{"id":3606,"date":"2023-12-25T12:00:10","date_gmt":"2023-12-25T12:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tomsalinsky.co.uk\/blog\/?p=3606"},"modified":"2023-12-06T15:42:41","modified_gmt":"2023-12-06T15:42:41","slug":"trekaday-125","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tomsalinsky.co.uk\/blog\/index.php\/2023\/12\/25\/trekaday-125\/","title":{"rendered":"Trekaday #125: In a Mirror Darkly, Demons, Terra Prime, These Are the Voyages"},"content":{"rendered":"

ENT S04E18 In a Mirror, Darkly <\/strong>(\"4). As noted, this is the show which is, or was supposed to, get us from First Contact<\/em> to The Cage<\/em>. As such, opening with clips of the Vulcans landing and greeting Zefram Cochrane \u2013 a mix of movie footage and newly shot material \u2013 makes sense. But lo! This time, Cochrane shoots the Vulcan and the humans nick his ship, which takes us into titles glorifying war and weaponry (and sparing us \u201cFaith of the Heart\u201d). Every previous Mirror Universe story (which have included some five star bangers) has shown us the darker side of the Federation from the point of view of our usual goody-two-shoes characters. This time we\u2019re just here.<\/p>\n

Vaughan Armstrong is back as Captain Forrest, with Archer as his ambitious XO and the stage is set for a ton of malicious, moustache twirling, dark hair dye, navel-baring fun. That begins, alas, with Hoshi sexualised and disempowered, reduced to nothing more than Forrest\u2019s floozy. Mirror Universe Kira was a bad ass. Mirror Universe Hoshi is just a piece of ass. And T\u2019Pol just looks ridiculous in a Starfleet uniform cut under the boobs and down past the hipbone.<\/p>\n

Mirror Universe Archer is considerably more interesting than his familiar Big Boy Scout incarnation. His seemingly self-appointed secret mission involves a trip into Tholian space, and fans of TOS<\/strong> should recognise that name. Having taken care of Forrest, Archer begins his rule by assembling a team of people whose names he knows. T\u2019Pol becomes his first officer, Travis becomes his personal bodyguard, Hoshi puts on a uniform (or most of one). Once again, torture is shown to be a successful method of interrogation, which all available evidence indicates that it absolutely isn\u2019t, but everything here is so amoral and ridiculous that it\u2019s hard to take even that too seriously.<\/p>\n

ENT S04E19 In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II <\/strong>(\"5). The ship from the \u2013 shall we call it Cis-Universe? \u2013 is not just shorn of its goatee beard, it\u2019s from Kirk\u2019s time, which means we get even more fun times, as our regular characters get to run around on a recreated 1960s Enterprise<\/em> set (technically, this is the Defiant<\/em>). The commitment to the bit is what really sells this, with another dose of that Ain\u2019t War Grand title sequence, the ruthlessness of the Terran Empire forces and the destruction of the NX-01. Once his stolen motor is under their control, Archer has no problem wiping out the Tholians and any web which they might care to erect.<\/p>\n

And the nostalgia continues with Archer wearing Kirk\u2019s wraparound green jersey (followed by everyone else getting in on the TOS<\/strong>-play fun), learning about the Federation and drinking Romulan ale. There\u2019s a bellicose Gorn on the loose and we even hear Majel Barrett\u2019s computer voice again. And while I\u2019m not the least bit sold on evil Hoshi as a character, it\u2019s a joy to see Linda Park allowed to spread her wings for the first time since\u2026 well ever. Anthony Montgomery only gets to point a gun and glower, of course.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to know who to root for, as power-crazed Archer tries to return to Earth at the command of the overpowered NCC-1764, planning on making himself God Emperor King, only to have the Tholians start picking off members of the crew. But again, that\u2019s why these alternate universe stories are so enjoyable: everything is up for grabs. If I was tempted not to give this one five stars, that reticence evaporated when Scott Bakula lolled Kirk-like in the captain\u2019s chair. Bravo.<\/p>\n

ENT S04E20 Demons <\/strong>(\"3.5). RoboCop, in a very contemporary looking suit and tie, examines a Vulcan child in an incubator, which is the latest in a series of nothingburger teasers. Enterprise<\/strong> gotta Enterprise<\/strong> I suppose (the old theme is back, too, of course). But it seems as if such costumes are just what the well-dressed psychopath is wearing in 2155. The child is the timey-wimey offspring of Trip and T\u2019Pol and somehow its presence is going to threaten the formation of the Federation.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Will Ferrell knows that xenophobia is still rife on Earth, following the Xindi attacks and tries to tell Archer not to be so naive as to rely on something as silly as faith of the heart. Wise words. And after 95 episodes, it\u2019s finally time for Travis to get a storyline which doesn\u2019t involve his immediate family. His subplot, in which an incredibly foxy ex-girlfriend throws herself bodily at him, has nothing to do with the main plot of course, but it\u2019s nice to see Anthony Montgomery doing something other than saying \u201cAye sir\u201d. I don\u2019t entirely trust this young reporter, and I certainly don\u2019t appreciate the many minutes of screen time she occupies with her tedious goo-goo eyes. Without that, this episode has much to recommend it, but \u2013 as is often the case with part ones \u2013 this is all build-up and no pay-off.<\/p>\n

