DVD, Stargate Atlantis S3 (Common Ground)
Genii episodes were never stories I found that enjoyable, mainly because they aren't an interesting race with their dull uniforms and backwards technology, and the main villain, Kolya, was a good example of that. If they want to bring back a Genii then I'd rather have Colm Meaney than Robert Davi (though I can't remember if Meaney's character was said to have been killed). The (almost) saving grace of this instalment were the interactions between Sheppard and a similarly captive Wraith, a strange bond developing through their shared incarceration and interdependency: the Wraith is used as a torture device to drain Sheppard's life in front of a transmission back to Atlantis and unless Weir hands over Kolya's former associate, now leader of the Genii, he'll allow this Wraith to go all the way. Although I say that was the most interesting part, it's still a fairly superficial exploration of human/Wraith harmony, they're forced to rely on each to escape and they keep up their end of the deal, but at the same time we don't really learn that much about the villainous species since they do prefer to keep them a bit of an unsympathetic threat in the same way that the Goa'uld were usually portrayed as cartoonish savages intent on violence rather than a fully dimensional group with minds of their own. When you're used to Trek and its multifaceted depictions of alien adversaries it's a big step backward when you see most sci-fi display a simplistic version of Evil Alien.
Not that the worst races in Trek were necessarily redeemed, but there were always examples, individuals, who had more to them than simply enmity, and this Wraith, whom we didn't even learn the name of, was close to being a character like that. If the Genii are one weakness across 'Atlantis,' then another is shared with the majority across all genre TV: old age makeup, which is exactly what I had a problem with in Sheppard's sucked-out look: why isn't his hair all white or fallen out? The trouble with portraying advanced age on a character is that they have to add a layer when if you look at real age it's usually about a thinning of the skin and hair, a sagging of the eye sockets, not just the addition of wrinkles, and we know what it looks like too well for a makeup or prosthetic to seem right. The best course is to get an old actor in to play that part of the role as they did so effectively in the film 'Interstellar,' and they do the same thing here when the Wraith takes almost all the rest of Sheppard's life from him in order to have the energy to fight the rogue Genii forces searching for the pair.
Even earlier than that point I realised something would have to happen to de-age the affected Sheppard since he wasn't going to permanently sport the look of a man with twenty years taken off his lifespan, though I was expecting it to be some medical marvel from Dr. Beckett. Instead we find out that Wraith have the ability to transfer life into their victims if they choose, though they only do so in exceptional circumstances, as for a brother, though we've never seen it happen before. There was some warmth in that moment but it was too little to really make the episode stand out - in fact I was actually wondering while they were staggering through the forest, an aged Sheppard and a weak Wraith, why these creatures don't just drain the life out of animals? Surely that would be just as much energy as a human, and even if it was just a snack it would be something, right? It also didn't make sense that Sheppard, even if he were acting weaker than he really was, would be able to jump the two guards, fling them against the wall and throw them around when they made their jailbreak! And while I'm being critical I wasn't impressed that Kolya eluded capture once again to be a thorn in their side for yet another day in the future as he's hardly a standout enemy, even compared to former Lieutenant Ford or Michael the half-Wraith. They don't have any strong recurring villains, at least so far, but they'd better hurry up and get some soon or there won't be time for them to recur!
Not that The Wraith aren't suitable foes, but they're so generic and faceless, all alike (except for this particular one who sported some kind of black star tattoo on his cheek, presumably so we can spot him again in future), and more of a force of nature than something we can be sympathetic with, and I do prefer a sympathetic villain. They say a hero is only as strong as the villain he faces, but a villain with understandable motives makes that villain stronger and gives us something more to grapple with. There was the hint of a moral issue to tackle in whether they should hand over Ladon to his ex-boss to get Sheppard back, but it's never really considered. You'd think Weir might have given a go-ahead for a fake handover in which they pulled some kind of trick to double-cross what are basically terrorists, but there wasn't a sense of rising tension, it was just Weir in charge and almost everyone else being angry at Ladon, who seemed pretty reasonable and cooperative throughout when it would seem to make more sense to keep away from these angry human. So not the worst, but not the best story either, it makes me wish for something a bit more substantial.
**
Tuesday, 15 December 2020
Friday's Child
DVD, Star Trek S2 (Friday's Child)
A common theme is emerging in these first three episodes of the season, and that is of keeping the three main characters together, Kirk, Spock and McCoy, and also sending them off on their own Landing Party each time. I wonder if this was in part due to DeForest Kelley's advance to full co-star with his name in the title sequence, so they felt he needed to be as present as the other stars to acknowledge his importance? It seems the easiest way to get the trio together was to take them off the ship, and that has given us a new appreciation for them, and also allowed a regular command role for Scotty, which is a draw in itself as we see the Chief Engineer take up those reins, even if he would probably have preferred to be with his 'wee bairns,' the engines! Once again he refuses the centre seat in a literal way, preferring to stay active around the Bridge (spot Mr. Leslie again!), which gives him a slightly different command style to his Captain, even though Kirk didn't just sit back in his Captain's Chair all the time and imperiously order everyone around. I don't think we know Scotty's history that well, especially regarding the extent of his previous command experience, whether it's his senior position that makes him the choice to take charge when Captain and First Officer are off the ship, or if he has had other command posts previous to the Enterprise.
One character's history we do learn a little about is Dr. McCoy's - he leads the Briefing Room report on the Capellans with whom Kirk has been tasked the settling of mining rights for an important mineral used in the life support systems of colonies. It shows that, at least in this period, they didn't have Replicators capable of creating any necessary component out of energy, and still had to mine such things from planets. Mind you, even in the 24th Century they still needed dilithium crystals, so perhaps the Replicator can't reproduce some things to a standard found in nature? I do swing more towards the absence of Replicators in this period as there is more evidence (even if 'DSC' ruined it). It's pleasing to be given a little data on McCoy's time prior to serving on the Enterprise, even if his stationing on Capella was only for a few months thanks to their disinterest in medicine. Interestingly, they appear to be much more Klingon than the Klingon we see interfering in the trade talks! Kras is short, treacherous and a liar, whereas the attitudes prevalent in Capellan society are about strict honour, they don't lie and they are these strapping great warriors with a proud tradition, even if they do believe that the weak must perish (sounds a bit Species 8472!). According to McCoy it's not unusual for them to be seven feet in height, and even their women are strikingly tall. I wonder if Klingon influence is what led Maab down the path of treachery to his Teer, or whether, as the Teer is so quick to rise to a challenge, this is their conventional method of ensuring the strongest man leads the Ten Tribes.
Maab is a more complex character than he first appears, apparently villainous, partly for being the advocate of the Klingons, and partly because he wants to seize power, but as soon as he stands victorious Kirk is quick to perceive he has changed in the donning of responsibility as leader of his people, something Kras is too slow to pick up on. Kirk also plays to Maab's culture when he quickly suggests rather than killing him and his men, they should allow him to fight Kras, who gives off fear at the idea, losing stature in the eyes of Maab, and gaining Kirk points. The political side of the story is the most capelling, sorry, compelling: we see the signs of a cold war between the Federation and the Klingon Empire as they struggle for the hearts and minds of the worlds between them. They aren't openly at war, and I wish they'd mentioned the impossibility of this due to the Organian Peace Treaty which forcibly prevented them from fighting as we saw in the first Klingon episode, 'Errand of Mercy' (a much better justification for a strained peace than the Klingon Chancellor holding the controls of a bomb within their own planet with the threat of detonating it if they don't follow her rule - thanks again to 'DSC' for such paltry story logic!). It's not proved that Organian power is no longer playing its part since you could say that the unfortunate Security Guard who jumped to conclusions at the sight of Kras never got a chance to squeeze the trigger on the Phaser he was pulling, and if he had, perhaps then he'd have been unable to complete the action. But it would have been better to hear the treaty mentioned.
The Capellans show that Trek could pull off an alien culture rather well. They aren't alien in looks, except for their excessive height and flowing locks, contrasting strongly with the balding, squat Kras who is a poor specimen of his race, though mentally devious and cunning. Maybe the colourful costumes could have done with a more subdued colour palette, but you have to remember Trek was still meant to be as colourful as possible to sell colour TVs, and the brightness fits well with their cultural attitude to battle: they don't flinch from it, they're bold and unafraid, so I imagine they would proudly wear the brightest colours so they could be seen more easily, to strike fear into their enemies at their coming (as we see in the location shooting), and to show they don't care about being seen - in fact they want to be seen. The tall headpieces with their ponytails on top only add to their stature and sense of pride, a similar impression to the Riders of Rohan from 'The Lord of The Rings.' Even their approach to tent living seems arrogant judging from the large naked flames they favour to light these dwelling places which are surrounded by plump cushions, thick hanging curtains and rugs that look like they'd go up with a whoosh if they caught fire! It's almost like they welcome death, a very Klingon custom in the later version of their culture. It's true that we're also seeing a much more human variation of Klingon in this period, as we know from the 'Enterprise' two-parter that explained how ridged Klingons became this ridge-less variety which also appear to be a bit spineless, except that we know Kras isn't exactly typical!
Kras, or perhaps 'Crass,' is meant to be a lesser member of his people as he really isn't much of a warrior, always looking for the Capellans to off the Earthmen and make his job easier, tripping when they march through the rocky landscape, then showing constant treachery to all around him, whether it be trying to sweet-talk Kirk out of killing him, or stabbing an injured Capellan to death after stealing the Phaser he was carrying, he's a thoroughly nasty piece of work. My guess is that he's the closest the Klingons have to a diplomat, his scheming brain ideal for negotiating and manoeuvring his targets into a contract with his people. I doubt that even if he'd lived he would have been one of the Klingons they brought back for 'DS9,' as he was a poor specimen of Klingonhood. It could be that they had the Capellans in mind as they redesigned the race over the years to be more about honour and battle, swords and physical combat rather than political manipulators (a trait which went to the Romulans), or it could be that the Capellans share the same ideological ancestry of Earth cultures such as Vikings to inspire their creation as it would the warrior caste of Klingons.
It is disappointing we don't get to see the Klingon Warship (I thought that was what they designated it, but I may be wrong), the Enterprise encounters at a distance - we're only given a sharp-angled tiny shape on the Viewscreen that looks like it has shields up, but it's very unclear what the design would be like if we saw it close. They didn't have the budget to create alien vessels (or even Federation ones!), week to week and so it was special indeed when they crafted a craft that was equal to the series' central icon of space travel, the Enterprise. Something that did stick out to me was a little information on the freighter Scotty and the crew go to rescue, all part of a ruse to draw them away from the planet so they can't help their Captain, Sulu saying such a ship should travel at Warp 2, at best. I know the warp scale is supposed to be different at this time, so the Earth Cargo Ships of 'Enterprise' which went around Warp 2 a hundred years before would make sense, except that these should be going much faster since the scale goes higher at this time, unless freighters are running on restrictive speed limits now, which I'm not sure on the sense if it were so? I wonder if the ECS is still going or whether it became a Federation organisation?
Wisely, the Klingons don't send down squads of soldiers as this would only anger the Capellans and means they'd have to fight the whole planet for the resources they want to acquire. It doesn't sound very Klingon to turn down the chance of a fight, but perhaps they were being practical and didn't have a large enough crew to fight that many Capellans - perhaps they'd been ordered to wrap up this deal as quickly as possible before the Federation got involved. Actually that was a curious problem for me, because if McCoy had been stationed on the planet previously they must have had some kind of diplomatic relations with them, so what changed? Were they expelled from the planet for their differences? Did Starfleet not know about the topaline then? And how was it discovered after if that's the case?
The episode gives evidence both for the stereotypical image some have of Captain Kirk, and against: he's initially concerned about not violating any Capellan taboos when they discuss bringing down a large force, quite contrary to the view of him as militaristic and violent. But later on we get some extreme prejudice against his Klingon foe, even though understandable, when he tells Spock one of them must get the Klingon who is part of the group hunting them, and Spock responds asking if it's revenge, and Kirk replies 'why not?' I was expecting Spock to come back with something else or Kirk to make an addendum, but it seems his anger against the Klingons (again, justified when we hear about how they're pulling the wool over people's eyes to expand their empire and turn populations into slaves), didn't begin with the death of his son in 'Star Trek III.' It seems that even the best Captains of this mid-23rd Century had strong feelings against the enemy, and perhaps that was correct, but it's only that we've seen so little of that enemy that it seems like an extreme reaction. On the other hand Kras was the one who was a constant thorn in their side and had already shown intent to have them killed whenever he had any influence on the Capellans, so he was a great threat to them, and perhaps it's too much to expect that Kirk would be more gracious to a foe than he deserved.
Spock seemed to be quite reserved in this episode, as he was in the previous one, and I wonder if this, too, was a consequence of McCoy being bumped up in the cast as he seems to have more to say than Spock, yet they aren't playing the animosity between the pair and McCoy is allowed to get on with his job of caring for Eleen who bears the child to be the next Teer. Her reactions in the episode demonstrate the savage nature of their culture most clearly - Maab, newly self-appointed as leader after killing her old husband trips her as she enters, forcing this heavily pregnant woman to throw her arm into the fire to steady herself, and it's quite a shocking moment. But what's more shocking is that she accepts it as normal and instead is outraged when Kirk goes to help her, demanding he be put to death for touching her! She's also ready and willing to die, as is tradition. Capellan women are a strange bunch as we see when Kirk's diplomatic care is tested (again against stereotype), and he doesn't leap to fight when a Capellan woman offers him fruit, basically giving him the option of taking her as bride if he'll kill her husband! Eleen acts like a spoiled brat, even when someone tries to help her, whether it's Kirk standing up for her in the camp, or McCoy trying to give her medical aid, she reacts as violently as the male members of her race - when the Doctor tries to gauge how close to giving birth she is, she slaps him in the face, not just once, but twice! McCoy responds with a slap of his own: if she's going to behave childishly, then so will he, and it works, the shock taking her aback. His authoritative words also help, and in line with her earlier obtuseness about being ready to die she allows only McCoy to touch her, impressed by his knowledge.
We see more than just physical doctoring from McCoy, he also attempts to work on her psychologically (though later he suggests it might be better to forget psychiatry and stick to surgery after his experiences with Eleen!), encouraging her to develop a bond with her unborn child when all she thinks about is her own life, the pain and discomfort apparently her sole concern, as well as the worse than precarious position this heir has put her in with the new boss. But despite being arrogant, peremptory and foolish, she also tries to save the lives of those who helped her: when she knocks McCoy out (and it seemed unnecessary since he looked like he was sleeping), it's like the ultimate sign of betrayal, but when she reaches the enemy she lies (another great example of Capellan honour, even if for a good cause), and says she killed them all and the baby's dead, too. She seems to think, somewhat simplistically, that that's an end to it, they'll take her word for granted and return to normal life. I don't think her actions were motivated entirely by generosity of spirit, in fact to me it suggests she wants to wash her hands of the whole thing, aliens, motherhood, etc. The funniest moment came earlier when McCoy impresses on her that she needs to say 'the baby is mine' and she agrees, the baby is his! We see she has no desire to look after a child and in doing what she did she's solved both problems, repaid those who saved her life, and got rid of the baby responsibility. The odd thing is that the other Capellans really do believe her and only the suspicious Klingon doubts her story.
This is where things become a bit hard to fathom: Kras is so intent on ridding Capella of Kirk (though he doesn't seem to have a legendary impression of the Captain as some Klingons will), that he refuses to just go back with Maab and the others, throwing himself between the two parties. Then Eleen's solemn word is proved false when Kirk and Spock appear, but rather than Maab denigrating Eleen and being angry with her he's more interested in giving back her life and saying his own is now forfeit! It seemed a bit arbitrary that he made such an announcement and goes down to distract Kras so one of his soldiers can Kligat the Klingon to death. It just seemed bonkers, but then we don't know Capellan culture well enough to understand exactly what was going through his mind. It's more like the story needed to wrap up and the villains to be defeated so he goes like a lamb to the slaughter and gets Phasered into nothing by Kras so that the newborn can take its rightful place as Teer. So it wasn't the greatest conclusion, even if the outdoor location, Vasquez Rocks again, looked a lot better than the set they had for the early scenes. This time they do get back to the tradition of ending on a light note with Spock responding to the news that the baby has been named after both Leonard McCoy and James Kirk by noting heavily how insufferably pleased with themselves they'll be.
It was funny to hear Leonard Nimoy say his own name as Spock (just the Leonard part!), well, perhaps funny is the wrong word, it was odd, and it was also strange the episode ended that way, but it only added to the sense of a story that was slightly out of kilter, though it had so much potential, what with an alien culture, the Klingons, and a heavily planet-based setting. I like it, I should confirm that, but I wish we'd got to know the Klingons as well as we did the Capellans. I like the inventiveness that shows again how Starfleet officers are trained in survival and don't rely solely on the technology they've created, they're very much hands-on, as demonstrated by the use of natural features such as causing the rock fall (even if they did use the sonic power of Communicators to pull it off, it shows an unconventional and experimental solution), or building bows and arrows when all they have against the ranged Kligats are long knives. Kirk even uses a cushion as a diversion at one point, chucking it in the face of one of their guards before pounding him! Although we learn quite a bit about the Capellans there were still some only hinted at, such as Kirk suggesting they'd track them down by scent if necessary, so they must have highly developed olfactory powers, not a common occurrence among aliens on Trek. The original Teer also says the sky does not interest him when Kirk says he needs to contact his ship to tell them a Klingon vessel may be nearby, which shows they're very focused on their own land and aren't impressed by the galactic visitors other than for what they can get out of them.
An issue that is never even brought up is the Prime Directive, or General Order Number One, since this is a race who aren't developed anywhere near the level of space travel, so how come Starfleet can get involved? It may be that the Klingons had already interfered with their culture so that meant the damage was done and our side needs to get in there and prevent the Klingons from taking over as they've done elsewhere, but then we know from McCoy that they had made contact before and we presume they didn't hide the fact they were from outside their world. It's a thorny issue and it suggests that perhaps the Federation's need for topaline is greater than its principle of noninterference, but we simply don't have enough information to know either way, and clearly the influence of our people is much more beneficial than the Klingons, so perhaps it's justified?
Though the Enterprise doesn't feature much in the episode we do see a fair few examples of technology: Uhura removes her earpiece so we see the in-ear end which isn't often shown, and Sulu's viewer is seen powering up. Chekov's back at Spock's station (who knows what's going to happen to his role when Spock actually spends time aboard ship!), with his first 'inwented in Russia' line, and there was a unique angle on him where he's at a console, but the camera is looking inward from where the wall of the Bridge would be. The Tri-screen on the table of the Briefing Room shows historical footage of McCoy on Capella (though technically they got the uniform wrong - we see him in the current version instead of the turtlenecks of 'The Cage,' when usually they're good at showing pre-'TOS' with the Pike outfits, though 'DSC' has since completely ruined that whole lineage!), then switches to a message from Sulu on the Bridge - good to see its versatility. The small coloured squares they use as storage media get a specific designation: when Scotty asks for the distress signal to be replayed he asks for the micro tape and Chekov selects one. And just as interestingly, when Chekov reports a ship nearby, observing it in Spock's viewer, he puts it up on the screen above that station - again, the versatility of the technology makes it more realistic. It's also pleasing to notice the look of the Klingon Disruptor changed so little over the years, with the same broad, curved handle here. I don't know why one shot of the Enterprise showed it with a clear light on its starboard side instead of the usual green - I thought at first it was a black and white image, but then I noticed the red of the markings, so it wasn't that…
It may not be the most dramatic story, with the three friends and crew-mates not particularly giving an impression of being stranded against superior odds, other than in dialogue. The characters don't entirely seem themselves at all times and the Klingons are taken as read rather than the appearance used to expand what we know of them. When this is only the second time they'd shown up on the series that comes across as a bit of a flaw. But the weight of good things in the episode tips the balance, ensuring it looks good for the most part and provides the kind of character interaction we want to see.
***
A common theme is emerging in these first three episodes of the season, and that is of keeping the three main characters together, Kirk, Spock and McCoy, and also sending them off on their own Landing Party each time. I wonder if this was in part due to DeForest Kelley's advance to full co-star with his name in the title sequence, so they felt he needed to be as present as the other stars to acknowledge his importance? It seems the easiest way to get the trio together was to take them off the ship, and that has given us a new appreciation for them, and also allowed a regular command role for Scotty, which is a draw in itself as we see the Chief Engineer take up those reins, even if he would probably have preferred to be with his 'wee bairns,' the engines! Once again he refuses the centre seat in a literal way, preferring to stay active around the Bridge (spot Mr. Leslie again!), which gives him a slightly different command style to his Captain, even though Kirk didn't just sit back in his Captain's Chair all the time and imperiously order everyone around. I don't think we know Scotty's history that well, especially regarding the extent of his previous command experience, whether it's his senior position that makes him the choice to take charge when Captain and First Officer are off the ship, or if he has had other command posts previous to the Enterprise.
One character's history we do learn a little about is Dr. McCoy's - he leads the Briefing Room report on the Capellans with whom Kirk has been tasked the settling of mining rights for an important mineral used in the life support systems of colonies. It shows that, at least in this period, they didn't have Replicators capable of creating any necessary component out of energy, and still had to mine such things from planets. Mind you, even in the 24th Century they still needed dilithium crystals, so perhaps the Replicator can't reproduce some things to a standard found in nature? I do swing more towards the absence of Replicators in this period as there is more evidence (even if 'DSC' ruined it). It's pleasing to be given a little data on McCoy's time prior to serving on the Enterprise, even if his stationing on Capella was only for a few months thanks to their disinterest in medicine. Interestingly, they appear to be much more Klingon than the Klingon we see interfering in the trade talks! Kras is short, treacherous and a liar, whereas the attitudes prevalent in Capellan society are about strict honour, they don't lie and they are these strapping great warriors with a proud tradition, even if they do believe that the weak must perish (sounds a bit Species 8472!). According to McCoy it's not unusual for them to be seven feet in height, and even their women are strikingly tall. I wonder if Klingon influence is what led Maab down the path of treachery to his Teer, or whether, as the Teer is so quick to rise to a challenge, this is their conventional method of ensuring the strongest man leads the Ten Tribes.
