Thanks for sharing, Farscape. I must admit, while I have a father, he is , shall we say, on the autistic spectrum, and though we have an understanding, I didn’t always feel that loved by him. Watching Ben and Jake as I was growing up made me a little wistful, yet it was meaningful to me and I got a lot of joy from seeing their close, easy relationship. I love that you got to meet Avery and tell him that. As I read your words, I could actually picture his smile in my mind—although we didn’t see it that often on DS9, he truly has the most amazing smile; one that could light up a whole room
The sea shanti? When it suits him, sure. What was his alternative? Kill a Starfleet commander and his son? It seemed like a pretty low priority cover-up to risk a war over.
Someone in charge on season 3 must have liked that song by the Kingsmen - in "Heart of Stone," Odo tells faux--Kira that O'Brien sang it alot when they went kayaking on the holodeck. An attempt at comic relief but seems like stooping too low.
Are we sure it is the same song as the one we know as "Louie Louie" because I find that hard to believe. For one thing, it doesn't seem suited to be a rhythmic sea chanty.
"Rocket Man" would be an odd choice for a ship powered by the solar wind And "Louie Louie", not so good as a drunken amateur song. Glad they went with "Jerusalem". Fantastic episode. We re-watched it last night, as an antidote after too much Discovery. Wow, character development even for characters who are not the lead! I, too, consider Explorers to be a 10.
“FAMILY BUSINESS” Yo Momma so embarrassing, she can’t keep even her clothes off! The season’s winning streak continues with “Family Business”, which is perhaps my favourite of the Ferengi outings thus far, and one I found thoroughly entertaining from beginning to end. Whereas “Prophet Motive” played the comedy too broadly, reliant solely on the one-note gag that Ferengi are greedy, “Family Business” is a delightful little family drama which puts character first and allows the humour to organically arise from that. Importantly, especially for a Ferengi episode, the characters never descend into caricature—including Rom, who continues to display growth as he again finds the backbone to stand up to his overbearing brother. In fact, I have to admit that I even recognised something of my own family dynamic here. During her teenage years especially, my sister was rather like Quark is here (the very definition of obstinate), and as an Enneagram Type 9 personality, I was always the peacemaker, much like Rom (although I’d like to think that’s where the similarities end!). So I can relate to the discord and strained relationships and the need to patch things up by getting people to talk. Andrea Martin is simply wonderful as “Moogie”. Although her face is buried beneath that latex mask, she has a wonderful screen presence and radiates a deliciously feisty charm. There’s some genuine chemistry between her, Armin Shimmerman and Max Grodenchik, who also both deliver first rate performances. Their interplay has wonderful bite, great humour and some genuine emotion. The episode not only works as an exploration of the complexity of family dynamics, but also lays the groundwork for what will become a loose arc for the remainder of the series: Ishka’s one-woman crusade to raise the social status of Ferengi females, and along the way revolutionise Ferengi society as a whole. I find Quark’s characterisation particularly interesting, and we again see how, in many ways, he’s quite a conservative character. He very much lives by the values and principles of his culture, and is eager to live up to the social ideal of what constitutes a “good Ferengi”; something we’ve already seen Nog, and to a lesser extent, Rom, rail against. The problem is, as has been hinted in previous episodes (his conversation with Odo in “Civil Defence” springs to mind) Quark isn’t a particularly successful Ferengi. He’s fairly small-time compared to many of his peers and while he certainly tries hard to pull off his various scams, particularly in the show’s earlier episodes, over the course of the series we eventually see him develop a conscience and begin question the core values of his culture. By the time the series ends, he’s still Quark, of course—and he’s still after a quick buck—but he’s a much richer and more nuanced character. At the end of this episode, his grudging acceptance of Ishka’s revolutionary streak is perhaps the first step to him questioning the overriding paradigm of his culture—something we’ll see come to bite him a year hence, when he is effectively exiled