Max Turner's Blog: Nerding out with Max - Posts Tagged "deep-space-nine"

I was saddened to hear of the passing of singer and actor James Darren earlier this month.

Darren launched an acting and singing career in the late 50s, with a spate of starring and supporting roles in TV and film. With the decline of musical rom-coms in the 70s, his career slowed, though he remained a familiar face on TV through the 90s.

In 1998 he was cast on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. A role he almost didn't take - feeling type-cast as a singer. Coming to star in some of the most memorable DS9 episodes, he became a series regular.

To a generation of nerds, James Darren became best known as holographic lounge singer Vic Fontaine. And he really brought something very special to that very unique show.

Take Me Out to the Holosuite

Holodeck-like technology was first introduced in Star Trek: The Animated Series, but it was in Star Trek: The Next Generation that it became a fixture in the storytelling.

Its existence allowed for the creation of Deep Space Nine’s holosuites and Voyager’s EMH (Emergency Medical Hologram), both of which became important in the development and direction of those shows.

TNG is well remembered for its popular holodeck episodes, however, it is arguably DS9 that puts the technology to a more intriguing use in the creation of a new regular character – Vic Fontaine. Fontaine coupled the holosuite’s ability to take us anywhere and any when with the potential gleaned from Voyager’s EMH. Vic’s distance from the actual events occurring in “real life” allowed for an objective observer, entertainer and friend to many of the command crew and beyond. He showed us different aspects of photonic life to Voyager’s Doctor as he was not restrained by the same pre-set codes and regulations and so was never another new Data striving to understand what it was to be human.

Vic was never striving to be more human because he understood that he both was and wasn’t human and had a deep sense of self.

Vic was created by Felix, a holo-programmer friend of Dr Julian Bashir who would hook him up with the sort of 1960s fluff Bashir enjoyed – such as his spy program in Our Man Bashir. The difference with Vic however, is that unlike other holograms he is self-aware. Although his program is set in 1960s Las Vegas, Vic knows the score – something Felix purposely included as it was more natural, even essential, to the personality he created.

The Best is Yet To Come

Vic Fontaine easily became one of my favourite characters towards the end of DS9’s seven year run. When the first few episodes of season 7 were being released on VHS, I was staying with family in Australia and made a point of grabbing new tapes on the day of release from Target.

One day I picked up the latest release and was excited to get back to the house and watch it. My aunt decided she would watch it with me, despite never having watched any Star Trek before, and as soon as Vic appeared on the screen she practically swooned. “Oh he reminds me so much of Jimmy Darren!” she marvelled. When I told her that the actor was in fact James Darren she was blown away. She fell in love instantly and all over again as she had in the 60s and for those episodes became an ardent Star Trek fan.

Vic is easy to fall in love with. He’s smart in a way that none of the other characters often are. He may not have their 24th-century book learning, but he understands people and relationships on a level that most of the crew struggle with. Deep down he knows that it doesn’t matter if it’s 1960 or 2360 and your lover has a transparent skull – love is love.

All The Way

The introduction of Vic came at a time when DS9, an already darker show than its Star Trek siblings, found itself reeling from one war to the next. Ever-constant threats and shifting allegiances made the world of Star Trek one of the most uncertain it has ever been. The edition of Vic as a lighthearted, but not comic relief, impartial character brought something significant to the show. In fact, the existence of his program created some poignant moments and scenarios – helping Nog get over the loss of his leg, and even more so Sisko’s reaction to a program set in a time when people of colour were treated as second class citizens.

I'll Be Seeing You

For me, the last couple of seasons would have been very different without Vic, not least because of his final appearance on the show. In the season 7 finale, the crew meet for one last time as a group in Vic’s before saying their goodbyes. As the music plays The Way You Look Tonight, we get to say goodbye to our crew as well. In fact, it is arguably the best and most complete Star Trek finale for the fact that we have this closure as an audience. Something that would have perhaps played differently if not for the existence of Vic. I still can’t watch that scene without crying like a baby. A small, angry baby.

Vic wasn’t just a character, he was a plot device and in both capacities was used to his fullest, and all to the benefit of the show.

Played with genuine warmth and thoughtfulness by the excellent James Darren, he remains an enduring character portrayed by a wonderful actor.