Dead Stop

Season Two is really cookin'!
G'Inny -- 9 Oct 2002, 21:33 EST

I thought this was an excellent episode. Not the most profound or provocative Star Trek, but good, solid storytelling. Best bits:

--Continuity from last week with Mal's injury still healing and him squirming at being off-duty. Also, Archer's comment about not running a tight ship when he was dressing Trip and Mal down--another reference to last week's ep.

--Continuity from last season with the phantom squeak returning to annoy and confound Archer.

--Terrific character interaction. Trip and Mal are acting more like grown-ups, than frat boys. And yet, they are still willing to take on a challenge for curiosity's sake--once Trip talks Mal into it. And when they screw up/get caught, they get dressed down and confined to their quarters for it. Which is the way it should be.

--I love the way T'Pol looks at people. She seems expressionless, but there's tons of meaning beneath the facade. Man, she's fun to watch.

--The concept of the automated station was pretty cool. And did anyone else get the impression that the computer interaction was a subtle jab at voice mail? I was a little upset that they left all those other people to be blown up, but I suppose a captain sometimes has to make a decision where the safety of his crew and ship is paramount. In fact, I wish that had been exactly what happend, rather than try to make it more palatable by having Phlox declare them brain dead. It would have been more thought-provoking (and disturbing), if some of the station's victims had been salvagable, and Archer made a command decision to save his ship, rather than risk destruction to free those other people.

Next week looks pretty funny. Granted, it could also be excruciatingly juvenile and/or banal, but I'm still looking forward to it.

Beginning of the Borg?
Carson -- 9 Oct 2002, 22:11 EST

What do you think about the end shot? The repair station seemed to be repairing itself. Could this be the beginning of the Borg?

, G'Inny
Nina -- 9 Oct 2002, 22:56 EST

<< And did anyone else get the impression that the computer interaction was a subtle jab at voice mail?>>

I sure did!!! It had me howling in sympathy, especially when poor Archer was ready to punch the interface.

Can't think of a thing you've missed, and I'm looking forward to next week, too. I don't care if it turns out to be juvenile. I'm going to get a kick out of it just the same.

Dead Stop
Eric -- 9 Oct 2002, 23:55 EST

Quick take : CONTINUITY!!!! Enterprise is still damaged! Malcom's leg is still damaged!! Roxanne Dawson is still Enterprise's best director!

200 Units of Plasma and i'll let you see my SPOILERS!!!!

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

____________________

Enterprise's 2nd season is kicking butt!

Roxanne seems to do the horror episodes the best of all. She uses shadows and camera angles at their best. The FX were AMAZING, the station look amazing and the large construction arms in all the background shots were impressive, especialy INSIDE the ship!

I think we all knew Mayweather wasn't dead BUT it really was more of a chance to have the much better characters REACT to his "death" and that part of the story worked VERY well.

I'm continuing top be happy with this new much more confindent Archer. I liked his laid back verson but this one is defenetly more "Captainy".

This was a good episode for Trip as well, showing us another side of our Southern engineer. And i liked Trip and Reed getting chewed out....and then being grilled for information.

Not as huge as Minefield but still on of the best! I'll give it a 9/10!

Eric

Not in any established canon.
D'Alaire -- 10 Oct 2002, 06:21 EST

The Borg originated in the Delta Quadrant, and didn't know of human existence until TNG's Q Who? Likewise, in the earlier The Neutral Zone, which hinted at some destructive force on the border colonies, Picard and the Romulans had no clue of what had sucked the people and technology away.

...Thank heavens.

If TPTB did, for some desperate reason, make this station (or anything else) the beginning of the Borg, they'd have a lot of continuty wrangling to do, which I still don't think would be successful.

Agree totally on RD's directing, Eric.
D'Alaire -- 10 Oct 2002, 06:46 EST

She certainly is good with the creepy stuff, with pulling those angles and showdows out, keeping things moving. I think she also brings out the crew well, with their delivery and movement. Only the weepy Hoshi scene sent me to clean the kitchen. Overall, excellent job from our Klingon Princess.

