Star Trek: Enterprise (2001 - 2005) - Random Musings

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THE PLOT

Enterprise returns to Earth for the official launch date of her sister ship, the Columbia - the ship to which Trip is transferring. For the crew, it's an opportunity for some well-deserved leave. Dr. Phlox is in San Francisco with Hoshi, taking in a meal at his favorite Chinese restaurant. The two are just walking back when they are jumped by alien attackers. Hoshi is knocked out while attempting to fight back, but not before she overhears one of the attackers speaking in Rigelian.

Reed has only just begun to investigate the kidnapping when he receives a transmission from Harris (Eric Pierpoint), his old boss. Harris informs Reed of an important mission, something that must be kept from Archer for security reasons. Dr. Phlox learns of it, too, when he is brought face-to-face with his captors: the Klingons. The Klingons are suffering from a virus that is spreading from world to world. Phlox is tasked with finding a cure. What he learns about the virus, however, may strain his devotion to preserving life.

CHARACTERS

Capt. Archer: The information he gleaned from Surak's katra allows him to talk T'Pol through initiating a mind-meld. I'm sorry, but is that really necessary? In a season that's badly overinflated Archer, do we honestly need him talking the series' regular Vulcan through a Vulcan procedure? When do we hit the episode where Archer parts the Red Sea? Rant aside, Scott Bakula does well when Archer finally discovers Reed's deceit. A range of emotions, from weariness to disappointment to anger, are evident in his face and voice, and he and Dominic Keating do some first-class acting in this scene.

Reed: From the first season, a part of Reed's characterization has been how distant he is, how difficult he is to know. This episode provides some background which sheds light on that particular established quality. Long before he joined Enterprise, Reed was an agent. Here, he is called back into service, putting him in the position of keeping information from his captain. It is not a comfortable situation for him, as he feels torn between loyalty to Archer and the still-strong dictates of his previous job.

T'Pol: Trip's departure affects her more than she wants to admit. As she attempts to meditate, she makes a telepathic connection to Trip, who is probably pausing in his busy day to think of her. In the midst of her white void of meditation, the two instantly begin to argue, before Trip is snapped out of it by one of his new shipmates. T'Pol also pulls triple-duty. She has to cover for the new chief engineer's learning curve. Then, when Archer begins to suspect Reed of deception, she has to double-check Reed's work and report back to Archer.

Trip: The easygoing Trip of the first season is not the Trip who signs onto Columbia. Trip is strict to the point of harshness with his new crew, working them triple shifts in order to get his new ship's engines working at the level of Enterprise's. By the time he has dinner with his new captain the next day, two of his crew have already requested transfers. He remains very good at his job, and he does get the engines working in time to meet Columbia's accelerated deadline. He even seems to be relaxing into his new post a bit, congratulating one of his new people on a job well done.

Dr. Phlox: Despite his outrage at being kidnapped, he is willing to do what he can to assist the Klingons once he learns of the virus. He is appalled at the harsh Klingon methods, however, including the execution of infected patients to allow for dissection. When he discovers the true nature of the virus, he is even further outraged, both by what the Klingons attempted to do and by their keeping this from him when he should have been given the information at the outset. John Billingsley is a good enough actor to keep his performance from being one-note, cranking up the intensity at just the right points and then reverting to a more subdued performance in between the more strongly emotional scenes.

Hoshi: We actually get a demonstration of the fighting skills she mentioned in Observer Effect, as she fights with Phlox's abductors. She's effective, too, kicking the gun right out of one attacker's hand and fending him off. If not for the third attacker, unseen until too late, she and Phlox might well have succeeded in getting away. Her linguistic skills come in useful, first in recognizing that the attackers spoke Rigelian, later in recognizing the prisoner speaking Klingon.

Klingons: They are unwilling to ask for help in dealing with the virus, lest they look weak to their enemies. But kidnapping a skilled doctor? That's no problem. When Phlox wonders why they didn't just kidnap Dr. Soong, who would have been more efficient at mapping genomes, the reply is direct and pragmatic: They tried; Soong was just too heavily guarded. At every turn, the Klingons prove to be ruthless and jealous of their secrets, and it seems evident that they have no intention of letting Phlox leave alive with what he knows.

THOUGHTS

I'll admit to being in the Trek camp that never really felt that an explanation was needed for why TOS Klingons had smooth brows while later Klingons had bumpy ones. It's always seemed obvious to me that the simple makeup of the TOS Klingons was a matter of budget, and that all that ever needed to be addressed on this issue was covered by Worf's, "It is not something we discuss with outsiders," in Trials and Tribbleations.

But if the main reason behind this 2-parter basically amounts to fan service, that doesn't matter to me in the slightest. Based on this first episode, it's going to be a pretty good 2-parter. It incorporates several elements from earlier in the season. The Trip/T'Pol arc follows directly on from The Aenar. The Klingon virus is directly linked to the Augment arc. Capt. Ramirez and the Columbia return from the episode, Home, along with a reference to Phlox's altercation in that episode. It all serves to tie the season together as an extended narrative, something I love when it's done well - and here, at least, it's done extremely well.

