Subspace Radio: a Star Trek podcast

Kevin: Hello, and welcome
back to Subspace Radio.

It's me, Kevin.

Rob: And me, Rob!

Kevin: And we are here to talk
about Lower Decks, Season 4, Episode

6, Parth's Ferengi Heart Place.

Rob: Sure, why not?

We've been given so many beautiful
things this season with Lower Decks.

Let's go back to Ferenganar and see
it in more than just like a, a rainy,

uh, uh, matte painting or something
like that from, uh, Deep Space Nine.

Let's, let's get the full idea,
as Mariner says, this would

be heaven if God was stupid.

Kevin: I forgot that line, that is good.

Um, I too noticed the distinct lack of
rain on Ferenginar this episode, uh,

Rob: There was some rain.

I believe I did see some rain.

There was some, uh, ponchos that our
intrepid crew members were wearing

to stave off the, uh, the non stop
monsoon and rain of, uh, Ferenganar.

Kevin: Ah, my eyes were dazzled by
the Uncle Quark's Youth Casino sign.

Rob: And what was it?

The, the, uh, Haggle at the Museum of
Gambling and Gamble at Museum of Hag...

Kevin: haggling...

Oh, so much joy and delight at Ferenginar,
a homeworld that we have only seen kind

of a couple of interior sets of before,
and one matte painting with a lot of rain.

Rob: Yes, lot of interiors with
very low circular, uh, doorways.

But we see a full expansion
of, uh, the Ferengi culture.

And of course they embrace commercials
and TVs focused on, uh, rent cops.

Kevin: Just like Orion earlier this
season, I now realize that this had to

wait for Lower Decks, because it is a
comedy society, in some respects, and so,

uh, choosing to show it to us as a cartoon
for the first time, or in animated form

for the first time, allows them to go
there and go deep with all the delightful

details that, probably would not work
quite as well in a live action series.

Rob: Well yes, the groundwork for
the Ferengi culture was really built

up in, uh, Deep Space Nine so much
so, fans would always go Oh, it's a

Ferengi episode, you can skip that.

But no, there are some good
Ferengi episodes out there, but

Kevin: Oh, just you wait.

I, I may surprise you with the
episode of, uh, Ferengi culture that

I have brought to discuss today, Rob.

Rob: I'm very interested
to see which one you have.

Kevin: Not as skippable as we might
think, some of those early ones, I think.

Rob: Excellent.

How did you find, uh, this, this
trip onto the Ferengi homeworld?

Kevin: Well, um, yeah,
delightful from beginning to end.

I do have to say, I was hoping
that you would recognize the title

because I have learned by reading the
reference that is in the title and I

thought, that sounds like something
that Rob might know something about.

Apparently, Parth Ferengi's Heart Place is
a reference to Garth Meringue's Darkplace,

which is a 2004 British horror parody
television series created by Richard

Ayoade and Matthew Holness for Channel 4.

Rob: Yeah, Richard Ayoade is of
course famous for The IT Crowd.

I sadly do not know how deep cut
this reference is, so I'm hearing

it for the first time from you.

Kevin: Yeah, I, I think I need to go and
watch this thing, but it, it is bizarre.

It sounds like kind of a parody
of the Twilight Zone or something.

It is.

It is a short series that is presented as
if it was a, uh, set of lost episodes from

a previously cancelled horror anthology,

Rob: Right.

Kevin: understanding from
reading the Wikipedia page.

But boy, reaching into your deep
bucket of things you're a fan of and

pulling that out to reference in a Star
Trek title, I'm kind of like, okay.

I would say 99.999 percent of
people who see this Star Trek

title would go, Hmm, that's weird.

What's going on there?

Rob: Sadly, I am one of those people.

I will need do deep
dive like you have done.

So, I, feel ashamed.

Kevin: Yeah.

Bizarre one.

Rob: This episode did of course
have the return of Rom and Leeta.

Kevin: Yes, great to have them
back, the original actors.

It was one of those sets of characters
that I think I didn't realize I was

wanting to see what happened next
to them or where they were post-DS9.

