Enterprise 1x18 "Rogue Planet"

rating: *

the story: The crew encounters a party of hunters who are unwittingly tracking sentient prey.

what it's all about: In hindsight, "Rogue Planet" feels like a leftover Hirogen script from Voyager.  Just look at that summary...!  Otherwise it's one of those historical ironies of the later franchise: an episodic adventure in an era when that was no longer satisfying in and of itself.

But it is worth watching of its own accord.  "Planet" amounts to an allegory of contemporary concerns.  As fewer people hunt for a living, or even for sport, the very notion of it begins to seem barbaric, especially as more people identify as vegetarians or outright vegans.  Enterprise doesn't go so far as to sympathize with all that so far as to acknowledge it as a growing trend.  Sometimes such bare acknowledgment can seem somewhat disastrous (Next Generation's "Forces of Nature"), but here it's merely innocuous.  We get to see Archer once again loosely fitting the Kirk mold of ladies man, a role Trip would fill later in the series, as had already been suggested in "Unexpected."  And on the whole, it's another light exploration of the crew's learning curve, and how they experience this sort of thing as newcomers to the Starfleet mission overall.

criteria analysis:

• franchise - Light allegorical work concerning modern-day hunting.
• series - Not particularly informative.
• character - Light work here, too.
• essential - Not especially.

notable guest-stars:
Eric Pierpont

Deep Space Nine 5x13 "For the Uniform"

rating: ****

the story: Sisko finally nabs the renegade Eddington.

what it's all about: This is some of the boldest storytelling Star Trek ever did, and it follows some pretty basic templates, going all the way back to "The Doomsday Machine."  It's a simple story about revenge, but it also cracks the whole series open, all over again.

If "The Darkness and the Light" a few episodes earlier finally acknowledged that the Bajoran Resistance really was made up of terrorists, then "Uniform" finally admits that the Maquis are terrorists, too.  This is a huge leap, made possible because at this point, the Maquis over in Voyager have happily assimilated into Janeway's orthodox Starfleet crew (a fact that actually astonished fans to no end, fans who apparently had no idea they were watching idealistic storytelling), and thus there was no longer any reason to protect them.  Deep Space Nine's later Maquis episodes were probably the best Maquis episodes (except perhaps for "Preemptive Strike" over in Next Generation, with its shock betrayal of Picard by the lovably combative Ro Laren), and while "Defiant" was already an unlikely touchstone (it happened to feature the later adventures of Riker's transporter duplicate), it was Eddington's trilogy that really drove it home.

"Uniform" is a sequel to the fourth season episode "For the Cause," which was somewhat hampered by the fact that Sisko and the audience are swerved with a focus on Kasidy Yates (his freighter captain love interest) rather than Eddington, who to that point had been a somewhat familiar recurring character who'd been around for about two seasons without having really previously distinguished himself. Yet he became the second best Maquis defector, and arguably the best after the events of "Uniform."

This is the episode where Sisko first considers that the ends do justify the means.  This is the moral ambiguity of the series that seemed to repudiate the idealism of the franchise, which had been borne of a decade (the '60s) when the counterculture violently rejected relativism.  Later, and far more famously, Sisko lies to the Romulans to get them into the war, spending the entirety of "In the Pale Moonlight" trying to figure out how he feels about what he's done.

In "Uniform," he realizes the only way to stop Eddington is to play the same game he is, and see which of them has the guts to stick it out, basically a game of chicken.  Does this make Sisko a villain?  It's a fascinating new Star Trek template, although the same one Kirk always played when he refused to obey the strict guidelines of Starfleet's Prime Directive...

Besides all that, it's a hell of an experience.  At one point Eddington has sabotaged Sisko's ship, the Defiant, forcing everything to be done manually, and it's some of the best storytelling concerning the act of flying a starship I've ever seen, how everyone comes together (brilliant use of Nog, showcasing how valuable he really is in a Starfleet uniform) to pull it off. 

