DS9 – Progress

Plot – The nuts and bolts of the episode is the idea that a project that will tap a moon of Bajor will provide power for hundreds of thousands of people who are recovering from the Occupation. The trouble is that three people fled to this moon, one of them over 40 years ago and have made it their home and they don’t want to leave. What does Kira do? Dispossess three kind people like a bullish Cardassian or sabotage the project that is going to benefit entire cities? ‘If I leave here I’ll die’ says Mullibok, suggesting that if he is forced to move he will commit suicide and he will suffer the same fate if he stays and they begin cracking open the moon.

It’s hard not to be charmed by a Jake & Nog subplot in the early years of DS9 because they display a wonderful naivete and appeal unlike anything else this show has to offer. It’s two boys let loose on a station that is thriving with alien activity and trying to make a buck. At this point Nog is still trying to be a decent Ferengi and living up to his Uncle’s reputation (certainly not his fathers) and even though he scores a lucky win in Progress (no doubt thanks to Jake, who is sneaky enough to be a decent Ferengi) he soon comes to realise that that isn’t the path for him. I like the innocence of these scenes and any chance to catch up with Aron Eisenberg is great fun. He brought something quite unique to this show, not only in his development but with his enthusiasm and congeniality. And this is where you learn you can’t get a better self-sealing stem bolt in the sector. The ending, where their instincts pay off and they even manage to outfox Quark, is a delight.

The dialogue is so sharp (Peter Allan Fields is probably the sharpest writer Trek has ever seen) that a scene might appear to be about one thing (like Mullibok sharing his experiences of how he tamed the moon) when it is actually making a very strong point (he is telling Kira how he intends to hang on like a fanatic until she leaves). The big ugly tree story is another great example. ‘Oh it was a big selfish, annoying, nasty old tree…’ ‘Sounds to me like it had a lot of character’ ‘A lot’ ‘What happened? Did you cut it down?’ ‘I don’t know yet.’

Character – Dax is already showing signs of greatness, gossiping away to Kira about Morn and the things she finds cute about him. It strikes me that this is the sort of thing women really talk about rather than the po-face conversations that Troi and Crusher have on TNG.

Straight off the bat Mullibok knows how to rile Kira; calling her halfway pretty, suggesting she is a bully like a Cardassian and giving the indignity of being called ‘girl.’ It’s how Kira responds to these is where the magic is – with good humour and banter. This isn’t a combative relationship despite what the two of them are saying to each other. It’s not until he compliments her butt that she bites by quickly realises his game.

It’s a subtle touch but Mullibok’s two friends who refuse to talk because of what the Cardassians put them through is a striking addition. It suggests the horror of the Occupation without having to go into any detail.

Performance – Nana Visitor is extraordinary here in an episode that was essential for her character. For the first half of season one she plays administrator but she doesn’t really want to be there. She’s suffering from severe PTSD after the Occupation and is shoved into a bureaucratic role to get her out of the way. Here we are at the midway point of the season where Kira is starting to make friends on DS9 and starting to enjoy the responsibilities and comforts of her job and is coming to the realisation that she the autocrat making the decisions that effect people rather than the terrorist reacting to the decisions being made. Visitor has to play all of that here; Kira’s warm relationship with Mullibok, the conflict between how she feels and what she knows is right and her tricky decision to choose her uniform over her heart. She’s excellent. I know people lament the loss of Ensign Ro on this series but I genuinely think Visitor is the better choice by far. She brings a rawness to the part that makes you fall in love with her instantly, no matter how violently she is behaving.

Production – The backdrop of the moon isn’t the most convincing and what I find most interesting about the direction of this piece is that the garden and the house act effectively as a set in a theatre for this drama to play out on. That’s how this feels at times and there is no reason whatsoever that this story couldn’t be transported to the stage.

Best moment – If anybody wants to know why I love DS9 so much they only need to watch the scene where Sisko beams down and reminds Kira of her duty. He has to tell a former terrorist that she is on ‘the other side’ now and to get used to how uncomfortable that is. It’s about two people who have previously disagreed on many things finding things in common, getting to know one another, and forging a relationship. It’s exceptional character work and it always brings me to tears.

The ending is beautifully understated in the best of ways. It leaves the situation resolved but open ended. Kira has done her duty, chosen her side and she’s very unhappy with it. Mullibok is being forced to leave and we are left to think about his potential fate. It was the only real route that the episode could have taken satisfactorily and it leaves you with a bittersweet taste in your mouth and much to think about. John Debney’s music is gorgeous and I love how the kiln is used as a metaphor for Mullibok’s tenure on the moon and it’s destruction marks his departure.

Worst moment – The action sequence (tussle?) in the middle of the episode is necessary for how things play out but its almost a shame that the script has to resort to any kind of violence. It does such a good job of proving how riveting a sedate drama can be.