That was such a delight, our visit to DS9
last season, of like getting to see these

characters in the aftertimes, uh, in the
happily ever after period of their lives,

Rob: Especially with Deep
Space Nine, because it doesn't

end that happily at all.

Kevin: No!

And getting to see Rom and Leeta
leading Ferengi culture into a bright

new future was, uh, great to see.

And yet, you know, they
aren't that changed.

They are clever, deceptive
negotiators for a good deal, just

like any good Ferengi should be.

Rob: Rom is, uh, the Grand
Nagus, but he's also a union man.

Let's not forget that.

We had quite a few stories this time.

We had the, uh, I'm not sure
even which the A plot is, but

we had the negotiation plot.

We had, um, we had Tendi and Rutherford
having to pretend to be a couple.

Kevin: Oh, that gave me life.

That was so good.

Rob: We had Mariner catching up
with an old Ferengi friend who

first appeared in season one,

Kevin: Yes, continuing to
grapple with her demons.

Rob: Yes, um, she is repeating the same
story again, but doing it in a, a bar

fight, which, uh, was kind of frustrating.

And, uh, Boimler being suckered
in by, um, commercial television.

Kevin: Will they or won't they?

Rob: This moment where he goes,
they just lied in a commercial.

Ha!

That's hilarious.

Kevin: Yeah, absolutely.

The negotiation plot, I don't know
if this is what's needed, but it is

kind of bothering me this week that we
can't seem to decide whether Captain

Freeman is good at her job or not.

In one episode, she's screwing up
a, thousands year old computer by

not taking advice from her own crew.

And in the very next, she's the
only one who sees what the Ferengi

are doing at the negotiation table.

So I think we are being asked to accept
that she is not a great captain in

terms of, uh, skill and experience,
but she's better than most admirals is

also what we're being asked to accept.

Rob: Yeah, there's a reason why
she's staying at California class.

But yeah, there was very much a
case of this, there was a lot of...

familiar tropes.

So that, for me, was a very classic
sitcomy type setup, where you have

to achieve something, the person in
charge is actually not as smart as

the person who could be doing it, and
then right at the end it flips around.

That was classic sitcomy structure.

The same thing with Tendi
and, uh, Rutherford.

They were sort of like, um, the friends
having to pretend to be a couple,

and then that gets a bit too awkward
for them, and what does that mean?

That was very...

classic sitcomy type stuff as well.

And then we were treading the same ground
with Mariner, and Boimler with, that was

a bit of a classic cliche as well again,
he wants to do all this other stuff,

but he's drawn into a lot of stuff.

So for me it was very much
filled with nothing but, in many

ways, cliche sitcom type stuff.

Kevin: Yeah, and all of them reset at
the end of the episode as well, which,

for me, that is the only thing that I
wanted more from the Rutherford/Tendi,

story, is seeing them, like, cross
that line and then blush at the

feelings they had for each other, uh,
I was like, oh, this is so delicious.

This is what I have wanted to
see from these two, but then by

the end of the episode, they're
like, well, okay, we fixed that.

Let's crawl into the
Jeffries tube together.

Ah, this feels right.

And it's a good comedy beat, but
to me, it undermines character

development that I am craving.

Rob: Yeah, and there was a sense
of, they, they didn't go in many

ways far enough of specificities.

It was just generic stuff about I like
your eyes or all this type of stuff.

They didn't go into that

Kevin: they didn't get real with

Rob: Yeah, where that connection with
the two of them go, is so strong.

And so why they are feeling so awkward.

They're getting so awkward about
talking about nudity or they're

getting talking about you know, they're
pretending in this particular way.

I'm going I want to go further
about why they feel so awkward

because how the two of them are so
connected to each other individually.

Kevin: Yeah.

And I can't tell if I want that
and they're not giving it to us

yet because they want to tell that
story later and they're giving it

a, they're giving us little, little
crumbs and eventually we'll get there

over, over many episodes and seasons.

Or if I am wanting something that
this show just is not that show,

like maybe this show is like, we
are not the big character arcs

or relationship stories show.

We are a comedy show.

