Enterprise, season 4

FOUR-STAR EPISODES: 2
AVERAGE EPISODE RATING: 2.9
-Storm Front 1&2 ***
Enterprise and archer have been transported to a WWII they don't recognize, with America invaded and aliens in league with the nazis. A dying daniels from a destroyed future tells them they must set everything aright. Archer develops a touching friendship with a resistance fighter (golden brooks - GIRLFRIENDS, TIMECODE).
-Home ***
On Earth, archer climbs mountains to get away from being idolized or second-guessed. He is haunted by the choices he made fighting the xindi. Erica hernandez (ada maris - ABOUT LAST NIGHT..., NURSES), an ex-flame and soon-to-be captain of the second warp-5 ship, follows. They share some touching moments. Phlox finds Earth has become xenophobic. T'pol takes trip on a trip to Vulcan, where they meet her disapproving mother (joanna cassidy - BLADE RUNNER, DON'T TELL MOM THE BABYSITTER'S DEAD).
-Borderland ****
-written by ken lazebnik
-directed by david livingston
A bit all over the place, because it's the expository spark for a multi-episode arc. But tumbling brilliance on this level cannot be ignored. It starts with a klingon bird of prey (captained by j.g. hertzler - INALIENABLE, ...AND JUSTICE FOR ALL) rescuing two unimpressive-looking humans who proceed to overwhelm every klingon with ease. On Earth, archer visits imprisoned genius arik soong (brent spiner - THE NEXT GENERATION, NIGHT COURT), a geneticist whose augmented humans commandeered the klingon ship. Enterprise pursues. They get hijacked by orions, who capture t'pol for the slave market. Soong aids in a rescue, but his augment "children" free him. Phew.
-Cold Station 12 ***
The augments go after biological weapons on a high-security Federation station. One of phlox's friends (richard riehle - GLORY, FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS) is the station administrator. Enterprise comes after them, with the help of a shunned augment whose DNA manipulations didn't take.
-The Augments ***
The augments are loose in a bird of prey with bio-weapons. They usurp soong's authority. Alec newman (DUNE, CHILDREN OF DUNE) is chilling as malik, and abby brammell (THE UNIT, SIX FEET UNDER) is unforgettable as the loyal persis. The climax of spiner's delightful three-episode arc.
-The Forge ***
Admiral forrest is killed in a bombing on Vulcan, and the High Command blames a fringe group of reformers, which t'pol's mother has joined. Archer and t'pol cross the desert to find them, and meet syrran (michael nouri - FLASHDANCE, LOVELY & AMAZING), who carries surak's katra. Mortally wounded, he transfers the katra to archer.
-Awakening ***
Ambassador soval uses a mindmeld on a comatose clerk to discover that the High Command ordered the embassy bombing, to provoke a war with Andoria. T'pol and archer find her mother with the syrannites. T'pau, their new leader (kara zediker - ROCK STAR, 24), tries to take surak's katra, but fails. Soval is dismissed, as the High Command prepares to carpet bomb the pacifists.
-Kir'Shara ***
Enterprise puts itself between the vulcan and andorian fleets, while archer and t'pau try to get a relic containing surak's writings to the High Command. Minister kuvak (john rubenstein - THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL, 21 GRAMS) impeaches the war-hungry v'las. A lovely ending to the vulcan arc.
-Daedalus **
An eminent scientist comes aboard to (ostensibly) do sub-quantum teleportation tests.
-Observer Effect **
Non-corporeal aliens inhabit the bodies of crew members, to study humanity. It's sweet that they do an organian episode, but a whiff of toxic conceit seeps from this one's pores. This episode recycles an idea that occasionally popped up in most, if not all, TREK series, the notion that humanity has some kind of indefinable X factor, some inherent "neat-o-ness" that sets us apart from, well, everyone else. Is this subconscious religious doctrine seeping through the pen of the less sharp writers? One of religion's insidious notions is that humans are more worthy or special than other life forms. It's embarrassing that resonances of this conceit crept into TREK.
