Star Trek Episode review

Episode review - Dear Doctor

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Report this Jun. 23 2010, 8:53 pm

I shall look upon this episode and I shall give it a 7. I feel so conflicted on this. I can see both sides of the argument and I'm just not sure who's right. Is there even a "right" to this? Perhaps it would have been better if the cure was given, but would the Menk have suffered? Does that make any more or less of a difference than whether or not the Valakians survived?(We clearly do NOT know what happened to them afterwards.) It would have been interesting to see what the Vulcans would have done.

On a lighter note, I enjoyed the affection that Cutler gave to Phlox.

kludge77

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Report this Jun. 23 2010, 9:03 pm

8. Now to qualify

It was a well presented episode. Morality aside it took us a while to understand what was happening. I showed us the captains initial willingness to give out help and his overall ignorance of expertise in space. In the end he made a difficult choice. Agree or disagree with it as you like. Â¿It was hard for him, who wanted so bad to be a force for good in the galaxy, to have to make that choice.

Secondly it was great to 'get' a bit a first good look at Phlox. We began to understand him, and see that while he did what he was told, he didn't always agree. Of course it reminded me of 'Data's Day' but whatever.

The reason it was an 8 and not a 10 was because I think we all expected the ending. Unlike in cogenitor, when I was blown away, I saw this one coming.

Still a good Phlox episode none the less.

grigori

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Report this Jun. 23 2010, 9:48 pm

There wouldn't even BE an episode if, in the end, Phlox/Archer did exactly what we expected: "to hell with non-interference, my gut tells me the right thing to do is cure these people."

Obviously, the entire episode was written with the intention of throwing out a VERY sticky ethical situation, and solution, and was MEANT to create discord amond the viewers! For that reason I LIKE it, and I commend the writers for choosing this route over and over again in ENT, rather than going for the "feel-good" solutions we sometimes are used to in Trek. (Kludge is smart, that's why he saw the ending coming--the whole set-up by the writers had to be intentional.)

It irks me when the people who turned on ENT because of this episode just "don't get it". It's not who's right or wrong, it's the discussion of these issues that matters.

And ENT goes into the thorny ethical areas! I suppose I could judge those who dislike ENT based on just what they're uncomfortable with...Some people like nice, easy answers and cookie-cutter moral decisions made for them ahead of time.

T'POL: The Vulcans stayed to help Earth 90 years ago. We're still there.

--This was the BEST line! One of the best in ENT. It really threw things in perspective for Archer, and for us.

(Kludge--the Cogenitor ending is the one I saw coming, not this one!

)

kludge77

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Report this Jun. 24 2010, 11:03 am

Quote (grigori @ June 23 2010, 6:48 am)

T'POL: The Vulcans stayed to help Earth 90 years ago. We're still there.

--This was the BEST line! One of the best in ENT. It really threw things in perspective for Archer, and for us.

(Kludge--the Cogenitor ending is the one I saw coming, not this one!

)

For some reason I always picture this quote coming from V'lar in Fallen Hero.

Regardless, It gives you a good perspective on this episode. Even more so with our last 70 years of political history, (Germany, Japan, Korea & Iraq) and International involvement. Sure they were trying to kill us, but we're still stuck there.

In all truth there is a part of me that believes we could have found a third solution to the trouble. (Like the DS9 episode The Quickening) but Archers choice was backed by what he believed to be a good reason.

In addition I believe Enterprise needed to fail a few times. We can't go out into space with a white cowboy hat and save everyone. It's not real. It wouldn't happen. This episode also established why it's not a) always feasible b) even helpful. Lastly It set the tone for more VERY sticky ethical situations as, grigori put it, to come.

Oh and here's the bit from Fallen Hero that I was thinking of...

V'LAR: .... I remember when news of your people first reached Vulcan. I was fascinated by humanity but worried as well.
ARCHER: You hadn't even met us.
V'LAR: You had just emerged from a global war. The idea that you deemed yourselves ready to join the interstellar community seemed premature.

grigori

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Report this Jun. 24 2010, 2:14 pm

Quote (kludge77 @ June 24 2010, 11:03 am)

In addition I believe Enterprise needed to fail a few times. We can't go out into space with a white cowboy hat and save everyone. It's not real. It wouldn't happen.

I agree 100%. What happened that LED to the Prime Directive and other Starfleet diplomatic rules? Archer was operating back when there WERE none. And it's kind of unfair to judge him in hindsight--trained as we all are in 25th Century Starfleet ethics!

Quote

This episode also established why it's not a) always feasible b) even helpful. Lastly It set the tone for more VERY sticky ethical situations as, grigori put it, to come.

