My Trek Through Enterprise

[teacake]

Oh but I bet NuSpock unwound and he didn't need hallucinogenic pollen either!

[Spock/Uhura Fan]

Well, I see him unwinding like a turtle coming out of its shell (Worf too). The shell is always going to be there, and he can't live without it, but he pokes his head out from time to time. He'll never fully come out, but what he does do is to invite Uhura in.

[Gaith]

teacock wrote:

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If you skipped it how do you know you didn't like it?

'Cause it sounded as boring as a B&B-crafted grocery shopping list?

teacock wrote:

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Also, lots of Hoshi. Lots and lots. So you did miss something.

Please. The Hosh is duller than Harry Kim!

Spook/Hoorah! Admirer wrote:

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What Hayes showing up does bring about is Malcolm's insecurities. He has an "us vs. them" mentality as soon as the guy shows up.

Alas, the show utterly failed to provide any context for the MACOs, and how they fit into Starfleet-era society. And then after the Xindi crisis, they stick around and appear in a few random S4 eps because, hey, the uniforms are still there on the rack, might as well use 'em.

Hayes never gets much character work, but you look at him and believe he could be a tough fighter. Malcolm, on the other hand, looks and acts like he belongs in a tweed coat teaching literature to high schoolers. I've got nothing against Keating, and have no objection to him handling the weapons console, but as an away team security leader, he's about as menacing as Porthos.

[teacake]

Actually I thought it was oddly atmospheric and weird for Star Trek. I always enjoy it on a rewatch.

Also let's not forget to keep this thread spoiler free for S/UF

[Spock/Uhura Fan]

^ thank you, teacake.

@gaith I think their presence was explained well enough. They seemed to be a security force, and I got the impression that they did stealth ops mission stuff as well, kind of like Navy Seals in Starfleet. They provide the crew of the Enterprise with the additional security they need, but they are not Starfleet officers, so they don't do all of the science/exploration stuff. At least that's my understanding.
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Twilight


This was an interesting alternate timeline episode. I think Captain Trip should have figured, or at least considered it a possibility, that the reason why the Xindi were following them for Dr. Phlox was because eliminating the parasites would change the timeline and then Earth might not have been destroyed, and so on. Anyway, it's nice that Archer could be his own hero in the end.

Grade: B minus

[teacake]

I'm so happy to see a B minus, and for such a lovely ep

[R. Star]

Twilight was an episode I enjoyed on a lot of levels. Usually a time travel episode gets negative marks in my book, especially when the reset button is inevitably pushed, but at least they did it somewhat originally here.

The T'Pol/Archer fans use this episode as their holy grail. I always thought, as I mentioned earlier, T'Pol was behaving more maternally and out of obligation rather than attraction. It could've been her in this living hell after all.

But inevitably the reset button was pushed and we get a glimpse of how bad things could be and what the stakes are... even if we know it'll turn out all right by virtue of TOS having aired.

[Gaith]

Spook/Hoorah! Admirer wrote:

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@gaith I think their presence was explained well enough. They seemed to be a security force, and I got the impression that they did stealth ops mission stuff as well, kind of like Navy Seals in Starfleet. They provide the crew of the Enterprise with the additional security they need, but they are not Starfleet officers, so they don't do all of the science/exploration stuff. At least that's my understanding.

Sure they're explained, but that doesn't mean they're given context. Admiral Forrest calls them "military", thereby heavily implying that 'Fleeters aren't military, which has generally been a vague matter the franchise has avoided making any explicit statements on. Also, are these MACOs formally affiliated with Starfleet, or just on loan to the ship and its captain? If not, why doesn't Starfleet have a dedicated security service of its own (or are we really expected to believe that Malcolm's as good as it gets)? And if they're specifically needed for the Xindi Crisis, why do some stick around in S4? Etc.



As for Twilight, I enjoy it also, despite the nagging question of why the remaining humans didn't take the logical course of action of seeking sanctuary on Vulcan. And while I'm certainly an Archer/Polly guy, I wouldn't cite is as the definitive argument for their pairing, either.

[Spock/Uhura Fan]

I think these questions are answered well enough within the series. Are they answered definitively and neatly? No. You have to remember that this was the beginning, and Starfleet was still evolving. The military's main job is defense, not exploration of space.

Think of where we are now. Who does that--NASA. So, if Vulcans come along to help us gain the technological sophistication to be able to explore space in a more far-reaching way, you don't do that (and offend the people you need to help you) by turning NASA and other Earth science organizations into a large military force. Sure, there is some military-style training that goes on in Starfleet for protection purposes, but as you saw with Malcolm, he specifically said that he did not join the military in order to join Starfleet, an officially non-military force.

If you remember what Archer said, he didn't think that any kid of defense outside of the basics was necessary. After coming back from the Expanse, and seeing what all he could encounter, his opinion changed and he realized that defense was very necessary, hence Hayes and co. coming along for the ride and some upgrades to the Enterprise.