Uh, and so we're not going to go there.

I'm reminded of the sitcom Friends.

When got real good is when
these characters started having

multi episode arcs in their
relationships with each other.

Ross and Rachel go through their will
they won't they period, and then they

get together for a whole season, and
then they break up, and then they

get back together, and then they get
married, and then they have a baby.

Like, that sort stuff is what brought
people back week after week to Friends,

is like, yes, every episode was a self
contained story and, and comedy episode,

but the character relationships, the
friendships grew and evolved and were

affected by each individual story.

And we have a bit of that here in
Lower Decks, but I can't tell if

they are going to go all the way with
something like a Rutherford/Tendi,

will they, won't they story.

They're definitely hanging a lantern
on it by having Boimler watch a

show literally entitled Will They,
Won't They who have unacknowledged

feelings for each other in workplace.

Like, they know what they're doing there.

They're telling us, we know, what
you want and we are going to put

it on a Ferengi soap opera you
that we know what you want and then

we're not going to give it to you.

So I kind of want to give them credit
and say it's obviously deliberate, I hope

they're going to get there eventually.

But I don't know.

I don't know if that would break Lower
Decks to to go the full Friends route.

Rob: Yeah, I mean to reference Friends
again, I mean one of the key plots

as well in the final season was where
it felt a little bit like jumping the

shark with Joey developing feelings for
Rachel and Rachel kind of, and then they

kind of realize, no, this doesn't work.

We are just friends.

And I find that there's something
quite powerful in the structure of

Lower Decks about, you know, a guy
and a girl can just be friends and it

Kevin: It is, it is refreshing and
interesting for its own sake, but I think,

nevertheless, this episode gave us a
fresh taste of what's on the other side

of that line they are refusing to cross.

Rob: Yeah, exactly, and there's
always, in long serving shows, those

relationships that come and go and
last and endure, but also those

relationships that try to start, don't
kind of work, why don't they work, and

how do they, you know, stop, start, and
kind of stay, uh, in that friend zone.

It was very much a case of they were
manipulating the audience who have been

watching it going we've been seeing what
you're doing and that's the writers going

well we know you see what we're doing and
we're going to do this because we know

that you know that we know that you know.

Kevin: Speaking of Friends.

So we, uh, we journeyed to
Ferenginar, in this episode and,

it, uh, prompted us to think what
other, like, really great Ferengi

episodes have there been in the past?

We've, we've certainly delved into
some of them before in our explorations

of Deep Space Nine, but let's go
looking for, for us, our favorite

Ferengi episodes of whatever series.

And, uh, yeah, Rob, I might
surprise you this week.

Rob: I'm very interested to see
where will you be coming from?

Where will you be going?

Will you be going with the first
episode of Star Trek Next Generation

with the appearance of the Ferengi?

Kevin: Uh, no, I will not be going for
The Last Outpost, which is a very early

TNG episode where we, where Ferengi are
introduced, but they are, they are little

more than hissing, energy whip wielding,
two dimensional villains in that episode.

Although there is, there's a taste
of like, they are established as

like a mercantile race and there
is a, there is a certain kind of

logical thinking that they are not
capable of because in their nature.

There, there are those seeds planted
there, but I would say that the Ferengi

did not capture my interest then.

But I did pick, I went back to find
like, when was the first time that I felt

like I wanted to lean in on the Ferengi?

And this is Season 3, Episode
24 of The Next Generation.

Ménage à Troi.

Rob: Ménage à Troi, alright, ok, take

Kevin: Do you remember this one, Rob?

Rob: I do not, but I was hoping that you
would, uh, slip into my pool for a little

bit, but I am more than happy to come and,

Kevin: I trust you to tell us
where the gold is for Ferengi in

Rob: The gold pressed
latinum, thank you very much.

Kevin: Uh, so in Ménage à Troi,
Riker, Deanna Troi, and Lwaxana Troi

are kidnapped by a Ferengi ship that
wants to use the telepathic powers

of Lwaxana Troi in order to have an
advantage in business negotiations.

And at the same time, the captain
who has his eyes on Lwaxana Troi as a

prize in his business, also has fallen
head over heels in love with her.

So he is both throwing himself
emotionally and in business terms

at the poor ambassador Lwaxana.

Rob: It's Majel Barrett.

I mean, who wouldn't be?

Come on.

Kevin: Yes, this is, if you enjoy
Majel Barrett's turn in Deep Space

Nine, and you've referenced it several
times, Rob, I you are a fan, this is

that in The Next Generation for me.

We often think of the times where she
came on board the Enterprise looking

for a husband and, uh, and, know,
creeped on each and every man in the

corridor, but this is a different
color for Majel Barrett and to me,

she is playing much stronger here.

She is able to seriously, as a serious
diplomat, rebuff the advances of

this creepy little Ferengi Damon
who, who then kidnaps her from

a garden on Betazed, along with
her daughter and Commander Riker.

And then she, along with Riker and Troi,
they have one of those great escape

capers where they play the aliens against
each other or play their weaknesses.

There's a great scene where
Riker is playing chess with

their captor, the Ferengi guard.

And he's like, Oh, if only I could
get out there, I would be able

to see the board better and, and
give you a better lesson in chess.

Rob: Ha

Kevin: And the Ferengi is like, all
right, but don't try anything, human.

And he lets him out of
the, uh, out of the cell.

And of course, Riker takes him down.

But, um, lots of good telepathy
between Troi and her mother Lwaxana.

And the telepathy is not just
used as a gimmick to like, comment

on the situation or the people.

They're actually using the telepathy in
order to get one over on the Ferengi.

And so it is in some ways a really
interesting Betazoid story as well,

speaking of Betazoids not being
very well explored, as we were

talking about last week, with the
three Betazoids on the Cerritos.

This is another kind of,
we actually visit Betazed.

We actually spend some time in a park
there, and for the Troi and Riker

shippers, they, taking a stroll in
that park, remember the good times they

had together when they were dating.

And there is a very, very sexy kiss.

Before they get kidnapped, Riker and
Troi are well on track to getting

back together in this episode.

for those nasty Ferengi to sidetrack them,
I think, I think they would have gotten

back together here in, on this picnic.

Rob: Ferengiiiii…!

Kevin: But yet, um, one of the Ferengi
officers is played by Ethan Phillips,

who's, uh, who, you know, as, our
great chef Neelix on the Voyager.

Rob: Well, we say chef in inverted commas.

Ha

Kevin: You know, technically, technically.

Rob: Ha

Kevin: There is, uh, the introduction
of Oo-mox, the, uh, the, erotic massage

of the Ferengi ears in this episode.

Rob: Excellent…

Kevin: Yeah, Lwaxana just absently, as
she's trying to sweet talk the Ferengi

captain into giving up his command codes,
she just starts absently, uh, fingering

his earlobes, and he goes, Oh, no one
has given me Oo-mox like this before.

uh, there you

Rob: ha,

Kevin: That, that moment there
was like, okay, the Ferengi are

now fully formed as as a culture.

They are about love and business
being intermingled and, uh,

getting Oo-mox wherever you can.

Rob: Oh look, it's a good
culture if you can get it.

Kevin: I feel for me that this episode is
like the exact halfway point between where

the Ferengi started, which was an attempt
to create the recurring villains for The

Next Generation, way back in The Last
Outpost, and it didn't quite work out.

It didn't quite work, but
that was the intent, is like,

these will be our Klingons.

And it's halfway between that and where
the Ferengi ended up in Deep Space

Nine is almost like the clown or the
comic relief, of that very dark story.

Uh, and here you can see everything
that they would become in Deep Space

Nine but it is also still connected
to the, the creepy, you know, finger

waggling parody of a stereotype that,
uh, that the Ferengi started as.

And so, it's a great
one to revisit, I think.

Rob: Excellent.

I have to definitely give that
a, uh, watch because yeah, mine,

uh, my experience is definitely
Deep Space Nine and beyond.

Kevin: What have you got Rob?

Rob: Well, I've got in many ways,
the most Ferengi of Ferengi episodes.

