DS9 Stories/News: Birthday Alert – James Darren 08:06

It’s James Darren Birthday

James Darren (born 8 June 1936; age 75) is an actor, director, and singer known for his role as the holographic lounge singer Vic Fontaine on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He also played the mirror version of Vic in the episode “The Emperor’s New Cloak“.

Courtesy of Memory Alpha.org

Darren, born James William Ercolani, is originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA and moved to New York City to fulfill his dream to become a singer and actor. After a short time taking acting lessons he met Columbia Pictures talent agent Joyce Selznick who gave him a seven year contract with Columbia. In 1955 he moved to Hollywood, California and stood in front of the camera for nineteen Columbia films. The following year he took his stage name James Darren, named after the Kaiser-Darrin sports car.

As Vic Fontaine

… as mirror universe Vic Fontaine

Vic Fontaine was a 24th century Human hologram on Deep Space 9 created as part of a program simulating 1962 Las Vegas on Earth. He was a singer and entertainer who ran Vic’s Las Vegas Lounge. His holoprogram, along with his charming personality, quickly became a favorite among the DS9 crew and were frequently accessed.

http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Vic_Fontaine

DS9 Stories/News: The Magic Of Star Trek Deep Space Nine: Joint Trill and the Higher Self

Source: http://bajorron.blogspot.com/2012/02/magic-of-star-trek-deep-space-nine_15.html

Jadzia, meeting her “shadow self” in “Equilibrium”

One of the more fascinating races in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine are the Trill, a species of humanoids who share existence consciousness with a slug-like creature called a symbiont. Throughout the series, the psychology of such an existence is explored quite thoroughly, as several episodes are devoted exclusively to the special problems and challenges Trill science officer Jadzia (eminently portrayed by Terry Farrell) faces due to her ‘joining’ (as is the term) to a symbiont called “Dax”. These symbionts live on after the “host” dies, we are told, and Jadzia is just the latest in a series of joinings of the same symbiont to previous hosts.

So what is the exact relationship between symbiont and “host”? Early in the series it is established that for all practical purposes, Jadzia is a separate personality from all the previous hosts, and that due to the joining, a unique personality is established by a merging of host and symbiont. Yet, this is the outside world view, as Jadzia herself adopts a very different attitude and, in the episode “Dax”, seems to hold herself responsible for the alleged sins of her predecessor, Curzon. And later in the series, in “Blood Oath” she does exactly the same when upholding a Klingon blood oath that Curzon swore but that she herself feels obliged to fulfill.

Jadzia seems very much in touch with her ‘previous lifes’, especially with Curzon, as she is often quoting him and his wiles, sometimes ad nauseam. In one episode, “Equilibrium”, she even encounters a previously unknown host, Joran Belar, who turned out to be an unsuccessfull host and whose joining had been suppressed both by the Dax symbiont itself as well as by the Trill officials.

Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell)

This all seems to point towards an existence in which a personality is brought into intimate contact with a -more or less- immortal and ‘higher’ mentality. The symbiont seems to fulfill the role of the Higher Self, the Individuality, while the various hosts deliver the Lower Selfs, the Personalities, the mortal “incarnations” that throughout the ages allow the symbiont to discover Itself. The actual act of the Joining -which is shown in the episode “Invasive Procedures”- then becomes an initiation, in which the Higher and Lower Selves are connected to each other. In that particular episode, the actual moment of contact between host and symbiont is shown as an extatic moment of enlightenment. In fact, the candidates selected for joining are referred to as “Trill Initiates”. Those initiates have followed a rigorous regimen of training and study and are subjected to numerous tests in order to determine capacity for joining.

After the joining, the newly joined Trill need some time to establish and equilibrate their new existence. We witness this in Deep Space Nine’s final season when Ezri, Jadzia’s successor, needs to come to terms with her symbiont while being stationed at DS9 in the thick of the Dominion War.

