Affliction (Star Trek: Enterprise)
"Affliction" | |
---|---|
Star Trek: Enterprise episode | |
Episode no. | Season 4 Episode 15 |
Directed by | Michael Grossman[1] |
Story by | Manny Coto |
Teleplay by | Mike Sussman |
Featured music | Velton Ray Bunch |
Production code | 415 |
Original air date | February 18, 2005 |
Guest appearances | |
| |
"Affliction" is the fifteenth episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise, and originally aired on February 18, 2005. The script was written by Mike Sussman from a story by executive producer Manny Coto. It was the second episode of Enterprise to be directed by Michael Grossman. The episode is the first of a two-part story, which concludes with "Divergence".
Set in the 22nd century, the series follows the adventures of the first Starfleet starship Enterprise, registration NX-01. In Affliction, the crew investigate the kidnapping of Doctor Phlox (John Billingsley), and the ship is attacked by a new type of Klingon. Meanwhile, Phlox is taken to a Klingon colony to work on a cure for a plague whose effects include the disappearance of the Klingon's cranial ridges.
The episode sought to answer the question of why Klingons looked different in Star Trek: The Original Series than in other series of the franchise. It also introduced Section 31, originally seen in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, to an earlier time in the Star Trek canon.
The episode featured a number of guest stars who had previous connections to the franchise, including
Plot
Enterprise returns to Earth in time for the launch of the second NX class starship, Columbia, and Commander
On Columbia, Tucker ruffles a few feathers of his new team, and Captain
Phlox is taken to Qu'Vat, a Klingon colony where General K'Vagh and Doctor Antaak seek his help to cure a Klingon plague. To Phlox's horror, K'Vagh kills an infected Klingon so that an autopsy can be performed. Phlox determines that the victim's DNA has been supplemented with that of a genetically augmented human. Phlox also learns from Antaak that they experimented with augmented DNA after the events seen in "Borderland", but it self-mutated and escaped. Antaak and Phlox are told that they have five days to cure the outbreak before it is too late. Antaak suggests that the only course of action is to create stable augmented Klingons, but Phlox refuses to assist further.
Production
The storyline in "Affliction" answers an ongoing question which had begun with the pilot episode of Enterprise, "Broken Bow". In The Original Series, Klingons appeared mostly human, with no applied prosthetics. However, in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, they first appeared with forehead ridges and continued to appear this way through the remaining movies as well as The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager.[2] The DS9 episode "Trials and Tribble-ations" references the change, with Chief O'Brien suggesting that Klingons had been genetically modified and Doctor Bashir assuming a viral mutation had taken place.[3]
Theories created by fans included the idea that the ridgeless Klingons were from a specific part of the home world, but this was discounted when three ridgeless Klingons from The Original Series appeared with ridges in the Deep Space Nine episode "Blood Oath".[4] The Original Series had a restricted budget, and there was no funding for any prosthetic make-up for the Klingons until The Motion Picture.[4] During The Original Series, it was decided to use them more frequently than the Romulans, whose prosthetics were more expensive. The original ridgeless design was created after suggestions by John Colicos, who based them on Genghis Khan and the people of the 13th and 14th century Mongol Empire.[5] When "Broken Bow" aired, it featured Klingons with forehead ridges, despite the series being set prior to The Original Series.[2] On the episode's script, the old style Klingons were referred to as "type-two" and "semi-Klingons".[4]
The storyline was one of several in the fourth season of Enterprise which
Filming took place from December 3, 2004, through to December 12. Several of the standing sets were redressed to appear as the locations on the USS Columbia, including the bridge, Captain's mess and the engineering section. The exterior scenes where Phlox and Hoshi were attacked were filmed on the Paramount lot in Los Angeles. As the New York streets backlot had already been used earlier in the season for the opening episode "Storm Front", this sequence was instead filmed in the area between the studio's Administration building and a building which had previously doubled for the high school in the sitcom Happy Days.[4]
Casting
John Schuck was cast as the Klingon doctor Antaak,[1] having previously appeared as the Klingon Ambassador in both Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.[13] Schuck had also appeared in episodes of both Deep Space Nine and Voyager.[4] Eric Pierpoint had previously appeared in several episodes of Star Trek across the various television series, including the TNG episode "Liaisons" as well as episodes of DS9 and Voyager. He had also appeared in the Enterprise episode "Rogue Planet".[4]
Brad Greenquist appeared as a Rigelian in this episode in his second appearance on Enterprise, he too had also previously appeared in episodes of DS9 and Voyager.[4] The other Rigelians were played by stuntmen Brian Williams and Tom Dupont, whilst Linda Park was stunt-doubled by Diana Inosanto.[4] It was the second appearance of Seth MacFarlane, the creator of the animated television show Family Guy, in a role in Enterprise. He had previously appeared as an unnamed character in the third-season episode "The Forgotten" but gains the name Ensign Rivers in "Affliction".[14][15]
Reception
"Affliction" originally aired on
In a 2015 interview with some of the show's cast with SyFy, this episode was a recommended favorite of theirs.[23]
Den of Geek recommended "Singularity" and this episode for development of the character Malcolm Reed.[24]
Home media release
This episode was released on home media on DVD, as part of the season four box set on November 1, 2005, in the United States,[25] and on Blu-ray, released on April 1, 2014.[26]
Notes
- ^ a b c "Star Trek: Enterprise 2.4 Series 4 – 15. Affliction". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 2014-03-12. Retrieved 2021-01-01.