Uh, Deep Space Nine, of course,
Season 6, Episode 10, we

don't just have one Ferengi.

We have a magnificent six Ferengi.

What an episode.

The Magnificent Ferengi is
the most Ferengi of episodes

that you could possibly

Kevin: right there in the title.

Rob: Yep, we have, uh, Moogie has
been captured by the Dominion.

We are in the heart of the Dominion
War and, uh, Quark has been given

orders by the Grand Nagus to go and
form a negotiation to get her back.

And so he calls upon, uh, other Ferengis
to join him to, uh, bring back his mother.

Who, of course, as we all know,
is, um, quite of a trailblazer

within the Ferengi community.

She does not, uh, walk around naked.

She does wear clothes.

Uh, she, gets herself involved
in all sorts of commerce.

And so much so, she is advising the
Grand Nagus on all the financial

situations of, the Ferengi culture,
so much so that she's pretty much

ruling the Empire, uh, unofficially.

But she needs to be rescued because
she's been captured by the Dominion.

So Quark gets, uh, Rom, Nog,
uh, Brunt, we have Brunt back,

the wonderful Jeffrey Combs.

Is not an incredible episode of
Deep Space Nine or Star Trek unless

you have Jeffrey Combs there.

Plus, a couple of other Ferengis,
like a cousin of Quark's is

there and a Ferengi assassin.

So, having a little bit of a touch from
the Next Gen era we do see a violent

side and a quite threatening side of
Ferengis as well as their love of latinum.

This is just pure like I've talked
about, uh, Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang,

which is a homage to the heist movies

Kevin: I was gonna this has the
feel of a Ferengi heist movie.

Rob: It is very heisty and also of course
the Magnificent Seven, uh, which it

takes its name from, based of course on
Seven Samurai, Kurosawa's great film.

It's about getting a crew,
group together to go off on

Kevin: There is a plan, everyone
plays their part, and then the

joy is watching the plan go
wrong, and how they the punches.

Rob: Look, and it wouldn't be a Star
Trek episode from the 90s for, or

the noughties for me to talk about if
it didn't have a awesome rock star.

So I've talked about, uh, Voyager,
where Tom Morello, the guitar

player from Audioslave and of course
Rage Against the Machine appeared.

Um, and in this episode we have Iggy Pop.

I kid you not, Iggy Pop is,
uh, here playing a Vorta,

Kevin: Yeah, great Vorta.

I mean, they couldn't have, they
couldn't have Weyoun because, uh,

Jeffrey Combs was otherwise occupied.

Though, I would back Jeffrey Combs
to play in a split screen scene with

himself, two different characters,
and have plenty of audience members

not realize it's same actor.

Rob: Look, it's a crime that hasn't been
done, that they just haven't created

an entire Star Trek spin off show with
Jeffrey Combs in every single role.

Look, they do it in animated
Star Wars, uh, with Bradley D.

Baker.

He's the voice of every single
clone in The Bad Batch series.

They could do that with Star
Trek with, um, Jeffrey Combs.

I kid you not.

Kevin: Iggy Pop plays
a great Vorta, though.

I love the kind of arch, uh, version
of the Vorta that he plays here.

Rob: Both, both actors playing
Vorta in this are great.

Of course we have Keevan, who's
been kidnapped, is, uh, taken on

board, and his disdain for, uh,
Ferengis is, uh, made very clear.

And if this was done in modern times...

I know what his final
lines would have been.

In the 1990s, as he is shot and he looks
at the hole in his stomach, he just

says before he dies, I hate Ferengi.

And I have no doubt that he would have
dropped the F bomb, if it done nowadays.

If it was good enough for Amanda Plummer
in Season 3 of Picard, it would be good

for Keevan in, um, Magnificent Ferengi.

So yeah, this is just amazing.

All the Ferengi characters
are firing on all cylinders.

You see all the different level
of, Ferengi culture there.

And different types of characters.

Even, in many ways, more so than how
Klingons are represented, there's sort

of like very much a uniformity with
Klingons, a little bit of variety is

obviously with Worf and stuff like that.

