Star Trek: Enterprise (TV Series) Affliction (2005) User Reviews

Reduced Complement

[claudio_carvalho · 9/10 · 26 April 2010]

On 27 November 2154, the chief-engineer Trip say goodbye to Enterprise to work with Captain Hernandez in the sister ship Columbia. Meanwhile in San Francisco, Dr. Phlox and Hoshi are attacked by three aliens after having dinner and Phlox is kidnapped. Archer asks Reed to investigate any trace of transport activity in that area and when Reed checks the satellite logs, he is contacted by an acquaintance that schedules a meeting with him. Trip uses his experience to keep the scheduled launch date of Columbia and Hernandez questions why he quit his position in Enterprise. Archer convinces T'Pol to perform a mind melding with Hoshi and they discover that the abductors were Klingons. They seek the Rigelian cargo ship that transported Phlox in the space, but find only debris. Meanwhile Phlox is brought to a Klingon laboratory to work with Dr. Antaak in the research of an antidote to a deadly virus created from a Kinglon experiment with Augments that were not able to stabilize human DNA. When the Enterprise is attacked by four mutant Klingons that sabotage the ship, Captain Archer discovers that Reed is not telling the truth and he loses his faith on his lieutenant. The subroutines Klingon planted in Enterprise system affect the reactor and the Enterprise needs to keep more than warp 5 to avoid the explosion of the reactor and only Trip is capable to purge the viral subroutines.

In this show, Archer loses his doctor, his chief-engineer and his chief of security at once. With the reduced complement, T'Pol and he need to work hard to resolve the problems in Enterprise. The unexplained treason of Reed that is sent to jail in Enterprise is the most intriguing part of this episode. The transference of Trip to Columbia is the sad part of this episode. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Doença Rara" ("Rare Disease")

So much plot for one episode!!

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 31 May 2015]

This episode has a ton of plot compared to a typical episode of "Star Trek: Enterprise"--so hold on tight and be prepared for a heck of a ride!

It begins with Enterprise and the crew back on Earth. Trip has inexplicably asked for a transport to the Enterprise's sister ship, the Columbia. He seems to be dealing with his feelings for T'Pol by running. Soon things get much worse for the crew, as Dr. Phlox is soon kidnapped by Klingon agents. Why would the Klingons go to all this trouble to get the guy? What gives?!

What follows is a very interesting episode about Klingon augments, Reed being sneaky as well as a horrific virus that threatens to possibly kill every Klingon unless Phlox can find a cure. It's all very exciting and complex--hence it's a two-parter. Well worth seeing.

Many, Many Cooks

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 30 March 2017]

There are numerous things at work here. First of all, Malcolm is caught between a rock and a hard place because he swore allegiance to a cause before he ever jointed Star Fleet. His actions are seen as treasonous and he is in the brig. Phlox and Hoshi are attacked on a street and the doctor is brought on board a Klingon ship. He has been forced to work on a plague caused by the the Klingons messing around with genetic enhancement. The Enterprise has been boarded by human looking Klingons and damaged. Trip has left Enterprise because he feels he can''t be in love with T'Pol and still work with her. Two of Archer's base crew are unavailable as they attempt to rescue Phlox and fight offer the Klingons.

Strong episode in the context of overarching series plot, The Original Series and Deep Space Nine

[snoozejonc · 8/10 · 17 December 2020]

Phlox is kidnapped on earth and events involving Malcolm Reed start to get a bit cloak and dagger.

This is an enjoyable episode with a lot going on and some strong performances, however it needs to be watched with knowledge of several other Enterprise episodes and Star Trek shows, along with a desire for an explanation why the Klingons look different to the one shown in original series.

Thankfully the plot is pretty intriguing, with connections to other events in several other episodes of Enterprise, the original series and Deep Space Nine. The stories involving the Klingons and Reed are pretty compelling and make me want to find out what happens next. There is a sub-plot involving the Trip/T'Pol romance which is better than what has come before, but it still hasn't got an emotional investment from me in whether they end up together or not.

All performances are spot on and for me, as always in Enterprise, it is the guest stars that steal the show. James Avery, otherwise known as Uncle Phil from "Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air" seems like he was born to play a Klingon at some point in his career. John Schuck is also excellent as a Klingon doctor in several scenes with Avery and John Billingsley, who is great as always as Phlox.

A lot of thought seems to have gone into the explanation for why the Klingons portrayed in the original series look different to the ones with the cranial ridges developed as the make-up effects modernised. This is a good enough explanation for me, but I hope this is not all the two-parter boils down to in the end. Overall, though it's a good start.

For me the episode is 7.5/10, but as always I round upwards.

Phlox gets kidnapped and Malcolm commits treason!

