Jammersreviews

Note: This review contains significant spoilers.


In brief: Reasonably diverting, but it seems more like an easily discarded 
prologue than necessary storytelling.

Plot description: Captain Archer recruits Dr. Arik Soong -- a biologist sent 
to prison for birthing frozen embryos left over from the Eugenics Wars -- to 
help the Enterprise track down these genetically enhanced humans, now grown, 
who have incited tensions with the Klingons.

-----
Star Trek: Enterprise - "Borderland"

Airdate: 10/29/2004 (USA)
Written by Ken LaZebnik
Directed by David Livingston

Review by Jamahl Epsicokhan
Rating out of 4: **1/2

"Jonathan Archer. What brings you here? They naming the prison after 
you?" -- Soong
-----

Sometimes I get painted into a corner with my star ratings, which seems to 
be the case with "Borderland," an episode I liked more than either of the 
"Storm Front" installments but which nevertheless feels sort of ... 
unnecessary. The episode is the first part of a three-episode storyline, and 
when it comes down to it, much of what happens here is incidental rather 
than crucial.

That's not really a huge problem so much as an observation. This is a safe, 
brisk-paced, not-bad hour of Star Trek that invokes some fun classic-Trek 
references. But your brain is not going to break a sweat. Given the 
ethical/controversial underpinnings of the story -- centuries-later 
consequences from the Eugenics Wars -- that's kind of too bad. (But, yes, I 
know: There are still two more episodes in this arc to sort that out.)

A small band of genetically enhanced humans takes over a Klingon ship. They 
have fight moves that might give Jackie Chan second thoughts, and they 
easily overpower the Klingon crew. As it happens, I watched TOS's "Space 
Seed" on DVD just last week, and these guys put Khan's fighting abilities to 
shame. (Stunt coordination and editing have come a long way. Then again, 
they'd better have, seeing as it's been nearly four decades.) The most 
puzzling aspect of this sequence is why J.G. Hertzler is cast as the 
commander of the Klingon ship in what is a complete throwaway role; he's 
killed before the opening titles.

This deadly hijacking is an outrage that makes the Klingons Real Mad, to the 
point that, apparently, This Means War between Starfleet and the Klingon 
Empire. Archer is ordered to take the Enterprise and find the genetically 
enhanced humans (called "Augments") and bring them back to Earth. Why such 
an isolated criminal incident is impetus for the Klingons threatening 
all-out war is not a plot point that I really understand ... nor is why 
Starfleet thinks they can avert such a war merely by recapturing the 
Augments.

Archer enlists the help of Dr. Arik Soong (Brent Spiner), a brilliant 
biologist who has been incarcerated for the past 10 years because he stole 
19 Augment embryos from cold storage at a top-secret Starfleet research 
facility where he worked. The facility holds a stockpile of embryos left 
over from the Eugenics Wars.

Soong saw the 19 stolen embryos through to birth, and then raised the 
children as his own until about the age of 10, around when he was caught and 
sent to prison. The children escaped and have been in hiding, until now --  
grown up, hijacking ships, and turning pretty much into terrorists with 
delusions of grandeur.

Soong knows the territory of space where he believes his "children" might be 
roaming: a region where the Klingons regularly butt heads with the Orion 
Syndicate and their slave trade. The area is called the "Borderland," which 
sounds suspiciously like "Neutral Zone." The Enterprise has barely entered 
the Borderland when they are attacked by Orion slavers and nine members the 
Enterprise crew are kidnapped from the ship and promptly put up for slave 
auction on a nearby merchant world.

With Soong as his guide, Archer beams down to retrieve the missing crew 
members. This leads to one of the show's most intriguing scenes, where we 
see an Orion slave auction. Rather than going for the obviousness of 
barbaric shouts and grunts and noise, the creators depict the auction in an 
almost geeky, worker-bee sort of way: There's the sight of dozens of slave 
buyers punching buttons on their data pads, while an electronic screen runs 
up tallies. It's one of the quirkier things I've seen on this series in a 
while.

Indeed, I like the whole notion of the slave trade being played for its 
quirks and goofiness rather than more harrowing qualities. In a scene where 
T'Pol goes up for auction, a massive Orion played by WWE star Big Show lifts 
her up like a slab of beef for all the crowd to see. He then shakes her up a 
bit, satisfied with the price she has brought in. Later, all the doors on 
the prisoner cages become unlocked, resulting in a chaotic uprising. Soong 
attempts to escape in the confusion, which ends with a clever action gag 
involving his magnetic handcuffs and the on/off remote that Archer uses to 
control them.

Much of which, you see, is irrelevant to the big picture involving Soong and 
the Augments. Fans will like the Orion Syndicate references, but those 
looking for story might be ready to get on with more substantive fare.

The Augments themselves are something of a frustration, because the writers 
are mostly content to have them engage in the usual cliches of characters 
who are indignant because of their superiority. Here are people who are 
stronger, faster, smarter, and they know it. I'm not so sure about the 
smarter part -- at least not when it comes to common sense and assessing 
human nature. I guess unlimited hubris is an inevitable byproduct of genetic 
superiority. It's hard to get a feel for what the Augments think about their 
situation, because the background of Soong's teachings and philosophy are 
not completely clear, and the story is content to let the pack follow one 
predator.

The predator, by the way, is Malik (Alec Newman), a Khan-like figure, 
power-drunk, but lacking the Khan-like charisma. There's a power struggle 
going on between Malik and Raakin (Joel West), who is the leader at the 
beginning of the episode but most definitely not by the end. In between them 
is Persis (Abby Brammell), who seems to support one, and then the other; she 
has a skill for manipulation and deception. Alas, these dynamics aren't 
interesting enough to transcend the overall shallowness of these characters.

Fortunately, we do have Soong, who ends up escaping with the Augments on the 
Klingon ship. Soong -- well played by Spiner as a mix of canny instincts, 
human sympathy (he does, after all, have a sincere love for his children), 
and a mildly smug sense of humor -- keeps this storyline alive.

Hopefully we'll get a better idea of what makes him and the Augments tick 
before this is all over.

--
Next week: Soong and his children attempt to release the rest of the 
Augments.

-----
Copyright 2004 Jamahl Epsicokhan. All rights reserved.
Unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this article is prohibited.

Star Trek: Hypertext - http://www.st-hypertext.com/
Jamahl Epsicokhan - jammer@...