The Great Chronological Run-Through
- Thread starter Deranged Nasat
- Start date
Sorry all, that was a bit thoughtless of me. I forgot to say I'd be away for a week; it must have looked a bit odd since I'm here so frequently. Thanks for the concern, it's appreciated, but I'm fine!
I'll have a post up tonight.
(I've been by the bonnie banks o' Loch Lomond, but the Jacobite rebellion has been successfully quashed and I can return to duty).
I'll have a post up tonight.
(I've been by the bonnie banks o' Loch Lomond, but the Jacobite rebellion has been successfully quashed and I can return to duty).
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It won't be long before we have actual literature again...
"Horizon"
After a look at the Klingons and how their society has changed, the show returns to the Humans, in a thematic sequel to last season's "Fortunate Son". Like that episode, this one has some interesting, worthy ideas that could have used further exploration, even if the episode itself is nothing special (and possibly weakened by the repetition more than it successfully builds on what we saw last time?). Again, we see the resentment of Starfleet among people of the freight service, with families who have built a traditional way of life out on the trade routes now threatened by technological advances back home and the lure that these shiny new starships represent to their talented young people. For Travis' family, pride at his skills having landed him such a plum assignment sits alongside disappointment, or even in some cases resentment, at his leaving them to take it. We're given the sense that the freight service, as the existing, by now well-established, spacefaring Human culture, is probably the hidden backbone of Starfleet - increasingly so as deep space missions become a reality - but that they also risk being mined out as regards the talent they've always run on. Starfleet will cannibalise the Earth Cargo Service of its lifeblood even as it renders the old freight vessels obsolete; that's the fear among Boomers. This episode stresses that it's not just commerce that takes a blow in that case but family cohesion and cultural tradition. Humans might not be eager to raise bat'leth and pillage, but like Kolos the Boomers see their people looking eagerly to the stars and to a life of adventure, leaving honourable work and valuable tradition behind. It would be interesting to get more of a sense of the intricacies of this, but the Boomers are sadly a rather underused part of the setting, at least compared to the very complex and well-explored issue of the Vulcans and their power over local space, for example.
The subplot follows on from T'Pol's exposure to Movie Night in "The Catwalk", when she seemed to find herself intrigued by the logical exercise of following the plot if nothing else. Apparently I wasn't the only one to notice that, because Trip now invites her along a second time. It's a nice return to Trip-T'Pol dynamics, their attempts at comprehending each other, a relationship that of course will become deeper and more complicated in time. Like in "Carbon Creek", we see that T'Pol's gotten comfortable with humour, though in a very Vulcan form, naturally - once again, it's not clear (well, not to me anyway) whether she’s sincere (in her comment about recommending Frankenstein to Soval) or whether she's deliberately tweaking the Humans.
Continuity
After Zoumas' mention of Orion slave girls, this is the second mention of the Orion species, in the context of an Orion freighter as a trading partner for Horizon. Well, okay, an Orion freighter isn't necessarily crewed by Orions, but they own it.
The Humans have a base at Deneva - Deneva Station. The planet's been mentioned before - by T'Pol in "Rogue Planet" - but that didn't tell us whose jurisdiction it fell under. Deneva appears to be the equivalent of the last frontier town before you head out into the wilderness, an essential stopping point for Human freighters and their best hope of shelter if they find trouble. The Humans are lucky no-one else claimed this pristine, beautiful green world, but then that's the advantage, I assume, of living in a region more-or-less governed by a cautiously distrustful race who like their buffer zones and discourage expansion by other races but who themselves seem to have little use for large-scale colonization.
Travis references past episodes while discussing the dangers of his mission with his mother, mentioning the Takret Militia and the neutronic wavefront (“The Catwalk”) and the Romulan Minefield (“Minefield”). Perhaps strangely, there’s no mention of The Repair Station (*scare chord*) though I can see why he might not tell them about that one, seeing how worried they are over the things he did reveal.
Travis also mentions the Mazarites, with the pirates here having similar engine design. Coincidence, or do these folk work for the Mazarite Mob? Maybe they did, or at least had some sort of booty-shares-for-repairs-and-upgrades deal, only now that V’Lar’s ruined things they’ve left Mazar and turned to new pursuits like raiding Earth shipping?
