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 EPISODE REVIEWS | ||||
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His Way Getting Under Our Skin
File Photo || Mission Log || Poll This Show Airdate: Week of April 13, 1998
Written by: Ira Steven Behr and Hans Beimler
Directed by: Allan Kroeker
In short: Finally, a Trek romantic comedy that works - well,
mostly
Brief Summary:Odo seeks love advice from a holographic lounge
lizard
Review:You know, I have no criteria for judging comedy. Some,
like "The Magnificent Ferengi," work, while others, like "Who Mourns who
Mourn?," just reek. So when judging these episodes, I often times have no
idea why exactly I liked them... maybe it was the atmosphere, or the
dialogue, or the acting... it's a mixed bag. These episodes have no moral
dilemmas, so I must rely on the ghastly "enjoyment" factor. Usually how the
fans react tell me if it worked or not, helping in my own judgment. With
"His Way," however, we have a fandom split right down the middle love/hate.
Boy I hate my job.
In a way that goes with the territory since the episode took a whole lot
of chances, and episodes that gamble are always going to leave some thrilled
and some furious. My take? "His Way" for the most part worked, because it
did the two things that it needed to do to succeed: get past the incredibly
schmaltzy, absolutely lousy premise and pull off a romance that wasn't
completely cliched. Thanks to some killer dialogue and some great acting
from the two mains and our guest star, James Darren, "His Way" was a gamble
that came up sevens, at least for a couple of rolls in a row.
First, the TERRIBLE premise. There's a certain point I think when you
just need to stand and back and say, "No, this is the 24th century, let's
act that way." Ira Steven Behr obviously wanted to do a Vegas episode since
he loves Vegas so much. That or he wanted to hire Laura Feder Behr for one
episode, who I will assume is his wife. That's allright. TOS had mobsters
for crying out loud, and Gene cast Majel any way he could fit her. "His
Way," however, shouted out "We're out of ideas, so we're not only ripping
off TNG's very bad 'The Outrageous Okona,' but every single love story about
an uneasy geekish sort who got the girl out there." It just seemed like a
stunt. And the preview commercial where Odo said, "Cool!" really, REALLY
didn't help. I expected a long hour.
Fortunately, it worked, because in a screwball way it made sense. From
the excellent dialogue to Vic entering Kira's holoprogram to get her to come
on the date, everything seemed *just* wacky enough to in an odd way make
sense, sorta like "The Magnificent Ferengi." Behr and Beimler did their
homework on the dialogue, this time probably literally, since they gave Vic
a real lounge singer feel that made him seem from the era and made me want
to talk to the guy. Vic was debonaire, funny - yet not too funny. He was
just a personable guy who could relate to people. And his advice on
women... well, I won't say whether it is true or false, but I do think both
men and women only get each other's attention at least at first with a
little shallowness, sad as that may be. There was other good stuff too,
like Odo's uneasiness about the whole situation, done well in particular I
thought in his first speech to Vic, and smaller scenes, like the
Dax-and-Bashir-gossipping in the elevator one that got my seal of approval
as well.
It also worked because of guest star James Darren. Man, was he awesome.
A great singer, but more importantly he just *felt* right for the role.
Yes, he was a pretty swinging cat, but he also conveyed to Odo and to the
viewers that he did know quite a bit about the love thang. Lucky for us he
will be back in the season finale, and maybe more. If he does become a
recurring character, then he's a great choice. Someone has to take Dax's
place...
A problem more general to the romantic (melo)drama is that they all tend
to be so darned predictable and cliched. Especially ones involving cold
fishes who like women that consider them to be "just friends." "His Way"
was no different in this regard, and that disappointed me, since this would
have been the area the show could have really hit a home run with. I
suppose I should not be surprised. Let's face it: In modern Trek, a
non-human outsider character who has problems relating to others is going to
eventually wind up consulting a hologram, and wackiness will ensue. Add
love to the equation and I could map out the plot for any show, come to
think of it: the outsider character is at first nervous, but then learns to
be "cool." Yet he lacks confidence around the girl he admires, so the
matchmaker sets up a way for them to get together. In the end, the WOMAN is
the one to make the relationship work, not the sappy guy, because deep down
she admires his reserve or something. Oh, did I forget the big kiss set to
swinging music, in front of dozens of shocked onlookers? Gives me
nightmares of "Saved by the Bell"...
