Day 145: DS9, Profit and Lace

Show: Star Trek; Deep Space Nine

Episode Particulars: S6EP23, “Profit and Lace”

 Summary: Grand Nagus Zek has taken a bold step forward for Ferengi society; he created a law allowing females to wear clothes wherever they wanted. Unfortunately, the backlash against this was so great that Zek has been deposed as Nagus, with Brunt eagerly attempting to take his place. Zek and Ishka come to DS9 to regroup and plan a counterattack, which will consist of assembling as many high-ranking Ferengi as possible to come to the station and see Ishka’s financial prowess for themselves. Two things go wrong almost immediately. One, the only Ferengi willing to listen is the head of Sluggo Cola, Nilva (Henry Gibson), though at least he’s got a lot of political/financial clout. And two, an argument between Ishka and Quark leads to Ishka having a heart attack and forced to recuperate in the Infirmary. In desperation, the group decides that if they don’t have a Ferengi female on hand, they’ll make one. And since Quark was the one who got them into this mess…

Standalone Thoughts: I get the impression that this episode has gained a bad reputation over the years. I know for a fact that SFDebris considers it the worst episode of DS9. Speaking for myself, I can somewhat understand where people are coming from…but I still think the episode is pretty entertaining.

I think one of the reasons people don’t like this episode is that they perceive it as being insulting to (depending on who you talk to) women, gay people/people who do drag, or transgendered people. However, I also think we need to keep in mind that this episode was made in 1998, when these sorts of issues weren’t really in the public eye. Just like I can cringe at the portrayal of “natives” in older movies but still enjoy the movie as a whole, I can see how people could have problems with this episode but chalk it up to being a different time and enjoy it for what I think it was intended to be; a riff on Some Like it Hot and/or Victor/Victoria. I can definitely see some of the bits with Quark fitting right into comedies like those. That all being said, I am in agreement with those who say that the opening scene, where Quark threatens to fire one of his best Dabo girls unless she does Oomox on him, is in bad taste no matter how appropriate it is for his character. If they were going to do that bit at all, it probably required a lighter touch.

So yes, I enjoy this episode. It’s not as funny as things like “The Magnificent Ferengi”, but it’s got some charm to it if you’re willing to just accept the episode for what it is. Personally, I think the best material is in the second half, with Quark having to learn to act like a woman and pull off the ruse, because it’s the part that’s clearly not taking itself so seriously. The first half is a little more shaky, since it contains both the scene with the Dabo girl and an argument between Quark and Ishka that seems to go against continuity. Quark accuses Ishka of putting her ideas of female equality in the Nagus’ head, ultimately changing him for the worse. The problem is, Ishka never reminds Quark that Zek has memory problems, and that he’d probably have been removed as Nagus long ago if she hadn’t been around to advise him (as seen in “Ferengi Love Songs”). It’s the perfect argument to throw back in Quark’s face, but no one seems to have considered bringing it up. Given how annoyed and stressed Quark was, he probably could have found some way to counter the argument, so the writers could still have had the same result (Ishka being taken out of the picture) while maintaining continuity. I know I’ve said I don’t care too much about continuity errors, but in this case, it just feels like something that should have come up.

In conclusion, while I think this episode’s aged well and is probably somewhere in the upper-middle if I ranked all the episodes of the show, this is one where opinions are going to vary more wildly than usual. As it’s not essential to the show, you can easily skip it if you decide it’s not for you. But if you do watch it and keep an open mind, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

How it Relates to the Whole: I’m not sure how much of an impact this episode has. Quark being a girl/in drag never comes up again, but I don’t remember if the Nagus’ decision to let women wear clothes ever plays a major role in the remaining Ferengi episodes. Although I think it’s probably somewhat connected, given what happens in the last Ferengi episode. But I won’t know for sure until I get there.

Other: *I did snort when Rom, believing that the radio silence from Ferenginar means the Dominion has invaded, says “Think of the terrible repercussions to the Alpha Quadrant!” and Worf immediately responds with “I cannot think of any.” Michael Dorn’s deadpan delivery strikes again.

*The episode uses a flashy transition shot at one point that I don’t think is necessary, especially since DS9 rarely if ever did things like that. I’ll cut it some slack because it’s supposed to be a comedy episode, but it may be a bit jarring for others.

*There’s a small background gag where the two gigantic manservants that Zek and Brunt have size each other up disapprovingly. It’s both amusing and a great non-verbal bit of business, which can be hard to pull off, so kudos to the actors.

*I kind of wish there had been a scene where the Ferengis have to convince Bashir to turn Quark into a woman, if only so I can figure out what they did to talk him into it. He’s never really struck me as the “mad scientist” type, so they must have made one hell of an argument.

*Odo’s makeup this episode looks off; his face looks more gaunt than I’m used to. As with that cut on Dukat’s forehead I kept bringing up, it’s probably just a case of the makeup crew being a little less careful that day, but that doesn’t keep it from being noticeable.

Best Line/Exchange: Nothing immediately caught my attention while I was watching the episode, but after some consideration, I went with;

(Quark wants to back out and have Rom take his place, since Rom’s surprisingly good at adapting female mannerisms)

Zek: Forget it, Quark! Rom may make a better female than you, but when it comes to business, you’re the better Ferengi!

Quark (to Rom): Looks like your stupidity has saved you again.

Rom: It comes in handy sometimes.

Admittedly, I took this less because it was funny on its own (although it is), and mostly because it reminds me of a moment from the cartoon Sealab 2021 (10:22-10:26 in this video) that made its way into my family’s vernacular, just like several of the DS9 quotes I’ve chosen in the past. So I guess this counts by association…?

After the Fact Update: Apparently this episode has actually been considered one of the worst DS9 episodes almost since its first airdate, if the DS9 Companion is anything to go by. I've taken up the mantle of the Contrary Reviewer once again, it seems.