Rewatching Enterprise

As much as I like the new Trek, it's definitely going for a very different tone to Enterprise.

 

Dear Doctor was an episode of the show I was never able to shake off. To quote one reviewer, Phlox condemns an entire species to extinction because some caveman might one day invent the wheel.

 

Today I watched 'Fusion', Season 1. For me very little happened, it's the most dull episode of the season so far. I learned that a tiny sect of Vulcans are experimenting with their emotions, but overall it made the Vulcans seem LESS interesting as a species to me, and more human.

Not a terrible episode by any means, as Trip makes everything seem better. Just not an eventful one.

 

Fusion has repercussions for T'Pol and it's important to what happens with T'Pol's storyarc for the rest of the series.

 

I think the goal of fusion is more to show how the main characters react to the nice, boring Vulcans. We see Archer finally meet Vulcans he can get along with, and T'pol finally meet some she can't, then they twist that into T'Pol becoming influenced by the one guy, then show that he's actually a creep.

The one Vulcan that Trip hangs out with is really, really likeable for some reason, and I found his little side plot heart felt.

I like the scene with Archer at the end. It was nice seeing him stick up for T'Pol(We'll get to see much more of just how loyal and dedicated Archer and T'Pol are toward each other as the show goes on) and stick it to that creep. These Vulcans have spent years mastering having emotions, yet a human(Archer) can easily manipulate the creepy guy into rage.

It was also cool to see the creep, who was pretty scrawny, finally show us what it means when they say "Vulcans are 3x stronger than humans"

 

Although I'm only about half way through season one, the crew seem to be real people to me. Warm, friendly, angry, hurt, defensive. They seem like a real group of people trying to get along, warts and all. It's very likeable and very easy to get into.

 

Here we go, after a long sabbatical, back with Season 4
"Storm Front" part one

The crew thinks Archer is dead, as they come to terms with being in the wrong time.
Archer is in fact alive, badly burned and at the mercy of time alternate Nazis who appear to have help from alien interlopers. We find him in an army field hospital, sticking out like a sore thumb.
He is transported by a group of clichéd Germans in the most lapsed security ever.
He's rescued by a bunch of Wise Guys and taken to New York.
It seems that, as good as the German war machine is in this timeline, they are still as stupid as Colonel Klink, or is it Sgt Shultz ?
Archer is clearly a prize catch yet they don't have him suitably escorted, it's laughable.
Back on Enterprise, Travis and Trip, fresh from surviving fighter bombers down below, ascertain that the bullets were every real.
No shit
"Maybe we're here for a reason ?" says Travis, right on cue we see Sillek lurking in Enterprise's corridors.
Having lost Archer to the Resistance (a bunch of money lenders), the Alien Nazis now fear exposure due to time dating Archers confiscated communicator, and they ascertain he's from the future. (Makes their lapsed security even more ludicrous)
On board Enterprise, Malcolm comes to the conclusion that things are different here, due to the Nazis reaching good ole US of A
No shit
Ooops, here comes Daniels, in distress, and he stumbles, mortally injured into Phloxx's surgery.
On alternative Earth, Archer is in a safe house, he's piecing together that this is a timey wimey issue.
No shit
He's in the home of a young African American woman, Alicia, who's part of the Wise Guy Resistance, apparently.
On the ground it transpires that the Alien Nazis have been providing super weapons to the Germans to give them an advantage, in return the Germans provide raw materials for some sort of. . . . well, fuck knows what.
Phloxx examines Daniels, in short, he's fucked.
In New York, the invisible Wise Guys go to the safe house to confront Archer, there's always one called Sal, and always a Carmine, this time there's a fat Carmine, also clichéd.
He assures them he's on their side after much macho posturing, later Archer questions the girl about the strange alien looking Nazi.
Meanwhile, Daniels tries to warn T'pol in his death throes, he sent them back in time to sort the timeline.
There are now multiple factions fighting for dominance, and the ones with the Nazis are the most dangerous.
(Yes, the old Temporal Cold War again)
In the shuttle bay, Sillek now reveals himself to Trip, he wants a shuttle, he wants Trip to accompany him, Trip resists and a fight ensues, eventually Trip bites a phase pistol dolt and is stunned, Sillek steals the shuttle, but not before saving Trip by carrying him out of the shuttle bay first, very noble.
Back in NY, Sal and fat Carmine take Archer to meet a snitch who has info on the weird alien dudes.
Shadows, hat, red eyes etc.
They hang around as the alien spiv guy appears to meet the snitch, Archer tries to extract info from the pasty alien, and in the process, learns that his ship is in orbit.
He takes the alien's communicator, Sal reverts to type and whacks the alien.
At the same time, Trip and Travis beam down to retrieve the stolen shuttle and to track down Sillek, the shuttle is very badly damaged, but Sillek is not around.
In NY, the Wise Guys get ambushed during the curfew, Sal gets killed and Archer and the girl get pinned down in an alleyway
Archer uses the alien communicator to contact Enterprise (all too easily), they are beamed up in the nick of time, no questions asked.
An emotional reunion occurs on the Bridge when Archer returns, well a bit emotional, he got a cuddle from Hoshi.
With his last words, Daniels warns of Vosk, a violent fanatic who shuns the Temporal Accords, Archer has to stop him.
They are trapped in this timeline and need to build a conduit home, but the material they are being provided with is inferior technologically, meaning that any machine built would be enormous and difficult to hide.
On the surface, as Trip and Travis hide, the Nazis discover the shuttle and enter it, Trip blows it up to prevent them taking it back, but they are now captured.
They are now at the mercy of the aforementioned Vosk, and will be interrogated.
The end scene shows the scale of the alien time machine currently nearing completion.
I really can't take this episode seriously
After the triumphs of the Xindi climax, we get this unadulterated turkey.
And there's still 42 minutes to go.

