Star Trek: Enterprise
"Silent Enemy"
Air date: 1/16/2002
Written by Andre Bormanis
Directed by Winrich Kolbe
Review by Jamahl Epsicokhan
"You looking forward to seeing Earth?"
"Sure. I just didn't think I'd be seeing it so soon."
"This time we won't be leaving before we're ready."
"Are your ears a little pointier than usual?"— Archer and Tucker
In brief: Quite average. Moments of mild interest alternating with moments worth shrugging at.
"Silent Enemy" might as well be called "The MacGuffin Enemy," because that's what the enemy here is — a big MacGuffin. A MacGuffin is, of course, simply a device that could be anything or anyone, as long as it serves its purpose of propelling the characters into action through the story. The silent aliens here are an excellent example of a MacGuffin because they're, well, silent. By definition, there's no depth to them because they never say anything. Archer talks to them, but they're not listening.
Eventually, they attack with no reason or warning, and after firing a few shots and damaging the Enterprise, they scurry off. Later they come back and attack again. They strike without provocation or any known motivation. This very silent enemy serves as a device to make Captain Archer realize that the Enterprise simply cannot adequately defend itself, which is a prudent realization considering recent encounters with better-armed foes like those in "Civilization" or "Fortunate Son." I for one am glad to see the matter directly acknowledged with dialog.
One of the show's key moments is when Archer realizes that it's time for the Enterprise to turn around and head back to Jupiter Station, where the ship's weapons systems can be finished. Phase cannons were supposed to be installed before the Enterprise was launched, but apparently there was no time once the events of "Broken Bow" forced a quick departure of the ship.
But hold on a second. Wasn't the ship finished and ready to go — and in fact being held back by the Vulcans — for some time before the incident at Broken Bow, Oklahoma, even happened? It would seem the writers are revising originally implied intentions for the benefit of the story at hand · which, I concede, is a necessary thing in developing a television series. It just needs to be done carefully. I suppose this is just careful enough.
Trip tells Archer that his engineering crew has the skill and manpower to install the phase cannons themselves. Archer permits the attempted in-house upgrade but still plans on heading for home for fine-tuning. Archer's attitude is a sensible one — if we're going to be out here we should get it right — which seems like a bit of a different attitude compared to what he might've done a few months back. Perhaps he's been learning the value of caution. Which is good; I like that.
Of course, one logical question becomes just why Trip's engineering teams haven't been chipping away at the task of bringing the phase cannons online for weeks if not months already. They've been out here long enough to know what kinds of dangers they're up against. To suddenly realize here, "Uh-oh, we're really outgunned!" and finally starting to make upgrades only when seriously threatened seems awfully shortsighted, especially since the upgrades aren't presented as a jury-rigged solution but rather a plan all along.
The issue of whether turning around is necessary is made moot by the fact that the silent enemy has a faster ship and pursues the Enterprise regardless of its retreat, attacking it again. They damage one of the warp nacelles, making it impossible for the Enterprise to run, and they board the ship (the aliens are portrayed through an intriguing CG design) for reasons that seem to extend beyond simple curiosity and come across with more sinister overtones. Archer chases them off with a phase-pistol blast, but it seems more like they leave voluntarily than because they feel threatened.
I sort of liked the presentation of this mysterious, silent enemy — in technique anyway. They have a very "alien" sense to them in the way they pounce and then inexplicably retreat. On the other hand, it's impossible to make anything of them; they are, in the end, MacGuffins with no hint of insight or meaning provided by the writers. That may be the point, but the writers also make no sense of their bizarre hit-and-run tactics. Their attack methods seem to be providing a convenient way for the writers to artificially regulate the story's pace. Did this bother me a lot? Not really, but I also didn't find the whole series of exercises all that interesting.
The story's underlying message becomes one of old-fashioned persistence and hard work in the face of a challenging situation. Trip has his engineers working around the clock to get the phase-cannons working in preparation for the next assault. This leads to some scenes that I liked, such as the discussion between Archer and Trip about taking risks, which is then reflected in the interaction between Trip and Reed on how big a risk cutting technological corners can be.
