Star Trek: Everything We NOW Know About The Q Continuum

In 1966, William Campbell burst onto our screens as Trelane, the energetic and fiercely powerful demi-god, intent on having his fun no matter the cost. Why, it was all a lark, so what does it really matter if you're all my prisoners now? Though Kirk had his thoughts on the matter, this wouldn't be the last time Starfleet would encounter beings of near-omnipotence in their travels. 

Along the way we would meet Metrons and we would meet Organians. The Dowd would be dour, while the Vezda continue to puzzle. Through it all, there is but one Continuum.

The Q Continuum is almost as abstract as the original statement "Star Trek Is..." 

The Q Continuum is...a road? A battleground? An ever-changing empire ready to overpower mortality with a swish and a flick? There is so much that we now know, mixed with the tomes of lore we've yet to learn. 

The Q are at once eternal and not, evidenced by a certain 21st Century example (by way of an alternate 24th). They can experience pain and suffering, both physical and mental. They are not without conscience, though their fierce intelligence lifts them to lofty heights above us mere mortals.

Above all else, through matter manipulation and entertainment-via-torture, one must remember that to a Q, time is like a predator with no teeth. That is to say - sometimes we learn more as we travel farther backwards in time.

The Squire Of Gothos was an oddity for more than twenty years. The godlike child Trelane took Kirk and crew hostage, played jaunty tunes on his harpsichord, and to wrap up the day, he engaged in a game of duelling pistols. This might have been a standard Tuesday for him, but it was anything but for Starfleet.

The inspiration behind Trelane, created by Paul Schneider, was the image of children playing at war. Here was a being, godlike with his toys, but childlike in his understanding of consequence.

At the episode's conclusion, and after a couple of ornamental revelations, Trelane was given a good spanking by his cloudy-with-a-chance-of-green parents. He was, after all, just a bold boy, playing a little rough in the toybox. With his second appearance on screen, this childlike nature remained, even if the character has a new dimension in terms of familial connections. What does this mean for the biggest family of them all?

With his fabulous costumes, outdated research on Earth's history, and ever-winning smile (except for all of the losing), Trelane was unique in Star Trek's pantheon of gods and monsters. He then served to inspire the original named member of the vaulted Continuum.