One of the problems with a series like “Enterprise” is the feeling that so much of this has been done before. Just within the Star Trek franchise itself, there is a seemingly endless number of permutations on the same old tired plots. In other franchises, this inherent weakness is often countered with a strong sense of character and plot continuity, where larger events allow the more standard plot elements to take on a new meaning. Taking the other route and trying to find some timeless element within those tired plots is far more difficult.
Oddly, this episode takes that very route by setting up a situation where the crew must learn how to deal with a lifeform completely alien to humanity. Following a debacle of a first contact, a strange lifeform sneaks onto the ship and takes root in one of the cargo bays. When a couple crewmen from engineering investigate, they are sucked into the alien’s web-like body. Archer and Trip are alerted, and soon enough, they are also caught within the web.
Hoshi, still reeling from the first contact mess, believes that the alien is communicating through some kind of electromagnetic signal. T’Pol, perhaps picking up on Hoshi’s lack of confidence, decides to go with Reed’s initial plan of blowing the hell out of the alien. Of course, as one might guess, this doesn’t work at all. Dr. Phlox quickly realizes from medical diagnostics that the victims are slowly but surely becoming a part of the alien’s nervous system, and if they are not quickly released, they will be unable to be removed.
Reed still prefers the “torture and kill” method, but with T’Pol’s help, he realizes that one of his pet projects, a prototype force field, could be used to protect any additional crew members who try to interact with the alien. At the same time, Hoshi tries to decode the alien language, which she struggles with until T’Pol bolsters her confidence with a little blunt praise.
Of course, we all know that it is going to end well. Sure enough, the prototype force field manages to work perfectly, and Hoshi’s ability to decode languages saves the day. And since even Mayweather can do no wrong in this episode, the feisty and angry aliens from that failed first contact agree to give him the coordinates to the alien’s homeworld. Once communication is established, the alien tells them where to land to take it home, and that’s that.
It would have been a less than inspiring episode if there had not been a few additional elements that added that extra something to the episode. For instance, we get a very nice quiet moment between Archer and Trip, where they spend a couple short scenes sitting in Archer’s quarters watching a water polo match. It’s just such an odd thing when you think about it, but for whatever reason, it made me think of those little touches in “2001: A Space Odyssey”, when the crewmen were doing everyday things that people do, but on this extraordinary spacecraft.
I also happen to like the idea that we never know the full extent of what the alien was doing, or even why. Perhaps it could be assumed that the alien had taken some of the crew in an attempt to establish communication, but if it hadn’t been for Hoshi and her gift for languages, that communication would have been impossible. Even if we take it for granted that the alien wanted to simply go home, we get no sense of what the alien was doing out in deep space. From start to finish, the alien is simply alien, and it’s really only luck and skill that manages to bring about a happy ending.
There is an interesting interaction here between T’Pol and Hoshi here, which seems to run a little counter to what we’ve seen before. Unlike the budding mentor/apprentice hints that we received in “Sleeping Dogs”, here the two women are more at odds. Hoshi, for one, says that T’Pol has been riding her since she arrived on the ship. If that’s the case, it certainly hasn’t been reinforced too well in past episodes. It’s not unlike the sudden revelation that Reed has been tinkering with force fields all this time. A little too convenient for the episode at hand, I think.
What it amounts to is a very pleasant but ultimately average episode. I suppose that’s fitting, because looking back on the bulk of this first season, pleasantly average is what we’ve been given. And that’s just fine with me, because I would rather see them take the time to build the relationships and characters at the beginning, and then drop some larger plot arcs within the continuity.
Some other thoughts:
- Once again, Berman and Braga are right in the thick of the writing. But at least they let Fred Dekker come up with the basic story elements.
- There’s some nice direction by Roxann Dawson in this episode…another good example of the Star Trek tradition of cultivating writers and directors within the franchise’s cast!
- I love how Reed was completely disinterested in seeing the movie…until he heard that there would be explosions!
- Beer and pretzels for water polo?
- Good thing Reed’s not a doctor. Engineer Kelly moans and moves around at least twice, but he still needs to consult his readings to confirm that she’s alive!
- I know this wasn’t the problem, exactly, but none of the crew considered the possibility that the alien would begin killing the captured crewmen if attacked?
- Being forced to learn water polo strategy…(shudder)…
- The sad thing is, even in this critical scene, Mayweather is still not convincing!
- What a frickin’ annoying language…
Overall, this episode managed to balance its strengths and weaknesses, giving us some human moments to highlight a rather well-trodden plot device. It wasn’t necessarily boring, but it wasn’t exactly one of the best episodes of the season, either.
