WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.350 --> 00:00:01.970 This week, actor John de Lancie joins us 2 00:00:01.970 --> 00:00:03.610 straight from the Q Continuum to talk 3 00:00:03.610 --> 00:00:05.610 all about the mayhem his character is cooking up 4 00:00:05.610 --> 00:00:06.760 on Star Trek: Picard. 5 00:00:06.760 --> 00:00:09.580 We'll get a closer look at that evil alternate timeline. 6 00:00:09.580 --> 00:00:11.410 Plus, we have an exclusive look at 7 00:00:11.410 --> 00:00:14.040 next week's episode of Star Trek: Picard 8 00:00:14.040 --> 00:00:15.860 because all of that and more is happening 9 00:00:15.860 --> 00:00:18.427 right now in a snap of Q's fingers. 10 00:00:26.420 --> 00:00:29.500 Hey nerds, I'm Wil Wheaton, and this is The Ready Room. 11 00:00:29.500 --> 00:00:31.760 Your official behind-the-scenes hub 12 00:00:31.760 --> 00:00:33.730 for all things Star Trek Universe. 13 00:00:33.730 --> 00:00:36.020 Today, we are running a full diagnostic 14 00:00:36.020 --> 00:00:39.070 on Season 2, Episode 2 of Star Trek: Picard, 15 00:00:39.070 --> 00:00:43.340 titled "Penance," and that calls for a red alert. 16 00:00:43.340 --> 00:00:45.320 If you haven't watched this week's episode of Picard, 17 00:00:45.320 --> 00:00:46.900 you will definitely want to watch it first 18 00:00:46.900 --> 00:00:49.100 so you know which timeline you're in. 19 00:00:49.100 --> 00:00:52.250 Otherwise, you will have your own penance to pay. 20 00:00:52.250 --> 00:00:54.610 This week we have the incomparable 21 00:00:54.610 --> 00:00:56.280 John de Lancie joining us to talk about 22 00:00:56.280 --> 00:00:58.330 stepping back into the role of Star Trek's 23 00:00:58.330 --> 00:01:01.220 most unpredictable and judgmental trickster, 24 00:01:01.220 --> 00:01:04.923 and oh boy, do I have a lot of Qs for Q. 25 00:01:06.110 --> 00:01:07.950 I'm a dad, dad jokes are gonna happen. 26 00:01:07.950 --> 00:01:09.160 Embrace it. 27 00:01:09.160 --> 00:01:10.830 Don't worry though, if you need a primer on 28 00:01:10.830 --> 00:01:13.580 Q's history of testing mon capitaine, Jean-Luc Picard, 29 00:01:13.580 --> 00:01:15.430 we'll have you covered with a look back 30 00:01:15.430 --> 00:01:18.430 at his most influential appearances a little later on. 31 00:01:18.430 --> 00:01:20.360 And of course, as always, we've got an 32 00:01:20.360 --> 00:01:23.010 exclusive clip on standby for you as well. 33 00:01:23.010 --> 00:01:26.330 But before we put Q on trial for a change, 34 00:01:26.330 --> 00:01:28.580 this week's episode of Picard presented 35 00:01:28.580 --> 00:01:31.920 a very different version of the Star Trek future 36 00:01:31.920 --> 00:01:35.360 we've come to know, and it's not great. 37 00:01:35.360 --> 00:01:37.370 Let's take a closer look, shall we? 38 00:01:37.370 --> 00:01:39.843 Control room, engage. 39 00:01:43.380 --> 00:01:44.340 What have you done? 40 00:01:44.340 --> 00:01:45.890 Show them a world of their own making, 41 00:01:45.890 --> 00:01:48.280 and they ask you what you've done. 42 00:01:48.280 --> 00:01:49.770 So human of you. 43 00:01:49.770 --> 00:01:51.140 I think it's in the second episode, 44 00:01:51.140 --> 00:01:55.290 you find us transported to an alternate reality. 45 00:01:55.290 --> 00:01:57.090 It's a surprise for all of us. 46 00:01:57.090 --> 00:01:58.050 We didn't expect it. 47 00:01:58.050 --> 00:02:01.260 We don't really know where we are or what's happening. 48 00:02:01.260 --> 00:02:03.140 Sorry, babe, just go with this 49 00:02:03.140 --> 00:02:04.850 until I figure out what this is. 50 00:02:04.850 --> 00:02:07.400 I want this one kept alive for questioning. 51 00:02:12.171 --> 00:02:13.802 [Off Camera] Three, two, one! 52 00:02:13.802 --> 00:02:15.144 [loud bang] 53 00:02:17.290 --> 00:02:18.500 So in this alternate reality, 54 00:02:18.500 --> 00:02:22.060 we have completely different uniforms and wardrobe. 55 00:02:22.060 --> 00:02:25.570 The outfit that Raffi dons, you know, 56 00:02:25.570 --> 00:02:27.280 it's structured and there's like leather 57 00:02:27.280 --> 00:02:29.450 and there's, you know, asymmetrical things 58 00:02:29.450 --> 00:02:31.070 and you know, and hard lines. 59 00:02:31.070 --> 00:02:34.320 It makes you, you know, want to carry yourself differently. 60 00:02:34.320 --> 00:02:36.600 It almost makes you feel a bit more powerful, 61 00:02:36.600 --> 00:02:38.310 which I love as an actor. 62 00:02:38.310 --> 00:02:40.650 It's a beautiful gift to have like 63 00:02:40.650 --> 00:02:44.550 such a strong, clear point of view to guide us 64 00:02:44.550 --> 00:02:46.620 into new choices. 65 00:02:46.620 --> 00:02:49.430 I'll handle this terrorist myself. 66 00:02:49.430 --> 00:02:51.070 I've been granted authority. 67 00:02:51.070 --> 00:02:52.579 Authorized by whom? 68 00:02:52.579 --> 00:02:54.023 [Picard] By me, soldier! 69 00:02:54.940 --> 00:02:56.370 [Soldier] Ten hut! 70 00:02:56.370 --> 00:02:58.130 For one of the biggest scenes in 71 00:02:58.130 --> 00:02:59.900 the first couple episodes, 72 00:02:59.900 --> 00:03:02.150 we have to bounce from one location and 73 00:03:02.150 --> 00:03:03.430 see it in two different worlds. 74 00:03:03.430 --> 00:03:06.180 And we start with the Starfleet Academy, 75 00:03:06.180 --> 00:03:08.770 where it's bright and hopeful and beautiful white 76 00:03:08.770 --> 00:03:11.790 and it was just so exciting to stand there, 77 00:03:11.790 --> 00:03:13.900 knowing that within days we're gonna 78 00:03:13.900 --> 00:03:15.710 flip this and become evil. 79 00:03:15.710 --> 00:03:20.710 And I wanted a canvas that would work well for both worlds. 80 00:03:21.070 --> 00:03:23.030 So we looked at the Disney Concert Hall, 81 00:03:23.030 --> 00:03:26.760 which is this amazing Frank Gehry architecture 82 00:03:26.760 --> 00:03:29.570 that is cool lines and steel, 83 00:03:29.570 --> 00:03:32.740 and it could be cold and evil or it 84 00:03:32.740 --> 00:03:34.750 could be bright and beautiful. 85 00:03:34.750 --> 00:03:36.540 One of the other fun things we did this season, 86 00:03:36.540 --> 00:03:37.930 when we go to the alternate universe, 87 00:03:37.930 --> 00:03:39.660 is to show the dark side of Picard. 88 00:03:39.660 --> 00:03:41.580 So we've really set it up with all these 89 00:03:41.580 --> 00:03:42.720 fun Easter eggs. 90 00:03:42.720 --> 00:03:44.540 And we're like, what if we go the dark side 91 00:03:44.540 --> 00:03:45.503 of the Easter eggs? 92 00:03:46.340 --> 00:03:48.460 We have a scene where we have all these skulls 93 00:03:48.460 --> 00:03:51.880 of all the aliens that he has killed throughout the years. 94 00:03:51.880 --> 00:03:54.460 And initially, it was supposed to be suits of armor, 95 00:03:54.460 --> 00:03:57.350 and I said, "Well, if we're gonna go dark, let's go dark." 96 00:03:57.350 --> 00:03:59.340 It's like, bring me the head of my enemy. 97 00:03:59.340 --> 00:04:01.870 I will went to Neville Page, 98 00:04:01.870 --> 00:04:04.040 our creature designer, and he was 99 00:04:04.040 --> 00:04:06.570 breaking it down, the biology, you know, 100 00:04:06.570 --> 00:04:10.550 of each species and do Ferengis have bones 101 00:04:10.550 --> 00:04:12.870 in their ears or is it cartilage, you know? 102 00:04:12.870 --> 00:04:16.175 And should Vulcans have enlarged temples 103 00:04:16.175 --> 00:04:18.100 for mind melding? 104 00:04:18.100 --> 00:04:20.210 And then Vincent Van Dyke, who builds 105 00:04:20.210 --> 00:04:23.070 a lot of the makeup prosthetics for our show, 106 00:04:23.070 --> 00:04:25.070 Vincent is a huge skull freak, you know? 107 00:04:25.070 --> 00:04:28.270 He's got a shelf of skulls behind his desk. 108 00:04:28.270 --> 00:04:32.250 So I knew he was gonna give it 150% and he did. 109 00:04:32.250 --> 00:04:34.540 And they fabricated the, you know, 110 00:04:34.540 --> 00:04:36.349 these unbelievable props for me. 111 00:04:44.709 --> 00:04:48.726 The Borg Slayer, Jean-Luc Picard's alternate ego 112 00:04:48.726 --> 00:04:51.190 in this world where he's a bad guy. 113 00:04:51.190 --> 00:04:53.760 Things have happened in our world that have changed him. 114 00:04:53.760 --> 00:04:57.400 So this portrait really sets the tone in the show. 115 00:04:57.400 --> 00:05:01.360 The face alone takes three days minimum. 116 00:05:01.360 --> 00:05:05.240 So this painting took about nine days in total to complete 117 00:05:06.630 --> 00:05:09.370 Above his mantle in the library, in the chateau, 118 00:05:09.370 --> 00:05:11.356 we have the ready room painting. 119 00:05:11.356 --> 00:05:12.380 In the alternate universe, we wanted to 120 00:05:12.380 --> 00:05:15.400 showcase the fact that the Enterprise-D 121 00:05:15.400 --> 00:05:19.541 would have really been an aggressive, mean, 122 00:05:19.541 --> 00:05:20.566 fighting machine, 123 00:05:20.566 --> 00:05:23.450 as opposed to the exploratory vessel that you 124 00:05:23.450 --> 00:05:25.400 would've seen on The Next Generation. 125 00:05:25.400 --> 00:05:26.810 And Dave Blass, the production designer, 126 00:05:26.810 --> 00:05:30.520 had an amazing idea of having the ship 127 00:05:30.520 --> 00:05:32.530 blasting through a Borg cube as if 128 00:05:32.530 --> 00:05:34.153 the thing is split in half. 129 00:05:35.234 --> 00:05:36.067 Freeze! 130 00:05:38.291 --> 00:05:41.520 In order to showcase Starfleet or Star Corps, 131 00:05:41.520 --> 00:05:43.350 in the Confederation of the alternate universe, 132 00:05:43.350 --> 00:05:45.720 we really wanted to upgrade what we've seen in the past 133 00:05:45.720 --> 00:05:48.140 and this was a unique opportunity for me to really 134 00:05:48.140 --> 00:05:53.140 show a more aggressive and defensive version of Starfleet. 135 00:05:53.770 --> 00:05:57.080 So Star Corps is wearing all tactical gear now, 136 00:05:57.080 --> 00:06:01.510 and they are essentially policing the universe 137 00:06:01.510 --> 00:06:04.260 in a way that we've never seen them before in the past. 138 00:06:05.310 --> 00:06:08.570 So the new Confederation rifle, 139 00:06:08.570 --> 00:06:11.240 it's side displays are all red now to match 140 00:06:11.240 --> 00:06:13.500 with the heads-up display for the tactical guys. 141 00:06:13.500 --> 00:06:16.497 We've got a new scope, new flashlights integrated in here, 142 00:06:16.497 --> 00:06:20.990 and a meaner barrel with this housing on the side 143 00:06:20.990 --> 00:06:22.750 for flashing and venting. 144 00:06:22.750 --> 00:06:24.750 And then there's also the addition of a 145 00:06:24.750 --> 00:06:27.890 bayonet for close combat. 146 00:06:27.890 --> 00:06:29.500 Another great privilege of mine was to 147 00:06:29.500 --> 00:06:31.993 design a new phaser pistol for the Confederation. 148 00:06:33.000 --> 00:06:34.880 This phaser pistol, we wanted to be meaner 149 00:06:34.880 --> 00:06:37.160 and far more aggressive than any phasers 150 00:06:37.160 --> 00:06:38.363 we've seen in the past. 151 00:06:40.520 --> 00:06:43.010 But this phaser actually was modeled after 152 00:06:43.010 --> 00:06:46.984 the Final Frontier fan favorite phaser from 153 00:06:46.984 --> 00:06:48.942 Star Trek V. 154 00:06:50.580 --> 00:06:52.760 [Woman] Colonel? Colonel, you all right? 155 00:06:52.760 --> 00:06:55.960 We have a different ranking system for the Confederation. 156 00:06:55.960 --> 00:06:59.060 We have one through four pips of officers 157 00:06:59.060 --> 00:07:02.683 and one through four bars in gold for admirals. 158 00:07:04.330 --> 00:07:06.620 I started thinking that we've never seen 159 00:07:06.620 --> 00:07:09.660 a combadge as a weapon, and wouldn't it be 160 00:07:09.660 --> 00:07:13.280 kind of a unique opportunity to make a combadge a knife? 161 00:07:13.280 --> 00:07:15.090 Thankfully, the creatives liked it and 162 00:07:15.090 --> 00:07:16.790 they wrote it into this like stunning 163 00:07:16.790 --> 00:07:18.090 fight sequence with Elnor. 164 00:07:19.030 --> 00:07:19.927 Show off. 165 00:07:24.900 --> 00:07:27.870 I am delighted to be reunited with my next guest 166 00:07:27.870 --> 00:07:31.150 to talk about his iconic antagonist's return to Star Trek. 167 00:07:31.150 --> 00:07:33.060 The maestro of mischief, Q himself, 168 00:07:33.060 --> 00:07:35.410 John de Lancie is here with me in The Ready Room. 169 00:07:35.410 --> 00:07:36.710 John, thank you so much for spending 170 00:07:36.710 --> 00:07:37.730 some time with me today. 171 00:07:37.730 --> 00:07:38.660 My pleasure. 172 00:07:38.660 --> 00:07:40.480 Now I promise you we are going to have a 173 00:07:40.480 --> 00:07:44.620 serious, meaningful, sober conversation 174 00:07:44.620 --> 00:07:46.503 about Q and about your time 175 00:07:46.503 --> 00:07:47.520 - on Star Trek: Picard. - Really? 176 00:07:47.520 --> 00:07:48.445 - Why? - We are, 177 00:07:48.445 --> 00:07:49.644 no, it's gonna be great. 178 00:07:49.644 --> 00:07:50.910 It's gonna be wonderful, 179 00:07:50.910 --> 00:07:53.070 but there is this thing that I know 180 00:07:53.070 --> 00:07:54.770 a lot of people in fandom are thinking about 181 00:07:54.770 --> 00:07:57.200 because it's a thing I have been thinking about. 182 00:07:57.200 --> 00:08:00.970 And if I didn't just use this opportunity to bring this up, 183 00:08:00.970 --> 00:08:03.160 neither one of us would ever forgive me. 184 00:08:03.160 --> 00:08:07.100 So in the first season of Next Generation, 185 00:08:07.100 --> 00:08:10.950 Q and Wesley did not directly interact 186 00:08:10.950 --> 00:08:12.670 that I remember. 