Editor's Note: Due to extenuating circumstances, O. Deus is unable to review this week's episode of ENTERPRISE. In his stead, TrekWeb's contributing editor and book reviewer Bill Williams has offered to fill in as guest reviewer this week. Williams previously reviewed ENTERPRISE's "Acquisition" last season.

"Horizon"

Written by Bill Williams, edited by Steve Krutzler

Synopsis: Travis goes back to visit his family on the cargo ship Horizon and finds that home is not what it used to be.

Review: This was the much-hyped episode spotlighting Travis Mayweather and his family, which Anthony Montgomery had discussed in numerous interviews for the show. Unfortunately, the execution of the concept is not as exciting as the promise it once suggested.

We see right at the very beginning and in Act One the return of Travis' favorite solitary place on the ship, which makes a welcome return since we first saw it in "Broken Bow" -- the "sweet spot." This locale later plays an important setting to an extremely sensitive and well-handled discussion between Archer and Travis over the loss of Travis' father. Travis requests a leave of absence to return to his family's cargo ship, the Horizon, where he spent his youth as a "space boomer", only to find that things are not what they used to be. His older brother Paul (played by Corey Mendell Parker) is uncomfortable with the burden of command, and the Horizon's crewmembers express their concerns to Travis. When the Horizon comes under attack from the standard alien adversary of the week, Paul Mayweather thinks that giving in and surrendering their cargo is the only way out. This sets up the standard brother-versus-brother conflict between Paul and Travis, and it leaves Travis debating whether or not he should leave Starfleet to remain on the Horizon.

I will give this episode its due credit; it does delve into Travis' family background and helps flesh out his character fairly well. However, this cannot drive the episode entirely. It came off like an empty version of TNG's "Family," which handled Picard's fraternal problems with much stronger results. The resolution to the alien pirate crisis seemed too quick and too pat. Had Travis' family been placed in serious jeopardy, then it would have added some much needed risk to the story. Everything about this "A" story just felt too rapid. Furthermore, the promised dramatic tension hinted at in the previews for this episode never comes to light, and the so-called "decision" of whether or not Travis should leave Starfleet is handled in just a few seconds at the end of the third act. While it was nice to see Mrs. Mayweather (Joan Pringle) throughout the episode, her role is reduced to mediator between Travis and Paul.

The "B" story, featuring the Enterprise crew, could actually be divided into two parts: the crew monitoring a planetary collapse, and the return of movie night on the Enterprise with Archer and Trip convincing T'Pol to indulge in a FRANKENSTEIN triple feature. This "B" plot was intended to be the lighter subplot to counterbalance the more serious "A" plot of Travis and the Horizon.

At times it does seem like T'Pol is really getting some good one-liners on Trip and Doctor Phlox. And the usage of clips from James Whale's 1931 classic film is a nice addition to the episode, even down to T'Pol quoting Dr. Frankenstein's classic line "It's alive" when observing lifeforms trapped on the erupting planet. However, the "B" plot seemed equally rushed in the wake of the "A" plot, and there was no resolution at all to the crew's survey of the planet.

There are far too more misses than hits in "Horizon," unfortunately. Writer Andre Bormanis, veteran of stronger efforts like "Silent Enemy," seems to be going through the numbers in this episode, as does director James Contner. There's very little dramatic tension, if at all, in the episode. "Horizon" winds up failing for the most part, except for a few good moments. At the end of the episode, Travis promises Paul that he will write a subspace postcard to him soon. Too bad "Horizon" isn't worth writing home about.

Rating: 3 (on a scale of 1-10)

Next week: Doctor Phlox makes a decision that puts his medical career in jeopardy.