TheGodBen Revisits Enterprise
- Thread starter TheGodBen
- Start date
What about Remember Me from TNG, does that ring any bells?
Anyway, I liked "Remember", or so I remember my opinion being. It was a nice episode about remembrance. I recall enjoying the central conceit, since in a sense that's what emotionally connecting with a wider atrocity is all about, trying to identify with individuals who experienced those events.
I'm sorry, what are we talking about here again?
I had to look it up myself, I thought it was that episode where Janeway undergoes a spiritual ritual to save Kes.I... actually don't remember Remember anymore. I guess it was meh after all.
Affliction (****½)
I'm not a fan of the idea of Enterprise explaining the Klingon ridge problem, I think that DS9 handled the situation perfectly; acknowledge that it's weird, make a joke of it, but don't bother trying to explain it. This is one of the few areas where I agree with Roddenberry, we all know the real reason behind the change in appearance of the Klingons, there's not much point in looking for an in-universe explanation. But I do like Mike Sussman's response to that: For those that want an explanation, here it is, and for those who don't think there should be an explanation there is nothing stopping us from imagining the augment virus was anything other than an isolated incident because the show is cancelled before we see Klingons again. It's win-win.
So if I ignore what this episode is supposed to be about and focus on the plot then I have to admit I found it to be surprisingly excellent. The plot is cleverly put together and it makes great use of previously established elements, such as the augment embryos from the earlier arc, and the episode does an excellent piece of fan-service to DS9 by bringing back its most controversial element. I am of course talking about the brief reference to the Hur'q invasion. Why, what did you think I was talking about?
Moving Trip over to Columbia was a great idea, it allowed us to see more of that ship as well as its launch. The two downsides to this move are 1) the cheesy Trip/T'Pol shared dream sequence, and 2) who the hell is Commander Kelby?!
He's the Carson Daly of the Enterprise cast, nobody knows who he is or has ever seen him before, but apparently he has been around for years. Speaking of Commander Kelby, here's something which stood out.Archer's a cunt. It's the guy's first day and already Archer is saying he's not as good as his predecessor. I'd much prefer to work under Picard than this asshole.
In summary: A very enjoyable episode, tonnes of things to like in this one from seeing Reed thrown into the brig for working with some sort of "section", to the cliffhanger where Enterprise runs out of control. And I must admit that I felt some nostalgia seeing the ridgeless Klingons boarding Enterprise even though I was -17 when TOS aired.
Affliction gets 3.5 stars out of 4 from me unfortunately Divergence undoes all of the good.
The idea of how Klingons became ridgeless was a very clever idea and it also finaly cleared up why the TOS Klingons were a little less primitive in their behavior. Was it necessary? No. But as long as it was executed in an interesting story I have no objection.
I enjoyed seeing the Columbia launch and seeing more of Capt Hernandez. I thought Ada did an excellent job and I would have loved seeing more of her and no doubt we would have in future seasons. In fact, I look at this season as the year the writers did a lot of setting up and introducing players like Hernandez, Section 31, Harris, the Columbia etc much like DS9 did and in future seasons the writers could call on them to drive what I could easily see as an epic final 3 years rivalling and possibly surpassing the Dominion War with the Romulan War and founding of the Federation.
The idea of Trip transferring was a somewhat shocking development unfortunately by this point we knew the show was ending and then Divergence puts him right back onboard ENT so both those things seriously undercut the whole idea. Personally it would have been neat much like DS9 did with Worf onboard the R'otarran had Trip remained. It wasn't logistically an issue as DS9 demonstrated. Plus it might have been neat if Trip encountered a crewman named Stiles--more setting up of the Romulan War in years to come. Plus you had the whole internal Klingon reaction to ridgless Klingons that could have been addressed in future episodes.
I enjoyed seeing a bit more of Earth. The episode also excelled at intrigue and mystery with the ridgless Klingons, Section 31's role in all of this, Phlox's kidnapping.
So overall the set-up worked exceedingly well here. The problem is Divergence pretty much fails to deliver on the payoff--from the poor use of Hernandez and Columbia, the at best convoluted and at worst contrived explanation regarding Section 31's goal, the portrayal of S31 as inept, the standard lame battle sequence, Trip returning only a few minutes into Divergence and remaining there and the absence of any sort of intriguing resolution.
