THE PLOT
On Earth, an Arctic research team studies a recently-uncovered find: a large spread of alien debris, dating back about 100 years. Included among the debris, frozen in the ice, are humanoid bodies. The researchers thaw out the bodies, and discover that they are humanoids whose bodies have been enhanced by technology. Within both the bodies and the technology are nanobots which are already at work repairing both the organic and technological components.
By the end of that day, the researchers have vanished along with all traces of the technology and the researchers' transport. Admiral Forrest sends word to Archer when it becomes clear that the transport is heading in their general direction, at seemingly impossible speeds.
By the time the Enterprise encounters the transport, almost all of its functions have been heavily modified. It has weapons, which it uses to attack a Tarkalean freighter. Enterprise manages to fight it off and takes aboard two survivors from the freighter. But the survivors have already been modified, infected with the nanotechnology. When they awaken, they attack the crew, infecting Dr. Phlox and attempting to sabotage the engines before Archer ejects them into space.
Now the ship is in a race to catch up with the runaway transport, whose speed has now increased to levels that puts strain on the Enterprise to match. Phlox is also in a race. If he cannot find a cure for the infection soon, then he will also be "assimilated," a fate which he considers worse than death...
CHARACTERS
Capt. Archer: Spends the episode in "crisis" mode, which works very well. Both the episode and Scott Bakula do a good job of starting with intensity, then raising that intensity to an increasingly higher pitch as Archer realizes how truly desperate the situation is. I appreciated Archer's desire to save everyone if possible, and how difficult it was for him to admit that "there's no one we can help" among the assimilated humans and Tarkaleans.
T'Pol: As ever, pragmatic in recognizing the harsh realities that Archer prefers to deny: Namely, that given the rapid and all-consuming nature of the Borg infection, it is probably better to prepare for destroying the transport, rather than simply disabling it.
Dr. Phlox: A major episode for Phlox, who is infected by the Borg technology and left scrambling to find a cure before the infection takes him over. His Denobulan Physiology comes in handy once again, in that the infection has trouble with his immune system. However, the Borg infection is persistent, and Phlox's unique system merely delays the inevitable. He is left to take desperate measures to flush his system of the infection - and gives very clear and vehement instructions on what to do if his attempt fails, because he does not want to "become one of those creatures."
Reed: After observing the energy shields surrounding the assimilated Tarkaleans, he goes to work stubbornly modifying the phase pistols and rifles to strengthen their energy output. He then accompanies Archer onto the transport, putting his modified weaponry to the test.
The Borg: The Borg are probably best remembered for The Best of Both Worlds, when they kicked The Next Generation up a notch and provided one of the definitive season cliffhangers of all time. The Borg were scary, in that they were utterly emotionless and all but unstoppable. As they returned, eventually their return appearances blunted their effectiveness. By the time Voyager turned a Borg into a regular cast member, while the regulars faced the Borg so many times that the Borg Cube practically became a regular in its own right, the once-terrifying villains had all but become a joke.
The good news is, the Borg are scary again in Regeneration. They are back to being implacable and relentless. Their slow awakening in the Arctic is effective, in that we know what the researchers do not - that these frozen bodies are still very, very dangerous. We see the effects of their rapid modification of the transport shuttle they commandeer, and we see them march down Enterprise corridors with no hesitation, even when they begin to be gunned down by Reed's modified weapons. If the encounter continues, the outcome is assured. The Borg will just keep coming, and coming, and coming, and Enterprise will be overwhelmed. The episode is extremely well-directed, with the design of the modified transport interior into a sort of Borg Cube in miniature evoking Hellraiser-in-Space... and doing so far more effectively than the actual "Pinhead in Space" section of Hellraiser Bloodline.
THOUGHTS
As is probably apparent, I enjoyed this episode. A lot. I have no doubt that the Continuity Police had problems with Archer & co. encountering the Borg 200 years before Best of Both Worlds. But I don't particularly care. This was 45 taut, well-acted, well-directed minutes. It's Trek in Aliens mode, with no trace of the social commentary that usually fuels the best of Trek. But for "action/horror Trek," it at least follows that template effectively. I wasn't bored for a single second of this episode, and that in itself is enough for me to squint at continuity niggles (none of which are too all-encompassing anyway), and just enjoy the show for doing a good job at telling a simple action story.
