ENTERPRISE 04/09/'03: "Judgement" (1 Viewer)

[Rex Bachmann]

Enterprise 04/09/'03: "Judgement"
episode: #45
original airdate: April 9, 2003
writer: David A. Goodman
story: Taylor Elmore & David A. Goodman
director: James L. Conway
synopsis: "Archer faces death or life imprisonment on Rura Penthe when a Klingon tribunal tries him for conspiracy."
Notes: They've misspelled judgment.

[Ho-hum.] They'd better come up with something damned good to justify this stupid "rehash" of ST VI. How can this advance the overall series story, I wonder.

I vote for Scott Thompson or Pauly Shore as the "chameloid". Now that would take the ST series into some---[ahem!]---"uncharted" territory.

 

[Kwang Suh]

Okay episode, I guess. Ending was way too rushed.

Also, I've now determined that Archer's an idiot. They must have given him a partial lobotomy before sending him out to space.

There was some more "Prime Directive" hinting again.

 

[Jack Briggs]

Spoilers, sir! Be careful.

(What am I doing browsing HTF at almost 1 in the morning?)

Now, a prison angle might be worth exploring. That's never been done before, see.

We probably won't be in favour of this episode. My opinion is already coloured.

 

[doug zdanivsky]

Ah... So-so episode.

I didn't see any hinting at a prime directive. Although I might have dozed off...

 

[Jack Briggs]

Remember, everyone: Use the Queen's English, in deference to the way the episode's title is spelled (as previously noted by Rex).

 

[Daniel J]

Yawn... What a waste...

Not that the plot itself was terrible or anything- I actually rather enjoyed the episode. But why would they use Rura Penthe for this twenty-minute prison scene involving the most boring prison escape in recorded history? Don't these writers have any respect for the sources they have to work with? Don't the directors have any sense of creativity?
They should have put them in an ore refinery or something, unless they wanted to stretch the plot into a two-part episode: obviously the writers got bored even before we did.

 

[doug zdanivsky]

The focus of the episode wasn't the jail-break. And thank goodness, they've run that particular plot element into the ground!

Other-wise, yeah, I'm sure they would have made it a little harder for him to escape..

 

[Rex Bachmann]

Jack Briggs wrote (post #5):

Actually, the episode title on screen was spelled without the first , unlike some of the on-line renderings and UPN's own spelling in the trailer from a week ago.

Anyway, . . .

It was "he said/he said". We, the human audience, are just led to believe that Archer's version is the "correct" one. I think the writers' use of house Duras as the whipping boy was unnecessary and gratuitous. Will they be the villains all throughout Star Trek history? Sorta undercuts the message, I'd say.

I liked the ST VI version of the trial better. The movie went to some length to make it "feel Klingon", including using the native tongue with subtitles and only then segue-ing into English translation after we've been convinced it's truly a Klingon setting.

The talk of a "kinder, gentler" Klingon society ("We were a great society not so long ago.") antecedent to Kolos's own time rings false. The "franchise" has gone back and forth on this, but at least part of the time we've been led to believe that the Klingons have gotten only less ruthless over time, Kahless' teachings notwithstanding. (He was originally ruthless, rather than "honorable", when introduced in TOS "The Savage Curtain".)

Kolos's wish for his act of staying behind in the mines of Rura Penthe to help bring about a better Klingon society had no effect, apparently, since the Klingons of Kirk's era are still ruthless and, as a reminder, speak little (or not at all?) of "honor".

A question about the "escape": Did Malcolm say that the Klingon guards at the camp itself had been bribed? Otherwise, I don't see how they could just walk out of the caves and off the planet unmolested.

 

[Kwang Suh]

I am curious however if the Federation is formed in response to the apparent threat of the Klingon Empire.

 

[doug zdanivsky]

If that's what they were hinting at, sure, bring it on!

Less left-field crap (cold war), more relevent Star Trek stuff like the birth of the Federation, friction with Klingons, etc.

But I doubt that the Kligon threat would be the cause for the Federation of Planets. Maybe it would give them a kick in the pants to beef up their planetary defences, etc.

