How Gene Roddenberry developed Deja Q

One of the great lessons that I learned about Roddenberry's vision came about three or four weeks after I got on the staff. It was about a Q show called Suddenly Human [eventually Deja Q]. The story was about Q coming aboard The Enterprise and pretending he had lost his powers, and taking The Enterprise on a wild goose chase around the universe.

And we went into Gene, we pitched Gene, I said, 'And it's a wild goose chase around the universe and it all turns out to be a Q joke on the crew.'

And Gene says, very simply, 'Well, yeah, but what's it about?'

And I said, 'Well, it's about a wild goose chase, Gene.'

'What is it about? If you want to really tell a story about a god who must find out what it's like to be mortal, then tell that story. But all you're telling me now,' he said, 'is just stuff, it has no theme.'

So, ever since that meeting with Gene I never go into a meeting with any writer on any project without asking the fundamental question, 'What's it about?' And I think that every good Star Trek episode answers that question with a second level, a theme. I think as writers, we have an obligation to explore life, to provoke thought, and that's what that question, 'What's it about?' means.