What emerges is a new and stronger, and more balanced personality. Eventual character flaws are smoothed over, so we see the single-mindedness of Jadzia turn into the warm and versatile Jadzia Dax, and the insecure Ezri into an effective officer. The symbiont cannot be moved without killing the host; an interesting reference to the irreversible nature of initiation: one cannot undo it, it is a Rite of Passage.

I cannot help seeing this as depicting the initiation pathway that -in fact- aims at re-establishing the same kind of inner cooperation between the two aspects of our soul: the Higher and Lower Selves. The severe and sometimes tedious preparations, the tests, the discipline and dedication of the Trill candidates: it is all too familiar. Now, of course, the analogy is not exact, but enough parallels may be discovered to trigger a lasting interest in the development of the Dax character. More on this subject in due time!

The Trill Homeworld

DS9 Stories/News: Boss Chicks: Jadzia Dax

Source: http://www.amaya-radjani.com/2011/10/boss-chicks-jadzia-dax.html

I’m continuing my appreciation for the DS9 Divas.

Lieutenant Commander Jadzia Dax, played by Terry Farrell, was a joined Trill.  Before I continue my homage to Dax, I need to explain the significance of being joined.  To be joined means that the humanoid Trill is a host to a wise old symbiont.  The symbionts are special and must be protected at all times, to the detriment of the host.  Trills that are joined must undergo rigorous training because they absorb the memories of all of the symbiont’s previous hosts.  Trills that are eligible for joining look upon the event as an honor, and view the protection of the symbiont as their highest priority.  Jadzia was host to the Dax symbiont, a 300-year old creature.  She was Dax’s eighth host.  Her predecessor was a male Trill named Curzon.  Curzon had strong ties to the Klingon Empire.

Now, with that context, I can continue my analysis. Jadzia arrived on Deep Space Nine, and she was an enigmatic, beautiful woman who had a previous relationship with Captain Benjamin Sisko.  The prior relationship was actually with Curzon Dax, who was Sisko’s mentor.  Sisko always referred to Curzon as “old man,” and when Jadzia joined the crew and Sisko realized that she carried the Dax symbiont, and thus had Curzon’s memories, he started calling her “old man.” Because of her experience, she was typically the voice of reason for Sisko and his crew.  She was his confidant and he was hers; they regularly sought advice from one another.  Their bond was strong.

Jadzia was strong enough to handle seven lifetimes’ worth of memories, which is no easy feat.  Because of her experiences, she was able to have an appreciation for various activities.  She played tongo better than most Ferengi, loved to fight, fuck and party.  Jadzia was comfortable with herself and confident, had a zest for life and no shortage of suitors, including the young and inexperienced Dr. Julian Bashir.  Bashir was waaaay out of his league in his pursuit of Dax.  He was no match for her; she was far too much woman for him.  But when Lieutenant Commander Worf reported for duty on DS9, Dax took a liking to him.  She had an appreciation for Klingons & their culture, due to Curzon’s affiliation.  She pursued Worf in a relatively light-hearted way, pointing out that he couldn’t see what was before him.  Worf, lovesick over an unattainable female, Grilka, didn’t realize that Jadzia liked him until she challenged him in a Klingon courtship ritual.  Klingons are a tempestuous lot, and she and Worf became lovers, or par’mach-kai, after she initiated the ritual.  They were known for having rough sex, replete with broken bones, scratches, pulled muscles and dislocated joints.

Klingon mating rituals don’t scare me. I’d do Worf.

They got married in Season Six.

Micheal Dorn (Worf) & Terry Farrell (Jadzia Dax)

Dax’s bachelorette party was awesome!  She had a fine-ass Polynesian fire dancer perform.  She punched out her future mother-in-law when she pulled a knife.  Everyone was dancing and drinking (and likely doing other things the camera couldn’t show), and Dax woke up with a massive hangover to the chagrin of her stoic and stalwart fiancé.  One could infer that she slept with the fire dancer, as she certainly intimated that she wanted to.  The wedding got called off, but eventually takes place when Sisko talked some sense into Dax.  Dax and Worf were a good match, and when she abruptly died at the end of Season Six, he was inconsolable.  The Dax symbiont ended up with an unworthy successor.

