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Reconciling 2385?

To be fair, we have Lower Decks.

*homicidal AI hunt our heroes*

Whoops.


Sadly I'm an old schooler. Still have cable and I refuse to pay extra for online TV on top of that. Have to wait for the Blu-Ray (which is why I have to wait another month for Picard).

So I'll have to stick to the 'classics' for now ;) .
 
I'm generally more forgiving of the Ferengi comedies than most people tend to be, but no, not Profit and Lace. Not that ever.


I forget the name of the episode off hand but it was the one where they are exchanging prisoners, a Vorta POW for Moogie.

I know it's dopey but I can't help but get a laugh when Rom starts to introduce their 'crew' to the Vorta. The rest of the episode was pretty funny as well. One of the few funny episodes that involve the Dominion.

Speaking of Vorta, I also loved the looks on Sisko and Dukat's face when Weyoun drinks the poison that was meant for Kira's 'adoptive dad'. One of the few times Sisko and Dukat looked equally shocked.
 
I'm generally more forgiving of the Ferengi comedies than most people tend to be, but no, not Profit and Lace. Not that ever.

My pet theory is that Ferengi comedies work best when they're interacting with other cultures, like in "House of Quark" or "Little Green Men." When it's all-Ferengi all the time, as with Quark's family squabbles, it can get tiresome.
 
Well, when you accidentally kill your bargaining chip plans change.

Ha-ha. Yeah. It wasn't really that they betrayed the Dominion, they were just incompetent and screwed up.

I really liked Iggy Pop in that episode. One of the only times I saw a Vorta that just might have a real sense of humor. Weyoun sometimes had funny moments (like the poison drinking moment), but it was more to 'charm and disarm' then being funny per se.

It's interesting how the Ferengi were supposed to be a new 'villain', but I liked how they turned out. Unrestricted capitalists as their society is would probably be incompatible with being a villain the likes of the Romulans or the Dominion because it wouldn't be profitable. Scaring your potential customers is probably a poor way to do business. And it added a different element to the Star Trek universe, a little variety is always good.
 
It's interesting how the Ferengi were supposed to be a new 'villain', but I liked how they turned out. Unrestricted capitalists as their society is would probably be incompatible with being a villain the likes of the Romulans or the Dominion because it wouldn't be profitable. Scaring your potential customers is probably a poor way to do business. And it added a different element to the Star Trek universe, a little variety is always good.

I've did a completely serious essay that the primary failure of the Ferengi wasn't their look or hat but the fact that they were capitalists that were utterly unorganized. The Ferengi apparently don't practice any form of corporation or industrialization capitalist so they never seem menacing. Organized corporate Ferengi could loot entire planets, enslave them with contracts, and have vast fleets.

I suppose Paramount was too afraid of having their schemes exposed. :)
 
I've did a completely serious essay that the primary failure of the Ferengi wasn't their look or hat but the fact that they were capitalists that were utterly unorganized. The Ferengi apparently don't practice any form of corporation or industrialization capitalist so they never seem menacing. Organized corporate Ferengi could loot entire planets, enslave them with contracts, and have vast fleets.

I suppose Paramount was too afraid of having their schemes exposed. :)


Yeah, they seem more interested in cheating customers than enslaving them. And I guess individual Ferengi were too greedy/selfish individually to really organize into big corporations. They strike me as the type that would find giant corporations/monopolies antithetical to enlarging their own personal wealth because that would require bringing too many others on board and having to share their wealth.

And they seem most interested in making the most amount of money at the least cost. Enslaving a planet would probably cost too much in resources to make it worth an individuals while.

The few times you did seem them try to group together their selfish predilections usually seemed to take over and sabotage the effort.
 
Ha-ha. Yeah. It wasn't really that they betrayed the Dominion, they were just incompetent and screwed up.
Well, and Quark wanted to demonstrate that the Ferengi could be more than just bumbling, self-interested, business people.
Yeah, they seem more interested in cheating customers than enslaving them. And I guess individual Ferengi were too greedy/selfish individually to really organize into big corporations. They strike me as the type that would find giant corporations/monopolies antithetical to enlarging their own personal wealth because that would require bringing too many others on board and having to share their wealth.

And they seem most interested in making the most amount of money at the least cost. Enslaving a planet would probably cost too much in resources to make it worth an individuals while.

The few times you did seem them try to group together their selfish predilections usually seemed to take over and sabotage the effort.
Indeed, yes. The Ferengi Alliance was more like a confederation, at best.

As Data noted, they are the worst kind of capitalists. So, they can't even be used effectively as a object lesson against capitalism since we're not even addressing all aspects.
 
It's interesting how the Ferengi were supposed to be a new 'villain', but I liked how they turned out. Unrestricted capitalists as their society is would probably be incompatible with being a villain the likes of the Romulans or the Dominion because it wouldn't be profitable.

I understand that others have already argued against this, but I would like to chime in and suggest interested parties read up on the history of U.S. labor conflicts (e.g., the Battle of Blair Mountain), the history of capitalist-driven European imperialism, and, in particular, the history of King Leopold II's capitalist-driven reign in the Congo Free State, if they think that capitalism does not lend itself to the kinds of horrors and oppressions that a Star Trek space empire is capable of.
 
I understand that others have already argued against this, but I would like to chime in and suggest interested parties read up on the history of U.S. labor conflicts (e.g., the Battle of Blair Mountain), the history of capitalist-driven European imperialism, and, in particular, the history of King Leopold II's capitalist-driven reign in the Congo Free State, if they think that capitalism does not lend itself to the kinds of horrors and oppressions that a Star Trek space empire is capable of.

I live in Kentucky where the corporations rule like a cyberpunk dystopia in some places. It's just it didn't come with any cool cyberpunk tech or hoverboards, just fracking and cigarettes.

Paul Verhoven notably gave his opinion on corporate America in a Robocop speech that almost got him fired from future movies, "I grew up in the aftermath of WW2 and the thing that scares me most about America is the corporations behave the exact same way as the ones created by the Nazis. People forget fascism is one hand on the wallet and the other on a gun."
 
Paul Verhoven notably gave his opinion on corporate America in a Robocop speech that almost got him fired from future movies, "I grew up in the aftermath of WW2 and the thing that scares me most about America is the corporations behave the exact same way as the ones created by the Nazis. People forget fascism is one hand on the wallet and the other on a gun."

RoboCop turned out to be quite prophetic, didn't it?
 
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