The Last Outpost (TNG)

            I’m trying to watch this show as if I were just discovering this world and these characters, and have no idea how things will grow or develop. Sometimes this is harder than others. In the 20 seasons of Trek that follow this one, the Ferengi quickly became the punch lines of the Alpha Quadrant. But here, in their first ever appearance, we are asked to take them quite seriously. And I find that very difficult.

            As the episode opens, the Enterprise is chasing a Ferengi Marauder which stole an expensive piece of equipment from a Federation outpost. Data compares the alien culture to “Yankee Traders” in their insatiable lust for profit. That continues to be true throughout the various series’, but Deep Space Nine’s Ferengi would never resort to this kind of blatant looting. This is not to say the Ferengi are more principled later on. It’s just that later on, they’re portrayed as absolute cowards, who would never even conceivably risk a conflict with a Galaxy class starship. Here they seem to have at least a bit of a spine.

           

            But I’m getting ahead of myself. The Enterprise finds itself trapped in a forcefield which is slowly draining its power. Assuming the Ferengi are the source of this attack, the open hailing frequencies saying they are “prepared to discuss surrender”. The Ferengi, caught in the same trap and thinking the Enterprise to be the source of it, assume they are being asked to surrender, and promptly do so. This turns everyone’s attention to the planet.

            The planet, it turns out was once an outpost of a huge interstellar empire, called the TKon Empire, which died off when their sun went Nova, never mind that no one seems to understand that “interstellar” sort of intrinsically implies… well, never mind, it’s not important.

LASER WHIPS.

            Riker, Yar, Data, Worf, and Geordi all beam down to the planet, but the transporter scatters everyone so it takes them a while to reunite, then an away team of Ferengi ambushes them with LASER WHIPS. Fortunately, Yar is not with them, and is able to rescue them and bring the whole thing to a standoff. In the midst of this, a weird, robed alien materializes. It is the Portal to the TKon Empire, and asks the “barbarians” to petition for entry.

            Now the Ferengi become more like the Ferengi we will come to know, groveling, scheming, and trying to gain advantage with the powerful aliens. Unfortunately for them, the Portal can read minds, and seeing through their deception, asks one to come forward and be tested. Worf tries to volunteer, assuming the test will be martial, but Riker stops him, quoting Sun Tzu. “He will triumph who knows when to fight, and when not to.”

            Honestly, I didn’t really get the ending. It’s not an awful episode, but its one that seems to lack any sort of thematic center – while it has obvious parallels to the TOS classics “Day of the Dove” and “Errand of Mercy”, it doesn’t seem to bring up their antiwar message, and the the Ferengi are never threatening enough to effectively build much tension.

The gems of this episode are all in little character interaction and the way in which the cast seems to be building chemistry. But the art of telling a fully contained story with themes and ideas running through it is an area where TNG’s writers have yet to catch up even to TOS.

Random Observations:

The Data/ Geordi dynamic continues to grow, but as Jonah points out its reminiscent of Chekov and Sulu’s peanut gallery discussions of TOS days.

Speaking of Geordi, he’s acting like the chief engineer now, but he’s still wearing red. Also, despite LeVar Burton’s easy-going charisma, he’s still coming off extremely bland.

Wesley Crusher does not appear in this episode.

There’s a really out of place Crusher/ Picard shipping scene while the away team is down on the planet and they contemplate the possibility that they are about to die. One assumes these conversations happen less as the show goes on because the characters realize that they are kind of constantly about to die.

I think part of the reason Yar is on her way out is that she and Worf are too much like each other. And Worf is the more interesting character.

Betazoids can’t read Ferengi. This is consistently maintained throughout the show, and is super convenient as the Ferengi become the galaxy’s con men.

Armin Shimmerman plays the Ferengi first officer. He plays it very different than Quark, but with an unrestrained, nervous physicality. It’s silly, but he makes it work.

The misogyny of the Ferengi is presented through the lens of “cultural values”, which I find irksome. The Ferengi are disgusted that the Federation clothes their women and lets them serve on starships (despite the fact that most cultures they’ve encountered presumably have clothed women.)

I get that its a metaphor, but Data should be able to break out of a Chinese finger trap without "figuring it out." He's like ten times as strong as a human.

This is an ensemble piece, but I’m calling it a Riker episode because it feels like one? Riker is the one who is tested, and it’s Riker we learn something about.