EPISODE: "Stigma" PROD#: ENT040 TRAN#: 2.14 RATING: PG-DL AIRDATE: wed-5-feb-2003-20:00 EPDATE: [oct-2152 ?] OFFICIAL: startrek.com/library/episodes_ent_detail.asp?ID=126820 FROM: Phillip Thorne, thorne@underbase.org POST-TO: rec.arts.startrek.tech, rec.arts.sf.tv REVIEW#: 31.0 FORMAT#: 4.1 URL: underbase.org/dept/trek/ent214_stigma.txt This technical overview is intended to support discussion of the current episode, and to later serve as a reference: it contains PLOT SPOILERS; CONTINUE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Whenever possible, it indicates who did/claimed/knew what; the official of technobabble and alien nouns is obtained from TV closed-captioning ("CC"). Abbreviations used: (m/f/?) name belongs to mel/fem/unclear, (os) on [viewer] screen, (vo) voiceover, (?) quote is uncertain, (sp?) spelling is unclear, VDB Vulcan database, VHC Vulcan High Command. Although CC uses "Launch Bay", "Sick Bay", and "shuttle pod", I often condense those terms to single words. "Star Trek" and all related indicia are copyrights of Paramount Pictures. This overview is (c)2003 Phillip Thorne, thorne@underbase.org. Feel free to use this document as a reference, but please give credit where due. If you enjoyed my detailed style herein, consider subscribing to my similarly-detailed e-newsletter, the _Non-Sequitur Express_. I. TERMS TECHNICAL: SHIPBOARD Captain's Starlog, Docking Port Two TECHNICAL: OTHER neutron microscope, reflectometer, collimate, amplify, condenser lens, aperture ring, remodulate, emitter; quantum filters, imaging filament, quantum optics MEDICAL & BIOLOGICAL neurolytic enzymes, thymic sclerosis, Pa'nar Syndrome, synaptic pathways, endocrine system, immune system, mind-meld, melders, neuroelectric impulses, midbrain CULTURAL Dekendi Three, Interspecies Medical Exchange, Teerza Prime, fargan, [Vulcan] Science Directorate CHARACTERS Cpt.Jonathan Archer Travis Mayweather (one scene) Dr.Phlox Lt.Malcolm Reed (one scene) Ens.Hoshi Sato (one scene, two voiceovers) Sub-Cdr.T'Pol Cdr.Charles "Trip" Tucker III Melinda Page Hamilton as Feezal [Phlox] Michael Ensign as Dr.Oratt Bob Morrisey as Dr.Strom [unnamed] Jeffrey Hayenga as Dr.Yuris Lee Spencer as Vulcan Doctor [Three other unnamed Vulcan extras] MENTIONS Chef Vesna(f), Groznik(m), Klaban(m), Bogga(m), and Forlisa(f) III. NOTES TEASER Phlox tells T'Pol about her "neurolytic enzymes", that "the treatment" is no longer effective, and that he must contact Vulcans for help: she could "very possibly die". ACT 1 "Captain's Starlog, Supplemental:" the _Enterprise_ is at "Dekendi Three" for a conference of the "Interspecies Medical Exchange". Phlox's "second wife" Feezal (whom he hasn't seen in "nearly four years") arrives with a "neutron microscope" of her own invention. "Denobulans are renowned for their patience," says Phlox; as he, Archer and Tucker wait at the docking port. Feezal immediately takes a liking to Tucker, and gives him a Denobulan-overwide parting grin. (City, day) Phlox concocts a cover story: a colleague on Denobula has found that Pa'nar Syndrome is similar to "thymic sclerosis", a disease which affects all strata of Denobulan society and which has been treated with little success. When pressed for details, Phlox demurs; would take "at least five days" to get a response, by which time the conference would be over. In Sick Bay, Tucker tries to follow Feezal's instructions regarding the neutron microscope, while she ladles out the double entendres. Its "reflectometer" "collimates the neutrons", instead of "amplifying" them. The operator must screw the "condenser lens" onto the "aperture ring" before "remodulating the emitter frequency". Her (Denobulan?) PADD is an elongated silver octagon with a small circular screen at its center. Archer and T'Pol eat breakfast in the Captain's Mess. T'Pol says there are "over a million physicians" on Vulcan. Sato(vo) reports that the Vulcan doctors are shuttling up; they'll arrive at "Docking Port Two". Archer shows the three doctors, T'Pol and Phlox to the conference room [mess set redress], then is excused. The trio press her for a definition of Pa'nar Syndrome; she describes it as an "incurable degeneration of the synaptic pathways" that also disrupts the "endocrine and immune systems", and is transmitted by "a telepathic practice -- a mind-meld". The meld "disrupts neuroelectric impulses in the midbrain", which leads to the "early stages" of the disease. So-called "melders" have the ability to "transfer thoughts and memories". They hand T'Pol a PADD with a listing of melders' names. A cure is not a priority for Vulcan medicine, and (the trio says) they have no additional