13 replies on “Enterprise Review: “Harbinger””

1. A Little Credit — Dumb Luck
   I gotta say, I enjoyed watching an episode that focused so much on character interaction. I’ve been waiting for Malcolm and the new task force chief to come to blows, I wish there were a little more buildup in previous episodes though. That story line could have been stretched out. The Trip and T’pol encounter, on the other hand, was perfectly timed. I know a lot of people that complain about the lack of character driven stories in science fiction, this was a very refreshing episode for those people.

   I agree, however, that the main plot, if you can call it that, in this story was weak and boring. Perhaps it should be demoted to subplot and the Trip/T’Pol story can be the main plot. If that’s the case then we can just complain about the weak subplot of the alien in the space-goo.

   So, in my book the wonder-twins get a little credit for stumbling blindly into a suprisingly deep episode.

   • Re: A Little Credit — Dumb Luck
     This was a character driven story? You gotta be kidding? This was crap for the teenagers: Fighting, Sex and no IQ. Oh well, not long until cancelation.

2. Gulp… I liked it…
   I am embarrased to admit… I really liked this episode. The interaction between Trip and T’Pol, Malcolm and Mr. Maco, Malcolm and Trip, and Trip and Miss Maco was very good. I loved Malcolm’s smarmy comments to Tripp, especially ‘if it’s so non-sexual, how about giving me a session?’ HAHAHAHA. I also enjoyed T’Pol turning Tripp’s words back against him about jealousy. Very nice.

   Oh, was there an alien in this episode too?

3. Question…
   … what exactly did the alien dude say there at the end? My phone rang and I only heard enough to know it was something about after Earth was destroyed.

   Also, next week’s plot is a straight ripoff of a Voyager episode. That is super lame and moderately insulting.

   As for the subplots, ummm, Archer should have gotten more time to be more pissed at Reed and Hayes. But a few concrete punishments, mentioning an unhappy entry in their records, and telling them they now live in sickbay together until they are healed would have been nice. As it was, we only really saw them get the Archer stern-talking-to. This episode could have set us up to see them doing extra shifts of grunt level maintinace together over the next couple of episodes, to teach them to work together and all that. Then we could watch them develop from forced proximity to finish-each-other’s-sentences friendship. Instead I wonder if they will just be great chums instantly.

   The morning after chat felt all wrong. Are we to believe that they wouldn’t talk about whatever happened like, you know, when it was happening, or right after it happened. Instead they wait to discuss it in public? I don’t buy it, it was totally the wrong setting and the whole thing felt all wrong because of it.

   • Say What?

     … what exactly did the alien dude say there at the end? My phone rang and I only heard enough to know it was something about after Earth was destroyed.

     Anyone? I, too, missed it (crying baby).

     • Re: Say What?

       … what exactly did the alien dude say there at the end? My phone rang and I only heard enough to know it was something about after Earth was destroyed.

       Anyone? I, too, missed it (crying baby).

       It was something about how that once the Xindi wiped out Earth, the creators of the bubble (and therefore the spheres) would be free to finish their “paradise”. At least it was similar to that. Maybe they’re actually tying it into the rest of the story (temporal war, why the Xindi were told we would destroy them, etc.).

4. Not too bad
   Sure, the main story didn’t go far, but for a B&B episode it was more enjoyable than usual.

   Part of my reaction is based on the fact that I expected an episode based soley on sex. Since it wasn’t, I was pleasantly suprised.
   I thought Malcoms side was good. In fact it was the best part. The jealousy subplot was second, and the alien last….

   I’m wondering if they’ll introduce a subplot story arc with the alien thing or maybe a secondary story arc… Or if they’ll just act as if it never happened. With a brain or two they could do some neat stuff with that alien and really carry the “makers” secondary story arc quite a ways.

5. Not what I expected
   (By the way, the name is “harbinger,” as in “One that indicates or foreshadows
   what is to come; a forerunner.”)

   From the trailer, I expected something much more like “The Naked Time” and
   “The Naked Now.” I expected that the alien would be somehow removing all
   reserve and bringing controlled and supressed emotions to the surface. I
   expected it to be tedious.

