Ryva Takes On Enterprise (Again)

Discussion in 'Star Trek: Enterprise' started by Ryva Brall, Apr 13, 2013.

  1. BruntFCA

    BruntFCA Commander Red Shirt

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    Yeah the first two seasons are basically the definition of unimpressive. Luckily seasons 3 & 4 are awesome.
     
    Last edited: May 15, 2013
  2. Shaka Zulu

    Shaka Zulu Commodore Commodore

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    I'm just saying (IMHO) that I as a person solely by myself have no real problem with Enterprise as a whole per se, just the bad episodes. That's all. :vulcan:
     
  3. R. Star

    R. Star Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Well the "unlike you" and "most of you(and many other Trek fans)" comments do have a hint of implication, but I'll take you at your word.

    Though the bad episodes, which in my own opinion constitute a majority of the first two seasons and are definitely present in the last two, are a part of the whole of Enterprise and have to be factored in. You can't just set aside the distasteful parts of anything then speak of the whole as if they're not part of it. That's like saying those people in prison are good except for the criminals. :p
     
  4. Ryva Brall

    Ryva Brall Commander Red Shirt

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    Itchin' for a good fight, are we, Star? ;) I agree with you, though. A TV show is, after all, the sum of its episodes. When the bad episodes outweigh the good, you have to wonder at some point if the show itself actually is all that great.

    Rogue Planet:

    Enterprise finds a rogue planet and meets a group of aliens, who are hunting a mysterious creature. Also, Archer really digs blondes.

    What the what? None of this made any sense. Here's why.

    First of all, this rogue planet. It had no sunlight, so how could it support all this lush plant life, or have a breathable atmosphere? Do the plants somehow live without photosynthesis? I don't get it. Why did it need to be a rogue planet, anyway? It lent absolutely nothing to the plot, except the title of the episode.

    Also, these wraith things. They're shape-shifters, right? But wait. There can't be shape-shifters on a planet only a few months from Earth, because someone would have bothered to tell Odo. But for much of early DS9, he believes himself to be the only shape-shifter, and everyone thinks they're just a myth. Either Enterprise keeps terrible records of their travels, or this is a big fat continuity fail.

    While I was watching this entire episode, I was hoping against hope that this wraith appearing as a woman would turn out to be what the Eska said they were -- a dangerous animal that tricks you into seeing what you want to see, and then straight up eating your face off! Kind of like the salt vampire in TOS's "The Man Trap". That would've been cool. Instead, we got Changelings. Basically. Oh, and apparently hunting will no longer be a common practice on Earth in about forty years or so. Better sell all your duck calls while you still can, guys.

    My favorite line belongs to Archer: "Have you ever known me to do anything foolish?" Ahahaha! Oh wait, you're serious. Let me laugh even harder. HAHAHAHA!!

    Oh, before I forget, do you think the Eska really did know that the wraiths were sentient? Or do you think they actually believed what they were saying?

    Next up: Ferengi. A couple centuries ahead of schedule. This show has zero respect for established Trek history.
     
    Last edited: May 15, 2013
  5. teacake

    teacake Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    No no, you don't set them aside, you embrace them. You love them like a really ugly dog where you secretly love it more because of its ugliness. This is the secret to maintaining an infatuation with Trek in the face of all naysayers.
     
  6. R. Star

    R. Star Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Hey, you reviewed two episodes in one! ;)

    Rogue Planet... yeah the whole concept just never made sense to me. The planet... unless they just manufactured it as a giant green house and game preserve somehow. Which opens up more plot holes as to why and how they'd do it that way.

    Though to be fair the shapeshifter bit, no one mentioned the "shapeshiftress" to quote Kirk's own words, in ST6 either. Maybe Kirk was just too embarrassed to put that he slept with a being that can warp into a 200 pound man. ;)

    Hey, I was arguing against setting them aside. That's like saying the dog's pretty just because it's paws aren't as ugly as the rest of it. Me? The really bad episodes... what can I say, sometimes it's fun ripping into em at times. I never did like dogs anyways, so is that the equivalent of kicking a puppy? ;)
     
  7. teacake

    teacake Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Well you could kick a kitten but then I'd have to kill you.
     
