I must say that Ron Moore is some form of asshole beacuse he turned such fine show like Galactica into drunken-miserable soap opera shit with Lee Queer and Kara "Masculin" Dick.
The Misanthope's guide to Enterprise...
- Thread starter Sadistro
- Start date
Okay Miro, Lee may be a sissy, Kara may be a dude (a pretty dude), and BSG may be crap, but... I forgot what I wanted to say... aw hell.
How's about this: let's dispense with the profoundly improper choice of epithets, Miroslav, and everybody get back on topic.
trust me as a student of hisory we have evolved.
yeah we have a long way to go but we have come a long way.
actions in the past that were just seen as the way things happened are now questioned if not punished.
look if a significant part of mankind had not evolved i dont know if we would have made it through the cold war.
as bad as world war two was it was piker considering the damage that could have been done with the technology involved.
just think if modern warfare tech had been around during the thirty years war.
especially the german phase..
yeah we had the shootings in alabama and germany.
but we also had people who did courageous things to help people they didnt even know.
the last victim
anyway as far as gene's vision in tos at least it is shown and told over and over again that they are just along the path of evolving into something better.
but, they still have a long way to go.
I will put up my thoughts on what people have said soon. Today however, I have limited time and wish to get my next review up. Some may question the merit of putting it up during such a debate. This is simply where I am in my appraisal of Enterprise however. I've started and I will jolly well finish!
EPISODE 04 – ‘RAJINN’
Episode 4 sees Chris Black enter the fray and he would go on to become the season’s most prolific writer, working on 6 episodes eventually. He was clearly very happy with the idea of the Xindi, and most of his episodes feature them prominently.
In a season that often needed to be quite dark, he also worked to maintain a balance between staying true to the emotion that was called for, whilst still producing something adventurous enough that people wouldn’t be put off. It is this need to keep a sense of adventure and temper the darkness that we need to consider when looking at ‘Rajinn’.
Because this is an episode that is easiest to enjoy, if you go in accepting that it won’t be the most intellectually stimulating thing you’ll ever see. Although this episode does deal with some important issues like Archer rediscovering his identity, the Xindi gathering data for their bio-weapon, people coming together to relieve tension etc, that’s all kind of beside the point.
Black and Friedman’s primary aim was to ‘get things moving’, to engender a sense of pace and importance to the arc. The window of opportunity to win over new fans in a season is usually very small and they needed to convince sci-fi action adventure fans that the Xindi arc was going to be worth sticking around for – that this was the place to be.
So this sees them attempt to win over as many of the core target male viewers as they could with some traditional sci-fi action adventure, with humour and sex thrown in to complete the standard ratings boosting mix. You may have some judgements about that, but I think the idea was ‘just get them watching first – we can be sophisticated later!’
So whilst ‘Rajinn’ is to some degree one of the dreaded ‘one episode romance’ episodes, it is very clearly a romance episode aimed squarely at men. As such, there is decidedly more homicidal violence and things blowing up than you would expect to find in your standard romance!
It’s very much an episode where men are heroic and chivalric to beautiful ladies, where women do and say things that men like to see and hear and where baddies are obligingly villainous; carry big guns and generally prove themselves to be in need of swift beatings by our heroes.
So whilst there are some significant plot developments, you get the feeling that Black was simply trying to win over male viewers with the idea that when you’re fed up, nothing satisfies you better than making love to a beautiful woman and getting into a big fight against people who are clearly ‘in the wrong’.
Not that I have anything against action episodes, but it helps when they have some powerful character moments too. Otherwise it all feels a bit lightweight and forgettable. And there is some early work on Trip and T’Pol’s relationship and on Deghra’s unease with creating the super weapon, but the episode’s main thrust in this regard is in showing how Archer is coping after the physically and mentally draining events of the past few episodes.
The initial scenes with him show that he is undergoing an identity crisis of sorts. Since passing into the Expanse and particularly since the distortion wave hit, he has been changing and growing ever darker. After his ordeal in ‘Extinction’, this degeneration has been halted for the time being. However, we see that he now finds himself unsure of exactly what kind of man he is; he is ‘uncomfortable in his own skin’ – hence the itching.
Phlox’s counsel to take it slow as he has only recently changed back; can therefore be read as meaning both the change from the alien species, but also from the darker person he was becoming. It’s an interesting avenue to explore and it’s nice to see the writers paying attention to the truth of characters’ situations (not just hitting the reset button every week).
But it was clear that Archer couldn’t continue to be on that dangerous path, as it has already consumed much of the early episodes. So we see that over the first third of this episode, Archer is indeed not as wild eyed and wrathful as he has been, though he isn’t cured just yet. Instead he is tired, grumpy and fed up – there is still a great deal of anger in him, but it is more frustration and confusion over what his role is now.
There is a desire to lighten the mood somewhat in this episode however, so the other way to look at this is that he has ‘the itch you cannot scratch’! To get this across, the writers mix a scene of Archer looking utterly done in and restless at bedtime, with one of Trip who is contently basking in his neuro-pressure with T’Pol.
This session’s dialogue is noticeably more suggestive (listen to it with your eyes closed), and includes what could be construed as light flirting from T’Pol (both here and after the failed experiment). And when Phlox starts talking about crewman Cutler (with whom from his tone, we must assume he has to some extent pursued the relationship they were considering in ‘Dear Doctor’), there is a definite feeling in the air...
When Archer comes in for treatment, you half expect Phlox to say ‘Listen son; you need to get laid, alright?’ He is quite clearly ‘a man with needs’.
And you can understand his frustration, because once again, nothing is working out for him like it should. He came into the expanse to stop the Xindi, but has been sidetracked with dishonest contacts, viruses and distortion waves messing with him and his ship, the need to find a rare substance just to be able to search properly.