- ^ a b c Hunt, James (November 4, 2009). "Top 10 Star Trek: Enterprise episodes". Den of Geek. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
- ^ Moore, Ronald D.; Echevarria, René; Steven Behr, Ira; Beimler, Hans; Wolfe, Robert Hewitt (November 4, 1996). "Trials and Tribble-ations". Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Season 5. Episode 6. Broadcast syndication.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Production Report: Klingon Discrepancy Addressed in Affliction". Star Trek.com. December 16, 2004. Archived from the original on December 31, 2004. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
- ^ Gross; Altman (1995): p. 40
- ^ "Catching Up with Star Trek Writer Mike Sussman". Star Trek.com. September 30, 2010. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ^ Ryan, Maureen (December 22, 2004). "Wives leave paper trail". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on January 3, 2005. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
- ^ Krutzler, Steve (November 24, 2004). ""Affliction" Aims to Remedy One of TREK's Longest Mysteries, Plus First Look at Rigelians (SPOILERS)". TrekWeb.com. Archived from the original on November 25, 2013. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
- ^ a b "Avery, James". Star Trek.com. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
- ^ "James Avery: "Scott Bakula is Insane!"". TrekWeb.com. March 27, 2005. Archived from the original on December 6, 2005. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
- ^ lostrune (2005-03-28). "James Avery Interview". Toon Zone.net (Interview). Archived from the original on 2005-11-18.
The makeup process was a nightmare. It took three hours to put it on and an hour to take it off.
- ^ Krutzler, Steve (December 17, 2004). "Attack of the Smooth-Heads! "Affliction" Kicks Off Two-Parter – Production Report (SPOILERS)". TrekWeb.com. Archived from the original on December 26, 2004. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
- ^ "Star Trek VI at 20 – An Appreciation". Star Trek.com. December 6, 2011. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
- ^ "MacFarlane, Seth". Star Trek.com. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
- ^ Bryant, Jacob (September 2, 2016). "Stars You Didn't Know Were in 'Star Trek'". Variety.
- ^ Michelle (February 19, 2005). "'Affliction' Ratings Hold Steady in Fast Nationals". Trek Today.com. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
- ^ "NBC Has Crossover Appeal Friday". Zap2it. February 19, 2005. Archived from the original on February 21, 2005. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
- ^ KJB (18 February 2005). "The Trek Report: Fan Delusion 101 - IGN".
- ^ a b Green, Michelle Erica (February 19, 2005). "Affliction". TrekNation. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
- ^ Epsicokhan, Jamahl. "Star Trek: Enterprise "Affliction"". Jammer's Reviews. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
- ^ Bryant, Jacob (2016-09-02). "Stars You Didn't Know Were in 'Star Trek'". Variety. Retrieved 2019-06-10.
- Tor.com. Archivedfrom the original on 2023-11-14.
- ^ Granshaw, Lisa (2015-05-13). "Scott Bakula and Dominic Keating look back on Star Trek: Enterprise's best episodes 10 years later". SYFY WIRE. Archived from the original on 2019-06-04. Retrieved 2021-04-04.
- ^ Lisa Granshaw (September 26, 2019). "Star Trek: Enterprise and the Importance of Its Characters". Den of Geek. Retrieved 2021-01-01.
- ^ Schultz, Paul (November 8, 2005). "DVD Review: Star Trek Enterprise – The Complete Fourth Season". The Trades. Archived from the original on November 10, 2006. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
- ^ "Final Season Enterprise Blu-ray Set Available April 1". StarTrek.com. December 18, 2013. Archived from the original on December 28, 2013. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
References
- Gross, Edward; Altman, Mark A. (1993). Captain's Logs: The Complete Trek Voyages. London: Boxtree. ISBN 978-1-85283-899-7.
External links
- "Affliction" at IMDb
- "Affliction" at Memory Alpha
- "Affliction" at Wayback Machine (archived from the original at StarTrek.com)