Revisiting Enterprise

[Leathco]

You don't know what a long post is.

Ha I was going to say pretty much the same thing. You should see some of the ridiculously long, boring rants I've gone off on.

Hehe, well, it was more than I originally wanted to post.

After rewatching season 4 they really should have been a 5th season to cap it off. I think the first third being the romulan war buildup, the second third being the actual war, with the final episodes of earths recovery would have ended the series on a much higher note.

Those mirror universe episodes were awesome as well. Prolly the best Hoshi episodes from the series.

 

[Joeman]

I also wanted to talk about a crew member who was introduced in this episode and was featured greatly in the aforementioned Dear Doctor. Crewman Cutler. I liked her, but man I remember late in the first season when Waymire passed away. That was sad.

She was cute. She also played a character on Seinfeld who, ironically, was facing a potentially serious health issue. Sad indeed.

I seem to like Fight or Flight more than most, as I scored it 10/10. I thought it was great, pure Trek. I was impressed with Broken Bow, but after Fight or Flight I was already completely sold on the fact that I was going to like the series.

 

[tomalak301]

Unexpected (*½)

5 episodes into this series and there is a story about Trip being Pregnant. Uh, no thanks. This episode was dumb, stupid, and kind of embarrassing. It actually reminded me of Voyager's Threshold, which is another episode I just saw. It started out well, but when the main meat of the story started, I just lost interest and wanted it to be over. I did find the dinner scene amusing though, with Phlox's "You're be using that nipple a lot sooner than you think." Yeah, get my mind out of the gutter, but the way Billingsley delivered that line was hilarious.

Terra Nova (**)

Well, it was a little better than Unexpected, but not much. In fact, I found this episode kind of boring, with annoying dialouge and a story that should have gone deeper. It came down to Archer and the Bajoran Vedek dude from DS9's Destiny having to trust one another and for what, so the Vedek dude can still say he hates him? I felt like this episode could have gone so much further in terms of developing what happened back then and the connection between then and now. There wasn't really any insight and it all just came across as pedestrian. It wasn't stupid, unlike Unexpected, which is why it gets two stars out of 5, but tonight, not a very good nice for ENT season 1. I am however still enjoying the previous episodes I saw and the next one is one I remember really liking. And it introduces one of Star Trek's best characters so I'm looking forward to seeing it again.

 

[Joeman]

Wow. Well, you're losing me now. We definitely are seeing this series differently. I thought both of those were great (9.5/10 and 8/10 respectively). Such is the way of the world.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Unexpected was embarrassing in theory, but I think it was very well done, full of interesting stuff about the aliens and served to advance Trip's character.

I know Terra Nova isn't popular but I always liked it a lot. I enjoy the whole lost colony scenario. Very poignant looking at the photo of the little girl. It was classic Trek I thought.

 

[Shatnertage]

I really liked Unexpected. I'd watch it again.

Not so much Terra Nova, though around the house we still refer to bogus stuff as "shale" from time to time.

 

[Lady Conqueror]

I remember being in a bit of a Trek funk towards the end of Voyager (took me ages to watch the final few eps of that series) and Unexpected really broke me out of that funk - I just fell in love with Trip and Enterprise completely with this ep so it will always hold a special place for me.

Terra Nova on the other hand - meh - the start of the episode setting up the mystery of the missing colony and everything was great but the minute the Novans actually showed up it was all one big downhill slide. They were so annoying

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Terra Nova on the other hand - meh - the start of the episode setting up the mystery of the missing colony and everything was great but the minute the Novans actually showed up it was all one big downhill slide. They were so annoying

They were dirty and uhh.. irradiated!

 

[DevilEyes]

What is wrong with "Unexpected"? Well, let's imagine this:

Hoshi, while communicating with a race of aliens the ENT has met, becomes friendly and flirts with a male alien; she doesn't go any further - or so she thinks - because she considers it unprofessional and dangerous, but the alien convinces her to participate in a telepathic activity that involves playing in the sand with her hands. A little later, after they part ways with the aliens, she finds out, to her shock, that she is pregnant, even though she has no idea how this could have happened. It turns out that the alien impregnated her - the telepathic ritual was actually the aliens version of reproductive process, even though he never told her what it really was. Everyone on ENT finds it hilarious, Archer has to work hard to stop himself from laughing, while Reed throws a couple of remarks to the effect that Hoshi should have, um, controlled herself a bit more. The episode is a lighthearted comedy.

How do you like this story? Or do you find it creepy? If you do, then you should ask yourself why you didn't feel so before I changed the genders and substituted Hoshi for Trip. And that's what's really wrong with this episode.

It's amazing that Berman and Braga never realized they wrote rape into the episode and treated it as a comedy. But of course, rape is OK when it's female on male.

Then there's the bad science again. Why do Trek series always get genetics and biology so horribly wrong? The way that the aliens in this episode procreate makes no sense at all. If the child only has the genetic material of the female (a cop-out in order to justify Trip not keeping the child), then it would be a genetic copy of her, which would defy the purpose of sexual reproduction...not to mention that all the members of the species would be female.

This review sums it up. "Why do the females have breast, if it's the male that grows the nipple?!"

 

[Shatnertage]

^^^Well I'll never enjoy that episode again.

It does sound a lot less...lighthearted when you reverse the roles like that.

 

[Lady Conqueror]

DevilEyes I posted a reply to your comments in a new thread Unexpected Controversy because I thought it would be a good discussion but I didn't want to derail tomalak301's thread too much.

