"Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places" is the third episode of the
fifth season of the American
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
television series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...
''
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', originally airing on October 14, 1996 in
broadcast syndication. The story was written by
Ronald D. Moore and directed by actor
Andrew J. Robinson, who played the recurring character
Garak. The episode received a
Nielsen rating
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rati ...
of 5.7 percent, a slight decrease from the previous week.
Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures on
Deep Space Nine, a space station located near a stable
wormhole
A wormhole ( Einstein-Rosen bridge) is a hypothetical structure connecting disparate points in spacetime, and is based on a special solution of the Einstein field equations.
A wormhole can be visualized as a tunnel with two ends at separate p ...
between the
Alpha and Gamma quadrants of the Milky Way Galaxy. In the episode,
Worf
Worf, son of Mogh is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' franchise. He appears in the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (''TNG'') and seasons four through seven of ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (''DS9'') as well as t ...
(
Michael Dorn
Michael Dorn (born December 9, 1952) is an American actor best known for his role as the Klingon Worf in the '' Star Trek'' franchise. He has appeared more times as a regular cast member than any other ''Star Trek'' actor in the franchise's hist ...
) becomes infatuated with
Grilka, but is unable to pursue her as a result of his dishonor among
Klingons
The Klingons ( ; Klingon language, Klingon: ''tlhIngan'' ) are a fictional species in the science fiction franchise ''Star Trek''.
Developed by screenwriter Gene L. Coon in 1967 for the Star Trek: The Original Series, original ''Star Trek'' ('' ...
. In an adaption of the 19th-century play
''Cyrano de Bergerac'', Worf instead helps
Quark (
Armin Shimerman
Armin Shimerman (born November 5, 1949) is an American actor and author.
Early life
Shimerman was born into a Jewish family in Lakewood, New Jersey, on November 5, 1949, the son of accountant Susan and house painter Herbert Shimerman. When he wa ...
) win Grilka's love. When Quark—wholly inexperienced in Klingon fighting and mating rituals—is forced to fight Grilka's bodyguard to legitimize their relationship, Worf employs a device to remotely control Quark's body movements in combat, enabling him to defeat his opponent.
Jadzia Dax
Jadzia Dax , played by Terry Farrell (actress), Terry Farrell, is a fictional character from the science-fiction television series ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''.
Jadzia Dax is a joined Trill (Star Trek), Trill. Though she appears to be a young ...
(
Terry Farrell) attempts to console the dejected Worf, and becomes the aggressor in a romantic scene between the two. It is explained in the episode that "par'Mach" is the
Klingon
The Klingons ( ; Klingon: ''tlhIngan'' ) are a fictional species in the science fiction franchise ''Star Trek''.
Developed by screenwriter Gene L. Coon in 1967 for the original ''Star Trek'' (''TOS'') series, Klingons were swarthy humanoids c ...
word for "love", with an aggressive connotation.
"Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places" has been met with mixed critical reception.
Plot
Grilka (
Mary Kay Adams
Mary Kay Adams (born September 12, 1962) is an American actress known for her roles in television.
In a career that spanned from the mid-1980s to 2000, she had several roles on daytime television. Her most high profile role was as jet-setting ...
), the Klingon ex-wife of
Quark (
Armin Shimerman
Armin Shimerman (born November 5, 1949) is an American actor and author.
Early life
Shimerman was born into a Jewish family in Lakewood, New Jersey, on November 5, 1949, the son of accountant Susan and house painter Herbert Shimerman. When he wa ...
) from a "marriage of convenience" (see "
The House of Quark"), arrives at
Deep Space Nine to seek financial advice from Quark.
Worf
Worf, son of Mogh is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' franchise. He appears in the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (''TNG'') and seasons four through seven of ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (''DS9'') as well as t ...
(
Michael Dorn
Michael Dorn (born December 9, 1952) is an American actor best known for his role as the Klingon Worf in the '' Star Trek'' franchise. He has appeared more times as a regular cast member than any other ''Star Trek'' actor in the franchise's hist ...
