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

The Flight of Icarus

[claudio_carvalho · 6/10 · 11 April 2010]

Captain Archer welcomes his old friend and inventor of the transporter technology, Dr. Emory Erickson, and his daughter Danica on board of Enterprise. Dr. Erickson is assigned to perform tests on sub quantum transportation to long distances in a desert area of the space called The Barrens and is worshiped by Commander Tucker. However, Tucker suspects that the scientist is not telling the truth about his experiment and discloses his concerns to Captain Archer. When a crew member of Enterprise is killed by a strange life force and T'Pol is wounded in her hand, Dr. Emory finally reveals that the experiment is indeed his last attempt to bring his son Quinn back from an accident with the transporter fifteen years ago.

"Daedalus" is one of the weakest and most incoherent episodes of Enterprise, with the attitude of Captain Archer risking Enterprise and its crew to satisfy the experiment of his friend to bring his son back. The hand of T'Pol, injured by Quinn, apparently is recovered by Dr. Phlox since there is no further reference to the incident. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Dédalo"

Was Icarus Worth the Consequences

[Hitchcoc · 6/10 · 30 March 2017]

After Archer has shown so much good judgment lately, he now reverts because of his own selfishness. There are some absolutes. I know others would disagree, but when the nutcase old friend who has been obsessed with the death of his son commandeers the Enterprise, that should have been it. The young man was Archer's childhood friend and this man like a father. If anything, this conflict of interest is at the center. When the crew member dies because of the old guy's self-interest, we now have a different equation. This is an aberration from the development of the type of things needed for the explorers to move into space.

Awfully melancholy....and only about average at best.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 2 May 2015]

In this episode of "Star Trek: Enterprise", familiar character actor Bill Cobbs stars as Dr. Erickson. Erickson is aboard to the ship for a stated reason...but really is there to try to correct a transporter accident many years ago. It seems that in these early days of transporters, accidents were common and Erickson's son was lost during this time. His plan is to try to get his son back...but is it possible if he's been lost all that time? As for Trip, he's worried about Erickson's experiments and the Captain is all for letting the old guy give it a go.

This is an amazingly bland and adequate episode. While there was nothing particularly bad about it, there wasn't a lot right--other than getting a chance to see a guy whose face is a bit scrambled due to the transporter! Fair to middling at best.

Fatality too easily forgiven

[Tweekums · 7/10 · 2 July 2010]

When Dr. Emory Erickson, the inventor of Transporter technology comes aboard the Enterprise to test his latest idea which, if it works, will make it possible to transport people over inter-planetary distances Trip is keen to meet him. As the work starts however it seems as if something isn't quite right; he is insistent that only he can do the required work and won't even let Trip take a look at his notes. When they enter an empty area of space where they are due to carry out the experiment something strange happens, some sort of entity appears on board and when it comes into contact with a crewman that man dies. It soon becomes clear that the experiment was just an excuse to get Enterprise to that part of space; Dr Erickson lost his son in a transporter accident fifteen years before and he believes that because of the properties of space in that area it will be possible to rematerialise him.

After several multi-part action packed episodes this one felt a little slow. It seemed a little too obvious that the great Dr Erickson wouldn't be quite as great as everybody thought. I was a bit surprised when Captain Archer agreed to continue with Dr Erickson's plan even though he'd lied to him and it has already caused the death of one crewman. The ending wasn't quite as I expected and that is a good thing, although I won't spoil it I think the way it ended was right.

Not as bad as they say

[snoozejonc · 7/10 · 6 December 2020]

The Enterprise takes Dr Emory Erickson to a region of space known as the Barrens to experiment with transporter technology.

This episode has been slated by most critics and IMDb reviews but I didn't think it was that bad. I think the worst thing about it is that it's a bit cliched and unoriginal, but if you can get past that it's not as bad as others make out.

The story follows the standard Star Trek 'mad scientist' path with a Daedalus and Icarus theme thrown in. Whether or not it grips you depends largely on how much you come to care for what Dr Erickson is trying to do. It doesn't help that the guest characters are known to Archer but nobody else, particularly in one scene where he and Trip clash over what course of action should be taken. I guess you need to put yourself in Erickson's position to get emotionally invested, which I appreciate may be difficult for some as the character is not written particularly well. Actor Bill Cobbs makes the best out of the material he's given and I found his performance quite compelling.

This is a good episode for Trip Tucker who has a number of good scenes in the main plot and also the sub-plot involving T'Pol. It's funny how every time he clashes with Archer I feel like he should mutiny and take control of Enterprise.

Archer has had some spectacular moments in the show's four series, but episodes like this don't help his standing as a lead character. It recalls some of his worst moments such as in Cogenitor and One Night In Sickbay. This is not a criticism of Scott Bakula or the direction, it's more an observation of how the character is written. As frustrating as he is and as much as I dislike the things he does, I think the scenes are still pretty well made.

The ending is downbeat but works for what the writers are trying to do with the character of Erickson by highlighting how powerless mankind is regardless of how much it attempts to conquer the natural laws of the universe and it brings closure to his situation.