But here, like, Nog is
completely different to Quark.

Quark is completely different to Brunt.

Uh, Moogie is completely
different to Quark.

This,

Kevin: I love that stuff.

I've talked many times about how
entire cultures or species or worlds

are often in Star Trek shrunk to
a single city block, and that we

are told represents a homogenous
culture that, occurs off screen.

Here we get six Ferengi together
and each one represents a completely

different color of the rainbow from that.

amazing culture.

I love that that makes
Ferenganar feel bigger.

Rob: Yeah, just incredible and there's
a, there's dark humor in there as well

with the, with the death of Keevan and
Nog realizing they can reanimate his

body to still do the, the exchange.

Kevin: Oh, I forgot about that.

Ah, that this is among everything
else, this is a Weekend at Bernie's.

Rob: Yes, there's tribute
to Weekend at Bernie's.

It just shows the cunning
and intelligence of Quark.

Uh, of course, uh, Moogie is
kidnapped by the Dominion because

she was going to an exotic location
to have her earlobes lifted.

Kevin: Uh huh.

Rob: Yeah, so they are firmer and
more, more supple than they have

ever been in over a hundred years, I
believe she says, is one of her lines.

She's starting to negotiate with, um,
the Dominion, with, with the Vorta,

played by Iggy Pop, about you should
be doing this and doing that, and you

should have skin care as well, and he
says the famous line, It would be great

to negotiate this with you a bit further
but we're going to have to kill you.

Kevin: Having revisited this episode,
I have a question for you, Rob, which

is, you feel like there is the potential
for the Ferengi to carry… I'm not saying

is going happen tomorrow or even ever,
but would it be possible to create

a fully formed Star Trek series with
Ferengi characters at the center of it?

Like, are they robust enough to carry
a series, or are they one of those

ingredients that are good in small doses?

Rob: Um, well I think Aaron Eisenberg
proved it because he was such an

incredible actor and an amazing performer
and what he did with Nog over seven

seasons to get him to the point where
he was, you know, he wasn't a regular.

He was only there every, you know, like
a supporting character would come in and

out for a couple of episodes every season,
but he felt like he was always there, and

his, his place as a Ferengi in Starfleet,
um, really showed that he could keep

his belief and heritage and who he is as
a Ferengi, but strive for more ideals.

And how that affected,
you know, Rom as well.

Um, so I definitely would, I
don't know if you could do like a

Ferengi-centric um, but you could,
I'm always quite disappointed that

they haven't put another Ferengi as a,
as a Starfleet member on, on a ship.

I think that would be a fantastic
choice and I mean it, you know, no

one did it better than, than Aaron.

But there's definitely, uh, room for
a, not a character similar to Nog,

but with that type of a Ferengi who's
moved on from the capitalistic ideals

and really embraced the Federation.

But using that cunning and intelligence
and all that stuff that is lauded in

Ferengi culture, using that to be a
cunning member of a Federation crew.

Kevin: You mentioned Richard Ayoade's,
uh, IT crowd earlier in the episode.

And that got me thinking of like,
how many comedies are about strange

characters in ordinary situations?

Rob: Yeah.

Kevin: there's no stranger
characters than Ferengis.

And I kind of like the Star Trek
comedy that was driven by...

a group of Ferengi each week placed
in what would otherwise be an

ordinary situation in the Star Trek
universe and seeing them react to

that and interact with that situation.

I feel there is potential there.

Rob: Well, yeah, and I mean, especially
that's been the ongoing debate about,

you know, Roddenberry saying there's
no religion in his future, or no money

and stuff like that, but that may
be a case of the Federation future.

But it's, as we've talked about
before, how those ideals are far more

interesting if they're not in a vacuum,
and so to have this, uh, culture that

is everything in many ways against the
Federation belief that is driven by

capitalism and is driven by oppression
of the female of the species, um, shows

our ideals within Federation and how
they compare and the light can only

shine bright in against that darkness.

Same with, Mariner saying, you know,
this is, you know, this is heaven if

God was stupid, um, is a case of sure
that, you know, the Federation may not

have religion in it, but religion is,
is a powerful, potent thing that has

been around for thousands of years,
and will be around for thousands more

years, whether you believe it or not.

