Star Trek: Deep Space Nine — 3x23 — Family Business

Aired 1995-05-15

SpaceOpera.com rating:7

Average reader rating:5.04

Synopsis

Quark returns to his home planet to confront his mother, who has broken the Ferengi law prohibiting females from earning a profit.

Filler rating: not filler

Numerous major long term plot threads are serviced here.

Remarkable scenes

Kira: "You know at the rate we go through Runabouts, it's a good thing the Earth has so many rivers."
Dax to Sisko regarding Yates: "Let me put it this way. If I were Curzon, I'd have stolen her from you by now."
Quark and Brunt's reaction a dressed Ishka.
Bashir and O'Brien breaking into Quark's with Odo not particularly caring.
Sisko's first meeting with Yates.
Quark discovering the full extent of his mother's activities.
Rom yelling and Quark and Ishka.
Sisko and Yates discussing her brother's baseball activities.
Rom and Ishka discussing how she hid the bulk of her profits from both the FCA and Quark.
Morn Appearances; 1. At Quark's bar when Quark and Rom argue about Nog joining Starfleet.

Review

Good continuity with the last episode, Jake is still trying to set Sisko up with this freighter captain Kassidy Yates. Jake is wise beyond his years, the match was made in heaven. She even likes baseball. :) I'm extremely fond of the Ferengi plot in this episode. The way Ferengi treat women in this episode is hilarious! A very successful satire, I must say. This episode is a fine example of how DS9 took the silly TNG Ferengi and molded them into one of the most loved species of all of Star Trek. This episode is just articulate in every way while maintaining a certain level of humor too. Very nice.

3 reader comments

Decent episode, but one problem. When Quark is blocking his ears, his skull visibly compresses. I don't recall any information about Ferengi skulls being made of rubber… Apart from that it's a good episode for background on the Ferengi.
by Rob Herbert | 07/29/2010 at 9:08 pm

Best line: Rom about his father, "He couldn't hold on to latinum if you sewed it into his pants!"
I liked this one.
by Lt. Fitz | 06/26/2012 at 1:40 am

This episode, if any so far, puts the lie to Quark's protestations that the Ferengi have never practiced slavery. How their society treats women is, no two ways about it, abject slavery and utter degradation. It's completely inexcusable, given the glaringly obvious evidence from both Ishka and Pel that Ferengi women are just as capable as men -- and in many cases, more so. I know it's portrayed in the show as backward and wrong, but it's still kinda hard to watch. It might be funny if it didn't resemble the way many women are still treated right now in the real world. I try not to judge individual Ferengi characters too harshly -- after all, the sexism is systemic and deeply conditioned.
From a practical economic perspective, these male-dominated races like the Ferengi, Jem'Hadar, Pakleds, etc. are unfortunate, simply by the fact that they end up employing way more male actors. Give us a recurring race of women, already! (Like the Gems in Steven Universe. It is doable, has been done, and is very refreshing!)
I do have to hand it to the DS9 writers for developing the Ferengi, though, after the joke they were on TNG. As problematic as they are in-universe, they've certainly become much more multi-dimensional since they were first introduced. A fine salvage operation.
OK, I changed my mind on one point. The way the men look utterly scandalized when they see a woman NOT naked -- that's fucking hilarious. My dudes, get over yourselves.
by Azalea Jane | 12/17/2021 at 9:23 am