At first glance, this thread probably looks like it's in the wrong forum, but I'm actually referring to the character of "Q2" played by Corbin Bensen in "Deja Q", rather than the Voyager episode of the same name. I've seen "Deja Q" a few times recently, first on the Q collection DVD and then again on TV and after revisiting it several times a few years after I last saw it, I've realized how irritating this character is, and how detrimental it is to the episode. It's a shame, because "Deja Q" is without a doubt one of my favourite episodes of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and I think it was absolutely perfect UNTIL the scene with the two Qs in the shuttlecraft. I blame the actor for this, more than those who wrote the character.
I know it's natural for the Q to be played as arrogant since that's how John De Lancie always played his character, but De Lancie always made him endearing and fascinating in spite of that. He always seemed clever, witty, creative, and in his own way affectionate enough to make us like him even though he was a cocky bastard. I think Corbin Bensen's Q tried to embody some of those same qualities and failed miserably. I couldn't stand his painfully exaggerated and unnatural-looking body language and the wooden, distractingly drawn-out cadence with which he spoke his dialogue. The way he kept looking at his hands as if he were so bewildered over being in a human body (once would have been enough), and the very 'actorly' way he rambles about why he can't leave Q human, why Q shouldn't condescend to him, and the way he announces that he's giving back Q's powers was just so FAKE.
It made me want to punch him, and not because he did a good job of playing a smug character. His performance was so filled with affectations. It was such obvious 'acting' in the most broadly theatrical and over-the-top sense of the term. I can't think of any reason Bensen won this role other than stunt-casting: it seems he was chosen because he was famous for a show called "L.A. Law", rather than because he was right for the part. Based on this performance, I'm baffled as to what the casting people saw in him. I've never seen "L.A. Law", so I can't imagine.
The other established actors who have been cast on Star Trek over the years brought a certain unique charisma to their performances that justified their casting (i.e. Kelsey Grammer, Matt Frewer, David Warner, Daniel Davis, Terry O'Quinn, Ronny Cox, and Bebe Neuwith), but Benson had none of that. Compared to them or the regular cast, he only seemed like an amateur who was play acting.
I wish they had cast someone who could have played the role more naturally. Someone who could be believable as a being who is as cool and confident as Q, but also has a reverence for morality and selflessness, instead of someone who just seemed to be saying lines with no convinction or sincerity, with the body language of a cartoon character. I thought he played the role lazily, without subtlety or nuance. I know it's a minor thing to get worked up over since his role was little more than a cameo, but it's a big deal to me now because it almost ruins what is otherwise in my opinion one of the best written, acted, and directed episodes in the whole series. Does anybody else see what a PLAGUE on that episode he is? At least De Lancie Q's wonderful celebration in the following scene helps wash away the stink of it almost immediately.
I know it's natural for the Q to be played as arrogant since that's how John De Lancie always played his character, but De Lancie always made him endearing and fascinating in spite of that. He always seemed clever, witty, creative, and in his own way affectionate enough to make us like him even though he was a cocky bastard. I think Corbin Bensen's Q tried to embody some of those same qualities and failed miserably. I couldn't stand his painfully exaggerated and unnatural-looking body language and the wooden, distractingly drawn-out cadence with which he spoke his dialogue. The way he kept looking at his hands as if he were so bewildered over being in a human body (once would have been enough), and the very 'actorly' way he rambles about why he can't leave Q human, why Q shouldn't condescend to him, and the way he announces that he's giving back Q's powers was just so FAKE.
It made me want to punch him, and not because he did a good job of playing a smug character. His performance was so filled with affectations. It was such obvious 'acting' in the most broadly theatrical and over-the-top sense of the term. I can't think of any reason Bensen won this role other than stunt-casting: it seems he was chosen because he was famous for a show called "L.A. Law", rather than because he was right for the part. Based on this performance, I'm baffled as to what the casting people saw in him. I've never seen "L.A. Law", so I can't imagine.
The other established actors who have been cast on Star Trek over the years brought a certain unique charisma to their performances that justified their casting (i.e. Kelsey Grammer, Matt Frewer, David Warner, Daniel Davis, Terry O'Quinn, Ronny Cox, and Bebe Neuwith), but Benson had none of that. Compared to them or the regular cast, he only seemed like an amateur who was play acting.
I wish they had cast someone who could have played the role more naturally. Someone who could be believable as a being who is as cool and confident as Q, but also has a reverence for morality and selflessness, instead of someone who just seemed to be saying lines with no convinction or sincerity, with the body language of a cartoon character. I thought he played the role lazily, without subtlety or nuance. I know it's a minor thing to get worked up over since his role was little more than a cameo, but it's a big deal to me now because it almost ruins what is otherwise in my opinion one of the best written, acted, and directed episodes in the whole series. Does anybody else see what a PLAGUE on that episode he is? At least De Lancie Q's wonderful celebration in the following scene helps wash away the stink of it almost immediately.
I implore one of you to watch that episode again and see how hard it is to witness his hideous performance without cringing.