But, what do I know? I'm talking out of my ass, but the Federation.. We don't even know if humans are the instigators of this movement, or if they just tagged along for the ride..

 

[Daniel_BR]

This is the first Enterprise episode I've watched this year. In Cincinnati they show it on UPN which is hard to receive . . . that is until I installed an outside antenna last week.

I enjoyed the show. It could have been better but it was still enjoyable Star Trek. I like Archer -- I think he's good as the "rough around the edges" captain. The escape was boring, but it wasn't the focus anyway. I wouldn't want slow episodes like this every week, but for me it was just nice to see Klingons on the screen again.

 

[PhilipG]

Nice to see two DS9 actors (JG Hertzler and John Vickery) doing their level best to improve an otherwise awful episode of Enterprise. I really hope they can find new writers to add some sparkle to the dialogue, because at the moment it's dull and lifeless. It doesn't help having main characters that are also dull and lifeless, but maybe we can have an episode where some non-corporeal aliens take over their bodies... and stay there.

And it's amazing how unimpressive the trial and gulag sets looked compared to Nick Meyer's version. They need to sort out their cinematography (perhaps lend a few lights to the folks at Angel).

 

[Scott Kimball]

Either spelling (judgment or judgement) is accepted... look it up.

As for the episode... another PRISON THEME? How many times have we gone down this road??

I haven't watched it yet, but I'm not really looking forward to it, either. If I find the time........

-Scott

 

[Jason Seaver]

Scope. That's what this episode needs.

And I don't mean that in terms of needing something to wash a bad taste out of my mouth; I'm just saying that everything in this episode seems smaller than it should be. It feels like the second episode in a story arc, but the entire first episode is missing. We've got no idea how the Klingons captured Archer but apparently not Enterprise. A lot of what could be interesting - diplomatic friction between Earth, Vulcan, and Qo'nos about how their various actions square with interplanetary law, attempts at negotiation that ultimately fail, and political fallout from the rescue - happens off-screen, giving us only the smallest facet of a large story.

And, dammit, why is it that the effects guys can create an impressive cityscape but not an impressive room?

The trial is boring. A judge can only bang his cannonball and call for order so many times before the audience gets weary of it. J.G. Hertzler is great, but I expect that. Then there's the unsatisfying ending, where Archer is rescued, making the whole trial a gigantic waste of time. Maybe if they'd put the trial in a larger context, made it not just about Archer having rescued some poor, sick refugees but about the clashes between idealistic Terrans and Vulcans outside their territory and the militaristic Klingons (an established power), then it would resonate more, and it would be easier to see Archer's rescue as an act of defiance that start the dominos falling toward a major conflict...

Whoops. It's never a good idea to lament a program for not being what you feel it should have been, and would have been if Paramount were paying me to run the series instead of a couple monkeys whose names begin with "B". Still, it's hard to escape the feeling that Enterprise's prodcuers took something that could have been epic, and made it ordinary.

 

[Nelson Au]

Jason-

That was exactly what I had in mind. You've very elegantly expressed what I was expecting this episode to be about based on the previews. I expected this to be a more powerful story about the seeds that lead to the long uneasyness the Federation eventually has with the Klingon Empire of Kirk's time.

I liked Kolos character and while it is established by Worf's era, the Klingons are an honorable people with dimension compared to the incarnation from TOS. John Colicos as Kor was the best TOS Klingon and does project a certain regalness these current Klingons have. But then we only see that part of Kor here. The judge that sentanced Archer seemed like he was trying to actually be fair. That trait just seemed a bit out of character for TOS Klingons. And that was the idea, the Klingon's we see in Kirk's era are the ones that Kolos is still trying to make the difference with.

Nelson

 

[Jonny P]

First of all, let me say that this was the first episode I had seen all season...the discussion on HTF made me curious, as did my recent purchase of Season 2 of DS9 on DVD. I don't know all of the particulars of Star Trek, but have always enjoyed it...especially the 60s original (Favorite Episodes: The Tholian Web and Patterns of Force).

Okay...so this was the first episode I'd seen this season. Last season I'd seen a half dozen or so of the episodes and thought the show was pretty good.

