TheGodBen Revisits Enterprise

[Alidar Jarok]

I had missed the first two episodes of the season and tuned in for this one. Then I stayed for Rajin, thought it had a decent ending, and then tuned out again for quite a few more episodes. Most of Season 3 I caught up on after Azati Prime because I liked that episode so much. There was definitely some shaky spots that should flat out have been removed (actually, never thought of in the first place).

 

[TheGodBen]

Rajiin (**)

Archer, still recovering from his experience as Mick Jagger, comes across an attractive blonde woman who wears the dress made out of tentacles from the come monster in Vox Sola, so he rescues her from life as a sex slave because she has big, voluptuous eyes. While on Enterprise she causes Archer to have another wet dream (this time while he was awake), she turns Hoshi to the side that wears leather gloves (explanation) and she cops a feel of T'Pol's big, voluptuous eyes. Poor T'Pol, always the rape victim, never the rapist.

As you can no doubt tell I found all this sex stuff gratuitous and not particularly interesting. The Archer one I could have lived with, the Hoshi one would have been okay had Hoshi not acted like she was begging for it, but the T'Pol scene was a step too far. Don't get me wrong, there is no sight in this world that I find more beautiful than two attractive women getting it on, it's the closest I get to a religious experience, but if I want to watch that sort of thing I'm sure I'd be able to find it, I watch Star Trek for the stories. So when a story finally shows up about 15 minutes from the end, and it is related to the Xindi arc that I'm desperate to see continue, it manages to rescue the episode somewhat. It's not great, but it does show us our first confrontation between Enterprise and the Xindi, and the episode does manage to make the Xindi stand out by giving them unusual weaponry and tactics.

The end of the episode offers hope that something might happen involving biological weaponry, and it gives us a strong indication that the Xindi are fractured, but I was let down by how Rajiin is yet another baddie who ends up being a goodie after spending some time with humans. Thankfully, Degra's change of attitude is much better handled than this.

Disappearing Aliens: 25
Archer Abuse: 20
Nipples Ahoy!: 14

 

[startrekwatcher]

I enjoyed Rajiin. I'd give it 3 stars out of 4. Based on the previews for this episode I was worried it'd be another one-off storyline but thankfully it tied into the main arc in a central way.

I actually liked Rajiin. The production and atmosphere of the alien water bazaar was well done. Things picked up nicely along the trellium front as the crew wisely understand they need to procure before heading any deeper into the Expanse. The shopkeeper scene was fun. We get another glimpse into the council side of things and learn the superweapon has hit a few snags in its development.

And if things couldn't get any worse for Archer it is revealed that the Xindi are pursuing another means to wipe out humanity in the form of a bioweapon. The Reptilians finally come face to face with the human threat in an exciting boarding sequence where the crew acquire a Reptilian body and one of their biologically based weapons. Even the Trip/T'Pol scene in the beginning of the first act was handled quite well.

 

[Disillusioned]

Poor T'Pol, always the rape victim, never the rapist.

Yes, we have to wait until next season for that.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Rajin is a shitty episode saved by a cool looking ending (and the reveal about the bio weapon, which, unfortunately, only went to another shitty episode, Carpenter Street). I said that at the time and I think most people agreed. Short of shitcanning the whole episode, I'm not sure how to make it better, but Enterprise tended to have an episode like this once a year.

 

[Disillusioned]

One thing that bothered me actually goes back to "Cogenitor" in that Rajin was in a similar situation, but Archer went ahead and granted her asylum when he didn't for Charles. Of course Rajin was a lot more attractive, but I'd hate to think this was based on something that shallow, even if I do think it was based on that.

 

[TheGodBen]

Impulse (***)

I hated the teaser. I hate any teaser which begins in "the future" and then a title comes up saying "some time earlier", I find it to be a lazy attempt at drumming up interest by showing you something weird that ends up being rather ordinary once you learn what it is. What would have been so bad about a normal teaser where Enterprise picks up a signal from a Vulcan ship? Why is the show so eager to get to the opening credits that it didn't allow a normal 1 minute scene before the music jumped in? Lost can manage this sort of WTF non-linear opening to episodes, but Enterprise's attempts just make me think "What contrived and ultimately disappointing situation are they going to get into this week?"

As for the episode post-teaser, it's alright. It's not trying to win an award for ground-breaking storytelling, this is a zombie story in space with Vulcans, but it is competently told and it gets the atmosphere mostly right. And I like the idea that Trellium D, the miracle substance which would make the journey through the expanse much simpler, can't be used because it makes T'Pol into an angry crack-whore. And while it is not obvious at the time, this episode will have lasting consequences for the future. But most importantly of all, the blatant redshirt actually survived, something which I still find hard to believe.

It's not a great episode, but it's not painful. Unless you have epilepsy, in which case it will probably kill you.

Archer Abuse: 21

 

[Disillusioned]

I kind of thought of it as a Vulcan rave party.

 

[commodore64]

Yes, we have to wait until next season for that.

I must've missed that episode. Kinda glad I did - doesn't seem like her.

 

[SRFX]

I love zombie movies. I love Impulse. That is all.

