DVD, Stargate SG-1 S5 (Red Sky)
A terrible mistake by the SG-1 team means a world will die. That's a good blurb for an episode if ever there was one, and as mistakes aren't all that common these days it made for a change. In the early seasons they had to overcome all kinds of problems and built up expectations of what could go wrong and how they'd be received by less advanced cultures (this time they're seen as Elves!), but the program had become cocky, had disabled some safeties on the Stargate so they could dial up this particular world, and because of that, they do something to the sun which means it's going to kill all life on the planet! I felt the explanation of what had happened, the circumstances of how this particular event could happen, and the way it could be resolved, were all well explained and believable. Somehow the wormhole from their Stargate picked up some kind of element that got dragged from somewhere else into the sun of the K'Tal people, and because of that the sky went red, all the plants would die and consequently the oxygen would be depleted leaving all the people dead.
I liked the way the episode started with a wormhole POV, then we're tumbling out of the 'gate with the team. I also felt it was lit and shot really well, which I've noticed has been the difference this season, but even more so because of the red light and saturation or over-exposure which wasn't overdone, but was sufficient to say this is an alien landscape. I'm not sure the people would have understood the concept of an alien, they probably thought O'Neill was referring to someone not of their village. I kind of like these stories where they visit a group of humans that have grown up on these alternate versions of Earth, created a different culture and even progressed. There's something fascinating about the possibility of the Vikings or Norse or whatever, living into the present day having altered their culture with new innovations, while also still following the gods of their ancestors.
That was what I expected to get with this episode: a mix of whatever the culture was, but with changes, and indeed there was some of that as the people seemed to worship in a traditional chapel, though obviously they hadn't been exposed to Christianity so their pagan belief system was still in place. My problem with these anthropological stories is that they either don't go far enough in demonstrating the culture or they become the same kind of story: Jack or one of the others explains their beliefs are wrong for whatever reason and/or one of the team/all of the team are taken captive. There's always one man who is their enemy, who looks on them as a threat to his power or beliefs, and another, weaker character who is less 'fundamental' and wishes to help them, but must overcome the prejudices of his way of life. Now that did look the way this one was going to go, but I liked the way, for one it was connected to Thor and the Asgard, and for another, since it was a story that had been done many times before, there was a shortcut to developments.
Previously they'd have had to discover Thor's Hammer or whatever piece of tech, but now they know all about that and the treaty the Asgard have with the Goa'uld to protect certain planets. So they get right on with trying to get in touch with the aliens, only this time there's no Thor for them to talk to, O'Neill has to deal with Freyr, who doesn't know him personally and is a little more reticent of helping him than his friend Thor would have been. I love that the Asgard are finally being given a bit more personality, and that there are internal politics a little bit - they don't immediately jump to attention and help them sort out their mess, even though SG-1 had saved them from the Replicators (or put off the close conflict a bit, they're clearly still fighting the creatures and I think that was where Thor may have been when they said he was off in a distant place). O'Neill isn't known for his diplomacy, and one of the most enjoyable things about his character is watching him bumble around trying to say the right things that will unlock what he knows all about: action.
The other characters also get proper roles to play, with the possible exception of Teal'c, who mostly stands in the background, the K'Tal a bit suspicious of him as he looks like the enemy. Carter and Daniel are the voices of reason in the episode. Where Jack is willing to try and convince the people of the true facts or just leave them to their fate and forget about them, his subordinates feel the same responsibility and don't allow anger to cloud their judgement. Daniel doesn't want to dig too deeply, and understands the futility of stripping them of their religion, while Carter feels the most responsible and comes up with a way to solve the problem. Actually she comes up with two ways, and I should have seen it coming that they'd have to fall back on the 'million-to-one' plan she mentions earlier. It is a shocking moment when the initial plan to send a rocket into the sun is sabotaged by Malkus in the 'bad guy' role, with the loss of two SG team members and the destruction of the equipment.
I can understand Jack's rage against the man, after they've just put this difficult plan into operation, taking an expensive rocket that had been built for Earth's benefit, putting all their efforts and manpower into saving their planet, only for it to be destroyed by the planet's people. But as Daniel points out, it wasn't representative of all the people, and even those that carried out the deed didn't know what they were doing, and thought they were doing good. It's not often we see Jack go off the rails, ranting and raving, almost pulling the trigger on Malkus, and shows how important in tempering him, his team are. He's the leader, without doubt, but each of the four has their part to play in rounding out the team and nowhere is this better displayed than in the scene where they convince him to keep trying to help the people.
My only problem with the episode is the strong anti-God message that is given voice through Jack. In this case it's true that these people have been deceived by a powerful being that isn't actually a god, just pretending to be one. Daniel makes the point that more important than the existence of God is the existence of belief in God, which I felt was a very tenuous argument, weakly trying to have the best of both worlds - is he saying that to believe in something false is okay as long as it means we do good? What about all the bad that 'religion' has done to the world? Actually I think it would be better to believe in nothing, rather than a lie, or to believe in the truth of the existence of God, but they're trying to have it both ways.
The villagers are portrayed as buffoons who blindly follow the teachings of their god Freyr, and the SG-1 team come swanning in and try to convince them otherwise. Actually that's not quite true, they try and keep the belief intact until it seems there's nothing to do but get them to listen to reason, and it's only Jack that's doing this. This is a marked improvement compared with earlier seasons where they were quite happy to go in and upset the status quo regardless of the impact it would have on a society. Now they're a bit better informed, knowing about the Asgard/Goa'uld treaty. That was another plus point for me, the way the treaty presented a logical reason for the Asgard's non-interference. Sometimes the galactic politics doesn't make much sense, but this time it did. I never expected the episode to end on a downer so they were always going to go back to the back-up plan, even though it had miraculously gone from a million-to-one, to a one hundred-to-one chance of success. If the planet and all its people had been annihilated it would have given the SGC something to think about, but I liked the way they guess at the Asgard having something to do with it secretly and that the plan would have failed but for their suspected intervention.
When I first saw this years ago, I didn't think much of it. I didn't like the anti-God sentiments which the series sometimes preaches through metaphor, which was very unsubtle and on-the-nose, but this time I appreciated the unfolding continuity which I didn't know about before. I found the Asgard irritating, but now I see them as more rounded, partly thanks to this episode. I liked the humour, I liked the way the team was used and that the solutions made sense and could be easily understood, and while there are still reservations about the subject matter, it does deal with some interesting questions of higher powers, the mistakes that can come from not observing procedure, and dealing with people that don't want your help, yet still finding a way to support them. A well rounded episode that also looked very nice.
***
Monday, 13 February 2012
Dakar 2
GameCube, Dakar 2 (2003) game
I don't know what happened to 'Dakar 1,' presumably that was a PlayStation game whose success led to the sequel going multi-format. It wasn't that this game had great reviews or had been lauded, but I had the impression it wasn't the standard racing game that most of the genre turn out to be. For that intangible reason I was expecting this to be a bit different and was a little bit disappointed that it was the usual kind of game, but not very disappointed as I only paid £2.99 for it on eBay! I imagined it was going to be more of a 'Smuggler's Run' affair with wide open spaces, not knowing anything about the real world Paris-Dakar race. To an extent it did contain free and open expanses, but only on the few desert courses, the rest were set tracks with so low a threshold for exploration that even driving a couple of metres off track could sometimes be enough to force you into the 'Recovery' position, a safety feature designed to stop you getting trapped on the scenery.
'Recovery' bears a little more discussion because although it's there with the best of intentions, it can be extremely annoying when it works in the wrong way (as mentioned above), but even more so when it doesn't work at all. I've been trapped inside a skeletal tree a few times and not been able to escape except by reversing for ages until I eventually break free, by which time any hope of completing the course in the goal time is lost, or when I've gone careering over a sand dune, flipped onto my side and been rolling around trying to get back up and even though I'm pressing the 'Recovery' button itself, it doesn't do anything! So there were problems with that. Another annoyance is that the 'Restart' option is clouded out during the Championship racing so if you mess up you have to either finish the race or quit - no quick restarts in this game! The graphics aren't bad for the time, but don't compare with some of the better racing games of the period such as 'Burnout 2.' Functional is the best way to describe them, although there are occasional flashes of beauty such as the sun blinding you as you turn a corner up in the mountains.
Collision detection can be as erratic as the 'Recovery' feature. Hit a rock or a sand mound and you can get stuck and at the very least it stops you dead whereas it really should be possible to bounce over such obstacles at the risk of damaging your vehicle. On the subject of vehicles there are three types to try out: Bikes, Cars and Trucks. Bikes are certainly the most agile, Cars are a bit average, and Trucks I was warned against in a review, for reasons of lack of control, but found them to be the easiest to use as they have so much power they can barge through other competitors, rarely tip over thanks to their weight, and even corner pretty well because of their great power.
Another missing element were the other competitors. There are supposedly over a hundred teams competing according to the end of race times, but you only get three opponents to actually race against (one of each vehicle). It would have been a bit beyond the GameCube to cope with a hundred racers, but a few more wouldn't have gone amiss and might have injected some degree of excitement into proceedings. Because the tracks are mostly okay, but once you've raced to the end and reached Dakar, and done the courses in reverse, the only incentive to race again is to unlock all the blacked out vehicles. This is fine and you do get into a rhythm and enjoy some tracks more than others, but there's nothing worse than getting to the end of the entire length of the race to find that for some reason you haven't been awarded one of the vehicles. I haven't worked out what criteria it is you need to meet for that to happen - is it overtaking the three opponents, coming 1st in the ranking, beating a certain time? Not having the booklet I don't know, hence frustration.
