monkee reviews 'Vanishing Point'
First Impression: Bleah. Utterly pointless. I'm a busy monkee – don't waste my time!
Ye Olde Reset Button: Was this, perhaps, the most pointless Trek episode EVER? Although there have been similar 'reset button' episodes in which much of what we saw never happened, it's never been this blatant. In TNG's 'The Next Phase,' Ro and Geordi were actually there, and they did save the ship. In VOY's 'Year of Hell,' at least the events happened in an alternate timeline. In TNG's 'Eye of the Beholder,' Troi's hallucinations enabled her to solve a mystery. In 'Vanishing Point,' all we learn about Hoshi is that she's afraid of using the transporter (as anyone in their right mind would be, at this point), but that she's able to overcome her fear, something we already knew she could do. Except for the teaser and the closing scene, the entire episode involves a conflict that only happens in her head, involving aliens that don't even exist!
And I can have my own weird bad dreams, thanks.
Hoshi's Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Dream: As weird bad dreams go, though, this one was kind of interesting, and that's the only reason this episode isn't getting a rating of 2, or something equally abominable. That, and the fact that Linda Park did a good job with what she was given, as always. Hoshi hallucinates that something went wrong with her transport, and she's gradually disappearing. She feels invisible. She feels 'off.' She fails her Captain and her shipmates by being unable to properly do her job. She feels helpless when she can't stop an attack on the ship. For anyone who has ever felt incompetent, powerless or invisible, Hoshi's 'bad dream' had a certain resonance. It was a moderately interesting peek inside Hoshi's head.
The problem with 'dream' episodes is that the have no second viewing value. The first time through, you're interested in finding out how on earth it's all going to fit together in the end. Once you get to the punch line, though, and you find out that it's NOT going to fit together in the end – why watch it again? I had to watch it a second time to gather quotes, and I was bored senseless!
Calling Mr. Sato: Yeesh. Even as part of a weird bad dream, this scene was just too surreal. Does Hoshi believe Archer would handle a bad news comm this badly? "Are we talking about produce or people?" a bewildered Mr. Sato quipped, when Archer just refused to get to the point. Since it was all a hallucination, I suppose we have to let it slide, but…yeesh.
I just really don't have a lot to say about this one. Why should I, really? Nothing happened! So let's get on with it.
Character Interactions: Again, none of it really happened, but I did like the crew camaraderie in the mess hall scene. Aside from the fact that they were ignoring poor, practically invisible Hoshi, Trip, Mayweather and Reed seemed almost like family. Nice and natural. And it was good to see certain relationships appear consistently in Hoshi's hallucination – her awkwardness with T'Pol, her friendship with Trip, and her father/daughter type relationship with Archer.
Archer Watch: In the scenes that actually happened, he did well. He was kind to Hoshi in the final scene, and he correctly pointed out that the fact that she had overcome her fear in a hallucination didn't diminish the fact that she overcame it.
'shipper Watch: Her hallucinatory scenes with Trip seemed friendship-centered, but they have a nice chemistry together. I wouldn't mind seeing it explored.
Best Lines:
"Nobody wants to talk to me. Sometimes I don't think they even know I'm there." (Hoshi, to Phlox)
"I'm not at all surprised by your reaction. You wouldn't catch ME using that apparatus." (Phlox, to Hoshi)
"As far as I'm concerned, I didn't even see you come in here." (Phlox, to Hoshi)
"You're upside-down, Ensign." "I was taught never to contradict a superior officer." (Trip and Hoshi)
"If I were you, I'd ask Phlox for a sedative. Nothing like crawling into bed..." "You men are all alike." (Trip and Hoshi)
"Hoshi. I should have made you go first. What could I have been thinking?" (Trip, to Hoshi's ghost)
"You were sorta trapped in the pattern buffer, but only for a few seconds!" (Trip, to Hoshi)
Rating: 6/10. My lowest ENT rating yet, and I really resent having to give it to a Hoshi episode, because she's my favorite character, Dammit! And it could have been a whole lot lower, too. Linda Park salvaged some of it.
Next Week: A repeat of Carbon Creek, one of my favorites. Maybe that'll get this bad taste out of my mouth! After that, bring on the rest of the season, and let's try a little harder from now on, okay? Seeing Hoshi nearly naked in the shower can't save a pointless episode!
Back to monkee's Enterprise reviews
Go to monkee's Enterprise stories
Number: