Regeneration

[Phily B]

I've been watching Enterprise through after it killed my interest in Trek quite a bit and never got past the first season when it first aired.

Been watching now, and it is as poor as I remember - there are two or three episodes in Season 2 that are pretty good, but most are forgettable. But Regeneration was really really good, and made The Borg looking pretty strong again after Voyager.

What was the general opinion of the episode? I didn't like that they used The Borg, but the episode was certainly good and entertaining.

 

[Shatnertage]

I like it. I'm not a continuity junkie, though.

 

[Phily B]

Yeah, its one of the few I've really enjoyed these two seasons.

 

[F. King Daniel]

I enjoyed "Regeneration". It was lots of fun. I didn't mind them using the Borg at all.

I would have loved to see the proposed season five sequel, where Enterprise crewperson Alice Kreige becomes the Borg Queen. That would have been awesome.

 

[AMQ]

I enjoyed "Regeneration". It was lots of fun. I didn't mind them using the Borg at all.

I would have loved to see the proposed season five sequel, where Enterprise crewperson Alice Kreige becomes the Borg Queen. That would have been awesome.

That would be great, too bad we'll never see it. It's really such a great idea!

 

[AstroSmurf]

Unlike most I love this episode. It happens to be my favorite from season two. Voyager really killed the Borg for me so I was not happy when I heard they were bringing them into Enterprise. But like yourself, I felt the show did them justice and pointed them back in the direction of terrifying, where they belonged.


And just a piece of advice Phily B... don't let season two beat you down. Stick with the show until season three. I think you will be pleasantly surprised. This show really comes into its own in the third and fourth years.

 

[Phily B]

Its why I've stuck with it, most of my friends say it gets a lot better. When it first aired I quit after the season finale. I don't like the idea of the Borg Queen being an Enterprise crewmen, and while I didn't like the continuity issue of Picard not knowing shit about The Borg, the episode itself was highly entertaining and The Borg were not a limp dick like they were in Voyager. Though I still hate the idea that shields that can stop phaser fire can't stop physical damage...

 

[Gary7]

I've mostly been so against this incarnation of the Borg. Everything we've seen in the Star Trek universe regarding the Borg is centered around their first encounter with the Federation via a "Q" introduction with the USS Enterprise NCC-1701D in TNG. Based on the timeline, the Borg didn't know about the Federation until "Q" made the introduction "ahead of schedule".

So, seeing them in "Enterprise" just doesn't make any sense... at least so I thought, until I watched the episode again. And then, I kind of changed my mind. Here's why:


1) We never hear the word "Borg". Thus, whatever record of these beings is made, it is not tagged with that eye popping label.
2) Flox mentions the "collective" experience, but perhaps he doesn't add it to the ship's log.
3) The Borg that were encountered were certainly weaker than the version we see in the TNG and beyond. Perhaps at this point, the Borg are at a lesser point of technological progression. Certainly we see the nano probes affecting the people at a much slower rate. And the antibodies in Flox confused them enough to let him slow their progression and eventually eradicate his body of the nano-probes. Unfortunately, the technique would be unsuitable to use on human beings.
4) How'd they manage to get to Earth in the first place? "Star Trek: First Contact"... Borg ship remnants that managed to survive reentry and crash in a frozen wasteland. Despite the Borg locator signal sent prior to their destruction, it's possible that the Borg busied themselves with other species before concerning themselves with the long distance target of Earth. Or, perhaps the message dissipated before it could reach any other Borg within range.

So... I think there's enough to go on that can sidestep a major timeline violation. It was an entertaining episode. But, because it's an isolated incident with no contribution to the rest of the Enterprise series, why did they bother? Well, perhaps convenience. They've got all the Borg costumes and alcoves, so why not leverage it?

 

[F. King Daniel]

I thought the reason the Borg were "less advanced" was because they could only assimilate what they had at hand - 22nd century stuff. They could upgrade it to the max, but they couldn't reinvent the wheel.

Since they were supposed to be survivors of the sphere ship Picard blew up in First Contact, I'm not sure how they functioned without the Queen when all the Borg on the Enterprise died when she did.

And "Q Who" had already been screwed up by Voyager's "Dark Frontier", where the Hansons were investigating the Borg for the Federation years before the TNG episode. Also in "Generations", Guinan and Soran were refugees rescued by the Enterprise-B after the Borg destroyed their world.

Star Trek continuity = not so great

 

[ProtoAvatar]

'Regeneration' and 'Dark frontier' are consistent with the overall continuity to a larger degree than 'Q, who' is self-consistent.

In 'Regeneration', a contact with a highly agressive cybernetic species is made. All findings and relics became, most likely, highly classified and were ancient by the 24th century.

In 'Dark frontier' a pair of scientists were investigating an 'urban mith' - the borg.
How did they found out about the borg? From el-aurian refugees; perhaps even the classified encounter from 'Regeneration' contributed to the creation of this boogey-man.

'Q, who' - on the enterprise, no one is familiar with this particular 'urban myth'. So - they act accordingly.
But Guinan knows very well, from the beginning, where enterprise is and who the borg are. And she doesn't inform the rest of the crew...because tension is needed in the episode. NOT consistent.

 

[Danny99]

I have no issue with continuity, cause it fit fine.

However, it was just a bland episode. They could have had another alien of the week part and it would have been the same story.

 

[Michael]

I liked it just fine. Particularly the first couple of minutes had a nice horror movie feel to it, which was just great. It had great music, too, and looked beautiful.

 

[Jax]

Wonderful episode and brings The Borg full circle, making Q's action to send ENT-D in front of that cube an act of mercy not arrogrance because they were already coming.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I thought the reason the Borg were "less advanced" was because they could only assimilate what they had at hand - 22nd century stuff. They could upgrade it to the max, but they couldn't reinvent the wheel.

Since they were supposed to be survivors of the sphere ship Picard blew up in First Contact, I'm not sure how they functioned without the Queen when all the Borg on the Enterprise died when she did.

They were probably forming their own mini collective. Which, coupled with the damage they had suffered (on entry into the atmosphere + battle damage), and the primitive 22nd century technology, could explain why they didn't identify themselves as Borg. They may not have *remembered* they were Borg.

 

[pookha]

I've mostly been so against this incarnation of the Borg. Everything we've seen in the Star Trek universe regarding the Borg is centered around their first encounter with the Federation via a "Q" introduction with the USS Enterprise NCC-1701D in TNG. Based on the timeline, the Borg didn't know about the Federation until "Q" made the introduction "ahead of schedule".)

uh no though it is a common misconception..
the borg were the race that destroyed the neutral zone outposts in season one tng.
in q who itself the similarity to the destruction of the outpost planets and the destruction they were presently seeing was even mentioned.

so in way q did them a favor by letting them know scout ships from a very nasty destructive race had already been in their backyard.

as for reception around here..
before the episode aired people pretty much hated the idea.
but after the episode aired some people admitted to actually liking it.

mike sussman at that time even came in and posted about the episode.

 

[Gary7]

^ you're up on your Star Trek trivia far more than me, it seems. I didn't know about those outpost destructions having Borg signatures.

Really? Mike Sussman joined TrekBBS? I wonder how many other production staff have joined.

 

[Jax]

^ you're up on your Star Trek trivia far more than me, it seems. I didn't know about those outpost destructions having Borg signatures.

Yeh Gene always had The Borg in his mind when the season 1 finale of TNG was written, it was a very cool set up. I actually think something similar should be used as a plot for any TNG reboot movie franchise but have the attacks cause a potential war between Feds/Romulans/Klingons leading to a Borg sequel.

but thats just me having too much time to think on the loo

 

[pookha]

^ you're up on your Star Trek trivia far more than me, it seems. I didn't know about those outpost destructions having Borg signatures.

Really? Mike Sussman joined TrekBBS? I wonder how many other production staff have joined.

couple off and on mostly to come in comment
just before or after an episode they were involved in aired.
we also had a mysterious poster he may have been connected with the series who would post spoilers from time to time.

from qwho;.

DATA: It is identical to what happened to the outposts along the Neutral Zone.

more then that maurice hurley who created the borg has said that the borg were responsible for the outposts attack.

though things are more complicated..

i think the end of the fist season and i know the start of the second was complicated by a writers strike.

add on the borg were not the original intended big bad alien for tng.

the aliens who were involved in some of the first season episodes conspiracy were.

but along the way a decision was made that there were issues with this and the hive concept got shifted over to the borg.

 

[Phily B]

Sort of off topic, but wow - the series really improves around half way through season 3 after what I consider 2 really bad seasons. Serious question - what happened? There are still some stinkers, I was really uncomfortable watching Hatchery and the Enterprise's crew reaction to Archer wanting to save a bunch of babies.

 

[Jax]

Sort of off topic, but wow - the series really improves around half way through season 3 after what I consider 2 really bad seasons. Serious question - what happened? There are still some stinkers, I was really uncomfortable watching Hatchery and the Enterprise's crew reaction to Archer wanting to save a bunch of babies.

In Archers fairness he wasn't himself but yeh that was a clear filler and another example why ST should never of been more than 22 episodes for any season.

Theres no doubt season 3 and 4 are better and the drama alone in the back half of season 3 is at DS9 levels. However I did kind of miss the lack of exploration we had in the first 2 years in favour of the more themed arcs that provided stronger stories but took ENT away from its core mission. Theres little doubt that at the end of season 4, ENT had at least 13 more episodes if not a full 22 episode season left in it.

If season 4 was on wednesdays I firmly believe ENT would of jumped up in the ratings due to the quality and gotten us a 5th year.