The difficulty level is a bit unbalanced as I would consider one of the most difficult tracks to be the second one, with its mud-filled course and tight bends, whereas the last track is very easy. My favourite is the Ahaggar Mountains course which is so difficult at first, but once you get the hang of speeding round cliff-top paths becomes quite a joy. I wasn't so keen on the desert tracks and their empty stretches, and ultimately I'd rather go and have the variety and excitement of 'Smuggler's Run' than this straightforward, competent racer. But there's still that one last vehicle to unlock…
I should also mention that this is one of the few games to actually use the Game Boy Advance link-up, something Nintendo hoped to get most games to do at the time to add functionality, but was often ignored or used weakly. The way it's used this time is middling to good, as there are a host of unlockable tracks to play on the GBA adding incentive to replay. The thing is, and this is probably why the GC-GBA link failed to excite the public, is that there's little point sitting there connected to your big screen with the GameCube whirring away, just to play some basic 2D tracks on your handheld! You can't download the tracks permanently so you have to stay connected, and there's no way to save your scores or times, so although the GBA tracks look fine, there's little point in doing anything more than sampling them and giving yourself another reason to keep playing the 'Cube game. Good to have extras, but not worthy of an extra star.
**
I don't know what happened to 'Dakar 1,' presumably that was a PlayStation game whose success led to the sequel going multi-format. It wasn't that this game had great reviews or had been lauded, but I had the impression it wasn't the standard racing game that most of the genre turn out to be. For that intangible reason I was expecting this to be a bit different and was a little bit disappointed that it was the usual kind of game, but not very disappointed as I only paid £2.99 for it on eBay! I imagined it was going to be more of a 'Smuggler's Run' affair with wide open spaces, not knowing anything about the real world Paris-Dakar race. To an extent it did contain free and open expanses, but only on the few desert courses, the rest were set tracks with so low a threshold for exploration that even driving a couple of metres off track could sometimes be enough to force you into the 'Recovery' position, a safety feature designed to stop you getting trapped on the scenery.
'Recovery' bears a little more discussion because although it's there with the best of intentions, it can be extremely annoying when it works in the wrong way (as mentioned above), but even more so when it doesn't work at all. I've been trapped inside a skeletal tree a few times and not been able to escape except by reversing for ages until I eventually break free, by which time any hope of completing the course in the goal time is lost, or when I've gone careering over a sand dune, flipped onto my side and been rolling around trying to get back up and even though I'm pressing the 'Recovery' button itself, it doesn't do anything! So there were problems with that. Another annoyance is that the 'Restart' option is clouded out during the Championship racing so if you mess up you have to either finish the race or quit - no quick restarts in this game! The graphics aren't bad for the time, but don't compare with some of the better racing games of the period such as 'Burnout 2.' Functional is the best way to describe them, although there are occasional flashes of beauty such as the sun blinding you as you turn a corner up in the mountains.
Collision detection can be as erratic as the 'Recovery' feature. Hit a rock or a sand mound and you can get stuck and at the very least it stops you dead whereas it really should be possible to bounce over such obstacles at the risk of damaging your vehicle. On the subject of vehicles there are three types to try out: Bikes, Cars and Trucks. Bikes are certainly the most agile, Cars are a bit average, and Trucks I was warned against in a review, for reasons of lack of control, but found them to be the easiest to use as they have so much power they can barge through other competitors, rarely tip over thanks to their weight, and even corner pretty well because of their great power.
Another missing element were the other competitors. There are supposedly over a hundred teams competing according to the end of race times, but you only get three opponents to actually race against (one of each vehicle). It would have been a bit beyond the GameCube to cope with a hundred racers, but a few more wouldn't have gone amiss and might have injected some degree of excitement into proceedings. Because the tracks are mostly okay, but once you've raced to the end and reached Dakar, and done the courses in reverse, the only incentive to race again is to unlock all the blacked out vehicles. This is fine and you do get into a rhythm and enjoy some tracks more than others, but there's nothing worse than getting to the end of the entire length of the race to find that for some reason you haven't been awarded one of the vehicles. I haven't worked out what criteria it is you need to meet for that to happen - is it overtaking the three opponents, coming 1st in the ranking, beating a certain time? Not having the booklet I don't know, hence frustration.
The difficulty level is a bit unbalanced as I would consider one of the most difficult tracks to be the second one, with its mud-filled course and tight bends, whereas the last track is very easy. My favourite is the Ahaggar Mountains course which is so difficult at first, but once you get the hang of speeding round cliff-top paths becomes quite a joy. I wasn't so keen on the desert tracks and their empty stretches, and ultimately I'd rather go and have the variety and excitement of 'Smuggler's Run' than this straightforward, competent racer. But there's still that one last vehicle to unlock…
I should also mention that this is one of the few games to actually use the Game Boy Advance link-up, something Nintendo hoped to get most games to do at the time to add functionality, but was often ignored or used weakly. The way it's used this time is middling to good, as there are a host of unlockable tracks to play on the GBA adding incentive to replay. The thing is, and this is probably why the GC-GBA link failed to excite the public, is that there's little point sitting there connected to your big screen with the GameCube whirring away, just to play some basic 2D tracks on your handheld! You can't download the tracks permanently so you have to stay connected, and there's no way to save your scores or times, so although the GBA tracks look fine, there's little point in doing anything more than sampling them and giving yourself another reason to keep playing the 'Cube game. Good to have extras, but not worthy of an extra star.
**
First Flight
DVD, Enterprise S2 (First Flight)
This was meant as a nostalgic look back at the origins of the warp program and the first steps toward human starships, but I felt more confused about it than pleasantly informed. The time span was the first thing I wasn't sure about. It's fun to see the first meeting of Trip and Archer (or it should have been, but it was a fairly low-key introduction with Trip appearing to let some steam off at the Vulcans), but because they look almost exactly as they do in the series, do the same things, where the same kind of uniform it seemed like a very short time before the start of the series. At the end we learn it was about six years or so before, but that makes me question why it took so long for humans to go from warp 1 (Zefram Cochrane first broke the warp barrier in 'First Contact' set in 2063), to going above warp 2 (about 2145?). Trip says it took the Vulcans over a hundred years to go from 1 to 2, and it's almost that here. So why in the following years did they get up to warp 5 and produce the Enterprise NX-01? The timeframe seems 'warped' itself!
If a little thing like fiddling with the intermix of the engines got them half a warp faster (2.5), surely it wouldn't have taken so long to get to warp 2 in the first place? And is Henry Archer, Jonathan's Dad, responsible for the warp 2 engine or something less than that, as I can't remember from the pilot. Jonathan Archer's never seemed like much of an engineer yet he's the one giving all the advice on the engine, and what exactly was the cause of Henry's death, and have we even been told? Apart from all these questions, and the suggestion that sometimes the problems take years to solve and other times they only take a few months, it was interesting to see back to those earlier days. I just wish more had been done to show this as an earlier period beyond Archer being a Commander and Forrest a Commodore. That was another confusing thing as I thought Commodore was a step up from Admiral, so was Forrest demoted or (more likely), am I just confusing the ranking system?
AG Robinson wasn't a bad character and seeing a bit of the rivalry between him and Archer for the first flight of the title gives the series some background, but it didn't bring the period or the situation to life for me. It's probably an episode that would appeal more to the tech-heads and those interested in the real dynamics of spaceflight and charting the progress between present day advances and the future of Trek, but I'm more interested in the fantastical areas of the series. I like that there is a basis of fact and reality that the technology and history is founded upon, but I can't see this appealing on a story level to that many people.
Again the 'senior staff' are missing, even Archer says a line for Phlox - "'Optimism,' as Phlox would say," but the doc doesn't even appear. I'm all for exploring individual characters, and this is definitely an Archer story, but I didn't feel like I'd learned that much about him. We already knew he hated the Vulcans at this point, and it's more about AG, this character that's been created for the episode. As always, if this had been a name we'd heard before, or someone we'd seen, as Admiral Forrest has been, there would be more of a connection, but we're supposed to get all that from the interaction between Archer and AG, and, I wouldn't say it was forced, but it wasn't particularly engaging. The framing story of Archer and T'Pol going off to look for Dark Matter was a bit ho-hum and although there were interesting aspects to the episode (seeing the launch ramp of the NX-Alpha and -Beta models, a step along from Cochrane's Phoenix; mention of the inevitable NX-02, maybe the first time it's been talked about?), it didn't spark.
I believe this was the 50th episode and was deliberately meant as a tribute to the space program and the connection between it and the series, and while Levar Burton, returning as director, didn't mess it up, it didn't quite become that work of feeling and momentous occasion it should have been due to the time and progress of the warp program not being clearly enough spelled out for me and not much heart to the story and characters. We should have felt Archer's grief over his Father not being there to supervise, the intense joy of getting to warp 2.5, and the sense of relief that the human warp program would continue. But the episode didn't deliver on those things and remains merely interesting from a coldly logical point of view, just like the Vulcans who watched over it.
**
This was meant as a nostalgic look back at the origins of the warp program and the first steps toward human starships, but I felt more confused about it than pleasantly informed. The time span was the first thing I wasn't sure about. It's fun to see the first meeting of Trip and Archer (or it should have been, but it was a fairly low-key introduction with Trip appearing to let some steam off at the Vulcans), but because they look almost exactly as they do in the series, do the same things, where the same kind of uniform it seemed like a very short time before the start of the series. At the end we learn it was about six years or so before, but that makes me question why it took so long for humans to go from warp 1 (Zefram Cochrane first broke the warp barrier in 'First Contact' set in 2063), to going above warp 2 (about 2145?). Trip says it took the Vulcans over a hundred years to go from 1 to 2, and it's almost that here. So why in the following years did they get up to warp 5 and produce the Enterprise NX-01? The timeframe seems 'warped' itself!
If a little thing like fiddling with the intermix of the engines got them half a warp faster (2.5), surely it wouldn't have taken so long to get to warp 2 in the first place? And is Henry Archer, Jonathan's Dad, responsible for the warp 2 engine or something less than that, as I can't remember from the pilot. Jonathan Archer's never seemed like much of an engineer yet he's the one giving all the advice on the engine, and what exactly was the cause of Henry's death, and have we even been told? Apart from all these questions, and the suggestion that sometimes the problems take years to solve and other times they only take a few months, it was interesting to see back to those earlier days. I just wish more had been done to show this as an earlier period beyond Archer being a Commander and Forrest a Commodore. That was another confusing thing as I thought Commodore was a step up from Admiral, so was Forrest demoted or (more likely), am I just confusing the ranking system?