I wish they hadn’t done that – Ever notice how nobody is ever walking on the upper level of the Promenade in the first season? That’s because it hasn’t been properly built yet.

A reason to watch this episode again – What strikes me as a great strength about DS9 is that it can impress when it is juggling Empires at war and it can also shine when stripping everything right back and telling a powerful story about two people in a room (Duet, Waltz) as long as the characters involved are exciting enough. Progress is early DS9 and so it is almost deliberately ponderous but it uses its time so effectively to build a relationship between Kira and Mullibok and to reflect upon Kira’s newfound role as oppressor rather than fighter. It’s one of my favourites from the first two seasons because it has a raw honesty about it that is hard not to love and the performances are all so strong. When the producers of DS9 said they wanted to instil some conflict and ethical drama into the franchise this was exactly the sort of thing they were talking about. At this point this was Nana Visitor’s best but that wouldn’t even last the season and Brian Keith gives one of the brightest guest star turns of the first year (both of these would be superseded by Duet). Proof that you can put away the technobabble, torpedoes and phasers and still tell powerful Star Trek. This is precisely why I adore the franchise because at its best it can touch your soul with some profound character work. I don’t care if giving this episode full marks is controversial or not, it’s simply (not simple) great television.

***** out of *****

Clue for tomorrow's episode: 

TOS – Bread and Circuses

Plot – The teaser goes out of its way to remind the audience about five times that this is a planet that is just like the Earth, so much so that you could tell that we were about to indulge in some grand educational exercise in how humanity behaved before it was civilised in this time. Given the amount of parallel Earth’s out there that evolved a specie much like humanity that has the equivalent of Earth’s history you might wonder if some ambitious bombshell is due to be dropped like that of TNG’s The Chase about why the humanoid species is the dominant one in the universe. Perhaps worlds are pre-programmed to follow the same patterns and make the same mistakes?

It’s a world where Rome never fell and we get to witness the oppressive regime that would have developed if that had been the case. The notion of slavery evolving into an institution is an interesting one and whilst I find the concept of this parallel Earth a little hard to swallow I was impressed with the amount of detail that went into the world building. What’s better; a society built on slavery that minimises conflict or a world of free men that has been through three bloody world wars?

Kirk suggests that one of the most important rules of his business is to not interfere in the affairs of others, a statement that is so blatantly false and goes against the ethos of the Original Series that I am surprised he could keep a straight face.

Character – The question is asked if Spock and McCoy are enemies or not and Kirk answers that he isn’t sure if they are sure themselves but we all know the truth underneath all that banter and insult. Their dialogue has salvaged many a TOS episode because it is usually where the writers allow themselves to be at their most challenging.

Captain Merrick is sparks interest because he has turned his back on his oath to Starfleet and has become heavily involved with the affairs on this planet. He has a position and power and sent his men who refused to go along with his wishes into the arena. He’s a despot and a traitor and it’s always interesting to cosy up to men like that and see what makes them tick.

Is it true that Spock is afraid that his human half might peek out one day? Is that why he is happy to face death? This is pretty probing stuff between him and McCoy, with the good Doctor seemingly trying to provoke an emotional response from his compatriot.

Performance – ‘I’m trying to thank you, you pointed eared hobgoblin!’ is a line delivered so perfectly by DeForest Kelly I burst out laughing and couldn’t stop.

Production – Spock, Kirk and McCoy beam down to what in the business of reviewing science fiction we call ‘the Doctor Who quarry.’ But since this is supposed to be a planet that is remarkably similar to Earth there is no reason why they shouldn’t land in a gravel pit.

I was extremely impressed with the direction throughout and it made me sit up and pay attention quite a few times and not in the usual TOS ‘oh god was that considered acceptable in the 60’s’ kind of way. The location work is expertly handled and Serensky gives the setting a sense of scale by using some effective long shots and there is one moment where worshipping the sun is mentioned and is immediately and arrestingly followed up with a low angle shot featuring the sun beating down punishingly on one of the cast.

The entire episode might be worth watching just for the shocking image of a Roman legionnaire flaunting a machine gun.

It is a shame that the stunt doubles are quite so obvious because the fight sequences in the ‘arena’ are very competently achieved. Hand to hand combat sequences on TOS are tenapenny but this is a chance to showcase something a bit different to the usual frolicking on the Enterprise sets. Spock proves to be quite adept with a sword and I appreciate the Foley work of the clashing steel and how quick cut and dynamic these sequences were.

