monkee reviews 'Similitude'
First Impression: Blubber *SOB* - Oh God, he's petting Porthos, and he's sacrificing himself for the memory of his sister and...sniff...*SLAP*
Pull yourself together, monkee!
Second Impression: Wow, what an incredible string of cop-outs and emotional manipulations! Oh, well - I'm a sucker and I enjoyed the ride anyway.
The Set-Up: Trip is conducting a warp experiment when Enterprise hits a polaric field. He manages to shut down the warp core and save the ship, but he is critically injured in the process. Phlox reports that he is in a coma and unlikely to survive, but offers one possible alternative. One of his sickbay critters, a Rysarian desert larva, is capable of altering its own genetics to replicate another's; in effect becoming a mimetic simbiot of the host. A clone, basically, but a clone that will have an accelerated life cycle and live for only two weeks. When it reaches Trip's current age, Phlox will be able to transfer some of its brain tissue to Trip and save his life.
Herculean Justifications: The writers bend over backwards to make this palatable, with justification after justification. First, the simbiot will not be injured during the procedure necessary to save Trip, and will thus be able to live out his short life unscathed afterwards. Later, when the simbiot already exists, Phlox discovers that the procedure will, in fact, kill him. Then the simbiot, which Phlox named 'Sim,' learns that there is an enzyme treatment that might be able to give him a normal life span. Alas, this treatment is so unlikely to work that it's not even a real consideration - a second convenient justification for the initial decision. There's a third justification when, after a few moments of doubt, Sim chooses the reasonable, noble course of action and agrees to sacrifice himself. Then, of course, there's the over-riding justification to end all justifications. Earth needs Enterprise, and Enterprise needs Trip. The needs of the many, and all that. What's interesting is that even taken all together, these justifications can't change the truth, which is that this is just plain WRONG!
WRONG, WRONG, WRONG! It's wrong, I tell you! And I don't even need to tell you, because you know. We all know. We know the instant we see the fetus in the tank. We know when Archer and T'Pol awkwardly leave the room when Phlox says the simbiot needs a name. And we sure as hell know it's wrong when it comes time for Archer to tell the ten year-old Sim what he is, and what he's there for. We spend the entire episode feeling sick at heart! And it's not just us, for all the characters know, too, even Phlox and Archer, deep down inside. It shows in all of their interactions with Sim. You can't just make a copy of someone so you can have parts, even spare parts! No one should have that kind of power. Even Kirk, who played God on more than one occasion, wouldn't tackle the no-win scenario in this manner.
Justifying every step along the way is the writers' ploy to let Archer (and themselves) off the hook. It irked me. It was too perfect. This should have been messy as hell. If this had been, say, Farscape, a show respected for its bold approach, the enzyme treatment to give Sim a natural life span would have worked, Trip would have died, and we'd have been left with Sim. Star Trek should DO stuff like this occasionally. If they want to make the big issue episodes, they should really go out on a limb!
For the characters, though, once Archer makes the call, the situation carries its own momentum. The clone exists, and everyone tries to deal with it as best they can. And therein lies the story. And it's a damned good story. Just because I found the initial premise abhorrent doesn't mean I didn't like the episode. On the contrary - I LOVE controversial episodes that set the Trek newsgroups buzzing. They'll still be talking about this episode a decade from now on the Trek BBS!
(Wait. No. I don't love ALL controversial episodes. You can keep Voyager's 'Fury,' for example...)
Let's move on...
A Boy's Life: We get intriguing glimpses of Sim at various ages, as an infant, at age four, at age eight, at age seventeen, and at Trip's current age, when he was played by Connor Trinneer. All of the young actors did a wonderful job, but the one who sold the show was the young man who played him at age eight. He did such a fabulous job with the mannerisms, accent and personality that you almost have to wonder if they cloned Connor Trinneer to get him! (No, I checked. His name is Adam Taylor Gordon.) He gets the pivotal scene, too - the one in which Archer must tell him who he really is and why he's there. The suspense leading up to this revelation is the most moving, because the boy has begun to realize that something's not right. He has all of Trip's memories, and some of his own, and he wonders where his parents are and why everyone calls him 'Sim.' Watching this boy come face to face with the comatose Trip is chilling, yet he takes it in stride. Typical kid. Archer tells him the story, and once he finds out the procedure isn't going to hurt, he's good to go. "Can we go fix the model now?"
Some might argue that the whole thing was preposterous, and they're right. It was. How could he be aging so quickly and not know it? Someone growing that fast would probably be in a lot of pain. I'm going to let it go, though. It's science fiction - I'll make the leap.
Connor Trinneer: The man was amazing this week as the adult Sim. Trip, yet not Trip. Trip with an edge of desperation and pathos, and the same self-deprecating sense of humor. His range had to be extensive - from heartfelt romantic scenes with T'Pol to angry confrontations with Phlox and Archer - but he pulled it all off beautifully.
Part of the Job: Almost as interesting as watching Sim grow up was watching the other characters relate to him. "This is Starfleet," Voyager's Janeway once told Harry Kim, "weird is part of the job." The people on the ship take it in stride, relating to Sim as an individual, and not just a copy of their friend. Phlox's scenes with the infant Sim were sweet, and you could feel his almost paternal anguish later in the episode as well, particularly when he discovered that the procedure was going to kill Sim after all. Hoshi the linguist taught young Sim how to read. And Reed was a friend later in life. The teenage Sim tells T'Pol that he understands how difficult it is for people to relate to him. It's nice to see some of them go out of their way to do just that, though. Even Archer is willing to share his dog with the boy, and let him play with his old starship model. There's a lot going on in that particular series of scenes, but through it all, you can see that Archer genuinely likes young Sim.
Porthos, Fearless Space Pup and Comfort Dog! Porthos is used so perfectly in this episode. Sim sort of adopts him for the week. I loved the shot of him watching the starship model fly around the room. He barked at it! Hee. And that scene at the end...oh dear GOD, be still my sappy little heart! More on that, later.
All Trek Starship Captains should have dogs from now on. That's what I think.
Trip and T'Pol: The teenage Sim has a crush on T'Pol, but for the adult Sim, the feelings run a lot deeper. In my favorite scene, he comes to her quarters to tell her about them. He's confused, because he doesn't know if the feelings belong to him or Trip, and wonders if she can tell him. She can't. She'll never know and neither will we. This was a beautiful scene, perhaps the most moving confession of love I've ever seen on Star Trek. Trinneer proved to me what an incredible romantic lead he could be, if given the chance, and up until now I hadn't been convinced. And Blalock was wonderful, too. T'Pol was clearly moved by the confession, and saddened by it.
T'Pol of Vulcan: Let's face it - T'Pol is just not doing a very good job with this whole 'suppressing emotion' thing. I have mixed feelings about this. I can live with it, as long as they make it clear that she is an aberration - that she has made a conscious decision to explore emotions, the way the Vulcans in 'Fusion' had. And if they're going to do this, there should be some negative consequences for her. After all, Vulcans don't suppress their emotions just for the heck of it.
I'm torn because I do like T'Pol, but part of me wishes that she were a typical Vulcan woman, because we've never really gotten to know one before on Star Trek. Maybe it would have been better to make the character a different species entirely.
The Kiss: T'Pol kisses Sim when she goes to his quarters to say goodbye, and it's a real kiss, too, not just a little peck on the cheek. What was this - a genuine expression of affection, or an act of compassion? I think it was probably some combination of both. From a purely logical standpoint, if she wanted to experiment a bit with romance, she could do it with Sim without things getting messy. Or is that too cynical? In any case, it was kinda sweet.