And speaking of Malcolm Reed, "Silent Enemy" finally tries to look at this guy in terms of character development. He's so far been very limited in what we know about him, and, indeed, Archer says exactly that to Trip, after realizing that nobody really knows much about Malcolm. The line almost plays like a shrewd acknowledgement on the part of the writers, as if to say, "We don't know anything about this guy either and it's time to tackle him."
Alas, the writers think of nothing remotely approaching deep significance for him. Archer assigns Hoshi to find out what Reed's favorite food is so they can surprise him for his birthday — not exactly the most compelling or hard-hitting idea ever hatched. Hoshi finds this assignment more difficult than initially thought, because Reed is something of a keep-to-himself loner — pleasant but not at all outgoing, and a hard worker. Hoshi talks to Malcolm's parents on Earth, and to his old academy friends — and finds out little that's useful because he isn't the type to have strongly voiced preferences.
This is not unpleasant in any way, and I'm glad the writers tried to take a look at where this guy came from — but it's just too lightweight, essentially telling us there's nothing interesting to find in Reed's past. I suppose the intention here is to reveal Reed as an everyman, a worker. But we don't actually learn much about him, and when shoehorned between more pressing scenes involving the mysterious alien attacks and the weapon upgrades, Reed's story quickly loses urgency and relevance. I found myself asking why in the world Hoshi was assigned to such a trivial research project with everything else that was going on.
The "everything else" here is of more focus and ultimately hinges on a slightly botched weapons test that's akin to firing a gun and being shocked by the severity of the recoil. I liked Archer's steely resolve in not being intimidated by aliens who refuse to negotiate and insist on mind games. He tells them in no uncertain terms that the Enterprise will stand and fight if need be, and armed with the new cannons, the ship is more prepared to back up Archer's determination with action.
The ending finds itself in a bit of a tricky situation involving how powerful the writers can permit these cannons to be. During the initial test, the powerful discharge was a malfunction that resulted in damage to the ship. When working properly as designed, these cannons are still not powerful enough to penetrate the enemy's energy shields, so Trip and Reed must find a way to overload them without damaging ship systems. I like the idea of an improvised solution, but the solution here is one of those dreaded technobabble contrivances that is heavy on meaningless jargon and lacking in real drama. A better ending might've figured out a way for the crew to get their big bang, but at an actual cost rather than with free magic.
In the final analysis, I'm giving a thumbs-sideways to this episode, because there's nothing really about it that jumps out about it one way or the other. It held my attention and addressed the important issue of weapons upgrades. It took a character and dealt with him, even though there was little in terms of depth and the biggest question turned out to be, "What's his favorite food?" (The answer is pineapple for those keeping score.) I'm glad to see the supporting characters getting mixed into the Enterprise balance, but I think we need to ask much tougher questions than that.
Footnote: "Silent Enemy" was scored by Velton Ray Bunch, a new composer to the Trek franchise who previously did work for the Bakula-starring series Quantum Leap. I haven't formed an opinion of his style as of yet, but some new blood on the composing tier is probably a good thing. Enterprise also continues to employ long-standing TV Trek composers Dennis McCarthy, Jay Chattaway, David Bell, and Paul Baillargeon.
Next week: Phlox looks to be getting the spotlight with a pre-Prime Directive issue.
Previous episode: Cold Front
Next episode: Dear Doctor
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53 comments on this post
Sat, Apr 18, 2009, 6:43pm (UTC -5)
I liked this episode precisely because for the first time in Trek we actually have a character evolving and growing reasonably relating to his new found fascinating environment. Archer changes from happy go lucky Starship captain to angst ridden commander. Unfortunately for the rest of the series, we get more and more of this, until Archer gets real bitter and starts torturing people (the 'Bush' effect). But it's incredible to risk the central character, and I don't think it has been done like this before. Certainly Kirk and Picard were nearly always the same from start to finish. Sisko found a bit of religion and Janeway apparently got a bit more tough. But it is definitely unusual.
