Line #56 Recap/StarTrekEnterpriseS01E16ShuttlepodOne


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ent_shuttlepodone_523.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Malcolm and Trip slowly freeze to death. And argue.]]
3	Trip and Malcolm are in a shuttlepod, surveying an asteroid field. Trip is doing some repairs, while Malcolm is reading ''Literature/{{Ulysses}}''. Trip expresses his dislike of that book, so Malcolm teases him, claiming North Americans aren't well-read. Malcolm notices an asteroid with a ship's debris on it, and upon taking a closer look, it turns out the debris has the ''Enterprise'''s markings on it.
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5	On ''Enterprise'', Hoshi reports to Archer about the rescue of some Tensians, whose ship was destroyed in a botched docking attempt, which also damaged the ''Enterprise'''s second launch bay door. Archer and T'Pol go out to inspect the damage, with the latter wondering if it was microsingularities that caused the crash. On their way to Tensia, Archer notes that they have to get to their rendezvous point before Trip and Malcolm get there.
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7	On the shuttlepod, Trip and Malcolm now think the ''Enterprise'' has been destroyed. They have no way to detect the black boxes and no radio to detect a beacon, and to make matters worse, they only have ten days' worth of oxygen left and the nearest subspace amplifier, ''Echo Three'', would take too long to reach. Trip wants to go to ''Echo Three'' anyway, leading to an argument.
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9	The next day, Malcolm begins making a log entry, but Trip is annoyed by this, feeling it's too pessimistic, leading them to argue again. Malcolm thinks they should just give up, as the shuttlepod is too slow to reach anyone on time, but Trip wants to try to get detected in case someone runs into ''them''. After a bit of back-and-forth, they eat dinner.
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11	That night, Trip tries to sleep, while Malcolm dictates a letter to his parents. Trip, who is frustrated with Malcolm keeping him awake, starts a third argument, ending with Trip turning the recorder off and telling Malcolm to go to bed. Malcolm goes to sleep and apparently wakes up in sickbay and is praised by Archer and T'Pol, the latter of whom flirts with him and prepares to kiss him. This, however, turns out to be a dream and the guys begin working on fixing the comm line. An impact hits the shuttlepod, causing a leak in the air pressure. Trip vents some nitrogen and uses it to find the holes, of which there are two. They plug the holes with mashed potatoes, but unfortunately, the shuttle now has only two more days of oxygen.
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13	The men wonder what damaged the shuttle, wondering if it also hit the ''Enterprise''. Unable to find an answer, the two wax nostalgic about a bar called the 602 club, in which worked a waitress named Ruby who they both slept with. Trip also mentions that he has found a way of making the oxygen last longer by lowering the temperature. Malcolm shaves, but Trip tells him that it's pointless since (according to him) hair still grows when you're dead. Back on ''Enterprise'', T'Pol gives Archer the data on the damage to both ships, and Archer decides to signal the shuttle and set a different rendezvous point, since the shuttlepod lacks the hull plating that kept ''Enterprise'' safe.
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15	Back on the shuttle, where it's now very cold, Malcolm keeps dictating letters to his ex-girlfriends, which still annoys Trip, and they talk about their "lost" crew mates. They start to argue again about whether to be optimistic or pessimistic, then Trip whips out a bottle of bourbon he found and Malcolm rants about how his only real friends are apparently dead. They get drunk and Malcolm admits that he thinks T'Pol has a "nice bum". Then, the shuttle gets hailed by Hoshi, meaning that the ''Enterprise'' crew aren't dead... but she promises to collect them in two days, which is too late.
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17	Malcolm has the idea of jettisoning and blowing up the impulse engine, which Trip reluctantly agrees to do. Then they joke that if there was only one of them, there'd be more air, which leads to another argument when Trip takes it seriously. He tries to go out the airlock, only stopping when Malcolm threatens him with a phase pistol.
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19	Malcolm wakes up in sickbay, for real this time, and Archer explains to him that his plan worked. Malcolm asks if he was heroic, but T'Pol just tells him to get some sleep.
20	----
21	!! Tropes in this episode include:
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23	* ArtisticLicenseBiology: Trip was likely not paying attention in his honors biology class, as your hair and nails do ''not'' keep growing after death. What happens is the skin contracts, making it appear that they're still growing.
24	* ArtisticLicenseChemistry: The aliens breathe ''boron'' gas? Isn't that at least 7000 degrees Fahrenheit[[note]]or about 3900 degrees Celsius[[/note]]?
25	* BeardOfSorrow: Trip and Malcolm get noticeably scruffy on the shuttle. The "sorrow" part comes from the fact that they believe ''Enterprise'' to be destroyed, leaving them stranded until they die.
26	* BottleEpisode: Provides the trope's page image! Features only the standard sets and the main characters, with Trip and Malcolm carrying most of the episode. It's the only episode of Star Trek to [[MinimalistCast not even have background extras]]. [[VisualPun Oh, and there's also a bottle of Kentucky bourbon, making this a literal "bottle episode"]].
