Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Prophet Motive Rewatch
November 22, 2015 7:03 PM - Season 3, Episode 16 - Subscribe
Zek has seen the light, and it's not the gleam of latinum. Can Quark deal with the Nagus' new groove? And Bashir is oddly bashful about his chances of winning a major award. WARNING: Although this episode was approved for broadcast twenty years ago, it features scenes of oo-mox that younger or more sensitive viewers may find disturbing.
From Memory Alpha &c.:
- The origins of the teleplay for this episode are to be found in Ira Steven Behr's early career. When he was trying to make it in Hollywood, he wrote a teleplay for the TV show Taxi, entitled "Uncle Sylvester", to try to demonstrate his writing abilities. The plot revolved around Sylvester, uncle to the main character Louie. Sylvester had built up a reputation for being a shameless womanizer and an altogether unpleasant individual, and he was Louie's hero. Louie was dying to meet him to impress him with his own womanizing abilities, but when Sylvester arrives he no longer enjoys womanizing, and now just wants to get back with his wife. Louie is heartbroken and becomes convinced that Sylvester has undergone some kind of deep psychological trauma. The teleplay was not purchased by the producers of Taxi.
- The origins of the plot line involving Bashir's nomination for the Carrington Award are to be found in real life, with this plot actually being something of an in-joke. During its seventh year, The Next Generation was nominated for Best Dramatic Series at the Emmy Awards. Nobody gave it the slightest chance to win, because generally speaking, science fiction shows didn't win awards like that. Everyone expected NYPD Blue to win. However, despite the unlikely event of a victory, some members of the TNG team became convinced that they were actually going to win. As it turned out, they didn't, but neither did NYPD Blue. Instead, the award went to the unexpected Picket Fences.
- This episode introduces the dartboard used by Bashir and O'Brien, which soon became a permanent fixture in Quark's. Originally, the producers wanted to use a pool table, but they were told that Voyager had the same plan. It was next suggested that they play cards, but that had already been done on The Next Generation. As such, darts was settled on as a game the two could play together and still engage in conversation.
- "Prophet Motive" is the first Star Trek episode to mention Andoria, the homeworld of the Andorian species.
- Referenced Rules of Acquisition: #10 ("Greed is eternal")
- For a brief time, a new set of Rules of Acquisition replaces the old ones. Some of the new Rules are:
1: If they want their money back give it to them.
10: Greed is dead.
21: Never place profit before friendship.
22: Latinum tarnishes, but family is forever.
23: Money can never replace dignity.
285: A good deed is its own reward.
- This is the only episode where Maihar'du speaks. However, it is only when Maihar'du is a representation of a Prophet.
"I have a friend at Starfleet Intelligence. And she has a friend who has a cousin who's married to the assistant of one of the members of the Federation Medical Council."
"Really?"
"And according to my friend, her friend heard something from his cousin that his wife heard from this council member that I thought you might find interesting."
"Which is?"
"Doctor Wade is not going to win the Carrington."
"Oh, not you too."
- Odo and Bashir
From Memory Alpha &c.:
- The origins of the teleplay for this episode are to be found in Ira Steven Behr's early career. When he was trying to make it in Hollywood, he wrote a teleplay for the TV show Taxi, entitled "Uncle Sylvester", to try to demonstrate his writing abilities. The plot revolved around Sylvester, uncle to the main character Louie. Sylvester had built up a reputation for being a shameless womanizer and an altogether unpleasant individual, and he was Louie's hero. Louie was dying to meet him to impress him with his own womanizing abilities, but when Sylvester arrives he no longer enjoys womanizing, and now just wants to get back with his wife. Louie is heartbroken and becomes convinced that Sylvester has undergone some kind of deep psychological trauma. The teleplay was not purchased by the producers of Taxi.
- The origins of the plot line involving Bashir's nomination for the Carrington Award are to be found in real life, with this plot actually being something of an in-joke. During its seventh year, The Next Generation was nominated for Best Dramatic Series at the Emmy Awards. Nobody gave it the slightest chance to win, because generally speaking, science fiction shows didn't win awards like that. Everyone expected NYPD Blue to win. However, despite the unlikely event of a victory, some members of the TNG team became convinced that they were actually going to win. As it turned out, they didn't, but neither did NYPD Blue. Instead, the award went to the unexpected Picket Fences.
