The Nagus (⭑⭑)

Well, here we are: The first of DS9’s infamous “Ferengi episodes.” While there will be some exceptions, the show’s periodic forays into Ferengi-centric (attempted) comedy will, on the whole, be dismally bad. I had actually remembered this first one as not being too terrible—but while I was right in a relative way (it’s nowhere near as bad as a lot of the later Ferengi episodes will be), it’s still not very good at all. I struggled a bit with rating it, because for some reason, I don’t quite want to be super-hard on it. Maybe it’s because watching it doesn’t make me feel ill, as will be true of too many of its successors; it’s silly and dumb, but not barf-inducingly unwatchable. Or, I dunno, maybe it’s partly because I wasn’t quite as frustrated and bored with it as I was with “Move Along Home.” (Also, I gather from perusing other reviews that “The Nagus” is actually fairly well-liked by a lot of fans, which strikes me as…odd.) The truth is, two stars might be on the generous side…but that is nevertheless where I have landed on this one.

Broadly speaking, I guess, the fundamental problem that I have both with “The Nagus” and with many future Ferengi episodes is this: DS9, after performing the almost unimaginable feat of presenting us with a Ferengi character who doesn’t make me cringe every time he appears on the screen, but instead actually comes across (most of the time) as a reasonably believable person…then turned around and developed the habit of reducing him, and his culture in general, to a collection of ill-conceived, unfunny, one-note jokes in almost every episode that foregrounds him. I mean, exactly what about this episode are we supposed to be able to take at all seriously? That the leader of the entire Ferengi people shows up on Deep Space Nine (unannounced, and not even noticed by station leadership), randomly appoints Quark as his successor, and then (seemingly) promptly croaks, and no one (least of all Quark himself) thinks to question any of this? That Rom tries to murder his brother (twice!), and not only does Quark totally shrug it off (or rather, is actually impressed by it!), but Odo and Sisko and the rest don’t bother imposing any consequences? (You could argue that he never actually goes through with the second attempt, but he and Krax still set off a bomb on the promenade, for fuck’s sake!) That Quark (or anyone) would have the first clue what to do upon suddenly becoming the Grand Nagus, but also, that no concerns for his safety would even enter his head until someone actually threatened him? That, after being threatened, he would brush off Odo, and look to Rom to protect him? Every bit of this is absolutely ludicrous.

With the introduction of the Grand Nagus, the show had an opportunity to do some world-building in a way that might have furthered the project of salvaging the Ferengi as a viable concept/people, and to actually explore the idea of this ultra-capitalist society on a thematic level. The writers chose, however, to stick with using them as a kind of running joke instead. (To briefly throw them a bit of a bone, though: Even though I find his performance a bit grating, I have to concede that casting Wallace Shawn in the role was sort of brilliant.) What, one might ask oneself, would the leader of a people such as the Ferengi be like? By what means, and toward what kinds of ends, would he exercise power over other Ferengi? For example: Why does a Ferengi businessman need Zek’s blessing in order to be the one who gets to introduce synthahol to the gamma quadrant? Wouldn’t the various Ferengi who were interested in such a venture just pursue it on their own initiative? And if not (because one can certainly imagine reasons why it might not work that way)…well, then shouldn’t it be the show’s job to develop the idea of the Ferengi, and of the Nagus, by showing us why not, and how it does work? And shouldn’t the answers, like, function as a meaningful sci-fi allegory for how capitalism works (maybe contrasting ideology with reality) back here in the real world? Or, another angle: When Zek congratulates his little assembly of business leaders about profits being up, whose profits is he talking about, exactly? Does he, and do the others, give a shit about how profitable Ferengi business ventures in general are, rather than caring only about how successful they each are individually? And, again—if so, then why? And what does it mean/tell us (about the relationships between money and power, say)? For that matter, does the Nagus actually have business ventures of his own? One would presume so, but the episode doesn’t bother to define anything about him other than his sort of cartoonish role as a feared and respected leader lording it over the rest of the one-note caricature Ferengi, who, for their part, toady up to him because…uh…well, they just do. Another question: Why is it that, in seeming contravention of everything we’re told about Ferengi values, Zek could, if he chose, force Quark to sell his bar to him for a pittance? Again, the show could develop this premise in way that would actually say something—but instead, it gives us sitcom in place of social commentary. Or: Do Ferengi typically find ways to rationalize their own greed and dishonesty to themselves, and see themselves as “good,” in the way that real people (however awful) generally tend to do, and feel maligned by outsiders’ negative views of them? Or do they actually share everyone else’s view of them as unscrupulous bastards, and take pride in it? Because during Zek’s conference, we have him bemoaning their poor reputation (which he blames on “lies” spread by their competitors) one minute, and then, just a few seconds later, they are all celebrating their opportunity to exploit virgin territory, where they might actually be taken at their word—”until we decide to break it!” Ha ha, aren’t these clowns just a hoot? There’s nothing real about any of this, no willingness to take the idea of the Ferengi at all seriously, and certainly no effort to use them as a vehicle for any kind of meaningful commentary about capitalism. What’s really weird, in fact, is that even though, on one hand, the writers do seem to disapprove of the Ferengi’s uber-capitalist ethos, they choose, for some reason, to portray it as fundamentally clownish and harmless (something to laugh at), rather than exploring what could be powerful, alluring, and/or dangerous about it. What’s up with that?