Tue, Aug 11, 2009, 4:21pm (UTC -5)
Sat, Dec 12, 2009, 3:18am (UTC -5)
Fri, Jun 25, 2010, 3:13am (UTC -5)
Thu, Sep 9, 2010, 8:42pm (UTC -5)
Disagree with you there. If anything, this is further evidence that no clear technological, sociological, or even character setting has been developed for this series prior to its launch. The writers are basically winging it, changing key pieces of information as we go along to suit the weekly script, and even when they make the effort to (supposedly) build the background of a main character the result feels... hollow (Reed in this episode being an example). So Malcolm Reed likes to keep to himself and pineapple. Great. I suppose some people are like that. So? Why should I care? What makes Reed in any way interesting enough that the viewer would care to know a little bit more about his background? Other than, you know, "We don't know anything about this guy (...) and it's time to tackle him."
To steal an expression from Jammer, I was expecting a lot more "meat and potatoes".
Thu, Apr 21, 2011, 7:01pm (UTC -5)
As for the plots, with the aliens being so completely faceless I found the Reed story more interesting :/ To be fair, when it comes to these characters at the moment, every little scrap of information we can get is worthwhile, and it was kind of a cute story I guess.
I was still expecting him to say "Pineapple.... I... HATE pineapple". That would've been funnier :)
Sat, Oct 29, 2011, 1:12pm (UTC -5)
Too bad about the Reed B-story. Why do they insist on assimilating everyone into a Dr. Phil collective!? I would be seriously cheesed off if my colleagues at work started digging thru my personal life in order to throw me a surprise party. And to violate doctor-patient confidentiality is beyond unforgivable; it's criminal. Let Reed be Reed, for gossakes. Marco has the right idea: Who gives a s!@# about Reed's background, culinary tastes or relationship with his family?? You want that, watch Gilmore Girls. I hope Enterprise doesn't fall into the trap Voyager did, which drove me insane. "The Barge," anyone? *barf*
Good to see Archer de-wussifying himself and deciding to install some badass cannons on the ship as well as actually using them. The way he was going, I would have expected him to order the crew to paint a rainbow across the hull and shoot ticker tape at his enemies instead.
Sun, Aug 5, 2012, 8:19am (UTC -5)
The ship got an upgrade, Malcolm got an upside-down Pineapple cake, the aliens found out that humans actually are resourceful (Or *did* they? Part of the charm of the ep is that we couldn't figure out what the heck made the aliens "tick".) ... Heck, a solid "Three Stars" from me!
Tue, Aug 7, 2012, 7:45pm (UTC -5)
Sun, Nov 4, 2012, 12:28pm (UTC -5)
A few LOL moments with Reed's family: Archer's "As you probably know, your son's birthday is coming up." The dialogue in this show is sometimes really terrible. And when Reed's sweet sister asked Hoshi if she could talk to her brother and Hoshi told her no! Haha. Still a solid and enjoyable episode, with some good exposition and development.
Thu, May 30, 2013, 3:41pm (UTC -5)
Mon, Nov 4, 2013, 6:09pm (UTC -5)
Fri, May 30, 2014, 8:32pm (UTC -5)
But it had suspense, real aliens and a feeling of being alone and far out. No need to have the Vulcans at two days away. Just be out there without any help at all. Finding your own solutions. Again, rather a fun episode IMO.
Tue, Jan 13, 2015, 8:26pm (UTC -5)
I liked how our inability to KNOW the aliens was mirrored to our inability to KNOW Reed.
Sun, Feb 8, 2015, 10:48pm (UTC -5)
Sun, May 31, 2015, 7:52pm (UTC -5)
I found this ep to be very good, with the exception of the B-story, which really dragged the rest of it down, but I find that happens quite often. It's a rare dual plot episode where both stories are equally good.
Wed, Jun 17, 2015, 11:12am (UTC -5)
My ideal ending would have had them defeat the aliens, but leave the senior staff unable to hold more than a cursory birthday celebration for Reed due to the damage caused by the attacks as well as the phasers - er, I mean phase cannons overloading. Reed understands the situation but appreciates the gesture, helping to break the ice between him and the senior staff members. The episode as presented wrapped everything a bit too much in a neat little bow for my liking.
