A Night in Sickbay
"A Night in Sickbay" | |
---|---|
Star Trek: Enterprise episode | |
Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 5 |
Directed by | David Straiton |
Written by | |
Featured music | Paul Baillargeon |
Production code | 205 |
Original air date | October 16, 2002 |
Guest appearance | |
| |
"A Night In Sickbay" is the thirty-first episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise, the fifth episode of season two. It first aired on October 16, 2002 on the UPN within the United States. The episode was written by executive producers Brannon Braga and Rick Berman, and directed by David Straiton.
Set in the 22nd century, the series follows the adventures of the first
The episode featured
Plot
After a five-day away mission spent apologising on the planet Kreetassa, the away team consisting of Captain Archer, Sub-Commander T'Pol, Ensign Sato, and Archer's dog, Porthos, return to the ship to decontaminate. Porthos has acquired a pathogen on the planet surface and must be quarantined. Archer learns from Commander Tucker of the ship's need for an extra plasma injector from the Kreetassans, but negotiations break down after it is discovered that Porthos had urinated on a sacred tree, insulting the Kreetassans. Archer reacts poorly to the news and is given a list of requirements he must meet in order to apologise.
He and Doctor
T'Pol, working out in the gym, also keeps urging Archer to apologize to the Kreetassans for Porthos' behavior, but Archer resists because he blames them for Porthos' illness. In the end, Porthos recovers following a pituitary transplant from an alien chameleon. Finally swallowing his pride, Archer then goes down to the Kreetassan capital and delivers an intricate ritual apology which involves slicing a tree trunk with a chainsaw, arranging the pieces of wood in a complex pattern on the ground, and chanting phrases in the Kreetassan language. Having successfully apologised to the Kreetassans, the crew finally manage to procure three plasma injectors prior to their departure.
Production
Executive producers
The episode was directed by
Porthos
There were two
More than one scene proved problematic for Breezy during the filming of the episode, as the decontamination room set was an enclosed four wall set, meaning that in the scene where Archer rubs down Porthos with decontamination gel, Breezy's trainer Scott Rowe couldn't be on the set with her. Normally he would have been behind the camera assisting the director by ensuring the dog is looking wherever the scene required. He hoped that with him off the set, that Breezy would look where required and not directly at the camera.[8] In order to prepare for the scene where Porthos leaps out of an immersion tank and into Archer's arms, Rowe had a mock-up created so he could practice it with Breezy. He said that "By the time we went into it on that one day to prep on set with Scott, she was jumping out of it into my arms, but I had to make sure that she's going to jump out and do it into Scott's arms."[8] In the final scene, not only did Breezy leap into Bakula's arms, but she also licked him repeatedly on the face. This wasn't due to training, but because they wiped food on Bakula's face.[8]
A further challenge for the dog actor was to lie still in an isolation tank and not move even when petted by Bakula or Billingsley during some long scenes whilst on screen.[8] At times a stunt dog was used, but Breezy was required for any close-ups.[8] A Beagle prop was also created for the scenes in the isolation tank and to be submersed in a super-hydration tank. The prop was created by Joel Harlow, who had also created make-up designs for the television series Carnivàle and the film The Chronicles of Riddick.[10]
Reception
"A Night in Sickbay" was first aired in the United States on the
Herc of
IGN called it "The hands-down worst show of the season".[18]
TechRepublic included the episode on its list of the five worst episodes of Enterprise.[19]
Star Trek: The Complete Manual published by SciFiNow listed it as the third worst episode of the series.[20]
Screen Rant ranked "A Night in Sickbay" the 14th worst Star Trek episode, highlighting what they felt were poor character development choices and a weak plot that revolved around a sick dog (Porthos) that peed on a tree.[21]
WhatCulture ranked this episode the 17th worst episode of Star Trek.[22]
