Series: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Season 1, Episode 11
Original Air Date: March 21, 1993
 |
| via Memory Alpha |
Grand Nagus Zek (Wallace Shawn), the high priest/CEO of the Ferengi, comes to Deep Space 9 for a surprise visit. He shockingly chooses Quark as his successor, then up and dies. Our favorite bartender takes quickly to the honor until he discovers someone's out to kill him. Meanwhile, Jake teaches Nog to read.
The Ferengi, little more than an annoying joke in NextGen, come into their own in DS9. "The Nagus" represents a significant expansion of their world as well as the first episode for which Quark takes the lead. The title of Nagus, taken from an Indian word negus, is established for the first time as is the Ferengi's sacred text, The Rules of Acquisition. Many prefer the B-narrative Jake/Nog tale and it is rather sweet, helping to develop both previously neglected characters.
One reason some don't like the Ferengi A-story, or the Ferengi in general, merits further discussion. Some, with good reason, see the Ferengi and their culture as drawing from Jewish stereotypes: the love of money, the exaggerated facial features, 285 rules of acquisition mirroring 613 commandments, etc. It's also worth noting that the Ferengi are nearly always portrayed by Jewish actors. For that matter, Ira Steven Behr, screenwriter for the episode, is also Jewish. Predictably, no one involved with the show has ever owned up to a direct connection and Armin Shimmerman (Quark) has eloquently denied it. It's entirely plausible that the similarities are a highly regrettable coincidence. But as with many cases in such matters, maybe someone somewhere along the line should have caught it. Regardless of intention, it landed poorly with a lot of people and one wishes that could have been avoided.
For a thoughtful read on the matter, I recommend Alice Rose Dodds's article here.
Acting Notes
 |
| via Amphibia Wiki |
Wallace Shawn was born November 12, 1943 in New York City. His parents were both literary professionals, Mom a journalist and Dad the longtime editor of The New Yorker. He went to boarding school at Vermont's Putney School, then Harvard and Oxford.
Wallace Shawn (apparently, people call him Wally) has industry cred coming out of his ears. We'll start with the writing. He's an award-winning playwright and a co-writer for the screenplay of My Dinner with Andre. The latter alone grants him indy film giant status for life. I am biased as Shawn has memorable roles in two of my all-time favorite movies: Vizzini in The Princess Bride and Mr. Hall in Clueless (based, of course, on Jane Austen's Emma). Plus, he's been in six Woody Allen features. He is, without question, one of the great character actors of his generation. And that voice! On top of everything else, he's Rex in the Toy Story movies so he's got Pixar cred, too.
No comments:
Post a Comment