If the shuttle Quark's Treasure had any replicators on it, he might be able to replicate even more gold to increase his personal wealth or otherwise screw with the world economy.The Enterprise is held in an energy field above a planet in the Delphi Ardu system after chasing a Ferengi ship which has stolen a device from an unmanned outpost. The Ferengi are fierce warriors with enormous heads, heads so large that they occupy the entire forward viewscreen on the bridge of the Enterprise. Perhaps the two crews can meet on the surface and work together!ĭata likens the Ferengi to Yankee traders, those famed avatars of extreme commerce! Yes, Yankee traders! The Ferengi should not be construed as a recasting of tropes associated with another cultural identity associated with avarice and - say, is that shiny thing gold? In a moment, both ships will learn that they are held from the planet, and that the field is rapidly draining both ships’ energy reserves. What’s this? Portal 63 of the Tkon Empire would like a word with you newcomers, here amidst the papier-mache rocks of the planetary surface. Turns out, it’s a lonely thing to be a door left unused for millenia. The door, of course, has the perspicacity to see that the Federation is highly evolved, while the short, capering, large-eared Ferengi are less so.Īrmin Shimerman appears for the first time in Trek as Letek, leader of the Ferengi away team. Mike Gomez portrays DaiMon Tarr, the Ferengi captain. The Great Bird of the Galaxy appears on the navigation console of the Enterprise during the shot illustrating the mysterious scan through of the vessel’s databanks. Memory Alpha, as is par for these season one episodes, has a great deal more information on the episode and production. I was pleasantly surprised to be pleasantly surprised by this episode. I don’t think it’s a retread, and while a great deal of information on Ferengi culture is alluded to and introduced here, for the most part the Ferengi are presented as odd, formidable, and alien, rather than as comedic but menacing foils (although that happens too). The directorial choice of presenting DaiMon Tarr’s head in extreme closeup but behind the Enterprise crew echoes some of the techniques used in both The Prisoner and in the tunnel sequence in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory to represent dislocation and propagandistic dominance. I don’t think this is ever used again in TNG I found it both effective and silly. The dialog makes a throwaway reference to this. The script gestures hesitantly toward the A/B or even A/B/C plot structure that would become the hallmark of TNG with the introduction of the finger trap business and with the presentation of the crew, Captain Picard, and Dr. Crusher aboard the Enterprise while the away team struggles with the Ferengi and Portal 63 planetside. TOS used this dual-plot technique on several occasions, of course. Recycled plot elements from TOS include the timeless guardian (Mr.

Latinum element