I liked this one for all the same reasons, wonderful FX and exteriors, from outside and through the windows (great touch), and a nice spooky story (which I'm almost sorry they didn't save until the end of the month) that wasn't easily guessable until Mayweather walked into the shuttle bay and Archer wasn't there, then turned up dead. But the revelation and resolution (nice stuff, the station calmly repairing itself) were not spoiled by my guessing, and again, I liked that visual at the end, both for FX and for the "continuing story" motif.

I sort of grinned when I first saw the station interior. It sort of reminded me of something out of BG or the living quarters on Alien's Nostromo, crisp and white and orderly. You just knew something nasty was going on. But on top of that, it was a lovely contrast to the dull interiors of the Enterprise.

One of the nits I had was body-snatching a character that--sorry!--offered little emotional attachment. I'd have been more involved if Hoshi or even T'Pol had been taken. snort! Or maybe the station knew that and chose accordingly Why did it choose to call Mayweather from his quarters to "kill" him, anyway?

I'm also sorry we didn't get a little more of what the station was from. I admit I was curious. As an AOTW of sorts, that station was interesting, so naturally I wanted to know more, and was disappointed it didn't give some more clues.

I was also a little quirked my Trip's insisting to go poking around before anything seemed all that wrong to anyone but Archer. It had a streak of rude (despite the "curious human" trait) in it, and smacked of plot device, and pretty much gave away where the resolution was going to go. Gratefully, however, Trip and Malcom otherwise acted like adults in each other's presence, and when they were busted.

A very nice ep, nonetheless. I enjoyed it.

Next week: ...Gag.

Nobody mentioned Roxann's voice
Terry -- 10 Oct 2002, 10:41 EST

being used for the alien computer. Shame on you, D'A!

I still agree with those that think the collective IQ of Trip and Malcolm together barely exceeds the IQ of a drunken frat-boy. "Hey, we're on an alien station that is repairing our ship for a reasonable price. Let's go see if we can break into its computer and maybe steal its technology. Without telling the captain and while half of our crew is aboard the alien station."

It would have been one thing if they had been suspicious of the station as Archer was and wanted to investigate. But, no, they were just trying to burgle the place. Morons.

'Dead Stop' was another winner...
Mike D -- 10 Oct 2002, 11:43 EST

I enjoyed it for many of the same reasons already mentioned by others.

-Continuity -Excellent effects -T'Pol's expressions alone saying a thousand words -Etc...

I found the ending chilling (which is good) seeing the station was repairing itself and would evidently capture more victims in the future to become part of it's computer [shudder]. I guess when it needed another brain it just faked a death, duplicated a body, and took another being. Phlox was pretty sharp picking up on the body being a duplicate.

And, like Carson mentioned, I thought this hinted a bit at the beginning of the Borg, but as D'A pointed out so well, it doesn't fit with canon.

Warning 'Iron Giant' spoiler in next paragraph...

*********** BTW-the ending scene of the station repairing itself reminded me a little of one of my favorite animated movies...'The Iron Giant'...only here it was a dark ending instead of a happy ending. *********** End of spoiler

Mrs. Mac pointed out to me some interesting points about Hoshi's scene with the supposedly dead Travis. Hoshi didn't pull it off that well to me...she should have seemed happier to find out there was a chance he was alive when the Doc figured out it was a duplicate body.

Also, agree with Terry about the two frat boys (Reed and Trip) exploring the station when at that point in the story there was no reason to look for trouble. They were lucky to be beamed back to the ship and not into space as Archer mentioned. Loved the look on T'Pol's face when they appeared on the bridge-LOL. Oh and that dumb little exploratory venture was probably why the station picked Travis's brain instead of the brains in those two knuckleheads . Come to think of it, I wonder why of all the people scanned on the ship, the station picked Travis's brain? I would have thought T'Pol might be the "logical" choice. I guess that would have been to much like the TOS episode 'Spock's Brain' (or what ever it was called). Of course Travis' brain was probably as good as any, except the dumb frat boys as previously mentioned, and *possibly* Porthos . BTW-Porthos is a cute little guy.

This was my second favorite ep of the season so far. maybe tied for first place.

