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By O. Deus / 00:17, 24 January 2005 / ENTERPRISE Reviews
Synopsis: Aliens capable of possessing the bodies of the crew at will observe their reactions to a deadly virus.
Review: It's another episode from the Reeves-Stevenses, best known for writing William Shatner's novels, and, like "The Forge" before it, at times comes off more suited for a written format than a visual one. Nonetheless "Observer Effect" is one of the strongest episodes of the season thus far, in no small part because of veteran STAR TREK director Mike Vejar's work in conveying the eerie qualities of the aliens.
While the basic premise of "Observer Effect" is nothing unusual, suggesting any number of STAR TREK episodes from TNG's "Where Silence Has Lease" and VOYAGER's "Scientific Method", what sets "Observer Effect" apart is that like "Daedalus" it stylistically and thematically strongly resembles classic STAR TREK episodes. Indeed scenes such as Archer's and Phlox's confrontations with the aliens are strongly suggestive of Kirk and McCoy. By contrast, though, the chess opening of the episode is more in line with the stylistic flair of VOYAGER or third season ENTERPRISE.
The opening suggests a series of maneuvers; a game of chess that will be played out until the endgame, which is a surprising reversal of the strategic situation by emotional means. It is also a metaphor with the alien possessing Reed as the logical rule-bound type who can predict outcomes ultimately being outmaneuvered by emotion, which he cannot predict. Human emotions, empathy and its very irrationality stymie logic as effectively as they stymie the predictive abilities of the alien using Reed as a host.
"Observer Effect" opens with the aliens acting as observers studying the humans around them and ends with them departing, making alien observers the bookends of the episode in another noteworthy stylistic touch that we have seen in the past but is still worth mentioning. With the question of originality there are of course dozens of episodes from the Original Series and through VOYAGER that could be referenced but then it's increasingly hard for ENTERPRISE to do a genuinely original story. "Observer Effect" is a worthwhile reworking of classic STAR TREK themes, namely human empathy vs. highly developed but cruel intelligences and self-sacrifice vs. logical cost and benefit analysis.
Mike Vejar's excellent direction of course brings the eerie concept of alien possession to a whole new level. And it is interesting to note that about the only time Anthony Montgomery takes center stage and about the only time he's interesting is when an alien has taken possession of his body for the entire episode. Reed, who has also been woefully neglected this season, gets a little screentime too -- albeit as another possessed body -- but he manages to make the most of what little time he has. Hoshi surprisingly also gets a good deal of sudden development, though the poker story is dubious and simply doesn't fit with the character as depicted at all. Trip mainly reprises his sick and out of it material from "Shuttlepod One", which gives him rather little to do but he does it capably enough.
All in all, "Observer Effect" much like "Daedalus", is a good episode somewhat mired by a lack of originality and an overly abrupt ending. But it nevertheless strongly resonates of the Original Series and features some strong performances and excellent direction and will be a worthy addition to your tape library once ENTERPRISE goes off the air.
Next week: Andorians are feeling blue and the Tellarites haven't discovered razors yet but it was good of "Observer Effect" to reference Tellarites and beat the Tellarite referencing rush.
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I'm actually pretty impressed with the fact that this is an even handed review, don't get me wrong, I have enjoyed O'Dues's reviews in the past but they were always uber-negative in my opinion, probably the first even handed review I've seen O'Deus do in a loooooooooong time..
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Observer Effect is one of the shabbiest and contrived scripts of the series. Virtually all of the dialog to and from the Chip 'n' Dale alien duet is nonsensical.
Key to the premise of this episode is that it's the first encounter between Organian and Human, yet Chip and Dale, as Hoshi and Tucker, have a chitchat in decon that's loaded with the baggage of racial familiarity and prejudice...
Tucker: "What do you have against this species?"
Hoshi: "What disturbs me most about the Humans is their capacity for violence."
Tucker: "Klingons embrace violence, the Humans try to avoid it."
Hoshi: "Humans say they avoid it, but their words don't ma... We're being observed."
The Organians already had the 411 on Human behavior, so their jig is all for naught. Where did Chip learn about the Human capacity for anything, and why didn't that knowledge base contain accounts of Human intelligence, persistence, and compassion?
The daffy dialog in this episode is worthy of a junior school play, not prime time Trek. Let's examine some of it, shall we?
