See Also: 'A Night In Sickbay' Episode Guide

John Billingsley (Doctor Phlox) today revealed the first plot information for the upcoming Enterprise episode 'Dead Stop'.

"The one we are just shooting now talks about how the ship is so terribly damaged that we need to get repairs done immediately," Billingsley told Steve Krutzler at TrekWeb. "We go to a repair facility that turns out to have a secret."

The episode deals with the aftermath of 'Minefield', in which the NX-01 sustains severe damage while far away from Earth. "It's a terrific episode," Billingsley said. "There is this space station that is used for repairs and we are desperately seeking someone to help us fix the ship because we're too far away from any known facility. We arrive and it appears to be computerized and they agree to fix the ship. They appear to be doing remarkable work and seem to be asking for little in return. And then of course there's a mysterious twist as we realize there is something sinister afoot!"

'Minefield' itself promises to a heart-stopping hour of science-fiction, according to the actor. "It [...] did something that I find is very tricky in television. We build to a climax and then the last ten minutes we need to really 'go, go, go, go go!' Sometimes television has a weird way of actually slowing down the last few minutes and oddly defusing the tension as if real time stops and television time takes over. There's always time for soul-searching conversation when it should really be 'go, go, go, go, go!'

"I thought this episode did a pretty good job at keeping that sense of the clock ticking, ticking, ticking, ticking all the way through the end, which is something for me as a viewer of action/adventure shows I usually find to be one of the biggest problems of the genre."

Billingsley praised the writing skills of new co-executive producer John Shiban, who was responsible for penning 'Minefield.' "It's tricky on this show because we really only have 39 minutes to tell a story and I think it's awfully tough sometimes to involve seven characters and tell a taut story at the same time. I appreciate of course, as an actor who wants to get his residual check, their attempts to always use all of us in each episode!"

The episode also marks the Enterprise debut of the Romulans, although it is not likely the wily aliens will be making many return appearances. "The way that the Romulans are introduced it's as if they have carved out their quadrants and they are very, obviously, persnickety about any interference," Billingsley said. "I have a feeling they are creating that in a way that would allow us to not have to worry so much about tripping over the Romulans so often, as opposed to the Klingons. I think there will probably be much more done over time with the Klingons."

To read the complete interview, in which Billingsley also talked about his work on the film 'Out of Time' and the Archer/Phlox episode 'A Night In Sickbay,' head over to TrekWeb.

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