Season 4: Just how much of it can be called Fanwank?

[Dale Sams]

Tosk wrote:

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I don't get why "fanwank" is supposed to be bad. Isn't it their job to entertain us? And don't we sometimes hate it when they make it "not just for the fans, but for everyone"? So why hate it when they make it with us specifically in mind?

It certainly doesn't have to be. I consider Geoff Johns the greatest fanwank writer ever, Jim Shooter in second.

[Dale Sams]

teacake wrote:

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Yeah I like the idea of it being peripheral. As I said Kahless would have ruined the forehead arc which was excellent. And I do feel Surak blighted the Vulcan arc (that tosser).

My favorite ENT ep is a huge fanwank I think because it reads like something out of florid fanfic, E2.

Is there an actual definition to the term? Usually I love being catered to and taken individually the Season 4 arcs are all great stuff. It's that they are all in one season that raises it to suspiciously fanwanky levels

My def of fanwank has been "Taking a conversation you might had when you were 14 and running with it"

EX: "Man if Molecule Man fought the Avengers that would be epic!!"

"No it wouldn't. He'd ROFLstomp the Avengers. Everything is made out of molecules. He'd dissolve Mjolenir, Iron Man's armor, Caps shield...hell, you can throw in the Silver Surfer too. He'd dissolve his surfboard, then drop a giant boot on them. The fight would last 10 seconds"

Now this doesn't mean fanwank is a bad thing at all. But I prefer it done by experts.

[teacake]

Dale Sams wrote:

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My def of fanwank has been "Taking a conversation you might had when you were 14 and running with it"

You're describing my posting style perfectly.

[SonicRanger]

King Daniel Into Darkness wrote:

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How did "Daedalus" ignore ENT continuity?

The Enterprise is sent to the distant "The Barrens" where there are no stars for 100 light years. It turns out, well before the first Warp-5 ship, the Ericksons knew of this distant area and travelled there to do transporter tests. Then some plain ol' ship comes and picks them up at the end.

Remember back in "Broken Bow" and then "First Flight" when it was clear that the Warp 5 engine was a hundred times faster than was possible with the previous generation of warp engines, which were limited by the Warp 2 barrier? That the Enterprise could do in days or weeks what previously took years and years? How Travis said that they'd be doing runs that took his family's ship years to do? That Warp 5 engines would put other ships out of business?

Did the Ericksons take a ship that took years to get to the Barrens? Will that ship that picks them up take years to get back?

The NX-01 is supposed to be the fastest vessel by far. Now the Barrens are just a hop, skip, and jump for every Tom, Dick, and Harry starship. And if it is really so close, why send the super-fast NX-01?

In Season 5, the NX-01 just hung around the neighbourhood like any ol' ship, just like the E-D did after the first season or two of TNG. There was virtually nothing about this episode that couldn't have turned into a TNG episode simply by changing the charter's names.

[King Daniel]

Ah, okay. Yeah, that doesn't quite fit.

[BruntFCA]

SonicRanger wrote:

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The Enterprise is sent to the distant "The Barrens" where there are no stars for 100 light years. It turns out, well before the first Warp-5 ship, the Ericksons knew of this distant area and travelled there to do transporter tests. Then some plain ol' ship comes and picks them up at the end.

Remember back in "Broken Bow" and then "First Flight" when it was clear that the Warp 5 engine was a hundred times faster than was possible with the previous generation of warp engines, which were limited by the Warp 2 barrier? That the Enterprise could do in days or weeks what previously took years and years? How Travis said that they'd be doing runs that took his family's ship years to do? That Warp 5 engines would put other ships out of business?

Did the Ericksons take a ship that took years to get to the Barrens? Will that ship that picks them up take years to get back?

The NX-01 is supposed to be the fastest vessel by far. Now the Barrens are just a hop, skip, and jump for every Tom, Dick, and Harry starship. And if it is really so close, why send the super-fast NX-01?

