Singularity (episode)

Upon approaching a black hole, the crew starts exhibiting strange behavior and uncharacteristically obsesses over trivial matters.

Teaser

 * "Science officer's log, August 14, 2152. Enterprise remains on course for the trinary system. I've transmitted a distress call, but the nearest Vulcan ship is more than nine days away. By the time they arrive, they may only find debris... if that. Even if Enterprise makes it past the black hole without being destroyed... it seems likely the crew won't survive."

Act one

 * "...I'm continuing my analysis of the condition that's stricken the crew. But without Doctor Phlox's assistance, I'm not hopeful about reversing its effects. I'm documenting my findings so that Starfleet will at least have a record of what happened. The symptoms began not long after we set a course for the trinary system. That was nearly two days ago."

The Enterprise discovers a Class IV black hole, which is unusual, because it is part of a trinary star system. It will take two days to reach the system at impulse and Captain Archer decides to set a course. He also asks Trip to fix his chair when he has some free time; it is uncomfortable because when Archer leans back, he feels like he is sort of sliding out of it.

Back in his ready room, T'Pol informs Archer that Lieutenant Reed has a new security protocol that he wishes to discuss with him. She also informs him that the chef has fallen sick and that Ensign Sato has offered to take charge of the mess hall. Archer informs T'Pol that he has received a manuscript from Earth – a biography of his father – and that he has been asked to write the preface. He is concerned that he will not get it finished and wonders how he should sum up his father's life in one page.

In the mess hall, Hoshi gets ready to prepare one of her grandmother's specialties for the crew from scratch, no protein resequencer.

In sickbay Ensign Mayweather complains about a minor headache and Dr. Phlox insists on examining him before he dispenses any medication. While he is at it, he says, he might as well check up on him and see if he has any problems ever since the neural implants he received at the repair station were removed.

On the bridge, Commander Tucker works on the captain's chair, with a lot of noise, much to the dismay of T'Pol who is trying to do some work. Meanwhile, Lt. Reed recommends to Archer implementing a ship-wide emergency alert, something more comprehensive than battle stations. He believes that the crew is taking far too long to react to potential threats. Archer is slightly irritated, stating that this is not a warship, but that he will run this by the senior officers and will get back to him.

During meal time in the mess hall, Lt. Reed continues obsessing about the various ways he can name the new security protocol while an annoyed Trip is wondering if adding a cup holder to the captain's chair might be too much. They continue irritating each other, as each believes that his task is far more relevant than the others. Hoshi gets slightly upset as Lieutenant Reed finds her dish a bit salty, while Dr. Phlox decides to keep Ensign Mayweather overnight for observation for he is convinced that there is something wrong with Mayweather that he must find. Meanwhile, Captain Archer is struggling with the task of writing something about his father for the upcoming biography. He gets especially impatient with Porthos who keeps barking for cheese.

Act two
T'Pol, who seems to be immune to this, calls Trip to her quarters, informing him that the trinary system is emitting some unusual radiation which she is trying to identify. But Trip can't believe that she actually dragged him up there to identify radiation. He believes that she is just doing this to get back at him for having made so much noise earlier. He consequently refuses helping her, stating that he has no time to cater to her whims. When she asks him if he is feeling all right, he goes off on the importance of the captain's chair and its relevance to the well-being of the ship.

All throughout the ship, crewmembers continue experiencing obsessive behavior that keeps escalating. In sickbay, Dr. Phlox wants to perform a cerebral microsection on Mayweather who is worried about getting a reprimand on his permanent record if he does not get back on the bridge to finish those upgrades. He is even worried about being court-martialed. When he tries to leave, Phlox knocks him out with a hypospray and ties him to the biobed. Lt. Reed plays the various alert signals he has been working on for Trip who is diligently working on the captain's chair and is getting seriously irritated by Reed. Reed says that he needs Trip's assistance, but Trip sends him away because he has to work on the chair first. Hoshi, who has been cooking the same meal over and over again, is once again in the galley adding various spices to her dish and obsessing about the amount of salt in it.

