Fallen Hero
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"Fallen Hero" is the twenty-third aired episode (production #123) of the
television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...
''
Star Trek: Enterprise ''Star Trek: Enterprise'', titled simply ''Enterprise'' for its first two seasons, is an American science fiction television series created by Rick Berman and Brannon Braga. It originally aired from September 26, 2001, to May 13, 2005 on Uni ...
''. Captain
Archer Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In mo ...
is ordered to transport
Vulcan Vulcan may refer to: Mythology * Vulcan (mythology), the god of fire, volcanoes, metalworking, and the forge in Roman mythology Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * Vulcan (''Star Trek''), name of a fictional race and their home p ...
Ambassador V'Lar from a planet where her integrity has been called into question. The episode first aired May 8, 2002, on
UPN The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which prod ...
as a double-bill followed by "
Desert Crossing "Desert Crossing" is the twenty-fourth episode (production #124) of the television series ''Star Trek: Enterprise''. Set in the 22nd century of the ''Star Trek'' universe, Captain Archer commands the NX-01 Enterprise on a mission to explore the ...
".


Plot

After ten months without a break, Sub-Commander
T'Pol T'Pol () is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' franchise. Portrayed by Jolene Blalock in the series ''Star Trek: Enterprise'', she is a Vulcan who serves as the science officer aboard the starship ''Enterprise'' (NX-01). Concept and cr ...
notes efficiency on board ''
Enterprise Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to: Business and economics Brands and enterprises * Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company * Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company * Enterprise ...
'' is down, and suggests
shore leave Shore leave is the Leave (military), leave that professional sailors get to spend on dry land. It is also known as "liberty" within the United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps. During the Age of ...
on
Risa Risa may refer to: * Risa (given name), a feminine given name * Risa (Star Trek), a fictional planet * Radioiodinated serum albumin * Recording Industry of South Africa * Ribosomal Intergenic Spacer analysis See also * * * Rise (disambiguation) ...
. Captain
Archer Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In mo ...
agrees. En route, Archer receives a transmission from Admiral Forrest, informing him of a
Vulcan Vulcan may refer to: Mythology * Vulcan (mythology), the god of fire, volcanoes, metalworking, and the forge in Roman mythology Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * Vulcan (''Star Trek''), name of a fictional race and their home p ...
Ambassador in need of extradition. With the closest Vulcan
starship A starship, starcraft, or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for interstellar travel, traveling between planetary systems. The term is mostly found in science fiction. Reference to a "star-ship" appears as early as 188 ...
over a week away ''Enterprise'' is ordered to retrieve and deliver her to the Vulcan cruiser ''Sh'Raan''. Arriving at Mazar, Archer and T'Pol are surprised to hear the Ambassador has been expelled for abuse of her position. Archer is called to the bridge and speaks to a Mazarite captain who requests that V'Lar be returned for further questioning. Archer stalls for time to contact
Starfleet Starfleet is a fictional organization in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. Within this fictional universe, Starfleet is a uniformed space force maintained by the United Federation of Planets ("the Federation") as the principal means for conduc ...
, but the Mazarite ship opens fire. The ''Enterprise''s phase cannons disable the enemy ship's engines, allowing ''Enterprise'' to escape. Confronting V'Lar, Archer finds her unwilling to reveal more, stating that it is a matter for
Vulcan High Command Vulcans, sometimes referred to as Vulcanians, are a fictional extraterrestrial humanoid species in the ''Star Trek'' universe and media franchise. In the various ''Star Trek'' television series and films, they are noted for their attempt to l ...
only. Archer then orders Ensign
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to set a course to return to Mazar. Later, after speaking with V'Lar in private, T'Pol persuades Archer to continue the rendezvous with the ''Sh'Raan'', but ''Enterprise'' immediately comes under attack from three Mazarite ships. Archer opts for flight but even at Warp 5, the Mazarite ships still gain steadily. V'Lar suddenly confesses that her reputation was intentionally sullied to make the Mazarites believe she would no longer be a credible witness against corrupt officials. V'Lar offers to surrender herself for the safety of the crew, but Archer refuses. Again stalling for time, Archer informs the Mazarites that V'Lar suffered injuries and is in critical condition, allowing them to board ''Enterprise''. The ''Sh'Raan'' arrives and threatens to destroy the Mazarite ships unless they surrender immediately. At this point, Archer's ruse is revealed, and V'Lar appears unharmed. A grateful V'Lar tells Archer and T'Pol that their bond of trust and friendship bodes well for future human-Vulcan relations.


