Newcomer with an ambitious project

[TrekNut87]

TrekFan2Be-This is my first post in this thread, but I have carefully read your reviews of the show when I've gotten the time to log in. Glad you're enjoying it as much as you are, it only gets better. I look forward to hearing more from you, it sounds like you're having a blast. It's so nice to meet someone that is new to Star Trek and is genuinely excited about the show.

Good luck and happy watching to you

 

[pookha]

i agree with some of your reviews though i would rank singularity and catwalk higher.
singularity is one of my favorite comedies in trek and they took the idea of an obsession on its ear by making it an obsession not about something that may or may not be important to the person but what happened to be on their mind the moment the radiation sickness struck.

 

[TrekFan2Be]

STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE Season Two Disc 5

Canamar (***/*****) - This is pretty by the numbers, but it's always nice to see Scott Bakula and Connor Trinneer paired together for an episode. There's not a whole lot to say here, as everything is really pretty well done. The problem is it doesn't really leave much of an impact at all and offers not much in the way of character or plot development.

The Crossing (**/*****) - A rather bland, predictable story pretty lifelessly put together. I felt like there should have been more of a feeling of dread and terror considering the threat the crew was facing. It felt as though the crew wasn't taking this threat nearly as seriously as they should have. It does score extra points for being giving everyone something to do.

Judgment (*****/*****) - Pretty awesome. This is easily my favorite Klingon episode thus far. It offers some really strong insight into their culture and identity as a race. This is also Scott Bakula's strongest performance so far this season as well. I loved the structure of the episode, as you discover more and more about how Archer got into this position through the twisted testimonies of both Archer and the Klingon captain.

Horizon (***/*****) - Again, Anthony Montgomery really struggles when he has to carry an episode on his own shoulders. This did really offer a nice look into the space boomers; a concept I liked from the get-go. I thought the storyline onboard the Horizon was bland and by-the-numbers, but I still liked the background it provided. I still hope to see more of this aspect of the show.

STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE Season Two Disc 6

The Breach (****/*****) - While, Doctor Phlox has really grown on me throughout the course of the series, this along with Dear Doctor really have provided his character's backbone as a character. This episode alone adds so many layers to the character of Phlox. He's much more then meets the eye. I also had a fun-enough time with the stuff with Tucker, Reed and Mayweather on the planet.

Cogenitor (*****/*****) - This is the BEST episode of the entire series to date. Connor Trinneer is Emmy-worthy and Scott Bakula was excellent as well. The actress who played the Cogenitor also hit it out of the park. It was amazingly interesting to see a tri-gendered species; it's something I hadn't even conceived of prior to the seeing this. Slowly discovering that dealing with alien cultures is something that must be carefully coordinated and can be potentially be very dangerous has been a running theme of the show, and this is their best effort on that front. The final scene is a real punch in the gut from both Trinneer and Bakula. The beauty of it is, Archer really has set that example for Tucker, and the tragedy of it is Archer can't see that. Just fantastic on all fronts.

Regeneration (*****/*****) - It was incredibly ambitious and different to not see the main cast for the teaser and the entire first act. The frozen, buried alien race discovered on Earth was terrifying and dangerous; something that Enterprise hasn't really been able to pull off until now. It was pretty obviously telegraphed that these aliens will be returning later on, since they made a point to say that it would take two centuries for their message to reach its destination. Archer's comment that they only put off an invasion really drove that point home and if that really is the case, its pretty exciting. This also had my favorite musical score thus far in the series.

First Flight (*****/*****) - Now, we're talking. After a pretty frustrating middle of the season (as warned by many on the board), Enterprise is really hitting on all cylinders now. Since "Judgment" its like a different show; it offers a much stronger sense of urgency. The flashbacks offered here were awesome. Bakula and Trinneer were again fantastic. It was really cool to see how they met and how their friendship came to be. This also offered the best guest star on this show to date in Keith Carradine. I was a huge fan of his work in "Deadwood" and he was really great here as well. I really bought that he was Archer's equal on all levels.

