Star Trek Links One Alien Race To The Godfather
While Star Trek has had some mafia-inspired episodes (including the memorable weird Original Series episode “A Piece of the Action”), it’s never been the kind of franchise fans associate with The Godfather. Nonetheless, there was an episode of Deep Space Nine that not only served as an homage to this Francis Ford Coppola classic but also linked that film to Trek’s most infamous race. We’re talking, of course, about “The Nagus,” an early DS9 episode that tried to make the Ferengi synonymous with cinema’s most famous mafiosos.
The Nagus
To understand how Star Trek is linked to The Godfather, you need to know more about “The Nagus.” The episode title refers to the Ferengi Grand Nagus Zek, who shows up on Deep Space Nine and names Quark his successor before seemingly dying. This lets Quark temporarily experience the power of being the most powerful Ferengi in the galaxy, but all of it turns out to be Zek’s weird way of testing his son.
By itself, this Star Trek: Deep Space Nine may not sound much like The Godfather. However, it was originally going to be more similar to Coppola’s famous movie, with showrunner Michael Piller wanting to do a Godfather homage. He thought it would be fitting to homage that film after David Livingston pitched an episode where the galaxy’s greatest criminal minds would end up meeting on Deep Space Nine, but another writer soon added a new wrinkle to “The Nagus.”
A Tribute To The Godfather
Future Star Trek: Deep Space Nine showrunner and “The Nagus” scriptwriter Ira Steven Behr heard the ideas about doing a tribute to The Godfather and decided it should be a Ferengi episode. The bad news for Piller was that making this episode all about Quark’s race meant that it no longer resembled The Godfather all that much. The good news for Star Trek fans is that “The Nagus” became the foundation for all things Ferengi, introducing everything from their planetary leader to the legendary Rules of Acquisition.
Hidden References
Despite the changes to the premise of this Star Trek episode, there are still some references to The Godfather hidden in there. Most of these are in the scene where Quark meets the businessman Nava. The blinds in the background, the way Nava scratches the other man’s ear, and Quark’s line “yet now you call me Nagus” are all deliberate homages to the beginning of Francis Ford Coppola’s iconic film.
The Ferengi And The Mafia
For fans of Star Trek, this created a permanent link between the Ferengi and The Godfather. There’s a certain irony, of course, in having this very alien race unconsciously emulating one of 20th century Earth’s most famous films. Then again, the Ferengi in the show always served as a comedic reflection of modern capitalism, so it’s not all that shocking they would end up accidentally reflecting the cinematic excesses of mafia culture.
A Missed Opportunity
Unless you remember that one scene from this Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode, it’s easy to miss that this story was an intentional homage to The Godfather. In retrospect, though, it would have been fun if this episode played up the connections between the Ferengi and Coppola. If only there was a scene with Nagus Quark telling someone, “leave the phaser, take the hasperat,” this might have been the perfect episode.
