Enterprise Review: “Damage”

It’s baaaaaack. But is it worth the wait?

Damage

Cast & Crew

Director: James L. Conway
Written By: Phyllis Strong

Starring
Scott Bakula as Captain
Jonathan Archer
Connor Trinneer as Chief
Engineer Charles "Trip" Tucker III
Jolene Blalock as Sub-commander
T’Pol
Dominic Keating as Lt.
Malcolm Reed
Anthony Montgomery
as Ensign Travis Mayweather
Linda Park as Ensign Hoshi
Sato
John Billingsley
as Dr. Phlox

Guest Cast
Casey Biggs as Illyrian Captain
Randy Oglesby as Degra
Scott MacDonald as Reptilian Commander
Tucker Smallwood as Xindi-Humanoid
Rick Worthy as Xindi-Arboreal
Josette DiCarlo as Sphere-Builder

Episode Information

Originally Aired: April 21, 2004
Season: Three
Episode: Nineteen
Production: 071

What Happened

After brutally torturing Archer, the Xindi unexpectedly return him to Enterprise, which is barely holding together after a devastating Reptilian attack. The captain receives information that some possibly sympathetic Xindi Council members are willing to meet with him, but he must make a rendezvous several light-years away in just a few days. Faced with a severely crippled ship with no warp drive — as well as numerous dead and injured crew members — Archer tosses his ethics aside in a desperate attempt to get the ship back on its feet.

Meanwhile, T’Pol privately turns to Dr. Phlox for assistance with a disturbing secret she’s been keeping for several months.

Review

Well, it’s not what we’ve come to expect, now is it? Admittedly, it isn’t in the same ballpark as similar fare (such as DS9’s “In the Pale Moonlight,” but it’s getting there.

We finally get to see more of the mysterious figure behind the Xindi’s paranoia. And it pays off in the end. All around, very good stuff and hard driven from start to finish.

High Point

Acher’s final decision to take the warp coil. Cold and precise.

Low Point

The amount of time dealing with T’Pol’s acquiring the Trellium-D. It’s wasted time that could’ve been used elsewhere.

The Scores

Originality: Not sharply original, but it’s newer, edgier ground for the series. 4 out of 6.

Effects: Superb all around. 5 out of 6.

Story: It’s great to watch, but the subplot with T’Pol eats up way too much time in the episode. 4 out of 6.

Acting: Everyone’s believable and worthwhile (even Hoshi!) It’s good to see Casey Biggs (Damar from DS9) back in make-up, if only for a brief stint. 5 out of 6.

Emotional Response: You’re left with an uneasy feeling about the resolution, nothing neat and clean. 5 out of 6.

Production: As usual, very well done. 5 out of 6

Overall: Definitely worth the wait. 5 out of 6.

Total: 33 out of 42

Next Week on Enterprise (April 28, 2004)

The Forgotten

After arriving at one of the mysterious, metallic spheres for a clandestine meeting with Xindi weapon designer Degra, Archer attempts to convince the skeptical scientist and another Xindi council member that humanity isn’t their enemy. Meanwhile, as the crew struggles to repair the extensive damage to Enterprise, Trip must deal with the recent death of a member of his engineering team, forcing him to also come to terms with the loss of his sister in the original Xindi attack on Earth. Also, T’Pol must confront the implications of her emotion-provoking substance addiction.
[Video Preview]

The Final Episodes of Season Three

The remainder of the third season goes like this:

  • The Forgotten (04.28.2004)
  • E2 (05.05.2004)
  • The Council (05.12.2004)
  • Countdown (05.19.2004)
  • Zero Hour (05.26.2004)

Additional Notes and Comments

If you’re interested in what’s in TheAngryMob’s review queue, check out my What’s Coming page.

TheAngrymob

6 replies on “Enterprise Review: “Damage””

  1. T’pol Is a Crackhead

    I enjoyed it but, did they have to turn T’pol into a crackhead??!!!

    • Re: T’pol Is a Crackhead

      I enjoyed it but, did they have to turn T’pol into a crackhead??!!!

      Look at it this way: It’s clear they were going somewhere with T’Pol’s ever more poorly-controlled emotions, and the outcome ended up being something different than the usual fare. Personal issues such as substance abuse are hardly new to scifi (even TV scifi), but they are rarely touched upon by Trek, at least. It’s encouraging that they seem willing to explore new ground, though I’m not willing to get my hopes too far up yet. :)

      • Re: T’pol Is a Crackhead

        Granted, but did the substance have to specifically be addictive? Good writing would permit them to explore the difficulties created by T’Pol taking a mind-altering substance and releasing her emotions in a dramatic and interesting way without making it an Afterschool Special.

        At least B&B have one aspect of continuity down: whenever a starship takes on board/boards a potentially dangerous craft, they take no special precautions beyond drawing their weapons.

    • Re: T’pol Is a Crackhead

      I enjoyed it but, did they have to turn T’pol into a crackhead??!!!

      Well, that does explain the erratic charcters interplay I’ve noted in some episodes. It does touch on a subject of medical privacy vs. ships welfare. But, ah, can someone explain how a material derrived from ore which protects the ship from subspace energies can be a pharmalogical item? *shrug* Must be one of them green blooded things.

  2. Illyrian Captain??
    Did I read that right? Is somebody on the Star Trek team wishing they were making a series as good as Angel?

  3. How Bad Can It Get?
    I now find myself watching Enterprise from week to week to see how bad it could get. I was about 50/50 on this one.

    Actionwise, this was a great episode. Archer becoming the kind of monster he would hate most was also quite cool.

    It would have been better if some of the aliens and some of the enterprise crew had been killed in the attack. Not for blood-lust but so that it’s much messier than Archer wanted.

    Maybe cool if the aliens were ones that they had run into before, like that tri-gender species so there is some degree of history with them.

    It would have also been better to see Archer’s morals CONTINUALLY degrade over the season rather than flip-flopping between “We can’t do this even though we have to” and “We have no choice so let’s do it”

    It would be nice if taking the alien warp core came back to bite him in a later episode. Not that B&B know anything about continuity so it won’t happen.

    B&B made T’Pol a sex-crazed, heroin addict using a space-age paraphernalia because they were receiving too many complaints about Blalock’s bad acting and the over-emotional scripts. Spock wouldn’t get addicted to Trellium-D. T’Pol is pathetic.

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