Why was the 4th season so much better than the rest?

[2takesfrakes]

I'm forced to agree about the fanwank in Season Four. As I stated earlier, the episodes seemed like they were structured very well, but the stories themselves just weren't as interesting ... especially compared to the third season.

 

[K'Toska]

But yeah, Season 4 was good, too. I was legtinately depressed for a while when the series was cancelled, especially since it'd not been so log since Farscape was cancelled, too. My teenage heart had been stabbed.

Man, I didn't even see Farscape until last year and was still pissed when I realized it was cancelled after four seasons. Why, just WHY?!!

 

[gblews]

TP apparently felt that showing the baby would be pivotal in swaying public opinion to their side and against Starfleet.

This is the reason I stated that the baby's role was a lot more significant than you may have understood it to be.

Well ... T'Pol did remind the father in the end that, "Elizabeth was important."

Let me ask you, gblews: Did you feel that the 4th season of -ENTERPRISE- was "so much better than the rest"? I'm in full agreement with O'Conner, in preferring Season Three. Personally, I just found it to be much more satisfying ... in the final analysis.

As I have written here since season 4 ended, that it was the most consistent season of the show's run because it had the fewest number of clunker episodes.

But season 4 came close to the highs of season 3 only a few times with "The Forge", "Observer Effect" and "Demons/Terra Prime. Most of the rest of season 4 ranged from good to very good, but not great. There was only one clunker the entire season (other than TaTV), and that was Daedalus.

However, nothing in season 4 reached the heights of Similitude, Twilight, and Azati Prime/Damage.

Changing the subject, one last thing; fans are always complaining about the alien Nazi's like it is some mandatory forum mantra but no one ever explains what was so distasteful about it. If you take into account the themes which were the basis of Demons/Terra Prime and Storm Front 1 and 2, you can see a rather profound "bookending" unlike anything I ever saw in other Trek shows.

 

[2takesfrakes]

In short: Hitler's far more menacing than rubberheaded aliens who haven't invented Visine, yet. In fact, it amuses me how the lead rubber head unloads on the Nazi who threatens him, boasting about their Time Travelling Prowess and how he can make it like the Nazi's ever existed. Having delivered this lecture, how does he dispatch said Nazi, later on? With a gun. A regular, 1940's-era gun, in the belly. I mean ... come on! You can do better than that! You rubberheaded aliens before whom Humanity must quake and shiver ... even those vicious bastard Nazi's!

 

[Ithekro]

The old trap for various aliens and villians in genral is to come up with a high tech or convoluted way to kill the heros, or even the underlings. It is so rare to get a "just shot him" moment out of a bad guy.

 

[eyeresist]

^
"Do you expect me to talk?"
"No, Mr Bond, I expect you to die ... eventually ... after I finish monologuing and leave you alone with my very slow and clunky death apparatus..."

 

[Quinton O'Connor]

Edit: It, er, occurs to me that I already posted my thoughts on the matter in the previous page. I really need to start coming around here more often again so I'm not repeating myself in the 3-4 posts total that I make on the forums...

 

[Keith1701]

That makes a lot of sense. To be honest, I blame Braga for a lot of problems in Star Trek but I've tried to convince myself that I'm being too hard on him. Berman pisses me off too but from what I can tell, he was heavily involved in DS9 and I love it to bits. That just leads me to believe Braga is the main issue but it's hard to tell.

It's too bad it was cancelled. I think it would've been interesting to explore the arc of T'pol being half Romulan, although I really dislike them.

I agree, it would been nice to see a 5th or even 6th season but guess Paramount didn't see it that way.

 

[Quinton O'Connor]

Les Moonves didn't see it that way, to be precise. :P

 

[Anna Yolei]

I've seen this sentiment all across the internet, as well as heard it from friends. Did UPN stop trying to throw their two cents in on every story or what? Season 4 seems to be what I had originally thought Enterprise would be. I'm just wondering if Berman and Braga finally got more say or if producers realized they'd pissed off the fans to the point that they had to try to appease them.