I did like the alien design - very creepy. A bit too MacGuffin at points, but it got the job done.
Still one of ENT's better offerings of season 1, and one I would watch again. 3 stars.
Wed, Mar 30, 2016, 3:42pm (UTC -5)
Elsewhere the shootiebangs were extremely impressive, and I rather enjoyed the Reed B-story. It's a brave and unusual writing move to give a major character no character at all, so fair play to them. 3 stars.
Mon, May 30, 2016, 4:33pm (UTC -5)
Thu, Jul 14, 2016, 1:25pm (UTC -5)
Real Aliens!!! Bravo! I think they looked pretty cool... I love that they wouldn't talk with them. Also love how they eventually communicated with the ship using their own words!!
I also like how the crew want to work to stay out there. I'll part with Jammer and say that they hadn't worked to upgrade their weapons because they weren't allowed to. It's not something that Archer would just order because of the risk involved. Circumstances pushed him into agreeing to give it a shot.
I thought the play between Malcolm and Trip was very realistic. Lets face it, the weapons officer is junior to the Chief Engineer for a reason.
I enjoyed the push to find out more about Malcolm. No problem with Hoshi doing the research, what else is she supposed to do? It doesn't need to be earth shattering stuff.... what did you want, someone boinking his girlfriend? .... we found out that he is a military brat that is pretty much a loner. ... more than we knew before. More to come in the future I'm sure.
I thought the cake at the end was a nice touch.
3 star episode for me.
Tue, Sep 27, 2016, 8:41am (UTC -5)
Fri, Jan 6, 2017, 7:23am (UTC -5)
Then the way they operate under pressure. When under pressure good teams generally draw together. But Malcolm cannot take pressure and snaps at an employee, which is a bad sign. But even more, when there are important decisions to make teams generally inform the top person, but neither Reed nor Malcolm consult Archer about their risk taking, which Archer should has agreed to.
Then Archer himself. He acts weird to say the least: he decides to turn back to Jupiter on a whim, giving the lack of weapons and the need to have an overhaul as an argument. Which makes sense. But actually, I thought it was a trick for the birthday party of Malcolm. But then he decides against it at the end because he claims that there is no reason now that the team has, without his permission at first, installed phase cannons .
But hold on. That alien ship worked your ship over and the backlash of the phase cannon shocked through the ship. And in earlier episode Enterprise was roughly handled several times. And how do you know if the phase cannons actually operate properly? And what about upgrading the weaponry so that the phase cannons can blast those aliens without the need to overload the power and endangering the Enterprise?
It is a jumbled affair. I would give it a 2, for making no sense at all.
Fri, Jan 6, 2017, 7:30am (UTC -5)
Wed, Mar 15, 2017, 4:49pm (UTC -5)
Tue, Apr 4, 2017, 8:53pm (UTC -5)
That was actually pretty funny. Though in a Leslie Nielsen in 'Airplane' 'the viewers get the joke but the characters don't' kind of style. Which is kinda weird for ST.
Oh, yeah; other things happened in this episode.
Though I'm always impressed by the thoughtfulness of Jammer's reviews, even when his opinion differ from mine, I'm a bit surprised he wasn't harder on the aliens. In many respects they seem to be a distillation of the inexplicably belligerent aliens of the week who turned up in so many VOY eps. I suppose in this case they did serve to get some (hopefully) important plot points addressed.
As to whether Enterprise was ready when she left Earth, to a large extent this is something that could only be determined with hindsight, so I don't have particular problems either that. Archer however, has a Janeway 'Caretaker' moment, feeling guilt over his actions in prematurely rushing the ship into its voyage in the first Ep. Fortunately that decision is a lot easier to address, and seems to have been resolved almost as soon as it was brought up. I did, though, enjoy Archer's realization that humanity's first serious voyage into unexplored galactic space may have been more than the exciting field trip he had anticipated.
