Review

I suppose it was only a matter of time before something like this had to happen. Well, I'm not going to rant about how this episode tramples all over continuity like a fanatic at a convention, because with some rationalization it's not so bad. With some more careful writing, it could have even been a great episode. I liked the detail showing the Ferengi whip, and I liked how Archer seems to have scared them all the way back to their homeworld. Knowing the Ferengi, who are driven by fear more than other species, they probably avoided Earth's corner of the galaxy for a long time and once the Federation was formed they probably avoided that too until contact became absolutely necessary in TNG: The Last Outpost. That said, I'm not happy that the writers decided the Ferengi needed a cameo and that they did it in such a careless manner. In order to rationalize this episode, we're forced to believe that these Ferengi were a very long way away from home and that records concerning this incident were not kept in very good detail. Both are distinct possibilities, so I'm just going to leave it at that. Continuity does suffer because of this episode though, and I've forced to mark it down thusly. When you stop caring about such things though and watch the episode for its raw merits, what you find is that its marvelously hilarious. Watch this episode to find the basis for Quark's future "Vulcan Love Slave" holosuite program. ;)