monkee reviews 'Silent Enemy'
First Impression: A solid episode, but a little too uneven to be a standout.
The Silent Enemy: I think T'Pol is right – this crew is going to encounter aliens, as they did this week, whose actions and motivations can't be understood in human terms. We never do find out the reason for the alien's invasive scans and unprovoked attacks, and I like that, although I also wouldn't mind seeing them again. And, glory be, for once they actually looked alien, with their long, languid limbs and their 'Close Encounters' faces!
Gratifying Victory: All too often, in the recent Trek series, enemies were subdued or easily defeated with a few phaser shots and defensive maneuvers. The first Enterprise crew should have to work harder for their triumphs, and this week they do. They actually contemplate asking for the Vulcans for assistance, and even (gasp!) turn around and head for home. Reed, Trip and their staff have to hustle to get the phase cannons on-line, and then figure out a way to make them more effective while under fire. When they finally break through the shields of their mysterious, yet persistent, adversaries, and inflict some substantial damage, it's an enormously gratifying moment. It's always a good thing when you find yourself shouting "Take THAT, you P'Taks!" at your television screen!
Returning to Earth: Archer was wise to start for home, especially since he felt that they were unprepared for what lay ahead. What I can't understand is the crew's vehement opposition to the idea. As Archer points out, the ship is going to need some routine overhauls. Don't they have a plan, or some kind of schedule set up for this? If not, shouldn't they? Why should returning briefly to Earth be seen as some kind of defeat? Surely Starfleet didn't just say, 'Well, you did all right with this Klaang stuff, so why don't you just go on out and explore stuff. We'll see you...sometime or other. Sure, you don't have those phase cannons, but no big deal. Have fun!' What, exactly, is the definition and scope of their mission? Kirk was on a five-year mission of exploration. Picard's mission was similar, though somewhat more open-ended. We knew exactly what Sisko and Janeway were supposed to be doing. I think some parameters need to be defined for Archer's mission, too, both for his sake, and the viewer's.
What makes a Classic? This episode was similar in theme to the classic TOS episode, 'Balance of Terror.' In both cases, the Enterprise was forced to fight an unknown adversary, and it was a close and stressful battle, yet I don't think anyone would question which is the superior episode – it's 'Balance of Terror,' hands down. Why is that? Well, 'Balance' had Mark Lenard, for one thing, and was able to explore the other side of the conflict through his character and his character's interactions with his crew. That's all right. Like I said, I thought it was interesting, in this case, that we never learn too much about the aliens. That wasn't 'Silent Enemy's' problem. The thing that will keep 'Silent Enemy' from 'classic' status is...the B story.
Hoshi's Top Priority: Enterprise has just set up a second communications array to help amplify transmissions to and from Earth. Then, the ship comes under constant attack by an unknown, powerful, and ruthless assailant. What does Archer order his top-notch communications officer to do? Find out Reed's favorite food, for a birthday surprise. Excuse me? What if the aliens suddenly wanted to talk? Where would Sato be? Off somewhere trying to contact Reed's old school chums. It rarely ever works when Trek sticks two completely unrelated stories into one episode, and you'd think they'd know that by now. It might have made some small amount of sense if Archer, say, were trying to distract Sato from the stressful situation, since he knows she's a little jumpy. Then she could have told him she was past all that, and completely capable of doing her job under duress. It would have shown us some logic on his part, and some growth on hers. But no – there was no rhyme or reason given for sending Sato off like that, even after she told her Captain that she actually had some real work to do. It bothered me. The two stories didn't match. Don't get me wrong, I LIKE that they were trying to do something special for Reed – it just was just too light-hearted to be mixed in with the more critical main plot. It trivialized the story, and that's why it won't be a classic.
Sure, they can't all be classics. But if they'd been a bit more careful with this episode, it might have come close. Too bad.
Reed: We do learn a bit more about Reed's background, and that's always a good thing. We get to meet his rather odd family. His father is a cold man, who is clearly upset that Reed has chosen to join Starfleet instead of carrying on the family tradition of joining the Navy. Sigh. Yet another dysfunctional father/son relationship. I think it must be a Star Trek rule that 75% of all father/son relationships must be strained. Maybe Roddenberry insisted on it, or something. Anyway, his sister seems normal enough, and his mother, at least, while still a bit restrained, seemed warm and friendly. I have to say, though, as a Mom, there's no way she wouldn't know what his favorite food was. No way! At the very least, she would have known what his favorite food as a child was. I mean, come on!
PORTHOS! Porthos, Porthos, PORTHOS! That's all I wanted to say. I just love it when Porthos and his little, puppy face make an appearance!
[Late Addition: Okay, I didn't notice this after watching the episode twice. Someone (monkee waves to Penny) pointed it out to me. Porthos was trotting along after Archer and Trip. They get called to the bridge. What happened to the poor pup? Did they just LEAVE him there in the corridor, whimpering and all alone? Poor Porthos! Is there still an animal rescue league in the 22nd century? In space, no one can hear you whimper...]
Music and Flashlights: This must be an unwritten 'Enterprise' rule. Every episode must involve the liberal use of darkness and flashlights. I timed it this week. Two full minutes of darkened corridors and flashlights. And it seemed like at least five. Note to Trek producers – guys, television is a VISUAL medium. Not being able to see what's on the screen is a bad thing, no matter how much distracting, suspenseful music you play over it! Okay – seeing the aliens under flashlight illumination only was kind of cool, but I don't think we needed a full two minutes of darkness. Just one reviewer's opinion.
Hey, at least there were no caves. Progress, I suppose.