187 00:08:12.670 --> 00:08:15.950 I had this vague memory of Q calling Wesley, like, 188 00:08:15.950 --> 00:08:19.390 an annoying little man-child or something like that. 189 00:08:19.390 --> 00:08:20.500 Surely not. 190 00:08:20.500 --> 00:08:21.333 - [Wil] Yeah, oh, I mean. 191 00:08:21.333 --> 00:08:22.890 - That would've been so inappropriate of me. 192 00:08:22.890 --> 00:08:24.220 He wasn't wrong. 193 00:08:24.220 --> 00:08:26.290 I mean, you know, in context, 194 00:08:26.290 --> 00:08:27.670 but there's this episode in Season 1 195 00:08:27.670 --> 00:08:29.370 called "Hide And Q," where Q gives Riker 196 00:08:29.370 --> 00:08:30.439 the Q powers, right? 197 00:08:30.439 --> 00:08:31.272 - Uh-huh, yeah, yeah. 198 00:08:31.272 --> 00:08:32.350 - It's not great for Wesley. 199 00:08:32.350 --> 00:08:33.183 Yeah. 200 00:08:33.183 --> 00:08:34.920 Q sends Wesley down to a planet. 201 00:08:34.920 --> 00:08:36.108 [John] Yeah. 202 00:08:36.108 --> 00:08:38.990 Where Wesley gets bayoneted in the back by a monster. 203 00:08:38.990 --> 00:08:40.724 He deserved it. 204 00:08:40.724 --> 00:08:42.507 - Worf! - [Riker] Look out! 205 00:08:42.507 --> 00:08:44.390 [Picard] Wesley, no, Wesley! 206 00:08:45.965 --> 00:08:46.857 [Picard] Wesley! 207 00:08:47.948 --> 00:08:49.190 [Riker] No, dammit! 208 00:08:49.190 --> 00:08:52.260 I mean, kind of a dick move to bayonet a kid in the back. 209 00:08:52.260 --> 00:08:54.570 Just, maybe just not the best move. 210 00:08:54.570 --> 00:08:55.820 It's not a great day for him. 211 00:08:55.820 --> 00:08:56.977 - Right. 212 00:08:56.977 --> 00:08:57.810 But that's not the weirdest thing that happened 213 00:08:57.810 --> 00:08:59.100 to Wesley in this particular episode. 214 00:08:59.100 --> 00:09:00.158 - Yeah. 215 00:09:00.158 --> 00:09:01.530 In this particular episode, Riker's like, 216 00:09:01.530 --> 00:09:03.370 "Hey, Wesley, I've got Q's powers 217 00:09:03.370 --> 00:09:05.640 so I'm gonna give you your ultimate dream. 218 00:09:05.640 --> 00:09:07.740 I'm going to make you a grown-up." 219 00:09:07.740 --> 00:09:09.200 And Wesley's like, "What?" 220 00:09:09.200 --> 00:09:11.066 And, Riker goes... 221 00:09:11.066 --> 00:09:11.899 [fingers snap] 222 00:09:11.899 --> 00:09:12.732 "You're a grown-up." 223 00:09:12.732 --> 00:09:14.810 And this is what he makes Wesley look like as a grown up. 224 00:09:14.810 --> 00:09:17.023 Control room, can we put this on the screen for John? 225 00:09:18.560 --> 00:09:22.200 That is what Riker thinks Wesley's gonna look like 226 00:09:22.200 --> 00:09:24.040 when he grows up. 227 00:09:24.040 --> 00:09:27.343 So if you look at me and look at adult Wesley, 228 00:09:28.580 --> 00:09:31.560 I would just like to ask you the following question. 229 00:09:31.560 --> 00:09:33.900 Did Q not tell Riker that with great power 230 00:09:33.900 --> 00:09:35.660 comes great responsibility? 231 00:09:35.660 --> 00:09:37.750 Or, like, casting choices? 232 00:09:37.750 --> 00:09:38.993 I'm horrified. 233 00:09:39.900 --> 00:09:42.140 Like is Riker just a really bad Q? 234 00:09:42.140 --> 00:09:43.400 I'm horrified. 235 00:09:43.400 --> 00:09:44.653 It's horrifying. 236 00:09:45.840 --> 00:09:47.770 The actor who played adult Wesley was 237 00:09:47.770 --> 00:09:49.680 a guy named William Wallace, which was so funny 238 00:09:49.680 --> 00:09:51.070 to us at the time, because it was around 239 00:09:51.070 --> 00:09:51.903 the time Braveheart came out. 240 00:09:51.903 --> 00:09:53.480 - [John] Yeah, yeah. 241 00:09:53.480 --> 00:09:54.520 But people always ask me, 242 00:09:54.520 --> 00:09:56.700 why don't you look like the way you looked, 243 00:09:56.700 --> 00:09:58.520 you know, when Q made you grow up? 244 00:09:58.520 --> 00:09:59.353 And-- 245 00:09:59.353 --> 00:10:00.680 Because it's a TV show? 246 00:10:00.680 --> 00:10:01.921 Okay, that's fine. 247 00:10:01.921 --> 00:10:02.754 That's a great answer. 248 00:10:02.754 --> 00:10:03.587 That's a great answer. 249 00:10:03.587 --> 00:10:04.917 My in-universe answer is different timeline. 250 00:10:04.917 --> 00:10:05.950 - I see, I see. 251 00:10:05.950 --> 00:10:07.040 - But sure, we'll take that. 252 00:10:07.040 --> 00:10:08.456 Okay. 253 00:10:08.456 --> 00:10:10.380 Thank you for indulging that moment. 254 00:10:10.380 --> 00:10:11.954 Let's jump into Star Trek: Picard. 255 00:10:11.954 --> 00:10:12.930 Yeah. 256 00:10:12.930 --> 00:10:15.410 I was really excited when I found out 257 00:10:15.410 --> 00:10:19.390 that Q was going to be back in the Star Trek Universe, 258 00:10:19.390 --> 00:10:22.033 especially in this season of Star Trek: Picard. 259 00:10:23.120 --> 00:10:27.500 I was thinking about Q's history with the Federation. 260 00:10:27.500 --> 00:10:29.450 So I went online and did some research, 261 00:10:29.450 --> 00:10:34.450 and Q is in 15 episodes, so far, 262 00:10:34.910 --> 00:10:37.690 on five different Star Trek series. 263 00:10:37.690 --> 00:10:39.640 Oh, oh. Really? 264 00:10:39.640 --> 00:10:42.245 Yeah, yeah. 265 00:10:42.245 --> 00:10:43.140 - I had no idea. 266 00:10:43.140 --> 00:10:47.101 - Yeah, I was like, that's really cool. 267 00:10:47.101 --> 00:10:50.810 Because I usually think of it as being Next Gen, 268 00:10:50.810 --> 00:10:54.010 and I think I did six episodes in Next Gen. 269 00:10:54.010 --> 00:10:56.510 It's eight, I looked it up. 270 00:10:56.510 --> 00:10:57.360 No, it can't be eight. 271 00:10:57.360 --> 00:10:59.053 Oh, because they're counting-- 272 00:10:59.053 --> 00:11:00.878 - They're counting "The Best Of Both Worlds" 273 00:11:00.878 --> 00:11:01.711 as two separate-- 274 00:11:01.711 --> 00:11:03.140 - As two separate, yes, okay. 275 00:11:03.140 --> 00:11:04.801 And Lower Decks. 276 00:11:04.801 --> 00:11:05.634 - Right, right. 277 00:11:05.634 --> 00:11:07.830 - Which is my dream job. Star Trek Universe. 278 00:11:07.830 --> 00:11:09.693 Wil Wheaton's dream job is to be on Lower Decks. 279 00:11:09.693 --> 00:11:11.600 I'm just putting that out there into the world. 280 00:11:11.600 --> 00:11:15.460 But when Q puts Picard on trial in "Farpoint," 281 00:11:15.460 --> 00:11:17.920 it's the inciting incident for the entire series. 282 00:11:17.920 --> 00:11:19.130 - Yeah, yeah. 283 00:11:19.130 --> 00:11:21.650 It was, yeah. I got, yes, you're right. 284 00:11:21.650 --> 00:11:22.610 - Like, right. 285 00:11:22.610 --> 00:11:24.180 - And, and you know what, in point of fact 286 00:11:24.180 --> 00:11:26.261 it has actually never ended. 