And all this while, the Xindi have been irritatingly elusive and bewilderingly menace-free when they have found information about them. They have found only the one Xindi and he was a weasely little man who was no real threat to anyone. A ship of Xindi was destroyed by some fairly small time bandits – where are the fearsome foes that he was so convinced he had to stop?
It all plays into his identity crisis, because after seeing through alien eyes in ‘Extinction’, he needs it all to be clarified for him. But he is getting no such chance, stuck as he is with the drudgery of questioning yet more shady characters for information on Trellium-D.
Fortunately for him however, the Xindi are in a similarly twitchy mood. The Reptilians and Insectoids are practically climbing the walls for an opportunity to have a go at Enterprise. Any excuse will do at this point, as they are so determined to end all this waiting around whilst our heroes jet around causing all sorts of mischief in their space.
At this point, Archer does indeed seem to have quite a lot in common with the Reptilians. Both are somewhat separated from their people at present (Archer later ponders that people on Earth may not recognise him when he returns) and both are visibly itching to ‘get in the ring’.
Both we and Archer both need someone who can show us how he is different, how he is not the same as these villains. So you have to say that Black has set it all up quite nicely for Rajinn to show up and give us those answers. An outside observer who has (or will have) knowledge of both parties, she is perfectly placed to tell Archer what qualities he possesses that they do not.
Until she and the Xindi show up however, Archer is left trying to restrain his frustrated energy as hard selling merchants and ignorant passers by all test his patience. I really have to hand it to Black and Bakula that they do a great job of selling this. Bakula gives a magnificently pestered performance, resulting in the very satisfying thrashing of the oily slave girl vendor - truly a man who had it coming!
But it’s also about now that the wheels start to come off this episode. It’s always a difficult thing to put these kind of ‘siren/mysterious/entrancing women in episodes, because quite apart from the whole eye of the beholder thing, the writing (and often acting) is seldom good enough to convince us of the magnetic attraction the character is supposed to be feeling.
And such is pretty much the case here. Clad only in a rather flimsy look dress (which is fair enough at the stall, but she remains in it throughout the episode), Rajinn is a very forgettable ‘character’. There is no chemistry between her and Archer and even after her true motives are revealed, she has no real personality that you can care about. (Not that I am criticising the actress, as she gets so little to work with, it’s difficult to make a judgement one way or the other).
It’s obvious what she is supposed to be contributing to the episode, and Black doesn’t bother trying to disguise that really. They have so little meaningful dialogue and given that she was never in any real danger (because it was a set-up), he does so little for her; it’s hard to assign any credibility to the connection she seems to form with Archer at the end.
Instead, the time is taken up with shots of her doing the standard ‘get up close to people and sway sensually’ to about half the crew it seems. To be fair, it isn’t so bad at first. Some cheesy knowing jokes (Rajinn: ‘Would your crew mind if I looked about? Archer: I seriously doubt it!) and a few comical expressions from Phlox is all silly but generally okay.
And her very physical scan of Archer is actually quite sinister with her glowing hands and apparent ability to wipe the memory of it away. The attack on T’Pol does however recall a particularly unpleasant episode of TNG –‘Violations’ and is yet another example of her being mentally assaulted in a vaguely sexual way.
Any mystique she starts to gather, is then however ruined, as she starts vamping to everyone she meets, watering the tension down to the level of farce. Her status as ‘sexy female character for the lads’ is confirmed as we see her seduce T’Pol and Hoshi, before transforming into ‘female super spy’ mode to battle her way to freedom (using slow motion dives of course, as any good female spy does).
It’s all done with a fairly light-hearted touch and if you’re willing to just accept it as the trashy fun it’s meant to be then that’s fine (it’s worth watching just to see Dominic Keating leaping excitedly down the corridors in a variety of hilarious macho poses).
But I have little patience with this kind of thing, quite frankly. It’s primarily because I’m concerned that some people actually think that this kind of ‘woman being sexy and invincible for male viewers’ thing, shows women being strong. Honestly, I’m amazed they didn’t go the whole hog and have her knock someone out by having her hold onto a railing and grab their head between her thighs...
Again, it’s not that I have anything against strong women – I just don’t think this does show anything of the sort. The role is simply indicative of the tiresome stereotypes that actresses are given, that rob them of any real characters to play. The time spent messing around here could have been more profitably used in giving her more than the most basic of female spy personalities.
Regardless, it does culminate in the brig sequence which is the best scene of the whole misguided affair, as the actors actually get some dialogue of purpose. And I think it’s fairly decently handled by the actors and writers, although I do think it proves that the chemistry just wasn’t going to be there even if Black had tried a little harder from the get go.
Again, it’s hard to take all that much out of it, because their ‘relationship’ has been so brief and relatively eventless. But this scene does just about manage to salvage the idea that Rajinn’s time with Archer has made a difference. He learns of the bio-weapon yes, but it’s more her comments on what kind of man she thinks he is and the fact that she opens up to him because his selfless nature and dedication to his people and his crew has impressed her so much.
He of course feels like he has been taken for a trusting fool, yet again; but she helps him to see it in a different light. It isn’t foolish of him to trust people or to want to help them, she tells him – it makes him a good man. And that is what Archer needs to take out of all this. In the face of the upcoming battle and tragedy of lost crewmen, Archer holds onto this and fights tooth and nail to keep her safe from the Xindi.
You could say that he’s doing it because she has intelligence to give the enemy etc, but I think he has simply found himself again. He is able to put his disappointment aside and trust that she is essentially a decent person in a difficult position. This struggle is also important, because along with helping to fend off the attack, it helps him to see the other side of him that he needs to reclaim – that he is a strong captain.