There’s secondary storyline about Jake and Nog that’s all right, even though not everything about it make sense. For instance—uh, Nog can’t read? Seriously? The episode wants us to understand that the Ferengi don’t value abstract education the way we do, but…like, Quark and Rom and the Grand Nagus and presumably all the other adult Ferengi we know of can read, right? And it’s probably a useful skill in business, right? Also, if Nog can’t read, then how in god’s name was he supposed to have written an essay about ethics for school? (Also, I don’t remotely buy that Miles would be the logical choice for a substitute teacher for the school while Keiko is away. Okay, so he’s her husband, so I guess he’d be invested in supporting her and helping the school to succeed—but is there no more qualified person anywhere on the station? And isn’t he…kind of a busy guy?) But anyway: Putting all of that aside, the little story about the bond that Jake and Nog have formed despite their respective fathers’ misgivings, and Nog trying to balance that bond against his loyalty to his dad and to traditional Ferengi values, and Sisko confronting the fact that his son is at an age where he’d rather hang out with a friend than be taken somewhere fun by his dad, is worth something. And even though Nog’s supposed illiteracy is ridiculous, it does work for the story to wind up in a place where Sisko essentially finds out that rather than Nog exerting a negative influence on Jake, maybe Jake is a good influence on Nog, and that maybe he (Sisko) can relax and let go a little bit and trust his son to be the kid that he’s tried to raise him to be.

A few other tidbits: Although we’ve certainly seen Rom in previous episodes, he doesn’t really emerge as the Ferengi we will know throughout the series (with his characteristic demeanor/mannerisms, way of talking, and mixture of subservience and resentment toward Quark) until this one (murder attempts aside!). Also, the whole concept of the Rules of Acquisition makes its debut here—and since, despite their being somewhat silly in the same kinds of ways as the other Ferengi stuff that I complained about above, I do actually find the Rules entertaining most of the time, I’ll give the episode a point or two for that (and Rom’s very rhythmic recitation of the first Rule in this episode has long stuck in my head as a classic bit). (Wow, that was a very alliterative phrase! Now I want there to be a book entitled “Rom’s Rhythmic Recitation of the Rules of Acquisition.”) Anyway, these are few more reasons (however modest) not to totally hate this episode. (On the other hand, though, I call a total bullshit on the writers establishing that Molly O’Brien is somehow 3 years old already! Also, I had totally forgotten that the premise of the Ferengi selling off the desiccated remains of their illustrious dead loved ones as collectibles had been established here, long before the episode “Body Parts.” One thing that this means is that I was actually not hard enough on the TNG episode “Suspicions” when I questioned the claim made there that the Ferengi “have death rituals that require the deceased’s body to not have been violated.” When writing that review, I thought that (beyond just seeming ridiculous on its face) this was at odds with a later-established premise about them commodifying and selling their remains…but actually, “The Nagus” preceded “Suspcions,” so there was even less excuse for that nonsense!