Star Trek: 10 Episodes That Are UNWATCHABLE Now

This late episode of Deep Space Nine, directed by Alexander Siddig, started from a good place. Ferengi society was male dominated, with women barred from going outside without a male escort, and from wearing clothing. This was the episode to attempt to change that, as Ishka and Zek attempted to change Ferengi society for the better. Rather than a serious exploration of the end of a misogynistic society, it became a slapstick comedy featuring some incredibly dated and uncomfortable cross-dressing jokes. The end result was the death of Ferengi episodes for a time, something that had generally been a success on Deep Space Nine. 

Quark, after a fight with his mother, must step into the role of Lumba, tasked now with convincing a powerful and influential Ferengi businessman named Nilva to support female emancipation. The story quickly devolves into a strange depiction of gender reassignment surgery, exposure, attempted assault, and Quark saving the day by showing his breasts. It’s not handled very well at all. 

At best, it’s an outdated, low-brow attempt at humour. At worst, it’s an open mockery of those people who undergo gender reassignment surgery, relegating them to a comedic role in society. There is no doubt that Quark is never played as an actual transgender individual, but there are too many jokes about him suddenly becoming overtly emotional once having Dr Bashir casually operate on him. 

Armin Shimmerman wasn’t a fan of the end result, and for good reason. He had hoped for a more serious attempt to depict the wrongs of Ferengi society, and the attempts to fix it, but instead was presented with a send-up of those same things, closer in style to a Carry-On movie than a drama. With the current focussed attack on transgender people in so many western societies, it was an episode that’s wasn’t funny to begin with, and has only aged even more poorly as time has gone on.