Michael Chabon: “Q&A” was Originally a Two-Episode Package with Number One’s Last Day

"Michael Chabon" by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Michael Chabon has revealed that his original pitch for the Star Trek Short Treks episode “Q&A” was to include a depiction of Number One’s last day on the Enterprise. Chabon, of course, is the showrunner for Star Trek: Picard, and has written Short Treks before. His previous entry in the series was last year’s “Calypso”.

In an interview with SYFY WIRE, Chabon discussed the evolution of his story “Q&A”, the first of this year’s Short Treks. He explained that it’s his version of fanfiction, and a way to work through a Watsonian - or in-universe - explanation for why Spock’s character changes so much from the unaired Original Series pilot “The Cage” to the actual Original Series debut episode “The Man Trap”. He said, “This is licensed and approved and maybe that invalidates its status as fanfiction, but I don't think so. I'm just sharing this with all my fellow fans out there who have always wondered about these questions. [...] There was a Doylist [or real-world] explanation for why Spock is so, so different. But, the one thing that just can't be explained is from a Watsonian point-of-view was that; like what is with Spock? It's that smile. [...] In the extra-fictional sense, Spock took over Number One's personality. And if we're going to really plunge into them and they're going to be co-existing with each other, we need to account for that."

Chabon also explained he originally pitched “Q&A” as a two-episode story. According to SYFY WIRE, “The first idea is what became ‘Q&A’: Spock's first day on the Enterprise. But [Chabon] also reveals that he pitched a Short Treks that would depict Number One's last day on the Enterprise, too.” Chabon seemed hopeful that that might still happen, saying, “Maybe I'll get to write the second part.”

Star Trek Short Treks “Q&A” is available to stream now, exclusively on CBS All Access in the United States and on Crave in Canada.

This article was written for the podcast Daily Star Trek News.

Alison Pitt is the writer, producer, and host of Daily Star Trek News, on the Roddenberry Podcast Network. A veteran Star Trek podcaster, she started her career on the weekly show Priority One: A Roddenberry Star Trek Podcast in 2015. She has appeared on panels at Star Trek Las Vegas, WonderCon, and San Diego Comic Con.