287 00:11:26.261 --> 00:11:27.501 Yeah. 288 00:11:27.501 --> 00:11:28.660 Do you recall what I said to you 289 00:11:28.660 --> 00:11:30.423 when last we parted ways? 290 00:11:31.870 --> 00:11:35.200 The trial never ends. 291 00:11:35.200 --> 00:11:37.720 That line, which people ask me to say, 292 00:11:37.720 --> 00:11:39.130 would you just say this? 293 00:11:39.130 --> 00:11:40.184 - Yeah. 294 00:11:40.184 --> 00:11:41.512 You know, the trial never ends. 295 00:11:41.512 --> 00:11:42.345 - [Wil] Yeah. 296 00:11:42.345 --> 00:11:46.950 That's sort of, that's the relationship. 297 00:11:46.950 --> 00:11:48.250 It's 34 years later. 298 00:11:48.250 --> 00:11:49.083 - [John] Yes. 299 00:11:49.083 --> 00:11:49.916 - We're, I know. 300 00:11:49.916 --> 00:11:50.990 - Don't tell me about it. 301 00:11:50.990 --> 00:11:52.460 - I know, right? 302 00:11:52.460 --> 00:11:53.550 Would you talk a little bit about 303 00:11:53.550 --> 00:11:57.180 returning to this role in this context now? 304 00:11:57.180 --> 00:12:01.050 Well, I did not necessarily-- 305 00:12:01.050 --> 00:12:03.863 I went in and I met with Terry, 306 00:12:05.016 --> 00:12:06.820 who's the executive producer, and he said, 307 00:12:06.820 --> 00:12:08.560 "I'm sure you were expecting this." 308 00:12:08.560 --> 00:12:10.790 And I said, "Well, actually not." 309 00:12:10.790 --> 00:12:14.010 You have to remember Star Trek has done 310 00:12:14.010 --> 00:12:16.667 a bunch of television--or, movies after that 311 00:12:16.667 --> 00:12:17.900 and they didn't have Q in it. 312 00:12:17.900 --> 00:12:21.410 So I sort of did not really expect it 313 00:12:21.410 --> 00:12:26.060 and so when it came, I was delighted. 314 00:12:26.060 --> 00:12:27.810 You know, the first thing I said to him, 315 00:12:27.810 --> 00:12:29.950 I said, "That's great. 316 00:12:29.950 --> 00:12:31.810 Yes, I'd love to do it, 317 00:12:31.810 --> 00:12:33.960 as long as you're not putting me in tights." 318 00:12:35.002 --> 00:12:35.856 - [Wil] For sure. 319 00:12:35.856 --> 00:12:36.690 - He said, no, no tights. 320 00:12:36.690 --> 00:12:38.330 - Listen, we do tights one time. 321 00:12:38.330 --> 00:12:40.730 You get one, one time in tights on Star Trek. 322 00:12:40.730 --> 00:12:42.830 - Yeah, and, and that's, and that's like, 323 00:12:42.830 --> 00:12:45.022 when you're 34 years younger. 324 00:12:46.880 --> 00:12:48.860 So he said, "No, no, no tights." 325 00:12:48.860 --> 00:12:50.970 As a matter of fact, because we're going to be, 326 00:12:50.970 --> 00:12:52.500 I don't know how much I can say about this, 327 00:12:52.500 --> 00:12:54.068 but I'll say it now. 328 00:12:54.068 --> 00:12:56.290 You're going to be back on Earth quite a bit. 329 00:12:56.290 --> 00:12:57.123 - Yes. 330 00:12:57.123 --> 00:12:59.480 You're sort of the way you are now. 331 00:12:59.480 --> 00:13:04.080 And it's an, it's an older, more mature Q. 332 00:13:04.080 --> 00:13:06.430 And I said, "Well, you know, that's great," 333 00:13:06.430 --> 00:13:09.070 because in a way you really can't go back. 334 00:13:09.070 --> 00:13:09.903 - Mm hmm. 335 00:13:09.903 --> 00:13:11.980 It's very difficult for an actor to go back, 336 00:13:11.980 --> 00:13:15.080 as it were, to try to recreate something. 337 00:13:15.080 --> 00:13:16.460 It's not the same writers. 338 00:13:16.460 --> 00:13:17.810 It's not the same vibe. 339 00:13:17.810 --> 00:13:19.210 It's not the same time. 340 00:13:19.210 --> 00:13:21.820 It's not all--a lot of things are not the same. 341 00:13:21.820 --> 00:13:24.180 So when you have an actor who's trying to do that, 342 00:13:24.180 --> 00:13:26.520 it doesn't look great. 343 00:13:26.520 --> 00:13:29.090 So I said, "So, we're more in this zone?" 344 00:13:29.090 --> 00:13:29.923 "Yes." 345 00:13:29.923 --> 00:13:32.410 So in the way in which I think of it is, 346 00:13:32.410 --> 00:13:35.340 "Yes, I'm still mad, bad, dangerous to know, 347 00:13:35.340 --> 00:13:39.573 but a more mature, a more... 348 00:13:41.098 --> 00:13:42.798 thoughtful, 349 00:13:43.730 --> 00:13:48.730 and in this particular case, actually, I'm needy. 350 00:13:48.750 --> 00:13:50.760 There's something that I need. 351 00:13:50.760 --> 00:13:53.040 I really want to talk about that. 352 00:13:53.040 --> 00:13:54.116 - Yeah. 353 00:13:54.116 --> 00:13:55.116 That specifically. 354 00:13:56.700 --> 00:14:01.110 Since "Farpoint," Q has been kind of obsessed with Picard 355 00:14:01.110 --> 00:14:03.810 in like a way that's a little, that's a little weird 356 00:14:03.810 --> 00:14:06.020 and I'm gonna be honest, maybe not super healthy. 357 00:14:06.020 --> 00:14:06.907 - Yeah. 358 00:14:12.780 --> 00:14:13.613 Q. 359 00:14:17.820 --> 00:14:18.653 Red alert. 360 00:14:23.857 --> 00:14:25.097 Oh, I don't know. 361 00:14:25.097 --> 00:14:28.330 I mean, is that really a universal construct? 362 00:14:28.330 --> 00:14:29.163 - I don't know. 363 00:14:29.163 --> 00:14:30.240 Maybe that's a human construct. 364 00:14:30.240 --> 00:14:32.690 Maybe universally, maybe within the Continuum, 365 00:14:32.690 --> 00:14:33.860 it's super normal. 366 00:14:33.860 --> 00:14:34.810 - That's right. 367 00:14:34.810 --> 00:14:35.643 - It's super healthy and super, 368 00:14:35.643 --> 00:14:38.110 and it would be weird if he wasn't. 369 00:14:38.110 --> 00:14:40.560 Like, "Hey, Q, who's your human that you're obsessed with? 370 00:14:40.560 --> 00:14:41.393 I don't know, Q. 371 00:14:41.393 --> 00:14:43.070 Let me tell you who yours is." 372 00:14:43.070 --> 00:14:47.030 But in this like classic Q fashion. 373 00:14:47.030 --> 00:14:47.863 - Yeah. 374 00:14:47.863 --> 00:14:51.080 He has constructed this extremely elaborate, 375 00:14:51.080 --> 00:14:54.430 like sort of final test for Picard. 376 00:14:54.430 --> 00:14:55.263 - Yes. 377 00:14:55.263 --> 00:14:57.160 And it starts with him sending Picard 378 00:14:57.160 --> 00:14:59.890 to this kind of evil, alternate reality. 379 00:14:59.890 --> 00:15:01.188 - Right, right. - That we're seeing, 380 00:15:01.188 --> 00:15:02.760 where like, 381 00:15:02.760 --> 00:15:04.670 if science fiction is about 382 00:15:04.670 --> 00:15:07.450 what's actually happening now, said in the future, 383 00:15:07.450 --> 00:15:11.610 wow, is that a terrifying reality. 384 00:15:11.610 --> 00:15:16.610 How does it feel to be kind of in the Q chair again, 385 00:15:18.710 --> 00:15:21.390 like putting Picard through these things 386 00:15:21.390 --> 00:15:24.570 and revisiting that relationship again 387 00:15:24.570 --> 00:15:26.600 for the first time in however many years? 388 00:15:26.600 --> 00:15:29.560 Well, you know, I thought that there 389 00:15:29.560 --> 00:15:33.630 might need to be some sort of, you know, 390 00:15:33.630 --> 00:15:36.860 "Maybe I should go and take a look at what I did before." 