Warning! The following contains spoilers for the Star Trek: Picard Season 2 episode “Watcher.” Read at your own risQ!
Star Trek: Picard featured a lot of surprises and familiar faces in its latest episode, “Watcher.” Fans saw not only actor Kirk Thatcher reprise his role as the punk on a bus from Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, but also Ito Aghayere making her debut as a younger Guinan. Those moments were definitely highlighted and celebrated by Trek fans, but one that might’ve slid under the radar for many was the cameo role played by Impractical Jokers star Brian “Q” Quinn.
Brian Quinn, who has been working with the rest of the Impractical Jokers cast on moving forward with Season 10 following the surprise departure of Joe Gatto, apparently had the time and enviable opportunity to make a brief stop by the set of Star Trek: Picard when the show was filming Season 2. Quinn complimented various members of the cast and crew in a recent post on Instagram, and he shared a bit of trivia that many fans probably weren’t aware of.
As mentioned above, Star Trek: Picard co-showrunner Terry Matalas snuck in a little easter egg related to his works. Brian Quinn’s character Dale, who appeared briefly in a scene to take custody of Guinan’s dog, also appeared in Matalas' past dramas, including 12 Monkeys and MacGyver. Quinn even added that Impractical Jokers fans will get to see his character Dale appear in an upcoming episode of their prank show, so there’s a lot happening in the “DaleVerse,” as Quinn called it. If it also happens to involve Lea Thompson, all the better
There’s an added layer in Brian Quinn’s cameo for Star Trek fans in that his more familiar moniker known to Impractical Jokers fans is Q, so it seems like no coincidence he’d cameo in the season of Picard that involves John de Lancie’s Q, and his potential motives for drastically altering the timeline. I personally had a wild theory that Quinn’s character was part of the Q Continuum and that Quinn’s casting was a subtle easter egg confirming that. It turns out I was right that there was some significance to his character Dale, but I was off-base in terms of what multiverse was actually being expanded upon.
Brian Quinn’s Star Trek: Picard cameo came at a great time for Impractical Jokers, as it happened just over a week before the truTV series' first episode after Joe Gatto's exit. Impractical Jokers will press on with actor Eric Andre in the return special, and continue to feature other celebrities (like wrestler Chris Jericho) to fill the fourth slot in Gatto's place throughout Season 10. I’m crossing my fingers and toes this means we might soon learn Patrick Stewart joined the crew for an episode of pranks, but I’m not holding my breath.
Star Trek: Picard streams new episodes on Paramount+ on Thursdays. Pick up a Paramount+ subscription to watch it, as well as all the other new Star Trek, shows coming in 2022.
