Episode Review - Babel One (Enterprise, Season 4)

For those who are new to my episode reviews, you can find the post where I establish my point criteria here

Overview – While transporting a Tellarite delegation to peace talks at Babel One, the Enterprise encounters the wreckage of the Kumari, and rescue Shran and some of his crew. The Andorians claim that it was a Tellarite vessel that attacked them. Tensions rise even further when an Andorian ship attacks Enterprise. As Archer and his crew try to determine what happened, suspicions between the Andorians and Tellarites continue to escalate. The crew discover a strange, alien ship that appears to have the ability to project the appearance of different types of vessels. They learn that the ship is Romulan, and Tucker and Reed beam aboard to investigate. As distrust between the Andorians and Tellarites mounts, matters become violent and Telas, Shran’s lieutenant and mate, is severely injured. By the end of the episode, Tucker and Reed make a startling discovery about the Romulan ship.

Score: 9/10 – “Babel One” is a perfect reason as to why Enterprise was cancelled far too soon. Like many good shows of the day, it often takes a few seasons to really build some steam, and the fourth season of Enterprise was excellent. In this episode, we get what many fans had been asking for, which is a glimpse into the beginnings of the Federation. We also get action, humor, suspense, intrigue, and some twists and turns we were not fully expecting. Shran has always been a popular character, and here Jeffery Combs is given some great scenes. We also get some greater insight into both Andorian and Tellarite culture. Another strength in this episode is how it shows how much Archer has come as a diplomat, reminiscent of the cowboy diplomacy that was often associated with Captain Kirk. T’Pol’s marriage being dissolved is almost treated as an afterthought, and while it is handled in typical T’Pol/Vulcan fashion, I thought it could have been fleshed out a little more. Overall, an excellent episode.

Relevance – 3 points. Of course a point will be scored for Babel, the famed peace location that served as the backdrop to the Original Series classic “Journey to Babel”, which served as our introduction to Spock’s parents. This is one of the things that I enjoyed about Enterprise, in that we were able to weave in much of the Original Series lore. Another point will be scored for the fate of the Kumari, Shran’s ship that he had commanded for several previous episodes. A final point is scored for the advancement in the relationship between Shran and Talas. This relationship will be important for the development of the next episode. If that is not enough, we are given a little tidbit of information from T’Pol, stating that her marriage has officially ended.

Continuity – 3 points. Character continuity is of particular interest here. One scene in particular that shows this is when T’Pol informs her captain that her marriage has ended. Archer expresses sympathy, while T’Pol brushes it aside in her typical fashion. It highlights how far these two have come. Universe continuity is also intact. The Romulans have always been trying to disrupt things from the shadows, and the remote-piloted ship is a perfect example of this. Story wise, everything works here as well.

Character Development – 2 points. While T’Pol’s marriage is dissolved in this episode, there is little else said about it. We also have Tucker and Reed with some action on the Romulan vessel, but aside from how they work together, nothing deeper is provided. No, this episode is mainly about Archer and his growth as a diplomat. We see him wrestle with doubts about their mission, while T’Pol patiently points out that he, Earth, and Vulcan have come a long way in such a short period of time. It highlights the fact that Archer has done a lot to foster relations between species that often were adversarial towards each other. Of course, this is building towards the events of the next episode, but it solidly establishes how much Archer’s leadership skills have grown.

Social Commentary – 1 point. As is typical of some of these action episodes, the excitement comes at the expense of a solid commentary on our present-day world. This is partly due to the fact that “Babel One” is setting up for the events of “United”, which actually carries a stronger message. This is also due to the notion that a lot is happening, and sometimes we just have to tell the story and not worry about saying something profound. We can glean a little something from the importance of working together. Reed and Tucker have to rely on each other as they explore the Romulan vessel, Archer has to teach the Tellarites and Andorians that they have to work together to defeat a common foe, etc. Star Trek is at its best when it makes us think more, but that does not mean that it’s not excellent when it doesn’t.

