monkee reviews 'Impulse'
First Impression: Not bad, but a few too many Vulcan zombies and action shots in corridors for my taste.
In Medias Res: The story starts in the middle, something that works well here because we quickly see, soon after the beginning of the story unfolds, what the hysterical T'Pol is in danger of becoming. But Dear God – did we really need ANOTHER shot of her writhing against restraints! Sigh. Still, the girl can scream but good, and the teaser certainly got my attention.
Background: As Trip is telling Archer that the crew is on edge and needs the diversion of a movie night, Enterprise receives an automated distress call from the Seleya, a Vulcan ship that disappeared into the Expanse nine months ago. (Nice touch on the name of the ship, by the way. Mt. Seleya, a sacred place on Vulcan, has been mentioned numerous times on Star Trek, and in Trek literature.) T'Pol used to serve on the Seleya, and knows its crew. Archer sets a course, but the ship is drifting in a chaotic asteroid belt. It's too dangerous for Enterprise, so Archer, Reed, T'Pol and Hawkins, a MACO, head over on a shuttle. Back on Enterprise, Trip and Mayweather discover that the asteroid belt is loaded with Trellium ore. The transporter malfunctions (how con-veeeee-nient!), so they decide to take the other shuttle down to one of the larger asteroids to gather some ore.
If you're keeping track, this means that nearly all of the senior officers are now off the ship. Whatever. Who knows – maybe Hoshi would make a fine Captain. I'll bet she would!
Fear and Loathing in the Asteroid Belt: On the Seleya, the away team discovers that the Vulcan crew is...not at all well. In fact, they've lost their minds and turned into zombies. They're Vulcan zombies, so from now on, we're going to call them Vombies, just to make things simple. The Vombies are hostile, illogical and unwilling (and perhaps unable) to hear Archer out. They attack. Yes, it's the attack of the killer, mutant Vombies! Naturally, this involved a lot of shoot-outs in the creepy, dark, and damaged corridors of the Seleya, and the lurching Vombies turned out to be resistant to the stun setting of the phase pistols. At times, these action sequences teetered rather precariously on the edge of campy. What saved the episode, really, was Blalock. T'Pol begins to exhibit some Vombie symptoms; she fears becoming what her former shipmates have become, but mostly she fears losing her Vulcan control. Blalock's performance here was very moving, and I also have to give credit to Bakula. Archer is able, several times, to calm his friend and First Officer.
The MACO Mindset: Hawkins is the MACO on the away team (I'm assuming he's a MACO, though I don't think they ever specify), and his first impulse is to change the phase pistol settings to 'kill,' which he does without even being ordered to. T'Pol protests that they are on a rescue mission and seems ready to forcibly stop him. Archer steps in, though, and backs her up, so Hawkins complies. Later, he apologizes to T'Pol and offers her water, as she's beginning to show signs of strain. He asks her some questions about Vulcans and admits that he was wrong before. They ARE on a rescue mission. I just loved these scenes. To me, this is what Trek should be about – Humans learning about other species and cultures, and becoming better for it.
Interesting Twist: Archer is able to transmit some medical data to Phlox, who discovers that it is not the Expanse that's done this to the Vulcans. It's the Trellium-D they were attempting to line their hull with. Trellium-D is a potent neuro-toxin to the Vulcan nervous system, and these Vulcans were sitting in an asteroid belt chock full of it. I found this to be an interesting twist, and one that will affect the arc, because Enterprise was planning to line THEIR hull with this stuff, to combat the effects of the anomalies in the Expanse. Until they can find a way to inoculate T'Pol, this won't be an option.
The Chaotic Asteroid Belt: The asteroids in this asteroid belt churn and crash randomly into each other. Something in the Expanse causes their movements to be even less predictable than in a normal asteroid belt. How con-veeeee-nient, I know, but I'm not going to complain about this because it was so darned cool! There were some very creative camera angles, too – there's a gorgeous shot, from above, of Enterprise approaching the belt, and an interesting shot from the back of one of the shuttles, as Reed and Hawkins look warily out at an asteroid that almost pulverized them. The episode's B-story, with Trip and Mayweather mining ore on one of the asteroids, was filler, but well-executed filler. It gave Mayweather a few lines, for a change, and he had to do some pretty fancy flying to get them off the asteroid in time, when it began heading into a denser section of the belt.
Oh, the Angst: In the end, Phlox says that Seleya's crew is doomed – it's too late to counteract the effects of the neuro-toxin in their brains. Archer has to further disable their ship in order to get the away team off of it, and it loses anti-matter containment just as the shuttle escapes. How sad! Now, you have to be careful with angst, but I would like to have seen just a teeny bit more. Maybe an expression of frustration and regret from Archer that he was unable to save the Vulcans. I'm sure he felt that way – he just didn't come out and say it.
