The Pleasancies of Rewatching

[foxmulder710]

Yes, "pleasancy" is a word. This will be the first time I've ever used it ever, but I looked it up to make sure I was using something that existed in English.

So I decided to rewatch ALL canonical Trek following the in-universe chronology, and thus I started with "Broken Bow" about a month ago.

I love Enterprise. I grew up on Voyager starting with the first season or so as it aired on UPN, and the rest of Trek only showed up rarely in syndication on WB (TNG) or else early in the morning (DS9)...or pretty much never (TOS)....Until Spike TV picked it up, oh those were good days, weeks of ten episodes each during prime time, some programming execs really knew what they were doing.

So seriously ENT was good. The Temporal Cold War was one of the most ambitious and well-executed (but NOT well-concluded, see "Storm Front") plots ever. The way that the writers would drop a hint and not explain things in "Cold Front" or "Future Tense," or suddenly put all of the Star Trek history at stake in "Shockwave" (I still contend that that cliffhanger was the best FIRST part of a season-concluding two-part episode ever, other than "The Best of Both Worlds")...brilliant.

Thankfully, we have Star Trek: Department of Temporal Investigations Watching The Clock to redeem that whole storyline from the nonsensical mishandling of the evil alien Nazis (if they'd left it only done that once in TOS, I would've been happy...or even that once plus "The Killing Game" in VGR) and that Na'Kuhl very cliche-ily sort of yelling "Noooooooooooooo" at the very end.

So I want to know if anyone else is currently rewatching so we can trade notes and have conversations about it all. It's one thing to binge-watch on Netflix alone, quite another to be able to share the new realizations.

Like for example, Hoshi. Well-done. Skittish, not "built" for space-travel, she has a character arc through season one that I enjoyed. Seeing her "grow her space legs" was one of the most naturalistic character development arcs I've seen, even though it wasn't terribly pronounced or dramatic.

Thoughts?

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Wouldn't it be "pleasantries"?

And you should just post as a rewatch thread. People will always join in.

 

[Shanndee]

Yes, a re-watch thread always seems to attract good conversation. People always seem to point out things that I missed on the first viewing, or simply interpret a scene in a different way. Multiple opinions lead to a richer viewing experience!

 

[foxmulder710]

"Pleasantries" is defined as "an inconsequential remark made as part of a polite conversation." Not what I'm going for, lol.

 

[foxmulder710]

"Horizon" was a bit sad to begin the day with. Mayweather gets SOME character development, but it seems (at least by that point in the season) that he's still not very fleshed-out. Even having him cry after his father died was not very well-acted.

 

[Melakon]

I don't know what was behind Mayweather essentially turning into a day player with lines, whether it was some deficiency in Montgomery's acting chops, or that the writers simply didn't know what to do with Travis. He has a good physical presence, but for much of the series he's rarely actively involved with any of the plots.

 

[foxmulder710]

"Cogenitor" was simply heartwrenching.

 

[Hopeful Romantic]

Pleasancies, very nice choice.

It's always interesting to hear a viewer's thoughts as he/she goes through the show, and to share viewpoints with other fans. Post away, and others will join in!

 

[Keith1701]

Yes, a re-watch thread always seems to attract good conversation. People always seem to point out things that I missed on the first viewing, or simply interpret a scene in a different way. Multiple opinions lead to a richer viewing experience!

I agree, and feel the same.

 

[Isolinear]

Some quick opinions after re-watching 4 seasons of Enterprise:

- Bakula's acting is so hit and miss. Sometimes it's spot on, other times it's like watching some quy trying very hard to look like a captain. Something I never felt with the other four captains.
- I really don't like Mongomery's acting.
- Blalock's acting dropped off a cliff in season 3. Articulate, ARTICULATE dammit!
- The second half of season 3 was not as good as I remembered.
- Hoshi, Reed and Phlox could have been so much more. Underused in Season 3 and 4.
- I didn't care for the Trip/T'Pol relationship. At all. Troy/Worf deja-vu.
- I like the Enterprise sets a lot, they're beautiful. But they should have been more like a submarine. Sort of what we saw in "Fortunate Son". But I guess the camera crew wouldn't fit then.
- Season 4 has a lot of "action adventure" compared to previous seasons. I would have prefered more pure SF episodes like "Observer Effect".

