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The Magnificent Ferengi Airdate: Week of
December 27th, 1997
Written by: Ira Steven Behr and Han Beimler
Directed by: Chip Chalmers
In short: A suprising departure from more substandard Ferengi
comedies, "Magnificent" is wonderfully droll but never too ridiculous to be
unbelievable
Summary: Grand Nagus Zek orders Quark to rescue his mother from
the Dominion.
To do this, he assembles a team of "commandos" - Rom, Nog, Lek, Gaila, and
Brunt. Hijinks ensue.
Review:"Magnificent," coming at the tail end of December after a
series of reruns, is
likely to be overlooked in the larger scheme of things, and certainly won't
have very high Nielsen
rating. But try not to let it slip by you. "Magnificent" is liable to
take you by surprise, not only because
of when it airs, but also because it does what most Ferengi comedies have
not done recently - actually be funny. "Magnificent" is a very fun ride
made especially memorable because it never goes overboard and has actual
relevance to the larger Dominion conflict. A very memorable hour.
I think one of the greater points of differentiation between
"Magnificent" and previous comedies
comes with the approach to humor. "Love Songs" tried to get its humor from
subtle dialogue -
Moogie asking Quark if he wants his grub worms chewed for example. It's
funny in a way, once you
think about an alien species where the females pre-chew grub worms, but on
the surface it comes off
as, well, a bit goofy. A whole episode built around jokes like that is
going to fall flat, which is what
"Love Songs" proceeded to do.
This one, on the other hand, was far more madcap, but more importantly,
madcap with a sense
of purpose, a sort of method to the madness. The scene where everyone is
running back and forth
for no reason is hilarious, not only because its just plain goofy, like
much of "Love Songs," but also
because you feel there's a certain sanity beneath it all, a certain nugget
of truth concerning some very
scared people. Likewise, when Quark and Rom accidentally enter Sisko's
office through the
conduits, it just feels right, as if you can just imagine these two people
so caught up in conversation
that they forget where they are. It is silly for a reason.
Helping is the fact that there were really few plot holes. It's
questionable by nature whenever a
group of Ferengi use guns to accomplish anything, especially when those
guns must be used against
the Jem'Hadar. But it actually worked here. Yelgrun gave into Quark, yes,
but the terms made sense, since Yelgrun needed Keevan at all costs, and he
couldn't get Keevan any other way. Personally I liked the Vorta's
flexibility, as it showed that the Dominion isn't just mindless killers.
There certainly needed to be a little tweaking - the first two segments of
the show must have spanned weeks, as Quark had the time, for instance, to
swing by a starbase to pick up Gaila - but, overall, Behr and Beimler
managed to make this look halfway plausible, and that's saying alot for a
show where Quark is the hero.
One of many ways they accomplished this was through excellent use of
continuity. Where do I
begin? Of course, there are obvious examples, like the return of memorable
Ferengi like Gaila and
Brunt or the visit to Empok Nor, but there's more to it than that. Kira
helping Quark, for instance, out of thanks for his help during the war is
an example of just a small litle touch that shows that the writers at DS9
are keeping track of what they've done this year and intend to follow up on
it.
Of course, all of it is for naught if the show just not funny.
Fortunately for us it was hilarious. What can beat the look of glee on
Lek's face when he sends a knife into a Jem'Hadar, or poor Keevan (I
suppose he doesn't care though, since he's dead) left bumping into wall
while the team heads back to Federation space? Or when Moogie was shot in
the trial run because it was obvious they weren't going to win? Or using
the infirmary as home base? Or Rom introducing Keevan to everyone, only to
be told by the Vorta that they're all going to die? Or Nog wanting to be
called sir, only to have Quark talk back to him and Rom point out to Quark
that he forgot to call Nog sir? In places it reached too far, such as when
Quark had to give the members of
the team latinum before they'd march, but overall this episode was just
chocked full of laugh after laugh after laugh. My brother, who is not a
fan, watched the show with me, and he couldn't stop cracking up at poor
Keevan limping across the floor under the control of Nog's neural
stimulants (Proof that this DS9 lovin' reviewer uses outside standards to
judge the show). The show worked not because it played off Ferengi
stereotypes but because it took the situation it was given and brought out
the humor in it.
"Magnificent" quite possibly is the best Ferengi comedy ever, though
another episode where Quark was the hero for all of Ferenginar, "The House
of Quark," is a strong contender, as is "Rules of Acquisition" and "The
Nagus." A couple of jokes were off, and they were moments on Empok Nor
where I thought it would all fall apart. And the trend of DS9 having very
good but not necessarily very meaningful episodes continues, so I do have
that worry. But the writers pulled though, delivering joke after joke
within in a sensible plot, making it this year's surprise hit with ease.
Some short takes:
Boy oh boy did Iggy Pop reek as a Vorta. Sorry Ira, but just because
he's your friend doesn't
mean he can act!
Has Lek tried to kill Quark before? Refresh me, someone, by posting it
on the Fan Comm Link.
It's interesting that Quark hadn't told Rom about his mother's
escapades. I guess he wanted
Rom to keep her high opinion of him.
Rumors had it that we'd see Ferengi Marauders in this episode. We
didn't see them. I wish we
did, not only because they look cool, but also because them arriving as
cavalry would have been
pretty cool itself.
Writing:A bit of an overrreach in places, but a good ride
throughout.
Acting: Well, except for Iggy, it was in top form
Directing: Good work from a director doing DS9 for a first time I
believe
Overall: 9.3 out of 10.0. Quite hilarious.
Next week: Yes! Dukat and Sisko duke it out!
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