Best moment – That glorious moment where we are offered a sneak peek of TOS behind the scenes because the planet itself is obsesses with self-publication for ratings purposes and so creates a mock Roman set and backdrop to film the gladiatorial games against. Appealing to the masses was TOS’ greatest problem, execs who were obsessed with numbers over creating quality television and so this is a pleasing commentary on what was happening at the time. With Gene Roddenberry co-writing this script, it feels like a personal attack. Canned laughter, audience participation and a commentary, we get to see just how the magic of television is brought to life. ‘If you bring this Network’s ratings down and we’ll do a special on you!’

Worst moment – ‘You could hardly claim to be an Angel with those pointed ears, Mr Spock’ is the most overt racist comment I think I have heard anyone utter on Star Trek. I don’t know how McCoy gets away with it. He claims that he is a man of peace but with inflammatory comments like that in his repertoire I’m not surprised that McCoy isn’t a part of the diplomatic quorum.

Kirk’s method of gaining trust is to ask the people pointing weapons at them that what he has said is the truth and if they don’t believe him then they should kill him. Given one of their captors is clearly trigger happy and highly doubtful about their arrival I question whether that is the safest approach.

I wish they hadn’t done that – Thank goodness Kirk’s escape from the cell is immediately foiled because they signpost what they are going to try and do to the guards so perceptibly it’s painful to watch.

The finale scene is provoking because it suggests that Christianity is coming for this Roman Empire and will civilise them. Everybody is smiling about the idea. Let’s not forget the long list of slaughter that came with Christianity and everything that followed. The arrogance of Kirk saying ‘hohoho’ they are going to turn into us all over again because we’re so superior’ is enough to make you grab a sick bucket. I was ready to be angry as they skip away from the planet and we never know how they end up and they dodge that bullet…by throwing a spear into my gut. I don’t like the implications here; I don’t like them one bit. To suggest that humanity has reached some kind of moral zenith with our heroes and that they can look down upon the affairs of this planet as something brutal and undisciplined makes my blood boil. They only reason that they should be considered the superior species is because they say so.

A reason to watch this episode again – An odd premise and an uneven episode, albeit one that is executed with a great deal of panache. I found Bread and Circuses watchable because it gets all the essential TOS ingredients right (Spock and McCoy are at each other’s throats, Kirk gets the girl, action sequences aplenty) and it essentially serves as comfort viewing that way. Gene’s Roddenberry and Coon prick at the surface of this society and let some fascinating ideas bleed through but ultimately the premise of another Earth like planet with another human race with human history is a little too hard to swallow. It’s perfectly competent and you might find much to enjoy here but it is in no way striving as much as it thinks it is. I do wonder how novel it would feel if Scotty, Uhura and Chekov had beamed down instead of Kirk, Spock and McCoy. These facsimile Earth episodes might have a little more innovation if the forgotten crewmembers were given the spotlight. The ending is especially slight – once the setting has been milked for all its visual irrationality – the crew is beamed away in an effortless manoeuvre by Mister Scott and our heroes can all go on their merry way laughing about those primitive Roman-inspired barbarians. A shame because the episode dared to make a comment that perhaps this was a more civilised society and with a little more guts might have delved deeper into that notion and made some provocative conclusions. Ultimately it wants to be a fun episode of Star Trek but I can see the potential for it to be more.

*** out of *****

Clue for tomorrow's episode:

ENT – Rajiin

Plot – Interestingly the ‘last time on Enterprise’ is absent which means if you are coming to this episode cold you might be in a lot of trouble. People mocked the ‘previously on Star Trek Deep Space Nine’ but it certainly caught the viewer up with all the pertinent facts before the hour played out. Why that was dropped here baffles me because I have so many questions. How are all the aliens gathered around the table and why are they creating a weapon to destroy the Earth? What is their relationship to one another? Why is Archer suffering from scabby lesions?

Performance – With the weight of the world literally on his shoulders, Bakula now has an excuse to play Archer as a funless Ambassador. Go and watch The Captains documentary on Netflix to see just what a delightful, unassuming man Bakula is. He is working overtime to make Archer as joyless as he can possibly be. What a shame because he could potentially be the most likable Captain of them all, rather than the least, which he turns out to be. At this stage of the season there is no real reason for Archer to be quite this gravel-faced, he is because that’s the approach the writers and directors seem to have taken with his characters following the terror attack on Earth. A terror attack occurs on DS9 in The Changing Face of Evil and Sisko treats it with the appropriate gravity it deserves but later in the episode he is still charming his wife with flowers and rings. ‘You seem very memorable to me’ is one of Archer’s chat up lines. No wonder he is so frustrated when he works the romance scene with that level of sophistication.

Production – What I really appreciate about the Xindi arc (which appears for one season is promptly dropped the next) is not only Enterprise’s dedication to serialisation but also the many varied types of aliens that appear in this year. It is push away from all the typical races in the franchise (I’m not saying focusing on them is a bad thing but it is a lot easier than creating new races). I particularly enjoyed the Insectoids and the Aquatics (who on earth has the imagination to think up these names?) because they were a chance to do something ambitious with CGI. Because their appearances are spread across the season it looks like some real effort has gone into creating them in detail. Does the cost of the CGI then get amortised across the year because this is love level (of the time) CGI compared to some of the cartoonish work elsewhere. The CGI of the settlement that Enterprise visits is a good example of this – it is striving in its outlook (a collection of barges on an ocean planet working together as a thriving market community) – but it does look a little unfinished.

The more I listen to it, the more ill judged the Russell Watson theme song becomes. Who were they trying to appeal to with this saccharine melody? Star Trek themes have always been either suggesting great excitement in travelling the stars (TOS, TNG) or the majesty of working out amongst so many worlds (DS9, VOY) but Enterprise goes for the ‘we’re having a relationship with the stars and it’s turning out okay’ approach as if the ship and the stars having been flirting with one another for many years and now they have finally settled into a comfortable and mature relationship. It suggests romance in conquering space, rather than exploration. Which might be okay (having that theme song will never be okay) if that was the tone that the show took but the first two seasons are mostly insipid and bureaucratic. There’s nothing amorous about this show at all to warrant being stuck with such an idealistic song.

Best moment – Thank God the Reptilians turn up at the climax to provide the show with a little action because if it had ended with Rajiin just scuttling off after getting the Enterprise crew all hot under the collar I would have been mightily disappointed. As it is this the easy way out but at least it features some explosions and guns. One thing that definitely improved on Enterprise in the third season was the action content and execution and this is a terrific example of that, and nowhere near the best of the year.

Worst moment – Ooh sexy, a woman who can reveal what is tucked away under your skin as she seduces you. I wonder how many horny teens were turned right off by the sight of spines and organs when Raijin seduces Archer.

There’s a horribly ill-judged sequence featuring T’Pol being seduced and then attacked. In one of the rare sequences of exposed lesbianism on Star Trek and it quickly develops into what looks like rape and needs to be rescued by a man. Now there’s a healthy message to promote. Even the usually reliable Mike Vejar has no clue how to stage this. It comes across incredibly inelegantly.

I wish they hadn’t done that – Why is it always male sleazebags offering female company in these kinds of shows? Enterprise tends to buck the trend with that sort of thing and exploit the sexual promise of its male stars far more than its female ones and so it might have been more interesting to have featured a female pimp offering out the services of scantily clad men. It would have been even more welcome had just one of the Enterprise crew shown an interest. It was far too early in television for that sort of thing, but that would have made the choices more bold. The Hoshi/Rajiin and T’Pol/Rajiin scenes is a gesture towards lesbianism but it strikes me that that is all the show is willing to make at this point, a gesture. Again, this would have been far more controversial had Rajiin been a man seducing men.

A reason to watch this episode again – You can feel the gears turning and cogs whirring to force Enterprise into serialisation but it isn’t quite willing to commit to that yet. Rajiin is a fine episode of Enterprise when it is wandering through a new region of space and it adds scenes to tie it into the larger season but essentially this is still another Trek standalone featuring an exotic and alluring alien temptress. What keeps the interest levels above water isn’t the plight of the Rajiin but the solid execution of this episode by Mike Vejar who is trying to push the show into more exotic waters. Unlike visiting alien worlds the type we have seen a million times over on the other shows, this feels like a fresh and vibrant location. What perturbs me in an episode that is supposedly packed full of sex appeal and romance is how Enterprise feels like it is attending a funeral at this point in its life. This might have been high sex and passion all the way but like so much of Enterprise it feels apologetic for getting its hands dirty. Rajiin is at an awkward halfway stage between the lacklustre efforts of season two and the more dynamic instalments of season three.

**1/2 out of *****

VOY – Macrocosm

Plot – One the oddest and most pantomimic openings to an episode of Star Trek ever, Neelix is covering up for a first contact blunder that Janeway made insulting a species who communicate by gesturing empathically by putting her hands on her hips. I’m not sure that it is either funny or clever but it certainly gets things off on a memorable note. The Tak Tak turning up at the climax to add an extra layer of excitement is undermined by the alien’s bizarre spirit fingers whilst threatening the ship.

Essentially by the time Janeway comes back on board the Doctor has already developed a cure to the macro virus and so the episode merely filling in the blanks before the solution can be put in place. It all comes down to Janeway as Ripley with her antigen bomb. Yes, the script boils down to that level of simplicity.

What the hell happened to Neelix anyway?

Character – Ambassador Neelix? Can you imagine promoting this guy to such an exalted position? First contact with a new species and this over ripe and excitable hedgehog shows up to shove your own culture down your throat.

