Rogue Planet

DVD, Enterprise S1 (Rogue Planet)

Another one that doesn't quite hit the mark, and doesn't play to its strengths. It is different in that it's probably the visually darkest episode ever, with cool little neon glows about the only light sources as the hunters go about their dastardly business. And there's the macho side to it, but I didn't feel that was quite strong enough, despite the good performances from the Eska characters. You wanted even more of a raucous hunting party, with more damage, and more ferocity. And the hunting of sentient species is something that's been done before, most memorably in DS9's 'Captive Pursuit' with more emphasis on the moral side of it. Here, it's mostly people charging around in the jungle, but without the requisite action needed to sustain an episode with that focus.

That the mystery woman isn't really human isn't exactly a revelation although it is fun to have some shapeshifters. Too bad they didn't turn out to be a colony of Odo's people. There was at least one nice little reference - Jupiter Station is mentioned. Very apt since I'd just watched Voyager's 'Lifeline' which takes place on that facility! There are some nice campfire scenes, though not as well played as in 'Strange New World', and though there are the differences mentioned, that's all that makes the episode stand out from the crowd.

Admittedly, this was another of the few episodes I never caught on original run, but I was thinking the production values were very nice, especially the shots of the NX-01 all lit up in the dark, but there wasn't enough meat to the story, because characters weren't getting developed. And that's always an important factor. Give us atmosphere, give us action, but never forget to advance the characters.

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