False Profits
"False Profits" is the 47th episode of Star Trek: Voyager, the fifth episode of the third season. This is a science fiction television episode of the Star Trek franchise, that aired on UPN on October 2, 1996.[1] This features special effect sequences of wormholes, shuttlecraft, and an inhabited exoplanet.
"False Profits" | |
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Star Trek: Voyager episode | |
Episode no. | Season 3 Episode 5 |
Directed by | Cliff Bole |
Story by | George A. Brozak |
Teleplay by | Joe Menosky |
Featured music | Dennis McCarthy |
Production code | 40840-144 |
Original air date | October 2, 1996 |
Guest appearance(s) | |
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This episode has many guest stars that fill in as the inhabitants of the planet Voyager encounters.
Plot
Voyager discovers evidence of replicator technology on a planet with Bronze Age technology. Chakotay and Paris beam down to investigate. They discover two Ferengi posing as prophets who were foretold in the planet's mythology, exploiting the replicator technology to make themselves rich.[2] When the Ferengi are beamed aboard USS Voyager they refuse to go back to the Alpha Quadrant, and Janeway is forced to return them to the planet.
Meanwhile, an unstable wormhole is detected and its exit point is traced to the Alpha Quadrant, with the wormhole being the Barzan anomaly that the Ferengi had come through, years ago, and never returned through. This would be a shortcut home for Voyager; the only problem is that the Delta Quadrant side moves around erratically. Harry Kim and B'Elanna Torres work on a way to stabilize the wormhole while Neelix, disguised as a Ferengi, travels back to the planet. He pretends to be a representative (the "Grand Proxy") of the Ferengi ruler, the Grand Nagus, and demands the two return to the Alpha Quadrant so he may confiscate their riches.
Neelix's ruse is uncovered and the Ferengi attempt to kill him. Neelix barely survives the assault and the natives uncover the situation. The Voyager crew has learned the end of the native mythology — Neelix announces himself as the "Holy Pilgrim", a character prophesied to return the sages to their home. He coordinates with Voyager to create signs of his authenticity, which incites the natives to attempt to burn him and the Ferengi at the stake, citing a passage prophesying that they will return home on "wings of fire". Neelix and the Ferengi are beamed away at the last moment and the natives are convinced their prophecy has come true.
Back on Voyager, the Ferengi manage to steal back their shuttlecraft, which Voyager had confiscated. They end up being sucked into the wormhole, which destabilizes to the point that it is worthless to Voyager.
Reception
In 2017, Den of Geek included this on their abbreviated watch guide for Star Trek: Voyager, picking out this episode on their cross-overs roadmap.[3]
In 2017, Treknews.net felt this was one of the funniest episodes of all Star Trek, and likened the plot to that of another science fiction franchise, Stargate.[4]
See also
- Inside Man (Star Trek: Voyager) (also features the Ferengi)
- The Last Outpost (Star Trek: The Next Generation) (the first Star Trek episode featuring the Ferengi)
- Ménage à Troi (the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode where Ethan Phillips played a Ferengi; here, his Neelix character impersonates a Ferengi to fool Arridor and Kol)
References
- TV.com. "Star Trek: Voyager: False Profits". TV.com.
- "False Profits: A Review". Treknobabble. Retrieved 2019-12-31.
- "Star Trek Voyager: an episode roadmap". Den of Geek. Retrieved 2019-06-11.
- Stape, Will (2017-07-31). "Star Trek's Funniest Episodes: From 'The Original Series' to 'Enterprise' and Beyond". TREKNEWS.NET. Retrieved 2019-07-11.
External links
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Wikiquote has quotations related to: False Profits |
- False Profits at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)