Star Trek: Deep Space Nine has its share of characters we only see occasionally, such as barfly Morn or Quark and Rom’s clever and business-savvy mother, Ishka. However, when it comes to complex side characters, Vic Fontaine (James Darren) is unique. Fontaine is a hologram created by a programmer and friend of Dr. Bashir, Felix. The program itself is set in a Vegas club in 1962.
Felix’s programming skills made Fontaine intelligent, self-aware, affable, and friendly, but the following episodes truly allowed him to not only interact with the DS9 crew but help them with their problems as well, so let’s take a look at 3 episodes that highlight this fun and interesting character.
1. “His Way”
This episode (S06E20) highlights Vic’s complex programming and how he considers those who run the program, often his friends. This includes Odo and Kira, who join Dr. Bashir one evening to hear Fontaine perform his jazzy, Sinatra-like song arrangements. Odo, who has strong romantic feelings for Kira, notices that Fontaine seems to know a great deal about women and seeks his help.
This is a great Fontaine episode because it’s fun to watch him not only draw Odo out of himself more, but also to play matchmaker between the uncertain Odo and Kira. Fontaine teaches Odo how to drop his defenses a bit, indulging in a bit of roleplay where Odo learns that he can be more confident around Kira by making different holograms of her, and Fontaine replaces them with the real Kira when the time is right. He’s a hologram, yes, but he mentors Odo in a very human way, which helps him win Kira.
2. “It’s Only a Paper Moon”
“It’s Only a Paper Moon” (S07E10) provided the writers with an opportunity to add depth and layers to Fontaine’s character. After Nog loses his leg in battle and it’s replaced with a bio-synthetic one, he retreats into Vic’s world rather than face reality. He helps Fontaine with his accounting, and the two begin plans for a holo-casino. Nog also uses a cane he doesn’t need and seems to have no interest in coming off the indefinite medical leave Captain Sisko put him on.
Fontaine allows Nog to live with him inside the holosuite, and as days pass, Nog’s dark mood appears to lift, but it’s only on the surface. He lashes out against Jake when his date repeatedly calls Nog a hero. When Fontaine pushes for an answer, the young Ferengi finally breaks down weeping, admitting he’s afraid to return to his duties because he’s more aware than ever of his mortality. Fontaine helps him see that living in the holosuite will kill him, too, only slowly. The crooner's insight into the Ferengi's trauma helped Nog unlock his when no one else could, not even his family.
3. "The Tears of the Prophets"
While Vic isn't the focal point of this episode (S06E26), he certainly provides Dr. Bashir and Quark with solace after the two realize that Jadzia Dax is trying to have a child with Worf, therefore putting her out of their reach. He serenades them with "Here's To the Losers," with a holographic tongue firmly in cheek, no doubt! It's a moment that eases the tension of the main plot, proving that having Vic Fontaine around to boost crew morale simply makes sense.
While some fans believe Vic Fontaine and his holosuite universe were featured too frequently in later seasons, he serves as a necessary counterbalance during the stress caused by the Dominion War. By providing pure escapism with his holographic world, Deep Space Nine needed Vic Fontaine!