Star Trek: Deep Space Nine‘s Quark (Armin Shimerman) is the Star Trek universe’s best-loved Ferengi, and his best episodes showcase all the reasons why. In DS9‘s early days, Quark’s reputation as a swindler and a scoundrel defined him. However, even those early episodes showed that Quark had layers of complexity beyond his criminality and relentless pursuit of profit. By defying the Ferengi stereotypes established in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Quark was one of the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine characters that best exemplified the show’s more nuanced approach to character.
Quark did some pretty bad things in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, but the show was always careful to provide the Ferengi with a way back on to the right path. Even Quark’s worst crimes in DS9 were tempered by his guilt and desire to make amends. Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) saw the potential in Quark from the very beginning, and many of the Ferengi’s best DS9 episodes showcase his positive influence on life aboard Deep Space Nine. Another key relationship was with arch-nemesis/best friend, Constable Odo (Rene Auberjonois), who heavily features in Quark’s best Star Trek episodes.
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Deep Space Nine is one of the most acclaimed Star Trek shows, thanks to its mature direction, and many of its best episodes reflect this darker tone.
10 Star Trek: DS9, Season 2, Episode 7, “Rules of Acquisition”
Story by Hilary J. Bader, Teleplay by Ira Steven Behr
“Rules of Acquisition” is the first episode to hint that Quark is about more than just profit. By falling in love with a female Ferengi, Pel (Hélène Udy), Quark is already foreshadowing the huge societal changes that his mother Ishka would later spearhead. The final scene is really the moment that Star Trek: Deep Space Nine confirms to the audience that Quark does have a heart. With Pel gone, Quark tries to convince Lt. Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell) that their brief romance meant nothing. Dax knows otherwise, and the melancholic look on Quark’s face confirms it in a subtle moment, played beautifully by Armin Shimerman.
9 Star Trek: Lower Decks, Season 3, Episode 6, “Hear All, Trust Nothing”
Written by Grace Parra Janney
Star Trek: Lower Decks returned to Deep Space Nine in the episode “Hear All, Trust Nothing”, which revealed how Quark had built a huge business empire post-Dominion War. Predictably, his methods were less than legal, as he used stolen Dominion technology to revolutionize Quark’s Bar on DS9. Lower Decks‘ DS9 episode was a great Quark story because it showed how Quark’s old habits die hard, but didn’t undermine his ending. By the end of “Hear All, Trust Nothing”, Quark gets to keep his vast business empire, but now has to share the profits with the Karemma from whom he stole the technology.
8 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Season 3, Episode 3, “The House of Quark”
Story by Tom Benko, Teleplay by Ronald D. Moore
“The House of Quark” is a classic example of Quark’s big mouth getting him into a situation that veers wildly out of control. In this case, his lies about killing a Klingon warrior in battle inadvertently results in him becoming the head of the dead man’s house. It’s a scam orchestrated by Grilka (Mary Kay Adams), who has been the true power behind the throne but, due to sexist Klingon laws, cannot control her own house. Grilka and Quark successfully convince Chancellor Gowron (Robert Reilly) to give her the power she deserves, and once again, Quark proves himself to have a more progressive outlook than other Ferengi.
7 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Season 7, Episode 8, “The Siege of AR-558”
Written by Ira Steven Behr and Hans Beimler
Most of Quark’s best Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episodes are comical, but “The Siege of AR-588” is a very different beast. While it’s an ensemble piece about the horrors of war, Quark shines through as he gets to do things that are completely new for the character. In Star Trek‘s most harrowing depiction of warfare, Quark is thrown into a desperate battle against the Dominion. It’s horrific to see DS9‘s heroes in such a desperate situation, and Quark’s fear and eventual courage under fire is a delicate balancing act that Armin Shimerman pulls off with aplomb.