The Polaric Field: It wouldn't be Star Trek without a B-story involving some kind of technobabble problem, would it? In this case, it's the 'polaric field' that interfered with Trip's initial warp experiment and disabled the ship. They're stuck in there until they can get the badly damaged engines back on line. The problem is that a rocky, magnetic substance is accumulating on the hull, and it's going to render the ship powerless if they don't get it off. As a subplot, it wasn't bad, and it actually furthered the main plot by giving Sim and T'Pol interaction time. It also proved how useful Sim could be, because he's the one who ultimately found the solution.
Continuity: Continuity abounds. In addition to the built-in continuity with the Xindi arc, and the whole neuropressure thing, we also got a cute reference to the events of 'Shuttlepod One.' And Archer's flying starship model hadn't been seen since the flashback scenes of 'Broken Bow.' Good stuff.
It's PECAN PIE, you Idiots! There was one glaring continuity error, though. Maybe. I thought it had been established in the first season that Trip's favorite dessert was pecan pie, and not key lime pie, as Sim claims. I find it difficult to believe the writers would be unable to remember that detail, though, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe Sim has a different favorite pie. Or maybe they both like BOTH kinds of pie equally. I know I do. In fact, I wish I had some of either kind of pie right now!
One other Quibble...and then I'll shut up. It's the whole neuro-pressure thing. How can this possibly be conducive to sleep? They're both half-naked, and she's climbing all over him. I mean, PLEASE! And why does he have to massage her, too? I'm not buying it. It's WAY too transparent an attempt to lure in the young male demographic.
Moving on, though.
The End. Literally. This whole sequence of scenes was profoundly moving. I started blubbering with the shot of Sim spending his last moments alone with Porthos, just petting him for comfort. *SOB* Then the kiss with T'Pol. "I couldn't have asked for a better goodbye." *sniff* Then, in sickbay, he makes a pretty speech about the meaning of his life, and, without much fanfare, lays himself down on the biobed. Phlox administers a sedative, and he closes his eyes. And that's it! That's all she wrote! The shot fades into a shot of Sim's body in the torpedo tube, with Archer eulogizing him. Wow! That transition had a lot of impact. Kudos to the director - Mr. LeVar Burton!
Repercussions: Watching the look on Trip's face as Sim's body was sent into space, I had to wonder how he must feel about all this. I'm okay wondering about it, but I wish there were a way for them to address the personal repercussions for him. Maybe they could make it a future B-story. The matter deserves to be explored.
Archer Watch: I hated Archer this week. Part of being a captain is accepting the hard losses. Creating a being for the sole purpose of harvesting tissue? Not something I'd like to see in my Trek captains. I know he's desperate. I know he's carrying a huge burden. But he shouldn't let it destroy what he is. "You're not a murderer," Sim tells him, when he Archer threatens to have him brought to sickbay forcibly. "Don't make me one," is Archer's response. Talk about blaming the victim! Sorry, Jonathan. You created him knowing he'd conveniently die in two weeks. You can't just kill him when he refuses to oblige. And it wasn't just the decision that disturbed me; it was his whole attitude. The least he could have done was handle the situation with a little bit of grace - that's what it means to be the captain! Couldn't he convince Sim to do the right thing - the only thing, really - without resorting to sputtered rage and threats of murder? In the end, Sim had to convince himself. Thank goodness he was able to. Archer gets a big thumbs down from the monkee this week. Not that he cares!
'shipper Watch: I know, I know. Just two weeks ago, I proclaimed myself to
be an Archer/T'Pol 'shipper, and now I'm coming out in favor of T'Pol/Trip.
The truth is that I'm enjoying the little hints of both pairings. I'd rather
not get too emotionally invested in one pairing, anyway. Then one ends up
bitter and disappointed and unable to watch 'Endgame' ever again, not that
that's happened to me or to anyone I know.
[And here's a note to the PTB; Trip and T'Pol rubbing decon gel all over
each other = tacky. Sim and T'Pol's quiet conversation in this episode =
classy. We've got to encourage them when they get it right...]