I have some questions before I tackle this episode, though...please, bear with me, and if these questions are out of line, just say so.

I understand that we have come a long way with special FX technology. I understand that FX in the 60s were hokey and cheap on sci-fi TV shows.

But, can someone explain why a show that comes before the 60s show can't look like it comes before it? This show looks like it is made up of sets and costumes and ship designs that could have been used on TNG, DS9, Voyager...

I recall an episode of DS9 where the crew was back in the time of the 60s show. I can't remember the particulars, but I thought it looked great seeing the characters in the primary color shirts and the lower budget sets. But, it somehow all looked new and relevant to me.

In my opinion, if they are going to do a show prior to the original it should look like it. If they want to make the laser beam effects and transporter effects look better, fine.

I just think it would be a real kick to see things look like they did in the past. I think it would make the show better, but I am sure many disagree with me on that.

As I watched last nights episode I couldn't help but feel that there was something wrong. I saw a klingon ship (I assume a Bird of Prey) and I thought to myself "why is it that ship looks more advanced than the Bird of Prey that appeared on ST III?

I would like to see ships that look closer to the older models. The phasers and photon torpedoes can be improved upon the older series, but bring back the old classic look.

As I watched the episode last night, I was also puzzled as to why the Klingons weren't speaking in their native tongue? It seemed odd that Archer could understand every word they were saying. I believe that the Klingons in the original series didn't speak Klingonese, but it was odd.

Part of the appeal of the 60s series, for me, is the look and feel. Granted, I loved TNG, but it was supposed to look newer and modern. If they want me to willfully suspend my disbelief that this show came before Kirk, Spock, and the rest, then the look should have been more in fitting with the Star Trek Mythos.

Regardless, I thought last nights episode was so-so. Bakula is a good actor and this show has a lot of potential, but there is some ingredient that isn't there right now. I can't put my finger on it.

 

[Andrew Beacom]

Jason nailed it for me. There just too much stuff that happens of screen. And for me the biggest one is how does he get captured alone?

Another run of the mill, generic, vanilla episode.

 

[Jason Seaver]

I recall an episode of DS9 where the crew was back in the time of the 60s show. I can't remember the particulars, but I thought it looked great seeing the characters in the primary color shirts and the lower budget sets. But, it somehow all looked new and relevant to me.

Don't pin too much on "Trials And Tribble-ations". It's great fun, but it's also something that was done as a lark to celebrate TOS's 25th anniversery. Similarly, the recreation of the Enterprise "no bloody A, B, C, or D" bridge in "Relics" can be ignored if necessary.

 

[Jack Briggs]

Even though Jason has had to issue his oft-posted arguments about the aesthetic considerations going into the look of TOS versus today's imaginings and renderings of the future many a time, they're always fun to read—besides being accurate.



Also reminds me of 1983's Twilight Zone feature film. In the first segment featuring the late Vic Morrow, note the hair length of the "Nazi soldiers": very 1980s—and way too long to conform to the military regulations of then and now (hair flowing over the collars). Similarly, look at vintage episodes of The Waltons: The boys in the family wore their hair longer than The Beatles were wearing it in 1964/1965. Hair that long on a boy or man in the 1940s would have drawn stares from anyone and everyone.

I think accuracy to period dress codes has improved much since then. But at least back then (the 1970s and '80s were the worst), producers, directors, and actors never wanted to conform completely to the look of an era they were supposedly portraying. Vanity may have been the reason (other than apathy).

Oh, and the episode: Again, I like how Jason put it, vis. taking something that could/should have been epic and transforming it into the yawning ordinary. There's no real sense of adventure in this series because B&B no longer feel any such sense. But we've been through all that countless times.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

I thought the ep was great until the word Rura Pente, when someone hit the turboflush. Seaver's right in that it definately needed scope, but this was obviously a budget saver ep. They DEFINATELY needed set extensions here, it looked so tiny for such a huge trial.

Seeing JG playing a markedly different Klingon (which THANKFULLY WASN'T NAMED MARTOK) was greatly refreshing, he always does a great job