I'll be back tomorrow with my reviews for the last disc of STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE Season Two.

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

your perspective on Regeneration was interesting... very uch so. Most Trek fans will know what I mean.

BTW i watched that episode last nite on my plasma TV and it felt like a feature film

 

[TrekFan2Be]

Bounty (*/*****) - Watching T'Pol in heat is certainly many a fan's fantasy plotline, but it doesn't mean it makes for a good episode. The Archer being hunted storyline was also pretty boring.This was pretty lifeless and dull all around. This episode's poor quality stands out a lot following the last stretch of episodes. I like the fact that they seem to be continuing the storyline from "Judgment", but this does nothing to really enhance the plotline.

The Expanse (*****/*****) - OUTSTANDING season finale. This was a shot in the arm, and jam-packed full of new storyline and character development for all involved. Bakula, Blalock and Trinneer were spectacular in every way. This seemed to be series-changing, as Tucker's sister was killed, which should obviously change him forever and T'Pol's questioning her government's actions toward Archer's mission culminates in her resignation. I guess I could criticize this episode for being overstuffed and too busy, but I won't. I loved every second of it.

My power rankings for STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE Season 2

1. The Expanse
2. Cogenitor
3. Dead Stop
4. Regeneration
5. Judgment
6. Cease Fire
7. First Flight
8. Future Tense
9. Minefield
10. The Breach
11. Stigma
    [*]Shockwave, Part II
12. Carbon Creek
13. The Catwalk
14. The Seventh
15. Singularity
16. Dawn
17. Horizon
18. The Communicator
19. Cogenitor
20. The Crossing
21. Vanishing Point
22. Marauders
23. Bounty
24. A Night in Sickbay
25. Precious Cargo

 

[Alidar Jarok]

I'd rank the season practically the same way. I'd put Catwalk higher and Shockwave Pt. 2 lower, but that's about it.

 

[Dane_Whitman]

I'd rate Marauders below Bounty and A Night in Sickbay. The T'Pol stuff in Bounty was embarassing, but it did mark the return of the Tellarites and I appreciate the continuity with Judgment. ANIS is a guilty pleasure of mine.

Shockwave Part II would end up lower than The Catwalk, Carbon Creek and Singularity.

 

[Sector 7]

Carbon Creek (***/*****) – The idea of Vulcans investigating Earth after the launch of Sputnik was interesting and quite original. It was a nice lightweight breather following the larger story of the Shockwave two parter. Jolene Blalock was phenomenal as T’Pol’s grandmother (If I remember correctly?). This episode belongs, however to J. Paul Boehmer as Mestral. He was absolutely fantastic as a curious Vulcan anxious to study humanity. I have a difficult time awarding this more then a 3 star rating simply because it doesn’t advance the story or our regular characters in any real way, but it was a very entertaining episode. I legitimately had a good time watching it.
**********************************************
Cogenitor (*****/*****) - This is the BEST episode of the entire series to date. Connor Trinneer is Emmy-worthy and Scott Bakula was excellent as well. The actress who played the Cogenitor also hit it out of the park. It was amazingly interesting to see a tri-gendered species; it's something I hadn't even conceived of prior to the seeing this. Slowly discovering that dealing with alien cultures is something that must be carefully coordinated and can be potentially be very dangerous has been a running theme of the show, and this is their best effort on that front. The final scene is a real punch in the gut from both Trinneer and Bakula. The beauty of it is, Archer really has set that example for Tucker, and the tragedy of it is Archer can't see that. Just fantastic on all fronts.

These are my two favorite episodes of Enterprise:
Carbon Creek for its exploration of Vulcans as individuals, rather than the semi-evil partners of Earth. I thought when T'Pol pulled out her item at the end was a rare touching moment.
Cogenitor for its basic individual rights portrayal and Trip's activism. I still think it ended 'wrong'. There should have been some improvement for the cogenitors, but like real life, it doesn't always go the way I hope.