Ezri Dax: FAIL!

The writers would have done better either recasting Terry Farrell (the actress) or letting the character of Dax die altogether.  Ezri could not fill Jadzia’s shoes.

Chatty Cathy

I liked Dax.  I thought she was a fantastic character.  But there was a shift in her personality somewhere between Season Three & Season Four.  She was this quiet, wise, mysterious female, and then she became gossipy, silly and prone to throwing people under the bus.  She knew everyone’s business and told everybody everyone else’s business, and she did not have a problem discussing hers and Worf’s private life with everyone on the senior staff.  It was clearly a series of “WTF?” moments.

But in spite of these flaws, Jadzia Dax is still a boss chick; if for no other reason than loving a Klingon, wanting his children, and fucking his brains out.  That, my friends, is not something to be taken lightly.

DS9 Stories/News: Learning to Love Star Trek, Part 47: “Dax”

Source: http://scifiblock.com/features/blog/learning-to-love-star-trek-part-47-dax.htm

By Robert Ring, Tue, 11/30/2010 – 08:08

“Learning to Love Star Trek” is a weekly blog series by Sci-Fi Block Editor in Chief Robert Ring, begun January 1, 2010. In this series of blog posts, Robert is endeavoring to determine whether he can make a Star Trek fan out of himself through an exposure to a combination of episodes from Star Trek the Original Series and Star Trek: The Next Generation (Update: TNG has now been replaced with Deep Space Nine). Click here to read his introduction to the experiment.

Okay, we’re back to the good with “Dax.” This isn’t a great episode, but it’s pretty interesting, and it’s a lot better than the three that come before it. “Dax” focuses on the two halves of Jadzia Dax — Jadzia the human and Dax the symbiont living inside of her. While it feels more like a disguised explanation of who/what Jadzia, Dax, and Jadzia Dax are than a story-based episode, “Dax” is engaging enough to satisfy.

“Dax” starts off with a group of Klaesrons attempting to abduct Dax. The Deep Space Nine crew pulls them back in via tractor beam just in time, though, and we learn that they are not actually kidnapping her. They are taking her into their custody to be tried and executed for the murder of a war hero. It’s not Jadzia who did it, though; it’s the symbiont’s former host, Curzon. Sisko, who was close friends with Curzon Dax, naturally does not want to let her go. So, they have an informal trial on DS9. At the center of the trial is the attempt to determine who Jadzia Dax is. Is she purely Jadzia, playing host to a passive life form? Obviously not. Is she Dax, exercising complete control over the host, Jadzia? Maybe. Or is she a combination of the two, a new entity comprised of the minds of both individual organisms. Ding ding ding!

All the episode has going for it, really, is this search for the true identity of Jadzia Dax. If she’s Dax, the logic goes, she needs to go with the Klaesrons and be punished for her crimes. If she’s not only Dax, or if she’s a new combination of both minds, either half or all of her is innocent of the crime and thus doesn’t deserve to be punished. There’s a lot of back-and-forth between Sisko, who is essentially defending Jadzia, and Klaesron, who wants to arrest her. It is for the most part fun hearing them argue about who/what Jadzia is/isn’t, based on her current personality and the memories and traits she retains from the symbiont’s former hosts. It is this sort of questioning that ultimately leads us to ask what makes anyone who they are, not just symbiotic amalgams. In the end, we discover that when a symbiont bonds with a new host, even though it retains all its older memories, it becomes a new entity, melding its mind with the host for the duration of their life together.

I’m just sayin’, I’m really glad human heads didn’t evolve this way.

What may be even more interesting than the identity questioning here is Sisko’s overall response to the matter. He basically makes it clear that he wants to keep Jadzia from being arrested no matter what. Even if past legal cases of the same nature offer the precedent that current host/symbiont entities should be held responsible for a symbiont’s past actions, Sisko says that he has to figure out a way for her to be deemed innocent. Does Sisko’s loyalty to his friends outweigh his obligation to uphold justice? I don’t know yet, but the question hadn’t crossed my mind until this episode.