It's not a particularly strong Star Trek episode, but I think most opinions of it are quite harsh. I rate it a 6.5/10 but am kind enough to round upwards.

Archer's Unchecked Emotions

[Samuel-Shovel · 4/10 · 1 March 2018]

In "Daedalus", the Enterprise welcomes Dr. Emory Erickson, an old friend of Archer's father and the founder of Earth's transporter technology. Dr Erickson and his daughter are there to conduct an experiment in subquantum transportation. The Enterprise heads out to deep space to conduct this experiment but, when a member of the crew dies under mysterious circumstances, it becomes apparent that Dr. Erickson isn't being truthful about the purpose of his experiment.

Dr. Erickson is played by Bill Cobbs. I'm a big fan of a lot of his roles but boy, he is sleepwalking through this one! He's not engaging in this episode at all. Just watching him was making me sleepy.

In recent episodes, it had appeared that Archer had matured as Captain and started making better decisions regarding the mission and his crew. He had stopped being so self-centered and strong headed. Apparently, I had spoken too soon. Archer puts the entire crew in jeopardy when he approves Erickson's insane experiment. Even after Archer learns the truth and one of his crew members has died due to Erickson's nefariousness, Archer seems to have no ethical dilemma allowing things to continue. He doesn't mourn for Burrows' loss, he doesn't listen to his officers' advice, he risks everyone's life in the small hope that Erickson can bring back Archer's childhood friend. If this were some random person, do you think Archer would go through with it? I doubt it; this is nepotism at work! Archer should have to answer to Star Fleet for his actions but he gets off scott-free.

When rating an episode like this, I have trouble sometimes differentiating between poor character choices and a poor storyline. Just because Archer is being dumb doesn't necessarily mean that the episode is bad. But in this case, I feel that it is both. The acting in this one is poor (Leslie Silva is especially bad), the plot is boring for the vast majority of the runtime, the resolution feels unwarranted. Nothing in this episode really works for me. It's a lot of filler.

The only important thing to really happen is that we learn that T'Pol no longer has Pa'nar Syndrome, thanks to the mind melding abilities of T'Pau. That plotline really never goes anywhere and it feels as if they decided to just write it off and end it. I'm just glad they didn't forget about it.

Dull and boring useless episode.

[richsifu-36077 · 3/10 · 30 July 2020]

Others have already mentioned the basic plot of this episode, and you've likely already seen it so I won't go into it again.

This is one of the most boring and ridiculous episodes of the entire show. I tape and the shows on my DVR regularly on H&I and everytime this episode comes up, I just delete it right away which I don't do with any of the other episodes.. Oh.. Other than the HORRIBLE series finale that is. What an absolutely horrible way to end the show. There was a lot of lazy writing in this series it seems and to a lesser degree, Voyager to.

What really aggravated me about Archer was that he was quite mentally unstable. I don't know WHOSE idea it was too play the character that way. Was that the way the character was written..? If so then it was terrible writing. But I'm much more inclined to believe that this is simply how Bakula chose to play the character, for he and God only knows what reasons. Regardless, the result is that I believe most Star trek fans are in agreement that Archer was the WORST Star Trek Captain of them all!

And I don't just mean so the leading captains of the series, but any Captain in Star Fleet period. He should have never even made it to ensign with his terrible attitude, being Soo QUICK to anger, quick to raise his voice, right away getting it your face all the time, being constantly belligerent, arrogant, argumentative, selfish and always more concerned with being in control and getting his way than anything else.

The only time it was good that he had those traits was against the Xindi where those traits helped them to perservere and get the job done. Otherwise, he can barely go back and forth in any conversation two or three times before he starts to raise his voice, get an attitude, run up in your face and act like he's so tough.

Such traits are very unbecoming of a Star fleet officer let alone a captain and ass someone else said, I don't know how he remained in Star fleet as long as he did.

It brings back something that Janeway once said when she first encountered the Borg I believe it was. She was talking about Kirk and how things were back in those days. She mentioned how their ships were twice and fast as they were in Kirk's time, said some other comment and then said that the whole lot of them would have been kicked out of Star Fleet if they acted that way today. I guess this is an indication that in the early days of Star Fleet and the federation, they had to be far more tolerant and let people get away with much more than they ever would later on, probably because people weren't exactly clamoring to join you at that time and even once the federation got going and started exploring the Galaxy, they needed everyone they could get.

Still, Kirk could be just as tough, strong and determined when needed but he was far more mature, in control and could hold a Civil conversation as the norm, something that Archer only seems to be able to do when he's watching his water polo lol.

They treat the death of a crewperson as if it was nothing!

[wwcanoer-tech · 1/10 · 8 December 2021]

At the end of the last season (or the first of this one?) they were so solemn about the death of 23(?) crewpersons. Now someone dies and Archer doesn't care. That was disgusting.

There's no reason for it. If the writers aren't going to use the full impact of the death, then don't kill him. The writers should have only injured the first victim. Phlox would say that "Another cm to the left and it would have killed him." Then Archer would know the danger and debate if it is worth continuing.

