Rewatching Enterprise

Degra is a fantastic character, and I regard his death as the most graphic, and gratuitous in almost all of Trek.
If there wasn't someone like Degra balancing the opposing factions in the Counsel, Archer's mission and ship would have been obliterated.

 

After I've pigged out on watching Glastonbury this weekend, I'll continue my inane ramblings re Enterprise

 

Once more unto the . . . . you know what I mean !
"Harbinger"
The ONE with Trip and T'Pol
And the one with Trip branching out with Amanda Cole of the MACOs, very impressive
And a not jealous at all T'Pol, no sir
The Hayes/Reed tension comes to the fore at last, although it culminated in the most homo erotic one on one in Trek history
Make love, not war guys, have a cuddle
The ship stumbles upon a big soup in space with a vessel within, containing a very sinister alien.
When they discover similarities in his ship make up and technology that ties it to the Spheres, then he should have been in containment.
Why do the crew members regularly go through decon ,when the Captain can bring this craft unchecked onto the ship without decon ?
Cut to scenes of the crew and MACOs knocking complete shit out of each other, very strange indeed. (The "drill")
Before the inevitable alien breakout from sickbay, the Doctor and Archer again use questionable methods to get info from him, he's supposed to be dying. He should still have been in containment regardless.
Meanwhile we have gratuitous eye candy scene with T'Pol and Cole, then THE very gratuitous scene with T'Pol and Trip.
The escaped alien must have sensed everyone getting all erotic and he picked his moment to head straight for the engines, (thus confirming that he was no unwilling experimentee), an old Star Trek staple for out of control invaders.
After a very rocky night, engines, aliens, sex at T'Pol's etc, Ben Grimm is back in sickbay, T'Pol is wiping the smile off Trip's face in deadpan mode, Hayes and Reed are like two naughty schoolboys at the headmasters office.
And then the finale,the statement made by the alien
Almost undecipherable
"When the Xindi destroy Earth, my people will. . . . "
". . . be ready" ?
". . . be there" ?
". . . prevail" ?
I've posed this question on here before on here, and we couldn't agree, sod putting on the subtitles to find out.
An episode that dwelt too much on different tensions at play, and didn't fully elaborate on the very real threat in sickbay, a threat they brought recklessly on board.
Don't think we ever see Ms Cole again, do we ?
Again, very strange.
This episode could and should have been so much better, and will forever be remembered for T'Pol's bum.

 

What I found remarkable as well was the complete and utter shoeing that Reed and Hayes gave each other, yet they had minimal damage, a few cuts.
Also, as highly trained as Malcolm may be, I really think someone like Hayes would have had the edge in hand to hand combat, he's Special Forces after all.

 

And tonight's Enterprisathon continues with "Doctor's Orders"
Its not universally popular to say this, but I love this episode
Dr Phlox ends up in charge of the ship as it passes through a transdimensional disturbance at Impulse, a phenomenon the crew can only pass through while in a coma induced by the good doc.
This is a great vehicle for Billingsley to develop his character in near solitude, while narrating a communique to his friend Dr Lucas.
Phlox gets basic tutorials on helm control and engine maintenance, while Trip gets all panicky about his warp baby.
But then . . . . Noises in Engineering, and his mind starts to play tricks
Cut to a bit of comedy nakedness in sickbay which was funny and a bit of Danny Kaye, what's not to like ?
More noises . . . . and then there's T'Pol, but this isn't logical T'Pol, its a slightly strange and out of character T'Pol.
In fact this T'Pol develops to be as much use as a chocolate teapot. The doc continues to see shadows and its becoming clear he's uncomfortable in the solitude, so now we delve into the realms of the mind and the strange things one can imagine under stress. Shadows turn to full blown hallucinations, the doc is losing it, and almost zaps Porthos in his paranoia.
The Hoshi scene is horrific but of course its all in the mind, as is his meeting with Archer.
Now it becomes apparent how out of synch T'Pol really is, she's unhelpful and good for nothing, and after they discover they are still in the phenomenon after their due time to pass through it, she becomes a disaster at everything, but she is nice foil as a double act with Phlox as they somehow try to boost the engine to Warp out of the transdimensional smorgasbord.
He'd have been better picking up one of the celebrated Denobulan female bar dwellers to help him.
But hey, warp drive in seconds.
The ending is predictable of course, after seeing it once you could telepath it and after a few viewings it seems obvious.
Out of synch T'Pol was a figment of his imagination all the time.
Criticism for me would be the fact that they had built the tension of Season 3 only to digress off the path with a semi comedic episode with a twist as obvious on repeat viewings as an M Night Whatshisface movie.
And of course, the easy boot of the warp engine by the ships doctor.
I like it anyway, I know many won't.