from Ferengi society. I love that one of the overriding themes of DS9 is the importance of being able to question the rules of the establishment, and to have the courage to follow our own values, our own heart and our own sense of right and wrong, even if that contradicts the dominant societal paradigm...because sometimes, let’s face it, that can be wrong. I was delighted by our first visit to Ferenginar, and loved its depiction as a perpetually raining swamp-planet. We’re also treated to Jeffrey Combs’ first appearance as Liquidator Brunt; a character who very much represents the Establishment, and who would return repeatedly to challenge and test Quark’s allegiance to traditional Ferengi values. The B-plot is also noteworthy, having been set up in the previous episode when Jake promised to introduce his dad to the freighter captain, Kasidy Yates. I kind of hate her hair in this episode, but Penny Johnson makes a good impression as Kasidy, and there’s an immediate chemistry between she and Avery Brooks. It’s a sweet, endearing start to their relationship, and I also enjoyed the gentle encouragement and gossipy teasing from Dax and the other senior officers. It felt like exactly kind of the interaction you’d get from friends prior to a big date. Overall, I really enjoyed this one and it remains one of my favourite Ferengi fests. Rating: 9
There's a definite comedic component to every Ferengi story, cartoonish even. For example, if Quark's father was so bad at commerce that he would lose money in every deal he made he couldn't have remained a member of the obviously well-to-do society and become at best a laborer and at worst a homeless person. That's what would happen to him in OUR society at any rate. That's the cartoonish side of this story, that even people who are terrible at running businesses keep their social standings. The problem with the Ferengi is that they are not meant as real people (like the Vulcans or the Bajorans for example) they're a caricature and as such don't have any of the characteristics of real people (In mean real in the Star Trek sense of course).
This episode is a landmark in that it introduces Brunt, Ishka, and Kasidy. Great review, but didn't Leeta first appear in "EXPLORERS" in the beginning, when she was 'sick' and needed Bashir to check her out, and Dax interrupts?
Oh, yes, you’re right! I got behind in writing these reviews and I mixed up the two. I’m slipping up of late haha.
Enjoyed the review -“Family Business” is also one of my favorite Ferengi episodes - would not change a line of the dialogue, and the actors played off each other perfectly. Rom shows the wise responsible leader he will later become, making Quark and Moogie sit down and work things out. Penny Johnson was a great choice for Kasidy Yates, she’s comfortable being a freighter captain but also warm and charming. Wish they’d shown a glimpse of Sisko and her listening to her brother’s baseball game from Cestus 3-! So many wonderfully comedic scenes, yet also a serious exploration of struggles in family relationships. It’s amazing how different the Ferengi are here than in TNG, where they were mostly a hostile threat to the Federation.
“SHAKAAR” Kai Winn-ing at life! Back in the day, I felt I was was one of about ten people that actually seemed to enjoy DS9’s early Bajor-focused episodes. We’d never really explored the difficulties of seeing a world rebuild following a brutal war or, in this case, a forced occupation. Usually in Trek we’d have warped off to the next assignment and never seen the inevitable fallout, which made these episodes quite novel and nuanced, even to a teenaged me. While the Dominion threat naturally diverted the course of the show’s narrative, it’s nice that the writers haven’t forgotten about Bajor altogether (even though the Paramount suits clearly wanted them to; one of their suggestions being that Bajor should “explode”). Earlier in the season we saw Kai Winn negotiating a treaty with Cardassia and the establishment of a communications relay, although frankly neither of these storylines was particularly riveting in themselves. “Shakaar” thankfully brings a little meat back to the table, although it’s not without some minor niggles. Any episode that gives Nana Visitor centre stage is already a keeper for me, and the return of Kai Winn guarantees some fireworks. Sure enough, her Eminence barges in while Kira is performing a prayer ceremony to honour the late Bareil. Winn’s blatant insensitivity and borderline jeering immediately sees the character back to her monstrous worst (or best, depending on how you look at it). Far