In previous episodes, writers Mike Sussman and Phyllis Strong have proved themselves to be the big finds of the second season. Many of the season's strongest episodes have had their names attached, notably Dead Stop and The Catwalk. Their scripts are consistently marked by a real understanding of effective story structure. They know when to slow down to allow a storytelling beat a little extra time, such as the scene in which Hoshi tries to comfort the infected Phlox, who doesn't want her to linger in case he loses control of himself. They also know when to push the pace for all it's worth. I would be interested in seeing them attempt an episode along the lines of The Breach or Cogenitor - something a little less action driven and a little more issue driven - just to see how they do with a different style of episode. But it can at least be said that these two understand how to do "action Trek" right, without compromising either what makes a good Star Trek story or what makes an effective action story.
One sustained structural beat I enjoyed was the opening Act. The entire first ten minutes is spent with the Arctic research team. This stretch is highly effective. The three researchers are there long enough to feel genuine, and the gradual awakening of the Borg creates tension - particularly when one researcher gets nervous and suggests putting them into cold storage to avoid them regenerating, dangling a moment at which these researchers might potentially avoid their fate.
I also enjoyed the way this episode played with previous/later Borg appearances. The events of the episode occur because of the events of Star Trek: First Contact. Without the Borg debris from the final battle in that movie, there would be no basis for this story... meaning that Picard and the Borg's trip back in time has changed history. But the ending of this episode also leads directly into the Borg invasion of The Best of Both Worlds... meaning that the trip back in time was always part and parcel of Picard's timeline, as it was the events of this episode that apparently started the Borg on its trip toward Earth. Trek sometimes gets accused of being overly enamored of time travel stories. But it has to be said - these kinds of little cyclical paradoxes do help to make time travel stories kind of fun.
Rating: 9/10. About as well-structured as a single-part episode of "action Trek" could reasonably be expected to be.
On Earth, an Arctic research team studies a recently-uncovered find: a large spread of alien debris, dating back about 100 years. Included among the debris, frozen in the ice, are humanoid bodies. The researchers thaw out the bodies, and discover that they are humanoids whose bodies have been enhanced by technology. Within both the bodies and the technology are nanobots which are already at work repairing both the organic and technological components.
By the end of that day, the researchers have vanished along with all traces of the technology and the researchers' transport. Admiral Forrest sends word to Archer when it becomes clear that the transport is heading in their general direction, at seemingly impossible speeds.
By the time the Enterprise encounters the transport, almost all of its functions have been heavily modified. It has weapons, which it uses to attack a Tarkalean freighter. Enterprise manages to fight it off and takes aboard two survivors from the freighter. But the survivors have already been modified, infected with the nanotechnology. When they awaken, they attack the crew, infecting Dr. Phlox and attempting to sabotage the engines before Archer ejects them into space.
Now the ship is in a race to catch up with the runaway transport, whose speed has now increased to levels that puts strain on the Enterprise to match. Phlox is also in a race. If he cannot find a cure for the infection soon, then he will also be "assimilated," a fate which he considers worse than death...
CHARACTERS
Capt. Archer: Spends the episode in "crisis" mode, which works very well. Both the episode and Scott Bakula do a good job of starting with intensity, then raising that intensity to an increasingly higher pitch as Archer realizes how truly desperate the situation is. I appreciated Archer's desire to save everyone if possible, and how difficult it was for him to admit that "there's no one we can help" among the assimilated humans and Tarkaleans.
T'Pol: As ever, pragmatic in recognizing the harsh realities that Archer prefers to deny: Namely, that given the rapid and all-consuming nature of the Borg infection, it is probably better to prepare for destroying the transport, rather than simply disabling it.
Dr. Phlox: A major episode for Phlox, who is infected by the Borg technology and left scrambling to find a cure before the infection takes him over. His Denobulan Physiology comes in handy once again, in that the infection has trouble with his immune system. However, the Borg infection is persistent, and Phlox's unique system merely delays the inevitable. He is left to take desperate measures to flush his system of the infection - and gives very clear and vehement instructions on what to do if his attempt fails, because he does not want to "become one of those creatures."
