Cogenitor (30 Apr. 2003)
"Enterprise" Cogenitor (original title)

Enterprise encounters a hyper-giant, the first to be studied by humans. While there, they make first contact with the Vissians, a technologically sophisticated race with three genders. ... See full summary »

Director:

LeVar Burton

Writers:

Gene Roddenberry, Rick Berman (creator),

Stars:

Scott Bakula, John Billingsley, Jolene Blalock

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Scott Bakula	...	Captain Jonathan Archer
John Billingsley	...	Dr. Phlox
Jolene Blalock	...	Sub-Commander T'Pol
Dominic Keating	...	Lieutenant Malcolm Reed
Anthony Montgomery	...	Ensign Travis Mayweather
Linda Park	...	Ensign Hoshi Sato
Connor Trinneer	...	Commander Charles 'Trip' Tucker III
Andreas Katsulas	...	Vissian Captain Drennik
F.J. Rio	...	Vissian Chief Engineer
Becky Wahlstrom	...	Vissian Cogenitor
Laura Stepp	...	Veylo, Vissian Tactical Officer (as Laura Interval)
Larissa Laskin	...	Calla, Vissian Engineer's Wife
Stacie Lynn Renna	...	Traistana (as Stacie Renna)

Storyline

Enterprise encounters a hyper-giant, the first to be studied by humans. While there, they make first contact with the Vissians, a technologically sophisticated race with three genders. While making quick friends and eagerly learning about the advanced technology, Trip gets curious about the Vissians third gender, known as the Cogenitor, who is crucial in the Vissian reproductive process. While intellectually equal to males and females, the Cogentior are not granted the same liberties, such as freedom of travel, education, or even names. Against the wishes of the Vissians, Trip befriends the Cogenitor and encourages it to defy it's cultural boundaries, teaches it to read and shares Earth's movies with it. The Vissians are made aware of Trip's efforts and are insulted.

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Plot Keywords:

one word title | reference to hamlet

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Details

Release Date:

30 April 2003 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Network Television, Paramount Television

Did You Know?

Trivia

Final Star Trek appearance of Andreas Katsulas, who plays the Vissian Captain Drenik in this episode, and best known for playing the Romulan Commander Tomalak on Star Trek: The Next Generation.

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Quotes

Commander Charles 'Trip' Tucker III: This cogenitor is treated like one of Phlox's leeches. You pull it out of its tank when you need it, then you... throw it back in.
Sub-Commander T'Pol: Tri-gender reproduction is not uncommon.
Commander Charles 'Trip' Tucker III: That's not what I'm talking about. This is a question of... Human rights.
Sub-Commander T'Pol: They're not Human.

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Connections

Features The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

User Reviews

Intensely Dramatic - Possibly the best of Season 2

LeVar Burton's directing and J. P Farrell's writing help to give this excellent example of Enterprise an edge which was lacking in most of the series' episodes. The Enterprise is involved in a first contact with some kindred spirits - explorers whose technology is about a thousand years ahead of Star Fleet's. Everything is going along fine as earth culture and Vissian culture begin to interact. The Vissian's share technology and more with the Enterprise crew.

This episode's theme is, once again, the prime directive. Since Star Fleet's prime directive did not exist in Archer and company's time, we are seeing one of what must have been dozens of first contact incidents which went wrong. I was only a little annoyed by the Vissians' willingness to share their advanced warp drive technology but rather strident insistence that earthlings not be permitted to interfere with their culture.

Eventually, it is revealed that the Vissians have three sexes - male female and cogenitor. All three are required for sexual reproduction, and the cogenitor sex is very rare and - therefore somewhat oppressed, valuable and treated as a commodity. Unfortunately, the writers use the word "gender" to describe this, as opposed to sex. Since gender is a social construct and social/sexual identity, connected to, but not defined by sexual reproductive organs, this is a systematic error.

Trip befriends the cogenitor and decides to clandestinely educate it in order to help it liberate itself from its bondage. This backfires when the cogenitor asks for asylum on the Enterprise. To this point, only the directing and the originality of the alien species set this episode apart from the typical Enterprise episode, however, the drama steadily mounts toward the end as the series does something with this conclusion which it had never attempted before.