Performance – Interestingly the chemistry between Mulgrew and Phillips works very well in the first scene where they are just sitting around and chatting but later when they are playing action heroes it lacks any spark. But then Neelix, having been vomited on by the macrovirus, is essentially a dead weight. Mulgrew is phenomenal throughout but she is essentially lifting this episode (which is a dead weight) as high as she can through her sheer talent. She manages to get it to about her knees.

Production – Alexander Singer seems to be the go-to director for ship-based action stories (Gambit, The Adversary, Starship Down) because he seems to understand where to position the camera in any given room to suggest a sense of scale and dynamism to the action. He gets to show off so much of the Voyager sets here as Janeway dashes from one area to another to fight the alien menace and Singer gets the most out of the multitude of sets he has to work with. In an episode this thinly written, the director sure has to pick up the slack.

There is one moment where Neelix is lit from below and is clearly the most terrifying thing in the whole episode.

Best moment – The flashback to how the macrovirus came aboard turns out to be far more interesting than exploring the after effects. Perhaps this should have been a more linear script, with half detailing the flashback in more detail and the second half seeing Janeway return to the deserted ship.

Worst moment – What is it with Voyager and it’s CGI monsters? Species 8472 and the Slimers from Equinox were similarly unconvincing. Singer does a wonderful job in convincing you there is something nasty roaming the ship with the skin crawling sound effect of flies buzzing nearby. Just that and some shadows would have been enough to create some real tension. Or maybe just showing the scenes from the creatures POV would have been more effective. Instead we get to see the macrovirus in full cartoon glory and it just pops the balloon of tension immediately. It’s unbelievably fake looking, especially when Janeway has to grapple with one.

Who thought that setting the macrovirus on the Hawaii holodeck programme was a good idea? It’s another example of attempted humour that bombs spectacularly. It often feels like Voyager is trying very hard to be funny…when the best shows (TNG is particularly good at this) are just naturally amusing. It often comes down to the cast involved.

I wish they hadn’t done that – Let’s get this out of the way straight away so I can get on with talking about something less obvious and more interesting – a lot of Voyager episodes are pale imitations of stronger TNG ones and Macrocosm is probably the ultimate example. As this is a ship bound show there are bound to be similarities but by having the same writers that brought TNG to life transferring to Voyager (can you imagine if Ron Moore had transferred to this show from the off…it would be a very different Voyager) they took the same ideas along with them. This is part Starship Mine (in which Picard strips down and protects the ship with a big gun as Janeway does here) and part Genesis (in which Picard and Data return to the Enterprise to find it deserted and horrors roaming the ship just as Janeway and Neelix do here with the bugs). It is a shame when there is the potential to do anything at all in a region of space that we know nothing about that the writers should fall back on familiar plots and old tropes.

At the end of the episode Voyager sails on its merry way with jazz music playing in the background…almost as if to highlight how insignificant this whole exercise has been.

A reason to watch this episode again – Essentially a horror story which is lacking a formidable foe, Macrocosm is one of the thinnest episodes of Voyager because it can essentially be summed up as ‘Janeway and her gun.’ Jeri Taylor was actually quoted as saying ‘The story is basically Janeway as Rambo.’ If you enjoy watching Kate Mulgrew stalking about the ship in a vest then this might just be the episode for you. Me? I prefer something a little more significant. The CGI bugs are a huge let-down after all the reasonable build of atmosphere, especially when horror movies over time have shown so many techniques for creating effective spooks and monsters. Alexander Singer should have looked to Alfred Hitchcock for inspiration. The script leans on clichés more often than not and Mulgrew is in the thankless position of trying to make them feel fresh and exciting. Macrocosm works to a point but after the kind-of exciting flashback to what happened on Voyager you are basically watching a lot of wandering and shooting and not much else. Brannon Braga’s original intention was to do a cinematic episode entirely without dialogue and purely with action and I can only imagine how much better that would have been.

**1/2 out of *****

Clue for tomorrow's episode: 

ENT – Unexpected

Plot – I rather like how Unexpected begins with Star Trek being utterly exploitative to one of its male crewmembers. The franchise has been taking advantage of women for the past (almost) 50 years and so it is long past time that it took hold of a guy, stripped him naked and put him in an unexpectedly abusive scenario. Archer starts floating around the shower, almost showing off everything he has to offer and my interest is piqued from the word go. However, as a segue way into the episode I am about to watch it is entirely defunct because it tells me nothing about the hour of television I am about to watch. Except that it is going to take hold of its male characters and put them in silly and embarrassing situations.