Maab is a more complex character than he first appears, apparently villainous, partly for being the advocate of the Klingons, and partly because he wants to seize power, but as soon as he stands victorious Kirk is quick to perceive he has changed in the donning of responsibility as leader of his people, something Kras is too slow to pick up on. Kirk also plays to Maab's culture when he quickly suggests rather than killing him and his men, they should allow him to fight Kras, who gives off fear at the idea, losing stature in the eyes of Maab, and gaining Kirk points. The political side of the story is the most capelling, sorry, compelling: we see the signs of a cold war between the Federation and the Klingon Empire as they struggle for the hearts and minds of the worlds between them. They aren't openly at war, and I wish they'd mentioned the impossibility of this due to the Organian Peace Treaty which forcibly prevented them from fighting as we saw in the first Klingon episode, 'Errand of Mercy' (a much better justification for a strained peace than the Klingon Chancellor holding the controls of a bomb within their own planet with the threat of detonating it if they don't follow her rule - thanks again to 'DSC' for such paltry story logic!). It's not proved that Organian power is no longer playing its part since you could say that the unfortunate Security Guard who jumped to conclusions at the sight of Kras never got a chance to squeeze the trigger on the Phaser he was pulling, and if he had, perhaps then he'd have been unable to complete the action. But it would have been better to hear the treaty mentioned.
The Capellans show that Trek could pull off an alien culture rather well. They aren't alien in looks, except for their excessive height and flowing locks, contrasting strongly with the balding, squat Kras who is a poor specimen of his race, though mentally devious and cunning. Maybe the colourful costumes could have done with a more subdued colour palette, but you have to remember Trek was still meant to be as colourful as possible to sell colour TVs, and the brightness fits well with their cultural attitude to battle: they don't flinch from it, they're bold and unafraid, so I imagine they would proudly wear the brightest colours so they could be seen more easily, to strike fear into their enemies at their coming (as we see in the location shooting), and to show they don't care about being seen - in fact they want to be seen. The tall headpieces with their ponytails on top only add to their stature and sense of pride, a similar impression to the Riders of Rohan from 'The Lord of The Rings.' Even their approach to tent living seems arrogant judging from the large naked flames they favour to light these dwelling places which are surrounded by plump cushions, thick hanging curtains and rugs that look like they'd go up with a whoosh if they caught fire! It's almost like they welcome death, a very Klingon custom in the later version of their culture. It's true that we're also seeing a much more human variation of Klingon in this period, as we know from the 'Enterprise' two-parter that explained how ridged Klingons became this ridge-less variety which also appear to be a bit spineless, except that we know Kras isn't exactly typical!
Kras, or perhaps 'Crass,' is meant to be a lesser member of his people as he really isn't much of a warrior, always looking for the Capellans to off the Earthmen and make his job easier, tripping when they march through the rocky landscape, then showing constant treachery to all around him, whether it be trying to sweet-talk Kirk out of killing him, or stabbing an injured Capellan to death after stealing the Phaser he was carrying, he's a thoroughly nasty piece of work. My guess is that he's the closest the Klingons have to a diplomat, his scheming brain ideal for negotiating and manoeuvring his targets into a contract with his people. I doubt that even if he'd lived he would have been one of the Klingons they brought back for 'DS9,' as he was a poor specimen of Klingonhood. It could be that they had the Capellans in mind as they redesigned the race over the years to be more about honour and battle, swords and physical combat rather than political manipulators (a trait which went to the Romulans), or it could be that the Capellans share the same ideological ancestry of Earth cultures such as Vikings to inspire their creation as it would the warrior caste of Klingons.
It is disappointing we don't get to see the Klingon Warship (I thought that was what they designated it, but I may be wrong), the Enterprise encounters at a distance - we're only given a sharp-angled tiny shape on the Viewscreen that looks like it has shields up, but it's very unclear what the design would be like if we saw it close. They didn't have the budget to create alien vessels (or even Federation ones!), week to week and so it was special indeed when they crafted a craft that was equal to the series' central icon of space travel, the Enterprise. Something that did stick out to me was a little information on the freighter Scotty and the crew go to rescue, all part of a ruse to draw them away from the planet so they can't help their Captain, Sulu saying such a ship should travel at Warp 2, at best. I know the warp scale is supposed to be different at this time, so the Earth Cargo Ships of 'Enterprise' which went around Warp 2 a hundred years before would make sense, except that these should be going much faster since the scale goes higher at this time, unless freighters are running on restrictive speed limits now, which I'm not sure on the sense if it were so? I wonder if the ECS is still going or whether it became a Federation organisation?
Wisely, the Klingons don't send down squads of soldiers as this would only anger the Capellans and means they'd have to fight the whole planet for the resources they want to acquire. It doesn't sound very Klingon to turn down the chance of a fight, but perhaps they were being practical and didn't have a large enough crew to fight that many Capellans - perhaps they'd been ordered to wrap up this deal as quickly as possible before the Federation got involved. Actually that was a curious problem for me, because if McCoy had been stationed on the planet previously they must have had some kind of diplomatic relations with them, so what changed? Were they expelled from the planet for their differences? Did Starfleet not know about the topaline then? And how was it discovered after if that's the case?
The episode gives evidence both for the stereotypical image some have of Captain Kirk, and against: he's initially concerned about not violating any Capellan taboos when they discuss bringing down a large force, quite contrary to the view of him as militaristic and violent. But later on we get some extreme prejudice against his Klingon foe, even though understandable, when he tells Spock one of them must get the Klingon who is part of the group hunting them, and Spock responds asking if it's revenge, and Kirk replies 'why not?' I was expecting Spock to come back with something else or Kirk to make an addendum, but it seems his anger against the Klingons (again, justified when we hear about how they're pulling the wool over people's eyes to expand their empire and turn populations into slaves), didn't begin with the death of his son in 'Star Trek III.' It seems that even the best Captains of this mid-23rd Century had strong feelings against the enemy, and perhaps that was correct, but it's only that we've seen so little of that enemy that it seems like an extreme reaction. On the other hand Kras was the one who was a constant thorn in their side and had already shown intent to have them killed whenever he had any influence on the Capellans, so he was a great threat to them, and perhaps it's too much to expect that Kirk would be more gracious to a foe than he deserved.
Spock seemed to be quite reserved in this episode, as he was in the previous one, and I wonder if this, too, was a consequence of McCoy being bumped up in the cast as he seems to have more to say than Spock, yet they aren't playing the animosity between the pair and McCoy is allowed to get on with his job of caring for Eleen who bears the child to be the next Teer. Her reactions in the episode demonstrate the savage nature of their culture most clearly - Maab, newly self-appointed as leader after killing her old husband trips her as she enters, forcing this heavily pregnant woman to throw her arm into the fire to steady herself, and it's quite a shocking moment. But what's more shocking is that she accepts it as normal and instead is outraged when Kirk goes to help her, demanding he be put to death for touching her! She's also ready and willing to die, as is tradition. Capellan women are a strange bunch as we see when Kirk's diplomatic care is tested (again against stereotype), and he doesn't leap to fight when a Capellan woman offers him fruit, basically giving him the option of taking her as bride if he'll kill her husband! Eleen acts like a spoiled brat, even when someone tries to help her, whether it's Kirk standing up for her in the camp, or McCoy trying to give her medical aid, she reacts as violently as the male members of her race - when the Doctor tries to gauge how close to giving birth she is, she slaps him in the face, not just once, but twice! McCoy responds with a slap of his own: if she's going to behave childishly, then so will he, and it works, the shock taking her aback. His authoritative words also help, and in line with her earlier obtuseness about being ready to die she allows only McCoy to touch her, impressed by his knowledge.
We see more than just physical doctoring from McCoy, he also attempts to work on her psychologically (though later he suggests it might be better to forget psychiatry and stick to surgery after his experiences with Eleen!), encouraging her to develop a bond with her unborn child when all she thinks about is her own life, the pain and discomfort apparently her sole concern, as well as the worse than precarious position this heir has put her in with the new boss. But despite being arrogant, peremptory and foolish, she also tries to save the lives of those who helped her: when she knocks McCoy out (and it seemed unnecessary since he looked like he was sleeping), it's like the ultimate sign of betrayal, but when she reaches the enemy she lies (another great example of Capellan honour, even if for a good cause), and says she killed them all and the baby's dead, too. She seems to think, somewhat simplistically, that that's an end to it, they'll take her word for granted and return to normal life. I don't think her actions were motivated entirely by generosity of spirit, in fact to me it suggests she wants to wash her hands of the whole thing, aliens, motherhood, etc. The funniest moment came earlier when McCoy impresses on her that she needs to say 'the baby is mine' and she agrees, the baby is his! We see she has no desire to look after a child and in doing what she did she's solved both problems, repaid those who saved her life, and got rid of the baby responsibility. The odd thing is that the other Capellans really do believe her and only the suspicious Klingon doubts her story.
This is where things become a bit hard to fathom: Kras is so intent on ridding Capella of Kirk (though he doesn't seem to have a legendary impression of the Captain as some Klingons will), that he refuses to just go back with Maab and the others, throwing himself between the two parties. Then Eleen's solemn word is proved false when Kirk and Spock appear, but rather than Maab denigrating Eleen and being angry with her he's more interested in giving back her life and saying his own is now forfeit! It seemed a bit arbitrary that he made such an announcement and goes down to distract Kras so one of his soldiers can Kligat the Klingon to death. It just seemed bonkers, but then we don't know Capellan culture well enough to understand exactly what was going through his mind. It's more like the story needed to wrap up and the villains to be defeated so he goes like a lamb to the slaughter and gets Phasered into nothing by Kras so that the newborn can take its rightful place as Teer. So it wasn't the greatest conclusion, even if the outdoor location, Vasquez Rocks again, looked a lot better than the set they had for the early scenes. This time they do get back to the tradition of ending on a light note with Spock responding to the news that the baby has been named after both Leonard McCoy and James Kirk by noting heavily how insufferably pleased with themselves they'll be.
It was funny to hear Leonard Nimoy say his own name as Spock (just the Leonard part!), well, perhaps funny is the wrong word, it was odd, and it was also strange the episode ended that way, but it only added to the sense of a story that was slightly out of kilter, though it had so much potential, what with an alien culture, the Klingons, and a heavily planet-based setting. I like it, I should confirm that, but I wish we'd got to know the Klingons as well as we did the Capellans. I like the inventiveness that shows again how Starfleet officers are trained in survival and don't rely solely on the technology they've created, they're very much hands-on, as demonstrated by the use of natural features such as causing the rock fall (even if they did use the sonic power of Communicators to pull it off, it shows an unconventional and experimental solution), or building bows and arrows when all they have against the ranged Kligats are long knives. Kirk even uses a cushion as a diversion at one point, chucking it in the face of one of their guards before pounding him! Although we learn quite a bit about the Capellans there were still some only hinted at, such as Kirk suggesting they'd track them down by scent if necessary, so they must have highly developed olfactory powers, not a common occurrence among aliens on Trek. The original Teer also says the sky does not interest him when Kirk says he needs to contact his ship to tell them a Klingon vessel may be nearby, which shows they're very focused on their own land and aren't impressed by the galactic visitors other than for what they can get out of them.
An issue that is never even brought up is the Prime Directive, or General Order Number One, since this is a race who aren't developed anywhere near the level of space travel, so how come Starfleet can get involved? It may be that the Klingons had already interfered with their culture so that meant the damage was done and our side needs to get in there and prevent the Klingons from taking over as they've done elsewhere, but then we know from McCoy that they had made contact before and we presume they didn't hide the fact they were from outside their world. It's a thorny issue and it suggests that perhaps the Federation's need for topaline is greater than its principle of noninterference, but we simply don't have enough information to know either way, and clearly the influence of our people is much more beneficial than the Klingons, so perhaps it's justified?
Though the Enterprise doesn't feature much in the episode we do see a fair few examples of technology: Uhura removes her earpiece so we see the in-ear end which isn't often shown, and Sulu's viewer is seen powering up. Chekov's back at Spock's station (who knows what's going to happen to his role when Spock actually spends time aboard ship!), with his first 'inwented in Russia' line, and there was a unique angle on him where he's at a console, but the camera is looking inward from where the wall of the Bridge would be. The Tri-screen on the table of the Briefing Room shows historical footage of McCoy on Capella (though technically they got the uniform wrong - we see him in the current version instead of the turtlenecks of 'The Cage,' when usually they're good at showing pre-'TOS' with the Pike outfits, though 'DSC' has since completely ruined that whole lineage!), then switches to a message from Sulu on the Bridge - good to see its versatility. The small coloured squares they use as storage media get a specific designation: when Scotty asks for the distress signal to be replayed he asks for the micro tape and Chekov selects one. And just as interestingly, when Chekov reports a ship nearby, observing it in Spock's viewer, he puts it up on the screen above that station - again, the versatility of the technology makes it more realistic. It's also pleasing to notice the look of the Klingon Disruptor changed so little over the years, with the same broad, curved handle here. I don't know why one shot of the Enterprise showed it with a clear light on its starboard side instead of the usual green - I thought at first it was a black and white image, but then I noticed the red of the markings, so it wasn't that…
It may not be the most dramatic story, with the three friends and crew-mates not particularly giving an impression of being stranded against superior odds, other than in dialogue. The characters don't entirely seem themselves at all times and the Klingons are taken as read rather than the appearance used to expand what we know of them. When this is only the second time they'd shown up on the series that comes across as a bit of a flaw. But the weight of good things in the episode tips the balance, ensuring it looks good for the most part and provides the kind of character interaction we want to see.
***
Tuesday, 8 December 2020
The Real World
DVD, Stargate Atlantis S3 (The Real World)
How they do love these stories! And, to be fair, so do I, when they're done well. Even if they're a little patchy I'm more inclined to give them a pass when they do a fake reality tale because those are especially appealing to me. I'm sure they've done multiple such stories on 'Stargate' over the years, I feel like they might even have already covered this ground with another character on 'Atlantis,' though I can't remember (Rodney and his make-believe Carter might be what I'm remembering), and they certainly went on to do it at least once on 'Universe,' and when you add in all the 'Star Trek,' 'Smallville' and probably other series' too, I've seen more than my fair share. I never get tired of it, though I do quickly start wondering what the trick will be this time, and whether they'll come up with a new spin on a familiar (but not tired), concept. But this is 'Stargate,' they aren't renowned for breaking new ground, so I didn't expect more than the usual, and that's what I got. Maybe this time she's in a coma, I thought, and kept in that state for her own protection. Well I wasn't too far off, but I wasn't right, either, as it turns out it's all thanks to nasty Nium, or perhaps I should say nice Nium, since he was on their side until the nanites took control. It was nice Nium's nasty nanites, naturally!
I like that there could be completely unconsidered consequences from a previous episode that would never have been thought of in my long list of possible causes. For one thing it shows that you can have serialised stories that are also unrelated, but are their own separate entity while spring-boarding from what happened before. These types of episodes also fit well with the ensemble series format where we focus on a particular character and allow that cast member the latitude to act in extraordinary situations alone. Dr. Weir was as good a choice as any for this unfortunate scenario to play out with, she is the person of authority in Atlantis after all, so to have that all stripped away from her immediately puts her on the back foot. My preferences would have been for it to almost entirely take place in her mind if that was what was happening - I know it is an ensemble series and so you need to work in the other characters somehow, but partly for drama, and partly for the sake of reality, I felt they shouldn't have had the others standing around getting in the way in the Sickbay. It's not like they were really contributing anything, and if they did have to feature everyone, why not show them discussing it quietly outside the room?
It still would have worked better if we weren't sure about what was happening until near the end. It was different that she comes to the conclusion she was hallucinating it all and chooses to accept this life, but I also find it difficult to buy that despite her vivid memories she would give in so easily and assumed she was just playing along. But it took Sheppard's encouragement for her to reassess her position and they managed to pull off a good ending from something that had lost its mystery along the way. They did well for a good portion of the episode and the horror-tinged moments were suitably jarring, even if I was then expecting her Mother's head to start bouncing back and forth as Jack's did. Ah, Jack! It was so good to see Richard Dean Anderson reprise his role as General O'Neill even if it was a fake, nanite-created version designed to make her go along with the programme. It made me wish he'd stayed involved in the franchise as a regular because he's just so much fun that I genuinely missed him after this, even though he'd previously shown up only the previous TV season during 'SG-1's final year. It was also lovely to have the final showdown take place on the empty sets of that series, who'd have thought we'd be seeing Jack O'Neill back in those corridors again?
I wonder how long they kept those standing sets standing, I don't know when the 'SG-1' spinoff films were made, but I imagine it wouldn't have been much later, especially as by 'Universe' I'm pretty sure they represented what little we saw of the SGC with different sets. But there was something more emotionally satisfying about Weir's need to go through the old Stargate to escape, so it really added to the relief as she follows Sheppard's instructions to escape. Was he supposed to be the sinister shadow that was creeping around? That was the impression I got, her subconscious, or the work of the nanite infection giving it a negative angle, though in reality it would have been him standing by her isolation tent, I would assume. Unless it was supposed to be Nium, the personification of the nanites? The episode scored on the guest casting, and it was so nice to see Alan Ruck again - it made me wish that since he was doing sci-fi TV in that decade that 'Enterprise' had managed to get him back for some time travel adventure where they connected with his Trek character, Captain Harriman of the Enterprise-B! He had that sympathetic face that could also be taken as slightly sinister at any moment as he appears to indulgently allow Weir her ridiculous fantasies.
It's not a story that has any greater meaning for the series, and so is just the kind of thing you probably don't see any more now that streaming services have done for extensive seasons in which to experiment, relying instead on big arcs to pull in the casuals. I will always enjoy this kind of one-off reality-shifting uncertainty than conventional action, though with this series you have room for both. I can't say the actress wowed me with her portrayal, but she was fine and it comes together pretty well.
***
How they do love these stories! And, to be fair, so do I, when they're done well. Even if they're a little patchy I'm more inclined to give them a pass when they do a fake reality tale because those are especially appealing to me. I'm sure they've done multiple such stories on 'Stargate' over the years, I feel like they might even have already covered this ground with another character on 'Atlantis,' though I can't remember (Rodney and his make-believe Carter might be what I'm remembering), and they certainly went on to do it at least once on 'Universe,' and when you add in all the 'Star Trek,' 'Smallville' and probably other series' too, I've seen more than my fair share. I never get tired of it, though I do quickly start wondering what the trick will be this time, and whether they'll come up with a new spin on a familiar (but not tired), concept. But this is 'Stargate,' they aren't renowned for breaking new ground, so I didn't expect more than the usual, and that's what I got. Maybe this time she's in a coma, I thought, and kept in that state for her own protection. Well I wasn't too far off, but I wasn't right, either, as it turns out it's all thanks to nasty Nium, or perhaps I should say nice Nium, since he was on their side until the nanites took control. It was nice Nium's nasty nanites, naturally!
I like that there could be completely unconsidered consequences from a previous episode that would never have been thought of in my long list of possible causes. For one thing it shows that you can have serialised stories that are also unrelated, but are their own separate entity while spring-boarding from what happened before. These types of episodes also fit well with the ensemble series format where we focus on a particular character and allow that cast member the latitude to act in extraordinary situations alone. Dr. Weir was as good a choice as any for this unfortunate scenario to play out with, she is the person of authority in Atlantis after all, so to have that all stripped away from her immediately puts her on the back foot. My preferences would have been for it to almost entirely take place in her mind if that was what was happening - I know it is an ensemble series and so you need to work in the other characters somehow, but partly for drama, and partly for the sake of reality, I felt they shouldn't have had the others standing around getting in the way in the Sickbay. It's not like they were really contributing anything, and if they did have to feature everyone, why not show them discussing it quietly outside the room?
It still would have worked better if we weren't sure about what was happening until near the end. It was different that she comes to the conclusion she was hallucinating it all and chooses to accept this life, but I also find it difficult to buy that despite her vivid memories she would give in so easily and assumed she was just playing along. But it took Sheppard's encouragement for her to reassess her position and they managed to pull off a good ending from something that had lost its mystery along the way. They did well for a good portion of the episode and the horror-tinged moments were suitably jarring, even if I was then expecting her Mother's head to start bouncing back and forth as Jack's did. Ah, Jack! It was so good to see Richard Dean Anderson reprise his role as General O'Neill even if it was a fake, nanite-created version designed to make her go along with the programme. It made me wish he'd stayed involved in the franchise as a regular because he's just so much fun that I genuinely missed him after this, even though he'd previously shown up only the previous TV season during 'SG-1's final year. It was also lovely to have the final showdown take place on the empty sets of that series, who'd have thought we'd be seeing Jack O'Neill back in those corridors again?
I wonder how long they kept those standing sets standing, I don't know when the 'SG-1' spinoff films were made, but I imagine it wouldn't have been much later, especially as by 'Universe' I'm pretty sure they represented what little we saw of the SGC with different sets. But there was something more emotionally satisfying about Weir's need to go through the old Stargate to escape, so it really added to the relief as she follows Sheppard's instructions to escape. Was he supposed to be the sinister shadow that was creeping around? That was the impression I got, her subconscious, or the work of the nanite infection giving it a negative angle, though in reality it would have been him standing by her isolation tent, I would assume. Unless it was supposed to be Nium, the personification of the nanites? The episode scored on the guest casting, and it was so nice to see Alan Ruck again - it made me wish that since he was doing sci-fi TV in that decade that 'Enterprise' had managed to get him back for some time travel adventure where they connected with his Trek character, Captain Harriman of the Enterprise-B! He had that sympathetic face that could also be taken as slightly sinister at any moment as he appears to indulgently allow Weir her ridiculous fantasies.
It's not a story that has any greater meaning for the series, and so is just the kind of thing you probably don't see any more now that streaming services have done for extensive seasons in which to experiment, relying instead on big arcs to pull in the casuals. I will always enjoy this kind of one-off reality-shifting uncertainty than conventional action, though with this series you have room for both. I can't say the actress wowed me with her portrayal, but she was fine and it comes together pretty well.
***
Super Mario Galaxy
Wii, Super Mario Galaxy (2007) game
Mario, being Nintendo's mascot, is almost universally the true Nintendo Seal of Quality (though his reputation was harmed a little through appearing in some less successful titles as the company sought to widen his use through sports titles or cameos in other companies' releases), and none more than the big marquee titles that he graced on each console. By the time of the Wii he'd already revolutionised, or you could say, invented, the 3D platformer on the N64, 'Super Mario 64,' but since then his GameCube release had been more of a continuation of that with the gimmick of FLUDD, a water-spraying backpack that gave him the ability to hover or blast higher into the air in 'Super Mario Sunshine.' They learned some lessons from that game, which was a good one, but not quite as satisfying as hoped, held back by its single theme of sunshine, ocean and beaches. With 'Super Mario Galaxy' they made sure to get back to the variety of worlds seen in Mario's previous games, while also including a gimmick, in line with 'SMS,' and returning to the Stars of 'SM64' instead of Shines.