391 00:15:36.860 --> 00:15:37.693 - Yeah. 392 00:15:37.693 --> 00:15:40.500 I thought, "Oh, that's not a good way to start on this." 393 00:15:40.500 --> 00:15:43.360 And then I definitely look at 394 00:15:43.360 --> 00:15:46.470 the first season of Picard to see what they're doing. 395 00:15:46.470 --> 00:15:47.303 - Right. 396 00:15:47.303 --> 00:15:48.853 There's like a tone you want to--yeah. 397 00:15:48.853 --> 00:15:51.863 There's a tone and it's to find that tone. 398 00:15:51.863 --> 00:15:54.670 And also, you need to actually find it 399 00:15:54.670 --> 00:15:57.250 from the vibrations that come off the script, 400 00:15:57.250 --> 00:15:59.493 you know, what is, what's going on there. 401 00:16:00.800 --> 00:16:04.000 I, so I was prepped and ready to go 402 00:16:04.000 --> 00:16:06.120 and you have in your head what you think 403 00:16:06.120 --> 00:16:07.810 you're gonna see when you walk on the set. 404 00:16:07.810 --> 00:16:08.643 - Yeah. 405 00:16:08.643 --> 00:16:10.710 But when I walked on the set 406 00:16:10.710 --> 00:16:13.770 and I saw it with those skulls and what have you, 407 00:16:13.770 --> 00:16:16.580 I went, "Oh, this is--I don't have to do 408 00:16:16.580 --> 00:16:18.500 too much acting here. 409 00:16:18.500 --> 00:16:20.490 The set is doing a lot of acting for me. 410 00:16:20.490 --> 00:16:21.323 - It is, yeah. 411 00:16:21.323 --> 00:16:24.500 And so it was really just to go back 412 00:16:24.500 --> 00:16:27.963 and connect up, you know, in that kind of... 413 00:16:29.230 --> 00:16:31.980 perhaps in a more real and 414 00:16:31.980 --> 00:16:35.830 a more intentional sort of way. 415 00:16:35.830 --> 00:16:38.060 There's a lot less spinning, 416 00:16:38.060 --> 00:16:40.280 which was perhaps what I would-- 417 00:16:40.280 --> 00:16:42.300 the way in which I would think of 418 00:16:42.300 --> 00:16:45.010 Q of 30 years ago and a little more 419 00:16:45.010 --> 00:16:46.373 just like, "Hey, man." 420 00:16:47.810 --> 00:16:52.330 Yeah, there is in, in Next Generation, 421 00:16:52.330 --> 00:16:57.330 Q always felt to me, like he was toying with everyone. 422 00:16:57.910 --> 00:16:59.240 He knew where things were going. 423 00:16:59.240 --> 00:17:00.073 - Right. 424 00:17:00.073 --> 00:17:01.320 - Like he'd seen the end of this. 425 00:17:01.320 --> 00:17:02.153 - Right. 426 00:17:02.153 --> 00:17:05.050 - And even if Q, like, lost, he was still like, 427 00:17:05.050 --> 00:17:07.190 "I made you do the thing, that's all that matters." 428 00:17:07.190 --> 00:17:08.057 - Right, right. 429 00:17:08.057 --> 00:17:08.890 - Right? 430 00:17:08.890 --> 00:17:10.070 He's so different this time around. 431 00:17:10.070 --> 00:17:10.903 - Yeah. 432 00:17:10.903 --> 00:17:12.670 - His energy is completely different. 433 00:17:12.670 --> 00:17:13.503 - Yeah. 434 00:17:13.503 --> 00:17:17.090 There is something unbelievably personal 435 00:17:17.090 --> 00:17:20.530 for Q this time that I don't notice before. 436 00:17:20.530 --> 00:17:21.363 Do you agree with that? 437 00:17:21.363 --> 00:17:24.240 Yes, and it had to be 438 00:17:24.240 --> 00:17:26.650 to be able to make the setup work. 439 00:17:26.650 --> 00:17:31.160 The setup was, "You're going in this direction. 440 00:17:31.160 --> 00:17:33.490 You need to go in that direction." 441 00:17:33.490 --> 00:17:38.350 And I've come here to help you as one last thing 442 00:17:38.350 --> 00:17:41.210 that I might be able to do to help you. 443 00:17:41.210 --> 00:17:44.290 And that's such a trip because we literally 444 00:17:44.290 --> 00:17:46.130 don't know what Q is up to, 445 00:17:46.130 --> 00:17:48.463 and it seems like, from Q's point of view, 446 00:17:49.660 --> 00:17:53.000 "Listen, Picard, you really wanna do this." 447 00:17:53.000 --> 00:17:55.403 Like there just seems to be this, 448 00:17:56.620 --> 00:17:58.190 like Q always knows, 449 00:17:58.190 --> 00:18:00.110 there seems to be this thing with him 450 00:18:00.110 --> 00:18:04.670 this time around that is so different from the past. 451 00:18:04.670 --> 00:18:07.470 Because the character was set up where 452 00:18:07.470 --> 00:18:10.890 you could never quite believe, you know, what is he doing? 453 00:18:10.890 --> 00:18:11.850 - Yeah. 454 00:18:11.850 --> 00:18:13.903 I didn't have to play that this time 455 00:18:15.320 --> 00:18:18.050 because that would come with the territory 456 00:18:18.950 --> 00:18:20.680 just by being sincere. 457 00:18:20.680 --> 00:18:21.840 People would go, "Well, I don't know 458 00:18:21.840 --> 00:18:23.230 if he is sincere or not." 459 00:18:23.230 --> 00:18:25.020 Oh, that's so interesting. 460 00:18:25.020 --> 00:18:26.600 But I am sincere. 461 00:18:26.600 --> 00:18:27.820 Yeah. 462 00:18:27.820 --> 00:18:29.054 - I am sincere. - Maybe that's the thing 463 00:18:29.054 --> 00:18:30.151 that feels so weird to me. 464 00:18:30.151 --> 00:18:31.817 - Yeah, that's... - Is Q feeling sincere. 465 00:18:31.817 --> 00:18:32.650 - Yeah. - I think I didn't, 466 00:18:32.650 --> 00:18:34.000 I didn't actually like, 467 00:18:34.000 --> 00:18:35.780 I didn't identify it until just now. 468 00:18:35.780 --> 00:18:36.613 That's what it is. 469 00:18:36.613 --> 00:18:38.543 Q is sincere, which is terrifying. 470 00:18:38.543 --> 00:18:43.210 - I really, and I don't know why... 471 00:18:45.790 --> 00:18:49.020 you said it was an unhealthy relationship. 472 00:18:49.020 --> 00:18:50.190 Maybe. 473 00:18:50.190 --> 00:18:51.530 I love this guy. 474 00:18:51.530 --> 00:18:52.363 - Yeah. 475 00:18:52.363 --> 00:18:54.770 - And I want to help him. 476 00:18:54.770 --> 00:18:57.880 Now, I want to help him in a way that maybe 477 00:18:57.880 --> 00:18:59.730 a lot of people don't, you know, 478 00:18:59.730 --> 00:19:02.360 they don't like this type of help. 479 00:19:02.360 --> 00:19:06.343 I have had enough of your stupid patronizing. 480 00:19:08.120 --> 00:19:10.060 And I've had enough of your obstinance, 481 00:19:10.060 --> 00:19:12.700 your stubbornness, your insistence on changing 482 00:19:12.700 --> 00:19:14.910 in all ways but the one that matters. 483 00:19:14.910 --> 00:19:17.120 So I have my way of doing it, 484 00:19:17.120 --> 00:19:19.690 which might be rather hard to take. 485 00:19:19.690 --> 00:19:20.630 - [Wil] Mm hmm. 486 00:19:20.630 --> 00:19:25.460 But it still comes from, I want to help you. 487 00:19:25.460 --> 00:19:26.840 I want to be sincere here. 488 00:19:26.840 --> 00:19:29.090 I am sincere, yeah. 489 00:19:29.090 --> 00:19:32.240 That is, it's a different shading on Q 490 00:19:32.240 --> 00:19:33.420 than we've seen before, right? 491 00:19:33.420 --> 00:19:34.253 - Right, right. 492 00:19:34.253 --> 00:19:35.340 But like, it's just, it's slight-- 493 00:19:35.340 --> 00:19:37.290 it's a little bit different. 494 00:19:37.290 --> 00:19:39.420 Did it take a while to find him? 495 00:19:39.420 --> 00:19:40.787 Or was it kind of like hopping on a bicycle 496 00:19:40.787 --> 00:19:42.462 - No, it did not-- - and he just came right back? 497 00:19:42.462 --> 00:19:46.110 It didn't take any time to find him. 498 00:19:46.110 --> 00:19:46.960 That's so cool. 499 00:19:48.160 --> 00:19:49.910 I mean, it was in the material. 500 00:19:49.910 --> 00:19:50.743 - Yeah. 501 00:19:50.743 --> 00:19:52.000 I'm an okay actor. 502 00:19:52.000 --> 00:19:56.573 I think of myself as a fine actor, weather permitting. 503 00:19:57.410 --> 00:19:59.640 That's super fair, and I completely understand. 504 00:19:59.640 --> 00:20:00.473 - Okay. 505 00:20:00.473 --> 00:20:01.473 - Yeah, I get it. 506 00:20:01.473 --> 00:20:04.390 So if the material is suited for me, 507 00:20:04.390 --> 00:20:05.223 - [Wil] Yeah. 508 00:20:05.223 --> 00:20:08.655 - Then I--it doesn't--it isn't very difficult to play. 509 00:20:08.655 --> 00:20:09.488 - Yeah. 510 00:20:09.488 --> 00:20:11.160 I don't think there's a person in this world 511 00:20:11.160 --> 00:20:12.530 who knows Q better than you do, obviously. 512 00:20:12.530 --> 00:20:13.720 You created this character, 513 00:20:13.720 --> 00:20:14.810 you originated this character. 514 00:20:14.810 --> 00:20:15.930 Oh, I didn't create the character. 515 00:20:15.930 --> 00:20:16.810 Originated the character. 516 00:20:16.810 --> 00:20:18.150 I said this to my wife last night. 517 00:20:18.150 --> 00:20:20.490 I said, "So I wanted to ask John about creating Q," 518 00:20:20.490 --> 00:20:21.840 and she says, "John didn't create Q. 519 00:20:21.840 --> 00:20:23.037 Gene Roddenberry created Q." 520 00:20:23.037 --> 00:20:24.229 And I was like, "Okay, first of all, 521 00:20:24.229 --> 00:20:25.460 that's weird, 'cause you're not a Star Trek fan, 522 00:20:25.460 --> 00:20:26.835 and it's odd that you know that. 523 00:20:26.835 --> 00:20:27.943 But thank you for the note. 524 00:20:27.943 --> 00:20:29.651 Let me rephrase. 525 00:20:29.651 --> 00:20:31.258 You originated this character. 526 00:20:31.258 --> 00:20:32.091 Correct. 527 00:20:32.091 --> 00:20:35.550 And we've had a couple of other actors 528 00:20:35.550 --> 00:20:37.104 play other members of the Q Continuum, 529 00:20:37.104 --> 00:20:38.660 and they're all basing their performance 530 00:20:38.660 --> 00:20:40.630 off of your origination of the role. 531 00:20:40.630 --> 00:20:42.590 Did anybody from the writer's room want to 532 00:20:42.590 --> 00:20:43.490 talk with you at all? 533 00:20:43.490 --> 00:20:46.610 Did you have any conversations with anyone 534 00:20:46.610 --> 00:20:48.060 from behind the scenes about bringing 535 00:20:48.060 --> 00:20:49.640 some of your experiences to the script? 536 00:20:49.640 --> 00:20:50.830 Or they were like, "Here you go, 537 00:20:50.830 --> 00:20:52.000 we've got it all for you." 538 00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:53.550 Well, in which... 539 00:20:53.550 --> 00:20:55.216 In Picard. 540 00:20:55.216 --> 00:20:57.060 In this season, did you, did you like, 541 00:20:57.060 --> 00:20:59.100 for lack of a better term, did you consult at all 542 00:20:59.100 --> 00:21:01.440 about Q or was it all ready to go? 543 00:21:01.440 --> 00:21:06.240 I think I had a short conversation with Terry, 544 00:21:07.360 --> 00:21:09.800 thinking that perhaps they were going to be 545 00:21:09.800 --> 00:21:11.890 trying to do what I had done before. 546 00:21:11.890 --> 00:21:13.260 Yeah. 547 00:21:13.260 --> 00:21:15.730 You know, so I wanted to say, "Hey, listen, 548 00:21:15.730 --> 00:21:18.080 you know, don't make me funny." 549 00:21:18.080 --> 00:21:21.520 My humor, at least the character's humor, 550 00:21:21.520 --> 00:21:24.300 is more in undercutting and more in sarcasm 551 00:21:24.300 --> 00:21:27.143 and more in like ooh, not quite sure. 552 00:21:27.143 --> 00:21:30.360 You know, I think I spit out a few of those things, 553 00:21:30.360 --> 00:21:33.760 but it became really clear to me 554 00:21:33.760 --> 00:21:36.470 that that's not the direction that they were going. 555 00:21:36.470 --> 00:21:37.303 Mm-hmm. 556 00:21:37.303 --> 00:21:38.300 You know, other than the, you know, 557 00:21:38.300 --> 00:21:43.250 mon capitaine, it's--how I've missed you, and-- 558 00:21:43.250 --> 00:21:45.343 Which as a fan, I love. 559 00:21:45.343 --> 00:21:49.010 I mean, I just--like, the nerd in me just screamed. 560 00:21:49.010 --> 00:21:52.110 And what I loved and what all of the 561 00:21:52.110 --> 00:21:55.393 other actors, at least the ones in which I worked with, 562 00:21:55.393 --> 00:22:00.120 feel, is that this time they were much-- 563 00:22:01.040 --> 00:22:03.798 they were very, very open to 564 00:22:03.798 --> 00:22:06.964 what we bring to the role. 565 00:22:06.964 --> 00:22:10.680 And it's really nice if, if the, in this case, 566 00:22:10.680 --> 00:22:14.272 the producer slash writers recognizes that. 567 00:22:14.272 --> 00:22:19.272 The--I'm thinking about you saying to not recreate Q, 568 00:22:19.720 --> 00:22:21.240 which is super interesting to me, 569 00:22:21.240 --> 00:22:24.490 the evolution of Q and the growth of Q. 570 00:22:24.490 --> 00:22:26.070 The moment when Q goes,"Oh, wait a minute, 571 00:22:26.070 --> 00:22:26.980 you've gotten older. 572 00:22:26.980 --> 00:22:28.350 Hang on, let me catch up with you." 573 00:22:28.350 --> 00:22:29.183 I loved that. 574 00:22:29.183 --> 00:22:31.490 That was very, very cool. 575 00:22:31.490 --> 00:22:36.360 And I love that this kind of like, new Q, 576 00:22:36.360 --> 00:22:39.760 who seems a little unwell, who seems like 577 00:22:39.760 --> 00:22:42.820 a little weaker than we've seen him in the past. 578 00:22:42.820 --> 00:22:47.820 Like, we've really come to know what to expect from Q, 579 00:22:48.200 --> 00:22:50.830 but it is very different this time around. 580 00:22:50.830 --> 00:22:53.050 Did you need to approach him differently at all, 581 00:22:53.050 --> 00:22:56.890 because he's coming from what feels like a different place? 582 00:22:56.890 --> 00:23:01.333 No, my biggest concern, and it's my concern today, 583 00:23:01.333 --> 00:23:06.290 is that the audience needs to also make the change. 584 00:23:07.180 --> 00:23:10.630 They need to maturate... 585 00:23:12.438 --> 00:23:14.179 with the character. 