TrekCore.com posted an interview with actor John DeLancie (Q) and here is an excerpt.



TrekCore: In that respect then, when you filmed the pilot, did the director Corey Allen just take a back seat and let you roll with it?

John de Lancie: Uh, yes. To the extent… the only place that Corey and I had a difference of opinion – not that, I mean we were all very friendly so it was just a difference of opinion – is that Corey wanted Q to be straighter than I thought he should be. I always felt that Q was more of a god, an omnipotent being with clay feet… No, sorry – an omnipotent being who was too stupid to know it! Or, a god with clay feet. Or, a supremely confident person who privately was really insecure. Those were the things that I thought were… and because I got a second chance, you began to see it later on.

TrekCore: Why do you feel that Q didn’t return to Deep Space Nine after your one appearance there? I understand that it was a very different cast to work with than The Next Generation.

John de Lancie: Uh-huh. First of all, they were only bringing me back once a year, so that was that. I don’t think that that episode ['Q-Less'] was a particularly successful episode because from the point of fact that… the episode was low on philosophy. Q works best when there’s a big philosophical issue… and whether Q loves Vash or not just isn’t. I think that once the writers saw that there was sort of a comedic flair, they began writing to it, to which I would say “Please don’t do that. I can undercut, I can spoof, I can give a wink and a nod. But if you start writing me comedic, I don’t have anywhere to go.”



TrekCore: I know your son Keegan did an acting turn in Star Trek: Voyager amongst others, but he’s since said in an interview that you were relieved he went into a career route other than showbusiness. Why was that do you think?

John de Lancie: Well, I think that he’s eminently qualified to do what he’s doing. He’s in the state department – he’s an Arab expert, a Middle East expert. You know, there’s all of that. I think it’s an important job, I think it actually helps people in a very concrete sort of way, as opposed to helping people in an escapist sort of way. And I think his talents are much better used in that area. You know, the acting world is not a particularly happy experience for the vast majority of actors. The irony is that most actors knew at the age of 14 that they wanted to be actors, and they get to do it not nearly as much as they’d like to - while people who don’t have any clue as to what they want to do at the age of 25 are doing whatever they’re doing every day. I’m delighted that both of my sons are in other fields, I think that they will get a great deal more satisfaction out of their lives.

I totally agree with this. The weird thing is that in DS9 there were tons of opportunities to explore philosophical issues where Q would nicely fit in.

For example, what would the Continuum do if the Dominion took over the Alpha+Beta quadrants thus controlling around 50~75% of the galaxy? Not that the Dominion was any threat to the Q, but they would definitely mess with the "natural order" of things. Or perhaps Q could show Sisko a parallel universe where the Dominion control the galaxy and all fighting has ceased etc. Anyway, I don't know, but I think DS9 should have used Q a lot more.