data "we care to disseminate". On the surface, a device scans the PADD; one doctor transfers a data-chip from the scanner to a second device. A third device, PADD-like, rests beside them. (All three are silver with blue trim, in rigid alignment on the tabletop.) The data appears on a circular screen on the wall: a DNA-like double-helix molecule, depicted in wireframe and rotating, on a red background. ACT 2 Feezal's neutron microscope peers at a specimen on a glass slide. The screen enlarges the "protein molecules" to show "a single nucleotide". Tucker tries to perform a scan in turn, but forgets about the "quantum filters" and "aperture", and gets a fuzzy image of the "imaging filament". He's acutely aware of her proximity, as Phlox is working in the background, chatting with his wife about (presumably) their near and distant co-spouses: Vesna(f) hasn't forgiven Groznik(m) because he's only apologized twice. He's down to one wife, because Kessil(f) moved to "Teerza Prime" to be with her third husband: "Klaban?" asks Phlox. "No, Bogga," [pron. Bow-gah] answers Feezal; Klaban is Forlisa's husband. Phlox tells Tucker he'd once considered asking Forlisa to marry him, then discovered she already had three husbands. Archer angrily calls Phlox and T'Pol to his Ready Room, having learned from Dr.Oratt [named here] that Phlox had lied. (He mentions the PADD and a fingerprint.) Phlox has known about T'Pol's condition for "nearly a year" but has kept it confidential. T'Pol explains that "a small minority" of Vulcans are born with the ability to initiate a mind-meld (though all Vulcans can receive). Archer takes a shuttlepod (from the forward starboard bay) to the planet and meets the doctors, who explain their position thusly: Vulcans take pride in containing emotions, and sharing of them is offensive. Onship, Sato(vo) reports a communication from Dr.Yuris [named here] (the youngest), wishing to meet T'Pol in the northern sector of the city. Night, city, pedestrian street; alien script written vertically on a building's corner; steam wafts from below. T'Pol meets the hooded Yuris, who hands over the research concering Pa'nar Syndrome: six short metal-tipped rods stored in a hinged cylindrical container. "There is more intolerance today than a thousand years ago," Yuris says, and admits he's part of the despised minority. ACT 3 Sato and Tucker eat dinner in the mess. Tonight's movie is "The Black Cat", featuring Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. Sato is taking the 18:00 shuttle to the planet (most of the crew is free to visit), but Tucker desperately asks her to stay as "Feezal Phlox" arrives. She and Feezal chat in Denobulan about Denobulan grammar [subtitled: no captioned alien words], while Feezal surreptitiously strokes Tucker's leg with her stockinged toe. In the gym, Tucker meets Reed, who advises against mentioning Feezal's efforts to Phlox; Reed once witnessed his anger, after one of his creatures bit him. In Sick Bay, Phlox and T'Pol examine the medical data: it's not a cure, but will allow him to slow the disease's progress. Archer arrives; he asks, "Have you figured out why Dr.Yuris gave it to you?" and she lies: "No, I have not." Dr.Oratt is a ranking member of the "Council of Physicians". (City, sunset) Archer angrily storms into the Vulcan suite at the conference (seven Vulcans are there) and confronts Oratt. He brandishes a PADD: Sato dug up the "protocols of the Council of Physicians" from the Vulcan Database: Phlox is entitled to a hearing before the "ranking officer" in "the provice or territory" where the accusation was first made. ACT 4 Phlox treats a nasty bruise on Mayweather's left abdomen. He'd been invited to participate in a favorite "Dekendi" game: four players and a crowd of "fargans" (native creatures, like cows with humps) stand in a circle, and the players toss a "melon"-like native fruit amongst themselves. He compares it to "monkey-in-the-middle", a game apparently alien to Denobula. Tucker enters, asks to speak privately, praises Feezal's skills in "quantum optics", and delicately explains her recent behavior. "Has she offered to give you a rose petal bath?" The doctor is not offended at all, and slightly surprised that Tucker should reject her advances; but Tucker says he can't transcend his upbringing "not to play around with another man's wife." "Your loss," concludes Phlox cheerfully. Archer visits T'Pol's quarters, where she's packing. At the hearing on Dekendi: "Science Directorate". Mind-melds are an "abhorrent behavior" practiced by a "subculture", "genetic aberrations". "We got rid of bigotry over a century ago," vents Archer, and accuses the Vulcans of being "narrow-minded". Yuris "comes out" and admits his affiliation, jeopardizing his career. In Sick Bay, Feezal and Phlox gaze rapturously into each other's eyes. Tucker rapidly excuses himself to Engineering: "the plasma's running a little hot". Archer tells T'Pol that she won't be recalled, but that Dr.Yuris has been suspended from the Medical Exchange. V. CONNECTIONS 1. T'Pol's encounter with the "melders" was chronicled in ENT117-"Fusion". 