Plot – This strikes me as exactly the sort of thing that Enterprise was designed to do. To lean into the history of Star Trek and put a pleasing new slant on it. So, I can see why the pitch of rewriting the details of where the Vulcans first met the humans is something that was grabbed at with both hands.
Character – If you take Dr Phlox away (because he is always
going to win a best character competition, right?) I think T’Pol would probably
take that spot simply because she went on such a progressive journey over the
four years of this show. From ice queen to drug addict to grieving mother over
the course four years, it was a hell of a journey with her character and
because T’Pol is so reserved it often makes her a hard person to care about
even when she is going through something extreme. But I rather like that contradiction and
Jolene Balock always ensured to give the character a charming disinterest that
made her very easy to relate to. Toasting over her ability to remain on
Enterprise at the beginning of this episode is earned because this time last
year all she wanted to do was to get away from these people. Astonishing what a
dreary debut season can do to a character. In a wonderful moment that causes Archer to
pause, T’Pol tells Archer that she has just finished her evaluation of him for
the High Command.
T’Mir is the one truly deplorable character in this tale.
She’s the one who remains resolutely Vulcan and insists on not enjoying her
time on Earth, pushing away friendships, criticising her fellow officers for
adapting to their environment and is willing to let people die rather than risk
cultural contamination. In terms of Star Trek, she is doing all the right
things. But because we like the people in this episode and because her fellow
Vulcans prove that they have a heart she comes across as a clinical, stuffy
jobsworth. It makes her ultimate decision at the climax have emotional
resonance. She’s come good and helped the people that helped her. That might
sound trite but it’s directed delicately and made me feel warm and fuzzy.
Performance – Making one of the characters T’Pol’s relative
means we can play out the first contact scenes and Balock can play one of the Vulcans.
You might think that that would afford Balock the luxury of shaking up her performance
a little but it is literally as though T’Pol is acting out these scenes. Is the
inference that Vulcans are all pretty identical from one generation to the
next?
Great Dialogue – ‘It’s unfortunate that you’ll be leaving
these people without experiencing one thing they have to offer’ ‘Such as?
Alcohol? Frozen fish sticks? The constant threat of nuclear annihilation?’ ‘There’s
much more to them. You just refuse to see it.’
Production – This doesn’t feel like you usual Star Trek
episode on location. That is often either set in some dusty old canyon out in
the sticks, takes place a waterworks posing as Starfleet HQ or is set in the
modern day (ala The Voyage Home and Futures End). Instead, here we have
something much more atmospheric and pastoral, middle America at its most rural
and charming. The music understands the tone of the episode and is present but catchy
and appealing, using the sort of instruments that Star Trek doesn’t usually
play about with.
As I was watching the episode, I was drawn in by the
gorgeous Vulcan character of Mestral who seems to enjoy breaking the rules and
settling in to their alien setting by trying things out and enjoying himself.
He’s a most atypical example of the species and he really stood as a result.
Bugger me if he didn’t turn out to be the same actor who played One in Drone,
the Voyager episode I reviewed before this. He has a similar kind of restraint
but is having much more fun with Mestral and the most fun he seems to have is
making T’Mir flustered. When he mentioned that he wanted to watch I Love Lucy,
I started to wonder if we had the wrong Vulcan featured on Enterprise.
Best moment – The episode refusing to take the obvious route of the Vulcans being met with hostility but instead being treated with empathy and compassion. It’s easy to write conflict. It is a lot hard to sustain the viewers interest when everybody is being nice. The scene where Mestral was kissed was especially enjoyable because he manages to give the blandest response to the surprise whilst still salvaging the moment.
I wish they hadn’t done that – It feels like a bizarre choice
to begin the second season fresh (after the conclusion to the two part, ahem,
spectacular) with an episode that doesn’t feature any of the regulars in any
significant way. It does feature Archer, Trip and T’Pol and so it’s mission
seems to suggest that these are the only true important characters on the show,
a bit like the triumvirate in TOS. It’s a mission statement they live up to.
A reason to watch this episode again – This could have been
a very different story. Given that the Vulcans look like Native Americans to
some extent I was expecting a race hate tale that sees the Vulcans facing up to
the worst of humanity as they try and live among them. Instead, this is much
gentler and less confronting, but also less obvious and more charming. Carbon
Creek isn’t trying to rock your world with continuity shake ups (which the pre-titles
seems to suggest it might be) but instead wants you to relax into its atmosphere
and character work and show the very Star Trek morality of cultures mixing
together successfully and fruitfully. In terms of tone, it’s closest parallel
is Voyager’s 11:59. I often enjoy it when Trek takes a step into the past and
this is very sweet representation of 1957 with some of the loveliest (in terms
of that they pose no real threat) guest characters you will ever meet. Trip says
this is like an episode of The Twilight Zone but I would say this more like a 50s
sitcom featuring three Vulcans trapped in rural America. Whether or not this
episode needed to be made is irrelevant, it’s a pleasant watch and I’ll take that
over the many attempts too hit big in the first two seasons that fall flat on
their face. This is aiming pretty low in terms of ambition but it actually
achieves its goal in spades and wraps you up in a big hug as it does so. I
really enjoyed how much the Vulcans enjoyed their stay. Even stuffy T’Mir. I wouldn’t mind if this sitcom ran for a few
seasons. Mestral’s final decision, and T’Mir’s decision to lie for him is quietly
one of the best endings to an Enterprise episode.
**** out of *****
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