The most interesting story strand belongs to Reed. We know him well enough to realize that he's no traitor. But his having worked in intelligence makes sense, actually lending some focus to his characterization early in the series. Being called back into duty, splitting his loyalty between his old superiors and his current one, puts a strain on him which shows in Dominic Keating's performance. When he is caught, and Archer throws him in the brig, he is left to feel helpless as the ship undergoes a new crisis - and he is left unable to assist.

A strong first episode, with some good continuity with the rest of the season, some excellent character work, and some nice touches of intrigue. The sort of setup episode that leaves one hopeful when anticipating the Part Two payoff.

Rating: 7/10.

Previous Episode: The Aenar
Next Episode: Divergence

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THE PLOT

The Romulan drone's next target is a Rigellian scout ship. It allows the scout to send a distress call before destroying it. Its signal shows the configuration chosen for the Romulans' latest scapegoat: Enterprise herself!

This proves to be a mistake, however. The incident tips off Archer that the Romulans aren't simply trying to start a war between the Andorians and the Tellarites. They want to destabilize the entire region, probably in preparation for an invasion. T'Pol comes up with a way to scan the entire sector for the drone - but it will require more than 100 ships to put into effect with no gaps. Starfleet can supply some ships, the Vulcans can supply some more. But the only way Archer can complete the grid is with more help. The only hope lies in an alliance that includes both the Tellarites and the Andorians.

But with Shran's girlfriend Talas (Molly Brink) dying in sickbay from a wound inflicted by a Tellarite, it will be very difficult to get him to agree. Even then, it may be impossible to keep him to that agreement...

CHARACTERS

Capt. Archer: Archer's scenes with Shran are the best of the episode. These two characters have developed a great deal of respect for each other over the course of the series, and Scott Bakula and Jeffrey Combs have developed a working relationship that sees each bringing out the best in the other actor. Archer's determination to see the alliance succeed leads him to an action that is potentially foolhardy, though it's hard to fault his logic... provided you accept that the alliance itself is more important than Archer's life, something T'Pol at least doesn't seem inclined to agree with. Good news for Archer, then, that Hoshi and Mayweather are able to come up with a suitable "out."

Trip: Uses his engineering skills to temporarily disable the Romulan drone. The experimental ship's self-repairing abilities and the remote control from the Romulan homeworld thwart his efforts, and place his life in danger. Even then, Trip continues working to disable the ship, largely ignoring the Romulan voice coming over the ship's intercom and directly ordering Reed to do the same.

Reed: His solution to the Romulan-created dilemma of either letting Trip die or giving the Romulans back full control of their weapon is highly effective and totally in-character. It's a perfect Reed solution to a problem: When in doubt, blow it up! As has been true since Shuttlepod One, Dominic Keating and Connor Trinneer play well off each other; their scenes are uniformly engaging.

Shran: The scene in which he quietly tells the Tellarite who killed Talas about her, and continues to quietly talk about Andorian tradition after a guardsman is killed, is already a fantastic scene. The quiet anguish and anger is wonderfully played, haunting and a bit unsettling. Then Combs erupts, screaming out his rage, with no warning between the silence and the fury. His eyes are as hard as his voice as he challenges Archer as much as the Tellarites, demanding Narg meet him in single combat or Archer's historical alliance will be dissolved.

Romulans: We see that the Romulan government is not united behind the drone attacks. A Romulan senator pays a visit to the command center, and demands the attacks be halted - making a not-so-veiled threat involving throwing the commander (Brian Thompson) to the Remans if he continues and things go south.

THOUGHTS

I hate to nit-pick a generally very good episode, but I can't help but wonder at the timeline. The Trip/Reed scenes place the episode as occurring over a 3-day span. But T'Pol informs Archer that it will be weeks before the Earth and Vulcan ships arrive, and I suspect it would be a similar length of time for enough Andorian and Tellarite ships to be available for Archer's plan as well. So how is the full alliance not only put together, but actively on-site, within 3 days? Am I missing something?

Timeline aspects to one side, United is another good episode. It keeps up the momentum Babel One left it with. It also raises the stakes, giving Archer the opportunity to form an alliance that will involve humans, Vulcans, Andorians, and Tellarites for the first time ever - and then yanking that chance away unless he can find a way to satisfy Shran's bloodlust without the deaths of any Tellarites or Andorians. It's a rather harsh dilemma for Archer, and I tend to agree with the captain that the importance of the alliance probably does outweigh that of a single life.

The alliance makes this arc a critical one, as having these four races working together on a joint operation is clearly marked out as the first step in the journey toward the Federation of Planets. Now that I'm nearing the end of this series, I'm truly regretting its cancellation. It would have been interesting to have seen another season developing more of the steps toward the Federation's official formation, as well as the growing tension with the Romulans. Given their involvement in the Vulcan arc and their involvement here, it seems clear that this we are now watching the prelude to the eventual Romulan War. Leaving me with a feeling that had a fifth season happened, it would have been a very interesting year.

The final shot provides another ending twist. It's not as impressive a surprise as the last episode's, but it's still an effective visual moment. Combined with the overall strength of this arc so far, it has me very much looking forward to the conclusion.

