Enterprise Episode 9 Summary:
Civilization
Caution: May contain spoilers!
A friend of mine said that this is the first episode of Enterprise that he thought was decent enough that he didn't hate it or get bored. Take that for what you want, YMMV.
This episode has the crew try (not all that well IMHO) to make first contact with a race that is similar to earth but far less advanced. They disguise themselves to match the appearance of the inhabitants (a few bumps on their forehead), and head down to check things out. They discover that there is something on the planet that is causing the inhabitants to be ill. Combine this with an antique dealer's shop that is shielded from their scans, and you have a bit of an investigation.
One of the people that they meet up with is a fine looking lady who asks them far more questions than they appreciate about who they are and where they are from. A bit more perceptive than the others I guess. There seemed to be a bit of electricity between her and Archer as well.
They eventually discover that the proprietor of the store is not an inhabitant of the planet ("and neither are you!" he said, after scanning Archer with his own tricorder-type device). Turns out he's mining the plant under the shop for some substance that his people want, regardless of the fact he is poisoning the people of this planet.
Fighting ensues. At one point, to hide, the captain starts kissing his lady friend. Ah, harkens me back to TOS days of Kirk trying to nail every sexy female on each planet they visited. A nice move of shooting the lamp above the other aliens results in a win for the good guys, and the bad aliens get booted out.
Personal Commentary
I didn't see this episode all the way through, so please excuse any plot details I left out, major or minor (or /msg me with them, or even put in a new and better writeup). This episode did look like it was much more old school than the new, soft and fuzzy Starfleet that is presented in the newer Star Trek series. They are definitely not like they used to be in TOS (or is it will be?), but they are a bit more adventurous. The kissing was a nice touch, and a nice fire fight in the middle of the street was also some nice action. One question though... what do the people who saw the fire fight say? They all cleared out pretty quick, but that's not something that is completely ignored now is it? I guess the protocols set forth by the Prime Directive aren't solidly in place yet for regulating contact with less advanced alien species. Regardless, it was amusing to see the crew with funny wigs on (especially T'Pol).
This is part of the Enterprise Episode Guide, hopefully well maintained. Please message me with corrections or any important details I left out.