There's a feeling that this is a big deal throughout the episode, and for that reason alone, nailing the tone for an entire episode (Next Generation had this in "Best of Both Worlds," but really for that climactic moment Riker decides to fire on the Borg ship containing the assimilated Picard), which sets up the drama of the later Dominion War..."Uniform" also captures the end of the transition to the extended serialization that later characterizes the series.  It's a belated sequel that itself later has a sequel ("Blaze of Glory") late in the season, which later probably would've been done back-to-back-to-back (if not in Deep Space Nine then Enterprise, where three-part episodes became common in its final season).  In fact, if you can manage it, try and watch "Cause," "Uniform," and "Blaze" like that.  It'll enhance the impact of the trilogy, shake it loose of the fact that it otherwise seems lost in the run-up to the Dominion War.  In its own way, this is every bit reflective of the series at its best.

criteria analysis:

• franchise - A classic trope - revenge! - revisited.
• series - The Eddington adventures reach their climax.
• character - Sisko at his commanding finest.
• essential - If the original series had Harry Mudd and Next Generation had Moriarty, then Eddington is Deep Space Nine's unsung best villain, and here's exactly why.

notable guest-stars:
Ken Marshall (Eddington)
Aron Eisenberg (Nog)
Eric Pierpont

The Next Generation 7x2 "Liaisons"

rating: **

the story: Various members of the crew are confronted with representatives of an alien species studying them in unexpected ways.

what it all means: This was a lighthearted and easy way to follow-up the heavier "Descent, Part 2," exploring well-established character traits among the crew, whether Troi's easy-going nature, Worf's perpetual unease, or Picard's skepticism at even the most straightforward scenarios.  Obviously the meat of "Liaisons" is spent on Picard's story, which is itself a follow-up to the numerous episodes he was featured in during the sixth season, but the full weight of the story is spread around, in ways that weren't always successful in the series.

Still, it's clearly not an ambitious affair, and it relies entirely on a reveal at the end of the episode, and that in itself is a tricky thing to pull off.  In a way, "Liaisons" is a throwback to prior episodes in the series that explored day-to-day life for the crew ("Data's Day," which similarly tacked on an unneeded dramatic twist, for example), while also giving Picard a fairly generic predicament and mystery to resolve, who that person is who he's found similarly shipwrecked, even though all the pieces of her story don't quite seem to add up.

criteria analysis:

• franchise - It reflects similar first-contact turnabouts from the franchise.
• series - It generally reflects well on the series itself.
• character - It doesn't add anything to the understanding of any particular character.
• essential - It is not essential in any regard.

notable guest-stars:
Eric Pierpont

Enterprise 4x21 "Terra Prime"

****

The conclusion of a short arc that finally acknowledges that not every human was as excited about interstellar communities as the crew of the Enterprise, "Terra Prime" is one of the essential episodes of the series and franchise.

Mayweather's old flame from "Demons" turns into a knotty piece of the mess John Frederick Paxton has made, which Reed's Section 31 connection Harris helps untangle.  But the crux of the episode involves the last best statement on Trip and T'Pol's relationship.

Something that'd been in development since the first season, when Trip formeda crush on the Vulcan officer, and intensified by the bond they shared in the tumultuous third season, Paxton unwittingly brings it to a close by choosing them to demonstrate the extremes of his belief that humans and aliens can't truly get along because they can't mate.  (Well, Spock would beg to differ.)  His machincations result in a baby that dies prematurely.  The aftermath is crushing, one of the most purely emotional moments in franchise history (only Kirk losing both his friend and his son compare).

The episode has a fair bit of action, too, and developments that resonate with the rest of the season and series, including Archer delivering a speech many believe was shockingly missing from the finale, but the presence of that one moment elevates everything, ensuring the Terra Prime Duology a place among Star Trek classics.

Seriously, watch this one.

franchise * series * essential * character

Notable guest-stars:
Gary Graham
Peter Weller
Eric Pierpont
Derek Magyar

Memory Alpha summary.

Enterprise 4x20 "Demons"

****

Another must-see episode that the series absolutely had to do, and part of the Terra Prime Duology that many fans believed made a better finale than the actual one.

After all the work done during the season building the foundation of the Federation, we finally return to the ugly xenophobia suggested in "Home" (which might be considered the real season premiere), which was in part suggested by the Xindi crisis from the previous season.  So yes, there's a lot of material to support the developments of this story, but it also begs the question of whether or not Enterprise should have had more of it.

A character by the name of Colonel Green referenced in the original series episode "The Savage Curtain," is partly the inspiration for the story, in which his ideological successor John Frederick Paxton takes the reins and ups the ante by involving Trip and T'Pol, just in case they haven't been on enough of a violent emotional roller coaster this season.  Meanwhile Reed is compelled to use his Section 31 contacts, and Mayweather runs into an old girlfriend (which becomes more relevant next episode).

Maybe none of that sounds enticing enough, but the second act makes the whole thing stronger, so stick around...

franchise * series * essential * character

Notable guest-stars:
Peter Weller
Tom Bergeron
Eric Pierpont

Memory Alpha summary.

Enterprise 4x16 "Divergence"

***

Continuing the Klingon Duology from "Affliction," this is indeed the story that finally explains the smooth- versus ridge-headed mystery that popped up between the original series and every other incarnation of Star Trek.