'SM64' was so revolutionary not just because it was a whole new dimension in which to play, with new concepts such as a moveable camera displaying the game world, but also for the N64 Controller which was built specifically for the game. 'SM64' was more than just the next Mario instalment, it was the portal to a new generation and genre of gameplay. 'SMG' was doing something similar: although there were no further dimensions possible to be explored (unless you count the passage of time, something both 'Harvest Moon' and 'Animal Crossing' played with), the Wii was designed to be accessible to those unfamiliar with electronic gaming and to break away from the constant battles for graphical supremacy that other console makers were ever engaged in, a perpetual oneupmanship that didn't suit Nintendo's ethos of championing gameplay and new experiences over technical specifications, a move that saw them regain the top spot for that era. But if the console and its unique control method of realtime movement detection in space, creating a more physical engagement with onscreen events, was designed for simpler types of games, how would Mario, a series famed for its precise control and freedom of in-game acrobatics, work?
At this point I must admit to not owning an official Wii Remote or Nunchuk, making do with third-party controllers. This means I can be sure the analogue stick isn't as well made as Nintendo's craftsmen always manufacture their control pads. At the same time, 'SMG' was not the game that 'SM64' had been, the source of its experimentation and the guiding light for the creation of the console itself. In one sense it had learned from 'SM64' and its long creation period which forced the N64 to be delayed ("You can't buy this yet"). This time they didn't have as much resolve that a Mario game must launch with the console, and instead such simpler fare as 'Wii Sports' was the 'killer app' which demonstrated the new machine's potential. While this was good for the Wii, perhaps it wasn't so good for 'SMG' since that meant the game had to be made despite the new control method rather than being crafted for it. I could see that the aspects of Wii-specific controls, the gathering up of Star Bits, the pointing and shooting of the same, the 'Super Monkey Ball' ball-rolling, the bubble blowing and snow blasting were all additions to what was a much more conventional platform game. When they came along they were great fun and a challenge (nothing gets the heart pounding more than trying to roll a large ball around tight platforms above bottomless depths by turning the Remote into a giant analogue joystick!), but they didn't take over from the meat of the platforming tasks.
That's probably a good thing as making the game reliant on gimmickry, no matter how much fun in doses they were, would have altered Mario's style too far beyond what we were used to. At the same time, the main source of irritation I had with the game were its controls, something you wouldn't expect judging from Mario's past successes. I found holding two separate devices in each hand to be much less comfortable than gripping a single pad, and the reliance on the Spin Jump, activated by flicking the Remote, to be an inconvenience that wouldn't have existed if it had been more direct with a button press. In a Mario game where you require great in-game dexterity, quick reactions and accuracy, this created unnecessary frustrations. These frustrations were compounded by my other bane: the camera. I know that a lot of the game was designed to be played in a 2D world, in spite of the three-dimensional freedom, but I was profoundly annoyed by the game's insistence on taking ownership of the view! I much prefer the freedom to centre the camera behind yourself at any time (which was possible with the C button, though fiddly), and to AT ALL TIMES have the power to manipulate the camera around you, either to scout out the environment for pitfalls, or to get a better grasp of where you wanted to get to in 3D space.
Too often, this precision of control was denied, sometimes resulting in death. The game also gave me a realisation about the genre that either I hadn't understood before, or had forgotten: I don't really like 2D platform games. I never really enjoyed those games where it was all about pixel-perfect jumps, the true platform genre of timing and instinct, closer to the twitch gaming of shoot-'em-ups than the open worlds of such classics as 'Zelda.' But I had thought I did love platform games in the 3D realm because they were mostly not about instant deaths and the importance of quick reactions. Ever since I played 'Banjo-Kazooie' on the N64 I loved that specific style, which is that, sure, there are instant deaths if you fall too far, or the occasional bottomless drop of doom, but mostly it's about the joy of exploring a world, collecting things, working out how to get to places, and taking on mini challenges. I know 'SM64' had its share of dangerous edges and all that, but I remember it more as being about the exploration and experience of control. 'SMG' was trying something radical, and it was impressive, but as much as I found the changing gravity of bouncing between tiny planetoids to be fun, and the novelty of shifting reality a challenge, it could also be deeply disorientating.
This is where the locked camera caused most problems because you can only really see the changes in gravity if your perspective stays the same (should have called it 'Super Mario Gravity'), so it was like they had to remove freedom in order to show off their new gimmick. I would much have preferred to be able to keep the camera directly behind Mario at all times rather than find that up on the stick no longer corresponds with Mario moving in that direction! Too often I was dismayed by such things, and I understand they had to add something new otherwise it would just be 'SM64' with improved graphics, but this was one area where more thought was required. 'SM64' got around the wish for old-style Mario moments in its Bowser stages, but for the most part it had that wonder of worlds to play in. In too many cases I found myself just wanting to get past a difficult area because it wasn't fun. If it was a struggle to get from A to B, then it wasn't what I was looking for in a platform game, despite the conventions of the 2D genre. I will give them credit for making a tough game as, although many of the stars were easy, a good number required multiple attempts, and the mere three segments of health you have (unless you can get hold of a red mushroom which doubles it until you lose three), made for tense moments. I could have done without the warning sounds when you're down to one segment, but I can see it was intended to up the tension, too.
The levels were relatively small, but at least that meant you didn't have the misery of wandering around at a loss for what to do next, which has happened in some games, such as 'Zelda,' and the variety was pretty good - at least they could be more imaginative with the worlds they created (even if terminology such as 'galaxy' referred to only a small collection of planets, more like a system), relying on little chunks of play rather than monster-sized challenges that could take hours. The game was very much geared to the spirit of the Wii's new mode of play - on 'Wii Sports' every so often you're invited to take a break. Bite-size gameplay seemed to be the direction at the time, especially because of the more physical nature of Wii interaction, I suppose, but the beauty of 'SMG' was that you could either play to find a star, a short ten or twenty minute bash, or you could stick with the game for hours at a time, breaking off whenever you felt like it, so that balance was immaculately crafted. It's also a suitably large game - just as in 'SM64' where you could complete the game before collecting every Star, then return to get the rest, you had that option here, with new Purple Coin challenges in most levels giving you a fresh task, often with new areas, so they clearly worked hard on creating a game with longevity.
I loved it at the very end when you complete the game with 120 Stars and you're rewarded with the chance to play as Luigi and he shouts "Super Luigi Galaxy!" I don't have the desire to go back through the entire thing again (although I liked the addition that Luigi's quest is on the same file as your existing one, rather than having to open a new file separately), but I imagine I will one day. The only downside to the ending was that it seemed to say there was a new galaxy to explore and I could never find it on Mario's file, so maybe it's something you have to complete as Luigi to access, which was a little disappointing as I was in the mood for one more level. Still, on the whole it was a good experience, the music was as jaunty as you'd expect, the levels bright and colourful and a tonic against all those ugly brown and grey worlds that blight game environments in less imaginative productions. As I came to the end I did feel more attached to the game, and a mite more forgiving to its issues, and I would certainly play the sequel, also released on Wii, though I suspect it will just be more of the same. If they fixed the problems (I didn't even mention the further aggravation of the cursor disappearing when it hits the edge of the screen so you don't know precisely where you're pointing until you bring it back!), it could have turned out to be a great game, but this one, as it stood, was only a good one, something I'd rather have been able to play with the 'Cube's Controller for most of it.
Some things I didn't like I admit are Mario tropes, such as his momentum in the direction he's going, so even if you stop moving the stick he'll keep going a little, or that he can't switch direction immediately, making jumping on a specific spot that keeps moving, problematic. Even minor niggles like when looking in first person he can only turn as far as his neck would in real life, rather than allowing full 360 degree movement to look around. Instead you still have to go out of the view, rotate him a little, then go back into the view, which is just so unintuitive - even in 'Zelda' there were no restrictions on looking around! I keep coming back to the unyielding control the camera insists on keeping so often, and that some of the challenges were so tricky in themselves, that with the troubles of camera and controls it was like a double backstabbing from the game. It also takes experience to understand the game's unique conventions: some areas you can fall off without harm, some you can walk around and underneath, others cause you to fall to instant death and it's really not very clear which is which as you're introduced to spherical lands early on and have to learn to move in a different way. I suppose this should be up to the player, but as much as it was important to inform on what the various objects do, it was equally essential to explain your limitations. I'm not sure if I'd want more or less of the unique Wii stuff - at the time I felt there weren't enough of them, but maybe having more would have upset the balance away from Mario tradition? However 'SMG 2' plays out I kept coming back to this one for more, so I'll want to play that, too.
***
Mario, being Nintendo's mascot, is almost universally the true Nintendo Seal of Quality (though his reputation was harmed a little through appearing in some less successful titles as the company sought to widen his use through sports titles or cameos in other companies' releases), and none more than the big marquee titles that he graced on each console. By the time of the Wii he'd already revolutionised, or you could say, invented, the 3D platformer on the N64, 'Super Mario 64,' but since then his GameCube release had been more of a continuation of that with the gimmick of FLUDD, a water-spraying backpack that gave him the ability to hover or blast higher into the air in 'Super Mario Sunshine.' They learned some lessons from that game, which was a good one, but not quite as satisfying as hoped, held back by its single theme of sunshine, ocean and beaches. With 'Super Mario Galaxy' they made sure to get back to the variety of worlds seen in Mario's previous games, while also including a gimmick, in line with 'SMS,' and returning to the Stars of 'SM64' instead of Shines.
'SM64' was so revolutionary not just because it was a whole new dimension in which to play, with new concepts such as a moveable camera displaying the game world, but also for the N64 Controller which was built specifically for the game. 'SM64' was more than just the next Mario instalment, it was the portal to a new generation and genre of gameplay. 'SMG' was doing something similar: although there were no further dimensions possible to be explored (unless you count the passage of time, something both 'Harvest Moon' and 'Animal Crossing' played with), the Wii was designed to be accessible to those unfamiliar with electronic gaming and to break away from the constant battles for graphical supremacy that other console makers were ever engaged in, a perpetual oneupmanship that didn't suit Nintendo's ethos of championing gameplay and new experiences over technical specifications, a move that saw them regain the top spot for that era. But if the console and its unique control method of realtime movement detection in space, creating a more physical engagement with onscreen events, was designed for simpler types of games, how would Mario, a series famed for its precise control and freedom of in-game acrobatics, work?
At this point I must admit to not owning an official Wii Remote or Nunchuk, making do with third-party controllers. This means I can be sure the analogue stick isn't as well made as Nintendo's craftsmen always manufacture their control pads. At the same time, 'SMG' was not the game that 'SM64' had been, the source of its experimentation and the guiding light for the creation of the console itself. In one sense it had learned from 'SM64' and its long creation period which forced the N64 to be delayed ("You can't buy this yet"). This time they didn't have as much resolve that a Mario game must launch with the console, and instead such simpler fare as 'Wii Sports' was the 'killer app' which demonstrated the new machine's potential. While this was good for the Wii, perhaps it wasn't so good for 'SMG' since that meant the game had to be made despite the new control method rather than being crafted for it. I could see that the aspects of Wii-specific controls, the gathering up of Star Bits, the pointing and shooting of the same, the 'Super Monkey Ball' ball-rolling, the bubble blowing and snow blasting were all additions to what was a much more conventional platform game. When they came along they were great fun and a challenge (nothing gets the heart pounding more than trying to roll a large ball around tight platforms above bottomless depths by turning the Remote into a giant analogue joystick!), but they didn't take over from the meat of the platforming tasks.
That's probably a good thing as making the game reliant on gimmickry, no matter how much fun in doses they were, would have altered Mario's style too far beyond what we were used to. At the same time, the main source of irritation I had with the game were its controls, something you wouldn't expect judging from Mario's past successes. I found holding two separate devices in each hand to be much less comfortable than gripping a single pad, and the reliance on the Spin Jump, activated by flicking the Remote, to be an inconvenience that wouldn't have existed if it had been more direct with a button press. In a Mario game where you require great in-game dexterity, quick reactions and accuracy, this created unnecessary frustrations. These frustrations were compounded by my other bane: the camera. I know that a lot of the game was designed to be played in a 2D world, in spite of the three-dimensional freedom, but I was profoundly annoyed by the game's insistence on taking ownership of the view! I much prefer the freedom to centre the camera behind yourself at any time (which was possible with the C button, though fiddly), and to AT ALL TIMES have the power to manipulate the camera around you, either to scout out the environment for pitfalls, or to get a better grasp of where you wanted to get to in 3D space.
Too often, this precision of control was denied, sometimes resulting in death. The game also gave me a realisation about the genre that either I hadn't understood before, or had forgotten: I don't really like 2D platform games. I never really enjoyed those games where it was all about pixel-perfect jumps, the true platform genre of timing and instinct, closer to the twitch gaming of shoot-'em-ups than the open worlds of such classics as 'Zelda.' But I had thought I did love platform games in the 3D realm because they were mostly not about instant deaths and the importance of quick reactions. Ever since I played 'Banjo-Kazooie' on the N64 I loved that specific style, which is that, sure, there are instant deaths if you fall too far, or the occasional bottomless drop of doom, but mostly it's about the joy of exploring a world, collecting things, working out how to get to places, and taking on mini challenges. I know 'SM64' had its share of dangerous edges and all that, but I remember it more as being about the exploration and experience of control. 'SMG' was trying something radical, and it was impressive, but as much as I found the changing gravity of bouncing between tiny planetoids to be fun, and the novelty of shifting reality a challenge, it could also be deeply disorientating.
This is where the locked camera caused most problems because you can only really see the changes in gravity if your perspective stays the same (should have called it 'Super Mario Gravity'), so it was like they had to remove freedom in order to show off their new gimmick. I would much have preferred to be able to keep the camera directly behind Mario at all times rather than find that up on the stick no longer corresponds with Mario moving in that direction! Too often I was dismayed by such things, and I understand they had to add something new otherwise it would just be 'SM64' with improved graphics, but this was one area where more thought was required. 'SM64' got around the wish for old-style Mario moments in its Bowser stages, but for the most part it had that wonder of worlds to play in. In too many cases I found myself just wanting to get past a difficult area because it wasn't fun. If it was a struggle to get from A to B, then it wasn't what I was looking for in a platform game, despite the conventions of the 2D genre. I will give them credit for making a tough game as, although many of the stars were easy, a good number required multiple attempts, and the mere three segments of health you have (unless you can get hold of a red mushroom which doubles it until you lose three), made for tense moments. I could have done without the warning sounds when you're down to one segment, but I can see it was intended to up the tension, too.
The levels were relatively small, but at least that meant you didn't have the misery of wandering around at a loss for what to do next, which has happened in some games, such as 'Zelda,' and the variety was pretty good - at least they could be more imaginative with the worlds they created (even if terminology such as 'galaxy' referred to only a small collection of planets, more like a system), relying on little chunks of play rather than monster-sized challenges that could take hours. The game was very much geared to the spirit of the Wii's new mode of play - on 'Wii Sports' every so often you're invited to take a break. Bite-size gameplay seemed to be the direction at the time, especially because of the more physical nature of Wii interaction, I suppose, but the beauty of 'SMG' was that you could either play to find a star, a short ten or twenty minute bash, or you could stick with the game for hours at a time, breaking off whenever you felt like it, so that balance was immaculately crafted. It's also a suitably large game - just as in 'SM64' where you could complete the game before collecting every Star, then return to get the rest, you had that option here, with new Purple Coin challenges in most levels giving you a fresh task, often with new areas, so they clearly worked hard on creating a game with longevity.
I loved it at the very end when you complete the game with 120 Stars and you're rewarded with the chance to play as Luigi and he shouts "Super Luigi Galaxy!" I don't have the desire to go back through the entire thing again (although I liked the addition that Luigi's quest is on the same file as your existing one, rather than having to open a new file separately), but I imagine I will one day. The only downside to the ending was that it seemed to say there was a new galaxy to explore and I could never find it on Mario's file, so maybe it's something you have to complete as Luigi to access, which was a little disappointing as I was in the mood for one more level. Still, on the whole it was a good experience, the music was as jaunty as you'd expect, the levels bright and colourful and a tonic against all those ugly brown and grey worlds that blight game environments in less imaginative productions. As I came to the end I did feel more attached to the game, and a mite more forgiving to its issues, and I would certainly play the sequel, also released on Wii, though I suspect it will just be more of the same. If they fixed the problems (I didn't even mention the further aggravation of the cursor disappearing when it hits the edge of the screen so you don't know precisely where you're pointing until you bring it back!), it could have turned out to be a great game, but this one, as it stood, was only a good one, something I'd rather have been able to play with the 'Cube's Controller for most of it.
Some things I didn't like I admit are Mario tropes, such as his momentum in the direction he's going, so even if you stop moving the stick he'll keep going a little, or that he can't switch direction immediately, making jumping on a specific spot that keeps moving, problematic. Even minor niggles like when looking in first person he can only turn as far as his neck would in real life, rather than allowing full 360 degree movement to look around. Instead you still have to go out of the view, rotate him a little, then go back into the view, which is just so unintuitive - even in 'Zelda' there were no restrictions on looking around! I keep coming back to the unyielding control the camera insists on keeping so often, and that some of the challenges were so tricky in themselves, that with the troubles of camera and controls it was like a double backstabbing from the game. It also takes experience to understand the game's unique conventions: some areas you can fall off without harm, some you can walk around and underneath, others cause you to fall to instant death and it's really not very clear which is which as you're introduced to spherical lands early on and have to learn to move in a different way. I suppose this should be up to the player, but as much as it was important to inform on what the various objects do, it was equally essential to explain your limitations. I'm not sure if I'd want more or less of the unique Wii stuff - at the time I felt there weren't enough of them, but maybe having more would have upset the balance away from Mario tradition? However 'SMG 2' plays out I kept coming back to this one for more, so I'll want to play that, too.
***
Thursday, 3 December 2020
Metamorphosis
DVD, Star Trek S2 (Metamorphosis)
Few figures in Trek can claim the recognition and importance of Zefram Cochrane, inventor of warp drive, instigator of all that is 'Star Trek.' The advantage of setting a series in the future is that you have a past in which to create your future's history, further adding to the reality of a fictional universe, and 'TOS' would occasionally interact with its past, setting the tone for so much of its world-building consistency, fleshing out texture and time, while also being conscious of not painting themselves into a corner, keeping their options open, something that made it the perfect setting in which to explore other eras in the spinoffs, and in which they were even more careful not to tie down too much or be too definitive because they knew that if the future was unwritten, Trek could last… well, who knows how long? The disadvantage of not being specific and explicit on certain facts is that future writers can come along who don't respect the continuity and pick out bare periods to put their own contemporary spin on the universe which can lead to conflict and the undermining of Trek's carefully constructed reality. But that's not always the case, as can be seen with 'First Contact,' the eighth film, released for the 30th Anniversary of Trek, which dealt with Trek history with great care and ability. They were in a unique position for the previous seven films had featured cast from 'TOS,' and so while it may seem strange that such an anniversary should be celebrated without any returning cast members, despite them all being alive and well, the reality was that this was the first 'TNG' film to strike out alone, without the tether of their forebears. How did they celebrate Trek's past without its cast? By bringing in a character from 'TOS.'
I don't know if Glenn Corbett was still acting in 1996, but if he was he'd have been an old man, and while James Cromwell wasn't exactly young (nor looked like the thirty-odd year old Cochrane that was established through very specific dating in this episode!), the excuse of radiation poisoning from World War III takes care of that little anomaly. 'First Contact' showed, just as 'TNG' had done before it, that you don't need to have actual cast and characters return in order to celebrate the past, you could tie into the established canon and explore it further. And it is amazing how well they were able to do that, and how Trek's various key historical periods and established facts were able to mesh together. That film proved to be a nexus for Trek for years afterwards in a way that few events have been (with the exception of, perhaps, 'Nemesis,' which I know 'Picard' ties into, though I don't know how exactly), with both 'Voyager' and 'Enterprise,' the latter especially, dining out on connections to it. Zefram Cochrane became one of those few links that glued various eras together with references to him and the work that he did, his role here kickstarting the bedrock of Trek future history. They'd already brought in one future history figure, confusingly Khan Noonien Singh was both of the 'TOS' future that those in the 1960s were extrapolating, and became of the past as viewers continued to watch, and still do, a series in which most of those involved are now dead and gone, with only a handful left. We haven't reached Cochrane's time yet, though he's due to be born in around ten years time (apparently it's more like 2032 since 'Enterprise' retconned that he was there to dedicate the Warp 5 facility in 2119, rather than 2117 that you'd expect if you work back from the episode's date of 2267, though they could have been rounding off to say he disappeared a hundred and fifty years before).
A historical figure of Cochrane's stature would have been like bringing in Abraham Lincoln… oh, that's right, they did. Okay, like bringing in Professor Stephen Hawking… yes, okay, they did that, too. Okay, it was like bringing in Captain Archer, or Admiral, or Federation President Archer… how I'd love them to do that on one of these modern TV shows (Scott Bakula is still acting!). They didn't quite realise what they were saying at the time of 'Metamorphosis,' but then nothing they did had any real relevance beyond a few years into their future, it was just a job, they were not to know the immensity of proportions that their little TV series would gain! I suspect now they would make more of a fuss of meeting the man if they were to bring him back in a current production (James Cromwell is still acting!), as we saw in 'First Contact' with the way both Reg Barclay and Geordi reacted to this figure of their imaginations, an inspiration and a legend to them. But that shows what the passage of time can do, perhaps the novelty of space travel had worn off by the time of the mid-23rd Century and so people of that time weren't as impressed by Cochrane as later generations were. Or it may be that pressing matters of survival were foremost in Kirk's mind. It's more like the inventors of early computing might be to us now, that we might vaguely know the name (more than the appearance), but who's to say that in another century people will be looking back on the technological pioneers of the computer age with as much reverence as we look back on great inventors of centuries past.
Not to say that Cochrane was forgotten, but he seemed to have faded away, his death something of a mystery, but even that has lost significance over the passage of time, a poetically tragic end to a great man. That's why there's so much weight to his appearance in this episode, and subsequent Treks have built upon the base laid down here that to return to it now is to see something more, something greater than was even the intention of the original episode - that's the power of great retconning, not to meddle with what came before, but to raise it even higher and give it more emphasis, to open your mind to something bigger and far-reaching. If you just saw this episode and knew nothing about the universe's history, Zefram comes across as a personable, pleasant man with strong morals. He hasn't lost his interest in engineering (how great it would have been if Scotty had been part of the shuttle crew, though that would have given the episode a shunt in a different direction as he and Cochrane rhapsodised about ships and propulsion), and indeed, despite the powers of his Companion, he still wears the same flight suit he had on when he crashed, presumably, as we can assume just as his body doesn't degenerate, neither would his clothing or equipment - unless what he said about thinking the crew were hallucinations can be read to mean that the Companion tried to answer his distress by giving him other humans that were nonetheless unreal, in which case it could have given him different clothing in hallucinatory form, too, so it was for the best they arrived on the day he was wearing real clothes!