 

T'Pol being utterly clueless in engineering during a crisis is one of Enterprise's "little moments" for me
Some of the faces she pulls are comedy gold.
Earlier, when T'Pol didn't take the phase pistol from him to assist in searching the ship for imaginary insectoids, he should have twigged that she wasn't real.
I mean she was never averse to firing a weapon before.

 

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought that. The way Jolene Blalock subtly altered her expression to appear attentive but also completely clueless was something I found hilarious. A great bit of acting!

 

I must apologise in advance due to the ever lengthening reviews, but I get carried away.
"Hatchery"
The ship encounters a crashed Xindi vessel, later ascertained to be insectoid. There's no life signs in the ship and environmental controls are down, giving the excuse to wear the EV Suits which I love in Enterprise. There are insectoid corpses on the floor, probably the best place for them.
They find a mysterious vault, some kind of nursery with a freakshow of baby Xindi. Archer somehow gets sprayed by a strange compound, just the beginning of his problems it seems.
There are still ongoing tensions being played out between Reed and Hayes, first in the shuttle and then in the Armoury, but they kinda make up.
To the crew's amazement Archer wants to save the nursery, he puts up a valid explanation but are his motives true or has he been compromised ?
The salvaged insectoid shuttle controls look like the Suliban orb used previously.
Phlox is happy as a pig in shit doing the autopsy on the "asexual" insectoid, well lets be honest, it's not the grossest thing in his sickbay is it ?
Archer by now has sunk into paranoia and obsession over the hatchery, the crew by now are starting to question his motives.
Trip, Malcolm and T'Pol are having clandestine meetings re Archer's behaviour while the Captain surrounds himself with MACOs whom he appears to have taken under his wing.
When T'Pol refuses a direct order she's relieved of her post and confined, its clear that Archer is compromised and Trip is next to try and talk sense into him.
Phlox is the only person who can intervene, but he's ignored, meanwhile the Xindi turn up and Malcolm blows them to hell.
His reward from a bonkers Captain is to be replaced as TO by Hayes.
The shit keeps piling up and Archer wants to alert other Xindi ships of their whereabouts, and after another unsuccessful attempt to overrule the Captain on medical grounds, a Mutiny brews.
It's played out as Starfleet vs MACOs, and while the crew try to retake the ship, Archer is playing Mom in the hatchery.
We have a standoff on the Bridge, Trip zaps Archer and gets him back to the ship in time to flee the scene.
The crew and Hayes make their peace as the doc explains why Archer was behaving like a surrogate mom, while Hayes and Reed kiss and make up again.
Mutiny swept under the carpet and Archer still confined to quarters, sick, under Phlox's jurisdiction.
This is a strange episode, and posed some questions about the chain of command even if a senior officer is beyond the pale. Would it really be that easy to mutiny, and if things were really so bad (they were) why didn't the MACOs agree that Archer was a danger to the ship and mission, like the crew ?
There were more distractions we could have done without on the way to Azati Prime, but further insight was offered as to the very alien nature of the Xindi insectoids.
A build up episode for the travails to come.

 