The Digital Fix felt this was a "bad episode", but noted it for experimenting with format.[23] Den of Geek defended the episode, saying it was flawed, but nowhere near as bad as "Spock's Brain" or "Threshold".[24]
In 2016,
Awards
The episode was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation (short form) at the 2003 awards alongside "Carbon Creek" and episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly. The award went to the Buffy episode "Conversations with Dead People".[26][27]
Home media
The first home media release of "A Night in Sickbay" was part of the season two
References
- ^ a b "Hollywood Parties Draw Star Trek Celebs". Star Trek.com. July 16, 2002. Archived from the original on August 6, 2002. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
- ^ Krutzler, Steve (September 6, 2002). "Interview: Scott Bakula on why he's not "New Kirk", plus his expectations and previews for Enterprise's new season!". TrekWeb. Archived from the original on February 11, 2003. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
- ^ AntonyF (February 18, 2004). "John Billingsley". TrekNation. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f "It's a Dog's Life". Star Trek.com. August 9, 2002. Archived from the original on August 13, 2002. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
- ^ a b Ordway, Holly E. (August 7, 2005). "Star Trek Enterprise – The Complete Second Season". DVD Talk. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
- ^ DeCandido, Keith (July 14, 2011). "Star Trek: The Next Generation Rewatch: "Heart of Glory"". Tor.com. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
- ^ "Breezy". Performing Animal Troupe. Archived from the original on December 23, 2013. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g Nemecek, Larry (March 2003). "Boldly Bow-Wowing Where No Beagle Has Bow-Wowed Before" (PDF). LarryNemecek.com. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
- ^ "Windy". Performing Animal Troupe. Archived from the original on 2003-04-09.
- ^ "Characters". Joel Harlow Designs. Archived from the original on September 25, 2013. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
- ^ Kissell, Rick (October 22, 2002). "Peacock delivers key demos". Variety.
UPN had its strongest Wednesday this season, with "Enterprise" delivering its best scores (6.26m, 3.1/9 in 18-49) in more than eight months.
- ^ a b Krutzler, Steve. "Final Ratings: "A Night In Sickbay" Provides Healthy Boost in Viewership, Demos". TrekWeb. Archived from the original on December 28, 2004. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
- ^ "Enterprise 2.5 FAQ". Ain't It Cool News. October 17, 2002. Archived from the original on January 9, 2003. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
- ^ Green, Michelle Erica (October 17, 2002). "A Night in Sickbay". TrekNation. Retrieved 2022-04-01.
- Jammer's Reviews. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
- Tor.com. Archived from the originalon 2022-07-11.
- ^ Peter Schorn (19 May 2012). "Star Trek Enterprise - The Complete Second Season". IGN.com. Retrieved 2022-04-01.
- ^ Jay Garmon (December 16, 2011). "The five worst Star Trek: Enterprise episodes EVER!". TechRepublic.
- ^ "Star Trek The Complete Manual 1st Edition". SciFiNow. 2015.
- ^ "15 Worst Star Trek Episodes Of All Time". ScreenRant. 2017-05-22. Archived from the original on 2019-06-08. Retrieved 2019-07-08.
- ^ Kmet, Michael (2014-01-26). "Star Trek: 20 Worst Episodes Ever". WhatCulture.com. Retrieved 2019-07-18.
- ^ Baz Greenland (2021-03-22). "Star Trek: Enterprise Revisited - A Look Back At Season Two". The Digital Fix. Retrieved 2021-04-08.
- ^ Harrisson, Juliette (25 September 2021). "Star Trek: In Defense of Enterprise's Worst Episode". Den of Geek. Retrieved 2022-04-01.
- ^ Roth, Dany (2016-07-20). "The 10 most hated Star Trek episodes that deserve a second chance". SYFY WIRE. Archived from the original on 2019-07-18. Retrieved 2019-07-18.
- ^ "2003 Hugo Awards". The Hugo Awards. Archived from the original on May 7, 2011. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
- ^ "Enterprise Notches Two Hugo Noms". StarTrek.com. 2003-04-18. Archived from the original on 2003-04-21.
- ^ "Enterprise Season: Two Blu-ray Available August 20". StarTrek.com. May 23, 2013. Archived from the original on February 18, 2014. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
External links
- "A Night in Sickbay" at IMDb
- "A Night in Sickbay" at Memory Alpha
- "A Night in Sickbay" at Wayback Machine (archived from the original at StarTrek.com)