Enterprise 12-Feb-02 (1 Viewer)

[Mike St.Louis]

The episode entitled 'The Galileo 7', er, I mean 'Shuttlepod 1' finds Malcolm and Reed trying to stay alive in the shuttlepod in the hopes of being rescued. They see some Enterprise debris on an asteroid and think that the Enterprise has been destroyed. What they don't know is that the debris is from another ship which collided with Enterprise - hence the Enterprise debris. The Enterprise was a bit damaged but nothing critical and no one was killed.

So Malcolm and Trip, whose Shuttlepod is not working very well try to minimize resources while they head back in a direction where they hope someone will hear their emergency transponder.

So thats the setup for another character development episode. Tempers flare, alcohol is consumed, the guys get pissed and we learn a bit more about them. Tripp is quite the optimist and Reed quite the pessimist. It seems Reed has some regrets in his life that he wanted to take care of before he died. They also hold their alcohol pretty well!

Seems Reed has a thing for T'pol too. Quite the funny dream he had. If Tripp likes her he sure won't admit it.

This episode reminded me quite a lot of 'The Galileo 7' from TOS. Spock and the rest are trying to survive in the shutlecraft and is willing to make sacrifices. In the end Spock gambles with their fuel and ignites it in the hope that Enterprise will see it. If the gamble didn't succeed they would perish much sooner.

Similarly in this one: they blow up the impusle engine in the hopes Enterprise will see it, jeopardizing their getting closer to help on engine power.

For what it was, it was a fairly enjoyable episode although not terribly original (Galileo 7). I didn't really get a sense of fear that they were stranded alone in space.

Some annoyances:

1. Star Trek is full of implausable and downright impossible technology. We know that. Warp engines, instant voice communication, transporters, etc. But can't they at least get some things right? When they cut the engines the shuttlepod immediate began to slow down. What was slowing them down. The writers could have easily said that the fuel was used up and the shuttlepod would go on indefinitely but there was the problem that they would run out of air.

2. Are men in the future so advanced and proper that they can't talk about female anatomy? T'pol has a 'nice bum'??

YEESH!!

 

[Jack Briggs]

You've already seen the episode? When does it air in your area?

 

[GARY C]

Up here in the great cold north we get it on Tuesday at 7:00 central on A-Channel.

We also get Buffy on Mondays at 6:00 central on ASN.

Both are available on the Canadian Sat. systems (Star Choice and ExpressVu) as well as local cable depending where you live.

 

[Mike St.Louis]

Yep, it was on Tuesday - hence the heavy spoiler action!

I thought I'd get a head start on the discussion.

 

[Patrick Sun]

OMG, this was a funny episode, definitely along the lines of the Odd Couple (for Tripp and Malcolm) lost in space.

I was totally LOL when Malcolm was dreaming that T/Pol was coming onto him (Stinky!), and when he was drunk and blabbering on about T'Pol and her nice bum.

 

[Will_B]

I think "bum" is an English expression that means bum.

I missed the first half - sorry to hear that the kiss was "but" a dream.

Those big bubblegum lips at the end were kinda scary, but, sometimes you just have to face your fears, nip them in the bum so to speak...

 

[Everlasting Gobstopper]

Well.
I've never seen a Trek quite like *that* before! I must say, though, I enjoyed it... How often do you get a Trek episode where the major characters are drunk for most of it? And as for fleshing out the characters: Reed is a total Mack Daddy! So much for a lot of people's assuming he's gay. Funny how this relates to the events in Silent Enemy, where he turned down Hoshi on the grounds that they're co-workers, but this episode makes it seem like he wouldn't have a problem with that. Therefore he turned down Hoshi because he isn't attracted to her and just made up an excuse. I just hope the writers realize that.
I did dislike the whole "Those are a Vulcan myth" thing. But it wasn't enough to ruin the rest of the episode for me. All in all, thoroughly enjoyable, I thought.

 

[Dave Scarpa]

A Great Character Driven Episode. I like these "Enterprise" Characters, muchmore than the cardboard cut outs of Voyager

 

[Nelson Au]

Well, I was glad it wasn't one of those convoluted Braga stories he used on Voyager to explain why the Enterprise met such an unfortunate fate.

While I agree with those who saw an Odd Couple feel to the situation, and it was well played, I also thought of it as a somewhat homage to The Galileo 7.

Nelson

 

[Dan M~]

NO TIME TRAVEL, YEAH!

 

[Mike Broadman]

If I'm remembering my Trek correctly, Galileo was all about Spock having his Vulcan logic challenged in the face of pressure and leadership. Last night's ep was totally different. This was about exploring two characters.

The episode was silly, a lightweight. Not bad, not particularly good. Just an excuse for two characters to get the spotlight and mess around.

 

[Jack Briggs]

"How often do you get a Trek episode where the major characters are drunk for most of it?"

Mark: "It's ... green."

I wouldn't compare this episode to "The Galileo Seven," however. It's more like Apollo 13. And it reminds me of more than a few TNG episodes.

Much of it could be considered contrived, but the good acting carried the day. Trip and Malcolm are immensely likable characters.

One thing I did like, though, is the episode's emphasis on the sheer harshness of the space environment. We need to anchor the series around that more often.

Overall, this Enterprise went right down the middle for me.

 

[Steve Enemark]

A pretty good episode by Enterprise's standards. Good character interaction, in a homage to The Galileo 7 and Apollo 13 (even in the name of the episode ). A couple things that bugged me:
1. Why cut away from Trip and Reed to the Enterprise? To me, that removed most of the tension knowing the Enterprise was just fine and would be back to rescue them any time. Why couldn't we find out the Enterprise was OK at the same time as the two main characters? The scenes back on Enterprise accomplished nothing, story-wise. We all know everything will work out in the end, this is Star Trek after all, but do we need to be told "everything's OK" fifteen minutes into the episode? Let us worry for a bit!
2. The "Vulcan myth" of microsingularities. WTF? What is Archer's problem here? Last I checked, he's not a scientist, and besides, an Earth scientist (Stephen Hawking, IIRC) came up with the same theory 150 years before his time. Is this the goofiest excuse for Earth-Vulcan friction yet?

 

[Everlasting Gobstopper]

Mark: "It's ... green."

Yeah, I knew someone would bring that up at some point. There was also Data's "It is... it is........ it is green" in Relics and Jean Luc and Robert Picard getting drunk at the end of Family. While it does set up a precedent for drunkenness on the show, it by no means ever established the protagonists of the episode spending most of it drunk. Besides, "T'Pol has a nice bum" is classic. It seems Enterprise comes up with memorable quotes like that far more frequently than other Trek shows. Well, there was Garak, who had some great gems throughout DS9.

 

[Ken Chan]

Galileo was all about Spock having his Vulcan logic challenged in the face of pressure and leadership. Last night's ep was totally different. This was about exploring two characters.

Totally meaning two instead of one? Spock's character was primarily about the conflict between logic and emotion, so in challenging that logic and having his final desparate act, Galileo was all about his character.
And Will_B: funny
//Ken

 

[Mike St.Louis]

Which are implausable and which are impossible?

Well I heard that there has been some advances in transporter technology. Eventually it may be possible to transport live matter.

Faster than light travel may also be possible.

But real time video communication over light year distances? Can't see it.

 

[Anthony Hom]

In TOS episode, the Menagerie, Part one they did get it right about the shuttlecraft. When Kirk and the Commodore run out of fuel, the Commodore said "We Coast."
Implying that in even running out of fuel, their inertia would take them in the same direction without power.
I think the producers of these shows like to bend the rules "for dramatic purposes", but they forget, there are zealots out there who nitpick every aspect of the show as they play it back on their VCRs. Not that they care...

 

[AaronP]

at least this episode can dispel all the rumors that they're gonna make Reed into a gay character.

 

[Everlasting Gobstopper]

In TOS episode, the Menagerie, Part one they did get it right about the shuttlecraft. When Kirk and the Commodore run out of fuel, the Commodore said "We Coast."

I thought it was a mistake too, but after watching it again, they say they'd be "adrift" ie no way of accelerating or changing directions. And when they jettison the engines, they still keep moving, and when the shock wave from the engine hits them it turns the ship to move in a different direction.

 

[Dan Paolozza]

This one must have been well considered.

But real time video communication over light year distances? Can't see it.

So you can accept, to whatever minimal degree, that matter may one day move faster than light, but that data will not?

Isn't this like saying: "Oh yeah, I can see an aircraft one day breaking the sound barrier, but voice communication in real-time? Can't see it."

I'm confused.