It’s interesting because it shows that Archer needs both Rajinn and the Xindi to fully regain these two yin and yang aspects to himself. It feeds into the idea of people coming together to ease their tension. The fight with the Xindi provides both sides with spoils, but just the act of meeting each other in battle finally, establishing each other as enemies properly, serves to satisfy both parties for the time being.
Regardless of how the ‘romance’ and Rajinn’s underwritten character disappointed however, the Xindi raid is very well done indeed, continuing the episode’s upsurge at the end. Like Archer, we have been left wondering how a race capable of producing such a devastating weapon in ‘The Expanse’ could be such apparent pushovers in the episodes thus far.
But here they are an awesome force, armed with deadly weapons and brutal determination. It is of course all rather standard sci-fi ‘war porn’ (the people who die are treated as little more than ‘red shirt’ cannon fodder, killed for our ‘gladiatorial audience’ style amusement). But like with the rest of the episode; it’s great fun if taken on its own terms.
And there is a suitably chest beating ending, as Archer steps up to the plate, cometh the hour, cometh the man and any others from the list of standard heroic phrases you care to add. Once again, the writers and Bakula sell it very well, with the revitalised Archer supremely impressive as he takes charge of his shaken crew. He manages just the right balance of concern for his officers with the need to be decisive and on top of things.
His return to commanding form is presaged in the business about synthesising liquid Trellium-D. In its liquid state (i.e Archer’s ambiguous position at the start of the episode), it’s volatile and dangerous. But once it sets, they will have excellent protection, much better than before. And so it is with Archer; he’s been through the wringer in the last few episodes, but he’s come through it stronger and better (and didn’t explode as he fortunately found the right formula!).
So what about a mark then? Well, it’s nothing you haven’t seen before of course, but it hits (some admittedly over familiar) buttons with just enough vim for it to serve its purpose, generally speaking.
‘Raijinn’ gets 2.5 out of 5 from me. It’s trashy and obvious for the most part, but if you are able to overlook a lack of real depth, Black is able to bring just enough charm and intelligence to it, for it to consistently entertain.
It’s just a shame that the actual Rajinn thread of the story couldn’t have been stronger, especially because Archer’s return to form is an important thread. Happily however, Black writes much better episodes over the course of the season.
So just restore your brain to its factory settings before you watch and you’ll be fine. Being a man wouldn’t hurt either…
And that's that. I have to get these things down when I can or I'll get so wound up in the debate, I'll never finish!
So until next time, I can only assure you that I am honestly not using trapdoors as an unfair means of escape...
EPISODE 04 – ‘RAJINN’
Episode 4 sees Chris Black enter the fray and he would go on to become the season’s most prolific writer, working on 6 episodes eventually. He was clearly very happy with the idea of the Xindi, and most of his episodes feature them prominently.
In a season that often needed to be quite dark, he also worked to maintain a balance between staying true to the emotion that was called for, whilst still producing something adventurous enough that people wouldn’t be put off. It is this need to keep a sense of adventure and temper the darkness that we need to consider when looking at ‘Rajinn’.
Because this is an episode that is easiest to enjoy, if you go in accepting that it won’t be the most intellectually stimulating thing you’ll ever see. Although this episode does deal with some important issues like Archer rediscovering his identity, the Xindi gathering data for their bio-weapon, people coming together to relieve tension etc, that’s all kind of beside the point.
Black and Friedman’s primary aim was to ‘get things moving’, to engender a sense of pace and importance to the arc. The window of opportunity to win over new fans in a season is usually very small and they needed to convince sci-fi action adventure fans that the Xindi arc was going to be worth sticking around for – that this was the place to be.
So this sees them attempt to win over as many of the core target male viewers as they could with some traditional sci-fi action adventure, with humour and sex thrown in to complete the standard ratings boosting mix. You may have some judgements about that, but I think the idea was ‘just get them watching first – we can be sophisticated later!’
So whilst ‘Rajinn’ is to some degree one of the dreaded ‘one episode romance’ episodes, it is very clearly a romance episode aimed squarely at men. As such, there is decidedly more homicidal violence and things blowing up than you would expect to find in your standard romance!
It’s very much an episode where men are heroic and chivalric to beautiful ladies, where women do and say things that men like to see and hear and where baddies are obligingly villainous; carry big guns and generally prove themselves to be in need of swift beatings by our heroes.
So whilst there are some significant plot developments, you get the feeling that Black was simply trying to win over male viewers with the idea that when you’re fed up, nothing satisfies you better than making love to a beautiful woman and getting into a big fight against people who are clearly ‘in the wrong’.
Not that I have anything against action episodes, but it helps when they have some powerful character moments too. Otherwise it all feels a bit lightweight and forgettable. And there is some early work on Trip and T’Pol’s relationship and on Deghra’s unease with creating the super weapon, but the episode’s main thrust in this regard is in showing how Archer is coping after the physically and mentally draining events of the past few episodes.
The initial scenes with him show that he is undergoing an identity crisis of sorts. Since passing into the Expanse and particularly since the distortion wave hit, he has been changing and growing ever darker. After his ordeal in ‘Extinction’, this degeneration has been halted for the time being. However, we see that he now finds himself unsure of exactly what kind of man he is; he is ‘uncomfortable in his own skin’ – hence the itching.
Phlox’s counsel to take it slow as he has only recently changed back; can therefore be read as meaning both the change from the alien species, but also from the darker person he was becoming. It’s an interesting avenue to explore and it’s nice to see the writers paying attention to the truth of characters’ situations (not just hitting the reset button every week).
