Fans have come to think of Trelayne as a proto-Q - it's very easy for all of us (and even writers such as Peter David) with the clarity of hindsight to recast this adolescent superbeing as some sort of teenager from the Q Continuum. Or maybe it's just the fact that William Campbell's performance as Trelayne is so over-the-top that it reminds of the calm, understated performances of John DeLancie. Is there anything about this episode that isn't cringe-inducing, though? From the 'Tally ho!' message that the Enterprise receives to the comical 'boing!' sound effects Trelayne's machine makes when it's destroyed, there seems to be no escape from the crazy here. And the irony is that, according to IMDB, Roddy McDowell was originally intended for this role but was decided against because they didn't want the character to appear gay. Whew! Good thing they spared us from that, right? Campbell is so much more butch! Nothing embarrassing there at all!
Tony Whitt has previously written TV, DVD, and comic reviews for CINESCAPE, NOW PLAYING, and iF MAGAZINE. His weekly COMICSCAPE columns from the early 2000s can still be found archived on Mania.com. He has also written a book of gay-themed short stories titled CRESCENT CITY CONNECTIONS, available on Amazon.com in both paperback and Kindle format. Whitt currently lives and works in Chicago, Illinois.
