10 Dumb Mistakes Star Trek Wants You To Forget
5. The Ferengi Code Of Honour
The introduction of the Ferengi in The Next Generation was a very strange affair. Clearly, they were intended to become series regulars and bad guys to the level of the Klingons and the Romulans in the Original Series. In fact, the Romulans were originally planned to only appear long enough to be destroyed by the Borg. Thankfully, that idea was scrapped.
The Ferengi, however. They were introduced with the love of profit that would come to define them, though they were also painted as vicious and almost feral beings. Once trapped by the force that bound their ship and the Enterprise-D, over Delphi Ardu IV, their commander - DaMonn Tarr - offers a return of stolen technology and 'the life of their second officer, in accordance with the Ferengi code.'
The only 'code' that is ever referred to after this, arguably, is the Rules of Acquisition. This is clearly because the Ferengi simply didn't work on-screen as intended. They were laughable, described as hopped-up Gerbils rather than anything particularly frightening. Armin Shimerman, who appeared in the Last Outpost, has joked that he took on the role of Quark in Deep Space Nine to atone for their very first appearance.
Having said this, their first appearance could simply have been the writers following the 239th Rule of Acquisition: Never be afraid to mislabel a product.