Phlox mentions the B’Saari again, this time noting their experiments with reanimating dead tissue. And that's the last we'll hear of them. (Personally, I seem to have decided that the ursanoid species we see in the Animated Series - and in the person of Urgar in Titan: Sword of Damocles - are B'Saari, presumably based on nothing more than the fact that B'Saari sounds like "bear" and "ursa" sort-of merged together. Who's with me?)
Travis mentions having visited 22 inhabited worlds. I might try and list them later (mustn't forget Matalas and Tessick Prime, visited offscreen and probably inhabited - also Fazi and Oan).
Next Time: "The Breach". If the Klingons have changed for the worse and the Humans have changed for the ambiguous and potentially rocky, how have the Denobulans changed? Also Travis goes rock-climbing again, which is consistent but rather odd since, as this episode reminded us, he grew up on a cargo ship.
"Horizon"
After a look at the Klingons and how their society has changed, the show returns to the Humans, in a thematic sequel to last season's "Fortunate Son". Like that episode, this one has some interesting, worthy ideas that could have used further exploration, even if the episode itself is nothing special (and possibly weakened by the repetition more than it successfully builds on what we saw last time?). Again, we see the resentment of Starfleet among people of the freight service, with families who have built a traditional way of life out on the trade routes now threatened by technological advances back home and the lure that these shiny new starships represent to their talented young people. For Travis' family, pride at his skills having landed him such a plum assignment sits alongside disappointment, or even in some cases resentment, at his leaving them to take it. We're given the sense that the freight service, as the existing, by now well-established, spacefaring Human culture, is probably the hidden backbone of Starfleet - increasingly so as deep space missions become a reality - but that they also risk being mined out as regards the talent they've always run on. Starfleet will cannibalise the Earth Cargo Service of its lifeblood even as it renders the old freight vessels obsolete; that's the fear among Boomers. This episode stresses that it's not just commerce that takes a blow in that case but family cohesion and cultural tradition. Humans might not be eager to raise bat'leth and pillage, but like Kolos the Boomers see their people looking eagerly to the stars and to a life of adventure, leaving honourable work and valuable tradition behind. It would be interesting to get more of a sense of the intricacies of this, but the Boomers are sadly a rather underused part of the setting, at least compared to the very complex and well-explored issue of the Vulcans and their power over local space, for example.
The subplot follows on from T'Pol's exposure to Movie Night in "The Catwalk", when she seemed to find herself intrigued by the logical exercise of following the plot if nothing else. Apparently I wasn't the only one to notice that, because Trip now invites her along a second time. It's a nice return to Trip-T'Pol dynamics, their attempts at comprehending each other, a relationship that of course will become deeper and more complicated in time. Like in "Carbon Creek", we see that T'Pol's gotten comfortable with humour, though in a very Vulcan form, naturally - once again, it's not clear (well, not to me anyway) whether she’s sincere (in her comment about recommending Frankenstein to Soval) or whether she's deliberately tweaking the Humans.
Continuity
After Zoumas' mention of Orion slave girls, this is the second mention of the Orion species, in the context of an Orion freighter as a trading partner for Horizon. Well, okay, an Orion freighter isn't necessarily crewed by Orions, but they own it.
The Humans have a base at Deneva - Deneva Station. The planet's been mentioned before - by T'Pol in "Rogue Planet" - but that didn't tell us whose jurisdiction it fell under. Deneva appears to be the equivalent of the last frontier town before you head out into the wilderness, an essential stopping point for Human freighters and their best hope of shelter if they find trouble. The Humans are lucky no-one else claimed this pristine, beautiful green world, but then that's the advantage, I assume, of living in a region more-or-less governed by a cautiously distrustful race who like their buffer zones and discourage expansion by other races but who themselves seem to have little use for large-scale colonization.
Travis references past episodes while discussing the dangers of his mission with his mother, mentioning the Takret Militia and the neutronic wavefront (“The Catwalk”) and the Romulan Minefield (“Minefield”). Perhaps strangely, there’s no mention of The Repair Station (*scare chord*) though I can see why he might not tell them about that one, seeing how worried they are over the things he did reveal.
Travis also mentions the Mazarites, with the pirates here having similar engine design. Coincidence, or do these folk work for the Mazarite Mob? Maybe they did, or at least had some sort of booty-shares-for-repairs-and-upgrades deal, only now that V’Lar’s ruined things they’ve left Mazar and turned to new pursuits like raiding Earth shipping?
