The Magnificent Ferengi

An early scene in the bar sets the stage nicely. Quark explains to his patrons
how he discovered some beverage exporters who were cheating the market at the
expense of customers. Quark's discovery, as a result, led to a moral victory
and a free supply of a beverage called "syrup of squeal." But when Dax, Bashir,
and O'Brien walk into the bar after having completed a dangerous mission behind
enemy lines, everyone's attention is instantly shifted away from Quark. 
People are more interested in heroes whose victories count for something 
important (namely the war effort) than they are in a fresh supply of some
new beverage.Quark learns of  kidnapping of Quark and Rom's mother Ishka
(Cecily Adams)--better known as "Moogie"--at the hands of the Dominion.
The Grand Nagus then asks Quark to get her back (offering the reward of 50 bars
of gold-pressed latinum), leading Quark to recruit an all-Ferengi 
"task force" to get the job done. 
So he recruits his task force from a number of familiar faces. His brother Rom and 
nephew Nog are the first to come aboard the mission; the former for a cut of 50 
bars of latinum, the latter because he gets to call the shots as strategic 
operations officer and also a cut of 20 bars of latinum. Why 20? Because 
by the time Nog is recruited into the mission, Quark and Rom have decided to lie 
to everyone else about the amount of the reward. Quark recruits the rest of his
team one by one in some mildly entertaining scenes, including Leck (Hamilton Camp),
a knife-wielding assassin with "unique priorities"; the now-ruined cousin Gaila
(Josh Pais), whom Quark bails out of jail in exchange for his help (he had been 
imprisoned for vagrancy); and of course "Brunt, FCA," or rather now just plain
and simple Brunt (the Nagus fired him following his treachery in 
"Ferengi Love Songs"), who cons Quark into letting him in on the profit
opportunity since he's the only one with a ship.
With the help of Major Kira's recommendation, the Federation grants Quark's team 
custody of prisoner Keevan (Christopher Shea), the arrogant Vorta captured 
earlier this season in "Rocks and Shoals." The plan is to trade Keevan for 
Ishka--but also to be ready for anything the Dominion might do to go back on the 
agreed trade.
A bargain with the most annoyed Vorta in the quadrant.
These Ferengi constitute the most inept action team I've ever seen, and the 
results are often quite funny. Take, for example, the scene where they engage
in combat simulations in the holosuite. Rom runs into a wall. Brunt surrenders 
all too easily. Gaila is shot. Leck shoots Moogie. And Nog is just a big pain as
drill sergeant. Oddly, much like first season's "The Nagus," more Ferengi 
on-screen at once turns out to be more fun. I'm not sure why; it must have 
something to do with snappy,rapid-fire dialog and the manic energy of all 
the actors combined.
Some of the humor, like the sly scene where Quark and Rom roam the shafts of the 
station to suddenly and accidentally find themselves in Sisko's office, work 
because they're clever and understated. But more often than not, it's the 
go-for-broke banter and slapstick that is put to the test in "The Magnificent 
Ferengi." The plot takes the Ferengi to the abandoned station Empok Nor where 
they're to meet and negotiate with a Vorta official named Yelgrun (Iggy Pop)--a 
man with lots of Gem'Hadar at his disposal and not a whole lot of patience.
There's plenty of dialog between Quark and Yelgrun, much of it ending with 
Yelgrun making a reluctant Meanwhile, prisoner Keevan plays the part of
the annoyingly keen. after being caught in the crossfire of one Ferengi (Gaila)
infuriated at learning he has been cheated by another Ferengi (Quark). Only 
Ferengi negotiators could inadvertently kill the prisoner they brought along
to use as their bargaining tool.
In a move that borders on gallows humor, Nog rigs Keevan's corpse with neural
stimulators in order to create the illusion Keevan is still alive long enough
for the rest of the Ferengi to gain the upper hand on Yelgrun and 
his two soldiers. . Seeing the dead Keevan standing like a statue with eyes 
wide open and head lodged at an unnatural angle was still a hilarious sight.
Yelgrun: "What have they done to him?" Indeed. And leaving Keevan's bumping
into the wall for the Gem'Hadar to pick up.
The Ferengi, decide that they are indeed the stuff that hero are made of, 
and to take back with them the annoyed Vorta as a prisoner of war,
to prove to the rest of the galaxy that they are indeed the stuff that 
heroes are made of...

The end.

Next week the walz