AG Robinson wasn't a bad character and seeing a bit of the rivalry between him and Archer for the first flight of the title gives the series some background, but it didn't bring the period or the situation to life for me. It's probably an episode that would appeal more to the tech-heads and those interested in the real dynamics of spaceflight and charting the progress between present day advances and the future of Trek, but I'm more interested in the fantastical areas of the series. I like that there is a basis of fact and reality that the technology and history is founded upon, but I can't see this appealing on a story level to that many people.
Again the 'senior staff' are missing, even Archer says a line for Phlox - "'Optimism,' as Phlox would say," but the doc doesn't even appear. I'm all for exploring individual characters, and this is definitely an Archer story, but I didn't feel like I'd learned that much about him. We already knew he hated the Vulcans at this point, and it's more about AG, this character that's been created for the episode. As always, if this had been a name we'd heard before, or someone we'd seen, as Admiral Forrest has been, there would be more of a connection, but we're supposed to get all that from the interaction between Archer and AG, and, I wouldn't say it was forced, but it wasn't particularly engaging. The framing story of Archer and T'Pol going off to look for Dark Matter was a bit ho-hum and although there were interesting aspects to the episode (seeing the launch ramp of the NX-Alpha and -Beta models, a step along from Cochrane's Phoenix; mention of the inevitable NX-02, maybe the first time it's been talked about?), it didn't spark.
I believe this was the 50th episode and was deliberately meant as a tribute to the space program and the connection between it and the series, and while Levar Burton, returning as director, didn't mess it up, it didn't quite become that work of feeling and momentous occasion it should have been due to the time and progress of the warp program not being clearly enough spelled out for me and not much heart to the story and characters. We should have felt Archer's grief over his Father not being there to supervise, the intense joy of getting to warp 2.5, and the sense of relief that the human warp program would continue. But the episode didn't deliver on those things and remains merely interesting from a coldly logical point of view, just like the Vulcans who watched over it.
**
The Fifth Man
DVD, Stargate SG-1 S5 (The Fifth Man)
An action-packed opening leads to a mystery about a fifth member of the SG-1 team, called Lieutenant Tyler, and Carter, Daniel and Teal'c are locked up for being delusional as no one else has heard about this extra team member. There's also the discovery by Sam that someone's been hacking into the base computer system and reading reports and such, and what do you know, Colonel Frank Simmons pops up again to take them all to task. The recipe for a strong episode, but the promising opening soon falls into a lacklustre resolution. I guessed right away that the 'hacker' would be Simmons since he's already been shown as less than sympathetic to the SGC, but I was surprised this was confirmed before the end of the episode as I imagined it would be a running plot. Now it seems the running plot is that Simmons is working for someone that wants a regime change for political reasons and the only person that would fit that bill would be Senator Kinsey. The veiled threat that Hammond should know when to leave gracefully would eventually be borne out, I know, but I hope it isn't this season he leaves, and I don't think it is.
The mystery soon dissipates when quite early the team question their own judgement, and then Dr. Fraiser finds evidence of a pollen that passes on false memories and also begins to remember Tyler. Then we get the visual clue that Tyler got his name from a wrapper of food or something and we can easily guess he's an alien. But there's very little going on in the scenes between him and Jack, trapped on the planet, except that humans are good guys that will go back for their people and not leave them behind. Once trust has been earned he reveals himself as a Gollum-like creature, which was some nice CGI, and I reiterate this season looks beautifully and crisply shot, but it was all a bit same old, same old. It wasn't the best idea to follow a story about an alien pretending to be human to find out more about them, with one about an alien pretending to be human so he could find out if he could trust them! With Simmons also playing a role in both episodes there's a distinct sense of déjà vu, regardless that much of this occurs on a planet.
The other side of the story is Simmons' questioning of the SG-1 team and citing examples of Teal'c changing sides, Daniel being emotionally compromised (a reference to Sha're wouldn't have gone amiss here), and Carter being a suspicious character. No one was going to buy that these heroes are really compromised and there's no feeling of a real threat from Simmons - he may look and sound a bit like Agent Smith interrogating Neo in 'The Matrix,' but it doesn't go anywhere and it was a missed opportunity to cite continuity in a way that showed the team in a bad light. He did that, but halfheartedly with a few references here and there. Everyone responded predictably (Daniel looked bemused and irritated, especially at the mention of Dr. Sarah Gardner who ended up as a Goa'uld last season, Teal'c says he'd kill Simmons if he were a Goa'uld agent, and Carter looks daggers before turning the tables on him), but Hammond waved him on before long. He may well be a source of worry for the future, but it wasn't too evident in this episode. It also ends with a bit of a firefight with Goa'uld warriors, but again, they act halfheartedly and it's too similar to the previous episode where the alien sacrificed itself to save Carter. In this one the team save it and it ends optimistically that they might have another ally, but there's little concrete story going on. Almost like we've been touched by the pollen and remember an episode that was better, then wake up and realise it wasn't quite there after all.
**
An action-packed opening leads to a mystery about a fifth member of the SG-1 team, called Lieutenant Tyler, and Carter, Daniel and Teal'c are locked up for being delusional as no one else has heard about this extra team member. There's also the discovery by Sam that someone's been hacking into the base computer system and reading reports and such, and what do you know, Colonel Frank Simmons pops up again to take them all to task. The recipe for a strong episode, but the promising opening soon falls into a lacklustre resolution. I guessed right away that the 'hacker' would be Simmons since he's already been shown as less than sympathetic to the SGC, but I was surprised this was confirmed before the end of the episode as I imagined it would be a running plot. Now it seems the running plot is that Simmons is working for someone that wants a regime change for political reasons and the only person that would fit that bill would be Senator Kinsey. The veiled threat that Hammond should know when to leave gracefully would eventually be borne out, I know, but I hope it isn't this season he leaves, and I don't think it is.
The mystery soon dissipates when quite early the team question their own judgement, and then Dr. Fraiser finds evidence of a pollen that passes on false memories and also begins to remember Tyler. Then we get the visual clue that Tyler got his name from a wrapper of food or something and we can easily guess he's an alien. But there's very little going on in the scenes between him and Jack, trapped on the planet, except that humans are good guys that will go back for their people and not leave them behind. Once trust has been earned he reveals himself as a Gollum-like creature, which was some nice CGI, and I reiterate this season looks beautifully and crisply shot, but it was all a bit same old, same old. It wasn't the best idea to follow a story about an alien pretending to be human to find out more about them, with one about an alien pretending to be human so he could find out if he could trust them! With Simmons also playing a role in both episodes there's a distinct sense of déjà vu, regardless that much of this occurs on a planet.
The other side of the story is Simmons' questioning of the SG-1 team and citing examples of Teal'c changing sides, Daniel being emotionally compromised (a reference to Sha're wouldn't have gone amiss here), and Carter being a suspicious character. No one was going to buy that these heroes are really compromised and there's no feeling of a real threat from Simmons - he may look and sound a bit like Agent Smith interrogating Neo in 'The Matrix,' but it doesn't go anywhere and it was a missed opportunity to cite continuity in a way that showed the team in a bad light. He did that, but halfheartedly with a few references here and there. Everyone responded predictably (Daniel looked bemused and irritated, especially at the mention of Dr. Sarah Gardner who ended up as a Goa'uld last season, Teal'c says he'd kill Simmons if he were a Goa'uld agent, and Carter looks daggers before turning the tables on him), but Hammond waved him on before long. He may well be a source of worry for the future, but it wasn't too evident in this episode. It also ends with a bit of a firefight with Goa'uld warriors, but again, they act halfheartedly and it's too similar to the previous episode where the alien sacrificed itself to save Carter. In this one the team save it and it ends optimistically that they might have another ally, but there's little concrete story going on. Almost like we've been touched by the pollen and remember an episode that was better, then wake up and realise it wasn't quite there after all.
**
Ascension
DVD, Stargate SG-1 S5 (Ascension)
I thought this might be the one where Daniel Jackson leaves the series because of the episode title, although I wasn't ready for it to happen so early in the season and was glad to discover it wasn't about that at all. It was actually a pleasant Carter episode that's very quiet, but has some little moments of note and a return to stories set on the base or in their homes, one of those strands the series sometimes uses, while also doing the alien planet thing. They really love their alien pillars on this series and the weapon that was so central to the story looked suspiciously similar to other alien devices we've seen before, such as the one where which mesmerised them with light which made them stand around inside the dome for hours not realising how much time had passed. It may not have been seen before, but on a television budget it's often necessary for props and sets to be reused in that way.
The story isn't very exciting and it's not particularly clever, but at least it gives us some time with Sam, seeing into her civilian life a little as they've done with some of the other main characters. Not that we learn much about her, it's purely a visual tour of her house, and I was expecting O'Neill to come up with his offer of a fishing trip again when she admitted she had nothing to do, so that didn't quite ring true, especially as Jack had been sent on leave too. There was something else that didn't make a lot of sense, and that was the disbelief of Sam's colleagues. It's not until the Pentagon gets involved and bugs her house that anyone believes her story of an alien that followed her through the Stargate. How many times has this kind of thing happened, that one person experiences something which the others don't, but for the benefit of creating some tension or making the character solve their problem alone, the others simply don't believe it? It doesn't make any sense. I understand that Jack was headed to the loo, but it was still a bit hard to accept that he'd act that way. I did buy Dr. Fraiser's explanation of why Sam blacked out, because she references several events that Sam's brain has been through and I agree, it would take a toll. Maybe they should have played with that a bit more, but I suppose mental health wasn't the kind of issue covered by this series generally.
As much as I was intrigued by the scenes with Orlan (and I felt the initial strangeness of the alien swooping about as a disembodied POV was well done and created a bit of atmosphere), I didn't really see where it could go, so when he eventually died and then sacrificed himself to save Sam it wasn't as affecting as it could have been. It felt very much like a one-shot alien of the week that needed to be dealt with. Sam was never going to live with this alien guy hanging around her house even if he did turn himself human, although perhaps they should have tried something like that for a few episodes. It would have been much more sensible for him to ask her first before committing to human form. There are some magical moments with a sensitively performed score as he tells her about himself, and there's a touch of humour at other times in the way he talks or stands (or the way Carter walks round her house eyeing up the security cameras that are watching her), but there was no future in him being there.
