Star Trek Phase 2: 4×06 — “Enemy: Starfleet”
Plot: An ambush during a mining expedition and subsequent space battle throws Kirk in conflict with the space pirate Alersa (BarBara Luna, who played Malena in “Mirror, Mirror”). Alersa has taken over a Federation starship and reverse engineered its capabilities in combination with alien technology in order to assemble an enemy Starfleet.
Thoughts: I was confused about a number of plot points in this episode. What, exactly, is Alersa after? Does she have a motive? Why doesn’t her mind control juju work on Kirk? Why did they use their technology blackout bomb–I thought earlier in the episode they had decided not to?
The chemistry between Alersa and Kirk just didn’t work for me, and her character made little sense. I could see what they were going for, but for me they didn’t achieve it.
We’re seeing the fan series assume its own identity more and more take instead of copying the style of the original series. The style is increasingly modeled on the film series, with perhaps an even greater emphasis on space battles. But it has it’s own quirky weirdness, too–like the Peter Kirk character and the Team Kirk subplot in this episode.
I am still impressed by the production quality–especially by the location shooting in a quarry at the beginning complete with weapons charges–but I”m also losing interest. There are only two more episodes to watch, however (until they produce more), so we might as well stick it out.
Rating: almost good enough to not change the channel. Perhaps on the level of an average show on SyFy?
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