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The Watching/Rewatching Enterprise Thread

eyeresist

eyeresist

Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
There have been a few random threads like this (see below), but I thought some sort of permanent ongoing thread would be more useful.

As part of my (very) slow rewatch of ENT. I saw the following episodes over the weekend, all from season 3:

Harbinger
I like the sci-fi elements of this: the reconfigured space, the interior of the capsule, the makeup as the alien progressively deteriorates. Also the idea that Vulcan neuropressure can have bad side-effects if misused. However, there are also some less enjoyable bits: Malcolm basically being a little shit and getting into a fight with Hayes, and the clumsily executed sexual tension between T'Pol and Trip, culminating in "Surprise, I'm nekkid!"
6/10

Doctor's Orders
If you hate Phlox then this is probably the worst ever episode of ENT, but for the rest of us it's heaven. The sci-fi concept is so interesting it took me a while to realise this is a "bottle" episode. The script is great at maintaining interest when much of the story is Phlox talking to himself, and of course Billingsley's performance is top notch. My one quibble is the way "T'Pol" acts when affected by the anomalies - she comes across as a bit dopey.
7/10

Hatchery
Based on past Trek history, you'd expect this to be the ep that's all about the captain going stark staring bug-nuts and chewing the furniture. In fact, the captain's change is fairly subtle, and what the episode is really about is the other officers, the way they relate and how they come together to tackle the problem. It's a great ensemble attitude that really grounds the cast as a working crew.
7/10

Azati Prime
Although there's a lot of drama in this ep, this one really suffers from the serial nature of this season, as nothing really feels established or resolved. Archer being interrogated isn't as interesting as it should be, his return to the Enterprise is a real "What the?" moment, and the focus on T'Pol being nervy for no explained reason is just irritating.
5/10


http://www.trekbbs.com/showthread.php?t=238930
http://www.trekbbs.com/showthread.php?t=195505
 
eyeresist..I don't want to quote your entire thread, especially since I agree with most of it. :) I personally didn't care too much for Doctors Orders - but Im not a tremendous Phlox fan.

I love Reed, but you nailed it when you said he was "a little shit". But then, Hayes pretty much fed into it. Lots of testosterone and ego in that scene. But the bottom line for me was when they really did make peace (and I did LOVE the dressing down Archer gave them), so by the end, Reed was affected by Hayes' death.

Azati Prime - I really liked the battle and that the Enterprise was nearly destroyed, but , like you said the "What the??" moment when Archer was released and the battle just suddenly ceased , just moments if not seconds before the Enterprise received it's final blow. How fortuitous!:)

On Hatchery, I rather enjoyed the little mutiny!

I look forward to your next review! :techman:
I'd post one myself, but I have to go..I hear my kid calling me! :lol:
 
Willow said:
I love Reed, but you nailed it when you said he was "a little shit". But then, Hayes pretty much fed into it. Lots of testosterone and ego in that scene. But the bottom line for me was when they really did make peace (and I did LOVE the dressing down Archer gave them), so by the end, Reed was affected by Hayes' death.
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I like Reed too, and I did like the dressing-down scene. It's rare to see a fairly realistic display of military discipline in Trek. I kind of expected Archer to tell them to "shake and make up" - glad they avoided that cliche! The last line in that scene is pretty funny...

I did find it unrealistic that Reed could go toe to toe with Hayes in that sort of fight, as Reed is a fair bit smaller physically. The fight coordinators should have adjusted for that.
 
Actually I never considered size as an issue with Reed and Hayes - though I can see your point. the height difference between the two (Keating vs Culp) is 3 inches. I've known many military and police types who were an inch or two shorter than Reed and could still take down someone half a foot taller. It all comes down to their skill in fighting and tactics. I already went in to the series with the assumption that Reed was one of the most tactically proficient officers in the fleet (assuming they want to send the best and brightest on the first deep space mission). I know it was established that Hoshi was best at her job, Trip was a gifted engineer , and even Travis was mentioned as a highly skilled helmsman, (I leave out Archer, because I'm convinced nepotism had at least some part in his getting the captaincy).