He was likeable enough and I appreciated that he was of the same race as the Mother Nature creature (I can't remember her name!), which gives us a little more detail on them, and it was very cool to have a mini Stargate in your basement - mind you she's got such a huge basement it would be pretty cool to just have the basement! But how did he make the 'gate? How did he make the emerald? Through alien 'magic' we're supposed to assume, I suppose. It's a bit farfetched and they try and get away with it by having him say it will only work once, but even so, if the Pentagon had the list of ingredients as they did they might be able to recreate one of their own. They also get around explaining it too much by saying he 'mostly' used Earth materials so there must have been a vital component that only he had access too.
The big thing of the episode is Q's first appearance, or Pentagon Man, whatever his name was: John De Lancie, joining the roster of former Trek actors to show up and cementing the idea that 'old Trek actors never die, they just appear on 'Stargate.'' He seems to be set up as the next Mayborn, a troublemaker who puts his department's desires above any SGC qualms. I remembered him being in the series (mainly for his last appearance), but I didn't recall much of this episode. I think the only bit that jumped out at me was when Jack and Teal'c show up at Carter's place with pizza and a video of 'Star Wars' - yes, we were still using videos in those days, can you believe it? It wasn't until about 2002 that videos began to be phased out and DVDs began to come down from their lofty £19.99 price tag. It's great fun to imagine Teal'c watching 'Star Wars' (nine times!), and is a really crazy universe thing where they're in a sci-fi series talking about how Jack doesn't like sci-fi!
As much fun as it is, and as crisp and beautifully as it's shot, it didn't quite do it for me. They were going for a bit of romance I suppose, which didn't really work, and at the same time the story of an alien popping up on Earth to experience humanity for a bit is hardly the most inventive idea. It didn't go anywhere different and so even though it's a comfortable episode to watch, it doesn't go beyond that to get somewhere interesting or exciting, unlike the Teal'c episode that preceded this.
**
I thought this might be the one where Daniel Jackson leaves the series because of the episode title, although I wasn't ready for it to happen so early in the season and was glad to discover it wasn't about that at all. It was actually a pleasant Carter episode that's very quiet, but has some little moments of note and a return to stories set on the base or in their homes, one of those strands the series sometimes uses, while also doing the alien planet thing. They really love their alien pillars on this series and the weapon that was so central to the story looked suspiciously similar to other alien devices we've seen before, such as the one where which mesmerised them with light which made them stand around inside the dome for hours not realising how much time had passed. It may not have been seen before, but on a television budget it's often necessary for props and sets to be reused in that way.
The story isn't very exciting and it's not particularly clever, but at least it gives us some time with Sam, seeing into her civilian life a little as they've done with some of the other main characters. Not that we learn much about her, it's purely a visual tour of her house, and I was expecting O'Neill to come up with his offer of a fishing trip again when she admitted she had nothing to do, so that didn't quite ring true, especially as Jack had been sent on leave too. There was something else that didn't make a lot of sense, and that was the disbelief of Sam's colleagues. It's not until the Pentagon gets involved and bugs her house that anyone believes her story of an alien that followed her through the Stargate. How many times has this kind of thing happened, that one person experiences something which the others don't, but for the benefit of creating some tension or making the character solve their problem alone, the others simply don't believe it? It doesn't make any sense. I understand that Jack was headed to the loo, but it was still a bit hard to accept that he'd act that way. I did buy Dr. Fraiser's explanation of why Sam blacked out, because she references several events that Sam's brain has been through and I agree, it would take a toll. Maybe they should have played with that a bit more, but I suppose mental health wasn't the kind of issue covered by this series generally.
As much as I was intrigued by the scenes with Orlan (and I felt the initial strangeness of the alien swooping about as a disembodied POV was well done and created a bit of atmosphere), I didn't really see where it could go, so when he eventually died and then sacrificed himself to save Sam it wasn't as affecting as it could have been. It felt very much like a one-shot alien of the week that needed to be dealt with. Sam was never going to live with this alien guy hanging around her house even if he did turn himself human, although perhaps they should have tried something like that for a few episodes. It would have been much more sensible for him to ask her first before committing to human form. There are some magical moments with a sensitively performed score as he tells her about himself, and there's a touch of humour at other times in the way he talks or stands (or the way Carter walks round her house eyeing up the security cameras that are watching her), but there was no future in him being there.
He was likeable enough and I appreciated that he was of the same race as the Mother Nature creature (I can't remember her name!), which gives us a little more detail on them, and it was very cool to have a mini Stargate in your basement - mind you she's got such a huge basement it would be pretty cool to just have the basement! But how did he make the 'gate? How did he make the emerald? Through alien 'magic' we're supposed to assume, I suppose. It's a bit farfetched and they try and get away with it by having him say it will only work once, but even so, if the Pentagon had the list of ingredients as they did they might be able to recreate one of their own. They also get around explaining it too much by saying he 'mostly' used Earth materials so there must have been a vital component that only he had access too.
The big thing of the episode is Q's first appearance, or Pentagon Man, whatever his name was: John De Lancie, joining the roster of former Trek actors to show up and cementing the idea that 'old Trek actors never die, they just appear on 'Stargate.'' He seems to be set up as the next Mayborn, a troublemaker who puts his department's desires above any SGC qualms. I remembered him being in the series (mainly for his last appearance), but I didn't recall much of this episode. I think the only bit that jumped out at me was when Jack and Teal'c show up at Carter's place with pizza and a video of 'Star Wars' - yes, we were still using videos in those days, can you believe it? It wasn't until about 2002 that videos began to be phased out and DVDs began to come down from their lofty £19.99 price tag. It's great fun to imagine Teal'c watching 'Star Wars' (nine times!), and is a really crazy universe thing where they're in a sci-fi series talking about how Jack doesn't like sci-fi!
As much fun as it is, and as crisp and beautifully as it's shot, it didn't quite do it for me. They were going for a bit of romance I suppose, which didn't really work, and at the same time the story of an alien popping up on Earth to experience humanity for a bit is hardly the most inventive idea. It didn't go anywhere different and so even though it's a comfortable episode to watch, it doesn't go beyond that to get somewhere interesting or exciting, unlike the Teal'c episode that preceded this.
**
Regeneration
DVD, Enterprise S2 (Regeneration)
Doing the Borg is as essential a component of any Trek series as the Klingons, Vulcans and Romulans, but I doubt many people thought 'Enterprise' would bother. For a start the fearsome cybernetic race never appeared in Kirk's time, and for good reason - they hadn't been invented then. It's possible to forget they were an early creation of 'TNG' thanks to their ubiquity in subsequent Trek lore. Another thing against the likelihood was the series tended to be more concerned with creating its own races such as the Suliban or any minor aliens of the week and they'd only dipped into the vast well of Trek potential that, for a prequel series might be surprising. Still, they'd shown they were serious about dealing with familiar races when they wanted to, with the Klingons and Vulcans getting plenty of attention and even the hard-to-justify Romulans making an entrance this season so perhaps the Borg weren't as farfetched a topic to be explored as on first appearances.
Many people, myself included, felt the Borg were defanged through their multiple defeats at the hands of Voyager and the redoubtable Captain Janeway, but unlike some I always wanted them to return, if only a way could be made to return them to their rightful place as an unstoppable force. It seemed we'd never see the Borg again after their ignominious exit at the end of 'Voyager,' but falling ratings influenced 'Enterprise' to bring them out of the bag almost in a last resort kind of way. That could have been a recipe for disaster as claims were thrown around that they'd run out of ideas and were wheeling out the Borg as they did with 'Voyager' to stir up some interest. That was true, but regardless of what side people took, it certainly stirred up interest, and for someone like me who was already avidly following the series, I became very excited at the prospect of Archer and his crew facing arguably the deadliest enemy of all Trek.
Anyone that felt it was wrong to use the Borg is missing the point. It doesn't matter what elements you choose as long as you do it well - another case for 'Star Trek XI.' As much as I hated some of what they did in that it was still an enjoyable experience and kind of legitimised itself because of that. 'Regeneration' did the same thing, creating the tense mood that was often lacking from the series, particularly in Season 2. It works on every level, whether that be to please lovers of continuity, those who just want an exciting 'Enterprise' story, or those that love the Borg.
It begins with the title. By choosing one that spoke of the Borg, but was also a deft nod to the original title of the film 'Star Trek: First Contact,' the film which is the single biggest influence on the series, they showed they were taking what they were doing seriously. They weren't just going to chuck the Borg in flippantly, they meant business. And what business! This is my favourite episode of the season, it's a standout and one of the few 'Enterprise' episodes I can truly call a classic. I love the teaser in the Arctic Circle, and that it's quite a few minutes into the episode before we even see the NX-01 and the main characters, it's all played out by research scientists that don't know what they've discovered. The audience is shouting "watch out behind you" and it has that tension of a horror film where you know something is going to happen, it's the inevitability of it. And the way these Borg build up their forces from a single reactivated drone, to the scientists, to a ship of innocent Tarkaleans and then on with a threat to the Enterprise, shows expertly that these are the Borg as they once were: an implacable foe that cannot be stopped.
The defanging happened as early as 'TNG' when they introduced Hugh and the idea Borg could be rescued and returned to individuality. And later when Lore had his group of Borg. It wasn't until 'Voyager' first brought them back in Season 3 that we saw them as a deadly threat again and then they became over-used. In this, the 24th Century Borg were facing 22nd Century minds and weapons, and rather than saying this is ridiculous and questioning how Archer and his inferior ship could beat something that 24th Century technology barely coped with, it justifies their success: they use different methods, they don't rely on the age-old rotating phaser frequencies, they're using inferior weapons that the Borg have to learn to adapt to again, or hand to hand combat when Archer and Reed go two against one in a fight with a drone. Obviously this wouldn't have worked if there had been more than one, but it shows they were doing different things to what the Borg were used to from humanity. It also helped that there was a severe shortage of Borg - this wasn't a cube with thousands aboard, the most they had were twenty-nine, I think.