Rating: 8/10.

Previous Episode: Babel One
Next Episode: The Aenar

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Previous Episode: Observer Effect
Next Episode: United

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THE PLOT

Enterprise is carrying the Tellarite ambassador to a peace conference on Babel One, where it is hoped that tensions between the Tellarites and the Andorians can be cooled before they escalate into a shooting war. Not long after entering Andorian space, the ship receives a distress call from a familiar source. Shran (Jeffrey Combs)'s ship was attacked by Tellarites, with only 19 of his crew escaping in lifepods.

While taking Shran's wounded crew back to Andoria, the Enterprise is also attacked - by an Andorian ship, whose power signature exactly matches the Tellarite ship that attacked Shran. After fighting off the attacker, Archer decides to pursue to find out how this is possible. But the Tellarites increasingly fear that Archer is siding with his old friend against them, while the Andorians are equally unhappy that he is even considering the Tellarites' claims of innocence. All of which may just leave the captain with an active time bomb inside his own ship!

CHARACTERS

Capt. Archer: The preferred Tellarite interaction is arguing, something Archer clearly enjoys, perhaps a little bit too much. Once Shran is aboard and the situation becomes complicated with the multiple attacks, apparently from both sides, Archer becomes more thoughtful. In a near-direct reversal of his early Season One persona, he actually wonders aloud to T'Pol if maybe humans are moving too quickly. He worries that they may lack the experience to play a major role in interstellar diplomacy. It is left to T'Pol to remind him that, given their history with Andoria, the Vulcans are simply not suitable - that in this case, there really is no good alternative to Starfleet involvement.

Trip: His engineering knowledge pays dividends in keeping himself and Reed alive when they are stranded on the alien ship. His general knowledge of how ships work allows him to guide both of them to the bridge, on the simple reasoning that the power conduits will surely end up leading to the bridge. He also recognizes how to use the ship's fuel to resupply the oxygen for their EVA suits.

Hoshi: She's mostly in the background, as usual, but she does get one really good scene in which she gives Archer a quick primer on Tellarite culture. She seems to enjoy giving Archer a "practice argument," probably working out some of her own frustrations in the process.

Shran: The loss of his ship is a blow to his pride, and the loss of so many of his crew is an even harsher blow. Jeffrey Combs does a good job of showing a Shran who is constantly at the brink of violence. From the moment he learns that the Tellarites are on board, he is hissing to Archer to keep them apart, "or there will be bloodshed." His hatred of the Tellarites is as great as his hatred of the Vulcans once was - greater, given the deaths of his crew - and any evidence that the Tellarites may not be responsible bouncess of a high brick wall of pure denial.

THOUGHTS

Babel One is another episode that acts as a prelude to the original series. Clear groundwork is laid for the founding of the Federation, and much of the script deals with what such an alliance would mean for some of the more aggressive Trek races. The Vulcans and the Andorians have been in the midst of what is essentially a Cold War (with occasional eruptions into a shooting war) for a very long time. The Tellarites and the Andorians are in the same situation. The Vulcans and the humans are allies, but there is plenty of shared resentment between them. This is actually an advantage for certain other races, who don't have to worry about these species combining their strength.

Which brings us to the situation of this episode. In the wake of the unveiling of the Kir'Shara, Vulcan society has begun to shred its more aggressive elements. This has led to a general improvement in relations between Vulcan and Earth, and also between Vulcan and Andoria. Now the Andorians and the Tellarites are beginning talks that might lead to a sustained peace. The conflicts among these races are ending. Now, if you're a race outside that circle, you have to be worried about what it will mean for you if those species all come together. It truly would be something to shift the balance of power.

But it's fragile, with all those old suspicions still there to exploit - which provides the basis for this story. This could be highly talky stuff... but with Mike Sussman, the series' best action writer, as one of the writers of the opening installment, it turns out to be one of the most exciting and action-intensive episodes of the season. It starts off with the situation and the mystery. Once Enterprise is face-to-face with the enemy ship, the momentum increases exponentially.

The final shot provides a wonderful reveal, a twist ending I genuinely did not see coming. It's a very eye-catching pullback, as well, a reminder of how strong and well-used the CGI has been on this series, and how much it's improved from the early days (which themselves weren't bad at all).

Rating: 8/10.

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Previous Episode: Daedalus

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THE PLOT

Reed and Mayweather are not themselves. Literally not themselves, as they have become hosts to alien observers. The aliens are essentially scientists, observing Enterprise like an experiment to see what happens during a crisis.

Trip and Hoshi are on their way back from a planet, and have taken a pathogen with them. They are promptly put into decontamination. Phlox determines that the virus infecting them is silicon-based, and that they only have a few hours to live unless he can develop a cure. Meanwhile, Reed and Mayweather - or the aliens to whom they are playing host - watch, and they wait, and they evaluate the worth of the human race...

