Shuttlepod One
Date: November 09, 2151
Original Airdate: February 13, 2002
By T'Bonz
The Story
Trip and Reed are in shuttle pod one where they were conducting
a test on targeting scanners on the shuttle pod. Due to damage
sustained by a sharp jolt, they decide to head back to meet Enterprise,
which is engaged in mapping an asteroid field. Both the sensor
array and the comm system on shuttle pod one are down. When they
reach the field, Reed calls Trip over, having spotted wreckage
on an asteroid. They fly in closer to investigate, and to their
horror, find the remains of what they believe to be Enterprise.
Back on Enterprise, Archer and Hoshi discuss the Tesnians who
are now aboard Enterprise. It was their ship, which had been
destroyed, and which wreckage is on the asteroid The Enterprise
had damage to the starboard doors when the Tesnians tried to
dock. The damage to the Tesnian ship occurred because of micro
singularities, that is to say, miniature black holes, which,
after impact, are dissipated.
Trip and Reed decide to head for Echo 3, in hopes that their
distress beacon will be heard. They have 10 days of breathable
air left. Reed makes log entries to leave behind, to his parents,
and to women from his past. He has faced up to the reality that
they will not survive, but Trip gets annoyed with his pessimism.
Trip is hopeful that someone will find them in time. Reed has
a dream that they have been rescued, and in that dream, T'Pol
finds him to be a hero, and makes advances to him.
The shuttle pod is jolted again, and two breaches develop. Reed
and Trip patch them by using mashed potatoes from their meal
of the evening. One of the O2 cylinders was also ruptured, leaving
them with only two days of air left. By lowering the thermostat,
they are able to get another half day of air. They start to drink
a bottle of bourbon, and proceed to get drunk. Reed confesses
that for the first time in his life he was starting to get close
to people, and that was the crew of Enterprise. Reed confesses
his interest in T'Pol.
They hear Hoshi's voice over the comm. system, and hear
that Enterprise is on the way. However, it will rendezvous too
late for Trip and Reed. Trip wants to attract the attention of
Enterprise, so that they will speed up and get there before the
air runs out on the shuttle pod. Reed suggests that they jettison
the impulse drive and blow it up, so that it will get the attention
of Enterprise. Trip decides to sacrifice himself, as then there
would be sufficient air for Reed to survive until Enterprise
comes. Reed stops him from doing it, threatening to stun him.
Reed wakes up aboard Enterprise. They HAD seen the flare, and
rescued both men.
Review
The Good
The many humorous touches throughout the story, from poking
fun at sci-fi novels, to Trip and Reed getting snockered and
Reed's admiration of T'Pol's "bum".
The glimpse into Reed's love life, via his "letters" to
his former flames, was also a nice touch and finally, Reed's
dream was funny.
The similarity to the TOS episode "The Galileo Seven" was
rather obvious and was a nice nod to the original series.
The Very Good
The interaction between Trip and Reed, and the insight into
Reed's character. One had got the impression in a previous
attitude that Reed didn't get on quite so well with his
family, and this episode shows why, in a nice bit of continuity.
The Bad
Mashed potatoes to seal breaches? I don't think so! While
it was amusing (and while instant cooked potatoes are great for
sealing up college dorm wall holes in real life preparatory to
repainting it), I rather doubt that this solution would have
worked to seal a real breach in the shuttle pod.
The Verdict
A nice episode. The interaction between Trip and Reed was excellent,
and it was good to get more insight into the character of Reed.
While one knew that they would be rescued and not die, it still
was interesting to see how they dealt with their perilous situation.
The touches of continuity and humor were well done, even if the
mashed potatoes scene was rather inaccurate.
Grade: 8/10
Cast:
Scott Bakula as Jonathan Archer
John Billingsley as Dr. Phlox
Jolene Blalock as T'Pol
Dominic Keating as Malcolm Reed
Anthony Montgomery as Travis Mayweather
Linda Park as Hoshi Sato
Connor Trinneer as Charles Tucker
Creative Staff:
Director: David Livingston
Written By: Rick Berman & Brannon Braga