Cool Stuff – 3 points. One point scored for showing us a cool view of Romulus, which until this point has only been seen via matte paintings. I also scored a point here for the ship, both in design and for it’s part in the story-telling. I loved how it allowed us to see a few different models of ships. And the premise of it being remotely piloted from far away was interesting. I also liked how it was used to sow seeds of distrust among the future founders of the United Federation of Planets. A cool story-twist. Finally, the Tellarites are shown in a way that we have rarely seen, given far more attention than in the past. While the Tellarites are not as iconic as the Vulcans, Klingons, or even the Andorians, they had always been present in the background of Star Trek, and here they are given the spotlight like never before.

Rank – Admiral (21 points). I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Enterprise deserved more than it got, and “Babel One” is a perfect example of it. I love how we see how the Tellarites and Andorians are brought together, and we are given a fun ride as the story plays out.

If you would like to check out my other episode reviews for Enterprise, simply click here.

If you would like to read an episode review from any of the Trek series, click the following link to get to the series catalog. If the episode you want reviewed has not been done yet, then feel free to request it in the comments and I will see what I can do.

Why I Love Enterprise

Celebrating the five full decades of Star Trek should be a yearlong event, so I thought I would spread the love of all things Trek. Previously in this series I touched on why I loved the Original Series, the Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and most recently Voyager. Next on our list is the show that ended Trek on television (at least until Discovery comes along) by taking us back to the beginning of the Federation, Star Trek Enterprise.

The year was 2001. Voyager had returned to the Alpha Quadrant earlier in the year, and a new Trek series was eagerly anticipated. Set in an era prior to the establishment of the Federation, the setting occurred in a universe where relationships between Earth and Vulcan were cool, many species had yet to be discovered, and the warp-speed travel was still new. The premise of the show has Captain Johnathon Archer taking command of Earth’s first Warp 5 ship. Joining him are some of Earth’s finest along with some alien allies. As the show progressed and the exploration began, we were able to see the seeds planted that ultimately led to the growth of the United Federation of Planets. There was no Prime Directive, no replicators, no holodeck, just the grit of the early explorers.

It has been said that no series of Trek has been so polarizing. There was a great deal of resistance, and many found ample material to complain about. Some hated the theme song (it had lyrics for Spock’s sake!), others disliked the apparent continuity errors, while some criticized what was described as decisions made to try to up ratings at the expense of good character development and story-telling. This was the first trek series since the Original that was cancelled due to low ratings, and some have argued that the franchise has never recovered from Enterprise. The show did not even contain the words “Star Trek” in its title until the third season. Producer Rick Berman had said that he felt the studio rushed the production of Enterprise, claiming that the television market had become saturated with Star Trek by having three series going seven seasons each over 14 years and felt the franchise needed to catch its breath before moving on. Some fans agreed.

Still, Enterprise had a loyal, though smaller, following. Many enjoyed seeing the early growth of humanity as it became an interstellar power. We were entreated to the first encounter with the Klingons in the pilot episode. Some appreciated the new characters, new races, and what life in the 22^nd century was like. Some were fascinated by the depiction of humans that were not quite at the utopian level that Roddenberry had envisioned. I enjoyed the series myself, though I had a few more dislikes about it than any other series, but since we are keeping it positive here, I give you my top 5 reasons for why I love Enterprise.

1. Shran – Played by the amazing Jeffery Combs, Shran was the first major Andorian character. I loved how they developed this character. He started out as an adversary and quickly grew into one of the most trusted allies of the Enterprise crew. He was tough, quick-tempered, and fierce. His lines were brilliantly written, to the point where when I get tired of a particular human of Caucasian descent, I think about calling him “pink-skin”. I think the saddest part of the cancellation of Enterprise was the revelation that had it lasted a fifth season, Shran would have become part of the crew and a Jeffery Combs a main cast member.

2. Dr. Phlox – Our favourite (and first) Denobulan. He was a wonderfully refreshing character. Funny, different, and showed that the Denobulans were more than just another alien with a different forehead. His physiology was just different enough to add a “cool” factor. From his extremely long tongue to his literal ear-to-ear grin, Dr. Phlox provided us some comic relief. There was more to him than that, however. He became a moral compass to the crew who, unlike the Vulcan T’Pol, could share an outsider’s perspective and an excitement of exploration that gave a great deal of balance to the crew.

