Was Q a bad guy?

[Computer]

Since his first appearence in E@FP Q has been one of my favorite Trek aliens but it occured to me the other day that I really can't decide if he was supposed to be a "bad guy" or just a minor annoyance to the crew?

It is hard to tell since he has roughly an equal amount of good and bad qualities (fortunately all entertaining)

What are your thoughts on Q?

 

[Michael]

I think this wants to be a vote.

I say NO -- he's no villain.

 

[Computer]

lol thanks Belar, nearly a year on Trek BBS and I have yet to figure out how to work any features other than the reply button.

I voted No, because I love his character too much for him to be a bad guy.

 

[doubleohfive]

Yes and no.

Q was however, always an antagonist.

 

[BrotherBenny]

Q is more like a child with a big box of toys.

I can't say why he likes humanity so much, perhaps we reminds him of what the Q were like before they became such omnipotent beings.

I also like Guinan's reaction to him in "Q-who" and his reaction to being unable to change Mark McHenry in the New Frontier "No Limits" story (I think it was the anthology anyway).

Such a great character, but I can't make up my mind to say whether he is a bad guy or not. I'm on the fence on this one.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

doubleohfive said:
Yes and no.

Q was however, always an antagonist.

You beat me to it. He was always the antagonist but there's a difference between that and being a villain.

 

[captcalhoun]

no, Xeris, that was in book 9: eXcalibur: Requiem

 

[Phantassm]

Yeah-he's a BAD guy.

 

[Balthier the Great]

Phantassm said:
Yeah-he's a BAD guy.

Well, I see him as sort of trying to encourage the crew to go sort of beyond themselves a bit -- to get out of the typical mindset and see what's really there. A lot of what he put them through were more like puzzles.

Can you figure out how you are responsible for the destruction of humanity? But it was sort of a lateral thinkng puzzle. Just looking at it the same old way -- I fail some how and humanity won't exist in the future won't lead to the answer, you had to get out of the linear thinking first. You'd have to empty your mind of preconceptions. Some of the other puzzles were the same thing. You had to unlearn as much as learn, if you take my meaning. If you had the preconception that the strange life at Farpoint was naturally hostile, you have to unlearn it first, and only then do you see what's really going on.

So I'd say he's trying to teach them.

 

[Smiley]

He was helping humanity grow and having some fun along the way. The new novel Q & A makes this plain.

 

[LiChiu]

Considering the kind of power he has I would say he is not a bad guy.
I haven't read Q&A yet.

 

[poundpuppy29]

doubleohfive said:
Yes and no.

Q was however, always an antagonist.

ITA he wasn't evil but he wasn't always nice either he's one of my favorites characters in all of television

 

[DanTheGrey]

Nope, he was an amoral sociopath and sadist, but not a villain, he was just being what he was. Villain implies intent, meanwhile he was just "testing" the crew to see how they'd react and sort of be like the Shadows and kick over a few anthills and see what gets built from the ashes.

 

[Brutal Strudel]

He was a god.