LogFAQs > #933870170

11. Quark
Rule of Acquisition #203: Keep posting writeups even if you dont get responses.

I was going to make a joke writeup about the 1970s show Quark and about how awful it is, but Im probably the only person on B8 who even knows it exists, so I guess I have to do this the right way. A lot of people dislike Quark because his episodes are usually pointless and his supporting cast is not the best, but I disagree, hes pretty great.

Quark is the first attempt by Star Trek to have a character whos not in the Federation and judges Roddenberrys image of the perfect version of humanity by alien virtues. I guess thats actually the Klingon lady in Star Trek VI, but whatever.

So Quarks got a pretty standard character arc: greedy guy learns to be less greedy when people need his help. I like how Quark himself reflects on this and basically predicts it himself in one episode, when he laments to Garak that the Federation is insidious and slowly makes you like it by interacting with you. This was of course expanded upon and made much better by the Discovery character TKuvma.

You know what other science-fiction character Quark is closest to? Londo Mollari from B5. Both are nobodies on unimportant stations far away from anything that matters, then something happens that makes the station important, and suddenly theyre among the most important people in the galaxy. This parallel is heightened by the episode where Quark cheats at poker using his tentacle penises.

Can I just say that I love the Rules of Acquisition? Theyre one of my favorite ideas in all of science-fiction. The idea of an alien bible that just consists of Ayn Randian advice is one of the most brilliant ideas in Star Trek. The greatest Quark moment of all time to me is the episode where he uses it to out-logic a Vulcan and force her to help him.

One of the cleverer aspects of Quark as a character is that hes such a greedy, scheming bastard by human standards, barely tolerable, and yet by Ferengi standards hes so charitable and kind that they eventually have to blacklist his bar. Quarks got his relationship with Odo and the others where hes given a lot of latitude because they know he wont go too far. Theres that one episode where he unknowingly helps smuggle in some guys who are going to kill Jadzia to steal the Dax symbiont, Kira flips out at him, and Quark realizes that oh wait, actually Kira is right, this is basically my fault, and does some mildly heroic things.

Anyway, I dont want to make this writeup last forever, so Ill end it by asking what a Ferengi weapon would be like. I know they have those stupid laser whips in a TNG episode, but I mean for real. Would they just buy really efficient, boring guns, or what?

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Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005