Favourite Standalone Episodes

[Richard S. Ta]

A shame we never got "Oh, boy" from either Bakula or Stockwell.

It would have been fun but I’m glad they didn’t. It would have been so easy for them to play it up or even cast Stockwell as some kind of Mudd character so they could have a comedy episode.

I think it’s clever that they invert the QL relationship and have the characters be opposed diametrically.

It’s testament to Stockwell, RIP, that the viewer can be invested in his performance without being pulled out of the story due to the QL connection. His character couldn’t be more different, with shades of his future performance in NuBSG.

Same to Bakula for that matter. It’s good to watch this one and an episode of QL back to back just to get a clear idea of how versatile both actors are.

 

[Frightscape One]

It would have been fun but I’m glad they didn’t. It would have been so easy for them to play it up or even cast Stockwell as some kind of Mudd character so they could have a comedy episode.

I think it’s clever that they invert the QL relationship and have the characters be opposed diametrically.

It’s testament to Stockwell, RIP, that the viewer can be invested in his performance without being pulled out of the story due to the QL connection. His character couldn’t be more different, with shades of his future performance in NuBSG.

Same to Bakula for that matter. It’s good to watch this one and an episode of QL back to back just to get a clear idea of how versatile both actors are.

Very true, on all counts.

 

[Pumpkin Bread]

One more nice one, again the name escapes me, some CGI Semen Creature starts absorbing the crew and finally Hoshi can translate it and they take it back

Vox Sola. It's actually a part of a single creature that encompasses a whole planet.

We also see Travis Mayweather demonstrate that he's the most competent member of the crew, when he makes nice with the Kreetasians. Fully clothed, and without a chainsaw.

There’s another from Season 1 I’ve grown fond of. The name escapes me. Some alien rip-off merchant is building a nuclear generator in the centre of some quasi-historical renaissance village. Archer gets some romantic stuff.

"Civilization". I liked the part where they pranked Archer at the start.

 

[tomalak301]

I've always been a fan of Vox Sola. It introduced the force field, had everyone on the crew contributing, and it was a pretty interesting alien.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

Yeah, Vox Sola is really good.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

I mentioned it above, but reasons to like Desert Crossing:

1) Clancy Brown who lights up everything he is in. A guest of that calibre enhances any episode and he got play tell a truly multi-faceted, interesting character.

2) Like Detained, it's another episode which takes a look at the definition of 'terrorist' and asks the audience to question their own ideas.

3) I like the 'NX-01 as a Legend' theme that starts getting threaded through episodes. The great warrior, Captain Archer and all that. I can't remember if it starts here, but it's interesting in terms of the idea that this is a pre-TOS 'High Seas' version of space, where a single individual, crew or ship can become notorious.

4) Some very distinctive and memorable location work.

5) Fun with Archer and Trip. Always good together.

Hmmm.

Another Season 1 standout is... the.... second one? I think it's the second. It's a take on the good ol' Star Trek 'breathe in some spores and go a bit mental' trope. Trip and T'Pol in a cave waving phase pistols at each other.

I think I'm going to renew my Netflix next month and start up my rewatch again. I got as far as the Season 1 finale and then watched the Season 2 opener and it was just so difficult to write about for some reason, but I should pick it up again.

I am harsh on ENT sometimes and sometimes it is as boring as all shit, but most of the time in Season 1 it was at least okay and sometimes it could be very, very good. Sometimes.

 

[Warp 10 (Pepperoni)]

Lots more added to my watch list, thank you! A few that I've seen recently and some brief thoughts:

North Star - Loved the premise and the slow reveal that the humans very much knew they'd been displaced and more advanced technology existed. It does get a little repetitive after a while but overall a fun way to get a historical type episode without the holodeck.

Vanishing Point - I liked the ending being a take on "it was all a dream" but with a darker element in that Hoshi's mind was essentially being distorted (for lack of a better word) in the pattern buffer. I did find that Linda Park gave a very flat performance though...

Doctors Orders - Another fun albeit slightly implausible twist in this one, I'm starting to recognise a theme here... Big fan of anything Phlox so far.

In a Mirror, Darkly - So cheesy, so camp. Linda Park has a lot of fun here so she's already redeemed herself in my eyes, haha.

 

[Pumpkin Bread]

If you count two-parters, "In a Mirror Darkly" is one of the best. If nothing else, for doing away with the dopey theme music.

Edit: And giving us this...

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[CommanderRaytas]

Can of worms opened, but I absolutely agree with you.