I’m disappointed in the way the episode ends, however. After all the debating, testifying, and expert opinion, we find out that Curzon Dax was never responsible for the crime in the first place. This was Deep Space Nine’s chance to allow its characters to come to a possibly controversial decision regarding the nature of symbiont/host identity, but they squeezed their way out of it. The worst part is that I’m not even sure why. The conclusion that everyone except the Klaestrons was definitely leaning toward would have meant that Jadzia Dax shouldn’t be held responsible for the events, so whatever the consequences, they would have been minor. By allowing Curzon Dax to have been innocent, though, the episode avoids carrying any moral consequence at all. Just to be safe next time, the Federation should probably come up with some laws regarding these things. I wonder why they hadn’t already.

So, an upswing in quality, but not an enormous upswing. “Dax” primarily works as a way to tell everyone just what and who Jadzia Dax is. It has some aesthetic merits, but it’s mainly exposition. I can deal with that. It’s nothing I’d probably care to go back and watch again, though.

DS9 Stories/News: The Trill of It All…

Terry Farrell was a young, gorgeous and talented model-turned-actress when she landed the role of Jadzia Dax on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. She made Jadzia her own for six years, imbuing the character with a warmth and lightheartedness that, frankly, the somber and often dark series needed. Farrell departed the space station after the sixth season, beaming directly over to the sitcom Becker. However, after Becker, Farrell seemed to vanish from the airwaves and the public eye altogether. Not to fear, though; Farrell is alive and well, a happy wife and mom living in Pennsylvania, far from the pressures and temptations of Hollywood.

By StarTrek.com Staff

August 02, 2011

Source: http://www.startrek.com/article/the-trill-of-it-all-undefined-terry-farrell-interview-part-1

DS9 was already in production when you won the role of Jadzia Dax. What do you remember of that period when you auditioned, auditioned some more, met the Paramount brass, got the role, had costume fittings and makeup tests, then had to get on the set and start filming?

Farrell: Oh my God, I was a nervous wreck. I was really excited. After everything I had to do to get the role, I was then stunned when I got there and saw how big the set was. If I remember right, I was thinking, “This is enormous. This is the biggest set I’ve ever been on.” I’m talking about the OPS set, and it was so intimidating and overwhelming, and I was already so overtired from all of the makeup tests and all of the excitement. I was so skinny then. I wasn’t eating as healthy as I should have. I know I was smoking then, so that wasn’t good. But I felt like I was under an enormous amount of pressure. If I remember, pretty much everything else had been shot and we had to shoot my stuff because I was the last person hired. Then they changed my makeup. I guess I had a forehead and they didn’t like how that looked. So Michael Westmore came up with the spots and took out the forehead. So we had to re-shoot. And, you know what, I’m just not a good sleep-deprived person. Seriously, when we had our first Christmas break, I don’t think I did anything for those two weeks. I just turned the TV on and I don’t remember doing anything but staring at the television set. It was awesome. I learned so much. But it was really like being thrown in the trenches. I wish I could go back and do it again now. Knowing what I know now, I think I’m far better prepared to play Dax, just as a woman, as a human being on the planet, being 47 years old. I think I’d do a far better job of playing Dax right now.

Once you settled in, how easily did you slip into Jadzia and what intrigued you most about the character?

Farrell: I think what interested me most was trying to find her strength. She wasn’t defensive at all; she was always calm and relaxed and confident. She had a peaceful, mature way about her. I think that’s what I held on to. I don’t think I really attained that for myself, without being Dax, until I had a child. But I think that playing her was actually my anchor to feeling safe in the world at that time. Playing Dax made me feel like I was secure and I was safe.

DS9 was so dark, but Jadzia was so hopeful and positive – without being in anyone’s face about it. How important a role did you feel the character played within the context of the show?

Farrell: Avery (Brooks) used to always tell me that I was too open and, honestly, I think that’s just a part of who I am. I think that’s part of what I bring to the picture. I have a lot of energy. It’s hard for me to hone it in and relax and be stabilized. So I think that constant energy flowing through her was just being optimistic. I played Mimi in Mimi & Me, and it was really off the wall. That’s just how I channeled me being Terry. I think that’s my personality coming through.