CHARACTERS

Capt. Archer: Uses every resource at his disposal to try to save Trip and Hoshi. At one point, Klingon debris is detected in the atmosphere. Archer realizes that the Klingons faced this same issue and destroyed their infected rather than letting them dock. When the alien in Mayweather asks if this is helpful, Archer replies that it at least tells him that he needn't waste time asking if the Klingons have a cure. The alien presses on, wanting to know if Archer would ask the Klingons for a cure if they had one. "On bended knee," Archer replies unhesitantly. When he asks Phlox to work faster, he doesn't say it the way he would have in Season One or early Season Two. He no longer comes across as an unreasonable and panicked man demanding the impossible. Instead, he says it softly, laying an encouraging hand on Phlox's shoulder. He knows that his medical officer is doing everything he can and, whatever happens, he isn't going to blame him for the result.

Trip: Shows dedication to his duty, even when faced with his own death. When a feverish Hoshi breaches quarantine, Trip brings her back. He knows they are "in quarantine for a reason," and does not want to spread the infection to the rest of the crew. He does his best to keep Hoshi's morale up, keeping her talking about languages and her past, even talking a little about his own past. He has faith in Archer, but that doesn't stop him from briefly resisting an order to sedate both Hoshi and himself.

Hoshi: I'm always happy to see a Hoshi-centric episode. It remains a mystery to me why this series so often puts such a ready-made audience identification figure into the background. We learn a bit more about her background here. Her amusement in Season Three's The Council over Archer's brush with being a "bad boy" is echoed as we learn of her own rebellious past, running a floating poker game in the Starfleet Training Center, which got her (temporarily) kicked out. We also get a semi-plausible explanation for how she can learn alien languages so quickly. She's very good at picking out certain universal patterns. This comes into memorable play in the second half of the episode, when a delirious Hoshi overrides the security protocols of the ship, grunting that "math is just another language."

Dr. Phlox: A typically excellent performance by John Billingsley, who showcases Phlox's dedication to his patients. Phlox actually does detect the aliens' presence at one point, leading to a confrontation in which the aliens tell him that they could save his patients but won't. Phlox's disgust with them, and with their intent to wipe his memory of their presence, is palpable.

Aliens of the Week: The aliens inhabiting Reed and Mayweather are closely related to one of TOS' classic episodes. I'm not going to divulge which race, for the benefit of anyone who hasn't already seen it. I will say that it's clear early on that these aliens aren't actually evil. They are simply what the title says: Observers. They know that any ship coming to this world will encounter the infection, and temporarily inhabit hosts on the ship in order to see how each species deals with the situation. The aliens are appropriate to their hosts. Mayweather's is hopeful about the humans, pointing out all the ways in which they behave more compassionately than the Klingons or Cardassians did. Reed's is brutally pragmatic, certain that Archer will eventually order the deaths of Trip and Hoshi or that "this will be one of the times when everybody dies."

THOUGHTS

That was considerably better than Daedalus!

This episode neatly captures the attention in the teaser. It at first seems like a sedate scene of "crew bonding," as Mayweather and Reed play chess. Even their intial lines don't hint at anything wrong, though it would seem strange that Reed wouldn't know how to play a game that would seem to be very much in his line (tactics). Then Mayweather refers to how "they" have such a short lifespan - "they," not "we" - and how predictable chess is with such a limited number of possible outcomes. Even before they refer to their "hosts," it is clear that it is not Reed and Mayweather we are watching, but aliens possessing their bodies. I actually ran this scene back and watched it a second time, just to see how differently it played knowing at the start that these two characters were not actually our regulars. It's a very well-done teaser, setting an ominous tone even before they mention crew deaths.

In its otherwise fairly ordinary (though by no means bad) first season, Enterprise was particularly good at low-key episodes that focused on the ensemble. It was clear early on that this series tended to stumble most when telling formula Trek stories. That changed with the series' change of tone in Season Three. Seasons Three and Four have seen the series' overall quality blast upward, like a rocket. But a few things have been lost, and the character-based episodes have largely been among those.

This episode, particularly in its scenes between Hoshi and Trip, returns to the series' early strengths. The supporting cast actually are full characters, rather than just props to support the leads and the story arcs. In a season which has thus far sidelined her even more than Season Two did, this, this episode gives Linda Park some of her best material ever on this show.

On the down side, the resolution doesn't fully work. Even though it is built up over the full episode, the final scene between Archer and the two aliens feels quick and easy. It doesn't come out of nowhere - the decision the aliens make has had groundwork laid. It just somehow doesn't convince me that this is what would happen within this set of circumstances.

Still a good episode, though, and a nice recovery from last episode's boring blunder.

Rating: 7/10.

Next Episode: Babel One

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THE PLOT

The Reptilians have taken the Xindi weapon, but they don't have all the codes needed to activate it. What they do have is Hoshi - whose linguistics skills in the Xindi council chamber convinced the Reptilian leader that she will also be able to decrypt the other races' codes. Hoshi initially resists, until all resistance is made useless by the injection of some Wrath of Khan-like parasites directly into her brain.

Archer manages to convince the Aquatics to join the Humanoids and Arboreals in chasing down the weapon and battling the Reptilians and Insectoids. But Archer's newfound alliance may not be strong enough to stop them when the Sphere Builders decide that the time has come to intervene directly!