27	* BrickJoke: While trapped on Shuttlepod 1, Malcolm has a dream in which he and Trip were rescued and T'Pol starts coming on to him while commending his heroics. When they're finally rescued for real, a slightly out-of-it Malcolm asks T'Pol if she has something to say to him regarding heroics. T'Pol wisely chooses to leave.
28	* CaptainsLog: Malcolm uses his log to record a VideoWill.
29	--> Personal log, Lieutenant Malcolm Reed. November 9, 2151. By the time anyone hears this -- by "anyone", I suppose I mean "anyone human" -- Commander Tucker and I will be long dead. It's my intention to recount the events that led to the destruction of the Starship ''Enterprise'' and to express my deepest feelings regarding my short but memorable service with Starfleet. […] May God have mercy on our souls.
30	* CringeComedy: Malcolm is embarrassed upon waking up from a romantic dream about T'Pol because he'd been sleep-talking.
31	* CulturalPosturing: Low-grade between Trip and Malcolm.
32	--> '''Malcolm:''' British schools have a core curriculum. It serves to provide a well-rounded education. Sometimes I think you North Americans read nothing but comic books and those ridiculous science fiction novels.\
33	'''Trip:''' I'll have you know that ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'' was laced with metaphor. Subtext layered on subtext.\
34	'''Malcolm:''' Oh, if only Doctor Cochrane had been a European. The Vulcans would have been far less reticent to help us. But, no, he had to be from Montana. He probably spent his nights reading about cowboys and Indians.\
35	'''Trip:''' Well, I don't recall any Europeans figuring out how to build a warp engine.
36	* DistressCall: With their communications down, Malcolm and Trip jettison their impulse engine and rig it to self-destruct. This results in ''Enterprise'' increasing speed and rescuing them with time to spare.
37	* DramaticIrony: When Trip and Malcolm see a damaged bit of ''Enterprise'', they think the ship is destroyed, but we know that it's fine.
38	* DrowningMySorrows: Malcolm, who, along with Trip, thinks he's dying, finds a bottle of Kentucky bourbon that Archer hid. A few scenes later, he and Trip are completely bombed.
39	* GoToSleepEnding: The episode ends with Malcolm falling back asleep.
40	* HamToHamCombat: Trip and Malcolm go a few rounds, courtesy of [[LockedInARoom their extended confinement on Shuttlepod 1]].
41	* HaveIMentionedThatIAmHeterosexualToday: As usual when [[HoYay two male characters are stuck in a confined space together]], they talk of their sexual conquests.
42	* HopeSpot: Trip and Malcolm have one when they suddenly get a message from Hoshi. ''Enterprise'' is okay and is coming back. But, they're expected long after their oxygen will have run out.
43	* HypocriticalHumor
44	-->'''Malcolm:''' You know, I'm not a doctor, but I'm pretty sure you use up a lot more oxygen [[SuddenlyShouting WHEN YOU SHOUT LIKE THAT!]]
45	* IdiotBall: T'Pol discovers that micro-singularities impacted and destroyed the alien ship they met. Yet, at no point does Archer think to increase speed to pick up Malcolm and Trip sooner, even though their shuttlepod has far less protection than ''Enterprise''.
46	* InVinoVeritas: A very drunk Malcolm talks about how pretty T'Pol is, especially her bum.
47	* IWasHavingSuchANiceDream: Poor Malcolm. Just as he's about to snog T'Pol, the transceiver wakes him.
48	* MoodWhiplash: Courtesy of a scene transition going from sad Malcolm mourning the loss of ''Enterprise'' and the only people he felt comfortable around to drunk Malcolm snickering about T'Pol's bum.
49	* MoreExpendableThanYou: With seemingly only enough air for one man, Trip and Malcolm argue over [[ColdEquation who gets to sacrifice himself to save the other.]]
50	* TheRadioDiesFirst: The shuttlepod's radio and sensors were knocked out prior to the episode, meaning that when Trip and Malcolm see a debris field with a small piece of ''Enterprise'' (visually identified by the "01" marking), they have no way to scan it and find out that the rest is from another ship.
51	* SciFiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale: {{Subverted}}. Malcolm is fully aware of how big space is, meaning that their impulse drive will get them halfway to nowhere and their chances of being rescued by passing aliens are nonexistent.
52	* TalkingInYourSleep: Malcolm does this during an EroticDream involving T'Pol. According to Trip, he kept calling for someone named "Stinky."
53	* ToAbsentFriends: Trip and Malcolm toast the crew of ''Enterprise''.
54	* TrainProblem: Trip starts to rattle off a train scenario one might face on a math test, then admits that he was never good at them. Our Chief Engineer, ladies and gentlemen.
55	* UnconventionalFoodUsage: Malcolm uses some of Trip's mashed potatoes to seal a hull breach caused by a microsingularity.
56	* WhamShot: TheTeaser ends with a debris field on an asteroid, and a piece of it has markings from ''Enterprise''. Fortunately, the next scene reveals that the ship is (mostly) fine.

Context Recap / StarTrekEnterpriseS01E16ShuttlepodOne