Star Trek: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Q
7. The Production Staff Hated The Idea Of The Character (At First)
As one of the most well-remembered (and decently beloved) characters in Trek history, it seems almost surreal to consider that, when the idea of the character was first mentioned, many members of the production team were less than excited about the prospect.
In The Fifty Year Mission: The Next 25 Years, David Gerrold retold this story, explaining how worries arose that Q was too similar to Trelane, a character who had appeared in the original series. He says "we all hated it, and very gently suggested to Gene that it wasn't very good."
Mercifully, these concerns were abated when Q appeared on screen, due to a mixture of John De Lancie's sublime acting capabilities, and the fact that the character was... well, just good plain old fun. It was a risk for sure, but mercifully one we can now say paid off.
This is perhaps the only case where those involved were glad their first feelings were wrong, as Q became so much more than just a copy of Trelane - to the point that Trelane ended up being later retconned into being another member of the Q Continuum.