I decided to sit through one of the least-liked Q escapades, at least according to fan consensus, "Q-Pid". And while it's an inoffensive romp that consensus is more or less on the nose about, in hindsight via the arcs of DS9, Picard's brash anger of "NOT ON MY SHIP!" as to being a ferry for purloined items of interest almost hints at more of the Federation being less than the good ship lollipop that 1701-D always seems to be... Of course, the wonderfulness of Ira Steven Behr wrote it, a fact I only tripped over recently, so I had to dive into this episode one more time and see if I'd pick up on anything I hadn't before...
Yet it's also the episode where Picard is shown to write a big pedantic speech on a place he's never visited, instead opting in aping what lots of other people wrote from their actual experiences. Why not just email everyone; tell them to go to the library and save all the time and energy? Picard gains nothing from this exercise, and his audience looks equally enthused:
Meanwhile, back at the Marriott, the dignitaries would rather be attending the local meet'n'meth behind the hotel's alley. But in this case it'd be a... breathtaking experience
.
Apart from Riker, that is. Behind that beard o' boredom is an evil grin because we all know Riker was silently praying to Q to convince Picard to bend the rules and go for a visit on that planet like how Vash was intending to (surprise surprise).
Something else in the episode struck me odd (there's a shock):
During the episode's setup where Vash is annoyed that the captain wasn't telling over one thousand people that he found a person that he fraternized only partially with, there's a lovely scene when Dr Crusher pops by for "morning tea". Now having been in a relationship can help me relate but I'd swear Dr Crusher's facial expressions suggest she wants to politely back out then quickly skedaddle to Sickbay and look up some antibiotic and antiviral medications, given where Picard was planting his lips earlier.
I never noticed Jean-Luc had such a perfectly anguled nose before... that or he's about to pull a Pinnochio to Beverly Crusher 90210 there in the background...
The episode feels oddly inconsequential and forced, with the "Q pays back Picard for saving his bacon so I'll set up this scenario and you're Robin Hood but the sheriff and others I gave free will to so even I don't know how things will turn out" subplot. Q's always been known for guiding Picard's path, so why would he abscond from his MO only now? (To see how Picard might respond to laboratory variables other than Q's deliberate making, which is interesting of itself.
Then again, seeing Worf getting tired of such an awful rendition of "Dueling Banjos" and promptly smashing Geordi's mandalorian was somewhat more interesting. More so than Data revealing a subprocessor was damaged - quick, get a backup from the storage forearm opposite the one where he keeps his spare holiday fireworks and swap out the damaged component after prying it out of its ZIF socket! And don't bend any of the 2000 connector pins or the warranty's void!)
Q really is just there, knowing the speech is such an uneventful and tacky event that he'd rather have Picard realize he's capable of being as hornball as his first officer is. Of course, Q is right - love is a weakness if Vash's big big reason for defending the concept is because Picard is just doing all this so he can kiss her some more.
Say what you like about big heavy swords, of which Picard let get all bloody in a surprise twist, but Geordi should also have used pottery on the fictional inhabitants of SherwoodSchwartz's Forest and seeing Crusher pump up some adrenaline from her bag of goodies before slicing and dicing Sir Guy of Gizzard's guards' gullets might have been genuinely fun. Especially as they're all taken from Picard's imagination. It's a fun action romp but it could have been more.
Speaking of, Maid Marion's auntie there has some terrific dialogue. I loved her room in the castle as well. It reminded me of the Doctor Who story "The Time Meddler", just without the
In set design terms, why is the briefing room redressed into a hotel ballroom, complete with viewscreen draped over to mimic the appearance of a wardrobe closet, for conference speakers' event for Picard's speech? Yes, those windows are pretty but they don't quite conform to anywhere on the saucer, except the briefing room behind the bridge. The very next episode features a room ready-made for such speechmaking (though it's a redress of parts of the battle bridge set and feels a lot more claustrophobic by comparison. The Space Marriott does feel more like a ballroom, I suppose.)
