Neroon said:
Did DS9 have a counterpart of any kind to B5's Londo Mollari? I'm not sure that it did, although perhaps Quark comes the closest with his vacillations between right and wrong.
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Quark very well could have become the heart of DS9, but for some reason, the writers never let him rise above a comic character.
Many of
Jammer's Reviews make this point better than i could:
There's a moment in "The Dogs of War" when Quark has had enough. He has watched as Ferengi society around him has become, in his view, a travesty. And he realizes he hasn't been immune from the changes over the years; he sees that he has gone "soft." He launches into a histrionic tirade that continues to build in amusement as Quark's disgust is unleashed. Then he yells: "The line has to be drawn here! This far, and no further!"
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the problem, though, is that unlike the rich and textured culture of the Centauri, their proud yet tragic trajectory (which, of course, mirrors Londo's own character), with the ferengi:
Even though developments in Ferengi culture in the past have been so badly handled that they cross into offensiveness ("Profit in Lace" especially), I think I finally see a payoff here to all the changes made, never mind their previous implausibility. That payoff is simple: Ferengi society has changed ... and Quark hasn't.
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And that's probably the difference between Star Trek - which, like root beer, is so sweet, and bubbly, and happy, whereas B5 is like scotch - complex, at times bitter, certainly not for everyone, but if you enjoy it, it packs a fucking massive punch.
The thing is, in B5, Centauri prime tried to change (
Emperor Turhan was a great man); Londo did not. But unlike Quark, Londo did something about it, and everyone payed the price. Especially Londo.