Phlox mentions the B’Saari again, this time noting their experiments with reanimating dead tissue. And that's the last we'll hear of them. (Personally, I seem to have decided that the ursanoid species we see in the Animated Series - and in the person of Urgar in Titan: Sword of Damocles - are B'Saari, presumably based on nothing more than the fact that B'Saari sounds like "bear" and "ursa" sort-of merged together. Who's with me?)
Travis mentions having visited 22 inhabited worlds. I might try and list them later (mustn't forget Matalas and Tessick Prime, visited offscreen and probably inhabited - also Fazi and Oan).
Next Time: "The Breach". If the Klingons have changed for the worse and the Humans have changed for the ambiguous and potentially rocky, how have the Denobulans changed? Also Travis goes rock-climbing again, which is consistent but rather odd since, as this episode reminded us, he grew up on a cargo ship.
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The one thing "Horizon" really has going for it is that it was the season's one attempt to give Travis something to do -- and the last time that would really happen until season 4.
Also there's the notable continuity in-joke, the unfortunately mistitled Chicago Gangs of the Twenties book on Travis's bookshelf, indicating that the ECS Horizon was destined to be the ship that would contaminate Iotian culture a century before "A Piece of the Action" (in contrast to earlier implications that it was a Daedalus-class Starfleet vessel).
As for Travis's rock climbing, I was just thinking about that the other day, and I figured that he probably enjoyed going planetside on those rare occasions that the ship visited a planet. The chance to experience wide open spaces would've been rare and special, so I can see why he might've latched onto a sport like climbing as a way to experience them. That doesn't explain the spelunking, though.
Also there's the notable continuity in-joke, the unfortunately mistitled Chicago Gangs of the Twenties book on Travis's bookshelf, indicating that the ECS Horizon was destined to be the ship that would contaminate Iotian culture a century before "A Piece of the Action" (in contrast to earlier implications that it was a Daedalus-class Starfleet vessel).
As for Travis's rock climbing, I was just thinking about that the other day, and I figured that he probably enjoyed going planetside on those rare occasions that the ship visited a planet. The chance to experience wide open spaces would've been rare and special, so I can see why he might've latched onto a sport like climbing as a way to experience them. That doesn't explain the spelunking, though.
There is that. It's a shame, because I'm generally indifferent to Travis and this project is making it clear that the reason for that is no actual reflection on the character, it's just that he really is just terribly underused. There's a reason why I use him as a reference in my faux-Tamarian, after all
. There's so much potential in the "Space Boomers" too...I should also note that I liked Travis' mother in this one. I'm not sure why exactly, I just liked her.
Indeed, and Kobayashi Maru will confirm that this is the Horizon responsible (it will be their last notable act, if I remember/forecast correctly...)
^ What's sad is that Travis could have been a great character, especially since he's "been out in space before". But a lot like Yar in TNG they just don't write him well or really do much with him that is of interest.
I've tried to give Travis the development in Rise of the Federation that he didn't get in the series. That trend definitely continues in Uncertain Logic...
I love that you've done this! Really needed to happen and mirrors what Kirsten has done with a lot of the Voy characters, finally having them live up to the potential they had in the show, but sadly were never given. Thanks for making Travis a more rounded character finally, one I actually enjoy!
So far we've been promised more T'Rama (and Vulcan focus in general), a visit to Denobula, an explanation for what was going on with the Repair Station (*scare chord*) and more Travis development. Have I forgotten anything? 
So far we've been promised more T'Rama (and Vulcan focus in general), a visit to Denobula, an explanation for what was going on with the Repair Station (*scare chord*) and more Travis development. Have I forgotten anything?
No Denobula in Book 3, but Phlox finally gets a significant role, and I am working toward a visit to Denobula later on.
And there are a lot of other goodies in Uncertain Logic, but I don't want to give too much away.
So far we've been promised more T'Rama (and Vulcan focus in general), a visit to Denobula, an explanation for what was going on with the Repair Station (*scare chord*) and more Travis development. Have I forgotten anything?
No Denobula in Book 3, but Phlox finally gets a significant role, and I am working toward a visit to Denobula later on.
And there are a lot of other goodies in Uncertain Logic, but I don't want to give too much away.
The ENT have become a huge highlight of the year for me. Very much looking forward to how things play out after the great teasers at the end of ToB.
I think putting a Vulcan on the ship who had at least a cursory knowledge of almost every species Enterprise encountered, along with Enterprise constantly referring to Vulcan star charts during its travels, took away a lot of the usefulness Travis could have provided.
^ That is a good call, still Travis could have added to that, especially since the Vulcans are not know for their detailed look places. Lost opportunities!
To be frank, it didn't help that Anthony Montgomery is simply not a particularly talented actor.
"The Breach"
After the string of Vulcan-Human favour trading we've seen thus far on Enterprise, the Denobulans get in on it too. Political instability and sudden regime change means that their researchers on a non-aligned world require quick evacuation, and they're asking their neighbours to help. We don't know yet how close Earth and Denobula are, politically - later episodes will show them working together quite closely on sensitive projects - and this is the first indication, I think, that the two cultures see one another as allies of some description and not just two races who happen to both be operating within the "Vulcan Hegemony".
The difficulties in any sort of closer relationship are also made evident, though, because we end up with a conflict between Human and Denobulan behavioural guidelines. The ship runs on Earth law and codes of conduct but Phlox is guided by a different code of professional morals, and that complicates the existing captain-CMO dynamic even further. Not much is done with this conflict in the episode, admittedly, but it's a nice idea. The will of the patient is described by Phlox as the cornerstone of Denobulan medical ethics, an emphasis on personal autonomy and a willingness to detachment that, as usual, works quite well in my mind with what we've learned previously about Denobulans. As a race, they work for me - I usually find that I've gotten a good grip on who they are and how they tend to work.
We see here that Denobulans are also a changing society, with their long lives having a downside in that attitudes and opinions don't change quickly on Denobula. The Denobulan-Antaran conflicts are an interesting piece of backstory, though it would have been stronger had there been buildup in earlier episodes (so that, perhaps, we would know the significance of seeing an Antaran wheeled in). I know long-term in-depth planning isn't how it worked, but had there been a few throwaway scenes in earlier episodes establishing an enmity it would have strengthened this one. As it is, the Antarans are pretty much a walk-on obstacle of the week, which can't help but cheapen the genuinely fascinating backstory that sounds rich in possibilities. So, Antarans and Denobulans still fear one another and find validation as a culture by emphasising their past mistreatment by the other. It's not even a racial feud, more of a long silence and a lack of any pressing need to heal, since they don't talk or interact anymore. It's nice that we don't learn anything concrete about the history between the races; indeed it's said all but explicitly that the actual details are too swamped beneath propaganda and distortion to be worth much. While none of this is played with any particular sophistication, I do like the scenes between Phlox and Hudak, especially when the latter provokes the former into losing his temper. Hudak is wonderfully silky.
That Denobulans have a history and trials all their own, and don't just exist to bring some quirky optimism into Humans' lives is generally something I appreciate. One of the strengths of Enterprise is the portrayal of Humans as newcomers not yet sure of a prominent role in interstellar affairs, and the introduction of conflicts and backstory in which Earth had no part or stake is always welcome. It's a big galaxy and Humans should by no means be at the centre of it (until they've earned such status, of course...)
It was also good to see T'Pol reciprocating the patient support Phlox often offers her in her more conflicted moments, giving advice of a sort (and a non-Human perspective) in turn.
First Appearances of Things That Are Important
Tribbles! We learn that they're outlawed on many words as the ultimate invasive species, but we also see why they can be useful. Phlox is carrying some as a continuously self-replenishing food source for several of his animals.
The Antarans might count. I'm assuming that these are the inhabitants of Beta Antares IV, of later Federation ship-building fame. Certainly the real Antares is too far away to be a reasonable point of origin (the song "Beyond Antares", popular in the next century, shows that the star is even a common shorthand for distant and exotic a hundred years after this). I assume, then, that the system name "Beta Antares" probably comes from the name Antaran. If this speculation is ever confirmed, it would mean that the Antarans wind up joining the Federation some time prior to the early 2300s, which is, I recall, the earliest reference to the Beta Antares shipyards in Trek Lit. An Antaran officer (Loolooa Tareshini) will serve on the USS Titan.
Next Time: The ultimate "Trip and an alien" story in "Cogenitor". Also Andreas Katsulas.
After the string of Vulcan-Human favour trading we've seen thus far on Enterprise, the Denobulans get in on it too. Political instability and sudden regime change means that their researchers on a non-aligned world require quick evacuation, and they're asking their neighbours to help. We don't know yet how close Earth and Denobula are, politically - later episodes will show them working together quite closely on sensitive projects - and this is the first indication, I think, that the two cultures see one another as allies of some description and not just two races who happen to both be operating within the "Vulcan Hegemony".
