monkee reviews 'Civilization'
First Impression: YAWN! It wasn't awful, but I thought it was the least interesting episode to date.
Prime Directive: Hmmm. I guess I was looking forward to seeing Archer and his crew really screw up a situation like this. But everything works out pretty well in the end. Enterprise saves the day, and chases away the evil interfering aliens. Ah well. I suppose there's still plenty of time to see them badly botch a first contact, and precipitate the development of the Federation's Prime Directive. The Vulcans already have a similar protocol. Sooner or later, the humans will surely get a first hand look at why it's a sensible idea.
Primitive Societies: I've got to admit, I'm getting sick to death of primitive societies on Star Trek. Isn't there any other KIND of pre-warp society? Let's see some! The wise innocence of primitive people is appealing, but Trek has been doing this for thirty-five years now. It's time to move on!
Hot Romance? Not hardly. The Archer/Riann romance was...okay, in a shallow, Kirkian kind of way. But I found their chemistry appealing enough without the lip-locking. It just didn't seem very realistic to me. How many people go around kissing people they've only known for two days? A warm hug, maybe...
Mary Sue Riann? I did like Riann, though. Why wouldn't I? Far from your typical damsel in distress, she almost seemed like a 'Mary Sue' character, a character that can hold her own with our heroes, and is everything we, the viewers, would like to be. This woman was remarkable, wasn't she? We learn from Phlox that she's exceptionally bright and insightful within her society. She's on to the bad guys before Enterprise even shows up. Then, when she discovers that aliens are all over her village, she takes it right in stride, even suggesting the correct button to push to lower the dampening field (Archer ignores her and pushes the wrong one) and finding a way to defeat the bad guys when she and Archer get cornered. She was a little too good to be true, but <shrug> I liked her anyway.
CAVES! Again with the cave set! I think it's appeared in all but one episode so far! It's gotten laughably absurd. I don't want to see primitive aliens or the cave set for the rest of the season. I mean it!
The Malurians: We're introduced to a new species this week, the Malurians. They arrived at the planet before Enterprise did, and they're extracting a mineral from beneath the surface that is used in the manufacture of explosives. The lubricant they use on their drill bits is contaminating the local water supply and killing the villagers. Not to worry, though. Archer and T'Pol (well, mostly T'Pol) send them packing. No word yet on whether or not these are the same Malurian 'biological infestations' that TOS's NOMAD will one day destroy, but it's fun to think they might be.
T'Pol: In Archer's absence we got to see T'Pol take command of the ship, really, for the first significant time. She rocked! She did everything well, and even had to ward off a near-mutiny by Commander Tucker. And she came up with a simple, but effective ploy to disable the attacking Malurian ship. Go, T'Pol!
Tucker: I'm torn about this. On the one hand, I don't want to see the antagonism between T'Pol and the rest of the crew end too soon. They made that mistake with the Maquis on Voyager. On the other hand, however, she's been with them for three months now, and has certainly done enough to earn their trust. Tucker should not have defied her like that, especially during a battle! I think it's time for Archer to sit the boy down and have a little chat with him about the chain of command.
Other Character Interactions: Sato and Archer had another exchange about language. I just love to see her so excited. I think Archer does, too. Archer also had a nice scene with T'Pol. "Enjoy your tea."
Shallow Observation: All four of the regulars looked really nice when they visited the planet in disguise. Yes, T'Pol was gorgeous with long hair, but Sato was beautiful, too. And I'll never complain about an out-of-uniform Archer or Tucker.
'Shipper Watch: Some nice antagonism between Trip and T'Pol, but I think he probably lost some ground this week. They did have a nice non-verbal exchange earlier in the episode, when Trip warns T'Pol that her ears were showing. Just why was he looking at her so closely, hmmm? Oh, that's ludicrous – I know. But watching for 'shipper moments is something I enjoy, even if I have to manufacture them out of thin air!
Archer Watch: Fools rush in...Any of the more modern Captains would have been appalled. He told a primitive society's apothecary...everything! He got into a shooting match on the main street of the village! Archer's pretty quick to interfere when he sees something he doesn't like. It worked out well this week, but one of these days, I'd like to see him misinterpret something and really screw up. His desire to be a white knight is admirable, most of the time, and I think his heart is in the right place, but he can be impulsive and sanctimonious, too. It'll be interesting to see how things balance out with this character.
Best Lines:
"Starfleet could have sent a probe out here to make maps and take pictures, but they didn't. They sent us, so that WE could explore, with our own senses." (Archer, to bridge crew and T'Pol)
"Seventy-eight thousand light years to get here, and our first official act is breaking and entering." (Archer, to Tucker)
"Earth. Never heard of it." (Garos, to Archer)
"If you take away our technology, we're not that different." (Archer, to Riann)
"I have no intention of abandoning the Captain. Dead or alive." (T'Pol, to Tucker)
"If they want it so badly, maybe we should give it to them." (T'Pol, to herself, referring to the Malurians and their anti-matter reactor)
Most Chilling Line: "There are five hundred million Akoli on this planet. A few thousand won't be missed," Garos tells Archer. This line made me shudder. I've since learned that this was the episode being filmed the week of September 11th.
Rating: 7.5/10. My lowest rating yet, beating out 'Unexpected' for the dubious honor. I actually liked this episode more than 'Unexpected.' The crew's enthusiasm continues to appeal to me, and the story was well told. It's just that I feel like I've seen this episode a half dozen times already. 'Unexpected' got some credit for going out on a limb and doing something different.
Next Week: Nausicaans! Oh boy! But this line in the preview is what really got my attention. Archer asks Mayweather (and Sato? Et tu, Sato?) "Any other orders of mine you'd like to question?" Questionable orders – gotta love it!
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