Star Trek: Enterprise (TV Series) Singularity (2002) User Reviews

Obsessive Behavior

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 12 January 2008]

While traveling to observe a black hole in a trinary star system, the captain and crew of the Enterprise are affected by the radiation and become obsessive with trivial issues: Captain Archer with the preface of the biography of his father; Trip with the Captain's chair; Reed with a new security protocol; Hoshi with the galley; Dr. Phlox with Travis' brain. T'pol is not affected and notices the erratic behavior of the crew, and when they faint, she studies a route to save the Enterprise and the crew.

"Singularity" is a simple and tense episode. There is no action, no attacks, indeed anything but the weird behavior of the crew and their preoccupation and obsession with minor situations. In the end, it entertains. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Singularidade" ("Singularity")

Black Hole of Doom

[Samuel-Shovel · 7/10 · 5 November 2017]

The Enterprise discovers a new nebula with a black hole worth checking out. But little do they know of the sinister radiation being emitted to them, causing the crew to act more and more strangely as the illness gets worse.

This episode's plot is simple and straight to the point. There's no aliens or other life forms, just radiation contamination, simple. I like that they have an episode like this occasionally. T'Pol's introduction of the log and our view of the crew passed out around the ship made this even more intriguing. The tactic of using a flashback then leaping back forward works beautifully here.

Is the side effects a little silly? Yes, of course, but it felt well within the realm of Star Trek.

Conclusion: A good stand alone episode that is a lot better than other filler episodes.

Some obsessions can be good

[snoozejonc · 6/10 · 8 September 2020]

A black hole emitting radiation causes the crew of the Enterprise to suffer psychological symptoms that cause obsessiveness.

When I saw the episode summary for this one I didn't think I was going to like it. It just sounded like a throwback to some of the earlier franchise concepts where characters would behave irrationally and just annoy me for 40 minutes. However, I didn't find it that bad.

I think it would have been better if more of the obsessions had the type of ironic conclusion that Malcolm Reed's ends up having. Hoshi's obsession with cooking adds nothing, neither does Trip's nor Archer's for me. The Dr Phlox and Mayweather scenes are reasonably good as they added a bit of urgency to the situation.

My favourite scene involves Reed arguing the case for his new alert system and in doing so he lets out a lot of underlying feelings about how the Enterprise is run. I found this pretty compelling along with the whole concept of the ship's alert system. Even though the notion that a starship wouldn't have this in place already is nonsense, it's still entertaining to see it developed.

For me the episode shows how obsessiveness channelled in the right area is not a bad thing and it contrasts Reed's task with those of the other crew members. Maybe that was the main point of it, but still, how cool would it be if we had a load of seemingly pointless obsessions that all ended up coming together into something very positive?

Some of the Freshness of the Original

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 16 March 2017]

The original Star Trek often dealt in serious situations that were also amusing. The encounter with the Space Brat and Tribbles, among others. In this one, T'Pol is the only one conscious on the Enterprise. She is doing a ship's log report as if she and the crew may be doomed. In flashback, the crew is on its way to get some pictures and do some research on a black hole. Unfortunately, a form is space sickness occurs as the crew begins to obsess on trivial things to a dangerous degree. Reed becomes a militant nut. Tripp needs to fix the Captain's chair, and goes beyond the bounds of a simple task. The Captain is writing a one page preface to a book about his father (which reaches 16 pages). And Phlox almost performs a lobotomy on Mayweather. T'Pol has to find a way to counteract this or everyone is doomed. There was a nice pacing and a sort of fun element to this as horrors begin to present themselves.

The Captains chair, Reeds' alert, Hoshis' recipe and Archers' preface

[DragonFireBreather · 10/10 · 22 November 2022]

This episode was like coming home after being gone for weeks. Sitting down to a homemade meal made by your significant other then taking a hot soothing bath afterwards. That's exactly how I would describe this episode. So far this is my favorite episode after binge watching Star Trek Enterprise a few weeks ago. This is not a sit on the edge of your seat big action episode, just the opposite. It focuses on the characters giving us a deeper connection to them through comedic gold.

The starship Enterprise is close to a singularity and it somehow creates a problem for the crews thinking and brain function to where they obsess over a specified thing. Captain Archer obsesses over writing a preface for his fathers book. Trip can only think about fixing and optimizing the captain's chair. Doctor Phlox almost lobotomizes Mayweather. Hoshi tries to perfect her family's recipe to feed the crew while the cook is out sick. But it's Malcolm obsession over the ships security that had me in stitches. From mocking Trip's idea for a cup holder in the captains chair to bashing the captains friendship with the crew and his love of water polo that makes Malcolm shine in this episode. I enjoyed this Malcolm and wish his character was more like this all the time instead of the pessimistic unsure Malcom we usually get. The red alert is born in this episode and I was honored to be a part of it.

I could watch this episode over and over and I actually did. The simplicity and hilarity of this episode is absolutely genius. A rare perfect 10 for me so far on a singular episode of Star Trek Enterprise.

Creeping danger

[zboston3 · 7/10 · 9 January 2008]

This may be a budget saver episode. There's not much special effects and no odd looking aliens. The entire story takes place on the Enterprise, and I got a look at several parts that were new, such as the galley and the armory with torpedoes hanging in stock, not to forget the Captain's shower.

