‘PROFIT AND LACE’ (DS9)
Please feel free to comment on my review.
This ‘DS9’ episode is not a well-received episode as it garnered terrible reviews. I’m glad I’m not alone in this as it’s not one of my favourite episodes from ‘DS9’ and it of course features the Ferengi.
With that said, I don’t think the majority of Ferengi episodes have been terrible. I really liked ‘Little Green Men’ from Season 4. But for the most part, the Ferengi TV episodes have been mixed at best.
This episode is directed by Alexander Siddig, who plays Dr. Bashir in the series. Previously, he directed ‘Business as Usual’ for Season 5. ‘Business as Usual’ is better compared to ‘Profit and Lace’.
In the episode, Quark starts sexually harassing one of his best waitresses. This happens to be Symba Smith as Alura. I can see why she’s one of Quark’s best waitresses since she happens to be ‘alluring’.
And no, I won’t apologise for that bad joke! 😀 Very soon, Quark’s brother, Max Grodénchik as Rom rushes in to tell him he’s been trying to contact their mother but he has lost contact with Feringinar.
Huh! Interesting! Nog and Jake were meant to meet up with Grand Nagus Zek on Feringinar in ‘Valiant’ before they got attacked by Dominion. How much time has passed since that episode then?
Rom fears that the Dominion have taken over Feringinar. Quark and Rom go and explain their situation to Captain Sisko, but thankfully a ship carrying Grand Nagus Zek and their mother arrives. 🙂
Quark and Rom reunite with Wallace Shawn as Grand Nagus Zek and Cecily Adams as Ishka (‘Moogie’). Zek and Moogie explain to Quark and Rom what has been going on since they last met. 🙂
Apparently, the Nagus has changed the Ferengi Bill of Opportunities by adding an amendment that will allow women to wear clothes. As a result, this has caused planet-wide upheaval among Ferengi.
Zek has been deposed and has been replaced by Jeffrey Combs as former Liquidator Brunt. Brunt will be officially installed by the commission on Ferengi to become the next Grand Nagus after Zek here.
Now I appreciate what the episode is going for. It’s trying to move for Ferengi females to have equal opportunities alongside Ferengi males. Something which I hoped for in Season 3’s ‘Family Business’.
That would’ve been fine to depict in this ‘DS9’ episode, if the episode wasn’t overly farcical and it ended up being rather a mess. This is especially when one character changes gender (more later on).
Also in this episode are Aron Eisenberg as Nog and Chase Masterson as Leeta. There’s also Tiny Ron as Maihar’du, Zek’s servant. Quark, Rom and Nog contact all Ferengi commissioners to come to DS9.
Zek wishes to discuss the situation of providing equal opportunities for Ferengi women on Feringinar. Sadly only one commissioner out of 432 agrees to come. This is Henry Gibson as Nilva. 😐
Brunt stirs up trouble when he finds out about the upcoming meeting Zek has arranged and he turns up on the station. Quark manages to stand up to Brunt and he throws him out of his bar aboard DS9.
Afterwards, Quark has an argument with his mother which results in her suffering a heart attack. Fortunately, Bashir performs a transplant on her, but Moogie is not able to speak up at the meeting.
Thus the Ferengi gang on DS9 have one solution left. They make Quark sex-change to female named Lumba to try and fool Nilva. This was really uncomfortable to watch when Quark has surgery on him.
I get that this is meant to be comedic and played for laughs, but I couldn’t find anything funny about Quark posing as a female to fool Nilva. If anything, it seems to be played out too silly and quite rude.
To make a long story short, Quark/Lumba manages to convince Nilva after fending off his advances and after ‘convincing’ Brunt who walked in to expose Quark. Later on, Quark’s sex change is reversed.
Zek is restored to Grand Nagus, Moogie’s okay and Quark, still experiencing the hormonal fluctuations from the sex change, gives her new waitress Alura and apologises to her. He might get ‘oo-mox’ from her though.
‘Profit and Lace’ isn’t a ‘DS9’ episode I would want to watch over and over again. I appreciate the equal opportunities message it was going for with Ferengi females, but Quark’s sex change wasn’t necessary.
‘Profit and Lace’ (DS9) rating – 4/10
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