CHARACTERS

Capt. Archer: Scott Bakula shifts his acting gears to "grim determination" and more or less keeps them there for the entire episode. Archer is largely left barking orders or demands from the Enterprise bridge while other characters get the bulk of the action, but his intensity does set the tone and anchor the episode's sense of urgency.

T'Pol/Trip: They continue their awkward progression toward the relationship that their E2 counterparts had before/parallel to them. Trip has noticed T'Pol's more emotional behavior. Though an outburst from her does put him on the defensive, when she admits her turmoil he instantly offers his support.

Reed: Gets another very good episode, particularly in his scenes with Hayes. His emotion following the death of Hawkins is further followed up on, as he confesses to Hayes that he knows that Hawkins was his responsibility. It's an admission that gains him a measure of respect from Hayes, and the two men seem to end this episode as friends.

Hoshi: Tries very hard to resist the Reptilians' attempts to use her to activate the weapon. Even when she is injected with the parasites, she manages to resist long enough to add another layer of encryption to the weapon's arming sequence, further delaying deployment. When this is discovered and a further "procedure" is ordered, she attempts to kill herself - though she hesitates, and the next wave of parasites forestalls all further resistance.

The Xindi: The Reptilians are now the outright villains, allying themselves with the Sphere Builders for the promise that they will be the rulers of the remaining Xindi. Any sense that the leader of the Reptilians still believes that he is acting in self-defense or doing what is right for the Xindi overall is totally abandoned. He is now The Villain, and all he needs is to twirl a mustache and kick a puppy (in Hoshi, he already gets to tie down and torture a damsel in distress) to complete the image.

ZAP THE REDSHIRT!

Major Hayes is brought back, after being barely referenced in the very eventful run of episodes that followed his last appearance. This time, he leads a mission to infiltrate the weapon and retrieve Hoshi. Naturally, he meets a suitably heroic end, complete with John Wayne-style last words of advice to Reed... which advice, as far as I could tell, Reed entirely ignores when putting together his new infiltration squad at the episode's end. Anyway, farewell Major Hayes. I'd like to say I'd miss you, but since you were never more than a 2-dimensional stereotype to start with, I'm afraid I'd by lying.

THOUGHTS

Countdown is not as outstanding an episode as The Council was. The script is less layered, with less of a sense of fully-rounded characters making weighty decisions and misjudgments perfectly in keeping with their nature. It's more of a straight action piece.

That said, it is a very good action piece, particularly once the action really gets going in the second half. The momentum of past episodes is kept running, and events barely pause to allow for breath. A lack of time for reflection and an absence of some of the shaded characterization of some of the previous episodes keep it from being as good as the Azati Prime trilogy or The Council. But in a run of shows that have ranged from "very good" to "outstanding," Countdown shouldn't be dismissed merely for falling on the "good" side of that scale.

The current run of episodes is easily the best Enterprise has seen, it is among the best of Trek - provided, that is, that the finale doesn't blow it.

Rating: 8/10.

Previous Episode: The Council

Next Episode: Zero Hour

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Previous Episode: The Forgotten

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THE PLOT

The Enterprise is preparing to travel through the subspace vortex to make the rendezvous with Degra and the Xindi council, when suddenly a ship appears and hails them. It's a very familiar ship... the Enterprise!

The ship is now much older and visibly held together with make-shift modifications. It's run by the descendants of the current crew. The commander is Lorian (David Andrews), the son of Trip and T'Pol. He informs Archer that when their Enterprise went through the vortex, they were thrown more than 100 years back in time. Once he realized what had happened, the Archer of that Enterprise hatched a multi-generational plan to attempt to stop the first Xindi probe. When that failed, "Plan B" went into effect: Stop the Enterprise from going through the vortex and modify its engines so that it can still make the rendezvous with Degra.

When Archer meets with the T'Pol of that Enterprise, he learns there is a strong chance that the modifications will destroy his ship. Both T'Pols recommend a different modification, one which will eliminate the instability in the subspace corridor. But when Lorian learns of Archer's new plan, he resolves to stop him - by force, if necessary!

CHARACTERS

Capt. Archer: Would probably take Lorian's risk if it were the only option available. But when he learns that there may be a way to stabilize the corridor, he refuses to endanger his ship and crew once given a viable alternative.

T'Pol: Jolene Blalock gets to bury herself under a substantial amount of latex to play a very old version of T'Pol. She does well with the old T'Pol, stooping and including a slight tremor in both her voice and movements. She goes just far enough in playing the character's age without going so far as to become hammy.

Trip: Is clearly interested in developing a relationship with T'Pol, and enjoys meeting his alternative self's son. He shows a great deal of interest in the details of his alternate self's courtship of T'Pol. He also bonds fairly strongly with Lorian, particularly given the short time they have together.

Reed: There's one very strong scene for Reed, as he looks up his alternative self and discovers that he never married. When Hoshi points out that only a third of the crew were women and that there were "bound to be a few bachelors," Reed finds no solace in the thought of being one of them.

Lorian: The captain of the alternative Enterprise is a mix of human emotions and Vulcan reserve. He doesn't suppress his emotions, but he does maintain a certain detachment, which only eases when he bonds with Trip or when he begins feeling desperate late in the episode. He gets an excellent scene opposite Archer, in which we see him as a reflection of Archer - carrying the guilt over not stopping the first Xindi probe, determined to do whatever it takes and "make hard choices" to make sure the mission continues. David Andrews gives a very good performance, making Lorian a memorable guest star in a season that's enjoyed a fair handful of good guest turns.

THOUGHTS

I admit to fearing that E2 would be a last filler episode before the "big" episodes at the end of the season. To a degree, I suppose it was. At the very least, it was a substantially a self-contained piece between the trilogy of episodes preceding it and what I suspect will be another trilogy closing the season. But as soon as I saw the genuinely intriguing teaser, followed by the writer's credit tagging this as the work of the ever-reliable Mike Sussman, I relaxed. A strong opening plus a script by the series' best writer - At that point, I knew that even if this was self-contained, it was at least going to be good.

Sussman's script finds good moments for almost all of the characters. Hoshi and Reed get a nice scene in the heavily-damaged mess room, while Archer and Trip get very good scenes opposite their would-be descendants. The regulars react intelligently to the situation, and even the "action turn" around the midpoint seems justified within the context of the story and the characters.

I also like the ending. By leaving the fate of the second Enterprise up in the air, the show leaves itself a potential asset that could be brought back. Even if it's not (and I suspect it won't be), I kind of like that the show doesn't firmly answer whether this alternative Enterprise was destroyed, was wiped out of existence, or is still out there somewhere.

Rating: 7/10

Next Episode: The Council

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Previous Episode: Strategem

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THE PLOT

The Enterprise encounters an enormous space anomaly, in the center of which is a shuttlecraft with one life sign. Archer orders the use of the grappler to pull the shuttle out, which ends up pulling the Enterprise into the anomaly's field. Trip gets the ship out again, and the shuttle is pulled into the docking bay - revealing a humanoid alien.

Though Phlox quickly determines that the alien is dying, the being cries out to be returned to the distortion field. As T'Pol determines that the anomaly was directly at the center of the influence of five spheres, and hypothezises that the alien was some sort of test subject by the makers of the spheres, Archer determines to find some answers.

CHARACTERS

Capt. Archer: Bakula gets one great, angry scene. It's a scene that has nothing to do with the alien plot, and instead connects with a subplot involving Reed and Major Hayes (Steven Culp). After the two men turn a sparring session into an all-out brawl, they both end up injured. Archer lays into them, reminding them of exactly how precarious a situation the Enterprise is in, and that he cannot afford for two key officers to regress "to the level of five year olds!" Archer's fury at the pair of them is extremely well-played, and the scene ends on a very amusing note.

For the most part, this is not an Archer-heavy episode. We do see him puzzling with T'Pol over the nature of the alien, and the connection between the spheres and the anomalies. We also see, for the second time this season, that he isn't above using torture to force answers from a subject, in this case denying the alien pain medication until he gives Archer some answers. It's an interesting element to Archer's post-Xindi characterization, particularly since he has not otherwise abandoned his previous moral principles. It does have me hoping that some of his "extreme" tactics with prisoners end up costing him something by the end, though.

T'Pol/Trip: The seeds of a Trip/T'Pol relationship were laid down back in Season One... and then mostly ignored through Season Two, before being teased through the "peekaboo" neuropressure sessions throughout this season. This episode sees that line finally crossed, after T'Pol becomes visibly jealous over Trip's friendship with an attractive female marine who grew up not far from Trip's hometown. T'Pol then quickly backpedals, finding a way to make her dalliance with Trip into something "logical" and appropriate for a Vulcan scientist. I strongly suspect, however, that neither she nor Trip will be able to entirely return to their previous relationship.

Reed/Hayes: The season premiere showed Reed reacting very badly to Major Hayes (Steven Culp), the leader of the marines, seeing Hayes' every suggestion as an attempt to undermine his authority. That is picked back up on here, and expanded upon. Trip's MACO friend compares notes with Trip about Hayes vs. Reed, and they come to the conclusion that both men are cut from the same cloth. Which means that both Hayes and Reed want to be in charge, inevitably straining their interactions. Writer Manny Coto does load the script a bit, in that Reed is in this case reacting very badly to an entirely sensible suggestion by Hayes, and there is more than a whiff of cliche about the way in which the two men settle their differences (a big brawl). Still, the two characters have been constructed in such a way that the cliche rings true. My only quibble is more with the season than the episode: namely, that the Reed/Hayes conflict would mean more if we had seen more of this conflict - and Hayes, for that matter - throughout the season.

THOUGHTS

Though the main hook of the season is the race for the Xindi weapon, a secondary arc has been developing in the background - the spheres, the anomalies, the makers of the spheres that form the Expanse. In many respects, it's actually a more interesting storyline than the Xindi one (it's not like we don't know Archer & company are going to stop them from destroying Earth). This is a genuine mystery. Why was the Expanse created, and who created it? What are the nature of the spheres? It's been built up in the background, in episodes such as Anomaly, Exile, and Chosen Realm, and this episode sees that background arc click into focus, and connect to the Xindi arc. It's an interesting reveal, one which renews some of the arc's momentum just at the point at which that momentum was starting to sag.

Harbinger is Manny Coto's third Enterprise script, and he follows up on substantial elements from his first two scripts, Similitude and Chosen Realm. He took over as showrunner in Season Four, and I'm quickly appreciating why. He has a strong grasp of all the regular characters. Despite his first scripts coming smack in the middle of a season-long arc, he has had no apparent trouble balancing and advancing the elements of that arc while still telling interesting stories. He doesn't quite have the instinctive structural mastery of Mike Sussman, but he is already developing into one of the best Enterprise writers.

Harbinger is the weakest of Coto's three episodes to date, mainly because it lacks a tight focus. This is more of a character-based episode, with the relationships between Trip and T'Pol and Reed and Hayes getting more screentime than the alien plot. We see the Enterprise following up on Degra's clue, we see Hayes and Reed sparring over enhanced combat training for the crew. Basically, it's an episode that collects side plots and character beats - a mid season "transitional" episode, which preps viewers for the final run of episodes as we near the season finale. I enjoyed the episode largely because I enjoyed seeing those character interactions, but this isn't one that's going to sear itself into any viewer's memory.

Rating: 6/10

Next Episode: Doctor's Orders

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THE PLOT

As the Xindi prepare to test the prototype of their new weapon, the Enterprise finally picks up the trail of the ship that Archer tagged. Following that signal means flying right through a series of anomalies, however, and it isn't long before the ship finds itself suffering damage.

That's when help arrives from a most unexpected source: Shran (Jeffrey Combs), the Andorian commander Archer has encountered several times before. With Shran's help, Enterprise's repairs go quickly enough for them to reach the site before the Xindi weapons test. That leaves Archer with an opportunity for an ambitious gambit: to steal the prototype!

CHARACTERS

Capt. Archer: Though wary about the sudden appearance of the Andorians, he is in a critical situation where he cannot refuse the offer of help. Plus, as he tells T'Pol, while he may not trust the Andorians he has developed a certain degree of trust with regard to Commander Shran.

T'Pol: After the revelations of Similitude, it seems that she may be trying to minimize contact with Trip - which is not unnoticed by the engineer. Her experience with Andorians has her urging Archer to be cautious about trusting them, but she backs up his decisions.

Reed: Security conscious to the point of paranoia, Reed is resistant to the idea of having the Andorians assist with repairs, fearing that they may steal the ship's secrets. He develops a strong bond with Lt. Talas (Molly Brink), Shran's tactical officer, and they have some highly entertaining scenes together. It's good to see him develop a brief friendship/flirtation with a "kindred spirit," without ever entirely letting down his guard.

Shran: The obligatory Shran episode of the season. Not that a Shran episode is ever a bad thing - His first appearance marked the series' first fully satisfying episode, and all of the episodes to feature him have been consistently watchable. A large part of that is the performance of Jeffrey Combs, who invests just the right touches of both brittleness and humor to make Shran interesting. His relationship with Archer is not quite a friendship, but it's built upon a lot of mutual respect, and watching their interactions is never anything but fun.

The Xindi: The various factions continue to quarrel, with the reptilian, insectoid, and acquatic Xindi seeming the most impatient about Degra's progress. That the weapons test - which all but bisects the moon on which it is tested - is deemed a failure shows just how seriously they take the "human threat." Archer credits the test's "failure" to interference from Gralik, showing the value of alliances Archer has already made.

THOUGHTS

After some episodes that were largely standalones, Proving Ground brings the Xindi arc back into focus. Archer and his people learn more about the weapon. Archer's successful theft of the prototype (at least as far as the Xindi are concerned) will probably also increase the Xindi fears about him, which may make them more active in their pursuit of Enterprise.

The Xindi prototype is very well portrayed by the CGI department. Its basic appearance and firing mechanism look very much the same as the final weapon, which we saw destroying Earth in an alternate timeline, but it's not quite identical. The fluid-like lighting is red, instead of the radioactive green, and it appears somewhat smaller. Also, portraying as a failure a weapon that would destroy Earth as a viable planet reinforces the threat the Xindi pose. That said, one does start to wonder why they aren't simply attacking with what they have - Their technology already suffices to devastate Earth. At this point, they seem to be holding off for the weapon to be "perfect" simply because the plot demands it of them.

In addition to furthering the Xindi arc, Proving Ground also continues the development of the Vulcan/Andorian story. To date, the series has tended to portray the Andorians more sympathetically than the Vulcans with regard to this conflict. Here, we see that the Andorians are just as capable of suspect actions as their pointy-eared foes. The Andorian High Command is willing to squander potential alliances for the sake of a tactical advantage over the Vulcans, with Shran's own objections to this dismissed and ignored. Shran flaunts the information he has gathered from the Andorians' monitoring of communications between Starfleet and Vulcan - the exact sort of surveillance that, when the Vulcans did it, led to the destruction of the Vulcan monastery at P'Jem. As T'Pol observes, though there may be movement toward some form of alliance with the Andorians, these are not people that Archer can trust.

