Star Trek: Enterprise (TV Series) Babel One (2005) User Reviews

Camouflage

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 17 July 2010]

As this episode opens Andorian Captain Shren is aboard the burning bridge of his ship giving the order to evacuate after a presumed Tellarite attack. Enterprise meanwhile has been given the job of escorting the Tellarite ambassador and his entourage to a conference where he is due to begin negotiating with the Andorians. En Route they pick up Shren's distress beacon and reroute to pick up the survivors. Shren tells Captain Archer about what happened but when the accusations are put to the Tellarite they vehemently deny having anything to do with the attack. Not long afterwards Enterprise comes under attack from what appears to be an Andorian vessel but it refuses to answer when Shren orders them to stand down and when he fires at what should be the ship's vulnerable spot it has no effect. The Tellarites of course believe this to be an Andorian plot to prevent them from getting to the conference. The attacking ship retreats but Enterprise follows it and makes a shocking discovery; the ship is neither Andorian nor Tellarite but has employed holographic technology to give it the appearance of their ships. When an away team beams over they discover that it is an unmanned ship which T'Pol suspects might be Romulan.

This was a good episode that constantly kept the viewer wondering whether the guilty party would be Andorian or Tellarite before revealing that it was neither. The end where Shren tells his mortally wounded wife that she had just suffered a minor injury was quite touching; Jeffrey Combes does well in the role. Amusement was provided early on when we learnt that the Tellarite are blunt to the point of rudeness; in fact if somebody is not rude to them they are liable to take offence. After a couple of stand alone episodes it is nice to get another multi-part story ending with the words '...to be continued'.

Engaging and Humorous Episode

[claudio_carvalho · 9/10 · 21 April 2010]

On 12 November 2154, the Andorian battle cruiser Kumari of Commander Shran is attacked and destroyed by a Tellarite warship. Meanwhile Captain Archer is preparing to receive the Tellarite Ambassador Gral and his delegation that will negotiate peace with the Andorians in the distant planet Babel on board of Enterprise. When his guests are duly lodged, Arched is informed by the bridge that they had located a distress signal from Kumari and they head to the spot. They rescue nineteen survivors from the complement of eight-six of Kumari and bring them on board. While having a conversation with Shran, the Enterprise is attacked by an Andorian warship. Gral and Shran blame each other for the attacks, but Archer and T'Pol discover that the vessel actually has a sophisticated camouflage system to lure both sides and avoid their accord.

"Babel One" is an engaging and humorous episode of Enterprise. There are funny moments, like the training of Archer with Soshi and the greetings of Archer to Gral. The final revelation that the evil Romulans are remotely controlling their warship is the great surprise of this show. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Babel - Ano Um"("Babel - Year One")

This is what I've wanted from Enterprise all along

[snoozejonc · 8/10 · 12 December 2020]

Enterprise is assigned to carry Tellarites to the Babel peace summit.

Finally Enterprise gives the kind of story I've been waiting four series to watch and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

If you are a fan of the original series and like continuity within the franchise, this episode is an example of Enterprise delivering it in a compelling way. The plot isn't anything original but it does have a superb reveal that comes at the end.

All performances are solid and the main characters all have plenty to do. Even Hoshi has a cool moment. Tellarite Gral and Andorian Shran both give great contributions and Lee Arenberg and Jeffery Coombs do not disappoint.

The action and effects all work superbly to make this not just an engaging story but also a pretty decent thrill ride. This is the most satisfied I've been at the end of an Enterprise episode and hope the following parts of the trilogy carry on the good work done on Babel One.

Part one is actually better than part two....but then there is part three.

[planktonrules · 10/10 · 30 May 2015]

This is a very interesting episode because it helps to build the foundations of the Federation--something that you know is coming soon for the human race and their new friends. It's also one that hearkens back to one of the original "Star Trek" episodes--"Journey to Babel", which also features many of the same races.

The show begins with the Enterprise taking a Tellarite ambassador to a meeting on Babel in order to try to work out their ongoing hostilities with the Andorians. However, soon after, an Anrdorian ship, Shran's, is destroyed and the Enterprise is called to rescue the survivors. Here's the problem--the attacking ship seemed to be Tellurite!! Naturally this makes the upcoming peace conference nearly impossible--and Shran and the Ambassador are ready to kill each other!

When you see these shows, it's really sad, as this new plot is wonderful and would have been great had the show not been prematurely canceled. Who knows where all this might have gone? Unfortunately, the episode is a great case of just coming too late. Sad because it's so well written and interesting.