) is immediately attracted to her, but is told by her adviser, Tumek, that Worf's dishonor precludes her from mating with him. Quark wishes to pursue Grilka romantically, but is ignorant of Klingon mating rituals, so he asks
Jadzia Dax
Jadzia Dax , played by Terry Farrell (actress), Terry Farrell, is a fictional character from the science-fiction television series ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''.
Jadzia Dax is a joined Trill (Star Trek), Trill. Though she appears to be a young ...
(
Terry Farrell) for help. Worf, eager to prove himself capable of courting a Klingon woman, joins Dax in coaching Quark to win Grilka's affections. Through diligent efforts to learn Klingon culture, Quark is successful with Grilka; her bodyguard, Thopok (
Phil Morris), becomes outraged at the unconventional relationship and challenges Quark to a duel.
Unskilled at combat, Quark stands to either lose Grilka or be killed. Worf helps him using a device that enables him to control Quark's body movements from an adjacent room to help Quark defend himself in the duel. Although the device temporarily malfunctions, he defeats the bodyguard. The scene concludes with Grilka and Quark alone and enamored with one another. Worf opines to Jadzia that Quark is unworthy of such a great Klingon woman and she counters that Worf's interest in Grilka is superficial, and there are better options awaiting him. Since Worf still fails to notice her hints, Dax initiates an aggressive romantic encounter. Worf is surprised but responds. In the final scene, both couples are in the infirmary; Doctor
Julian Bashir
Julian Subatoi Bashir, MD is a fictional character from the television series ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', portrayed by Alexander Siddig. Bashir is the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of space station Deep Space Nine and the USS ''Defiant''.
...
(
Alexander Siddig
Siddig El Tahir El Fadil El Siddig Abdurrahman Mohammed Ahmed Abdel Karim El Mahdi (born 21 November 1965) is a Sudanese-born English actor and director known professionally as Siddig El Fadil and subsequently as Alexander Siddig.
Siddig i ...
) deduces the source of their injuries. Dax and Worf decide to begin a relationship.
In a
subplot
In fiction, a subplot is a secondary strand of the plot that is a supporting side story for any story or for the main plot. Subplots may connect to main plots, in either time and place or thematic significance. Subplots often involve supporting c ...
,
Miles O'Brien (
Colm Meaney) is faced with the increasingly uncomfortable situation of Major
Kira Nerys
Kira Nerys is a fictional character in the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (1993–1999). She was played by actress Nana Visitor. The character is from the fictional planet Bajor, a world which has rec ...
(
Nana Visitor
Nana Tucker ( ; born July 26, 1957), known professionally as Nana Visitor, is an American actress, best known for playing Kira Nerys in the television series ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' and Jean Ritter in the television series ''Wildfire''.
...
) carrying his baby and living with him and his wife, Keiko (
Rosalind Chao
Rosalind Chao (; born September 23, 1957) is an American actress. Chao's best-known roles have been Soon-Lee Klinger in the mid-1980s CBS show '' AfterMASH'', Rose Hsu Jordan in the 1993 movie '' The Joy Luck Club'', the recurring character Ke ...
) (see
"Body Parts"). Miles and Kira begin to feel attracted to each other, but try to avoid growing closer; Kira decides to take a trip to
Bajor
The Bajorans (variously pronounced , , ) are a fictional species in the science-fiction '' Star Trek'' franchise. They are a humanoid extraterrestrial species native to the planet Bajor, who have a long-standing enmity with the Cardassians, o ...
for a few days only for Keiko to insist that Miles accompany her on her retreat. As the runabout is about to depart, Kira reveals that their destination is in a highly romantic setting, which prompts Miles to back out of the trip.
Production and themes
![Michael Dorn by Gage Skidmore](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Michael_Dorn_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg)
The episode boasts the longest title of the series and, as of 2015, the second-longest of all ''Star Trek'' television installments, behind "
For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky
"For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky" is the eighth episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Rik Vollaerts and directed by Tony Leader, it was first broadcast on Novem ...
