A joke that shouldn't be hidden in plain sight in a classic Star Trek episode
By Chris Snellgrove | Published
For the most part, Star Trek: The Next Generation it was a great show. It may always feature Marina Sirtis in skimpy clothes, but this is the last series where you can expect the character to make a profane joke.
However, one such joke is hidden among the most important episodes of the show. In “The Price,” a Ferengi uses his hands to tell a sad star about how big his penis is, in a moment that seems out of place in this Star Trek spinoff.
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If it's been a hot minute since you watched “The Price,” here's a quick recap: in this Star Trek episode, different governments are negotiating for rights to a so-called stable wormhole on the other side of the galaxy. Some of the representatives in these discussions are the Ferengi, a race known for their greed and general misogyny. The latter quality is on full display in the scene where Ferengi Goss makes a hand gesture to Ensign Bailey; later, i Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion he confirmed that he was talking about the size of his “sex organ”.
This profane sign is a true “blink and you'll miss it” moment…a moment, in fact, that many Star Trek fans completely miss. But why is this time in the episode at all? Although we can only speculate, it's possible that director Robert Scheerer included this as a reference to something that many fans are unaware of: Gene Roddenberry's strange fascination with the super-membered Ferengi.
Gene Roddenberry Wanted Big Ferengi Characters
Years before “The Price” aired, Roddenberry helped create the Ferengi as a new villain for our heroes to face, one that would work like the Klingons. Star Trek: The Original Series. In a 1987 memo, the creator of Trek described the Ferengi as having “grotesque sexual appetites”, and TNG Producer Herb Wright later said that the Ferengi were a reflection of Roddenberry's “center”. Wright says Roddenberry wanted to “want to put a big codpiece on the Ferengi” as a way to reassure the audience that these aliens were very well endowed.
Continuing, Wright said Roddenberry “spent 25 minutes explaining to me all the sexual situations a Ferengi can go through.” Finally, the producer closed all this strange talk by telling the creator of the business that he can not have all this bitter content because “this is a family show, at 7:00 on Saturday. Roddenberry agreed, and the size of the Ferengi is not confirmed on the screen, although these aliens who do not want to be considered by women have kept their sexual desires as big as the Trek guru started.
Was Price A Nod To Gene Roddenberry?
It's entirely possible that having the Ferengi brag about their size in “The Price” is a way to honor the Star Trek creator's original vision for these aliens. It also happens, of course, that this is just a visual thriller about a minor character flaunting her body in a memorably vulgar way. These immigrants are often portrayed as raw images of modern capitalism, so having one of them focus on the size of his latinum stick would fit perfectly with the rest of the screenplay.
We, like to think that “The Price” is a way of honoring Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry's vision of these cunning aliens. However, we may never know if Goss (assuming he was telling the truth) was specially gifted or if the Ferengi collectively rocked a thick gift (perhaps from the Great Material Continuum).
The latter may finally answer the question we've been asking for decades: why Leeta ended up marrying Rom. Deep Space Nine?