But while "His Way" was painfully predictable in parts, it also worked as
a romance. I confess that out of all the Trek matchups, Odo and Kira is
the best one IMHO. The characters and their relationships to each other
have been so well written in the past, and the actors who play them so good,
that everything just falls into place when they share a scene together, in
any episode. Here, no different. Odo's discomfort around Kira,
particularly in the middle of those pesky Shakaar rumors, and his sudden
looseness around the "fake" Kira just plain worked. And the dinner scene
was great, save that line about French being ze language of love. Just
great work throughout. I liked how Odo, for instance, tensed up when
discussing the ladies with Vic. It's a combination of great acting and
consistent writing that makes a "cold fish" story work. You love Odo, so
you forget that you've seen this type of story before.
With this in mind, however, I realize that "His Way" could have been so
much more. After all, future Odo did do a pretty desperate thing to get to
Kira last year - he killed 2000 people! And present Odo BETRAYED Kira and
the Resistance, though he did come back to the good guys because of his love
for her. I see a great potential within the Odo/Kira relationship. Both
are very different types of people that I could see getting along, so just
in terms of romance they work. More importantly, they have this wonderful
backstory together. These two characters have real personalities and real
things they could talk about, from life during the Resistance to Odo's
loyalty to the Founders. Ira and Hans, they need to talk about those
things! So, while "His Way" was a great comedy and a worthwhile romance, it
could have been a better character piece, if the writers had only paid
attention to what they had written about the duo in the past. It ain't that
hard, and that is what sucks about it.
Even more aggrivating about this is that the episode had so much
unnecessary padding. Yoohoo, if you're going to give the episode FOUR
songs, just do a B-plot! The Odo-plays-the-piano-bit had a point in there
somewhere, but it didn't justify the montrously huge block of time it took
up to get it across. Boy was that boring. "Resurrection" boring. Kill
it, I say, and let Odo and Kira talk about what Odo did in the war. Or let
Kira develop her feelings for him even more. This has me worried, because I
see another Worf and Dax on the horizon - another combination of good
characters made one note because they're in love and that means everything
they do must be a little silly and a little shallow. I'm keeping my fingers
crossed that "His Way" was a dry run for Behr and Beimler on the Odo/Kira
romance issue.
There certainly were other aspects within the plot that could use fine
tuning. Once again we have a light episode... in the middle of the war.
Why they don't mine the war for all it is worth is beyond me. Oh, and why
did Odo confess to Quark his love problems? I realize Odo was moody, but
Quark? The Odo/Sisko scene just seemed off, probably because director
Kroeker had staged it so that it was a little *too* obvious that Odo was
singing. Have Odo walk around or something if you're going to do that.
Make it look offhand of him, you know?
Still, this was one fun hour. Usually I wait a bit before rewatching the
episode to do my review. "His Way" made me push rewind and watch again. I
must admit that when Kira and Odo finally broke down and kissed, I actually
clapped. It felt good to see Trek do a romantic episode right for once,
after such duds as "Blood Fever," "Unforgettable," and "Looking for par'Mach
in All the Wrong Places." Now, let's do the token Bajor episode right. One
Bajor episode a year. Sigh.
Some short takes:
-A lot of people have complained that Vic was a "slave" because he
bordered on sentient. Oh? So what, he knows he is fake. It's probably a
good idea to avoid another Moriarty. Really, what separates Vic from a
computer that says, "I'm a tool." Nothing. Just because he says it doesn't
make him self-aware. Refer to "The Measure of a Man."
- Kira gave me fever... yikes, that solo was good.
- I assume those songs are actual oldies from the era, and not that Behr
and Beimler wrote them. Anyone know if they really did, or who the actual
authors are?
- I though Dax's "moments of clarity" remark was one of her best lines in
a year. Too bad she messed up with a teenybopper grin, but that's okay...
- There was one mention of the war... Kira visiting Shakaar about it.
Bring Bajor into the war!!!
-Sisko I suppose seemed dour this week, he was in one scene so it was
hard to tell
Quote:Vic: You know what a "square" is, right?
O'Brien: That's one side of a cube.
Vic: I guess that answers my question
Rating: B, heck why not. I enjoyed it.
Next week: Ah, the Prophets are back with a booty call on the
pah-wraiths
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