Cochrane's first pleasure is just seeing humans again, his second is seeing a woman, and, true to form, his third is to run over to the Galileo (I always want to call it Galileo 7, but the seven in its debut episode's title was referring to its crew!), to marvel at it's sleekness and wonder at its propulsion systems (oh the irony of Kirk telling Spock to explain their methods of propulsion to the Father of warp drive!). These kinds of personal details are what makes a character, simple little additions that show what kind of man he is, taking moments to drop in these small facets of personality and traits, the kind of thing that is lost in so much modern writing by the perceived need to keep moving the story along, often empty stories with vast stakes that are meaningless for their overblown scope, a desire to attract the eye to flashiness and hold short, fickle attention spans. But this episode is what Trek is about, it's one of those stage plays, it's not about action, there's not even one fight scene, it's all about character and the drama comes from how people react to problems, not expensive special effects and snarky dialogue meant to show how 'clever' or irreverent they are. It's astonishing when you think how old this episode is that it has so much more dramatic sophistication than all the recent episodes of Trek I've seen. Good effects can garnish a strong story, and I would say, as simple as it looks, the Companion was a good effect, augmented as it was by dialogue. The way they shot it, approaching 'The Man' as he stands in meditative stance, the way it envelops him with sparks and light, the aggression in its movement when Spock tries to harm it, stalking towards camera, the way it fills Cochrane's little hut…
The Companion has a character before it even has a voice. Spock notes that it changes when in Cochrane's company, he can extrapolate the love it has for him. In short, it was a terrific achievement to imbue this non-humanoid alien with such emotion. When it speaks in the voice of a woman, so haltingly and alien in its language, it takes on an added dimension, or rather it is able to express that dimension that we had only hints of before, and the tragedy is that it can't understand what Kirk is trying to tell it. Unlike 'Catspaw' in which he was able to teach a woman about love, but is then caught out and shown up as a deceiver, he's again in that position, only this time his powerful way with words can't break through and we see him nonplussed about what to do. Indeed, Kirk seems worried during this episode, command weighing heavily as he has the responsibility not only to his crew-mates and friends, Spock and McCoy, but also to his diplomatic charge, that of Assistant Federation Commissioner Nancy Hedford who acts as a ticking clock throughout, affected by a deadly illness that she needs treatment for. This is why the Captain is ill at ease, unwilling to think about the likelihood of being stuck with Zefram Crusoe and his cloud Friday. The position he's put in is at first to defeat a monster, much like his role against the Horta in 'The Devil In The Dark,' except this time instead of a monster that is misunderstood, it's the monster who misunderstands.
There was really nothing that Kirk could do, other than bring chaos to the little world of the Companion - Cochrane is on the Captain's side, he wants freedom, the thousands of worlds teeming with life that Kirk paints as the picture of a galaxy opened up to humans is attractive, and it's not the renown of the known galaxy he's eager to find, all out there waiting to honour him, as Kirk points out, it's escape from captivity, and the beauty of the story is that in the end he chooses to stay on that planet he's lived on for so long because now he's no longer the slave, but the master - the 'Wagon Train to the stars' analogy of the series is very much in evidence, for this is the homesteader who has found his place and chosen to settle in the wilderness with his new companion, same as the old Companion, but better. Although Kirk was unable to get through to the being, it was intelligent enough to realise its own deficiencies and merges with the dying Hedford who would have ceased to be, and becomes human in order to understand and be closer to The Man. One of the most affecting scenes of the whole episode is when the Companion/Hedford is off walking with Cochrane working out what this new situation means and as he's talking she holds up the thin scarf she'd been wearing and we see her point of view through it, like a veil, Cochrane appearing as he must have to the Companion in its previous form, the same patterns on that scarf as were in the creature. An incredibly evocative and powerful moment that says so much without words.
It's actually a highly romantic story, not the sort of thing I usually appreciate, but it's told in such a different way - there's no Kirk trying to win the affections of some woman, no woman mooning over Kirk or one of the other characters, none of the usual stereotypes, but the music is so sensitive and emotional without the usual heavy-handed romance themes the series often employed. The whole episode is just a very different prospect from the norm and the credit must go to Gene L. Coon who wrote it. From the very beginning you know you're in for something different as it opens aboard the Galileo. It was a pleasure to see the shuttlecraft again, both externally and internally, as we're allowed in on another aspect of Starfleet tech that we don't necessarily see so much - how I wish 'Discovery' had tried to ape that shuttle, or even better, show a precursor of it that you could believe was the previous version, rather than making their models similar to the film series of years later. I loved the fact that they flew via sensors rather than having massive windows, and only opened a port when they specifically wanted to view something with their own eyes. I loved the personal viewers Kirk and Spock both had, 'automatic scanners' of spherical shape that look like they could have been a development from the viewers we saw on the Bridge of the Enterprise in 'The Cage,' only these ones can be adjusted by rotation. I just about loved everything about the shuttle (including Kirk's throwaway line of it being time to 'get out and get under'), even the moment where they jump down through that cool slot-out exit and you can see there's blackness behind them to disguise the fact that the internal set was different to the external mockup.
I always love it when they take a full-sized mockup and either take it on location (rare, but achievable with the Shuttlepods on 'Enterprise' or in the films), or build it into a set, something done throughout Trek history. I'm not sure if they were using a model of the shuttle when we see long shots on the planet - at first I thought for sure it was, but then we see Cochrane running towards them from the other side of the soundstage, and they really used that space! We see another shot and it could be the actors shot from the other end of the set or it could be models, but either way I was impressed with the ability to make it look real. The craft extends to the rest of the alien planet and I can't imagine how much soil they must have used to cake the floor, plus there are real plants and trees, and the hut. Even the sky is more than just a coloured background, with wispy white clouds in the 'distance'! The setting can be important in creating an atmosphere for a story, and a substandard design can undermine good writing, but in this case everything came together. There were things that reminded me of later Treks such as the symbiosis of Hedford and the Companion (Trill), or the idea of a woman basically dying on an alien planet, but staying to bring comfort and succour at the same time as being unable to leave because she'd die (Kai Opaka in 'Battle Lines' on 'DS9'), and even seeing that chunky three-pronged engineering tool that Spock uses on the innards of the Galileo (Chief O'Brien used the same thing in 'Trials and Tribble-ations' and I thought it was made up for that in the 'TOS' style!).
Beyond the look of the production, the success of its effects work and this story of a lonely captive, kept alive long after he should have died (and he's clearly shown not to be in suffering, despite a hundred and fifty years having passed, it hasn't affected his mind, the Companion somehow keeping him nourished mentally as well as looking after his other needs but one: humanity), it's a challenge to the characters, especially the Captain. Spock questions his order to find a weapon to use against the creature because they aren't going to stay there and bow to its power. It's interesting that Spock does this because it seems for clarification, but also he is very curious and scientific so that when it comes to communicating with the entity he almost appeals with the Captain to ask about its history and nature, while Kirk is intent on saving their lives and getting Hedford back for treatment - I love that there was no easy solution to her illness, that it wasn't as simple as the Companion healing her after seeing the error of its ways. No, it has to sacrifice its own immortality in order to preserve her life, condemning them both to a short future on this planet. I do wish we could have learned more about it, just as Spock wanted, but that also gives it a mystery that is a deft avoidance from exploring a different angle in the story that would have taken away from the finely balanced drama. Of course it would be… fascinating to learn about it, what happened to others of its kind, its power to prevent organic decay, but these are side issues not as important as the personal ones for our characters.
I suppose it could be seen as shocking that Kirk would be so quick to demand a militant solution, but he is under the gun and his responsibility demanded quick action. Spock sees the logic of his arguments, even if he would prefer a passive solution, and communication is what eventually solves the problem. This was another area of the episode that really surprised and fascinated me, because we rarely have such integral lore explained so much: when they first arrive Cochrane is relieved they speak English and I was thinking it wouldn't make any difference because of their Universal Translators (it makes sense he wouldn't know about it since it was developed after his time, by Hoshi Sato), but it turns out the UT is the same thing that Kirk used in 'Arena' to speak to the Gorn - then it was also a recording device, but it appears to be the same thing here, a sort of lightsaber in looks that Kirk explains can scan brainwaves and work out the grammar and syntax of alien language. It's strange that we don't see it as part of their standard kit of Phaser, Communicator and Tricorder, but I like to think that the Tricorder had it built in, though this episode would suggest you need the separate device - perhaps that's only for new alien languages, so dealing with such races as Klingons or Vulcans, for example, would already be fully scanned and known. I loved that Cochrane recognised Spock as a Vulcan, because of course, as we saw in 'First Contact' he was the first (official), person to meet one (no doubt they had their own UT, and that's a good point: just because we don't see Starfleet always using one maybe the aliens are).
Although Dr. McCoy is a little less prominent in the trio, and it was great to see the three of them together, he does have key moments such as suggesting the carrot rather than the stick, which is where they decide to try and speak with the creature. He's mainly there to care for his patient, Hedford, but he's also there to serve as the conscience of Kirk to some small degree and remind him of his diplomatic responsibilities. It seems there was less need of the 'emotional' side of the trio, or maybe they just weren't trying that out so much, because although Spock is logical and curious he isn't just those qualities either. Spock does try to touch the creature when it appears at the shuttle, and I would assume he was attempting a mind meld, though it electrocutes him instead. I'm not sure how or why the Companion chokes Kirk and Spock in its second attack as that would seem to be less effective, but McCoy pleads for it to stop and he's a medical man and knows what it's doing, so we have to accept that's what was happening. Still, there's so much we don't know about it so it's hardly a failing in the story. I like that it's demonstrably female, at a time now when gender is so confused and even the idea appears under attack Kirk reiterates that male and female are universal constants. There's even a veiled reference to God, since when Spock says of the creature it doesn't have the ability to make life, it replies that is for the Maker of all things, which I wasn't expecting.
It was bold not to feature the Enterprise until they were over halfway into the episode, and if in fact this had been a stage play they probably could have dispensed with the shipboard scenes entirely, though I'm glad they're in the episode because it's lovely to see Sulu, Scotty and Uhura discussing the magnitude of the problem. 'TOS' isn't known for its technobabble, so it was a pleasure to hear some jargon and the kind of discussion that would become common in later series'. It makes sense since Scotty is the Chief Engineer. It was also somehow touching that we never see him seated in the Captain's Chair, he's always standing by it as if in loyalty to his absent Captain he won't take the place, even if he is filling in. It speaks of his personal loyalty to Kirk with only visual clues to say it, and I wonder if that was the actor's decision or if it was a directorial choice, because it was very effective. Even when he's recording the Ship's Log he doesn't sit down, but stands there with his hand firmly on the chair as if to claim the authority that is his in this position, but symbolically won't take over from Kirk. I was also impressed by his stolid determination to search each of the thousands of planets on their course, one by one if they have to, and as if to express what a task tracking them down will be, when Uhura says it's a big galaxy and he responds with a simple 'aye,' it very much reminded me of the same response he gave aboard the Enterprise-B as he stared out through the breach at Kirk's apparent demise.
For some reason, perhaps because there were so few Bridge scenes, Chekov doesn't appear, but I'm glad Sulu is there as he'd make few appearances in much of Season 2 when he was off filming 'The Green Berets' with John Wayne, so we'd get plenty of Chekov during his absence. Mr. Leslie can be seen sitting on the Bridge, at least. Though the Enterprise isn't integral to the story it was important for reminding us of the size of space and the sheer vastness of scope that Trek is all about. More than that it's about good people and you can tell Cochrane is a good man, far removed from his days as a drunk that had to rely on liquid courage as we saw in his time rising out of the ashes of the mid-21st Century (gulp!). Just as Hedford was hysterical about the horror of this creature keeping Cochrane alive and prisoner for such a long time (partly exacerbated by her illness that was affecting her mind as well as her body), he also is disgusted when he's made to see that it 'loves' him, feeling he was used and fed upon, but he doesn't realise its affection was genuine. It's a question whether it was right to keep someone alive artificially for so long beyond his time, and there's also the curiosity of seeing what a man from the 21st Century would make of life generations beyond (a great source of drama that had been used before, such as Captain Christopher in 'Tomorrow Is Yesterday' and would be again in such episodes as 'The Neutral Zone' on 'TNG' - always a rich seam to mine), but it's also moving that he rejects all honour and glory and sticks with the Companion to live out many happy years as we assume they'll now live a normal human lifespan.
The immortality angle makes me think of 'Insurrection,' the film after 'First Contact' as that was all about a life-giving planet (I wouldn't be surprised if somewhere in the written fiction they said the Ba'ku adopted homeworld was actually the origin of the Companion's race as they seem to love tying every tiny piece of data together - sometimes that's fun, but it can be overdone, and one reason why the books are lesser than the onscreen Treks). As Cochrane implies, immortality is terribly dull, that is the kind of undying life that would be possible in our fallen universe rather than the truly unending world to come. He sounds a bit like Picard in 'Generations' (the film before 'First Contact'!), when he talks about death actually being a positive part of existence. He must have been thrilled at first that he'd survived the crash, and when he realised he wasn't ageing it again must have been an exciting occurrence, especially as he reverted to a younger man (he was eighty-seven when he came there - did he crash becomes of pilot error due to age, did the Companion pull him in? We don't know). This bond of loyalty to his captor for saving his life means he's loathe to hurt it, and especially to kill it, but he also knows the life he's living is unnatural and needs to end, and now that other people are here because of him he also seems to have a sense of responsibility about their lives, too, so he really does come across well.
The ending is as poetic as so much of the story is, with the new Hedford speaking in that alien way about how they will know the change of days, and will know death, and it's also a bright new future for her, a career woman that, like Picard, had never made time for other things which she seems to regret, so it neatly ties up the threads of these characters and Kirk and the others are asked not to reveal what happened to Cochrane so it's a truly fairytale ending. I don't know how Kirk explained what happened to Scotty and his superiors, especially regarding Hedford - presumably she 'died.' There's no lighthearted final scene on the Bridge, they walk away from the couple and there's even a line thrown in to mention the war Hedford was due to try and mediate, Kirk's sure they can find another woman to do it. It was much appreciated that the war was addressed, even though that could easily have been another side of the story as Hedford may have felt the responsibility to do her job, except that she found something greater, and she did effectively die since she couldn't leave the planet for long. I was interested in her role as we don't get that many civilians in Trek, nor non-Starfleet Federation roles. Sometimes civilian clothing can look silly, but her wardrobe somehow suited, and as I said before, they used it to great effect. As a piece of Trek lore this succeeds immensely, really inspiring the imagination (as it did later writers), but more importantly it succeeds just as much as character drama and holds up as a truly great episode to this day.
****
Few figures in Trek can claim the recognition and importance of Zefram Cochrane, inventor of warp drive, instigator of all that is 'Star Trek.' The advantage of setting a series in the future is that you have a past in which to create your future's history, further adding to the reality of a fictional universe, and 'TOS' would occasionally interact with its past, setting the tone for so much of its world-building consistency, fleshing out texture and time, while also being conscious of not painting themselves into a corner, keeping their options open, something that made it the perfect setting in which to explore other eras in the spinoffs, and in which they were even more careful not to tie down too much or be too definitive because they knew that if the future was unwritten, Trek could last… well, who knows how long? The disadvantage of not being specific and explicit on certain facts is that future writers can come along who don't respect the continuity and pick out bare periods to put their own contemporary spin on the universe which can lead to conflict and the undermining of Trek's carefully constructed reality. But that's not always the case, as can be seen with 'First Contact,' the eighth film, released for the 30th Anniversary of Trek, which dealt with Trek history with great care and ability. They were in a unique position for the previous seven films had featured cast from 'TOS,' and so while it may seem strange that such an anniversary should be celebrated without any returning cast members, despite them all being alive and well, the reality was that this was the first 'TNG' film to strike out alone, without the tether of their forebears. How did they celebrate Trek's past without its cast? By bringing in a character from 'TOS.'
I don't know if Glenn Corbett was still acting in 1996, but if he was he'd have been an old man, and while James Cromwell wasn't exactly young (nor looked like the thirty-odd year old Cochrane that was established through very specific dating in this episode!), the excuse of radiation poisoning from World War III takes care of that little anomaly. 'First Contact' showed, just as 'TNG' had done before it, that you don't need to have actual cast and characters return in order to celebrate the past, you could tie into the established canon and explore it further. And it is amazing how well they were able to do that, and how Trek's various key historical periods and established facts were able to mesh together. That film proved to be a nexus for Trek for years afterwards in a way that few events have been (with the exception of, perhaps, 'Nemesis,' which I know 'Picard' ties into, though I don't know how exactly), with both 'Voyager' and 'Enterprise,' the latter especially, dining out on connections to it. Zefram Cochrane became one of those few links that glued various eras together with references to him and the work that he did, his role here kickstarting the bedrock of Trek future history. They'd already brought in one future history figure, confusingly Khan Noonien Singh was both of the 'TOS' future that those in the 1960s were extrapolating, and became of the past as viewers continued to watch, and still do, a series in which most of those involved are now dead and gone, with only a handful left. We haven't reached Cochrane's time yet, though he's due to be born in around ten years time (apparently it's more like 2032 since 'Enterprise' retconned that he was there to dedicate the Warp 5 facility in 2119, rather than 2117 that you'd expect if you work back from the episode's date of 2267, though they could have been rounding off to say he disappeared a hundred and fifty years before).
A historical figure of Cochrane's stature would have been like bringing in Abraham Lincoln… oh, that's right, they did. Okay, like bringing in Professor Stephen Hawking… yes, okay, they did that, too. Okay, it was like bringing in Captain Archer, or Admiral, or Federation President Archer… how I'd love them to do that on one of these modern TV shows (Scott Bakula is still acting!). They didn't quite realise what they were saying at the time of 'Metamorphosis,' but then nothing they did had any real relevance beyond a few years into their future, it was just a job, they were not to know the immensity of proportions that their little TV series would gain! I suspect now they would make more of a fuss of meeting the man if they were to bring him back in a current production (James Cromwell is still acting!), as we saw in 'First Contact' with the way both Reg Barclay and Geordi reacted to this figure of their imaginations, an inspiration and a legend to them. But that shows what the passage of time can do, perhaps the novelty of space travel had worn off by the time of the mid-23rd Century and so people of that time weren't as impressed by Cochrane as later generations were. Or it may be that pressing matters of survival were foremost in Kirk's mind. It's more like the inventors of early computing might be to us now, that we might vaguely know the name (more than the appearance), but who's to say that in another century people will be looking back on the technological pioneers of the computer age with as much reverence as we look back on great inventors of centuries past.
Not to say that Cochrane was forgotten, but he seemed to have faded away, his death something of a mystery, but even that has lost significance over the passage of time, a poetically tragic end to a great man. That's why there's so much weight to his appearance in this episode, and subsequent Treks have built upon the base laid down here that to return to it now is to see something more, something greater than was even the intention of the original episode - that's the power of great retconning, not to meddle with what came before, but to raise it even higher and give it more emphasis, to open your mind to something bigger and far-reaching. If you just saw this episode and knew nothing about the universe's history, Zefram comes across as a personable, pleasant man with strong morals. He hasn't lost his interest in engineering (how great it would have been if Scotty had been part of the shuttle crew, though that would have given the episode a shunt in a different direction as he and Cochrane rhapsodised about ships and propulsion), and indeed, despite the powers of his Companion, he still wears the same flight suit he had on when he crashed, presumably, as we can assume just as his body doesn't degenerate, neither would his clothing or equipment - unless what he said about thinking the crew were hallucinations can be read to mean that the Companion tried to answer his distress by giving him other humans that were nonetheless unreal, in which case it could have given him different clothing in hallucinatory form, too, so it was for the best they arrived on the day he was wearing real clothes!
Cochrane's first pleasure is just seeing humans again, his second is seeing a woman, and, true to form, his third is to run over to the Galileo (I always want to call it Galileo 7, but the seven in its debut episode's title was referring to its crew!), to marvel at it's sleekness and wonder at its propulsion systems (oh the irony of Kirk telling Spock to explain their methods of propulsion to the Father of warp drive!). These kinds of personal details are what makes a character, simple little additions that show what kind of man he is, taking moments to drop in these small facets of personality and traits, the kind of thing that is lost in so much modern writing by the perceived need to keep moving the story along, often empty stories with vast stakes that are meaningless for their overblown scope, a desire to attract the eye to flashiness and hold short, fickle attention spans. But this episode is what Trek is about, it's one of those stage plays, it's not about action, there's not even one fight scene, it's all about character and the drama comes from how people react to problems, not expensive special effects and snarky dialogue meant to show how 'clever' or irreverent they are. It's astonishing when you think how old this episode is that it has so much more dramatic sophistication than all the recent episodes of Trek I've seen. Good effects can garnish a strong story, and I would say, as simple as it looks, the Companion was a good effect, augmented as it was by dialogue. The way they shot it, approaching 'The Man' as he stands in meditative stance, the way it envelops him with sparks and light, the aggression in its movement when Spock tries to harm it, stalking towards camera, the way it fills Cochrane's little hut…
The Companion has a character before it even has a voice. Spock notes that it changes when in Cochrane's company, he can extrapolate the love it has for him. In short, it was a terrific achievement to imbue this non-humanoid alien with such emotion. When it speaks in the voice of a woman, so haltingly and alien in its language, it takes on an added dimension, or rather it is able to express that dimension that we had only hints of before, and the tragedy is that it can't understand what Kirk is trying to tell it. Unlike 'Catspaw' in which he was able to teach a woman about love, but is then caught out and shown up as a deceiver, he's again in that position, only this time his powerful way with words can't break through and we see him nonplussed about what to do. Indeed, Kirk seems worried during this episode, command weighing heavily as he has the responsibility not only to his crew-mates and friends, Spock and McCoy, but also to his diplomatic charge, that of Assistant Federation Commissioner Nancy Hedford who acts as a ticking clock throughout, affected by a deadly illness that she needs treatment for. This is why the Captain is ill at ease, unwilling to think about the likelihood of being stuck with Zefram Crusoe and his cloud Friday. The position he's put in is at first to defeat a monster, much like his role against the Horta in 'The Devil In The Dark,' except this time instead of a monster that is misunderstood, it's the monster who misunderstands.