The difficulties in any sort of closer relationship are also made evident, though, because we end up with a conflict between Human and Denobulan behavioural guidelines. The ship runs on Earth law and codes of conduct but Phlox is guided by a different code of professional morals, and that complicates the existing captain-CMO dynamic even further. Not much is done with this conflict in the episode, admittedly, but it's a nice idea. The will of the patient is described by Phlox as the cornerstone of Denobulan medical ethics, an emphasis on personal autonomy and a willingness to detachment that, as usual, works quite well in my mind with what we've learned previously about Denobulans. As a race, they work for me - I usually find that I've gotten a good grip on who they are and how they tend to work.
We see here that Denobulans are also a changing society, with their long lives having a downside in that attitudes and opinions don't change quickly on Denobula. The Denobulan-Antaran conflicts are an interesting piece of backstory, though it would have been stronger had there been buildup in earlier episodes (so that, perhaps, we would know the significance of seeing an Antaran wheeled in). I know long-term in-depth planning isn't how it worked, but had there been a few throwaway scenes in earlier episodes establishing an enmity it would have strengthened this one. As it is, the Antarans are pretty much a walk-on obstacle of the week, which can't help but cheapen the genuinely fascinating backstory that sounds rich in possibilities. So, Antarans and Denobulans still fear one another and find validation as a culture by emphasising their past mistreatment by the other. It's not even a racial feud, more of a long silence and a lack of any pressing need to heal, since they don't talk or interact anymore. It's nice that we don't learn anything concrete about the history between the races; indeed it's said all but explicitly that the actual details are too swamped beneath propaganda and distortion to be worth much. While none of this is played with any particular sophistication, I do like the scenes between Phlox and Hudak, especially when the latter provokes the former into losing his temper. Hudak is wonderfully silky.
That Denobulans have a history and trials all their own, and don't just exist to bring some quirky optimism into Humans' lives is generally something I appreciate. One of the strengths of Enterprise is the portrayal of Humans as newcomers not yet sure of a prominent role in interstellar affairs, and the introduction of conflicts and backstory in which Earth had no part or stake is always welcome. It's a big galaxy and Humans should by no means be at the centre of it (until they've earned such status, of course...)
It was also good to see T'Pol reciprocating the patient support Phlox often offers her in her more conflicted moments, giving advice of a sort (and a non-Human perspective) in turn.
First Appearances of Things That Are Important
Tribbles! We learn that they're outlawed on many words as the ultimate invasive species, but we also see why they can be useful. Phlox is carrying some as a continuously self-replenishing food source for several of his animals.
The Antarans might count. I'm assuming that these are the inhabitants of Beta Antares IV, of later Federation ship-building fame. Certainly the real Antares is too far away to be a reasonable point of origin (the song "Beyond Antares", popular in the next century, shows that the star is even a common shorthand for distant and exotic a hundred years after this). I assume, then, that the system name "Beta Antares" probably comes from the name Antaran. If this speculation is ever confirmed, it would mean that the Antarans wind up joining the Federation some time prior to the early 2300s, which is, I recall, the earliest reference to the Beta Antares shipyards in Trek Lit. An Antaran officer (Loolooa Tareshini) will serve on the USS Titan.
Next Time: The ultimate "Trip and an alien" story in "Cogenitor". Also Andreas Katsulas.
"Cogenitor"
A very good episode that isn't afraid to dig in and make things difficult, rather than pretending that reality is easy to navigate. It takes a seed of characterization from the pilot - Trip's well-meaning, ethically conscious impulse to interfere, illustrating both his willingness to empathise with other cultures and his potentially dangerous inexperience - and does good work with it, crafting a memorable story. Trip pulls Archer in at the deep end; once the cogenitor makes a bid for asylum, then Archer must - by official policy -make a morally-influenced judgement on the situation, as he explains to Drennik, which is of course entirely the thing he would wish to avoid. Once Trip has taken the step, Archer must follow him and wrestle with issues and dilemmas he otherwise chose to avoid. That’s part of the business of exploration and contact, of course. If you want to meet strangers you need to maintain a respectful detachment, as T’Pol frequently advises, but also you have to allow for the fact that what it is that’s meeting is people, with their cultural, ethical and personal biases, their assumptions, morals and impulses. To remove or suppress that essential quality in favour of careful diplomatic goodwill seems as bad as forcing yourself on others without care for the consequences. Where is the individual to find the balance, then, and what happens when those individuals cannot be simply individuals but must also fit themselves into a context of duty or representation, as part of a group identity? Trip is Trip, but he’s also, as Archer angrily reminds him, a senior Starfleet officer representing the ship. It's not so much a conflict between personal ethics and political needs but rather different forms of personal commitment. Archer would prefer to treat his business with the Vissians as a friendly, rather Denobulan-esque exercise in benevolent-but-detached goodwill, for the greater good of productive Human-Vissian relations. Trip meanwhile reacts as an individual, and in favour of another individual, without concern for the niceties beyond those individual concerns, and I greatly appreciate how neither Trip nor Archer are made to appear a villain or labelled by the episode itself as wrong.
