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Star Trek - Deep Space Nine, Episode 101: Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places [VHS]

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Jadzia Dax, the plucky Trill with the heart of a Klingon warrior, has had her eye on Worf since he came aboard DS-9. But Worf is oblivious, eyeing another. Grilka, Klingon Mistress in Distress, has returned. Clueless on how to head her foundering House, the desperate noblewoman must solicit Quark's financial expertise. As the Ferengi businessman saves Grilka's House yet again, the unlikely couple becomes enamoured of eachother. This outrages Worf who, like most Klingons, considers Ferengi "parasites". But Lady Grilka's protective entourage, while disdainful of Quark, will not permit the discommended exile from the Empire to approach their Mistress. So Worf, with assistance from Dax, reluctantly agrees to help Quark woo his Klingon love. Under their tutilage, Quark's interspecies courtship progresses. Still all the while, Worf pines for the fair Lady while Jadzia seethes in frustration. Since no Klingon episode is complete without a batlh'etlh battle, the lowly Ferengi swain soon finds himself challenged by one of the swooning noblewoman's scandalized bodyguards. Dax designs an ingenious virtual-program, lending Worf's superior swordsmanship to ensure Quark's victory, thus winning Grilka's heart. As Worf, the sore loser, mopes in self-misery, the spurned Jadzia has finally had enough. Quoting passionate Klingon poetry, she beats the Living beKahless out of Worf, breaking his bones and enflaming his Klingon ardor! Why would he want the frail, pampered Grilka when he can possess the bold heart of a true warrioress! This episode is a light-hearted adaptation of Cyranno de Bergerac, providing some voyeuristic laughs over the rough-and-tumble sado-masochism of Klingon sex. Personally, I don't care for the namby-pamby portrayal of Grilka -- someone please beam the wimpy wench a copy of "Kodependent, Khest No!" But the episode is vital to the DS-9 space-opera saga, in finally uniting Worf and Jadzia Dax.

My main complaint with "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" during the second half of its run was that having set up this gigantic story arc of intergalactic war between the Alpha Quadrant and the Gamma Quadrant, courtesy of DS9's local wormhole, it never really seemed to become the focus of every one's attention until close to the end. I thought the idea of the Star Trek universe at war was a pretty good one, but the writers still find time for others things to distract the DS9 gang, a fact amply proven by the comic relief of Episode 101, "Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Place" (Written by Ronald D. Moore, Aired October 14, 1996).

Worf (Michael Dorn) is having a nice quiet drink with Dax (Terry Farrell), when in walks Grilka , a Klingon woman. Worf is in the middle of the whole "thunderbolt" bit from "The Godfather," when Michael sees Apollonian in Sicily, when Grilka goes over and kisses Quark (Armin Shimerman). It turns out Grilka is Quark's ex-wife, a result of a complicated marriage of convenience that you just have to accept at face value. However, Worf is smitten so he intends to pursue Grilka, but then he learns that because he does not have sufficient honor among the Klingons to mate with the fair Grilka. Besides, having been raised by humans, Worf knows nothing about the proper way to court a Klingon woman. To make things even worse, Quark comes to Worf and Dax for advise on how to get back on Grilka's good side. At this point Worf is motivated more by the insult to his upbringing than his feelings for Grilka, so he agrees to help. Things go so well for Quark with Grilka that he is challenged to a duel to the death by one of her bodyguards. This sets up the episode's big climax, which consists of figuring out a way to have the Ferengi still be alive at the end of the day.

What makes this one work as a comic DS9 episode is that Worf is pretty much the butt of all the jokes from start to finish, while Quark sails through the episode pretty much unscathed. Of course the biggest joke is set up by Dax, who endures all of Worf's posturing and complaining while waiting for him to come to his senses as to who he should be pursuing (or, perhaps more accurately, who has been pursuing him). Yes, it has nothing to do with the war and this episode may well be too cute for die hard Worf fans, but it does have its moments. Final Notes: "Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Place" was directed by Andrew J. Robinson (Garak) and there is great fun to be had in coming up with appropriate lyrics for the rest of the "title" song for this episode.

DS9 was never known for its levity; however, this episode and the one in the above title are, perhaps, the "lightest" that the series ever got. As other reviewers have stated, this installment shows the preparations for and the eventual nuptials of Jadzia Dax and Lt. Worf. It's really an amusing departure for the show and a welcome one showcasing two of "Trek's" most popular characters.

And who's to argue with a show that has tongue placed firmly in cheek as its title plays with the Waylon Jennings classic.

In this episode, Worf finds love. First he falls in love with Quark's ex-wife Grilka. Quark goes to Dax and ask her for help in getting Grilka and him to "bond". Since Worf was told by one of Grilka's men not to persue her, WOrf decides to help Quark. Not because he wants to, because he hates quark. Doesn't make sense till you see it.
Moving on, Quark is told accept this battle against Grilka's bodyguard. Worf hooks up his body to the computer and controls the movement of Quark. It works, with some troule, but they pull it off. Finally Worf and Dax find love in each other and the relationship begins.

I remember watching the fourth season of Deep Space Nine--the first season with Worf--and yelling at the television screen. It seemed so obvious to me that TNG's Worf and DS9's Science Officer Jadzia Dax were a perfect match. Yet Worf seemed oblivious to Dax's advances--hints, really. I mean, Dax has a history with Klingons--her soul is Klingon--yet it just wasn't happening. But, finally, "Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places" hooks the pair up--and it does so in a humorous and clever way. Throughout the episode, Worf is either trying to catch Quark's ex-wife Grilka (a Klingon) or help Quark renew the fragile romance he (Quark) and Grilka once had (What would a Klingon/Ferengi child look like, anyway? And do we want to find out?). And Jadzia Dax is giving Worf all kinds of hints and suggestions, which Worf is not getting. This is a fun episode and the ending is great when Worf and Dax finally hook-up.

"Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places" is essential Worf. It's essential Dax. Heck, it's essential Deep Space Nine!

Primarily a sequel to "The House of Quark", arguably the funniest DS9 episode, this story is nevertheless best remembered as the beginning of the Jadzia/Worf romance. Worf, instantly taken with the newly-arrived Grilka, is surprised to discover that the Klingon noblewoman is actually Quark's ex-wife. Seeing that he has no chance with Grilka himself, Worf relucantly becomes involved in a Cyrano-esque effort to secretly help Quark woo Grilka in a more Klingon-appropriate way. In so doing, Worf is forced to acknowledge that his own ideal mate may not be Klingon at all, but rather his co-Cupid, Dax.

Though obviously derivative of CYRANO DE BERGERAC (or ROXANNE, if you prefer a more modern reference), "Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places" is inescapable fun--and highly important to the DS9 storyline. Still, it--and the rest of Worf's history on DS9--leave unanswerd the question of what happened to his burgeoning relationship with Troi at the end of THE NEXT GENERATION. In fact, this episode throws into question the legitimacy of that entire relationship because Troi is so obviously not the kind of woman that he avowedly prefers.

Still, assuming you can expunge your memory of TNG's last season, as have the writers, this is one of the high points of DS9's entire run. Though you don't need "The House of Quark" to enjoy this sequel, it's so much more fun to watch them back-to-back. Throw in TNG's "The Emissary" for clarity about Worf's basic chivalry, DS9's "Blood Oath" for an explanation of Dax's knowledge of Klingons, and you have the perfect Klingon date night--with just enough Ferengi to make the bloodletting more palatable.