Bound

DVD, Enterprise S4 (Bound)

I'm glad the Orions got another episode before the series ended, so they weren't seen as a one-story race, but it's hard to believe that this was a Manny Coto-written, Allan Kroeker-directed episode because it falls pretty flat. There are small consolations in both writing (the true facts about the Orion species, and some good little Trek references), and direction (the action's well shot), but as a whole this is most definitely the weakest instalment of the season. It's kind of nice to see a little of the old idealism return in Archer's captaining style, with the coming of the starbase to Starfleet's plans, and perhaps it was this that made him more open and optimistic - he wants Starfleet to be friendly with the Orion Syndicate, a laudable goal, but an impossible one, knowing what we do about this criminal network. But Archer must not know enough about them to realise this, so it's fair for him to want to build bridges, probably fed up with burning them or all-out destroying them, so it's more like the exploration and desire to establish peaceful relations with new species that he used to do. It's exciting as a viewer to witness (or at least imagine, since we don't see any actual starbases under construction yet), the beginnings of the Federation's expansion into the galaxy, and it wouldn't have harmed to have seen a mock-up or schematic on a screen of what these earliest of starbases would look like - they had to leave some things for future seasons, though, as at this time they still weren't aware of impending cancellation, news of which came during filming of the following two-parter.

The Orions are one of the most old-fashioned of species, dating back as they do to the exotic first pilot, the green girl going down in history (technically not seen until 'The Menagerie' which used the then-untransmitted pilot as a flashback), and because of that long lineage and striking imagery it's gone down as one of the elements of Trek that people know. Kirk, Spock, "beam me up," the Enterprise, perhaps Klingons, and the green girl. So it's surprising that they only appeared in two episodes of 'TOS,' and bypassed all the modern series' except for 'Enterprise,' and then not until the final season. It was only mentions of the Orion Syndicate in 'DS9' that meant the race weren't completely forgotten in 24th Century circles, though we sadly never got a sighting of any actual Orions, just criminals of other races. About the only clever thing in the episode is the turning of that old-fashioned notion of the slave dancer on its head, and speak a truth at the same time, for we learn that contrary to what seemed to be the case, it is actually the males of the species that are kept subjugated to the will of the females who have powerfully intoxicating pheromones. This could be a comment on society in general, or upon pornography, but if so it's only the most cursory of metaphors, on the surface if you want to read it, but not explored in any depth. Again, if the series had continued we'd surely have got more details of Orion society.

The slave dancing is still old-fashioned, but I suppose they were trying to evoke memories of 'TOS,' it's just slightly jazzed up for modern audiences, though it makes them look like a girl band gone mad! Something else that's just plain weird is that the main Orion is played by Cyia Batten, who was the originator of the prim and proper daughter of Dukat, Tora Ziyal, playing her for two episodes. I wonder if she felt happy to come back to Trek having been replaced on 'DS9,' considering these were mainly the same people who gave her the chop in what could have been a lucrative recurring role (though she'd already returned in 'Voyager' as another doomed girlfriend of Harry's in 'Drive'). Since she was willing to come back it would seem so. It's still a bit odd to see her in such a role, even though we know actors play many parts. One other actor returning to Trek, though he doesn't play as big a part in this episode, is William Lucking, one of the stalwart faces of 'DS9' (and plenty of other TV shows), and was never less than great, known for being Kira's friend, Furel in three episodes. Harrad-Sar could be an interesting character, pretty much the first proper male Orion, since others didn't have more than background roles for the most part, but it's not the juiciest of roles, just as Casey Biggs' foray into 'Enterprise' in Season 3 came in a largely unexplored role that was no match for his best known character on 'DS9'.

Sar's talk with Archer and Reed was very much a 'TOS' thing, it could have been in a tent on an alien planet, as he attempts to give hospitality to his guests, even dropping in a reference to the Gorn Hegemony, which would please anyone in the know - and not before time, as the Gorn would become more important in the next story. Deltans are another race mentioned, this time by Travis, getting into his role as seasoned traveller of the space lanes, which had been all but forgotten. It was also good to see the gym again, which rarely features. One part of the ship I was initially confused about was the decon chamber where the Orions are locked up, as I thought it was the brig with another makeover and extension! A good idea to put them in the airtight location. Really, that's all there was in the episode, just a standard Sirens-in-space story (done countless times on Trek, and just last season with 'Rajiin'), members of the crew acting out of character, and even a 'TOS' ending where some of the main cast joke around together at the Vulcan's expense, though it was followed with a soapier scene where Trip admits he's requested a transfer back to the NX-01 after forcing T'Pol to admit she wants him to return.

This late in a season I imagine the pressure must have been immense, so there had to be some stories that didn't quite make the grade. It wasn't boring, and certain things, such as having Commander Kelby's difficult working relationship with Trip boil to the surface, were seeds of something more watchable, but that weren't quite finished or furthered enough to make it worthwhile. While I'm complaining, the Orion ship design was kind of ugly; a lumpen, chubby mess, a bit like Harrad-Sar himself, and not one of the better ideas they've done. And the Tactical Alert which Archer requested fell totally flat, with only a minor adjustment in the lighting, barely noticeable, with no alarm or lights or anything to make the moment exciting. I thought there was usually a bit more to it than that, even though it was never going to be as dramatic as, say, 'Voyager,' since it was still in its early days. And was that a new carpet on the bridge of the Enterprise, as I've never noticed it to be so blue before! The title could either refer to the state of Orion society, or specifically to the connection between T'Pol and Trip which makes him immune from the Orions' pheromones, and that's as deep as I can get on this story!

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