Trip's final insistence to a guilty Archer that "you're not responsible" neatly and awkwardly encapsulates every argument for and against both of their positions, actions and attitudes. It’s a wonderfully meaningless assurance that Archer doesn’t bother answering, because he knows full well that contained in those three words is a Pandora’s Box-full of recriminations, arguments and counterarguments, messy personal and political realities, and an ethical quagmire that could take years to work through. But you can’t ignore the contents of the box, either – as Archer keeps saying to Drannik, he’s an explorer. And as Phlox keeps saying, you need to be open to other ideas and new ways of doing things if you’re going to be successful out here. Trip’s actions were just that – a new way of approaching the Vissians. Trip the officer has responsibilities and Archer can yell at him for failing to live up to them, but Trip the person has demonstrated exactly the sort of interest in exploring and building ties that is integral to meeting new species and peoples, and Archer, I think, can see that. Trip went and reached out to the cogenitor, influenced it and potentially other Vissians – this is just as much a confirmation of Enterprise’s mission as it is a possible disaster for it.
In all, this a welcome episode that consistently seems more interested in exploring the questions it raises than trying to feed us answers, which is in my mind exactly how it should be. This is definitely one of the stronger episodes of the season, making Trip very sympathetic and admirable without pulling any punches in the department of consequences for his actions, and making us care about the cogenitor as a person without segregating that person from a wider context it’s trapped in. Depending on where you set your focus, at which level of intimacy and with which perceptual grids in place when you examine the set-up we’re given here, the sense of what is right and defensible changes to include varying perspectives that are at odds with each other. If every episode were as intelligent and complex as this, I’d be very happy.
As for the Vissians themselves, they’re a benevolent and diplomatic culture with impressive technological capability. Their warp core, which recalls the model we've seen on the futuristic Enterprise-E, is another detail that no doubt is intended to make them even more “civilized” and likeable, as though Archer and crew have encountered something very much like the Federation that thus far exists in their future.
There are other, lesser examples of the minefield that is interspecies domestic tradition and policy. We learn that on Vissia dinner dates are considered more intimate than sex, which makes perfect sense to me given that sexual activity between a male and female wouldn't lead to biological consequences. After all, there's no possibility of pregnancy resulting absent a cogenitor, so the liaison perhaps wouldn’t be considered as binding as similar activities were often held to be in many Human cultures. Savouring the aroma of a well-prepared meal together is indeed probably more suggestive of a permanent commitment, of settling down together in a domestic setting, than a sexual encounter.
The Vissians are explorers, though they don't range far. This hypergiant is merely 25 light-years from Vissia, and they've had warp capability for a millennium. In keeping with their formidable minds and retentive memories, they seem content to lose themselves in the details, being the cultural equivalent of a dedicated science vessel rather than a pioneering deep space penetrator. Vissian space will be established in The Romulan War: To Brave the Storm as bordering the territory of the Neethians; as Neethia appears on the Star Charts (courtesy of Phlox namedropping Neethian Cradlefish in season one, which the Charts have decided to interpret as Neethia being one of Denobula’s trade partners) we can situate Vissian territory out past Denobula, toward the direction of Tzenkethi, Ferengi and Breen space. In To Brave the Storm, we'll also see some fallout from this episode’s incident when Earth, as represented by Archer, courts Vissia as one of its potential allies after the Coalition of Planets unravels all but legally. The Vissian Grand Moot, we find, has taken a more conservative and cautious stance going forward, becoming rather more Vulcan in conduct, limiting the sharing of technology with what they consider impulsively immature cultures.
Next Time: The return of the cyber-zombies from "First Contact", in “Regeneration”.
