From: schamber@sciborg.uwaterloo.ca (Sylvain Chamberland)
Subject: Re: "Rascals" Really Really Sucked!!! (spoilers ahead)
Organization: University of Waterloo
Date: Fri, 6 Nov 1992 07:30:02 GMT

In article <1d98krINNmlf@gap.caltech.edu> thogek@cco.caltech.edu (Thomas G. Kiefer) writes:
>"Rascals" spoilers below:









>From myempire@mentor.cc.purdue.edu (Matt J. Martin):
>>  3.  Are all Ferengi comeplete stupid, gullible, and unreasonably
>>avaricious?  Are the writers intentionally racist or did the attitude just
>>sort of crop up after Rodenberry kicked off.  I mean, for god's sake, if 
>>they have the technology to kick the E's butt you would think that at least
>>one of them could figure out that Riker's full of shit.  Or that their leaders
>>could figure out the complex design of Picard's fish tank.
>
>I recall from the first episode featuring Ferengi (title, anyone?) that they

"The Last Outpost". First season...

>were some ways back on the evolutionary path (Riker saying something about
>humans having once been that way).  They seem to have mentally evolved quite

No, I don't think that's what Riker meant. I think he said humans were
once like the Ferrengi, i.e. greedy maybe. I don't think it means they are
way back "on the evolutionary path"...

>suddenly right after that episode, but, yes, the Ferengi are supposed to be
>lower-intelligence and quite greedy, unwilling to wait for evolution to give
>them the brains to deal with the technology around them -- a bit in that
>sense like the Pakleds, I guess, though not AS stupid, and possibly greedier.

I don't think the Ferrengi are stupid at all. It does not correspond to
the level of technology they have. And I don't think they stole it either,
like the Pakleds or whatever. If you remember the episode where Lwaxana
Troi was abducted by a Ferrengi (was it "Menage a Troi"? VERY funny pun in
French...  "trois" means "three"), they tried to read her mind using a
probe. So to build that probe, as well as to conceive the thoughts device
of "The Battle" (when the Ferrengi gave the Stargazer back to Picard),
someone has to be quite intelligent.

The Ferrengi are not stupid. They are close-minded, sexists, not to be
trusted, greedy... but intelligent... that's the last one that's scary...

>Oh, and the Ferengi probably do NOT have the tech to beat the Enterprise.
>Did you LOOK at the ships the Ferengi had?  Or LISTEN to Worf when he first
>announced those ships' presence?  Two KLINGON Birds of Prey.  Most likely
>stolen, like much of the Ferengi's technology probably is.

It was never mentioned that they steal the technology. I mean, all their
technology. Of course, they stole that "P9 energy unit" in "The Last
Outpost", but it does not mean they stole all the technology they're
using...

>I thought "Rascals" was fun, IF you can ignore some of the tech.

I still haven't seen it...  (I can't resist to spoilers... ;-)  )
>-- 
>======================================================
>====> Thomas Kiefer <===> thogek@cco.caltech.edu <====
>======================================================


-- 
Sylvain Chamberland           INTERNET: schamber@sciborg.uwaterloo.ca   
Dept. of Biology          -----------------------------------------------------
University of Waterloo    |  "Biochimiste un jour, biochimiste toujours!"
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada |                               - anonyme