Ryva Takes On Enterprise (Again)

[Melakon]

I think I was originally here during Enterprise's first season, as I remember writing a silly post entertaining the notion of an episode with Jeffrey Combs playing 7 different roles in a single episode in a tour-de-force performance. And another post proposing William Shatner as a Klingon, with Combs as his right-hand man, K'Ching.

 

[Ryva Brall]

I don't use this word often, but that would be epic. Just as long as at least five roles were saved for Vaughn Armstrong.

 

[Melakon]

Add Vaughn and we're talking a 2-hour episode easily.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Brunt irritated me and made me very very nervous just like dealing with the government should do. Very good stuff.

 

[lurok]

The ultimate guestgasm episode would be Combs, Armstrong, Tony Todd, JG Hertzler, Suzi Plakson and Robert Foxworth

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

We must write to JJ immediately. Fanwank please JJ!

 

[Melakon]

The ultimate guestgasm episode would be Combs, Armstrong, Tony Todd, JG Hertzler, Suzi Plakson and Robert Foxworth

And Special Appearances by Leonard Nimoy, George Takei, Grace Lee Whitney, and Clint Howard.

 

[Ryva Brall]

Well, it's a good thing I already knew that Trip dies in the last episode, or that spoiler thread would have really pissed me off.

Anyway...

Breaking the Ice:

I... actually liked this episode. It was mostly uneventful, and still suffered from some lazy writing (WHY IS THERE SO MUCH GRAVITY ON A COMET THAT'S ONLY 80 KILOMETERS IN DIAMETER???) but there were some good character interactions. I liked the scenes between Trip and T'Pol, and the news of her arranged marriage was an interesting development. At first, I thought it was weird that such a logical species would have this tradition, but then I decided it makes perfect sense. If romance is not a priority for you, why waste time trying to find your perfect mate? Just have it all arranged when you're kids, and then hope you'll get along as adults. Vulcans. Leave it to them to eliminate the tedious process of dating.

The scene where the bridge crew recorded a message for those school children on Earth was entertaining, especially Phlox's rambling tangent about germs. I was most impressed by Malcolm's snow-sculpting skills. And I was cracking up during the dinner scene with Archer, Trip, T'Pol, and the Most Unpleasant Vulcan Ever™. Whoever played Vanik deserves a hearty slap on the back. Seldom have I seen such condescension and disdain concealed so brilliantly behind a mask of indifference. What a putz.

It was only after the episode was over that I realized, hey: if the Vulcans have been observing Enterprise all this time, where exactly were they when the Andorians attacked the monastery? Bah. More lazy writing.

All in all, though, I liked it. In fact, this is the first episode I genuinely enjoyed. This is also the first episode not written by Berman and Braga. Coincidence? You decide.

...Now I really want pecan pie.

 

[R. Star]

This is an episode that was pretty good despite itself. You pointed out most of the plot holes in it, but it did have a feel that they really were pioneers in space exploration. The broadcast to the school children was a nice touch, though even that was lazy writing since they addressed this to... one classroom instead of a broadcast directed at all school kids. Also, can you email and print crayon pictures in the 22nd century? Advanced technology there.

My favorite part of the episode had to be the snowman. Sure it was silly, but that's the point and at least they weren't ONLY dicking around on the planet like in Strange New World and actually working on what they were supposed to be most of the time. Though I like how the snowman grew pointed ears when Archer told them the Vulcans were watching.

Trip and T'pol's interaction really seemed like a missed opportunity to me. Not with them, they're doing their best to slam Trip and T'pol together with all the subtlety of a bull in a china shop, but with Hoshi. She decodes the message... then just conveniently doesn't look at it, so Trip can do the big reveal. It would've been nice to give her SOMETHING to do and sharing a personal secret with T'pol would've been nice.

If more season 1 and 2 episodes could've captured this atmosphere I think the show would've been better received.. at least by me.

 

[Melakon]

. . .WHY IS THERE SO MUCH GRAVITY ON A COMET THAT'S ONLY 80 KILOMETERS IN DIAMETER???. . .

Easy... heavy water.