- This episode introduces the dartboard used by Bashir and O'Brien, which soon became a permanent fixture in Quark's. Originally, the producers wanted to use a pool table, but they were told that Voyager had the same plan. It was next suggested that they play cards, but that had already been done on The Next Generation. As such, darts was settled on as a game the two could play together and still engage in conversation.
- "Prophet Motive" is the first Star Trek episode to mention Andoria, the homeworld of the Andorian species.
- Referenced Rules of Acquisition: #10 ("Greed is eternal")
- For a brief time, a new set of Rules of Acquisition replaces the old ones. Some of the new Rules are:
1: If they want their money back give it to them.
10: Greed is dead.
21: Never place profit before friendship.
22: Latinum tarnishes, but family is forever.
23: Money can never replace dignity.
285: A good deed is its own reward.
- This is the only episode where Maihar'du speaks. However, it is only when Maihar'du is a representation of a Prophet.
"I have a friend at Starfleet Intelligence. And she has a friend who has a cousin who's married to the assistant of one of the members of the Federation Medical Council."
"Really?"
"And according to my friend, her friend heard something from his cousin that his wife heard from this council member that I thought you might find interesting."
"Which is?"
"Doctor Wade is not going to win the Carrington."
"Oh, not you too."
- Odo and Bashir
Maihar'du! His makeup was inspired by Pruneface in Dick Tracy.
A fun episode. The conversation between Quark and the Prophets at the end is hilarious. Also, Rom and Quark trying to figure out if the new Rules make up an acrostic. In part because it's perfectly in character for Quark to be convinced that This Cannot Be Happening, and to then try and figure out every possible angle.
Quark: "It must be some kind of code. Read me the first word of every Rule."
Rom: [flipping through the first Rules] ""If" ... "Never" ... "Keep" ... "Profit" ... "A" ... "Good" ... "Smile" ... "Honesty.'"
[Quark interrupts him with a shout, then repeats the words]
Quark: "'If never keep profit a good smile honesty.'"
Rom: "What does it mean, Brother?"
Quark: "It means... absolutely nothing!"
posted by zarq at 6:57 AM on November 23, 2015 [3 favorites]
A fun episode. The conversation between Quark and the Prophets at the end is hilarious. Also, Rom and Quark trying to figure out if the new Rules make up an acrostic. In part because it's perfectly in character for Quark to be convinced that This Cannot Be Happening, and to then try and figure out every possible angle.
Quark: "It must be some kind of code. Read me the first word of every Rule."
Rom: [flipping through the first Rules] ""If" ... "Never" ... "Keep" ... "Profit" ... "A" ... "Good" ... "Smile" ... "Honesty.'"
[Quark interrupts him with a shout, then repeats the words]
Quark: "'If never keep profit a good smile honesty.'"
Rom: "What does it mean, Brother?"
Quark: "It means... absolutely nothing!"
posted by zarq at 6:57 AM on November 23, 2015 [3 favorites]
I like this episode. The Ferengi of DS9 are so much more than the Ferengi of TNG, and Quark and Rom together are superb, the way they play off of one another. They are both such full and deep characters, and the oomax scene at the start is hilariously euphemistic:
Emi: "Am I doing it right?"
Quark: "You don't have to be quite so gentle."
Which made me laugh.
Also more of Zek, who is as hilarious as ever, and another chance to perfect my impersonation: "Ah, Quark, hehehehehe."
posted by marienbad at 4:21 PM on November 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
Emi: "Am I doing it right?"
Quark: "You don't have to be quite so gentle."
Which made me laugh.
Also more of Zek, who is as hilarious as ever, and another chance to perfect my impersonation: "Ah, Quark, hehehehehe."
posted by marienbad at 4:21 PM on November 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
One of the tropes of Star Trek is that very strange things happen at a high frequency but it takes a while for people to realize something strange is going on before they start suspecting the wormhole/anomaly/new alien race that they just encountered. Here we have Quark immediately jumping from "someone said something out of character" to "there must be alien interference or something" and no one believes him. A great meta-episode.
posted by tofu_crouton at 8:43 PM on April 29, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by tofu_crouton at 8:43 PM on April 29, 2020 [2 favorites]
Just rewatched this episode last week. My favorite bit is right at the end where you find out exactly what Rom was doing with Zek's foundation.
posted by KelsonV at 5:44 PM on May 4, 2023
posted by KelsonV at 5:44 PM on May 4, 2023
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
posted by oh yeah! at 5:31 AM on November 23, 2015 [3 favorites]