Following its most successful episode thus far, season three stumbles pretty badly with The Price. Any episode that focuses on the Ferengi tends to be dragged down by their hyper-annoying presence. And Troi-centered episodes tend to overdose in overacting. So combine the two, add in a cheesy soap opera romance and you get the very near failure that is The Price.

Troi’s romance is effectively the centerpiece of the episode as it involves Devinoni Ral, a major player in the negotiations involving what would be the galaxy’s first, and only, stable wormhole. The problem for this episode, then, is that these scenes are so indelibly bad that it is excruciating to sit through them.

Part of the problem falls with Troi’s usual overacting. But the character of Devinoni Ral deserves much of the blame. He’s a sleazy swindler who plays Troi like a hand of poker (pun intended?) and his overtures vary from presumptuous to downright misogynist. Instead of projecting a European refinement and bravado (he is supposedly from Brussels), he comes across more like a used car salesman from New Jersey (without the Joisey accent).

And I won’t even bother critiquing the dialogue beyond simply saying: it makes George Lucas look like William Shakespeare.

The only redeeming element to the episode turns out to be part of the overall problem. Riker is enlisted to serve as the Federation negotiator and his skills as a poker player are given due prominence. It’s fun to see this character so deftly handle the situation. The problem, however, is that instead of a true negotiation, we get a lesson in the very worst aspects of capitalism: greed, selfishness, and cutthroat backroom dealings.

That The Price is a near failure of an episode is a dubious accomplishment considering it takes place in the midst of what is otherwise a consistently superb season.

Topics: Ferengi
Filed under: TNG Reviews