Star Trek TNG: Season 1, Episode Five “The Last Outpost”

Stardate: 41386.4
Original Air Date: October 17, 1987
Writers: Richard Krzmeien & Herbert Wright
Director: Richard Colla           

“Hello, stranger.”

The Enterprise-D is in pursuit of a Ferengi starship in order to intercept and recover a stolen T-9 converter which was recently stolen from an unmanned monitor post on Gamma Tauri IV. This theft was documented by automatic long-range scanners. If they can speak with the Ferengi, it will provide the Enterprise with a long-awaited opportunity –to make close contact with a Ferengi vessel. If so, it will be Starfleet’s first contact with a life-form they know almost nothing about.

As the Enterprise approaches the Ferengi vessel, it heads toward the Delphi Ardu solar system (which has eleven unexplored planets). Curiously, while being pursued the Ferengi inexplicably begins dropping to sub-warp speed and they fire on the Enterprise, but Picard refuses to return fire. Suddenly, the Enterprise finds that it can no longer move, Apparently, the Ferengi have immobilized the Enterprise which indicates that their technology is superior to that of Starfleet.   

Geordi discovers there is a .372 millisecond delay between the Ferengi tractor beam and the Enterprise thrusters, leading Riker to assess the acceleration delay and attempt to quickly hit warp speed before the Ferengi can respond, however the plan does not work and for now the Enterprise is trapped. Next, the Ferengi begin manually reading every document stored in the Enterprise’s data banks. On top of that, the Enterprise starts slowly losing power. Rather than striking back, Counselor Troi suggests that Picard talk to the Ferengi by telling them something they may want to hear. Reluctantly, Picard agrees to speak with the Ferengi and he offers to meet whatever terms they have requested. The communication is replied to by Tarr, who is Daimon of the Ferengi. But he reveals that his ship is also entrapped, believing it to be the work of the Enterprise.

Knowing that they are not being held by the Ferengi, the Enterprise researches the history of a nearby planet which was once an outpost of the Tkon Federation, a huge space federation composed of trillions which has been believed to be extinct for some 600,000 years. All the nearby planets were once outposts Tkon empire. In its heyday, the empire was immense and powerful, capable of moving stars. But in the age of Makto, the Tkon Empire fell prey to a supernova which entirely wiped it out. Are there still remnants of the empire surviving? Apparently, a forcefield emanating from the planet is actually holding the Enterprise and the Ferengi ship in their current stasis.

With this new knowledge in mind, Picard offers cooperation with the Ferengi, but the Ferengi prefer to pursue “profit” instead. The Ferengi agree to beam a science team of three down to the planet, along with a landing party from the Enterprise consisting of Riker, Geordi, Worf, Data, and Tasha Yar. However, upon arrival on this craggy, windswept planet, Riker finds himself entirely alone. The others have been inaccurately beamed down to the planet surface owing to the forcefield scrambling coordinates. Riker slowly finds the others –Data makes note of strange crystalline objects scattered about, they find Geordi hanging upside down, and the landing party is suddenly attacked by the Ferengi (the Ferengi are shocked and disgusted when they spot Tasha Yar –a clothed female behaving on equal ground with men).

Then, the ethereal visage of an aged being appears (a guardian of Tkon Empire). He asks, “be you barbarians? Speak! Who meets the challenge?” He claims this group has awakened “Portal 6” and announces that the present year is the age of Bastu in the Tkon Empire, but Data notes that the age of Bastu has long past: “after the age of Bastu came Cimi, Zora, Makto…” This portal –Portal 6– has likely been dormant for several hundred thousand years. Hoping to garner favor with this fearsome portal, the Ferengi accuse the humans of deceit and treachery, but the portal dismisses them all as barbarians. The portal then challenges Riker to a battle, and he echoes Sun Tzu –“he will triumph who knows when to fight and when not to fight.” Recognizing the test, Riker refuses to fight. Instead, he responds: “Fear is the true enemy, the only enemy.” He knows that this portal has been reading the data banks aboard the Enterprise.

In the end, Riker persuades the portal to release the Enterprise shortly before the crew faces life-threatening conditions in below freezing temperatures. And knowing that his empire is now gone, the portal vanishes, claiming he will simply sleep until needed again.    

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My Thoughts on “The Last Outpost”

A first contact episode, the arrival of the Ferengi hails a new era of Star Trek. In some ways this episode is reminiscent of the classic TOS episode “Balance of Terror,” albeit inferior in many respects. In “The Last Outpost,” the Ferengi are portrayed as representatives of the worst excesses of avariciousness, akin to the new form of global capitalism that emerged in the 1980s. Whereas, “Balance of Terror” can be read as a metaphor for the Cold War, “The Last Outpost” might be interpreted as a metaphor for the rise of corporate rapaciousness in the post-Cold War era.

At any rate, knowing that the Ferengi will change significantly over time in both TNG and DS9, in this early instance the writers decided that the Ferengi are simply not sufficiently fearsome enough, and going forward the Romulans and the Borg will serve as the primary antagonists of Starfleet in TNG. From here, the Ferengi mostly serve as comic relief characters. Nevertheless, I still thought this was a terrific episode with several key moments of dramatic tension as we await the final reveal of the Ferengi. But once we finally meet them down on the planet’s surface, the episode runs along pretty much like a standard classic Trek story which I can appreciate.

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Writer/Director

Writer and actor Richard Krzmeien came up with the story. The Teleplay was written by Herbert Wright (1946-2005), who is now known as the “Father of the Ferengi” among Trekkies.  

Director Richard Colla also directed various classic television shows like Gunsmoke, Battlestar Galactica, MacGyver, and Murder, She Wrote.   

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Star Trek Trivia:

• This episode marks the introduction of the Ferengi. Original concept art for the Ferengi was sketched by Andrew Probert, who also designed the Ferengi starship based on inspiration he took from the horseshoe crab. Michael Okuda suggested a detailed tattoo ranking system for the Ferengi based on their mercantile preoccupation.
• The Ferengi as a concept were developed by Gene Roddenberry. Apparently, there were some controversial sexualized ideas Roddenberry had for the Ferengi (as far as I know this an uncorroborated fact). Various TNG writers have claimed that the Ferengi are intended to represent various 20^th century businessmen.
• At the start of this episode, Data claims the Ferengi technology is generally regarded as equal to that of Starfleet.
• According to hearsay, Data says the Ferengi are traders not unlike “Yankee traders” who conduct their commercial affairs like pirate capitalists. They sail the galaxy for mercantile and territorial opportunity. They operate under the ancient maxim: caveat emptor (“let the buyer beware”).  
• This episode mentions the old days when nations used to have colorful flags that display their nationalistic pride over and against one another.
• “He will triumph who knows when to fight” –Picard notes that at his point Sun Tzu is still being taught at the Academy.
• Daimon Tarr refers to humans as “hu-man!”
• Chinese finger traps are featured prominently in this episode as they befuddle Data in a comical scene earlier in the episode. And in the end, the Enterprise beams the finger traps over to the Ferengi.
• As far as I knoe, the fearsome Ferengi whip has only appeared in this episode.
• Armin Shimerman (1949-present) played one of the Ferengi in this episode. He later revealed that on the set the Ferengi were instructed to “jump up and down like crazed gerbils,” thus making them an unlikely replacement for TOS more fearsome antagonists, like the Romulans or the Klingons. Shimerman later appeared as a Ferengi in the Season 2 episode “Peak Performance” but he was given the chance to give greater nuance to the Ferengi in DS9 in his role as Quark.