This week's
Enterprise started by sparking some memories. Remember
the very first episode, when Travis Mayweather hung out in
the "sweet spot" of the ship? That perfect place
between decks, where the gravity plating isn't in full effect
and you can float around weightless? Oh, and remember that
supporting character that's supposed to have a "lead"
on the show? You know his name. Travis Mayweather.
Well,
the writers almost completely forgot about him. Sure he's
not the most interesting character on the show, but if we
had to watch 4 seasons of Kes then we can handle a few episodes
with Travis.
And in
this week's episode, Mayweather asks the Captain if they can
take a slight detour so he can visit his family. Of course
the captain sees nothing wrong with adding 10 hours to his
flight plan to accommodate a lonely ensign. But since Star
Fleet was ordering Enterprise to turn around and fly back
30 light years, we can assume efficiency isn't that important
in this week's adventure.
The real
important things are plot questions like "will T'Pol
watch the classic Frankenstein picture with the rest of the
crew?"
With all
this apparent free time commander Trip sets up extra movie
nights, and practically begs T'Pol to join. She works to escape
the evening by avoiding Trip, or manufacturing a headache.
But in the end she's forced to go.
Meanwhile
in the A storyline, Travis hashes out a tired fight between
him and his brother Paul. Their tension is heightened thanks
to Paul's unpleasant promotion. After their father's death,
Paul assumed the captain's chair of their family owned and
operated cargo ship.
Aged and
weathered, the E.C.S. Horizon has been carting out the trade
routes, but the crew is experiencing an all time low in morale.
And when some alien pirates bully them into giving up their
cargo, Paul and Travis butt heads harder than their entire
childhood. Travis tries to formulate a plan to defend the
Horizon, but Paul would rather give in to their demands.
Both the
A and B stories build nicely, until the last ten minutes.
Travis is able to convince his brother to let him use his
improvised weapons. And after waiting half the episode to
see if the plan will work, the whole ordeal is over and done
with in seconds, and without any sort of real climax. Fire
weapon. Miss. Do a lap. Fire weapon. Hit. Fly away. Who cares?
And T'Pol
ends up liking the Frankenstein flick. She defined it as an
allegory for how humans treat those who are different or alien.
This would be a good end to a decent B story line, when suddenly
the volcano ridden planet that drove them 30 light years off
course starts exhibiting signs of microcellular life. T'Pol
says, "In the words of Dr. Frankenstein, 'It's alive.'"
And then, that's it. We never find out more about the alien
life signs or what happens to the volcano world.
This episode
was rather unbalanced, even for an Enterprise "Event."
Not that
the term "Event" actually means anything, because
all the episodes this month have been "Events" according
to the commercials. Last week it was "Enterprise
Event: Judgment." And next week we'll watch, "Enterprise
Event: The Breach." This week was, "Enterprise
Event: Horizon." Those who remember the film Event
Horizon will agree the idea of calling every episode an
event is just as bad.
Maybe
next week's "Event" will spark some more memories.
Like, remember last week when we didn't know what happened
on that volcano planet? And, remember that awful movie Event
Horizon? Boy, was it bad.
