Shuttlepod One
- FIRST SHOWN (US)
- 13 February 2002
- ON
- UPN
- STARDATE
- None given
- DIRECTED BY
- David Livingston
- PRODUCTION NO.
- 016
WRITTEN BYWritten by Rick Berman & Brannon Braga
Tucker and Reed, out on a shuttlepod survey, find wreckage that suggests Enterprise has been destroyed. Stranded with little air, they must decide how to spend what time they have.
Red alert: the full plot, ending included. Haven't watched yet?REVEAL SYNOPSIS
Tucker and Reed are surveying an asteroid field in a shuttlepod when they find debris and an impact crater that convince them Enterprise has been destroyed. With limited air and no hope of rescue, Tucker sets course for a subspace amplifier so they can send a last message to Starfleet. The pessimistic Reed records farewell letters, and the two bicker, share bourbon and swap stories. Enterprise, in fact, is safe. The wreckage came from an alien ship destroyed while trying to dock, after both vessels were struck by tiny black holes known as micro-singularities. Archer sets out to find his missing officers. The shuttlepod is then hit too, damaging the hull and an oxygen tank, leaving barely enough air. Unable to reply to Enterprise's signal, Tucker and Reed jettison and detonate their engine as a flare. It works, and Reed wakes in Sickbay to find Tucker beside him.
- 01The set was surrounded by an igloo built from air-conditioning units and dry ice, and the actors could only film for around thirty seconds at a time.
- 02The bourbon, “Dorton's Best”, is named after art director Louise Dorton.
- 03Dominic Keating later called it one of the show's finest hours.