10 Bad Episodes Of Otherwise Perfect TV Shows

For my money, Deep Space Nine is easily the most consistent of the various Star Trek series. Unlike its siter series The Next Generation, the characters were established early on, meaning that even the weaker instalments were worth watching - it was plain fun to see this motley crew of humans, symbionts and Cardassians interact with each other and get into conflicts on the station. But if there was one stinker in DS9's run, it most certainly came towards the tail-end of the sixth season with Profit And Lace.

The Ferengi-based episodes divide Trek fans in general, but for me they’re something of a guilty pleasure. Quark was a great character and so wonderfully played by Armin Shimerman that they were very watchable, but this one was just awful. The dumb plot involves Quark proving to a leading Ferengi politician that female Ferengis can be just as effective in business as the blokes, by - how else - changing his gender and becoming a woman named Lumba. Of course, the politician falls in love with Quark/Lumba and hilarity doesn't come close to ensuing.

Allegedly Shimerman hated this episode, and during filming there were tensions between him and the show's producers - the Quark actor wanted to play it straight, while the higher-ups envisioned the episode as pure comedy. In the end, straddling the line between comedy and serious drama does Profit And Lace no favours, being neither humorous nor engaging. What we're left with is the worst episode of the best Trek series.