Day 306: Enterprise, The Catwalk

Show: Star Trek; Enterprise

Episode Particulars: S2EP12, “The Catwalk”

 Summary: Archer finds out from some nervous aliens that a neutronic storm is coming into this area of space, which can destroy ships that aren’t shielded enough and gives off radiation that will kill humans within minutes. With only four hours before the storm hits, the crew will have to take shelter in “the catwalk”, an area near the warp nacelles that’s heavily shielded and is just big enough to hold all eighty-three crewmembers, plus the three aliens. After setting things up the best they can, everybody takes shelter there, prepared to weather the storm for about eight days. After a few days of this, so much forced socialization begins to take its toll, but there’s now a bigger problem. The aliens were running from someone, and that someone has now found their way onto the supposedly abandoned Enterprise…

Standalone Thoughts: While I think this episode is okay on the whole, there’s a part of me that feels like the writers didn’t execute the idea all that well. To me, it feels like there’s the “crew has to live in cramped quarters and make do” plot, which takes up most of the story before abruptly transitioning to the “aliens invade the Enterprise plot” and turning into a semi-thriller. However, it’s obvious from pretty early on that the Takret (that’s not the official name of the alien species, but it’s used in the episode for a group of them and I’m going to just use it for simplicity) that warn Archer about the storm have something suspicious going on, so clearly the invasion was always a part of the episode and not added in later. Yet for all that, the two parts don’t really gel. I understand the need for actual conflict that doesn’t consist of the crew bickering with each other, but the minimal foreshadowing just makes the invasion feel like a randomly added element. Either there needed to be more setup for the invasion with the bickering reduced to comic moments, or this should have been a two-parter where the invasion happens at the end of part one and then all the crew works together to thwart them in the second part, despite or perhaps because of the things that they were bickering about. And since I don’t think there’d have been enough material for two parts, the first option would probably have been the better one here.

Looking at the two segments individually, I’d say they both work. The invasion plot has some good music, acting, and atmosphere, and definitely deserved more buildup. The cramped quarters plot is also good, both in terms of humor and with the potential to develop the characters. Admittedly, it can’t carry an episode on its own, but it’s entertaining, especially if you like the characters and want to see them in slightly different circumstances. So while it does have one big flaw (at least for me), it’s overall decent enough that I’d put it in the middle of the pack, ranking wise. After the various problems with the last two episodes, that’s definitely a step up.

How it Relates to the Whole: While the actual events of this episode won’t come up again, the catwalk itself will come into play at least one more time. I guess if you got the set, you might as well use it. On a more minor note, we learn in this episode that Malcolm gets motion sickness if the turbulence is bad enough, which is also not overly important but will be responsible for a sight gag much later down the line. It might not be much, but it does qualify for this category, so…

Other: *Speaking of Malcolm’s motion sickness, he’s clearly ashamed of it, because he wants to keep it between himself and Phlox. “I assume I can count on doctor-patient confidentiality”, he says, which proves that no one let him in on what happened in “Silent Enemy”, which is probably for the best. Though I can’t help but notice that Phlox doesn’t exactly give Malcolm a reassurance about keeping matters private…

*I hadn’t mentioned this little tidbit until now, because this is the episode where it’s made official. Instead of getting their food from a replicator, there’s an actual chef on board who makes most of the food. He’s only been referred to as Chef, and we’ve never seen him. He passes through in one scene this episode, handing out food…but we never see his face. It’s pretty obvious that Chef is the Morn of this show, someone we hear about but never really get to know. Since I liked the bit of business with Morn in DS9, I’m more than content with it here, especially since it’s not overdone. Besides, anything that reminds me of DS9 is just fine by me.

Badass Malcolm Moment: It’s not as impressive as the other times he’s helped save the ship, but Malcolm is very important in keeping everyone from getting killed during the climax. And I think we can all agree that keeping everyone alive is a pretty good feat, even if it’s not done in an action-packed way.