worse, it’s horrifying to learn that Winn has somehow managed to assume the position Bajor’s First Minister, crushing whatever previous divide (if any) existed between church and state—something I’d have liked the episode to explore in more detail. I’m a little sceptical about this development, frankly; were there really no other contenders for the job—out of an entire planet? Trek’s world-building is frustratingly homogenous most of the time, even for a well-developed world such as Bajor, which only seems to have one government for the whole planet, and only one religion that we ever hear of. Also, how on Earth can Winn, a single woman, possibly work the two most important jobs on the entire planet? There surely can’t have been much actual work as Kai, otherwise where would she find the time? Is she some kind of sociopathic, passive aggressive Superwoman? The basic plot is solid, and sees Kira reunited with Shakaar, the head of her old resistance cell, although she’s initially acting as Winn’s messenger. This is the second time, the first being “The Collaborator”, where Winn has manipulated Kira into doing her dirty work for her. The highlight of the episode is seeing Nerys reunited with her old comrades and the camaraderie is a joy to watch. Furel and Lupaza are both well drawn, memorable characters and I loved their playful banter. The actors really sell the characters’ friendship and the fact they’d clearly been through hell together and trust each other with their lives. Duncan Regehr does a decent job as Shakaar, who is a surprisingly low-key guy given that he was the leader of an entire resistance cell. Fortunately, unlike the late, lamentable Bareil, he has some charisma and just a touch of chemistry with Kira. Admittedly, it’s still a little hard to erase the memory of Regehr as the rapey candle-dwelling space ghost with a penchant for Beverly Crusher and her geriatric grandmother. Oh, how I’m glad I’ll never have to review THAT particular episode. Pretty soon we see the group fall back into old patterns as they defy Kai/First Minister Winn and take up arms against the government. This happens just a little too readily for my taste, and I have to wonder about Kira’s actions here. What she does is pretty darn serious...and yet there are no consequences, or even mention of potential consequences, whatsoever. Sisko actually seems nonplussed by the fact he hasn’t heard from the Major “in some time”. While it’s clear Sisko isn’t on Winn’s side, I still imagine he must have been just a little bit pissed by this—as in “why hasn’t my First Officer shown up for duty in TWO WEEKS?” I loved the location work, which is a rarity in DS9 but always appreciated, and the climatic canyon ambush is well-executed. Having said that, if I’m honest, I never believed that Kira and co would actually fire on their fellow Bajorans. The resolution, in which Shakaar announces his electoral candidacy for the position of First Minister, felt abrupt and just a little left of field, but it’s still wonderful seeing the megalomaniacal Kai taken down a peg or five. Louise Fletcher is just brilliant and can convey so much rancour with just a single contemptuous glance. Oh, and we have a fairly silly sub-plot in which O’Brien hits a winning streak in darts and just everyone on the station seems to get worked up about it (they all need to get out more). It’s sitcom level stuff, but amiable enough and mildly amusing. Interestingly, this is the first episode of the series scored by Paul Baillargeon, whose work I’m not altogether keen on. His scores can frustratingly veer between quite lovely and melodic and then seconds later jarring and...hyperactive, I guess. His music sticks out to me and not always for good reasons. Overall, a fairly strong episode, even if I don’t feel it’s quite in the same league as some of the series’ previous Bajor-focused episodes. Rating: 7
The first time I saw that episode I thought O'Brien (with the complicity of Bashir) played a bad joke on Quark and lost on purpose. I am not so sure anymore. The ending is a bit ambiguous though.
A thoroughly engaging episode with the Bajoran arc continuing, and the fun subplot of the darts game -- O’Brien’s “golden shoulder.” I agree that Kira really shines in this one. My first thought at seeing Furel (William Lucking) was oh geez, it's the Orion privateer from ENT--! so much more likable here. One thing that always struck me about Kai Winn --hard to understand how she got the condescending air of entitlement, after 5 years of prison and numerous beatings during the Occupation….and, she sure looks well-fed (!)