And so goes the introduction of the much hyped Ferengi. Not a bad idea to build up curiosity and apprehension over three episodes by mentioning them in passing. After all, the Klingons were the good guys now, so they had to come up with some kind of reoccurring nemeses. But, alas, they just continued to shoot themselves in the feet. These skittish little troll-like creatures were supposed to be fearsome and were only comical.
And after what seemed like set improvements, we're back to barren landscapes and light filtered atmospheres with mysterious people that aren't really there but are there as well and there's not much explanation for how it all works, cuz in the end the portal person is harmless and we've all learned a lesson in compassion and tolerance... or something like that.
And have you ever noticed how in these early episodes the faces on the view screen are gigantic?
Also, in this case there wasn't even any attempt at background behind the Ferengi on the view screen, just bright white light. It was a very cheesy effect, like the planet scape and the portal guardian. Please don't misunderstand, I like corny and cheesy. If this blog were primarily about Dark Shadows or Star Trek TOS, I would be squealing with delight over the campy effects, simplistic stories, and endings that are befitting of an after school special. But it was out of place in 1987. The episode had an air of childishness, from the Chinese finger puzzle gags
Armin Shimerman, who went on to play Quark in Star Trek DS9, played Letek in this episode and was quoted as saying of his performance,
I was pretty much playing over-the-top villain - that turned out to be very comical. I thought I was being serious, but obviously, it was not serious. It's because there was no subtlety to the performance, there was no attempt to try to give them some real cajones ... It was bad acting. It was just bad acting. They liked it, god bless them, Star Trek liked it.
Of course they liked it though. The mindset of the show was still stuck int he 60's. There was a lot of immaturity and inconsistency as well. (Ex. the crystal formations would suck up phaser energy but not the energy produced by the whips?) There was also this rush to pile as many subjects into an episode as possible with Dr. Crusher wondering if Wesley should be sedated for his death. Trying to go over serious philosophical matter while the little troll people are hissing and going on about how women shouldn't wear clothes is kind of a chaotic form of story telling.
However, a lot of good came out of this episode, including the remarks about how the Ferengi keep their females naked. I guess there's a genuine beauty of throwing stuff up against the wall to see what sticks. The development of the Ferengi race was painfully slow over the course of the seven seasons of TNG and didn't get any real traction until DS9, but it's a mark of the wonderful creative process that they filed away in their memories these lines, probably meant to be humorous in the same juvenile way they'd been handling episodes up to now, to be used later to aide in the more complex development of this race.
It was also a turning point for Geordi.
Having his character report from engineering impressed everyone and it planted the seeds for moving him into the chief engineer spot. I understand that Roddenberry wanted the beautiful metaphor of the blind man flying the ship, but placing Geordi in the chief engineer position was one of the keys to the success of this show.
And I have to admit, I liked those energy whips. They were a good idea that need some tweaking perhaps, but they were really cool. Wasted on the poor hapless Ferengi in attempt to make them menacing, but what a great idea. I wish they could've re-purposed them in another race and culture later down the line with the explanation being that the Ferengi purchased them from this other race that made them and used them in a believably sadistic manner.
I can give this episode 3 stars I think. It was silly and a little boring, but it was benign and ultimately helpful in character development.
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