One story I've heard is that, the late, great Gene Roddenberry chose the letter "Q" in honor of his friend, Janet Quarton. Q was fortunate enough to be essayed by fellow Philadelphian John de Lancie, but outside of this singular advantage, the character ended up becoming far too Human and familiar. What I really liked about Q - to start with, at least - was that he would make absurd statements and contradict himself and then be dismissive of it, as if he were letting Picard know that he's not going to let him in on what the Q are really all about. By the time Voyager comes around, Q is a Family Man, fighting for Truth, Justice and the American Way in the Continuum. I mean ... I get it that the Q's kind of whatever you want them to be, but I didn't want them to be like that. The way Q started off was the right tonality.
