ENT Review - New ST Watcher
- Thread starter voxstella
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Dear Doctor:
I'm not sure that Enterprise has ever been adept with moral issues. The only exceptions where they were somewhat successful are Similitude, Cogenitor, and Terra Prime.
Worst episode ever? Really? Because Night in Sick Bay wins as worst episode ever for me. The episode was cringe-worthy to watch, between agonizing over the dog as opposed to the diplomatic incident and awkwardly flirting with the XO. Dear Doctor certainly has its problems, especially considering the ending. But Enterprise has had many bombs over its run. I'm surprised that Dear Doctor made it as the top 3 worst ever episodes--never mind nab the top spot.
Fusion:
I think T'Pol went along with Archer's "suggestion" because he essentially made it an order, and she's trained to respect her superior officers, not matter how idiotic they can be. I feel like Vulcan society is somewhat patriarchial. I'm not sure you can credit the writing team with that much forward thinking. I feel like Stigma was reactionary. They gave her this disease, and now they need to do something with it.
I thought T'Pol was an extremely strong female character, so it was disappointing seeing the show turn her into a victim. I didn't like the circumstances of her assault. Stigma and the ending of Fusion suggests that T'Pol thinks she's partly responsible for her disease, that she asked for it by indulging in her curiosity.
Shuttlepod One:
My personal preference is Trip, but Malcolm is appealing in his own way. I didn't see the scene about T'Pol as intentionally awkward. It came off as bonding between two new friends to me. I wished the show had done more with Malcolm. They spent so much time on Travis. Malcolm never had an episode that focused on him--his sacrificial moment in Minefield doesn't really count. Yet he's definitely more interesting than Travis.
I liked how they executed the concept. It reminded me a lot of the brain-eating repair centre episode (albeit the tone between the two contrasted drastically).
I don't think that Archer necessarily commits genocide. The show tries to compare the species' strife with homo sapiens and nethanderals. I don't think the parallel came out very well in the conversation with Archer and Phlox.
I think we're supposed to see the episode as the captain having to make the hard decisions. The mission isn't all sunshine and exploration. It's unfortunate that the impact got lost through the execution.
I think we're supposed to see it as her being loosening up. I think it's one of the first episodes where we have T'Pol and her seriously impractical night clothes. The scenes of her and Tolaris in bed during the dream sequence was a bit cringe-worthy, considering it's Tolaris. If we're going to evaluate bizarre dream sequences, I personally liked the shower scene in season 3 more.
I'm not sure that Enterprise has ever been adept with moral issues. The only exceptions where they were somewhat successful are Similitude, Cogenitor, and Terra Prime.
Worst episode ever? Really? Because Night in Sick Bay wins as worst episode ever for me. The episode was cringe-worthy to watch, between agonizing over the dog as opposed to the diplomatic incident and awkwardly flirting with the XO. Dear Doctor certainly has its problems, especially considering the ending. But Enterprise has had many bombs over its run. I'm surprised that Dear Doctor made it as the top 3 worst ever episodes--never mind nab the top spot.
Fusion:
I think T'Pol went along with Archer's "suggestion" because he essentially made it an order, and she's trained to respect her superior officers, not matter how idiotic they can be. I feel like Vulcan society is somewhat patriarchial. I'm not sure you can credit the writing team with that much forward thinking. I feel like Stigma was reactionary. They gave her this disease, and now they need to do something with it.
I thought T'Pol was an extremely strong female character, so it was disappointing seeing the show turn her into a victim. I didn't like the circumstances of her assault. Stigma and the ending of Fusion suggests that T'Pol thinks she's partly responsible for her disease, that she asked for it by indulging in her curiosity.
Shuttlepod One:
My personal preference is Trip, but Malcolm is appealing in his own way. I didn't see the scene about T'Pol as intentionally awkward. It came off as bonding between two new friends to me. I wished the show had done more with Malcolm. They spent so much time on Travis. Malcolm never had an episode that focused on him--his sacrificial moment in Minefield doesn't really count. Yet he's definitely more interesting than Travis.
I liked how they executed the concept. It reminded me a lot of the brain-eating repair centre episode (albeit the tone between the two contrasted drastically).
I don't think that Archer necessarily commits genocide. The show tries to compare the species' strife with homo sapiens and nethanderals. I don't think the parallel came out very well in the conversation with Archer and Phlox.