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6 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Season 5, Episode 9, “The Ascent”
Written by Ira Steven Behr and Robert Hewitt Wolfe
“The Ascent” is possibly the best Odo and Quark episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine because it forces them together in a desperate battle for survival. After their runabout is sabotaged by the Orion Syndicate, Odo and Quark become stranded on a freezing, inhospitable planet, where they must climb a mountain and send out a distress signal. It’s a brilliant episode that solidifies Quark and Odo’s strange Star Trek friendship. The final scene in which Quark and Odo say they “meant every word” about hating each other is as close as those characters will ever get to saying “I love you“.
5 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Season 4, Episode 25, “Body Parts”
Story by Louis P. DeSantis & Robert J Bolivar, Teleplay by Hans Beimler
When Quark is led to believe that he’s dying, he sells his remains, as per Ferengi tradition. When it’s revealed that he’s not dying, Quark has to go back on the sale, risking his business and reputation. It’s a pitch-black Ferengi comedy that’s also touching in how it depicts the Deep Space Nine crew coming to Quark’s aid. From Garak (Andrew Robinson) offering to murder Quark to honor the sale, to Sisko, Dax, and Dr. Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig) helping to rebuild the bar after Quark loses everything. It all shows how beloved he has become by this stage in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
4 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Season 6, Episode 12, “Who Mourns for Morn?”
Written by Mark Gehred-O’Connell
“Who Mourns for Morn” is another comic portrayal of how Quark processes death, after his best customer Morn (Mark Allen Shepherd) is apparently killed in an ion storm. Quark is bereft over the loss of Morn, because he never paid his bar tab. However, the Ferengi bartender is soon thrown into a search for lost gold as Morn’s former criminal associates come looking for him. It’s a hugely enjoyable caper episode that puts Quark front and center, while revealing the hidden depths of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine‘s most enigmatic character.
3 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Season 3, Episode 23, “Family Business”
Written by Ira Steven Behr and Robert Hewitt Wolfe
“Family Business” is one of the Star Trek: DS9 episodes directed by Rene Auberjonois, and it dives into Quark’s family dynamics. It was the first of DS9‘s more serious Ferengi episodes, as it explored the estranged relationship between Quark and his mother Ishka (Andrea Martin). The episode reveals that Quark’s mother defied Ferengi laws to earn profit, something that she is under investigation for. Quark and his brother Rom (Max Grodenchik) travel to Ferenginar, and it’s fascinating to see how the dynamics shift between the two brothers when they’re back in the family home.
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Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was the making of the Ferengi and Quark, Rom, Nog, and Ishka continue to make a huge impact on the Star Trek universe.
2 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Season 6, Episode 10, “The Magnificent Ferengi”
Written by Ira Steven Behr and Hans Beimler
Quark leads a not-so crack team of Ferengi to Deep Space Nine’s sister station Empok Nor in “The Magnificent Ferengi”. Their mission is to rescue Quark’s mother Ishka from the Dominion, while handing over one of the Federation’s Vorta prisoners. It’s a fun spin on a hostage transfer thriller, as the Ferengi’s skills for negotiation end up being the thing that wins the day. The wild scheme concocted by Nog to reanimate the corpse of the dead Vorta prisoner and outsmart Yelgrun (Iggy Pop). It’s a hilarious Ferengi action comedy that is confidently led by Armin Shimerman as Quark.
1 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Season 4, Episode 8, “Little Green Men”
Story by Toni Marberry & Jack Treviño, Teleplay by Ira Steven Behr and Robert Hewitt Wolfe
“Little Green Men” is the best Quark episode because it completely subverts everything that audiences expect from a Star Trek time travel episode. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine‘s Ferengi trio – and a hidden Odo – find themselves stranded in Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947. Rather than rigidly stick to the non-interventionist policies of the Temporal Prime Directive, Quark sees it as a perfect opportunity to make substantial profit. That is, until the US military want to begin experimenting on him. It’s one of the standout episodes in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine‘s seminal fourth season, and represents Quark’s finest hour.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
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.
