Enterprise encounters a black hole and well, things don’t go very well. Originally broadcast on November 20, 2002, this is Singularity.
The Episode:
Science Officer’s Log Date August 14, 2152
Enterprise is forced to pass by a black hole at impulse power but things begins getting strange when several crew members begin acting irregular and irrational toward one another. With T’Pol seemingly immune, she begins to try to figure out what is causing this problem before it gets worse. Soon things spiral out of control with Travis demanding that Archer’s chair is not worthy of their Captain, Phlox wishing to do brain surgery on Mayweather for a minor headache and Reed determined to get the ship military ready.
T’Pol soon declares a medical emergency but Archer is not willing to listen. Soon the crew begin to fall unconscious as they get closer to the black hole trinary system leaving T’Pol the only one awake. She wakes Archer to pilot the ship along a specific course so that they crew is unharmed and gets them past the black hole trinary system relatively unscathed.
In the end T’Pol is thanked by the various crewmembers for her quick thinking, Reed is allowed to implement a new security tactic using ‘red alert’ and Tucker is able to fix Archer’s chair by simply lowering it one centimeter down.
Is this a ‘Good’ Episode:
So, basically, this episode is about the origins of the term ‘red alert’ and how the crew were slowly going insane as it was being implemented. Okay, not really but it sure feels that way at moments. The episode actually plays out as a really cool subtle build of the crew slowly going insane as T’Pol attempts to try to remedy the situation as everything deteriorated around her. What I love about the story is how the intensity builds from very subtle annoyances to outright violence between the crew members. If you are not aware of what is going on, the slow decent into madness comes as quite a surprise as T’Pol struggles to discover what is going on with the crew and how she can save them. Director Patrick Norris really managed to capture the intensity and uncertainty of T’Pol’s mission while giving her a chance to save the ship in a way that only she could.
Overall, this is a stellar episode (no pun intended), showing us just how dangerous space can be even without the threat of an alien creature. Space is certainly a scary place and thankfully the crew of the Enterprise is ready to face any and all threats, even those in their own minds.
Gleanings and Cool Bits:
- Turns out Hoshi is a good cook, until she becomes obsessed with the recipe…
- We get a really cool glimpse of what Chef had scheduled for the ship the week of this episode. Honestly, that doesn’t look bad at all.
- Also, there is a meal called Grandma DeRosa’s Lasagna….could our unnamed Chef be Chef DeRosa?
- Trip’s obsession over the perfect Captain’s Chair gives us a glimpse of what we will later see in STNG and on…status screens and all.
Thanks for reading the Retro TV Review, I look forward to discussing the rest of the series with you, one episode at a time every Monday, Wednesday and Friday! Next Review: Vanishing Point
more reviews I have a weekly series called Key Movies Of My Life that comes out every Thursday and for more retro TV goodness check out the rest of the Retro TV Reviews here.
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Late To The Game 7/12/2021
Special Thanks to Memory Alpha as they are one of the best sources for details on Star Trek information available. Although I have a pretty deep knowledge on the subject, they have proven invaluable as a regular resource.
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