There was really nothing that Kirk could do, other than bring chaos to the little world of the Companion - Cochrane is on the Captain's side, he wants freedom, the thousands of worlds teeming with life that Kirk paints as the picture of a galaxy opened up to humans is attractive, and it's not the renown of the known galaxy he's eager to find, all out there waiting to honour him, as Kirk points out, it's escape from captivity, and the beauty of the story is that in the end he chooses to stay on that planet he's lived on for so long because now he's no longer the slave, but the master - the 'Wagon Train to the stars' analogy of the series is very much in evidence, for this is the homesteader who has found his place and chosen to settle in the wilderness with his new companion, same as the old Companion, but better. Although Kirk was unable to get through to the being, it was intelligent enough to realise its own deficiencies and merges with the dying Hedford who would have ceased to be, and becomes human in order to understand and be closer to The Man. One of the most affecting scenes of the whole episode is when the Companion/Hedford is off walking with Cochrane working out what this new situation means and as he's talking she holds up the thin scarf she'd been wearing and we see her point of view through it, like a veil, Cochrane appearing as he must have to the Companion in its previous form, the same patterns on that scarf as were in the creature. An incredibly evocative and powerful moment that says so much without words.
It's actually a highly romantic story, not the sort of thing I usually appreciate, but it's told in such a different way - there's no Kirk trying to win the affections of some woman, no woman mooning over Kirk or one of the other characters, none of the usual stereotypes, but the music is so sensitive and emotional without the usual heavy-handed romance themes the series often employed. The whole episode is just a very different prospect from the norm and the credit must go to Gene L. Coon who wrote it. From the very beginning you know you're in for something different as it opens aboard the Galileo. It was a pleasure to see the shuttlecraft again, both externally and internally, as we're allowed in on another aspect of Starfleet tech that we don't necessarily see so much - how I wish 'Discovery' had tried to ape that shuttle, or even better, show a precursor of it that you could believe was the previous version, rather than making their models similar to the film series of years later. I loved the fact that they flew via sensors rather than having massive windows, and only opened a port when they specifically wanted to view something with their own eyes. I loved the personal viewers Kirk and Spock both had, 'automatic scanners' of spherical shape that look like they could have been a development from the viewers we saw on the Bridge of the Enterprise in 'The Cage,' only these ones can be adjusted by rotation. I just about loved everything about the shuttle (including Kirk's throwaway line of it being time to 'get out and get under'), even the moment where they jump down through that cool slot-out exit and you can see there's blackness behind them to disguise the fact that the internal set was different to the external mockup.
I always love it when they take a full-sized mockup and either take it on location (rare, but achievable with the Shuttlepods on 'Enterprise' or in the films), or build it into a set, something done throughout Trek history. I'm not sure if they were using a model of the shuttle when we see long shots on the planet - at first I thought for sure it was, but then we see Cochrane running towards them from the other side of the soundstage, and they really used that space! We see another shot and it could be the actors shot from the other end of the set or it could be models, but either way I was impressed with the ability to make it look real. The craft extends to the rest of the alien planet and I can't imagine how much soil they must have used to cake the floor, plus there are real plants and trees, and the hut. Even the sky is more than just a coloured background, with wispy white clouds in the 'distance'! The setting can be important in creating an atmosphere for a story, and a substandard design can undermine good writing, but in this case everything came together. There were things that reminded me of later Treks such as the symbiosis of Hedford and the Companion (Trill), or the idea of a woman basically dying on an alien planet, but staying to bring comfort and succour at the same time as being unable to leave because she'd die (Kai Opaka in 'Battle Lines' on 'DS9'), and even seeing that chunky three-pronged engineering tool that Spock uses on the innards of the Galileo (Chief O'Brien used the same thing in 'Trials and Tribble-ations' and I thought it was made up for that in the 'TOS' style!).
Beyond the look of the production, the success of its effects work and this story of a lonely captive, kept alive long after he should have died (and he's clearly shown not to be in suffering, despite a hundred and fifty years having passed, it hasn't affected his mind, the Companion somehow keeping him nourished mentally as well as looking after his other needs but one: humanity), it's a challenge to the characters, especially the Captain. Spock questions his order to find a weapon to use against the creature because they aren't going to stay there and bow to its power. It's interesting that Spock does this because it seems for clarification, but also he is very curious and scientific so that when it comes to communicating with the entity he almost appeals with the Captain to ask about its history and nature, while Kirk is intent on saving their lives and getting Hedford back for treatment - I love that there was no easy solution to her illness, that it wasn't as simple as the Companion healing her after seeing the error of its ways. No, it has to sacrifice its own immortality in order to preserve her life, condemning them both to a short future on this planet. I do wish we could have learned more about it, just as Spock wanted, but that also gives it a mystery that is a deft avoidance from exploring a different angle in the story that would have taken away from the finely balanced drama. Of course it would be… fascinating to learn about it, what happened to others of its kind, its power to prevent organic decay, but these are side issues not as important as the personal ones for our characters.
I suppose it could be seen as shocking that Kirk would be so quick to demand a militant solution, but he is under the gun and his responsibility demanded quick action. Spock sees the logic of his arguments, even if he would prefer a passive solution, and communication is what eventually solves the problem. This was another area of the episode that really surprised and fascinated me, because we rarely have such integral lore explained so much: when they first arrive Cochrane is relieved they speak English and I was thinking it wouldn't make any difference because of their Universal Translators (it makes sense he wouldn't know about it since it was developed after his time, by Hoshi Sato), but it turns out the UT is the same thing that Kirk used in 'Arena' to speak to the Gorn - then it was also a recording device, but it appears to be the same thing here, a sort of lightsaber in looks that Kirk explains can scan brainwaves and work out the grammar and syntax of alien language. It's strange that we don't see it as part of their standard kit of Phaser, Communicator and Tricorder, but I like to think that the Tricorder had it built in, though this episode would suggest you need the separate device - perhaps that's only for new alien languages, so dealing with such races as Klingons or Vulcans, for example, would already be fully scanned and known. I loved that Cochrane recognised Spock as a Vulcan, because of course, as we saw in 'First Contact' he was the first (official), person to meet one (no doubt they had their own UT, and that's a good point: just because we don't see Starfleet always using one maybe the aliens are).
Although Dr. McCoy is a little less prominent in the trio, and it was great to see the three of them together, he does have key moments such as suggesting the carrot rather than the stick, which is where they decide to try and speak with the creature. He's mainly there to care for his patient, Hedford, but he's also there to serve as the conscience of Kirk to some small degree and remind him of his diplomatic responsibilities. It seems there was less need of the 'emotional' side of the trio, or maybe they just weren't trying that out so much, because although Spock is logical and curious he isn't just those qualities either. Spock does try to touch the creature when it appears at the shuttle, and I would assume he was attempting a mind meld, though it electrocutes him instead. I'm not sure how or why the Companion chokes Kirk and Spock in its second attack as that would seem to be less effective, but McCoy pleads for it to stop and he's a medical man and knows what it's doing, so we have to accept that's what was happening. Still, there's so much we don't know about it so it's hardly a failing in the story. I like that it's demonstrably female, at a time now when gender is so confused and even the idea appears under attack Kirk reiterates that male and female are universal constants. There's even a veiled reference to God, since when Spock says of the creature it doesn't have the ability to make life, it replies that is for the Maker of all things, which I wasn't expecting.
It was bold not to feature the Enterprise until they were over halfway into the episode, and if in fact this had been a stage play they probably could have dispensed with the shipboard scenes entirely, though I'm glad they're in the episode because it's lovely to see Sulu, Scotty and Uhura discussing the magnitude of the problem. 'TOS' isn't known for its technobabble, so it was a pleasure to hear some jargon and the kind of discussion that would become common in later series'. It makes sense since Scotty is the Chief Engineer. It was also somehow touching that we never see him seated in the Captain's Chair, he's always standing by it as if in loyalty to his absent Captain he won't take the place, even if he is filling in. It speaks of his personal loyalty to Kirk with only visual clues to say it, and I wonder if that was the actor's decision or if it was a directorial choice, because it was very effective. Even when he's recording the Ship's Log he doesn't sit down, but stands there with his hand firmly on the chair as if to claim the authority that is his in this position, but symbolically won't take over from Kirk. I was also impressed by his stolid determination to search each of the thousands of planets on their course, one by one if they have to, and as if to express what a task tracking them down will be, when Uhura says it's a big galaxy and he responds with a simple 'aye,' it very much reminded me of the same response he gave aboard the Enterprise-B as he stared out through the breach at Kirk's apparent demise.
For some reason, perhaps because there were so few Bridge scenes, Chekov doesn't appear, but I'm glad Sulu is there as he'd make few appearances in much of Season 2 when he was off filming 'The Green Berets' with John Wayne, so we'd get plenty of Chekov during his absence. Mr. Leslie can be seen sitting on the Bridge, at least. Though the Enterprise isn't integral to the story it was important for reminding us of the size of space and the sheer vastness of scope that Trek is all about. More than that it's about good people and you can tell Cochrane is a good man, far removed from his days as a drunk that had to rely on liquid courage as we saw in his time rising out of the ashes of the mid-21st Century (gulp!). Just as Hedford was hysterical about the horror of this creature keeping Cochrane alive and prisoner for such a long time (partly exacerbated by her illness that was affecting her mind as well as her body), he also is disgusted when he's made to see that it 'loves' him, feeling he was used and fed upon, but he doesn't realise its affection was genuine. It's a question whether it was right to keep someone alive artificially for so long beyond his time, and there's also the curiosity of seeing what a man from the 21st Century would make of life generations beyond (a great source of drama that had been used before, such as Captain Christopher in 'Tomorrow Is Yesterday' and would be again in such episodes as 'The Neutral Zone' on 'TNG' - always a rich seam to mine), but it's also moving that he rejects all honour and glory and sticks with the Companion to live out many happy years as we assume they'll now live a normal human lifespan.
The immortality angle makes me think of 'Insurrection,' the film after 'First Contact' as that was all about a life-giving planet (I wouldn't be surprised if somewhere in the written fiction they said the Ba'ku adopted homeworld was actually the origin of the Companion's race as they seem to love tying every tiny piece of data together - sometimes that's fun, but it can be overdone, and one reason why the books are lesser than the onscreen Treks). As Cochrane implies, immortality is terribly dull, that is the kind of undying life that would be possible in our fallen universe rather than the truly unending world to come. He sounds a bit like Picard in 'Generations' (the film before 'First Contact'!), when he talks about death actually being a positive part of existence. He must have been thrilled at first that he'd survived the crash, and when he realised he wasn't ageing it again must have been an exciting occurrence, especially as he reverted to a younger man (he was eighty-seven when he came there - did he crash becomes of pilot error due to age, did the Companion pull him in? We don't know). This bond of loyalty to his captor for saving his life means he's loathe to hurt it, and especially to kill it, but he also knows the life he's living is unnatural and needs to end, and now that other people are here because of him he also seems to have a sense of responsibility about their lives, too, so he really does come across well.
The ending is as poetic as so much of the story is, with the new Hedford speaking in that alien way about how they will know the change of days, and will know death, and it's also a bright new future for her, a career woman that, like Picard, had never made time for other things which she seems to regret, so it neatly ties up the threads of these characters and Kirk and the others are asked not to reveal what happened to Cochrane so it's a truly fairytale ending. I don't know how Kirk explained what happened to Scotty and his superiors, especially regarding Hedford - presumably she 'died.' There's no lighthearted final scene on the Bridge, they walk away from the couple and there's even a line thrown in to mention the war Hedford was due to try and mediate, Kirk's sure they can find another woman to do it. It was much appreciated that the war was addressed, even though that could easily have been another side of the story as Hedford may have felt the responsibility to do her job, except that she found something greater, and she did effectively die since she couldn't leave the planet for long. I was interested in her role as we don't get that many civilians in Trek, nor non-Starfleet Federation roles. Sometimes civilian clothing can look silly, but her wardrobe somehow suited, and as I said before, they used it to great effect. As a piece of Trek lore this succeeds immensely, really inspiring the imagination (as it did later writers), but more importantly it succeeds just as much as character drama and holds up as a truly great episode to this day.
****
Catspaw
DVD, Star Trek S2 (Catspaw)
I remember when I watched this episode as a child I drew a picture of the two aliens at the end because it was such a novel concept that these human-like people were completely putting on a show and that in reality they were these tiny, tendril-ed creatures. It was mind-opening to the idea of the power they'd been using and the possibility of what an alien could be and really illustrated the extreme contrast between us and them. It's easy now to see those little puppets, dancing on poorly concealed strings as they do, as a feeble copout - I can imagine modern viewers being exceedingly unimpressed with such weak special effects, but that impression of the true form of something being revealed in all its pitiful nature has always stayed with me ever since I first saw it, bringing to mind parallels with such moments as the Bothan in 'Voyager' episode 'Persistence of Vision' (a much more effective scare story), where at the end he creepily claims he was never really here, before vanishing. Or for a non-Trek reference, the false facade of our world in 'The Matrix,' behind which lurks a hideous truth. That idea of what we see not being reality has been a core favourite with me, especially in Trek, so perhaps I can date it back to first watching this episode, though I also have memories of children's TV that appealed in the same way: the dream world of 'Potsworth and Company,' the puddles in what I think was 'The Gummy Bears,' half remembered stories that stick in my mind even all these years later. So when they talk of 'race memories' and passed-down fears my early viewing represents just that to me now.
I would even say that I still love the design of those aliens and my adult mind can rationalise the strings holding them up as tendrils that were light enough to reach into the air above them! It's not so easy to be as kind to the episode as a whole. It wasn't actually the first episode of Season 2 to be shown, but things can get a little complicated with the running order of 'TOS' episodes as a lot of them seemed to be shown out of production order, which didn't affect most, since the series was completely episodic (only one two-part story in the whole run), but when the series' second pilot, 'Where No Man Has Gone Before,' was broadcast several episodes into Season 1 with the old uniforms of 'The Cage,' it just doesn't make sense, and so for that reason I always watch in production order. And now that there's 'TOS: Remastered' that adds a third order to episodes so it's confusing to say the least. 'Amok Time,' a better episode than 'Catspaw,' was the actual Season 2 opener, and this one isn't a great start to the season, but it makes sense to me to watch it this way - I should add that I'm going through the original episodes, no augmented effects, added scenes or CGI alterations here, and that's the way I like it, because although the effects have been a part of Trek from the beginning, it was the story and characters that were far more important, something the current generation has forgotten (don't even get me started on their casting off of whatever canon they feel like, such as the uniforms…). In fact I still haven't seen the remastered version, not that I would rule out ever seeing it, but I prefer the unchanged original.
If this episode gets one thing right it is its use of characters. He gets a minor introduction here, but Chekov, the Russian character joining during the height of the Cold War between America and Russia, debuts, and it's as if they'd taken an Arab with thick accent and bushy beard and put him in as a main character on 'Discovery' - they haven't done that, which shows how Trek has become a lot less radical than it used to be in the Sixties! A tiny scrap of evidence to add weight to Chekov being aboard during Season 1 (to avoid the obvious mistake in 'Star Trek II' when Khan recognises him), is that he claims not to be 'green' when DeSalle asks if he needs help. On the other hand it could be construed that he's new to the ship, hence why he has to explain he's not green, and DeSalle doesn't know him. Or DeSalle was new, except we know he wasn't because he'd appeared before. Unless that was his twin brother(s), in the same mould as Mr. Leslie, the dying and reappearing extra! The episode and season opens on Uhura, another novelty, and she gets to be (almost) the only character we know from Season 1 to carry any scenes set aboard the Enterprise - I wonder, too, if this is the only episode in which Uhura had more dialogue than Scotty or Sulu when they all appear, because they're mute, zombified pawns for almost the entire time and Uhura's up there helping out. It was another novelty to see three people all bent over Spock's science viewer together: Chekov, who seems to be covering Spock's station despite him being in gold, therefore not a science officer, Uhura, and Lieutenant DeSalle, whom Kirk leaves in command (we've seen previously that after Kirk, Spock is second in command, then Scotty, and finally Sulu). DeSalle seems capable, but again, he's in the wrong colour for command, red instead of gold, which funnily enough connects to later Trek when command and security (or operations), were switched!
It's stated in dialogue he's Chief Assistant Engineer, and I'm not sure we'd ever seen one of those or would again. Oddly, DeSalle wasn't a new character, he'd actually appeared in two episodes of Season 1 (sorry Uhura, you weren't the only one to carry over from that season after all!). Even more strange is that his first appearance was in 'The Squire of Gothos,' an episode to which 'Catspaw' is suspiciously similar. If you take away the horror trappings (it was designed to go out over Halloween, perhaps Trek's only foray into season-specific storytelling, though something many series' do as standard: the Halloween episode, the Christmas episode… probably other festivals, too!), the two episodes are pretty close, right down to it all happening on a planet which should be barren, but there's a strange castle there, and they discover being(s) of power, and Kirk breaks the source (or the 'amplifier' in the Transmuter's case), and the being(s) are revealed to be different to what we thought. I'm sure even some of the set decoration is the same! Those big Arabian cushions looked like the ones in 'The Cage' when Pike is transfixed by the dancing green Vina, a woman who can be any woman he wants her to be, which is exactly what Sylvia boasts to Kirk. That throne Korob's so fond of, is it the same one in 'I, Mudd' later in the season? The drapes, the armour, I'm sure it all came from the same storeroom, even the balcony in the main hall, and that dungeon had been used in 'The Return of The Archons,' not to mention the series' love of women that turn into cats, or vice versa (see 'Assignment: Earth' at the other end of this season, bookending with another cat-woman).
When they're talking about all these fragments of mythology and the past, they could almost be talking about previous episodes of the series itself, or those to come! Interesting that Kirk gets a little short with Spock when he mentions legends and mythology as the source of what they're seeing, and then retorts at his Captain's brusqueness that he didn't invent them, he just reports them. Quite a different attitude in Trek today which is all about embracing myth as we see so much in 'DSC' (whether it be Burnham reciting an African creation story of the girl who made the stars, or the many fantasy trappings of, especially, Season 2), and once again shows that Trek today has become a crowd-pleaser rather than serious sci-fi that it started out as. Because even though 'Catspaw' isn't the best episode, every part of it is treated seriously and rationally, such as when they discuss how there shouldn't be any fog from the lack of water vapour, etc. It's easy to laugh at the wailing of the tortured souls that greet our trio when they first beam down to Pyris VII, a musical singsong to frighten the Starfleet officers away from rescuing their crewmen, but I was struck by the chill it inspired, especially by the makeup work - it demonstrated they could do more than merely alien designs and the one with the eyes was especially effective.
They hit the right note by having the trio of Kirk, Spock and McCoy beaming down (DeForest Kelley getting his name in the titles for the first time and bringing him up to their level of importance, where he belonged), as these are the box office we come to see, the three of them working together, something that helps the episode, even if McCoy is a little muted (literally, after he's been mind-altered by the dastardly Sylvia). Still, it's nice to see them all, and though Misters Scott and Sulu act mainly as blank-faced guards, it's good to have all five characters in on the adventure and off the ship together since you rarely saw that: a Landing Party generally consisted of five or six crewmembers and a couple of those would be Security or specialists of some kind. The setup works pretty well, Crewman Jackson dying on the Transporter pad (operated by Kyle), and a ghostly voice emanating from his dead mouth to warn off the Enterprise; the phantoms on the planet; the dungeon which, with excellent sound design, actually sounds like a bare, echoey chamber; and the startling appearance of Korob, all bald head, forked beard and weird robes. But after that things go downhill as the episode doesn't seem to have much of a story to tell or to understand what it's doing.
At first it seems as if these aliens, who admit to not being native to the planet, are there to study… something. Korob says they passed the test: loyalty to their comrades that they weren't discouraged from coming after them; bravery in the face of adversity; and they won't be bribed. But it's almost like he's making it up as he goes along, which might well be the case! Neither he nor Sylvia seem to have much of a purpose, or perhaps they did originally have a purpose, one to which Korob is still halfheartedly clinging, but Sylvia has been enthralled by sensation and feelings and so has gone off course, even towards cruelty and inhumanity (with shades of Nagilum there, from 'TNG'). In that regard she's very alien, except that it could be a veiled warning against drugs: they give you these great experiences, but make the user care only for their own gratification and the next sensation, compassion going out of the window in the pursuit of pleasure, losing sight of direction. Things can often be read into things that aren't there, and I also thought I spotted a potential theme of Middle Eastern terrorism as Kirk mentions that they can't allow our worlds to be threatened by people from outside galaxies, swooping in and taking liberties with our crew. Sylvia even pronounces in her rage at Kirk's deception that their worlds would be swept away, but of course I'm putting modern thoughts onto something that was made over fifty years ago, but it does show that Trek can often be timeless and universal thanks to the way it dealt with human stories within its sci-fi bounds, not limited by serialised storytelling to go from A to B to C.
If these beings, who were supposed to be from outside our galaxy (a great concept that would be revisited with the Kelvans in 'By Any Other Name' in a more successful way), came here to study other life, then why did they base themselves on such a barren rock and wait for that life to come to them? Perhaps they hadn't been there long and were just setting up a base for further exploration when the Enterprise popped into their radar. They didn't seem to realise that by holding members of Kirk's crew that would mean more would come to rescue them, but I think we're dealing with two approaches at the same time here, which would explain the inconsistencies: Korob wants to study so he's the one that warned them off - he also seems to be the one with some compassion, not wanting more cruelty to these creatures, so he tried to dissuade them. Sylvia wants to have the men for her own private explorations, which they fortunately didn't elaborate on, but we can tell what motivates her from her flinging herself at Kirk. She gives him an angle to work with as she wants to be a woman and the Captain is happy to use that against her as he did in so many cases against threats to his ship or crew. In this case it doesn't work because she can read his mind and realises it's all an act, so it's one of those rare occurrences where Kirk is unable to talk his way out of a situation, whether it be a female, a computer, an android, or a group, he could usually harness his wit and force of personality, but here they resolve the issue only by running around corridors attempting to escape a giant cat!
There are a couple of interesting lines spoken by Sylvia, one where she tells Korob she's not a puppet like he is, which when you know the ending is unintentionally amusing, and the other is when she claims to Kirk she wants a 'joining, my mind to yours' - she should have taken Spock if she wanted that, but it's another example of the story not quite working or having a direction. McCoy is the first of the three to be taken for brainwashing, but we don't see what happened in his encounter and Spock doesn't even get a chance to go up against her, so we never learn how each character would deal with the situation. The elements of Trek are there, present and correct, but the whole thing is a bit directionless, much like 'The Squire of Gothos,' which seems to be a favourite for many, but which I find a bit dull. The promise of a Halloween 'fun house' never materialises, and though I felt the shooting of the cat sequences was done well, through a miniature of the passage, the outsized shadow on the wall, the torch being blown out, and the bluescreen of the cat in the doorway, it was all a bit silly. Better when the affected McCoy, Scotty and Sulu try to fight Kirk and Spock, but even that sequence didn't quite live up to its promise. I don't know why Kirk didn't just shoot Sylvia earlier when she was holding the pendant of the Enterprise (I'm surprised Roddenberry didn't have them manufactured to sell!), since he was holding the Phaser when she was heating up the ship.
There are instances of the wider Trek continuity that come up, which is pleasing. For example, Korob tries to bribe them with gemstones, but Kirk says they are meaningless as he can manufacture them on his ship. This could be taken to mean that (as 'DSC' chooses to believe), they had Replicator technology in the 23rd Century and the Food Slots were just that, but there are other references in episodes to support the idea that Food Slots weren't Replicators, such as the fact they had a Quartermaster for supplies and a galley (as late as 'Star Trek VI' we see this, and why would they have it if all food was replicated?). I would suggest that Kirk was referring to their scientific ability to manufacture such things, rather than a device that could do it, so perhaps in the Science Labs they could create things from certain ingredients making previously valued items such as diamonds no longer a commodity. We also hear McCoy wonder if the setup is some kind of parallel Earth development, an idea that was part of Roddenberry's plans for Trek from the beginning as a way of showing alien worlds in a more financially viable way - it was going to be easier to portray periods of Earth history than an entirely new alien culture and there would be a number of episodes that used this concept (called 'Hodgkins' Law of Parallel Planet Development' in 'Bread and Circuses' to come later in the season). 'Miri' and 'The Return of The Archons' may be the only examples before this episode, though I can't recall if it was brought up then or if this is the first mention of the concept.
Korob doesn't understand the reference to 'trick or treat,' about as on the nose as you could get that this was a Halloween episode, and he dismisses it, saying he doesn't know what it means, therefore it is of no relevance, which sounded quite Borg-like to me. Korob isn't the only one to be unaware of the reference as Spock shows ignorance on the subject, despite his human half, which suggests the practice had died out - I can imagine the celebration of evil that is Halloween to finally be considered archaic and backwards by the 23rd Century! One detail that rings hollow is Kirk calling McCoy 'doc' instead of his usual nickname of 'Bones.' He says Bones at first, but changes it to doc when they see a skeleton chained up beside them in the dungeon, so I can see where it came from, but then he keeps it up the rest of the episode and it just sounded strange! Imagine if he'd never used Bones at all, even that little detail would have made the series different, less homely. The gag wasn't even that prominent, it was a little too subtle for the effect it had on the episode. And while there are such things that make the episode uneven, it's the lack of clear motivation or background for the aliens that scuppers things. Again, it's too subtle that they're from another galaxy and that Sylvia wants to experience things because they come from a world without sensation - that in itself is a fascinating concept: what was it like? How did they get here? Who are they? I wonder if the Nacene from 'Voyager,' the sporocystian life forms, were inspired by Korob and Sylvia, since they too came from beyond our galaxy, the male interested in caring for the Ocampa, the female wanting adventure and going against their purpose.
No frivolous end scene closes out the episode here, just a sobering thought. It was all an illusion, except for Crewman Jackson. Perhaps that's another theme that could be read into the story: playing with the occult is death. As I said, it's possible to read into it various themes and ideas that stem naturally from the source matter, and it's all done in a technical, rational and procedural manner, the way Trek used to be until today, which is good, and I would certainly put this above the majority of 'DSC' episodes. At the same time it's really just a simple scare-fest for kiddies with little of the story we'd expect from the series. That may be one reason why they didn't show this episode first originally, to kick off the season, though it seems most likely it was deliberately planned to coincide with Halloween. After being primed this year with 'The Animated Series' it's good to get back to real Trek, especially since I haven't done any reviews at all for the first few episodes of this season, and only cursory, basic ones for the rest, so it's high time I explored the season in depth.
**
I remember when I watched this episode as a child I drew a picture of the two aliens at the end because it was such a novel concept that these human-like people were completely putting on a show and that in reality they were these tiny, tendril-ed creatures. It was mind-opening to the idea of the power they'd been using and the possibility of what an alien could be and really illustrated the extreme contrast between us and them. It's easy now to see those little puppets, dancing on poorly concealed strings as they do, as a feeble copout - I can imagine modern viewers being exceedingly unimpressed with such weak special effects, but that impression of the true form of something being revealed in all its pitiful nature has always stayed with me ever since I first saw it, bringing to mind parallels with such moments as the Bothan in 'Voyager' episode 'Persistence of Vision' (a much more effective scare story), where at the end he creepily claims he was never really here, before vanishing. Or for a non-Trek reference, the false facade of our world in 'The Matrix,' behind which lurks a hideous truth. That idea of what we see not being reality has been a core favourite with me, especially in Trek, so perhaps I can date it back to first watching this episode, though I also have memories of children's TV that appealed in the same way: the dream world of 'Potsworth and Company,' the puddles in what I think was 'The Gummy Bears,' half remembered stories that stick in my mind even all these years later. So when they talk of 'race memories' and passed-down fears my early viewing represents just that to me now.
I would even say that I still love the design of those aliens and my adult mind can rationalise the strings holding them up as tendrils that were light enough to reach into the air above them! It's not so easy to be as kind to the episode as a whole. It wasn't actually the first episode of Season 2 to be shown, but things can get a little complicated with the running order of 'TOS' episodes as a lot of them seemed to be shown out of production order, which didn't affect most, since the series was completely episodic (only one two-part story in the whole run), but when the series' second pilot, 'Where No Man Has Gone Before,' was broadcast several episodes into Season 1 with the old uniforms of 'The Cage,' it just doesn't make sense, and so for that reason I always watch in production order. And now that there's 'TOS: Remastered' that adds a third order to episodes so it's confusing to say the least. 'Amok Time,' a better episode than 'Catspaw,' was the actual Season 2 opener, and this one isn't a great start to the season, but it makes sense to me to watch it this way - I should add that I'm going through the original episodes, no augmented effects, added scenes or CGI alterations here, and that's the way I like it, because although the effects have been a part of Trek from the beginning, it was the story and characters that were far more important, something the current generation has forgotten (don't even get me started on their casting off of whatever canon they feel like, such as the uniforms…). In fact I still haven't seen the remastered version, not that I would rule out ever seeing it, but I prefer the unchanged original.
If this episode gets one thing right it is its use of characters. He gets a minor introduction here, but Chekov, the Russian character joining during the height of the Cold War between America and Russia, debuts, and it's as if they'd taken an Arab with thick accent and bushy beard and put him in as a main character on 'Discovery' - they haven't done that, which shows how Trek has become a lot less radical than it used to be in the Sixties! A tiny scrap of evidence to add weight to Chekov being aboard during Season 1 (to avoid the obvious mistake in 'Star Trek II' when Khan recognises him), is that he claims not to be 'green' when DeSalle asks if he needs help. On the other hand it could be construed that he's new to the ship, hence why he has to explain he's not green, and DeSalle doesn't know him. Or DeSalle was new, except we know he wasn't because he'd appeared before. Unless that was his twin brother(s), in the same mould as Mr. Leslie, the dying and reappearing extra! The episode and season opens on Uhura, another novelty, and she gets to be (almost) the only character we know from Season 1 to carry any scenes set aboard the Enterprise - I wonder, too, if this is the only episode in which Uhura had more dialogue than Scotty or Sulu when they all appear, because they're mute, zombified pawns for almost the entire time and Uhura's up there helping out. It was another novelty to see three people all bent over Spock's science viewer together: Chekov, who seems to be covering Spock's station despite him being in gold, therefore not a science officer, Uhura, and Lieutenant DeSalle, whom Kirk leaves in command (we've seen previously that after Kirk, Spock is second in command, then Scotty, and finally Sulu). DeSalle seems capable, but again, he's in the wrong colour for command, red instead of gold, which funnily enough connects to later Trek when command and security (or operations), were switched!
It's stated in dialogue he's Chief Assistant Engineer, and I'm not sure we'd ever seen one of those or would again. Oddly, DeSalle wasn't a new character, he'd actually appeared in two episodes of Season 1 (sorry Uhura, you weren't the only one to carry over from that season after all!). Even more strange is that his first appearance was in 'The Squire of Gothos,' an episode to which 'Catspaw' is suspiciously similar. If you take away the horror trappings (it was designed to go out over Halloween, perhaps Trek's only foray into season-specific storytelling, though something many series' do as standard: the Halloween episode, the Christmas episode… probably other festivals, too!), the two episodes are pretty close, right down to it all happening on a planet which should be barren, but there's a strange castle there, and they discover being(s) of power, and Kirk breaks the source (or the 'amplifier' in the Transmuter's case), and the being(s) are revealed to be different to what we thought. I'm sure even some of the set decoration is the same! Those big Arabian cushions looked like the ones in 'The Cage' when Pike is transfixed by the dancing green Vina, a woman who can be any woman he wants her to be, which is exactly what Sylvia boasts to Kirk. That throne Korob's so fond of, is it the same one in 'I, Mudd' later in the season? The drapes, the armour, I'm sure it all came from the same storeroom, even the balcony in the main hall, and that dungeon had been used in 'The Return of The Archons,' not to mention the series' love of women that turn into cats, or vice versa (see 'Assignment: Earth' at the other end of this season, bookending with another cat-woman).
When they're talking about all these fragments of mythology and the past, they could almost be talking about previous episodes of the series itself, or those to come! Interesting that Kirk gets a little short with Spock when he mentions legends and mythology as the source of what they're seeing, and then retorts at his Captain's brusqueness that he didn't invent them, he just reports them. Quite a different attitude in Trek today which is all about embracing myth as we see so much in 'DSC' (whether it be Burnham reciting an African creation story of the girl who made the stars, or the many fantasy trappings of, especially, Season 2), and once again shows that Trek today has become a crowd-pleaser rather than serious sci-fi that it started out as. Because even though 'Catspaw' isn't the best episode, every part of it is treated seriously and rationally, such as when they discuss how there shouldn't be any fog from the lack of water vapour, etc. It's easy to laugh at the wailing of the tortured souls that greet our trio when they first beam down to Pyris VII, a musical singsong to frighten the Starfleet officers away from rescuing their crewmen, but I was struck by the chill it inspired, especially by the makeup work - it demonstrated they could do more than merely alien designs and the one with the eyes was especially effective.
They hit the right note by having the trio of Kirk, Spock and McCoy beaming down (DeForest Kelley getting his name in the titles for the first time and bringing him up to their level of importance, where he belonged), as these are the box office we come to see, the three of them working together, something that helps the episode, even if McCoy is a little muted (literally, after he's been mind-altered by the dastardly Sylvia). Still, it's nice to see them all, and though Misters Scott and Sulu act mainly as blank-faced guards, it's good to have all five characters in on the adventure and off the ship together since you rarely saw that: a Landing Party generally consisted of five or six crewmembers and a couple of those would be Security or specialists of some kind. The setup works pretty well, Crewman Jackson dying on the Transporter pad (operated by Kyle), and a ghostly voice emanating from his dead mouth to warn off the Enterprise; the phantoms on the planet; the dungeon which, with excellent sound design, actually sounds like a bare, echoey chamber; and the startling appearance of Korob, all bald head, forked beard and weird robes. But after that things go downhill as the episode doesn't seem to have much of a story to tell or to understand what it's doing.
At first it seems as if these aliens, who admit to not being native to the planet, are there to study… something. Korob says they passed the test: loyalty to their comrades that they weren't discouraged from coming after them; bravery in the face of adversity; and they won't be bribed. But it's almost like he's making it up as he goes along, which might well be the case! Neither he nor Sylvia seem to have much of a purpose, or perhaps they did originally have a purpose, one to which Korob is still halfheartedly clinging, but Sylvia has been enthralled by sensation and feelings and so has gone off course, even towards cruelty and inhumanity (with shades of Nagilum there, from 'TNG'). In that regard she's very alien, except that it could be a veiled warning against drugs: they give you these great experiences, but make the user care only for their own gratification and the next sensation, compassion going out of the window in the pursuit of pleasure, losing sight of direction. Things can often be read into things that aren't there, and I also thought I spotted a potential theme of Middle Eastern terrorism as Kirk mentions that they can't allow our worlds to be threatened by people from outside galaxies, swooping in and taking liberties with our crew. Sylvia even pronounces in her rage at Kirk's deception that their worlds would be swept away, but of course I'm putting modern thoughts onto something that was made over fifty years ago, but it does show that Trek can often be timeless and universal thanks to the way it dealt with human stories within its sci-fi bounds, not limited by serialised storytelling to go from A to B to C.
If these beings, who were supposed to be from outside our galaxy (a great concept that would be revisited with the Kelvans in 'By Any Other Name' in a more successful way), came here to study other life, then why did they base themselves on such a barren rock and wait for that life to come to them? Perhaps they hadn't been there long and were just setting up a base for further exploration when the Enterprise popped into their radar. They didn't seem to realise that by holding members of Kirk's crew that would mean more would come to rescue them, but I think we're dealing with two approaches at the same time here, which would explain the inconsistencies: Korob wants to study so he's the one that warned them off - he also seems to be the one with some compassion, not wanting more cruelty to these creatures, so he tried to dissuade them. Sylvia wants to have the men for her own private explorations, which they fortunately didn't elaborate on, but we can tell what motivates her from her flinging herself at Kirk. She gives him an angle to work with as she wants to be a woman and the Captain is happy to use that against her as he did in so many cases against threats to his ship or crew. In this case it doesn't work because she can read his mind and realises it's all an act, so it's one of those rare occurrences where Kirk is unable to talk his way out of a situation, whether it be a female, a computer, an android, or a group, he could usually harness his wit and force of personality, but here they resolve the issue only by running around corridors attempting to escape a giant cat!
There are a couple of interesting lines spoken by Sylvia, one where she tells Korob she's not a puppet like he is, which when you know the ending is unintentionally amusing, and the other is when she claims to Kirk she wants a 'joining, my mind to yours' - she should have taken Spock if she wanted that, but it's another example of the story not quite working or having a direction. McCoy is the first of the three to be taken for brainwashing, but we don't see what happened in his encounter and Spock doesn't even get a chance to go up against her, so we never learn how each character would deal with the situation. The elements of Trek are there, present and correct, but the whole thing is a bit directionless, much like 'The Squire of Gothos,' which seems to be a favourite for many, but which I find a bit dull. The promise of a Halloween 'fun house' never materialises, and though I felt the shooting of the cat sequences was done well, through a miniature of the passage, the outsized shadow on the wall, the torch being blown out, and the bluescreen of the cat in the doorway, it was all a bit silly. Better when the affected McCoy, Scotty and Sulu try to fight Kirk and Spock, but even that sequence didn't quite live up to its promise. I don't know why Kirk didn't just shoot Sylvia earlier when she was holding the pendant of the Enterprise (I'm surprised Roddenberry didn't have them manufactured to sell!), since he was holding the Phaser when she was heating up the ship.
There are instances of the wider Trek continuity that come up, which is pleasing. For example, Korob tries to bribe them with gemstones, but Kirk says they are meaningless as he can manufacture them on his ship. This could be taken to mean that (as 'DSC' chooses to believe), they had Replicator technology in the 23rd Century and the Food Slots were just that, but there are other references in episodes to support the idea that Food Slots weren't Replicators, such as the fact they had a Quartermaster for supplies and a galley (as late as 'Star Trek VI' we see this, and why would they have it if all food was replicated?). I would suggest that Kirk was referring to their scientific ability to manufacture such things, rather than a device that could do it, so perhaps in the Science Labs they could create things from certain ingredients making previously valued items such as diamonds no longer a commodity. We also hear McCoy wonder if the setup is some kind of parallel Earth development, an idea that was part of Roddenberry's plans for Trek from the beginning as a way of showing alien worlds in a more financially viable way - it was going to be easier to portray periods of Earth history than an entirely new alien culture and there would be a number of episodes that used this concept (called 'Hodgkins' Law of Parallel Planet Development' in 'Bread and Circuses' to come later in the season). 'Miri' and 'The Return of The Archons' may be the only examples before this episode, though I can't recall if it was brought up then or if this is the first mention of the concept.
Korob doesn't understand the reference to 'trick or treat,' about as on the nose as you could get that this was a Halloween episode, and he dismisses it, saying he doesn't know what it means, therefore it is of no relevance, which sounded quite Borg-like to me. Korob isn't the only one to be unaware of the reference as Spock shows ignorance on the subject, despite his human half, which suggests the practice had died out - I can imagine the celebration of evil that is Halloween to finally be considered archaic and backwards by the 23rd Century! One detail that rings hollow is Kirk calling McCoy 'doc' instead of his usual nickname of 'Bones.' He says Bones at first, but changes it to doc when they see a skeleton chained up beside them in the dungeon, so I can see where it came from, but then he keeps it up the rest of the episode and it just sounded strange! Imagine if he'd never used Bones at all, even that little detail would have made the series different, less homely. The gag wasn't even that prominent, it was a little too subtle for the effect it had on the episode. And while there are such things that make the episode uneven, it's the lack of clear motivation or background for the aliens that scuppers things. Again, it's too subtle that they're from another galaxy and that Sylvia wants to experience things because they come from a world without sensation - that in itself is a fascinating concept: what was it like? How did they get here? Who are they? I wonder if the Nacene from 'Voyager,' the sporocystian life forms, were inspired by Korob and Sylvia, since they too came from beyond our galaxy, the male interested in caring for the Ocampa, the female wanting adventure and going against their purpose.
No frivolous end scene closes out the episode here, just a sobering thought. It was all an illusion, except for Crewman Jackson. Perhaps that's another theme that could be read into the story: playing with the occult is death. As I said, it's possible to read into it various themes and ideas that stem naturally from the source matter, and it's all done in a technical, rational and procedural manner, the way Trek used to be until today, which is good, and I would certainly put this above the majority of 'DSC' episodes. At the same time it's really just a simple scare-fest for kiddies with little of the story we'd expect from the series. That may be one reason why they didn't show this episode first originally, to kick off the season, though it seems most likely it was deliberately planned to coincide with Halloween. After being primed this year with 'The Animated Series' it's good to get back to real Trek, especially since I haven't done any reviews at all for the first few episodes of this season, and only cursory, basic ones for the rest, so it's high time I explored the season in depth.
**
Progeny
DVD, Stargate Atlantis S3 (Progeny)
A chameleon of a story that shifts several times to keep things interesting, but there's the nagging feeling that they couldn't quite come up with a good enough story and that's why they had to keep up the sleight of hand. First thoughts on sending a MALP to this unknown base and they talk of it being deserted, but as if some research project had been completed was that it was going to be a typical locked down bunker with alien experiment on the loose killing people off. But that was quickly off the agenda when Nium makes contact and invites them over. I was excited to see David Ogden Stiers credited in the guest starring role, knowing him from around fifteen years earlier on 'TNG' ('Half A Life'), and was anxious to see what role he'd have here. Then it turns into a story about an offshoot of Ancients whom, according to Oberoth (Stiers), they split from after a disagreement. The way he was so still and cold, his slightly jerky movements did catch my attention, though I'm not sure I suspected they were artificial as I was too busy trying to take in all the details - they've found a similar city to Atlantis, only this one is much bigger, but, like Oberoth, everyone is slightly off, imperfect, and a little odd.
I thought it was going to become some kind of diplomatic story about Weir trying to reach a trade agreement between us and them, but Oberoth is quickly dismissive of such things and so it's already time to leave. Except then the Asurians (the city's called Asura), won't let them. I have to say I didn't think the humans were being very diplomatic for their expressed desire to have diplomatic relations, but such qualms are quickly swept aside as our Atlantis team is held captive in a cell. Then they break out rather too easily and when they rush back to Atlantis and the Asurians don't follow, plus there's this sudden attack of Wraith ships in overwhelming numbers, and the fishiness of the Asurians became fishiness about the scenario - and of course, that's what it was, they were still back in the cell and it was some kind of information gathering trick. I always love 'nature of reality' style episodes so again I was hopeful that this would continue in that vein, but once they're awake and realise what happened Nium comes to tell them they are indeed back in reality.
Okay, so it's not going to be a questioning reality story either, so what is it about? Turns out the nub of the matter is that these Asurian Ancients are in fact… wait for it… Replicators! Right, fine, okay, whatever. I couldn't remember what happened to the nasty blighters in 'SG-1,' only that they were defeated, so this is where their remnant went? Or this is another offshoot… Or… well, it seems the Ancients actually were responsible for the creation of the Replicators in the first place (did we know that? I don't think we knew that), as a weapon against The Wraith, until they realised they were too powerful and tried to wipe out the experiment, and then the Replicators survived and wanted revenge, or some of them did, and others wanted to ascend as the Ancients did, to that old higher plane of existence thing. But I don't think these were related to the Replicators we knew in 'SG-1,' so it was getting a little confusing by this time. Anyways… they were able to get Nium onboard to help them escape as the city was on the way to blast Atlantis into tiny pieces, and all he wanted was ascension. What I didn't understand was that he went along with them even though the others who shared his goal were about to be blown up when Asura was blasted into tiny pieces instead. Did he not care about them? How did this society of Replicators work if they didn't care about each other? And if it had indeed been around for thousands of years wouldn't he have been attached to the city?
None of these questions are really that important since we're talking about an artificial life form here, so we don't know if he even had any feelings or whatever, but it was another aspect of the story that was glossed over, or entirely ignored, and I always feel bad that the Stargate people are instantly into action and blowing up every last trace of the enemy, probably because I was raised on the 'Star Trek' way of talking to the enemy and even the worst enemies having examples of reasonable people, and should we destroy them all just to save ourselves - you know, moral dilemmas. In the Stargate world it's usually as simple as the enemy are going to kill us all unless we can kill them first, which is why it always seems so much more of a simplistic, action-based franchise rather than a thoughtful science fiction one. Not that it's bad, just that it doesn't necessarily make for as compelling storytelling. But the characters keep it watchable, McKay as usual spouting all the best lines. I was impressed with Sheppard's easy determination to remain behind on Atlantis during his mind probing, sacrificing himself so the others could escape to Earth. But by the end of it I was no clearer on what the point of the story was, unless it was to set up yet another enemy (to add to Ford, Connor Trinneer's Wraith, the Wraith themselves, etc), and I was even waiting for a portentous shot of Nium, the last 'survivor' of the Asurians, left floating in space after his programming reverted and he tried to strangle Weir, and guess what? That's exactly how the episode ended, like paint-by-numbers sci-fi.