Then, on top of that, the crewperson died because of the deception of the visiting engineer Dr. Erickson, yet no-one even yells at Dr. Erickson. Perhaps it could be resolved with "the damage is done, we now know the risk and how to mitigate it, so we will continue" rather than Archer flying off the handle.

I completely agree with the other reviewers who say that Archer is a horrible captain. He rarely convinces people of things, he mostly uses anger, threats and, of course, rank.

The episode angered me

[margaretkarmazin-540-587476 · 5/10 · 16 June 2018]

We are finally catching up in 2018 by watching all of Enterprise. Some of it is terrible (boring, repetitive lowbrow action) while some is up to old Trek standards. My husband and I have rated Archer as the worse Star Trek captain. Talk about selfish! In this one, risking the entire life of the crew and allowing one of them to die just to please his old family friend who was obviously a nutcase. And refusing to listen to Trip who has proven himself over and over as one of the most trustable people in space! I wanted to personally strangle Archer who, more than half the time, acts like he needs to be put on meds. At least this time, Archer didn't get beaten up - I am really tired of seeing people in this show getting beaten up. Remember how cerebral Picard was? Or how sly Janeway could be? Sigh. Frankly, I don't know how someone as bad as Archer in controlling his childish emotions could even get this far in Star Fleet.

bad episode all around

[JVIRT99 · 4/10 · 30 March 2020]

My first review of a Star Trek Enterprise episode. In fact, after 50+ years of watching Star Trek in all its incarnations, this is my only review of ANY Star Trek series episode. Just felt like it was time. I'm an original series fan, along with Next Generation and what I consider to be the best of the Star Trek universe, Deep Space Nine. Never thought much of ST Voyager. Sorry Voyager fans.

After viewing most of Enterprise 4 seasons back when it was originally broadcast, I came away unimpressed. For the last month or so I've been binge watching this specific ST series on Hulu. It seems the second time around, 15 years later, I came away slightly more impressed. Just not totally convinced it was really worth my time. (ha,ha) And especially after binge watching Deep Space Nine over the holidays. Oh well. Season 1 of Enterprise was good. Season 2 was okay. Season 3 was fun to watch but seemed like a bad rip off of Deep Space Nine. And now we have season 4.

Daedalus was a bad episode all around. One thing I finally figured out and the main reason for this review. Captain Archer is unstable. He lost it early in season 3 and never fully recovered. He acts like a man not in control of his emotions. At times, he's totally whacked out! Archer definitely was not made in the mold off Kirk, Picard, Sisko or even Janeway. This has hurt the Enterprise series overall.

And the award for worst captain in Star Trek history goes to *drumroll* ... Jonathan Archer

[tomsly-40015 · 5/10 · 14 April 2024]

In this episode, Archer once again clearly demonstrates why he was given the unofficial title of "Worst captain in Star Trek History." And that's saying something, since Michael Burnham, another aspirant, is fighting tirelessly for this title and, with season 5 of DIS, is well on the way to dethroning the previously undisputed champion of this dishonorable award.

When the experiment of an aging scientist driven by selfish delusion, arrogance and self-importance goes awry and costs the life of a crew member, Archer seems little emotionally affected. Even when he learns that this entire experiment is based on a lie and that the crew of the Enterprise was assigned to this mission under false pretenses, Archer does not immediately abort the mission. He doesn't report the scientist, who was like a second father to him when he was growing up, directly to Starfleet, but lets him continue to carry out his experiment. That, as it turns out, is to bring back his son, who was lost in a transporter accident 18 years ago in subspace.

Instead of protecting the crew and his ship from further harm, Archer appears to be emotionally blinded by his longstanding connection to this scientist, his daughter (who, by the way, he kisses on the lips when she comes on board) and his son. He neither listens to Tucker nor consults his other senior officers for advice. His leadership qualities as a captain essentially consist of overreacting emotionally, trying to get his way with a raised voice, shouting at his subordinates in a commanding tone and repeatedly making it clear to them that he has given them an order and that they should do their jobs. Maybe he would be better off as captain on the bridge of a Bird of Prey. On a Starfleet ship, however, he has no place at all. I'm not sure why this character was designed to be so one-dimensional and why he wasn't given more senior foresight and diplomatic eloquence.

The actual plot itself though isn't bad at all: a scientist who has been working for many years on transporting matter through subspace and thus bridging distances of many light years in an instant. However, on his first attempt, the test subject, who happened to be his son, did not materialize again and was lost in subspace. Since the signature is not yet completely disintegrated and appears to concentrate at a subspace node at regular intervals, it seems possible to capture the signature and re-materialize it. Unfortunately, this very interesting scientific setup is overshadowed by the erratic actions of Captain Archer.

In addition: It has always been interesting that in Star Trek there is always this ONE brilliant inventor working all alone on such monumental inventions as the technology of matter transport. Today we can already see in almost all areas of science and technology that the complexity has increased to such an extent that entire teams, which are also distributed globally, are now working on researching new scientific findings or developing groundbreaking technologies. For an experiment the importance and size like the one in this episode, an entire armada of scientists would have arrived on Enterprise, their suitcases packed with instruments and lots of technical gadgets.