But it was clear that Archer couldn’t continue to be on that dangerous path, as it has already consumed much of the early episodes. So we see that over the first third of this episode, Archer is indeed not as wild eyed and wrathful as he has been, though he isn’t cured just yet. Instead he is tired, grumpy and fed up – there is still a great deal of anger in him, but it is more frustration and confusion over what his role is now.
There is a desire to lighten the mood somewhat in this episode however, so the other way to look at this is that he has ‘the itch you cannot scratch’! To get this across, the writers mix a scene of Archer looking utterly done in and restless at bedtime, with one of Trip who is contently basking in his neuro-pressure with T’Pol.
This session’s dialogue is noticeably more suggestive (listen to it with your eyes closed), and includes what could be construed as light flirting from T’Pol (both here and after the failed experiment). And when Phlox starts talking about crewman Cutler (with whom from his tone, we must assume he has to some extent pursued the relationship they were considering in ‘Dear Doctor’), there is a definite feeling in the air...
When Archer comes in for treatment, you half expect Phlox to say ‘Listen son; you need to get laid, alright?’ He is quite clearly ‘a man with needs’.
And you can understand his frustration, because once again, nothing is working out for him like it should. He came into the expanse to stop the Xindi, but has been sidetracked with dishonest contacts, viruses and distortion waves messing with him and his ship, the need to find a rare substance just to be able to search properly.
And all this while, the Xindi have been irritatingly elusive and bewilderingly menace-free when they have found information about them. They have found only the one Xindi and he was a weasely little man who was no real threat to anyone. A ship of Xindi was destroyed by some fairly small time bandits – where are the fearsome foes that he was so convinced he had to stop?
It all plays into his identity crisis, because after seeing through alien eyes in ‘Extinction’, he needs it all to be clarified for him. But he is getting no such chance, stuck as he is with the drudgery of questioning yet more shady characters for information on Trellium-D.
Fortunately for him however, the Xindi are in a similarly twitchy mood. The Reptilians and Insectoids are practically climbing the walls for an opportunity to have a go at Enterprise. Any excuse will do at this point, as they are so determined to end all this waiting around whilst our heroes jet around causing all sorts of mischief in their space.
At this point, Archer does indeed seem to have quite a lot in common with the Reptilians. Both are somewhat separated from their people at present (Archer later ponders that people on Earth may not recognise him when he returns) and both are visibly itching to ‘get in the ring’.
Both we and Archer both need someone who can show us how he is different, how he is not the same as these villains. So you have to say that Black has set it all up quite nicely for Rajinn to show up and give us those answers. An outside observer who has (or will have) knowledge of both parties, she is perfectly placed to tell Archer what qualities he possesses that they do not.
Until she and the Xindi show up however, Archer is left trying to restrain his frustrated energy as hard selling merchants and ignorant passers by all test his patience. I really have to hand it to Black and Bakula that they do a great job of selling this. Bakula gives a magnificently pestered performance, resulting in the very satisfying thrashing of the oily slave girl vendor - truly a man who had it coming!
But it’s also about now that the wheels start to come off this episode. It’s always a difficult thing to put these kind of ‘siren/mysterious/entrancing women in episodes, because quite apart from the whole eye of the beholder thing, the writing (and often acting) is seldom good enough to convince us of the magnetic attraction the character is supposed to be feeling.
And such is pretty much the case here. Clad only in a rather flimsy look dress (which is fair enough at the stall, but she remains in it throughout the episode), Rajinn is a very forgettable ‘character’. There is no chemistry between her and Archer and even after her true motives are revealed, she has no real personality that you can care about. (Not that I am criticising the actress, as she gets so little to work with, it’s difficult to make a judgement one way or the other).
It’s obvious what she is supposed to be contributing to the episode, and Black doesn’t bother trying to disguise that really. They have so little meaningful dialogue and given that she was never in any real danger (because it was a set-up), he does so little for her; it’s hard to assign any credibility to the connection she seems to form with Archer at the end.
Instead, the time is taken up with shots of her doing the standard ‘get up close to people and sway sensually’ to about half the crew it seems. To be fair, it isn’t so bad at first. Some cheesy knowing jokes (Rajinn: ‘Would your crew mind if I looked about? Archer: I seriously doubt it!) and a few comical expressions from Phlox is all silly but generally okay.
And her very physical scan of Archer is actually quite sinister with her glowing hands and apparent ability to wipe the memory of it away. The attack on T’Pol does however recall a particularly unpleasant episode of TNG –‘Violations’ and is yet another example of her being mentally assaulted in a vaguely sexual way.
Any mystique she starts to gather, is then however ruined, as she starts vamping to everyone she meets, watering the tension down to the level of farce. Her status as ‘sexy female character for the lads’ is confirmed as we see her seduce T’Pol and Hoshi, before transforming into ‘female super spy’ mode to battle her way to freedom (using slow motion dives of course, as any good female spy does).
It’s all done with a fairly light-hearted touch and if you’re willing to just accept it as the trashy fun it’s meant to be then that’s fine (it’s worth watching just to see Dominic Keating leaping excitedly down the corridors in a variety of hilarious macho poses).
But I have little patience with this kind of thing, quite frankly. It’s primarily because I’m concerned that some people actually think that this kind of ‘woman being sexy and invincible for male viewers’ thing, shows women being strong. Honestly, I’m amazed they didn’t go the whole hog and have her knock someone out by having her hold onto a railing and grab their head between her thighs...
Again, it’s not that I have anything against strong women – I just don’t think this does show anything of the sort. The role is simply indicative of the tiresome stereotypes that actresses are given, that rob them of any real characters to play. The time spent messing around here could have been more profitably used in giving her more than the most basic of female spy personalities.
Regardless, it does culminate in the brig sequence which is the best scene of the whole misguided affair, as the actors actually get some dialogue of purpose. And I think it’s fairly decently handled by the actors and writers, although I do think it proves that the chemistry just wasn’t going to be there even if Black had tried a little harder from the get go.
Again, it’s hard to take all that much out of it, because their ‘relationship’ has been so brief and relatively eventless. But this scene does just about manage to salvage the idea that Rajinn’s time with Archer has made a difference. He learns of the bio-weapon yes, but it’s more her comments on what kind of man she thinks he is and the fact that she opens up to him because his selfless nature and dedication to his people and his crew has impressed her so much.
He of course feels like he has been taken for a trusting fool, yet again; but she helps him to see it in a different light. It isn’t foolish of him to trust people or to want to help them, she tells him – it makes him a good man. And that is what Archer needs to take out of all this. In the face of the upcoming battle and tragedy of lost crewmen, Archer holds onto this and fights tooth and nail to keep her safe from the Xindi.
You could say that he’s doing it because she has intelligence to give the enemy etc, but I think he has simply found himself again. He is able to put his disappointment aside and trust that she is essentially a decent person in a difficult position. This struggle is also important, because along with helping to fend off the attack, it helps him to see the other side of him that he needs to reclaim – that he is a strong captain.
It’s interesting because it shows that Archer needs both Rajinn and the Xindi to fully regain these two yin and yang aspects to himself. It feeds into the idea of people coming together to ease their tension. The fight with the Xindi provides both sides with spoils, but just the act of meeting each other in battle finally, establishing each other as enemies properly, serves to satisfy both parties for the time being.
Regardless of how the ‘romance’ and Rajinn’s underwritten character disappointed however, the Xindi raid is very well done indeed, continuing the episode’s upsurge at the end. Like Archer, we have been left wondering how a race capable of producing such a devastating weapon in ‘The Expanse’ could be such apparent pushovers in the episodes thus far.
But here they are an awesome force, armed with deadly weapons and brutal determination. It is of course all rather standard sci-fi ‘war porn’ (the people who die are treated as little more than ‘red shirt’ cannon fodder, killed for our ‘gladiatorial audience’ style amusement). But like with the rest of the episode; it’s great fun if taken on its own terms.
And there is a suitably chest beating ending, as Archer steps up to the plate, cometh the hour, cometh the man and any others from the list of standard heroic phrases you care to add. Once again, the writers and Bakula sell it very well, with the revitalised Archer supremely impressive as he takes charge of his shaken crew. He manages just the right balance of concern for his officers with the need to be decisive and on top of things.
His return to commanding form is presaged in the business about synthesising liquid Trellium-D. In its liquid state (i.e Archer’s ambiguous position at the start of the episode), it’s volatile and dangerous. But once it sets, they will have excellent protection, much better than before. And so it is with Archer; he’s been through the wringer in the last few episodes, but he’s come through it stronger and better (and didn’t explode as he fortunately found the right formula!).
So what about a mark then? Well, it’s nothing you haven’t seen before of course, but it hits (some admittedly over familiar) buttons with just enough vim for it to serve its purpose, generally speaking.
‘Raijinn’ gets 2.5 out of 5 from me. It’s trashy and obvious for the most part, but if you are able to overlook a lack of real depth, Black is able to bring just enough charm and intelligence to it, for it to consistently entertain.
It’s just a shame that the actual Rajinn thread of the story couldn’t have been stronger, especially because Archer’s return to form is an important thread. Happily however, Black writes much better episodes over the course of the season.
So just restore your brain to its factory settings before you watch and you’ll be fine. Being a man wouldn’t hurt either…
And that's that. I have to get these things down when I can or I'll get so wound up in the debate, I'll never finish!
So until next time, I can only assure you that I am honestly not using trapdoors as an unfair means of escape...
Well, I actually have a bit of time, if I'm quick.
To Mach, again, I didn't say it wasn't worth striving for. But the struggle is what counts, rather than some fairytale of ever progressing past it to most modern writers.
At least one of 'Homefront' and 'Paradise Lost' had the story (but not teleplay) done by Ron Moore. And he was always one of the writers least convinced by the idea of the evolved human and the Federation. He writes about people and that includes their failures and flaws.
Just look at the episodes he writes involving the Federation and you'll see that he paints them in a more militaristic, 'political compromise' style. He has no love for the idea of humans as Roddenberry wrote them, I assure you.
But as you say, there is a Star Trek message that has to come through, which is why other writers often have to come through and clean up what he started. Or else he is forced to accept 'the way it must be' through gritted teeth.
And Braga too has also commented that Star Trek has to be done in certain way and that whilst it has certain qualities, it can be restricting in others.
I like his approach because he brings across the idea of yearning for something better, always having to fight hard to keep believing in it. That for me is much more in keeping with life as it really is (the lives of quiet desperation and all that).
We will always have our desires - do you think for example that something as simple as adultery will ever go away? It may seem an outrageously small point, but people will always do it, breeding humilation, resentment and anger, leading inevitably to domestic violence.
People are not going to suddenly decide 'it's wrong to do that' en masse. It is a fact of life that marriages fail because one or both people in a relationship realise they no longer wish to be together. And unless you think both sides will always mutually agree on this, the process will continue.
Now push it out to include religion, land, race and it just seems less and less likely that we could ever put these things aside.
The Western world has bought its peace through a crushing loss of spiritual satisfaction. We have largely abandoned religion and have replaced it with nothing. All the research suggests people are unhappier now than they have ever been. We have nothing to believe in.
And bettering society and others might sound nice, but it just isn't happening. Environmental concerns will never be taken seriously until people see evidence of it in their everyday lives.