I reiterate that it wasn't a bad episode, but I do feel that Ogden Stiers was rather wasted, and through the schizophrenic narrative they never settled on one story to tell that they could have explored in depth, and while jumping between various ideas can make the episode zip along (relying on Rodney's genius to carry them out of any situation, as usual!), it doesn't amount to much in the end, nor does it make me anticipate the next encounter with these also-Replicators - I never really liked the original version on 'SG-1,' they seemed too much like a ripoff of Trek's Borg, so I can't say I'm overjoyed that 'Atlantis' has its own version. Let's get back to new planets, exploring the characters and unfolding the story of dealing with The Wraith, please, and if they want to do a proper sci-fi story, commit to it!
**
A chameleon of a story that shifts several times to keep things interesting, but there's the nagging feeling that they couldn't quite come up with a good enough story and that's why they had to keep up the sleight of hand. First thoughts on sending a MALP to this unknown base and they talk of it being deserted, but as if some research project had been completed was that it was going to be a typical locked down bunker with alien experiment on the loose killing people off. But that was quickly off the agenda when Nium makes contact and invites them over. I was excited to see David Ogden Stiers credited in the guest starring role, knowing him from around fifteen years earlier on 'TNG' ('Half A Life'), and was anxious to see what role he'd have here. Then it turns into a story about an offshoot of Ancients whom, according to Oberoth (Stiers), they split from after a disagreement. The way he was so still and cold, his slightly jerky movements did catch my attention, though I'm not sure I suspected they were artificial as I was too busy trying to take in all the details - they've found a similar city to Atlantis, only this one is much bigger, but, like Oberoth, everyone is slightly off, imperfect, and a little odd.
I thought it was going to become some kind of diplomatic story about Weir trying to reach a trade agreement between us and them, but Oberoth is quickly dismissive of such things and so it's already time to leave. Except then the Asurians (the city's called Asura), won't let them. I have to say I didn't think the humans were being very diplomatic for their expressed desire to have diplomatic relations, but such qualms are quickly swept aside as our Atlantis team is held captive in a cell. Then they break out rather too easily and when they rush back to Atlantis and the Asurians don't follow, plus there's this sudden attack of Wraith ships in overwhelming numbers, and the fishiness of the Asurians became fishiness about the scenario - and of course, that's what it was, they were still back in the cell and it was some kind of information gathering trick. I always love 'nature of reality' style episodes so again I was hopeful that this would continue in that vein, but once they're awake and realise what happened Nium comes to tell them they are indeed back in reality.
Okay, so it's not going to be a questioning reality story either, so what is it about? Turns out the nub of the matter is that these Asurian Ancients are in fact… wait for it… Replicators! Right, fine, okay, whatever. I couldn't remember what happened to the nasty blighters in 'SG-1,' only that they were defeated, so this is where their remnant went? Or this is another offshoot… Or… well, it seems the Ancients actually were responsible for the creation of the Replicators in the first place (did we know that? I don't think we knew that), as a weapon against The Wraith, until they realised they were too powerful and tried to wipe out the experiment, and then the Replicators survived and wanted revenge, or some of them did, and others wanted to ascend as the Ancients did, to that old higher plane of existence thing. But I don't think these were related to the Replicators we knew in 'SG-1,' so it was getting a little confusing by this time. Anyways… they were able to get Nium onboard to help them escape as the city was on the way to blast Atlantis into tiny pieces, and all he wanted was ascension. What I didn't understand was that he went along with them even though the others who shared his goal were about to be blown up when Asura was blasted into tiny pieces instead. Did he not care about them? How did this society of Replicators work if they didn't care about each other? And if it had indeed been around for thousands of years wouldn't he have been attached to the city?
None of these questions are really that important since we're talking about an artificial life form here, so we don't know if he even had any feelings or whatever, but it was another aspect of the story that was glossed over, or entirely ignored, and I always feel bad that the Stargate people are instantly into action and blowing up every last trace of the enemy, probably because I was raised on the 'Star Trek' way of talking to the enemy and even the worst enemies having examples of reasonable people, and should we destroy them all just to save ourselves - you know, moral dilemmas. In the Stargate world it's usually as simple as the enemy are going to kill us all unless we can kill them first, which is why it always seems so much more of a simplistic, action-based franchise rather than a thoughtful science fiction one. Not that it's bad, just that it doesn't necessarily make for as compelling storytelling. But the characters keep it watchable, McKay as usual spouting all the best lines. I was impressed with Sheppard's easy determination to remain behind on Atlantis during his mind probing, sacrificing himself so the others could escape to Earth. But by the end of it I was no clearer on what the point of the story was, unless it was to set up yet another enemy (to add to Ford, Connor Trinneer's Wraith, the Wraith themselves, etc), and I was even waiting for a portentous shot of Nium, the last 'survivor' of the Asurians, left floating in space after his programming reverted and he tried to strangle Weir, and guess what? That's exactly how the episode ended, like paint-by-numbers sci-fi.
I reiterate that it wasn't a bad episode, but I do feel that Ogden Stiers was rather wasted, and through the schizophrenic narrative they never settled on one story to tell that they could have explored in depth, and while jumping between various ideas can make the episode zip along (relying on Rodney's genius to carry them out of any situation, as usual!), it doesn't amount to much in the end, nor does it make me anticipate the next encounter with these also-Replicators - I never really liked the original version on 'SG-1,' they seemed too much like a ripoff of Trek's Borg, so I can't say I'm overjoyed that 'Atlantis' has its own version. Let's get back to new planets, exploring the characters and unfolding the story of dealing with The Wraith, please, and if they want to do a proper sci-fi story, commit to it!
**
Shockwave (2)
DVD, Enterprise S1 (Shockwave) (2)
What an idea, eh? Ending a season by sending your main character into the far future beyond where any Trek had gone before… Where have I heard that recently, hmm? In all honesty this two-parter has never stuck in my mind in the way so many 'Enterprise' episodes have, especially not compared to the other 'big' episodes. It was charting new ground, not just in sending Archer to the 31st Century, but also in finishing its first season on a cliffhanger, something that no other Trek series had done. But then neither had any other Trek series (bar 'TOS' which knocked out almost thirty!), had such a fully formed inaugural season of twenty-six episodes. It must have seemed like they'd learned all the lessons of fourteen years of continual 'modern' Trek, a seasoned crew behind the scenes and the future of it all must have appeared more secure than ever. I don't know that I would say Season 1 was the best a Trek series had made, but it was certainly a strong debut and I would give it the award for best opening salvo of episodes, it's just a shame they weren't able to carry the momentum forward as thoroughly as they might have: we could have done with more focus, not serialisation, but certainly serial encounters with the Klingons for one, perhaps creating a personal adversary as they would attempt to do with Duras in Season 2, and with the Suliban acting for Future Guy, for another.
If the season was scant on Temporal Cold War detail, it feels they were partly trying to keep this pioneering starship as pure as they could without trashing the timeline too much and having everybody fully aware of what was going on in the bigger picture. There was a delicate approach to such things that was warranted, as we see that rather than Daniels appearing to the whole crew, he plucks Archer out specifically and gives him instructions to pass on. I like this targeted and careful method of dealing with the 22nd Century, rather than raining down time travellers all over and making huge flashy changes everywhere as I suspect current Trek would have done. At least with the coming of the end of the season they took up the threads of the TCW, one of the most potentially fascinating series arcs in all Trek, but also the most underused. We'd had only one episode ('Cold Front'), around mid-season to continue Silik and the idea that the NX-01 is integral to the time period it exists in, a weapon to be wielded by whomever can manipulate it, either positively or negatively, so it was fitting that the season ended on the same note. At the same time, despite my championing of the TCW as a conduit for a potentially terrific well of stories, I couldn't help feeling that this episode in particular might have been better served had they concentrated on the events that began the episode.
It's shocking what happens to the alien colony Enterprise visits, their own shuttlepod the apparent cause of a blast (a shockwave perhaps), that utterly annihilates this entire alien colony, and the aftermath is very realistic, and seeing how problems are dealt with is to me what Trek is all about. This was the most dramatic part of the episode and we can see here the two avenues Trek could have gone down, and partly why the franchise is in the shape it is today, creatively speaking: just imagine if they'd chosen to explore a genuine accident caused by Archer and his crew, the ramifications of what that meant for human space travel was powerful. There's talk of it pushing space exploration back twenty years once the Vulcans use this as proof humans weren't ready. At stake, then, is the entire formation of the Federation which we know is coming in only a decade's time. There would be no alliance with the Andorians or the Tellarites, no knowledge of the greater galaxy, maybe Earth would even have been destroyed when they had no experienced officers to send out to learn why the Xindi attacked in a year or so's time. The stakes are about as high as they can get, especially on a personal level, Archer described by T'Pol as full of agitation, despondency and guilt (reminding me of Captain Janeway in 'Night'). This realistic depiction of remorse and shame is not punctuated by the melodrama of 'DSC,' no crew members are bursting into tears, but it's no less powerful for that, and in fact is far more so.
I said there were two options to pursue, and while this focus on guilt and responsibility was more attractive to me now, I probably would have been more excited about the actual route they chose: that of time travel and conspiracy. I can't shake the impression that this episode could have been as strong as the 'DS9' Season 1 finale (and did feature some of the same themes), if the accident had been the whole story and Archer and the crew trundled home to face the music. Both this and 'In The Hands of The Prophets' show great progress, specifically between a male commander and his female subordinate who had been at loggerheads and distrustful of each other when they first met, and now, after a season of (in this case ten), months of cooperation and learning, have come to depend upon each other, trust each other, even with the hardest things (T'Pol still talks of the Vulcan Science Directorate's determination that time travel is impossible, but she agrees to keep an open mind because Archer is the one asking - mind you, a true scientist should be keeping an open mind anyway and unfortunately the Vulcans do represent the rigid worldview too many scientists stick to, refusing to acknowledge evidence that may put their position in doubt). Archer and T'Pol's growing friendship has been a delight to see and this is the capper, there being no doubt in the Captain's mind now about leaving his Vulcan sub-commander in charge when he does what every Captain always wants to do: handing himself over to the enemy so his ship can go free!
If this episode had followed the trail laid out at the start of it, and they had returned to Earth to effectively face a trial, such as Captain Kirk faced in 'Court Martial' or Dax in 'Dax' (among so many other great examples of the genre), we could have had an even more satisfying conclusion to the season. It wouldn't have been a cliffhanger and it wouldn't have been Big and Galaxy-Shifting, but it would have meant a lot personally for the characters as they must vindicate the decisions they made throughout the season, proving that they were right to be out there. It could have acted as a retrospective to the first year, but without 'Shades of Grey' style clips (if they really wanted to do something especially impressive they could have gone back to previous episodes and created new scenes that we never saw at the time - oh how my creative juices are flowing today!), as each crewmember stands up before the tribunal, or whatever, and cites their case. Soval for the prosecution would be throwing hard questions their way, perhaps causing them to stumble or admit something they were trying to play down, but then Archer would come onto the stand at the end and make a big speech reminding us of what they'd achieved, talking the room round, perhaps even bringing back the odd guest star to rest his case upon their testimony. It would have been a triumphant finale.
The important thing is that much of that optimism and pride in what went right is evident in the episode and is the most Trekky part of the story: despite appearances to the contrary, Reed sticks by his guns, adamant that the shuttlepod's ports were closed, the determining factor in whether the drive plasma was responsible for reacting with the planet's atmospheric gas. He doesn't buckle under, even while concerned about such a terrible event, and it's not pride in himself or avoiding responsibility, it's the First Duty, as Picard would say: the truth. He could easily have become as despondent as his Captain and given in, saying it didn't matter how it happened, it happened, but he is thorough and professional, reiterating there were no leaks in the pod's systems unless they fixed themselves afterwards. This creditable and reasoned response is shared by other members of the crew. Hoshi and Mayweather discuss what they might go back to, assuming the mission is permanently cancelled, Hoshi certain she'll be taken back at her language institute because she's so good (which she says wryly, but isn't any less true), while Travis is a bit more down about things since he can't imagine going back to cargo transports after flying the state of the art warp 5 ship. He also warns that people back home are thinking all they've done is cause trouble out in space, and this is when Hoshi jumps to their defence, saying that's why they need to go back, to tell people what really happened and what a difference they've made!
This is the spirit of Trek, and while Dr. Phlox is more fatalistic in his preparations for whatever his next position is, he again is optimistic, showing that this attitude he's expressed before isn't empty words, looking forward to whatever challenges he'll be faced with, even while knowing he'll miss the crewmates he served with on Enterprise. The point is, no one is hanging their head and believing it was all for nothing and they should slink back home with their tails between their legs to accept whatever punishment there is for daring to believe in the mission and mankind's place among the stars, forging a new path in the darkness. No one, that is, except for Archer in his hardest experience so far. This even after the wise words of Admiral Forrest, who tells him he has the whole crew looking to him on how to react to this, so don't let them down. But he allows personal guilt to overwhelm him to the point he doesn't even want to engage with the job of Captain any more. It takes a visit from T'Pol to remind him of his duty, though she does it without prodding, she simply provides an ear (two ears, pointed). T'Pol, who was of the same opinion as her people about the place of humans out in space, is the one who has turned around the most. Arguably when her character is seen across the entire series you can suggest that she was always geared towards humanity and subconsciously, even in her most Vulcan moments, carries a human bias that goes against her strict society and was gradually allowed to surface the more time she spent among humans, though she tried hard to hide it and not acknowledge it to herself. That's what I take from watching Season 1 again.
Archer has rolled over and given up, but T'Pol is ready to fight to prove they were right to be out there, just like Hoshi. And if she can turn around so entirely, going from almost a spy for the High Command, to fully supporting her colleagues and understanding their wholehearted goodness and desire to help and learn, then even the most guilt-stricken human should be able to buck himself up - she wants Archer to fight his organisation as she's willing to fight hers for him and them. Disappointingly, Archer never learns to overcome his own feelings, to rationalise what happened and put everything in perspective, to take hold of himself and be the man, the Captain, and the hero we need him to be. If there was ever a case for Archer being a weak Captain, and I went into Season 1 expecting to find more evidence of that, this is the point I'd bring up. In reality he's so often shown himself to be a good leader of men and I was actually impressed. It may be that seeing the modern iteration of Captain Pike in 'DSC,' who so constantly requires Burnham to set him straight, it made Archer look so much stronger, but I think even without that comparison to strengthen Archer's position, he comes across well for the majority of the time we spend with him in this season. Which is why it is a shame that he isn't responsible for pulling himself together, Daniels is.
More to the point, Daniels' ability to send him zipping through time to the pre-launch moment where he's literally taken out of his problem and able to have a new perspective. As a side note I don't know what they could have done to make that little trip back more memorable, but I feel like they should have done something special there. I'm not sure what we might have seen, but the chance to travel back to just before the NX-01 set out could have given us something better than just his apartment. Maybe we could have visited the NX-01 under construction (except it was finished, I think), or somewhere important, I don't know, and not that it's a bad scene, but it was definitely a lost opportunity in the way that we got to go back before the series on both 'TNG' (we see a Holodeck recreation of Utopia Planitia with the Enterprise-D under construction), and 'Voyager' (when Seven of Nine is time-hopping around to various eras in the ship's history). I imagine the rationale was that we were only going to be touching on that period briefly so they didn't want to do anything too elaborate. After this, the series takes the direction towards more action and fantasy (even though here it still feels much more scientific and coherent with what we'd seen in Trek before, unlike the stupid-sounding time crystals, open and notorious 'secret' organisation of Section 31 that everybody knows about, and technology they somehow built that's clearly centuries beyond their capability if we're still supposed to believe 'DSC' occurs in the Prime Timeline!).
The series could have gone either way, right from the start: they originally wanted to have the whole first season be the preparation for the launch of the NX-01 which is almost unimaginable in today's age of instant gratification and shiny fantasy sci-fi that bears only a passing resemblance to the well established Trek universe. Even then it was too much for the powers with the purse strings and it was they who demanded the TCW and nixed a season of preparing, something which would truly have been new ground for Trek. As it was they still managed to intertwine personal character stories with high concept ones, though the bent was definitely more towards the action than previous Trek series'. Otherwise we might have had a more psychological study of the characters in this episode rather than a move towards action. Not that I'm suggesting it was bad, on the contrary, if we hadn't had Daniels' intervention we wouldn't have got Archer's exciting mood change from utter depression to focused, driven and back in charge of himself and his ship - I love it when in the eyes of his crew he snaps out of it and orders everyone summoned to the Situation Room at the back of the Bridge, then proceeds to hand out assignments quickly and efficiently, galvanising this Starfleet crew for their task.
It's fun to see Trip so nonplussed by the technical knowledge his Captain now has that is beyond even his engineering know-how. It's also fun to see the future Tricorder, or whatever it was, that had been stashed away in Daniels' Quarters on the Enterprise in 'Cold Front.' They'd like to learn all the knowledge in that future tech (which looked like something 'DSC' would use as a matter of course in their bizarre ultra-advanced reality that bears so little resemblance to the timeline we know - I wish Daniels would go back and sort out that era, and maybe take Captain Braxton along, too, then they could set right what once went wrong, just like 'Quantum Leap' - hey that might not be a bad idea for a new series: call it 'Star Trek: Time Leapers' with Daniels in the Al role, while Braxton does the heavy lifting!), but Archer is strictly interested only in the Suliban stealth cruiser details, primed as he was by Daniels on the importance of knowing as little as possible about future events. The tables are turned and the ship has gone from defeated prey to hunter, tracking down the Suliban and going on an exciting raid. I liked seeing the unique Suliban design again, all lines and angles, with Archer having the knowledge of exactly where to go to find the data disks. It seems a bit risky taking both Trip and T'Pol along, and not Reed, I must say, but then the Captain knew what he was doing.
Having the Suliban be ordinary villains again gave me mixed feelings. It is in Trek's style that it shows enemies to be like us, and not everyone is the same as their group, and I can't help wishing there had been development of the Suliban characters where instead they're only soldiers to be opposed. Even Silik doesn't have anything interesting to add to his character, unlike last time when you're not always sure if he's acting for evil reasons or not. While it's visually dramatic to see them using their genetic enhancements again, crawling along walls and ceilings, in that instance it didn't seem to make much sense as this is their ship and it would surely have been quicker to run! But the raid is precise and targeted thanks to Archer's intuition, and I will say the whole episode was well directed by Allan Kroeker, a Trek veteran, right from the chaotic camera in Sickbay once the team had returned to the ship after the disastrous 'accident,' representing the confused feelings and shock of the participants as they whirl hither and thither trying to process what happened and how it could have. At the same time, with action there's much less discussion to be had and even having just watched it I find myself forgetting exactly what happened in the episode aside from the personal moments and the broad action strokes.
When I first saw it, it would have been the fascination with the 31st Century that I'd have been most thrilled about, but knowing that part two doesn't amount to much (at least in my memory), and that there isn't a great deal to be mined from that time, especially as it's an alternate timeline, it proves far less fascinating than would appear by the questions thrown up. Rather than rely on a wave of satisfaction and hope for the future, as 'DS9' Season 1 ended, they rely on the shock value of a cliffhanger to excite the audience, and shock value is exactly what everything relies on to a ridiculous degree in today's TV and film world. When I think of 'DS9,' and I think of it as the best Trek ever made, I think of the actual lack of direct end-of-season cliffhangers. They tended to set something up, whether it be the might of the Jem'Hadar in the episode named after them, or the threat of the Founders at the end of Season 3. The concern that Gowron is a Changeling another example. Season 5 did end with a more immediately dramatic situation with the station taken over, but even there that was to set up a multi-episode serial, and Season 7 went back to setup for the future rather than specific cliffhanger. You notice that style gives the writers far more leeway and options for how to proceed rather than writing themselves into a corner and having to put the pieces back into order so things can proceed as normal, which is what happened with 'TNG' and 'Voyager' so much, and is the template followed here.
There was so much they could have explored with future-future tech, the politics of the time, the status of races and planets, but they preferred to leave the slate largely blank, either in case they wanted to fill in further details later, or simply because trying to extrapolate a thousand years into Trek's future was a task best avoided. You'd have to be pretty confident to take on such a challenge: confident or, may I say, a touch arrogant that you could come up with something advanced enough to be understood as so much further, or perhaps just a little lacking in understanding of what makes drama. If your head is filled with comic book films and pulpy sci-fi, even fantasy, then you're not held back, because to extrapolate realistically would be a real headache. I think that's why we got so little revealed about Daniels' time, beyond the nugget that they use time portals (which have all been destroyed along with all the technology of the time). It's enough that when you see even the blase time travel master, who apparently died and came back, is worried, you know things are seriously bad. Actually that's another little disappointment: I understand that they preferred to keep the audience almost as much in the dark as the denizens of the 22nd Century in regard to how all this time travel works and the intricacies of the TCW, but they could have thrown us a bone about how Daniels survived being killed.
He fobs us and Archer off with no explanation and one reason Daniels isn't one of the best recurring characters of the series is that he embodies the writers' wish to be condescending rather than spill any beans that would require effort to create. Better not to let anyone in on how this whole thing works because then we'd have to work out how it works, so we'll just make him dismissive and gloss over any important details which it is in the nature of Trekkers to wonder about! It's good to have mystery, but sometimes it can go too far and you need to ground things, especially such ultra-future setup as they're playing with here, though they cunningly get around it by showing this alternate, ruined future. In the end none of the 31st Century connections really amount to much throughout the series, because the TCW was let go and never reached its potential, though this also means it's an element that could be taken up by writers any time they want to - trouble is, after the awful misuse of both the Mirror Universe and Section 31 I have no faith in the current writers' ability to handle Trek lore well. In fact, that's the main reason I dedicated this year to going through Season 1 of 'Enterprise' again: partly it was because I'd never even written basic reviews of the first two episodes, but also I needed something to wash away the aftertaste of 'DSC,' something that was more akin to it than the 24th Century series', widescreen, action-based, but also still revelling in Trek canon, indeed inventing the stuff rather than relying on the Spock family or the Constitution-class Enterprise.