" of the 1960s series.
"Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places" drew inspiration from the 1897 play
''Cyrano de Bergerac'',
in which a brilliant Frenchman, resigned to the fact that the woman he adores will never be able to look past his distractingly large nose, helps another man win the lady's heart by dictating beautiful language from nearby. The idea for a modern adaption of ''Cyrano de Bergerac'' was proposed by Michael Dorn.
"Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places" was directed by
Andrew Robinson, who plays the
Cardassian
The Cardassians () are a fictional Extraterrestrial life in popular culture, extraterrestrial species in the American science fiction franchise ''Star Trek''. They were devised in 1991 for the series ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' before b ...
Elim Garak
Elim Garak is a fictional character from the television series ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', in which he is portrayed by Andrew J. Robinson. In the series, Garak is an exiled spy from the Cardassian Union and a former member of the feared ...
on ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''. This marked the first time that the actor of a recurring (but not main) ''Star Trek'' character had directed an episode in the franchise.
Having just received two Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards for theatrical directing, Robinson personally asked executive producer
Rick Berman
Richard Keith Berman (born December 25, 1945) is an American television producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his work as the executive producer of several of the '' Star Trek'' television series: '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', ...
to let him direct an episode of ''Deep Space Nine''; Robinson was pleased to have been assigned this particular episode.
Challenged with inventing an original way for Quark to survive the fight without directly paralleling prior material, writers devised a "holographic puppeteer" system.
[ Erdmann & Block(2003): p. 376] Worf is seen wearing a headset which allows him to control the body movements of Quark, who is wearing a concealed receiver.
It is not made clear how the "virtual control device" works.
[ Erdmann & Block(2003): p. 374] Indeed, Ronald D. Moore clarified: "I wasn't interested in explaining it to the viewers. We just buy the premise and move on."
However, science consultant
André Bormanis
Andre Bormanis (born February 13, 1959) is an American television producer, screenwriter, and author of the book ''Star Trek: Science Logs''. Bormanis is most notable for his involvement in the long-running ''Star Trek'' franchise, and was the scie ...
agreed that the "web of sensors and actuators" was conceptually sound.
Dan Curry, who originally designed the bat'leth and helped developed Klingon fighting techniques, was instrumental in choreographing the combat scene between Quark and Thopok. Despite his character's apparent ineptitude at hand-to-hand combat, Shimerman practiced extensively with a bat'leth to make Worf's influence over Quark seem convincing. Shimerman also enlisted the help of a
mime artist
A mime artist, or simply mime (from Greek , , "imitator, actor"), is a person who uses ''mime'' (also called ''pantomime'' outside of Britain), the acting out of a story through body motions without the use of speech, as a theatrical medium ...
to improve his technique.
[ Erdmann & Block(2003): p. 377]
Guest star
Joseph Ruskin
Joseph Ruskin (born Joseph Richard Schlafman; April 14, 1924 – December 28, 2013) was an American character actor.
Also appeared in several underworld character roles on the tv series The Untouchables (1959-1963)
Early life
Ruskin was born ...
played Tumek in "Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places", and had previously appeared in the ''
Star Trek: The Original Series
''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry that follows the adventures of the starship and its crew. It later acquired the retronym of ''Star Trek: The Original Series'' (''TOS'') to distinguis ...
'' episode "
The Gamesters of Triskelion
"The Gamesters of Triskelion" is the sixteenth episode of the Star Trek: The Original Series (season 2), second season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek''. Written by Margaret Armen and d ...
" as well as earlier in ''Deep Space Nine'' in "
Improbable Cause
"Improbable Cause" is the 66th episode of the television series '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', the 20th episode of the third season. It is the first half of a two-part episode, concluded in the following episode, " The Die is Cast".
Set in th ...
". He went on to appear both in the film ''
Star Trek: Insurrection'' and the ''
Star Trek: Voyager'' episode "
Gravity
In physics, gravity () is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things with mass or energy. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four fundamental interactions, approximately 1038 times weaker than the stro ...