And Reed REALLY likes pineapples. Seriously,, the guy takes regular injections so that he can eat something he's allergic to.
I' agree with Jammer's rating of this Ep, though I've found myself wondering to what degree I rate these eps in absolute terms, rather than relative to other ENT eps. Would I have given this 2.5 if it were a DS9 Ep?
Fri, May 5, 2017, 10:34am (UTC -5)
Mon, Jul 17, 2017, 1:25am (UTC -5)
A lot of it was meant to be silly and was, yet at the same time showed the actual peril that the enterprise is in, in it's first voyage. 3 stars from me.
Mon, Oct 16, 2017, 12:20am (UTC -5)
Tue, Oct 24, 2017, 7:57am (UTC -5)
Wed, Nov 29, 2017, 5:03pm (UTC -5)
The mysterious aliens were too mysterious
Thu, Nov 30, 2017, 8:15pm (UTC -5)
Personally, I think this is one of the best depictions of an alien race in Trek. Ala 2001: A Space Odyssey, the aliens are deliberately kept at a distance. All we know about them is that they seemingly gather information by judging responses to minor attacks. Their boarding party - essentially boarding the Enterprise to gather information on human bodies - was also creepy and eeriely nonchalant, dated CGI aside.
Tue, Jan 2, 2018, 5:00pm (UTC -5)
What a boob. No wonder he's involuntarily alone and unmarried in an alternate timeline, he was just asking for it.
Also, those alien boarders were creepy as hell, glad to see idic actually in effect for a change.
Fri, May 4, 2018, 6:38pm (UTC -5)
The biggest thing here is Archer realizing his ship needs weapons and him coming to the realization he put lives at risk in leaving unprepared. But then he realizes the mission was worth the risk -- Archer has come some ways from the brash captain in "Broken Bow", which is encouraging for the series.
These aliens reminded me a bit of Species 8472 but it is weird to not know anything about them and having them just pop up and attack -- that much is a contrivance in that they're never heard of again. They seem to have been testing Enterprise perhaps as a prelude to invasion, but Archer gives them the whole "humans don't give up easily" and would probably be prepared to blow up the ship rather than let it fall into the aliens' hands.
But the team building and working together, while mechanical in nature, still gave us some good scenes between Trip/Reed. One thing about both these 2 is their dedication to the work and seeing things through their own lenses: Reed sees offense as the best defense but Trip sees the offense as too risky initially. Then he agrees to back Reed's risk assessment and ultimately Archer goes for it too.
The one good scene out of the B-plot was the scene when Hoshi tries to have dinner with Malcolm -- funny scene in its awkwardness. But that Archer would make this Hoshi's top priority?? Strange decision there. As for going to Reed's medical records, well...
2.5 stars for "Silent Enemy" -- good but not a great episode. The sense of peril for Enterprise was there and not knowing anything about the attacker's intentions, their CGI appearance were strong points as were the working relationships within the crew. Hoshi (good episode for her) and Phlox do have some camaraderie and Trip/Malcolm initially butt heads. Not sure we learned a whole lot more about Malcolm though.
Thu, Aug 30, 2018, 5:59pm (UTC -5)
The episode pretty quickly reminded me of Spielberg's first film as director - The Duel. Now that film is a classic to which this episode really does not compare in terms of quality though there are similarities in terms of the antagonists. The Duel features a relentless, implacable and seemingly motiveless truck driver trying repeatedly to run the protagonist off the road, whom we never actually see throughout the whole film and who doesn’t utter a single line. I don’t know whether this villain lacked “depth” or was a 1970’s MacGuffin but I do know he was an all-time great screen villain (or, at least the truck was, since we never see the driver the antagonist of the film is effectively the vehicle itself).
So count me in with the people who think these were well conceived, truly “alien” aliens. There is little scarier than the fear of the unknown so having aliens without stated motivations, who don’t talk and who look so different to humans is a great starting point for a thrilling episode.
