Enterprise 2002-09-18 (1 Viewer)

[Francois Caron]

Yes, it's a day early. That's what you get when you have a Canadian channel broadcast the show one day early!
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Overall, the show turned out pretty good with some clever storytelling and decent acting... except for the end when it became highly preachy. It bugs me to no end whenever they do that! Just get on with the story!
Oh wait a minute. The story WAS over! I guess they needed some useless filler...
As for the temporal cold war, I guess it's been put on hiatus for the time being. Hopefully this will give the production team enough time to crank out decent storylines. I just hope they tone down the annoying preachy-feely parts while they're at it.

 

[Win Joy Jr]

Must resist....

 

[Dave Scarpa]

Enterprise Was Ok but nothing really Special. The show still lacks a certain spark. And whoever wrote Backula's Speech at the end needs to be publically executed. Next week's Humorous episode looks awful. So far nothing i screaming to me that it will be better than TNG or DS9

 

[ChristopherS]

My wife and I were enjoying the episode until the Captain's speach at the very end. "When I was a young boy I went to Africa and saw an antelope being born ... " Why do they include this crap? Is there no one on the set that recognizes bad writing when they hear it (or read it!)?

Of course being the Trek fan that I am, I will tune in next week.

Chris

 

[Dan Paolozza]

The speech at the end was sappy, but it wasn't an episode-breaker for me. All in all, I really liked this episode.

I can't help but agree with Seaver on the TCW thing - it's still this ambiguous "thing" going on, that isn't the Enterprise's story - it's someone else's story and it happens to affect Enterprise from time to time. It makes the story feel so tedious...I just want them to get through it, so they can get on with something more proactive in further episodes. Either that, or I'm thinking how wicked a show revolving around the TCW from the perspective of the main participants would be. Too bad B&B don't even know who the main players are, themselves.

All that said, I thought the episode was pretty good, and given that it was just another reactive plotline where the crew has no clue why they're in this mess, it was about as well done as it could be. I'm also assuming that the premier is really more like an episode from last season, and would have been written and shot before the season was out. In this, I'd hope that some changes have been made to the next batch of eps in order to improve on some of the shortcomings of last season.

Plenty of skimpy clothing to go around in this one too!

 

[RobertR]

Plenty of skimpy clothing to go around in this one too!

Or lack thereof...

 

[John Thomas]

Well, I was going to come in, sit down, watch the show and give my opinion of it but Dan pretty much summed it up for me.

 

[Nigel McN]

I enjoyed it, I just felt Archer got back a little too easy (even for Trek)

 

[Ralph Summa]

Yeah the speech was cheesy but overall I liked the episode and I like the series. Unfortunately the transmission of my analog channel had video dropouts and freezes throughout. Most annoyingly at the very beginning during the previous episode highlights and first few minutes of the new stuff, and also right after Archer came through the time portal.
Anyone else have this problem? I don't know if it was UPN or my local affiliate.

Ralph

 

[Ivan Lindenfeld]

I thought it was fine. OK. Trek. But I found myself wondering why I watch this week to week? It's not that good as far as storytelling goes and the rest of TV has stepped up to try (at least TRY) to match HBO's quality.
Is it just the boy in me that likes the space scenes and the ships and planets? I remember looking forward to seeing what color the planets would be in TOS week to week. OK day to day since I saw them first in syndication.
But as far as Enterprise, there is so much potential...wasted. I am not a hater. This is not a Brannon Braga / Rick Berman hate post. But I feel that even though these episodes are shoddy, I still watch.
OK, episode specifics...
When the Suliban dude brought Archer back with the time travel device, that plot point just hinged on too many coincidences. Why was he so obsessed with communicating with his superior in the future? Are we to believe that Malcolm allowed himself to be captured on purpose to give the time travel device to the Suliban dude? How could they know he would press the right keys / slidey things to make it work? And finally, why does Archer shoot at the platform? And was that the transporter?
The blatant skimpy clothing on T'Pol just bugs me. And it's bad storytelling, takes me right out of the story. On VOY 7of9 was sexy just being in a uniform. Of course she had a waterbra on to help for the first few seasons, but still the sexiness was there without the tight T shirt and nipple and tummy action. Oh wait Jeri Ryan is actually beautiful! I don't think Jonette Nippless or whatever her name is is all that pretty. Complements to her cosmetic surgeon.
So I guess Daniels is pretty much stuck in the 3000th century with no food, water or technology?
And Archer's speech at the end didn't bug me at all. Like I drive to Hilton Head in my car, I am sure with late 21st century / early 22nd century transportation, Africa is just like Jacksonville to HH.
What did bug me was that the Vulcans on Earth do not seem to have any balls. Two little speeches and they are OK with Enterprise's mission. They have made a bunch of mistakes, for sure. That was a real dramatic conflict but instead of letting it flow into real tension it was wrapped up like a gyro. Bad story.
What really bugged me is that I had to watch it at 11pm since FOX and UPN share a station here in Jax now.
All for now,

 

[Roberto Carlo]

Am I the only one who thought that T'Pol and Archer were flirting with each other in the final scene? Especially the crewman whatever saw him come in and T'Pol replied she was usually discreet
?

 

[Mike Broadman]

Two little speeches and they are OK with Enterprise's mission.

I don't think they were ever "OK" with it. I would think the final decision belongs to Starfleet (which at the time was purely human).

 

[Dan Paolozza]

It was my impression that Archer laid out the plan to T'Pol in his initial communication at the beginning. T'Pol reveals the basics of the plan to the bridge crew, but not to the audience. Hence Tripp's remark to Malcom - "You sure you want to do this, it could get ugly."

