{"id":325,"date":"2013-12-28T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-12-28T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pagan-gerbil.net\/?p=325"},"modified":"2013-12-28T08:00:00","modified_gmt":"2013-12-28T08:00:00","slug":"star-trek-episode-autopsy-the-last-outpost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pagan-gerbil.net\/?p=325","title":{"rendered":"Star Trek Episode Autopsy – The Last Outpost"},"content":{"rendered":"

The first appearance of the Ferengi! Wow! Oh, how they\u2019ve changed since this episode. Their characterisation as (in Data\u2019s words) \u201ctraders, mercantile\u2026 caveat emptor\u201d has remained, with their aggressively capitalist nature transformed from a \u201cviolent thief\u201d to a \u201csneaky thief\u201d. Their stooping, clawing, twisted movements disappeared over time too. One of the poor Ferengi on the planet acted like a cross between a monkey and the Wicked Witch of the West.<\/p>\n

A nice part of the episode was the senior staff going through their options – not least because Troi, who I always found annoying with the confused face and \u201cI am sensing\u2026 frustration?\u201d nonsense, provided the solution to their dilemma. Even if that solution wasn\u2019t the one that they wanted, or after being given new information, the one that they needed.<\/p>\n

Children<\/h2>\n

\"Once,<\/p>\n

One of the most confusing parts of the episode was that upon entering the conference room, Riker had to shoo out two children. Maybe it\u2019s because I\u2019d forgotten how much the children are hanging around on the first season (reminding us that it\u2019s a bigger ship than the original, that things are different?) or maybe it\u2019s that certain areas – for example the conference room attached to the bridge – should probably be off-limits to civilians. Cruise ships today manage it, DS9 managed it, Babylon 5 managed it. Why can\u2019t the Enterprise keep it\u2019s children under control? Did the children leave the finger puzzle behind for Data to find? Or did they actually have no purpose at all for this episode?<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll have to try and remember the families on board the Enterprise when they are given a dangerous mission. So far, they\u2019ve been on a routine negotiation (and kidnapped by Q), an investigation (and all contracted a dangerous virus), another routine negotiation (and Tasha was kidnapped) and this, chasing a thief. This is probably the most dangerous mission given so far, since the Ferengi are known to be vicious and their technology is unfamiliar to the Federation.<\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

Viewscreens and Computers<\/h2>\n

\"image_3\"<\/p>\n

I liked the way that the Ferengi used the viewscreens. Either they are trying to intimidate by having it so close-cropped to the face, or they are so unaccustomed to visual communication (as they say in the episode) that they don\u2019t have it displayed on the main screen (as I would presume that they have) but instead on a small screen by the captain\u2019s chair somewhere. The way that the Ferengi in their first communication always seems to be looking down and to one side, I\u2019m inclined to believe the second. Maybe they only have visual communication for showing off merchandise for trade.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, Data\u2019s console flashed rapidly when someone accessed the Enterprise computers. I still don\u2019t remember if it was confirmed that it was the Ferengi or the T\u2019kon, but either way – why Data? Why not every computer console on the Enterprise? Why should a screen flash at all, who is looking at it? This really winds me up in film and television. It gets a bit of a pass in this episode because writers in the 1980’s are not necessarily as computer-literate as they are today.<\/p>\n

I also noticed that the conference room had a table hologram in it to show what was going on with the planet and the power drain. I know that in Voyager, everyone was huddled around a relatively small monitor. Did the Enterprise crew break their table hologram? I\u2019ll have to watch out and see when it was used again.<\/p>\n

\"When<\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

Power Drain<\/h2>\n

So power was draining out of the ship, and they prioritise life support. That makes sense. But life support appears to include artificial gravity and exclude heat. I would posit that regardless of relative energy consumption, people would last longer with the radiators on and floating around than they would sitting on the floor at minus 100 degrees. I would have guessed that artificial gravity would have taken much more energy than a bit of heating – especially if they were able to shut down levels of the ship to concentrate the life support on a fraction of inhabited decks to conserve power.<\/p>\n

Other Captains<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s a little hard to imagine how Sisko would deal with this situation, since he has so much more experience with the Ferengi – dealing with Quark, working with Rom and the whole spectrum from strong disapproval to mentor and sponsor for Nog. It\u2019s a little unfair to Picard since the Federation at this point was only just encountering the Ferengi and preparing for some major friction. Janeway would probably have done the same as Picard. I can imagine Neelix, Kes, Paris or even Tuvok to provide Troi\u2019s insight into first communication with the Ferengi. I would expect them to try and capitalise on the bluff with some impressive light shows, however doubt it would be too effective.<\/p>\n

I think both Sisko and Janeway would have tried to go to the planet to investigate and regardless of whether the Ferengi joined them, encountered the Portal Guardian.<\/p>\n

It all comes down to whether or not the Guardian mentioned Sun Tzu accidentally, dredged it up from deep in Riker\u2019s memory (implying he scanned a lifetime in seconds) or read it off of the top of Riker\u2019s mind, since the crew had only just been discussing Sun Tzu.<\/p>\n

If Jadzia had been on the planet, I expect her long history and wisdom would have helped get past the Portal Guardian. Maybe he would even see some of the Emissary in Sisko? Tuvok might have provided the calm and wisdom for Janeway\u2019s away team – she has a far younger crew than Sisko.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n

So this episode is noteworthy for the first appearance of the Ferengi, even though they will change a little over the course of The Next Generation before we end up with Quark on Deep Space Nine. The Ferengi were clearly never intended as an \u2018alien of the week\u2019, they were teased in the first TNG episode (Encounter at Farpoint<\/a>) but this is the first appearance (Picard even notes that they don\u2019t know what the Ferengi look like).<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a couple more things to add to my episode tracking…<\/p>\n