T'pol Light: We don't see much of T'Pol this week – hooray! I like the character, but I'd also like a chance to get to know the others. And she wasn't completely absent, either. She had two nice scenes with Archer; one in which he demands that she tell him what the Vulcans know about the aliens, then believes her when she sincerely says they know nothing. She also, surprisingly, concurs when Archer decides not to return to Earth, after all. Well done – she was used sparingly, but effectively. Wouldn't it be nice if they could do that for poor Mayweather, too?
Character Interactions: I just mentioned Archer and T'Pol's nice moments. I also enjoyed Archer's scenes with Trip. They're clearly good friends, and it's nice that Archer has someone to turn to when he's troubled. Trip and Reed had some excellent scenes together, displaying both friction and teamwork. And they really did need to work out what, exactly, Reed can do to ship's systems, and what he needs to check out with the ship's engineer. Reed and Sato – hahaha! We'll talk a little more about them later. There was also a nice Sato and Phlox scene – theirs has been a subtle, recurring friendship thus far. Nice character interactions this week!
'Shipper Watch: Ah, poor Reed and Sato! In trying to figure out his favorite food, she seems to have inadvertently given him the impression that she wants him in a big way. Is he flattered? Perhaps, but 'terrified' seemed a more accurate word to me. I was cringing for both of them throughout that awkward messhall scene – it was great! Will they end up together? Ha! Not anytime soon – Reed's going to be avoiding her like the plague! Still, you never know – the idea has now been planted in both of their minds...I should also point out that there was some interesting Reed and Trip chemistry this week. It could happen! I think Trek is being more openly pressured lately to introduce a homosexual main character, and Reed, since he remains such a mystery, would be a good candidate. As for Trip – well, after all, he IS on the rebound now after being dumped by Pensacola Natalie. Stay tuned...
Archer Watch: Hmm – Archer struck me as bit uneven this week, too. You know who he reminded me of? Janeway! Now, I loved Janeway, but I loved her more for what she should have been (and was, in my heart) than for what she actually said and did on-screen. In reality, she was poorly written, and her story arc was badly mismanaged by a mostly-male writing staff that really didn't have a clue. I saw a bit of that Janeway in Archer this week, and it made me nervous. His initial decision to turn back and head for home was surprisingly out-of-character, but I'm willing to chalk that up to actual growth. He did, after all, have that nice conversation with Trip about re-thinking his motivations and realizing the importance of the lives he's responsible for. The 'burdens of command' for a starship Captain is a recurring Trek theme, from Christopher Pike right on up through Kathryn Janeway. What concerned me more about Archer was his equally precipitous decision NOT to return home after all! Come on, you just finished convincing us that it was a good idea! One lucky victory, and he thinks everything's going to be hunky-dory now? That one alien ship they encountered could be back in two days with an entire fleet for all they know! They could destroy Enterprise out-right, or simply trail along behind them indefinitely, blowing up their communications arrays and attacking them whenever the mood strikes them. What's he banking on? Three jury-rigged phase cannons that are only effective if you overload them! Frankly, I can't believe T'Pol went along with this! Ah well – I suppose we're just supposed to believe that human spunk, smarts and stick-to-itiveness will get them through in the end. As they surely will, you know...
Humans RULE! At least they do on Star Trek!
Vulcan Bashing: You know, it was funny when McCoy did it to Spock because everyone knew that he loved Spock, deep down, and didn't really mean it. Occasionally, he even admitted it! It stopped being terribly funny on DS9 and Voyager, and now it's striking me (and many others, I suspect) as just plain mean-spirited. It's time to give it a rest, already! No wonder T'Pol hates it on Enterprise – she must feel like she's on a ship full of ten year-olds! Grow up, guys!
Best Lines:
"Was it something I said?" (A bewildered Archer, after the aliens ignore him)
"Us? Not interesting?" (A bewildered Reed, after T'Pol suggests that the aliens didn't find Enterprise interesting enough to contact)
"You missed T'Pol's latest battle with chopsticks." (Archer, to Trip)
"Damn. Dinner AND a show!" (Trip, to Archer)
"Archer to Mayweather. We're heading home!" (Archer, to...guess who?)
"By the time we get to Jupiter Station, I don't want their engineers to find anything to do but give us a wash and a wax." (Trip, to his staff)
"I've got a hotplate in my quarters..."(Sato, to poor, blushing Reed)
"When it comes to modifying ship's sensors, why don't you let the chief engineer decide what's an acceptable risk?"(Trip, to Reed)
"Oh, the Vulcans would have LOVED that – towing the pride of Starfleet back to base." (Trip, to Archer)
"Don't forget about Porthos." (Trip, reminding Archer of one extra burden of command)
"Medically speaking, there's no accounting for taste." (Phlox, to Sato)
"What about yesterday? I saw you blow up something the size of Mt. McKinley!" (Archer, to Reed)
"Pineapple! That's my fav...how on earth did you know?" (Reed, to his friends – Awwwww!)
In Summary: Phew! Well, I did ramble on and on this week, didn't I? Chalk it up to nearly two Trek-less months! I'll try to be more succinct next time. Maybe. Basically, this was a very good episode – it was just the out-of-place subplot that dragged it down. But Enterprise continues to do well with its main strength – the novelty of human space exploration. We SHOULD be seeing occasional misunderstandings about responsibilities, as we did this week with Reed and Trip. More personal issues are also coming out – the difficulty of REALLY long-distance relationships, and how you go about turning a crew into a family. As long as Enterprise continues to stick with this strength, they'll have this viewer in the palm of their hands.
Rating: 8.5/10. Not a classic, but solid.
Next Week: A long-overdue Phlox episode, and perhaps our first serious look at the beginnings of the Prime Directive.
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