. . .Whoever played Vanik deserves a hearty slap on the back. Seldom have I seen such condescension and disdain concealed so brilliantly behind a mask of indifference. What a putz. . .

That was William Utay, whom I had previously seen (credited as Bill Utay) in a recurring role on the series Night Court as the homeless guy Phil, who was a gofer for Assistant D.A. Dan Fielding (John Larroquette).

I'd better get to my own watch thread, you're starting to catch up with me.

 

[Ryva Brall]

Oh, yeah. That was weird that they were recording that message for only one class, somewhere in Ireland. You'd think that school children all over the globe would be interested in seeing it.

And evidently, 22nd-century fax machines can reproduce the texture of crayon.

I've been trying to avoid spoilers, which is why I haven't visited your review thread, Melakon. What episode are you on?

 

[Melakon]

My next report will be on "Fallen Hero", near the end of the season.

I usually try to avoid spoilers and plot points in my reviews, but sometimes they leak out, and my "tv blurbs" sometimes make hidden jokes about them. One time I put in a warning that the review would have spoilers. At the end of the reviews I mention which episode will be next. The discussions that sometimes follow the reviews though, may contain spoiler info because I'm only trying to contain my initial analysis. I tend to focus on technical stuff like camera work, lighting, performances, effects, etc.

 

[Ryva Brall]

I must confess, Melakon, I did go and read your reviews of the episodes I've already watched. We seem to be more or less in agreement regarding the quality of Season One. Also, your comment "Porthos takes one giant leak for all dogkind" really cracked me up.

Civilization:

Oh, this show. You have to ignore so many things to be able to enjoy it: science, continuity, common sense... My brain insists on pointing out the flaws while I'm watching, even when I don't want it to.

I'll say this, though. This episode worked well as an entertaining bit of nonsense. It didn't really have a point, but it was sort of fun to watch. In fact, it almost had the feel of a TOS episode. The Enterprise finds an alien civilization full of people who dress all olde-tymey and look almost exactly like humans, and the captain gets to make out with a medieval wench. Only in this case, Archer is a watered-down, aww-shucks version of Kirk. ("Whoopsie daisy, my translator is malfunctioning! Well, shoot... I guess I could always kiss her...") And then the Enterprise gets to save the town from an evil alien, played here by Bellick from Prison Break. Also, they find another underground facility. Hooray!

This was the first time that the subject of cultural contamination was brought up on this show. While the Vulcans have a strict policy of non-interference with pre-warp civilizations, humans have no such policy yet. This is a good policy. It's why the Vulcans didn't make First Contact with humans until Cochrane's warp flight. But instead, Archer just basically says, "We're not Vulcans, so suck it", and goes down to the planet anyway. The thing is, though, he doesn't learn anything. There are no repercussions from his interference, and he even gets to be a hero. You'd think, at the very least, this Riann woman would have been traumatized for life, but she's totally fine with this shocking revelation that she's just been visited by people from ANOTHER PLANET. But whatever.

And I've given up on trying to make any sort of sense out of the universal translator. I realize the whole concept of it requires a certain suspension of disbelief, but at this point, I'm just going to tell myself, "Stop thinking about it!!"

I liked the CGI effects, especially the battle scene with Enterprise and the Mallurians. (Why do I know that name? Was there ever any mention of Mallurians in TOS?) I thought the musical score was very nice. And I loved this little comment from Phlox: "Isn't it extraordinary? Thousands of sentient species in our little corner of the cosmos, each one discovering science in their own unique way." I like Phlox. His curiosity and enthusiasm are contagious.

Also, Hoshi looked pretty with her hair down.

 

[Dane_Whitman]

(Why do I know that name? Was there ever any mention of Mallurians in TOS?)

YES! The Malurian race was wiped out by the Nomad space probe.

 

[Melakon]

The Malurians would have been perfect as a recurring enemy race, since we knew they were doomed.

 

[Ryva Brall]

Fortunate Son:

I have to say, I liked this episode. It put the focus on Mayweather, which was previously sorely lacking. Having spent the most time in space, you would think his experience would be put to better use, but I guess not. Anthony Montgomery is not the best Trek actor I've ever seen, but he's not the worst, either. "Underwhelming" is how I would describe him.