Captain Archer seemed to instinctively realise that he couldn't deal with these beings the same as others, which is why he reluctantly blows the hatch to get rid of the Tarkalean two as they try to sabotage the ship from inside. Even then he hopes to rescue the humans and Tarkaleans still aboard the enemy vessel, but his adventure with Reed soon changes his mind. The people are gone, and the paranoia about the point at which they are no longer human is well played out through Dr. Phlox who gets infected by nano-probes. There's time for a nice little scene when Hoshi visits him to try and cheer his spirits that reminds us of their friendship, but most of the episode is a steady heartbeat that increases the closer danger comes. There's a unique situation in that the Borg are attempting to return home and possibly resume their mission from 'First Contact' by alerting the Borg of the 22nd Century about Earth, retreating rather than attacking. It may seem odd that they don't simply try to assimilate Earth instead of heading home, but you have to remember that they've just lost their Queen from their perspective and aren't connected to the hive mind so it's likely their programming reverts to returning home or to get back in touch with the others.
It makes for a thrilling series of meetings that the Borg generally get the upper hand in and really shows how terrifying they can be. They are assisted in this by some excellent direction from David Livingston and the music which is more pacy and menacing than usual. According to the commentary by the episode writers it was scored by Brian Tyler who apparently didn't do many score that season. If this was anything to go by I'd get him in every other week! The shots where the camera rolls down a corridor at approaching Borg suggests their nature is intent on one purpose, they cannot be halted. The claustrophobic nature of many of the shots when they're tracking the Tarkaleans also heightens the feeling of danger, especially in the Jefferies tubes (are they called that yet, I'm not sure?), although it's a bit easier to run away when you only have to bend double instead of crawling on hands and knees! There's noticeably less gore than their other recent appearances - in 'Voyager' I always think of heads on spikes which the Queen has in chamber. I don't know if they meant to scale back, but it could be to do with suggestion being more powerful than seeing something. During the episode I thought it might have been better if one or two Enterprise crewmen were assimilated horribly before our eyes, but looking back I realise having Phlox be the only 'infected' person worked perfectly (adding danger hovering in sickbay that he could succumb at any moment), and gave him the chance to reveal the chilling fact that the cybernetic creatures were able to get off a message of the coordinates of Earth. It will take about two hundred years to get there, the 24th Century…
Did Q know about this? Is that why he threw the Enterprise-D into the path of the Borg? Not only to teach them a lesson, but to warn them of the inevitable? It's absolutely superb the way they tidy up a lot of continuity with this story and exactly the kind of thing the series should have done much more of. To recap: there were records or rumours about the Borg even before Picard and his crew first met them leading Annika Hansen (Seven of Nine)'s parents to go off and research them. Now we know what information they might have been inspired by. But even Archer has some heads up about the race thanks to a speech given by Zefram Cochrane telling about the real events of first contact with the Vulcans, though as T'Pol neatly points out, he was frequently accused of telling tall tales and being a drinker so why should people take what he said seriously?
Amid the adventure, excitement and danger there's still a little room for references to other things. Phlox mentions meeting the Bynars who have similar cybernetic implants, a clever, but true observation that I don't believe had ever been pointed out onscreen until this point. It's also the first time we ever see the Tarkaleans, famous for their Tarkalean tea on 'DS9,' a regular beverage on the series. They aren't incredibly memorable, but they're better than the Idanians of that series, another race that had been known for their food or drink and popped up in an episode. I like that they did that, as it adds to the universe instead of simply making up another alien of the week and is another example of the care they took.
I think the episode stands out as working so well because it uses every cast member. Although Travis is still underused he does share a look with Hoshi and everyone else has essential parts to play. Actually he does too as he's flying the ship, but that tends to get taken for granted. The CG is generally very good with the arctic base looking nice, a strong contrast to space with its snowy whiteness, although if you look too closely the tiny people running towards the hut don't move naturally, though this is a small nitpick, as is the unreality of the snow - it really behaves more like cotton wool, but you can't have everything! The explosion of the Borg ship at the end also doesn't look quite solid enough, but it's fine and certainly isn't enough to detract from such a great episode.
There is added interest in the casting as we get the return of Admiral Forrest, Commander William returns from the pilot (who I think was originally named as a tribute for William Shatner), and John Billingsley's wife, Bonita Friedericy is one of the scientists, though sadly she doesn't share any scenes with Phlox! And finally, the Borg do pretty much everything we want them to, even down to saying their catchphrase 'properly' again. If you're wondering what I mean listen to the way the Borg said "Resistance is futile" in their later appearances. It becomes "Resistance is few-tal" which doesn't have the same menace as "Resistance is few-tyal," so I'm glad they brought that back! It was probably because Patrick Stewart got the ball rolling in his English accent, and maybe they didn't mind a more American style later on. The point is that not only does this do the little things correctly, it does the big things too and everything went so right. For the naysayers out there the antidote is to watch the episode and bask in its Borg blockbusting. The best episode in a long time.
****
Doing the Borg is as essential a component of any Trek series as the Klingons, Vulcans and Romulans, but I doubt many people thought 'Enterprise' would bother. For a start the fearsome cybernetic race never appeared in Kirk's time, and for good reason - they hadn't been invented then. It's possible to forget they were an early creation of 'TNG' thanks to their ubiquity in subsequent Trek lore. Another thing against the likelihood was the series tended to be more concerned with creating its own races such as the Suliban or any minor aliens of the week and they'd only dipped into the vast well of Trek potential that, for a prequel series might be surprising. Still, they'd shown they were serious about dealing with familiar races when they wanted to, with the Klingons and Vulcans getting plenty of attention and even the hard-to-justify Romulans making an entrance this season so perhaps the Borg weren't as farfetched a topic to be explored as on first appearances.
Many people, myself included, felt the Borg were defanged through their multiple defeats at the hands of Voyager and the redoubtable Captain Janeway, but unlike some I always wanted them to return, if only a way could be made to return them to their rightful place as an unstoppable force. It seemed we'd never see the Borg again after their ignominious exit at the end of 'Voyager,' but falling ratings influenced 'Enterprise' to bring them out of the bag almost in a last resort kind of way. That could have been a recipe for disaster as claims were thrown around that they'd run out of ideas and were wheeling out the Borg as they did with 'Voyager' to stir up some interest. That was true, but regardless of what side people took, it certainly stirred up interest, and for someone like me who was already avidly following the series, I became very excited at the prospect of Archer and his crew facing arguably the deadliest enemy of all Trek.
Anyone that felt it was wrong to use the Borg is missing the point. It doesn't matter what elements you choose as long as you do it well - another case for 'Star Trek XI.' As much as I hated some of what they did in that it was still an enjoyable experience and kind of legitimised itself because of that. 'Regeneration' did the same thing, creating the tense mood that was often lacking from the series, particularly in Season 2. It works on every level, whether that be to please lovers of continuity, those who just want an exciting 'Enterprise' story, or those that love the Borg.
It begins with the title. By choosing one that spoke of the Borg, but was also a deft nod to the original title of the film 'Star Trek: First Contact,' the film which is the single biggest influence on the series, they showed they were taking what they were doing seriously. They weren't just going to chuck the Borg in flippantly, they meant business. And what business! This is my favourite episode of the season, it's a standout and one of the few 'Enterprise' episodes I can truly call a classic. I love the teaser in the Arctic Circle, and that it's quite a few minutes into the episode before we even see the NX-01 and the main characters, it's all played out by research scientists that don't know what they've discovered. The audience is shouting "watch out behind you" and it has that tension of a horror film where you know something is going to happen, it's the inevitability of it. And the way these Borg build up their forces from a single reactivated drone, to the scientists, to a ship of innocent Tarkaleans and then on with a threat to the Enterprise, shows expertly that these are the Borg as they once were: an implacable foe that cannot be stopped.
The defanging happened as early as 'TNG' when they introduced Hugh and the idea Borg could be rescued and returned to individuality. And later when Lore had his group of Borg. It wasn't until 'Voyager' first brought them back in Season 3 that we saw them as a deadly threat again and then they became over-used. In this, the 24th Century Borg were facing 22nd Century minds and weapons, and rather than saying this is ridiculous and questioning how Archer and his inferior ship could beat something that 24th Century technology barely coped with, it justifies their success: they use different methods, they don't rely on the age-old rotating phaser frequencies, they're using inferior weapons that the Borg have to learn to adapt to again, or hand to hand combat when Archer and Reed go two against one in a fight with a drone. Obviously this wouldn't have worked if there had been more than one, but it shows they were doing different things to what the Borg were used to from humanity. It also helped that there was a severe shortage of Borg - this wasn't a cube with thousands aboard, the most they had were twenty-nine, I think.
Captain Archer seemed to instinctively realise that he couldn't deal with these beings the same as others, which is why he reluctantly blows the hatch to get rid of the Tarkalean two as they try to sabotage the ship from inside. Even then he hopes to rescue the humans and Tarkaleans still aboard the enemy vessel, but his adventure with Reed soon changes his mind. The people are gone, and the paranoia about the point at which they are no longer human is well played out through Dr. Phlox who gets infected by nano-probes. There's time for a nice little scene when Hoshi visits him to try and cheer his spirits that reminds us of their friendship, but most of the episode is a steady heartbeat that increases the closer danger comes. There's a unique situation in that the Borg are attempting to return home and possibly resume their mission from 'First Contact' by alerting the Borg of the 22nd Century about Earth, retreating rather than attacking. It may seem odd that they don't simply try to assimilate Earth instead of heading home, but you have to remember that they've just lost their Queen from their perspective and aren't connected to the hive mind so it's likely their programming reverts to returning home or to get back in touch with the others.
It makes for a thrilling series of meetings that the Borg generally get the upper hand in and really shows how terrifying they can be. They are assisted in this by some excellent direction from David Livingston and the music which is more pacy and menacing than usual. According to the commentary by the episode writers it was scored by Brian Tyler who apparently didn't do many score that season. If this was anything to go by I'd get him in every other week! The shots where the camera rolls down a corridor at approaching Borg suggests their nature is intent on one purpose, they cannot be halted. The claustrophobic nature of many of the shots when they're tracking the Tarkaleans also heightens the feeling of danger, especially in the Jefferies tubes (are they called that yet, I'm not sure?), although it's a bit easier to run away when you only have to bend double instead of crawling on hands and knees! There's noticeably less gore than their other recent appearances - in 'Voyager' I always think of heads on spikes which the Queen has in chamber. I don't know if they meant to scale back, but it could be to do with suggestion being more powerful than seeing something. During the episode I thought it might have been better if one or two Enterprise crewmen were assimilated horribly before our eyes, but looking back I realise having Phlox be the only 'infected' person worked perfectly (adding danger hovering in sickbay that he could succumb at any moment), and gave him the chance to reveal the chilling fact that the cybernetic creatures were able to get off a message of the coordinates of Earth. It will take about two hundred years to get there, the 24th Century…
Did Q know about this? Is that why he threw the Enterprise-D into the path of the Borg? Not only to teach them a lesson, but to warn them of the inevitable? It's absolutely superb the way they tidy up a lot of continuity with this story and exactly the kind of thing the series should have done much more of. To recap: there were records or rumours about the Borg even before Picard and his crew first met them leading Annika Hansen (Seven of Nine)'s parents to go off and research them. Now we know what information they might have been inspired by. But even Archer has some heads up about the race thanks to a speech given by Zefram Cochrane telling about the real events of first contact with the Vulcans, though as T'Pol neatly points out, he was frequently accused of telling tall tales and being a drinker so why should people take what he said seriously?
Amid the adventure, excitement and danger there's still a little room for references to other things. Phlox mentions meeting the Bynars who have similar cybernetic implants, a clever, but true observation that I don't believe had ever been pointed out onscreen until this point. It's also the first time we ever see the Tarkaleans, famous for their Tarkalean tea on 'DS9,' a regular beverage on the series. They aren't incredibly memorable, but they're better than the Idanians of that series, another race that had been known for their food or drink and popped up in an episode. I like that they did that, as it adds to the universe instead of simply making up another alien of the week and is another example of the care they took.
I think the episode stands out as working so well because it uses every cast member. Although Travis is still underused he does share a look with Hoshi and everyone else has essential parts to play. Actually he does too as he's flying the ship, but that tends to get taken for granted. The CG is generally very good with the arctic base looking nice, a strong contrast to space with its snowy whiteness, although if you look too closely the tiny people running towards the hut don't move naturally, though this is a small nitpick, as is the unreality of the snow - it really behaves more like cotton wool, but you can't have everything! The explosion of the Borg ship at the end also doesn't look quite solid enough, but it's fine and certainly isn't enough to detract from such a great episode.
There is added interest in the casting as we get the return of Admiral Forrest, Commander William returns from the pilot (who I think was originally named as a tribute for William Shatner), and John Billingsley's wife, Bonita Friedericy is one of the scientists, though sadly she doesn't share any scenes with Phlox! And finally, the Borg do pretty much everything we want them to, even down to saying their catchphrase 'properly' again. If you're wondering what I mean listen to the way the Borg said "Resistance is futile" in their later appearances. It becomes "Resistance is few-tal" which doesn't have the same menace as "Resistance is few-tyal," so I'm glad they brought that back! It was probably because Patrick Stewart got the ball rolling in his English accent, and maybe they didn't mind a more American style later on. The point is that not only does this do the little things correctly, it does the big things too and everything went so right. For the naysayers out there the antidote is to watch the episode and bask in its Borg blockbusting. The best episode in a long time.
****
Threshold
DVD, Stargate SG-1 S5 (Threshold)
This is just the kind of thing I was hoping for! All that was wrong or weak with the season opener is put right with this battle for the heart and mind of Teal'c. It's a credit to Christopher Judge that his performance in the teaser, a Teal'c still under the dominion of Apophis, but pretending to renounce him, is both sinister, yet only a little off of his usual character. I didn't trust him for more than a couple of seconds, but I must admit that for a moment I really believed they were going to sweep this under the carpet as a mental aberration. Then I thought maybe they were going to play it out over the course of the episode, or several episodes, with Teal'c really being what he had professed to be: a double agent. Perhaps he'd compromise a mission or something like that, but no it was resolved in the course of the episode as I had feared at the end of the preceding story, but in a good way and one worthy of an entire episode.
This could have been a disaster. When I realised it was going to be the SG-1 team sitting by their afflicted friend's bedside and trying to convince him to remember his time with them I thought they might go down the clips show route. It didn't make much sense this early in the season, but maybe they were going to save money and work out the problem in one go. I'm so glad it went a completely different way, though technically it is the episode with the most clips of previous episodes ever: a montage of Teal'c's roles that flash past in seconds near the end - I like the way they even included the hippie Teal'c from '1969'! No, this became an opportunity for some glorious retconning and a clever segue into the first episode, which always impresses me. It's something that pretty much all sci-fi series' do in some way, going back to the start, and it's always a pleasure. I suppose it's the sign of a middle-aged series, maybe even one coming to an end, though that wasn't true by a long chalk in this case.
You can almost guarantee that when Master Bre'tak shows up you're in for a good one, and this was no exception to the rule. Tony Amendola steals the scenes and I don't think we've ever seen him at the base so much (if at all, I forget), so his medieval presence, sweeping fur robes and etched armour amid our present day technology makes him stand out far more than his advanced age (137!), and Shakespearean way of talking. Only he knows for sure that Teal'c is fooling them over his true beliefs, and only he knows of a way to wrestle his former apprentice back to the truth. That's what the episode is about, it has a strong core about the fight between choosing good and evil, a choice that we all must make. It's also about the conflict certain characters find themselves in, most notably Dr. Fraiser who must stand by and allow Teal'c to suffer even to the point of death, totally against her ethical and medical code.
Even with such a serious subject the double-act of Jack and Daniel make for some funny moments: "Did he just call me a woman?" "Yes, I believe he did." But it's in the way the flashbacks or memories are segued into that really impresses, as Teal'c's mind returns to his past and the evidence that slowly changed his mind from worshipping Apophis to realising he was a false god. From his struggles with Apophis (we can seemingly never escape the guy - he supposedly died last episode and right away he's back!), right from the start when he first meets him, standing by his assertion that his Father was not at fault when he was killed, to the internal conflict over his treatment of his friend Velar, saving his life and then eventually killing him to prevent his guilt from becoming known - Apophis proves he isn't a god by not being all-knowing as Teal'c spares Velar's life after failing a battle against Ra's forces (oh, all this backstory and referencing past continuity is great!), and yet isn't punished. Even so, his own fear gets the better of him, and helped by his wife's dedication to the status quo and the approaching birth of his son, he continues to rise up the ranks.
Not only is the story well written and a fascinating insight into Teal'c, but it also answers questions about why he finally turned to the SG-1 team and what led to that decision. I don't think we knew that Bre'tak had been the First Prime of Apophis before Teal'c, but even if we did, we see it for the first time. The explanation of how two such intelligent and defiant spirits as he and his pupil could continue believing in Apophis is perfectly thought out - they didn't really believe any more, but accepted his control as the only way to have the best life for themselves and to save their fellow Jafar where possible. It's also beautifully shot, whether in the dark barracks of the soldiers, the dark bedchamber of Teal'c and his wife, or the snowy hilltops, the production value is practically filmic! All the characters have some nice little moments, but this is Teal'c story, literally, and I bet people were thrilled that the series had lasted long enough that they could do stories like this. The ending is moving, if inevitable, but if the season can produce more like this it could be the best season so far.
***
This is just the kind of thing I was hoping for! All that was wrong or weak with the season opener is put right with this battle for the heart and mind of Teal'c. It's a credit to Christopher Judge that his performance in the teaser, a Teal'c still under the dominion of Apophis, but pretending to renounce him, is both sinister, yet only a little off of his usual character. I didn't trust him for more than a couple of seconds, but I must admit that for a moment I really believed they were going to sweep this under the carpet as a mental aberration. Then I thought maybe they were going to play it out over the course of the episode, or several episodes, with Teal'c really being what he had professed to be: a double agent. Perhaps he'd compromise a mission or something like that, but no it was resolved in the course of the episode as I had feared at the end of the preceding story, but in a good way and one worthy of an entire episode.
This could have been a disaster. When I realised it was going to be the SG-1 team sitting by their afflicted friend's bedside and trying to convince him to remember his time with them I thought they might go down the clips show route. It didn't make much sense this early in the season, but maybe they were going to save money and work out the problem in one go. I'm so glad it went a completely different way, though technically it is the episode with the most clips of previous episodes ever: a montage of Teal'c's roles that flash past in seconds near the end - I like the way they even included the hippie Teal'c from '1969'! No, this became an opportunity for some glorious retconning and a clever segue into the first episode, which always impresses me. It's something that pretty much all sci-fi series' do in some way, going back to the start, and it's always a pleasure. I suppose it's the sign of a middle-aged series, maybe even one coming to an end, though that wasn't true by a long chalk in this case.
You can almost guarantee that when Master Bre'tak shows up you're in for a good one, and this was no exception to the rule. Tony Amendola steals the scenes and I don't think we've ever seen him at the base so much (if at all, I forget), so his medieval presence, sweeping fur robes and etched armour amid our present day technology makes him stand out far more than his advanced age (137!), and Shakespearean way of talking. Only he knows for sure that Teal'c is fooling them over his true beliefs, and only he knows of a way to wrestle his former apprentice back to the truth. That's what the episode is about, it has a strong core about the fight between choosing good and evil, a choice that we all must make. It's also about the conflict certain characters find themselves in, most notably Dr. Fraiser who must stand by and allow Teal'c to suffer even to the point of death, totally against her ethical and medical code.