 

Interestingly(ironically?), the Nazis and Fascist Italians rounded up the mafia everywhere they went and threw them in prison. The allies released them all(or a lot of them)during the invasions of Sicily and Italy.

This episode must have been trying to capitalize on the Soprano's fame around this time. I'm not a big fan of this kind of thing. DS9 had a "Casino" episode and a "Donny Brasco" adaptation. That episode wasn't this cheesy.

Stormfront is dumb, but I suppose entertaining, with a few memorable moments.

Edit: I guess this is all TOS's fault for having a Nazi episode and a Mafia episode. ENT said "I know! We can do both at the same time! And don't forget the time traveling demon Nazis!"

 

I don't want perfect characters but I expect characters like these not to be complicit in genocide.

 

I don't even remember that it's been so long since I've seen it but different circumstances...

 

"Storm Front" part two

Part Two starts with a clever newsreel portion with Hitler superimposed into New York.
Making America Great Again seemed to be the mantra, was Trump a fan of Enterprise ?
Cracks are appearing in the Nazi/Alien alliance as American forces regroup for an assault. The Germans want the promised weaponry from Vosk, but after Vosk threatens the Commander, he realises (the German) that they are very much the lesser in the alliance.
On Enterprise, Alicia comes to terms all too easily with being in space with people from the future, and learning of multiple extra terrestrial species, but instead of being cosy, she wants to go home and fight.
Archer needs her and her friends to help find Trip and Travis, who under interrogation, have failed to impress the aliens, who now know they aren't Temporal Agents.
They are returned to their cell, where Sillek is waiting, in invisible mode. . . .
Malcolm has been piecing together the alternative course of the war in this timeline, its all timey wimey, tie yourself in knots stuff, with Vosk as the key
"The chicken or the egg ?" says Archer.
Indeed
Vosk contacts Archer and offers a pow wow, so Archer beams down to meet old pasty face.
Tucker and Mayweather are brought to the meeting and are returned to Enterprise, Vosk wants a deal and requires tech from Enterprise to help finalise his conduit.
Vosk puts his side of the TCW story, Archer listens, and the alien offers to send Archer and his ship back to their time in return for help (a time that is surely radically altered and of no use to the crew)
Archer is given time to think but he ultimately refuses the deal, all the while what was thought to be Trip is exposed in sick bay as Sillek in disguise.
He's arrested and put in the brig.
Back in Brooklyn, fat Carmine is asking questions of Alicia and her friend Archer, she sings like a canary, and the Wise Guy seems ok with the whole extra terrestrial, friendly spacemen story.
Archer confronts Sillek in the brig to get information, but he already suspects that Sillek's benefactor (Future Guy), wants Vosk's knowledge for his own ends.
But first he wants Trip back, and we next see Trip tied up in a storage room, obviously put there by Sillek, although how he did that is unknown.
Vosk now contacts Archer for his decision re tech help, but a battle ensues when Archer refuses, and Enterprise has to move out of range (bear in mind the ship is extremely badly damaged already by the Xindi battles)
Archer now decides to go down to NY with Sillek to hook up with the Wise Guys and find Trip, all the while putting a plan together to destroy the facility containing the conduit.
After a stand off with the still in denial German Commander, Vosk stalls on the promised weaponry and decides that the conduit will open "tonight".
In NY, Sillek has a new face and seems very friendly now with Archer, telling him of past business between Vosk's people and the Suliban, which bizarrely was sorted out by Daniels, another enemy of Sillek.