".
[ Nemecek (2003): p. 343]
Reception
"Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places" was first broadcast on October 14, 1996 in
broadcast syndication. It received a
Nielsen rating
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rati ...
of 5.7 percent, placing it ninth in its timeslot. This represented a slight decrease in viewership from the previous week;
"The Ship" garnered a rating of 6.0 percent. In contrast, "
Trials and Tribble-ations
"Trials and Tribble-ations" is the 104th episode of the American science fiction television series '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', the sixth episode of the fifth season. It was written as a tribute to the original series of '' Star Trek,'' in th ...
" was the most-watched episode of the season, with a rating of 7.7 percent.
Several reviewers re-watched the episode after the end of the series. Zack Handlen reviewed the episode for ''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' in April 2013. Handlen remarked on the episode's farcical title and content, noting that the script was largely without substance. He granted that the episode served as a welcome change of pace from the ongoing "agonies of war" in the series. He notes that the main plot involving Grilka was "wafer thin" but nonetheless effective in creating humor and introducing the relationship between Dax and Worf. Still, Handlen thought Worf's strong attraction to Grilka lacked sufficient justification, given Worf's long-standing desire to maintain solitude on the station. In addition, Handlen disliked the subplot concerning Miles O'Brien and Major Kira, suggesting that the romantic tension between the two was forced and inconsistent with their personalities.
For the website ''
TrekNation
TrekNation is a reference and community website for the ''Star Trek'' franchise. It also serves as a hub for its network websites: TrekToday, a news site updated nearly daily; The Trek BBS, which describes itself as the largest ''Star Trek'' ...
'', Michelle Erica Green wrote that she strongly disliked the episode and considered some of its sexual implications "repulsive". She felt the episode inappropriately objectified its female characters—having depicted both Quark and Worf as "players"—and that Worf had neglected to discuss with Dax the risks inherent to Klingon sex rituals. Green was somewhat more receptive to the O'Brien/Kira storyline, and was fond of the portrayal of pregnancy.
Jamahl Epsicokhan of ''
Jammer's Reviews
TrekNation is a reference and community website for the ''Star Trek'' franchise. It also serves as a hub for its network websites: TrekToday, a news site updated nearly daily; The Trek BBS, which describes itself as the largest ''Star Trek'' ...
'' praised the episode as being among the show's "most purely amusing", while acknowledging the weak plot. Epsicokhan enjoyed Quark's interactions with other characters, which were rare in that Quark had other motives than his usual lust for monetary profit. Unlike Handlen, Epsicokhan liked the Kira and O'Brien scenes, especially near the episode's close when the characters were set to depart for Bajor. He gave the episode a score of three out of four stars.
Science fiction writer
Keith DeCandido
Keith Robert Andreassi DeCandido (born April 18, 1969) is an American science fiction and fantasy writer and musician, who works on comic books, novels, role-playing games and video games, including numerous media tie-in books for properties such ...
reviewed "Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places" for
Tor.com
''Tor.com'' is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine published by Tor Books, a division of Macmillan Publishers. The magazine publishes articles, reviews, original short fiction, re-reads and commentary on speculative fiction.
From 20 ...
, lauding
Ronald D. Moore's sense of humor on display in the episode, as well as the performances by Nana Visitor and Colm Meaney. In contrast with some other reviewers, DeCandido thought the story stayed true to all involved characters.
In 2017, ''
Vulture
A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...
'' listed this episode as one of the best of ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''.
Home media
The first home media release of "Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places" was part of a two-episode
VHS cassette alongside "
...Nor the Battle to the Strong" in the United Kingdom on October 1, 1999.
In the United States and Canada, this was followed by a single-episode release on July 10, 2001.
It was later released on
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
as part of the season 5 box set on October 7, 2003.
Notes
References
*
*
External links
*
{{Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episodes, 5
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (season 5) episodes
1996 American television episodes
Television episodes written by Ronald D. Moore