So why on Earth, when you have the nucleus of an episode based on scary, nasty, threatening aliens would you splice in a tonally-jarring B-plot about bloody Malcolm’s favourite sodding food, including interviews with his Hollywood-cliche-level posh English family? Silent Enemy would’ve been SO much better if they’d simply excised the B-plot and done nothing more, to say nothing of what it might have been had the writers then used that extra time to ratchet up the suspense and perhaps not telegraph the resolution (the BFG) quite so blatantly.
Despite all that, I still think there are enough redeeming features here to be able to recommend the episode.
Mon, Sep 10, 2018, 11:45am (UTC -5)
Starfleet Command: "Captain Archer, you are two days behind on setting up communications with Earth. Please explain immediately."
Archer: "I had to take my senior communications specialist away from her main duties to find out what my tactical officer likes for dinner."
SC: "I'm sorry Captain, we don't seem to be reading you correctly. You did what?"
Archer: "I said Sato was tasked with contacting Lieutenant Reed's family and friends. The task took longer than expected as his own family don't know anything about him. We had to go through his private medical records to find out what he was allergic to."
SC: "You took a specialist away from her station for this? What kind of cretin are you?"
Archer: "I'm sorry you feel that way, sir. After all, it was Lieutenant Reed's birthday."
SC: "You do realise the Vulcans are listening to this? Next you'll be telling me your crew drink on duty!"
Wed, Nov 28, 2018, 8:52pm (UTC -5)
Look at that father; listen to how Reed has grown up not expressing preferences. Why? More than one possibility, but for one, that can happen when any stated preference is crushed, or even used as a point of attack. The disapproval of him following his own desire in entering starfleet couldn't have been plainer. This is someone with serious father issues, someone pursuing a career all about protecting ones' self (and blowing things up), and that informs our understanding of the character. I think it was great, and while not necessarily subtle, at least it didn't come right out and have Hoshi talk to the camera and explain it to us.
Tue, Apr 16, 2019, 8:12am (UTC -5)
I’ve found this first season of Enterprise, therefore, to be pretty satisfying, except for how T’Pol is written.
Sun, May 26, 2019, 12:49pm (UTC -5)
Wed, Jul 10, 2019, 12:38pm (UTC -5)
I did very much enjoy the aliens, who were just such grade A bastards. It made their comeuppance all the more delicious.
My favourite part was when they shoot them point blank with the phase pistols and it doesn't even make them flinch.
What this episode does very well is convey the sense that we really are little fish in a very big pond. It seems like pretty much everyone can kick poor Enterprise's ass - which is a really refreshing change from previous series. Going back even to TOS Federation starships were almost always forces to be reckoned with. In Enterprise the galaxy's equivalent of a wondering hobo with a knife is more than a match for our heroes.
It gives the sense that space is wild, dangerous and unlike in subsequent series - we're not altogether ready.
Sun, Nov 24, 2019, 11:49am (UTC -5)
Being British I could relate a lot to Malcolm in this one. Though my family are nowhere near as cold fish as Malcolm's folks, I have known a good many brits who are like that from the upper classes.
I really enjoy seeing the development of the tech and the slow morph into TOS. The sets are gorgeous and as an engineer I like to just pause the action and check out the gauges and screens, which feel so much more interesting than LCARS.
Don't know if anyone noticed, but just after the scary alien vessel started venting drive plasma and scuttled off.... they played the Deep Space Nine theme! SUPER TINGLES!
Wed, Feb 5, 2020, 9:35pm (UTC -5)
Sat, May 9, 2020, 12:24am (UTC -5)
Sun, May 24, 2020, 11:35pm (UTC -5)
🎶I HAVE FAITH 🎵
(I have faith)
FAITH OF THE HEEEEART 🕺
Tue, Jul 21, 2020, 3:40pm (UTC -5)
I wanted to comment on this episode just to say the same thing. So far, I'm finding Enterprise's approach to characterisation a refreshing change from the way it was done in the previous series, because it's a lot more subtle. You tend to get brief moments like this, rather than entire episodes where the point is hammered home relentlessly, ending in a contrived moment of growth.
