Just being curious, but what did you like about this episode?
Best Non-Season 4 Episodes
- Thread starter Steve O'Core
- Start date
Ooh, I like ANIS, can I answer?
ANIS has some very funny "beats" - it (almost) never tips over into campy comedy, but relies on reaction expressions and throwaway lines. My favorites include:
Hoshi: Do we even have a chainsaw on board?
Archer: I'm sorry.
T'Pol: For what?
Archer: Just practicing.
Archer (reading the apology requirements): Well, this isn't so bad. I was sure there'd be something in here about standing on one foot with my eyes shut, reciting The Night Before Christmas.
Phlox referring to Porthos as Archer's "subservient quadruped."
And of course, snarky T'Pol on the treadmill is never not funny.
The other reason I like it is because Archer is so completely wrong, except for the bit where he's not. He made an honest mistake (having met all of the protocols), and if he hadn't been stressed, frustrated, and sleep deprived, it wouldn't have blown up into such a big diplomatic issue. And then Porthos gets sick and he latches onto that as a reason NOT to apologize. He's wrong and he knows it -- he just can't bring himself to do the right thing for a minute. There's no spores or alien influence or any excuse like that (where the writers get to say well, he wouldn't normally act this way except for this outside influence . . .), just a stubborn reaction because he's knows he's wrong but has to put his worry about the situation someplace so he blames the other guy. We've all done that.
I like T'Pol's reaction (You're being a child. Apologize.) versus Trip's reaction (Apologize even if you don't think you're wrong and let's get that injector) versus Phlox (My sons and I let pride get in the way, and we don't speak now, ever. Apologize.) And then he sucks it up and apologizes.
Having said that, I hate the bat scene.
^^ Everything bluedana said. 
I'm a fan of ANiS too. It made Archer so human, acting just like I have when I'm sleep-deprived and worried and frustrated about something -- I could relate. I liked the goofiness they embraced, such as Phlox enthusiastically diagnosing Archer's problem as sexual frustration, and the notion grabbing hold and making him as crazy as everything else that's happening.
And for me, the show managed to balance the kookiness of cranky!Archer with his very real fear that he'll lose Porthos. It ended up making me really feel for him and sympathize, even though I knew, as he did, that he'd have to suck it up and turn back into a captain at some point, even if he had to humiliate himself, even if he lost his best friend.
I could have done without the close-up views of Denobulan hygiene maintenance, tho.
I'm a fan of ANiS too. It made Archer so human, acting just like I have when I'm sleep-deprived and worried and frustrated about something -- I could relate. I liked the goofiness they embraced, such as Phlox enthusiastically diagnosing Archer's problem as sexual frustration, and the notion grabbing hold and making him as crazy as everything else that's happening.
And for me, the show managed to balance the kookiness of cranky!Archer with his very real fear that he'll lose Porthos. It ended up making me really feel for him and sympathize, even though I knew, as he did, that he'd have to suck it up and turn back into a captain at some point, even if he had to humiliate himself, even if he lost his best friend.
I could have done without the close-up views of Denobulan hygiene maintenance, tho.
I like it for it's comedy. Trek is all about action and drama but when they add comedy to the mix I just love it even more.
I love Archers reaction. He has no clue as to why he should not have brought Porthos on a first contact mission.
I love his reaction in sic bay.
Now mind you the first time I saw it I was not too crazy about it, I thought it made no sense. I had to watch it a few more times to really enjoy it.
And I LOVE the bat scene! Every single time I see it I laugh. The ease of how Hoshi just grabs the bat and Archer and Phlox could not is just classic!
I'm not a big fan of ANiS, but you guys make very good points in its favor.
"Wesley: What are you doing?
Data: Sneezing.
Wesley: Have you got a cold?
Data: A cold what?"
You're quite right about the humor of the episode. I also thought it was rather well conceived. In fact, that exchange you mention reminds me a bit of the scene between Data and Wesley in "Datalore" where Data is practicing sneezing:
"Wesley: What are you doing?
Data: Sneezing.
Wesley: Have you got a cold?
Data: A cold what?"
I can definitely see your point. We could say that it was quite gutsy of ENT to give us such an honest take on the Captain having a bad day. Instead of patching things up in the end by revealing that his behavior had been influenced by an external factor, they just went ahead and allowed him to go through all the unpleasantness of dealing with a stressful situation and being overwhelmed by it. He's a human being, like the rest of us, and he sometimes reacts badly under pressure. I can definitely relate to that. I think that's one of ENT's strengths, that it gave us a realistically human crew.
Yes, me too.I could have done without the close-up views of Denobulan hygiene maintenance, tho.
