Friday, March 23, 2012

Classics: DS9 7:15 - Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang

Overall: 5.8

Too late, Ira. You should've done this episode earlier.

Plot Synopsis:

Memory Alpha has a plot synopsis here.

The Skinny:

As you all know by now, I don't hate Vic Fontaine. I also have nothing against the occasional goofy filler episode. But there is a war on -- and at this point, the writers are down to only a dozen remaining episodes in which they must find a way to end said war to the fans' satisfaction. No matter how endearing Jimmy Darren might be, there's a right time and a wrong time for a cutesy romp in the holosuite -- and this happens to be the wrong time.

Also? Shut the hell up, Sisko. Seriously. Your indignant speech about racism in mid-20th century Vegas is just one reason why people are rebelling against the current sci-fi establishment. Look -- racism is bad, m'kay? We know that. Indeed, we here at Right Fans are glad there was such a thing as the Civil Rights Movement. But we also think it'd be nice if the anti-ists would stop demanding we flagellate ourselves every second of every day over past injustices. We don't have to make everything about the horrors of racism. Sometimes, people just want to escape all of that for a little while -- and they shouldn't be made to feel guilty for doing so.

Writing: 6.0

There are funny moments here and there, but overall, the script is pretty average.

Acting: 7.5

The performances are -- not that bad, actually.

Message: 4.0

Minus two for the aforementioned self-righteous scolding.

3 comments:

  1. Um...

    I believe your "Shut the hell up, Sisko" was one of the major POINTS of the episode. You gave this one a -2 for Sisko being bitter about 1960s Vegas. I give it a PLUS 2 for Sisko learning to stop being a douchebag with the help of his girlfriend. I believe the writer was trying to make the point that Vegas 1962 isn't the point of the Vic Fontaine character and that fantasy is good for everyone. On that point, I strongly cosign.

    If Sisko had made his little self-righteous speech and Kassidy had gone "oh...well that I can understand" and Sisko hadn't been in the Casino heist plot? THEN you could bitch about the speech. But the episode makes it clear that the speech is WRONG-HEADED! :) That's what a good partner in a relationship is for! To let you know when you're so far up your own ass you can see daylight at the other end. Which she rather flatly does.

    So...yeah. I think the race element is handled well here and I would have given this episode a solid 6.0/8.0/8.0 (7.3) So we strongly differ on this one. Sorry.

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  2. No need to apologize. I understand what you're saying, actually. But it still annoyed me that the writers felt obligated to slip that in there, even if it was eventually undermined by the plot.

    Personally, I think it would've made more sense, given the context, for Sisko to complain that his people were letting a fantasy distract them in the middle of a war. With this option, his girlfriend still could've played the role of "Get your head out of your butt, sweetie. Sometimes people need distractions" -- and as a bonus, we wouldn't have any anachronistic moralizing about injustices that, in Trek time, are a part of the distant past.

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  3. I would certainly agree that the speech felt tacked on by writers who wanted to get in a point...but I think that was because they were trying to make a point to the audience. At that time, there were in fact complaints that Fontaine's character was in an unrealistic setting and his easy-going response to mixed (ALIEN!) audiences didn't ring true for the period. I remember reading a piece critical of DS9 for whitewashing their Vegas tie-ins and not addressing social issues of the period in like TV Guide or something. Anyway, yeah...not a fan of the speech, but I think the writers felt they had to get in an explanation for the whimsy in their character.

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