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Screen Commentby Alan Duncan
Star Trek Enterprise:“The Unexpected” |
The title, "The Unexpected" is only a partly accurate description of this episode. Sure, the main plot device could be described as an unexpected twist. However, the treatment of the subject matter by the Enterprise production team certainly wasn't unexpected.
This episode has apparently become infamous in fandom for several reasons, the main issues being that it features the second appearance of the Klingons within the first five episodes of the series. It also features the first appearance of that handy plot device, Holodeck technology within the Star Trek Chronology. And all this after the producer's promises that Enterprise would tread ground where no one had gone before!
This is fair criticism, but my main gripe with this Enterprise installment is the total waste of the main plot device in the story line. It was significant in two ways. Firstly, it involved the first inter-species mating & subsequent pregnancy in the Trek Universe. But more significantly, it was the first pregnancy to be borne by a MALE. The male in question? Pretty boy engineer, Trip Tucker.
He had gone aboard the ship of a hitherto un-encountered race, The Xyrillians. They had been using a Stealth technology to hide in the Plasma exhaust stream of the Enterprise, while they repaired their malfunctioning propulsion system. Engineering wonderkid, Trip is called upon to go aboard to repair the fault. This he does, assisted by a female Xyrillian, Ahlen. Of course, I don't need to tell you that there was a mutual attraction between them (a certainly not unexpected turn of events in Trek...it never fails to amaze me how the men of Trek were constantly attracted to green, scaly female aliens. There must have been a pre-disposition for reptilian kink in the 22nd century and beyond.) As far as Trip was concerned, he had been a "gentleman" the whole time. Indeed, no physical contact occurred between them, just a demonstration of a "game" which the Xyrillians played, involving both Ahlen and Trip placing their fingers in some granules with alien powers, allowing the participants to read each other's thoughts, and experience a profound "closeness". After this so-called game in the Xyrillian Holodeck, Trip returned to Enterprise without giving any more thought to the issue. It is only when he noticed a wart like growth on his wrist later, that he visited Dr Phlox, who broke the news of his pre-natal state.
The potential to make a sensitive and sensible story line about the possibilities of male child-bearing, an issue conjectured by 20th century science on various occasions, is thrown away and treated quite contemptuously. Indeed, the episode was previewed as one of the "comedy" episodes of the season, showing the context of how the producers treated the subject matter. It could have been such a good opportunity to explore some hopefully more enlightened 22nd century views to potential differences to the traditional gender roles. But the producers and writers seemed to show quite clearly that childbirth and parenthood were still regarded as a female domain. Trip's lament: "I'm the chief engineer! I spent years earning that position. I never had any intention of becoming a working mother!" echoed a sentiment which has undoubtedly crossed the minds of many career women, whose pregnancy may have caught them off guard.
The comedy billing was fulfilled during some moments which were genuinely funny. Trip became hormonal and emotional, a point highlighted in an engine room scene, where he browbeat a colleague about the safety standards of a lift, and its lack of suitability for a small alien or child. There is a classic scene in the Captain's dining room, where Trip and Dr Phlox were discussing Trip's potential postnatal responsibilities. Just as a steward entered with more foodstuffs to satisfy Trip's cravings, Phlox blurted out: "You may well be putting those nipples to work before you know it". The look on the steward's face at this comment was nothing less than embarrassment and disgust.
Indeed, the attitude of other characters to Trip's predicament remained one of derision and mirth. Captain Archer constantly tried to stifle a smirk, and T'pol was in her element when giving Trip a serve of her usual acid-tinged jibes: "One of the first things a diplomat learns is not to stick his fingers where they don't belong."
Archer finally had to employ the assistance of the Klingons to re-establish contact with the Xyrillians, in order to solve Trip's problem. Conveniently, the Xyrillian reproductive process used only the female genetic material with the male serving as a host. Also conveniently, the embryo was sufficiently underdeveloped to be easily removed. Oh, how careful they were to mitigate any possible compromise in Trip's manhood, or necessary ongoing commitment on his part. The Xyrillian reproductive process must be many a straight man's dream I guess, to have all the responsibility fall on the female partner, with absolutely no genetic evidence to enforce their part in it. A nice, easy way out.
In their standard machismo fashion, the Klingons sneered at what had happened to Trip,. That was after they had been corrected from their automatic assumption that Trip had impregnated Ahlen instead of the other way around.
The episode did have its good points, mainly in terms of design and production values. The Xyrillians really were very alien aliens, with good costume design, and a tangibly alien culture. This impression was aided by effective design work on their ship, with an almost organic flow in the shape and lines of the interior, complimenting the unusual method used in cultivating their staple foodstuffs (growing all over the walls). Topping this off, the atmospheric use of sound effects, lighting and off-beat camera angles, enhanced the spaceship scenes, most notably when Trip first went aboard, experiencing the disorientating effects of the Xyrillian atmosphere.
When I first heard about the intended plot device of Trip's pregnancy, I had sincerely hoped for a more enlightened look at other gender and biological possibilities. I should have known better. This is the Trek universe after all. Instead, all they seemed to be doing was enforcing stereotypical gender roles, and confirming that any deviation from the sexual norm was a source of potential mockery or shame. As T'pol pointed out, this was the first inter-species mating, and the first ever recorded male bearing of a child. And furthermore, Trip didn't know what the repercussions would be from what he did, so why should he be ashamed? Surely this should have been seen as a golden opportunity for a scientific research team to learn about an alien cultures work? More than that, this was a good chance for the crew to confront their prejudices, and to take the lead in the name of discovery. But, no, they just had to fall back on their ingrained prejudices as provided by their early-21st century scriptwriters.
In response to T'Pol pointing out his milestone pregnancy, Trip lamented with a long face: "Just how I wanted to get into the history books!"
It seems that the Star Trek franchise certainly won't get into any history books for being progressive on sexual identity and gender issues!
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