  8. Ryva Brall

    Ryva Brall Commander Red Shirt

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    As an owner of a small ugly dog that I loved for her ugliness for fifteen years, I can appreciate Tea's analogy. And I suppose it would be hypocritical of me to say how bad ENT has been so far (to me, anyway) when I actually kind of love bad sci-fi. Or at least, I love ridiculing it. That's why MST3K is one of my favorite shows ever. Bad sci-fi is just plain fun to mock.
     
  9. horatio83

    horatio83 Commodore Commodore

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    Fiction does per definition contain plot holes so seeking them is kinda pointless.
    About bad science, well, Trek is soft sci-fi anyway and I care as little about the impossibility of organic life without a sun nearby as I do about the impossibility of inertial dampeners.

    Rogue Planet is not a particularly memorable episode and we already know the "shapeshifter makes itself look like a beautiful woman" idea from The Dauphin but I always appreciate these small and quiet episodes which are about humans appreciating non-humanoid life and getting along with it. I also liked the idea of a rogue planet as we have never seen one in Trek.
     
  10. Shaka Zulu

    Shaka Zulu Commodore Commodore

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    THIS.
     
  11. Ryva Brall

    Ryva Brall Commander Red Shirt

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    Sorry I haven't been around these past two weeks. I was house sitting for some friends, and their Internet access was abysmal. I couldn't even use Netflix. If they hadn't had all five seasons of Stargate Atlantis on DVD, I probably would have lost my mind. On the plus side, I've learned how to swear in Czech.

    Acquisition:

    Ty vole. Longest forty-three minutes of my life. Seriously, my head hurts as a result of watching this episode.

    Now before Teacake bites my head off, let me start by saying I like the Ferengi. I really do. However, I realize I'm in the minority. They're not everyone's cup of snail juice. So I'm surprised that of all the alien species of Star Trek the writers could have used for this episode, they went with one of the least popular among the fans. And then they stuck them in an unbelievably dull and predictable episode riddled with cliches. Too many cliches to count, really: Archer leading the Ferengi on about a fake vault, manipulating the dopey, submissive Ferengi (played by Jeffrey Combs) into turning on his domineering cousin (Ethan Phillips), T'Pol using her feminine wiles to subdue said submissive Ferengi, Archer and Trip pretending to be at odds with each other to confuse the Ferengi... I could go on. And these Ferengi weren't even entertaining. They were just flat, stale, uninteresting caricatures. Combs was, as usual, the only reason they weren't unbearable. Still, he was wasted in this role.

    Here's one thing I can't get over: Archer tells the Ferengi that he's going to inform Starfleet and the Vulcan High Command about them... but he NEVER bothers to ask them who they are? Even when he has them tied up? I can imagine how pleased Admiral Forrest will be when he gets that report. "My ship was boarded by some big-eared aliens, my people were gassed, my inventory was almost stolen, and my female crew members were nearly taken to be sold into slavery, but I kind of forgot to ask what species they were. My bad."

    Things I liked: I thought it was vaguely amusing when Archer and Trip were arguing about how many gold bars Trip's "wife" Hoshi was worth. It would've been funnier if they'd brought it up later in front of Hoshi, leaving Trip to explain why they mentioned her in the first place. Another opportunity missed. Also, Porthos is super cute. And I'm not gonna lie; I didn't mind that Trip was in his blue skivvies for half the episode. Shut up. I'm weak.

    Still, I'm glad I watched this episode. That means I never have to watch it again.
     
  12. teacake

    teacake Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    But.. the Undies!

    Oh heck.. here ya go. Now you never have to revisit:

    [yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtTQQosvC7s[/yt]