So this two-parter was a mixed bag.
The idea of how Klingons became ridgeless was a very clever idea and it also finaly cleared up why the TOS Klingons were a little less primitive in their behavior. Was it necessary? No. But as long as it was executed in an interesting story I have no objection.
I enjoyed seeing the Columbia launch and seeing more of Capt Hernandez. I thought Ada did an excellent job and I would have loved seeing more of her and no doubt we would have in future seasons. In fact, I look at this season as the year the writers did a lot of setting up and introducing players like Hernandez, Section 31, Harris, the Columbia etc much like DS9 did and in future seasons the writers could call on them to drive what I could easily see as an epic final 3 years rivalling and possibly surpassing the Dominion War with the Romulan War and founding of the Federation.
The idea of Trip transferring was a somewhat shocking development unfortunately by this point we knew the show was ending and then Divergence puts him right back onboard ENT so both those things seriously undercut the whole idea. Personally it would have been neat much like DS9 did with Worf onboard the R'otarran had Trip remained. It wasn't logistically an issue as DS9 demonstrated. Plus it might have been neat if Trip encountered a crewman named Stiles--more setting up of the Romulan War in years to come. Plus you had the whole internal Klingon reaction to ridgless Klingons that could have been addressed in future episodes.
I enjoyed seeing a bit more of Earth. The episode also excelled at intrigue and mystery with the ridgless Klingons, Section 31's role in all of this, Phlox's kidnapping.
So overall the set-up worked exceedingly well here. The problem is Divergence pretty much fails to deliver on the payoff--from the poor use of Hernandez and Columbia, the at best convoluted and at worst contrived explanation regarding Section 31's goal, the portrayal of S31 as inept, the standard lame battle sequence, Trip returning only a few minutes into Divergence and remaining there and the absence of any sort of intriguing resolution.
So this two-parter was a mixed bag.
I can understand disliking "The Aenar" it really is a pointless episode and nothing really happens, but I do like the expansion of the Andorians. Having a pacifist, telekinetic subspecies is a really cool idea and juxtaposes nicely with the militaristic Andorians.
The Affliction/Divergence two-parter is not so great for me. It answers a question I never cared about, and despite doing it well, it still just feels a bit silly and pointless.
But I guess we have an answer now!
The Affliction/Divergence two-parter is not so great for me. It answers a question I never cared about, and despite doing it well, it still just feels a bit silly and pointless.
But I guess we have an answer now!
I suppose that random green Andorian in TNG's 'The Offspring' might count, retroactively, as another Aenar appearance.
That said, the episode sucked.
And I tend to agree with GodBen on the Klingon mystery - while the explanation is interesting, I was fine without trying to explain it. I'd be like devoting an episode to explaining that a transporter accident caused Kirstie Alley Saavik to become Robin Curtis Saavik.
That said, the episode sucked.
And I tend to agree with GodBen on the Klingon mystery - while the explanation is interesting, I was fine without trying to explain it. I'd be like devoting an episode to explaining that a transporter accident caused Kirstie Alley Saavik to become Robin Curtis Saavik.
Divergence (*½)
How do you ruin an excellent set-up? This is how.
The episode starts out okay by having Columbia rendezvous with Enterprise at high warp, which is something I've been waiting two years to see, so it's all good. There's some excellent special effects work here as Tucker transfers over from Columbia to Enterprise, one excellent shot flies by Tucker just as he pivots to be the right way up once he gets to Enterprise. It's an imaginative action sequence and continues season 4's track record of interesting new ways of solving problems we've seen a dozen times over. What I don't like about this whole thing is how stupid it is; Tucker spends 3 or 4 minutes performing this risky manoeuvre to board Enterprise when there's no logical reason why Kelby and T'Pol couldn't do it beyond incompetence. All Tucker had to do is tell them what to do over the comm, his presence on the ship wasn't going to makes much of a difference. It also ended with Archer performing a Countdown to Doom™ which Tucker resolves with exactly 1 second to spare.
But my biggest disappointment about this episode is how Section 31 played into the plot, or more accurately, how they didn't. Section 31 were working with the Klingons because they were told good things would happen?