Enterprise is a brand-new ship and it is having teething problems and so the show is going out of its way to show that during the first steps out into space the ship is experiencing some difficulties. This is a time before the Universal translator and Hoshi works double quick to try and understand the languages of the races that they meet. Getting from one ship to another is a whole exercise rather than taking the journey for granted such as in other Trek shows. All this is a fresh new look at space travel from the point of view of the pioneers.

After the complexity of DS9’s overarching narrative and the multifaceted nature of the better Voyager episodes, the first season of Enterprise is feels basically plotted and plods from plot point to plot point with very little in the way of the nuanced characterisation I expect from the previous Trek shows. As a result, these early episodes feel like a massive step back. This episode goes first contact – male pregnancy – Klingons. There’s no real overlap between these three things and the tone shifts alarmingly between the three. It was going to take more accomplished writers than this to pull of this material with the confidence to make it bearable.

Character – T’Pol is as cold as ice at this point and far from approachable. She’s the typical Enterprise Vulcan, distant and aloof. There isn’t much that Blalock can do with such a stiffly written character since there is no manoeuvrability for humour or charm at this point. Imagine a solid sheet of ice was carved into a beautiful woman and that is what you are getting from T’Pol at this point.

Phlox aside, the male characters on Enterprise seem to be pleasant but insipid. Archer is still a little too stubborn for his own good but he is essentially written as trying to be liked, Trip plays the gullible first-time space farer a little too well, Mayweather lacks any personality bar a cute smile and Reed is entirely characterised by his profession at this point. They are all (for the most part) pretty and all entirely beige. I could not find a reason here why any of them should be fronting a Star Trek show (as opposed to Spock, Picard, O’Brien or Paris who (love them or hate them) each have highly distinctive and vivid personalities from the get go.

Production – It takes a lot more than tilting a camera and talking in slow motion to suggest an alien environment. I appreciate the effort but it really is the least amount of effort the director could have gone to to suggest a discordant atmosphere. An unusual misstep from Mike Vejar.

Worst moment – Four episodes in an equivalent holodeck is presented. How predictable. Berman and Braga are supposed to be pushing away from all the tropes that held Voyager back and watching them lean on habits this early is very unsatisfactory.

All the obvious jokes that you could imagine from a male pregnancy episode crop up. Trip grows nipples, T’Pol chides his lack of self-control with new aliens, he is hormonal, overly emotional and paranoid, he goes through the dilemma of figuring how he is going to be a working mother, forced to wear maternity wear, he cries unexpectedly and everybody is laughing in their hands at his condition. It’s so amateurish and bizarre to watch that I felt uncomfortable rather than amused.

I wish they hadn’t done that – With a show that has the budget and the resources that Enterprise clearly does was it necessary to resort to a bottle show this early in its run? It feels like the show was paying for the fact that it had an expensive looking opener for some time with a fair few episodes set entirely on the ship after Broken Bow. Whilst this does give us a chance to get to know some of the crew more intimately (although I would suggest that this time was not used anywhere near as effectively as it was on the sisters shows during this time), it has the adverse effect of making Enterprise feel unambitious and lacking in resources, which it most definitely is not.

A reason to watch this episode again – The first ten minutes of Unexpected is going out of its way to explore a brand-new method of space travel to other Trek shows where nothing is taken for granted. All of that material that shows difficulties with gravity, communication and first contact, is very useful. However, from the point where Tucker is essentially raped and it is treated like a situation for laughs (I couldn’t imagine how this would play out if it was a female member of the crew) and I was in for another Berman & Braga cesspit of clumsiness. Get these two away from the typewriters already! It’s mostly thanks to Connor Trinner’s gentle performance as Tucker that manages to prevent this from sinking completely. Whilst Trip isn’t written with any particular skill (he’s so green) Trineer delivers the character with a healthy dose of wide-eyed charisma. The male pregnancy angle is about as hideous as you might imagine and for once you can understand why all the other Trek shows rejected such an obvious and unamusing premise. Coming out of the gate, Enterprise could really do without an episode this moronic. Just because I want to do unspeakable things to Trip and the camera loves him in this episode does not give Unexpected a pass. My brain is not in my underwear, thank goodness.

*1/2 out of *****

Clue for tomorrow's episode: 

Spinvasion written by John Dorney and directed Barnaby Edwards

What’s it about: Donna and Nat have been stolen – along with the TARDIS - and they find themselves crash-landing on an alien world. On the planet Valdacki a very successful invasion is already underway. And it’s one that has the very best PR.