I think we're supposed to see the episode as the captain having to make the hard decisions. The mission isn't all sunshine and exploration. It's unfortunate that the impact got lost through the execution.
I think we're supposed to see it as her being loosening up. I think it's one of the first episodes where we have T'Pol and her seriously impractical night clothes. The scenes of her and Tolaris in bed during the dream sequence was a bit cringe-worthy, considering it's Tolaris. If we're going to evaluate bizarre dream sequences, I personally liked the shower scene in season 3 more.
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Those were really gorish, weren't they?
I don't actually remember that bit. Is T'Pol the XO?
I thought XO is shorthand for first officer?
They reminded me of really bad horror movies or computer games from the 90s. It's interesting that's their interpretation of unbridled Vulcan emotion. Because I thought it would be more interesting had they aimed for manipulative and sensual (something closer to mirror Hoshi).
I understand that "commander" in the Vulcan ranking system is the equivalent to "captain" in starfleet.
Carbon Creek:
This is one of my favorite episodes from season 2. The fish out of water narrative was absurd, but the absurdity was what made it charming.
I liked how the show used T’Pol’s celebratory dinner as the framing device. It reminded me of the sick boy and grandfather in The Princess Bride. Trip’s interjections—Vulcans hustling pool—added levity; so did Trip and Archer’s facial expressions upon learning that Carbon Creek was the point of first contact between humans and Vulcans.
The episode was funny. First, the Vulcans were starving, Mistral contemplated eating meat, and the other Vulcans reacted to the suggestion as if he suggested cannibalism. Second, T'Mir failed at dressing herself. Third, Mistral hustled pool; afterwards Mistral and T’Mir misconstrued what t.v. dinners were. Fourth, the third Vulcan secretly used what looked like a sonic screwdriver to fix the sink and then later bitched about all the pipe-fixing he had to do. Lastly, Mistral was fascinated with I Love Lucy.
Speaking of Mistral’s fascination with all things human—i thought the episode did a good job at showing how Vulcans were non-uniform. Some are like Mistral, who loosely interpreted his world’s teachings. Others are like the third Vulcan, who is traditional, stodgy, but not without emotion. Then, there’s T’Mir. Originally, she looked down upon the humans. Over time, she saw they had more merit than she originally contemplated. Her interactions with the teenage boy led her to violate history by inventing velour. Her softening attitude towards humanity led her to help Mistral in rescuing the miners.
I thought T’Mir was T’Pol’s stand-in on multiple levels. First, T’Mir’s softening attitude towards humanity during her stay at Carbon Creek reflects T’Pol’s own changing attitudes towards the crew on Enterprise. Second, the two share similar personality traits. Both T'Pol and T'Mir are adventurous, mavericks, and emotional.
Lastly, the purse is T’Mir’s legacy to T’Pol. That T’Pol brought the purse with her to Enterprise suggests that she had a close relationship with her second foremother. The fact that T’Mir kept the purse was sentimental (and kind of weird to be honest, considering the last shot of T’Mir had her without her purse). The association with sentiment suggests that T’Pol’s future is tied with the humans. It implies that T’Pol is capable of emotion beyond that of the ordinary Vulcan. The fact that T’Pol is comfortable with telling something so personal to her captain and chief engineer implies a degree of trust or willingness to bridge the cultural divide.
I really liked the ending. I thought it was one of the best endings from Enterprise. The juxtaposition between truth and lies worked with the fantastical tone of the episode. I enjoyed how T’Pol confused Trip and Archer regarding the story’s validity. It shows that T’Pol has a sense of humor and is willing to bait the humans. I found the last scene where T’Pol opens the safe and takes out T’Mir’s handbag to be extremely effective. Until then I didn't know whether or not T'Pol's story was real.
Dead Stop:
The idea that the crew runs into a magic repair station just after they lost their hyperdrive and suffered 6 months’ worth of damage is a coincidence too many. That said, this is my favorite episode in season 2. The episode was well-written, had good pacing, and introduced novel science fiction elements that gripped me.
The episode effectively executed its scenes. I found the scene where the station repaired the ship to be well done. Likewise, I enjoyed the introduction to future technology. I thought the use of bright light and whiteness throughout the station emphasized the locale’s unnaturalness. Like The Tell Tell Heart, you know something is wrong. You just don’t know what.
I liked the plot twists. The introduction of a brain eating repair station offered a plausible explanation to why the station had all this technology and could finish repairs so cheaply and quickly. That it was the repair station’s inability to replicate single cell organisms which unraveled the plot displayed the limitations of the station’s capabilities. The station’s secret and how the crew defeats the secret served as a nice parable towards machines’ limitations and the power of individuals’ creative thinking.
I thought the ending—where the station re-built itself—was clever. The station’s immortality reminds me of ghost ships that brings sailors to their deaths. I thought Malcolm and Trip’s antics to be slightly unrealistic. They were depicted as naughty schoolboys. Certainly, Trip is characterized as being curious about alien technology, but I’d like to think that he has some survival instincts. The nagging about the computerized tone got dull after a while. I didn’t understand Archer’s persistence about human presence. Similarly, the joke about gremlins was a little out of the left field, as it didn’t work with the mood of the episode. They weren’t brain eating gremlins, after all.
A Night in Sickbay:
I thought this, along with Daedelus, did an excellent job at showing why Archer should not have been captain of Enterprise. First, Archer should never have brought Porthos down to the alien world. I would hope by then Archer learned that First Contacts are dicey. Why would you bring your beloved pet down to a situation where he might get de-capitulated? Second, Archer’s fixation on his dog to the detriment of the crew is illogical. He’s letting his personal affairs get in the way of his duty. Third, the show plays Porthos urinating on the tree for laughs, but that’s disrespectful. The aliens consider the grounds to be like Washington Monument.
Fourth, all Archer has to do is grovel. It’s not as if the aliens asked for human sacrifice or pecuniary compensation. But Archer stalls and complains about the aliens’ obsession with details which 1) the aliens can dictate whatever they consider sacred as it is their world; 2) as a high ranking officer dealing with Vulcans for the last however many years, he should be used to unreasonable requests; and 3) it's his dog that got Enterprise into the mess. It’s not until past the half way point of the episode that Archer does the right thing and the crisis ends.
Fifth, that b-plot with Archer and T’Pol is terrible. Archer’s not the best at picking up subtle signs. Why would he listen to Phlox about feelings? Phlox is an alien. T’Pol is even more of an alien. As captain, he can’t get involved with any of his crew members. Sure, Kirk slept with every attractive female he ran into, but they amounted to one night stands. T’Pol’s his XO. He’s going to see her until the mission ends. Most importantly, Archer has a lot of unresolved issues with Vulcans due to how they treated his father. And T’Pol hasn’t had her drug addiction yet, so she’s still very Vulcan.
This is one of my favorite episodes from season 2. The fish out of water narrative was absurd, but the absurdity was what made it charming.
I liked how the show used T’Pol’s celebratory dinner as the framing device. It reminded me of the sick boy and grandfather in The Princess Bride. Trip’s interjections—Vulcans hustling pool—added levity; so did Trip and Archer’s facial expressions upon learning that Carbon Creek was the point of first contact between humans and Vulcans.
The episode was funny. First, the Vulcans were starving, Mistral contemplated eating meat, and the other Vulcans reacted to the suggestion as if he suggested cannibalism. Second, T'Mir failed at dressing herself. Third, Mistral hustled pool; afterwards Mistral and T’Mir misconstrued what t.v. dinners were. Fourth, the third Vulcan secretly used what looked like a sonic screwdriver to fix the sink and then later bitched about all the pipe-fixing he had to do. Lastly, Mistral was fascinated with I Love Lucy.
Speaking of Mistral’s fascination with all things human—i thought the episode did a good job at showing how Vulcans were non-uniform. Some are like Mistral, who loosely interpreted his world’s teachings. Others are like the third Vulcan, who is traditional, stodgy, but not without emotion. Then, there’s T’Mir. Originally, she looked down upon the humans. Over time, she saw they had more merit than she originally contemplated. Her interactions with the teenage boy led her to violate history by inventing velour. Her softening attitude towards humanity led her to help Mistral in rescuing the miners.
I thought T’Mir was T’Pol’s stand-in on multiple levels. First, T’Mir’s softening attitude towards humanity during her stay at Carbon Creek reflects T’Pol’s own changing attitudes towards the crew on Enterprise. Second, the two share similar personality traits. Both T'Pol and T'Mir are adventurous, mavericks, and emotional.
Lastly, the purse is T’Mir’s legacy to T’Pol. That T’Pol brought the purse with her to Enterprise suggests that she had a close relationship with her second foremother. The fact that T’Mir kept the purse was sentimental (and kind of weird to be honest, considering the last shot of T’Mir had her without her purse). The association with sentiment suggests that T’Pol’s future is tied with the humans. It implies that T’Pol is capable of emotion beyond that of the ordinary Vulcan. The fact that T’Pol is comfortable with telling something so personal to her captain and chief engineer implies a degree of trust or willingness to bridge the cultural divide.
I really liked the ending. I thought it was one of the best endings from Enterprise. The juxtaposition between truth and lies worked with the fantastical tone of the episode. I enjoyed how T’Pol confused Trip and Archer regarding the story’s validity. It shows that T’Pol has a sense of humor and is willing to bait the humans. I found the last scene where T’Pol opens the safe and takes out T’Mir’s handbag to be extremely effective. Until then I didn't know whether or not T'Pol's story was real.
Dead Stop:
The idea that the crew runs into a magic repair station just after they lost their hyperdrive and suffered 6 months’ worth of damage is a coincidence too many. That said, this is my favorite episode in season 2. The episode was well-written, had good pacing, and introduced novel science fiction elements that gripped me.
The episode effectively executed its scenes. I found the scene where the station repaired the ship to be well done. Likewise, I enjoyed the introduction to future technology. I thought the use of bright light and whiteness throughout the station emphasized the locale’s unnaturalness. Like The Tell Tell Heart, you know something is wrong. You just don’t know what.
I liked the plot twists. The introduction of a brain eating repair station offered a plausible explanation to why the station had all this technology and could finish repairs so cheaply and quickly. That it was the repair station’s inability to replicate single cell organisms which unraveled the plot displayed the limitations of the station’s capabilities. The station’s secret and how the crew defeats the secret served as a nice parable towards machines’ limitations and the power of individuals’ creative thinking.
I thought the ending—where the station re-built itself—was clever. The station’s immortality reminds me of ghost ships that brings sailors to their deaths. I thought Malcolm and Trip’s antics to be slightly unrealistic. They were depicted as naughty schoolboys. Certainly, Trip is characterized as being curious about alien technology, but I’d like to think that he has some survival instincts. The nagging about the computerized tone got dull after a while. I didn’t understand Archer’s persistence about human presence. Similarly, the joke about gremlins was a little out of the left field, as it didn’t work with the mood of the episode. They weren’t brain eating gremlins, after all.
A Night in Sickbay:
I thought this, along with Daedelus, did an excellent job at showing why Archer should not have been captain of Enterprise. First, Archer should never have brought Porthos down to the alien world. I would hope by then Archer learned that First Contacts are dicey. Why would you bring your beloved pet down to a situation where he might get de-capitulated? Second, Archer’s fixation on his dog to the detriment of the crew is illogical. He’s letting his personal affairs get in the way of his duty. Third, the show plays Porthos urinating on the tree for laughs, but that’s disrespectful. The aliens consider the grounds to be like Washington Monument.
Fourth, all Archer has to do is grovel. It’s not as if the aliens asked for human sacrifice or pecuniary compensation. But Archer stalls and complains about the aliens’ obsession with details which 1) the aliens can dictate whatever they consider sacred as it is their world; 2) as a high ranking officer dealing with Vulcans for the last however many years, he should be used to unreasonable requests; and 3) it's his dog that got Enterprise into the mess. It’s not until past the half way point of the episode that Archer does the right thing and the crisis ends.
Fifth, that b-plot with Archer and T’Pol is terrible. Archer’s not the best at picking up subtle signs. Why would he listen to Phlox about feelings? Phlox is an alien. T’Pol is even more of an alien. As captain, he can’t get involved with any of his crew members. Sure, Kirk slept with every attractive female he ran into, but they amounted to one night stands. T’Pol’s his XO. He’s going to see her until the mission ends. Most importantly, Archer has a lot of unresolved issues with Vulcans due to how they treated his father. And T’Pol hasn’t had her drug addiction yet, so she’s still very Vulcan.
I think A Night In Sickbay is an awful episode, one that should have never been made; it makes Archer behave like an incompetent twit. Everything he does in this episode is wrong beyond belief and in the end when he "makes things right", it seems like too little too late. This story should be explained away as someone's drunken dream.
Both of them are the same rank. Trip has more time served in Starfleet. When T'Pol joined Starfleet, Trip should have been the senior officer. In the beginning, I assume that T'Pol became XO because it was a concession to Vulcan with major upside. By the time season 4 came around, I'd assume it's too late to rearrange command. I don't really see Trip as someone who actually wants the XO job, as 1) it takes him away from his engines; 2) involves dealing with a lot of paperwork; and 3) handling Archer.
I can't think of one redeeming aspect of that episode.
Carbon Creek
I'm aware it's a popular episode, but I find it dull, and think it unlikely T'Pol would "joke" with Archer and Trip that way.
A Night In Sickbay
Phlox can redeem any episode IMO.
Dead Stop
I'm aware it's a popular episode, but I find it dull, and think it unlikely T'Pol would "joke" with Archer and Trip that way.
A Night In Sickbay
Phlox can redeem any episode IMO.
Dead Stop
To be fair, they didn't "run into" the station, they asked someone for help and were given directions to the station.
Re Carbon Creek:
Perhaps joke was a poor choice of wording. I feel like T'Pol purposely choose to say it's just a story, mention the fact that she's a scientist, and list all the other places she visited when Archer and Trip questioned the validity of her story. I feel like her response wasn't literal, if that makes any sense.
Re Dead Stop:
Still, it's weird they got instructions to that repair station right when they needed it. It's not a scenario where they suffered moderate damage. It's a situation where they suffered six months worth of damage and the closest repair station is so far away it might as well be impossible to go back.
Marauders:
I thought this episode covered an element of space exploration that’s rarely touched upon. The mining colony had rich resources but was susceptible to stronger forces. In a way, it reminded me of Africa and Europe following WWII.
I enjoyed how the crew inadvertently got involved with the colony’s situation. All Enterprise wanted was an exchange of ore for medical goods. Instead, they got involved with Klingons.
I thought having members of the crew interact on an intimate level with members of the colony made the situation more relatable to me. I enjoyed the scene with Phlox and the woman, as well as the fatherless boy and Trip. The ending where Trip gives the boy schematics of Enterprise was a nice token gesture.
I thought it was interesting that the crew taught the colonists defensive maneuvers and it was enough to stall the Klingons. The entire battle scene left me with the impression that the Klingons are really, really stupid in addition to being really, really prideful. This made them seem rather two-dimensional.
I’m of two minds regarding the ending. The Klingons left, but they’re not the only Klingons out there. This time the colonists had Enterprise as backup. Enterprise helped to give the colonists their pride back, but the colonists are still at an extremely vulnerable position. Defensive maneuvers and guns are not going to be enough, considering the kind of enemies out there.
Lastly, I liked how the episode used T’Pol’s bounty hunter background. Her martial arts training expanded her character beyond that of slightly dodgy Vulcan science officer.
Perhaps joke was a poor choice of wording. I feel like T'Pol purposely choose to say it's just a story, mention the fact that she's a scientist, and list all the other places she visited when Archer and Trip questioned the validity of her story. I feel like her response wasn't literal, if that makes any sense.
Re Dead Stop:
Still, it's weird they got instructions to that repair station right when they needed it. It's not a scenario where they suffered moderate damage. It's a situation where they suffered six months worth of damage and the closest repair station is so far away it might as well be impossible to go back.
Marauders:
I thought this episode covered an element of space exploration that’s rarely touched upon. The mining colony had rich resources but was susceptible to stronger forces. In a way, it reminded me of Africa and Europe following WWII.
I enjoyed how the crew inadvertently got involved with the colony’s situation. All Enterprise wanted was an exchange of ore for medical goods. Instead, they got involved with Klingons.
I thought having members of the crew interact on an intimate level with members of the colony made the situation more relatable to me. I enjoyed the scene with Phlox and the woman, as well as the fatherless boy and Trip. The ending where Trip gives the boy schematics of Enterprise was a nice token gesture.
I thought it was interesting that the crew taught the colonists defensive maneuvers and it was enough to stall the Klingons. The entire battle scene left me with the impression that the Klingons are really, really stupid in addition to being really, really prideful. This made them seem rather two-dimensional.
I’m of two minds regarding the ending. The Klingons left, but they’re not the only Klingons out there. This time the colonists had Enterprise as backup. Enterprise helped to give the colonists their pride back, but the colonists are still at an extremely vulnerable position. Defensive maneuvers and guns are not going to be enough, considering the kind of enemies out there.
Lastly, I liked how the episode used T’Pol’s bounty hunter background. Her martial arts training expanded her character beyond that of slightly dodgy Vulcan science officer.
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