Cogenitor (episode)

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(written from a Production point of view)

Enterprise encounters the Vissians, a race that includes a third gender of "cogenitors" who are treated as second-class citizens.

Summary

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Enterprise NX-01 is studying a hypergiant star when it makes contact with a scout ship from another species, the Vissians. Vissian Captain Drennik offers Jonathan Archer the use of one of their stratopods to explore the inner workings of the star, an opportunity Archer gladly accepts, looking forward to improving the already friendly relations with the Vissians.

On Enterprise, Malcolm Reed makes friends with the Vissian tactical officer while Trip Tucker has a conversation with the chief engineer and his wife. Tucker then learns that the Vissians have three sexes: male, female and cogenitor. Cogenitors, who make up about 3% of the Vissian population, are treated in a very pragmatic way, being shipped from one couple to another to keep the population growing. A side effect is that they are treated like objects, not deserving names nor education.

Feeling that they are less than slaves, Tucker makes friends with the Vissian engineer's cogenitor after he learned from Phlox' analysis that they have the same intellectual potential as the two other sexes. He teaches them how to read and tries to make them understand that they have the same rights as the rest of their species. He then shows them the Enterprise and is amazed when they beat him at a game of Go, since the engineer has been undefeated for the last two years.

From there on, events chain up fast. T'Pol makes a speech to Tucker about the touchy nature of First Contacts when she learns that he is not welcomed on the Vissian ship after the time he spent with the cogenitor. Then, the cogenitor asks Captain Archer for asylum, understanding that they will never be able to have a decent life among their own people. In order to not offend the Vissians, Archer refuses.

Even though the two ships depart with the best wishes and their captains hoping that the incident will not interfere with the relation between Earth and Vissia, the situation gets a lot less bright when Archer learns that the cogenitor committed suicide, an evident result of the independence they developed out of Tucker's teachings. Calling Tucker to his ready room, Archer severely reprimands him for his interference, as it has only resulted in the cogenitor's death, but has also denied the Vissian couple the chance to have a child for a long while. Tucker is deeply shocked, as Archer reminds him that despite all his time on Enterprise, he still compares other cultures to Earth standards and interferes without thinking first. Archer is upset that first contact with the Vissians led to this conclusion, and Tucker begins to realize the consequences his actions can cause.

Memorable quotes

"Can't forget Vulcan longevity, captain. A hundred years from now... how old would that make you?"

- Tucker, when T'Pol says she may be around for the supernova of a hypergiant in a century

"Pretty nice to make first contact without anyone thinkin' about charging weapons."

- Tucker

"This is called vanilla and this is chocolate. Give it a try. Oh, no. Wait. You've got to eat the cherry first. This."
"Why?"
"Uh, you just do."
"A Human tradition?"
"Exactly."

- Tucker, introducing the Vissian women Traistana and Veylo to ice cream sundaes

"Trip Tucker. Welcome aboard."
"Hello."
"It has no name. It's our cogenitor."

- Tucker, introducing himself to the Vissian cogenitor and Calla

"Your father? It's hard to imagine. The man who developed warp drive on my world lived nearly a thousand years ago."

- Drennik, commenting on the fact that Archer's father was involved in further developing warp drive on Earth

"Don't tell me. I don't think I want to know."
"Oh, well... I have pictures!"
"Uh, I think I'll pass."

- Tucker and Phlox, discussing multi-gender mating techniques

"They treat her like a pet. Kept in a room, not taught to read or write, no name. Porthos has a name!"
"It's not our place to judge the customs of other cultures."
"We're not talking about taking your shoes off when you walk into someone's house. This cogenitor's treated like one of Phlox's leeches. You pull it out of its tank when you need it, then you throw it back in."
"Tri-gender reproduction is not uncommon."
"That's not what I'm talking about. This is a question of... Human rights."
"They're not Human."

- Tucker and T'Pol

"Can we visit the armory later? I'm anxious to see your tactical array."
"There's an old Earth expression: I'll show you mine if... you show me yours."

- Veylo and Malcolm Reed

"I did exactly what you'd do, Captain. It's not like I had much choice. I wasn't going to just—"
"Will you excuse us, Sub-commander?"
(T'Pol leaves Archer's ready room.)
"I might have expected something like this from a first year recruit, but not you. You did exactly what I'd do? If that's true then I've done a pretty lousy job setting an example around here. You're a senior officer on this ship, you're privy to the moral challenges I've had to face. You know I've wrestled with the fine line between doing what I think is right and interfering with other species. So don't tell me you know what I would've done when I don't even know what I would've done."

