STAR TREK: LOWER DECKS
SEASON 4, EPISODE 6
SEASON 4, EPISODE 6
Parth Ferengi's Heart Place
Series: Star Trek: Lower Decks - (2020 - 2024)Season: 4
Episode #: 6
Original Airdate: October 5th, 2023
Writer(s): Cullen Crawford
Director(s): Brandon Williams
Special Guest Stars
Max Grodénchik as Grand Nagus Rom
Chase Masterson as First Clerk Leeta
Guest Stars
Fred Tatasciore as Admiral Vassery
Fred Tatasciore as Ferengi Biker
Eric Bauza as Dar
Eric Bauza as Jeef
Dave Foley as Parth
Tom Kenny as Quimp
Tom Kenny as Ferengi viewscreen Announcer
Paul F. Tompkins as Dr. Migleemo
Noël Wells as Rom's Servant
Eugene Cordero as Blongo
Dawnn Lewis as Blongo's Coworker
Jerry O'Connell as Pog
Gillian Vigman as Dominion War Memorial Visitor
Stardate: 58901.5
Synopsis
Jeef, a crew member aboard a Ferengi ship, is annoyed about dumping profitable weapons because Grand Nagus Rom thinks hospitality is more profitable in the long run. The ship is then attacked — right on time, according to Jeef. The assailant is none other than the mystery ship which has been destroying vessels throughout the quadrant.
Ferenginar wants to join the Federation because their trade routes need more protection from the mystery ship’s attacks. The Cerritos has joined the U.S.S. Toronto, where Admiral Vassery thinks it’ll be easy negotiating with Rom and First Clerk Leeta – until he gets surprised by the ceremonial bust of friendship… of himself… and the ceremonial invoice for it.
Meanwhile, the lower deckers are repairing a shuttlecraft and are assigned to write up a travel guide about the Ferengi home world. The assignment involves checking out all the bars, nightspots, and museums. Boimler freaks, eager to do so much that he won’t enjoy any of it. Tendi and Rutherford will play a married couple — there are none aboard — to test out the Ferengi newlyweds’ discount honeymoon package. Rutherford and Tendi are the most initially-enthusiastic-but-then-extremely-nervous fake couple ever. Boimler discovers that everything on Ferenginar is profit-oriented, even the toilet and the machine that charges for the other for-profit things. Before he can visit any of the amusing Ferengi attractions, he gets hooked on watching commercials on TV. Mariner meets up with old friend Quimp and orders drinks, then somehow casually knocks one back before the waiter even has a chance to bring the beverages.
Back aboard the U.S.S. Toronto, Rom and Leeta fool Admiral Vassery into reopening Ferenginar’s membership application to add baseball and increase bribes and tariffs. The reopening of the contract is much to Captain Freeman’s annoyance, as she could see this coming. Rom and Leeta decide to finalize the signing at their palace, as it’s a better photo-op for the occasion. Admiral Vassery agrees, despite Captain Freeman warning that they’re winding him up to manipulate him into signing anything they want.
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[ Screencap Index ]
Back on Ferenginar, Boimler is finding out about lowest-common-denominator Ferengi TV shows, which he says won’t work on him — but he feels he’d better watch it all, so he knows what to warn people about. Tendi and Rutherford are given a makeover, which pleases them a lot more than the accompanying embarrassing photo session or offer of Madonna-style conical lingerie. Meanwhile, Mariner and Quimp have gone to the public library, which has been a Dabo parlor for a thousand years. There, a drunk Mariner starts a fight with a biker gang. Quimp talks to Mariner about her apparent need to start fights so she can be hurt. He worries that something is up with her.
Tendi and Rutherford visit Quark’s Federation Experience Bar & Grill, a Starfleet-themed restaurant with appropriate theme music, replicas of the Enterprise-D and Voyager, and waiters dressed in flammable velour uniforms. They reckon it’ll make them feel like friends as usual and are just about to confess to the concierge, Parth, to not being married when a red alert sounds at a neighboring table; a fake couple has been detected and Parth sentences them to life in subaquatic sulfur mines for defrauding the honeymoon company out of a discount. Tendi and Rutherford then have to eat “sexy” chocolate statues of each other and tell the entire restaurant nice things about each other after every bite, while attached to lie detectors.
Rutherford and Tendi pass the test but are then interrupted by Doctor Migleemo, who claims to be on a mission seeking out strange new meals and refers to the pair as the strongest platonic friends on the ship. Tendi and Rutherford quickly pretend that he’s the third in a polygamous marriage between them, trying to wreck their relationship because only two could take the Ferengi newlywed discount, and that they’ll now divorce. Parth offers Migleemo the homewrecker package, which he gratefully accepts.
At the palace, Admiral Vassery has given Ferenginar use of any Starfleet ship and holonovel royalties in perpetuity. Captain Freeman, however, has thrown in a bonus of a huge amount of cash and a condition; all signing bonuses are contingent on the Ferengi recruiting a planet to the Federation — specifically, according to the fine print, Qo’noS. Delighted that she has swindled them with masterly use of the 8th Rule of Acquisition (“small print leads to large problems”) and so showed respect for their culture, Rom signs up to the original terms.
Back aboard the Cerritos, Tendi and Rutherford are glad to believe they have no chemistry, even though it’s basically undeniable. Ransom meanwhile sends local security to return Boimler to the ship…
Trailer
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