As T'Pol enters the armory, Reed asks her for a clearance code, because supposedly the armory is a restricted area and such a code is required as part of the new security protocol. T'Pol tells Reed about needing assistance in establishing a sensor interface in her quarters and about Trip's strange behavior and asks him whether he noticed anything, but all Reed cares about is why T'Pol wanted to access the sensor array from her quarters in the first place. She notices that he is armed as well and finally realizes that there is something more going on here, when Reed threatens to go to Starfleet Command if Archer does not take his proposals seriously.


 * "...It wasn't long before I realized the odd behavior wasn't limited to Commander Tucker. In fact, everyone I encountered was acting strangely, growing consumed with matters that seemed trivial, at best. I also discovered that, although I appeared to be immune, the captain was not."

After taking apart the Captain's chair, Trip informs Archer that the Captain deserves better than sitting on chairs they have been using on warp 2 ships for over a decade. He decides to build him a "throne" and starts taking Archer's measurements. While being measured, Archer begins reading what he has been drafting about his father to Trip. It is nineteen pages and Trip has no interest in listening to it all.

Tensions and belligerence among crewmembers increase. While a hungry Archer pries the food away from Hoshi who is working on the perfect recipe, Reed decides to test one of his security alerts and run a drill on the crew's response time. He reprimands Archer for his slow response time while Trip rushes in, dragging away the Captain just to show him the extra features on his new chair. Reed is outraged that the tactical alert is being ignored for the chair, stating that this isn't a "bloody pleasure cruise." They become so agitated that Archer has to separate them.

Act three
T'Pol, who is highly alarmed at the seriousness of the situation tries to talk to the Captain about the crew's erratic behavior. She suggests declaring a medical emergency and have Dr. Phlox examine the crew, beginning with the Captain, but Archer doesn't want to listen to it and throws her out his quarters.

As the Enterprise approaches the trinary system, crew members begin to fall unconscious one by one until T'Pol is the only one left awake.


 * "...The crew's bio-signs were growing erratic. I began to doubt any of them would survive more then a few hours. Ironically, Dr. Phlox's obsession with Ensign Mayweather's headache has provided some useful data. His cerebral scans have helped me determine that the radiation coming from the trinary system is causing...//...my radiometric analysis is complete. As I suspected, reversing course won't take us out of danger quickly enough. The radiation appears to extend outward at least half a light year in every direction except one. If I can chart a course between the stars, we could escape the radiation before the crew succumbs. But I won't be able to pilot the ship alone."

T'Pol rushes to the Captain's quarters and tries to revive him. She explains to him what is going on but he is semi-passed out so she drags him out and puts him in the shower. She explains to him what the black hole is doing to them and that they need to get out of there as quickly as possible. She explains that they have to pass within two million kilometers of the black hole and that the course she chartered will get them out of the radiation in seventeen minutes. However, given the massive debris field, she needs Archer to pilot the ship while she determines the course corrections.

They encounter large debris pieces that require phase cannons. To their surprise they realize that weapons are all online and ready, thanks to Mr. Reed's recent upgrades. Finally, a semi conscious Archer manages to pilot the ship out of the system. The crew regains consciousness as they clear the field and everyone is in relatively good health.

Archer tells Reed that his new tactical protocols were very useful during their crossing of the debris field and wants to make them standard procedure, only insisting that a better alarm sound be devised.

Finally, Archer examines the new chair Trip fixed for him and realizes that it feels much better and is in fact "totally different". Trip says he just lowered it by 1 centimeter.

Memorable quotes
"Hand me the Kreetassan spice, I'll add it to the stock. Oh – and I'm out of carrots."

"There are twenty-five--"

"CARROTS!!"


 * - Hoshi Sato's response to the galley crewman that is trying to get her to speed up her cooking.

"With all due respect Ensign, you've been cooking the same meal over and over again."


 * - A crewman finds Hoshi Sato obsessing over her cooking in the galley

"Shut off that damn noise!"
 * - Jonathan Archer, referring to the alert claxon in a similar manner to that of Jean-Luc Picard in

"It's a chair!" "It's the Captain's chair."
 * - Reed comments on Tucker's obsession with fixing Archer's command chair

"You ignored a tactical alert for THIS?"

"Give it a rest, will you!"

"This isn't a bloody pleasure cruise! Without proper discipline on this ship, this mission is doomed!"

"Why don't you go play soldiers somewhere else?!"

"If this were a military situation, you'd be taken out and shot!"
 * - Malcolm Reed and Trip Tucker fighting on the bridge while under the radiation's influence

"What happened to my chair???"

"Did you know that THIS chair is the EXACT same model used on Neptune class survey ships?"

"Is that why you called me down here?"

"Enterprise is the first warp five vessel in human history. The pride of the fleet. And you're sitting in a chair they been using on warp two ships for over a decade. You deserve better. So, I'm starting from scratch. I'm gonna build you a throne. Stand right there. I need to get a few para-metric scans. To get your EXACT dimensions - this baby's gonna fit like a glove."

"Isn't that used for aligning phase coils??"

"You won't feel a thing."
 * - Jonathan Archer and Trip Tucker discussing the captain's chair while under the radiation's influence

Background information

 * This episode establishes black holes as a common phenomenon in the Star Trek universe. A conversation between Archer and T'Pol purports that the Vulcans have surveyed "more than 2,000" black holes. However, by the time of, Decker remarks that Voyager VI, "disappeared into what they used to call a black hole," implying that the definition of what constitutes a black hole may have changed in the intervening years. In fact, the Hirogen used a small quantum singularity to power their relay stations, which was referred to by the crew of USS Voyager as a black hole.
 * This was the first episode to show the galley.
 * Among the many things listed on the "Week's Dinner Menu" are peach cobbler, Plomeek tea, Angolian cole slaw, lamb and beef in soy fondue, and French fries.
 * A part of Malcolm's obsessive behavior in this episode centers around finding a "shipwide emergency alert". This culminated in the "Tactical Alert" to be used in future Enterprise episodes, and what would eventually develop into the more familiar "Red alert" (although this term is not mentioned in this episode, Trip suggests a "Reed alert" after Malcolm's family name).

Starring

 * Scott Bakula as Captain Jonathan Archer
 * John Billingsley as Doctor Phlox
 * Jolene Blalock as Subcommander T'Pol
 * Dominic Keating as Lieutenant Malcolm Reed
 * Anthony Montgomery as Ensign Travis Mayweather
 * Linda Park as Ensign Hoshi Sato
 * Connor Trinneer as Commander Charles "Trip" Tucker III

Co-Star

 * Matthew Kaminsky as Crewman Cunningham

Uncredited Co-Stars

 * Adam Anello as an operations division crewman
 * Mark Correy as Alex
 * Evan English as Ensign Tanner
 * Glen Hambly as a operations division ensign
 * Bryan Heiberg as an operations division crewman
 * Scott Hill as Ensign Hutchison
 * Baron Jay as an operations division crewman
 * Roy Joaquin as a science division crewman
 * Kyla Kuhner as an operations division crewman
 * Aouri Makhlouf as a medical crewman
 * Marnie Martin as an operations division crewman
 * Bobby Pappas as an operations division crewman
 * Lidia Sabljic as a command division crewman
 * Jan Shiva as a science division crewman
 * Jessica Vash as a command division ensign
 * John Wan as an operations division crewman
 * Mark Watson as an operations division crewman

Menu references
Argelian cole slaw; asparagus; beef; bread; brisket; cabbage; Carnegie style cheesecake; champagne; cheese; chocolate; crêpe; filet mignon; fondue; French fries; fried chicken; frilled curled onions; garlic bread; ginger; Grandma DeRosa; green apples; green beans; green olive caviar; green peas; grilled alpine surprise; grilled trout almondine; grilled vegetable panini; grilled Vietnamese pork; lamb; lasagna; Minaran spinach; mixed green salad; noodle kugel; peach cobbler; Plomeek tea; raspberry sauce; red apples; rice pilaf; roast duck; scalloped potatoes; soy; steamed rice; strawberries; twice-baked potato;

Singularity Eigenarten Singularity Singularity (épisode) ja:ENT:三重星系の誘惑 Singularity (aflevering)