My favorite ep in ENT (which is conveniently not in Season 4) is E2. It's a soap opera, it's got time travel, it's got pathos, it's a wonderful exploration of how our different choices can take us to very different lives. Old T'Pol is fabulous and the tension of not knowing if young T'Pol will take her advice was with me for the rest of the series. Lorian is very believable looks wise! And so is his desperation. One of the great untold stories of ENT, this generational ship.
I should have started my own thread! 
Thanks for the explanations, everyone!
Hi, nice to meet you.
You're right, these scenes were funny.
I guess that my overall feeling about this episode is negative because it turned T'Pol into a sex-object - yet again. It must my one biggest gripe with this series, but I hated the neuro-pressure scenes, I hated the fact that they had to insert the neuropressure scenes to get Trip and T'Pol together, I hated the fact that all the male lead characters were sexually interested in her and I got really upset about the scenes in which she was sexually harassed. [/rant]
Thanks for the explanations, everyone!
Hi, nice to meet you.
You're right, these scenes were funny.
I guess that my overall feeling about this episode is negative because it turned T'Pol into a sex-object - yet again. It must my one biggest gripe with this series, but I hated the neuro-pressure scenes, I hated the fact that they had to insert the neuropressure scenes to get Trip and T'Pol together, I hated the fact that all the male lead characters were sexually interested in her and I got really upset about the scenes in which she was sexually harassed. [/rant]
I completely agree. I like ANIS fine despite Archer being an ass but the T'Pol "attraction" scenes are very embarrassing to watch. What is this Clueless in Space? Archer looks like an idiot.
I've managed to work out an in-universe explanation for the neuro pressure element that bothered me the most: T'Pol's night attire. Here are most Vulcans swanning around in figure concealing robes when in their off time and yet T'Pol is dressed in a midriff baring satin number?! I can only conclude that T'Pol chose this deliberately because she wished to attract Trip whom she was already playing around with the idea of mating with, or at least experimenting with. Observation and research would have indicated to her that any barriers he had towards being intimate with her because of rank etc.. could be weakend by dressing in such a manner rather than whatever sack she might have worn on her home planet.
(I believe you see T'Pol in less revealing nightware elsewhere in the series, possibly when she returns home?)
You know sexual tension and attraction are fine in Star Trek, makes more than enough sense with a crew isolated on a starship engaged in dangerous missions. Cutler's interest in Phlox was an example of doing it well. I hate that a lot of it ENT's attempts at this feel like it was written by giggling 12 year old boys.
Enterprise is the most bipolar experience I've ever had with a show. I actively disliked season 1, and hated season 2. I only watched them out of an obligation I felt to support whatever Trek there was on t.v. But then I loved seasons 3 and 4. Even in the nightmare of the first two seasons there were some episodes I liked though.
Season 1
The Andorian Incident
Breaking the Ice
Sleeping Dogs
Shadows of P'Jem
Fallen Hero
Season 2
Minefield
Dead Stop
The Catwalk
Cease Fire
Future Tense
Cogenitor
Regeneration
The Expanse
For Season 3 I'll list the ones I disliked, since aside from them I enjoyed everything else:
Extinction
Rajiin
Exile
I know it was asked to not include Season 4, but I'll just say which ones I disliked there as well, since on the whole the season is great:
Storm Front, Part 1
Storm Front, Part 2
Bound
These Are The Voyages...
It really is a shame it got canceled right when it was finally hitting its stride creatively. I get depressed whenever I read about the plans Manny Coto had for Season 5 that we never got to see.
Season 1
The Andorian Incident
Breaking the Ice
Sleeping Dogs
Shadows of P'Jem
Fallen Hero
Season 2
Minefield
Dead Stop
The Catwalk
Cease Fire
Future Tense
Cogenitor
Regeneration
The Expanse
For Season 3 I'll list the ones I disliked, since aside from them I enjoyed everything else:
Extinction
Rajiin
Exile
I know it was asked to not include Season 4, but I'll just say which ones I disliked there as well, since on the whole the season is great:
Storm Front, Part 1
Storm Front, Part 2
Bound
These Are The Voyages...
It really is a shame it got canceled right when it was finally hitting its stride creatively. I get depressed whenever I read about the plans Manny Coto had for Season 5 that we never got to see.
It's good to know I'm not the only one who feels this way. I am actually glad they didn't hook Archer up with T'Pol, as I am convinced the 12-year-olds would have ruined their interesting, multi-layered relationship anyway.
And I bet you’re right about T’Pol’s carefully wrought plans to mate with Trip.
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