2x16 Q Who? - Star Trek: The Next Generation Episode Guide

Star Trek: The Next Generation

- Episode 02x16

Episode: 02x16
Title: Q Who?
Type: Regular Episode
Production Code: 142
First Aired: May. 08, 1989

Season 2 » Episode #16 - Q Who?

Star Trek: The Next Generation - 02x16 Q Who?

Summary: Stardate: 42761.3 Q, from the Q continuum, returns to the Enterprise to toy with Picard and the crew. Q asks to become a member of the crew, but when he is rebuffed, he sends Enterprise out of the Alpha quadrant and into an unknown part of space. Here, Q warns them about the dangers they will face as they “go where no one has gone before.”The danger turns out to come from a deadly aggressive machine like race made up of part human, part machine, cyborg-like people, known as the Borg. As the Borg approach Enterprise, Picard tries to make friendly overtures, but the Borg response is that the crew will be “assimilated.” Enterprise’s defenses prove no match for the Borg’s Cube that is attempting to “assimilate” them.Can Picard save the ship and crew from certain assimilation into this machine like race, and what personal sacrifice must he make in order to secure their escape?

Who appeared in this episode?

Guest Stars:

Captain Jean-Luc Picard	played by Patrick Stewart
Lieutenant Geordi La Forge	played by LeVar Burton
Counselor Deanna Troi	played by Marina Sirtis
Lt. Commander Data	played by Brent Spiner
Wesley Crusher	played by Wil Wheaton
Ensign Sonya Gomez	played by Lycia Naff
Crewman	played by Benjamin Kopfkerl
Security Man	played by Roland Jaunegg
Dr. Kate Pulaski	played by Diana Muldaur

	Season 2 / Episode 16: - Q Who? Capt. Picard: This is Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the US... The Borg: We have analyzed your defensive capabilities as being unable to withstand us. If you try to defend yourselves, you will be punished.
	Season 2 / Episode 16: - Q Who? Commander William T. Riker: [communicating with Picard] From the look of it, the Borg are born as a biological life form. It seems that almost immediately after birth they begin artificial implants. Apparently, the Borg have developed the technology to link artificial intelligence directly into the humanoid brain. Astounding.

[More Quotes]

MISTAKES/GOOFS

CHAR: Geordi questions whether food should be eaten around the engineering controls, but there is a food dispenser in the middle of the room. Also, the controls are sealed shut.
FAKE: When Guinan touches a panel to bring up the image of the Borg Cube on the screen in her office, she never actually touches the panel, and yet the screen comes on anyway.
CONT: When Ensign Gomez accidentally spills hot chocolate on Captain Picard, initially she hardly spills any liquid on his uniform (most of the hot chocolate appears to spill on the floor and on her). Yet, later, as Picard is walking down the hallway to the turbolift and encounters Q, almost the entire front of his uniform is soaked. There was not enough liquid spilled on him to make such a stain.
CONT: Data says that the damage done to a planet is identical to the destruction of the Federation outposts in "The Neutral Zone", implying that the Borg were responsible. This means that the Borg already know about the Federation, which contradicts Guinan's warning that the Borg will attack, now that they know about the Federation.
FAKE: As Guinan warns Picard to protect the Enterprise from the Borg, Picard orders the shields raised. Moments later, even though the shields are active, the Borg beam over. One might think that the first one slipped in, however a second drone is beamed in and out despite the shields.

TRIVIA

This is the episode in which the Borg make their debut. They would eventually go on to become this series' ultimate nemesis (an honor originally meant for the Ferengi, but never materialized since fans took them as "too comical" for this title). Originally, they were not intended to have a queen, and the two-part episode in which they appear later, "The Best of Both Worlds," reflects this. The Borg Queen was created because the writers were having difficulty in writing dialogue for what was intended to be the Borg's central computer. The Borg Queen first appears in Star Trek: First Contact (1996), and would make several appearances through the series run of "Star Trek: Voyager" (1995).
The aliens who infiltrated Starfleet in the episode "Conspiracy" were originally part of the whole Borg storyline (as well as the starbases disappearing in the following episode "Neutral Zone"). However, once the writers and producers worked out what the Borg were, the tie to the aliens was dropped. This was revealed in the text commentary on the fan pick Borg DVD set.
The Borg were originally conceived as being a race of insects (as featured in the Season 1 episode "Conspiracy"). Budget restrictions meant that the decision was made to go with cyborgs instead. Nevertheless the episode still went $50,000 over budget.