Observations From a First Time Viewer

[BMariner]

I know there are a couple threads kicking around with comments from first time viewers, but the more prominent one is more like an ongoing review, so I figured I'd start my own just to throw out my observations at the halfway point (I'm almost done with S2).

A bit of background first: Over the years I've tried several times to get into Enterprise before giving up and moving onto re-watch another series. It wasn't the theme song or the canon issues; it was what I perceived as horrible writing and acting. I had seen high school plays with better acting. I thought Archer was completely mis-cast. The several episodes I held my nose through were oozing with lazy ideological tripe. I just couldn't stomach it.

Now that I've re-watched the other series', I figured it was time to commit to a first time watch of Enterprise. Here are my random observations thus far:

1. Both the acting and writing have improved drastically from S1 to S2. The one exception is when the characters are communicating remotely-- especially Archer. "Trip, I need you on the bridge." That kind of dialog. Maybe it's how they recorded it, but it comes off so displaced, like the call and responses were recorded separately months apart.

2. Seriously, what's with Tucker and the underwear? Every. Single. Episode.

3. I love how sparingly the transporter is used. They've removed that as a plot crutch. Quite refreshing. Hope that doesn't change in S3,4.

4. I really like how so far the show has centered mostly on the Archer-T'Pol-Tucker triad. Very TOS. It's amazing how with Trek, less is more. How many of us grew up loving Sulu Uhura and Chekov, only to realize upon re-watch that in actuality they never were more than tertiary characters? They weren't developed at all during the series run, and they didn't need to be. The other Trek series tried too hard to give fair time to each member of the ensemble, an approach that made me really dislike secondary characters like Troi, Crusher, Neelix, etc. I like Travis but not enough to give him undue focus. Reed I care about more. I'm cool with him being a prominent secondary character like Scotty was in TOS. But Hoshi and everybody else? Meh.

5. T'Pol is the most emotional Vulcan I've ever seen in Trek. (Also the hottest. Sorry).

6. Archer gets kidnapped a lot. What's with Trek captains and getting kidnapped?

7. I think we're getting way too familiar with aliens that the TOS and TNG crews discover anew later. It's like there was some kind of database loss between Enterprise and TOS.

8. The look of Enterprise doesn't wash with me in relation to the subsequent TOS era. Too much detail in paneling. I wish more thought had gone into making Enterprise look more pre-TOS. So far, aside from some unlabeled buttons, blinky things and the occasional knob, there are no nods to the very minimalist look of TOS.

 

[MacLeod]

To be fair there is some 100 years between ENT and TOS, tastes/fashions can come and go. So that can explain certain asthetic differences.

 

[Daveros]

I am watching ENT for the first time, too, and am currently on S4.

1. Both the acting and writing have improved drastically from S1 to S2. The one exception is when the characters are communicating remotely-- especially Archer. "Trip, I need you on the bridge." That kind of dialog. Maybe it's how they recorded it, but it comes off so displaced, like the call and responses were recorded separately months apart

Bakula continues to just seem very stilted when talking to anyone via a communicator, especially via the screen on the bridge. It's very off-putting.

Spoiler: S3 spoiler

Blalock is wearing on me terribly with her "new emotions acting". All she does is go wide-eyed and breathe a lot. It's super boring

6. Archer gets kidnapped a lot. What's with Trek captains and getting kidnapped?

Having only really seen bits of TNG and DS9 before, I am really not used to the idea of the captain even going on missions at all. From what I see on TNG Picard isn't even allowed to go anywhere, but Archer goes everywhere. If there's a suicide mission for even the most trivial thing , he's assigned himself... again. ("Chef's out of beetroot, the only way we can get some more is a solo mission of FLYING INTO THE SUN. Doctor, here's Porthos!")

 

[jespah]

The whole captain on the mission thing was also done by Kirk.

I will read the beetroot story if you write a fan fic.

 

[BruntFCA]

I was always more annoyed by Archer doing things that should have been done by trained personnel. Need to fly a dangerous shuttle mission? Send the captain instead of the chief helmsman. Need to rescue some hostages? Send the captain instead of the head of security. I'm surprised we never got an episode where Archer pushed Trip out of the way to fix the warp engines or took over for Phlox in sickbay.

