Warp Factor Trek

The crew gets up to zany adventures while taking shore leave on a planet with an intoxicating atmosphere. Is this the most chaotic Star Trek vacation we’ve ever seen?

Log Entry

The Enterprise is traveling to the Rodaxian system to help negotiate an end to a civil war. Competing logs from Ortegas and Scotty indicate they’re still beefing. Tensions are high because Alpha shift needs a break.

Pike arranges a shore leave to a tech-free resort, the Cesnar Grand, run by an impish little fellow named Dendru. Chapel says the planet Cesnar’s atmosphere has intoxicating effects. A team from the Enterprise takes a shuttle to the planet, becoming noticeably tipsy when the shuttle door opens.

The next morning, a hungover and decidedly sober Ortegas awakens with a cast and a mugato-suit-clad Scotty. Dendru arrives and hands a letter for Pike to an irritable Ortegas. She and Scotty leave in search of Pike.

First, they find Spock, who seems fine aside from slight amnesia. He insists he’s intoxicated and has been hallucinating Kirk.

Ortegas and Scotty stop by Uhura’s room next. She’s hosting a party but turns them away because finding Pike is not her “journey.”

They head to a bar, where they encounter Una singing “Total Eclipse of the Heart” in Klingon. M’Benga is meanwhile clumsily trying out bartending.

The pair finally locate Pike, who is getting tattooed. Ortegas hands him the letter, which reveals the peace talks have been moved up, necessitating the team’s immediate return to the Enterprise. Pike assigns the pair to find the shuttle, but the vehicle has gone missing.

Scotty realizes they can use a tricorder to locate the shuttle. Uhura agrees to lend her tricorder to them only if they apologize to each other.

They reluctantly comply. However, Scotty soon breaks the tricorder.

Still searching for the shuttle, the pair recruit Spock. By mind-melding with a plant, he locates the vehicle and determines it’s been stolen by criminals. He also recommends bringing La’an for extra muscle but warns she’s terrifying under the influence. He dismisses the duo – so intoxicated he thinks they’re plants – and resumes bonding with the imaginary Kirk, who he calls his “Human best friend.”

Scotty and Ortegas find La’an trying to turn a relaxation class into an Anbo-jyutsu deathmatch. Ortegas convinces her to come along.

Helping track down the criminals, La’an beats up their leader and succeeds him. In exchange for the shuttle, she takes Scotty’s shirt.

The pair search for the chip to activate the shuttle, only to discover it’s in Ortegas’ cast. They are then kidnapped.

As they struggle to escape, Dendru shows up. It turns out he was responsible for the shuttle’s disappearance and their kidnapping, allegedly at their request. He’d hoped the letter would distract them from their anger.

An argumentative Chapel is playing bingo with some aliens. Rounding up the crew, the pair come to collect her. La’an barges in, leading the criminal gang.

Back aboard the shuttle but still inebriated, the entire Enterprise team prepares for departure. Pike now has a tattoo covering half his face.

He and Una are still somewhat intoxicated upon welcoming two Rodaxian delegations aboard the Enterprise.

Meanwhile, Scotty and Ortegas collaborate on repairing the shuttle and find some common ground because they’re terrible at each other’s specialties. But that isn’t all they find – Scotty ends up holding a bomb.

Desperate to save Scotty, Ortegas sneaks into a drunken speech Pike is giving to the Rodaxians. Thanks to a bungled game of Telephone, Spock guesses right that the emergency is a bomb. He finds a video they recorded the night before, explaining they intentionally misplaced the shuttle after discovering the explosive. Spock devises a plan to rescue Scotty, and Ortegas volunteers.

Scotty acknowledges he and Ortegas have become friends. Without killing anyone, the bomb detonates in space, happily fooling the Rodaxians into thinking it’s fireworks.

Kirk reveals to Spock that, rather than being imaginary, he happened to be at the resort too. In the Enterprise bar, Pike announces the shuttle saboteur has been apprehended, and M’Benga deftly bartends. With the tattoo removed from Pike’s face, Ortegas and Scotty reach an understanding as regards the Enterprise.

Status Report

This episode – which wraps up with a fun end-credits montage of the crew’s time at the resort – has some tonal whiplash after “The Griffin Incident”. The concept of a planet with an intoxicating atmosphere is interesting, despite raising many logistical questions and Dendru not seeming intoxicated. Doesn’t it affect the locals?

The performances here are a mixed bag – Pike in particular isn’t especially believable – but doing a good performance of being drunk is difficult, so it’s forgivable. The costuming is fun, with bright colors, sequins, and Scotty’s very cool shirt, not to mention Pike’s tattoos. His facial one is reminiscent of Hologram Chakotay’s giant tattoo in Voyager’s “Author, Author”.

Structurally, this episode has too much going on. There are three distinct points at which the episode feels like it could (and perhaps should) end, but each time it keeps going and somehow the bomb-threat climax feels rushed. The episode also suffers from the short season in the same way the premiere did, in that the fact it’s ten percent of the season makes it hard to enjoy an episode as silly as this.

On the other hand, the episode’s theme of friendship works well. Scotty and Ortegas going from rivals to pals is a nice parallel to Spock opening up to his “Human best friend” in Kirk. The deadpan Vulcan delivery of Spock’s intoxication is hilarious and contrasts nicely with the other inebriated characters. It’s also a treat to get an Ortegas-focused episode so early in the season.

Despite its numerous issues, this is a good time overall. Throughout, the various vignettes featuring the intoxicated crew and their activities are fun, and most of the jokes land. It’s nice to have an entry that’s more family-friendly after the scares in the previous episode.