Borderland

DVD, Enterprise S4 (Borderland)

It was this, of the first four episodes of the season that first really impressed, showing the desire to explore dangling threads of 'TOS' like never before, while at the same time giving us crowd-pleasing casting that links in to 'TNG' (not to mention 'DS9' - I'd completely forgotten J.G. Hertzler's final role in Trek was as another Klingon in this episode!). It opens with one of the most exciting and dramatic teasers we've seen from the series, as apparently human captives of a ship full of Klingons take on those Klingons at their own game: brute force. And kick them into next week! It's been a convention dating back to 'TNG' when Worf was the unsuspecting victim, continuing right up to the latest Abramsverse film, 'Into Darkness': when you want to show how tough a character is, you have them beat up Klingons, as everyone knows they are the toughest race going (actually, I'd say that accolade goes to the Vulcans, but they're much more modest and less shouty about it, although, the 'Enterprise' variety, hmm…).

For one of a rare handful of times on this series ('Broken Bow,' 'Sleeping Dogs,' 'Marauders,' and 'Judgement'), the impression of strength and power in both the Klingons themselves and in the humming internal throb of their Bird of Prey (which looks to be more along the lines of what we know from the later eras, a beautiful green powerhouse, and which I don't believe we'd yet seen the like on this series), is almost back to its heydays on 'DS9.' It may have been because the Klingons took a back seat in Season 3, or that the new direction required a more recognisable run-in with the warrior race, but it was good to see. If anything, I was disappointed over their short-lived nature (we hear that the entire crew was jettisoned into space) - when I first heard the unmistakably craggy tones of Hertzler, I wondered if it was the same character he'd played in 'Judgement,' but this character looked younger, more like Martok, and wasn't even accorded the dignity of a name (credited as Klingon Captain). In a way, it's sad that such a great guest star could leave the Trek Universe with such a minor role, he deserved a recurring position like Jeffrey Combs, but that's to be ungracious, and it's better to look at it as a nice touch that they took the time to bring in such a recognisable Klingon actor for such a small role.

It isn't J.G. Hertzler that everyone cared about, though, it was the return of one of Trek's golden boys, one of its greatest sons, coming back after the end of his 'TNG' narrative. I suppose at this time it wasn't one hundred percent guaranteed that the 'TNG' cast wouldn't return for another film, but it was very unlikely seeing how badly 'Star Trek Nemesis' had performed. And out of that cast, Brent Spiner seemed the least likely to ever return to Trek, so it was an incredible coup to get him, and not simply for a cameo, not for one episode, but for a three-episode arc, the first specifically of that length since way back at 'DS9' Season 2's opening. He could have played Data, in some kind of time travel or alternate universe, or any of the myriad possibilities of sci-fi (there are always possibilities…), but I think what attracted him was playing an ancestor of Dr. Noonien Soong, Arik Soong. At last, the connection was in place, directly relating Noonien Soong, to Noonian Singh (Khan), something I'd always wondered at when seeing such similar names. The connection is that Arik was responsible for 'liberating' embryos of genetically engineered descent who were from the Eugenics Wars of the late-twentieth century, of whom Khan was the main foe.

So they singlehandedly tied 'Enterprise' with the Eugenics Wars, 'TOS' and 'TNG' simultaneously in one graceful movement: impressive! In case you're thinking this was turning into just a fan episode in which as many continuity elements and connected dots could be crammed in as possible (and it didn't stop there!), the story is as important. With three episodes to play with they have the time to explore and develop some of the characters, specifically, the Augments, as they become known (though I always felt this a dry scientific term, compared with the 'TOS' style of calling them 'supermen' - more dramatic, and maybe a little cheesy, but sounds more legendary instead of the lab experiment they were in reality), and Soong. It's sad, then, that the usual suspects, Mayweather and Hoshi, are once again left in the background. When you have three episodes it would be the ideal opportunity to make sure every character gets their dues, but perhaps it was too late in the series to change the format that had become embedded - that of three main characters and four supporting, a link back to 'TOS' that wasn't so welcome, being an old-fashioned style of cast. Maybe those characters just didn't have enough mileage when they were originally conceived, all I know is that they were well used to begin with. But this isn't the time to look back, this was a bold new attempt to keep the series going by introducing arcs of multiple episodes.

After two seasons of mainly standalone episodes (I wonder why they never embraced the big, mid-season two-parters, the stock in trade of 'Voyager,' the series that preceded them?), then a season-long story with a smattering of individual tales, they couldn't go back to 'small-scale' weekly exploration again, so they found the happy medium with these episode-spanning varieties of variable length. It began to feel much more like 'DS9,' with events that carried over, and a new urgency to proceedings. This, for example, is the first post-Xindi mission they undertake for Starfleet - an ideal time for Admiral Forrest to give Archer a best wishes message, but that's a minor omission. It feels good to see them back together, on a newly cleaned-up NX-01, heading out into space (even if I'm sure the footage of the ship leaving space dock was reused from the pilot!). They have a great actor aboard her, Spiner displaying what a great Trek actor is like, showing these young guns a thing or two - he's not quite at the sneeringly evil stage, but he's certainly got a taste of the Lore about him. He'd probably have got on rather well with Data's brother. For about five minutes, before one of them killed the other! It's almost like seeing Lore reborn as a human, his powers of advanced strength and speed stripped from him. But Soong is sneaky, just like the creation that would come after him, and it's fun to see him manipulate the crew, and even more so to see Archer prevent his escape (coupling, then uncoupling the magnetic restraints at key moments showed some intelligence, and emphasised Arik's helplessness).