Phlox gets more interesting stuff to do as he is forced desperately to solve a problem that would have made the consequences of the Klingons becoming obsessed with the Augments from earlier in the season, but again his thunder is stolen by Reed's reluctant involvement with Section 31 (as the shadowy Jack Bauers of Deep Space Nine fame) and a thrilling Speed-like action sequence wherein Trip comes back to the Enterprise as it connects to the Columbia at Warp 5 so they can undo Klingon sabotage.

That sequence absolutely steals the episode.  It's one of the most exciting moments in any Star Trek episode or movie (perhaps yet another indication of just how desperate the series had gotten to win viewers back, which...didn't happen).

I would almost, almost give the episode the full-recommendation treatment based on that alone.  The historic value of the Klingon Duology also makes it worth viewing...but again, I really wish Phlox had been given better material, and he's technically at the center of events.  The fact that Reed and Trip steal the episode from Klingons crewing up their genetics and metaphorically going bald is what makes it easy to say, "Close, but no cigar."

Still, if you're game, definitely watch.

franchise * series * essential * character

Notable guest-stars:
John Schuck
James Avery
Ada Maris
Eric Pierpont

Memory Alpha summary.

Enterprise 4x15 "Affliction"

***

On the surface, this Klingon Duology is of immense importance to the franchise thanks to finally explaining why Klingons were smooth-headed in the original series but ridged in later incarnations (y'know, aside from the obvious).

"Affliction" kicks off the two-part story by tying into events depicted in the Augments Trilogy from earlier in the season, explaining rather handily that the Klingons were embarrassed by their brief encounter with genetically enhanced humans, and so pursued their own version of the program, creating Klingon Augments. Or trying really hard to.

They need Phlox to do it.  That makes the Klingon Duology in name the Phlox story of the season.  Except there's not a lot that makes it a Phlox story other than the fact that it technically features everyone's favorite Denobulan.  That's mainly what brings both episodes in the story down a peg in my book, because it's disappointing, given that Phlox was a favorite character of mine and previously one of the best-used characters in the series.

There's other character work in the episode, though, and if roles had been reversed, could easily have boasted both efforts to full-recommendation status.  The first is Tucker's transfer to the Columbia, under the command of Hernandez, previously featured in "Home."  Aside from another great bit of continuity from the season, the development ties directly into Trip and T'Pol's constantly troubled relationship (that's the whole reason why he's no longer, at this point, engineer of the Enterprise, leaving the unimpressive Kelby to fill his boots).

And Reed receives perhaps some of his best material as a previous association with Section 31 (the covert ops group first seen in Deep Space Nine) proves to be an exceedingly uncomfortable conflict of interest.

In the past I've had a hard time digesting these episodes.  There's just so much going on in them, a trend that works better in a later duology.  But it's hard to deny their extreme importance.  "Affliction" continues the fourth season ball rolling in very unusual but rewarding fashion.  If only Phlox had had a more significant part!

franchise * series * essential * character

Notable guest-stars:
Ada Maris
Eric Pierpont
Derek Magyer
James Avery
John Schuck
Seth MacFarlane

Memory Alpha summary.

Voyager 6x3 "Barge of the Dead"

****

B'Elanna Torres seemed to go just about as far as she could thanks to a strong early push sooner than some of the other characters.  "Barge of the Dead" is the point where the writers start to figure out there's more that can be done.

Much of the character's previous experiences were incredibly insular.  Sure, early on she developed a weird bond with Harry Kim, had the support of Chakotay, and dueled with Joe Carey before earning his respect, but it wasn't until she started a romance with Tom Paris that B'Elanna started to play nice with others in any real sense.  Even most of her spotlight episodes kept her isolated, in sometimes imaginative and tragic ways.  Her struggles with the Klingon and human parts of both her biology and experiences were confined in that inner world, too.

Again, "Barge of the Dead" changes all that.  Here we meet her mother (took six seasons!), thanks to an elaborate setup that drops her off in the Klingon afterlife, which is itself significant as one of the more intimate looks at an alien culture in Star Trek history (showing rather than telling, which is what many, many people who believe they know what storytelling should do are always, um, saying).

For the rest of the series, everything we thought we'd concluded about B'Elanna becomes fodder for further expansive exploration of the show's most dependable dramatic subject.  That makes this one essential on every level.

Not bad for a season that didn't seem to know how to do anything right.  Well, take that as a suggestion about the real worth of the year.

franchise * series * essential * character

Notable guest-stars:
Eric Pierpont

Memory Alpha summary.