Tonight we have a super episode
"Azati Prime"
43 minutes of magical Trek. The ship arrives at Azati Prime unaware that the weapon is almost complete, while the Xindi ponder their impending glory. The reptilians show increasing impatience with the Xindi factions and the threat of maverick action is hinted at here.
Some nice interplay between Hoshi and T'Pol as they try to decipher insectoid language patterns, while Travis and Trip wing it in the captured insectoid craft.
Enterprise has to take out a tracking station on the nearest moon or risk being exposed, it's a ruthless move.
Meanwhile, under the oceans of AP, the intrepid pair find a massive Xindi facility, and the weapon. The crew come up with a plan to destroy the weapon but it's a one way trip with Archer taking the responsibility.
Enter Daniels, and he takes Archer 400 years forward to the Enterprise J, ensconced in transdimensional space, in battle with the Sphere Builders.
The SBs are the time faction who have invested in the Xindi, and now Daniels has to persuade Archer to make peace for the sake of the timeline, because he can't be allowed to die.
He's given a token from a Xindi crewmember from Enterprise J to prove to the Xindi that in the future they'll be allies on board a Federation ship, and it's actually the Builders who are the enemy.
Archer goes on the mission while T'Pol starts to fall apart emotionally. Degra struggles to keep the reptilians in check and his conscience is bothering him again.
Archer also examines his own conscience before his one way trip, he gathers the Bridge Crew for an emotional goodbye.
When he gets to the facility, the weapon is gone and he is captured, the crew are unaware of his status, presume he is dead. Trip tries to persuade an emotionally compromised T'Pol back on the Bridge to take the Comm but she's a mess.
The reptilian Dolim tries to extract information from Archer, believing he has reinforcements on the way, but all he gets is a dinosaur lesson, while Archer gets a very sore face.
But by now his ship has been discovered and he has to insist on seeing Degra to buy time.
Trip and Malcolm are at odds with T'Pol over the next course of action, thinking the weapon is still in situ.
By now we have a game of cat and mouse between Archer and Degra, with Archer using info gained during "Stratagem" to his advantage.
He shows Degra the token and calls out the Sphere Builders motives, telling him that it's them and not humans who are the enemy.
A sceptical Degra begins to doubt the story he's been fed.
"She" is mentioned, who could "She" possibly be ?
A Xindi task force now approaches Enterprise, and we see the ship being absolutely decimated, attacked mercilessly by reptilians.
All hope looks lost, Enterprise is dead in the water, simply unable to fight and abandonment looks likely.
Dolim takes over but Degra still tries to be the voice of reason and examine the new evidence.
We end on a cliffhanger, and surely never in the history of Trek has the main vessel ever taken a shoeing like this ?
Very impressive, my favourite Enterprise episode.
Phew !

 

Re-watching Season 3 myself.

 

When this was first shown, Trek fans everywhere must have been thinking, "Don't worry it will be ok in the end", but it didn't end well at all.
The lingering shot on T'Pol's eyes, as she looks utterly helpless, is a great way to leave the episode.

 

"Damage"
We resume with Enterprise at death's door, but somehow, somehow the attack stops. The ship has gaping holes all over and is venting atmosphere, but somehow, somehow Degra persuaded the Counsel to call off the blitz.
Archer is taken by Aquatics back to Enterprise to await questioning by the Counsel, the ship is in a critical condition with no warp drive. Archer returns to the ship in a Xindi escape pod.
He sees bodybags in sickbay containing corpses, a small understated and graphic scene. T'Pol is also falling apart emotionally.
The ship has to go into hiding as Archer alerts the crew about the schisms in the Xindi hierarchy, meanwhile the death toll is 14 with 3 missing.
A vessel approaches seeking help which is ironic because Enterprise is a sitting duck, but they make contact and barter a trade scenario but can't quite reach a deal on what Enterprise needs.
In the secondary story, T'Pol is now hallucinating, and she puts herself in danger to retrieve "medication" from a depressurised cargo hold, showing signs of being a junkie.
Desperate measures mean Archer has to become a pirate and take what they need from the alien visitors, he consults with Phlox re "ethics", all of this scene is dark, dimly lit, emphasising the sombre mood of the Captain and Doctor.
Degra has secreted a message in the pod, encrypted, with co ordinates for a rendezvous point three days distant, but with no warp drive, its a forlorn task to make the rendezvous.
Some of Degra's allies are then seen in conversation with a female transdimensional being, "She", it's the first appearance of the female leaders of the Sphere Builders.
She is of course manipulating the Xindi, and Degra starts to doubt her words.
The Enterprise meanwhile, reluctantly attack the alien vessel to steal their warp core, and after some set backs they eventually prevail, condemning their opponents to three years in the wilderness at impulse.
Enterprise are now the Marauders, they have become what they loathed earlier in Season 3.
All the while, T'Pol's emotional turmoil is explained, and it turns out she's been injecting Trellium to access emotions and now she has been suffering withdrawal symptons.
She has to learn to live with the new found anxieties and emotions.
Archer again wrestles with his conscience but he has the weight of humanity's future on his shoulders.
Damage is a great episode, damage to the ship, damage to emotions, damage to alliances, both human (Archer made decisions his crew were not comfortable with) and Xindi.
And so many potential dilemmas to come for the crew.