 

[foxmulder710]

Yes, a re-watch thread always seems to attract good conversation. People always seem to point out things that I missed on the first viewing, or simply interpret a scene in a different way. Multiple opinions lead to a richer viewing experience!

I agree, and feel the same.

I ALSO totally agree.

 

[foxmulder710]

Pleasancies, very nice choice.

It's always interesting to hear a viewer's thoughts as he/she goes through the show, and to share viewpoints with other fans. Post away, and others will join in!

Thank you, btw. I chose it carefully.

 

[foxmulder710]

Some quick opinions after re-watching 4 seasons of Enterprise:

- Bakula's acting is so hit and miss. Sometimes it's spot on, other times it's like watching some quy trying very hard to look like a captain. Something I never felt with the other four captains.
- I really don't like Mongomery's acting.
- Blalock's acting dropped off a cliff in season 3. Articulate, ARTICULATE dammit!
- The second half of season 3 was not as good as I remembered.
- Hoshi, Reed and Phlox could have been so much more. Underused in Season 3 and 4.
- I didn't care for the Trip/T'Pol relationship. At all. Troy/Worf deja-vu.
- I like the Enterprise sets a lot, they're beautiful. But they should have been more like a submarine. Sort of what we saw in "Fortunate Son". But I guess the camera crew wouldn't fit then.
- Season 4 has a lot of "action adventure" compared to previous seasons. I would have prefered more pure SF episodes like "Observer Effect".

So on the acting of the various actors. I have lived for many years with a general uncriticality when it comes to such things. I grew up watching Star Trek (and really TV in general) with a COMPLETE suspension of disbelief - like I pretty much accepted the story as true and never criticized the acting. I mean, my standard is really, "Can I believe that what they're pretending to be and do is what's really going on?" and since I can do that regardless of how "good" or "bad" the acting is, I don't really criticize.

I suppose Bakula is "wooden" and Montgomery is badly-acted, often.


And the Enterprise sets really ARE fantastic. The details on each bulkhead (the labels etc.) really made me feel like the show was really set between the present day and the Treknology we see later. NX-01 felt much more like the kinds of ship people in NASA would use for space travel.

 

[jespah]

Bakula often seems, to me, to be uncomfortable - an impression I never really got when he was the lead on Quantum Leap. As Archer, particularly in S1, he seems to be kind of struggling to find his muse. In a way, that wasn't too bad, though. I can personally add an in-universe explanation, of people who don't know each other well, plus of him being somewhat Boy Scout-ish (and he admits to being an Eagle Scout, although Reed one-ups him in the medals department) until the rubber really hits the road.

 

[SPCTRE]

Pleasancies, very nice choice.

Yup, the OP had me at pleasancies.

 

[foxmulder710]

Rewatched Bounty and The Expanse today.

I love the Klingons-really-kinda-hate-Archer plotline through the last third or so of season two. Having had him escape from Rura Penthe was a nice touch.

The whole Xindi arc starting with the attack on Earth is very well-done. An odd kind of political/war/almost DS9-style grittiness to throw into the very optimistic and generally positive mix of space exploration and naivete that Archer and Company possess through S1 and 2.

I really love this show. It's quirky.

 

[BMariner]

- Hoshi, Reed and Phlox could have been so much more. Underused in Season 3 and 4.

Phlox and Reed, yes. Hoshi and Mayweather, no. Not everybody needs their own plotline. I grew up loving TOS characters like Checkov and Sulu, then upon re-watch last year I realized they're hardly used. I found myself really annoyed at the larger roles they played in the movies. Sometimes less is more.

 

[foxmulder710]

I adore the tone of the series throughout season 3. This gritty, dark, military style.

The database-download scene from Anomaly was very much like a video game objective.

 

[foxmulder710]

Skipping Extinction for now. Read this instead: http://www.jammersreviews.com/st-ent/s3/extinction.php

 

[foxmulder710]

OK cancel that I might miss some small and used-in-the-arc detail. I jumped to the next episode and felt like I'd missed something important that had happened.

The metallic craft on the planet from Extinction is definitely a redress of the temporal pod from last season. They use SO much over and over through redressing on this show.