   I was wrong. I wish I has been right, this was even worse. This was so bad
   that it could have been an Andromeda episode.

   The Malcolm/
   MACO conflict was tedious, and completely unbelievable – are we supposed
   to believe that neither of these officers have any command training or any
   military discipline? These two are the most disciplined members of
   the human crew! I would expect this from people with their first management
   or command assignments, not from members of the Earth’s premier crew. I
   would also expect survival of the Earth to be foremost in the
   security commanders’ mind. “No thanks, we don’t need more training, we’d
   rather obsess on the fact that we’re not fighting the enemy right now?” Puh-
   lease. I don’t care how insulting it was to Malcolm, I just can’t believe that he
   would oppose additional training.

   T’Pol was either giving in to her own sexual desires – which might
   work if
   built up properly (it wasn’t), ignoring the vulcan biophysiology we
   know – or, as she claimed, dabbling in sex for her own
   curiosity. Now, she’s seen enough to know that sex is a sure way to make
   humans insane! This is not something to idly play with – she (and all Vulcans
   we’ve seen) avoid making humans emotional without damned good cause and
   sex is the one surefire way to do this.

   I did like the way that Trip continues to be the Alien Sex Magnet,
   though.

   The only interesting part was that the aliens who built the expanse seem to
   be the ones using the Xindi as catspaws. They are very powerful and the
   Earth has their attention.

   That makes me very nervous – TV science fiction does not handle an
   overwhelming threat to the protagonists very well. Even Babylon 5 had an
   ultimately unrewarding resolution when the Shadows were directly
   confronted, and Star Trek has never come close to doing as well. I fear that
   we’re going to have a very unfulfilling resolution to the whole Xindi/Expanse
   story, and I fear the resolution will happen in a single scene.

6. Alien
   The alien looked a lot like a Suliban (remember those guys, the ones Future Man talks to?) to me, but no one on the show commented on it. Is it just that there’s only so many different kinds of alien they can make, or does anyone else think there’s a connection?

7. Yes and No
   For me, the high point was Archer chewing out Malcolm and Haynes: I think that’s the best job Bakula’s done yet, and I loved the way they were left hanging when he left.

   But while the conflict was entertaining, I didn’t believe Malcolm would be that childish and that put me off.

   I also don’t believe that Tripp and T’pol would have the morning after conversation in public. “Let’s not say anything” after basically telling the entire crew. Right. Or for that matter, neither would T’pol have jumped on Tripp the way she did, or else the supposed millenia of Vulcan control did most of it’s advancement in the time between T’pol and Spock.

   I do think that the alien’s final line was a crucial one that will coming back to haunt us in the future, and the Tripp/T’pol story was actually mostly well done, so I give it a higher rating than angrymob though…

   • Re: Yes and No

     I do think that the alien’s final line was a crucial one that will coming back to haunt us in the future, and the Tripp/T’pol story was actually mostly well done, so I give it a higher rating than angrymob though…

     Could you tell those of us who missed those important 3 seconds exactly what the line was?

     • Re: Yes and No

       Could you tell those of us who missed those important 3 seconds exactly what the line was?

       Here you go:

       Archer: You weren’t sent here against your will. You knew exactly what your mission was. What were your people trying to do? You tried to destroy my ship! Why!? Answer me!

       Alien: When the Xindi destroy Earth, my people will prevail.

       Alien goes poof. The End.

       • Re: Yes and No

         Archer: You weren’t sent here against your will. You knew exactly what your mission was. What were your people trying to do? You tried to destroy my ship! Why!? Answer me!

         Alien: When the Xindi destroy Earth, my people will prevail.

         Alien goes poof. The End.

         Thank you. See I only half heard it and thought maybe he said stuff in past tense. Like, “When the Xindi destroyed Earth, my people prevailed.” That would have implied that the dude was from an unhappy future.

         But with him speaking in the present tense, it seems more likely that he is from somewhere like fluidic space.