There's not much else to say, much less twist with any garish grandiosity. The episode's 43 minutes are not much more than being a gaggle of fun chuckles and missed opportunities, but certain moments that are wonderfully dark make up for it. But it still feels like it's missing something. And not because Picard wasn't on DS9 when Q snapped his fingers and removed from Vash the antidote to that crippling ailment she received while exploring planets with him (as told in "Q-Less").
6.5/10
Yet it's also the episode where Picard is shown to write a big pedantic speech on a place he's never visited, instead opting in aping what lots of other people wrote from their actual experiences. Why not just email everyone; tell them to go to the library and save all the time and energy? Picard gains nothing from this exercise, and his audience looks equally enthused:
Meanwhile, back at the Marriott, the dignitaries would rather be attending the local meet'n'meth behind the hotel's alley. But in this case it'd be a... breathtaking experience
.Apart from Riker, that is. Behind that beard o' boredom is an evil grin because we all know Riker was silently praying to Q to convince Picard to bend the rules and go for a visit on that planet like how Vash was intending to (surprise surprise).
Something else in the episode struck me odd (there's a shock):
During the episode's setup where Vash is annoyed that the captain wasn't telling over one thousand people that he found a person that he fraternized only partially with, there's a lovely scene when Dr Crusher pops by for "morning tea". Now having been in a relationship can help me relate but I'd swear Dr Crusher's facial expressions suggest she wants to politely back out then quickly skedaddle to Sickbay and look up some antibiotic and antiviral medications, given where Picard was planting his lips earlier.
I never noticed Jean-Luc had such a perfectly anguled nose before... that or he's about to pull a Pinnochio to Beverly Crusher 90210 there in the background...
The episode feels oddly inconsequential and forced, with the "Q pays back Picard for saving his bacon so I'll set up this scenario and you're Robin Hood but the sheriff and others I gave free will to so even I don't know how things will turn out" subplot. Q's always been known for guiding Picard's path, so why would he abscond from his MO only now? (To see how Picard might respond to laboratory variables other than Q's deliberate making, which is interesting of itself.
Then again, seeing Worf getting tired of such an awful rendition of "Dueling Banjos" and promptly smashing Geordi's mandalorian was somewhat more interesting. More so than Data revealing a subprocessor was damaged - quick, get a backup from the storage forearm opposite the one where he keeps his spare holiday fireworks and swap out the damaged component after prying it out of its ZIF socket! And don't bend any of the 2000 connector pins or the warranty's void!)
Q really is just there, knowing the speech is such an uneventful and tacky event that he'd rather have Picard realize he's capable of being as hornball as his first officer is. Of course, Q is right - love is a weakness if Vash's big big reason for defending the concept is because Picard is just doing all this so he can kiss her some more.
Say what you like about big heavy swords, of which Picard let get all bloody in a surprise twist, but Geordi should also have used pottery on the fictional inhabitants of Sherwood
Speaking of, Maid Marion's auntie there has some terrific dialogue. I loved her room in the castle as well. It reminded me of the Doctor Who story "The Time Meddler", just without the
Oh very well, here it is: 
Monk's sarcophagus-shaped TARDIS.
Monk's sarcophagus-shaped TARDIS.
In set design terms, why is the briefing room redressed into a hotel ballroom, complete with viewscreen draped over to mimic the appearance of a wardrobe closet, for conference speakers' event for Picard's speech? Yes, those windows are pretty but they don't quite conform to anywhere on the saucer, except the briefing room behind the bridge. The very next episode features a room ready-made for such speechmaking (though it's a redress of parts of the battle bridge set and feels a lot more claustrophobic by comparison. The Space Marriott does feel more like a ballroom, I suppose.)
There's not much else to say, much less twist with any garish grandiosity. The episode's 43 minutes are not much more than being a gaggle of fun chuckles and missed opportunities, but certain moments that are wonderfully dark make up for it. But it still feels like it's missing something. And not because Picard wasn't on DS9 when Q snapped his fingers and removed from Vash the antidote to that crippling ailment she received while exploring planets with him (as told in "Q-Less").
6.5/10
