn slips into a cardboard slipcase with raised
lettering and a slightly holographic cover. Episodes are arranged
chronologically, and presented in 1.33:1 full screen with a Dolby
digital 5.1 surround sound English mix and optional English subtitles.
Extra features are sparse, with text commentary by Michael and Denise
Okuda on three episodes (The Next Generation’s “Déjà Q,” episode #161; Deep Space Nine’s “Q-Less,” episode #407; and Star Trek: Voyager’s “Death Wish,” episode #130). Where’s the in-depth interview with de Lancie, however? Ah well, Q probably knows… B (Show) C- (Disc)