Harbinger

What I liked about this episode:

The bantering and the witty dialogue between T'Pol and Trip. The dialogue between Trip and Reed was amusing as well. I liked Reed's line when he was referring to the neuropressure Trip had done on Amanda "....damage control from your tender touch." In fact, overall, the dialogue throughout most of the episode was clever and the actors did a great job with it. I admire writers who write such dialogue and I admire the actors who can rattle it off.

The fight scene between Reed and Major Hayes looked convincing and was well played out. I enjoyed it when Archer found out that Reed and Hayes had been in a fisticuffs -- he sternly informs both of them that he will not tolerate behavior like this on his ship. Then he shames them by reminding them about the mission they were on and that they have enough enemies to deal with; they don't need to be turning against one another. I also liked it when Phlox called Archer to sickbay; he just left the two of them standing there wondering whether or not they were dismissed.

My hat's off to the special effects people. These guys and gals did a wonderful job! The special effects were the best part of this episode and its saving grace!

What I didn't like about this episode:

The writers used the tired old "sex-card" -- probably in an effort to draw more viewers. Now don't get me wrong, I have no problem with Enterprise getting more attention and consequently more viewers, but I want it done for the right reasons, such as ingenuity and creativity. I am also concerned when there is a lack of imagination or when the story line simply has not been well thought out or developed. Now is the time to be pulling out all the stops and presenting the best possible product you can.

Showing T'Pol as a jealous female was demeaning to her character. I felt that her dropping her robe was ridiculous and just proves once again that the majority of Hollywood has no idea what a healthy and loving relationship is about.

Star Trek represents adventure, excitement, and exploration. It's supposed to stretch our imaginations. There is no place for cheesy sex on Enterprise. The show is better than that. And the actors and actresses deserve better material. I suppose one could argue that the writer(s) are attempting to demonstrate that no matter how far into the future we go, or how far out into space, we are still unable to escape our basic human emotions -- the negative ones will still plague us. But I don't like them plaguing Enterprise. Enterprise is not a Soap Opera!

Seeing the two Neanderthals -- otherwise known as Reed and Major Hayes -- having a power struggle was another thing that put me off. Don't get me wrong, I thought these two actors did an admirable job in portraying the fight scenes. But Reed was deliberately disobeying the Captain's orders. He wasn't able to look beyond his own injured pride to see that these training sessions were the best thing for the crew and the mission.

There is a movie entitled Much Ado About Nothing. The whole thing between Trip and T'Pol, as well as Major Hayes and Reed, reminds me as to what point that movie was trying to make.

The other thing that left me scratching my head was the alien. There was no character development. The guy laid on his back in an unconscious heap for most of the episode. All we see is a very agitated Archer trying to figure out the mystery surrounding him.. Then, after Phlox revives him, the alien attacks Phlox, leaves sickbay, and starts walking through the ship disrupting the power and other ship functions as he goes.

This begs the questions:

Why wasn't there security in sickbay?

Why the detour in the first place? They were on their way to Azati Prime -- at first glance there wasn't anything that warranted a closer look in this anomaly. It wasn't like Archer needed additional information before continuing on to Azati Prime. He already knew its location. They didn't even know there was a pod in that particular area until they got closer to it.

Why was Trip administering the neuropressure to Amanda in the first place? T'Pol had warned him in an earlier episode that if done incorrectly, it could cause serious damage to humans. Why would Trip take that chance with someone?

And my last gripe:

Except for a very brief confrontation with his senior officers and the alien, Scott had very little to do in this episode. The "helm" should have been turned over to Scott and the rest of his crew. I know if the writers had bothered checking with them and asking for some input this would have been a much better episode!

It is my hope that in future episodes we will be enlightened as to what and how this episode ties in with anything. (Maybe there is hope for Harbinger yet.) Right now, I would classify Harbinger as only a filler between Stratagem and Doctor's Orders, with a provision: I hope that Harbinger will be a piece of the overall puzzle that at some point in time we will see the necessity of this episode. I'm not ready to label it as a lost cause just yet.

Here's hoping!

Sarah's Two Cents