THE PLOT
The Enterprise is investigating a star that will, in the next one to two hundred years, turn into a supernova. They go in as close to the star as they safely can - only to discover that a ship belonging to another species has been able to go substantially closer. They hail that ship, and arrange a meeting with the Vissians.
Everything is friendly. Not "fake friendly," with the aliens hiding some sinister agenda to serve the humans up as soup back home, but genuinely friendly. The Vissians share their Engineering achievements, help Archer to modify Enterprise's sensors to study more of the star's radiation, and the captain, Drennik (Andreas Katsulas), even invites Archer to join him in his shuttlepod on a trip into the star itself. All is set for a technological and cultural exchange that will be of enormous benefit to Starfleet.
When chatting with the Vissians' chief engineer, Trip is disquieted when he meets a member of this race's third gender - the Cogenitor. The two primary genders use Cogenitors only when reproducing. They have no names, they are not taught to read or write, they have only one function. As Trip learns a little more, he becomes convinced that this Cogenitor is being treated essentially as a slave, and determines to interfere. But is his meddling really for the best?
CHARACTERS
Capt. Archer: Takes a palpable joy in meeting a friendly alien species. The scenes between Archer and the Vissian captain were my favorites of the episode. Archer lets the burden of command slip from his shoulders and takes pleasure in good company, fascinating sights, and the experience of briefly taking the helm of a ship that is far more advanced than any he has ever controlled before. It's refreshing to see such a carefree performance from Scott Bakula, whose Archer is frequently a bit stiff when he's not in "action mode." Bakula then very effectively switches from carefree to angry when he returns to learn what Trip has been up to. The about-face, from relaxed to furious, is very well-done, as is the final scene. When Archer is talking about how Trip has "always been impulsive" and how Trip should think more carefully before interfering, he's talking at least as much about himself as about his chief engineer, a sense that's reinforced by the episode's final shot.
Trip: A Trip-centric episode... this one, not about Trip being right and morally superior to the guest stars of the week, but about Trip well and truly putting his foot into it. In fairness to Trip, everything he sees indicates that the Cogenitor is being treated in a subhuman manner. He does confirm that the Cogenitor's intellectual capacity is equal to that of its current "owners" before interfering. Still, he doesn't discuss the actions he is planning with anyone - not T'Pol, not Phlox, not even Hoshi or Reed or Mayweather. He just does it. Inevitably, his attempt to impose his values on this species comes back to bite him in a big way.
T'Pol: Though she recognizes Trip's concerns, she also realizes that first contacts are very tricky and that this particular first contact is a promising one. As such, she does her best to restrain Trip from overstepping his bounds, trying to remind him of the potential Archer sees in developing a relationship with the Vissians. When Trip interferes anyway, T'Pol confronts him. She doesn't react with anger, or even discipline him. She does calmly explain how much Trip has damaged a promising first contact, and then leaves it for the captain to take the next step once he returns
Hot Alien Space Babe of the Week: Laura Interval is Veylo, the Vissians' tactical officer, who develops a strong attraction for Reed. She is interested as Reed shows her Enterprise's security systems, even as she pronounces them "quaint" (which irritates Reed a little). Her real interest is more in spending "intimate time" with Reed - something Reed has no objection to. Interval gives quite a good performance, and her interactions with Dominic Keating are amusing. In the "hot space babe" note, she fills out her uniform very nicely. When she bends over while stepping through the door to look at the phase cannon, Reed takes a long and appreciative look... And so did I.
Guest Star of the Week: G'Kar! I smiled in the teaser, when the Enterprise made contact with the Vissian ship and the voice on the other end was none other than the unmistakably rich tones of Andreas Katsulas. Those who recall my Babylon 5 reviews may remember that G'Kar quickly became my favorite character on the show, with Katsulas' performance that series' consistent standout. He's just as good here, and while the role is a slight one, his Capain Drennik comes across as both level-headed and likable. The interplay between the two captains is a joy to watch, and helps to elevate an already very strong episode.
THOUGHTS
Right off the bat, there are several refreshing elements to Cogenitor. Too much of this season has seen the Enterprise's mission of exploration backgrounded to "B"-level action stories, so I always appreciate seeing a return to stories where the exploration is actually the primary goal. An entire subplot is devoted to Archer and the Vissian captain flying the aliens' technologically superior shuttlepod into the star. These scenes are uniformly excellent, as two good actors deliver thoughtful dialogue, intercut with some of the most dazzling visual effects I've seen on broadcast television.