Stretching a little, I have to assume Daniels knew the Suliban ringleader would try and contact his "master" for one reason or another - to report mission successful, or a SNAFU. He had Archer relay this to T'Pol in his first comminicae, advised him about the appropriate device in his quarters, and Archer came up with a "plan" to set things in motion. At best, all of this was only hinted or lightly implied during the episode; I'm guessing, probably because the writers couldn't handle anything more without diffusing what [little] dramatic tension they had going for them.

And I thought the last scene was one of the best. Bakula looked damn near "natural" as Archer, and the character interaction and growth felt genuine. I thought the last exchange:
"I still don't believe in time travel."
"The hell you don't,"

was priceless.

 

[Nelson Au]

I agree in that it seemed too easy for Daniels to be able to make that device for Archer to communicate with T'Pol.

Also, T'Pol was so wacked out from the torture, it seemed she wasn't really fully aware of Archer calling her. Maybe it was bad direction/acting during that sequence, but I was wondering if she really got the message.

And the thing Archer shot at to destroy after he got back to his time was the device that Silik (sp?) was fiddling with to try to talk to his superior, I thought, and not a transporter.

Nelson

 

[PhilipG]

And the thing Archer shot at to destroy after he got back to his time was the device that Silik (sp?) was fiddling with to try to talk to his superior, I thought, and not a transporter.

I think that's what the other posters meant too. It was a "time transporter" console. I don't think Silik went to his transporter room to chat with Future Guy.
A reasonable episode, I thought, with the usual Enterprise pitfalls and predictable plot devices. But I have to agree with Dan about that brilliant last line.

 

[Paul McElligott]

So far Enterprise does not exactly set my toes on fire, but it's sin are nowhere near as egregious as Voyager's were on this stage, so I can forgive. The gratuitous underwear scenes are getting a little old (since when did Vulcan's wear sports bras?) but if Linda Park gets her share, I can forgive that too.
I just think the "Hoshi loses her shirt" scene would have been funnier if she hadn't been covering herself and she said her lines with more of a "Yeah, they're boobs. Get over it" tone in her voice.

 

[Jack Briggs]

Agreed, but I did not like this episode. If only the simplest, most straightforward military missions could be pulled off this improbably well and perfectly. The entire two-parter was more contrived than anything out of Charles Dickens.

Berman and Braga have taken the most implausible notions and cobbled together more cookie-cutter Trek. There's no pre-Federation, back-to-basics material here. Everything in this episode could easily have been lightly revised and used on TNG, DS9, or Voyager.

That B&B are steeped in cynicism is so blatantly obvious a true-blue fan should be furious. If this is what we have to look forward to, I will watch for only a few episodes longer. If Enterprise doesn't improve soon, I'm giving up. Why bother with this sort of mediocrity when I have all the feature films, all TOS episodes, and the first four seasons of TNG on DVD?

I feel downright insulted by B&B.

 

[Glenn Overholt]

I don't think that Daniels will be 'stuck' in the new future for very long. Going back (pun!) to the old future, they are going to realize that something is not right here, even if it is just a day before Daniels' city getting destroyed, and figure out what went wrong.

So, we will see them again, even if it is not Daniels at first. The whole Enterprise series could actually be revolving around what happens in the 31st century, and might/could explain why Archer and his 'voyages' had never been mentioned in the other series.

Ok, you can say that they are making it up as they go along, and that may very well be correct, but this isn't history, it is fiction. Erasing everything that Archer had done could bring about other mistakes that they haven't anticipated yet, and could lead to some really messy plots for Archer and his gang.

Glenn

 

[Ivan Lindenfeld]

Thanks to those of you that pointed out that the future would be repaired by Archer's return. I was thinking of BTTF time travel not Trek time travel as was pointed out.
HOWEVER, shouldn't Archer have returned to the exact moment he was taken in the turbolift? Then an ensuing battle amongst the ships for the Enterprise's freedom. I can see the writing process going this way, too, where Archer is returned to the Enterprise at about the 40 minute mark of the episode. Then they can make up shit to get it all resolved. I mean if you're gonna make up shit... ;0)
Thinking about this episode all day (I had lunch alone) I think it was really the directing that sucked. Take for example the moment T'Nipple was returned to her quarters. Archer tries to contact her through Ceiling Television moments later, while she is still very disoriented. There is a dramatic opportunity there with the transmission garbled, a time limit on how long the transmission may stay up due to the makeshift time communicator and T'Abs writhing in pain. Most of the info Archer gives her is off camera, which is fine, but a nice taut scene with some dramatic tension over the reliabilty of the communication and T'Pol's (there I said it) inability to be composed enough to process the message.
That is a directing problem, isn't it? I am not asking for a change in the script, just a timing change or something.
I am available nights and weekends for a 3 episode trial deal, Paramount! LOL @ myself.

 

[Ted Lee]

unfortunately, for me, the show has reached the:
"hmm...what's on tonight? oh yeah...looks like enterprise is on...guess i'll watch it since nothing else is on" status.
the show is enjoyable, but only because i'm a mini-trekkie fan. i still like it enough, but if i missed it, i wouldn't think twice.
btw - i'm really kinda diggin the theme song now. i'm singing it as i type.
finally, i'm sorry, but hoshi bugs me. what was up with the "i get claustrophic" thing...good grief, she's on the equivalent of a first-generation submarine in space. she seems to have way too many personal issues to be flying around.