 

[DonIago]

...now I wish we'd gotten an episode where Archer actually does keep the ship going all by himself.

It could even borrow the title from TNG: "Archer's Day".

 

[BMariner]

I was always more annoyed by Archer doing things that should have been done by trained personnel. Need to fly a dangerous shuttle mission? Send the captain instead of the chief helmsman. Need to rescue some hostages? Send the captain instead of the head of security. I'm surprised we never got an episode where Archer pushed Trip out of the way to fix the warp engines or took over for Phlox in sickbay.

Yes! I watched Regeneration last night (which sparked a bunch of new canon-related gripes in me), and it is amazing how quick Archer was to beam aboard the Borg ship to blow it up. Reed I get, but there's nobody else on that ship better (or even equally) qualified for a specialized hand-to-hand combat away mission?

I get why they did it-- because Kirk did that type of thing and it seems like they're really trying to emulate the Kirk-Spock-McCoy thing. I like that aspect of Enterprise, but missions like this really stretch that concept.

Daveros, I love the beetroot comment!

 

[Hopeful Romantic]

Welcome to the first-time ENT viewers!

Great random observations, BMariner.

...If there's a suicide mission for even the most trivial thing , he's assigned himself... again. ("Chef's out of beetroot, the only way we can get some more is a solo mission of FLYING INTO THE SUN. Doctor, here's Porthos!")

Best laugh I've had all week, Daveros. Thank you.

Full disclosure: I love Archer to pieces (and Bakula's portrayal too). But still. This is too, too funny.

 

[Melakon]

Good work.

This reminds me that I need to get back to my reviews again one of these days. I'm only halfway through, and can't do custom screenshots anymore so I miss being able to do that.

 

[Timo]

I guess Archer's death wish approach to his duties is consistent with the basic premise of the entire show. Supposedly, Vulcans want Earth to become a space power in a quiet and orderly fashion - and UESF wants the exact opposite, sending a Vulcan-hating hothead on a mission of galactic intimidation and hellraising so that everybody will notice that Earth Has Entered The Scene.

Archer might have standing orders to interfere with everything, but his personality alone seems sufficient for achieving the goals of his superiors. So perhaps he wasn't even told what his real mission is? It would suffice to strap a warp five engine onto him and let him loose on the unprepared universe.

He's an odd choice in any case. Earth supposedly has never had explorers before (there not being much to explore when ships can't even fly out of the Vulcan sphere of influence in anything shorter than years), so UESF couldn't have chosen a seasoned explorer skipper. But UESF supposedly has combat starships that precede NX-01 and have possibly seen some action. Yet Archer is not the veteran of any of those - he's a former test pilot! But he's also the son of Henry Archer, the man who freed Earth from Vulcan chains, and whom public opinion considers a victim of Vulcans. So perhaps Jonathan Archer is the only possible choice after all..

That, I guess, jibes with Bakula's portrayal. Test pilots would be the risk-taking type, not the delegating type, and would have little experience on hierarchical interaction. Forced into the situation we see, Archer could retain some of his test pilot mannerisms, such as constant calculating of risks and unwillingness to impose those on others, an exaggeratedly calm approach to all communications, but also a tendency to let his kettle boil over every so often because he's not used to doing a job 24/7 - he's used to laughing at death on Tuesday and perhaps Thursday, debriefing on Wednesday and very quickly on Friday, and brawling in bars the rest of the time...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[T'Girl]

The whole captain on the mission thing was also done by Kirk.

Sisko and Janeway also. Really Picard was the only series star Captain who didn't step up when it came to missions.

 

[2takesfrakes]

I thought the whole "Captains don't do Away Missions in the 24th Century" was a really bad idea. How this snuck into my most beloved of STAR TREKs, I tell you true: I haven't the remotest idea. What I do know is that Sir Patrick Stewart is the best actor ever in STAR TREK and this "policy" just to make Riker out to be the hero, was a waste of Stewart as an actor.

As to ENTERPRISE, I'm not here to review it, I just wanted to add that I agree on the first two seasons really sucking with the writing/acting. Also I hated - oh, how I hated - T'Pol's nappy wig and Human Eyebrows or Vulcan/Human Eyebrow Mix they used to do, sometimes. Hateful. Absolutely hateful. She was hot enough to make wearing that shit tolerable, but still ... Anyway, Season 3 is the more interesting to me, while Season Four seemed to have the most direction and forethought.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

The captain doesn't go on the missions in TNG because that is what makes sense, if this were real that is what would happen. Unfortunately it sux for tv.

Spoiler: S3 spoiler

Blalock is wearing on me terribly with her "new emotions acting". All she does is go wide-eyed and breathe a lot. It's super boring

I totally agree though it did not bother me until about the third time through. Then all of a sudden it bothered me VERY much

2. Seriously, what's with Tucker and the underwear? Every. Single. Episode.

IF ONLY..

And hey we got lots and lots and lots of the undies not just Trip.

But here, you're new. Watch this:

[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtTQQosvC7s[/yt]

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

ENT really only picks up in S3-4. Keep watching it gets better--though kinda too little too late unfortunately.

I thought Archer was completely mis-cast.

He was totally mis-cast. Bakula just didn't have the gravitas to give the role, coming across more as a bumbling fool who gets his ass-whooped (a lot) rather than a man who helped lay the cornerstones of the UFP and Starfleet as we know it. Add to that the fact that all the big speeches he was giving just never came off with any sense of importance.

2. Seriously, what's with Tucker and the underwear? Every. Single. Episode.

Trust me, Connor Trinneer in his skivvies is not a bad thing. Not in the slightest. In fact ENT needed more of him stripped down

5. T'Pol is the most emotional Vulcan I've ever seen in Trek. (Also the hottest. Sorry).

Too emotional for me. Plus I don't like how the Vulcans are portrayed in the series, very un-Vulcany for my liking.

7. I think we're getting way too familiar with aliens that the TOS and TNG crews discover anew later. It's like there was some kind of database loss between Enterprise and TOS.

Having the Ferengi and Borg appear was a big no-no. They were trying to be too fanwanky about the TNG era when the immediate connection should've been to TOS. I love the new look Andorians though, with moving antennae--they no longer look like blue pipe-cleaners sticking through a white wig.

8. The look of Enterprise doesn't wash with me in relation to the subsequent TOS era. Too much detail in paneling. I wish more thought had gone into making Enterprise look more pre-TOS. So far, aside from some unlabeled buttons, blinky things and the occasional knob, there are no nods to the very minimalist look of TOS.

The detailed hull panels I don't mind, with TVs being of better definition they needed it, otherwise it would just look weird. Also this is a ship built by humans who don't have lots of experience and therefore would be as smooth and streamlined as Federation Starfleet designs--when more advanced alien construction and design techniques can be applied. I do take issue with the design of the NX-01 as a whole, it would've been far better with a more retro look to the whole concept, rather than an upside down Akira-Class. At least they could've given it a secondary hull.

 

[ReedEnterprise]

Unfortunately, I watched some of Enterprise when it was first run but didn't like it. However, I got into it in 2010 and fell in love with it. My favorite series by far.

But.....I think Scott was a good choice. And as far as Archer going on away missions, he didn't have a role model to go by. He felt like T'pol could handle things or Trip if T'Pol went with and didn't want to put his crew in danger. He would rather die or get hurt. Right or wrong, he went by instinct.

I liked how they linked the Borg to First Contact. The Ferengi, I liked the episode but, yes I agree that they should not have used them. Andorians, Orions,Tholians, Gorn....perfect

Vulcans and T'Pol being too emotional, I just attribute it to the fact that they were still evolving no matter how evolved they were.....ex, no mind melds.

Connor and Dominic in undies, very good thing

 

[RandyS]

I thought the whole "Captains don't do Away Missions in the 24th Century" was a really bad idea. How this snuck into my most beloved of STAR TREKs, I tell you true: I haven't the remotest idea.

David Gerrold suggested it in 1973 for the original edition of his World of Star Trek book. Fourteen years later, he incorporated it into the TNG writers guide.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

I like the idea of Ferengi like rats, infesting every corner of the galaxy for profit. But since they aren't invading anyone no one pays them much mind for a long time.