4x08 Little Green Men

[7.8/10] I don’t think Deep Space Nine gets enough credit for being fun. The show’s remembered for its moral gray areas and willingness to confront what the Federation would look like the throes of mortal conflict. But Quark in particular was a source of great humor on the show, and in the right hands, with the right tone, the misadventures of those station scallywags could be a total blast.

“Little Green Men” is one of those episodes. Don’t think too hard about it. But Quark, Rom, and Nog end up going back in time to Earth in 1947, and happen to land in none other than Roswell, New Mexico. That's right, the infamous UFO sighting near a military facility famously declared to be a weather balloon was, in fact, the station’s resident Ferengi family on an accidental hop across the timeline.

The premise is loony as hell. Time travel has always been a bit of a goof in the franchise, with thin, inconsistent excuses for why and how it works. “Venting kemocite” or no, the improbability of the three family-members (plus Odo) not only finding their way to 1940s Earth, but figuring how to get back using the power of an atomic bomb test, is something of a larf. But the comedy, and the light but successful commentary that comes with it, is more than worth excusing any technobabble contrivances necessary to make it happen.

The comedy comes from the absurdity of modern day Ferengi meeting pre-enlightenment Humans (read: us). One of the inherent gags of our well-lobed counterparts is that they’re essentially what the American business world would produce if we became advanced technologically without maturing as a species: uber-businessmen focused on profits at all costs who wheel-and-deal for the hell of it. There’s something fun, then, about setting a group of Ferengi against comparatively uncivilized humans, who are closer to Quark’s speed than stuffy explorers and dignified diplomats like Sisko and company.

In short, this episode has the spirit of one of those early TNG episodes where Picard pontificates about the state of mankind before humanity sorted itself out, but it’s done with a tongue-in-cheek tone and through the eyes of an alien race. It’s amusing to see the three extraterrestrials mix up their human history, and decide they’re in “Australia or something.” But it’s even more amusing to hear them remark a mix of bemusement and disgust how 1940s humans casually inhale poison, ask about buying weapons to get one over on their neighbors, and in the meantime, irradiate their own planet.

Yes, there’s something a little smug and self-satisfied about the real life humans from the 1990s who write the show looking down on their counterparts from a half a century earlier. But watching Quark and company bumble their way through the military-industrial complex circa 1947 and Earth customs they know little about is a recipe for laughs.

At the same time, though, there’s a thread of sentiment and development for our main Ferengi characters here. For one, this is Nog’s big farewell as he leaves for Starfleet Academy. The traditional coming-of-age ceremony where Nog raises capital by selling his childhood treasures is cute, with plenty of chuckles of its own. Nog’s gung-ho attitude among the military men and threats of an invasion illustrate him as a more combative and take-charge sort of Ferengi. And most of all, his farewell to Jake, remembering the time they spent gazing out at the promenade and delighting in “doing nothing” together, is downright heartwarming.

But this is also something of a coming out party for Rom. After years of being derided as the idiot brother, while secretly showing some technical prowess, his ability to figure out a way to short-circuit their cousin’s sabotage of the ship “gifted” to Quark, and to concoct a means to time travel back to the future, shows how smart he really is when allowed to operate in his element. The suggestions that Rom may only have been obfuscating stupidity when convenient, and rising to the occasion with the right bit of self-confidence (give or take a pained cry for his moogie), gives the character a boost right when he needs it.

The only drag here is that the humans themselves are pretty caricatured and otherwise not much to write home about. Charles Napier is perfect in the role of the cigar-chomping general, but otherwise, the gags about the combative lieutenant, the overworked scientist, and his exaggeratedly spunky and prescient fiancee are fine but underwhelming. There’s a fair bit of sexism in the treatment of Nurse Garland, and not just in-universe. (She basically gets sexually harassed by Nog and Rom in a way that's treated as a laugh.) But in an odd way, these throwback military-adjacent characters feel of a piece with those in “Tomorrow Is Yesterday” from The Original Series, to the point that the whole thing may be a bit of an intentional homage.

Nonetheless, watching our heroes bounce off their “ancient human” counterparts is worth a lot of laughs. The small touches of the universal translator not working, to where each species assumes the other is a pack of primitive dullards, leads to some good humor. Quark deciding that these venal, but backwards Terrans are the sort of hyoo-mans he can't jibe with (not to mention exploit), brings the yuks. And seeing their different attempts to resist interrogation sputter and eventually succeed (with some help from their sympathetic human allies and a typically craft Odo) is a thrill.

In short, this is a wonderful romp. The means may strain credulity, and the tone may be a little more heightened than usual, but the writers use the looser feel and chance to mix up the time and place for good humor and an entertaining adventure. Packed into all the silly hijinks and temporal shenanigans are themes about modern humanity’s proximity to Ferengi mores and the inevitable blindspots of cultural exchange. For the most part, though, this is just Deep Space Nine -- in a season full of political intrigue, queasy choices, and high drama -- deciding to simply have a good time.