Enterprise Review: “Marauders”

A little late, but here nonetheless.

Enterprise LogoMarauders

 

Cast & Crew

Director: Mike Vejar
Story By: Rick Berman & & Brannon Braga
Teleplay By: David Wilcox
Written By: Mike Vejar

Starring
Scott Bakula as Captain
Jonathan Archer
Connor Trinneer as Chief
Engineer Charles Tucker III
Jolene Blalock as Sub-commander
T’Pol
Dominic Keating as Lt.
Malcolm Reed
Anthony Montgomery
as Ensign Travis Mayweather
Linda Park as Ensign Hoshi
Sato
John Billingsley
as Dr. Phlox

Guest Cast
Larry Cedar as Tessic
Jesse James Rutherford as Q’Ell
Robertson Dean as Korok
Bari Hochwald as E’lis
Steven Flynn as Maklii
Wayne King, Jr. as Klingon #1
Peewee Piemonte as Klingon #2

Airdate Information

Originally Aired: Oct. 30, 2002
Season: Two
Episode: Six
Production: 032

MinefieldWhat
Happened

In need of fuel, the crew of Enterprise befriends a mining colony that
are beset by Klingon marauders. Rather than just getting their fuel and going,
they stay behind and train the colonists to defend themselves.

After relocating the camp and setting traps, the colonists send the Klingons
packing and give an additional 1900 litres to the crew for their help.

Review

It’s almost comical now. If anyone other than Berman and Braga write
an episode it’s palatable. If the dynamic duo are behind it, pee-eww! This episode
just never gets above banal and obvious. Sadly the next one is written by these
clowns as well. I’ll try and keep an open mind but not my hopes up.

High Point

Anyone else find it unnerving that the communications officer is that
good a shot? Could be something cool down the line.

Low Point

“And it’s not fit for a garbage scow.” line. When did Klingons stop
being macho cool and turn into sissy whiners? The Klingons I know and love would
have beamed out of the circle of fire and beamed back in behind the colonist,
slit their throats and mounted their heads on top of the pumps as a warning
against future reprisals.

The Scores

Originality: Hmm, can we say every freaking episode of “A-Team”?
I kept expecting to see Mr. T pop his head up and shout “I pity the foo’
that picks on deuterium miners.” 1 out of 6

Effects: Low end at best. Not that they were low-quality, just not that interesting.
And may I just add: That is one ugly Klingon ship! 3 out of 6

Story: Thin at best. Yes Starfleet’s trying to make an impression, but is this
what we’ve come to expect? 3 out of 6.

Acting: The regulars were just fine, even good in some places, but the guests
really stunk. 4 out of 6.

Emotional Response: Nada. A slight giggle perhaps at Hoshi’s weapon prowess,
but nothing beyond that. 2 out of 6.

Production: Some minor flubs here. Normally they are quite good with the sets
(and by and large they were). Once or twice though you could see through what
was supposed to be a door into a building when the door just led…nowhere.
4 out of 6.

Overall: C’mon. Klingons are so much cooler than this. 3 out of 6.

Total: 20 out of 42

Episode Media

From StarTrek.com

Cool Web Site

Be the life at your next party, learn Klingonese at the Klingon
Language Institute
.

Next Time on Enterprise (Nov. 6, 2002)

Next Time on EnterpriseThe
Seventh

T’Pol brings Archer with her on a top-secret mission when she is dispatched
by the Vulcan High Command to capture a fugitive that has eluded their authorities
for nearly two decades. Meanwhile, T’Pol reveals to Archer a dark and violent
secret that she repressed, and Trip, who fills in for Archer while he is away,
finds the weight of being the Captain hard to bear. [Video
Preview
]

TheAngrymob

23 replies on “Enterprise Review: “Marauders””

  1. ?
    That was my entire impression from this episode.. “?”

    When B&B started Enterprise they promised all new races, continuity with Trek history, etc. etc.