It's another good episode, though in a season of mostly good episodes it isn't really a standout. Still, with a strong pace, the always-reliable guest performance by Jeffrey Combs, and strong arc development, this is definitely solid entertainment.

Rating: 7/10

Previous Episode: Chosen Realm

Next Episode: Strategem

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Previous Episode: The Exile

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THE PLOT

Following Tarquin's coordinates, the Enterprise comes to a facility used to refine kemocite, a compound that was used in both the Xindi probe that attacked Earth and the weapon recovered from the attack on Enterprise.

The plan is fairly simple: Get into the complex, gather what information is possible, and then blow it up. But when Archer's interrogation of Gralik (John Cothran Jr.), the Xindi-Arboreal who is the facility's chief engineer, reveals that kemocite is not intended to be used for weaponry and that the people working here are completely innocent, he is faced with a dilemma. And when the Xindi warriors arrive to take their kemocite, that dilemma turns into a ticking clock - and possibly, an opportunity to gain still more information about their foes...

CHARACTERS

Capt. Archer: Once he realizes that this is more than just a weapons facility, his anger at Gralik cools considerably. He begins to doubt the default course of action ("blow it up") and starts searching for alternatives. The one he finds does not remove the facility from danger, but is still effective in delaying the progress of the Xindi weapon. It also shows that Archer can make allies in The Expanse by showing the very "quality of mercy" that the space pirate derided him for. Mostly, it's nice to see Archer being recognizably Archer again. There's certainly some interest to seeing Archer erupt, as in Anamoly, and it can be compelling when used in a way that's believable in context (as it was in that episode). But if I really wanted to be watching a show in which the "good guy" was every bit as ruthless as the "bad guys," I would probably not reach for a Star Trek DVD.

Reed: In this episode, Reed represents the most "hawkish" response to the situation. When Archer shows doubts about destroying the facility, fearing that he might "start a war" and "confirm the Xindi's fears about (humanity)," Reed's instant response is to remind him that the Xindi struck first, and killed 7 million in doing so. When Archer makes the decision to trust Gralik, Reed voices his doubts - though he ultimately repsects Archer's right to make that decision.

The Xindi: In addition to Archer making a Xindi ally in the form of Gralik, we also see more of Degra (Randy Oglesby), the scientist in charge of the weapon. He continues to come across as anything but a villain. He truly believes that this course of action is for self-defense, against the threat posed by humanity. Meanwhile, the insect and reptilian Xindi continue to come across as the most warlike. We also learn some of the background of the fragile alliance between the five species. Gralik tells Archer that there was originally a sixth species, an avian species, that was (apparently) destroyed during the civil war that claimed the Xindi homeworld. This does raise an interesting question. What will it mean to the Xindi alliance if some of the avians survived? I can't believe the avian issue would be raised here if it was not going to pay off down the road, so I suspect that issue will be revisited.

THOUGHTS

After establishing an edgier Enterprise crew in the first few episodes of the season, this episode affirms that the basic Trek ethos still applies, even in The Expanse. Archer comes to the facility ready to kick butt, take names, and chew bubble-gum before blowing it all to hell. He ends up spending most of the episode in a Xindi engineer's living room, having a chat and ultimately making his first real ally in The Expanse. The edgier and more focused tone of Enterprise this season is good, as it makes it a plausible series to actually air in the same general time frame as series such as Farscape, Firefly, and the new Battlestar Galactica. But Trek is not a series that is about cynicism and acting like a bad guy to defeat even worse guys, and I'm glad that even in the sheer desperation that fueled this season's change of focus, the writers and creators knew better than to go too far in that direction.

From "The quality of mercy will not serve you well in the expanse," we've gone instead to "Remember - Not all Xindi are your enemies." It's a progression I approve of, because I really don't think this story can be convincingly resolved by Archer blowing stuff up. Archer can learn more about the Xindi, maybe learn how to counteract some of their technology. But in the end, I think he's going to have to settle this through negotiation. We see him make an ally of one member of a Xindi species here. We've seen him be pleasantly surprised by the final honesty of another member of a Xindi species back in the season premiere. If he can get a couple of Xindi races firmly on his side, he can approach that Xindi council from a position of strength.

This episode is pretty much all about advancing the arc. We learn more about the Xindi, both past and present. We learn more about their big weapon. We delay the weapon, so that the arc can be stretched out to the season's full length. We learn more about the technology powering their formidable infantry weapons, and get a hint of how to counteract that technology (though they can't currently do so safely). A tracer is put on a Xindi ship; and though the signal is lost when the ship goes into a vortex, they will pick the signal back up whenever the ship is in range. It's a good episode, both in terms of firmly supporting the basic Star Trek morality and in terms of advancing the arc.

Oh, and it's nice that some of the individual space marines are being re-used from one episode to the next, rather than simply being anonymous redshirts. But they also need personalities. What's the point in paying solid television actors like Steven Culp and Daniel Dae Kim, if they're just going to play G. I. Joe action figures? The marines need personalities - That's next on my wish list.

Rating: 7/10.

Next Episode: Twilight

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Previous Episode: Cogenitor

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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.

Next Episode: First Flight

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