1. Plot

2. Production

3. Reception

4. Home media release

5. References

6. External links

• Judith Reeves-Stevens
• Garfield Reeves-Stevens

"Observer Effect" is the eleventh episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series Enterprise and the eighty-eighth overall. It was first aired on January 21, 2005, on UPN. It was written by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, and directed by Mike Vejar. Set in the 22nd century, the series follows the adventures of the first Starfleet starship, Enterprise, registration NX-01. This episode sees alien entities test the Enterprise crew by observing their reactions to a deadly silicon-based infection. Actual first contact with these aliens{{spaced ndash}}the Organians{{spaced ndash}}would occur about a century later, during the events of the original series Star Trek episode "Errand of Mercy".

As it was a bottle episode, the episode did not use any additional sets or guest stars with the intention of cutting down on costs for the series. This also gave time for the visual effects team to finish earlier work. The episode received mixed reactions from critics, with praise directed at the links to the original Star Trek series, while criticism directed towards some of the characterization of the characters. "Observer Effect" was watched by 2.76 million viewers on first broadcast, which formed part of an overall drop of viewers for the series.

Plot

Lieutenant Reed (Dominic Keating) and Ensign Mayweather (Anthony Montgomery) play chess while serving as hosts to non-corporeal aliens. Returning from an away mission on the planet below, Commander Tucker (Connor Trinneer) and Ensign Sato (Linda Park) soon exhibit symptoms of a strange disease. Upon examination by Doctor Phlox (John Billingsley), it is found to be a highly contagious silicon-based virus, and Captain Archer (Scott Bakula) explains that Commander T'Pol (Jolene Blalock) and Phlox are seeking a cure. To pass the time, while isolated in Decontamination, Tucker and Sato try to learn more about each other.

The aliens take a keen interest examining the human response to this crisis, and compare notes to previous reactions by Klingons and Cardassians. They are members of an advanced species looking to make "first contact". So far, based on 10,000 years of observations, no species has been deemed ready. Seeking a different view of the crew, they temporarily shift to the bodies of Phlox, T'Pol, and Archer. A difference in opinion between the two aliens starts to form: one seems determined to maintain their non-interference protocol, while the other feels the protocol is outdated and unnecessary.

With time running out, Phlox and T'Pol find a way to disrupt the virus using deadly levels of radiation. Archer and Phlox, while wearing environmental suits, escort Tucker and Sato to Sickbay for treatment. Sato soon goes into cardiac-arrest, and Archer removes his gloves and helmet to assist her, but she cannot be resuscitated. They then administer a dose of radiation to Tucker, but that too is ineffective. Phlox then leaves to resume work from the Bridge. Suddenly, Tucker and Sato are reanimated by the aliens, who{{spaced ndash}}while possessing the crewmen{{spaced ndash}}explain the situation to a surprised Archer, who then makes an impassioned speech on behalf of his crew. The aliens decide to modify their procedures, choosing to resurrect and cure the infected crew members, when they previously would have left them to die. The aliens erase the encounter from the crew's memory. Archer orders a warning beacon to be placed above the planet, and the aliens leave to begin planning first contact with more advanced humans at a later time.

Production

"Observer Effect" was created as a bottle episode, the second in a row after "Daedalus". These episodes were intended to reduce costs on the series by not requiring additional set production. Unlike "Daedalus", "Observer Effect" also did not use any guest actors. It was the second to be written by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, who wrote a plot which brought back the Organians from the The Original Series episode "Errand of Mercy".^[1] The Organians were originally created for The Original Series by Gene L. Coon, and were intended as a balance to the Klingons.^[2] Mind replacement or mind invasion plotlines are common in science fiction. Other episodes in the Star Trek franchise exploring the theme include "Wolf in the Fold" and "Turnabout Intruder" from The Original Series, "Sub Rosa" from The Next Generation and "Cathexis" from Voyager.^[3]

This was one of show runner Manny Coto's deliberate moves to link Enterprise closer to The Original Series during the fourth season. It was the second time that the crew of the Enterprise (NX-01) had met non-corporal entities following the second season episode "The Crossing". Filming began on the episode on October 22, 2004, and continued for the following seven working days. While the makeup department needed to present Park's and Trinneer's characters as they progressed through the sickness introduced by the Organians, the visual effects team was freed up to complete production on earlier episodes.^[1]