In Season 5, the NX-01 just hung around the neighbourhood like any ol' ship, just like the E-D did after the first season or two of TNG. There was virtually nothing about this episode that couldn't have turned into a TNG episode simply by changing the charter's names.

They got a ride with the Vulcans.

[FFunctionalData]

I liked season 4.

I don't know if they wanked me though.

[SonicRanger]

BruntFCA wrote:

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They got a ride with the Vulcans.

Does helping humans to invent light-year-range transporters sound like something the Vulcans would do?

At the end of the episode, the Sarajevo isn't a known Vulcan design, and Archer says that it "will be returning Emory and Danica to Earth." Are they ready for a years-long trip?

[gblews]

Ent writers were assailed by fans when they dared present any navigational routes, alien races, tech, (omg!) time and distances between star systems and planets, etc that had never been seen or at least hinted at in TOS. Ent was supposed to be a prequal after all.

Then when the writers gave us origins and references to stuff we had seen in TOS, they were assailed by other fans for presenting "fanwank" or "continuity porn".

As fans, we didn't, and still don't know what the hell it is we want. J.J. Abrams has my undying respect (and gratitude) for being willing to step into this quagmire.

[Gaith]

^

Bryan Singer and Matthew Vaughn wrote:

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They want a good story with interesting characters, sharp dialogue, and a real sense of danger and discovery!

[MacLeod]

^Works for me. Or how about this quote from SG-1

"Never underestimate your audience. They're generally sensitive, intelligent people who respond positively to quality entertainment."

[gblews]

Gaith wrote:

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^

MacLeod wrote:

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^Works for me. Or how about this quote from SG-1

"Never underestimate your audience. They're generally sensitive, intelligent people who respond positively to quality entertainment."

Yeah, that's what Trek fans say they want too -- generally followed by a very large "BUT..... step one inch outside of "canon" and we don't care how interesting the characters, sharp the dialogue, and real the sense of danger, we're gonna hate it".

[teacake]

I've gone into every bit of new Trek with a will to love it.

And you know it's like being handed your smushed up goo covered baby.. I'VE LOVED IT WITH ALL MY HEART. I've a will to love it. If I ever don't love it it might be time to die.

[Sindatur]

teacake wrote:

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I've gone into every bit of new Trek with a will to love it.

And you know it's like being handed your smushed up goo covered baby.. I'VE LOVED IT WITH ALL MY HEART. I've a will to love it. If I ever don't love it it might be time to die.

Yea, it took me years and distance, but, my recent rewatch of Voyager and Enterprise, was much more enjoyable then watching of it in first run, when I hd my preconceived notions. TNG, I saw most (if not all) of it in first run, and my recent rewatch wasn't quite as enjoyable (though there were some episodes I did really enjoy).

Speaking of Babies, looks like Katherine finally remembered the Borg Baby, eh

[Anna Yolei]

SonicRanger wrote:

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Season 4 was too much too late, and it became the TOS-tie-in show rather than the show's original premise. It felt like a gimmick, and that's why so many people consider it "fanwank" rather than "continuity." Other episodes, like Daedalus, even blatantly ignored ENT continuity and illustrate that the show basically became TNG-lite, just like VOY did.

I admit that I grokked this the first time around. Compared to the first season that gave us the most unlikable protagonist I would ever see until I watched Secret Life of the American Teenage and season two which gave up episodes about T'Pol's Ponn Farr and motherfuckin' Porthos, then hell yeah season four's an improvement. Coto and company also started to not completely ignore Mayweather and Sato, so kudos for that.

But after a second viewing? Meh. It was one of Trek's most consistently decent seasons, but there wasn't a single break-out episode in the bunch.

This analogy I got from another site pretty much says it best:

Season Four was like a football team behind 0-56 going into the 4th Quarter, the team getting their ass kicked then scores three touchdowns after all their fans have left the stadium anyway and not even the refs and coaches are watching anymore.