A very good episode that isn't afraid to dig in and make things difficult, rather than pretending that reality is easy to navigate. It takes a seed of characterization from the pilot - Trip's well-meaning, ethically conscious impulse to interfere, illustrating both his willingness to empathise with other cultures and his potentially dangerous inexperience - and does good work with it, crafting a memorable story. Trip pulls Archer in at the deep end; once the cogenitor makes a bid for asylum, then Archer must - by official policy -make a morally-influenced judgement on the situation, as he explains to Drennik, which is of course entirely the thing he would wish to avoid. Once Trip has taken the step, Archer must follow him and wrestle with issues and dilemmas he otherwise chose to avoid. That’s part of the business of exploration and contact, of course. If you want to meet strangers you need to maintain a respectful detachment, as T’Pol frequently advises, but also you have to allow for the fact that what it is that’s meeting is people, with their cultural, ethical and personal biases, their assumptions, morals and impulses. To remove or suppress that essential quality in favour of careful diplomatic goodwill seems as bad as forcing yourself on others without care for the consequences. Where is the individual to find the balance, then, and what happens when those individuals cannot be simply individuals but must also fit themselves into a context of duty or representation, as part of a group identity? Trip is Trip, but he’s also, as Archer angrily reminds him, a senior Starfleet officer representing the ship. It's not so much a conflict between personal ethics and political needs but rather different forms of personal commitment. Archer would prefer to treat his business with the Vissians as a friendly, rather Denobulan-esque exercise in benevolent-but-detached goodwill, for the greater good of productive Human-Vissian relations. Trip meanwhile reacts as an individual, and in favour of another individual, without concern for the niceties beyond those individual concerns, and I greatly appreciate how neither Trip nor Archer are made to appear a villain or labelled by the episode itself as wrong.
Trip's final insistence to a guilty Archer that "you're not responsible" neatly and awkwardly encapsulates every argument for and against both of their positions, actions and attitudes. It’s a wonderfully meaningless assurance that Archer doesn’t bother answering, because he knows full well that contained in those three words is a Pandora’s Box-full of recriminations, arguments and counterarguments, messy personal and political realities, and an ethical quagmire that could take years to work through. But you can’t ignore the contents of the box, either – as Archer keeps saying to Drannik, he’s an explorer. And as Phlox keeps saying, you need to be open to other ideas and new ways of doing things if you’re going to be successful out here. Trip’s actions were just that – a new way of approaching the Vissians. Trip the officer has responsibilities and Archer can yell at him for failing to live up to them, but Trip the person has demonstrated exactly the sort of interest in exploring and building ties that is integral to meeting new species and peoples, and Archer, I think, can see that. Trip went and reached out to the cogenitor, influenced it and potentially other Vissians – this is just as much a confirmation of Enterprise’s mission as it is a possible disaster for it.
In all, this a welcome episode that consistently seems more interested in exploring the questions it raises than trying to feed us answers, which is in my mind exactly how it should be. This is definitely one of the stronger episodes of the season, making Trip very sympathetic and admirable without pulling any punches in the department of consequences for his actions, and making us care about the cogenitor as a person without segregating that person from a wider context it’s trapped in. Depending on where you set your focus, at which level of intimacy and with which perceptual grids in place when you examine the set-up we’re given here, the sense of what is right and defensible changes to include varying perspectives that are at odds with each other. If every episode were as intelligent and complex as this, I’d be very happy.
As for the Vissians themselves, they’re a benevolent and diplomatic culture with impressive technological capability. Their warp core, which recalls the model we've seen on the futuristic Enterprise-E, is another detail that no doubt is intended to make them even more “civilized” and likeable, as though Archer and crew have encountered something very much like the Federation that thus far exists in their future.
There are other, lesser examples of the minefield that is interspecies domestic tradition and policy. We learn that on Vissia dinner dates are considered more intimate than sex, which makes perfect sense to me given that sexual activity between a male and female wouldn't lead to biological consequences. After all, there's no possibility of pregnancy resulting absent a cogenitor, so the liaison perhaps wouldn’t be considered as binding as similar activities were often held to be in many Human cultures. Savouring the aroma of a well-prepared meal together is indeed probably more suggestive of a permanent commitment, of settling down together in a domestic setting, than a sexual encounter.
