“While in pursuit of a mysterious race known as the Ferengi, the Enterprise suffers a sudden power failure.”
High Note: I was just re-watching the episode in an effort to write this annotated synopsis and I learned something completely new. Captain Picard said shit! Albeit in French. He said “Merde”. It was slightly under his breath, right about the point when the engine kickstart attempt didn’t work and if I didn’t have subtitles on I doubt I would have caught it.
This kind of blew my high mind. Like, how did I miss this all my life? It’s crazy…also, . I wonder if it was adlibbed or written in? What do you think?
Main Content
This is the first episode with the Ferengi. That’s the big reveal of the show, but what really catches my attention, more than anything else, is the comparison of Capitalism to the Federation. It’s a stark difference.
They start the show by comparing the Ferengi to yankee traders. The Ferengi then show that they are most interested in what profits them. They are setting them up to futuristic capitalists.
Near the end of the episode the Ferengi complain to Portal about the Federation. Their complaints can be boiled down to the Federation hindering the free market. Riker and Data expand on the Ferengi’s list of anti-free market activities.. In essence they are outlining how the Federation and more specifically, the Prime Directive, differs from the ideas of capitalism.
