Low on supplies (again), the Enterprise comes to a planet whose settlers work processing fuel. Archer is startled at the settlement's condition - very rustic conditions, a lack of basic medical supplies, and a rush to get Enterprise out of there as fast as possible. He is certain something is going on.
Archer's suspicions are confirmed by the arrival of a ship carrying twelve Klingons. The Klingons are marauders, preying on the output of the settlement. They arrive at the start of each drilling season, take everything the colony has, and then leave the settlement to scrape out just enough to survive until the next season. One attempt to fight back against the Klingons resulted in eight deaths. Now, the settlers have accepted their harsh situation.
Archer, in true Gary Cooper fashion, determines that he must help them. But as T'Pol points out, any solution short of killing the Klingons outright will simply make the situation worse once Enterprise leaves. But Archer has an idea, a way to try to provide the settlement with the ability to defend itself...
CHARACTERS
Capt. Archer: After spending the previous episode possessed by the spirit of a petualant 3-year-old, it is a relief to see the real Archer return. Archer's headstrong qualities do remain, of course. They are part and parcel of his character. But here, his stubbornness is tempered by the thoughtfulness that was absent in the last episode. He doesn't just insist that the situation is unfair and throw a tantrum at any words of caution. He listens to T'Pol's words of caution, and crafts a solution to redress the wrongs being done to the settlement while at the same time working to genuinely improve the entire situation. Bakula is back on solid form, though his performance is perhaps a bit too self-conscious, a bit too aware of the Gary Cooper parallels, for my liking.
T'Pol: As ever, the voice of reason. She actually agrees with Archer this time, that interference in this situation is reasonable - but she cautions that if Enterprise just takes matters into its own hands, then Archer will only make matters worse. This challenges Archer to find a way to let the settlers help themselves. She also proves adept at instructing the settlers to survive a brief brush with hand-to-hand combat.
Trip: Also gets to be a voice of caution for Archer, observing that the plan is "a long shot," though he certainly supports making the effort. He bonds with the moppet of the week, and repairs some of the settlement's broken machinery... and honestly doesn't do much else.
THOUGHTS
Marauders is a "B" episode, bread-and-butter Trek that could about as easily have served as an episode of TOS or Next Generation, with only the most minor of tweaks required. It is a competent episode, though, sturdily constructed and unflashily but steadily directed by veteran Mike Vejar. After the dreadful A Night in Sickbay, competence does come as a relief. Marauders is a thoroughly professional, entertaining bit of television. The sort of thing forgotten quite quickly, but that passes the time well enough while watching.
The plot here is particularly reminiscent of old western plots. Given that it first aired in Fall 2002, I can't help but draw comparisons between this and the brief, troubled run of a certain other "space western" in Fall 2002. Watching this back-to-back with pretty much any Firefly episode showcases some of the problems with Enterprise. Marauders is competently-scripted, populated by acceptable two-dimensional guest stars who fall into "types" and stay there, and builds to a predictable but enjoyable climax. The plot holds together, with the First Act presenting the problem, the Second Act seeing the characters making a plan to deal with the problem, and the Third Act carrying out that plan and resolving the problem. It's all very competent.
But by 2002, television science fiction was moving beyond simply needing to be competent. Whatever Firefly episode aired in the same week as Marauders would have presented viewers with western tropes in a science fiction setting, only with more memorable characters, sharper dialogue, more distinctive music, and a more immediate directorial style. That's not even mentioning such fare as Battlestar Galactica, which was rising at about the same time. In Marauders, everything is exactly as it appears, no characters have hidden agendas, nothing from this story is likely to echo in future episodes... There isn't the slightest surprise. By 2002, against fresher and braver fare, that just wasn't good enough anymore.
All of which is not to give this episode a negative review. It did its job. It was relentlessly predictable, but it was solid in both story and presentation, and it provided reasonable entertainment throughout its 42 minutes. But even though it's a perfectly decent, average little episode, it's also one that showcases why Enterprise was floundering. Television science fiction was moving on, and television Trek was not really moving on with it.
Rating: 5/10.
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