"Rogue Planet"is the eighteenth episode (production #118) of the American science fiction television seriesStar Trek: Enterprise.The episode first aired March 20, 2002 onUPN.
| "Rogue Planet" | |
|---|---|
| Star Trek: Enterpriseepisode | |
| Episodeno. | Season 1 Episode 18 |
| Directed by | Allan Kroeker |
| Story by | |
| Teleplay by | Chris Black |
| Featured music | Paul Baillargeon |
| Cinematography by | Marvin V. Rush |
| Editing by | Robert Lederman |
| Production code | 118 |
| Original air date | March 20, 2002 |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
While exploring an uncharted planet,Enterprisecrew members encounter a group of aliens who are hunting indigenous creatures for recreation.[1]
The episode had aNielsen ratingof 3.3, and received generally negative reviews.
Plot
editA planet appears on sensors, adrift and without a solar system, so CaptainArcherhas Sub-CommanderT'Polscan the planet. Lieutenant Reed detects a ship near the equator, and an away team finds the remains of a campsite two hundred meters from the alien shuttle. T'Pol and Reed return to the shuttle while Archer and EnsignSatostay. As they walk through the jungle, they are surprised by two aliens. Both parties return to the camp, where they find Archer and Sato with another called Damrus. The Eska call the planet Dakala and they permit the away team to spend the night. Over dinner, Damrus explains that they have been visiting Dakala for nine generations to hunt the wildlife.
As the away team turns in for the night, Archer hears a woman's voice calling his name. He finds a blonde woman in a clearing, but she runs away. Later, no one reports seeing anything unusual. In the morning, T'Pol goes to investigate a geothermal shaft and Archer sees the woman again, looking distressed, but again she disappears. Meanwhile, Damrus and Burzaan detect their quarry, a wraith which attacks Burzaan. Archer has Burzaan sent back toEnterprisefor treatment, and DoctorPhloxreports that he has found cellular residue in Burzaan's wound.
By the steam vents, Archer encounters the woman again. She says that her kind can assume the form of anything on the planet, and that her kind want the hunting to stop. Later, Damrus explains that the reason they visit Dakala is because the prey can sense their thoughts, making them challenging to hunt and kill. Back on boardEnterprise,Archer asks Phlox if he can find a way for the wraiths to mask their chemical signature, and soon, on Dakala, the hunting party begins having problems detecting them. Damrus wonders why, but Archer merely blames it on bad luck. The Eska depart and Archer encounters the woman one final time. As she moves off into the forest, she assumes her natural form: a largegastropod.
Production
edit
Chris Blackwas the sole credited writer but noted that many others contributed to creating the episode. The episode began as pitch from science advisorAndre Bormaniswho suggested an orphan planet without a sun, that managed to support life because of its extreme geothermal vents. It was combined with other ideas, the premise of doing some kind of a "safari show", and producer Rick Berman added the idea of using a poem byWilliam Butler Yeatscalled "The Song of Wandering Aengus".[2][3] Black explained the episode was not intended to be an anti-hunting story, as his family would hunt, and that it was about finding a way to explore the character of Lieutenant Reed and his interest in the tactical elements of hunting and tracking. It was only when the species was revealed to be sentient that it became a moral issue.[4]The episode was a balance between story and theme, Brannon Braga said they wanted to "tell a good story about people first, and let the themes emerge."[5] Black had no complaints about how his script was translated to the screen, and praised Dominic Keating for enhancing what he had written through his performance, specifically by adding ambiguity to the line "Don't worry, captain, I won't kill anything". It wasn't in the script but Keating reasoned that the character "Well, he might like to take a shot—you never know."[4] Editor Robert Lederman found the episode interesting as it shows theEnterprisediscovering of a species ofshapeshiftersfor the first time.[6]
In this episode actressStephanie Niznikguest stars as the wraith alien. She was previously cast in the 1998 movieStar Trek: Insurrectionas Kell Perim, a Starfleet Ensign, and also known for her role on the seriesEverwood.[7][8] Conor O'Farrell, who plays Burzaan, the leader of Eska hunting party, previously appeared in theDeep Space Nineepisode "Little Green Men",and inEnterpriseagain in the season 3 episode "Chosen Realm".[9]This was the fourthStar Trekseries thatEric Pierpointhad appeared in, and he returned toEnterpriseagain in season 4.[10]Keith Szarabajkapreviously appeared in theStar Trek: Voyagerepisode "Repression",and was known for his recurring role on the seriesAngelas vampire hunterHolz.[11][12]
Dominic Keating said that it was a difficult shoot, and conditions were unpleasant: "This planet has no light we're in some dark, dingy, forest. You turn the torch on all you can see are particles in the air, and we're breathing it in 15 hours a day." They were still able to have some fun with the guest actors, he said. "They are hysterical! So sometimes it's really work, but in amongst that we're just laughing like hyenas."[13] During shooting, director of photographyMarvin Rushhad to use a powerful flashlight to paint the path of the laser beams to create realistic illumination across the leaves for the weapons fire that would be added in post production.[14]
The "Rogue Planet" of the title presented some challenges forRon B. Mooreand the visual effects team at EdenFX. As it was a planet that did not orbit a sun, there was no light to show it. They were excited about the shot they had put together until supervising producerPeter Lauritsonasked if they were going to put stars on the left side of the image, not realizing that the absence of stars was caused by the planet. Moore realized they would have to go with something less realistic and cheat by increasing the light levels so that the planet was more noticeable. Dan CurryandJohn Teskawere responsible for the design of the planet's CGI creatures. They took advantage of improvements toLightWave,the software they were using, and created a wild boar-like creature by repurposing the Klingon targ that appeared in the episodeSleeping Dogs.They also designed the true form of the wraith.[14]
Reception
editRogue Planetwas first aired in the United States onUPNon March 20, 2002. According toNielsen Media Research,it received a 3.3/5 rating share among adults. This means it had an average of 4.69 million viewers.[15][16]Among first run science fiction or fantasy genre shows that weekEnterprisecame in fourth place behindSmallville,Dark Angel,andCharmed.[17][16]
Michelle Erica Green ofTrekNationwas critical of the familiar premise but praised the "interesting camera work and strong performances -- the two biggest thingsEnterprisehas going for it. "[18] Aint It Cool Newsgave the episode 2.5 out of 5 and criticized the episode as "too simplistic" comparing it to pastStar Trekepisodes, and found the clunkly CGI off-putting.[19]Television Without Pitygave the episode a grade C−.[20] Keith DeCandido ofTor.comgave it 3 out of 10, in his 2022 rewatch. He questioned the relevance of setting the episode on a rogue planet, and said there were unexplored story possibilities. DeCandido says the straightforward ending is not even anticlimactic because it is just like "the rest of this dreary, goes-nowhere episode."[12]
Christian Kriticos writing for StarTrek.com says the use of the poetry of William Butler Yeats is more than aplot device,that it teaches us something meaningful about Archer and his drive for exploration, that he is on "a search for something higher; something which, perhaps, can never be reached."[21]
The bookBeyond the Final Frontier: An Unauthorised Review of the Trek Universe on Television and Filmcalled it "probably the weakest episode of the season, it's not bad so much as anti-climactic." They criticized the lack of originality and said it could just as easily have been aStar Trek: Voyagerepisode.[22]
TechRepublicincluded the episode as number 3 on its list of the 5 worst episodes ofEnterprise.[23] A 2016, binge guide byWiredcriticized the episode and recommended skipping it entirely. They described it as a "sluggish, slow episode that might just make you want to climb into a shell and never come out."[24]
Home media release
editThe first home media release of the episode was onVHSin the UK on September 2, 2002. The episodes "Fusion" and "Rogue Planet" were included on the tape.[25][26]It was first made available in the United States onDVD,as part of the season one box set released May 2005.[27]TheBlu-ray(1080p) release ofEnterprisewas announced in early 2013,[28]and was released in the United States on March 26 with the UK release following on April 1.[29]
References
edit- ^"Rogue Planet".StarTrek.com.
- ^Star Trek: Communicator issue 143,page 29"Berman brought the idea of Yeats poem"
- ^Matthewweflen (29 June 2011)."Trek Interviews: Andre Bormanis".
I pitched the notion of finding a habitable ( "Class-M" ) rogue planet – a planet that isn't orbiting a star, just floating through the galaxy on its own – which we worked into an episode of Enterprise
- ^abStar Trek: Communicator issue 143,page 30"the script was not meant as an anti-hunting story"
- ^"Enterprise Year One".Star Trek Communicator Issue 139.August 2002. p. 26.
- ^Star Trek: Communicator issue 138. "Cutting Crew: A visit to the Enterprise editing bay" by Jeff bondpage 57
- ^"Stephanie Niznik, Actress in 'Everwood' and 'Star Trek,' Dies at 52".Variety.12 July 2019.Retrieved13 July2019.
- ^Petski, Denise (13 July 2019)."Stephanie Niznik Dies: 'Everwood' & 'Star Trek' Actress Was 52".Deadline Hollywood.
- ^"Production Report:" Chosen Realm "Tackles Fiery Issues".StarTrek.com.31 October 2003. Archived fromthe originalon 13 December 2003.
- ^"Production Report: Klingon Discrepancy Addressed in Affliction".Star Trek.com. 16 December 2004. Archived fromthe originalon 31 December 2004.Retrieved1 June2021.
- ^Jordan Hoffman(4 April 2015)."ONE TREK MIND: Trek-Batman Crossovers".Star Trek.com.
- ^abDeCandido, Keith R. A.(21 March 2022)."Star Trek: Enterprise Rewatch:" Rogue Planet "".Tor.com.
- ^Star Trek: Communicator issue 138."Looking for the deeper side of that armory officer"by Gayle Stever, page 63
- ^ab"Behind the Scenes: ENTERPRISE Visual Effects Ronald B. Moore and Team".Star Trek: The Magazine.Vol. 3, no. 7. November 2002. pp. 50–57.
- ^"Episode List: Star Trek: Enterprise".TVTango. Archived fromthe originalon 15 February 2016.Retrieved1 April2021.
- ^ab"National Nielsen Viewership (Mar. 18-24)".The Los Angeles Times.27 March 2002.Retrieved15 March2022– viaNewspapers.com.
- ^Alexander Chase (28 March 2002).""Rogue Planet" Final Ratings: ENT Falls to Charmed While Smallville Briefly Top of the World ".TrekWeb.com.Archived fromthe originalon 23 August 2002.
- ^Michelle Erica Green (21 March 2002)."The Trek Nation - Rogue Planet".TrekNation.TrekToday.com.
- ^Hercules Strong (20 March 2002)."HERC's Seen The 18th ENTERPRISE!!".Aint It Cool News.
- ^Keckler (20 March 2002)."Season 1 Episode 18".Television Without Pity.Archived fromthe originalon 21 August 2002.
- ^Christian Kriticos (30 April 2019)."How W.B Yeats Captured the Essence of 'Star Trek' a Century Before its Time".StarTrek.com.
- ^Mark Jones; Lance Parkin (2003).Beyond the Final Frontier: An Unauthorised Review of the Trek Universe on Television and Film.Contender Books. p. 366.ISBN1843570807.
- ^Jay Garmon (16 December 2011)."The five worst Star Trek: Enterprise episodes EVER!".TechRepublic.
- ^McMillan, Graeme (29 July 2015)."WIRED Binge-Watching Guide: Star Trek: Enterprise".W.I.R.E.D.
- ^"From the Replicator".Star Trek Monthly.Vol. 1, no. 96. September 2002. p. 60.
- ^"Star Trek: Enterprise 1.9 - Fusion/Rogue Planet".www.videocollector.co.uk.
- ^Associated Press(5 May 2005)."New DVD Releases".Star-News.Retrieved23 January2013.
- ^"Enterprise Trekking To Blu-ray; Fans Helped Pick Covers".Star Trek.com. 7 January 2013. Archived fromthe originalon 30 March 2016.Retrieved12 January2013.
- ^Simpson, Michael (28 March 2013)."Star Trek: Enterprise - Season 1 Blu-Ray Review".Sci-Fi Now.Retrieved12 September2014.
External links
edit- "Rogue Planet"atIMDb
- "Rogue Planet"atMemory Alpha
- "Rogue Planet"atWayback Machine(archived from the original at StarTrek.com)
