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The first paragraph needs a lot of work. It seems like it was written by someone new to memory-alpha (not that thats a bad thing, it just needs a little work). The preceding unsigned comment was added by Jaz (talk • contribs).

Frankly I'm surprised there's as much detail as there is. -LupusCCCLIX 08:17, 14 August 2007 (UTC)

"true" form[]

I find it unlikely for glowing humanonid shape to be a true from of Douwd. I'd personally bet an effect of discarding material form. The preceding unsigned comment was added by 83.29.171.91 (talk).

Question: Is this another name of the Q perhaps? Powers seem remarkably similar. He could have used a different name for his race to distance himself form the continuum for some reason? Any ideas? The preceding unsigned comment was added by Prince Inari (talk • contribs).
It would be speculation to state that these beings are Q, no matter how similar they are, as it was not stated in canon that they were the same.--31dot 20:45, 9 August 2009 (UTC)
Additionally, Q doesn't seem to have any problems manipulating either time (as evidenced in the STTNG finale) or life/death (as evidenced in the episode where he tries to recruit Riker - where both Worf and Wesley are killed onscreen). Kevin (the douwd) cannot truly resurrect his wife, only make a facsimile of her. The preceding unsigned comment was added by 67.43.113.88 (talk).

Corporeality[]

I have noticed that several editors on this wiki have made the assumption that they are non corporeal, despite the fact that this is never stated. They could easily be translucent powerful corproreal beings. So I removed the category “Non-corporeals” from the page as it was pure speculation, but this edit was undone twice. We should not label a species as non corporeal unless it is explicitly stated as such(ex: Organians, non corporeal Koinonians).--Anonymous 1029384756 (talk) 16:04, May 25, 2020 (UTC)

Information doesn't need to be spoonfed to us to make it true. Using your own argument, you are speculating that the Koinonians are non-corporeal because they were never stated to be non-corporeal... In fact, only 6 species have ever been specifically stated as being in-/non-corporeal.
In fact, even one reference to the term made it pretty clear the definition isn't as black and white as you are trying to make it: Question: "Was it non-corporeal?" Answer: "In a manner of speaking..." --Alan (talk) 21:27, May 25, 2020 (UTC)

I think I confused you. I think that assumption should not be made. The non corporeal Koinonians were stated to be as such. The Douwd were not. SO the Douwd should not be categorized as non-corporeal as that would be speculation.--Anonymous 1029384756 (talk) 11:36, May 26, 2020 (UTC)

I'm not confused about anything, I know exactly what I said, and I am TELLING YOU that you are clearly making the same assumption about the Koinonians as this article is making about the Douwd. The Koinonians WERE NEVER STATED to be non-corporeal. --Alan (talk) 12:35, May 26, 2020 (UTC)

I believe I was mistaken about the Koinonians. So then we should remove both species from the non corporeals category.--Anonymous 1029384756 (talk) 15:46, May 26, 2020 (UTC)

Then we go back to my original comment: information doesn't need to be spoonfed to us to make it true. Not every starship was identified by class or species that was humanoid was said to be a humanoid, but we can use common sense to figure out what is and what isn't. --Alan (talk) 15:55, May 26, 2020 (UTC)

What common sense dictates that the Douwd are non corporeal? I think common sense would suggest that they are corporeal.--Anonymous 1029384756 (talk) 13:27, May 28, 2020 (UTC)

For what it's worth, the Star Trek Encyclopedia describes the Douwd as "energy beings". --NetSpiker (talk) 03:08, May 29, 2020 (UTC)

That is not a TV source. Canon is what is in the TV series, movies, and Short treks. Its not like the Douwd passed through walls. There is no on screen evidence to indicate that the Douwd is non-corporeal. The Douwd even looks somewhat humanoid! Common sense dictates that the Douwd is a powerful Corporeal being made of solid translucent matter. Therefore, it is best to remove it form the category as it is not canon/confirmed and is also unlikely.--Anonymous 1029384756 (talk) 16:34, May 29, 2020 (UTC)

See MA:CANON and MA:RESOURCE. The Star Trek Encyclopedia may be used as a supplemental source of information to clarify what is seen or heard on-screen. -- Renegade54 (talk) 14:15, May 29, 2020 (UTC)
When was it stated that the Douwd are corporeal? - Archduk3 14:16, May 29, 2020 (UTC)
Or that he was composed of "solid translucent matter"? What kind of bullshit made up term is that... --Alan (talk) 14:30, May 29, 2020 (UTC)