- Archer, and Tucker

"I was just told that the Vissian cogenitor died."
"What? How?"
"Suicide, Trip. She killed herself."
"That can't be. Why? (Pause) It's my fault. I'm responsible."
"You're damn right you are. And it's not just her. There's a child who won't be conceived because of this, at least not for a long while. It's time you learned to weigh the possible repercussions of your actions. You've always been impulsive. Maybe this will teach you a lesson."
"I understand."
"Do you? I'm not so sure you do. You knew you had no business interfering with those people, but you just couldn't let it alone. You thought you were doing the right thing. I might agree if this was Florida, or Singapore, but it's not, is it? We're in deep space and a person is dead. A person who'd still be alive if we hadn't made First Contact. I guess I haven't been very successful at getting through to you. If I had, you would have thought a lot harder before doing what you did."
"You're not responsible."

- Archer, and Tucker

Background information

Cast and characters

F.J. Rio previously played Enrique Muniz in the I AM ERROR episodes "Starship Down", "Hard Time", and "The Ship", as well as Joleg in VOY: "Repentance".
Andreas Katsulas played Tomalak in the I AM ERROR episodes "The Enemy", "The Defector", "Future Imperfect", and "All Good Things...". This episode marks his final appearance on Star Trek before his death in 2006.
Laura Interval previously played Erin Hansen, the mother of Seven of Nine, in the I AM ERROR two-part episode "Dark Frontier", credited in that episode as "Laura Stepp."

Sets and props

The Vissian stratopod interior was a reuse of the Starfleet inspection pod, which was in turn a reuse of the Phoenix cockpit from Star Trek: First Contact. ^{(citation needed • edit)}
Several items from this episode were sold off on the It's A Wrap! sale and auction on eBay, including two ice cream glasses. [1]

Continuity

This episode contains the second mention of photonic weapons (the first being in "Sleeping Dogs", where they were employed by the Klingons), a technology employed by the Vissians. Enterprise was equipped with photonic torpedoes only a few episodes later, in "The Expanse", suggesting that the Vissians may have shared the technology with the Enterprise crew, or that Starfleet had developed the technology, based on the crew's observations of either the Klingons or the Vissians.
The piano music played in his quarters by Tucker for the cogenitor is an excerpt from the first movement of Mozart's Sonata in C, K.545.
When Tucker chooses a film to show to the cogenitor, the computer shows among the available science fiction films The Bride of Chaotica, the B-movie that inspires Tom Paris for his holonovel The Adventures of Captain Proton, especially for the chapter "Bride of Chaotica!".
Other films on the list include Dixon Hill and the Black Orchid, a reference to Captain Picard's favorite gumshoe as well as Mister Willis of Ohio and Celestial Navigation, the names of episodes of the political drama The West Wing. (Star Trek Encyclopedia (4th ed., vol. 1, p. 126))
The stratopod's ability was later seen in a Klingon Bird-of-Prey, which was viewed withstanding the outer edge of a star's corona. (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home; TNG: "Redemption II"; DS9: "Shadows and Symbols")
A Federation/Starfleet-built stratopod as Captain Drennik would have suggested to Captain Archer was not developed until 2369, when Doctor Beverly Crusher used the Ferengi-invented metaphasic shielding technology on a Starfleet shuttlecraft to enter the corona of a star in TNG: "Suspicions".

Reception and aftermath

The book Star Trek 101, by Terry J. Erdmann and Paula M. Block, lists this episode as one of the "Ten Essential Episodes" from Star Trek: Enterprise.
Manny Coto cited this as one of two episodes, from the first two seasons of Star Trek: Enterprise, that he "especially enjoyed" (the other such episode being "Regeneration"). (Star Trek Magazine issue 118, p. 25)

Links and references

Starring

Scott Bakula as Captain Jonathan Archer
John Billingsley as Doctor Phlox
Jolene Blalock as Sub-Commander T'Pol
Dominic Keating as Lieutenant Malcolm Reed
Anthony Montgomery as Ensign Travis Mayweather
Linda Park as Ensign Hoshi Sato
Connor Trinneer as Commander Charles Tucker III

Guest stars

External links

"Cogenitor"
"Cogenitor" at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
"Cogenitor" at Wikipedia
Template:IMDb-link

Previous episode:
"The Breach"

Star Trek: Enterprise
Season 2

Next episode:
"Regeneration"

Cogenitor (episode)

Contents

Summary

Memorable quotes

Background information

Cast and characters

Sets and props

Continuity

Reception and aftermath

Links and references

Starring

Guest stars

Co-star

Uncredited co-stars

Stand-ins

References

Motion picture library titles

External links

Fan Feed