The
Communicator
Cast & Crew
Director: James Contner
Story By: Rick Berman & Brannon Braga
Teleplay By: Andre Bormanis
Starring
Scott Bakula as Captain
Jonathan Archer
Connor Trinneer as Chief
Engineer Charles 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
Francis Guinan as Gosis
Tim Kelleher as Lt. Pell
Dennis Cockrum as Alien Barkeep
Brian Reddy as Dr. Temec
Jason Waters as Soldier
Airdate Information
Originally Aired: Nov. 13, 2002
Season: Two
Episode: Eight
Production: 034
What
Happened
After losing his communicator on a pre-warp planet, Reed, along with Capt.
Archer, return to retrieve it. They are captured, accused as spies in a tense
cold war. After several attempts to explain away their "differences"
they are sentenced to death, so their bodies can be examined.
The two are eventually rescued by their crewmates using their stolen Suliban
cell ship. They recover their lost technology, but T'Pol reminds Archer that
the contamination has already been done.
Review
This episode may stand out in the grand scheme of things if (and only if) they
come back to explore the cultural contamination. Part of this series' biggest
contribution to Trek lore will be to rationalize and define the Prime Directive.
Sadly, by itself, this entry is just plain dull. Everything came off as a little
too cliche in a few too many places.
High Point
Trip cloaking his hand. It was a nice break from the rest of the episode.
Low Point
Why are all interrogators portrayed the same way? If this is what reality's
like, always tell the truth when questioned. They'll never believe you.
The Scores
Originality: There was a nearly identical fourth season TNG episode along the
same lines, First
Contact (not to be confused with the movie). 3 out 6.
Effects: For a pre-warp culture, those were some cool looking fighters. 5 out
of 6.
Story: It's an important piece in the road, just not handled well. 4 out of
6.
Acting: Reed and Archer were good, but their scrapping the bottom of the barrel
when it comes to the guest cast. 3 out of 6.
Emotional Response: No surprises, just a bit of humor when Trip accidentally
cloaks his hand. 3 out of 6.
Production: They went on for several minutes about the architecture and then
they show us...what? 3 out of 6.
Overall: Just because we need to cover certain topics doesn't mean you have
to do it so poorly. 3 out of 6.
Total: 24 out of 42
Episode Media
From StarTrek.com
Next Time on Enterprise (Nov. 20, 2002)
Singularity
On a "typical" day on Enterprise, the crew finds their routine tasks
turn into uncharacteristically strange obsessions over trivial matters. The
crew's increasingly erratic and often humorous behavior includes: Archer's preoccupation
with writing the preface of a biography about his dad; Trip's fixation on adjusting
the Captain's chair to perfection; Hoshi's obsession with her cooking; and Reed's
concern with a Tactical Alert.
TheAngrymob
