Star Trek: Deep Space Nine — 7x15 — Badda-Bing Badda-Bang

Aired 1999-02-24

SpaceOpera.com rating:2

Average reader rating:4.58

Synopsis

Vic's is about to be taken over by the heavy-handed mobster Frankie Eyes.

Filler rating: bad filler

This episode feels like it was plucked out of season one's roster of filler and dropped here accidentally.

Remarkable scenes

Odo stretching out his arm to impress the bar flies.
I like Bashir's line in which he says he wants his martini "stirred, not shaken," the opposite of what James Bond likes. ;)
Morn Appearances; 1. Watches as the senior staff enters Quark's to execute their little robbery operation.

Review

Even worse than DS9: It's Only a Paper Moon, we have another Vic Fontaine episode, but this time there's not even an excuse for Vic's inclusion in the plot. He is the center of the plot. The episode is entertaining, and the light hearted comedy is effective, but the timing is absolutely wrong. An episode like this should have been done in the vast wastelands that were season one, or another one of the seasons filled with filler episodes. The middle of the Dominion war is no time for filler.

13 reader comments

I think your dislike for Vic Fontaine is obscuring your judgement here. If the reason for giving this a 1 was that it is filler in the middle of the dominion war, then you should have given "Take Me Out to the Holosuite" a 1 instead of a 10. This episode is extremely entertaining, and is a wonderful use of Vic's character. Obviously they couldn't have done this episode EARLIER because they invented Vic during the Dominion War arc.
I especially like that this episode demonstrates that the characters still have personal lives amidst all the turmoil, and that they can still have fun. I wouldn't care for episodes 15 and on to be solely dominion war arc episodes. That would be boring, and not Star Trekish enough.
Sisko's comment about black people in the sixties also shows that this episode isn't just filler. Not only does it make a point about racism in the sixties; it also shows how hypersensitive Sisko is to anything regarding racism. Great character development episode all around, and it's always fun to watch one of these holodeck malfunction episodes. I love them!
Just because you didn't care for it isn't justification to give it a 1. I mean, come on. It's not THAT bad, even if you hate it.
by Pete Miller | 07/26/2006 at 3:15 am

This episode fails to measure up to "Take Me Out to the Holosuite" in a number of ways.
Firstly, it was redundant. We already have a comedy episode in the holodeck in this season. I forgave it once, and only because "Take Me Out to the Holosuite" was so unusually profound.
But more importantly, this episode was inferior. The situation in this episode was a result of either holosuite error, or simple diversion, depending on how you look at it. Neither situation is a good premise for the episode. In the middle of the Dominion War, I don't want a "holodeck malfunctions" episode, and I even less want a "let's all go to Risa" episode. This episode was an excuse for slapstick comedy.
Conversely, the situation in "Take Me Out to the Holosuite" was brought on by an external player (the Vulcan captain) with an arrogance problem. Sisko didn't ask for any of this, he simply faced it. And it taught him a lesson about the value of one's principles, reinforcing his seemingly weaker hand in the entire Dominion war.
Ignoring the timing of this episode, yes, it deserves a higher rating. But as is so often said, timing is everything. This episode's timing was unforgivable. Such diversions are only acceptable when an episode has something truly profound to say, and guess what, everything it had to say was said better in other episodes!
You speak of the crew having a personal life. Well, we're made aware of that in "Take Me Out to the Holosuite." We're also made aware of it by Vic's various cameos across the later episodes. You also speak of the episode making a statement about racism. But that was easily done better in "Far Beyond the Stars."
Fnally, yes, I am fully aware of when Vic's character was created. That doesn't justify the episode's placement in the timeline and certainly doesn't invalidate my criticism that an episode like this was better suited in an early season. The episode had plenty of intrinsic value. Replace Vic with any other hologram, rebrand an early season episode, and not only is it now a good episode, it's better because it's less out of place.
And that's just how it is. "Badda-Bing Badda-Bang" was filler of the worst kind. It's underserving of a zero solely because it has no technical problems. It sure would have been worth more points in an earlier season, but alas, it's smack dab in the middle of season 7. So there you have it.
by Eric Newport | 07/26/2006 at 6:46 am