It isn't a made up term, I am merely describing what I appear to see. Last time I checked many solid crystals are transparent or translucent. There are a plethora of other examples of translucent solids other than crystals (plastic, plexiglass, even dead skin). There are already other examples of clearly corporeal but powerful being with disguises that are translucent. Look no further than Encounter at farpoint with the space jellyfish. And even the term "energy beings" from the beta canon source could mean something else entirely. They do appear to radiate and use large amounts of energy. We don't know what a generic term such as "energy being" necessarily means. I think it is time to just remove the category as there is no 100% clear confirmation either way, therefore it is speculation.--Anonymous 1029384756 (talk) 00:58, May 30, 2020 (UTC)

Take the hint and learn to indent correctly, or admit you're incapable of taking a hint.
I'll also take your avoidance of my question as confirmation that you're assuming they are corporeal, and it isn't stated. That makes your argument, such as it is, circular at best. Maybe you should just accept the fact that humanoids glowing is sci-fi shorthand for non-corporeal so much so that there was even a whole episode about it. - Archduk3 01:23, May 30, 2020 (UTC)
Which again, the entire definition of what is non-corporeal has already been given Star Trek wild card per:
But since I'm repeating myself, you already knew that. --Alan (talk) 02:13, May 30, 2020 (UTC)

Allasomorphs are corporeal glowing translucent shapeshifters. Your argument is not valid. This is Star Trek, where beings glowing means that they are beings that glow and are likely powerful and might be non corporeal but also could not be. We must not let our biases get in the way of facts. I personally believe it is more likely that they are corporeal but I will not let that bias get in the way of the fact, which is that they could be either. They might be non corporeal. They might be corporeal. They might be Hologram AI. There really isn’t any explicit evidence either way. We should just say it is unknown whether they are corporeal or not. I’m bit asking to say they are corporeal as that would also be speculation in this uncertain case. It is unconfirmed either way. --Anonymous 1029384756 (talk) 14:27, June 1, 2020 (UTC)

There is always an exception that proves the rule, and "unknown" is not a category. Your argument might hold more water if I thought you could read, but since I know for a fact you couldn't have read and understood the help page I linked to since we're still fixing your posts, I'm not inclined to agree with your breaking a page for what could be solved with a single sentence background note, to say nothing of the point Alan has made twice already. - Archduk3 15:04, June 2, 2020 (UTC)
So this is blatantly wrong: "Its not like the Douwd passed through walls."
Once and for all, what actually happened was that he shed his human form in a burst of yellow light and appears as a blue, vaguely humanoid form for a split second, during his transition into nothingness, as he disappeared completely from sight. LaForge reports that he is magically in the turbolift, but we never saw him move and the doors never opened. Later, in Troi's quarters he is told by Picard he is free to go and the same sequence, Kevin glows bright yellow, is replaced with a blue glow man form, gone. Off the ship, as far as we needed to know.
In fact, the image of his so-called "true form" is almost misleading, as it is taking a frame out of context and treating it as if he moved about in that form all the time. There was no "translucent form" moving about, interacting with the crew. The split second blue form was just one part of his fade out, and was never seen a functioning form. It wasn't even portrayed as if it were his version of the Organians turning into balls of floating light that talked, nor is it much different than the blue flash of light that replaced Q whenever he appeared or disappeared. --Alan (talk) 13:05, June 6, 2020 (UTC)

What does teleportation have anything to do with passing through walls? This is Star Trek where transporters are a thing. He could have a mobile transporter device with him. The Q also seem to possess a portable transporter technology which we cannot see. This is nothing new. A being can’t teleport without technology anyway, regardless of whether they are made of Solid, liquid, gas, plasma, or another state of matter. We do not know whether the Douwd are corporeal or not. It should be stated to be unknown on the wiki or the article could just have no reference to corporeality at all. --Anonymous 1029384756 (talk) 19:11, June 6, 2020 (UTC)

Holy Hell, I cannot deal with level of incompetence anymore. Stop inventing things to justify you pet theories, like stupid ass Q transporters... Really? So just stop doing what you are doing because it's not going to work... --Alan (talk) 20:40, June 6, 2020 (UTC)

