Star Trek: Enterprise — 2x03 — Minefield

Aired 2002-10-02

SpaceOpera.com rating:9

Average reader rating:5.24

Factoids

Reed suffers from aquaphobia.

Problems

In TOS: Balance of Terror, Kirk and Spock had a conversation that explicitly stated that cloaking technology is "theoretically possible," and heavily implied that it had never been observed. The Suliban cloaking devices in this show have already complicated this, but given the likely presumption that the Suliban technology probably comes from the future, that's not that big a deal. But here we see the Romulan cloaking device itself depicted 100 years too early, forcing us now to assume that Archer didn't make a very thorough report to Starfleet after this episode, causing knowledge of Romulan cloaking technology to fade into the mists of history as quite uncommon knowledge so as to explain how Kirk and Spock could be so ignorant about it 100 years later. Honestly, would it really have been so hard to do this episode without featuring a cloaking device?

Synopsis

Enterprise becomes disabled by an alien orbital mine while trapped in hostile Romulan territory.

Remarkable scenes

Reed's uneasy breakfast with the captain.
Archer to T'Pol regarding the landing site for the planet: "Find a volcano with a gentle slope, preferably one that's not erupting."
Enterprise slamming into a mine.
T'Pol regarding why the beacons weren't revealing anymore mines: "They were designed to penetrate Suliban cloaking devices." Archer shoots her a quick highly annoyed look. T'Pol quickly says: "I'll try shifting the phase variance."
Reed's spacewalk on the hull, examining the mine.
The Romulan ship decloaking before Reed's eyes and firing warning shots.
Archer: "Our friends seem anxious for us to leave. We're going to break orbit, nice and slowly." Reed: "Understood. If plan to go to warp, sir, you'll let me know?" Archer: "I'll try to remember."
The mine impaling Reed.
Reed: "I would consider letting you amputate but if chef got hold of it, he'd be serving 'roast Reed' for Sunday dinner."
Reed regarding the painkillers: "Please sir... may I have some more?"
Archer and Reed chatting while attempting to disable the mine.
Archer saving Reed.

Review

Romulans at long last. It's annoying that they're shown with cloaking devices when they were regarded as something new in TOS: Balance of Terror, but the problem existed since the first episode when the writers decided to give the Suliban cloaking devices. It's at least plausible that the Romulan cloak was defeated during the Earth Romulan war, and that in TOS: Balance of Terror they designed a more perfect cloak just as was done in TNG: The Neutral Zone to warrant the various reactions to the cloak seen over time. Anyway, enough of that. Minefield was the best Enterprise episode so far, besides of course Vox Sola which is an exception. I was hoping since day one that Enterprise would document the Earth Romulan war. This incident could very well spell the beginning of the said war. Besides the cloaking oddities, which really aren't that bad a continuity problem, the writers were true to TOS' portrayal of the Romulans. Spock said that in TOS: Balance of Terror that that was the first time the Federation had ever seen a Romulan. As unlikely as this may sound, the writers stayed true to it. There was no visual communication between the Romulans and Enterprise. I was also happy that first contact with the Romulans happened in this manner. The Klingons have been abused since the first episode, but this is just the abrasive first contact I would have expected to see with the Romulans. (The Klingons likewise, but oh well.) Finally, the interaction between Archer and Reed in this episode was great. Reed's interaction with Trip in Ent: Shuttlepod One was funnier, yes, but on the whole I found this episode to be vastly more entertaining and the Archer / Reed interplay was one of the reasons. Overall, most excellent. I want to see more like this!