The Kobayashi Maru wasn't the FIRST "no-win" situation Archer faced. It had become a hallmark of his command before Martin/Mangels ever made the historic connection.

tishkajaku

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Report this Jun. 29 2010, 11:04 am

Excellent points to the moral and ethical situations Archer and ENT struggled to resolve, and no nicely wrapped endings to go off into the sunset.....ENT was real, in your face, non PC and divisive in presenting conflicts, both internal and external, for our intrepid crew. Very refresing for my own enjoyment of a storyline....since I appreciate being treated as an intelligent, pragmatic, empathetic, thinking person while being entertained. Life is messy, and I would have it no other way, just like ENT.

I give this episode a 9.

ssmukhi

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Report this Jun. 29 2010, 12:49 pm

Quote (grigori @ June 25 2010, 2:14 am)

Quote (kludge77 @ June 24 2010, 11:03 am)

In addition I believe Enterprise needed to fail a few times. We can't go out into space with a white cowboy hat and save everyone. It's not real. It wouldn't happen.

Quote

This episode also established why it's not a) always feasible b) even helpful. Lastly It set the tone for more VERY sticky ethical situations as, grigori put it, to come.

The Kobayashi Maru wasn't the FIRST "no-win" situation Archer faced. It had become a hallmark of his command before Martin/Mangels ever made the historic connection.

What I would have liked to see lead to The Prime Directive was the RESULT of actual interference. The fact that this is a pre-prime directive issue is that Archer should have helped, then we revisit this place a few weeks later only to find out that the Valkians, after being cured had totally enslaved the Menks. Then we would have had some reason for Archer to regret his decision.

grigori

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Report this Jun. 29 2010, 12:54 pm

Quote (ssmukhi @ June 29 2010, 12:49 pm)

This is a VERY good point. But Archer and co. did mess up in other situations. The Communicator, and Trip messed up royally (but it amounted to "the humans") in Congenitor--it WAS a cultural misunderstanding, anyway, if not a culture-wide influence.

But can you imagine how much MORE the ENT bashers would have kicked and screamed if we gave Archer such an overt failure? Not in Trek! Some people would not accept it.

So I appreciate the writers showing early human mistakes which led to LATER Starfleet regulations, but some viewers sure had a problem with it.

ssmukhi

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Report this Jun. 29 2010, 1:17 pm

Quote (grigori @ June 30 2010, 12:54 am)

But can you imagine how much MORE the ENT bashers would have kicked and screamed if we gave Archer such an overt failure? Not in Trek! Some people would not accept it.

Not me. I expected Archer, as the first Starship Captain to make wrong decisions that he later regretted. Heck, even Kirk was shown a few times hesitating, like in Balance of Terror "What if I'm wrong?"

Dear Doctor could have been a story arc in itself. A good story arc that would lead to the first draft of the Prime Directive. Instead what we got were Archer and Phlox following the Prime Directive as we know it to the letter and it has not even been written yet!

grigori

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Report this Jun. 29 2010, 1:26 pm

Quote (ssmukhi @ June 29 2010, 1:17 pm)

Dear Doctor could have been a story arc in itself. A good story arc that would lead to the first draft of the Prime Directive. Instead what we got were Archer and Phlox following the Prime Directive as we know it to the letter and it has not even been written yet!

Some people have a huge problem with what Archer and Phlox DID decide, though!

Enough to turn them off from the show.

I agree--I very much like your idea that one of the ENT story arcs be devoted to the proto-Prime Directive, rather than the touching upon it here and there in early episodes.

But I also like the time, particularly in Season 4 (but started right away in S.1), they spent showing Archer negotiating allies among the variety of species he meets, even brokering peace as a lead-in to the Coalition and Federation. THAT happened early on, and right away, in Earth's history in space as well.

ssmukhi

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Report this Jun. 29 2010, 1:47 pm

Quote (grigori @ June 30 2010, 1:26 am)

Some people have a huge problem with what Archer and Phlox DID decide, though!

Enough to turn them off from the show.

I was almost one of them. I was like, WHAT???? However I kept watching. After all, it was still Trek.

whyaduck

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Report this Jun. 29 2010, 2:43 pm

When you have these ethically difficult episodes, you can never make every viewer happy with the outcome. I had no problem with the episode and I understood Archer's dilemma. I don't know what would have done in his place.

Would the viewers who were unhappy with his decision have been happier if the prime directive had already been in place and Archer followed it and made the same choice?

ssmukhi

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Report this Jun. 29 2010, 11:50 pm

Quote (whyaduck @ June 30 2010, 2:43 am)

Would the viewers who were unhappy with his decision have been happier if the prime directive had already been in place and Archer followed it and made the same choice?

Probably not. However my issue would have been against The Prime Directive itself, not Archer and Phlox.

nrapo

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Report this Jul. 26 2010, 8:22 am

This episode had big brass ones... None of that syrupy stuff. I am glad they didn't cop out. This is why people liked the Original Trek - they addressed real issues.

Peace through superior firepower....