 

Yeah, totally agree re Archer, I always liked him, he gets some unfair criticism from fans.
The Xindi arc is great storytelling, and gets better with every episode until it all comes to a head at the end of Season 3.
The dark undertones of "Damage" tell us that there is conflict in everyone, and in certain circumstances, rational "good" people, will do irrational "bad" things, but in their head they may never be able to justify their actions.
I watched "The Forgotten" last night and I'll put my review up soon, but this was an episode I'd given short shrift to in the past, but watching it last night I viewed it in a new light, it really takes the baton from "Azati Prime" and "Damage" and carries it confidently on.

 

"The Forgotten"
The ship limps on and the death toll is 18, we start with a rousing speech from Archer but given the situation, how could anyone really believe they would succeed with the mission now ?
They head for Degra's rendezvous point.
T'Pol's emotional state has not improved and the Trellium may have damaged her permanently.
Arriving at the RP they pass through a vortex to find Degra, they follow his ship to another sphere where Archer boards the Xindi ship.
Degra and Jannar are receptive to his story re the Sphere Builders but they need proof, so Archer takes them onboard Enterprise and shows them the captured bioweapon and three reptilian corpses from Detroit 2004, they are a tough crowd but when he shows them images of the dead transdimensional being from "Harbinger" they become receptive to the evidence of the invasion story by the Sphere Builders as told by Archer.
In a subplot story, Trip has been asked by Archer to write a letter to the parents of one of his team, who perished at Azati Prime, a crewperson we didn't previously know, and to me this seemed a bit much, when Trip had other things to do, but the story develops.
Meanwhile, another explosion in engineering leads to a slow leak in the hull plating, soon to get worse.
After being ordered down by Phlox to get some sleep, Trip finally rests but he encounters his dead colleague he has to write the letter for, in his dreams. She asks not be forgotten and he feels shame.
Back on the Xindi ship Jannar and Degra weigh up Archer's proof about the SBs.
When Degra returns to Enterprise he receives some flak from a belligerent Trip. Now the microfracture on the hull becomes a full blown plasma burst, and Tucker and Reed have to do a manual valve shutdown outside the ship.
It's always great to see an EV Suit scene.
An access panel won't open and the plasma fire is getting worse, they race against time plus Reed's suit is overheating, but they manage to curtail the fire, although Reed is rushed to sickbay.
(There is a cool shot of Reed with the nacelle behind him which I liked)
Trip now says his piece to Degra, Archer takes Degra out of harms way, where Degra informs Archer that the sphere count is 78, he also tells Archer about his misgivings regarding the original weapon.
They exchange information on the spheres .
Right on cue another Xindi ship appears, reptilian, and they ain't in the mood to make alliances, further differences are shown between the Xindi factions.
Archer has to ask Degra for help against the reptilian vessel, and Degra decides to side with Enterprise, reluctantly, but a three way skirmish ensues and Enterprise disables the reptilian ship with Degra's help.
But in the end Degra destroys the reptilian ship for fear of them getting news back to the Counsel about their dealings with the Earth vessel.
Degra gives up portable technology to help with Enterprise's repairs but Trip is consumed by hatred and shame (and is reluctant to use the technology)
He feels shame because he realises he didn't actually know his colleague well enough to write a letter to her parents.
Degra makes plans for Archer to come and make his case to the Counsel, and an alliance takes shape but Degra states that they need to persuade the aquatics, thus rendering any fears over what the reptilians and insectoids think, futile.
Trip completes his letter and delivers a moving eulogy for his lost colleague and friend.
"The Forgotten" offered so much more than I remembered, it's a transition episode, where we see that Archer has formed alliances with the arborials and the primate Xindi.
It's also an episode of reflection and realisation that they could never stop the Xindi without help from previously unexpected sources.

 

The series ended BEFORE it should have for sure.