Just prior to the aforementioned decon scene, Dale (as Mayweather) says to Chip (as Reed), "We came to observe their response to the unexpected, not to watch them suffer". This is to say that they're familiar with corporeal suffering, and that they know it's happening to the Humans. Nonetheless, as soon as they leap into the sickly bodies of Hoshi and Tucker, Dale is surprised, noting "The sensations in this host are different from the others; I'm experiencing physical pain". Yes, Dale, that's the corporeal suffering you were just harping about to Chip, remember? And if you wanted to talk private-like, why did you leap into the two most closely monitored crewmen on the ship? Better to have poofed your incorporeal selves somewhere into the silent ether, especially as you later grouse, "Talking is a limited form of communication for us. We're much more advanced than humans."
Our Scooby Gang are often strangers to the obvious -- thus sleuth Archer seeks the virus in meteorite craters, ignoring the Klingon Porta-Potty and garbage dump that Hoshi and Tucker had been tossing around in while on the planet -- but wouldn't Chip and Dale be the Organian equivalent of scientists, since theirs is a scientific mission? Yeah, so why doesn't Chip understand the standard procedure and commonsense of isolating an unknown and contagious pathogen during the process of identification and search for a cure?...
Reed: "Captain Archer's done nothing different from the Klingons. The launch bay and decon chamber are completely isolated from the rest of the ship."
Mayweather: "So, it doesn't matter if an infected landing party comes aboard."
Reed: "Precisely. Humans don't want to interact with dying crew mates any more than Klingons did."
Chip can't fathom the difference between Klingon murder and Human quarantine of infected crew. Then there's this, from Phlox's confrontation with Chip (as T'Pol) in sickbay...
T'Pol: "We're here to observe. We can't interfere."
Phlox: "You're interfering with me!"
T'Pol: "Our subjects are Human, you're Denobulan."
What is Chip saying? Is Phlox treated any differently than others? No, he's body-snatched and memory-wiped too.
Phlox: "No wonder you erase memories. Your behavior is appalling."
You're right, Phlox, but these are prickish ENT Organians, not the wise messengers created by TOS.
"According to what I read on the doctor's medical padd, he's learned how to stop the infection", notes Dale, to which Chip huffs, "Expending resources to attempt an impossible task is not a sign of intelligence". Excuse me? First, expending resources to accomplish a task is mostly unavoidable to physical beings, so Chip is again the bonehead. Second, Phlox has learned how to stop the infection, so the task of defeating the virus can't be called "impossible" at this point. Bonehead.
Hoshi goes flatline in sickbay. Cardiac arrest used to be cause to call the morgue, but modern medical techniques reduce it to a Code Blue. Does Archer act like there's no hope for Hoshi at that point? Not at all. Phlox certainly isn't signaling defeat. So, what is it that prompts Chip to say "they know it's hopeless" when no one in the experiment actually believes it's hopeless? What does he know about Human response to a crisis? Gaining such knowledge is what this farce, erm, process is all about.
It's evident that ENT writers watched Errand of Mercy for this story, and they heard the TOS Organian elder say, "We find interference in other people's affairs most disgusting"; thus Observer Effect lip-services noninterference no less than four times. Do Chip and Dale actually practice what they preach? Of course not. All of that body-snatching and memory-wiping is gross interference to the affairs of free will, and the alien behaviors of the possessed adversely effect natural (Human) interaction, particularly among people who live and work together.
Compassion sways Chip and saves the day. "What Archer has done today -- his act of compassion -- you've never witnessed that before", declares Dale. Pardon me for asking, but exactly which act of compassion can Archer take credit for? Removal of EV gloves, at personal risk? No, that was Phlox's initiative. Indignation toward Organian inhumanity? No, Chip and Dale got that first from Phlox. Hmm. Phlox is a model of intelligence, guardianship, and self-sacrifice. From what Chip and Dale have witnessed, Humans may be intelligent-primate servants and soldiers, bred to mimic and uphold the values of their Denobulan caretakers. Chip's report could read, "In a crisis, Humans loyally follow the teachings of their Denobulan mascot."
The experiment is a bust!
Star Trek fans who understand Errand of Mercy will recognize that the victims in this latest insult to viewer intelligence are the Organians, as highly evolved creatures of conscience who are rendered into boneheads for Observer Effect. This is classic B&B: Make our heroes seem smart by presenting others as uncommonly stupid. 
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William Shatner autographs Leno's Harley (video)
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