And (drum roll, please) introducing a new regular segment of monkee's
reviews...
Mayweather Watch! Did the man appear on screen? Did he have any lines? I'll
keep track for you from now on! We did see him this week, and he was even
alive! He only had a line or two of unmemorable dialog, though. But we did
get to see him look sad at Sim's funeral. Oh, and he was a pallbearer! Poor
Anthony Montgomery. He should quit. At least that way he might get (another)
death scene...
Best Lines:
The Second Best Line:
"You're all I think about, if you know what I mean. And I'm not talking
about an adolescent crush. That was...well, that was two days ago." (adult
Sim, to T'Pol)
The Best Line:
"It's not that I'm scared of dying. I just can't imagine not being here
tomorrow." (adult Sim, to Archer)
Rating: 9.5/10. Hated the decision, but loved the episode nonetheless!
Next Week: Archer, T'Pol and Xindi in 2004 Detroit. GOTTA LOVE NOVEMBER
SWEEPS!
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Number:
"We haven't gotten to the more challenging postures yet." (T'Pol, to Trip.
She demonstrates. One of the more challenging postures apparently places her
breasts right in his face.)
"Well, I'm always up for a challenge." (Trip, to T'Pol)
"I don't make this proposal lightly, Captain, but I'm obligated to provide
you with all available options." (Phlox, to Archer)
"Earth needs Enterprise. Enterprise needs Trip. It's as simple as that."
(Archer, to T'Pol, and he seems to believe it, too...)
"I gave the order that created him. I should be the one to explain why."
(Archer, to Phlox. Damn straight, you should!)
"Mostly what he does is eat, sleep, and not fetch." (Archer, to child Sim,
regarding Porthos)
"You know what's weird? My parents call me Trip, but everyone here calls me
Sim. Where's my Mom and Dad?" (child Sim, to Archer)
"I guess it must be weird, spending time with someone like me. Five days
ago, I was wearing diapers." (teenage Sim, to T'Pol)
"I just believe that we should be focused on the ship's engines, at least
until the current situation is resolved." (T'Pol, to Sim)
"I probably won't be around when the current situation is resolved."
(teenage Sim, to T'Pol)
"This is much more serious, the way I feel about you. Anyway, what's driving
me crazy is I don't know if these feelings are mine, or his." (adult Sim, to
T'Pol)
"I just thought I should tell you this. While I still had the chance."
(adult Sim, to T'Pol)
"I have his memories. I have his feelings. I have his body. How am I not
Trip?" (adult Sim, to Archer)
"Commander Tucker is lying in sickbay." (Archer, to adult Sim)
"What am I? Just something you grew in a lab? Does that make it any easier
for you to condemn me to death?" (adult Sim, to Archer)
"I don't have to tell you what's at stake. I must complete this mission. And
to do that, I need Trip. TRIP! I'll take whatever steps are necessary to
save him." "Even if it means killing me?" "Even if it means killing you."
(Archer and adult Sim)
"Can you imagine a lousier way to spend your old age? Cooped up in that
thing? Peeing in a bottle?" (adult Sim, to Archer, referring to the shuttle
he almost steals)
"Actually I can imagine a worse fate - being stuck in there with Malcolm!"
(adult Sim, to Archer)
"You want to know what really stopped me? My sister. I don't want what
happened to her to happen to anyone else." (noble adult Sim, to Archer)
"I just wanted to say how much your absence will affect this crew...how much
it will affect me." (T'Pol, to adult Sim on his way to death)
"I don't just remember Trip's childhood - I remember mine. You made a damned
good father." (adult Sim, to Phlox)
"You once told me that commanding a starship is what you were meant to do. I
guess this is what I was meant to do. Good luck, Captain." (adult Sim, to
Archer)
"You owe me one." (adult Sim, to comatose Trip)
"In the time we knew him, he showed us just how much one life can matter."
(Archer, eulogizing Sim)