Mike

Not to mention in...
Geordi -- 10 Oct 2002, 12:15 EST

VOY's "Dragon's Teeth", the Borg has been in existence for nearly 700-1000 years in the DQ. The station can't be the beginning of the Borg.

Ooops!
D'Alaire -- 10 Oct 2002, 12:26 EST

Hey! I was only on my 1st cup of coffee!

Re: Not to mention in...
Carson -- 10 Oct 2002, 18:13 EST

I remember Seven mentioning the Borg had been around for a long time. It's just this picture of technology and organic life being combined was just to similiar not to mention,:).

!!!!!!!
Mindy -- 10 Oct 2002, 22:00 EST

I am SO SO SO happy TPTB are paying atenting to continuity in the little ways that really count...it's the same thing ME does with ANGEL and BTVS...for instance, in the season premiere of ANGEL, Angel referred to Buffy condemning him to 100 years in a hell dimension way back in Season 2. If this keeps up, ENTERPRISE is really going to start rocking!!!!

Mindy

I thought of that, too, Carson!
Mindy -- 10 Oct 2002, 22:04 EST

Not just in that the station was completely automated and not just that the station was repairing itself at the end of the episode...but also because thes tatin kept the crewmen from various ships because the "cerebral cortex is the most sophisticated computer there is," to paraphrase T'Pol...absorbing the knowledge from the these crewman was quite, quite reminiscent of the "your collective knowledge and etc. etc. will be added to ours" mantra of the Borg.

Of course, at this time in ST lore, the Borg are already on the loose in the Delta quadrant, so I really don't think there is a connectin...but it was fun to speculate!

Mindy

Sorta agree with you, Eric re: the characters reacting to Mayweather's death, but...
Mindy -- 10 Oct 2002, 22:06 EST

...the hokey "gelatin" speech by Hoshi was the only in an otherwise really good episode.

Mindy

D'Alaire, the station's white, crisp sterility...
Mindy -- 10 Oct 2002, 22:08 EST

...reminded me more of 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY than anything else.

Mindy

I do think TPTB are reaching a little too hard to create the great pairing of...
Mindy -- 10 Oct 2002, 22:11 EST

...O'Brian and Bashire on DS9...but that was a pairing that came naturally (I think) as the writers started picking up on the great natural charisma the actors had with each other.

I wish they (TPTB) weren't trying so hard...I wish they would just let the characters/actors relationships evolve a bit more naturally.

Mindy

Shame on me! Didn't even recognize it or make the connection! (nim)
Mindy -- 10 Oct 2002, 22:12 EST

*Thank* you--that's much more...
D'Alaire -- 11 Oct 2002, 05:57 EST

...what I was trying to get at.

Again, 1st cup of coffee syndrome.

Speaking of computer voices...Nah, it'd have been too funny if the computer was a HAL. Then again, it'd have given Archer a good reason to have the willies so early in. "I know I've heard that voice somewhere before..."

I knew that voice sounded familiar!!!(NIM)
Carus -- 11 Oct 2002, 18:20 EST

Finally saw "Dead Stop" last night
D -- 13 Oct 2002, 10:47 EST

(The Tampa UPN affiliate reruns Enterprise on Saturday night.) I was sitting at Newark Airport waiting for a flight that was 2 hours late when it aired Wednesday.

Since this is so late I don't have much to add to others comments. It was a good episode, and I liked the fact that for a change we didn't have a lot of darkly lit sets; I'm getting tired of the flashlights. As someone else said TPTB must have paid attention to gripes about continuity in Voyager because Enterprise is doing a better job. And they're working the fact that the technology is less advanced into the plots; no miracle repairs from one episode to the next.

I do wonder, with all this crews' exposure to advanced tech (replicators, tissue regenerators, holodecks), how it is that Starfleet doesn't have these things until the TOS or, in some cases TNG, eras.

As for the station, could it be what later incorporated V'Ger and threatened Earth? And I seem to recall a "race" called the Replicators, though I'm not sure if they're in Trek or some other Sci Fi.

I think the Replicators are from SG-1, D [NIM]
Mike D -- 15 Oct 2002, 11:08 EST