Dr. Emory Erickson, inventor
of the transporter, conducts a long-range experiment in order to recover his
lost son – Wikipedia.
The good:
It’s cool to meet early pioneers in critical Starfleet technology. Transporters are a big deal. In particular, I loved the discussion on early competition between warp drive and transporter technology. Which one is actually better? There isn’t always a clear “right” answer at the beginning.
On a related note, these
technologies were inherently dangerous and even unpredictable in the
developmental stages. Of course, transporter malfunctions are a staple of Star
Trek, but it makes sense. Transporters are freakin’ weird and scary if you
think about it.
Emerson’s nod to the
moral/philosophical arguments of transporter technology and the nature of the human
soul. Of course, he only brought it up to immediately dismiss it – no time to
go down that rabbit hole. Read more about it here.
Nice character development
with Archer and Danica.
Great job on including the
Kir’Shara – T’Pol was reading Surak in the mess hall. The Kir’Shara is a
cultural bombshell – and logically it’s what all the cool Vulcans will be
reading for quite some time. I was fairly certain that it was going to be an
immediate throwaway despite being the focus of a three-episode arc.
Quinn’s radiation ghost
looked pretty cool.
The bad:
Poor Tucker! He just wanted
to hang out with his childhood hero. He was totally star struck. It was going
to be one of the highlights of his life. And Emerson just took a crap on him
the whole time. It’s good to have characters that are flawed and unlikable…still
felt bad for the guy.
Very straightforward and
forgettable bottle episode.