And ignoring it denies you so
many opportunities for drama,

storytelling, character development,
and telling other sides of the story.

And that was the beautiful thing
about Deep Space Nine, with having

the Bajorans as a major focus.

You get to see this, this culture that
is fundamentally based on faith, and

everything else follows behind that.

And how that affects that culture
was fascinating to see, um,

and how Kira battled with it.

And so to see that as well, how
Nog dealt with his, he was torn

between his Ferengi, uh, culture
and his, his ideals of Starfleet.

There's definitely more potential
there and it shapes the Ferengi

out of just being the Ferengi
are the funny, silly ones.

There is definitely more layers to them.

Kevin: All right.

Well, it was there in the title all along.

The Magnificent Ferengi is the best
Ferengi episode of Star Trek Deep

Space Nine, if not of all of Star Trek.

Rob: I believe it is.

Kevin: But yeah, this, this visit to
Ferengi on Lower Decks this week was,

uh, maybe I will call it a close second.

Rob: Well look, any reference where they
have to put gold pressed platinum into

a machine so they could use the gold
pressed latinum machine to use the toilet.

Um, I love that doubling
up of gold pressed latinum.

And of course you can't
park on Ferengenar for free.

You cannot park in Ferenganar for free.

Wherever you park your ship,
you have got to immediately

put in, uh, uh, latinum bars.

Kevin: I am told also that Quark's
Federation Experience bar that

Tendi and Rutherford go to is,
its design is based on Star Trek:

The Experience from Las Vegas.

The Ferengi bar that you went
to at the end of that, uh, that

theme park ride into Star Trek.

Rob: There's a wonderful
documentary on one of the DVDs.

I think it came out with the DVD box
sets years ago, and I still kept that

even now I've got them all on Blu ray.

Um, of the final days of the Star Trek
Experience in Vegas when it closed

down, cause like, the actors who'd
been working there for years in makeup

and, and, saying goodbye to that and
especially quite recently The Galaxy's

Edge experience in Orlando has closed
down, which was the interactive, um,

hotel experience, and I've had some
friends who are actually cast in pivotal

roles in that, and they've been working
on it for the last two or three years,

and like, they thought that was gonna
be their retirement plan, that was them

till they were ready to give up acting.

That was the rest of their acting career.

But to have it close down just
after three years is an end of an

era and they, I remember that from
the, the Star Trek Experience one.

These people who put
years of, you know, life

Kevin: way, it feels like just like an
unrecognized Star Trek cast breaking up.

Rob: Yeah!

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So I definitely had that connection with,
um, seeing Quark's Federation Experience

was very much in the similar light.

Kevin: Yeah.

All right.

Well, at this point I have stopped
entirely trying to guess what Lower

Decks will have for us next week.

It is

Rob: Well,

Kevin: a surprise and always a delight.

Rob: Well last episode we did
sort of like bring in back to

the, to the arc that's happening.

And we found out a
little bit more this time

Kevin: Oh yeah, there was an interesting
twist in the cold open there of the,

the Ferengi who had apparently made
a deal with that ship to, to come

and, uh, they told us we would make
lots of profit and, you know, him

saying, Oh, they're right on time.

So it's.

It is suggesting that this is not an
implacable, completely alien foe, that

this is a presence or a force that is
able to cut a deal with a traitor on board

a Ferengi ship is really interesting.

Rob: And, unlike previous episodes where
they just happen to come across it, this

ship, you know, the ship that we have seen
for the last previous episodes actually

transported into that space, you know,
warped out into that space and came there

specifically to meet the Ferengi ship.

So, seeing

Kevin: getting more.

Rob: Yeah, little bits here and there,
so I thought we'd finish off the episode

like we did last week with a little bit
of a hint on the arc that's happening.

Kevin: Indeed.

Um, it took me way too long to catch
on, but I have noticed this week that

no matter what species encounters
that ship, the alert klaxon on board

is the exact same sound effect.

Rob: Of course is.

