The Price

Season 3, Episode 8, Aired
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Episode Summary

Stardate: 43385.6 ''''The Enterprise hosts the negotiations for the rights to a newly discovered, stable wormhole to the Gamma Quadrant. One of the negotiators, Devinoni Ral, becomes attracted to Deanna Troi, but he has a secret.
6.7
out of 10
EPISODE RATING: Fair
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Fan Episode Reviews (6)

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  • Troi's new boyfriend isn't all he seems. Not that she's that picky.

    6.5
    "Fair"
    By Celedorian, Sep 15, 2011 Report Abuse
    Just as "Q Who?" toys with an idea that would later be developed into Voyager's pilot episode, "The Price" flirts with a concept that would return in the pilot of Deep Space Nine and be developed further in that series. Unfortunately, unlike "Q Who?", "The Price" doesn't quite click. The A story deals with Troi in a love story that falls a bit flat, and the B story, with La Forge and Data and a couple of Ferengi, isn't all that exciting either. This isn't an offensive episode, but it's not all that interesting either.
    (Of note, Voyager, in its third season, would pick up the Ferengi thread from this episode and bring back the two aliens in "False Profits")moreless

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  • The idea is a 10 but the execution is a 5.

    7.5
    "Good"
    By adarascarlet, May 31, 2011 Report Abuse
    I think this is a classic case of something looking good on paper but not working as well as planned. The main flaw is the non-chemistry between Devinoni and Deanna. After the way he came onto her like a creepy slimeball, I was expecting her to call security, not meet him for a date. This would have worked a lot better had he had enough charm and charisma to make the love story believable. Unlike the Mirina Sirtis haters out there, I really like her. I don't think she's a bad actress. Betazoids are empathic, so her role calls on her to overact a bit. I entirely blame Matt McCoy for the failed chemistry. He was so good on Seinfeld... how could he be so bad on Star Trek? Still, poorly executed love story aside, this episode gets a big E for effort. It introduces us to wormholes, for one, and the twist at the end is great. I also like a lot of the dialogue, in particular watching Devinoni get owned when he tries to get under Riker's skin.moreless

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  • Perhaps the weakest episode of season 3. Troi's romantic encounters usually make for uninteresting television.

    6.5
    "Fair"
    By pharoahsdance, Jul 05, 2010 Report Abuse
    Every season or so there was an episode in which Counselor Troi had a romantic encounter... and the results were usually below average, if not worse.

    There's nothing offensively bad about this episode. But it's generally uninteresting and, as one of the other reviewers points out, the Troi-negotiator romance develops in a highly implausible manner.

    The other reviewer also brings up the one interesting (and unfortunately, glossed over) part of the episode -- where the negotiator turns the tables on Troi and shows that the Federation's moral sanctimony can often be hypocritical. Alas, the exploration of that theme would have to wait until a later episode.moreless

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  • Deep Space Nine in a bottle.

    8.0
    "Great"
    By dseabroo, Jul 05, 2010 Report Abuse
    "The price" is a classic example of a Star Trek bottle show. It was clearly a test-bed for the concept of Deep Space Nine which was just in its initial conceptual stages at this time. This episode introduces the idea that wormholes in the Star Trek universe are generally unstable and that a stable one would be of great value. Its interesting that the destination of the Barzan wormhole is even the same as that of the Bajoran one, the Gamma Quadrant. (Note the names Barzan and Bajoran are even somewhat similar).

    Although there's plenty of plot-holes that have been pointed out over the year one that is not often discussed is the odd group of delegates at the conference. None of them except for the Federation represented anything like a known great power and in the Alpha or Beta quadrant of the Star Trek galaxy. Perhaps the Barzans simply didn't trust the Romulans, Klingons or Cardassians (admitted the Cardassians hadn't been introduced at this time).

    Although this episode is not a fan favourite it is clearly a pilot for the concepts behind later series and is certainly not the bottom of the barrel as far as Next Generation episodes are concerned!moreless

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  • Riker, as the Federation rep in a bidding war for rights to what seems to be the first stable wormhole, finds an adversary in Devinoni Ral. Troi evaluates her loyalties after several lewd encounters with Ral...moreless

    6.1
    "Fair"
    By Ko-Enshaku, Jul 13, 2007 Report Abuse
    I didn't buy the Devinoni Ral & Troi relationship scenes primarily because the conception of the plotline felt forced and ingenuine. The two actors didn't seem to have much chemistry and when they were talking it vacillated from lustfulness to adversarial with basically nothing in between. What I described in the previous sentence could be easily attainable, of course, in such a fling where two people just don't really match up despite the fact that they got together. That's life.

    The problem for me with their interaction was their first face-to-face meeting that led to their nigh immediate encounters. Troi seemed vaguely interested in him when they were first conversing (slightly awkwardly). Then he started fondling her hair and touching her in ways that would make a reasonable person (yes, I realize we're talking about Troi, smart-aleck) recoil. What was her response to all this rather hasty hair-mussing and so forth? Awkward silence and looks ranging from uncomfortable to slightly afraid of being sexually assaulted. So what did she do? She hooked up with him! What?! She must have been in dire straights for some 'attention.'

    Regardless, I did like the moral issue that Ral brought to the table wherein he compared Troi's job to his. It leaves the viewer to decide which viewpoint they prefer. Personally, despite not being particularly fond of Ral, I rather agree with him over Troi's argument. That is quite debatable and subjective and I appreciate that about the episode.

    The plot is also an interesting concept and it was nice to see Riker doing something other than sitting around, but the part regarding the exploration of the wormhole with Data, Geordi and the Ferengi seemed a little rushed, though admittedly it didn't need to be very long to get the point across.

    Troi & Beverly performing their stretching routine was almost a bit much. While that's good that they have their exercise routines that they perform together and they are evidently friends, did no one tell Gates that her outfit was a bit graphic? Then again, perhaps that was the intention. I don't mean to be coarse about it, but it's a tad difficult not to notice.

    I also feel the obligation to comment on Troi's ability to read the intentions of the Ferengi Daimon despite the fact that Ferengi minds cannot be probed by Betazoids. While she could perhaps glean the information she states from Ral, she plainly indicates she is referring to reading the Daimon.

    It was fairly entertaining to watch, but I can see some room for improvement.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

    ADD TRIVIA
    • Trivia: This episode shows how two Ferengi were trapped in the Delta Quadrant, which were later found in the Star Trek: Voyager 3rd Season episode "False Profits." Edit
    • Trivia: This episode marks the first usage of Greek letters to label the quadrants of space. Edit
    • The first time Devinoni Ral comes to Troi's quarters, her "doorbell" rings and she tells him to come in. Now, the "doorbells" are of course right outside on the door frame, so Ral should be standing in front of her quarters. But when the door opens he is not there, but he does walk in from the right, looking like he was still walking down the hall and had not yet got to her quarters to push the button when Troi's "doorbell" rang. Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • After the Ferengi are lost in the Delta Quadrant, their plight is picked up later in the episode "False Profits" in Star Trek: Voyager's third season. Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Picard: ...Any suspicions? Riker: With the Ferengi around? Always. Edit
    • Crusher: I fell in love in a day...it lasted a week...but what a week. Edit

  • Allusions

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