Now flip that. How important was it to you as an actor to have those moments on DS9 where we saw a more serious side of Jadzia? You had many episodes that involved darker moments, among them the Mirror Universe shows.

Farrell: Those I wish I could do again, the Mirror Universe episodes, because I didn’t quite trust that I was going to be OK. There was one show in particular (“You Are Cordially Invited”), which David Livingston directed. Worf (Michael Dorn) and Jadzia got married. David was really supportive and Michael and I and David all really worked together, and it was one of those magical shows to work on. Then we had the episode (“Change of Heart”) where Worf and I went on a trip and I almost died, and Worf had to make this decision whether to stay back and save me or go ahead with the mission. That was another one where I felt like we were all very connected. Those are a couple that stand out in this moment, talking to you. But a lot of them, especially in the first couple of years, I felt like I was a fish out of water. I didn’t feel comfortable. I was trying to figure out how this was working for me. I was still getting caught up in memorizing all my dialogue. I think it took a couple of years for me to feel like I was immersed in it and comfortable.

How did you and Michael Dorn react when the producers came to you and said, “We’re going to pair up Jadzia and Worf?”

Farrell: Oh, we’d thought we were so clever flirting with each so we’d have more stuff to do together, just because we were friends. Ha! You’d think they had that planned the whole time because it all just went so easily. And I loved it because Michael and I were such good friends. We could just hit heads and really talk things out. At the time it could be really irritating because we were so tired all the time. But taking that out of the equation, I learned so much from working with Michael, as a person and as a performer. He’s a very good friend. My husband reminds me of him in that they don’t say that “Enough is enough.” They’re just constantly picking at stuff. It’s like, “Enough already!” But it’s that need to make it perfect.

You left DS9 after season six, before the end of the run. You went straight on to Becker, which you did for several years. Do you ever regret the decision to leave DS9? Was it the right choice for you, then and now?

Farrell: My contract had ended, so I didn’t feel like I left the show. I felt like my contract had ended and there wasn’t a negotiation (for another year). So I didn’t feel like there was anything for me to do, if there was nothing for us to talk about, other than let my contract expire. Yes, I thought it was the right thing to do. It was ironic that Becker let me go, but I think, as a person, I was really fortunate to have the experience of working on a half-hour show as well. That also took me a few years to get in the trenches and really wrap my brain around where I was at. The first year was terribly difficult because I was so used to being a hero. It’s very hard, then, to go be on a sitcom where your character is so neurotic and can’t get anything right. And I had no break in between. I died one day (on DS9) and the very next day I tested (for Becker) for the same executives at Paramount. So it was a lot. But it’s ironic that just when I felt like I was really hitting my stride with Becker, they let me go. I was like, “Ugggghhhh!” I thought that (next) season was going to be golden. Unfortunately, that hand didn’t play itself out the rest of the way.

A lot of fans were surprised that you didn’t return as Dax in some way, shape or form in the final season of DS9. How about you?

Farrell: Yes. Yes. I did not want to die. I would have been so happy if they just would have let me be a recurring (character) the final season, so I didn’t have to be in every episode. I was just really tired. I was tired of waking up at four in the morning. I was tired of all the minutiae. I’m sure a lot of the other actors feel this way, too. When you’re number five (on the call sheet), you’re waiting for that schedule to arrive and it becomes frustrating. You want to feel like you have your life again, and I’d definitely put my life on hold because I didn’t know how to balance a schedule constantly changing all the time. It was really hard for me.

After you left, did you watch DS9 at all?

Farrell: No. No, I didn’t. I didn’t because the person replacing me, I didn’t want to not like them or be jealous, because I knew I would be. I loved Dax. I didn’t not love playing the character. I didn’t not love the show. I didn’t not love the people. Just the routine of it all, I needed a break. I personally just needed a mental break and, unfortunately, I wasn’t mature enough to maybe present it in the way of saying, “Could I please be a recurring character?” I’m sure at that point, too, for Rick Berman and those people, it was all or nothing. They were angry because I wasn’t doing what they wanted me to do or expected me to do. So it was an unfortunate situation all the way around.

