Enterprise S1E17 - Rogue Planet

Enterprise finds a sunless solitary planet with a small group of Eska who are hunting wraiths, an indigenous telepathic shapeshifting species. - Wikipedia

The good:

Very little…seriously, this episode was terrible. Actually, that’s not true. It was a very forgettable filler episode that was made much worse by specific artistic decisions.

The bad:

Archer’s continued tortured discomfort with PR is getting a little old by this point. Just pose for the damn picture and move on. You’re a space captain on a historic mission. NASA astronauts routinely do PR. It’s expected. Get over it.

The “rogue planet” idea was cool for about 3 seconds, until we learned that it had plenty of indigenous plant and animal life. Where to begin…

Hmmm…for arguments sake, let’s allow that a true planet sized body could be rogue...effectively independent of a gravitational orbit around a larger body. If it was big enough, it would retain some kind of atmosphere. If it had a flora/fauna ecosystem, then arguably that atmosphere would be breathable to humans.

HOW DO YOU SUPPORT A LUSH JUNGLE-LIKE ENVIRONMENT WITHOUT SUN TO PROVIDE PHOTOSYNTHESIS?????? If these are crazy space plants that don’t follow the fundamental rules of science, that would bear mention my dear T’Pol.

That was probably the biggest sin of this episode, a basic scientific flaw so glaring and unforgivable that it overshadowed everything else that happened. Furthermore, it was completely unnecessary to the plot.

I seriously feel like this episode was specifically written to showcase the green and red night vision goggles. “Hey, we need a reason why it’s always dark so everyone always has to wear these cool props.” Yeah sure, they look kind of cool. Not cool enough to support an entire 45 minute episode though. They do also serve as a convenient marker for the audience to differentiate the good guys and the bad guys in the dark, but that was self serving since the only reason it was dark so much was to use the goggles.

I’ve used night vision goggle before, and you know what you DON’T need when you use night vision goggles? Flashlights.  The Enterprise crew would not have been able to see anything with the night vision because it would have been blindingly washed out by the flashlights. The only reason they had flashlights was so the audience could see what they were doing.

I am willing to believe that hunting is no longer a major occupation on Earth because of endangered species or overpopulation or gun regulations or whatever. But Archer snottily said that hunting had gone “out of favor”. Meaning, it was considered a backward or barbaric custom. That’s first world arrogance in a nut shell. Everyone in the future has streamlined jumpsuit uniforms and gets their food from a replicator. Lame attempt to make the audience dislike the Eska on principle.

However, the Eska were seriously the worst hunters ever. They sounded totally badass while in camp, but acted like Monty Python when they were in the bush. Maybe that was the point…they were just bullies relying on superior technology. But I don’t want to give the writers on this episode that much credit for nuance and subtlety.

The whole wraith/Yeats poem thing was a weak attempt to make this story seem bigger than it was. Also, it illustrated a recurring Star Trek issue…the height of human culture was apparently achieved by the end of the 20^th century. No musicians, poets or artists have created anything of note since then.

I don’t know, I could rant some more but frankly I’m just tired of thinking about this episode. Definitely a frontrunner for worst of the season.

Enterprise S1E16 - Fusion

Enterprise encounters a crew of emotional Vulcans; T'Pol experiences her first mind meld, with unsettling results – Wikipedia

The good:

Strong episode overall. A thoughtful meditation on what it means to be Vulcan.

The cold open was great. It was a simple, sweet anecdote from Archer’s childhood that cleverly put us in his place for a moment.

The Vulcan ship was cool.

A fat Vulcan? Oh yeah baby.

Tolaris was awesome, he totally made this episode. The entire time he’s walking the thin line between enlightened guru and cult leader. (V-neck tunic with no undershirt? Check!) We want to like him and believe him. He’s smart. He’s charismatic. He’s an academic who's actually read Surak in original manuscript. He’s a mind-meld rapist.

So yeah, about that... what a terrific scene when Tolaris finally goes to the dark side! Well acted, properly paced, totally believable. Well done.

Hmmm...I hesitate to label this as good, because it was ultimately a domestic abuse situation…but the whole relationship between T’Pol and Tolaris was just so well done.

Archer gets to solidly step into his role as daddy for T’Pol. At least that’s one less crew member that wants to bang her.

The bad:

I’m pretty sure it isn’t advisable for two ships to fly around for days on end while docked together. The slightest deviation in speed or heading would rip it apart, right? Either stop and do the repairs, or conduct the scan. Are they in a rush?

I loved so much of this episode, especially how well the writers handled such sensitive material, but I feel like it got a little muddied at the end. The climax of this was obviously the mind-rape of T’Pol. That was the point where Tolaris’s lack of emotional control revealed the danger of his lifestyle. But instead, I feel we were supposed to consider Archer’s confrontation with Tolaris was the “real” gotcha moment. What if Tolaris had kept his cool with Archer? Then Archer wouldn’t have had a reason to kick them off Enterprise?

How about this as an alternative....

Archer “You assaulted my science officer. She’s in sick bay recovering from the effects of your mind meld. She just wants this to be over, so get your crew and get off of my ship before I throw you in the brig and drag you back to Vulcan…I’m sure they’d love to hear about this.”

Tolaris “It’s unfortunate that T’Pol was not ready to continue her spiritual growth. Thank you for your assistance with our ship. Goodbye.”

Think that sounds too fake? I think it would have been brilliant. Tolaris had one terrible emotional episode…and then he’s back to his normal likeable self. Does he truly not understand what he did because of his own emotional confusion? Does he just think the ends justify the means? Is he a psychopath? Was HE mind-meld raped, and is just continuing the cycle of abuse? I guess we’ll never really know, but it sure would give us something to think about and discuss.

But no, as soon as he breaks…he breaks. The entire thing was a sham. Archer/Daddy saved the day.

Except it wasn’t all a sham. We see Kov (fat Vulcan) deal with a painful emotional situation without wigging out.

Maybe Tolaris just sucks as an individual.

Or maybe Vulcan dudes just need to take care of themselves once in awhile instead of waiting for seven years. You know…take the edge off.

Enterprise S1E15 - Shuttlepod One

Reed and Trip are stranded in a shuttlepod with no foreseeable help arriving before life support runs out - Wikipedia

The good:

Hmmm…this was a very middle of the road episode for me. I feel like the shuttle pod episodes (I have a vague memory of two or three from TNG) are always like that. Don’t get me wrong, I can totally appreciate minimalist sets to focus on character, but frankly, the script and the acting have to be top notch to pull it off. I did liked more as it went on, but basically that meant I went from active dislike to bland detachment.

This was the first character building episode for Malcolm where I actually felt a bit of a connection.

The end scene “Am I still dreaming” thing between Malcom and T’Pol was decent (but in no way balanced out the painful set up – see below)

Basically, there was some payoff in this episode, but there was a lot of crap to wade through. Just watch the last ten minutes or so and call it a night.

The bad:

Mashed potatoes to seal a pressure leak? Nope.

How convenient that Archer had a bottle of liquor stowed in the shuttlepod.

                                                                                                                    

The dream rescue sequence between T’Pol and Malcolm was physically painful to watch. Stinky? STINKY? Seriously, I totally appreciate what they were going for, but a swing and miss.