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TREKCORE >
DS9
> EPISODES >
FAMILY BUSSINESS > Behind the Scenes
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This show originated from Ira Steven Behr's desire
to do a more serious Ferengi episode than had ever been seen in Star
Trek up to this point, and both cast and crew feel that Behr
succeeded in this aim. Armin Shimerman calls it "a very heartfelt
psychological study," while director Rene Auberjonois points out,
"it's much more serious than the usual Ferengi
story, even though there was a lot of comedic stuff in it. It's
about a very painful thing, a son who has totally lost any sort of
relationship with a parent." Behr himself was also extremely pleased
with how the episode turned out, calling it "the Long Day's Journey
into Night of Ferengi stories." Finally, co-writer Robert
Hewitt Wolfe says, "There's a lot more to it than just the yucks.
Underneath it all, it's a story about family." (Star Trek: Deep
Space Nine Companion) |
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A deleted or unfilmed scene saw Sisko and Jake
walking together on the Promenade while they discuss Sisko's
upcoming date with Kasidy. Jake is excited but claims that "coffee"
doesn't give much time for his father and Yates to get to know one
another. Morn approaches, but before he can speak, Sisko reassures
him that he will be the first to know if any news comes in. Jake
attempts to prepare Sisko for the date as they turn a corner. (Star
Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion - A Series Guide and Script Library) |
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This episode's music was composed by Jay Chattaway.
The amount of music he wrote for this episode was notably minimal.
Of the episode, Chattaway recalls, "The score
for DS9's 'Family Business' was my lightest at only six minutes. I
thought Andrea Martin did a wonderful job in that one as Quark's
mother. It was one of my favorites, though to write an eight-second
cue and make it funny is probably harder than any lengthy action
sequence. It's very difficult to pull off. It's not just about how
many minutes. I used an oboe and a bassoon as the musical voices of
Quark and Rom. It was subtle, but the fans picked up on it. I see
their comments in letters and on the Internet." (The Official
Star Trek: Voyager Magazine, issue #4, p. 47-48) |
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Ishka's head-piece for this episode was based on that
worn by Wallace Shawn as Zek, and was designed to look almost
caricature-like, with drooping lobes and large jowls. For the scene
when her knees are seen, makeup supervisor Michael Westmore even
designed drooping kneecaps. For the shot where her shoulders and the
top of her chest were exposed, Westmore didn't have time to create a
proper foam-latex appliance, so he rubberized Kleenex, and wrinkled
it, laying it across Andrea Martin's shoulders and on the upper
portion of her chest. According to Westmore, Martin was not amused
by the makeup. (Michael Westmore's Aliens: Season Three, DS9 Season
3 DVD, Special Features |
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Ira Steven Behr commented "I don't think it was
quite the Ferengi version of Long Day's Journey into Night, but it's
about as pure a Ferengi show as you can get. This year we've
accomplished two very good episodes for the Ferengi. "Prophet
Motive" was a flat-out comedy with nothing else but humor. Then we
did "Family Business", which was much more serious. I thought there
was some wonderful stuff between Rom and Quark, and the fight was
good and surprising. I thought Andrea Martin was very good. The
relationships were all nice, and it was an interesting look at the
Ferengi homeworld". (Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized
Guide to the New Trek Voyages p 97) |
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When Andrea Martin did not return to the role of
Ishka in "Ferengi Love Songs", Cecily Adams was cast in the role.
Adams watched "Family Business" to learn more about the role. Adams
commented "I think it helped me understand the level of the comedy
and of the work. I saw that I was allowed permission to go farther
with the character. When I saw the episode that Andrea had done and
I saw the work that all the actors had done, I realized that these
characters take their world very seriously but from the outside
looking in on them, they're very fun to watch". ("Ishka:
Revolutionary Moogie", Star Trek: Communicator issue 122) |
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