And the Klingons just backstab them? I was hoping for an improbably ingenious plan like the one in Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges, where Bashir did everything that Sloan wanted him to do while thinking he was acting against Sloan. Like I said, it was improbable, but it was entertaining and made Section 31 into a menacing villain because they were extremely intelligent and were 3 or 4 steps ahead at all times, which made them very dangerous. Enterprise's section 31 were outsmarted by Klingons, which puts them around the Kazon level when it comes to scheming.
The final confrontation was also quite underwhelming, and watching Archer fighting his chair while his head grew ridges was more comical than exciting. Once again the Klingons are stupid and intransigent because they're Klingons and that's the way that Klingons in this era operate, which only serves to make Section 31 look even more stupid. The coda where we learn that Tucker is going to stay on Enterprise for a bit while Reed quits section 31 is the biggest cop-out this season. At least one of these decisions will be undone in the near future, right in time for cancellation.
Archer Abuse: 35
Captain Redshirt: 37
Transporter: 26
Next time on Star Trek Enterprise: My nipple counter goes off the scale... with sexy results!
How do you ruin an excellent set-up? This is how.
The episode starts out okay by having Columbia rendezvous with Enterprise at high warp, which is something I've been waiting two years to see, so it's all good. There's some excellent special effects work here as Tucker transfers over from Columbia to Enterprise, one excellent shot flies by Tucker just as he pivots to be the right way up once he gets to Enterprise. It's an imaginative action sequence and continues season 4's track record of interesting new ways of solving problems we've seen a dozen times over. What I don't like about this whole thing is how stupid it is; Tucker spends 3 or 4 minutes performing this risky manoeuvre to board Enterprise when there's no logical reason why Kelby and T'Pol couldn't do it beyond incompetence. All Tucker had to do is tell them what to do over the comm, his presence on the ship wasn't going to makes much of a difference. It also ended with Archer performing a Countdown to Doom™ which Tucker resolves with exactly 1 second to spare.
But my biggest disappointment about this episode is how Section 31 played into the plot, or more accurately, how they didn't. Section 31 were working with the Klingons because they were told good things would happen?
And the Klingons just backstab them? I was hoping for an improbably ingenious plan like the one in Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges, where Bashir did everything that Sloan wanted him to do while thinking he was acting against Sloan. Like I said, it was improbable, but it was entertaining and made Section 31 into a menacing villain because they were extremely intelligent and were 3 or 4 steps ahead at all times, which made them very dangerous. Enterprise's section 31 were outsmarted by Klingons, which puts them around the Kazon level when it comes to scheming.The final confrontation was also quite underwhelming, and watching Archer fighting his chair while his head grew ridges was more comical than exciting. Once again the Klingons are stupid and intransigent because they're Klingons and that's the way that Klingons in this era operate, which only serves to make Section 31 look even more stupid. The coda where we learn that Tucker is going to stay on Enterprise for a bit while Reed quits section 31 is the biggest cop-out this season. At least one of these decisions will be undone in the near future, right in time for cancellation.
Archer Abuse: 35
Captain Redshirt: 37
Transporter: 26
Next time on Star Trek Enterprise: My nipple counter goes off the scale... with sexy results!
I had to look it up myself, I thought it was that episode where Janeway undergoes a spiritual ritual to save Kes.I... actually don't remember Remember anymore
Man, Voyager really suffered from the worst of 90's tv traits - misguided political correctness and lovefest with new age estorericism. That episode by the way, was written by an actual new age guru. Teleplay sure by Lisa Klink, but the story writer - http://www.celticshamanism.com/gc.html. Really explains a lot.
Bound (0)
This episode is like being vomited upon by green vomit and then looking down at your vomit-stained self and saying "Urgh, I smell like green vomit!"
I know that some like this episode because of its TOS-style campiness, but all I have to say to that is this: Mudd's Women would not be made today, it should not be made today, Bound should certainly not be made today, and it is clear to see now just how badly Sulu was overcompensating in that episode. Oh yes, TOS had its scantily-clad green women, but one was there as a psychological ploy and the other was insane, neither were skanks. Because that's what the Orion slave girls are in this episode, they're skanks from the clothes they don't wear to the way the camera follows them around. They're not even attractive to look at because a) they're green, and b) they're green skanks. If I wanted to watch skanks I'd... hell, I don't know, I've never bothered looking for them, all my porn is of librarians and Asian cosplayers. I don't want to watch skanks, and I certainly don't want them vomiting at me through my reasonably expensive television.
