monkee reviews 'Terra Nova'
First Impressions: Nothing earth shattering, but I enjoyed it very much.
Summary: Enterprise goes to check on an Earth colony that abruptly lost contact with home seventy years ago. There they discover that an asteroid hit the planet at that time, causing a large cloud of radiation to kill all but the youngest children of the colonists, who have since mutated and moved into underground caverns. The descendents of these children no longer believe they are human, and, in fact, think that humans were responsible for attacking the colony all those years ago. They are dying off as their resistance to the radiation decreases with time, and because their water supply is contaminated. Archer must earn their trust, and convince them to leave the caverns. Ultimately, of course, he does. He wants to return them to Earth, but T'Pol convinces him that wouldn't work for them. Instead, he simply moves them, with their permission, to an uncontaminated continent in the other hemisphere of their own planet.
Déjà vu: This episode was really nothing we haven't seen before. It was a combination of Voyager's 'Friendship One,' and TOS's 'Miri,' with a little bit of Voyager's 'Natural Law' and 'Basics 2' thrown in as well. I didn't mind, though, because it combined most of the best elements of all those episodes. It moved along nicely, and we learned a few more things about the characters.
The Novans: There are a lot of unanswered questions about the Novans. How did a bunch of children six and younger manage to survive? How could they have mutated as much as they had in only three generations? Why were their foreheads and necks glowing, and for crying out loud – why were they glowing in different colors? Despite the flaws, though, they were believable enough for my purposes. Their hard-scrabble life in the caverns rang true, as did their diet, and their music. I enjoyed watching Jamin and Archer gradually earn each other's trust and respect. And I liked Nadet a lot. It was interesting to see her begin to really listen to Archer and accept that she was, indeed, the child Bernadette, the daughter of one of the original settlers.
Novanspeak: I'm one of the few people in the universe, I think, that liked the broken, bizarre language in Voyager's 'Nemesis.' The Novan's language was quite similar, only it made more sense here, since these were originally English-speaking humans. It's not impossible to believe that a bunch of kids would come up with these words and concepts. What can I say? It worked for me.
T'Pol and Archer: This marks the first time that Archer has specifically sought out T'Pol's advice, and I like that. It's an indication that they're beginning to work together as a captain and first officer should. She had some good points to make, too, and Archer had to see that. He may think that returning to Earth and conforming to terran life is every human's birthright, but she made him understand that it wouldn't work for these people. With T'Pol there to shake up his biases, Archer was able to come up with a more creative and workable solution. I did have one problem with their conversation – I had NO idea what T'Pol was getting at with her initial recommendation that they use stun grenades and remove the colonists forcibly. This contradicts her later, more logical advice. If she was trying to be sarcastic, this should have been made clearer to the audience. It was a little jarring.
Mayweather and Reed: Both of these characters got to see a little more action this week. Reed was sensible, courageous and wryly amusing as a landing party member and a hostage. I loved that he tried to strike up a conversation about weapons and body armor with his guard! We learn a little more about Mayweather, too. I liked his passionate interest in the lost colony because it reminded me of my own passionate interest in the space program. And I thought his theory that boomers felt a special affinity to space colonists made sense. Mayweather has the potential to be a great character, because the Trek audience really wants to know what his life has been like out there. I loved the final dinner scene – Mayweather's going to do an awesome job on that report!
Missed Opportunity: You know what would have been cool? It would have been cool if Mayweather had mentioned Zefram Cochrane in his list of people who disappeared mysteriously. Because he did! Sometime in the last hundred years, he took a ship and headed off for the stars, never to be seen or heard from again, until Kirk and company found him with The Companion.
Dinner with the Captain: Last week, Phlox joined the dinner trio, and this week, it was Mayweather. I've enjoyed seeing them eat and chat, so far, but I fear it's going to get old rather sooner than later. Maybe Enterprise needs a holodeck. WHAT? (monkee smacks herself.) Okay, not a holodeck, but something. Maybe a recreation room. Or a GAME! TOS had 3-D chess, TNG had poker, DS9 had darts and dabo, and Voyager had pool and velocity. Sheesh. What's left?
A Quibble: When the away team returns to Enterprise the first time, the bridge has already mapped the caverns, and not only have they detected 52 human lifesigns, they've also isolated Reed! That just seems a little too efficient for this ship, this soon. I'll let it slide, but I think it's more realistic to see them struggle more with this kind of thing.
Music: I hardly EVER notice the music in Trek. I don't know why, because I know it's consistently good. Maybe that's why, actually. But it must have been exceptional or unique this week, because I definitely noticed it. I loved the percussion when the away team was in the caverns, and the music the Novans were playing on the shells was beautiful.
Other Details: Enterprise continues to do a marvelous job with the little details: the dust-covered welcome mat at the ghost colony, the fact that they're still using just plain old flashlights (!), and the two moons.
(I love it when there are two moons, I really do. I think I'll give every episode that has two moons an automatic 8, at least. I'm KIDDING! I guess I'm just easily impressed, but how cool would it be to have two moons? I think Earth should have another moon! Can't we just take one from Jupiter? They'd never miss it...)
(On a more serious note: I know this has been true in Trek all along, but it's nice to think that we'll someday have a cure for cancer. Perhaps that's the nobler goal. We probably don't REALLY need another moon...)
Archer Watch: We got to see a broader range of Archer in this episode. And Bakula proved that he can do angst, anger and self-righteousness as well as he did last week's humor. I think he's shaping up to be a great Captain. He bowed to common sense when Reed insisted on going first in the caverns, and he sought out the advice of his first officer when he needed it. And he did need it. He's still earth-centered in his thinking, so that's where he wanted to bring the colonists. T'Pol's arguments enabled him to think outside the lines.
Best Lines:
"Are we there yet?" (Archer, to Mayweather and Sato)
"Every school kid on earth had to learn about the vulcan expeditions!" (Tucker, to T'Pol)
"Name one." (T'Pol, to Tucker) (Gotcha, big guy!)
"I never said history was one of my best subjects." (Tucker, to T'Pol)
"If I can't even make first contact with humans, then I've got no business being out here." (Archer, to T'Pol)
"When you get them back to earth, what will you do? Send them to school? Teach them to read and write? Wear human clothes? Eat human food? Teach them to live on the surface? Enjoy the sunshine?" (T'Pol, to Archer)
"All those years, wondering about that colony. I never thought I'd become a part of their history." (Mayweather, to Archer)
Rating: 8.5/10. Up from last week. It won't be one of the 'great ones,' but I sincerely liked a lot of it.
Next Week: YOWZA! Andorians! Even the episode's title, 'Andorian Incident' is a homage of sorts to TOS. I can't wait! And Jeffery Combs is going to make a GREAT Andorian!
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