I was very pleased that you responded to my commentary, and I'll have to say you cleared it up a bit for me. I will concede that the timing does lower the rating substantially. And you're right, some of the character development-type things are covered in other episodes, so I guess this one is dispensable in that manner as well.
I still hold that it doesn't deserve a 1, because it isn't as horrible as something like "Move Along Home", but I take back what I said about your rating being based on your dislike for Vic. I see your point about the timing, but I guess it's just a matter of how important that kind of thing is to you. If you hold sequence and timing of episodes in high regards, then I guess a 1 could be appropriate. For me, however, a 5 is more like it.
But thanks for the response. Always awesome to hear different viewpoints on Star Trek!!!
by Pete Miller | 07/27/2006 at 2:46 am

One of my least favourite DS9 episodes for sure. The Vic Fontaine character was a fun novelty for one episode, but has certainly worn his welcome by this point. Now we have a whole episode about him? Also, holodeck malfuntions of any kind are so cliche. Vic Fontaine and holodeck malfunctions… guess the writers were feeling really lazy that week. (Or were simply bad writers)
by Kevin | 06/07/2009 at 2:06 pm

I guess your enjoyment of this episode really depends on whether you like Vic. The same was true for "Take Me Out to the Holosuite". To enjoy that episode, you needed to enjoy baseball.
I absolutely hated "Take Me Out", because I find watching baseball (or watching any sports) utterly boring. I skipped through most of the episode, and I wasn't entertained by all the sports movie cliches. I know that they were deliberately paying homage to such movies, but I just couldn't stand it.
Because of that experience, I can completely understand your sentiment in giving this a 1 while giving "Take Me Out" a 10, even though they are essentially the same episode. That's an aspect of ratings, which makes averages meaningless. I would give this episode a 7 for being a very entertaining, if not very relevant episode. A rating I would have given "Take Me Out" if I wasn't so completely bored by it.
by Remco | 08/01/2009 at 3:43 pm

I think everyone is being harsh on this episode.
It's true that the timing isn't ideal, I don't particularly like Vic Fontaine either, and I don't particularly like holodesk episodes, but beyond that it's probably my favourite holodesk episode.
One thing you all seem to have missed is that it's not a holodesk malfunction - we're told that Felix designed the takeover to stop the program from getting boring. The way all the senior staff (bar Worf) get into the spirit of things for a hologram shows their spirit of friendship to great effect, and the way they resolve the situation is well-done and a lot of fun.
I'm only giving this a 4, but I felt I had to speak up for this episode because of all the vitriol it's received up until now!
One extra little thing. The "stirred, not shaken" point was picked up in the West Wing too, where the president points out that shaking a martini would chip the ice so Bond was really "ordering a weak martini and being snooty about it". Perhaps Bashir is a real man?
by Rob Herbert | 08/05/2010 at 11:55 am

The timing was definitely not right, but it was still an extremely entertaining episode.
by Psycroptic | 07/20/2012 at 12:41 am

I actually really liked this episode. "It's Only a Paper Moon" is a personal favorite of mine because I see a lot of myself in Nog in that episode. He escapes into a fantasy world because the real world is really tough and scary, and he's faced it for the first time. But I like that it's not really a holodeck malfunction episode, because those are tired and stupid. It's just a holodeck story in which they have to solve in a holodeck manner, and nothing is at stake except for Vic Fontaine's program.
I don't know where else they could have timed it, though. They wanted one last bit of fluff before they got back to the serious war plot to close out the series. The problem is that the war plot has been sitting ignored for too long-the last episode that really dealt with it was "Paper Moon"…which was also the last Vic episode. They wanted to introduce Vic as a recurring character, so it seems like he gets shoved down the audience's throat a bit. And the episode in which he introduced was a fluff episode in which they used musical numbers basically as filler, not a good way to introduce him to the audience.
This episode had to take place after "Paper Moon," because that's the only episode when the audience really started to care about Vic-if at all. It would have been nice if "Paper Moon" hadn't been so recent, since it was an episode in which two non-regular cast members were at the center of the plot, which might be why some people were irritated about it. What they needed was a good stand-alone episode involving the war plot to air prior to this episode just to let the audience know that they hadn't gotten distracted. We probably could have done with "Prodigal Daughter" or "The Emperor's New Cloak" or "Chimera" and still had a solid season. If it were me, though, I'd have pushed back "Once More Into the Breach," Kor's last episode, and aired it just before this one. That was another one which didn't prominently feature the main cast members, but then you follow with this one, in which most of the main cast gets to operate together. It would have kept the war fresh, and I don't think people would have been as irritated at the war plot settling into the background for just one episode here.
by Bronn | 07/29/2013 at 6:15 am