Even with such a serious subject the double-act of Jack and Daniel make for some funny moments: "Did he just call me a woman?" "Yes, I believe he did." But it's in the way the flashbacks or memories are segued into that really impresses, as Teal'c's mind returns to his past and the evidence that slowly changed his mind from worshipping Apophis to realising he was a false god. From his struggles with Apophis (we can seemingly never escape the guy - he supposedly died last episode and right away he's back!), right from the start when he first meets him, standing by his assertion that his Father was not at fault when he was killed, to the internal conflict over his treatment of his friend Velar, saving his life and then eventually killing him to prevent his guilt from becoming known - Apophis proves he isn't a god by not being all-knowing as Teal'c spares Velar's life after failing a battle against Ra's forces (oh, all this backstory and referencing past continuity is great!), and yet isn't punished. Even so, his own fear gets the better of him, and helped by his wife's dedication to the status quo and the approaching birth of his son, he continues to rise up the ranks.
Not only is the story well written and a fascinating insight into Teal'c, but it also answers questions about why he finally turned to the SG-1 team and what led to that decision. I don't think we knew that Bre'tak had been the First Prime of Apophis before Teal'c, but even if we did, we see it for the first time. The explanation of how two such intelligent and defiant spirits as he and his pupil could continue believing in Apophis is perfectly thought out - they didn't really believe any more, but accepted his control as the only way to have the best life for themselves and to save their fellow Jafar where possible. It's also beautifully shot, whether in the dark barracks of the soldiers, the dark bedchamber of Teal'c and his wife, or the snowy hilltops, the production value is practically filmic! All the characters have some nice little moments, but this is Teal'c story, literally, and I bet people were thrilled that the series had lasted long enough that they could do stories like this. The ending is moving, if inevitable, but if the season can produce more like this it could be the best season so far.
***
Enemies
DVD, Stargate SG-1 S5 (Enemies)
Personally, I wouldn't have started the season opener so slowly as they do in this season. I was glad of the recap as I'd forgotten exactly how Season 4 ended even though it wasn't that long ago that I watched it. It may have been the logical way for the cliffhanger to be resolved, but I just felt they needed to get on and do something instead of huddling round the ship's control console talking about stuff. I also didn't feel the situation was used to its full potential: they've been knocked into an unknown part of space, another galaxy in fact, and it's going to take them centuries to get home even at maximum speed, yet by the end they've been whisked back to a familiar landmark (Sokar's planet), and the feeling of isolation and completely being at the mercy of the unknown that seemed to be the promise of the episode degenerates into a bug-blasting exercise and one that is rarely surprising.
I was surprised that Teal'c really had been brainwashed into becoming Apophis' First Prime again and waited for him to reveal his double-bluff and apologise for punching Jack on the nose, so I'll give them that one. The CGI Replicators still look like they're actually there which is great. Pretty much everything else was by the numbers sci-fi adventure with very little of the necessary flair as if it was enough that the series was back. Maybe I'm being unfair and they had budgetary issues, but the same ship sets being run around didn't help present the scale they were trying to achieve. It's strange to think this was contemporary with 'Enterprise' as that was so much more exciting in its first year. Maybe it had more money to throw around and it is unfair to compare the first year of one series to the fifth of another, but the distance between the two is immense. I've come to expect an underwhelming beginning or ending to a 'Stargate' season and usually there are more interesting episodes once they've got back into the rhythm of it, so I wasn't really surprised that my engagement by the episode was low.
There were things I enjoyed about it, and although I say it degenerated into bug-blasting, I've got nothing against that part of the story, I just meant it didn't go anywhere. Apophis showing up could have been interesting as he has them at his mercy, and I was intrigued by this mystery ship that comes in and attacks him giving SG-1 the chance to escape. At first it seemed like it might go in an interesting direction - the thought of this little Goa'uld cargo ship alone in a new galaxy trying to survive from week to week, appealed to me. I wouldn't have expected it to last more than a few episodes, but I was hoping they'd have to live off their skills, scavenging and living off the 'land' as it were, of that region, never knowing what aliens might be around the next corner. But it didn't go like that and I suppose I shouldn't have expected anything less than the resolution of the situation by end of episode.
Another moment that began to capture my imagination was when they return to Apophis' ship to see how the battle went and find it eerily empty of life signs. I was looking forward to a series of scenes where they creep around the deserted hulk and uncover the answer to its emptiness, but that too was soon scuppered by the quick reintroduction of everyone's 'favourite' alien race, the Borg. Sorry, the Replicators! I don't hate them, and actually the scenes where the team let rip as they have to escape the buggy hoard are some of the best moments of the episode, with O'Neill dramatically sliding into the Ring Transporter (the visual effects of which look fantastic and are easily overlooked), as he shoots, and later when he, Carter and Daniel have to methodically cover each other as they retreat to Jacob's escape ship. Exciting stuff in an episode which is mainly exposition.
I love the characters, but I didn't feel the sense that they'd really accepted the death of Teal'c from last season, so when he returned they weren't that shocked. It seemed like the banter and the interaction was all running at half speed as if they needed to wind the dynamo a bit more before they really got going. I didn't remember when Apophis was written out of the series so I wouldn't be surprised if this was his last appearance, his personal forcefield smothered by Replicators as his ship burns up on impact. Then again, he's had so many 'last' appearances that he can never be discounted, but they did mention the political situation of the Goa'uld was turmoil and I certainly remember all those episodes where the various factions vie for control so perhaps we're getting to that period this season.
No doubt Teal'c's mind will be the subject of the next episode and it will all be resolved quickly, but wouldn't it be interesting if it was explored and used instead of being a way of bringing him back in to resolve last season's cliffhanger. My biggest problem with the episode is how easily they returned to 'home' space. The deus ex machina of the Replicators somehow being able to modify the engines of Apophis' ship to go hundreds of times faster than it could before was atrocious, real head in hands stuff. If they could make that one ship reach such speeds why aren't they spread all over our galaxy? Why haven't they sped in and devoured all? It was the same problem they had with the Borg on 'Star Trek' - how do you make an unstoppable enemy beatable, especially once you find out they can travel so fast they can zap to anywhere in seconds! If you're going to do the Replicators at least make them a real threat, don't destroy them easily as they did here. What I'm saying is that all similar sci-fi ideas have the same problems, and it's how you deal with these things that sets your series apart from the others. I hope 'Stargate' tries to set itself apart in a good way this season.
**
Personally, I wouldn't have started the season opener so slowly as they do in this season. I was glad of the recap as I'd forgotten exactly how Season 4 ended even though it wasn't that long ago that I watched it. It may have been the logical way for the cliffhanger to be resolved, but I just felt they needed to get on and do something instead of huddling round the ship's control console talking about stuff. I also didn't feel the situation was used to its full potential: they've been knocked into an unknown part of space, another galaxy in fact, and it's going to take them centuries to get home even at maximum speed, yet by the end they've been whisked back to a familiar landmark (Sokar's planet), and the feeling of isolation and completely being at the mercy of the unknown that seemed to be the promise of the episode degenerates into a bug-blasting exercise and one that is rarely surprising.
I was surprised that Teal'c really had been brainwashed into becoming Apophis' First Prime again and waited for him to reveal his double-bluff and apologise for punching Jack on the nose, so I'll give them that one. The CGI Replicators still look like they're actually there which is great. Pretty much everything else was by the numbers sci-fi adventure with very little of the necessary flair as if it was enough that the series was back. Maybe I'm being unfair and they had budgetary issues, but the same ship sets being run around didn't help present the scale they were trying to achieve. It's strange to think this was contemporary with 'Enterprise' as that was so much more exciting in its first year. Maybe it had more money to throw around and it is unfair to compare the first year of one series to the fifth of another, but the distance between the two is immense. I've come to expect an underwhelming beginning or ending to a 'Stargate' season and usually there are more interesting episodes once they've got back into the rhythm of it, so I wasn't really surprised that my engagement by the episode was low.
There were things I enjoyed about it, and although I say it degenerated into bug-blasting, I've got nothing against that part of the story, I just meant it didn't go anywhere. Apophis showing up could have been interesting as he has them at his mercy, and I was intrigued by this mystery ship that comes in and attacks him giving SG-1 the chance to escape. At first it seemed like it might go in an interesting direction - the thought of this little Goa'uld cargo ship alone in a new galaxy trying to survive from week to week, appealed to me. I wouldn't have expected it to last more than a few episodes, but I was hoping they'd have to live off their skills, scavenging and living off the 'land' as it were, of that region, never knowing what aliens might be around the next corner. But it didn't go like that and I suppose I shouldn't have expected anything less than the resolution of the situation by end of episode.
Another moment that began to capture my imagination was when they return to Apophis' ship to see how the battle went and find it eerily empty of life signs. I was looking forward to a series of scenes where they creep around the deserted hulk and uncover the answer to its emptiness, but that too was soon scuppered by the quick reintroduction of everyone's 'favourite' alien race, the Borg. Sorry, the Replicators! I don't hate them, and actually the scenes where the team let rip as they have to escape the buggy hoard are some of the best moments of the episode, with O'Neill dramatically sliding into the Ring Transporter (the visual effects of which look fantastic and are easily overlooked), as he shoots, and later when he, Carter and Daniel have to methodically cover each other as they retreat to Jacob's escape ship. Exciting stuff in an episode which is mainly exposition.
I love the characters, but I didn't feel the sense that they'd really accepted the death of Teal'c from last season, so when he returned they weren't that shocked. It seemed like the banter and the interaction was all running at half speed as if they needed to wind the dynamo a bit more before they really got going. I didn't remember when Apophis was written out of the series so I wouldn't be surprised if this was his last appearance, his personal forcefield smothered by Replicators as his ship burns up on impact. Then again, he's had so many 'last' appearances that he can never be discounted, but they did mention the political situation of the Goa'uld was turmoil and I certainly remember all those episodes where the various factions vie for control so perhaps we're getting to that period this season.