Production

The story began with the idea of a disgraced Vulcan ambassador to be ferried home. Writer Chris Black suggested "what if we make it a woman and someone who had been an idol of T'Pol's?'" The show had been criticized for the inconsistent characterization of the Vulcans, the lies and deception in '"
The Andorian Incident "The Andorian Incident" is the seventh episode (production #107) of the television series ''Star Trek: Enterprise'', and was written by Brannon Braga, Fred Dekker and Rick Berman. Roxann Dawson served as director for the episode. As one of the m ...
" seemed out of line with what was previously known about the Vulcans, but Black felt there was a logic to their acting in their own self interest when they needed to. Black felt that "Fallen Hero" provides balance by showing a Vulcan "who's noble, who is self-sacrificing, who—when confronted by Archer—tells him the truth because he deserves to know". Black said the episode was one of his favorites, he particularly liked that detail that ship was pushed to Warp 5 for the first time and that Trip was stressed about the engine "I don't know how much more I can give you" as fun homage to Scotty in the original series. He also said that V'Lar comments about there being "a great bond" between Archer and T'Pol, was a nod to the relationship between Kirk and Spock in the original series. Guest star
Fionnula Flanagan Fionnghuala Manon "Fionnula" Flanagan (born 10 December 1941) is an Irish stage, television, and film actress. For her contributions to the entertainment industry, she was given the IFTA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012. Flanagan is known fo ...
played Ambassador V'Lar. Flanagan was offered the part without having to audition. She previously made guest appearances on ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' in the episode "
Inheritance Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, Title (property), titles, debts, entitlements, Privilege (law), privileges, rights, and Law of obligations, obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ ...
" (as Juliana Soong, Data's "mother"), and on ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' in the episode "
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". Bakula compared her character Ambassador V'Lar to
Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...
and praised her performance: "She is incredible. She has this whole thing with T'Pol and me. It's a really good episode." She found it challenging to play such an emotionally reserved character, a change from the roles she usually plays that have a lot of emotion attached to them. She found the role interesting as the character was both tough and also affectionate.
John Rubinstein John Rubinstein (born December 8, 1946) is an American actor, composer and director. Early life Rubinstein is the son of Polish parents. His mother, Aniela (née Młynarska), a dancer and writer, was a Roman Catholic native of Warsaw, the dau ...
, who plays the Mazarite Captain previously appeared in the ''Voyager'' episode "
The 37's "The 37's" is the first episode of the Star Trek: Voyager (season 2), second season, and seventeenth episode overall, of the American science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Star Trek: Voyager''. Due to differing rele ...
" as John Evansville. J. Michael Flynn previously appeared in ''Star Trek:The Next Generation'' " The Hunted" and would return in a recurring role in season 4 as the Romulan scientist Nijil. The episode featured a Vulcan spaceship, a Suurok-class combat cruiser called the Sh'Raan. The ship was based on a design by
Doug Drexler Doug Drexler (born in New York City) is a visual effects artist, designer, sculptor, illustrator, and a makeup artist who has collaborated with such talents as Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman, James Caan, Meryl Streep, and Warren Beatty. He began hi ...
, revised and updated by Pierre Drolet. It was ranked as the 22nd most powerful spacecraft of the ''Star Trek'' franchise by CNET in 2016, and the 14th best spacecraft of ''Star Trek'' by
Space.com Space.com is an online publication focused on space exploration, astronomy, skywatching and entertainment, with editorial teams based in the United States and United Kingdom. The website offers live coverage of space missions, astronomical discov ...
in 2017. The Sh'Raan class starship made an appearance in the ''Star Trek'' book ''The Romulan War: Beneath the Raptor's Wing'' by Michael A. Martin.


Reception

"Fallen Hero" first aired May 8, 2002, on
UPN The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which prod ...
as a double-bill followed by "
Desert Crossing "Desert Crossing" is the twenty-fourth episode (production #124) of the television series ''Star Trek: Enterprise''. Set in the 22nd century of the ''Star Trek'' universe, Captain Archer commands the NX-01 Enterprise on a mission to explore the ...
". According to
Nielsen Media Research Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
, it received a 3.2/5 rating share among adults. It had an average of 5.34 million viewers. Michelle Erica Green of
TrekNation TrekNation is a reference and community website for the ''Star Trek'' franchise. It also serves as a hub for its network websites: TrekToday, a news site updated nearly daily; The Trek BBS, which describes itself as the largest ''Star Trek'' ...
wrote: "despite lots of space battles and some verbal fireworks, it plods." Green praised guest star Fionnula Flanagan for her memorable performance as V'Lar, and said John Rubinstein was delightfully menacing as the Mazarite captain, and that they gave the episode some entertaining moments, but was critical of how the regular cast were used.
Keith DeCandido Keith Robert Andreassi DeCandido (born April 18, 1969) is an American science fiction and fantasy writer and musician, who works on comic books, novels, role-playing games and video games, including numerous media tie-in books for properties such ...
of
Tor.com ''Tor.com'' is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine published by Tor Books, a division of Macmillan Publishers. The magazine publishes articles, reviews, original short fiction, re-reads and commentary on speculative fiction. From 20 ...
gave it 7 out of 10, in his 2022 rewatch. In 2021, ''The Digital Fix'' said this was a "strong episode" that explores the Vulcans interactions with humans, centering on a Vulcan Ambassador played by guest actress
Fionnula Flanagan Fionnghuala Manon "Fionnula" Flanagan (born 10 December 1941) is an Irish stage, television, and film actress. For her contributions to the entertainment industry, she was given the IFTA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012. Flanagan is known fo ...
.


Home media

This episode was released as part of ''Enterprise'' season one, which was released in high definition on
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
disc on March 26, 2013; the set has 1080p video and a
DTS-HD Master Audio DTS-HD Master Audio (DTS-HD MA; known as DTS++ before 2004) is a multi-channel, lossless audio codec developed by DTS as an extension of the lossy DTS Coherent Acoustics codec (DTS CA; usually itself referred to as just DTS). Rather than being ...
sound track.


References


External links

* {{Star Trek: Enterprise episodes, 1 Star Trek: Enterprise (season 1) episodes 2002 American television episodes Television episodes written by Rick Berman Television episodes written by Brannon Braga