Nipples Ahoy!: 12,719
This episode is like being vomited upon by green vomit and then looking down at your vomit-stained self and saying "Urgh, I smell like green vomit!"
I know that some like this episode because of its TOS-style campiness, but all I have to say to that is this: Mudd's Women would not be made today, it should not be made today, Bound should certainly not be made today, and it is clear to see now just how badly Sulu was overcompensating in that episode. Oh yes, TOS had its scantily-clad green women, but one was there as a psychological ploy and the other was insane, neither were skanks. Because that's what the Orion slave girls are in this episode, they're skanks from the clothes they don't wear to the way the camera follows them around. They're not even attractive to look at because a) they're green, and b) they're green skanks. If I wanted to watch skanks I'd... hell, I don't know, I've never bothered looking for them, all my porn is of librarians and Asian cosplayers. I don't want to watch skanks, and I certainly don't want them vomiting at me through my reasonably expensive television.
Trip's a cunt too! I'm really feeling bad for Kelby here; he had his big shot, he floundered a little out the gate but he'd be okay in time, but then Archer decides he wants Trip back and Trip agrees, bumping Kelby back from his promotion. I was wrong, Kelby isn't Carson Daly, he's Conan O'Brien! Well I've had enough of Trip and his gigantic chin, I'm with KelKel! Go team Kelby!
Nipples Ahoy!: 12,719
BOund gets 2 stars out of 4 from me. I don't find it to be as atrocious as many but it was pretty middling.
I loved the revelation that the Orion females are actually in charge but the females themselves were disgusting. I can't stand fake boobs. These Orion women looked plastic--I prefer the timeless beauty of Yvonne Craig back when the Orion women looked sultry yet vicious--not like they'd be hanging off poles in green paint.
Kelby is as useless as he has always been. The ship in orbit that fired on the ENT was sadly nothing more than a red herring. And the closing scene tried too hard to be like those famous TOS Kirk-Spock-McCoy scenes and failed miserably. And the T/T stuff fell flat as usual.
I loved the revelation that the Orion females are actually in charge but the females themselves were disgusting. I can't stand fake boobs. These Orion women looked plastic--I prefer the timeless beauty of Yvonne Craig back when the Orion women looked sultry yet vicious--not like they'd be hanging off poles in green paint.
Kelby is as useless as he has always been. The ship in orbit that fired on the ENT was sadly nothing more than a red herring. And the closing scene tried too hard to be like those famous TOS Kirk-Spock-McCoy scenes and failed miserably. And the T/T stuff fell flat as usual.
As far as the green skin goes, well, it was one of those things that became big I guess from Trek fandom or memetic mutation or whatever. Actually watching TOS, who the heck would guess the Tellarites were important? I could name half a dozen alien races on that show off the top of my head who got far more screentime, but at the end of the day it's the weird looking aliens rather than the gangster planets and Roman planets and even just ones where guys wear goofy costumes that is the stuff people remember.
But green skinned animal women have been something of a fetish fuel or so I have been lead to believe, so it makes sense the series that made a big stink about the Andorians and the Tellarites delve into that in greater detail... but doing it as a tribute to campy 1960s sexism was sort of misguided to say the least.
Yvonne's lighter green rather than puke green is also key there.
But green skinned animal women have been something of a fetish fuel or so I have been lead to believe, so it makes sense the series that made a big stink about the Andorians and the Tellarites delve into that in greater detail... but doing it as a tribute to campy 1960s sexism was sort of misguided to say the least.
She was the best, by far. I'll take her over Tora Ziyal any day of the week. I liked Susan Olivier a lot better when she wasn't in the green makeup - now, that silver Talosian getup she had...
Yvonne's lighter green rather than puke green is also key there.
This episode amazed me, in that I never thought Orion women would be so, well skanky, given the reputation the characters had coming into the episode. Especially so with the main Orion woman, played by Cyia Batten. I thought she was quite lovely when she played Tora Ziyal and when she played a one shot alien on Voyager. Then again, that awful puke shade of green is undeniably at fault. Though I will admit, I thought that one of the women was at least somewhat attractive, the one played by Crystal Allen.
