404. Ferengi Love SongsFORMULA: Family Business + Profit Motive
WHY WE LIKE IT: Quark beats Brunt. Kira's comedy timing.
WHY WE DON'T: The new Moogie. "Zekky." Pantomime sobbing.
REVIEW: At their core, both plots in Ferengi Love Songs are about anti-Cupids. In the main story, Quark must break up a love affair between his mother and the Grand Nagus Zek in order to get his Ferengi license back from Brunt. And it's thoroughly stupid. Disappointingly, the wonderful Andrea Martin doesn't return as Ishka, instead replaced by Cecily Adams who doesn't so much reinterpret the character as do a grating impression of Martin's performance. Further, the make-up just doesn't work for her and seems stiff and ugly (well, ugliER). She certainly lacks Martin's expressive eyes.
If that wasn't enough, there's some pretty annoying tittering between Ishka and Zek (Zekky and lobekins and whatnot), and the comedy is pretty broad (everyone hiding in Quark's closet and all that). I also found it exasperating that these two unrelated characters somehow found each other. They didn't meet through Quark (which would have made sense), but by chance. What were the odds? And why is Zek so progressive as to let her wear clothes in the first place? Why aren't the Ferengi allowed the dignity of realistic psychologies?
Brunt turning this grotesque romantic comedy into a potential coup saves the episode a little bit, though at the expense of Zek's power. Still, there's "$*&% YEAH!" moment after Brunt tells Quark he's a Ferengi again: "I always was." Almost makes it worthwhile.
In the subplot, Rom and Leeta announce their upcoming wedding (so more grotesquerie to come), and it's Dax and O'Brien who become anti-Cupids without meaning to. A lot of over the top bawling ensues. Though the acting is dreary indeed, I'd rather watch this portion of the episode, which at least has bits with the rest of the cast. Kira is unusually funny when contradicting Leeta about her own feelings, for example, and I wish we'd seen more of Odo putting Martok in a holding cell for disciplining his men.
LESSON: If you look like a Ferengi, how about Internet romance?
REWATCHABILITY - Medium-Low: DS9 episodes keep hitting Medium because they have important story arc elements, but in this case, if I tell you Quark regains his license, Moogie and Zek get together, and Rom and Leeta get engaged, do you promise not to watch it?
Comments
To be honest I've never thought the Ferengi were ever any good. It would have taken an effort to make Quark bearable, and it shows Armin Shimmerman's strength as an actor that he's actually likeable.
Still, I'm always a little apprehensive when coming across a 'Ferengi' episode when I watch the DVDs. They can be pretty hit or miss. I much prefer the Quark episodes with limited interaction with other Ferengi (like Business as Usual).
The worst is yet to come: The Magnificent Ferengi, Profit and Lace...