586 00:23:14.179 --> 00:23:17.770 If they are tuning in 587 00:23:17.770 --> 00:23:20.336 to see the Q of 34 years ago, 588 00:23:20.336 --> 00:23:22.820 they will be disappointed. 589 00:23:22.820 --> 00:23:23.770 Well, I don't know why we would want to 590 00:23:23.770 --> 00:23:25.150 watch the Q from 34 years ago. 591 00:23:25.150 --> 00:23:27.043 The Q from now is so much more interesting. 592 00:23:27.043 --> 00:23:28.403 - I understand that, but-- 593 00:23:28.403 --> 00:23:30.759 - Like we can stream the Q from 34 years ago. 594 00:23:30.759 --> 00:23:32.467 It's great, he's there and he's awesome. 595 00:23:32.467 --> 00:23:35.179 But you understand, is that it's expectations. 596 00:23:35.179 --> 00:23:36.012 - Of course. 597 00:23:37.429 --> 00:23:39.730 You cooked a meal 34 years ago and-- 598 00:23:39.730 --> 00:23:40.563 - It's a great meal. 599 00:23:40.563 --> 00:23:42.571 - People are expecting maybe the same meal. 600 00:23:42.571 --> 00:23:43.404 - [Wil] Right. - And you kind of go, 601 00:23:43.404 --> 00:23:44.740 well, the times have changed. 602 00:23:44.740 --> 00:23:45.573 - Yeah. 603 00:23:45.573 --> 00:23:46.406 - So-- 604 00:23:46.406 --> 00:23:47.443 That animal's extinct now. 605 00:23:47.443 --> 00:23:48.880 That's right. 606 00:23:48.880 --> 00:23:50.993 In the days of Next Generation, 607 00:23:50.993 --> 00:23:54.683 Q always positioned himself as a judge for humanity. 608 00:23:55.800 --> 00:23:58.760 And Jean-Luc was his like sort of test subject, right? 609 00:23:58.760 --> 00:24:00.150 His standard for humanity. 610 00:24:00.150 --> 00:24:03.600 In Season 2 of Picard, this whole thing 611 00:24:03.600 --> 00:24:06.190 that Q is putting Picard through, 612 00:24:06.190 --> 00:24:10.490 it seems to be very, very much about 613 00:24:10.490 --> 00:24:13.070 Q's specific relationship with Picard 614 00:24:13.070 --> 00:24:16.870 rather than Q's feelings about humanity 615 00:24:16.870 --> 00:24:20.640 as a species and humanity as an idea. 616 00:24:20.640 --> 00:24:21.930 Do you agree with that? 617 00:24:21.930 --> 00:24:26.060 And if so, would you care to comment on that 618 00:24:26.060 --> 00:24:28.600 changing of the relationship with the two characters? 619 00:24:28.600 --> 00:24:30.440 I think you put your finger on it. 620 00:24:30.440 --> 00:24:31.840 It's exactly that. 621 00:24:31.840 --> 00:24:34.630 I'm not dealing with everything, 622 00:24:34.630 --> 00:24:37.200 I'm dealing only with you. 623 00:24:37.200 --> 00:24:40.541 This is a personal gift, 624 00:24:40.541 --> 00:24:43.560 personally coming from me to you. 625 00:24:43.560 --> 00:24:46.500 And since I know you well enough, 626 00:24:46.500 --> 00:24:50.663 the only way you're gonna get it is to experience it. 627 00:24:51.560 --> 00:24:55.993 I can't tell you, you're going to have to find out. 628 00:24:57.020 --> 00:24:59.970 So we're at the very beginning of the season. 629 00:24:59.970 --> 00:25:03.280 This is, like, we don't know what's coming. 630 00:25:03.280 --> 00:25:04.948 You know. 631 00:25:04.948 --> 00:25:05.781 - I do know. 632 00:25:05.781 --> 00:25:06.614 - Yeah, you know. 633 00:25:06.614 --> 00:25:08.070 - Should I tell you right now? 634 00:25:08.070 --> 00:25:09.563 I would love it if you would tell me, 635 00:25:09.563 --> 00:25:11.930 I think the audience would be super bummed out. 636 00:25:11.930 --> 00:25:13.320 - [John] Yeah, they'd be super bummed out. 637 00:25:13.320 --> 00:25:14.440 - If they found out how this is gonna end. 638 00:25:14.440 --> 00:25:17.900 My dear wife Marnie often says, you know, 639 00:25:17.900 --> 00:25:20.230 we'll watch a movie--I'll say, "Oh, you know, 640 00:25:20.230 --> 00:25:21.840 watch this movie, I saw it. 641 00:25:21.840 --> 00:25:22.740 I think you'll really enjoy it." 642 00:25:22.740 --> 00:25:24.240 And she goes, she'll be half way through, 643 00:25:24.240 --> 00:25:27.080 and she goes, "What happens at the end?" 644 00:25:27.080 --> 00:25:28.680 I go, "Come on, you don't want know, 645 00:25:28.680 --> 00:25:30.171 you don't want to know." 646 00:25:30.171 --> 00:25:32.280 But the last time she did that to me, 647 00:25:32.280 --> 00:25:34.460 I said, "Oh, well, he dies at the end, 648 00:25:34.460 --> 00:25:36.001 and she goes..." 649 00:25:36.001 --> 00:25:37.320 She goes, "Oh my God, you told me." 650 00:25:37.320 --> 00:25:38.153 - Why did you do that? 651 00:25:38.153 --> 00:25:39.733 - "You ruined it." 652 00:25:39.733 --> 00:25:41.583 I just did what you asked me to do. 653 00:25:42.660 --> 00:25:45.890 I know we were at the very beginning of the season 654 00:25:45.890 --> 00:25:49.790 and this particular trial maybe the ultimate, 655 00:25:49.790 --> 00:25:54.550 the last, the final trial is about to get underway. 656 00:25:54.550 --> 00:25:57.650 Without spoiling anything for the audience, 657 00:25:57.650 --> 00:25:59.990 do you want to talk at all about 658 00:25:59.990 --> 00:26:02.750 where we might interact with Q a little bit more 659 00:26:02.750 --> 00:26:03.960 later on in this season? 660 00:26:03.960 --> 00:26:05.270 Is there anything that you wanna...? 661 00:26:05.270 --> 00:26:06.940 Well, I... 662 00:26:06.940 --> 00:26:08.290 Maybe tease a little bit? 663 00:26:08.290 --> 00:26:09.123 Well, yeah. 664 00:26:11.148 --> 00:26:14.781 When I took the job, as it were, 665 00:26:14.781 --> 00:26:17.150 I thought that my, frankly, my relationship 666 00:26:17.150 --> 00:26:19.330 with Picard would be a little bit more. 667 00:26:19.330 --> 00:26:20.420 Uh-huh. 668 00:26:20.420 --> 00:26:24.430 I see now, in retrospect, that really 669 00:26:24.430 --> 00:26:28.560 Q's involvement is sort of as a catalyst 670 00:26:28.560 --> 00:26:31.750 to get events moving in certain directions 671 00:26:31.750 --> 00:26:34.050 and what have you, so as to be able to 672 00:26:34.050 --> 00:26:37.423 get us all the way to this end, 673 00:26:38.500 --> 00:26:41.123 which is what we're not gonna talk about. 674 00:26:42.490 --> 00:26:47.490 So that's, I know that's as much as I'm to say about it. 675 00:26:47.800 --> 00:26:52.410 I would say that telling me, we have an end to get to 676 00:26:52.410 --> 00:26:53.750 that we can't talk about-- 677 00:26:53.750 --> 00:26:54.583 - Right. 678 00:26:54.583 --> 00:26:55.830 is a fantastic tease. 679 00:26:55.830 --> 00:26:56.663 - Okay. 680 00:26:56.663 --> 00:26:59.450 And it will get all of us here and at home 681 00:26:59.450 --> 00:27:01.040 excited for the rest of the season. 682 00:27:01.040 --> 00:27:01.873 - Perfect. 