Are you at the stage now, though, where you can sit down with your son Max and watch episodes of the show?

Farrell: Yes. Well, see, now the hard thing is I’ll be watching a show where I’m with Worf (Michael Dorn) and I’ll be like, “Huuuuuuugghhhh! Do I kiss Michael in this episode? Do I kiss someone else?” My character wasn’t predictable enough for me to go, “Yeah, that’ll be an easy episode to get through with my seven-year-old!” But he has seen “Trials and Tribble-ations.” So that’s the one episode he’s seen so far. But he has my action figure. Dax plays with everyone – Sonic and Buzz Lightyear. Dax is always by their side, which is pretty cool.

What are you doing these days?

Farrell: I’m a registered yoga teacher with the Yoga Alliance. I have my 200 hours in and I teach at our local rec center. It’s twice a week and I have a nice little class. I started to garden again this year. And, of course, I’m a mom and a wife. That’s what I do.

Would you say that you’re officially retired from acting and, if so, why?

Farrell: Well, I guess I am officially retired from acting and I’d say that’s because my focus is on my family. I waited so long to put this family together. I came from a home where my mother had been married and divorced a couple of times and it was a really scary thing for me to commit. It took a long time for me to realize that I was the problem, that I was the runaway bride. When I finally met the right guy my life suddenly became very real, and I didn’t want to lose any of those amazing things I’d just gotten: the right guy, somebody who wanted to have a family with me. So, after living in Los Angeles for 21 years, I thought we’d probably have a better shot at having a healthy and strong marriage if we weren’t doing what we were doing, which was essentially waiting for whatever job to come along and letting your life sort of unfold like you’re gypsies. I didn’t want to do that. I didn’t want to do that to a marriage and I certainly didn’t want to bring a child into the world in that situation. That’s for me. That’s me. It’s too much for me to do everything. And I wanted to raise my son myself. I didn’t want to have to have a nanny. There are days now when I wish I’d had one, but I didn’t. Max still loves me, so it’s all good.

You still make the occasional Star Trek convention appearance, and you’ll be up there on the stage at Creation’s 45th Anniversary show next week. What do you still enjoy about doing the shows?

Farrell: Oh my gosh, I’m more relaxed than I’ve ever been. When I was doing them while doing the show I was always stressed out about time and learning lines and being sleep-deprived and lonely because I was single, and all those crazy things that happen when you’re single. Plus, I was usually racing back to L.A. to do the show. Now I can just enjoy it more. I’m still going back to my life, but I’m not rushing back. It’s not like I have a deadline or someone yelling at me about possibly missing a flight and being late (for work). I always felt like I was constantly trying to ride this precarious edge. And I just didn’t have the energy to do all of it. Now I can bring my family with me. Mommy can go to work and I feel like I don’t have to worry about anything. I can say hi to everyone and they enjoy the conventions, and I do, too. And at night I get to go hang out with my husband and son, my mom and dad, and it just feels more like life should be.

Who from the old Trek days are you still in touch with?

Farrell: I try, but it’s hard for me because I live so far away from everybody. I used to see Marina (Sirtis) all the time. Armin Shimerman’s wife, Kitty, and I would always talk about going for a run, and then we’d wind up going to breakfast instead. And I’d see Brent (Spiner) and Michael Dorn. But now I really don’t see them because I live so far away, which is another reason why I enjoy it when I do a convention. I get to see some of my friends. And I did get in touch with Whoopi (Goldberg) because of the No H8 Campaign. I got my picture taken for No H8, which supports the right to marry who you love. Whoopi and I were going to try to do a picture together. It didn’t work out, but it was great because it put me back in touch with her. I’d actually never worked with her on Star Trek, but we were connected through Hollywood Squares. I was on Becker (with Goldberg’s then-boyfriend, Ted Danson), which was on CBS, and Hollywood Squares was CBS, so it was fun to meet her like that.