The hidden Star Trek<\/strong> metaphor of Magellan-era exploration is briefly surfaced once more, where it is blithely assumed that \u201corbiting\u201d is equivalent to \u201cnearby\u201d and that because the Moon orbits the Earth and Mars is the next planet out from the Sun, that the Moon and Mars must always be nearby. Alas, orbital dynamics are a bit more complicated than the relative positions of say, Spain and the Cape of Good Hope.<\/p>\n

ENT S04E21 Terra Prime <\/strong>(\"4.5). What\u2019s particularly exciting about this is that although it looks like a thrilling race against time adventure, it\u2019s really a battle for the hearts and minds of humanity. Have you ever heard anything more Star Trek<\/strong>? RoboCop makes a splendid villain, in the grand tradition of smooth-talking psychopaths who have spent years devising their evil plan and who will stop at nothing to pull it off. And he seems to believe his own poisonous rhetoric, which gives him the terrifying single-mindedness of a true zealot. It\u2019s strong stuff. Thankfully his super-powerful death ray focused on Enterprise<\/em> seems to pass straight through it with little effect.<\/p>\n

Unconvinced by Will Ferrell\u2019s plan to blow to hell the superpowerful comet-redirecting array next to the occupied Martian colony, Archer plans a stealthier infiltration mission. Meanwhile, Travis\u2019s tedious girlfriend is so desperate to ensure that no-one onboard learns her identity that she is forced to reveal her identity to\u2026 wait, run that by me one more time\u2026 As ever, all of the plot dealing with Gannet Brooks (which is her actual character name and not a silly nickname I\u2019ve given her) is incredibly boring and silly, but there\u2019s much less of it this time, which is good as the rest of this is excellent. Tense, well-paced, and heartfelt, with very decent character stuff for Trip and T\u2019Pol, and even a few crumbs for Malcolm and Hoshi.<\/p>\n

And this doesn\u2019t tie everything up with a bow either. Trip and T\u2019Pol lose their child. The inhabitants of Earth won\u2019t all decide overnight that aliens are their friends. And Archer still only knows the names of six of his crew. But we\u2019ve got past the latest stone in the road, and sometimes that\u2019s enough.<\/p>\n

This is also \u2013 in almost all ways that make sense \u2013 the last episode of Enterprise<\/strong>, its slightly truncated episode orders for Seasons 3 and 4 reducing the total number to less than the 100 normally thought to be the minimum for a syndication deal. That seems like an unnecessary kick in the groin delivered by Paramount to the team which earned them so much money over the years. But Brannon Braga (who\u2019s still hanging around) and Rick Berman nevertheless felt like they needed to say goodbye not just to this show but to the franchise they\u2019d built which started back in 1987. So there\u2019s one more instalment left over\u2026<\/p>\n

ENT S04E22 These Are the Voyages… <\/strong>(\"3.5). It does look like an episode of Enterprise<\/strong> to begin with. It\u2019s not even clear that considerable time is supposed to have passed since Terra Prime. But almost immediately, Riker freezes the program and strides off the Holodeck. Wow.<\/p>\n

This kind of framing story isn\u2019t brand new for the franchise. One thinks of Living Witness<\/em> from Voyager<\/strong>, for example, or even In the Pale Moonlight<\/em>. The recreation of the Enterprise D, barely two episodes after the recreation of (in all but name) the original Enterprise<\/em>, is pretty faultless \u2013 as you might expect. And it effectively enables the last few seasons of the cancelled show to be summarised in forty minutes, finally getting us to the creation of the Federation.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s confounding is that for the most part, this is simply an episode of Enterprise<\/strong>, with the usual mix of fan servicing, thrilling escapes from death, old friends reunited and thin characterisation. Quite what we gain by having a 24th century director\u2019s commentary over these scenes is very far from clear. Simply having Frakes and Sirtis hanging around doesn\u2019t make this feel like the summation of the whole 18-year journey, any more than a \u201cSix Years Later\u201d caption would have done.<\/p>\n

So, on the one hand, this doesn\u2019t play like the extra episode of TNG<\/strong> which is its reputation. On the other hand, Riker and Troi add very little, except a vague buzz of nostalgia, but I do understand Braga and especially Berman\u2019s desire \u2013 from a personal point of view if nothing else \u2013 to sum up the entire era. And I don\u2019t buy the bitter comments to the effect that this one story retroactively turns the previous 97 episodes into Riker\u2019s holodeck fantasy. That\u2019s not how TV works.<\/p>\n

I would say that all the talk of how irreplaceable Trip is rather gives the game away regarding his fate, except that it\u2019s made absolutely explicit that he\u2019s going to die very early on. Bumping him off seems like a pretty sour way to add a hit of extra emotion to proceedings, and his death seems pretty pointless in the context of the overall narrative. That\u2019s a far bigger problem than making 20% of this instalment a mild ret-con of The Pegasus <\/em>(a sort Rikercrantz and Guildentroi Are Dead<\/em>). Really, if we\u2019d been allowed to hear Archer\u2019s much-vaunted speech, this would probably be better liked. But then again, maybe the speech we imagine is better than any speech Bakula could have given \u2013 and he gave us a version of it at the end of last week\u2019s episode anyhow. So we go out with a mash-up of the opening monologue instead. I\u2019ll take that.<\/p>\n

On this occasion, Riker and Troi\u2019s costumes are holographic, unlike all those scenes in Voyager<\/strong> and TNG<\/strong> where people summoned hastily back to the bridge turn up in unlikely garments.<\/p>\n

Season 4 wrap-up<\/strong><\/p>\n