Kevin: The alien red alert
sound is the same no matter

what alien we're talking about.

Rob: Excellent, it's the
universal translator, it just

translated it into the same sound.

Have you seen the, uh, uh,
Very Short Trek episodes?

Kevin: I have seen all of the
Very Short Treks, uh, and what

a roller coaster of strangeness.

Rob: Look, I think there's
two that we haven't discussed.

So there was Worst Contact and,

Kevin: I don't think we've
discussed anything except that very

first one, with the Skin a Cat.

Rob: Uh, no, I think we did talk about
the hologram one where there was a

hint of the Prodigy cast in there.

Kevin: Yes, that's right.

What have you thought about our last
couple of Very Short Trek outings?

Rob: Uh, Worst Contact did
what it said on the tin, it was

incredibly gross and disgusting

Kevin: We never talked about
Holiday Party though, I have to say.

And I, Holiday Party is a weird
one, where Spock is like screening

bloopers for the rest of the crew.

Rob: Yes!

It's...

Kevin: don't know, I feel like it, it's
one that gets funnier with rewatches.

The first time I watched it, the stuff he
was showing was so shocking and offensive,

that I was the screaming crew member
running out crying in the background.

Uh, that, that kind of spoke to my
reaction from the first time I watched it.

But, I have to give it credit,
the more you watch it, the more

you become desensitized the trauma
and, uh, and, and find the funny.

Rob: I mean, yeah, seeing, uh, half
a crewman transported into, uh, is,

is one, one thing that sticks into
the memory and it would take multiple

watches to be able to get past that and
find out just how wickedly funny it is.

And Ethan Peck, again, you know, as
you've said, MVP, uh, putting himself

out there and doing an incredible job.

Kevin: Yeah, but this last one of
Walk Don't Run with which culminates

in the jam session with Riker,
Scotty, Scotty slash Ringo Starr.

I've, I did not resemblance now.

And Sulu, of course.

Rob: Three part harmonies with, uh.

Tendi?

Kevin: Yeah, narrated very capably by
Tendi, and, uh, wow, it's, it's a journey.

I think it's at least twice as long as
the others, or at least it feels it.

Rob: That they did the whole song.

They did the I think they'd just do
like a verse and a chorus, but I'm there

going no, they've gone to a bridge.

They are, they are really packing in this
whole song and let's, let's hear those

three part harmonies multiple times.

Kevin: Look, I'm going to say it, Rob.

to be popular, but I'm going to say it.

This is the best musical episode that
we've had of Star Trek this year.

Rob: Look, anything where they sample,
uh, George Takei going, Oh my, and

repeating that over and over again, Um,
I will always, and having Sulu and Riker

walk in with their musical instruments
going, we're here to jam, anybody?

Kevin: It's a cheap laugh, but the
half explosion cut off to the credits

at the end will never not be funny.

Rob: Ha ha

Of course, uh, some of
our, uh, favorite...

favourite, I do it in inverted
commas, characters from The Animated

Series, and we have not seen since.

Our, uh, three armed and
three legged crew member,

Kevin: Yeah, Arex played by Jimmy
Doohan in the animated series, so it

was weird that we had Scotty played
by an actor who is not Jimmy Doohan in

this episode and, if they were really
playing the fans, they would have had

the same actor play both of those voices
because that's it was in the animated

Rob: Um, so yes, they were ridiculous
and silly and I particularly liked,

um, Worst Contact, where they are the
grossest people ever and put their fish

head casseroles into the microwave.

Kevin: Oh, yeah, that was the worst one.

Um, I don't even want to
spend time on that one.

It had some redeeming characteristics,
but as soon as it was like,

oh, that's where you're going?

Okay, I think done.

Rob: Yeah, we're done.

Yep, just blow up, blow up, blow up the
warp drive and get the hell out of there.

Kevin: Yeah, my summary is, I'm
glad they ran experiment, there

were a couple of chuckles in
there, but I'm also glad it's done.

I I

Rob: Ha, ha

Kevin: be hanging out for the
next run of Very Short Treks.

Rob: Ha ha ha ha ha.