Enterprise comes upon an unusual planet of perpetual night, drifting between star systems. They also meet the aliens who journey there for a ritual hunt. But there seems to be more to the planet than any of them knows, when Archer is certain he spies an elusive woman in a nightgown that no one else can see.
Let's start with the "good" here. The titular rogue planet of this episode is a cool concept. While the science of it is probably complete bullshit, it's cloaked in just enough fiction to work for the story. It also leads to a completely new visual environment, and after decades of Star Trek, there simply aren't many of those left. The effects of the planet in space look cool, and the typical "garden center" planet set takes on an entirely new look.
Having watched as much science fiction as I have, I also got a tiny thrill spotting "that guy" actor Keith Szarabajka in this episode. You may not know him by his face, but may well recognize his distinct, raspy voice -- which has brought gravitas in everything from Angel to Supernatural to Star Wars: Rebels, to name only a few. (If you've played Skyrim, you definitely know his voice.)
That's about all I can slot under "good." The rest of this episode feels like a rejected script from the original series, with a hasty "find/replace" performed on the character names. Archer gets his most Kirk-like story to date, finding a literal blonde in a blue nightgown on an alien planet. Sure, the idea is that a partly telepathic life form, appealing to Archer for help, has chosen to appear in a way he'll be more receptive to. But how about appearing to Archer as a member of his own crew in need of help? Or as his father? Does it have to be a woman in a nightgown? T'Pol calls out that he'd be less likely to pursue a scantily-clad man, but I don't think hanging a lantern on the issue helps anything.
Other characters don't come off looking much better. When Reed is learning tactics from the alien hunters, he's impressed that their night vision goggles can detect infrared. Can Starfleet ones not? Isn't that literally what night vision goggles are made to see? And as for those aliens -- they totally know, the entire time, that the prey they hunt is capable of causing visual hallucinations. Yet none of them think to mention this when Archer talks about the incongruous woman he thinks he's seen?
Other observations:
- At the start of this episode, Trip is trying to take a holographic photo of Archer in the captain's chair. The camera he uses probably seemed futuristic at the time the episode was made, but it seems quite bulky today.
- When the landing party encounters a steam vent at one point, Archer puts his hand on a rock right next to it. He ought to be horribly burned.
The wonder of this episode's compelling setting is seriously undermined by the story the writers choose to tell in it. I give "Rogue Planet" a C-. It's easily Enterprise's worst episode to this point.