# star trek character Q whats up with the facial makeup? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 27, 2010, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-character-q-whats-up-with-the-facial-makeup/548171 "2010-07-27T12:54:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rigor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a5b964/32.png) [@rigor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rigor)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-character-q-whats-up-with-the-facial-makeup/548171/1 "2010-07-27T12:54:52Z")
tried to Google the answer to this but I cannot find the answer. I imagine there is a star trek writers bible that would cover it question: why does Q have the dark appearance and black/bluish shade in his lips ? it seems to vary over the various star trek franchises Im wondering if its because Q does not have a circulatory system, or has blood that is colored blue or black, or simply he is suffering from Hypoxemia ? is Q a vampire? is he the undead? I knew someone with hypoxemia and he looked like Q ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-character-q-whats-up-with-the-facial-makeup/548171/2 "2010-07-27T13:27:04Z")
In his first appearance? In the robes, with the black hat? If IRC, he defines his outfit, as a judge from post WWIII era Earth governments. I assumed the make-up was part of the style for judges at the time. At other times, in other outfits, he seems to have normal coloration – you know, he looks like the actor John DeLancie. 🙂 Funny how, at the very last episode, after Picard does … well, whatever he was supposed to do, Q starts taking off the outfit, pulling off the gloves and throwing them down as if to say, “Finally, I’m done with playing dress up to make a point” or maybe Jon DeLancie is finally relieved, I can’t tell which. ---
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-character-q-whats-up-with-the-facial-makeup/548171/3 "2010-07-27T13:30:34Z")
**rigor** , can you link to a picture of what you’re talking about? As **Arkcon** said, Q usually looks like a normal person. ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-character-q-whats-up-with-the-facial-makeup/548171/4 "2010-07-27T13:36:49Z")
Missed edit window Reference here: > **[Encounter at Farpoint (episode)](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Encounter_at_Farpoint_(episode))** > > Captain Jean-Luc Picard leads the crew of the USS Enterprise-D on its maiden voyage, to examine a new planetary station for trade with the Federation. On the way, they encounter Q, an omnipotent extra-dimensional being, who challenges Humanity as a... ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-character-q-whats-up-with-the-facial-makeup/548171/5 "2010-07-27T14:45:28Z")
I agree that the purple-lips bit is just when he takes the guise of a judge. All other appearances he looks like a perfectly normal human. ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-character-q-whats-up-with-the-facial-makeup/548171/6 "2010-07-27T14:55:03Z")
> [@Arkcon](#): > > Reference here: > > [Encounter at Farpoint (episode) | Memory Alpha | Fandom](http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Encounter_at_Farpoint_(episode)#Act_Three) I don’t see how this link helps. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-character-q-whats-up-with-the-facial-makeup/548171/7 "2010-07-27T15:15:12Z")
And the other members of the Q Continuum we saw looked like humans, also. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-character-q-whats-up-with-the-facial-makeup/548171/8 "2010-07-27T15:23:03Z")
Since this is about a character from a TV show, it’s better suited for CS. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-character-q-whats-up-with-the-facial-makeup/548171/9 "2010-07-27T16:43:52Z")
> [@ianzin](#): > > > [@Arkcon](#): > > > > Reference here: > > > > [Encounter at Farpoint (episode) | Memory Alpha | Fandom](http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Encounter_at_Farpoint_(episode)#Act_Three) > > I don’t see how this link helps. Just helping out the O.P., google may have failed, and wikipedia demands notability, but a wikia dedicated to a TV show often has tons of trivia ready for someone with obscure questions. From that article: > [@](#): > > Then, the stardrive section is soon encompassed by a sphere-shaped force field and bright white light surrounds the battle bridge. Now, Picard, Troi, Data and Yar are taken to a _ **World War III-style courtroom** _, which Troi reveals that everything that is happening is real, even the soldiers with lethal weapons. \*emphasis mine So yeah, Q isn’t sick, that’s how they dress post WWIII. Gene Rodenburry said so, and you can’t deny it. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Yesterdog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/d07c76/32.png) [@Yesterdog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yesterdog)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-character-q-whats-up-with-the-facial-makeup/548171/10 "2010-07-27T16:49:42Z")
