“The Communicator” 20th-anniversary reflections

After a, let’s admit, questionable mission to mingle with a pre-warp culture while wearing peel-off prosthetics, the crew of the Enterprise NX-01 returns from an alien planet where they had a great time. But, oops, Malcolm’s communicator slipped out of his pocket in a tavern—an event that leads to the almost-death of himself and Captain Archer. The only thing that saves them is the invisible hand of Trip Tucker and a stolen Suliban ship. And, in the end, what seems like a win to Archer turns out to be a lesson in the Prime Directive as one side in this planetary conflict may soon want a piece of the other side’s action.

In this episode of Warp Five, hosts C Bryan Jones and Matthew Rushing continue our 20th-anniversary retrospective that takes you through all of Star Trek: Enterprise, one episode at a time. In this installment, we continue Season 2 with “The Communicator” as we discuss how it takes a throwaway ending to an Original Series episode and addresses the real-world repurcussions of leaving technology behind on a less-advanced planet.

Hosts C Bryan Jones and Matthew Rushing

Production C Bryan Jones (Editor and Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer)