Enterprise 3x15 "Harbinger"

rating: ***

the story: Reed and Hayes butt heads, a mysterious alien appears.

what it's all about: "Harbinger" is very much an episode packed with subplots, connective tissue that moves the season arc along.  Its title implies that there is a major development, and indeed there is: the "mysterious alien" in my brief summary is the first time we see a Sphere-Builder, which means the arc has gotten that much closer to reconciling the spheres with the greater Xindi threat.

That's all well and good, but the more important developments in the short term are character-based.  T'Pol and Trip reach a hiccup in their relationship, as T'Pol realizes she's developing feelings for Trip.  The therapy sessions they've been sharing throughout the season have created a kind of intimacy, but T'Pol was never interested in anything more than that until the events of "Similitude," in which she learns from Trip's short-lived clone that he has feelings for her.  Unaware of this, in the meantime Trip has pursued a romantic relationship with a MACO, which...Okay, this sounds like soap opera material. 

And the Reed/Hayes material seems equally on the nose.  They essentially have developed a professional rivalry, neither quite knowing where their responsibilities end and the other's begins.  This actually leads to a fight!  But franchise fans won't find this quite so cartoonish when they remember Odo always held a grudge anytime Starfleet suggested one of its officers work alongside him to administer station security in Deep Space Nine.  Hayes may never have gotten a chance to expand beyond this moment or his role as a MACO, but this is his biggest spotlight.

Essentially, "Harbinger" is serialized Star Trek in the manner serialized television would come to be known later, even in Discovery.  So it's a harbinger of that, too.

criteria analysis:

• franchise - The importance of events in this episode may elude casual viewers.
• series - But they're important for many elements of the season, and even series.
• character - Trip and T'Pol's evolving relationship breaches the top of romance for the first time.
• essential - The first look at a Sphere-Builder is crucial to the outcome of the whole season.

notable guest-stars:
Steven Culp (Hayes)
Thomas Kopache

Enterprise 1x1/1x2 "Broken Bow"

rating: ****

the story: The budding Starfleet finds itself in a crisis with the Klingons...instigated by participants of the Temporal Cold War.

what it's all about: The pilot of any Star Trek series is almost by definition essential viewing, as it establishes the premise and characters and therefore the context that will set it apart, even when it seems, as even many fans tend to think, it looks like business as usual, a voyage of exploration.  In fact, only one series in the franchise hasn't been one of those voyages, Deep Space Nine, even that one had vast new territory teased in its first episode, the Gamma Quadrant, which would be the source of a lot of later material.  "Broken Bow" immediately established Enterprise as a prequel, first in Star Trek history, insofar as its events are set before the classic adventures of the original series (later, Discovery would become the second, with less than a decade separating it from them). 

Now, a lot of fans, who tended to be upset about just about everything by this point, and had been since about the time Kirk died in Star Trek Generations (though you'd be hard-pressed to find any of them admit that; they're more apt to express "disappointment" in that event, the first stage of fan resentment and then outright disgruntlement), thought that if anything, the timeline ought to be advanced forward.  And "Broken Bow" does that, too, with the Temporal Cold War.  And yet fans rejected that, too, because...I don't know.  I really don't.  I can argue logics all day long here.  I can argue that the very technology that looked futuristic in the '60s was actually in large part in everyday households by 2001.  The cleverest thing Enterprise did was actually to embrace the tech that was still years and years in the future, and how exotic it remains as a concept, even if variations on it had resulted in Star Trek's competition like Stargate: the transporter.  In setting the series at a time when classic Star Trek tech was in its infancy, it allowed a classic franchise fear to meet a point when it was most justified, and it proves a key point in the pilot and throughout the rest of the series. 

And this is probably something that's best appreciated when it's pointed out.  So, too, is the fact that Enterprise actually serves best as a sequel.  Yeah, not as a prequel.  As, first and foremost, it's a follow-up to Star Trek: First Contact.  This was the most successful of the Next Generation movies, and memorably ends with humanity's introduction to the most iconic of Star Trek aliens, the Vulcans.  And yet again, Enterprise serves up a curveball, which predictably irked fans: they didn't become fast friends.  In fact, they didn't much like each other at all.  And again, I don't really see how this tracks; we see humans react with bigotry in the original series, whether in "The Galileo Seven" or "Balance of Terror," which is not even to mention that Spock was apparently the lone Vulcan in Kirk's crew, with only a fleeting reference to an entirely Vulcan crew in another episode. 

So as far as I'm concerned, the logic is more than sound, and bursting with fulfilled (as far as I'm concerned) potential.  We even get to see Cochrane in the pilot (and in the final season, a twist on First Contact's historic moment that creates the Mirror Universe in the two-part "In a Mirror, Darkly").

The rest is adventure and setup.  We meet Archer, T'Pol, Trip (deliberately featured as the three main characters in parallel to Kirk, Spock, and Bones), and the rest of the crew.  Phlox immediately stands out, as he will as the fourth lead, like Scotty, the rest of the series.  We're introduced to "Future Guy" and his minion Silik.  There's also Soval and Forrest, who will have major supporting roles the duration of the series.  And to round all that out, it's also prelude to an enduring conflict with the Klingons.

But yeah, the scene that sticks out most is decon with Trip and T'Pol, which was greeted with outrage.  I don't even know how this happens, except that persistent puritanical regression impulse peculiar to Americans.  The original series is littered with sexual imagery and a shameless ladies man as the lead character, and yet fans became increasingly uncomfortable and embarrassed by this legacy. 

Basically, the first thing you need to overcome in getting into Star Trek is the opinion of other fans.

criteria analysis:

• franchise - See how the legacy of Starfleet begins!
• series - See how the crew launches its voyage!
• character - Aside from Sisko, it's hard to find a main character in Star Trek with their initial motivation spelled out better than Jonathan Archer.
• essential - A fascinating conflux of past, present and future.

notable guest-stars:
John Fleck (Silik)
Gary Graham (Soval)
Vaughn Armstrong (Forrest)
James Cromwell (Cochrane)
James Horan ("Future Guy")
Thomas Kopache

Deep Space Nine 6x17 "Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night"

rating: *

the story: Kira travels back in time to investigate Dukat's claims about her mother.

what it's all about: It's almost inexplicable, that three of the four episodes in this stretch of the sixth season (this, as well as "Change of Heart" and "One Little Ship") could be so badly miscalculated in what is otherwise one of the most calculated periods in franchise history (only the next season, plus the third and fourth seasons of Enterprise can possibly compare, as well as portions of Voyager's second). 

"Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night" is the last time Deep Space Nine attempts to chase the legacy of one of its own classic episodes, "Necessary Evil" from the second season.  "Evil" was a trip back to the Terok Nor era of the station, when the Cardassians still ruled it, during their Occupation of the Bajoran home world.  "Things Past" from the previous season also made the attempt, but its success was equally muddled.  It's not so much the idea of revisiting the earlier time that's the problem, but the tortured excuses used in both episodes, both of them doubling up, unnecessarily, on the compromised nature of life under Cardassian rule.

It's a good thing, at least, to meet Kira's family, regardless of how it happens.  In that sense "Wrongs" is almost like an update of the classic Animated Series episode "Yesteryear," in which Spock, too, visits his own past (it served as the basis for how the character was depicted in the 2009 movie reboot).  And it's good to see Dukat in his prime, before everything fell apart for him.  A confident Dukat was always the best Dukat.  Even if he was such a villain in his prime (really, the third season, especially "Civil Defense" and "Defiant," features the best Dukat).  It's a problem in that regard, too, especially as we meet up with Dukat again later in the season and he's on a mad quest that will forever seal his destiny, not to mention how we'd last seen him ("Waltz") when he was clearly on his way there.  "Wrongs" really has nothing to do with any of that.  It's almost as if the producers simply thought it was a good idea to remind fans what Dukat was like before he went completely mad, since the six-episode arc that began the season really didn't have definitive Dukat material until his daughter was murdered in front of him.  Seems like a creative oversight clumsily corrected in "Wrongs."  Plus trying to remind people what makes Kira relevant outside of her relationship with Odo, which was about to finally hit its stride with "His Way" three episodes later.

In the end, "Wrongs" and its fellow misfires from this stretch in the middle of the season feel like misguided filler.  At least the season got really good again right after this, and continued bold storytelling for the rest of it, which led to renewed creative juices for the final season that followed.

criteria analysis:

• franchise - Really, there's nothing here skeptics can't find done better elsewhere. 
• series - Needlessly duplicates past storytelling without adding anything new.
• character - We meet Kira's family, we see Dukat in his "prime."
• essential - Such a wasted opportunity.  Almost would've been better to scrap the Kira material and focus on the character traits that would ultimately prove Dukat's downfall.

notable guest-stars:
Marc Alaimo (Dukat)
Thomas Kopache

Deep Space Nine 5x19 "Ties of Blood and Water"

rating: ***

the story: Kira reunites with her would-be Cardassian father.

what it's all about: A sequel to "Second Skin, "Ties of Blood and Water" is another example of the producers finally coming back to the momentum of the third season as they used the fifth to reclaim ground lost in creative policies instilled by the studio in the fourth...I think maybe this will be the last time I talk about that...

Like "The Darkness and the Light" earlier in the season, Kira finds herself once again confronted with her complicated past, but this time, and actually the first time in the series, events fans have witnessed for themselves.  "Second Skin" was a classic in vein of "Duet," the first episode Star Trek fans in general really took notice of Deep Space Nine, in which Kira was forced to confront the complexities of Bajoran relations with Cardassians, who had for decades oppressed them.  It introduced a man tricked into believing Kira was his daughter, in much the way Next Generation's classic "The Defector" was about how the state sometimes lies to force individuals to expose themselves. 

This Cardassian's return wasn't strictly necessary, but it's welcome all the same.  This time he and Kira are on much more equal footing, although once again they become pawns in Cardassian politics.  (Strange; in the first two seasons it was always Bajoran politics, but this was another shift seen in the all-important third; it was just as well, because as with any politician Cardassians just love to hear themselves talk.)  The timing, for once, is absolutely perfect in the fifth season, because Dukat has just revealed that he's aligned the Cardassians with the Dominion, and thus made them bad guys again.  This has the effect of making Kira's paternal figure, Tekeny Ghemor, all the more sympathetic, as he now seems, aside from Garak, to be the last of the good guy Cardassians.

Really, "Ties" is a throwback to the storytelling of the early seasons all the way around.  Once more Kira is forced to grapple with her conclusions, as Dukat throws conflicting information at her, and like so many times before (notably, "The Collaborator") she's forced to sift through it.  It's good work, and it's the last time this sort of story happens in the series (successfully, anyway; Kira has another such adventure next season in "Wrongs Darker than Death or Night," which clearly tries way too hard to follow the tradition), another nod to the massive shift about to take place with the advent of war...

criteria analysis:

• franchise - This is one that will make most sense to Deep Space Nine fans.
• series - See the above.
• character - Kira says goodbye to a dear friend.
• essential - We also see the return of Weyoun and thus another major bridge to the future...

notable guest-stars:
Lawrence Pressman (Ghemor)
Marc Alaimo (Dukat)
Jeffrey Combs (Weyoun)
Thomas Kopache
William Lucking

The Next Generation 7x23 "Emergence"

rating: *

the story: The ship gives birth to an artificial intelligence, and the crew experiences this via a holodeck ride on the Orient Express.

what it's all about: The last word in a longstanding thread woven throughout the series, not the least in the form of Data himself, "Emergence" is otherwise a minor and somewhat baffling addition to it, that just seems to have been done because it was a cool idea.

Remember "Evolution" from the third season?  "Emergence" is kind of the throwaway version of it.  You can choose to think of it as a holodeck episode, because that aspect of the story is the most memorable, even if it also typifies the randomness of holodeck episodes, or at least their reputation.  But it's better to think, if you want to give a somewhat entertaining episode its due, the strongest link to significance possible.  So that leaves us with a ship trying desperately to communicate with its crew. 

By the time the Enterprise-D gives birth at the end of the episode, you'll naturally wonder if we ever hear about this again, if the ship suffers from post-partum depression, etc., and of course this is a one-off episode, because the series is nearly done, and if anything the entirety of "Emergence" can be seen as a metaphor, a thank-you to fans who helped the series endure and prosper, and the impending next spin-off, Voyager, as well as Deep Space Nine, the movies that would follow (including the death of baby's mommy!), etc.

Or don't think too much into it, accept it for what it is, a very minor achievement in Next Generation storytelling, and move on.

criteria analysis:

• franchise - Move along!
• series - Good for a look at one of this show's obsessions.
• character - Not important to any one character.
• essential - Not essential!

notable guest-stars:
Thomas Kopache

The Next Generation 5x24 "The Next Phase"

rating: **

the story: Geordi and Ro are presumed dead after a transporter accident.

similar to: "The Tholian Web" (original series), "Whispers" (Deep Space Nine), "Vanishing Point" (Enterprise)

my thoughts: This is another appearance from Ro, who like Alexander quickly became a victim to fairly pointless guest-star status after a newsworthy introduction.  As a member of the supporting cast, Ro became a fairly bland presence though certainly a notable one, especially in appearances like "The Next Phase," where her role could literally have been filled by anyone.

The story itself also squanders the Romulans once again.  For whatever reason, the series continually shifted from meaningful to pointless with them, too.  Here they, too, could have been replaced by any other species.

It is interesting, though, as Geordi and Ro attempt to prove to their crewmen that they're still alive.  Like Enterprise's later "Vanishing Point," it's far more interesting to follow the desperation of the missing characters than to see the reaction of their crewmates.  Data evoked far more sympathy in his various existential crises than these two manage, but maybe that's simply because the audience is in on it the whole time (Hoshi has a somewhat different experience, akin to O'Brien's in the Deep Space Nine episode "Whispers;" both of them are wondering if it's everyone else who has the problem).  It's certainly not like Spock and McCoy battling over command in "The Tholian Web," alas.

Still, you end up rooting for their cleverness as they figure out how to communicate.  It's a minor triumph, next exactly worthy fifth season material, but you can forgive the show for something like this.  It fits with the lesser efforts from the season, at least.

criteria analysis: franchise - series - character - essential

notable guest-stars:
Michelle Forbes (Ro Laren)
Susanna Thompson
Thomas Kopache