-Babel 1 ***
Escorting tellarite peace delegates, Enterprise picks up andorians who swear they were attacked by tellarites. Then they're attacked by an andorian ship. The romulans are behind it all.
-United ***
Archer tries to prove that the peace-imperiling attacks are neither tellarite nor andorian, and establishes a tenuous truce.
-The Aenar **
Enterprise discovers the morphing marauder is telepathically piloted by an andorian subspecies. Archer and shran go to Andoria to investigate. A poignant turn by alicia adams (no other credits) as an aenar searching for her doomed brother. She and shran develop a touching connection.
-Affliction **
Phlox is kidnapped by klingons, and forced to search for a cure to a genocidal virus. The smooth-foreheaded classic klingons are finally explained. A lovely turn by john schuck (ROOTS, PROJECT: ALF) as a klingon doctor.
-Divergence ***
A sabotaged Enterprise must keep increasing speed or blow up. Trip, stationed aboard the newly-launched Columbia, must transfer over at warp 5 without a transporter. How they achieve it is one of the most visually exciting sequences in TREK history. The wonderful captain hernandez is back. And TRUE BLOOD fans, if you've never imagined pam (kristin bauer, DANCING AT THE BLUE IGUANA) as a klingon, you should.
-Bound ***
The most orion-heavy episode ever, featuring william lucking (STRIPES, SONS OF ANARCHY) as an orion captain who gives Enterprise three slave women as a peace offering. But they're a trojan horse sent to stupify the male crewmembers with pheremones. Navaar (cyia batten - BUBBLE BOY, RED SHOE DIARIES 17) has wonderful chemistry with archer, and it's a lovely moment when he chooses fucking over duty. But the denouement lacks inventiveness, as both sides get out of jams too easily, plus the fascinating reveal that Orion is a female-dominated society should have been given to cyia, in a moment of carnal dominance. T'pol, hoshi, and cutler should have saved the day, too. Flawed but fantastic.
-In a Mirror, Darkly 1&2 ****
-written by michael sussman
-directed by james l. conway, marvin v. rush
Any discussion of the all-time best TREK is incomplete without this. The events happen in the mirror universe established in the classic series. Earth rules a xenophobic empire of conquest, which is about to be defeated by rebel forces. Archer, first officer of the Enterprise, leads a mutiny against captain forrest (16 episodes by vaughn armstrong - THE PHILADELPHIA EXPERIMENT, TRIUMPHS OF A MAN CALLED HORSE), and takes the ship into tholian territory, where he commandeers the constitution-class Defiant, which has been pulled from our universe's future. After killing a gorn(!), he takes the ship back to install himself as emperor. He also takes the "captain's woman", hoshi. Majel's computer voice feels like home. Travis is diabolical as a redshirt. Hoshi and t'pol have a knife fight. The title music and opening credits are nasty and unforgettable. Evil, sexy, dark...and guess who comes out on top?
DARKLYTHON
The Tholian Web TOS
Mirror, Mirror TOS
In a Mirror, Darkly
-Demons **
(see the following)
-Terra Prime ***
There are some beautiful farewell touches, in this product of a cancelled series. A pre-Federation summit on Earth is sabotaged by a xenophobic movement led by john paxton (the redoubtable peter weller- ROBOCOP, NAKED LUNCH). Harry groener (BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, THE WEST WING) is lovely as minister samuels. Travis finally gets laid (it only took four years), as he's pursued by a reporter with secrets (johanna watts - THE FALLS, MUTANT VAMPIRE ZOMBIES FROM THE 'HOOD!). Trip's last scene with t'pol is so tender that we forgive their romance. Well, almost.
-These Are the Voyages... ***
Very sweet...a holodeck flashback of the NX-01's final mission, that will riker (frakes!) runs aboard Enterprise-D. Joining him is deanna (sirtis!). Plus data's voice (spiner!). Trip dies (as penance for his romance with t'pol - my interpretation). As the Federation is born, one of the final images we see is archer and t'pol hugging. Yay.