Anyway, they meet up with the Wise Guys and plan an assault on Vosk's place.
Carmine and Sillek butting heads was quite a funny scene, lucky for fatty they were separated.
Vosk now has time to monologue to his cohorts before his finest moment, preparing to go home.
His ridiculously under protected facility is attacked by a truckload of insurgents, as Sillek gets Archer inside during the melee.
Enterprise now drops down to a lower orbit to get in position to take out the weapons and ultimately, the compound.
The conduit is powered up, and Archer and Sillek are pinned down, Sillek breaks out and attacks two guards but after overpowering them, he is shot in the back by another.
As this goes on, Vosk finally wipes out the German Command and carries on with his plan to go through the conduit.
Sillek has a last words speech to Archer, always thought he was a great guy that Sillek.
Out of nowhere, Trip appears, (is he Harry Houdini?) but he's suspicious that Archer is Sillek in disguise, he's talked round and he and the Captain leg it out of the facility, and give the order to T'Pol to pull the trigger on the compound.
Enterprise now gets in range, but encounters German Stukas, these Stukas seem to have advanced weaponry, but they break through, now having Archer and Trip beamed back on board after goodbyes to the Wise Guys, they open fire on the facility and weapons positions, destroying everything, including the conduit, with Vosk and cronies inside it.
Just in time.
And here comes a new, improved Daniels to explain to Archer that the TCW is now coming to an end and the timelines are restoring.
It's a scene reminiscent of the Guardian of Forever in "The City On The Edge Of Forever" there is a wall of images from the past.
Time is now reset, Enterprise is home.
Vessels approach to accompany our returning heroes, and so they bloody well should have.
Yaaay.
Actually, as ludicrous as this episode was, part two was a bit better thanks to scenes involving Sillek, but overall "Storm Front" was a bit of a mess, leading to my confused, messy review.

 

Yes! It was from this episode that I realized Silik was played by the same actor who that creepy Tal Shiar guy in DS9, and the Romulan that tortures Geordi in TNG.

 

Welcome again Delta Vega, I realized that I missed your reviews.

As I was a child, at long boring summers that we visited my grandmothers house, one of the highlight was borrowing without permission comics of my uncle. It was Adrenalin pure to read them and bring back before he realizes what I did. I still remember some comic books with Alien Nazis and crazy scientist from Atlantis and I thought Storm Front will be an amaaazing story, as I saw the first one with Archer. Maybe those somebody whom you are talking about had similar childhood memories like me?
( It isn't excuse for what they have done with the material. )

 

Thanks for the kind words guys, my reviews get ever longer, sorry
I have to say, that the first time I saw the end of Season 3, with the face of the Alien Nazi coming into focus in the hospital, as Archer lay wounded, I jumped.
I thought "Great ending, can't wait to see the next show"
And then when it finally arrived I thought "Do the writers think we're fucking stupid ?"
Anyway, my next review will follow shortly.

 

Hmmm maybe we all "know" the concept of Allien Nazis, so our expectations were so high. Something real crazy, real trashy or funny like DS9's "Little Green Men" would be cool. After so dark and so hard season, we (audience+ crew) earned such an episode. Main problem of Strom Front is it takes itself sooo seriously.

 

I actually have more of a problem with the Wise Guy Resistence
And yes, "Storm Front" does take itself far too seriously