Grade "Judgment"

[alpha_leonis]

B. Dragged down by two factoids.

#1, since they were *obviously* trying to rewrite TUC, they left out the classic reference: "not everybody keeps their genitals in the same place". Okay, I'm only half serious on that one.

#2, TOS trivia buff that I am, Archer at the beginning was apparently suffering from the same disease that affected McCoy in "For the World is Hollow". That disease was incurable by TOS time (one of the major plot points of "Hollow"). One, how did Archer contract the disease? Not even mentioned. Two, how was it cured?

 

[Ptrope]

^^

The impression was that the disease was a pretext to allow Phlox to have access to Archer; he didn't actually have it, so there was no need to cure it.

 

[Guest]

ENT does not have enough TIME to tell a story, etc

SPOILERS

This is the first episode of ENTERPRISE I've watched since that one where Hoshi lost her shirt, a scene which I thought reduced ENTERPRISE to a cheap cheesy pathetic soft porn show.

But I thought, since the press has been carrying stories of ENT's ratings woes, that maybe the message has been getting through and the episodes might be improving.

Well, at least there was no cheap decon scene or gratuitous boob shots in this episode, which was a plus. Unfortunately, nothing positive was introduced to take the place of the soft porn ENT had lately become.

As usual my girlfriend walked out of the room after a few minutes; as soon as Archer huffs and puffs and wrinkles the overabundance of skin on his forehead she's had enough. I also think he's weak, but don't automatically flee the room when he walks on the set. I just cringe a little. I think that as long as he's on the show the show will have serious problems. BRUCE CAMPBELL, where are you when we need you?

The key feature that ruined JUDGMENT for me (aside from Archer's very existence) was this Klingon lawyer; to think this guy, who's been going along with the corrupt way things are done for years, suddenly changes his mind based upon about two sentences from ARCHER, is ludicrous.


That's just not believable and it's what the entire plot hinges upon.


Even in TOS Kirk would give a long speech and then the aliens would still often disagree with him, as in A Taste of Armageddon; Kirk tells the aliens in a very intense speech that their method of waging war cleanly by computer is wrong because that sterilized blood free way involving no destruction of property makes war too tolerable, and is why their war had gone on for 500 years.

In the end Kirk has to force the issue by destroying the aliens' vaporazing machines because his speech does not convince them.

But in ENT Archer says basically, "You sissy, why don't you be a real lawyer for a change," and the Klingon hits the wall with his fist and says, "Golly, you're right!"


Other things contributed to the lackluster quality of this episode as well.

The whole been-there-done-that quality of the trial as in Trek VI and TNG did not help matters. The sparks that flew off the judge's gavel, which looked as if it was purchased out of one of those tacky sword and sorcery fantasy catalogues, did not help either.

The tremendous ease with which the Enterprise crew was able tto penetrate the prison planet and rescue Archer was absurd and highlighted only the fact that time for the episode was running out.

If it's that easy to get off a prison planet why wasn't Kirk rescued more easily in Trek VI?

This also points up one huge problem with ENT. THEY DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO TELL A STORY.

I watched Columbo last night and the time commercials occupy on that show are far far fewer per hour than ENT. On ENT commercials come on and remain on so long I get up and walk around and often join the show in progress when I get back. Virtually HALF the program is occupied by commercials; when you cut out the intro and the credits these guys have about 35 minutes to tell a story; GREAT for a comedy but deadly to a drama.

I know Columbo is 2 hours long, but the commercials per hour on that show are fewer, and this is true of other shows as well. ENT pushes commercials to the breaking point and add serious difficulties to a show that already has killer problems; such as bad writing, bad pacing, lack of surprise, juvenile t&a of a far different nature than TOS, you can hold up TOS as an example of a show with lots of babes but the way it was handled was a universe away from the cheap manner in which things are done on ENT; and finally, ENT suffers from the fact that two of the worst actors occupy the most important roles, forcing the writers to take the lesser roles of Tripp and the Doctor (the only really good actors on the show) and keep pushing them out in front, as if by doing that we won't notice the man (and woman) behind the curtain.

 

[MadMan1701A]

Greetings!

Greetings! I've been around here for a while reading, but never got around to registering to post. I've been watching "Enterprise" since the beginning, and I have to say that I've been happy so far, except on a couple of occasions. I gave "Judgment" an "A"; it's one of the best Ent episodes so far. Something that I was wondering, though; why do so many viewers seem to think that Judgment was a copy of TUC? It didn't seem that way to me; the trial was not as "showy" as it was for Kirk's trial, for obvious reasons. Also, I had a thought about how easy it was to escape; it didn't seem that difficult for Kirk and McCoy to escape Rura Penthe' in Trek 6. I know that they had inside help, but Archer did not seem to be as big of an "example" prisoner as Kirk was, so the warden may not have had much to worry about by accepting the bribe. Just my thoughts...

 

[shootER]

Posted by EarlFlynn:
The only reason I'm not giving this episode an A is because I think we needed an explanation for Archer's capture. Just a line of dialogue between Phlox and Archer might have done it, eg:

"Are you still certain that handing yourself over was the best idea, Captain?"

"It was either that or a declaration of war."

Absolutely. That's what bothered me most about the episode as well. So many times, a continuity error or missing plot detail could've been handled with a simple explanatory line or two...

I also didn't care for the ending, but rushed endings in Trek go back as far as TNG at least.

J.G. Hertzler was fantastic, as usual. It was odd, though, to see both of his eyes!

B++

 

[Jarok]

B+


SPOILERS





I was loving it right up to the part where Archer spent time on Rura Penthe. I believe they could have achieved the same ending with the NX-01 rendezvousing with a Klingon Prison ship and exchanging Archer for a bribe. Kolos still could have remained on the ship and achieved the same dramatic result. A man to whom honor was a staple.
Hertzler once again proved he is the Klingon for all seasons.
Archer was a little stiff and boring, As I've stated before I'm real tired of the Archer being captured routine. But as far as Enterprise goes this was a very good episode. Waiting to see what the "Borg" ep has to offer.

 

[James Dixon]

Posted by Xenoclone:
Technological evolution isn't linear. A HUGE number of factors go into how fast technology is developed, and in what field the development occurs. Sure, engine speeds for humans "only" evolve from a single warp ship to a fleet where warp 6/7 is the norm (which is a MASSIVE amount of evolution, mind you), and sheilds/torpedoes/etc have all been advanced as well. That sounds like advance to me.

In fact, I think the Vulcans/Andorians/Klingons are so true to the original series that it makes the other series (TNG/DS9/VOY) look bad for not taking the time to really dig into the species as Enterprise has.

So, if Mr. Goodman is reading, THANK YOU. It's about time we had a show true to original "Star Trek"!

PS- ST6 is basically my favorite Star Trek to date, and I didn't see any "ripping off" of that movie in the slightest. Unless you count using Kligons and their culture in a Trek prequel as a "rip off."

True to the original series???????????

Alright, I can see that we both exist in alternate universes and have seen two different versions of "Judgment"...

 

[The Poisoned Elf]

Well, maybe there is several dimensions in the universe... ...and if it is, I really hope Elvis and Kennedy is a couple in one of them...

 

[PorthosShadow]

I give "Judgement" 9 out ten Andorians. This was a pretty cool episode and the fact that they didn't explain how Archer was captured didn't really matter. I just assume the Klingons beamed him off the ship or threatened to destroy Enterprise.

 

[Icenine]

I enjoyed the episode enough to let all the previously mentioned problems zip past me without much notice (although they were certainly there). One item I must mention is please find more screen time for J.G. Hertzler! The man always brings something to the party and leaves you looking forward to more. Well done J.G.!

 

[STAR TRIP]

It never fails to amaze me at how when people hate something, they waste all their time bitching, moaning, and hating about it. Reading this (very long) thread, you'd be surprised that most people actually gave the episode an A or high B. It's usually the case that people who like something don't take the trouble to write about what they liked.

I personally LOVED the ending. It was obvious that he was going to get out, so rather than waste my time on it, I got to see real Klingon honor at work. Kolos's disgust at the fact that one of his own could be so easily payed off was wonderful and very moving (and also extremely timely). That in itself was worth more to me than MOST episodes of Star Trek (from TOS to the present).

TUC rip off? I'm not really seeing it.

Incidentally, Bakula is a far superior actor to Shatner. I feel ashamed for having to even write so assinine a statement, but reading these posts really does ruin the whole Star Trek experience for me. I've written about this often, but what really helps me enjoy an episode is getting just enough info to whet my appetite. I've given up on spoilers. Once I read spoilers in too much depth, I then have no point in watching the episode (other than to find mistakes, I suppose). And frankly, if I wanted a good read, I would not come to the BBS and read Star Trek spoilers....

 

[watermelony2k]

A!!!

 

[KT]

B+. I quite enjoyed it. Nice work Mr. Goodman.

 

[SpaceDust]

B+
A very enjoyable episode with nice insights into the Klingon culture. Archer was also quite good and Hertzler was great (Martok’s always been my favourite Klingon).

 

[Guest]

B-

Ending too pat, even if there's something more in store.

And really: Archer inspires Kolos to change his entire attitude and put his life and family at risk for principles? I mean...really.

 

[Xenoclone]

Posted by nanobot:
B-

Ending too pat, even if there's something more in store.

And really: Archer inspires Kolos to change his entire attitude and put his life and family at risk for principles? I mean...really.

I don't think Archer convinces him, I think his situation reminds Kolos how he truly feels.

 

[mswood]

James Dixon

Why do you assume that time warp factor 7 is the maximum of Pike's Enterprise. I just recall them mentioning it when heading for the colony, but I don't recall anything suggesting that it is the maximum speed of the ship.

Ptrope
I agree that Judgment should have been a two parter.

But I don't have a problem with the show being about Hertzler character.
A definte part of the show should be about the effects that humanity has on the rest of the quadrant, weither it is on a plantetary scale or a personal one.

A good example from DS9 would be the role of Sisko being the Emissary. Now we got stories about how that effected Sisko, but we also got stories about how that effected others (Kai Winn is a good example). Nothing is wrong with either type of story in and of itself.

 

[Danny99]

I gave it a B+. Unlike many episodes this season like "Vanishing Point" and "Dead Stop", this show had decent characters (even though it was the Archer and Martok hour). The Klingon prosecutor was played very well, because I actually really hated the guy, which symbolizes a good villian for me. Duras was a bit subdued but well played.

The story was excellent. The only thing that buggered me about this show was how they threw continuity out the window by turning the defense attorney into a Klingon pacifist, when we know all Klingons are warriors.

Otherwise a excellent episode!

 

[James Dixon]

Posted by mswood:

Why do you assume that time warp factor 7 is the maximum of Pike's Enterprise. I just recall them mentioning it when heading for the colony, but I don't recall anything suggesting that it is the maximum speed of the ship.

Warp 7 was maximum for the Enterprise in Pike's time according to the USS Enterprise Heavy Cruiser Evolution Blueprints... It is consistent with a heavy cruiser class starship equipped with PB-31 nacelles... The ship later achieved a maximum rated speed of warp 8 after upgrade with PB-32 nacelles... (I believe the Star Fleet Enginery print goes into this)... And even with those had trouble maintaining warp 8, going back to the earlier episodes such as "Arena" when Kirk was hesitent to go to warp 6 in pursuit of the Gorn ship (in retrospect, look how That stacks up against the "guest star" ships on Enterprise!)... Presumably this had to do with the lithium vs. dilithium crystal change upgrade as well... Something else apparently long Forgotten by the "writers" eh! That's technology for you, greater warp factors, greater acceleration...

 

[TorontoTrekker]

Posted by canadaboy_32:
The only thing that buggered me about this show was how they threw continuity out the window by turning the defense attorney into a Klingon pacifist, when we know all Klingons are warriors.

Either you're being sarcastic, or you were out getting a snack when this very topic came up. Kolos turns to Archer and says, "You don't think we're all warriors, do you?" and then goes on to explain that one of his parents was a teacher and the other a biologist (forgive me, I forget which was which). That was the point - they're not all warriors.

Besides, that never made much sense anyway - how can any society survive if all of its members are devoted to waging war? You need teachers, janitors, farmers, engineers, computer programmers... otherwise they'd never have gotten into space in the first place.