The Enterprise is taking a swing by a black hole, but what is not realized is that the crew, human and all other members except for Vulcan first officer are being psychologically affected by rays from the black hole. At first the crew's behavior is hardly odd, a few quirks, a little tightly focused, but gradually they become more and more obsessed by minor matters to the exclusion of all other things. This is particularly creepy as even the Denobian doctor is affected and seems about to go way overboard in his search for the cause of a crewman's headache.

The ending is a tense run on a debris strewn course with a groggy captain trying to pilot the ship to safety.

Not a stellar episode, but satisfying nevertheless.

Heading into a goofy part of space

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 26 March 2015]

The notion that some portion of space could make the Trek crew act weird isn't original, as such a thing occurred in the original series. But despite this, the show is worth your time.

The Enterprise is flying towards some space thingie. During this time, the crew members (aside from T'Pol) begin to exhibit obsessive- compulsive symptoms. At first it's just annoying but after a while it becomes more bizarre and desperate. Folks becomes SO fixated that doing their jobs is impossible. Worst of all is Dr. Phlox who is about to commit horrific acts because of this compulsion. Can T'Pol manage to hold everything together until they leave this portion of space?

Decent...not great. As I said above, the main idea isn't too original but it is well done and worth seeing. And, more importantly, it IS enjoyable and different enough that it's worth your time.

one of my favorites

[mkhall7475 · 10/10 · 24 August 2011]

Some of the lines in this episode were perfect. I laughed out load. Everyone gets focused on what is important to them at the time of the encounter. So for example, Trip is totally focused on the Captains chair, which makes you laugh because as a Star Trek fan, the captains chair has always been a source of bemusement. Why doesn't it have a seat belt or something . . . Trip suggest inertial dampers so that no matter what the ship experiences . . . I was wondering how they were going to avoid this trap as we know that there are not seat belt or dampers and we have seen episode after episode with captains getting tossed about . . . The episode ends with the chair being lowered by 1 cm - toooo funny. There are several similar moments.

Opposite of normal

[wlsanders · 8/10 · 23 January 2020]

Often, having an Autism Spectrum Disorder is compared to being Vulcan. What I found most interesting in this episode is: the only one who doesn't exhibit obsessive-compulsive behaviors (a hallmark of Autism Spectrum Disorders) IS THE VULCAN!

Horrifying Phlox!

[sassypantskitty · 9/10 · 10 April 2024]

I gotta start by saying this is my favorite episode yet! Comical + creepy, masterfully combined! As a medical person, I was REALLY troubled by Dr Phlox's treatment of Travis! Whoa, dude, settle down! One would hope that in the 22nd century patients still have the right to refuse treatment! Then he knocks him out and happily tells T'Pol, "I'm going to shave off 12 millimeters of his occipital lobe!" Whoa, no, dude!!! 12 millimeters is enough to cause permanent damage!

I laughed out loud at several other crew members' little obsessions, but that one actually gave me Uncanny Valley body horror chills until T'Pal stopped him!

The Federation's flagship deserves nothing less than a massive golden throne for its captain

[tomsly-40015 · 8/10 · 8 March 2024]

This episode is hilarious. Who would have thought that repairing the captain's chair would take so much time and planning.

The radiation from a nearby black hole bascially causes individual obsessions to emerge in everyone that would otherwise be suppressed professionally. Exactly what you often see in people who are thrown off track by a drastic experience in their lives and then fall into manic patterns that, when viewed from the outside, initially appear bizarre, but eventually take on obsessive traits. And everyone has their own inner demons, which then find their way to the surface. For some it's extreme sports, for others it's gambling and some get lost in their jobs or hoard junk in their house.

The crew members' neuroses are varied: Phlox sometimes seems to be too particular about medical treatment. Archer apparently feels he can't live up to his father's reputation. Sato is a perfectionist who can't handle it when someone criticizes her work. Reed sees danger everywhere and would like to have half the crew court-martialed for their lax attitude to safety on board. Tucker, on the other hand, finds no end when he sets out to complete an engineering task and completely loses sight of the big picture.

This episode is the first time I feel like I'm learning something about the crew. So far, most of the main characters have remained pale and boring. Maybe this episode should have been shown at the beginning of the series.

Mostly fun...

[drmique · 8/10 · 17 October 2023]

This is one of the obligatory 1-off episodes to engage the core cast which can be fun (e.g. Tribbles). It reflects a lot of human characteristics we have all encountered, and done cleverly. As the other reviewers note, this covered OC behaviors that "fit" the characters -- Hoshi's desire to cook as her ancestor, Phlox's focused effort on finding what is "wrong" with Travis, and so forth. These are actually real (emphasized) biases that are "fact resistant" and do emerge in human behavior (as we have all seen), taken to the extreme.

The only picky issue is an element of the ending. T'pol finds out that the radiation coming from the trinary system is effecting the prefrontal cortex. Interesting. OK, how does T'pol save the day from dangerous radiation impacting neurological mechanisms ? A cold shower! Really? How is it prevented? A tin foil hat? [no, radiation already pierced the hull...] A cup of warm milk? [Well, it couldn't hurt] I'm just saying...