Star Trek: 15 Best Holodeck Moments
2. It's Only A Paper Moon - Nog's Hard Lesson
While this episode is centered primarily in Vic Fontaine's holosuite, it actually is an episode that deals less with the fantasy of the situation than the trauma that Nog is experiencing following the loss of his leg, several episodes earlier.
Actor Aron Eisenberg was at his very best in this episode. It was his biggest episode in his run on the show, something which, in his own words, allowed him to grow as an actor. While the plot had originally been pitched to have several sub-plots running in the background, Ronald D. Moore eventually settled on having Nog and Vic run the episode.
It was a gamble that paid off. Eisenberg took chances that he had not previously been able to do, insofar as he was able to have Nog completely break down in his scene with Vic. After the episode aired, he was contacted by several veterans who informed him that his performance was very true to some of the situations and feelings that they had experienced themselves.
What had originally begun as a somewhat failed plot evolved into one of the most touching stories in Deep Space Nine's seven seasons. The writers had been trying to break a story for years that was situated entirely in Quark's bar, but had failed to do so. Moving it to Vic's, mixing in Nog's road to recovery, finally allowed them to achieve this.
Eisenberg called the episode one of the biggest honours of life, and it stands as a lasting tribute to a sadly departed man.