 The Ferengi were originally introduced with the intention of making  them the main, recurring adversaries in the series (very much like  the Klingons were in the original series). However, audiences found  the Ferengi too comical to take seriously as potential foes, and the  race was gradually refined into the more (usually unintentionally)  comical characters later typified by Quark in  _"Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (1993)_ (qv). The Borg eventually  became infamous as TNGs ultimate nemesis.