Observer Effect

This was definitely one of the better episodes. Usually there are a lot of episodes with very similar plots scattered throughout the Star Trek series. Voyager, DS9 and Enterprise all seem to recycle. But this one was different. Different and interesting with a sprinkle of ethics on top.

A pretty clever episode about two highly developed incorporeal beings who take over the bodies of various crew members to observe how the humans aboard the Enterprise make decisions and respond to a deadly threat from an alien virus. However, the episode would have benefited from a bit of CGI to at least visualize them jumping from one body to the next.

Unfortunately, a lot of the tension is once again lost because it's clear at the end that neither Trip nor Hoshi will die from the virus. In fact, both are brought back from the dead as if nothing had happened. The actual message loses its significance through this resurrection: Just like with the Prime Directive, these incorporeal beings also act according to a protocol of not interfering in the development of other species. But they have now broken their own doctrine - even though the show is halfway through the fifth and final season. One of the two characters could have died to give the episode some meaning.

But in Happy End Star Trek the motto is: If you interfere in the development of other species with the best of intentions, then it's somehow okay.

Two observers watch Enterprise deal with crew members who have contracted a fatal virus.

This is a strong episode that takes a unique approach to the principles of the prime directive. For me the themes covered are more interesting than how the story is told.

Any plot where the lives of the main cast are at risk is never that plausible and although all scenes are well made you are just waiting for the observers to make everything okay again. The real mystery is who the observers are and when their identity is revealed it gives a return on the investment of your time, particularly for fans of the original series.

All performances are strong, with the main cast having to vary their characters due to the nature of the plot.

I enjoyed this one for how it turns the tables on the interference v non-interference debate we've seen in multiple episodes of Enterprise.

For me it's a 7.5/10, but I always round upwards.

It was nice to a have single episode which has a beginning and an ending. This is a fascinating story of how a prime directive can be used as an excuse to lose all the traits that are worth having. I don't know if there are really universal truths. It would seem that if there was such a thing as a superior, advance species, that species may view those who are behind them on the evolutionary scale as we view insects. The difference is that we are sentient, with a need to surpass what we are and to love and connect with others of our kind. When the Organians come on board, using hosts from the crew, they are strictly analytical researchers. Watching their subjects die doesn't faze them because they've watched it thousands of times. But the rub is what is the point of evolving without those qualities of compassion and sacrifice. I suppose we could make a case for our psychotic dictators who served their self interest. But these oddities in the stream don't speak for the species. If anything, they are the exception that proves the rule. Archer speaks well. I suppose on could make the case that such a lowlife like Archer could never convince such an advanced set of beings. It is not unlike our Captain Kirk. He managed to out-think Nomad. Remember. I really enjoyed this episode. It is thought provoking and a cut above some of the other episodes.

Commander Trip and Hoshi are contaminated by a silicon based virus in a planet visited by Klingons and are kept in quarantine by Dr. Phlox. He researches with T'Pol an almost impossible cure since Trip and Hoshi have only five hours. Meanwhile Lieutenant Reed and Ensign Travis are the hosts of two non-corporeus advanced life forms that want to observe the human behavior in the stressed conditions caused by the incurable virus.

"Observer Effect" is one of the best episodes of "Enterprise". The engaging story has great performances and dialogs, and the conclusion is excellent with Archer giving a lesson of one of the most beautiful characteristics of the human beings: compassion. My vote is ten.

Title (Brazil): "Observador" ("Observer")