1x22 Vox Sola

[6.8/10] I am a sucker for an episode with a good theme. In “Vox Sola” that theme is “learning to communicate,” and while it’s not the most novel concept in all of Trekdom, it gives an episode with a lot of moving parts and a lot of characters some extra oomph and structure. Archer and Trip need to learn how to communicate with one another to get through their capture. Hoshi and T’Pol need to learn how to express themselves so that neither feels affronted or put down. Reed and Dr. Phlox need to find common ground on ethical matters. Mayweather has to figure out how to overcome cultural differences with their alien guests. And, most significantly, the crew needs to learn how to talk to the crazy alien presence that’s ensnared six of their crewmen.

That’s where the episode falls apart for me though. The attacking creature in this episode is a big doily made out of spermatozoa. It’s hard to take this episode seriously when the big instigating event involves some dodgy-looking CGI cobweb and/or our heroes stuck on a big sticky hammock whilst covered in goo.

Maybe that’s a little unfair. Lord knows that T.V. Trek has not always had the best special effects in the world. (See also: the “alien” in The Original Series that’s clearly just a dog in a Halloween costume.) That CGI in 2002 is less than photorealistic is no sin, even practical effects have their challenges. But the powers that be (including director Roxann Dawson, better known to Trek fans as B’Eilanna Torres from Voyager) still decided to center the episode around unconvincing interactions with Casper the unfriendly ghost, and to depict the good guys doused in white slime for most of the hour. That it all seems more ridiculous than scary, let alone real, can be chalked up to those effects, but also to the way they’re shot and framed, which does little to cover up for these deficiencies.

The episode’s also pretty damn boring before, and even after the giant sperm doily attacks. There’s interminable scenes of Archer and Trip watching water polo, or of Mayweather and Reed prepping to watch an old movie, and other humdrum glimpses of life around the ship while the old tattered sheet floats around the airducts. This is (presumably) meant to be suspenseful, but in practice, it just feels like Enterprise killing time before the action begins.

But once it does, business picks up a little bit. Trip and Archer are the weakest part of this, as their water polo watch party feels like a beer commercial more than two human beings genuinely enjoying one another’s company. And Archer’s psychically-transmitted message about never giving up, based on his own old water polo days, is the tritest, most generic bit of inspiration from a character who offers no shortage of it. Even the development that while trapped in the doily’s web, the different crewmen can read one another’s thoughts, comes off surprisingly dull and staid. It’s not used to much purpose, and the supposed threat of the creature is undercut by the sense of Trip and the others just falling asleep in big goo-lined sleeping bag.

But the other pieces of the episode are much better! The writing is a little stilted, but I actually really like the scene between T’Pol and Hoshi here. The two have to marry Hoshi’s expertise in language and T’Pol’s expertise in higher math to be able to communicate with the creature. That means parsing what each says versus what each means by it. Hoshi feels chastised for her mistakes, but T’Pol explains that she holds Hoshi to a high standard because she knows that Hoshi is capable of meeting it, and that she views Hoshi as an extremely valuable member of the ship. It’s its own form of translation, and it spurs the two of them to solve the problem together in a nice character beat for each.

I also enjoyed the exchange between Phlox and Reed over whether it’s OK to test the force field technology on the severed tendril of the creature. I’ll admit that Phlox’s position drives me a little nuts -- six of his crewmates are potentially dying and he’s standing on principle -- but his position is very true to Trek’s ethos, so it’s hard to fault the show for it. Eventually, he and Reed get on the same page about doing some sort of molecular test instead, and viola, what do you know, Reed invents (or at least perfects) force fields! Debates over ethical dilemmas involving unusual life forms are, again, not the most novel thing for Trek, but it’s solid stuff that fits with the “understanding each other theme.”

Then you have Mayweather catching up with the visiting aliens, who had stormed off the ship after being offended at the humans’ behavior. In a fun twist, it turns out that the aliens view eating in public as a vulgar act, which was the cause for their being affronted. Mayweather kindly explains that they didn’t realize, and apologizes, which nets him the coordinates to the sperm doily’s home planet. It’s another fairly simple scene, but it’s on message, and fits into the show’s “giving everyone something to do” tack here.

Last but not least, you have the combination of Reed’s forcefield and Hoshi’s translator program which is finally able to let our heroes communicate with the creature. It’s a predictable, heavily-telegraphed ending, and the game of Simon that the crew plays with the creature is a little dull, but it’s a sound ending to all of this craziness that fits with that same theme. Sure, it’s a little underwhelming when the special effects still make the trapping of the good guys look like a home movie version of Alien, but it’s a legitimate solution to the problem.

So we end up back on the species’ home planet, where it joins with the other gooey cobwebs and seems as content as a sentient tablecloth could possibly be. I do appreciate the episode leaning into the “new life and new civilization” angle here, with the main characters bridging the gap not just in communication, in understanding, for how this very different creature lives and operates, which ultimately leads to respect. There’s even a brief aesop for the sense that even when far from and all alone, life of all kinds reaches out for such a connection.

Once again, that’s a little trite, and lord knows the episode is brought down by the chintzy designs and questionable pacing. But this episode locks onto a theme, gives each of its characters a part of it, and carries it through to the end. It’s not perfect by any means, but that approach makes the episode a little more than the sum of its parts, and something memorable other than for having a big wet tissue paper monster terrorize the crew.

Watchable
Themes: first contact, communication

Another episode where good concept is almost completely ruined by execution. We meet Kreetassans for the first time. They seem awfuly angry about something and are marching off the ship. Hoshi is having problems making sense of what they're saying so she sees this as a personal defeat. Just as they're leaving, semen creature boards the Enterprise through airlock. Brooding crewmembers notice it only when it's already settled in cargo bay, but at that time it manages to capture a couple of them, including captain and Trip. The rest of the crew works together to free their crewmen - Phlox discovers creature is photosensitive so Reed assembles EM emitters. Using them reveals creature is symbiotic and connected to minds of captured crewmen so they feel the same thing. At the same time they are trying to find Kreetessans to find out more about the creature. When they finally do, Mayweather is left alone on the bridge, who looks like it's making his first presentation ever in elementary school. Casting really blew it with him.
Anyway, Kreetessans were outraged about them eating in public, which is apparently obscene for them. Sato in the meantime learns how to communicate with the creature which directs them to its home planet, which is apparently completely covered in it.

Again, ideas behind this one are really interesting and pure Trek, but it's hard to watch as it all comes out like an amateur production. Acting, special effects, direction even lighting are below standards even for that period. Not to mention that creature looks like a load of semen, which makes captain and Trip trapped in it and looking exhausted unintentionally hilarious. At least you can get something out of it if you squint all the way through.

Interesting point is that Reed constructs a first working prototype of the force field, something Starfleet never managed before but we'll see a lot of in other Trek shows.