An episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine focused on Ferengi bartender Quark (Armin Shimerman) was inspired by a classic Danny DeVito sitcom. DS9 may have a reputation for being a dark and moody show, but it also gave audiences some of the funniest Star Trek episodes ever made. Many of DS9‘s comedy episodes focused on the exploits of Quark and his fellow Ferengi, with particular highlights including “Little Green Men” and “The Magnificent Ferengi”. It’s unsurprising, therefore, that the sitcom genre inspired some of Quark’s best DS9 episodes.
For example, Quark’s Bar in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine contains a pretty big nod to Cheers, in the form of Morn the Lurian barfly (Mark Allen Shepherd), named in tribute to George Wendt’s Norm. Premiering in 1982, Cheers was created by James Burrows, and Glen and Les Charles, who had cut their teeth on the Danny DeVito sitcom, Taxi. The show was hugely popular and made household names of DeVito, Judd Hirsch, and Christopher Lloyd. Taxi was also an early proving ground for Ira Steven Behr, the man who would go on to run DS9, and write some of Quark’s best-loved episodes.
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DS9’s Quark Actor Loves Hilarious Star Trek & Cheers Mashup
Deep Space Nine was always one of Star Trek’s funniest shows, as proven by a Cheers mash-up shared on X by Quark actor Armin Shimerman.
Danny DeVito’s Taxi Character Inspired A Quark Episode Of Star Trek: DS9
Star Trek: DS9, Season 3, Episode 16, “Prophet Motive”
Before he became the showrunner of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Ira Steven Behr was trying to get his big break in Hollywood, and submitted a spec script to Taxi. Behr’s script focused on Danny DeVito’s lecherous and morally bankrupt head dispatcher, Louie De Palma. Entitled “Uncle Sylvester”, the episode would have introduced Louie’s uncle, a man who inspired his own sleazy worldview. However, the old man has changed his ways, instigating an existential crisis for Danny DeVito’s Taxi character. The script was never picked up, so Behr adapted it years later, swapping Louie for Quark, and Uncle Sylvester for Grand Nagus Zek (Wallace Shawn).
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 3, episode 16, “Prophet Motive”, written by Ira Steven Behr & Robert Hewitt Wolfe, and directed by Rene Auberjonois, saw Grand Nagus Zek embrace a more charitable outlook after encountering the Bajoran Prophets. The spiritually awakened Zek writes revised Rules of Acquisition that state things like “If they want their money back, give it to them“, which gives Quark his own existential crisis. Knowing that “Prophet Motive” originated with Taxi makes it hard not to ponder how brilliant Danny DeVito would be as one of Star Trek‘s Ferengi, but alas, the opportunity is yet to arise.
Taxi’s Other Star Trek Links Explained
Christopher Lloyd and Carol Kane both starred in Taxi before they became part of the Star Trek universe in their later careers. Lloyd joined Star Trek III: The Search for Spock‘s cast as Captain Kruge, the Klingon who faced off against Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) on the Genesis Planet. In a strange coincidence, Christopher Lloyd’s character in Taxi, Reverend Jim Ignatowski, was a huge fan of Star Trek: The Original Series, and was angry about NBC’s decision to cancel it. This gag is even funnier when you remember that later seasons of Taxi screened on NBC.
Before playing Commander Pelia in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Carol Kane played Simka Gravas, the wife of Andy Kaufmann’s character Latka in Taxi. Carol Kane became a series regular on Taxi between 1982 and 1983, and had some memorable face-offs with Danny DeVito’s Louie. The final link between Taxi and Star Trek is Vincent Schiavelli, who played the recurring role of Reverend Gorky opposite Christopher Lloyd. Schiavelli played the Minosian peddler in Star Trek: The Next Generation. All of which proves that Star Trek: Deep Space Nine isn’t the only show to benefit from links to the classic sitcom.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
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Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, also known as DS9, is the fourth series in the long-running Sci-Fi franchise, Star Trek. DS9 was created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller, and stars Avery Brooks, René Auberjonois, Terry Farrell, and Cirroc Lofton. This particular series follows a group of individuals in a space station near a planet called Bajor.
Taxi
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