I think "The Man Show" once said it best about this kind of thing... "If I can touch them, they're real."
I think "The Man Show" once said it best about this kind of thing... "If I can touch them, they're real."
The whole episode was cheesier than a block of gruyere...
I wouldn't have minded so much if the whole premise hadn't been "hey, we've not had any near-naked Orions running around yet... let's do that." Did anyone find a plot thread anywhere here?
As for the bogeywomen being attractive... some of them actually had fairly nasty faces (blaming the make-up). And one of them was Ziyal? *Shudders*
I wouldn't have minded so much if the whole premise hadn't been "hey, we've not had any near-naked Orions running around yet... let's do that." Did anyone find a plot thread anywhere here?
As for the bogeywomen being attractive... some of them actually had fairly nasty faces (blaming the make-up). And one of them was Ziyal? *Shudders*
Affliction and Divergence was a disappointing two-parter. The 'revelation' about how Klingons lost their ridges was done well, at least in regards to looking back to earlier in the season. The continuity from the Augment arc was interesting at best, but was totally unnecessary. I was much happier with DS9's little wink to the audience, who actually know why they never used to have ridges on TOS.
The use of Section 31 here was also poorly done, and probably didn't deserve to be shoved aside to be the B-plot of a Klingon ridge story. Trip's transfer from Enterprise to Columbia was pretty pointless too, whilst I'm in a mood to rant.
Don't even get me started on Bounty. Definately in the bottom 5 ENT episodes! I find it hard enough rewatching Mudd's Women, knowing full well to allow for 60s social conventions, blatent sexism and all. How am I supposed to take Bounty seriously knowing it was made in the last 5 years?
And I also feel sorry for Commander Kelby. Ideally, he'd be shipped off to be Columbia's chief engineer, and live happily ever after. Unlike Trip.
The use of Section 31 here was also poorly done, and probably didn't deserve to be shoved aside to be the B-plot of a Klingon ridge story. Trip's transfer from Enterprise to Columbia was pretty pointless too, whilst I'm in a mood to rant.
Don't even get me started on Bounty. Definately in the bottom 5 ENT episodes! I find it hard enough rewatching Mudd's Women, knowing full well to allow for 60s social conventions, blatent sexism and all. How am I supposed to take Bounty seriously knowing it was made in the last 5 years?
And I also feel sorry for Commander Kelby. Ideally, he'd be shipped off to be Columbia's chief engineer, and live happily ever after. Unlike Trip.
In a Mirror, Brightly (**)
The premise for this episode is strange because unlike all the other Trek episodes which took place in the mirror universe, this one doesn't contain any crossovers involving our regular, evil cast, instead it is a straightforward plot involving the pansies that inhabit Enterprise in the MU. The teaser is just plain odd, it copies the scene from First Contact, but instead of shooting the invading Vulcans, Cochrane shakes their hand and they go dancing. I'm glad I don't live in that bleeding-heart universe, they probably have some sort of gun control policy.
Then there's the credits which is sickening, to put it mildly. It's all about Terran achievement and having faith of the heart rather than having faith in the Empire. There wasn't a single explosion. I'm glad I don't have to watch this every week, it would drive me mad.
The state of the mirror universe during this era is almost as upsetting as the opening credits; the Terrans are a minor power with only two deep space vessels, and rather than use their technology to rain death down upon the lesser species, they like to explore and be diplomatic. Archer is the captain in this universe (Forrest died a worthless death some months ago saving the life of that scum Soval) and he is very creepy, his hair is fair in colour and Scott Bakula displays some acting ability. T'Pol is still around, but for some reason she is a free person because the Terran Empire hasn't conquered Vulcan yet. Worryingly, she and the other females cover up their stomachs, which makes me worry that none of these women act as consorts in this universe.
The plot centred around Enterprise being sent on a diplomatic mission to Tellar Prime, Archer gets kidnapped and beaten up by a rebellious faction and Lt Reed, who appears to be a homosexual in this universe, rescues him. Why Enterprise didn't just nuke the planet from orbit and allow Archer to die the cowardly death he deserves I'll never know, none of the character's actions in this universe makes any sense to me. The episode ends with Archer making a speech where he fails to threaten the Tellarites with doom, but instead hints at further cooperation in the future.