The Vissians are explorers, though they don't range far. This hypergiant is merely 25 light-years from Vissia, and they've had warp capability for a millennium. In keeping with their formidable minds and retentive memories, they seem content to lose themselves in the details, being the cultural equivalent of a dedicated science vessel rather than a pioneering deep space penetrator. Vissian space will be established in The Romulan War: To Brave the Storm as bordering the territory of the Neethians; as Neethia appears on the Star Charts (courtesy of Phlox namedropping Neethian Cradlefish in season one, which the Charts have decided to interpret as Neethia being one of Denobula’s trade partners) we can situate Vissian territory out past Denobula, toward the direction of Tzenkethi, Ferengi and Breen space. In To Brave the Storm, we'll also see some fallout from this episode’s incident when Earth, as represented by Archer, courts Vissia as one of its potential allies after the Coalition of Planets unravels all but legally. The Vissian Grand Moot, we find, has taken a more conservative and cautious stance going forward, becoming rather more Vulcan in conduct, limiting the sharing of technology with what they consider impulsively immature cultures.
Next Time: The return of the cyber-zombies from "First Contact", in “Regeneration”.
"The Breach" is good, except for all the "Rock climbing, Joel. Rock climbing." Nice to see Phlox given a bit of background that isn't so warm and fuzzy.
I don't like "Cogenitor" much. It tries hard to be a thought-provoking ethical-dilemma episode, but ultimately it resorts to the same lazy cheat as TNG's "Homeward": "Oh, look, one isolated individual committed suicide, therefore the Prime Directive must be right." You don't know a different individual wouldn't have reacted differently. If one suicidal person jumps out in front of a car, that doesn't mean driving cars is immoral. The suicide card is a cheap, melodramatic way to shut down debate on an issue by saying "That side leads to death so it's obviously wrong." It takes a nuanced question and reduces it to black and white. And it smacks of authorial puppeteering, the hand of god reaching in and arbitrarily deciding the question on the side the writer prefers.
I mean, what was really at issue here? Whether the cogenitors as a group, who clearly had the intelligence to participate as more than nameless house pets, could assert the right to fulfill that potential. Are we supposed to believe every cogenitor on Vissia would commit suicide if they tried to push the boundaries and were found out? Or that there was no chance that Vissian society as a whole, if challenged by the cogenitor minority to change, might actually be able to do so? Neither of those makes sense, so resolving this particular instance with a suicide is a total non sequitur, and doesn't actually say anything about the deeper issues. It's just arbitrarily stacking the deck.
And while I appreciate the attempt to create some real dramatic conflict between Archer and Trip, Archer feels like he's not quite in character, like his position was selected arbitrarily to generate the conflict. I can't really clearly spell out what I think his response should've been, not without taking a closer look at this and the earlier "proto-Prime Directive" episodes, but it just felt artificial to me.
Also, the nearest hypergiant star is several thousand light-years away. NX-01 is only a couple of hundred light-years from Earth at most, so it's impossible that they could encounter a hypergiant.
I don't like "Cogenitor" much. It tries hard to be a thought-provoking ethical-dilemma episode, but ultimately it resorts to the same lazy cheat as TNG's "Homeward": "Oh, look, one isolated individual committed suicide, therefore the Prime Directive must be right." You don't know a different individual wouldn't have reacted differently. If one suicidal person jumps out in front of a car, that doesn't mean driving cars is immoral. The suicide card is a cheap, melodramatic way to shut down debate on an issue by saying "That side leads to death so it's obviously wrong." It takes a nuanced question and reduces it to black and white. And it smacks of authorial puppeteering, the hand of god reaching in and arbitrarily deciding the question on the side the writer prefers.
I mean, what was really at issue here? Whether the cogenitors as a group, who clearly had the intelligence to participate as more than nameless house pets, could assert the right to fulfill that potential. Are we supposed to believe every cogenitor on Vissia would commit suicide if they tried to push the boundaries and were found out? Or that there was no chance that Vissian society as a whole, if challenged by the cogenitor minority to change, might actually be able to do so? Neither of those makes sense, so resolving this particular instance with a suicide is a total non sequitur, and doesn't actually say anything about the deeper issues. It's just arbitrarily stacking the deck.
And while I appreciate the attempt to create some real dramatic conflict between Archer and Trip, Archer feels like he's not quite in character, like his position was selected arbitrarily to generate the conflict. I can't really clearly spell out what I think his response should've been, not without taking a closer look at this and the earlier "proto-Prime Directive" episodes, but it just felt artificial to me.
Also, the nearest hypergiant star is several thousand light-years away. NX-01 is only a couple of hundred light-years from Earth at most, so it's impossible that they could encounter a hypergiant.
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