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Enterprise
Episode 117, "Fusion"
Story by Rick Berman and Brannon Braga
Teleplay by Phyllis Strong and Mike Sussman
Directed by Rob Hedden
Well, what can I say... week in and week out Enterprise seems to be the same old mix of interesting situations and largely wasted potential. There are always elements to enjoy, but in the end, something's always missing.
So what's missing this week? Well, how about an "A" story, for starters. See, typically for a given episode of any show, be it a one-hour drama or a half-hour sitcom, there is the main thrust of the story, or "A" story. Subplots are necessary, however, to break up the action, and give the viewer a respite from the tension and conflict that's pushing the story forward. These subplots are known as the "B" and "C" stories. And a very tightly written episode will find a way to integrate all three into a cohesive narrative. Seinfeld was an excellent example of a show that tied its seemingly independent stories together.
"Fusion", the latest Enterprise offering, is not without its enjoyable moments, but what exactly was the "A" story? (by the way, if you even have to ask, the script should still be in the outline stage) You've got Enterprise doing some basic science stuff - exploring the Arachnid Nebula. Now this is one of those little touches I like about the show - the sense of awe and wonder that Archer and Co. seem to have that become lost on the later crews. I like Archer because he still has an astronomy book on his desk from childhood, and similarly I still have all of mine, as well as all those nebula and star field posters on my walls. (although my chances are becoming an astronaut are admittedly dwindling by the minute... ) In any case, as they approach the nebula, they're hailed by a Vulcan ship. This time, however, it's not your usual Vulcans - these have re-integrated their emotions into their lives, at the cost of being ostracized from their homeworld. Turns out they need some help with their ship, and Enterprise is more than happy to accomodate. The Vulcans dock, and a few of them spend some time aboard as the two ships fly as one through the nebula. Now, I hate to always be nitpicking the science, but this would probably not be a good idea. I'm not sure what technobabble solution the Trek people have always used in regards to deflecting away interstellar dust while traveling at high speeds, but the average density of gas in a nebula is several thousand times that of the interstellar medium. Whatever. I'm sure they've got a way. Anyway, during these several days, two relationships evolve, one between Trip and a Vulcan engineer, and one between T'Pol and a Vulcan called Tolaris.
Now, I suppose the inevitable answer is that T'Pol's experimentation with Tolaris and emotions is the main story. She's predictably T'Pol-ish for awhile, but this guy's relentless. He gets her to not meditate one night so that she might have more interesting dreams, and then even manages to get her to mind-meld with him. By the way, said dreams were the basis for all the T'Pol-in-the-sack-with-another-guy stuff. As if that wasn't predictable. Now don't get me wrong, I found all of this mildly interesting, because I really like T'Pol's character. All that time around humans is seemingly making her experience a wider range of thinking and emotions, if for only brief moments here and there. But this is just not "A" story material. To me, at least, this episode felt like three or four subplots just jammed together by writers who were thinking, "maybe nobody will notice almost nothing is going on." Well, I think people noticed, so better luck next time.
Like I said, I found nothing 'bad' about this episode. It was all amusing. But an hour came and went and essentially nothing happened. If anything, the message seemed to be that the Vulcans couldn't handle their emotions after all, since Tolaris gets violent, thus making cynical T'Pol right all along. Was this really what they were going for? Who knows...
Yet another mediocre entry from a series that continues to have crazy, untapped potential. Of course, this was 17th episode of the season, so with only five to go, this could be an intentional lull in the action before the big season-ending arc. One can only hope.
But for now, "Fusion" gets:
Episode Rating: 4 out of 10.
Till all are one
-- Ultra Magnus
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