A pointless novelty episode that made me cringe. Not that a 'caper' genre episode was necessarily a bad thing, but I just hated it. Maybe it was just the context of it coming this late in the series, and that the one before it actually explored some interesting issues through science-fiction, as Star Trek should. This is just pointless indulgence in bad-taste americana.
by L | 08/18/2013 at 12:16 am

This ep was great. It wouldnt work in an earlier season because we'd have had no connection to the characters. It's a simply fun ep that allows the cast to show off, combined with great music and great direction. Dont take it so seriously, and just love it for what it is!
The best is yet to come!
by Spline | 09/14/2013 at 11:17 am

This was actually one of my favorites. I watch it as a farewell episode: the last fun holodeck romp before the final episodes running-up to the series finale. The end of this one gives me tingles when they are all alone in the lounge with Vic. They are still dressed up and as the camera pans over them Sisko sings "The Best Is Yet to Come."
The viewer knows DS9 is almost over. This is such a hopeful episode and the second half of the season does not disappoint. They even copy the lounge scene in the last episode doing it all over again with Vic and the final farewell.
by Mandeponium | 08/03/2014 at 12:04 am

I don't see the appeal of Vic Fontaine. He was okay in "It's Only a Paper Moon" because that story served a purpose: Nog's post-injury recovery. But he's overused to the point of being annoying. It gets really bad in the finale when he takes up a ridiculous portion of the episode.
This one, though, is bad for several reasons. They already had a wonderful holodeck episode in "Mr Bashir, I Presume?" So that angle's been done. The timing in the story arc is also poor as pointed out. Not everything has to be about the Dominion War, but this is just too silly. Finally, it doesn't even really feel like Star Trek. From a purely entertainment point of view, I guess it works but it's hard to ignore the context of the episode, which you have to do to enjoy it IMO.
I'd give it a 2 for the acting, but it's by far the worst overall episode of the season.
by Axel | 06/07/2015 at 10:54 pm

I really didn't much like watching this episode, and I wasn't quite sure why. There have been holosuite episodes I've liked in the past, the caper itself really isn't bad. I agree with others that the timing of the episode just didn't seem very good, while watching the series in order I was really feeling like it was time to return to the Dominion war, not to have yet another offbeat standalone episode.
I agree with Axel that the episode really doesn't seem connected to Star Trek, and the episode doesn't compare that well to “Mr. Bashir, I Presume”. Somehow that episode felt like the homage was more fun, and felt like you were exploring the Star Trek characters placed in an unusual environment. Whereas this episode felt more like you were watching an ordinary miniature heist movie that just happened to feature the Star Trek actors, but could have been put on with any actors and it wouldn't have been any different. The only attempt to tie it to DS9 at all was the idea that they were coming together to do it for their friend Vic, which really didn't come across as a very dramatically interesting reason, especially since Vic is kind of a questionable character to begin with, and because the show seems unable to clearly confront the question about whether Vic is a sentient being or not. If he is sentient why are the characters so unable to perceive or acknowledge it, and if he is not sentient then the justification for the episode is pretty silly.
Also, in all of the better Vic Fontaine episodes he is being used to significantly change the lives of the DS9 characters by offering them good advice or a different perspective. In this episode he seems totally pointless, he doesn't have any purpose other than to act as a MacGuffin to get the characters into a heist movie.
by Christopher Alexander | 06/13/2021 at 4:35 pm