When Aron Eisenberg passed away a few months ago, I meant to write an article celebrating Nog, similar to my recently published one on Odo. However, life intervened and it’s taken this long to get around to starting it. Nonetheless, the time has finally come to acknowledge Eisenberg’s work as Starfleet’s very first Ferengi.
Originally introduced to be TNG’s equivalent of the Klingons in TOS, the Ferengi didn’t quite work out as planned. At best their onscreen appearances were cringeworthy, at worst, they touched on antisemitic tropes. However, on occasion, the Ferengi could rise above all of that. Nowhere was this more evident than with Nog, a character who started off as a stereotypical irritating troublemaker. Continue reading