Star Trek DS9 - Season 5 - Episode 20
Star Trek DS9 - 5x20 - Ferengi Love Songs
Originally Aired: 1997-4-21
Synopsis:
Quark returns home and discovers some shocking secrets about his mother. [DVD]
Filler Quotient:
0, not filler, do not skip this episode.
- As silly as the story can be at times, the events are all quite significant have important long term consequences down the road.
Problems
None
Factoids
None
Remarkable Scenes
- Zek losing his memory and math skills.
- Rules of Acquisition; 18. A Ferengi without profit is no Ferengi at all. 94. Females and finances don't mix. 208. Sometimes the only thing more dangerous than a question an answer. 229. Latinum lasts longer than lust.
- Morn Appearances; 1. Buys a jumja stick from Leeta, who is running the kiosk.
My Review
So Zek and Quark's mother are in love. And Quark's mother has been giving Zek financial advice for god knows how long. Brunt discovers this and tries to grab power. Overall this Ferengi episode is more silly than most, but ironically, more important than most too. It picks up on where many previous episodes left off and gives Quark an even deeper connection to the Nagus as well as the return of his business license. Unfortunately, I just didn't like this episode at all. The comedy wasn't very effective and the story relied too much on it. A final note, I wonder what the writers' fetish for Quark's closet was for in this episode? It seemed to exemplify the overall silliness.
The following are comments submitted by my readers.
The episode wasn't too bad, but it ran out of juice about half way in. After 20 minutes it was clear where the plot was going. Then it just kind of meandered. Maybe it would have worked better as a special half-hour comedy, complete with laugh track. ;)
Am i wrong or is Quark's mother played by another actress than in the previous episode (3x23)?
I wasn't too impressed with this one and think the other acted much better.
I think this episode deserves a much higher rating. Sure, it was a little slow-paced, but it actually did what Star Trek and many sci-fi shows and movies often don't - show that species are not so singular. The following episode, "Soldiers of the Empire" tells us that not all Klingons are courageous - some are cowards and some are weak. Just as Star Wars showed us simplistic planets (Hoth - totally frozen, Tatooine - totally desert), such simplistic representations aren't realistic as life thrives on diversity.
This episode showed us that Ferengi are capable of self-sacrifice. Sure, we've seen it in them before, but the two story arcs of Quark and Nog having to sacrifice a lot for those they love helps us to fully realize that they are not so simplistic a race.
I loved the humor at the end with Brunt in the closet and Quark playing with his action figures.
I hate the Grand Nagus. He makes my skin crawl. If Quark wasn't such a great character and actor, I would hate all the ferengi.
Whoever wrote this episode must have been drunk at the time, it's truly terrible and full of bad jokes and weird script.