 

[tomalak301]

What derailing.

I'm out of town so I haven't watched any Enterprise since. My Birthday is coming up and I am thinking about buying seasons 1-3 now. It's better than having it skip a lot on CBS.com which is a bit of an issue.

 

[Willieck]

Nobody has mentioned Carbon Creek which was one of my all time favourite "fun" episodes. I know that the plot does not stand much thinking about as it full of holes but I find it really enjoyable.

 

[tomalak301]

Nobody has mentioned Carbon Creek which was one of my all time favourite "fun" episodes. I know that the plot does not stand much thinking about as it full of holes but I find it really enjoyable.

Haven't gotten there yet, but I do like that episode. Kinda thought 11:59 was better though.

 

[tomalak301]

The Andorian Incident (****½)

Shran, one of Enterprise's best recurring guest stars (Probably the only one) get's introduced, as with the rest of the Andorians, and it's a damn great introduction. This is one of my absolute favorite Enterprise episodes, not really because of the hostage plot, but because it sets up a storyline that has far reaching implications and those are shown throughout the series. We get to see more of the Broken Bow Vulcans, the types that hide the truth, and are not like the vulcans we're used to. Also, we get to see one of the other founding members of the Federation, and they aren't all that friendly. I love how the two are at incredible tensions in this point of Trek lore. We know how it turns out, but it's different than what we expect. It mainly comes from that ending, which is a great twist. The Andorians were right, and there is a promise they will be back.

Given the rest of the series, I think this episode holds up incredibly well as one of Enterprise's best. Yeah it's the routine hostage plot, but the ending makes the episode exactly what it is, a great introduction to a race that we grow to know and love with the hope of future interesting development. Also, so glad they got Jeffrey Combs to play Shran. Other than James Sloyan (Admiral Jerok, Odo's Father among characters), Combs is my favorite guest star in all of Trek.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

The Andorian Incident (****½)

We get to see more of the Broken Bow Vulcans, the types that hide the truth, and are not like the vulcans we're used to.

When I read this I immediately thought of T'Pring who certainly hid the truth. And then you had Sarek who iirc hid the truth about his illness. I think the seeds of Vulcans being diverse like this were always there but the idea that they were upstanding to the point of rigidity (and boredom) was the image they ended up with. I also recall that Tuvok hid his disdain for Neelix behind a lot of distance yourself logic.

ENT was great for the Vulcan race, it really fleshed them out.

Oh and yes, Jeffery Combs is fantastic, a joy to watch. My favorite Trek recurring actor.

 

[DBall]

This thread is in perfect timing... I'm watching through Enterprise again now. It's a great series!

 

[tomalak301]

Hey all, Happy 4th, and Happy Birthday to me.

Anyway, I wanted to apologize for the lack of reviews. I'm still very interested in doing this, and to say such, I just bought seasons 1-3 with some birthday money I got today. I'm also going to be traveling a week from yesterday but I'll have the sets by then. It's hard watching these episodes on CBS.com because they always pause and it sucks. There are still some episodes on Youtube, and I watched Andorian Incident there, but it will be nice to finally complete the Franchise sans the animated series. I promise the reviews will be more regular when I get back in a few weeks, and I'll still watch some episodes this week. At least this way I know I have all the episodes of course. Like I said, getting Enterprise isn't just to get a better option to watch the series for this, but just to have all the Treks too, and I liked Enterprise.

 

[Hopeful Romantic]

^^ No rush. The idea is to have fun, rather than feel obligated or rushed. We'll read 'em when you post 'em. And hey, there will be more time for comments in between your reviews, so it's all for the good.

I really enjoyed "The Andorian Incident." There's Shran, of course (hiring Jeff Combs was a total win), and Andorians aplenty, and moving antennae, and secretive Vulcans, and great Archer/Trip and Archer/T'Pol interaction, and seeing the VHC's nefarious underbelly exposed! Great setups for a lot of goodies we'll see down the road. And did I mention Shran and Jeff Combs?

I hope you had a lovely birthday, tomalak. And best wishes for a safe and happy Indepence Day weekend to all of us Americans.

 

[tomalak301]

Breaking the Ice (***½)

This was an episode that felt like a tale of two stories, both good and bad. What I mean is this episode felt like the busiest episode of the season so far, with two plots, but both plots were either really really good or really really bad. The bad plot, the whole thing with the Comet, is best left forgotten. There isn't much else to say other than the whole Snowman thing seemed forced.

Then we get the whole thing with T'Pol, and one thing I'm seeing is there is a thread in the General Trek forum talking about who the best actress is. I'd have to rank Blalock up there with the best of them. This is the first season, and she is kind of blowing me away with how good her portrayal of T'Pol is. I know it get's better too, especially in Seasons 3 and 4. Anyway, really liked the mixed of ideas and Vulcans inability to choose vs. Human personal choice. One of the best scenes of the season so happened in this episode, with Trip and T'Pol's Quarters. The seeds of what was to come in "Home" almost were sown here. We find out about Koss, and Trip is starting to have an impact on her. I really liked this aspect of the episode, and it made the whole comet thing forgettable.

One other thing, maybe it's a guilty pleasure, but I liked the note home to the 4th grade class. Trip's reaction to the Poop question was funny, and Phlox continues to remind me of Malthasar from Galaxy Quest with each episode. It's harmless humor, and in this episode, I'd say it worked.