Day 142: DS9, His Way

Show: Star Trek; Deep Space Nine

Episode Particulars: S6EP20, “His Way”

 Summary: Bashir’s supplier of holoprograms has outdone himself this time; he’s created a 60’s Vegas singer, Vic Fontaine (James Darren) who knows he’s a hologram. Everybody is charmed by him, including Odo, who sees how observant Vic is and asks the program for advice on how to approach Kira in a romantic capacity. Vic teaches him how to loosen up, how to interact with girls, and even manages to create a hologram that looks like Kira for Odo to practice on. And I think you can all figure out where the episode goes from there…

Standalone Thoughts: I think the only way to describe this episode is “charming”. Much like the era it’s aping, there’s a breezy quality to it that makes it fun, despite being a detour from the Dominion War. But what it lacks in plot relevance, it makes up in character. In particular, it’s really endearing to me to see Odo loosening up and learning to have some fun; the scene where he gets really into playacting at playing the piano had me smiling. And his final interaction with Kira at the end is just fantastic, something that would be at home in any romance or romantic comedy but plays well here because we know these characters and understand where they’re coming from. In that respect, the episode earns the detour, especially since it also acts as a recharge period after the darkness of the last two episodes.

Of course, we can’t talk about this episode without talking about Vic Fontaine. While there are some people out there who don’t like him very much, I think he’s great. Sure, I’ll acknowledge there are moments where his shtick gets a little annoying, or that some of the singing scenes go on a little too long, but Vic’s smart, funny, sings well, and has his heart in the right place, which I can always get behind in fiction or in real life. Plus, the idea of a hologram who knows he’s a hologram is intriguing, especially if he’s not too put out by the idea (as Moriarty was back in TNG). For a first outing, he does remarkably well, and although one probably doesn’t expect to see him again after this appearance, I don’t think most people will be too put out when he makes a return engagement.

One other things worth noting is that I need to give the writers credit for somehow managing to take a classic romantic comedy scenario that is almost always cringeworthy, and managing to make it work without feeling too awkward. I think it’s because they don’t linger too much on it, resolve it quickly, and direct all the anger at the correct party instead of having it turn into the infamous Big Misunderstanding. Of course, Visitor, Auberjonois, and Darren playing the scene in a way that makes it feel sincere instead of awkward really helps too. But whatever the primary reason, the fact that the scenario is pleasant instead of unbearable is a minor miracle, and just reminds me once again what DS9 is capable of.

How it Relates to the Whole: For a fluff episode, this episode establishes two things. One, it finally really gets the ball rolling on the Kira/Odo relationship. And secondly, it introduces Vic Fontaine, who could easily have been a one-off but instead becomes a major supporting character, despite being introduced so late in the game. In fact, he’s pretty much the last missing element of DS9, with the exception of something from Season Seven that happened because of unusual circumstances. Furthermore, he’s a huge player in both one of the more serious and one of the more delightful episodes of Season Seven. Not bad for a gimmicky little idea.

Other: *When we’re introduced to Vic, he sings the line “Gold won’t bring you happiness when you’re growing old”. I would have loved for the camera to have cut to Quark immediately either rolling his eyes or looking horrified. Unfortunately, they didn’t put Quark in this scene, which I feel is a missed opportunity.

*It’s kind of hard to screencap it, but the scene where Odo changes from his normal uniform into a tuxedo is very clearly some sort of process/special effects shot, because it stands out noticeably from the rest of the camera work. One of the perils of older shows/higher quality electronics, but that doesn’t make it any less clunky.

*I love the fact that Vic’s creation of a hologram that looks like Kira is both a callback to “Meridian” (she doesn’t want to be a hologram) and “Our Man Bashir” (which is where Vic got the visual pattern). Sure, it does raise a question about how her pattern got saved if the point was that she was only in that program because of a transporter accident, but as I’ve said before, continuity callbacks are always fine by me, so I’m not about to complain.

Best Line/Exchange: A lot of what makes this episode fun is in the facial expressions and body language of the characters, but there was one dialogue exchange I really liked;

Quark: How long has it been since Shakaar and Major Kira broke up?

Odo: I don’t know…about a year.

Quark: It’s been over a year. You’ve had plenty of time to arrange a…a merger with Kira. But in all that time, have you even tried to open negotiations? No.

Odo: It’s not that simple.

Quark: Odo…the woman waited a year for you to make an offer, any kind of offer. Face it, you’ve had plenty of opportunities and you’ve let them all slip away.

Odo: Who asked for your opinion?
Quark: You did. I came here to talk about a missing shipment of groat clusters. You’re the one that started talking about the Major. You want my advice?
Odo: No.

Quark: Make it easy on both of us. Forget all about her.

Odo (scoffs): Is that the best you can do?

Quark: I’d like to see someone do better.

Odo: So would I.

Quark: You’re not exactly the most loveable person in the galaxy. You’re not even the most loveable person in this sector. Or on the station. (lowers his voice slightly) Or even in this room. (Odo half chuckles and shakes his head) You’re cold. Rigid. Remote. (sighs and throws up his hands) Can I leave now?

Odo: Please do.

Quark is amazing in this exchange. He views romance as a business transaction, which is very in keeping with Ferengi. He tells the truth but cloaking it in humor and insults, something Odo would be very familiar with by now and therefore might respond well to. And he shows that he’s both fond of and exasperated by Odo, given that he listened to Odo talk about Kira even though it had nothing to do with Quark’s business. Quark was often the saving grace of the early episodes, and it’s good to see that the reason I liked him then has stuck around even as the tone of the show changed. Well done to both the writers and Armin Shimerman for keeping him consistent.

After the Fact Update: The DS9 Companion reveals three interesting things. One, Nana Visitor and Rene Auberjonois were kind of against putting Kira and Odo in a romantic relationship, but went along with it and wound up making it work. Two, the writers at least had a vague idea about where the series was going to be ending up at this point (at least, they knew Odo’s ending). And three, the reason this episode exists is because producer Ira Behr wanted to have a Rat Pack/Yoda character and a Vegas setting, and when he realized they were coming up on the end of the line he decided to just go for it. Which may explain why this episode works; it’s a labor of love.