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Star Trek DS9 - Season 6 - Episode 12

Star Trek DS9 - 6x12 - Who Mourns for Morn?

Originally Aired: 1998-2-4

Synopsis:
The crew is shocked to learn that Morn has been killed in an ion storm. [DVD]

My Rating - 8

Fan Rating Average - 4.76

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# Votes: 43 8 2 14 2 7 11 16 27 19 9

Filler Quotient: 2, filler, but an enjoyable episode nevertheless. You can skip this one, but you'd miss out on some fun.
- There is nothing significant here from a continuity standpoint. But I strongly recommend watching the episode anyway simply due to how hysterically entertaining it is.

Problems
None

Factoids
- This episode's title is a parody of TOS: Who Mourns for Adonais?
- According to Worf, Morn was an excellent sparring partner. They held weekly combat exercises in the holosuites.
- Jadzia used to have a crush on Morn... Morn wasn't interested.
- According to Quark, the first time Morn came into Quark's bar was about 10 years ago. he still had his hair then.
- The painting smashed over Quark's head is the same one Morn bought from Quark at the auction in DS9: In The Cards.
- Gregory Itzin, who played Hain in this episode played Ilon Tandro in DS9: Dax.
- Morn's hair fell out because he kept latinum in his second stomach.

Remarkable Scenes
- Remarkable inside joke: Odo, regarding Morn's hologram: "Why doesn't it talk?" Quark: "Do you have any idea how much an interactive holo projector costs? Besides, it's a relief not to have to listen to him go on. You know Morn, he never shuts up!"
- The revelation that Morn is dead.
- Quark meeting Morn's ex-wife.
- Quark's conversation with the business associates of Morn.
- The scene when all three separate parties chasing Quark for the inheritance money show up at the same time.
- Quark regarding the lack of latinum in the gold pressed latinum: "There's nothing here but worthless gold!"
- Quark reunited with Morn.
- Morn Appearances; ...well, the whole episode is about him. So listing all dialogs pertaining to him would be the entire script. But here's some remarkable appearances: 1. First scene. Odo talks to him. But he's only a hologram. 2. The Bajoran whom Quark places in Morn's empty seat at the bar during the memorial service is Mark Allan Shepherd, the extra who plays Morn. 3. At the end, gives Quark 100 bricks of gold unpressed latinum which he was hiding in his second stomach.

My Review
An episode focused around a minor character. Not just any minor character though, the episode is centered around Morn. To fully comprehend the greatness and hilarity of this episode, you have to understand the Morn character. In DS9 season one, he was an extra, usually seen in Quark's bar. To fill background space. Eventually, people started to notice that he appeared in virtually every episode. He kind of stuck out like a sore thumb because of his odd alien appearance. So the writers attributed him a name and a small backstory over the last five years. Finally, the inside joke culminated to this point, where the writers thought it would cute to write an episode all about him. The thing is though, part of the fan attraction to Morn's character was the fact that by tradition he's not ever spoken one line. Not one word. He's never once spoken anything onscreen, even though the writers have other characters make references to his talkativeness. So the greatness surrounding this episode is that the writers managed to craft an episode around Morn without ever giving him a single line. And there you have it, the inside joke is complete. Very well done.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From chrisw357 on 2006-06-16 at 9:01pm:
    Some fans may not know this, but Morn's name came about because of his role as a bar regular. It's an anagram for Norm, the bar regular in "Cheers". :D

    Goodbye, sweet Morn! :(
  • From Christopher Wright on 2011-12-20 at 8:52pm:
    I wish the writers of Enterprise were as good as the ones for DS9...they would have also realized that gold was worthless to the Ferengi and Capt.Archer could have never used it to lure them in that god-awful episode.
  • From hugo on 2012-12-21 at 2:16pm:
    great episode! Not too fond of the seductive lady, but the other characters were great - especially the alien brothers!
  • From Zorak on 2016-06-23 at 1:01am:
    Wow. Morn's name really is an anagram and intentional reference to Norm. It's so obvious. I don't know how I never realized it.

  • From Mike on 2016-10-27 at 12:48am:
    Re: Zorak,

    And, to make it even more fun, Morn's corner spot in Quark's bar is similar to Norm's corner spot in the Cheers bar.

    My favorite exchange:

    Quark: Why would the Royal family of Luria give Morn that kind of money?

    HAIN: He was the Crown Prince.

    Quark: Morn was a prince?

    HAIN: You didn't know?

    Quark: Morn was a prince?

    HAIN: That's what I'm saying.

    Quark: Morn was a prince.

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