At any rate, I found it amusing that Reed was cocky and let his ego get the best of him. And he rightly got the shit knocked out of him by Hayes. And when Hayes tried to walk away, Reed engaged him again. I'm pretty sure that if it wasn't a "wartime" situation where Archer felt he needed his best (heck,ALL) crew members, Reed probably would have been heavily disciplined. Regardless, it is one of my personal favorite scenes in all of Trek - thus this long post. :lol:

But, that Trip/T'Pol scene just seemed rather..awkward..to me. And I believe THAT was the "A" story? Reed/Hayes seemed to be the "B" story.
 
Damage
I confess I watched this over two sessions, so my impression was a bit disjointed. Reading the episode summaries, it looks like I misremembered Azati Prime - Archer actually comes back at the beginning of this episode. The interior of the aquatic Xindi ship was very interesting.
Archer having to commit piracy is the emotional turning point of the series for me, and the whole was really well done. The desperation of their situation feels convincing, with more feeling of risk than similar situations in other series. I guess it helps that ENT was more ready than other series to go really dark and messed up in visual terms.
Trans-dimensional Future Gal reminds me a lot of the female changeling from DS9. Wouldn't it be interesting if the changelings and trans-dimensionals were connected? Perhaps the changelings interbred with the wormhole aliens :rolleyes:
I'm afraid T'Pol's addiction arc doesn't interest me. It's a bit soapy and played on one note.
7/10

The Forgotten
I originally awarded this a very high rating, because I found Trip's breakdown toward the end so affecting. Looked at more objectively, the ep is still good, but perhaps not that good.
The staging of Archer's address to the crew was a bit messed up - because he's walking around on a gantry he ends up standing on top of a bunch of crew, who presumably only got a view of the soles of his boots.
Trip not wanting to sleep is amusing, but his letter-writing dilemma is in retrospect a bit weak; I imagine M*A*S*H would have done it better. But Trip's dream of the dead crewman was interesting; her performance is good enough that I wish we could have seen more of her. Interesting that that actress got a quick mention in the end credits, while Seth MacFarlane got listed in the post-title credits, even though he was basically an extra!
Degra being in the position of having to kill fellow Xindi is a very interesting moral dilemma. They didn't overdo it, but it would be nice to see this haunt Degra in future eps. The guy who played the arboreal Xindi reminded me a lot of Avery Brooks - but it wasn't him.
I'm glad Malcolm got to do a bit of bravery.
6/10

E²
This ep has an interesting concept, but I find it less impressive now the novelty has worn off and I know the plot. The Alt-Ent cast aren't developed enough to be really interesting, apart from the Lorian/Trip scene. Lorian really needed to be more intense about his mission as the ep went on.
Trip/T'Pol is still not very interesting to me, but T'Pol's aged makeup is very impressive - she's an attractive old lady. ;) I did notice that young T'Pol was not always looking in the right place in their scenes together.
My favourite part of this episode is the Sorrow of Malcolm Reed upon learning that his future self was doomed to chaste bachelor-hood. :weep:
6/10
 
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eyeresist said:
Willow said:
But, that Trip/T'Pol scene just seemed rather..awkward..to me. And I believe THAT was the "A" story? Reed/Hayes seemed to be the "B" story.
Click to expand...

I would think the alien probe was the A story.
Click to expand...

Aha! You would be correct! :lol: I forgot all about it! That would move Trip/T'Pol to B and Reed/Hayes to C.

I like your analysis of the other eps. "Damage " was always one of my favorites also, because of the reasons you mentioned.

What probably got me with "Forgotten" was that they actually addressed the death of crew members. What always bothered me about Voyager was that they hardly addressed the emotional impact of the loss of life.

E2 was actually not a big standout so for me, except for Malcolm. Apparently even Travis got a wife! As I recall , she was a MACO. So, my first thought about all that is that Malcolm was a senior officer, and was very rigid about protocols and such, so I can imagine that he wouldn't be as willing to fraternize with the MACOs - or even the Starfleet officers. His best bet would've been to find an alien wife, like Archer.

