55 – Extinction

Grade: F

Summary

Archer, T’Pol, Reed and Hoshi investigate a planet that Archer suspects has something to do with the Xindi. Once they’ve been on the planet for a few moments, they begin to change into another species.

Commentary

Oh man. This was an awful episode. Just absolutely awful. It could not have possibly been any worse than it was. This could be the single worst episode of Star Trek that was ever made.

It’s another meaningless episode in which the Enterprise crew meet a new species of aliens that we’ll never see again. Dr Phlox cures a disease in 15 minutes that this new species hasn’t been able to cure in 60 years. And to add insult to injury, it’s also a Fun with DNA episode – when our heroes start turning into some other kind of species. Oh, and just in case we forgot why we’re here, we have a scantily-clad T’Pol at the beginning of the episode to make sure we keep watching the series.

The storyline isn’t very interesting, and there really aren’t any character insights or interesting points. I don’t wonder why this series was cancelled; I only wonder why it wasn’t cancelled sooner.

Can we just get back to looking for the Xindi again? What’s the point of having all these close calls? Let’s just get on with the Xindi War and the twist that it will most likely throw us.

Of Note

LaVar Burton apparently directed this mess. I’m not sure what he was thinking, but he does have some experience with episodes in which the main characters visit a planet and suddenly evolve into some other kind of being. Sure wish they hadn’t made this one.