Tempestuous Temp: The fact that she is being addressed as Doctor Donna Noble is a constant reminder of her ultimate fate. Donna is very quick with her pop culture references and it is refreshing for somebody to tell her they have absolutely no idea what she is talking about. She wonders where on Earth the Doctor is and if he is trying to rescue her from this predicament he is taking his sweet time. How hard can it be flying the TARDIS? I was watching this scene through my fingers. She’s smart enough to know that when walking out of the TARDIS, it isn’t usually safe. Donna is smart enough to check the radiation readings. Donna has trawled online enough to know exactly what it is like to get swept up in the latest craze or trend. She understands immediately what is going on – these people have been invaded and thanks to some stunning PR they are being convinced that it is for their own good. And she isn’t having any of that. Donna becomes a revolutionary by playing the PR company at their own game. The thing this bunch of insurrectionists have been getting wrong is what Donna understands perfectly; you can’t fight lies with facts. You have to tell even bigger lies. And if anyone is good at driving up hype through overexaggerating, it’s Donna. Proving she has learnt from the best, Donna refuses to take credit for the uprising and the freedom of the slaves. She just brought down the PR machine, the rest they did for themselves. She considers herself a wanderer, a traveller, a righter of wrongs.

Sidechick: Through Nat, we can see just how well Donna has adjusted to life in space. Where she is a newbie at all this, Donna strides through it all without breaking a sweat and remaining completely non-judgemental about alien life. Nat insists that they cannot stop an invasion on their own…and Donna, taught by the best, refutes that. Nat proves astonishingly adept at the whole PR game, able to construct notions that could be sewn into society to smooth other political rough edges. Because Nat has a heart she is identified as an Anti-Invasion Activist and she can spot Donna’s anti-propaganda propaganda a mile off.

Standout Performance: Heightened performances across the board in what is essentially a farce but it is a credit to all of the actors that the entire cast felt authentic to me.

Sparkling Dialogue: ‘Skegness, is that another planet?’ ‘Some days it feels like that, yeah.’
Apparently driving the TARDIS is ‘not like slipping down the shops for a Take a Break.’
‘People don’t tend to mind who dies…as long as it isn’t them.’
‘The reaction on social media to the culling is amazing. Disapproval ratings are plummeting!’ ‘That’s because people are dying. There are fewer of them to disapprove.’
‘It’s amazing how quickly a rebellion can start when nobody is twisting the facts.’

Great Ideas: The idea that any company can try and put a positive spin on a bloody massacre so that it ‘works out well for you, me and, well, all of us’ shows exactly what sort of people we are working with here. As a perfectly naive member of the public who is fed even worse data in order smokescreen mistakes (or worse, good news stories that we want to hear even more), I am not used to thinking like a PR giant who needs to cover up all kinds of atrocities in order for life to continue with people content. But of course, those wheels are spinning all the time. Donna is rubbing shoulders with the real enemy of society here, those who would convince the public to look at something wholly evil in a positive way. Dorney offers a brilliant backstory for how things have gotten quite so out of control with the PR (or should that be in control with the PR) because the company saw that in a post-apocalyptic world that their services might not be necessary to the victims and so they reached out to the invaders and offered a way for them to keep control of the survivors. It’s completely ridiculous and entirely logical. The Kanton just walked in and were welcomed with open arms, thanks to a stunning public relations company. When half the planet needs to be executed because there isn’t much use for the labour force, it is the job of the PR company to convince those remaining that it was for their own good. Seriously, this is corporate greed at its most insidious. The solution? Make it seem like the less desirable people have died! Imagine celebrating the anniversary of Invasion Day with a special treat of extra hours in the factory?

Audio Landscape: I especially like the sound effects in the news broadcasts that manage to highlight the ‘facts’ that are being released that make the comment less blunt and more amusing.

Standout Scene: In a brilliant moment of realisation, Donna understands that the people of this world have been so indoctrinated by the propaganda machine that they are enslaved willingly and have nothing to stop them being restrained…they have been convinced that their slavery is good for them. It’s conceptually one of the most horrific scenes Big Finish have ever put out and it’s played for laughs. This story is quite unique. ‘This is the good life!’

Result: ‘There’s nothing sexy about a massacre!’ I remember when John Dorney burst onto the scene with Solitaire and quickly made his mark on the main range with a phenomenally meta and smart tale that studied the responsibility of writers to their characters. Here he has an equally thought provoking and comedic concept at the heart of his tale: invasion by PR. Can you successfully maintain control of a planet by putting out a convincing media presence that spreads the idea that an invasion has been a positive experience? Just when you think that Doctor Who has exhausted all possibilities for handling an invasion a writer like Dorney comes along and turns the whole thing on its head and lets you look at it in a completely different way. Let’s be honest, the writer has the entirety of the printed newspaper, online gossip, political machinations and promises and social media manipulation to trawl through to see just how the ebb and flow of a populace can be controlled by introducing memes and moods. It’s a brilliant idea, ripe for vicious commentary and hilarious jokes and I had a great time with this. I could imagine an entire television show being built around an idea like this, albeit darker and more insidious. This is essentially what RTD was going for in The Long Game; control by media, but that had to adhere to being a Doctor Who episode and thus included a ruddy great monster and guest star villain of the week. Having Donna loose in the universe means the rules have changed this boxset can embrace absurdity and play by its own rules. As if we needed the confirmation (Turn Left did that very nicely) but the first two stories of this set have proven that Donna more than has the chops to take the narrative reins without the Doctor present and do her own thing and it still be brilliant. Catherine Tate is phenomenal and she is great support from Niky Wardley but truly the entire case guest should be praised here. This is an invasion that Donna is custom made to topple. Not even the Doctor could top her mouth or her gift for over exaggeration when it gets going. I mean it as a huge compliment when I say that this is exactly the sort of Doctor Who that Douglas Adams would be writing in this day and age and/or it feels like a bloody good episode of The Orville: 9/10

