[Nate the Great]

January 12th, 1967, "The Squire of Gothos"

Memory Alpha
Transcript

Prologue: Since according to canon Q and Trelane have nothing to do with each other (although I do recommend the book "Q-Squared" if you haven't read it), I will attempt to limit my judgements of Trelane's power to the episode itself. Too bad, because strictly using the episode results in a much lower power level for Trelane than a Q.

The episode:

* Last time I mention Q, honest. But I have to say that Q always seemed both to be in control and actually having fun messing around with the crew. But I suppose Trelane is a child and can't be expected to have the same maturity. But I have to say, that makes him more terrifying. When Trelane is in charge, he's friendly. Anything goes wrong, anything at all, and he flips his lid and becomes even more unpredictable than Q.
* So did Trelane's observations include sound or not? If it did, he should know that food has taste. If it doesn't, did he read all of those documents to know people's names, the vocabulary, etc. Isn't it a shame when a nit can't be resolved without either raising further questions or making an episode's premise untenable?
* A "star desert". Technically possible, but I always wince at that line, it's so silly.
* I hope the planet moving around is merely Trelane fooling the sensors. Even if you were to somehow put a forcefield around a planet to hold it together, the sheer amount of power required to shove it around like a billiard ball would put Trelane in the same league as the Iconians, and that I can't buy.
* Food without flavor. Makes me wonder what that stuff is really made from.
* Bit of an anticlimax, isn't it? I hate the episodes where the resolution could technically happen at any time but a sufficient amount of film has to be spent on messing around before it can come.

Memory Alpha:

* Once again the question of how far in the future we are has come to rear its ugly head. I've said it before and I'll say it again, this stuff should've been in the series bible by the time of the second pilot, if not the first.
* The first appearance of DeSalle, who held three different postings on board in various episodes: navigator, biologist, and engineer. Once again it could support the idea of junior officers being in some sort of duty rotation. Sulu, Chekov, Wesley, even Hogan on Voyager could support this.