2. The flexibility of the Denobulan smile was first demonstrated at the end of ENT217-"A Night in Sickbay". 3. TNG417-"The Outcast" (the androgynous race in which bipolar sexuality was a crime) was an allegory with a similar theme. VI. ANALYSIS 1. A card before the first scene reads, "In memory of the Columbia crew -- you will always be an inspiration." A brief public service announcement after the final scene advises viewers where to obtain further info on AIDS (part of an extensive campaign by UPN). 2. Feezal's ship (seen approaching the _Enterprise_ in the opening scene) resembles IIRC the Ferengi ship from ENT119-"Acquisition". 3. The real world already has devices that can image biomolecules to atomic precision: they're collectively called "proximal probe microscopes" (atomic force, scanning probe, etc.) Feezal's "neutron microscope", however, seems to require no special preparation of the sample; it might even observe living biochemistry. Electron microscopes take advantage of the fact that the deBroglie wavelength of the electron-as-wave is shorter than that of optical photons; neutrons, being 1800 times as massive, would be even more precise -- if, being electrically neutral, they could be focused. (However, would any image be smeared by the neutron's internal quark structure?) 4. In SFX, we get several unusual shots of the ship. It orbits dorsal-side towards Dekendi, so that (onscreen) the planet is overhead. In the ep's final shot, it moves directly away from us, giving us a symmetrical view of its underside and aft surfaces. 5. Mind-melds are described as "a telepathic practice" -- what others exist? Betrothal-bonds, religious rites, empathic healing? 6. Vulcans (in TOS et al) were never the most outgoing of Trek races, but Berman & Braga are painting an even stuffier race in ENT. Will there be a governmental shake-up in the next century, and a widespread change in attitudes? Has Spock's father, Sarek, been born yet? Is the ability to initiate a mind-meld not only rare, but hereditary, and has Spock's family always had it? Are they still somewhat scurrilous even in Kirk's day, and Sarek flouts that social norm, even as he married two human women (Amanda and Perrin)? Is his "Bendii Syndrome" a related condition (TNG-"Sarek" and "Unification")? What about future-Tuvok's degenerative disease in VGR's finale? 7. "Pa'nar Syndrome" is a transmissible disease, but there's no pathogen. Unlike VGR silliness with "memory engram" viruses, its progress (telepathy, neural change, systemic effects) is explainable given established Vulcan physiology (see TOS): the healing trance, the body's reliance on the brain ("Spock's Brain"). 8. Denobulan poly-marriages are apparently as complicated as we feared; even Phlox can't remember all the bonds. 9. When Feezal enter the mess, Tucker introduces her as "Feezal Phlox" to Sato. What does this indicate about Denobulan naming practices? Is Phlox the doctor's surname? Did he append hers, she his, or is it a clan-name for the entire extended marriage? 10. Apparently, extramarital affairs are tolerated in Denobulan marriages; or maybe Phlox is just very liberal. (Tucker, however, appears to live by the adage, "Keep an open mind -- but not so open your brain falls out." Good for him.) We don't know the exact parameters of permissiveness, and Tucker wasn't interested in testing them. (One possible reaction from Phlox: "You two fool around all you want -- but her HEART is MINE, GRRR!") 11. Did Earth-humans *really* "get rid of bigotry" in the mid-21st century, or is that merely Archer's opinion in the heat of debate? Did this shift in human behavior occur before or after WWIII? VII. NITS 1. Great Asimov's ghost, when will Trek writers learn their basic biochemistry? Nucleotides are a component of nucleic acids (DNA and RNA); amino acids are the monomers of peptides and proteins; and never in the same molecule shall the twain meet. VIII. NEXT WEEK New episode "Cease Fire": the indomitable Suzie Plakson (Dr.Selar, K'Ehleyr, Ms.Q) appears as the second depicted Andorian female (the first being Lal in TNG316-"The Offspring"); Shran and Soval return, as Vulcan-Andorian tensions escalate over terraformed territory.