Always Trouble with Those Andorians

[Samuel-Shovel · 8/10 · 3 March 2018]

The plot of "Babel One" revolves around the relationship between the Andorians and the Tellarites. The two species have been feuding for a century and it is up to Earth to be the intermediary for peace talks. The Enterprise is taking a Tellarite ambassador into Andorian space when the Enterprise receives an SOS. It's from Shran; he claims that his ship has been destroyed by a Tellarite ship, worsening relations between the two. But soon the Enterprise is attacked by an Andorian vessel. Trip & Reed get transported onto the alien ship and soon discover that thus isn't your standard battle cruiser. Meanwhile, Archer attempts to keep the two groups separated on Enterprise. This comes to a head when Shran breaks out of his quarters and holds the Tellarites at gunpoint. Archer breaks up the tension by revealing that both groups have been fooled by the Romulans who are trying to prevent an alliance from forming. We end with the discovery that the Romulan ship is unmanned, being controlled remotely from Romulus.

This was a very fun, fast-paced episode. Anytime the Andorians make an appearance, I'm a happy camper. Shran's topnotch here and his interactions with Archer and the Tellarites makes for good television. Romulans have not been featured very much on ST:E so I'm interested to know how the writers deal with them in this story arc. I especially enjoy the design of their ship, very cool looking. This was a great first episode of the current storyline, we'll see where we go from here.

Seeds of The Federation

[Binkconn · 8/10 · 27 May 2009]

This trilogy of episodes sees Archer acting as intermediary in peace talks between the Tellerites and the Andorians, essentially forming the core of what would be the 'Star Trek' United Federation of Planets. They seem a bit slow-going at first, and the threat of tiny probe ships seems hardly on par with what Enterprise had to face in the previous episodes' conflict with the Xindi, but they're good in that they show the growing trust between Archer and Shrann (who at one point engage in an exciting duel with razor-like weapons in an ancient Andorian ritual to save Shrann's besmirched honor), and they also provide commentary on society's racial castes in the sub-treatment of the Andorians telepathic Albino people, one of whom is needed to stop the renegade Andorians assassin ships. Good action and heartfelt performances, especially from the Albino Andorian girl and her relationship with the mystery pilot of the evil ship, and yet another example of what a good show we lost in "Enterprise"'s premature cancellation.

I'm Glad the Andorians Have Continued to Appear

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 30 March 2017]

Here's what happens when a feud is so entrenched that both parties can't see past the ends of their noses. The Tellarites have had bad blood with the Andorians for a long time. The episode begins with a summit that is to occur to talk some peace. Archer welcomes (sort of) the Tellarites on board (they've met before when Porthos peed on one of their trees and almost caused an interstellar incident). Meanwhile, it appears that these people have attacked Shran's ship, killing most of the crew. Enterprise answers the distress call and manages to get the few survivors on board, including his friend/enemy/whatever Shran. Of course, there's a powder keg on the ship. The weird thing is that neither side was responsible. It appears that the Romulans are the perpetrators. They have never posed a threat before but it seems are intent on preventing alliances. Things go badly as Trip and Malcolm and some of the Macos are on the Romulan ship investigating. The episode ends badly.

Powerful episode, with strong A and B stories.

[sogoodlooking · 9/10 · 24 September 2020]

The abrasive Shran's love story shows a surprisingly tender and affecting side for the Andorrian soldier, while near-novice actress Molly Brink does terrific work as his squeeze, bringing real strength and individuality to what can easily be a thankless role. (It's a pity Brink didn't have more of a career, with only 8 acting jobs over her life to date. Her expressive voice and face could have supported a much bigger career.)

As for the Romulan ship capable of imitating any other ship, it's well done but probably misguided. Are these the Romulans we were introduced to in Star Trek TOS' "Balance of Terror"? That was an honorable species, of a kind, yet they developed cloaking (subterfuge) instead of warp, and they sprung a sneak attack on human outposts, killing many. Hard to say.

It's also the case that a ship of the type the Romulans have is unlikely. The tech is so extraordinary that any race with it probably wouldn't have to engage in this kind and degree of subterfuge.

Still, Archer should not have had the gall to quiz Shran around 17:30 in as to whether he had behaved ethically--not after Archer's thieving and torture in The Expanse. That was a script faux pas of preposterous proportions.

Justify it all we like, it happened, which Archer himself acknowledged on more than one occasion. The ugly habit of episodic tv, resetting everything back to where it was as of the pilot, once again rears its unfortunate head.