3. Explaining the Klingons – For many decades there was one important question that was not answered for the fans. In the Original Series the Klingons looked like deeply tanned humans with cool mustaches. When the films began, their foreheads became ridged and prominent. No explanation given. The closest we came was in the DS9 episode “Trials and Tribblations” when Worf tells his crew mates that the reason they looked different was because it was a ‘private matter”. Well, Enterprise came up with the best possible explanation. It bridged the story line with the Augments and DNA

4. Nods to the future and the past – Some classic aliens and characters were either updated or foreshadowed. On the list of upgrades, we have the Orions, Tellarites, Gorn, and Tholians. Foreshadowing of the future we have Arik Soong (ancestor of Data’s creator, Noonien Song, all played wonderfully by Brent Spiner), the Organians, and, naturally, the United Federation of Planets. We found out what the early days of the Terran Empire was like as well as the fate of the first USS Defiant from the classic episode “The Tholian Web” when we were taken to the mirror universe. I can overlook the early introduction to the Ferengi and the Borg knowing that this series showed respect to the series that came before.

5. Scott Bakula – I have been a fan of Bakula since “Quantum Leap”. I liked what he brought to the role of Captain Johnathan Archer. He was tough, had a chip on his shoulder, and was determined to push humanity into the galaxy. Yes, he was flawed. He made big mistakes. This is what helps me identify with him. He also admitted those mistakes. He owned them. He worked to improve himself. All of this was brought with great strength in Bakula’s performance. Add to that the fact that Mr. Bakula is one of the most well-liked and respected actors in Hollywood. At a convention with Connor Trineer, he mentioned that after every day of shooting, Bakula would personally thank every member of the crew and cast. He treated everyone on set as if they were equally important. For this reason, I am proud that he was a part of Enterprise.

It’s been a long road, getting from there to here (sorry, I couldn’t resist), but these are the top reasons why I love Enterprise. There are others, of course, and I may have overlooked some of yours, so feel free to add them to the comment section. In what will likely be a far more controversial topic, the next article in this series will be why I love the Kelvin Timeline film series.

Episode Review - Tsunkatse (Voyager, Season 6)

For those who are new to my episode reviews, you can find the post where I establish my point criteria here.

Episode Overview – (Star Trek: Voyager: Season 6) While on some much needed shore leave, members of the Voyager crew discover “tsunkatse”, a sort of mixed-martial arts combat sport. Meanwhile, Seven of Nine and Tuvok are captured by the producer of the games, who forces Seven to fight in his arena. The crew must then attempt a rescue as Seven finds herself in a fight to the death.

Episode Score – 6/10. This was a fairly routine episode. The story is a rehash of the typical “forcing a character to fight against their will”. It is not poorly done, but when you compare it to a similar DS9 two-episode story (“In Purgatory’s Shadow” and “By Inferno’s Light”), it is very superficial. So while this is a good episode, it does not give us anything special beyond a reason for then-WWF (now WWE) fans to watch the Rock in his first acting role.

Relevance – 2 points. The Hirogen have been used before, and the Hirogen character played by veteran Trek actor J G Hertzler adds another dimension to this species. The species responsible for tsunkatse (the Norcadians) show up again in the form of Mezoti, one of the child drones taken aboard by Voyager in the next episode, “Collective”.

Continuity – 2 points. Story continuity, check. Nothing contradicts anything. The fact that in the next episode we see Mezoti, a Norcadian, makes sense since we are still in the same region of space. Character continuity, check. Everyone acts within established parameters. Seven and Tuvok go on a survey mission for their shore leave, everyone thinks they’re nuts, etc. Universe continuity... hold on there. The Hirogen acts the way we would expect him to act, and I would add that this character, while unnamed, definitely adds depth to this alien race. Where I have an issue is that in the audience, there are several aliens who are background aliens in Deep Space Nine. Have to ding them for that.

Character Development – 1 point. Yet another Seven of Nine episode, but this does not do a whole lot to develop her character. She shows allegiance to her crewmate and continues to butt heads with B’Elanna. Beyond this we learn that many members of the crew enjoy a good old fashioned MMA fight. That’s it for character development.

Social Commentary – 1 point. The best I can figure is that this episode makes reference to mankind’s fascination with combat sports. Since the times of the Coliseum in Ancient Rome, we have loved blood sport entertainment. This theme is only lightly touched upon. While professional wrestling is all theatrics, we do have MMA organizations such as UFC, and boxing is still a major attraction, yet rarely is a person’s life threatened. Any commentary on the legitimacy of such combat sports is buried in the vessel of the plot to make a Seven of Nine focused story.

Cool Factor – 2 points. The guest stars make up the cool factors for this episode. If you are a professional wrestling fan, you appreciated the Rock as the intimidating Pendari Champion. This was the first acting job for Dwayne Johnson (although to any WWE/WWF fan he basically was the Rock in prosthetics, right down to the Rock Bottom finisher and the raised eyebrow). This was also a deliberate cross-pollination of UPN products, as in addition to Voyager they were also aired WWF Smackdown. I am giving the second cool factor point to having J G Hertzler and Jeffrey Combs making their first Voyager appearance after having established popular secondary characters in DS9. This is also the first time that the two actors appear in the same scenes on a Trek episode. Combs plays Penk, the Norcadian producer of the sport (and Combs’ fifth Trek character), while Hertzler plays the unnamed Hirogen veteran (also his fifth character).

Rank – Lieutenant (14 points). This is a fun episode. Nothing too serious, nothing too revealing. A good mid-level quality episode with some cool features. Wrestling fans will likely get a little more out of it, but it has some good moments for all.

Episode Review - Acquisition (Enterprise, Season 1)

Here we are with yet another episode review. A friend requested a Ferengi episode, so Peter, this one is for you. I also want to welcome an old friend to the blog. About 25 years ago, I went to a church summer camp and met a guy who was as big of a Trekkie as I was. It did not take much for the two of us to become good friends. We attended Trek conventions in Edmonton together, even winning a sound-alike competition as a group. Over the years our lives took us in different directions, but the nice thing about good friends is that we can pick up where we left off. Mike McDevitt (aka Mike the Bold) is one of the most passionate guys I know when it comes to Star Trek, as well as pretty much all things inherent to Geek Culture. He also has a couple blogs, “Beyond the FarthestBlog” and “Mike’s Best Blog Ever”. He is a writer, actor, collector, and all around “wild and crazy guy”. Teaming up with Mike for these episode reviews is a no-brainer for me, and I can think of nobody better for being the first collaborator on this ambitious goal of reviewing every Trek episode. Thanks for taking the time to do this, Mike.

ACQUISITION EPISODE OVERVIEW – The Enterprise crew is gassed unconscious with only Trip Tucker left free to save everyone from a quartet of unidentified looters. It's both the final appearance of and "first contact" with the alien Money Grubs known as The Ferengi. The Internet tells me a Ferengi greeting "Amo Kino-ku" translates equally as "How are your finances?" and "How is your inner peace?". As any Ferengi knows- Wealthy is Happy.

EPISODE SCORE

Mike the Bold – 8/10: It's accessible and funny (even Captain Archer jokes for once), with no complicated ongoing arc to scratch your head over. It's all you might ask for in terms of pretty people running around, getting tied up & punching each other in space.

Mighty Elroy – 7/10: I will agree with the appeal of a humorous story without complicated storyline arches getting in the way. In a TV series, I think it is important to have some of these lighter episodes to balance everything out. I didn’t rank it quite as high mainly because the story is a commonly used one, where the heroes find themselves at the mercy of a clever yet ultimately inferior gang of crooks. The heroes then use all the old tricks to get the upper hand. There is nothing original in Enterprise’s approach. I also found it disappointing that this was pretty much a Trip-T’Pol-Archer show where the rest of the crew were unconscious for pretty much the entire episode. I think Porthos had more acting to do then everyone else.

