Paramount Quark and Morn
Humans like order. And from the very beginning of time, order has been something that humanity has strived for. Sometimes, leaders like Hammurabi created laws to ensure that order was kept. In his example, he said it was an “eye for an eye.” Thousands of years later, people still like to make things orderly, which helps clarify the complexity. For example, the Periodic Table of Elements is one of the myriad ways that humans have tried to sort out the physical world.
After things are ordered, something else often happens: comparisons. When people have their graphs and charts, it then makes sense for people to say which one is better. Sometimes, it is as easy as hitting “SUM” on Microsoft Excel. The program does the correct math, so a user can figure out which column has more of something, and therefore, it is the best.
Fans are famous for comparing their favorite things too. Whether it’s shows, films, characters, uniforms, franchises, or anything in between, fans are usually on both sides of an argument. Some of these are Marvel vs. DC, Soccer vs. Football, or even “Star Trek: The Next Generation” vs. “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.”
The latter argument may likely never be settled, as there is no Excel document to sort out the best parts of these two installments into the “Star Trek Universe.” Both TNG and DS9 have memorable episodes — like TNG’s “The Best of Both Worlds” and DS9’s “In The Pale Moonlight.” Both have unique characters and ships, and both occupy a special place in Trek history.
‘Who Mourns for Morn?’
“Deep Space Nine” stands out, as many fans say it is the darkest of the Trek series. However, even if true, DS9 had some of the most fun episodes as well. Among the best was “Take Me out to the Holosuite,” when Captain Sisko (Avery Brooks) challenged the Vulcans to a baseball game. The DS9 team lost but never gave up hope.
Another funny episode in the DS9 library was “Who Mourns for Morn?” which was about the beloved barfly Morn (Mark Allen Shepherd), who was thought to be dead, but in reality, was not.
Morn, was a frequent customer at Quark’s Bar who became sort of a mascot for Quark (Armin Shimerman). The Lurian was a courier and was said to be very talkative, though he never said a word on screen. The character was based on Norm Peterson (George Wendt) from “Cheers,” who also was a barfly in the 1980s television series.
Spoils of the ‘Mother’s Day Heist’
The episode was all about 1,000 bars of gold-pressed latinum, which Morn left in his will to Quark. It turns out that Morn and four comrades were the ones behind the famous heist known as the Lissepian Mother’s Day Heist. This robbery was known throughout the Alpha Quadrant. Instead of giving up the latinum to the others involved in the plot, Morn faked his death and left the entire 1,000 bars to Quark.
Morn’s Return
Soon, the other members of the gang came calling. They were Hain (Gregory Itzin), Larell (Bridget Ann White), Krit (Brad Greenquist), and Nahsk (Cyril O’Reilly). When the criminals all realized that Quark was named in Morn’s will, they decided to use the Ferengi to get the latinum delivered to Deep Space Nine. When it arrived, Odo (Rene Auberjonois) arrested the four, and Quark found that all the bars were just gold — no latinum. To Quark, they were utterly worthless.
To his surprise, Morn arrived later and spit out the latinum, which he held in his second stomach. The “spit-up” latinum was worth at least 100 bars, Quark estimated.
More About Morn
THIS WEEK ON TREKSPERTS: On @inglorioustrek, the Treksperts are joined by #BrianFordSullivan as he tells us why time is the fire in which we burn while @markoconnell_1 returns to dissect his episode of #DS9 “Who Mourns For Morn” with Peter & Lisa in the @TrekspertsBR. #StarTrek
Fans who are interested can get more information about the episode from the “Inglorious Treksperts” podcast, as they break down “Who Morns for Morn.”
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How Mother’s Day Played a Part in the Funniest ‘Deep Space Nine’ Episode