In terms of style this episode went all out to make the mirror universe appear different. The doors do not have the symbol of the Empire on them, and the lighting is bright and hospitable. The characters in this universe are cheery and enjoy one another's company, there wasn't a single attempt at murder or rape in the entire episode. I appreciate what this episode was trying to do, they tried to show us the horrors of living in this alternate reality, but the whole thing is cheesy and unrealistic. Nobody would ever try diplomacy when instead they can blow things up real bad. This stuff remind me of that horrible rebel crap from Star Trek: Terrok Nor, when Terrans team up with all those aliens to defeat the Alliance. That show was so 90s, I can't believe so many people prefer it to Star Trek: Destroyager.
Kickass Archer: 72 (+0)
T'Pol Rape Attempts: 81 (+0)
Mayweather Lines: 2,057,461 (+2)
The premise for this episode is strange because unlike all the other Trek episodes which took place in the mirror universe, this one doesn't contain any crossovers involving our regular, evil cast, instead it is a straightforward plot involving the pansies that inhabit Enterprise in the MU. The teaser is just plain odd, it copies the scene from First Contact, but instead of shooting the invading Vulcans, Cochrane shakes their hand and they go dancing.
I'm glad I don't live in that bleeding-heart universe, they probably have some sort of gun control policy.Then there's the credits which is sickening, to put it mildly. It's all about Terran achievement and having faith of the heart rather than having faith in the Empire. There wasn't a single explosion. I'm glad I don't have to watch this every week, it would drive me mad.
The state of the mirror universe during this era is almost as upsetting as the opening credits; the Terrans are a minor power with only two deep space vessels, and rather than use their technology to rain death down upon the lesser species, they like to explore and be diplomatic. Archer is the captain in this universe (Forrest died a worthless death some months ago saving the life of that scum Soval) and he is very creepy, his hair is fair in colour and Scott Bakula displays some acting ability. T'Pol is still around, but for some reason she is a free person because the Terran Empire hasn't conquered Vulcan yet. Worryingly, she and the other females cover up their stomachs, which makes me worry that none of these women act as consorts in this universe.
The plot centred around Enterprise being sent on a diplomatic mission to Tellar Prime, Archer gets kidnapped and beaten up by a rebellious faction and Lt Reed, who appears to be a homosexual in this universe, rescues him. Why Enterprise didn't just nuke the planet from orbit and allow Archer to die the cowardly death he deserves I'll never know, none of the character's actions in this universe makes any sense to me. The episode ends with Archer making a speech where he fails to threaten the Tellarites with doom, but instead hints at further cooperation in the future.
In terms of style this episode went all out to make the mirror universe appear different. The doors do not have the symbol of the Empire on them, and the lighting is bright and hospitable. The characters in this universe are cheery and enjoy one another's company, there wasn't a single attempt at murder or rape in the entire episode. I appreciate what this episode was trying to do, they tried to show us the horrors of living in this alternate reality, but the whole thing is cheesy and unrealistic. Nobody would ever try diplomacy when instead they can blow things up real bad. This stuff remind me of that horrible rebel crap from Star Trek: Terrok Nor, when Terrans team up with all those aliens to defeat the Alliance. That show was so 90s, I can't believe so many people prefer it to Star Trek: Destroyager.
Kickass Archer: 72 (+0)
T'Pol Rape Attempts: 81 (+0)
Mayweather Lines: 2,057,461 (+2)
Wow. You did not like Darkly? It has to be the best mirror episodes in Trek. Much better than those awful, overdone DS9 mirror episodes. Linda Park made a great villan and Montgomery had something to do. Darkly was one of the highlights of season 4. Most of all, the Gorn did not look like something from a 50's scifi movie.
The Best is pushing it (it has a noticeable absence of Barbara Luna, for one thing) but yeah, it's easily one of the gosh darn most entertaining things ENT did. It does read and sound a little like fanfiction, but even that is part of the appeal. I'd honestly be hard pressed to name an episode of this series I enjoyed more, but then I always did have a thing for "Mirror, Mirror."
But heck, that's their appeal.
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