by theenglish

There is still a week left in September and the newly “re-tooled” and renamed Star Trek: Enterprise is already well into its highly touted third season. The latest Trek series has had a difficult first two seasons as far as television ratings go. Paramount has received much criticism for this from both ex-Trek actors and news publications, but most of the fans have been pointing their fingers squarely at the shows producers Rick Berman and Brannon Bragga. Both men have been with the series for well over a decade, but have really had trouble producing new and original Trek for quite some time now. To combat the ratings problem and to save their series, B&B ended last season with “The Expanse” a bang-up, if somewhat awkwardly paced episode that introduced the new plot-arc currently running through the new season.

The quick lowdown is that a mysterious race known as the Xindi have attacked planet Earth, destroying over seven million people between Florida and Venezuela. No word on Cuba, of course, because this is an American produced show and Cuba is strictly a taboo topic. Amongst the millions killed was the sister of the formerly laid back Engineer Charles (Trip) Tucker. Captain Archer, played by Scott Bakula known best for his role as Sam Beckett on Quantum Leap or the gay neighbour in American Beauty depending on whom you know, decides to take the Enterprise into an unknown region of space to hunt down the Xindi.

The crew’s anger and bloodlust seem to rival that of the Angriest American at the height of the post 9/11 call for vengeance. The Captain is angry, distancing himself from his friends and comrades. The formerly relaxed crew, who enjoyed hanging in the mess hall and watching classic movies on Friday nights, find themselves sharing few laughs indeed. Marvels of the universe that once inspired and awed the characters are now only given a second glance if they can shed light on the whereabouts of the Xindi.

The season’s second episode, “Anomaly” contains what has been touted as the most controversial scene of the series. Captain Archer shoves a prisoner in an airlock and begins to decompress the chamber in an effort to torture information out of him. Actually, it is quite mild by contemporary television standards and other Trek characters, especially Ben Sisko of Deep Space Nine, have been responsible for deaths before. So why does this scene raise the hair on the back of people’s necks?

It has to be context. The episode does not end with the Captain joking with his logical Vulcan and down-home doctor while justifying his reasons for this action; it does not end with a remorseful commanding officer wrestling with the morality of his decision; no, it ends with Bakula’s character bitterly staring at computer screens. His gambit successful, he now has more information on the hated Xindi then when he started. There is no acknowledgement of Archer’s methods at all.

Herein rests the problem with the episode. Star Trek has always been about the quest to improve the human spirit, to move beyond our base instincts and to be something more, something better than what we are. This concept pervades all the series thus far. Kirk refused to kill the Gorn lizard-man in the episode “Arena”. Picard dealt with the more esoteric and philosophical nature of man’s base instincts. Sisko always fought to stay true to his morals in the face of amoral enemies. Even the greater part of Janeway’s task was to help her people maintain their humanity, despite the seeming futility of their efforts to return home.

The problem with the new storyline is that each episode does not end with a moral resolution, although I believe that one may come in the future. It is my purely speculative idea that the current plot will involve the humans and the Xindi learning to co-exist and have to work together to fight a greater evil. In the process, the humans will learn the negative impact their dark impulses and bloodlust has had upon them.

In the meantime, Trek purists are left wondering what the hell has happened to the morality of their show hoping that the burnt out producers will not succumb to reducing the series to a mere action packed, amoral version of their favourite show.

That is until the third episode of the season, “Extinction”, aired. For the first time this season, an episode ends with the Captain consciously making a humanitarian decision. Without giving too much away, “Extinction” deals with a catharsis of sorts. Archer has to delve into the animalistic qualities of his psyche before he can resurface as a more humane and aware being. Although I may be in the minority, I have to admit that this is easily one of my favourite episodes of the past three years.

Actually, this new series has grown on me and the new storyline holds a lot of promise for some entertaining and profound television. Trek, in each of its incarnation has reflected the values of the time in which it was produced, so perhaps it is taking the correct approach for the contemporary world where the largest super-power can declare war on a nation unilaterally and get away with it. Maybe Star Trek should take a few hours and really explore the darkness and the evil that is in each one of us. Like Archer in this week’s episode, only by taking the journey through the inferno can we regain our appreciation of beauty and wonder life has to offer.

Here’s to keeping my fingers crossed for a great 27th season of Star Trek.