Cold Station 12

DVD, Enterprise S4 (Cold Station 12)

Well, the Klingon Bird-of-Prey continues to look beautiful, but I can't say the same for every aspect of this episode. The lighting seemed particularly flat and bright at just about every location we see, which didn't feel right for the series. Usually there's at least a little gloom so the blinkies and other illuminations have that neon glow and provide areas of shadow, so I wasn't enamoured of the lighting style at all. Something that really let the side down was the CG set for the embryo refrigeration area - it was so obviously entirely computer-generated, with the actors locked into position, hardly daring to move, and some very basic design. I can see why they would make that particular set artificially, as it would have been expensive or time-consuming to build thanks to all the individual embryo pods, but what was put out was the worst thing about the episode. It's strange, because the other CG work in this one is very high quality: we see some excellent artificial environments, and some great ship-to-ship stuff in space amid all those asteroids, so it's a shame that corners had to be cut.

The quality of the CG or effects has never dictated the quality of a story, and while it may help to tell that story, or prevent taking the viewer out of it, the events and characters carry the can. Brent Spiner continues to be good as Arik Soong, finding his 'son' Malik starting to openly question his orders, though you can tell he's blinded by his love for the rejects of the Eugenics, and is willing to forgive them anything, even the murder of one of their number (it remains to be seen how he'll react to Smike's death). Malik grows more evil all the time, or perhaps his character becomes more emboldened as he sees his fellow Augments aren't going to question his actions. This isn't really an episode for character development, being a chase to the station of the title, somewhere which Phlox has been and which is run by his good friend and pen pal, Dr. Jeremy Lucas, but there are welcome little nods towards character included, as well as lightly flirting with the issues the background of the story dredges up.

I can't say it deals satisfactorily enough with those issues, but after all this isn't 'TNG,' and was never going to turn into a roundtable discussion on the merits of genetic engineering in the Captain's Mess (for one thing you wouldn't get all the people in there!), but we do see Archer's thinking about such things when he confides in Phlox about his Father dying from something that might have been preventable had genetic engineering been permissible on Earth. He calls back to the fact that Phlox' people, the Denobulans, mastered such sciences long ago, and have fully integrated it into their society (which would go a long way to explain all the bizarre physical facets of the race, which would seem to be reason enough to steer well clear when you think about them - aside perhaps from Phlox' excuse for a massive feast because he has to fatten up for hibernation!). It's good to be reminded of the wider galaxy, and the established facts, adding to the realism. A side note of this is that we do get to see, possibly for the first time, a Denobulan ship, a sort of rounded vessel in the mould of a kindlier-looking Kazon raider, in keeping with the people who built it. As with the Andorians last season we only get glimpses of this technology, not enough to really get a strong sense of the race's aesthetics, but it's just one more little piece of confectionery we're afforded this season, that, for instance, were less common last season due to the remote location.

Dr. Phlox gets a real role this time, which is a pleasure to see, though it's telling of the kind of Captain that Archer is when his ship's Doctor has to actually ask to be included in a Landing Party rather than being automatically assigned. Archer's more gung-ho, a risk-taker, that prefers MACOs to medics, and despite his frequent forays into dangerous situations, you feel he should be taking a diverse group with him. Once again, you have to pinch yourself and be reminded that this is pre-Kirk, pre-Federation, so these kinds of rules and ideals are yet to be ironed out, and after what Archer's been through it's no surprise he's more concerned with security than anything else. This time he even takes Malcolm (for all the good it did)! Then again, if his security was too tight, he'd not so easily end up in a fight, and it wouldn't be 'Enterprise' without the Captain having a scrap, now would it? It made me think of 'The Phantom Menace' when Reed and the others are trapped behind transparency while Archer battles it out with a superior opponent as they watch on, unable to assist.