Reed: After observing the energy shields surrounding the assimilated Tarkaleans, he goes to work stubbornly modifying the phase pistols and rifles to strengthen their energy output. He then accompanies Archer onto the transport, putting his modified weaponry to the test.
The Borg: The Borg are probably best remembered for The Best of Both Worlds, when they kicked The Next Generation up a notch and provided one of the definitive season cliffhangers of all time. The Borg were scary, in that they were utterly emotionless and all but unstoppable. As they returned, eventually their return appearances blunted their effectiveness. By the time Voyager turned a Borg into a regular cast member, while the regulars faced the Borg so many times that the Borg Cube practically became a regular in its own right, the once-terrifying villains had all but become a joke.
The good news is, the Borg are scary again in Regeneration. They are back to being implacable and relentless. Their slow awakening in the Arctic is effective, in that we know what the researchers do not - that these frozen bodies are still very, very dangerous. We see the effects of their rapid modification of the transport shuttle they commandeer, and we see them march down Enterprise corridors with no hesitation, even when they begin to be gunned down by Reed's modified weapons. If the encounter continues, the outcome is assured. The Borg will just keep coming, and coming, and coming, and Enterprise will be overwhelmed. The episode is extremely well-directed, with the design of the modified transport interior into a sort of Borg Cube in miniature evoking Hellraiser-in-Space... and doing so far more effectively than the actual "Pinhead in Space" section of Hellraiser Bloodline.
THOUGHTS
As is probably apparent, I enjoyed this episode. A lot. I have no doubt that the Continuity Police had problems with Archer & co. encountering the Borg 200 years before Best of Both Worlds. But I don't particularly care. This was 45 taut, well-acted, well-directed minutes. It's Trek in Aliens mode, with no trace of the social commentary that usually fuels the best of Trek. But for "action/horror Trek," it at least follows that template effectively. I wasn't bored for a single second of this episode, and that in itself is enough for me to squint at continuity niggles (none of which are too all-encompassing anyway), and just enjoy the show for doing a good job at telling a simple action story.
In previous episodes, writers Mike Sussman and Phyllis Strong have proved themselves to be the big finds of the second season. Many of the season's strongest episodes have had their names attached, notably Dead Stop and The Catwalk. Their scripts are consistently marked by a real understanding of effective story structure. They know when to slow down to allow a storytelling beat a little extra time, such as the scene in which Hoshi tries to comfort the infected Phlox, who doesn't want her to linger in case he loses control of himself. They also know when to push the pace for all it's worth. I would be interested in seeing them attempt an episode along the lines of The Breach or Cogenitor - something a little less action driven and a little more issue driven - just to see how they do with a different style of episode. But it can at least be said that these two understand how to do "action Trek" right, without compromising either what makes a good Star Trek story or what makes an effective action story.
One sustained structural beat I enjoyed was the opening Act. The entire first ten minutes is spent with the Arctic research team. This stretch is highly effective. The three researchers are there long enough to feel genuine, and the gradual awakening of the Borg creates tension - particularly when one researcher gets nervous and suggests putting them into cold storage to avoid them regenerating, dangling a moment at which these researchers might potentially avoid their fate.
I also enjoyed the way this episode played with previous/later Borg appearances. The events of the episode occur because of the events of Star Trek: First Contact. Without the Borg debris from the final battle in that movie, there would be no basis for this story... meaning that Picard and the Borg's trip back in time has changed history. But the ending of this episode also leads directly into the Borg invasion of The Best of Both Worlds... meaning that the trip back in time was always part and parcel of Picard's timeline, as it was the events of this episode that apparently started the Borg on its trip toward Earth. Trek sometimes gets accused of being overly enamored of time travel stories. But it has to be said - these kinds of little cyclical paradoxes do help to make time travel stories kind of fun.
Rating: 9/10. About as well-structured as a single-part episode of "action Trek" could reasonably be expected to be.
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