Another welcome element is the return of Enterprise being significantly less technologically advanced than the other race it encounters. In this case, the guest species is more advanced on pretty much every level. They have achieved technological advances that, to Trip, seem impossible - much as our current level of technology would probably seem like a mixture of fantasy and magic to people from, say, 1810.
All of this helps to add layers to an ultimately familiar Trek story. The alien species has values that morally offend one of our regulars - in this instance, Trip instead of Archer - and Trip proceeds to meddle. The result is a lesson that sometimes it is necessary to respect cultural differences, even when you can't quite understand them. It is easy enough to sympathize with Trip's disquiet at the treatment of the Cogenitor. From what he sees, it is being treated as property - which, indeed, seems to be the case even at the episode's end. Trip's error isn't in what he perceives, but in what action is most appropriate in response to that. There's a time to exert pressure on a government's treatment of a class of its citizens. That time is probably not when making a friendly first contact with them - but it's not hard to understand why Trip felt obliged to act.
Rick Berman and Brannon Braga have been massively demonized in Trek fandom. As I've mentioned in these reviews before, I am of the opinion that while they made some mistakes - particularly in just plain making too many hours of Trek, and critically in failing to keep pace with the development of series television past 2000 or so - the brickbats thrown their way are far out of proportion to their actual failings. Whatever missteps they committed, they are both good television writers. This is by far the best episode of Season Two, and I suspect it's not accidental that the writing credits belong to them.
Rating: 10/10.
The Enterprise is investigating a star that will, in the next one to two hundred years, turn into a supernova. They go in as close to the star as they safely can - only to discover that a ship belonging to another species has been able to go substantially closer. They hail that ship, and arrange a meeting with the Vissians.
Everything is friendly. Not "fake friendly," with the aliens hiding some sinister agenda to serve the humans up as soup back home, but genuinely friendly. The Vissians share their Engineering achievements, help Archer to modify Enterprise's sensors to study more of the star's radiation, and the captain, Drennik (Andreas Katsulas), even invites Archer to join him in his shuttlepod on a trip into the star itself. All is set for a technological and cultural exchange that will be of enormous benefit to Starfleet.
When chatting with the Vissians' chief engineer, Trip is disquieted when he meets a member of this race's third gender - the Cogenitor. The two primary genders use Cogenitors only when reproducing. They have no names, they are not taught to read or write, they have only one function. As Trip learns a little more, he becomes convinced that this Cogenitor is being treated essentially as a slave, and determines to interfere. But is his meddling really for the best?
CHARACTERS
Capt. Archer: Takes a palpable joy in meeting a friendly alien species. The scenes between Archer and the Vissian captain were my favorites of the episode. Archer lets the burden of command slip from his shoulders and takes pleasure in good company, fascinating sights, and the experience of briefly taking the helm of a ship that is far more advanced than any he has ever controlled before. It's refreshing to see such a carefree performance from Scott Bakula, whose Archer is frequently a bit stiff when he's not in "action mode." Bakula then very effectively switches from carefree to angry when he returns to learn what Trip has been up to. The about-face, from relaxed to furious, is very well-done, as is the final scene. When Archer is talking about how Trip has "always been impulsive" and how Trip should think more carefully before interfering, he's talking at least as much about himself as about his chief engineer, a sense that's reinforced by the episode's final shot.
Trip: A Trip-centric episode... this one, not about Trip being right and morally superior to the guest stars of the week, but about Trip well and truly putting his foot into it. In fairness to Trip, everything he sees indicates that the Cogenitor is being treated in a subhuman manner. He does confirm that the Cogenitor's intellectual capacity is equal to that of its current "owners" before interfering. Still, he doesn't discuss the actions he is planning with anyone - not T'Pol, not Phlox, not even Hoshi or Reed or Mayweather. He just does it. Inevitably, his attempt to impose his values on this species comes back to bite him in a big way.
T'Pol: Though she recognizes Trip's concerns, she also realizes that first contacts are very tricky and that this particular first contact is a promising one. As such, she does her best to restrain Trip from overstepping his bounds, trying to remind him of the potential Archer sees in developing a relationship with the Vissians. When Trip interferes anyway, T'Pol confronts him. She doesn't react with anger, or even discipline him. She does calmly explain how much Trip has damaged a promising first contact, and then leaves it for the captain to take the next step once he returns
Hot Alien Space Babe of the Week: Laura Interval is Veylo, the Vissians' tactical officer, who develops a strong attraction for Reed. She is interested as Reed shows her Enterprise's security systems, even as she pronounces them "quaint" (which irritates Reed a little). Her real interest is more in spending "intimate time" with Reed - something Reed has no objection to. Interval gives quite a good performance, and her interactions with Dominic Keating are amusing. In the "hot space babe" note, she fills out her uniform very nicely. When she bends over while stepping through the door to look at the phase cannon, Reed takes a long and appreciative look... And so did I.
