It's Only a Paper Moon (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)

"It's Only a Paper Moon"
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode
Episode no.	Season 7 Episode 10
Directed by	Anson Williams
Teleplay by	Ronald D. Moore
Story by	David Mack John J. Ordover
Featured music	Jay Chattaway
Production code	560
Original air date	December 30, 1998 (1998-12-30)
Guest actors
James Darren - Vic Fontaine Aron Eisenberg - Nog Max Grodénchik - Rom Chase Masterson - Leeta

"It's Only a Paper Moon" is the 160th episode of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the tenth episode of the seventh season. The production code of the episode is 560. First aired December 30, 1998. It was written by Ronald D. Moore based on a story by David Mack and John J. Ordover. Directed by Anson Williams.

Plot

After his leg was critically hit in "The Siege of AR-558", Nog returns to DS9 with a biosynthetic replacement, after months of therapy at Starbase 235. Nog feels pain in his new leg even though the doctors cannot detect any stimuli in the pain receptors of the leg, and declines Captain Sisko's invitation to a party in his honor. Now on medical leave, Nog annoys his roommate Jake with a recording of "I'll Be Seeing You" (sung by Vic Fontaine). When Jake removed the data rod from the music player, Nog goes to the holosuites at Quark's, where he has Vic sing that song in over a dozen different arrangements. Nog stays at Vic's hotel suite for the night. With reservations, Ezri Dax agrees to the idea of Nog staying there for his rehabilitation.

Vic gives Nog a cane similar to one Errol Flynn once used, to replace Nog's Starfleet-issued cane. When Jake visits Vic's with his girlfriend Kesha, Jake and Nog quarrel and Nog turns a table on Jake; whereupon Vic throws Nog out. Nog later apologizes to Vic. Fretting about his finances, Vic hands Nog his ledgers, and Nog finds that the IRS owes Vic enough money to build a new casino. As Vic and Nog plan the new casino, Nog relies less and less on his cane. Ezri talks with Vic about Nog's recovery, and Vic requests Nog to rejoin the real world. When Nog refuses to do so, Vic shuts down his own program and resists Nog's attempts to restart it. Miles O'Brien explains to Nog that Vic is a different kind of hologram program. Vic shows up without the holographic environment and has a heart-to-heart talk with Nog. Nog returns to limited duty; but convinces Quark to leave the program running all the time, to give Vic a 'real' life.

Trivia

During his stay with Vic, Nog and Vic discuss watching classic western films specifically "The Searchers". Jeffrey Hunter who played one of the lead roles in "The Searchers" would go on to play captain Christopher Pike in the original Star Trek pilot episode "The Cage".

External links

• "It's Only a Paper Moon" at IMDb
• "It's Only a Paper Moon" at TV.com
• "It's Only a Paper Moon" at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)
• "It's Only a Paper Moon" at StarTrek.com