683 00:27:01.873 --> 00:27:03.104 Thank you so much 684 00:27:03.104 --> 00:27:04.611 - for being here today. - Thank you, thank you. 685 00:27:04.611 --> 00:27:05.444 - It's nice to see you. 686 00:27:05.444 --> 00:27:06.744 - Yeah, it's great to see you, too. 687 00:27:26.500 --> 00:27:30.650 Star Trek fans everywhere lost our minds 688 00:27:30.650 --> 00:27:32.090 when we heard John de Lancie would be 689 00:27:32.090 --> 00:27:34.410 coming back as Q this season on Picard 690 00:27:34.410 --> 00:27:36.160 and with extremely good reason. 691 00:27:36.160 --> 00:27:38.720 With the ability to mess with matter, energy, 692 00:27:38.720 --> 00:27:40.930 time, and Picard's patience, 693 00:27:40.930 --> 00:27:43.650 Q brings...I guess we're gonna call it 694 00:27:43.650 --> 00:27:48.070 well-intentioned chaos, but chaos everywhere he goes. 695 00:27:48.070 --> 00:27:50.880 So if you're new to Q, or you need a refresher, 696 00:27:50.880 --> 00:27:53.170 or you just love him the way I do, 697 00:27:53.170 --> 00:27:56.320 here is everything you need to know about 698 00:27:56.320 --> 00:27:59.883 Next Generation's most unforgettable adversary. 699 00:28:02.870 --> 00:28:05.230 [Narrator] Season 2 of Star Trek: Picard sees 700 00:28:05.230 --> 00:28:08.360 the return of Q, an omnipotent and immortal 701 00:28:08.360 --> 00:28:11.570 god-like being first seen in the series premiere 702 00:28:11.570 --> 00:28:14.620 of Star Trek: The Next Generation. 703 00:28:14.620 --> 00:28:17.350 His reappearance is a harbinger of chaos 704 00:28:17.350 --> 00:28:20.093 with which Picard is all too familiar. 705 00:28:20.093 --> 00:28:22.220 Q! 706 00:28:22.220 --> 00:28:25.000 [Narrator] Here's a look at how Q has impacted Star Trek 707 00:28:25.000 --> 00:28:27.950 and what we know about who he truly is. 708 00:28:27.950 --> 00:28:31.063 The trial never ends. 709 00:28:36.200 --> 00:28:38.260 [Narrator] Q hails from the Q Continuum, 710 00:28:38.260 --> 00:28:40.720 an extra-dimensional plane of existence 711 00:28:40.720 --> 00:28:43.750 and home to Q's species, also called the Q 712 00:28:43.750 --> 00:28:45.380 or Q Continuum. 713 00:28:45.380 --> 00:28:49.520 The Q Continuum, existing for over four billion years 714 00:28:49.520 --> 00:28:52.770 are often bored by their endless lives. 715 00:28:52.770 --> 00:28:54.440 Occasionally, they create havoc 716 00:28:54.440 --> 00:28:56.560 among other races for amusement. 717 00:28:56.560 --> 00:28:59.900 The Q we know is an exemplary example. 718 00:28:59.900 --> 00:29:03.020 He's devious and amoral and unreliable 719 00:29:03.020 --> 00:29:04.970 and irresponsible, and... 720 00:29:06.995 --> 00:29:09.453 And definitely not to be trusted. 721 00:29:09.453 --> 00:29:11.780 [Narrator] But Q isn't the only member of his species 722 00:29:11.780 --> 00:29:12.960 seen in Star Trek. 723 00:29:12.960 --> 00:29:16.310 Truer words were never spoken. 724 00:29:16.310 --> 00:29:18.830 [Narrator] Q reveals in Star Trek: Voyager 725 00:29:18.830 --> 00:29:20.890 that he has a long-time partner, 726 00:29:20.890 --> 00:29:23.890 a female Q who shares his name. 727 00:29:23.890 --> 00:29:26.220 I never said it was exclusive. 728 00:29:26.220 --> 00:29:28.680 [Narrator] Eventually, they even had a son. 729 00:29:28.680 --> 00:29:31.870 But of course, Q's main human fascination 730 00:29:31.870 --> 00:29:34.900 has always been with Jean-Luc Picard. 731 00:29:34.900 --> 00:29:36.660 Because in all the universe, 732 00:29:36.660 --> 00:29:39.517 you're the closest thing I have to a friend, Jean-Luc. 733 00:29:41.240 --> 00:29:44.420 [Narrator] Often described as interfering and obnoxious, 734 00:29:44.420 --> 00:29:46.750 Q repeatedly takes it upon himself to 735 00:29:46.750 --> 00:29:50.010 challenge Picard and the crew of the Enterprise, 736 00:29:50.010 --> 00:29:50.843 I protest. 737 00:29:50.843 --> 00:29:52.840 I am not a Merry Man. 738 00:29:52.840 --> 00:29:54.770 [Narrator] always claiming good intentions 739 00:29:54.770 --> 00:29:57.560 towards humanity or Picard. 740 00:29:57.560 --> 00:30:01.035 And Q loves to steal the scene. 741 00:30:01.035 --> 00:30:03.496 He's back! 742 00:30:06.127 --> 00:30:08.010 [Narrator] Picard and Q's relationship is 743 00:30:08.010 --> 00:30:11.110 more complicated than simply foes, however. 744 00:30:11.110 --> 00:30:13.280 Temper, temper, mon capitaine. 745 00:30:13.280 --> 00:30:15.450 [Narrator] Q's tough love pushes Picard 746 00:30:15.450 --> 00:30:18.830 to reflect on his past, sometimes to his benefit. 747 00:30:18.830 --> 00:30:22.030 And regardless of Q's true motivations, 748 00:30:22.030 --> 00:30:24.560 watching him spar with Picard is one of the 749 00:30:24.560 --> 00:30:27.360 long-standing joys of Star Trek. 750 00:30:27.360 --> 00:30:29.794 And I am too old for your bulls***. 751 00:30:55.650 --> 00:30:57.610 After this week's episode of Star Trek: Picard, 752 00:30:57.610 --> 00:31:00.680 I have got to know if the crew will escape 753 00:31:00.680 --> 00:31:02.390 from being held at phaser point and 754 00:31:02.390 --> 00:31:04.340 find a way to change the past to avoid 755 00:31:04.340 --> 00:31:07.210 this truly horrifying future. 756 00:31:07.210 --> 00:31:08.970 Luckily, we have an exclusive clip 757 00:31:08.970 --> 00:31:10.590 from next week's episode to give us 758 00:31:10.590 --> 00:31:12.440 just a hint at what's in store. 759 00:31:12.440 --> 00:31:13.273 Check it out. 760 00:31:14.476 --> 00:31:16.724 [Computer] Shield strength at 44%. 761 00:31:16.724 --> 00:31:18.057 [Rios] Hold on! 762 00:31:39.981 --> 00:31:41.098 Allow me. 763 00:31:52.550 --> 00:31:55.081 Calculating temporal trajectory. 764 00:31:55.081 --> 00:31:58.810 Initiating tachyon splinter radiation bursts. 765 00:31:58.810 --> 00:32:00.373 Neutralizing threats. 766 00:32:03.509 --> 00:32:04.352 Whoa. 767 00:32:13.061 --> 00:32:13.894 What the-- 768 00:32:18.738 --> 00:32:19.571 Admiral? 769 00:32:22.979 --> 00:32:25.529 I'm no longer in command of this ship. 770 00:32:25.529 --> 00:32:27.300 I am thrilled you were able to join me here 771 00:32:27.300 --> 00:32:28.250 in The Ready Room today. 772 00:32:28.250 --> 00:32:30.520 Thank you for giving me a little bit of your time. 773 00:32:30.520 --> 00:32:32.180 Next week, we'll be breaking down the 774 00:32:32.180 --> 00:32:34.100 Star Trek: Discovery Season 4 finale, 775 00:32:34.100 --> 00:32:35.940 which will finally bring a close to 776 00:32:35.940 --> 00:32:38.080 the DMA storyline that's been percolating 777 00:32:38.080 --> 00:32:39.980 for the past 12 episodes. 778 00:32:39.980 --> 00:32:41.720 I have a feeling we're going to have 779 00:32:41.720 --> 00:32:44.730 one or two things that we want to talk about. 780 00:32:44.730 --> 00:32:47.204 Until then, I'm Wil Wheaton. 781 00:32:47.204 --> 00:32:49.137 Live long and prosper.