Overall: 5.5
Ira Steven Behr thinks this episode is awesome. But Behr also thinks the Ferengi episodes are hilarious, so perhaps we shouldn't trust his opinion.
Plot Synopsis:
Although the article appears to be incomplete, I think Memory Alpha has enough information on this episode for you to get the gist.
The Skinny:
Don't get me wrong: I don't hate Vic Fontaine. Jimmy Darren is a decent actor, and the writers do occasionally use the character correctly (like in It's Only a Paper Moon, for example). This just doesn't happen to be one of those times. When this episode originally aired, I remember feeling profoundly disappointed with how the plot was executed -- and the passage of time has certainly done little to change my initial impression. I'm an O/K shipper to the core - we both are here at Right Fans - but somehow, this is not how I pictured Odo and Kira finally coming together.
The chief problem with this episode has already been noted by the inimitable "SF Debris" in one of his video reviews, but it's worth repeating: There are too many musical numbers! The music takes up almost half the episode, which leaves little room for the development of the actual story. As a consequence, the start of Odo and Kira's romantic relationship feels very cheesy and perfunctory. I can definitely see why neither Nana Visitor nor Rene Auberjonois was all that enthused when it came to filming this episode. The writers basically treated their characters like supporting players in a mundane romantic comedy/Rat Pack concert. There is nothing that screams "DS9!" anywhere in this piece.
The good news? Odo and Kira are not going to remain stuck in this Hollywood la-la land forever. Eventually, the writers will knock this relationship out of the park. It's just a shame they couldn't get it right on their first attempt.
Writing: 3.0
Yes, I'm dinging the writing pretty hard -- but there's no evidence here that Behr and Beimler put any thought into what they were penning. Actually, the fact that the performances at Vic's eat up so much of the episode is an indication of laziness, not skill.
Acting: 7.5
As I said, I totally do not hold the writers' bad choices against Jimmy Darren or any of the other actors. I feel like they did the best they could.
Message: 6.0
Is there a message?
This opens up an interesting discussion...
ReplyDeleteHow should Odo and Kira have gotten together?
I think it's obvious that Kira was going to have to be the aggressor. I think it's also obvious that, if they'd handled their fallig out in the war arc better...Odo and Kira would have actually had something to fight about that might have led to a deeper understanding of each others' characters and the kind heat of passion romance that would have made sense at the start.
But what scenario did you envision?
I certainly agree that this episode isn't very good...but I do like to fan wank too...LOL
Hmm. Well, I agree with what you said, actually. A real fight might've worked better.
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