Although the essential change was the creative input and control of Manny Coto in the fourth season, the attitude of the executives at UPN made a profound impact on the show. Viacom restructered UPN, putting it under the control of CBS' Leslie Moonves, who was less attached to Star Trek as the emblem of the network than in the show's profitability. He directed Berman and Braga to change the direction of Enterprise, leading to the Xindi arc. Although season 3 produced modest improvements, the show would have been cancelled had not the television division of UPN agreed to further reforms of the show, which included replacing Berman and Braga as producers.

I thought the reason for a 4th season was 'cuz it made for a better syndication package

But I highly doubt that even if ratings did pick up that ENT would have seen a full seven year run for exactly those reasons you mentioned. Les Moonves was not a Sci fi fan and the show was already an outlier on UPN, which had become more female oriented since the end of Voyager. Plus the merger with the WB meant shows with better ratings than Enterprise saw the axe on both sides.

 

[Melakon]

UPN's biggest problem was depending on Star Trek to be its anchor, and not coming up with anything that was long lasting for its other nights. When Trek started getting pre-empted for WWE, the writing was on the wall.

 

[tomalak301]

IMHO, season three was superior to four. Unpredictable and exciting.

Four is fun, but it's mostly continuity porn aimed at die-hards.

I feel the same way. Season 3 had character development and change. Season 4 felt fanwanky, even though there is plenty to like about it, such as the Vulcan and Andorian/Aenar trilogies.

 

[Quinton O'Connor]

UPN's biggest problem was depending on Star Trek to be its anchor, and not coming up with anything that was long lasting for its other nights. When Trek started getting pre-empted for WWE, the writing was on the wall.

I'm unfamiliar with the Nielsen trends on UPN shows offhand, except that ENT was never a strong performer, but... I'm not sure UPN was necessarily relying on Trek as its anchor after VOY. I think even as ENT premiered there was a greater focus on a couple of other things, and also, I'd be really, really surprised if WWE wasn 't performing better than Trek by 1999 or so. Certainly by 2001. The boom there was real, and felt by many of my childhood peers who had no interest in Trek by comparison.

 

[Overgeeked]

It's Trek, it wouldn't be the same without the fan wank. ENT just had to pull it off a bit earlier than the other shows did.

Besides, I loved the Space Nazis. I have much love for all things pulpy, which is one reason I love Trek so damned much. I mean, come on, every other species in Trek is compared to some historical people. Klingons are Vikings... in space. Romulans are Romans... in space. The planet of the human-like aliens who adopted the Nazi ideology in TOS are Nazis... in space. The Ferengi are capitalists... in space. The Bajorans are post-holocaust Jews... in space. The Cardassians are Nazis... in space. It was great to finally see an alien that was a literal Nazi... on Earth. It was just so perfectly on the nose.

 

[eyeresist]

I'd say the Cardassians are more like Commies in space. They have a vast secret security apparatus, and expect people to see being conquered by them as an improvement.

 

[2takesfrakes]

It's Trek, it wouldn't be the same without the fan wank.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Come now 2takes we all do it.

 

[tomalak301]

It's Trek, it wouldn't be the same without the fan wank. ENT just had to pull it off a bit earlier than the other shows did.

I don't remember any of the other trek series being "Fan-wanky" though, other than maybe the two episodes celebrating Trek's 30th anniversary (Trials and Tribble-Ations and Flashback)

 

[Overgeeked]

It's Trek, it wouldn't be the same without the fan wank. ENT just had to pull it off a bit earlier than the other shows did.

I don't remember any of the other trek series being "Fan-wanky" though, other than maybe the two episodes celebrating Trek's 30th anniversary (Trials and Tribble-Ations and Flashback)

fanwank, n. Elements added to a television program or similar entertainment that appeal to avid fans but are of little interest to outsiders.

So at least from McCoy's appearance in the TNG pilot... up through STD using Tribbles.

 

[2takesfrakes]

... Will we ever have The Definitive Reason for "why the 4th season was so much better than the rest?" I don't know, but ... it's looking good, so far. We're getting there ...

We're Getting There.™