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Star Trek - The Next Generation, Episode 7: The Last Outpost [VHS]

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In this episode, the crew of the Enterprise first encounter the Ferengi. The Enterprise and the Ferengi's ship both are experiencing severe power drains, and the answer is for away teams from both ships to beam to the surface of the planet they are orbiting to investigate. The planet is the last remnant of an ancient, dead civilization. The Ferengi are scheming, short beings with "phaser-whips" for weapons, and they cannot be trusted.

While this episode accomplishes one very positive thing, namely introducing the Ferengi to Star Trek lore, it does so in two very bad ways. The first is that the Ferengi are presented as sniveling liars, hardly creatures that would be expected to create mighty star ships and civilizations that span multiple planets. The second is that the storyline from the original series episode "Arena" is reused. TNG episodes that reuse plot devices from the original series always seem to lack some of the fire of their forebears.
The episode begins with the Enterprise in hot pursuit of a Ferengi vessel that stole a power device from a Federation outpost. As the ships pass close to a planet, both ships drop out of warp. Having only limited knowledge of the Ferengi, Captain Picard assumes that they are responsible for his loss of power and contacts them about surrender terms. To his surprise, the Ferengi agree to surrender and he then realizes that a force on the planet is holding both ships.

After searching out historical records, the Enterprise crew learns that the planet was a remote outpost in the Tkon Empire, a civilization that collapsed thousands of years earlier. Now that the Ferengi are also aware that it is the planet that is draining their power, Picard and the Ferengi commander agree to cooperate and send away teams to the planet's surface. The Ferengi immediately violate the agreement, but the Enterprise team manages to get the upper hand.
A representative of the Tkon Empire known as the Portal appears and issues a challenge to the away teams. Due to their devious nature, the Ferengi fail and it is up to Riker to answer the questions. He does so successfully, power is restored to both ships and there is a peaceful resolution of the dispute between the Federation and the Ferengi.
There is also a mildly amusing subplot involving the Chinese finger puzzle, where Data gets his fingers stuck in one during a briefing. While it adds some humor to the story, the idea that anyone, even an android, would play with such a puzzle during a briefing when the survival of the ship is at stake is preposterous.
To the credit of the series developers, the Ferengi reappear as an integral part of future episodes of TNG and later Star Trek series, and their sniveling behavior is eliminated. However, this episode must rank as one of the lowest, in that it is hard to see beyond their behavior in this one.

Star Trek: The Next Generation's first attempt to introduce a trademark villain to its new series in "The Last Outpost" did not bear fruit as the Ferengi proved not to have the widespread appeal of the Klingons or the Romulans. Their capitalistic orientation, oversized ears, sexist ideals, and diminutive stature characterized them more as comedic foils rather than enduring and worthy adversaries.

The Enterprise-D pursues a Ferengi vessel carrying stolen goods. Suddenly both ships lose power after coming into proximity of a planet that once served as an outpost for the long dead Tkon Empire. In order to free their respective ships, the Enterprise and the Ferengi send crew members to the surface to search for answers. Both parties encounter an entity called "Portal" (Darryl Henriques) who subjects Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) to a test of wisdom.

The initial appearance of the Ferengi into Star Trek continuity was not flattering as their behavior mimicked circus animals more than the sophisticated businessmen they would transform into during Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. In fact, Star Trek: The Next Generation's attempts to find a quality foe for the series would not succeed until a certain cybernetic race came along in its second season. The Ferengi just did not have a threatening aura about them despite their build-up at the beginning of this episode and their mention in the series' pilot. Thankfully though, a complete overhaul of the cosmic capitalists would lead to better things for them in the future.

The Ferocious Ferengi Strike Back!

While attempting to get a T-9 energy converter; the Enterprise and a Ferengi ship come across a world that paralyzes both vessels. Helpless, the Enterprise away team consisting of Data, Tasha, Geordi and Riker, attempt to find out what is stopping them from escape. The sleeping Tkon Empire is revived. Some strange character in a black robe with a large walking stick wants to know the motive behind Enterprise's journey. This episode proved without a doubt that the Ferengi are comic relief. They were not the next "Klingon" breakout villain characters the producers hoped.

If there were more sharp features in the Ferengi's ears and facial structure; perhaps they'd have the look of someone dangerous. It's surprising to see the first drawings of the them. They look a lot more sinister than they turned out to be.