@all Can we not do the Dear Doctor debate at length?

It wasn't my intention to spark debate. Just an opinion. Everyone else feel free to disagree.

 

[Warp 10 (Pepperoni)]

Well this isn't an attempt to spark my own debate because I get the sense it's been discussed at great length but... I've now seen Congenitor and loved it. Felt very classic Trek with an ethical dilemma that could feasibly fit into any series. It did get me thinking how things might have played out differently had it been set on Voyager for example.

Other recent watches:
Desert Crossing (decent but so many scenes of them struggling in the sand and heat)
The name escapes me but the one with Trip's clone (loved it)
Observer Effect (another strong one, interesting premise and the plot really ramps up in the second half)

 

[Frightscape One]

The name escapes me but the one with Trip's clone (loved it)

"SIMILITUDE", which was Manny Coto's first produced script for ENT.

 

[Altogether Ooky Romantic]

"Observer Effect" is my fave episode of the series. "Similitude" is my #2.

For any Xindi War-era episode, if you know Archer's mantra - "I must complete this mission!" then you can usually follow the more self-contained episodes, like "Similitude" or "North Star." "Twilight" is another outstanding Season 3 episode.

 

[SCE2Aux]

I mentioned it above, but reasons to like Desert Crossing:

1) Clancy Brown who lights up everything he is in. A guest of that calibre enhances any episode and he got play tell a truly multi-faceted, interesting character.

He has buckets of charisma, and is one of the big reasons I like that episode.

No love for Fallen Hero in here? The opening scene in the captain's mess is hilarious. We had an interesting Vulcan character. It touches on one of my favourite themes of the series, which is Humans and Vulcans learning to work together. And finally, that dash to warp 5 was awesome.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

He has buckets of charisma, and is one of the big reasons I like that episode.

No love for Fallen Hero in here? The opening scene in the captain's mess is hilarious. We had an interesting Vulcan character. It touches on one of my favourite themes of the series, which is Humans and Vulcans learning to work together. And finally, that dash to warp 5 was awesome.

Fallen Hero is the Vulcan Ambassador who disappoints T’Pol?

Good episode.

 

[SCE2Aux]

Fallen Hero is the Vulcan Ambassador who disappoints T’Pol?

Good episode.

That's the one! I wouldn't call it a standout or anything, but I find it really solid and very rewatchable.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

That's the one! I wouldn't call it a standout or anything, but I find it really solid and very rewatchable.

It's a standout!

Putting Jolene Blalock at the centre of the drama is always a good idea, plus it's nice to see another side of the Vulcan race. The actor who plays the ambassador has a brilliant name. Fionnula Flanagan.

I have severe problems with a Vulcan episode in Season 1 called Fusion, but despite the issues I take with it... about 80% of the episode is good?

The longer this thread goes on, the more I appreciate Season 1. I was very harsh on parts of it in my last marathon, but it's really got some good stuff in it.

 

[Cyfa]

It's nice to see some of my favourites are also quite popular with others - The Andorian Incident, Dear Doctor, Vox Sola (love those Kreetassans!), Carbon Creek, Dead Stop, Vanishing Point, Regeneration, Similitude, Observer Effect, In A Mirror Darkly - but I have a handful more in my 'most watched' list that are probably much less popular:
Acquisition - Trip saving the ship from Ferengi in his undercrackers
A Night In Sickbay - As a dog's human, I can't not love this episode (apart from the fruity cheese dream)
Precious Cargo - The always hilarious "Adjudicator T'Pol". And Trip in his next-to-nothings again
Future Tense - "It's bigger on the inside" and those inscrutable Tholians
Carpenter Street - Mainly for fish-out-of-water T'Pol
Daedalus - Hokey science aside, I really like Archer's relationship with the Erickson family. And the transporter ghost is creepy cool!

 

[Warp 10 (Pepperoni)]

I recently watched Acquisition and in terms of entertainment value, it may be one of my favourites so far! Trip in his underwear for half the episode didn't hurt things either.

 

[Beard of Sisko]

Regeneration, even if the episode is "fan wank" as SF Debris put it. If nothing else, it does at least make the Borg seem threatening once again after Voyager reduced them to a joke in the Unimatrix Zero two parter

 

[Pumpkin Bread]

Regeneration, even if the episode is "fan wank" as SF Debris put it.

Crude as the term is, there's nothing wrong with wanking your fanbase, as long as you do a good job of it.