Phlox' presence in the group actually does more to hinder the efforts, than help, since it's his friendship with Dr. Lucas that creates a pressure point which Malik has no qualms in pressing. Lucas is a tough, brave man (played by Richard Riehle, one of the Irish holograms on 'Voyager'; and featuring in one of 'TNG's high points, 'The Inner Light'), a credit to his station, willing to take any torture or see a member of his staff die in front of him rather than reveal the access code to the embryos Soong wants so badly. Or maybe he just didn't like that other Doctor? It was just too much for him to bear to see his friend meet the same grisly fate (reminded me of the agoniser booths from 'Mirror, Mirror'). We finally meet the man who's been mentioned as a pen pal of Phlox' since Season 1, though not in the healthiest of circumstances. It proves that Soong isn't as ruthless as he seems when he commands Malik not to kill the first hostage, although it's too late for him by the time Soong's got to the console, Malik having openly defied him for the first time. Malik certainly gives his people a bad name. A nice touch was seeing a flashback to eleven years prior to the episode, where Soong (whose hair is only starting to turn white), teaches his 'children' about Earth and humans, embedding the concept that they would be killed if they went back, and humans are the enemy. They went to the trouble of getting lookalike children for what appeared to be all the Augments we see, so effort had been made, though perhaps emotion was lacking in the episode.

An example would be the outcast, Smike's, death at the hands of Malik. A Klingon Disruptor should make a big impact, either a blinding burst of power, or a complete disintegration, but all we get is a little puff or buzz. It didn't help the way it was shot in such a passive way, with Smike already on the ground, and the camera watching from behind Malik, so we were well removed from any impact. The argument could be that this being an earlier time, such weapons would be less powerful, but sometimes you have to do things for dramatic impact, regardless of stringent historical accuracy. Not that it was a major moment, but it could have been turned into one - the moment the Augments realise that Malik will kill even those of his own that aren't challenging his position in the group, just an outcast, weak and practically helpless. The rights and wrongs of allowing the embryos to come to term would also have been a good debate, whether they're born evil due to their enhanced abilities and ambition, or whether that ambition and sense of entitlement has engendered their fear and opposition to all others. It's all very Khan, and when Soong says during the flashback that many more are sleeping, with regards to Augments, the Botany Bay came instantly to mind, though of course he probably wasn't thinking of that - but it's creepy to think that at this time in Trek history the sleeper ship is still out there, drifting…

It's good to revisit Trek history, even though we don't really get more information on the Eugenics Wars, aside from how many were supposed to have died, it's fascinating to see something made in the 2000s hark back to something almost forty years before that. 'Into Darkness' didn't even bother with such ephemeral details, but such facts put the situation into perspective. One small one that stuck out to me was T'Pol confirming that they need a Communicator signal for a Transporter lock, the reason they can't beam anyone out. She didn't have so much to do this time, and neither did Trip, so it was a shame their big moment on the bridge when they have to try and sacrifice their Captain and all the lives aboard the station, passed by with hardly any consequence. If this was later Trek, and a Captain had ordered the self-destruct to be activated while he was onboard, they might well have performed their duties without a hint of difficulty (though I doubt it), but in these unenlightened times did Trip really think Archer's life was worth trading to stop the Augments? No one on the bridge shows any concern at such a course of action, question's T'Pol or puts forth any alternative, which was a moment missed for me, even though we're soon to see that the plan failed. Again, when they have to shoot the station up themselves, such a momentous decision should be seen to take a toll on this still relatively inexperienced crew (in the larger scheme of things).

Missed opportunities aside, this as the middle part of a trilogy does a nice job of taking us somewhere new, both in location and for the characters. It's not quite as engaging as the first part, but this is made up for with a different angle on things, such as different characters getting the limelight, and some good action scenes. I always remembered the final part to be the weak link in the DNA strand, shall we say, so I remain to be convinced otherwise, but this is another to end with a 'To Be Continued,' and that's not a bad situation to be left in, especially when you're used to the majority of stories being concluded in one or two parts.

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