‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ Retro Recap – ‘The Last Outpost’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

The last time we settled in to discuss the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation, this reviewer was admittedly quite harsh in regard to what the last episode presented to the audience and understandably so. Because ‘Code of Honor’ crossed some lines that this franchise should never come near in the first place. Something that resulted in an outright offensive episode that was uncomfortable to watch. But there was also mention in that Retro Recap that the show would eventually set things right, by being inclusive and respective and diverse in future tales and by offering better storytelling in general. The latter of which is present in the next episode of this series, in a classic fashion no less.
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Because exploration and discovery are what Star Trek is grounded within and ‘The Last Outpost’ features plenty of that. For this particular tale sees the crew of the NCC-1701-D investigate the mysterious Ferengi, in the hopes of retrieving a stolen Federation device. And well, that makes this episode pretty exciting and historic in its own right. Since this is the first physical appearance of a species that was first mentioned in ‘Encounter at Farpoint’, and we’ll spend more time on them a little later. For we do need to take a moment and talk about the grand mystery that the crew faces in this tale. Because once the Enterprise and the Ferengi vessel come face-to-face over a remote planet, something strange begins to occur.

For the ship begins to deal with a power drain, one that is seemingly accelerating as the hours go along, prompting Picard and the crew to believe that perhaps the Ferengi have better weapons than anticipated and this is them posturing and preparing to bring down the Federation’s flagship. But a little scientific curiosity reveals that the power drain is coming from the planet below, prompting Picard to offer a truce and some unity in the hopes of solving what turns out to be a mutual problem. But the truce doesn’t last for long, simply because the Ferengi are opportunists and untrusting of the Federation and oddly enough, it takes the intervention of the planet’s holographic guardian, and a little bravery from Riker to save both ships. 

But what’s truly fascinating about this episode, is that it’s by-the-numbers plot when it comes to space exploration, oddly finds a way to suck you in and elicit a sense of wonder. Something that quite frankly is related to the fact that we get to venture to a strange new world. But while the exploration of the Tkon Empire is quite cool in its own right, and while its guardian is entertaining and eccentric, let’s be honest. It is the Ferengi that really sell this story. Because meeting new species is another big reason that Star Trek is such an alluring series and their introduction here is handled in epic and dynamic fashion since they are so supremely alien and unique. But also, their arrival is significant for one other important reason. 

For one of the Ferengi is played by actor Armin Shimerman, whose name should sound familiar. For he portrayed Quark in Deep Space Nine and it is quite incredible to hear his familiar voice and see him in the makeup for the first time ever and one has to wonder if cutting his teeth here as a random Ferengi, helped him to develop Quark and all of his unique proclivities. But all of that aside, this really was quite the entertaining tale, one that definitely gets the series back to basics and that’s a wonderful thing. Because we simply don’t need any more episodes like the last one, and while season one does have its ups and downs, it is nice to know that the folks behind the scenes worked quickly to get the series back to basics, so that everyone can move on from an embarrassing moment. Until next time.   

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