No doubt Teal'c's mind will be the subject of the next episode and it will all be resolved quickly, but wouldn't it be interesting if it was explored and used instead of being a way of bringing him back in to resolve last season's cliffhanger. My biggest problem with the episode is how easily they returned to 'home' space. The deus ex machina of the Replicators somehow being able to modify the engines of Apophis' ship to go hundreds of times faster than it could before was atrocious, real head in hands stuff. If they could make that one ship reach such speeds why aren't they spread all over our galaxy? Why haven't they sped in and devoured all? It was the same problem they had with the Borg on 'Star Trek' - how do you make an unstoppable enemy beatable, especially once you find out they can travel so fast they can zap to anywhere in seconds! If you're going to do the Replicators at least make them a real threat, don't destroy them easily as they did here. What I'm saying is that all similar sci-fi ideas have the same problems, and it's how you deal with these things that sets your series apart from the others. I hope 'Stargate' tries to set itself apart in a good way this season.
**
Cogenitor
DVD, Enterprise S2 (Cogenitor)
It may be that I hadn't seen the series for a while, it may be that I had low expectations of the episode, but for whatever reason it was better than I expected. 'Enterprise' didn't often have consequences or emotional engagement in the story like the other series' did, but this one felt very 'Star Trek' and even had a Captain Janeway-style dressing down from Archer. The other captains would be disappointed in crewmembers and have a stern talk with them, but somehow I always think of Janeway first in that context. The sting in the tail at the end was a real surprise and rammed home the message of the episode. What that message is could be debated. Is it about America interfering in other cultures they don't approve of, ones that don't match their views of freedom and individual rights? Is it about slavery and treating people as though they are in a lower class? Probably so, but at heart it's a Prime Directive story, and one that couldn't have been done so easily on the other series'.
It does bring to mind 'Voyager' story 'Prime Factors' and 'TNG' story 'The Outcast' for similar points, but in this one Trip never shows any doubt that what he's doing is good for 'Charles,' (as she decides to call herself after Trip's real name), until that terrible final moment. I call her a she, but of course she was actually of a third gender which only made up 3% of the Vissian's population, though Captain Archer called her a she for convenience and for want of a better word than 'it' so if it was good enough for him, it's good enough for me. Also she was played by a female due to the shortage of third gender actor's at the time. If there was a third gender actor just waiting for the opportunity to get their first role, or even a Vissian who had travelled to Earth secretly, they would have been very disappointed not to get the role!
The story is the kind of thing that 'Enterprise' didn't deal with nearly enough, preferring simpler, more generic plots (if you go by this season), or ones that had a definite answer. This one isn't clear cut at all - Archer is angry with Trip for not using his common sense and leaving well alone with an alien culture (something he's had problems with before, e.g: 'Unexpected'), but he can't ignore where events have led. His friendship with the Vissian Captain (played by Andreas Katsulas, better known from 'TNG' as the recurring Romulan Tomalak), was quite enjoyable with two similarly-minded people getting along so well, so it had even more meaning when Archer became stiffer towards the end, very formally wishing him well on his journey. He clearly has the burden of what has happened upon him coupled with his knowledge that Trip was right and that the condition of 'Charles' was pretty bad by human standards. He also knows he can't do anything about it, coming a long way from Season 1 when he would leap in with both feet to right wrongs. He can't be open and friendly with the Vissians any more, but at the same time has to respect their ways, and playing that role against Trip must have been painful for him.
The C-story (if you can call it that), of Reed being attracted to a Vissian woman was rather pointless and unnecessary and I wish there had been more exploration of slavery and the issues at hand instead of this lighthearted romantic comedy stuff. There were some funny scenes with Phlox during Trip's initial confusion of tri-gender mating, and that didn't detract from the story, but Reed's moments did feel tacked on as if there hadn't been enough time to fully realise or round the story neatly. I preferred the B-story of Archer's little adventure with the Vissian Captain and the occasional exhilaration of the wonders of space, something not often seen, and compliments the actors as they accomplished it inside that tiny stratopod. The visuals were beautiful, the ships looked smooth, (even though on first seeing it I thought the Vissian ship was of Tholian design!), and the golden lighting of the phenomenon also gave the internal scenes an added sparkle.
F.J. Rio completes the set of post 'TNG' Trek series' as the Vissian engineer, after appearing as a criminal in 'Voyager,' but being best known for his small recurring role of Muniz in 'DS9.' I don't know why they always get him in for minimal makeup roles as he just looks like Muniz with odd appliances on his face! To be fair, he was suitably unlikeable, quite different to Muniz' character. There are some nice little references such as when they talk about one hundred years hence and how T'Pol would still be alive (the campaign to get her in 'Star Trek XII' starts here!), and we get to see the inside of the armoury with its nooks and crannies, including the phaser cannon (I think). I wasn't very impressed with Vissians as alien creations - they fell into the 'beige uniform/ minimal facial adjustment' camp, and while the makeup wasn't bad, as a race they weren't very strongly realised. This is the sort of race that it would have been interesting to explore, flesh out, and face the issues their culture poses to Starfleet, but because the NX-01 is always moving right along they don't have the luxury of such development.
Hoshi and Mayweather barely figure at all, but that's to be expected and at least Phlox had his moments. Trip is certainly the engaging central pillar of the story and we want him to succeed in bringing this person to a realisation of her rights. It would have been fascinating if they had agreed to asylum for her and have Trip become a friend that introduced her to life in Starfleet for a few episodes, maybe she could even have joined the organisation (an alternative way to get rid of her when they wanted to), but there wasn't much of that kind of experimentation with the series and she wouldn't have fitted into the next episode. I think the way she does go out gives Trip a real shake, and while I wouldn't want him to lose his idealism and passion for helping others, perhaps it could lead him towards the path that Archer has already begun walking, one that would eventually result in the Prime Directive.
***
It may be that I hadn't seen the series for a while, it may be that I had low expectations of the episode, but for whatever reason it was better than I expected. 'Enterprise' didn't often have consequences or emotional engagement in the story like the other series' did, but this one felt very 'Star Trek' and even had a Captain Janeway-style dressing down from Archer. The other captains would be disappointed in crewmembers and have a stern talk with them, but somehow I always think of Janeway first in that context. The sting in the tail at the end was a real surprise and rammed home the message of the episode. What that message is could be debated. Is it about America interfering in other cultures they don't approve of, ones that don't match their views of freedom and individual rights? Is it about slavery and treating people as though they are in a lower class? Probably so, but at heart it's a Prime Directive story, and one that couldn't have been done so easily on the other series'.
It does bring to mind 'Voyager' story 'Prime Factors' and 'TNG' story 'The Outcast' for similar points, but in this one Trip never shows any doubt that what he's doing is good for 'Charles,' (as she decides to call herself after Trip's real name), until that terrible final moment. I call her a she, but of course she was actually of a third gender which only made up 3% of the Vissian's population, though Captain Archer called her a she for convenience and for want of a better word than 'it' so if it was good enough for him, it's good enough for me. Also she was played by a female due to the shortage of third gender actor's at the time. If there was a third gender actor just waiting for the opportunity to get their first role, or even a Vissian who had travelled to Earth secretly, they would have been very disappointed not to get the role!
The story is the kind of thing that 'Enterprise' didn't deal with nearly enough, preferring simpler, more generic plots (if you go by this season), or ones that had a definite answer. This one isn't clear cut at all - Archer is angry with Trip for not using his common sense and leaving well alone with an alien culture (something he's had problems with before, e.g: 'Unexpected'), but he can't ignore where events have led. His friendship with the Vissian Captain (played by Andreas Katsulas, better known from 'TNG' as the recurring Romulan Tomalak), was quite enjoyable with two similarly-minded people getting along so well, so it had even more meaning when Archer became stiffer towards the end, very formally wishing him well on his journey. He clearly has the burden of what has happened upon him coupled with his knowledge that Trip was right and that the condition of 'Charles' was pretty bad by human standards. He also knows he can't do anything about it, coming a long way from Season 1 when he would leap in with both feet to right wrongs. He can't be open and friendly with the Vissians any more, but at the same time has to respect their ways, and playing that role against Trip must have been painful for him.
The C-story (if you can call it that), of Reed being attracted to a Vissian woman was rather pointless and unnecessary and I wish there had been more exploration of slavery and the issues at hand instead of this lighthearted romantic comedy stuff. There were some funny scenes with Phlox during Trip's initial confusion of tri-gender mating, and that didn't detract from the story, but Reed's moments did feel tacked on as if there hadn't been enough time to fully realise or round the story neatly. I preferred the B-story of Archer's little adventure with the Vissian Captain and the occasional exhilaration of the wonders of space, something not often seen, and compliments the actors as they accomplished it inside that tiny stratopod. The visuals were beautiful, the ships looked smooth, (even though on first seeing it I thought the Vissian ship was of Tholian design!), and the golden lighting of the phenomenon also gave the internal scenes an added sparkle.
F.J. Rio completes the set of post 'TNG' Trek series' as the Vissian engineer, after appearing as a criminal in 'Voyager,' but being best known for his small recurring role of Muniz in 'DS9.' I don't know why they always get him in for minimal makeup roles as he just looks like Muniz with odd appliances on his face! To be fair, he was suitably unlikeable, quite different to Muniz' character. There are some nice little references such as when they talk about one hundred years hence and how T'Pol would still be alive (the campaign to get her in 'Star Trek XII' starts here!), and we get to see the inside of the armoury with its nooks and crannies, including the phaser cannon (I think). I wasn't very impressed with Vissians as alien creations - they fell into the 'beige uniform/ minimal facial adjustment' camp, and while the makeup wasn't bad, as a race they weren't very strongly realised. This is the sort of race that it would have been interesting to explore, flesh out, and face the issues their culture poses to Starfleet, but because the NX-01 is always moving right along they don't have the luxury of such development.
Hoshi and Mayweather barely figure at all, but that's to be expected and at least Phlox had his moments. Trip is certainly the engaging central pillar of the story and we want him to succeed in bringing this person to a realisation of her rights. It would have been fascinating if they had agreed to asylum for her and have Trip become a friend that introduced her to life in Starfleet for a few episodes, maybe she could even have joined the organisation (an alternative way to get rid of her when they wanted to), but there wasn't much of that kind of experimentation with the series and she wouldn't have fitted into the next episode. I think the way she does go out gives Trip a real shake, and while I wouldn't want him to lose his idealism and passion for helping others, perhaps it could lead him towards the path that Archer has already begun walking, one that would eventually result in the Prime Directive.
***
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