649. DetainedFORMULA: Chain of Command Part II + Past Tense + The Homecoming
WHY WE LIKE IT: The great escape.
WHY WE DON'T: Dean Stockwell essentially wasted.
REVIEW: When it was announced that Dean Stockwell was to guest-star on Enterprise, I remember expecting something fun. He and Scott Bakula were a famous double-act for 5 years on Quantum Leap, after all, and we all wanted that chemistry resurrected on screen. I don't think we got what we wanted. Stockwell is handed the part of Grat, a prison camp warden who's not particularly unpleasant, nor on the side of the angels. A character imbued with shades of gray, perhaps, but neither an ally nor a proper enemy to Archer and so the two actors' reunion falls flat. Not having Archer ask "why am I here?" was another missed opportunity, as far as I'm concerned.
The prison was, at the time at least, meant to mirror the internment camps in which Japanese Americans were thrown during WWII. I don't know if it was designed as a warning or not, but today, there are shades of Guantanamo in there as well. After all, the Suliban were named after the Taliban and the Cabal function like terrorists without, it says here, having a recognized government. So it's difficult to look at this episode and not see the Suliban as Arab Americans (or not necessarily Americans) detained without due process. Perhaps that's why Grat has to seem so reasonable at first. He's "us".
Though the stuff with Grat lacks intensity - check out that half-hearted interrogation - and the scenes with the Suliban pretty much what you expect from a "they're not all bad" episode (including the one Suliban who can't trust the heroes, but eventually does), the escape itself is properly exciting. It felt like TOS-style daring-do: spamming Grat's inbox to confuse the prison's computers, beaming a disguised Malcolm down with explosive charges, even a video-gamey attack on the compound's towers. The final question as to whether or not the state creates its terrorists is a good one to leave on too.
LESSON: Don't send people large attachments. Resize photos before sending them. Etc. It's just good manners.
REWATCHABILITY - Medium: The writers misjudged why we would want Bakula and Stockwell together on screen again, but despite the rather ponderous early acts, the final escape is exciting enough to redeem the episode.
Comments
Let's just say that particular metaphor was laid on a bit thick, but you're right, the escape/action pieces were very well done.
(spoiler)
He's a Cylon.
Oh, I'm not being critical of the metaphor at all, especially as its obviously been setup from the first utterance of "Suliban" on the show.
My buddy and I just chuckled good-naturedly during this episode because the metaphor was being reinforced so strongly, as though the creators thought we weren't getting it.
It was just kind of funny to us, since the metaphor is so hard to miss. After all, as you pointed out, the similarities between the words are quite obvious.