> [@Turek](#): > > And the other members of the Q Continuum we saw looked like humans, also. I was about to interject here and say that they _chose_ to look like humans, but after a quick think about it, I’m not so sure. They did however chose to have the Continuum appear the way it did so humans could understand it. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-character-q-whats-up-with-the-facial-makeup/548171/11 "2010-07-27T17:04:15Z")
> [@Yesterdog](#): > > They did however chose to have the Continuum appear the way it did so humans could understand it. I agree. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-character-q-whats-up-with-the-facial-makeup/548171/12 "2010-07-27T17:24:38Z")
> **[Q (Star Trek) Photo: Q - Judge](https://www.fanpop.com/clubs/q-star-trek/images/10759424/title/q-judge-photo)** > > Photo of Q - Judge for fans of Q (Star Trek). Here’s some images of the character. I seem to recall that the lips looked darker as aired, but I’m old, and the memory isn’t what it used to be. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-character-q-whats-up-with-the-facial-makeup/548171/13 "2010-07-27T17:40:20Z")
It was the eighties. _Everything_ was a little bit gay, and a bit of make-up on John de Lancie isn’t even the gayest thing ST:TNG did in its first few seasons. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-character-q-whats-up-with-the-facial-makeup/548171/14 "2010-07-27T18:23:08Z")
The boring answer would be that they designed the character with the pale lips, but decided it looked bad and changed it. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-character-q-whats-up-with-the-facial-makeup/548171/15 "2010-07-27T18:42:42Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > The boring answer would be that they designed the character with the pale lips, but decided it looked bad and changed it. I’ll bet your one of those hecklers who likes to explain to the kids how the illusion is achieved while the Magician is still performing on the stage, right? party pooper. ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-character-q-whats-up-with-the-facial-makeup/548171/16 "2010-07-27T18:44:42Z")
Or they simply didn’t make him up properly, ran out of what they needed for his skin type, bad lighting on the set, any or all of the above. Hey, it was early in the run, no one knew this was going to reboot the franchise, this could have tanked after 5 episodes. The budget probably wasn’t small, but it might have been stretched thin, here and there. There are pretty obvious makeup changes, as the series progressed. When Will grew the beard, that wasn’t all that changed, everyone else seemed a litlle bit … warmer. THere were more closeups too. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-character-q-whats-up-with-the-facial-makeup/548171/17 "2010-07-27T18:48:36Z")
> [@Arkcon](#): > > When Will grew the beard, that wasn’t all that changed, Yeah, he got tubby. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-character-q-whats-up-with-the-facial-makeup/548171/18 "2010-07-27T18:55:48Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > > [@Arkcon](#): > > > > When Will grew the beard, that wasn’t all that changed, > > Yeah, he got tubby. 🙂 BBC America is re-running them, and I only barely pay attention, because I’ve seen them so many times, they’re boring. And dated. But I hadn’t noticed that. I will have to look for that. The endless evolution of Deanna is also a worthwhile study. It would be interesting to see the point where director goes, “Okay, we get it. You’re exotic and foreign and alien and all that. Now, thin the accent enough so that you’re not mumbling” It must have happened a bit before the roles given to her were fleshed out a bit more, and more interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-character-q-whats-up-with-the-facial-makeup/548171/19 "2010-07-27T19:03:16Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > > [@Marley23](#): > > > > The boring answer would be that they designed the character with the pale lips, but decided it looked bad and changed it. > > I’ll bet your one of those hecklers who likes to explain to the kids how the illusion is achieved while the Magician is still performing on the stage, right? > > party pooper. Just offered it in case the OP wanted a potential answer (and it’s just speculation) to go along with the variations on “a wizard did it.” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-character-q-whats-up-with-the-facial-makeup/548171/20 "2010-07-27T19:54:52Z")
> [@Arkcon](#): > > Or they simply didn’t make him up properly, ran out of what they needed for his skin type, bad lighting on the set, any or all of the above. Hey, it was early in the run, no one knew this was going to reboot the franchise, this could have tanked after 5 episodes. The budget probably wasn’t small, but it might have been stretched thin, here and there. There are pretty obvious makeup changes, as the series progressed. When Will grew the beard, that wasn’t all that changed, everyone else seemed a litlle bit … warmer. THere were more closeups too. This is what I always thought. I had the same question the OP did. Seems to me that he may have some medical ailment that we simply don’t know about! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-character-q-whats-up-with-the-facial-makeup/548171.md?page=2)