Compare what's done with Reed here to how Riker's relationship with his father is handled in whichever episode it was - Frakes is forced to spend much of the episode looking like someone just slapped him in the face, and ends up pouring out his soul over the course of a bonkers space judo match.
Also, Reed gets the job done, but not without conflict and frayed nerves right up until the end. I feel like if this was a Next Gen episode, he'd have spent the first three quarters angsting about being undervalued, then go and talk to Guinan for five minutes before pulling it all together to save the day in the final five minutes.
Overall, to my mind, Enterprise is still holding its own as a different kind of Star Trek show. I'm much more impressed with it than I was with either season of Discovery.
Sat, Jul 25, 2020, 6:26pm (UTC -5)
I thought this episode was great fun, and I was thinking the mysterious aliens were perhaps the Romulans upto a point.
As with a lot of the best episodes of Enterprise, it showed the evolution of a classic part of Trek-lore, in this case the phasers.
Funniest scene was when Hoshi sat down with Reed and pushed it that far that he thought she was trying to hook up with him and get him back to her quarters.
it’s what Trek is all about some threat to ship wrapped around some character building of one or more of the main cast. I was alright with that episode, a solid 3 stars.
Thu, Aug 13, 2020, 10:37pm (UTC -5)
HOSHI: "Now that that's settled, what's your favorite food?"
MALCOLM: "I'm really into pineapple."
HOSHI: "OK, pineapple upside down cake then. And can you act surprised?"
MALCOLM: "No problem."
No misunderstandings, no violations of medical confidentiality, and Archer is none the wiser.
Fri, Nov 13, 2020, 11:12am (UTC -5)
I still can't get over the fact that it ended after 4 seasons, and with that awful debacle with Riker reminiscing. Enterprise deserved better.
Sun, Nov 22, 2020, 1:12am (UTC -5)
Also, the aliens were chillingly bullying! A good episode with a good "how are our heroes going to get out of this one" vibe.
I also like how technology is being portrayed. The phasers are very experimental. And the power boost was kind of learned by accident on the fly. Sad to say, but in real life, a lot of technology is acquired during wartime as well. And just as in this case, I don't think the development of such powerful phasers would have happened if the crew wasn't desperate.
I also like the fact that the signaling buoys were destroyed. I mean that Archer actually was going to ask the Vulcans for help, but couldn't. It shows that he was willing to humble himself and ask for assistance rather than pridefully going his own way-a character builder! Again, I know a lot of people here don't like Archer, but I feel that he *(and Starfleet) are new to all of this, and they are learning as they go.
I have no problem with the aliens here never being heard from again. It was obvious that they were bullies that wanted to steal some kind of bodily fluid from humans, and when they saw how inventive and quick-learning Enterprise was, they stayed far away!
Again, it has to be hard to make a believable prequel when real life effects on TV are so much better than the original, and I think they handled it well. As a contrast, think the Star Wars movies. Now, I like the non-Disney films, but if there is one thing the prequels fell in for me was showing a regression in technology. *(Now I know it is different in that the Star Trek prequel series is about a Starfleet that is barely off the ground, whilst Star Wars seems to have had space travel for thousands of years, but still tech used in the clone wars seems better than the Galactic Civil War)
Sat, Feb 27, 2021, 2:20pm (UTC -5)
Sat, Apr 17, 2021, 3:22am (UTC -5)
Wed, Dec 22, 2021, 11:30pm (UTC -5)
Tue, Jul 26, 2022, 12:39pm (UTC -5)
Remove the B plot from this story, trim some of the first act of Strange New World, remove the A story from Horizon, end Unexpected after Trip returns from the alien ship, and nuke everything but the Sphere Builder plot in Harbinger and you end up with 5 decent Short Treks.
Fri, Feb 10, 2023, 6:56pm (UTC -5)
The aliens were genuinely creepy, I liked the scene where you briefly see them walking through the halls, scary! What the hell were they doing those crew members, Dr. Phlox better check for embryonic xenomorphs!
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