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Acquisition (Star Trek: Enterprise)

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"Acquisition (Star Trek: Enterprise)"

"Acquisition" is the nineteenth episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise that originally aired on March 27, 2002, on UPN. The episode was developed into a teleplay by Maria and Andre Jacquemetton from a story by Rick Berman and Brannon Braga, and was directed by James Whitmore, Jr.. Set in the 22nd century, the series follows the adventures of the first Starfleet starship, Enterprise, registration NX-01. In this episode, a group of interstellar alien thieves knock out the Enterprise crew and begin looting the ship. Commander Charles "Trip" Tucker III (Connor Trinneer) is the only one left to stop them.

The Ferengi first appeared in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Last Outpost", and first contact with the race was described in "The Battle", which meant that "Acquisition" attempted to not alter that. In addition, a Ferengi language was developed by the writers which was based on French. The episode also had a number of guest stars who had previously appeared in Star Trek; Clint Howard, Ethan Phillips and Jeffrey Combs. It was poorly received by critics, but according to the Nielsen ratings, it received a 5.2/6% audience share during broadcast.

Plot

As the Enterprise drifts in space, a Ferengi cruiser scans the ship, then docks with it. Two Ferengi, Muk (Clint Howard) and Grish (Matt Malloy), board wearing breathing filters. The Enterprise crew appear to have been knocked unconscious at their posts. In Engineering, the two Ferengi locate and deactivate a gas-machine that the Starfleet crew brought up from the surface of a nearby moon. They make their way to the Bridge before reporting all personnel have been incapacitated. In the decontamination chamber, Commander Charles "Trip" Tucker III (Connor Trinneer) is still conscious and makes his way to sickbay, when Muk and Grish arrive, forcing him to hide. Tucker reaches engineering and uses the ship's sensors to monitor the progress of the aliens as they plunder the ship. The Ferengi chain Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) in the cargo-bay before reviving him. They demand the location of the ship's vault and are amazed that Enterprise carries no valuable materials or currency.

They set-off to find the non-existent vault themselves, leaving Krem (Jeffrey Combs) and Archer to load the salvage onto the Ferengi ship. The Captain flatters Krem in order to drive a wedge between him and DaiMon Ulis (Ethan Phillips). Archer sees Trip and sends him to the launch-bay to retrieve the Ferengi hypospray. Trip revives Sub-commander T'Pol (Jolene Blalock), and they leave to find a way to stop the Ferengi. She assumes the gas-machine in engineering was intentionally placed on the surface of the moon Trip was mapping in order to subdue the crew. In sickbay, Ulis, Grish and Muk search for the non-existent vault. Grish tells Ulis that Archer must keep his gold in his own quarters. T'Pol uses a PADD to distract the Ferengi and place some of Muk's loot in Ulis's bag, causing an argument between the Ferengi.

In Engineering, Archer continues flattering Krem. He tries persuading him to cut a deal. Krem is tempted when Archer says that he will throw in T'Pol, but decides against it. In Archer's quarters, Muk and Grish try interrogating Porthos, Archer's pet Beagle, to find the vault. Muk goes to the launch-bay and finds Trip, who escapes with Muk in pursuit. Trip hides in the mess-hall and knocks Muk out, but Ulis subdues him with his electro-whip. The Ferengi, Archer and Trip meet in the launch-bay where Archer plays along with Trip's deception about the vault. They fight briefly, which convinces the Ferengi that the vault exists. T'Pol approaches Krem, claiming to be enslaved to the humans and asking to be rescued, then nerve-pinches him unconscious. Trip, meanwhile, leads the aliens to the false vault. They struggle in and T'Pol stuns them. Subdued, the Enterprise crew oversee the Ferengi returning the stolen goods. Archer tells the Ferengi not to go within a light year of a human or Vulcan vessel ever again. He continues by telling them to show Krem respect, and as they depart, the Ferengi start bargaining for their freedom.

Production

Jeffrey Combs had already appeared as Shran in Enterprise when he guest starred in "Acquisition" as a Ferengi.

The writers of "Acquisition", Maria and Andre Jacquemetton, developed a spoken language for the alien race known as the Ferengi. Although they had been seen previously on screen in previous incarnations of Star Trek, including throughout Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, a spoken language had not been developed. The pair wrote the dialogue initially in English, before translating it into French and then breaking it down into syllables. They described it as "fun to write".[1] The pair had intended for the Ferengi throughout the episode to speak their new language, but this was reduced to only the first act.[1] This was the third episode written by the duo, after "Breaking the Ice" and "Dear Doctor".[2]

Story editor André Bormanis explained in a web chat just before the airing of the episode that they had sought to ensure that Jean-Luc Picard was Captain who made first contact with the Ferengi officially; Bormanis commented that he thought the episode was funny.[3][4] The Ferengi made their first appearance in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Last Outpost", having been created by franchise creator Gene Roddenberry and producer Herbert Wright.[5] The events of the episode "The Battle" established that it was Picard on board the USS Stargazer at the Battle of Maxia that made the official first contact with the race on behalf of the Federation.[6]