My plan was a success, it brought back the enjoyment of Trek to me and made me remember how much I get from proper Trek. It can't make up for the horrible mismanagement of the franchise today, it can't rekindle hope for good new Trek, but it can restore my delight in the best sci-fi creation ever produced. It also helps that 'Enterprise' is the series of the original run that I've seen the least. That and 'TOS,' I would say. So it still has a freshness to it and makes it enjoyable to revisit. So much so that I wish I could just go straight onto Season 2 and continue my expanded reviews, even though I have far less favourable thoughts on that season than I've always held for Season 1. But other series' that I've put off still need reviewing, though I'll certainly keep in mind I need to go back. What this episode reminded me of once again were the details, the little details that always speak of Trek and its solidity as a coherent and believable world: it was classic stuff when Archer tells Hoshi to make sure the comms are 'on the fritz' so they can neither report nor receive orders. It's happened many times and it's always a good ruse (but only if you succeed with whatever you're trying to accomplish!), and I loved it. One very minor thing I noticed was that as Archer scrolls through the images of the 3,600 casualties of the obliterated colony, they're accompanied by the 'musical notes' visual characters that shows he's reading the Vulcan database, something that similarly impressed me as I wondered where he got these photos from. Logic!
It was even fun to hear Archer reference 'those old Bible films,' good to know that 'The Ten Commandments' et al. the apocalypse of World War III! He says it when Reed asks if the Suliban will come after them, and Archer responds that like those old films, it wasn't 'written.' Unfortunately for him, unlike those old films, time meddling switches things around and the Suliban do indeed come for the Enterprise, or more specifically, her Captain. I like that Archer is so matter-of-fact about handing himself over for the sake of his ship. Maybe he didn't believe in the word of Silik who isn't necessarily the most trustworthy, but perhaps he had faith in Daniels' ability to intervene. As it is, he confidently leaves T'Pol in command, again showing how far they've come, though even in the first episode she was forced to take command. Then Archer was worried about her, now he has no such concerns, and rightly so. Although the tiny Suliban ships don't look like much it's easy to forget they feature the tech of the future and by sheer weight of numbers would provide more than a deadly match for the NX-01. Maybe cliffhanger wasn't the best option for the episode, but it wasn't the worst, either and it does leave you wanting to see what happens next, even if you know it won't match up to this episode's quality.
One final note should be highlighted, as this was the last ever episode to appear on a videocassette, the VHS format that was superceded by DVD. I never collected the videos for this series, though I did buy the pilot's release as that was the only way to see it for me at the time. I also have many happy memories of collecting other Trek videos, in particular 'DS9' for which I bought the entire series, tracking how many I needed from each season as I went. DVD was obviously superior for clarity, but at the same time I sometimes think that the slightly less distinct video resolution worked well for Trek, especially when so many episodes had smoke and sparks, and I can still remember the whole monitor whiting out during explosions in a way that the digital nature of DVD doesn't give you. The individual art for each box and information provided inside were also very collectable. The 'Enterprise' releases didn't have the same level of attention paid to them as the medium died out, but I'll always remember with fondness the more immediate connection to that analogue medium and I wonder what it would be like to go back and watch this final video season in that format. Maybe I'll collect them one day and find out…
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What an idea, eh? Ending a season by sending your main character into the far future beyond where any Trek had gone before… Where have I heard that recently, hmm? In all honesty this two-parter has never stuck in my mind in the way so many 'Enterprise' episodes have, especially not compared to the other 'big' episodes. It was charting new ground, not just in sending Archer to the 31st Century, but also in finishing its first season on a cliffhanger, something that no other Trek series had done. But then neither had any other Trek series (bar 'TOS' which knocked out almost thirty!), had such a fully formed inaugural season of twenty-six episodes. It must have seemed like they'd learned all the lessons of fourteen years of continual 'modern' Trek, a seasoned crew behind the scenes and the future of it all must have appeared more secure than ever. I don't know that I would say Season 1 was the best a Trek series had made, but it was certainly a strong debut and I would give it the award for best opening salvo of episodes, it's just a shame they weren't able to carry the momentum forward as thoroughly as they might have: we could have done with more focus, not serialisation, but certainly serial encounters with the Klingons for one, perhaps creating a personal adversary as they would attempt to do with Duras in Season 2, and with the Suliban acting for Future Guy, for another.
If the season was scant on Temporal Cold War detail, it feels they were partly trying to keep this pioneering starship as pure as they could without trashing the timeline too much and having everybody fully aware of what was going on in the bigger picture. There was a delicate approach to such things that was warranted, as we see that rather than Daniels appearing to the whole crew, he plucks Archer out specifically and gives him instructions to pass on. I like this targeted and careful method of dealing with the 22nd Century, rather than raining down time travellers all over and making huge flashy changes everywhere as I suspect current Trek would have done. At least with the coming of the end of the season they took up the threads of the TCW, one of the most potentially fascinating series arcs in all Trek, but also the most underused. We'd had only one episode ('Cold Front'), around mid-season to continue Silik and the idea that the NX-01 is integral to the time period it exists in, a weapon to be wielded by whomever can manipulate it, either positively or negatively, so it was fitting that the season ended on the same note. At the same time, despite my championing of the TCW as a conduit for a potentially terrific well of stories, I couldn't help feeling that this episode in particular might have been better served had they concentrated on the events that began the episode.
It's shocking what happens to the alien colony Enterprise visits, their own shuttlepod the apparent cause of a blast (a shockwave perhaps), that utterly annihilates this entire alien colony, and the aftermath is very realistic, and seeing how problems are dealt with is to me what Trek is all about. This was the most dramatic part of the episode and we can see here the two avenues Trek could have gone down, and partly why the franchise is in the shape it is today, creatively speaking: just imagine if they'd chosen to explore a genuine accident caused by Archer and his crew, the ramifications of what that meant for human space travel was powerful. There's talk of it pushing space exploration back twenty years once the Vulcans use this as proof humans weren't ready. At stake, then, is the entire formation of the Federation which we know is coming in only a decade's time. There would be no alliance with the Andorians or the Tellarites, no knowledge of the greater galaxy, maybe Earth would even have been destroyed when they had no experienced officers to send out to learn why the Xindi attacked in a year or so's time. The stakes are about as high as they can get, especially on a personal level, Archer described by T'Pol as full of agitation, despondency and guilt (reminding me of Captain Janeway in 'Night'). This realistic depiction of remorse and shame is not punctuated by the melodrama of 'DSC,' no crew members are bursting into tears, but it's no less powerful for that, and in fact is far more so.
I said there were two options to pursue, and while this focus on guilt and responsibility was more attractive to me now, I probably would have been more excited about the actual route they chose: that of time travel and conspiracy. I can't shake the impression that this episode could have been as strong as the 'DS9' Season 1 finale (and did feature some of the same themes), if the accident had been the whole story and Archer and the crew trundled home to face the music. Both this and 'In The Hands of The Prophets' show great progress, specifically between a male commander and his female subordinate who had been at loggerheads and distrustful of each other when they first met, and now, after a season of (in this case ten), months of cooperation and learning, have come to depend upon each other, trust each other, even with the hardest things (T'Pol still talks of the Vulcan Science Directorate's determination that time travel is impossible, but she agrees to keep an open mind because Archer is the one asking - mind you, a true scientist should be keeping an open mind anyway and unfortunately the Vulcans do represent the rigid worldview too many scientists stick to, refusing to acknowledge evidence that may put their position in doubt). Archer and T'Pol's growing friendship has been a delight to see and this is the capper, there being no doubt in the Captain's mind now about leaving his Vulcan sub-commander in charge when he does what every Captain always wants to do: handing himself over to the enemy so his ship can go free!
If this episode had followed the trail laid out at the start of it, and they had returned to Earth to effectively face a trial, such as Captain Kirk faced in 'Court Martial' or Dax in 'Dax' (among so many other great examples of the genre), we could have had an even more satisfying conclusion to the season. It wouldn't have been a cliffhanger and it wouldn't have been Big and Galaxy-Shifting, but it would have meant a lot personally for the characters as they must vindicate the decisions they made throughout the season, proving that they were right to be out there. It could have acted as a retrospective to the first year, but without 'Shades of Grey' style clips (if they really wanted to do something especially impressive they could have gone back to previous episodes and created new scenes that we never saw at the time - oh how my creative juices are flowing today!), as each crewmember stands up before the tribunal, or whatever, and cites their case. Soval for the prosecution would be throwing hard questions their way, perhaps causing them to stumble or admit something they were trying to play down, but then Archer would come onto the stand at the end and make a big speech reminding us of what they'd achieved, talking the room round, perhaps even bringing back the odd guest star to rest his case upon their testimony. It would have been a triumphant finale.
The important thing is that much of that optimism and pride in what went right is evident in the episode and is the most Trekky part of the story: despite appearances to the contrary, Reed sticks by his guns, adamant that the shuttlepod's ports were closed, the determining factor in whether the drive plasma was responsible for reacting with the planet's atmospheric gas. He doesn't buckle under, even while concerned about such a terrible event, and it's not pride in himself or avoiding responsibility, it's the First Duty, as Picard would say: the truth. He could easily have become as despondent as his Captain and given in, saying it didn't matter how it happened, it happened, but he is thorough and professional, reiterating there were no leaks in the pod's systems unless they fixed themselves afterwards. This creditable and reasoned response is shared by other members of the crew. Hoshi and Mayweather discuss what they might go back to, assuming the mission is permanently cancelled, Hoshi certain she'll be taken back at her language institute because she's so good (which she says wryly, but isn't any less true), while Travis is a bit more down about things since he can't imagine going back to cargo transports after flying the state of the art warp 5 ship. He also warns that people back home are thinking all they've done is cause trouble out in space, and this is when Hoshi jumps to their defence, saying that's why they need to go back, to tell people what really happened and what a difference they've made!
This is the spirit of Trek, and while Dr. Phlox is more fatalistic in his preparations for whatever his next position is, he again is optimistic, showing that this attitude he's expressed before isn't empty words, looking forward to whatever challenges he'll be faced with, even while knowing he'll miss the crewmates he served with on Enterprise. The point is, no one is hanging their head and believing it was all for nothing and they should slink back home with their tails between their legs to accept whatever punishment there is for daring to believe in the mission and mankind's place among the stars, forging a new path in the darkness. No one, that is, except for Archer in his hardest experience so far. This even after the wise words of Admiral Forrest, who tells him he has the whole crew looking to him on how to react to this, so don't let them down. But he allows personal guilt to overwhelm him to the point he doesn't even want to engage with the job of Captain any more. It takes a visit from T'Pol to remind him of his duty, though she does it without prodding, she simply provides an ear (two ears, pointed). T'Pol, who was of the same opinion as her people about the place of humans out in space, is the one who has turned around the most. Arguably when her character is seen across the entire series you can suggest that she was always geared towards humanity and subconsciously, even in her most Vulcan moments, carries a human bias that goes against her strict society and was gradually allowed to surface the more time she spent among humans, though she tried hard to hide it and not acknowledge it to herself. That's what I take from watching Season 1 again.
Archer has rolled over and given up, but T'Pol is ready to fight to prove they were right to be out there, just like Hoshi. And if she can turn around so entirely, going from almost a spy for the High Command, to fully supporting her colleagues and understanding their wholehearted goodness and desire to help and learn, then even the most guilt-stricken human should be able to buck himself up - she wants Archer to fight his organisation as she's willing to fight hers for him and them. Disappointingly, Archer never learns to overcome his own feelings, to rationalise what happened and put everything in perspective, to take hold of himself and be the man, the Captain, and the hero we need him to be. If there was ever a case for Archer being a weak Captain, and I went into Season 1 expecting to find more evidence of that, this is the point I'd bring up. In reality he's so often shown himself to be a good leader of men and I was actually impressed. It may be that seeing the modern iteration of Captain Pike in 'DSC,' who so constantly requires Burnham to set him straight, it made Archer look so much stronger, but I think even without that comparison to strengthen Archer's position, he comes across well for the majority of the time we spend with him in this season. Which is why it is a shame that he isn't responsible for pulling himself together, Daniels is.
More to the point, Daniels' ability to send him zipping through time to the pre-launch moment where he's literally taken out of his problem and able to have a new perspective. As a side note I don't know what they could have done to make that little trip back more memorable, but I feel like they should have done something special there. I'm not sure what we might have seen, but the chance to travel back to just before the NX-01 set out could have given us something better than just his apartment. Maybe we could have visited the NX-01 under construction (except it was finished, I think), or somewhere important, I don't know, and not that it's a bad scene, but it was definitely a lost opportunity in the way that we got to go back before the series on both 'TNG' (we see a Holodeck recreation of Utopia Planitia with the Enterprise-D under construction), and 'Voyager' (when Seven of Nine is time-hopping around to various eras in the ship's history). I imagine the rationale was that we were only going to be touching on that period briefly so they didn't want to do anything too elaborate. After this, the series takes the direction towards more action and fantasy (even though here it still feels much more scientific and coherent with what we'd seen in Trek before, unlike the stupid-sounding time crystals, open and notorious 'secret' organisation of Section 31 that everybody knows about, and technology they somehow built that's clearly centuries beyond their capability if we're still supposed to believe 'DSC' occurs in the Prime Timeline!).
The series could have gone either way, right from the start: they originally wanted to have the whole first season be the preparation for the launch of the NX-01 which is almost unimaginable in today's age of instant gratification and shiny fantasy sci-fi that bears only a passing resemblance to the well established Trek universe. Even then it was too much for the powers with the purse strings and it was they who demanded the TCW and nixed a season of preparing, something which would truly have been new ground for Trek. As it was they still managed to intertwine personal character stories with high concept ones, though the bent was definitely more towards the action than previous Trek series'. Otherwise we might have had a more psychological study of the characters in this episode rather than a move towards action. Not that I'm suggesting it was bad, on the contrary, if we hadn't had Daniels' intervention we wouldn't have got Archer's exciting mood change from utter depression to focused, driven and back in charge of himself and his ship - I love it when in the eyes of his crew he snaps out of it and orders everyone summoned to the Situation Room at the back of the Bridge, then proceeds to hand out assignments quickly and efficiently, galvanising this Starfleet crew for their task.
It's fun to see Trip so nonplussed by the technical knowledge his Captain now has that is beyond even his engineering know-how. It's also fun to see the future Tricorder, or whatever it was, that had been stashed away in Daniels' Quarters on the Enterprise in 'Cold Front.' They'd like to learn all the knowledge in that future tech (which looked like something 'DSC' would use as a matter of course in their bizarre ultra-advanced reality that bears so little resemblance to the timeline we know - I wish Daniels would go back and sort out that era, and maybe take Captain Braxton along, too, then they could set right what once went wrong, just like 'Quantum Leap' - hey that might not be a bad idea for a new series: call it 'Star Trek: Time Leapers' with Daniels in the Al role, while Braxton does the heavy lifting!), but Archer is strictly interested only in the Suliban stealth cruiser details, primed as he was by Daniels on the importance of knowing as little as possible about future events. The tables are turned and the ship has gone from defeated prey to hunter, tracking down the Suliban and going on an exciting raid. I liked seeing the unique Suliban design again, all lines and angles, with Archer having the knowledge of exactly where to go to find the data disks. It seems a bit risky taking both Trip and T'Pol along, and not Reed, I must say, but then the Captain knew what he was doing.
Having the Suliban be ordinary villains again gave me mixed feelings. It is in Trek's style that it shows enemies to be like us, and not everyone is the same as their group, and I can't help wishing there had been development of the Suliban characters where instead they're only soldiers to be opposed. Even Silik doesn't have anything interesting to add to his character, unlike last time when you're not always sure if he's acting for evil reasons or not. While it's visually dramatic to see them using their genetic enhancements again, crawling along walls and ceilings, in that instance it didn't seem to make much sense as this is their ship and it would surely have been quicker to run! But the raid is precise and targeted thanks to Archer's intuition, and I will say the whole episode was well directed by Allan Kroeker, a Trek veteran, right from the chaotic camera in Sickbay once the team had returned to the ship after the disastrous 'accident,' representing the confused feelings and shock of the participants as they whirl hither and thither trying to process what happened and how it could have. At the same time, with action there's much less discussion to be had and even having just watched it I find myself forgetting exactly what happened in the episode aside from the personal moments and the broad action strokes.
When I first saw it, it would have been the fascination with the 31st Century that I'd have been most thrilled about, but knowing that part two doesn't amount to much (at least in my memory), and that there isn't a great deal to be mined from that time, especially as it's an alternate timeline, it proves far less fascinating than would appear by the questions thrown up. Rather than rely on a wave of satisfaction and hope for the future, as 'DS9' Season 1 ended, they rely on the shock value of a cliffhanger to excite the audience, and shock value is exactly what everything relies on to a ridiculous degree in today's TV and film world. When I think of 'DS9,' and I think of it as the best Trek ever made, I think of the actual lack of direct end-of-season cliffhangers. They tended to set something up, whether it be the might of the Jem'Hadar in the episode named after them, or the threat of the Founders at the end of Season 3. The concern that Gowron is a Changeling another example. Season 5 did end with a more immediately dramatic situation with the station taken over, but even there that was to set up a multi-episode serial, and Season 7 went back to setup for the future rather than specific cliffhanger. You notice that style gives the writers far more leeway and options for how to proceed rather than writing themselves into a corner and having to put the pieces back into order so things can proceed as normal, which is what happened with 'TNG' and 'Voyager' so much, and is the template followed here.
There was so much they could have explored with future-future tech, the politics of the time, the status of races and planets, but they preferred to leave the slate largely blank, either in case they wanted to fill in further details later, or simply because trying to extrapolate a thousand years into Trek's future was a task best avoided. You'd have to be pretty confident to take on such a challenge: confident or, may I say, a touch arrogant that you could come up with something advanced enough to be understood as so much further, or perhaps just a little lacking in understanding of what makes drama. If your head is filled with comic book films and pulpy sci-fi, even fantasy, then you're not held back, because to extrapolate realistically would be a real headache. I think that's why we got so little revealed about Daniels' time, beyond the nugget that they use time portals (which have all been destroyed along with all the technology of the time). It's enough that when you see even the blase time travel master, who apparently died and came back, is worried, you know things are seriously bad. Actually that's another little disappointment: I understand that they preferred to keep the audience almost as much in the dark as the denizens of the 22nd Century in regard to how all this time travel works and the intricacies of the TCW, but they could have thrown us a bone about how Daniels survived being killed.
He fobs us and Archer off with no explanation and one reason Daniels isn't one of the best recurring characters of the series is that he embodies the writers' wish to be condescending rather than spill any beans that would require effort to create. Better not to let anyone in on how this whole thing works because then we'd have to work out how it works, so we'll just make him dismissive and gloss over any important details which it is in the nature of Trekkers to wonder about! It's good to have mystery, but sometimes it can go too far and you need to ground things, especially such ultra-future setup as they're playing with here, though they cunningly get around it by showing this alternate, ruined future. In the end none of the 31st Century connections really amount to much throughout the series, because the TCW was let go and never reached its potential, though this also means it's an element that could be taken up by writers any time they want to - trouble is, after the awful misuse of both the Mirror Universe and Section 31 I have no faith in the current writers' ability to handle Trek lore well. In fact, that's the main reason I dedicated this year to going through Season 1 of 'Enterprise' again: partly it was because I'd never even written basic reviews of the first two episodes, but also I needed something to wash away the aftertaste of 'DSC,' something that was more akin to it than the 24th Century series', widescreen, action-based, but also still revelling in Trek canon, indeed inventing the stuff rather than relying on the Spock family or the Constitution-class Enterprise.
My plan was a success, it brought back the enjoyment of Trek to me and made me remember how much I get from proper Trek. It can't make up for the horrible mismanagement of the franchise today, it can't rekindle hope for good new Trek, but it can restore my delight in the best sci-fi creation ever produced. It also helps that 'Enterprise' is the series of the original run that I've seen the least. That and 'TOS,' I would say. So it still has a freshness to it and makes it enjoyable to revisit. So much so that I wish I could just go straight onto Season 2 and continue my expanded reviews, even though I have far less favourable thoughts on that season than I've always held for Season 1. But other series' that I've put off still need reviewing, though I'll certainly keep in mind I need to go back. What this episode reminded me of once again were the details, the little details that always speak of Trek and its solidity as a coherent and believable world: it was classic stuff when Archer tells Hoshi to make sure the comms are 'on the fritz' so they can neither report nor receive orders. It's happened many times and it's always a good ruse (but only if you succeed with whatever you're trying to accomplish!), and I loved it. One very minor thing I noticed was that as Archer scrolls through the images of the 3,600 casualties of the obliterated colony, they're accompanied by the 'musical notes' visual characters that shows he's reading the Vulcan database, something that similarly impressed me as I wondered where he got these photos from. Logic!
It was even fun to hear Archer reference 'those old Bible films,' good to know that 'The Ten Commandments' et al. the apocalypse of World War III! He says it when Reed asks if the Suliban will come after them, and Archer responds that like those old films, it wasn't 'written.' Unfortunately for him, unlike those old films, time meddling switches things around and the Suliban do indeed come for the Enterprise, or more specifically, her Captain. I like that Archer is so matter-of-fact about handing himself over for the sake of his ship. Maybe he didn't believe in the word of Silik who isn't necessarily the most trustworthy, but perhaps he had faith in Daniels' ability to intervene. As it is, he confidently leaves T'Pol in command, again showing how far they've come, though even in the first episode she was forced to take command. Then Archer was worried about her, now he has no such concerns, and rightly so. Although the tiny Suliban ships don't look like much it's easy to forget they feature the tech of the future and by sheer weight of numbers would provide more than a deadly match for the NX-01. Maybe cliffhanger wasn't the best option for the episode, but it wasn't the worst, either and it does leave you wanting to see what happens next, even if you know it won't match up to this episode's quality.
One final note should be highlighted, as this was the last ever episode to appear on a videocassette, the VHS format that was superceded by DVD. I never collected the videos for this series, though I did buy the pilot's release as that was the only way to see it for me at the time. I also have many happy memories of collecting other Trek videos, in particular 'DS9' for which I bought the entire series, tracking how many I needed from each season as I went. DVD was obviously superior for clarity, but at the same time I sometimes think that the slightly less distinct video resolution worked well for Trek, especially when so many episodes had smoke and sparks, and I can still remember the whole monitor whiting out during explosions in a way that the digital nature of DVD doesn't give you. The individual art for each box and information provided inside were also very collectable. The 'Enterprise' releases didn't have the same level of attention paid to them as the medium died out, but I'll always remember with fondness the more immediate connection to that analogue medium and I wonder what it would be like to go back and watch this final video season in that format. Maybe I'll collect them one day and find out…
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