Enterprise Divergence
original airdate: 02-25-2005
Enterprise
has been the first Star Trek spin off to officially
not accept fan scripts. In the past they’ve bought episodes
from every Tom, Dick and Mailman that sends in a production-worthy
concept. But the thread which connects all the episodes of
Enterprise to each other protects the creative staff
from having to read the thousands of fan scripts.
Fortunately,
the writers and producers of Enterprise really
KNOW Star Trek. Each show is made from a small
group of people connecting the dots between episodes. And
they’re standing on a very large foundation of a solid
understanding of Star Trek history. The two part
story, “Affliction”
and this week’s “Divergence” are perfect
proof.
Granted,
the decision to do a two part story explaining why the Klingons
of Star Trek had smooth foreheads is possibly the
worst choice in the history of the franchise. But we’ve
discussed that in length all ready. The two part arc also
explores the larval stage of Section 31. Although it wasn’t
mentioned by name, it's clear from the tone of Reed’s
operative to his costume that he works for the founding
members of the secret dirty work doers of the Federation.
Deep
Space Nine had sort of been the forgotten child of
the Trek franchise family, but it now passes that title
to Enterprise. And if it weren’t for the
ridiculous nature of the plague threatening the Klingon’s
this episode would have been totally solid… Oh, but
there was that one thing…
OK,
since when can two star ships traveling at warp 5 combine
warp fields??? Theoretically it makes sense. But if you
can’t fire a weapon at warp how can you connect grappling
hooks? This was an imaginative sequence; sort of a Speed:
In Space. But doesn't it seem strange that they could
perform such a move in the 22nd century but not in the 23rd
or the 24th?
Stranger
than this is the unusual camera work. Last week, “Affliction”
ran a sequence on Earth with Star Fleet security investigating
Phlox’s kidnapping. The scene featured jump cuts that
looked like they would be more at home on NYPD Blue.
A different director this week took things to the next level
and laced the entire episode with jump cuts and odd push
ins (starting with a wide shot with lots of stuff on the
screen then zooming into on character as she speaks). In
“Affliction” it seemed relevant, since it was
sort of a CSI: 22nd Century. But this week it felt
more like Independent Film Showcase.
The
camera work forced the viewers to be aware of the camera,
a technique not normally used on Star Trek. Sure,
it’s cool to do new things. But they have to work.
This almost doesn’t work.
Also
not interested in working on Enterprise, Trip continues
to stay attached to the Columbia. He left his chief engineering
station on Enterprise at the end of “Aenar”
to get light years away from T’Pol. Now he’s
working on fixing his old ship's warp engines. But he’s
still a member of the Columbia. You have to applaud the
producers for sticking to this story. They could have very
easily done a single episode with him running away from
T’Pol and then learning his lesson. He’ll learn
the lesson, sure, but it’ll take more then 60 minutes.
We don’t
have a new episode till the middle of April, so it might
take him some time to return to the Enterprise. However,
with the show’s end coming in May, and the protests
outside of Paramount doing little to change its cancellation,
perhaps Trip will move onto the Columbia permanently. It
took the crew of The Next Generation 15 years to
move on. The Enterprise family may break up by
the end of spring.
We’re
going where no spin-off has gone before. Sadly it’s
with one of the most competent production crews a Trek has
ever had at the helm. Perhaps that’s the problem.
These guys are Trekkies. Real nerds, who can dream up smooth
forehead Klingons, warp field convergence, remote controlled
holographic Romulan ships and Andorians with prehensile
antennas. All the stuff that makes Enterprise a
unique Star Trek…
