The Good: Brilliant acting, Funny, Moments of engaging plot, Moments of character
The Bad: Character growth is all undone by the end of the episode
The Basics: When the Grand Nagus visits the station, Quark is forced to impersonate a woman to woo the member of the Ferengi Commerce Authority who holds a swing vote over keeping Zek in power!
Sometimes, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine took real risks. Those were the great episodes. One of the common factors among episodes that failed to break out of simply being “good” was that they lacked ambition. In television, ambition is often illustrated by taking characters in radical new directions. In the case of Quark on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the potential for a radical shift in the character came yet again in “Profit And Lace.” In “Profit And Lace,” Quark has the opportunity to completely change how he treats women and for the latter half of the episode, he does make a pretty profound change. Unfortunately, the changes do not ultimately stick and “Profit And Lace” becomes something of a ridiculous bottle episode.
This is not the first time Quark has the chance to seriously reform. In “Body Parts” (reviewed here!), he ultimately decided life was more important than money and early in the sixth season, he goes on a crusade to illustrate that Ferengi can be heroic and not dependent upon others. But equally as often, Quark has reverted to his initial characterization. He began instituting reforms in his bar following “Bar Association” (reviewed here!), yet his workers continue to complain and he continues to generally treat them poorly. So, with “Profit And Lace,” Quark has another chance for character growth and the hope of most viewers was that he would learn, grow and develop. Instead, Rom once again shows more of a grasp on bettering himself than Quark does.
When Grand Nagus Zek and Quark’s mother, Ishka, arrive on Deep Space Nine, Quark, Rom and Nog are shocked to learn that Ferengi society is in a state of collapse. Urged on by Ishka, Zek instituted sweeping reforms that have put the pure capitalist Ferengi business model in danger. Brunt, naturally, is using the opportunity to attempt to seize power and it looks like this time he has all the leverage and strength with all the right people to make it happen. After calling in every possible favor, Quark and the others are only able to persuade one Ferengi to come to the station to consider supporting Zek. That Ferengi is Nilva, the powerful owner of Sluggo Cola.
Nilva is willing to endorse the Bill of Opportunities if he can meet Ishka, which becomes impossible when Quark traumatizes her into shock. Desperate to save Ferenginar, Quark is surgically altered to be a female in order to interact with Nilva . . . who promptly falls in love with “her.” Now, Quark must reject Nilva and save Ferengi society without pushing Nilva into the camp of potential Grand Nagus Brunt!
“Profit And Lace” has the unfortunate reputation as one of the worst Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episodes, but I think that is a bit harsh. Much more effective than some of the other farce episodes, most notably “Who Mourns For Morn?” (reviewed here!) earlier in the season, “Profit And Lace” is genuinely funny and has some truly memorable moments. Moreover, the recurring gag about Brunt only being the acting Grand Nagus is executed quite well.
What people seem to neglect when thinking of “Profit And Lace” is just how good of a performance Armin Shimerman and Max Grodenchik give. When Grodenchik as Rom strides to show Quark how to walk like a woman, he does it so convincingly that it is impossible not to laugh. Moreover, when Shimerman becomes Lumba, he actually creates a significantly different character with his body language and the delivery of his lines. The performance aspects of “Profit And Lace” set it well above the bottom episodes of the series.
Also worthwhile is the plot. If there was ever a contrivance to put Quark in a dress, the idea of trying to save Ferengi civilization from Brunt’s rule would have to be the best possible reasoning. Impersonating Zek’s “secret advisor,” becomes as reasonable a conceit as one could get for this sort of thing. For such a conservative character, the stakes are truly that high to get him to take such a drastic measure and that element works. The costumes are pretty awesome also.
“Profit And Lace” is not a great episode, but the biggest fault of it is that it is not ambitious enough. Quark walks a mile in the stilettos of Ferengi women and he ultimately learns nothing. That is truly disappointing.
[Knowing that VHS is essentially a dead medium, it's worth looking into Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - The Complete Sixth Season on DVD, which is also a better economical choice than buying the VHS. Read my review of the penultimate season by clicking here!
Thanks!]
For other works featuring Wally Shawn, be sure to visit my reviews of:
Toy Story 3
Furry Vengeance
Southland Tales
The Incredibles
The Princess Bride
7/10
For other Star Trek episodes, please check out my film and television index page for an organized listing by clicking here!
© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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