I am not making things up, it is called speculating. If the Q don’t have transporter devices, then how would they be able to appear out of thin air. There is no such thing as magic. The Q are a race of aliens with highly advanced technology including technology which lets them teleport. The Douwd likely used technology to teleport as there is no other way this could be possible. Ironically, I am not the incompetent one here. It is incompetent to suggest that an alien could just magically teleport without some form of technology. That is an incompetent statement. I am beginning to think you aren’t even paying attention to what you’re saying and instead taken a liking to bullying and harassing me. There is a “no personal attacks” rule. I feel like I am starting to be personally attacked. You shouldn’t let your personal dislike of me influence how you interpret my statements relating to content on this wiki. It is ridiculous that you call me incompetent when I stated that the Q use technology. Of course they use technology. There is no such thing as magic. --Anonymous 1029384756 (talk) 21:41, June 6, 2020 (UTC)

The Q and the Douwd have never been depicted using technology. They do what they do using the power of their own thoughts. You can call it magic or you can call it psionics, but it's definitely not technology.
KEVIN: I could have destroyed them with a mere thought, but I did not do so.
LAFORGE: Redefine gravity? How am I supposed to do that?
Q: You just do it.
--NetSpiker (talk) 05:39, June 7, 2020 (UTC)

I agree with Anonymous 1029384756. An assumption of non corporeality cannot be definitely made. It IS speculation. I cannot believe the counter arguments used in this article. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS MAGIC. This is a Sci-fi show, not a fantasy show. Also being non corporeal has no direct correlation with strange powers. The Q are clearly corporeal and they teleport, likely via technology. A non corporeal being would also need technology to teleport. Even non corporeal beings are made of matter. However I think their is not enough evidence to assume non Corporeality in this situation. I believe the Douwd look too humanoid to be non corporeal. I believe they are translucent and poses great technology and some members of the species have cybernetic implants which are linked to their thoughts. --38.132.116.46 01:30, July 3, 2020 (UTC)

First of all, there is such a thing as magic in the Star Trek universe. There was even a whole episode about it: TAS: "The Magicks of Megas-Tu". Secondly, did you not read my previous post? I already explained that the Q and the Douwd do what they do using the power of their own thoughts and provided evidence to support that. There is no evidence that they have cybernetic implants. Thirdly, it's obvious that you're Anonymous 1029384756 using a false IP address. You use exactly the same arguments as Anonymous and you even write sentences in all caps just like he did in another thread. When I told you how to evade your block, I thought you would continue the discussion in an honest way, not create false identities to make it look like there are other people agreeing with you. Now I regret helping you. --NetSpiker (talk) 02:05, July 3, 2020 (UTC)
You're wasting your time NS. We all do. --Alan (talk) 02:08, July 3, 2020 (UTC)

Cleanup and addressing the issues on the talk page[]

Although this discussion has died down, I fully agree with the position that "The Survivors" never establishes Kevin Uxbridge as non-corporeal, or an energy creature, or that the glow we see is his "true form". This is all entirely speculation and to the user(s) claiming it's obvious and doesn't have to be spoonfed, my responses is that what is obvious to you may not be obvious or even true to other fans.

The "true form" of humans is not blue speckles even though that's what humans look like using the process they use for instant transportation (the federation transporter) nor is a "white flash of light" obviously the true form of the Q just because that's what Q's human form turns into while he's disappearing.

The glow may simply represent an intermediate stage of the dematerialization of Kevin's body. The process does not halt on this glowing form at all to even attempt to suggest this is him intentionally showing Picard his true form. Further, the two times he disappears, it's not even quite the same as is clear from the screenshots in this article. The first time it's patchy blue energy and the second time it's yellow and doesn't seem nearly as patchy.

The episode unfortunately makes it unclear how Kevin travels in those two instances because the first time, they note that he's in the turbolift - but the second time, it seems like he travels back to the planet from the ship - so if he can travel all the way to the planet, why does he need to use the turbolift- this perhaps makes the slightest bit more sense if he is in fact non-corporeal and turning into an energy state to move into the turbolift before moving onward to Troi's quarters rather than instantly transporting there, but even as an energy being, one would imagine he should be able to just go through the floor and not need the turbo. It is not sufficiently clear what's going on to justify coming to any sort of conclusion.

I have elected a compromise position of referencing the possibility that the Douwd may be non-corporeal and that the images may be his true form. I think that is the reasonable course of action. TheHYPO (talk) 07:35, 8 September 2022 (UTC)

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