    Instead we keep getting crappy stories that barely miss breaking decades of established Trek back history while not only dredging up old characters, but managing to make them look like buffoons. Also, T’Pol…. when did she start going all Crouching Tiger?? Did someone fail to mention that she was a martial artist? Who wants to bet this talent never gets used again?

    I’m putting this series into the “Watch it if nothing better is going on and I’m out of beer” catagory.

    • Re: ?

      Also, T’Pol…. when did she start going all Crouching Tiger??

      I thought about commenting on this in my review, but figured I could let it slide. Vulcan martial arts seemed a bit of a stretch, but then non-violence/self-defense has always been a hallmark of martial arts.

      You’re right though, this will probably never surface again.

      • And the outfits…
        Not that I don’t *enjoy* T’Pol’s outfits, but come on. Do they need to be so obviously pandering to the male viewership?

        • Re: And the outfits…

          Not that I don’t *enjoy* T’Pol’s outfits, but come on. Do they need to be so obviously pandering to the male viewership?

          Uniform, from the latin meaning one type. All the other Vulcans are in loose flowing robes, but not T’Pol. Does she get a special waiver because she’s a hottie? There’s the conversation with the Vulcan High Command that I want to be in on.

          T’Pol: I request permission to dress like a slut.

          VHC: Is that logical?

          T’Pol: It will render the emotional humans horny and therefore putty in my hands. They will be too busy gawking at my body to get into any real galactic mischief.

          VHC: What of the females?

          T’Pol: Lesbian chic is all the rage in Hollywood.

          VHC: We cannot fault your logic. Permission granted.

        • Re: And the outfits…

          Not that I don’t *enjoy* T’Pol’s outfits, but come on. Do they need to be so obviously pandering to the male viewership?

          Make that straight male viewership… some of us think that Travis and Tripp need to go through decontamination together…

  2. Meet The Klingons
    See The Miners. They Are Sad. See The Klingons. They Are Bad. See Captain Archer. He is mad. Very, very mad. He hate bullies. Bullies Are Bad. Klingons Are bullies and bullies are bad. Very, very bad. Archer works with the miners. Work, miners, work! Work with Trip! Set up a Trap! Work with Trip to set up a trap! Set up a trap for the bad Klingon bullies! It is a bad trap. It is a sad trap. But the bad Klingons bullies are not very smart. They are dumb. Very, very dumb. They run, run, run. Sad, sad, sad.

    • Re: Meet The Klingons

      Wow. I don’t know what’s scarier: The fact that the entire episode could be condensed to a Seuss-esque poem or the fact that you have the time to condense the entire episode into a Seuss-esque poem.

      :)

      • Re: Meet The Klingons
        Read enough Seuss to a two year old like I do and it just comes naturally. THAT’s the scary thing.

  3. Enterprise: Going downhill faster than Voyager
    And who would have thought THAT possible?

    How much cooler would this episode have been if miners had gotten stomped by the klingons, and Archer and crew barely got away by the skin of their teeth? Or if the klingon ship had detected Enterprise and forced the crew to leave before/in the middle of the fight, abandoning the miners to their fate. Each week that goes by, this show suffers more and more in comparison to Firefly.

    • Re: Enterprise: Going downhill faster than Voyager

      And who would have thought THAT possible?

      How much cooler would this episode have been if miners had gotten stomped by the klingons, and Archer and crew barely got away by the skin of their teeth? Or if the klingon ship had detected Enterprise and forced the crew to leave before/in the middle of the fight, abandoning the miners to their fate. Each week that goes by, this show suffers more and more in comparison to Firefly.

      I am very dissapointed in the direction of this season. As you said, it’s sliding faster than Voyager. I think this is horribly unfortunate, as I believe this had the best first season of any Star Trek series.

      • Re: Enterprise: Going downhill faster than Voyager
        Voyager at least had the Borg every other episode (course they ran those cool guys totally into the ground), but damn Enterprise is worse then the first season of DS9.