The guest cast featured three former Star Trek alumni including Clint Howard who had appeared in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "The Corbomite Maneuver" as Balok.[7] Ethan Phillips had appeared as Neelix, a main cast character in Star Trek: Voyager,[8] as well as the Ferengi doctor Farek in The Next Generation episode "Ménage à Troi".[9] The third alumni was Jeffrey Combs who had appeared as several characters such as Weyoun and the Ferengi Brunt in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.[10][2] Combs had already previously in Enterprise as the Andorian Shran,[11] and would continue to do so for the rest of the series.[10] He said that being asked to appear as a Ferengi once again took him by surprise, but that Krem was "a world's away" from the Brunt character,[12] which pleased him.[12]

Reception and home media release

"Acquisition" originally aired on UPN on March 27, 2002.[13] According to Nielsen ratings, it received a 5.2/6% share, meaning that it was seen by 5.2 percent of all households, and 6 percent of all households watching television at the time of the broadcast.[14]

Herc, in his review for Ain't It Cool News, compared to the Die Hard inspired episode of Alias entitled "The Box".[15][2] He thought that the Enterprise episode wasn't as good and suggested it might have been a filler episode. He gave it a rating of two and a half out of five.[2] Alasdair Wilkins, at the A.V. Club described the episode as "Star Trek comfort food", but also that it demonstrated "a show unable to carve out its own identity, content to rehash old stories when the show’s very premise demands new storytelling".[16] He also said that it was a "blatant example" of Enterprise repeating the story mechanics of previous seasons.[16] Chaz Lipp at The Morton Report called "Acquisition" a "goofy" episode, and one of several which were "weak and uninspired".[17]

The first home media release of the episode was on VHS in the UK on September 23, 2002.[18] It was first released in the United States on DVD, having been released as part of the season one box set during May 2005.[19] The Blu-ray release of Enterprise was released in the United States on March 26 with the UK release following on April 1.[20][21]

Notes

  1. ^ a b Garcia; Phillips (2009): p. 274
  2. ^ a b c d "Herc's Seen Ferengi On Enterprise!!". Ain't It Cool News. March 27, 2002. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  3. ^ "Bormanis, Andre". Star Trek.com. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  4. ^ Krutzler, Steve (March 26, 2002). "ENT Writer Andre Bormanis Answers Tough Questions and Gives a Look Ahead in Tuesday's TrekWeb Chat: Full Transcript Inside". TrekWeb. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  5. ^ Nemecek (2003): p. 38
  6. ^ Forrester, Larry; Wright, Herbert (November 16, 1987). "The Battle". Star Trek: The Next Generation. Season 1. Episode 9. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ "Howard, Clint". Star Trek.com. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  8. ^ "Catching Up With Ethan Phillips, Part 1". Star Trek.com. June 22, 2012. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  9. ^ Ruditis (2003): p. 131
  10. ^ a b "Star Trek's Mr. Everywhere – A Jeffrey Combs interview, Part 1". Star Trek.com. July 27, 2011. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  11. ^ "Andorians Reboard Enterprise". Sci-Fi Wire. Scifi.com. June 6, 2002. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  12. ^ a b Krutzler, Steve (January 29, 2002). "Actor Jeff Combs Speaks To TrekWeb About Ferengi Role in "Acquisition"". TrekWeb. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  13. ^ "Enterprise Episode List". Star Trek.com. Archived from the original on August 2, 2002. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  14. ^ "NBC Wins Wednesday; 'Greg' Jumps '9:30'". Zap2it. March 28, 2002. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  15. ^ McGee, Ryan (July 13, 2011). "Alias: "The Box, Parts 1 And 2"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  16. ^ a b Wilkins, Alasdair (August 6, 2014). "Enterprise was forever torn between our future and Star Trek's past". The A.V. Club. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  17. ^ Lipp, Chaz (March 25, 2013). "Blu-ray Review: Star Trek: Enterprise - Season One". The Morton Report. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  18. ^ "Star Trek : Enterprise - Vol. 1.10 VHS". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  19. ^ "New DVD Releases". Star-News. May 5, 2005. Retrieved January 23, 2013.
  20. ^ "Mar. 26, 2013 Blu-ray: 'Star Trek: Enterprise - Season One' (Photos)". World News. March 21, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  21. ^ Simpson, Michael (March 28, 2013). "Star Trek: Enterprise - Season 1 Blu-Ray Review". Sci-Fi Now. Retrieved September 12, 2014.

References

  • Garcia, Frank; Phillips, Mark (2009). Science Fiction Television Series, 1990-2004. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland. ISBN 9780786452705.
  • Nemecek, Larry (2003). Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion (3rd ed.). New York: Pocket Books. ISBN 0-7434-5798-6.
  • Ruditis, Paul (2003). Star Trek: Voyager Companion (3rd ed.). New York: Pocket Books. ISBN 0-7434-1751-8.

Template:Star Trek Ferengi stories

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