10 Star Trek Episodes That Never Got Made

Of the various unmade Q stories on Star Trek, the most intriguing is Ronald D. Moore's idea for what would happen if Q lost his mind. The result of this omnipotent trickster god losing his grip on his sanity would have had a devastating effect on the fabric of reality itself. In his memo, Moore pitched an incredibly surreal cold-open to the episode.

It would begin with Jean-Luc Picard walking down a contemporary New York street, still in Starfleet uniform but carrying a briefcase. Across the street, Will Riker was banging a loaf of bread against a building. Meanwhile a knight in shining armour is the local police officer whilst a Klingon cab driver cruises past Picard. The camera pans across to an alleyway where a dishevelled Q, in tattered clothes and living on the street mumbles "I used to be a superbeing!"

The writing team were behind Moore's wild vision for a Q episode, but it was eventually vetoed by the producers. It was potentially too weird for a network television audience, but the concept of Q unravelling the universe as he unravels mentally is a strong one that is prime for revisiting.