Minefield, Prod#ST:ENT 129
Synopsis:
	After unwittingly wandering into a minefield in Romulan territory, Enterprise becomes trapped when struck by an undetonated mine.
MJC Review:
The Drama -
	"Help! We're stuck in a minefield!" I guess one could sum up the drama that way, but this was more about Archer and Reed than anything else.   Why Archer chose Reed as his armory officer, only Archer knows. Why Reed chose to serve on a starship under Archer, well, because he's afraid of water (one of those phobias). One would think that these two contrasting characters would not get along. The chain of command in Starfleet might provide (or force) an environment where they must cooperate, but when both and others are on a starship doing deep space exploration, the personal relations between captain and crew become a bit more important. Archer certainly seems a bit more open than most COs. This does present a problem for the "spit and polish" Reed, but over time both will adapt. The drastic situation certainly provided each other more insight into each characters personalities, more so than just breakfast. Perhaps there will be other non-life threatening events that will unfold for both men to better understand one another.  I felt that there was some deja-vu with Shuttlepod One, except that there was Archer instead of Trip with Reed in a life or death "getting-to-know-you" situation.   In spite of that, the Archer/Reed scenes showed some solid writing. Almost any bad guy would have sufficed as a backdrop for this episode - with or without cloaking devices. It didn't necessarily have to be Romulans. Showing the actual first earth/Romulan encounter could have been a bit more dramatic.   I thought that this episode was a waste for a classic Star Trek nemesis.  Bad kudos to the writers and producers for breaking (yet again) continuity. It was clearly implied in the original Star Trek Episode "Balance of Terror" that the Romulan cloaking device was new technology for Kirk's era. Stealth is OK, but an actual Romulan cloaking device is a major no-no. Missing certain micro nick-picky continuity stuff is understandable, but this kind of oversight should have been a no-brainer. Maybe Future Guy (who MJC thinks is a Romulan anyways - see Broken Bow review) has given the Romulans cloaking technology anyway. Oh well, this could be bad for 24th century Ferengi commerce.
Tid Bits -
	1) Mayweather actually gets a serious part - with lines! 2) How convenient that Hoshi was injured in the initial explosion, thus no one to translate the Romulans message. I guess her comm-station isn't grounded. 3) Interesting use of shuttle hatches as shields against the exploding mine. I suppose that isn't covered under warranty. 4) I'm beginning to think that these Starfleet spacesuits look like leftovers from Space: 1999.
What it all means -
	Archer and Reed get to know one another.
3 cool peace signs MJC 200210.06