Right now, the domestic military is separate, but in the future, especially by the TNG/DS9 era, I think it becomes more integrated or fully integrated. So, you essentially didn't get the context you wanted because they quite literally aren't there yet. At least, that's my view based off of what I've seen so far.

[R. Star]

Honestly the biggest thing about the MACO's that annoys me is they use US army insignia. Starfleet is already horribly western even until the 24th century, now the whole Earth military is too?

[Gaith]

Spook/Hoorah! Admirer wrote:

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Sure, there is some military-style training that goes on in Starfleet for protection purposes, but as you saw with Malcolm, he specifically said that he did not join the military in order to join Starfleet, an officially non-military force.

Okay, but then he becomes a security officer? Some fuzzy writing there...

Spook/Hoorah! Admirer wrote:

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The military's main job is defense, not exploration of space.

Speaking as a member of the military myself (albeit a desk-bound paper-pusher), I'd say that a military's main purpose is to fight wars. Whether a given conflict is offensive or defensive in nature is a thin line, and has always been so.

Consider, however, that in the early post-Revolution days of the American Republic there was no permanent standing army, and hardly a Navy to speak of. I assume there's no more Earth wars in Enterprise's time, so I guess the MACOs could be considered a sort of planetary SWAT police force, but that's pure speculation.

Spook/Hoorah! Admirer wrote:

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If you remember what Archer said, he didn't think that any kid of defense outside of the basics was necessary.

I don't actually remember that, and it seems a pretty absurd claim, given all the battles the crew got into in the first two episodes, never mind the first two years.

Spook/Hoorah! Admirer wrote:

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You have to remember that this was the beginning, and Starfleet was still evolving.... So, you essentially didn't get the context you wanted because they quite literally aren't there yet. At least, that's my view based off of what I've seen so far.

But my good Admirer, don't you see that the fact that this is the beginning means that it's the perfect time to give these things said context? By the TOS and beyond era, one could always blame a lack of specificity on the part of the writers by saying that Starfleet has its own traditions to coast on. Here, however, they don't, making this the perfect time to have lots of dramatic, intelligently-written, low-budget conversation scenes, hammering these sorts of details out - a bit of a West Wing in space, if you will. Instead, we get whole episodes geared towards having a blonde fondle Polly's feathers.

You've been handing out mostly Cs to the show so far. Surely you agree that the show needed many more intelligently-written scenes?

[Spock/Uhura Fan]

Fighting wars is defense, but so are preemtive strikes, etc. And one might say that the best defense is a good offense, so I'd still say the main purpose is defense. I'm not saying other things can't be included too, just that this is the main one in today's age. In America, the military falls under The Department of Defense. There's a reason for that.

Archer said that they were going to need all of the muscle they could get when the Admiral wanted to send troops along. He didn't feel that way at the start because he didn't imagine Earth would be preemptively attacked with 7 million dead from the Xindi threat in the Expanse. After the attack on Earth, it was time to get into the fight, and it was a war. So, Archer's position changed from more the benign explorer, to leading a defensive assault.

I don't know if Malcolm's "fuzzy writing" is by accident. My guess is it's not. I think that he probably didn't want to serve in the traditional military, but because the tradition was in his blood, he perhaps wanted to explore a new frontier--space. To really do that and provide some kind of military style help, he needed to join Starfleet. I think that for Malcolm, it's a good mix.

It may have been the perfect time to go over things things in detail on camera, but that's not what the focus of the series seems to be. I'll grant you that this could be a part of the problem direction-wise with the series, but I can't have a full opinion on that until I've seen the whole thing. So, further discussion on this with me will have to be a topic for another day.

[Spock/Uhura Fan]

North Star


I like the "look" of this episode. The filming is nice for something western based. As for the rest of it, well, the ending was hopeful.

Grade: C
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Similitude


I would call the “Sim” issue a dilemma, but they didn’t seem to treat it as such. Sim won’t live if the procedure is done, which would be murder, but of course he volunteers... eventually. At least Trip is back, and T‘Pol knows he loves her.

Grade: C minus
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Carpenter Street


This was an interesting episode in the fight to preserve Earth from the Xindi. I know I’ve seen the actor playing that shady guy selling people, but I can’t remember what I’ve seen him in.

Grade: B

[lurok]

Three of my favourite season 3 eps in a row, even though don't particularly like westerns I think North Star and Carpenter St are beautifully shot. 'That' actor is the great Leland Orser (sp?), who I think is one of those terrific character/support actors. He was the psycho hologram in VOY, and pretty sure he must have turned up in DS9 and TNG. And he has small but memorable role in Alien 4.

[teacake]

Yep I loved all of those but especially North Star (gorgeous) and Carpenter Street. Similitude is nice for the T n' T I know Carpenter Street gets a bad rap from some but I always find it pretty exciting and interesting and the acting is great. And North Star, that's my only ever beloved western. It just plain works as well as looking fabulous.

I'm not sure who originally posted this, maybe KingDaniel? It's a comic-ized version of North Star, very nicely done. And certainly suits the unique style of the episode.