It’s been 20 years since Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ended, but it’s popularity is still evident on streaming channels
Armin Shimerman played the cagey, money-hungry Ferengi Quark on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine for the entire seven years of the show’s run. The fast-talking alien was a fan-favorite and had several episodes devoted to his character. If he wasn’t counting his money, he was figuring out ways to make more money, not all of them legal. But that was the fun in the character.
On a show like DS9 having every character being aboveboard and honorable would have been boring. Unlike shows like Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: Enterprise, DS9 was set in one place and the characters often spent a lot of time interacting with one another. Though there were plenty of guest stars that brought trouble, having a built-in troublemaker like Quark worked really well. His interactions with Odo were some of the most entertaining of the series.
And Shimerman wouldn’t hesitate to return to the role if the opportunity arose. In a recent conversation with Trek Report, the actor, who is also an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California, said he would “jump at the chance” to guest star in a couple of episodes of Star Trek: Picard. (The series mentioned his character in Season One’s Stardust City Rag.) But he said that guest-starring would be all that he would do as the hours of make-up and application of prosthetics would be too harsh for him at his age.
With rumors going around of a Star Trek: Deep Space Nine revival, I guess that means we couldn’t expect Quark to be a full-time character. However, if that were to come to fruition, it would be great to see the Ferengi back in action, if only for a few episodes. In the meantime, there is always the possibility of him showing up on Picard.