Guest Star of the Week: G'Kar! I smiled in the teaser, when the Enterprise made contact with the Vissian ship and the voice on the other end was none other than the unmistakably rich tones of Andreas Katsulas. Those who recall my Babylon 5 reviews may remember that G'Kar quickly became my favorite character on the show, with Katsulas' performance that series' consistent standout. He's just as good here, and while the role is a slight one, his Capain Drennik comes across as both level-headed and likable. The interplay between the two captains is a joy to watch, and helps to elevate an already very strong episode.
THOUGHTS
Right off the bat, there are several refreshing elements to Cogenitor. Too much of this season has seen the Enterprise's mission of exploration backgrounded to "B"-level action stories, so I always appreciate seeing a return to stories where the exploration is actually the primary goal. An entire subplot is devoted to Archer and the Vissian captain flying the aliens' technologically superior shuttlepod into the star. These scenes are uniformly excellent, as two good actors deliver thoughtful dialogue, intercut with some of the most dazzling visual effects I've seen on broadcast television.
Another welcome element is the return of Enterprise being significantly less technologically advanced than the other race it encounters. In this case, the guest species is more advanced on pretty much every level. They have achieved technological advances that, to Trip, seem impossible - much as our current level of technology would probably seem like a mixture of fantasy and magic to people from, say, 1810.
All of this helps to add layers to an ultimately familiar Trek story. The alien species has values that morally offend one of our regulars - in this instance, Trip instead of Archer - and Trip proceeds to meddle. The result is a lesson that sometimes it is necessary to respect cultural differences, even when you can't quite understand them. It is easy enough to sympathize with Trip's disquiet at the treatment of the Cogenitor. From what he sees, it is being treated as property - which, indeed, seems to be the case even at the episode's end. Trip's error isn't in what he perceives, but in what action is most appropriate in response to that. There's a time to exert pressure on a government's treatment of a class of its citizens. That time is probably not when making a friendly first contact with them - but it's not hard to understand why Trip felt obliged to act.
Rick Berman and Brannon Braga have been massively demonized in Trek fandom. As I've mentioned in these reviews before, I am of the opinion that while they made some mistakes - particularly in just plain making too many hours of Trek, and critically in failing to keep pace with the development of series television past 2000 or so - the brickbats thrown their way are far out of proportion to their actual failings. Whatever missteps they committed, they are both good television writers. This is by far the best episode of Season Two, and I suspect it's not accidental that the writing credits belong to them.
Rating: 10/10.
Search Amazon.com for Star Trek: Enterprise
Review Index
I'm with Trip fully in this episode. Where humanity was at this stage, honestly I feel like Trip's reaction is the only plausible one. I'm shocked that Archer didn't allow the cogenitor to remain. The fault of the cogenitor's ultimate fate is Archer's far more than Trip's. The cogenitor knew thanks to Trip its ultimate worth and that that worn would never be realized among its own people. The cogenitor had every right to ask for asylm and in every other Star Trek series would have received it. Archer's (and at this point humanity's) desire for successful first contacts apparently outweighs even the hard truths humanity has learned in getting to this point. Trip acted the way every Federation member would, which is part of what makes this episode interesting. While there is currently no Federation, no universal ideal, the humans seem far more willing to stand back and allow what is clearly a slavery type issue stand in the interst of a new relationship. That wouldn't occur later, and perhaps the review of this situation plays a part in why.
ReplyDeleteThis episode was engaging, with a powerful script, interesting characters and strong acting. I was emotionally moved by the cogenitor's plight more than once.
ReplyDeleteWith respect to the ending, I have a couple of issues with Archer's reprimand of Trip. First, it makes Archer an obvious hypocrite. Second, it suggests a complete lack of self-awareness by Archer about his pronounced tendency to jump into a situation and do what appears at the time to be the right thing, consequences be damned. For me, the closing act would have worked better if the reprimand had been softer, perhaps with Archer admitting he might have handled the cogenitor the same way as did Trip.
A more suitable ending for this episode, as stated by the previous commenter, would have involved Enterprise granting asylum to the cogenitor.