I didn't quite understand Archer's reasoning for getting involved in the conflict between the freighter and the Nausicaans; the Enterprise really had no authority in the matter, and the freighter crew weren't members of Starfleet. I agree that taking one of the Nausicaans prisoner wasn't the smartest thing to do, but they didn't have a whole lot of other options. And I highly doubt that giving the prisoner back really did anything to ensure that they wouldn't be attacked again; in fact, it probably guaranteed ongoing attacks in the future.

I did like the whole freighter culture, though. It kind of reminded me of the "pioneer" culture of the outlying worlds on Firefly. They handle their own affairs, and they don't answer to anyone. At least, not in these early days before the Federation.

I also liked the design of the freighter ship. Very cool. Oh, and I noticed that Keene, the Fortunate's captain, had the same name as the captain of the Justinian, which was the first ship that Horatio Hornblower served on. I wonder if that was intentional. ...Probably not.

 

[Melakon]

Since Roddenberry's inspiration for Kirk was Hornblower, it could have been a nod to that.

That opening shot of the Fortunate was beautiful.

 

[Ryva Brall]

Since Roddenberry's inspiration for Kirk was Hornblower, it could have been a nod to that.

Wait, what? How did I not know that? That's awesome! Although I don't see much of Hornblower in Kirk. Now, Picard, on the other hand... I could totally see Picard being influenced by Hornblower. Both are reserved, analytical, introverted, and extremely well-read.

But I didn't know Roddenberry was a C.S. Forester fan. That makes me happy.

 

[R. Star]

Well enjoy the Mayweather centered episode... there aren't many. Which is a pity because I kind of thought the freighter culture was interesting too, at least until it got repetitive... yes Travis... we know you live in space... and apparently all there is to do is have sex.

Now... to the meat of the episode... well I can sum this up easily. Archer is stupid. "What gives you the right to take prisoners?" Okay... would you rather them have killed the fellow? Or just let the pirates loot their ship? Both seem worse to me. The whole premise of the episode is hey... Starfleet isn't protecting them. So yeah, I think they have every right to defend themselves.

Archer then expresses concern that by taking a prisoner they'll incite the Nausicans to be aggressive... yeah if you're not careful they'll start attacking your cargo ships or something. Now don't get me wrong, I don't think that torturing the Nausican for information was the right thing to do, but these are YOUR people Archer. Take the prisoner, promise the Fortunate you'll take care of things, call up Forrest and have him file a diplomatic protest to their government. That's how you handle things.

The Fortunate did take things too far by retaliating... but Archer wasn't offering ANY sort of alternative. Indeed he actively sides AGAINST the people he's supposed to be helping forcing the confrontation at the end. Between the Fortunate and the Nausicans... and him and his own people. I mean, if Archer's the best Starfleet has and he can't even manage basic diplomacy... the Vulcans are right, they need to stay at Earth.

 

[Ryva Brall]

Archer then expresses concern that by taking a prisoner they'll incite the Nausicans to be aggressive... yeah if you're not careful they'll start attacking your cargo ships or something. Now don't get me wrong, I don't think that torturing the Nausican for information was the right thing to do, but these are YOUR people Archer. Take the prisoner, promise the Fortunate you'll take care of things, call up Forrest and have him file a diplomatic protest to their government. That's how you handle things.

Yes! Like I said, I just don't understand his reasoning here. He said that by taking a prisoner, they would be inviting more attacks by the Nausicaans. Uhhh... So what about that? They were already getting attacked by them on a regular basis. What's the difference?

The Fortunate did take things too far by retaliating... but Archer wasn't offering ANY sort of alternative. Indeed he actively sides AGAINST the people he's supposed to be helping forcing the confrontation at the end. Between the Fortunate and the Nausicans... and him and his own people. I mean, if Archer's the best Starfleet has and he can't even manage basic diplomacy... the Vulcans are right, they need to stay at Earth.

EXACTLY. I know I said I would try not to compare ENT to the other shows, but during this whole episode I couldn't help thinking, "Well, Kirk never would have done it like this. Or Picard. Or Sisko or Janeway. What is wrong with this man??"