show's creator Gene Roddenberry. Hurley later described the situation as a "misunderstanding" as the situation was subsequently resolved and proved to be a turning point for the series in how scripts were produced. Subsequently Roddenberry spent less time conducting detailed re-writes. Some of the elements of Hurley's original story expanded on the back story of Q's species, explaining that there were only three Qs but another hundred thousand residents on their planet who required relocation as the planet was dying. These elements didn't subsequently make it into any future episodes. The episode marked the return of John De Lancie as Q. Cliff Bole was returning as a director for the series, and knowing that de Lancie would appear as Q, Bole watched "Encounter at Farpoint" in order to maintain Q's tone. He found after shooting began that his research wasn't required as de Lancie slotted back into his previous role naturally. Bole later described the episode as "a lot of fun" and de Lancie as "a joy and a creative guy to work with". De Lancie would next return in the second season episode "Q Who". Meanwhile, the removal of the character of Deanna Troi from this episode alongside three other episodes made actress Marina Sirtis believe at the time that she was about to be cut from the show. Elaine Nalee guest starred as a female survivor, while William A. Wallace appeared as the adult Wesley Crusher. The theme of the episode, where a humanoid gains the powers of a god is a recurring theme from Star Trek: The Original Series, having featured in several episodes including the second pilot "Where No Man Has Gone Before" and "Charlie X". The most similar episode from TOS is "Plato's Stepchildren", where the character Alexander also rejects god-like powers in a similar manner to Riker in "Hide and Q". The premise would once again be revisited in the season six episode "True Q". Reception "Hide and Q" aired in broadcast syndication during the week commencing November 22, 1987. It received Nielsen ratings of 11.0, reflecting the percentage of all households watching the episode during its timeslot. This was higher than both the episodes broadcast before and afterwards. This episode was noted for the use of Shakespeare in the Star Trek franchise, in particular when Captain Picard talks to the Q entity. Several reviewers re-watched Star Trek: The Next Generation after the end