To most, diminishing resources, pollution and the decay of the ozone layer etc are simply not things that they feel concern them. They already have enough to worry about, without such things. If people don't feel they will be affected, they will never action.
Braga's approach to coming to terms with Roddenberry's vision is that humanity is able to unite when first contact is made. Because only finding something so wonderful is waiting out there, could unite them in quite that way to his mind. And I agree - if aliens did make contact, then everything would change and I have to believe, for the better.
But he explores the darker side of that too - that it could produce a culture of 'us against them' (i.e humanity against aliens) and that alien races would also feel the same way.
Anyway, I'd like to say more, but I've just had my curtain call (putting up the curtains after the wash is a real pain...)
To Mach, again, I didn't say it wasn't worth striving for. But the struggle is what counts, rather than some fairytale of ever progressing past it to most modern writers.
At least one of 'Homefront' and 'Paradise Lost' had the story (but not teleplay) done by Ron Moore. And he was always one of the writers least convinced by the idea of the evolved human and the Federation. He writes about people and that includes their failures and flaws.
Just look at the episodes he writes involving the Federation and you'll see that he paints them in a more militaristic, 'political compromise' style. He has no love for the idea of humans as Roddenberry wrote them, I assure you.
But as you say, there is a Star Trek message that has to come through, which is why other writers often have to come through and clean up what he started. Or else he is forced to accept 'the way it must be' through gritted teeth.
And Braga too has also commented that Star Trek has to be done in certain way and that whilst it has certain qualities, it can be restricting in others.
I like his approach because he brings across the idea of yearning for something better, always having to fight hard to keep believing in it. That for me is much more in keeping with life as it really is (the lives of quiet desperation and all that).
We will always have our desires - do you think for example that something as simple as adultery will ever go away? It may seem an outrageously small point, but people will always do it, breeding humilation, resentment and anger, leading inevitably to domestic violence.
People are not going to suddenly decide 'it's wrong to do that' en masse. It is a fact of life that marriages fail because one or both people in a relationship realise they no longer wish to be together. And unless you think both sides will always mutually agree on this, the process will continue.
Now push it out to include religion, land, race and it just seems less and less likely that we could ever put these things aside.
The Western world has bought its peace through a crushing loss of spiritual satisfaction. We have largely abandoned religion and have replaced it with nothing. All the research suggests people are unhappier now than they have ever been. We have nothing to believe in.
And bettering society and others might sound nice, but it just isn't happening. Environmental concerns will never be taken seriously until people see evidence of it in their everyday lives.
To most, diminishing resources, pollution and the decay of the ozone layer etc are simply not things that they feel concern them. They already have enough to worry about, without such things. If people don't feel they will be affected, they will never action.
Braga's approach to coming to terms with Roddenberry's vision is that humanity is able to unite when first contact is made. Because only finding something so wonderful is waiting out there, could unite them in quite that way to his mind. And I agree - if aliens did make contact, then everything would change and I have to believe, for the better.
But he explores the darker side of that too - that it could produce a culture of 'us against them' (i.e humanity against aliens) and that alien races would also feel the same way.
Anyway, I'd like to say more, but I've just had my curtain call (putting up the curtains after the wash is a real pain...)
Roddenberry was behind the idea, but he himself wrote very little, I assure you.
Sure. That's exactly why in Star Trek's future there's still law enforcement, judicial system and prisons.
I'm just going to copy/paste that Kirk quote Pookha used (which you may have missed):
All right. It's instinctive.
But the instinct can be fought. We're human beings with the blood of a million savage years on our hands, but we can stop it.
We can admit that we're killers, but we're not going to kill today.
That's all it takes. Knowing that we won't kill today.
From "A Taste of Armageddon," written by Robert Hamner and Gene L. Coon
Suddenly I feel like I'm being lectured and I don't like it one bit. I myself am not really a religious person, and I find just the right dose of happiness in my interactions with the people around me, and foolish dreams & hope for the better future. I'm not the hardcore atheist either (I'll never claim that God does not exist, you may label me an agnostic), but I don't need religion to keep me happy and I don't need anyone to tell me what I need. I got faith of the heart (TM), works for me!
And another thing. Phlox said once that he attended mass at Saint Peter's in Rome, so the future in Star Trek is not necessarily all about atheism. I like to believe that it is the future in which people freely practice whatever religion they want, while also practicing maximum religious tolerance.
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I enjoyed that review of "Rajiin." I've never sat down and taken the episode apart, hunting for the metaphors and parallels and symbolism. I had no idea how chock full it was. True, the execution may have muffled it all a bit...but it's usually better for thematic elements to be tucked away into subtext anyway.
I'm a woman, but I got something out of it. I'm one of those who saw Archer as a good man and a good captain, and I was rooting for him not to lose his soul during this Season 3 journey. Plus I thought other moments were effective...the Trip/T'Pol scenes, the Archer/Phlox scene at the beginning, the creep factor of Rajiin's scan of Archer, the bickering between the Xindi. Next time I watch this one, I think I'll get even more out of it.
A great little touch. I wish there had been more bleedover like this from episode to episode. But I can understand that Catch-22 between the desire for continuity and the fear that new viewers might feel left out and change channels.
Some of the most involving stories I've seen, in fiction and real life, are about an all-encompassing effort to save a life in peril. Money is spent, lives are risked, property is destroyed--whatever it takes, because there is this unspoken acknowledgment that this life is more important than any of it. It's one of Archer's qualities that seemed to polarize viewers, but I admired it.
