Q is for . . . Q

 

Who would’ve ever thought that the letter Q could give rise to not one but two memorable fictional characters?  Well, not me, but then, I guess that’s why I’m not raking in gazillions of dollars writing movies and/or television.  But, surprising or not, I do have a fondness for two distinct Qs.

First, there’s Q of the Q Continuum.  A highly entertaining character from Star Trek, Q was brought to life by John de Lancie.  He appeared in three of the Trek incarnations, including Voyager, and Deep Space Nine, but I always preferred seeing him on The Next Generation.  A member of a highly advanced race, Q usually came across as a bored schoolboy, out to see what sort of trouble he could cause.  He was arrogant, and petulant, demanding and reckless.  He was also a lot of fun.  Even though he caused a lot of trouble for the various Federation crews, the captains all seemed to have something of a soft spot for him.  And who could blame them?  He brought a bit of whimsy into those long and sometimes tedious expanses of space, and—for a troublemaker—it usually seemed that his heart was in essentially the right place.  That’s the sort of nemesis a person could grow to love.


Then, there’s Q of Bond-film fame.  Technically, of course, he came first, but I’m a Trek girl, remember?  So of course the space alien comes before the haughty but friendly secret service agent.

In this particular instance, Q is not so much an actual name as a job description turned nickname.  It’s short for Quartermaster, and he’s the guy responsible for outfitting 007 with nifty gadgets. 

There have been a few Qs through the years, but Desmond Llewelyn was always my favorite.  He seemed the perfect foil for the suave and debonair Bond, and I enjoyed their scenes together.  In just a few days, I’ll meet the new Q for the first time.  He’s played by a young actor named Ben Whishaw, and all I really know about him is that he’s young.  It’s going to be interesting to see how that dynamic works.

So there you have it, some interesting characters with a one-letter name.  Both of them are engaging and endearing in their own way, and each just a little bit (or a lot) quirky, so they pack a lot of punch into that one letter.

I’m linking up today with Mrs. Nesbitt over at ABC Wednesday, and I invite you to go quickly to her quadrant of the internet to find more than your quota of quality Q posts from today.