Quark Just Returned To Star Trek, See Him In Action

Armin Shimerman returned to the role of the Ferengi bartender Quark in this week's episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks.

By Michileen Martin | Published

star trek: lower decks version of quark
Quark on Star Trek: Lower Decks

It’s been over two decades since we saw him in the finale of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, but Armin Shimerman’s Quark is finally back on the screen; albeit, an animated version of the character. Shimerman lent his voice to “Hear All, Trust Nothing”–this week’s episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks–and he’s without a doubt more pivotal to the plot than any other returning cast from Deep Space Nine.

In his first Star Trek: Lower Decks scene, the older Quark sounds just a little different, but looks pretty much the same. His outfit is the same kind of multicolored suit he always tended bar with in Deep Space Nine. He’s also the same kind of scoundrel he’s always been.

When he’s introduced to Cerritos Captain Carol Freeman (voiced by Dawnn Lewis), he gives her the same kind of hungry looks he used to always give Kira (Nana Visitor) and the Trill Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell). And along with still being as randy as ever, he’s just as much of a crook. When Freeman tries to rope him into helping her negotiations with the Karemma, things go sideways quickly because the aliens realize Quark has stolen from them.

If anything, it’s surprising that the time between Star Trek series hasn’t made Quark look a little bit older. His makeup and prosthetics on Deep Space Nine had some wrinkles while the cartoon version Lower Decks has a smooth face. Of course, that could just be more of a result of the show’s animation style than anything.

One strange thing of note is when Ensign Mariner (Tawny Newsome) threatens Quark to show Kira a holo she has with the body of Kira and Quark’s head. This is a reference to the Season 3 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode in which the wealthy alien Tiron–the first of Jeffrey Combs’s many Trek roles–hires Quark to make him a holographic version of Kira.

Quark on Kira's body
Quark’s head on Kira’s body in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

It’s a strange threat, however, because as you know if you’ve seen the episode, Kira is the one who arranges for Quark’s head to show up on the hologram once she learns what Quark’s up to.

Here’s a few more amazing shots of Quark on Lower Decks in what turned out to be, actually, a Quark episode of the animated Star Trek series…