TNG – Power Play

Plot – An entirely plot bound episode that trudges from A to B to C without much of the way of sparkle (aside from the execution) in the script. The dialogue is purely functional, dealing with the planet, the possessed crew and finding a way to get the regulars back. On a character level there is absolutely nothing. It is practically hollow.

Character – It is very interesting to watch Power Play back and watch the performances of Spiner, Sirtis and Meaney after they have been possessed but before it has been revealed. They stand in the background of scenes taking in everything, apparently innocuous.

Performance – God bless Marina Sirtis who is given something decent to do for a change but has to be possessed by an alien in order to do so. She’s gloriously over the top in Power Play, far more pantomime than Spiner or Meaney and I could watch her overdone theatrics all day long. She walks into Ten Forward and starts gunning everybody down. I wish she was this vicious on a regular basis, she’s so much more fun. Listen to how Sirtis says ‘Picard, you are mine…’ She is loving this. The two men are far more menacing because they play their parts as disturbing wife beaters, the sort of underplayed aggression I imagined women face when the door is closed and no-one can see. It’s really rather disturbing. O’Brien deliberately choosing to murder his wife is pure sadism.

Production – David Livingston was the top director for many years on Trek before people like Mike Vejar and Allan Kroeker came along and raised the game of the franchise. Livingston was the one director who seemed willing to break out of that point and shoot direction that plagued the middle seasons of TNG and the early seasons and try and inject some life into the stories. By the time he transferred over to Voyager he was attacking the scripts with energy and imagination – remember Deadlock? Even a simple scene like Troi coming onto the Bridge at the beginning of this episode was achieved craftily with all the dialogue taking place in the foreground but tracking Troi as she walks around the Bridge to join them. The camerawork remains fluidic throughout, especially during the exciting sequence when the possessed crewmembers show their true colours.

Some good old fashioned horror atmosphere is generated on the planet with a fierce wind machine, lightning and a nice dark smoky set. TNG very often goes for green and pleasant lands so it is fun for them to stretch their wings and create a world which is entirely inhospitable.

Best moment – There’s some suspense in trying to take out all three possessed crewmembers in the forcefield circle. Again the direction is doing most of the work.

Worst moment – You’ve got a Klingon warrior and a former terrorist on the Bridge and O’Brien manages to take them both out. His special skills? Engineering.

Troi and O’Brien writhing on the floor in pain, wailing. It’s just blissful.

I wish they hadn’t done that – For all the smart direction there is no getting away from the fact that the shuttle going through the storm is a box being rocked by stage hands whilst the actors hang on for dear life. Also the shuttle that the actors crawl out from seems to be a lot smaller than the usual full size version. It must have been awfully cramped in there.

By the climax I had completely lost interest in what was going on. Even the hysterical direction had calmed down to the usual TNG level of competence. When the conclusion relies on the potentially interesting idea of the spirit of a vengeful Federation Officer actually turning out to be a bog standard malevolent alien who is acting out you’re going to lose my interest rapidly. There’s no punch to the last ten minutes, no surprises, no development of the characters. It’s an exercise in pushing the reset button.

A reason to watch this episode again – Power Play used to be a favourite of mine when I was a nipper because it takes an unusual approach of going for the jugular in a period of TNG that is so languid it is falling into a coma. Livingston delivers some pleasing shocks and scares along the way and the actors get the chance to stretch their muscles and play nasty versions of themselves. O’Brien and Data are quite frightening whereas Marina Sirtis hams it up brilliantly as evil Troi. However, this is an entirely plot driven exercise and as an adult my tastes have changed a lot and so the atmosphere can take me so far but after that I need something substantial to keep me interested and that is where Power Play falters. It falls into a predictable hostage scenario and features some quirk of technobabble to get them out of trouble. That’s not compelling television, it is watching the writers get out their toys and play with them and then put them back a little too easily.

*** out of *****

Clue for tomorrow's review: