(2x04) Dead Stop: Station of Horrors

[Honeybee]

Discuss Dead Stop here

[paulinem]

I loved this episode! Creepy station! Archer knowing something wasn't right. The way he and T'Pol worked together to rescue Travis, and the awesome threesome! I also loved the way that Trip cajoles Malcolm into following him into the bowls of the station. And, what an hilarious moment when they were beamed back aboard! 'Evening, Sub-Commander' Priceless. Another funny moment...





An all out adventurous episode.

That said. After watching the 3rd season then going back to watch Dead Stop I'm always struck by the difference in Archer. In Dead Stop, when he bowled out Trip and Malcolm for there stupid stunt,



it's tame compared to when Archer gave Malcolm and Hayes a dressing down in Harbinger!



Just an observation!

[Honeybee]

You're right, Pauline. Archer is harsher later on.

But here, I love how he can be mad at Tom and Huck - oh I mean Trip and Malcolm - and still be willing to use their knowledge.

I love how suspicious Archer is from the get-go. He's lost his first-season naivete. But what's cool is that it's Phlox who finds the biggest clue.

I also really enjoy the scene with AT&T and the replicator. It's a carry over from how comfortable they all are with each other, and each one of them is very in character. She is full of knowledge and orders water. Trip is amazed, orders catfish. Archer is suspicious, looks under the hood.

And Season 2 may be the great TnT dry spell, but there's some adorable looks between them, not the least which is when Trip and Malcolm are transported to the bridge by evil station.

Love that Roxanne Dawson/B'lenna does the voice of the evil computer, which is a brilliant parody of automated customer service from hell.

I love playacting Trip, and his accent always gets stronger when he plays dumb.

It's really poignant how everyone mourns the loss of Travis. As someone very astute pointed out in the chat, even T'Pol hangs her head.

[Aquarius]

Let's see...we got a Dirty Trip...a Dirty Archer...and even a Slightly Smudged T'Pol...

What more could you ask for? This episode obviously has everything!

[Kathy Rose]

This ranks among my favorite episodes. There's great interaction between the characters, and of course Trip cajoling Malcolm into their little escapade and getting beamed back to Enterprise is hilarious. I liked the glimpse they get of future technology -- the replicator that provides the pan-fried catfish -- and everyone's reaction to the loss of Travis.

But what really clinches it for me is the ending, where the station begins repairing itself. That is truly creepy! I always wondered what happened after it got fixed itself.

[asearcher]

There were quite a few 'open pieces' in the story that could be filled in with a fanfic or two. I'm not much of a horror fan but this one was a good story.

Throughout the show we know that Hoshi and Travis have become good friends. The jello thing...I can see that being one of many gags they each played on the other. Good clean fun. Her sadness at his death is so fitting.

I do think there are glimpses of what Archer will become later. It's the first time he had to face the actual death of a crewman (even though ultimately Travis is alive). Until Phlox finds that all the little bugs are dead (I think the jello story puts him into that mode of thinking), Archer truly believes he's going to have to relay the news to Travis's family. His upset, anger, and downright rage at the station is clear and you know he'd like to tear the frigging place apart when he can't get an answer. If the station had been a person he might have considered airlock persuasion.

I like that Archer is suspicious of the station and the 'bargain' they're getting and T'Pol simply feeling that maybe the station builders just want to help. It's almost a role reversal (e.g. usually T'Pol's the one suggesting caution and Archer's the one willing to give the benefit of the doubt.)

I did like Trip choosing the catfish (almost like...'water's easy. Let's give it a REAL challange') His amazement that the food is that good provides a good reason for him 'taking that scan' of the station. He's intrigued by the technology and really wants to see the 'shielded' computer and his getting Malcolm interested in it as well is just classic.

Malcolm appears to be more relaxed with everyone. Shuttlepod 1 was 11/9/2151. 2 Days and 2 Nights were in Feb 2152, Carbon Creek was in 4/2152 (as time beacon cause Malcolm wasn't a part of that episode). The next date known is Precious Cargo (9/12/2152). So, Minefield and Deadstop were likely in that 2nd quarter of 2152 and I think, based on Malcolm, that there were a few weeks between Minefield and Deadstop. It's like all the things that had happened in that 5-7 months had started to loosen him up (or as loose as Malcolm ever gets.)

I think it's interesting the glimpses of the other beings that got caught in the trap. The fact that they'd been there so long was a bit eerie. Almost like other species had learned to stay away which make that Tellurite vessel even more suspicious. And...like Kathy Rose says...what happens with the self repairing station. Who knows...what a story that could be.

[Honeybee]

The whole ideas that Enterprise's ship store the genome of catfish as well as the recipe to prepare it is kind of hilarious. I also like that once the big three have explored the waiting room/recreation area, we then see all the crew enjoying the place as Trip and Malcolm plan their little stunt.

I agree that the way Hoshi grieves for Travis adds a great element to the show, indicating there's a lot going on behind the scenes.

One interesting thing is that T'Pol doesn't share Jon's caution. The roles are reversed. She makes some good justifications about why, including the fact that the station might just be there to help people, but I would be interested to know why the woman who is constantly urging caution is suddenly so trusting. Maybe she does trust the Tellerites, or maybe facilities like this (except not evil) are common.

[Aquarius]

One interesting thing is that T'Pol doesn't share Jon's caution. The roles are reversed. She makes some good justifications about why, including the fact that the station might just be there to help people, but I would be interested to know why the woman who is constantly urging caution is suddenly so trusting. Maybe she does trust the Tellerites, or maybe facilities like this (except not evil) are common.

I took that to be the whole "you can't judge other cultures by your own" thing, so I didn't see it as entirely inconsistent with her character, but maybe as a shift in the hierarchy of reactions that we'd normally expect from her in the situation? Maybe since Jon had taken on the Scully role for this one, she was okay with leaving him to it so she could focus on the reality that whatever the station builders' motives, the ship needed fixing, and sooner was better than later.

But I totally agreed with Archer here, because no matter how altruistic a race is, space stations are expensive to build, so "we're just doing it to be nice" is a tough one to accept.

[Hummingbird2]

This one is definitely a favorite of mine! Great VFX, an interesting plot, and we also see how much Archer cares about his crew.

And yes, I love the dressing down scene. A wonderful father and son(s) moment.

[panyasan]

But what really clinches it for me is the ending, where the station begins repairing itself. That is truly creepy! I always wondered what happened after it got fixed itself.

For me that was one of the best moment of ENT! It was so creepy and raises so many questions. What will happen to the next ship that comes along? And the use of "brain power" (literally) for the station was a brilliant idea of the writers.