        • Re: Enterprise: Going downhill faster than Voyager
          Hush, next thing we’ll know we’ll see the borg popping up in Enterprise …

  4. We have a TRANSPORTER?!! D’OH!!
    As far as my wife and I are concerned, the failure of the Klingons to just beam out of the circle of fire into a better tactical position instead of beaming up to the ship and running (?) with a theoretical promise to never come back (??!!)is one of the lamest plot holes we have seen in any sci-fi EVER. Things have been getting worse, but this one marked the official slide of the series into turkey-land for me.

    • Re: We have a TRANSPORTER?!! D’OH!!

      As far as my wife and I are concerned, the failure of the Klingons to
      just beam out of the circle of fire into a better tactical position
      instead of beaming up to the ship and running (?) with a
      theoretical promise to never come back (??!!)is one of the lamest
      plot holes we have seen in any sci-fi EVER. Things have been
      getting worse, but this one marked the official slide of the series
      into turkey-land for me.

    • Re: We have a TRANSPORTER?!! D’OH!!

      As far as my wife and I are concerned, the failure of the Klingons to just beam out of the circle of fire into a better tactical position instead of beaming up to the ship and running (?) with a theoretical promise to never come back (??!!)is one of the lamest plot holes we have seen in any sci-fi EVER. Things have been getting worse, but this one marked the official slide of the series into turkey-land for me.

      I also have a problem with the transporters in the fact that the Klingons beamed down to “relatively” the same location within the camp as they had beamed down to before. (i.e. within the metal structure.) I would have thought that the equipment would have realized that the actual co-ordinates they were beaming to were, what, 100′ off from the previous beaming.

      One problem mentioned in books over the years about beaming is that people being beamed are vulnerable during that 1-5 seconds that the transporter is reconstructing them. I am somewhat surprised that the Klingons would consider it to be a reasonable risk.

      Then again these didn’t seem to be battle hardened Klingons either. Seem to recall something about the Klingon ship being some sort of transport rather than a warship.

      T-Pol’s uniform may be part of her “station” or status in the Vulcan social structure as well. All other Vulcan’s I have noticed have been ambasadors or ships commanders. As a science officer on Enterprise, T-Pol may not warrent the flowing robes for daily wear. Also from a logic standpoint, a flowing robe may be more of a hinderance than the lustful stares of shipmates. They are prone to catching on sharp edges and can get in the way of science instruments, communicators and weapons at times.

      I would also point out that robes tend to get uncomfortably hot to wear, and Joline Blalock is hot enough already. But then I am a guy, so that’s just a sexist view.

      -Rusty

  5. Crap City!!!!!
    Damn, that was certainly one of the worst Enterprise episodes yet (almost as bad as the haunted planet episode). About the only saving grace for this one was T’pol’s new white outfit, other than that the writing sucked, the acting was weak, the plot was even thinner and damn if those Klingons weren’t wusses. I mean WTF? Klingons are supposed to be badass killers, not scared of a little fire.

    • Re: Crap City!!!!!

      Damn, that was certainly one of the worst Enterprise episodes yet (almost as bad as the haunted planet episode). About the only saving grace for this one was T’pol’s new white outfit, other than that the writing sucked, the acting was weak, the plot was even thinner and damn if those Klingons weren’t wusses. I mean WTF? Klingons are supposed to be badass killers, not scared of a little fire.

      You have to realise this episode takes place on an altered timeline that has appeared as a result of Archer’s little transport into the future. Wussy Klingons, Vulcans in sexy outfits, Hoshi’s improvement at weapons usage, all are symptoms of this displacement that will eventually lead to the alteration of the Star Trek universe to one that aligns with our own. And if you believe that, I’ll tell you another one. ;-)

      Seriously, the flaws in this episode are as blindingly obvious as any I have seen. I thank our moderator for pointing out that most of these gaffs are a result of the in-house writing staff. One would have thought that by now they would have realized that the more they farmed out the writing, the better the show would be. This was, after all, originally a series of SF stories that used an ensemble cast to create a certain amount of continuity. At the point they created a living, breathing Starfleet Command that was more than just a plot device, they turned it into something else, something less.

  6. Brannon and Bragga SUCK
    I’m pretty pissed at them for ruining a perfectly good show. Of course they’re FAR to dumb to know what a good story is. The biggest thing that stands out to me is the Klingons. There are a million holes, but this is the biggest and so I’ll focus there.

    For how many years have we seen Klingons…? 25? Since the first series the Klingons are the pirates of space. They are mean, tough, and smart (they are bloodthirsty and their zeal gets in the way sometime, but they’ve built the tech and can really kick butt in battle). TNG, DS9, and even voyager really kept the idea going. Klingons almost look forward (with a sickening glee) to dying with honor. Heck, they’d rather die with honor than feast on bloodworms. Even the non-trained klingons are tough and ready for battle because it’s a Klingon trait, not something they teach in the army. Sure, the freighter drivers probably don’t have the level of intelligence that a bird of prey gunner would have, but they’re NOT wussies and they’re not gonna walk away from a fight. The Klingons didn’t notice the nice new weapons that the miners are brandishing?!

    Add this to the fact that Archer has always been relatively tough and antagonistic (for a human) and he hides behind the planet when he could have easily just blown up the ship and nobody would have known better. Dead Klingons don’t talk much. eh?

    Trek has a loyal following a built in story and history. It’s a real shame to see buffoons like B&B screw it up.

  7. The Forgetable Two
    Hey I really liked this plot!
    Unfortunately I liked it a hell of a lot better when John Sturges produced and directed it in The Magnificent Seven!!

    Geez Louise! Is the B&B team (The Forgetable Two) so STUPID as to think no one would notice that it was a lame rip-off of an otherwise good plot.

    What’s up with the Vulcan martial arts crap??? Some lame-ass reference/ripoff to the original movie, Kurosawa’s The Seven Samurai ??? !

    What’s IS UP with T’Pol’s sprayed on Uniform for christ’s sake! ??

    Why DIDN’T the Klingon’s just beam out of the ohhhh…scary "fire ring o’doom" and kick everyone’s ass??? !!

    When will Backula (who I LIKE) use whatever juice he still has left to FIRE the B&B IDIOTS who put out crap like this??? !! Please Scott! Pretty Pulezzzeee!

    Hell…For A Few Dollars More…I’ll go in and kick their sorry butts myself.

    Technogirl…signing out!

    • Re: The Forgetable Two
      I wonder if it’s possible for the fans to get them fired (I doubt it). Ever since DS9 they’ve pretty much 0wN3d the whole idea of trek and seem intent on driving it into the ground.

  8. I Got Good News and Bad News…..
    I just heard on Ain’t it Cool News that the B&B team of writing nincompoops has been FIRED as of the last episode….the article goes on to say that Kevin Sorbo will now be placed in charge of production of Enterprise.

  9. All Sci-Fi is starting to suck
    It’s a paradigm. Every formerly good sci-fi show, Andromeda, Earth Final Conflict (ok, was it ever good, dunno) and now Enterprise are all going to the crap writer level because they know Farscape is no longer around to kick their asses and make them look like complete idiots.

    This, from a formerly die-hard Trekkie. Farscape rules. Farscape was the best Sci-Fi on TV and the idiots at the channel formerly known as Sci-Fi canned it.

  10. Sucked. Sucked. Didn’t Not Suck.
    I just wanted to add my voice to the chorus of people lamenting about just how pathetic this episode was. It super-sucked giant, sweaty donkey nuts. Hard.

    I’ve been watching some Stargate recently, which is to say that I’m learning to put up with super boneheaded, stupid, agravating plot holes and characters. But this episode… oh boy.

    I was thrilled when T’Pol suggested that they would have to kill the Klingons. I was thinking “finally the horrible incident that can spark the war, bring on the blood”, but oh no… these are pansy, politically correct Klingons.

    The only thing that can redeem this insulting display of drivel is if the crew is being set up for a big fall. If they were to learn later that these miners lasted no longer than it took for the Kingons to get to the bar, start drinking, realize their error, and get back to the planet. Oh, and throw in learning that the Suliban freed a while back turn to the Cabal… Yeah, those might just make this series bearable.

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