Reception

"Observer Effect" was first broadcast in the United States on January 21, 2005, on UPN.^[4] It was watched by 2.76 million viewers,^[5] which was a decrease from the 3.03 million who watched "Daedalus" but more than the 2.53 million viewers for the following episode, "Babel One".^[6][7] Writing for The A.V. Club in 2014, Alasdair Wilkins included "Observer Effect" in his list of the twenty best episodes of the series.^[8]

Jamahl Epsicokhan, at his website Jammer's Reviews, described the plot of "Observer Effect" as not being as predictable as it might initially seem due to the crew's inability to save Tucker and Hoshi and their reliance on the aliens to do so. He felt that the links to "Errand of Mercy" were both "subtle" and "sublime",^[10] while describing the overall bottle show as "No slam-bang excitement; just a commitment to observation and plausible procedure."^[9] He adds that the episode was an example of "humanist science fiction" rather than an "adventure show".^[9]

Michelle Erica Green mostly liked the episode, writing about it in a review for TrekNation. She states that "there was never the slightest problem with recognizing the distinct alien personalities, even though several actors played each Organian within the different host bodies. Jolene Blalock in particular was chilling picking up on Dominic Keating's portrayal of the same alien when it moved from Reed's body to T'Pol's. Connor Trinneer also did a nice job picking up on Anthony Montgomery's vocal inflections when possessed by the more open-minded Organian. This is one of the best possessed-by-aliens episodes that Star Trek has ever done.",^[13] adding "...in terms of the regular cast's performances; these were subtle, strong in continuity and fun to watch." However, she had trouble following along sometimes when the characters were possessed, such as with Ensign Sato, while being possessed by the alien, began talking about a poker ring she used to run, believing the alien had run a poker ring at starfleet. "My husband thought aloud that Sato must have been possessed by an alien when she started going on about the poker ring she used to run, and I agreed."^[10] She went on to indicate that she needed better clues given to her so that she would be able to tell when the characters were possessed and furthered believed that the transitions were occurring as they were talking, which did not occur during the episode.

Furthering her occlusion of the show she states, "the biggest problem with the episode: these super-bright aliens only interact with the best of the best, the senior command crew. They don't take over the body of some ensign doing a grunt job cleaning the plasma manifolds,"^[11] thus ignoring the reason given within the show that non-essential senior crew would be better able to observe while not directly interfering.

In 2011, Tor.com recommended "Observer Effect" as one of the better episodes of Enterprise, one that met the standards of a "good episode" of Star Trek while noting some of the issues some audiences had with the show.^[12]

She also confuses reality with the fictional story line by adding, "Instead [Captain Archer] sticks his neck out to save two people we know full well are going to be just fine, anyway, given that they signed contracts for the entire season."^[13]

Home media release

"Observer Effect" was released on home media in the United States on November 1, 2005, as part of the season four DVD box set of Enterprise.^[14] The Blu-ray edition was released on April 1, 2014.^[15]

References

External links

• {{IMDb episode|0765592|Observer Effect}}

• 2000 United States Senate election in Rhode Island
• 2000 United States Senate election in Tennessee
• 2000 United States Senate election in Texas
• 2000 United States Senate election in Utah
• 2000 United States Senate election in Vermont
• 2000 United States Senate election in Virginia
• 2000 United States Senate election in West Virginia
• 2000 United States Senate election in Wisconsin
• 2000 United States Senate election in Wyoming
• 2000 United States vice-presidential debate
• 2000 Uruguayan Primera Division
• 2000 Uruguayan Primera División
• 2000 USC Trojans football team
• 2000 US election
• 2000 U.S. election recount
• 2000 USISL D-3 Pro League
• 2000 USISL D-3 Pro League season
• 2000 USISL PDSL
• 2000 USL A-League
• 2000 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships
• 2000 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships - Singles
• 2000 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships – Singles
• 2000 U.S. Open (disambiguation)
• 2000 U.S. Open (golf)
• 2000 U.S. Open Golf Championship