Online Critics Look At 'Vox Sola'

See Also: 'Vox Sola' Episode Guide

Several web sites have published reviews of this week's new Enterprise episode 'Vox Sola'.

Opinion was quite divided about the episode, with comments spanning a full range of views. Here's a round-up of some of the best remarks about the episode:

• "After offending ANOTHER alien race - how many does that make? I can't count that high - Enterprise is infiltrated by a mucus plug that squats in a cargo bay, ensnaring random crewmen in its glutinous strands," wrote Keckler of Television Without Pity. "Luckily, one of the ensnared is Quantum, who embarks on a diluted water polo allegory, forcing the still-conscious crew members into comas, until he manages to bore himself catatonic. In other news, Reed applies for a patent, Phlox gives a dissection lesson, Hoshi and T'Pol make sweet algorithms, and May-Witness-To-The-Execution shows us why he's better off phoning in his lines."
  For the full episode recap, follow this link.

• "A little cheesy in spots, but a decent outing overall," wrote Monkee.

  I always find Hoshi's linguistic triumphs gratifying, and in this case, it was even more so because everyone else had contributed in one way or another. It was a real team effort. Communicating with this life form involved both music and mathematics – it reminded me of the way they were attempting to communicate with the Crystalline Entity in TNG, before it was murdered. Only this time, it worked, and worked beautifully.

  
  For the complete review, in which the episode gets a mark of 8.5/10, follow this link to Monkee's Place.

• Section 31's Q enjoyed the episode. "'Vox Sola' was the best episode of Enterprise to air in weeks," he wrote. "This show has proven to me that the writers and actors really do know what they're doing, and that they can give us Trek fans what we want, when they put their minds to it."
  The complete review, in which the episode is given a 9/10 score, can be found here.

• "Kudos for coming up with something truly original with the yucky creature instead of the typical aliens with bumps on their heads," wrote Captain Mac at Trek 5. "However, what could have been really spooky ends up being Alien Lite. Nothing in this episode to really get excited about. C'mon, guys- push the envelope!"
  In the full review the episode is given a Warp 4 rating.

• Scoop Me's CJ Carter gave her analysis of the crew performance in the episode. "Thumbs up for T'Pol, Sato, and Mayweather for being all that they could be - and to the creature for being more than it seemed. Thumbs down for Archer and Trip for being little more than damsels in distress tied to train tracks. Thumbs neutral for Malcolm and Phlox for being little more than what they needed to be. Thumbs off for the redshirts that were so obviously redshirts: c'mon - it really shouldn't be that obvious."
  To read the complete review, follow this link.

• "It's been a while since I've had something good to say about Enterprise and I'm glad to have something positive to say for a change," wrote Gisele La Roche at Starfleet Computer Network. "While the story is standard sci-fi fare, it's the character interaction that makes this show a good one. We get to see all the crew including some new members work well together and see some off-duty crew activity to boot."
  To read her complete review, click here.

• Brad at Trek 47 enjoyed the episode. "The script in 'Vox Sola' is a real winner," he wrote. "The writers manage to combine character development, the wonders and dangers of exploration, and a suspenseful mystery and, like 'Dear Doctor,' the combination of these elements is seamless. Enterprise has a habit of pasting scenes together and hoping some sense of unity is achieved. Here, individual subplots are woven together and meet at the climax where the audience sees several solutions to the parts of a complex problem come together. Surprisingly, this story was written by infamous producers/writers Rick Berman and Brannon Braga but one must give the most credit, I think, to Fred Dekker who helped with the story and put together a very tight teleplay."
  His full review, in which the episode is awarded a B+ rating, can be found here at Trek 47.

• Jacqueline Bundy at the Trek Newsletter also had plenty of good things to say about the episode. "'Vox Sola' is a story that is propelled by the characters rather than the action," she wrote. "Consequently it was a more interesting and enjoyable episode than many of the Enterprise offerings thus far. Excellently directed by Roxann Dawson, who took every advantage of a wonderful teleplay by Fred Dekker, this episode is full of well written scenes and wonderful moments."
  In the full review the episode is given a mark of 8/10.

• O'Deus at TrekWeb had little praise to lavish on the episode.

  The most interesting thing about 'Vox Sola' is not its plot, its characterization or even its special effects, but its title: it all goes downhill from there. Every Star Trek series has done its usual 'Alien invades the ship' episodes and with little in the way of a story, 'Vox Sola' adds one of the more mediocre examples of the genre. What little in the way of a plot exists follows the usual Enterprise formula of 5 minutes of story and 40 minutes of episode accompanied by the most unadorned and unoriginal plot cliches. Indeed, virtually anyone who has ever seen more than two Star Trek episodes knows quite well that the gimmick meant to disable the alien will cause it to begin hurting the hostages thus forcing the rescuers to abort the attempt. Even many of Enterprise's worst episodes have tried to reinvent the cliches they've used, 'Vox Sola' though makes no such attempt and is simply satisfied to artlessly regurgitate them.

  
  His complete review can be found here.

More information about this episode can be found in the Trek Nation episode guide.

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