BTW, do you recall that scene in the mess hall? I do believe that Travis and Hoshi had just seated themselves with their meal and were only talking about a minute when Malcolm arrived...then he got all melancholy about his future..I think Travis and Hoshi just up and left him there, without even eating! :p
 
Eyeresist. Hmm..so it would seem you're viewing in order.
Which means I should soon be expecting your recaps on "The Council", "Countdown" and "Zero Hour" :p

I enjoyed those three, especially Zero Hour, so I'm looking forward to those! :)
 
Willow said:
What probably got me with "Forgotten" was that they actually addressed the death of crew members. What always bothered me about Voyager was that they hardly addressed the emotional impact of the loss of life.
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Yes, watching them one after the other, I realised "Hey, they remembered those three CGI figures who flew out into space in the previous episode!" BTW, when people criticise the effects of this show, I think it's the "human replacements" that really stick out - their walk is most unnatural, a bit reminiscent of the old "Keep on truckin'" posters.

Willow said:
BTW, do you recall that scene in the mess hall? I do believe that Travis and Hoshi had just seated themselves with their meal and were only talking about a minute when Malcolm arrived...then he got all melancholy about his future..I think Travis and Hoshi just up and left him there, without even eating! :p
Click to expand...
I can just imagine as they are walking away, Hoshi says (in a valley girl accent) "That Malcolm is such a downer."
He just wants to make friends!

I recently got a batch of non-Trek DVDs so I don't know if my next review will come soon - we'll see how I feel this weekend.
 
Cogenitor. 9/10 - For all that Enterprise was not to many people, this is an episode for the ages. Trip means well, and tries to do a good thing, but he really screws the pooch in his intervention effort. I honestly felt bad for Trip and the Cogenitor while watching this episode unfold. This is one of the few episodes where Archer really shows his leadership capabilities too. He's firm like Picard; the main difference being that Archer comes off more like a drill sergeant rather than a fatherly type. If you've not seen this episode in awhile, give it a rewatch. Highly recomended.
 
Remember that Archer and Trip are actually close friends, so Archer is in an awkward position, and has to distance himself somewhat in order to apply the appropriate discipline. I think he was less conflicted when he yelled at Reed and Hayes.
 
IrishNero said:
Cogenitor. 9/10 - For all that Enterprise was not to many people, this is an episode for the ages. Trip means well, and tries to do a good thing, but he really screws the pooch in his intervention effort. I honestly felt bad for Trip and the Cogenitor while watching this episode unfold. This is one of the few episodes where Archer really shows his leadership capabilities too. He's firm like Picard; the main difference being that Archer comes off more like a drill sergeant rather than a fatherly type. If you've not seen this episode in awhile, give it a rewatch. Highly recomended.
Click to expand...
It was a good episode. An emotion all one.

One of the things I liked about Enterprise is that it was before the Prime Directive. Being the Captain, it was Archer who had to make the tough decisions when possible contacts and interventions came up. I found "The Communicator" an interesting ep, because even though Archer and Reed went to great lengths to not expose themselves - and were willing to die - it was their crew mates that really screwed things up when they rescued the pair, exposing themselves in the process, and just disappearing without any explanation.
 
Yes, the lack of a Prime Directive often made for a great premise. However, as we saw in the other four series, the Prime Directive was often interpreted very loosely, ignored or used a plot convenience device. Even though there was no prime directive in place, I think Enterprise seemed to overstep that boundary less often that did VOY or TNG. That's my general perception anyway.
 
I kind of like "Doctor's Orders", but I can't watch it without thinking how Voyager's One was better and almost the exact same story. And it's not the only one:

E2 = Children of Time
Terra Nova = Friendship One
Oasis = Shadowplay
Desert Crossing = Armageddon Game
Precious Cargo = Elaan of Troyius / The Perfect Mate
The Crossing = Power Play
Similitude = Tuvix
Daedalus = Jetrel
Dawn = Enemy Mine

They're Ok episodes, but something more original would've been better.
 
Isolinear Precious Cargo was probably one of my least favorite eps ( I can't even watch it a 2nd time ,,whereas I've probably seen all S3 several times)

And the Elaan of Troyius? I'm sorry i have no clue what that one is! Therefore I can't compare! Precious Cargo basically stinks on its own!:p
 
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