I'm a woman, but I got something out of it. I'm one of those who saw Archer as a good man and a good captain, and I was rooting for him not to lose his soul during this Season 3 journey. Plus I thought other moments were effective...the Trip/T'Pol scenes, the Archer/Phlox scene at the beginning, the creep factor of Rajiin's scan of Archer, the bickering between the Xindi. Next time I watch this one, I think I'll get even more out of it.
the only thing while in the end more of the courtly archer did seem to emerge during the episode at times i still believe that rajiin tricked him into getting her on the ship in the first place.
and while she did warn archer in the end the much harsher tone of dark archer is coming back because in the end she did betray them.
as for her little seduction thing with the other characters that is how she went about gaining info or gaining control (the guard).
she goes after hoshi at possibly hoping she knows about the transporter but then she learns she is the communication officer. a great source of knowledge plus aparently another ethnic type to add to the database she is gathering.
RAJIIN: They wanted information.
ARCHER: About what?
RAJIIN: About you. They're building a weapon.
ARCHER: We know that.
RAJIIN: This is different. A bio-weapon.
ARCHER: Go on.
RAJIIN: They need data about your species before they can begin.
and while she did warn archer in the end the much harsher tone of dark archer is coming back because in the end she did betray them.
as for her little seduction thing with the other characters that is how she went about gaining info or gaining control (the guard).
she goes after hoshi at possibly hoping she knows about the transporter but then she learns she is the communication officer. a great source of knowledge plus aparently another ethnic type to add to the database she is gathering.
RAJIIN: They wanted information.
ARCHER: About what?
RAJIIN: About you. They're building a weapon.
ARCHER: We know that.
RAJIIN: This is different. A bio-weapon.
ARCHER: Go on.
RAJIIN: They need data about your species before they can begin.
Sadistro, yeah, I really didn't like Rajiin, mostly because I thought the actress was so horrid. And I thought the plot was as predictable as the AIG meeting this morning.
I agree. The one thing I hate about the Archer character is the amount of times he's duped by chicks. You'd think he'd learn by like the third time or something. I think that's the thing I really dislike about this episode most of all. In addition, Rajiin or the information she provided overall didn't add much to the season.
I agree. The one thing I hate about the Archer character is the amount of times he's duped by chicks. You'd think he'd learn by like the third time or something. I think that's the thing I really dislike about this episode most of all. In addition, Rajiin or the information she provided overall didn't add much to the season.
meh the rajiin actress had flashes of being good but i think she was confused about who rajiin really was supposed to be.
she interestingly enough to me had more issues with being bad rajiin as opposed to the later transformation.
and then one wonders if it was a deliberate choice on the part of the actress.
to show rajiin did what she did out of fear of her masters. that she was bad at acting bad.
but to skip back to something else...
i am just really troubled by this.
sorry many non religious people live by just a strong inner moral and ethical code as those who claim to be religious.
and sorry people are unhappier now..?? really?
unhappier now then during one of the plague eras?
when christians turned against christians going on killing sprees.
something that isnt that ancient.
are you aware rwanda was mostly a christian nation.
that nuns were convincted of atrocities??
and to tie this into enterprise..
we see in several ways during this season just how dangerous is blind faith in ones religion.
not just with the aliens who worshipped the spheres.
but also the xindi themselves who almost came to worship the guardians.
BUILDER: What have we done to lose your faith?
DEGRA: You never deserved my faith
she interestingly enough to me had more issues with being bad rajiin as opposed to the later transformation.
and then one wonders if it was a deliberate choice on the part of the actress.
to show rajiin did what she did out of fear of her masters. that she was bad at acting bad.
but to skip back to something else...
i am just really troubled by this.
sorry many non religious people live by just a strong inner moral and ethical code as those who claim to be religious.
and sorry people are unhappier now..?? really?
unhappier now then during one of the plague eras?
when christians turned against christians going on killing sprees.
something that isnt that ancient.
are you aware rwanda was mostly a christian nation.
that nuns were convincted of atrocities??
and to tie this into enterprise..
we see in several ways during this season just how dangerous is blind faith in ones religion.
not just with the aliens who worshipped the spheres.
but also the xindi themselves who almost came to worship the guardians.
BUILDER: What have we done to lose your faith?
DEGRA: You never deserved my faith
Good point Pookha. Even today people do unimaginable things in the name of faith and "One true God" (does "Osama Bin Laden" ring a bell?). Those people don't strike me as happy (running around screaming about killing infidels etc.)
@Sadistro
You mentioned research. Can you be more specific, give us some reference, a link perhaps?
In general, studies mean very little and are not to be taken very seriously, for example, I've recently read about a study according to which the people who listen to hip-hop music are the intellectual bottom of society. So what are smart, musically and generally educated people who listen to HH supposed to say about this?
That argument is right up there with saying Rwandan's are black and that is the problem. People reveal their own prejudices when searching for the source of the world's problems. The real problem comes down to leaders using friction between tribes to further their position and standing.
Really. What do you base that on? How long has religion been around? How long has war, murder and killing for greed and power been around? You probably think Jews were persecuted in pre-WWI Germany because of their religion. If so you need to study your history and economics. That's what is usually falls to. Someone has something that someone else wants. The Jewish community was seen as rich business types and that made them targets. ....
Ahhh, better not to get into this. If you are determined to see religion as the source of all evil no amount of logic, reasoning or historical facts will change your prejudices. It just scares me whenever I see someone so quick to persecute any group and make up statements to support their position. That is how it usually starts.
Now back to the reason we are here. How about those green Orion women. I hear they really know how to wrap a man around their fingers.
GENERAL REMINDER:
Bringing up points of history, religion, or politics, within reason, in order to make a specific point about Enterprise--you remember? the topic?--is okay.
