User Reviews

When Dax returns from the Gamma Quadrant the power has been drained from her shuttle and O'Brien must supply power from the station to get in, once inside they are surprised to find she has brought back a human passenger who claims to have been exploring the Delta Quadrant for two years but has no knowledge of the worm hole and declines to say how she got there. The chief recognises her as Vash an archaeologist who he met while serving aboard the Enterprise. She has brought some artefacts back with her and plans to sell them, something Quark is more than happy to help her with. Vash wasn't the only person to arrive, Q has also turned up and it appears that he is up to his old tricks when DS9 starts to experience power shortages. He claims that the power drainage has nothing to do with him, whether he is responsible or not the crew must stop the power drainage before the station is pulled into the worm hole and destroyed.

This episode rather assumes that the viewer has watched "Star Trek: The Next Generation" as no time is wasted in introducing Q. The story itself is good enough although the actual cause of the power loss comes as no great surprise when it is revealed. Vash's character wasn't that interesting and given that she is motivated by greed it was surprising that she only returned from two years in Gamma Quadrant with a handful of items, which may not be as rare as she claims anyway.

1.06 "Q-Less"

The Ganges returns from the Gamma Quadrant with a surprise passenger aboard--Vash, Captain Picard's love interest last seen with powerful entity known only as "Q." It's not long before Q himself shows up and starts to annoy the crew of DS9 in his uniquely irritating way. But with him and Vash also arrives a new danger that threatens the station. Will Sisko's crew be able to figure out what is happening before the station is destroyed? Is Q responsible? How does Vash fit into what is happening?

So for the third time in six episodes, we get crossover characters from TNG, cementing even further that these shows are tightly linked and not afraid to build off of each other. Q is almost always a treat on TNG, and the episodes he appears in are some of the best from that show (with a couple of exceptions). This would be his only appearance on DS9 and it's not too hard to see why. The energy that John de Lancie brings to the screen with this character is incredible, but his chemistry with Sisko is...well...frankly nonexistent--a far cry from the world-class dialogue filled with Shakespeare quotes and historical allusions he exchanges with Patrick Stewart over on the sister show. Part of that is due to Brooks' far inferior acting talents, but part of it simply Sisko's personality. He does not tolerate BS and Q is pretty much the definition of BS.

The scenes with Vash and Q are good though. And with Vash and Quark. Basically Vash is always a highlight. I'm surprised Jennifer Hetrick never got more roles back in the day because she steals the show in all of her Star Trek appearances. And despite not having Picard to banter with, de Lancie is still very entertaining as the enigmatic Q.

The story is well-written here too. The suspense is maintained right up until the end and it's fun to try and guess whether or not Q is nudging things one way or another to help or simply for his own amusement. As usual, even by the end of the ep we really have no idea what his intentions were.

THE GOOD

-O'Brien's face in the opening shot. His reactions to Bashir's whole Starfleet Medical finals story is amazing. We see a continuation of O'Brien's strong dislike for him from the last ep.

-O'Brien describing Vash "The captain likes a good challenge, sir." Way to put it diplomatically, Miles.

-O'Brien on seeing Q on DS9 "Bloody hell!" Colm Meaney could have a YouTube channel called "O'Brien Reacts to Things" and I'd watch the hell out of it.

-Quark is so wonderfully sleazy here. It's a credit to Armin Shimerman's acting talent that he can be charismatic with a giant latex mask and fangs on.

THE BAD

-Some cringy scenes with Bashir. The opening scene when he's telling about his medical finals like it's a war story is delightfully campy, but him hitting on Vash is more weird than fun.

-Aside from being the link to Vash, Q really doesn't do much here story-wise. He's pretty superfluous aside from acting as a red herring. Again, it's no surprise he doesn't return to DS9. He just doesn't fit the tone of the show.

THE UGLY

-How much must it enrage Sisko to get continuously compared to Picard by Q? I feel kind of bad for him because every time that name is mentioned, it must remind him of the death of his wife. No wonder he's so surly with Q.

-The gas used to trace the power drains, tritium, is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen. It is indeed very toxic when inhaled, but how it would make changes in the graviton field easier to detect is a mystery since gravitons are currently still only hypothetical.

-It's somewhat subtle, but Q actually appears to help the crew figure out the mystery (or tries anyway). When they are blaming him, he reacts by insulting them but then says that while they are trying to figure it out, Vash is "engaged in base commerce" and says that she is the real danger. This seems to be his MO--be annoying and belittling and pretend not to care while subtly helping the crew survive a serious threat. It's strange that he can simultaneously be both childish and paternal. Of all the many great characters in the history of Trek, Q has to be one of the most enigmatic.

-Bashir retcon watch (WARNING: this section contains major spoilers for a future story arc) -- First mention of him mistaking a preganglionic fiber for a postganglionic nerve on his Starfleet Medical finals. We learn much later on that he missed that question on purpose so as to not draw suspicion about his genetically-enhanced nature.

-Odo shapeshift count: none on screen, but it's implied that he was the wine bottle in one scene.

Look, I like Q and I like Vash. Both characters have a charisma about them and they are capable actors.

This episode just doesn't work for me. Beyond establishing that Quark is a sucker for an earjob there is not much here in terms of character development for the crew of DS9.

The good: Sisko punching Q in the face was kind of hilarious.

The bad: The use of trek nostalgia in bringing back Q/Vash without the delivery of some quality character development for the DS9 crew.

I suppose the episode is designed around the mystery of the 'orb like' box and that does get resolved but there's not much to be gained from this one in furthering the development of DS9/Characters.

Seeing Sisko sock Q in the face and say "I'm not Picard" made this episode worth watching. That's about it. I'm not a Q fan at all and I never understood why everyone likes him so much (nothing to do with John De Lancie). Doesn't he have better things to do? And I also never understood why Picard was interested in Vash. He has a fondness for archaeology, she only exploits it. I suppose it was just physical. I hope that's the last I see of Q.

The premise of this episode is so incredibly WEAK. The comic delight of John Delancie as Q is wasted on such terrible writing.

Q following Vash around like a wounded ex is just pathetic. And his teasing of the crew (Sisko, Kira, O'Brien) falls flat in comparison to his other outings with the Enterprise and Voyager.

If you're a fan of Q (or really good Star Trek episodes at all) skip this ep.

This episode is the cure for insomnia. The auction is just silly. Q's presence is uninspired. Delancie's acting is good enough, but the script made him into a stalker. He puts the dr. to sleep for a few days but he can't get Vash to hangout ? Too many contradictions with his power. Also, it's hard for me to enjoy Q anymore since John was such a rude jerk to all his fans at the 2018 Phx comicon. If you're binge watching this show, skip this episode, you'll miss nothing.

In "Q-Less" Vash is rescued from the opposite side of the wormhole. She teams up with Quark to hold an auction for a couple of artifacts she's brought back from the Gamma quadrant. Q tries to convince her to rejoin him on their travels. O'Brien and the rest of ops try to figure out what is slowly draining the station's power supply, unaware that it is one of Vash's treasures.

Always love seeing a couple of familiar faces pop up on the new show but the story around this episode is pretty awful. It's just plain boring and pretty nonsensical. Why does Q care so much if Vash goes on a road trip with him? He's an all-powerful being who can't have the capacity of love or lust or friendship or anything of that sort. He should be indifferent. The power drain subplot drained me of my interest and intelligence.

Season 1 is off to a slow start. While it's not quite as disastrous as TNG's first season, it's not great sci-fi either...