It's also quite an exciting episode, with big action scenes. Not only do we get the superb Klingon-fighting of the teaser, but we have a full-scale slave revolt, a space skirmish between Enterprise and the Bird of Prey, and a phaser fight at the docking corridor between Augments and MACOs (the poor soldiers don't know what hit them, you'd think after tackling the Xindi threat they could handle a few enhanced humans!). There's also the tension of knowing how dangerous Arik Soong is, and proves to be, though I did wonder why at the end, once he's been rescued by his 'children' (what is it with Soongs and their abnormal children - why don't they just have regular kids!), they don't seize the NX-01, instead transferring back to their BoP? Are they saying the Klingon ship is better? It's the slave revolt, however, that proved to be the most impressive scene of the episode, for various reasons. As a start, it's the first, ever time we see an Orion male (who isn't disguised as another race), the green-skinned people that had been talked of so often, but only seen in the rarest of rare moments of Orion Slave Girls. It's not just Orions (who prove to be hulking giants, fronted by wrestling legend Big Show, another to make the move to Trek, after The Rock appeared on 'Voyager'), it's also the Orion Syndicate, something invented on 'DS9' (where they should have been the one to show a male Orion, or female - they even created a green-skinned race for Season 6, in 'Who Mourns For Morn?' the same season the Syndicate played a bigger part!).

That isn't everything, as we get a genuine Orion Slave Woman up for auction. Interesting, considering the revelations to come later, about females subjugating the men. Either she'd lost her power to charm, or it was all a ruse - maybe she was the real person in charge of the slave market, and her sale was all part of a plan? In the jumble of aliens in cages I thought I noticed several races, some more obscure (the full-head, flat, zip-up helmet, grey-suited aliens sometimes seen walking the Promenade on 'DS9'), and others better known (was that a Reman, and did I see some thin Nausicaans? Surely they wouldn't allow themselves to be captured?), what was apparently a Boslic male (another 'DS9' alien - the one with distinctive forehead pattern who informs on Archer, and is uncredited on Memory Alpha), and definitely a Tellarite, who buys T'Pol - not a wise investment. The ensuing chaos was very well filmed and coordinated, but I would have liked to have seen T'Pol show her martial arts skills from 'Marauders.' She doesn't even do a neck the pinch when the green giant picks her up, instead kicking him in the privates! What they've done with Vulcans is almost unforgivable, but what they did to T'Pol was worse: yet again she's overly emotional, angry at that Orion slaver, defiantly shouting as she kicks him, and looks like she's going to break down in tears when Archer gives her the compass as a gift. She seems calm when assisting Jeffrey Pierce, a slightly OTT character who displays Season 1 levels of fear, perhaps to show how seasoned T'Pol is in comparison. It is fair, since he was a raw recruit, but he came across as a terrified crybaby, although even T'Pol doesn't look calm when Archer finds her in the cage!

That's something else: why is T'Pol only now becoming a proper member of the crew, rank of Commander, and why doesn't she wear a uniform, instead having department colour and rank pips attached to her usual outfit. She'd have been a lot better in the proper Starfleet attire, and it wouldn't have seemed so strange - even in this season there were some things they were too timid to change, it seems. It is odd that she becomes a member of Starfleet without, apparently, going through the courses required of her. Unless she did, but we weren't told (that's what she was doing while holed up in her quarters during the Expanse mission - a correspondence course with Starfleet!), or it was deemed that her experience and position on the ship gave her priority. It surely wouldn't make the Vulcans any more pleased with her, but perhaps this is the final degree she's able to spite them after finding out how badly they treated her Mother? A fully fledged first officer isn't the only new addition to Archer's bridge: Trip's found time to give him a new Captain's Chair, one that is becoming closer to Kirk's, with lots of blinky buttons, etc (actually it looks like it's getting closer to Picard's with those upturned armrests, although I thought I heard some 'TOS'-style bridge beeps during that scene!). Either this was a jokey reference back to an episode that's probably best forgotten ('Singularity'), or they just felt the chair needed some work!

It's in his Ready Room that Archer needs some work, really, as this is at least the second time he's been bested in there. The first was by an overzealous Vulcan (I think that was in 'Fusion'), and now Malik, the new and more vicious leader of the Augment brethren, takes him hostage during their discussion. I don't know about Arik's jibe that Reed wasn't getting enough publicity (was this a self-referential line to point out that Dominic Keating wasn't as well known, or something?), but he certainly doesn't seem to be as useful as a Security Officer, allowing his Captain to be taken like that while he's got a weapon! Maybe Archer needs to put more trust in him - once again he goes off with Soong alone to the slave market, not bringing his trusty Security along, so perhaps Archer is too hands-on, and should be relinquishing some control to Reed?

The episode ends with a nice 'To Be Continued…' and it will be interesting to see if every multi-episode story has these words or they quickly tire of using them. As a start to the new format, this worked well, with good pacing, plenty of action, nice design (the arrowhead Orion ships were distinctive enough, as every race's technology on Trek needs to be), and quality casting. Even the younger actors, such as the one playing Malik, had that strength of character that you could believe. Perhaps there was overmuch attention on the Augments, focusing on Malik's rise at the expense of some of the main cast, and if I'm honest, it didn't have the same impact that seeing Orions, and having Spiner back did originally. Now that I have pretty much all of Trek on DVD that can be viewed at any time, the feeling of uniqueness has ebbed away a little, not helped by the fact that, to all intents and purposes, this is no longer a 'living' universe in constant production, but something that's been left behind with still no real, solid plan to return. Even if they continue to bang out Abramsverse films, we may never come back to this 'real' universe where all the characters and events have a historical meaning, and somehow that lessens what can be watched. But this isn't the episode's fault, it remains a good watch, just perhaps not the great watch I found it all those years ago.

***