[Tweekums · 9/10 · 6 August 2010]

As this episode opens a Klingon is prepared for an injection, he protests that his death sentence was commuted and as the injection begins he screams. After the opening theme the action has moved to the Enterprise that has just returned to Earth. After leaving a San Francisco restaurant Hoshi and Dr. Phlox are ambushed and the doctor is abducted. There are few clues to the assailants but it appears they transported from the scene and just before blacking out Hoshi heard them say something that wasn't in English. Meanwhile Trip has transferred to the Columbia and is getting acquainted with his new colleagues. In order to find out what the abductors said T'Pol melds with Hoshi and they learn Phlox was most likely abducted by Rigelians and taken from Earth. The next time we see him he is in the Klingon facility we saw in the opening scene. It soon becomes clear that they want him to assist them in finding a cure for a pandemic that is threatening the whole Klingon species. Trip may have moved to a new ship but it appears that he is still connected with T'Pol; when he start so daydream he enters her meditative vision. Malcolm is also having problems; he is in contact with a shadowy organisation within Star Fleet that knows more about Phlox's kidnapping that they want Captain Archer to know. When Enterprise is attacked a group that appears to be human board and sabotage the warp system, one of them is captured and we learn that he is in fact Klingon; cut to Dr. Phlox and we find that they look human because the Klingons have been experimenting with the DNA of human augments to create augments of their own. Unfortunately they have also created an augmented disease. As the episode comes to an end Malcolm is in the brig after refusing to tell the captain what he knows and the ship's warp drive as been corrupted by a Klingon program which could lead to the loss of the Enterprise.

This was a good episode with plenty of intrigue. It was fun seeing Hoshi get to take part in the action for a change. The best feature of this episode was how they explained how Klingons changed appearance to look the way they did in the original series of Star Trek. I wasn't so sure about the apparent psychic link between T'Pol and Trip, hopefully it will become more interesting in later episodes. Malcolm's story was pretty interesting as I can't see him committing treason but equally it is hard to think what could be so secret that he'd rather go to the brig than tell Captain Archer.

Trip transfers off Enterprise, Phlox is abducted

[phat_moti · 7/10 · 1 July 2006]

The following is a summary of the episode #15 from the last season of Enterprise: Trip begins his new assignment aboard the Enterprise's companion ship; Aliens capture Phlox and force him to help them find a cure for a virus that threatens their race.

The following section is a personal commentary by me: This episode is one of the best I've seen. It's too bad the series got canceled when it was finally getting good. I admit that I stopped watching this show for after the first two seasons. The whole romance between T'Pal and Trip was getting WAY to stupid. It was obvious that the ratings were lagging and they were adding sex to spice it up. It's only now that it's in reruns that I'm getting to see the best shows.

Phlox's Kidnapping

[Samuel-Shovel · 6/10 · 6 March 2018]

In "Affliction", the Enterprise crew is back on Earth for shore leave. This is cut short however, when Dr. Phlox is kidnapped after having dinner with Hoshi. With limited leads and no idea of Phlox's location, T'Pol mind melds with Hoshi. They discover that Phlox's captors are Rigellian and pursue a recently departed Rigellian freighter in the hopees of finding him. Reed begins acting cagey about the whole situation and begins hiding information from Archer, obeying orders from a mystery man. Enterprise discovers the freighter destroyed with no survivors aboard but no sign of Phlox. It appears that a Bird-of-Prey destroyed the ship. Archer is forced to throw Malcolm in the bridge when he continues to lie about the situation. Meanwhile, Phlox has been taken aboard a Klingon vessel and forced to find a cure to a virus spreading through the Klingon Empire. The Klingons got a hold of some Augment embryos and attempted to make Klingon Augments. Their trial was unsuccessful and caused the virus the species is currently afflicted with. Onboard Columbia, Trip attempts to adjust to his new surroundings.

This is a very densely packed episode plot-wise. Phlox's kidnapping obviously takes precedent but there are a lot of subplots popping up as well. This episode is Star Trek's way of retconning the Klingons' original facial configuration. That's fine I suppose, though I was never really complaining about the discrepancy.

Reed's disloyalty to Enterprise brings up probably the most intriguing questions. What is this shadow organization that he seems to be a part of? Why does it take precedence over Star Fleet?

I don't really understand T'Pol & Trip's telepathic daydream connection. I'll let it play out but my knee jerk reaction is that it's very silly.

This episode maybe a bit too dense for its amount of time allotted. The end was also extremely anticlimactic.

Good episode, poor rationale.

[cannotlogon103 · 7/10 · 11 October 2010]

As one who considers "Enterprise" an unfairly underrated series, I feel compelled to comment on segments of the sub-par fourth season such as this two-episode arc, that was, in effect, created for the sole purpose of explaining why Klingons in the original series didn't have the distinct "cranial ridges" featured in Klingons in ENT, TNG, DS9 and VOY.

Even though this "mini-arc" is an exciting and well-crafted tale, the rationale behind it is part of the reason that "Enterprise" failed as a series. Using the series to "set-up" the other Star Trek series that took place in the "future" was a sad waste of a good cast, excellent directors, and talented writers. It ultimately does a disservice to them all to use this series as little more than a device to explain events and distinctions found in the series that follow chronologically, even though they were produced years ago.

Like the much maligned series finale of "Enterprise" that employed members of TNG's cast, thus cheating the audience and the cast of a chance to make their finale about...well, about THEM, this arc is an artistic slap in the face of the Enterprise cast, writers and crew, as it wastes two episodes that could have been used to explore the relationships and develop the characters of Enterprise, instead of just "explaining" a matter of extremely minimal concern, i.e., why the Klingons in Kirk's era had smooth foreheads.

(I guess the producers felt it would have been too much to just trust that the fans of the series would understand that the reason that TOS's Klingons lacked cranial ridges was a simple matter of less developed make-up skills, and not a viral infection from a genetic augmentation experiment gone awry.)

Nevertheless, I gave it a seven (7) for some great action and good writing. The transfer of Trip by tether from the Columbia to the Enterprise at warp speed, alone, makes the two-parter worth watching!