I actually agree that the episode is by-the-numbers. And suffers from a lack of the supporting cast. Not changing my rating, but that's only because I'm lazy!

Relevance

Mike the Bold– 2 points. It drops nods to 'Dear Doctor' & multiple Ferengi stories from the last 15-odd years.

Mighty Elroy – 2 points. No argument here. Check on both counts.

Continuity

Mike the Bold – 3 points. The Ferengi plasma whip harkens nerdishly back to its only previous appearance in 'The Last Outpost' while dialogue references water polo, Porthos, oo-mox, and the nerve pinch, to name a few. Archer, Trip, & T'Pol behave exactly as you might expect, as do their bumbling trollish adversaries.

Mighty Elroy – 2 points. Again, I agree 100% with everything here. I have to say that I was very happy to see the Ferengi energy whips again. I had always wondered why they were never used after the first TNG episode. Where I docked the one point was at the end, when one of the Ferengi (Muk, played by Clint Howard) offered to Krem a Bolian female. If the Federation (of which the Bolians are a part of) does not officially encounter the Ferengi until Picard’s time, how do the Bolians factor into all of this? I was able to accept how well the writers stayed true to the whole meeting the Ferengi before we officially met the Ferengi, but that last bit just didn’t do it for me.

You're not wrong about Bolians. Although I can't cite anything ON SCREEN saying when Bolians became spacefarers or joined the Federation! All 'Acquisition' tells us is that in 2151 Muk has met Bolians and probably Menk.

Good point. Still, they were pushing the envelope with this episode in messing up continuity. A different species all together would have been a better chance for me. Maybe

Character Development

Mike the Bold – 1 point. Nobody learns nothin'! But I consider it a recurring character trait that the NX-01 crew are terrible at recording their first contacts! I'm looking at YOU, The Borg.

Mighty Elroy – 0 points. Due to the point I made previously as to how Malcolm, Travis, Phlox, and  Hoshi having no lines of dialogue, and that everything else with the others was business as usual, I would say that there was no significant development for anyone.

Societal Commentary

Mike the Bold – 2 points. Capitalism as a religion, piracy, and women viewed as property are all current-day problems but not treated here with any special honesty or sensitivity due to the farcical atmosphere.

Mighty Elroy – 1 point. I originally thought this would get a 0, but your points are true. However, because they were not treated seriously for the reasons you offered, I could only give it a 1.

Cool Factor

Mike the Bold – 3 points. Ethan Philips, Clint Howard, and Jeffrey Combs are all ideal guest stars. Plus I'm an obedient fan boy who buys into the excuse that it's NOT centuries too early to run across Ferengi – as long as they forgot to introduce themselves.

Mighty Elroy – 3 points. Your ideal guest stars for this are right on the money. Each one has a special cool factor: Howard for being in the Original Series 35 years before this episode, Philips for performing his third Ferengi (tying Armin Shimmerman and Max Grodenchik for that honor), and Combs for portraying his 7^th Trek character. I also have to give Combs credit for a great performance. Plus, the energy whips. Loved seeing their return. My third Cool Factor point goes to a hypothesis rather than canon-fact, but I can’t help but think that Krem’s obsession with T’Pol was the genesis of the “Vulcan Love Slave” holo-program that was so prevalent in the TNG-DS9 era.

I like your point about the Vulcan Love Slave- it's suggestive of the stories Quark will write in the future, implying this is the "real" world incident that fired the Ferengi imagination for centuries!

RANK

Mike the Bold – Captain (19 Points). Goofy & irreverent. But I prefer bringing the fun even if you have to shove it in there like a sack of stolen pies.

Mighty Elroy – Lieutenant (15 points). I like your concluding statement, Mike. I almost ranked it as Captain myself (just one more point!). A fun episode for those who love the Ferengi.

Final thoughts – As I researched this episode, I found there seems to be a few different camps out there. One group loved the episode, just like we did. Another group loved the Ferengi, but had a hard time with the apparent lack of continuity. The third group, which is definitely the most vocal, hated it with a passion. Many hated it because they hated the Ferengi episodes or the Ferengi themselves in general.