But if you sail off into tangents and hijack the thread in the process? No, sorry, that will not do. Especially when we're talking hot-button topics that get people riled up...like religion and politics. That stuff belongs in TNZ.
You all have a right to your opinion, and to express it, but we're trying to keep this thread, and this forum, a friendly place for everyone. There is a proper place for contentious subjects, and it ain't here.
In the last five posts, I haven't seen much about Enterprise. Let's get back on topic now.
Bringing up points of history, religion, or politics, within reason, in order to make a specific point about Enterprise--you remember? the topic?--is okay.
But if you sail off into tangents and hijack the thread in the process? No, sorry, that will not do. Especially when we're talking hot-button topics that get people riled up...like religion and politics. That stuff belongs in TNZ.
You all have a right to your opinion, and to express it, but we're trying to keep this thread, and this forum, a friendly place for everyone. There is a proper place for contentious subjects, and it ain't here.
In the last five posts, I haven't seen much about Enterprise. Let's get back on topic now.
Ahem, five posts?
Probably, but some of us consider this kind of preaching:
... just a tad condescending.
Hello again, all.
Please skip these opening paragraphs if you are here to talk S3. I just have a few final points to make on the debate, before moving on.
I was merely illustrating the way Braga views things as you asked me to do. The Federation is held up as the thing that everyone is striving for, working through this hostile period to attain. It is the dream of peaceful co-operation and the thing that will give people something to believe in
This is where Enterprise was heading - a period of strife before that glorious moment when people finally put their differences aside for a new future. Look at 'Shockwave' and you see this is where Braga is steering the series.
As he does in all his episodes, he strives to get across the chaos and uncertainty of the now (i,e to mirror our society), but shows he hopes fervently that the future will be better.
Before I move on, I feel it only fair to ask why giving one's opinion is classed as preaching? Given how much of American television is viewed as 'family values preaching' here in the UK, I find that to be somewhat double standards.
We may not agree with how sentimental your shows are sometimes, but we accept that is how you make your shows. Everyone is entitled to their say.
The last thing I hope any of us wants, is for this thread to become acrimonious, so let's just stamp a big 'Agree to Disagree' on the thing and move right along.
To return to 'Rajinn'...
There are two main points I would make here. The first point is that you shouldn't be too harsh on the actress, as she only had limited material to work with (pardon the pun). She's alright in the few scenes where she has proper dialogue in my opinion. I just don't think her and Bakula have any particular screen rapport.
The most important point though, is that Archer is not darkened by his encounter with Rajinn. The point is that he does initially feel that way, but her words allow her to come around in time. He is sorry he couldn't save her, more than angry she got away with information.
The whole point is that he has recovered part of his more noble nature here. It marks of the end of this small arc in which he started to truly slide and sets up the next arc - the 'leave no-one behind' arc.
Over the next couple of episodes, he will have to weigh whether or not to leave crewmen behind - T'Pol in 'Impulse', Hoshi in 'Exile', and whether he can afford to leave anyone behind to tell tales at the Xindi colony in 'The Shipment'. All leading to 'Twlight' where the Xindi are exterminating humanity and only one man - Archer, can set it right..
It's an arc that starts with Vulcans becasue the old phrase 'The needs of the many outweight the needs of the few' will be so important. Because in this arc, 'Enterprise' explores the idea that the needs of the many and the needs of the few are equally important.
As we'll see in 'Twilight', every life counts - save one and you save everyone.
Please skip these opening paragraphs if you are here to talk S3. I just have a few final points to make on the debate, before moving on.
I was merely illustrating the way Braga views things as you asked me to do. The Federation is held up as the thing that everyone is striving for, working through this hostile period to attain. It is the dream of peaceful co-operation and the thing that will give people something to believe in
This is where Enterprise was heading - a period of strife before that glorious moment when people finally put their differences aside for a new future. Look at 'Shockwave' and you see this is where Braga is steering the series.
As he does in all his episodes, he strives to get across the chaos and uncertainty of the now (i,e to mirror our society), but shows he hopes fervently that the future will be better.
Before I move on, I feel it only fair to ask why giving one's opinion is classed as preaching? Given how much of American television is viewed as 'family values preaching' here in the UK, I find that to be somewhat double standards.
We may not agree with how sentimental your shows are sometimes, but we accept that is how you make your shows. Everyone is entitled to their say.
The last thing I hope any of us wants, is for this thread to become acrimonious, so let's just stamp a big 'Agree to Disagree' on the thing and move right along.
To return to 'Rajinn'...
There are two main points I would make here. The first point is that you shouldn't be too harsh on the actress, as she only had limited material to work with (pardon the pun). She's alright in the few scenes where she has proper dialogue in my opinion. I just don't think her and Bakula have any particular screen rapport.
The most important point though, is that Archer is not darkened by his encounter with Rajinn. The point is that he does initially feel that way, but her words allow her to come around in time. He is sorry he couldn't save her, more than angry she got away with information.
The whole point is that he has recovered part of his more noble nature here. It marks of the end of this small arc in which he started to truly slide and sets up the next arc - the 'leave no-one behind' arc.
Over the next couple of episodes, he will have to weigh whether or not to leave crewmen behind - T'Pol in 'Impulse', Hoshi in 'Exile', and whether he can afford to leave anyone behind to tell tales at the Xindi colony in 'The Shipment'. All leading to 'Twlight' where the Xindi are exterminating humanity and only one man - Archer, can set it right..
It's an arc that starts with Vulcans becasue the old phrase 'The needs of the many outweight the needs of the few' will be so important. Because in this arc, 'Enterprise' explores the idea that the needs of the many and the needs of the few are equally important.
As we'll see in 'Twilight', every life counts - save one and you save everyone.
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