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An Andorian holds a Tellarites prisoner in Enterprise.
If Enterprise has managed to be consistent about one thing, it has been the quality of its Andorian episodes. Pretty much every one has been excellent. And while I think a good percentage of that goes to Jeffrey Combs, who regularly reprises his role as Shran, the bulk of it has to go to the writing. I’m not sure why but the Andorian episodes are just the best written episodes of the series, and “Babel One” is no exception.
Shran and his girl Friday, Talas, return as they are rescued by Archer and crew after their ship is mysteriously attacked and destroyed. Archer and the Enterprise are escorting a group of Tellarites to Babel One for peace talks with the Andorians. But when Shran accuses the Tellarites of attacking his ship, those peace talks are endangered.
Yet Archer and crew uncover a deadlier threat, as they discover a strange ship that may point the finger elsewhere — the Romulans.
The reappearance of the Tellarites is another element of this episode that was really terrific. Yet another alien race not seen since the Original Series, the writers have done another outstanding job updating them. The make-up isn’t terribly different, aside from the added detail to their skin, and they are probably some of the goofiest looking creatures next to the Andorians. But that’s what I love about them.
I especially loved how they were displayed here. The argumentative nature of the Tellarites was humorous and well portrayed. And the exchanges between Archer and the lead Tellarite ambassador, Gral, were great. It’s refreshing to see Scott Bakula look more comfortable in his role. In three seasons he’s come off as stiff and off balance, never really fitting into the captain’s role with the same sense of natural ease he displayed as Sam on Quantum Leap.
The Romulans were also brought into the episode with terrific precision. Although I think it was pretty clear that they were not on the mysterious ship that Archer was chasing, the reveal of them being on Romulus was a surprise.
The biggest challenge with the Romulans is that no one is suppose to know what they look like. This was a part of the Original Series episode, “Balance of Terror”, which first introduced the Romulans. Although a war is fought with them, no human ever actually saw them face to face. This has been a major issue with fans, who crave continuity, and I’m forced to agree. It is my hope that the writers will stay true to this established history.
The show has already played around with continuity in the past, with the Ferengi and later the Borg. And while I didn’t actually mind those episodes, I don’t think it’s necessary for them to toy around with everything.
My favorite moment in the episode was the conversation between Archer and Shran. It established that these two characters had finally settled into the idea that they were friends and not adversaries. The dialogue was surprisingly personal, at least on Shran’s end, and was a great exchange between them.
Although “Babel One” does slightly mirror the Original Series episode, “Journey to Babel”, the plots diverge greatly. Where Enterprise has been successful is how they’ve touched on plots from previous shows but twisted them around enough to make them feel original. Here it takes a similar notion and expands it into a storyline that has great impact and importance on not only this series, but Star Trek as a whole.
I am greatly looking forward to the next two episodes.
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