Day 286: Enterprise, Rogue Planet

Show: Star Trek; Enterprise

Episode Particulars: S1EP17, “Rogue Planet”

 Summary: The Enterprise stumbles across a planet that’s broken from its orbit, but still contains lifesigns thanks to some geothermic vents. Detecting some technology on the planet, an away team goes to investigate, eventually discovering a group of Eska, who come to this planet once a year for four days to hunt. They go about their business while Archer and company make plans to do some scientific studies. And then Archer sees a beautiful human woman (Stephanie Niznik) who calls him by name, only lets him catch glimpses of her, and hasn’t been seen by anybody else. You’re probably already predicting where this is going…but you’re also probably wrong.

Standalone Thoughts: I think the writers of this episode were so focused on the point they were trying to make that they didn’t take advantage of the opportunities staring them in the face. You’ve written a planet that’s eternally dark, with creatures that have adapted to live in that environment. How did this not turn into an atmospheric, horror-tinged episode? I guess they thought they’d done that satisfactorily in “Strange New World” and didn’t want to repeat themselves. Personally, I wish they had, because it probably wouldn’t have left me feeling mildly annoyed like the actual episode did.

It turns out that this episode is a message episode, specifically the message that hunting, especially hunting for sport, is bad. I’m neutral on the subject, but as I’ve said in other reviews, stories that clearly have an axe to grind always irk me. Though to give this episode some credit, it manages to avoid descending into completely preachy territory. The message is mostly limited to two scenes of discussion and some choice turns of phrase that let you know what they’re going for without being too blatant about it. Obviously, I’m very appreciative of that, but it does mean that the resolution of the problem feels off to me, because it feels more like a magical fix than a believable one, which might not have been the case if the script was more open about what was going on. Still, I consider this the lesser of two evils.

It’s also worth noting that pacing continues to be an issue for the writers here. As with most of the other episodes so far, the time passes quickly and pretty pleasantly, but not all that much actually happens in the episode. You can tell where the plot is going, but the conflict is at a minimum. There’s no big fight scene or angry confrontation, just discussions that are mostly matter-of-fact. It’s a break from formula, but in this case, it’s not a good one. Also, the whole mystery aspect of the girl feels squandered. Once we get an explanation for her presence, it’s not explored any further, even though it could have been. Upon reflection, she’s a sort of Deus ex Machina, there to advance the plot without giving away much about herself. Much like the planet itself, she had potential, but I’m not sure the writers knew what to do with her other than use her as a mouthpiece. It’s a shame, because with a little more work, we might have had a pretty solid, memorable standalone episode. Instead, it’s a blah episode that mostly sticks in the memory by virtue of being preachy. Which is not the claim to fame you want.

How it Relates to the Whole: I don’t think there are any ramifications from this episode, not even on a character level. Can’t win them all, I guess.

Other: *I feel like there’s some weird sort of one-upmanship or posturing going on between the men of Enterprise in this episode. First, Tucker seems to be enjoying taking a picture of Archer (for the purposes of an official portrait for Starfleet Academy) and getting it right down to the minutest detail, despite Archer’s obvious annoyance. Initially, I thought he was just teasing his friend, or possibly getting back at him for what happened in “Breaking the Ice”. But then, down on the planet, Archer stops Malcolm from taking point, with the justification of “let me play Captain for a while” (this is a direct quote). Malcolm then gets his own back by revealing that he’s a better Eagle Scout than Archer is. And all of this is before they meet the Eska. If it had been afterwards, I’d have wondered if they were trying to prove their own masculinity/dominance because they were intimidated by the Eska (even if they didn’t admit it). The way it actually stands, though, I have no idea what to make of it.

*I suppose I shouldn’t fault the away team for not immediately realizing that the Eska are hunters, since both Humans and Vulcans have stopped hunting for sport and wouldn’t be as aware of the signs, but come on; they’re wearing camo gear, are carrying guns, and jumped you when you first met. Surely you had at least an inkling that they weren’t here for scientific purposes?

*While most of the episode manages to make the planet feel real, or at least real enough that we suspend our disbelief, there’s one moment where Archer is standing in front of some rocks that are very clearly made out of foam or some other fake material. Blew the budget on the digital creatures and those fancy night vision goggles, did we, showrunners?

Badass Malcolm Moment: It may seem odd, but the moment that jumped out to me was Malcolm being bold enough to ask to join the Eska on their hunt, ostensibly to figure out their stealth techniques but also, I suspect, because he thinks it would be fun. Somehow this doesn’t surprise me in the least.

After the Fact Update: Memory Alpha states that the writer, Chris Black, didn’t believe this was an anti-hunting episode. I can see his position, but unfortunately, that attitude leaks through anyway. It’s one of the occupational hazards of writing; what you intend to say doesn’t always play that way to your audience.