 

[Emnabtond]

The strobe lighting was too much.
Also if the Vulcans were all so consumed with rage, why hadn't they started to attack each other?

 

[Disillusioned]

Yes, we have to wait until next season for that.

I must've missed that episode. Kinda glad I did - doesn't seem like her.

Technically it wasn't; it was her evil twin.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

The strobe lighting was too much.

My daughter swore she was about to have a seizure watching it the other night.

Also if the Vulcans were all so consumed with rage, why hadn't they started to attack each other?

That would not be logical. They still worked together for a common purpose. Probably the ones who went rogue were killed.

 

[Emnabtond]

Also if the Vulcans were all so consumed with rage, why hadn't they started to attack each other?

That would not be logical. They still worked together for a common purpose. Probably the ones who went rogue were killed.

So those manic Vulcan zombies were still following logic?
Erm, WUT?

 

[TheGodBen]

Yeah, the Vulcans on the Vaankara killed one another, so I don't know what happened on the Seleya.


Exile (**½)

Tale as old as time
Tune as old as song
Bittersweet and strange
Finding you can't change
Learning you can't accept you're wrong
Certain as the sun
Rising in the west
Tale as old as time
I can't get this song to rhyme
Beauty and the tenticle-headed man

I have to ask myself, if I was stuck with another person that was making me uncomfortable with their advances, would I wear a short dress with high-heels, show off my cleavage and doll myself up with makeup? Of course I wouldn't, I'm a man, I only do that sort of thing in private. But if I were a woman stuck alone with a creepy guy, would I do it then? No, I'd probably wear something more casual. (With some sexy underwear on underneath to make myself feel more empowered.) I'm not saying that I didn't enjoy seeing Hoshi in something more revealing just this once, I have the same fetish for Asian women that all male nerds have, but it seemed so at odds with what was going on in the plot that it makes me think the costume designers stopped reading the scripts at some point.

The a-plot is filler, but at least it gives Hoshi something to do this season, I don't believe that Travis will be so lucky. Tarquin is a sympathetic character right up until the point where he turns evil out of selfishness, which is a pity really. The b-plot is better because it gives us more information about the spheres and suggests that they may be more important than we had previously thought. The final scene also promises us that next week's episode will return to the Xindi full force, so the episode does end on a high.

Captain Redshirt: 23

 

[Disillusioned]

You know what was really creepy? That it was really obvious why the creeper wanted Hoshi to be left there with him (which should have made his "help" in finding the Xindi suspect), yet the captain still left her there by herself without adding the condition that some security guys be left with her. The beast may not have "helped" them then, but it would have been nice for Captain Archer to at least try.

 

[Kegg]

Tale as old as time
I can't get this song to rhyme
Beauty and the tenticle-headed man

I prefer the Philip Glass version myself.*

If you excuse me, the mental image of a Philip Glass Star Trek opera, even Enterprise themed, is far too awesome to contemplate.

I'm not saying that I didn't enjoy seeing Hoshi in something more revealing just this once, I have the same fetish for Asian women that all male nerds have,

I remember little of "Shockwave, Part II." There was fighting the Suliban, time travel and topless Hoshi - I'm not certain about the first two, though.

But yeah, this to me is another example of Enterprise presenting sexuality in incongruous ways. It goes back to VOY and the curiously desexualised and innocent nature of a woman who spends all her waking and sleeping hours in a skintight catsuit. Hoshi needs to be attractive in this scene... because! Whether it makes sense for her to be so is another matter. Sexuality's everywhere except growing organically from the actual plot, such as it is.

*Brownie points to anyone who knows whatever the hell I'm talking about.

 

[D Man]

^^A Philip Glass Star Trek opera may be the greatest idea of all time . What say we pool our resources together to comission it? Call it Darmok on the Beach.

 

[TheGodBen]

The Shipment (***½)

Probably the most important episode dealing with the Xindi so far; we start getting their backstory explained, such as what happened to their planet, but we also get the important reminder that not all Xindi are in on the plan to blow Earth up real good. Gralik is a sympathetic character, he's much more of a businessman than a mass murderer, and Archer proves himself to be tough while interrogating him, but not so tough that he's unwilling to listen to what Gralik has to say. I can buy into this, the actions of the characters make sense and develop nicely from the plot, and Gralik's decision to help Archer find the weapon is one of the first building-blocks of the peaceful future that humanity and the Xindi will share in the UFP. Not that that's been established yet.

I have one problem with the growing trust between Archer and Gralik and that is some of the hokey lines the characters are forced to say. Archer's "I thought we were here to try to stop a war, not start one" and Gralik's "I hope you remember that not all Xindi are your enemy" have a good heart to them and they play an important part of the backbone of what makes Star Trek Star Trek, but the way they are expressed is too obvious and makes me roll my eyes.

Then there's the b-plot about Tucker and Phlox trying to learn what they can about the Xindi rifle, which seems to fill time more than anything else. I can't remember if their actions in this episode results in them developing an effective counter-measure against the Xindi in the future, but all it does here is take me away from the more interesting a-plot.

Captain Redshirt: 24

 

[Disillusioned]

How about that pilot out-shooting both his security officer and the military officer?