And while we're on the subject of angst – I would like to have seen more with T'Pol, too (and it's not often you'll hear me say THAT!). Maybe just one line, to Archer, about how Vulcans fear losing control more than anything else in the universe. It came through in her performance, though.
Kirk Logic: "The needs of the few, or the one, outweigh the needs of the many." This is what Kirk tells Spock at the end of 'Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.' And although Archer doesn't say it, it's what he tells T'Pol, here. She asks him to leave her behind when he tells her that he won't protect Enterprise with Trellium-D until Phlox can develop an inoculation for her. He refuses, of course, and maybe his logic isn't flawless, but it is...human. Like Kirk, sometimes he leads with his heart. It was a damned fine ending. Except it wasn't the ending...
T'Pol's Nightmare: What in the name of the Great Bird was THIS? T'Pol has a nightmare in which she's attending movie night, then is called to the bridge and attacked in the corridors by Vombies. My goodness but this was out of place! You have to wonder if they discovered the episode was short by two minutes, and called back the Vombie extras, or something! I did, however, get a kick out of the fact that the nightmare Phlox was every bit as talkative and annoying in the theater as the real one is! And I'll give them a little bit of credit for, again, showing repercussions of a traumatic event. It left me scratching my head, though...
And let's hope Trip doesn't decide to show 'Night of the Living Dead' at movie night anytime soon. The poor woman will come unhinged!
Character Interactions: As I mentioned before, standout character interactions included Archer/T'Pol, and T'Pol/Hawkins. I also enjoyed Trip and Mayweather's rapport during their mining mission, and Phlox had some nice, compassionate moments with both Archer and T'Pol, as he explained that there was nothing he can do for the crew of the Seleya. I also enjoyed seeing Trip, of all people, convincing Archer to lighten up a bit for the sake of crew morale. Nice stuff.
'shipper Watch: Trip invites T'Pol to movie night again. Awwww. But the best 'shipper fodder this week belongs to T'Pol and Archer. He was so kind to her when she was on the Seleya and facing the prospect of becoming what the others had, and he was the only one who could calm her down. And that was a nice scene with her in sickbay at the end, wearing only a sheet. I don't think he'd leave any of his crew behind, but... I don't know. It was sweet that it was her. Sigh. I'm such a sap.
[And no, I still don't want to see an Archer and T'Pol romance. I just really love their developing close friendship.]
Archer Watch: He was terrific. I have no complaints. He heeded Trip's warnings about the stress level of the crew. He rushed in to try to save the Vulcans, and did all that he could, though in the end, he could only help T'Pol, and get his away team out of danger. And maybe it would be logical for him to leave T'Pol behind, but I love that he won't.
Best Lines:
"There'll be plenty of time for movies after we've dealt with the Xindi." "No one hates the Xindi more 'n I do, but I'm tellin' you, this crew needs a little R and R." (Archer and Trip)
"Stun isn't working. We should set our phase pistols to kill." "These are Vulcan officers, and we are on a rescue mission." (Hawkins and T'Pol)
"I hope you won't write that landing up in your log." "Are you kidding? I'm going to recommend that they give you a medal!" (Mayweather and Trip, after a bumpy landing on an asteroid)
"This is going to happen to me. It's already starting. I can feel my control slipping away." (an anguished T'Pol, to Archer)
"We'll get you out of here as soon as we can." (Archer, to T'Pol)
"You heard what Phlox said. They can't be saved, but you can." (Archer, to T'Pol)
"You want to kill all of us! You don't trust Vulcans. You never have. Don't think I've forgotten. You blamed us for holding you back...for undermining your father's work. Now you've decided to take revenge!" (paranoid T'Pol, to Archer – a nice counterpoint to what Trip said in the first season's 'Strange New World')
"They were beyond help. Their fate was sealed long before we arrived." (Phlox, to T'Pol)
"You can't allow your concern for a single crewman to affect your mission. This Expanse destroyed everybody aboard the Seleya. Don't let it happen to Enterprise." (an emotional T'Pol, still struggling with her control, to Archer)
"We'll find a way through this, but I won't leave anyone behind. Not if I can help it. I can't try to save humanity without holding onto what makes me human." (Archer, to T'Pol)
"Then use logic more quietly." (T'Pol, to nightmare Phlox)
Rating: 8/10. The episode broke no new ground, and I was restless during the Vombie action sequences, but there was some nice character work, and a VERY cool chaotic asteroid field.
Next Week: Hoshi plays 'Beauty' in 'Beauty and the Beast.' Or is it 'Phantom of the Opera?' No matter – we get to see lots of Linda Park, and that's what matters!
Back to monkee's Enterprise reviews
Number: