Captain’s log: 27 November, 2154

Manny Coto came up for the story for this episode which was then written by Micheal Sussman and first aired on 18 February, 2005. It was an episode that answered the often posed question, what caused the shift in appearance of the Klingons from The Original Series to The Motion Picture, and beyond.

Here in this first episode of two, we dig into the answer, and also see that it ties into the previously established Augment arc, as it seems the virus is a remnant of the augment materiel the Klingons recovered. These new Klingons look more human… like those encountered in The Original Series, but it may also be killing them, or at least the Klingon Council wants them dead.

When the Enterprise returns to Earth to commemorate, and be in attendance for, the launch of the Columbia, Phlox (John Billingsley) is abducted for the Klingons and is asked for his help as they seem to be suffering from some strange new, body-altering disease.

Trip (Connor Trinneer) is still accepting his transfer to Columbia and Archer (Scott Bakula)is dealing with the loss, and T’Pol (Jolene Blalock) is trying to work through her feelings for him. Trip has some new problems coming aboard though as several of his new staff elect for transfers. But the distance doesn’t affect the connection he and T’Pol share…

Archer, Reed (Dominic Keating) and Hoshi (Lind Park) butt heads with the security team assigned to the kidnapping, desperate to find their shipmate. T’Pol conducts her fist mind meld, with Hoshi, and Reed discovers a conspiracy around the abduction, involving Section 31. Something he’s a part of, and is working to keep secret from the rest of the crew.

The wonderful James Avery guest stars as Klingon general, K’Vagh as well as John Schuck, who had previously played the Klingon ambassador in the films.

The episode delivers a cliffhanger with a sabotaged Enterprise racing, unstoppable towards Klingon space with a reactor breach increasingly imminent…

Captain’s log: December, 2154

Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens pen the closing half of the Klingon virus arc. It first debuted on 25 February, 2005.

Trip and the Columbia race to aid the Enterprise and then helps to investigate Phlox’s abduction, the virus, and maybe even Section 31…

Phlox works to come up with a cure for the virus, and there’s  ticking clock because a Klingon fleet is on the way to destroy the infected planets. While Columbia and Enterprise attempt to hold off the attack, Archer volunteers to be the human host for the virus to develop an anti-viral strain that won’t be augment enhanced and will spare the lives of the infected Klingons.

It works, but it also dissolves a lot of their cranial ridges, making them very inline with the Klingons we encounter in The Original Series. A great mystery finally resolved, fairly satisfactorily.

It also seems that Trip is going to hang around a little while longer to help with repairs.

The Human Adventure continues Thursday as I continue my journey through the fourth and final season of Star Trek: Enterprise – The Complete series on blu-ray now available from Paramount Canada.

Boldly go…