 

[TrekFan2Be]

STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE Season Three Disc #1

The Xindi (****/*****) - An interesting and exciting season premier. This is a clear game changer for the series and I like it. As a race, the Xindi are really interesting and unique. The idea of five sub-races, clearly not all of whom get along is a nice departure from the traditional "humanoid" races that I've mostly seen to date. The cast seems re-energized and invigorated with the change in direction the show has clearly seen. While I miss the wide-eyed, optimistic exploring, this is a pretty clever way to turn the show on its head. The addition of the MACO's is pretty cool, and a pretty natural development. It makes a lot of sense to me to place military personnel on the ship in this time of crisis. I also liked the dramatic tension it has brought to the Reed character. It should give him some nice material throughout the season. The Archer/Tucker storyline on the mining planet was paint-by-numbers, however it really didn't bother me. This episode was about a lot bigger then that storyline.

Anomaly (*****/*****) - If The Xindi was a set-up, then this is the first time I saw how this storyline will be playing out. This was exciting and really suspenseful throughout. Scott Bakula delivered perhaps his best performance to date, showing that Captain Archer is willing to compromise his own morals and his own beliefs to accomplish his mission. It was also pretty interesting to watch the crew (all too briefly) react to the first death aboard the Enterprise. The spheres are also fascinating additions to the story. Just two episodes in, this season has been very impressive.

Extinction (*/*****) - Perhaps I spoke too soon. This was pretty awful, and definitley one of the two or three worst episodes I have seen thus far. It stands alongside "A Night in Sickbay" and "Precious Cargo" for me. It was an interesting idea to explore a dead civilization, but the execution was ridiculous and it took away a ton of the momentum built by "The Xindi" and "Anomaly". This episode would fit right in around the middle of season two. Just blah...

Rajiin (***/*****) - A nice bounce-back from "Extinction", but not quite to the level of the first two installments of the season. The actress who played Rajiin was quite good, and it was interesting to see more happening on the Xindi side of this conflict. I'm very interested in hearing more of their reasoning and background, and this provided a pretty decent amount of that. It took a little too long for this episode to really get going, but once it did it clicked pretty well. The battle aboard the Enterprise really showed that this mission is going to be very difficult, and probably can't be won simply through a fire fight.

I'll definitley be back with reviews of the episodes on disc #2 and most likely disc #3 late this evening. Thanks for your continued interest guys!

 

[Shieldsdown]

Excellent! Reading your mini-reviews has reminded me how much I enjoyed this much maligned series. I will forever be a TOS fan first, but enjoy ENT as much as TNG or DS9. VOY comes in a poor last, though I would still watch it if there was no other Trek around.

 

[ryan123450]

As a race, the Xindi are really interesting and unique. The idea of five sub-races, clearly not all of whom get along is a nice departure from the traditional "humanoid" races that I've mostly seen to date.

Unfortunately, the traditional humanoid races is almost all you'll see for the rest of your voyage threw the various series.

 

[TrekFan2Be]

As a race, the Xindi are really interesting and unique. The idea of five sub-races, clearly not all of whom get along is a nice departure from the traditional "humanoid" races that I've mostly seen to date.

Unfortunately, the traditional humanoid races is almost all you'll see for the rest of your voyage threw the various series.

To be expected and I accept that without issue. All the more reason to enjoy the idea of the Xindi while I can.

 

[TrekFan2Be]

STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE Season Three Disc #2

Impulse (****/*****) - Nice attempt at a horror/thriller episode. I like that they are adding a complication to the seemlingly easy fix (Trellium D)to the anomalies problem. Jolene Blalock was really strong here, she's great without being absurdly over-the-top. The teaser was particuraly effective and intense. T'Pol offered some really interesting insight into Vulcan culture in her conversation with the MACO along for the mission aboard the Vulcan ship. The special effects and musical score are also very strong and of note here.

Exile (**/*****) - Glad to see them throw Linda Park a bone, but much of this story is dull and unremarkable. It's obviously a Beauty and the Beast riff, but it never quite took off. The subplot with Archer and Tucker exploring a sphere was pretty interesting and a nice diversion from the Hoshi storyline. The art direction and set design on the planet was particuraly strong, and the guest actor who played the alien was very strong here as well.

The Shipment (***/*****) - A nice episode that moves the Xindi storyline along quite a bit. It added a great deal of substance to the Xindi background and reasoning for their attack. The various guest actors here are very strong and very capable of carrying scenes. My favorite scene was Archer's scene with Gralik in the cave. It was well written and Scott Bakula was excellent in it.

Twilight (*****/*****) - Holy crap! This is easily the best episode of the entire series so far. Feature film quality in almost every single aspect. Brilliant idea and it features the best performances ever delivered by Scott Bakula and most especially Jolene Blalock. This offers us a glimpse at the worst-case conclusion of this mission, and it adds a great deal to the already strong sense of urgency that this season carries when it is on point. The teaser was the best example of visual effects the show has had to offer and was all-in-all the best teaser of the series. It was simply aww-inducing watching the Earth explode after another attack. T'Pol using the docked Xindi ship to ram the other Xindi vessel was probably the best action sequence the show has offered. The entire cast was just spectacular from start to finish. I did, however find it funny that Ensign Mayweather played absolutley zero part in this, because he was killed in basically the opening scene.

Reviews for disc #3 later tonight. Season Three is spectacular so far (with the exception of "Extinction" and "Exile")!

 

[Dane_Whitman]

If you keep this up you'll have no trouble finishing the entire franchise before May!

 

[Alidar Jarok]

I pretty much agree with your thoughts on Season 3 so far. It's shakey at parts, but it's generally more consistantly good than the previous seasons (there's certainly more focus, at least).

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Should be watching.. 'City on the Edge of Forever' or 'The Voyage Home' or 'Futures End' or the other ones in the past...

I disagree.

I suppose it depends on whether one views Trek as a sort of chronological "history" or as several series of stories about the experiences of the characters. IOW, a show like "City" may have happened earlier in history than "Star Trek: Enterprise" or most of the first season of TOS, but it only happens to the characters of Kirk and Spock and McCoy at a point well into their missions aboard the Enterprise.

Putting "Star Trek: Enterprise" before TOS is justified by the fact that the place of those stories in chronological history is consistent with the position of those characters' life stories within the same chronology.

By this reasoning, of course waiting until after seven seasons of TNG to watch "First Contact" makes the same kind of sense.

 

[TrekFan2Be]

STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE Season Three Disc #3

North Star (**/*****) - Similar to "Extinction" (though not nearly as inept) in that this episode would be right at home in the middle of season two. So far this season has been fantastic, but I don't really understand why the writers chose to stop the momentum that was built over a few good episodes to stray away from the Xindi storyline twice already. This is a pretty inoffensive, but useless episode that sticks out like a sore thumb in the middle of the season three. I did really like the really unique cinematography, however.

Similitude (*****/*****) - Utterly fantastic stuff here. This poses an impossibly difficult moral decision to the audience in a skillful and interesting way. The entire cast conveys the stress and complexity of the situation incredibly well. John Billingsley was especially strong here along with the predictibly fantastic Scott Bakula, Jolene Blalock and of course Connor Trinneer. It was pretty obvious that the neuro-pressure sequences were hinting at a possible romantic storyline between T'Pol and Tucker and I can only assume that this episode sets that in motion.

Carpenter Street (***/*****) - It's a shame that following "Similitude", the writers went in a more traditional route continuing the Xindi storyline. The previous episode is a perfect example of how this storyline can be used to continue to raise moral questions, just as Enterprise has done at its most successful points. This is a solid, yet gimmicky time-travel story that merges the Temporal Cold War and Xindi storylines. It's always nice to see Daniels return and it was pretty cool to see Archer and T'Pol as fish out of water in the present-day, but I wish the writers had a more creative and interesting way to merge these two storylines.

Chosen Realm (***/*****) - A pretty interesting, but bland look at religious extremism in relation to the spheres. It was really cool to get a more detailed look at the spheres, and D'Jamat was a pretty strong villain that brought some unique elements to the table. I also liked the crew using the transporter in a creative way to save Archer's life. It was however, a little too easy to re-take the Enterprise and the climax of the episode felt rushed and sloppy.

STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE Season Three Disc #4

Proving Ground (*****/*****) - This was a much needed return to form and re-focusing on the mission at hand. Bringing Shran back into the picture is always a good idea and his reasoning for being in the expanse is pretty believable and unforced. This seems like something the Andorians would do to try to get a one-up on the Vulcans, and it makes sense that they would send Shran to intercept the Enterprise. It was again, nice to see the Xindi characters get some quality screentime and background added to their plates. Degra is becoming quite a strong character.

Stratagem (*****/*****) - While the plan to deceive Degra is pretty overdone and probably unnecessarily complex, it was incredibly cool and made for outstanding TV. The teaser and first act really had me wondering if this was a "Twilight-esque" flash-forward. The real achievement of this episode is the development of Degra. Over the course of this one episode he gave the Xindi a face and a new interesting element. The final twist at the end of the episode was skillful and very effective.

Harbinger (****/*****) - There's probably too much going on in this episode, but I was certainly never bored by any of it. The dialogue was uniquely and refreshingly crisp; most notebly the scene between Reed and Tucker in the dining room. The Tucker and T'Pol developments were abrupt and sort of forced, but I bought it. They've telegraphed this all season long and I've bought into it. I didn't like the interjection of the female MACO into the Tucker/T'Pol dynamic at all. They could have sparked this relationship without bringing her into the equation. The Reed/Hayes fight however was pretty juvenile and ridiculous. Overall, a really fast-moving, enjoyable yet flawed episode.

Doctor's Orders (**/*****) - Noble attempt to give John Billingsley a sort of Cast Away episode, but ultimatley this is a dull and uneventful episode. It brought nothing new and interesting the storyline and while Phlox has developed into an asset for this show, he can't save this episode by himself. The "twist" that T'Pol was a hallucination was a failed attempt to shock me as well ... I saw it coming a mile away. Yet again, this season is proving that as long as the writers are on-point with the Xindi storyline it works, when they go off track it stalls.


My power rankings so far:

1. Twilight
2. Similitude
3. Anomaly
4. Proving Ground
5. Stratagem
6. Impulse
7. The Xindi
8. Harbinger
9. The Shipment
10. Rajiin
11. Chosen Realm
12. Carpenter Street
13. Exile
14. Doctor's Orders
15. North Star
16. Extinction

 

[All Seeing Eye]

The "twist" that T'Pol was a hallucination was a failed attempt to shock me as well ... I saw it coming a mile away.

I disagree, I thought it was a great twist and it was totally unexpected.

I'm surprised you actually saw it coming, there wasn't really anything that would give the impression she wasn't real.

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

I saw that twist coming to, as there was no indication early in the episode that Vulcan's were immune. Plus he never touched her...plus she was not exactly in character (too emotional), plus you know that eps with this kind of atmosphere will have a twist, and, since she came in only after quite a bit of time had passed, it was logical to assume that she was the twist.

I still loved this ep. Season 3 is awesome

 

[TrekFan2Be]

I saw that twist coming to, as there was no indication early in the episode that Vulcan's were immune. Plus he never touched her...plus she was not exactly in character (too emotional), plus you know that eps with this kind of atmosphere will have a twist, and, since she came in only after quite a bit of time had passed, it was logical to assume that she was the twist.

I had a strong indication that she was a hallucination for the main reasons Tuln mentioned here. She was drastically out of character throughout the episode, and I was wondering why it wouldn't have been mentioned that T'Pol was also immune.