Enterprise - Page 3

Finally got through the Augments trilogy last night. Great stuff; this and the various three-parters that followed were like the feature films Enterprise would never get to make. The Augments arc has compelling characters, a stake in Star Trek history, visits to various exotic locales, some great detail on races like the Orions that we heard a lot about but never saw or knew much of, and cool things for pretty much the entire cast to do.

I thought Brent Spiner was really good as Data's great-great grandfather (or something like that). Arik may have had good intentions (and this is stressed by him constantly telling his Augments to resist violence and killing) but as with most good villains, it is the fact that they think they're doing good that makes them dangerous.

Seeing familiar species like the Klingons and the Orions brings home that the story is playing in the Star Trek universe. You wouldn't tell a Star Wars story of grand scale without throwing in a few Wookiees or robots, would you? I also liked that the mentions of Khan and the Botany Bay were not superfluous, or just thrown in to appease die-hard fans. It mattered to the story, and really had something to do with these characters.

The opening segment of "The Augments" (the third episode in the arc) might be the best opening to any Trek episode. Archer's rescue by the Enterprise is one of the coolest things that's ever been shown. The fact that transporter technology is still new to these folks makes it just slightly more dangerous.

This is the third time I have seen this arc, and I think I like it better now that I ever did before (and I liked it before).

On to "The Forge," and the great Vulcan arc (or in the imaginary feature film world: "Star Trek Enterprise II: Vulcan Awakening")!

For some reason, I wasn't able to post from home yesterday at all.  I kept receiving an Error message.

We finished the 'Aenar' trilogy a few nights ago. I enjoyed it immensely. Babel One was quite good, and United was IMO even better. The warring between the Tellarites and the Andorians was very well conveyed, and the way the two species eventually came to accept one another was very believable to me. It seemed to set the groundwork for what was to follow (and shown sporadically in TOS) very well.

The Aenar was an intriguing episode too. Seeing a subspecies of the Andorians was a nice touch. I wish they would have delved a bit more into the gas giant’s moon (Andora) and the planet (Andor); this, like Romulus and Remus, remains shrouded in some mystery in the Trek universe. Speaking of the Romulans, it’s easy to see how their conflict with Terrans (spoken of in Balance of Terror and elsewhere) came into existence. I know I’m not alone when I say that this series could have examined the Romulan Wars quite nicely had it had a few more seasons.

Last night, we watched Affliction and Divergence. These were IMO some of the best Klingon episodes of the entire series. I'll comment on those at another time.

We watched In A Mirror, Darkly (pts. 1 and 2) tonight.  (We elected to skip Bound until after watching IAMD since it really didn't matter too much given that the mirror-universe episode isn't dependent on it.)  Many things about this two-parter were done right.  It's also one of the episodes I've seen the most since ENT first premiered.  I'd like to hear what fans of this two-parter (and who also love TOS) have to say about it.  There is much to discuss. :)

Edited by Ockeghem - 11/28/09 at 8:41pm

I also liked how mirror Archer, Soval, and Captain Forrest, as well as a few other key characters, 'bite the dust' in this two-parter. I found it creative too just who was left on the Enterprise when it was destroyed, and (more importantly) who was allowed to escape in the pods, only to reappear later on the Defiant.

I appreciated how the Defiant was the ship that was not destroyed. Even in the mirror universe, it was easier for me to accept the mirror (ENT) Enterprise being destroyed rather than the non-mirror universe (TOS) Defiant.

i like several episodes, like the following:

1. Kir'Shara
2. The communicator
3. Borderland
4. Shockwave
5. Bounty
6. Augments
7. North Star
8. Detained
9. Storm Front
10. Carpenter Street

There were some subtles and references in the show, like the trimbles, Khan, romulans, etc.
 

Younger,

It seems like we have similar favorites. Yes, the references to tribbles, and Khan, are for me quite interesting and refreshing. :)

And here's another one. Last night, we watched Bound. This is the episode where Archer acquires the three Orion slave women. Near the beginning of the episode, Archer in his log mentions Berengaria. Soon thereafter, Archer and T'Pol have an interesting exchange about fire-breathing creatures (they are described also as reptiles that fly). Although T'Pol is cautious about claiming that they exist when she responds to Archer's query, it is clear that both are talking about the dragons that are described in This Side of Paradise:

Spock?
[Beep Beep]
That one looks like a dragon.
You see the tail and the dorsal spines?
I've never seen a dragon.
- [Beep Beep] - I have.
- [Beep Beep] - On Berengaria 7.
But I've never stopped to look at clouds before.
[Beep Beep Beep]
Or rainbows.
I can tell you exactly why one appears in the sky,
but considering its beauty
has always been out of the question.

http://www.voyager.cz/tos/epizody/26thissideofparadisetrans.htm

As for Bound, it's not one of my favorites. But I did find it a clever twist to learn that the women are in control as opposed to the men. For me, the highlight of the episode was seeing Cyia Batten (one of three actresses to portray Tora Ziyal in DS9) in the episode.

Next, it will be on to Demons.

Scott, yes, those TOS references were very cool!

I liked that sequence you mention in Bound referring back to TOS too. But I thought it was a lessor show too. I am not so sure I liked the idea of the Orion Slave girls being charge. It's a nice idea and twist. I felt it was pretty clear in The Cage that the women were slaves in the traditional sense on Orion. Pike considered being a dealer in green slave women. Maybe it was just a fantasy the Talosians put in his head.

You're in the home stretch now Scott! Just 2 more to go.

Nelson,

I suppose it's possible that before we get to the time of The Cage (or The Menagerie, if you wish), Orion has flipped its philosophy and/or culture somewhat with regard to who should be in charge.  I do like your conjecture that the Talosians could have put this in his head the 'wrong' way.  Nice!

Yes, we have Demons, Terra Prime, and These Are the Voyages....  It has been a fun ride (first time for me on DVD) this time around. :)

We watched Demons last night. Again, an interesting episode and the beginning of a short arc. The appearance of 'Section 31' again was enjoyable. This time, it is Archer who asks Reed to visit an old friend. I thought that was handled well.

It's interesting to me to see the attitude expressed by Phlox whenever something doesn't appear ethical to him. During the segment when he is informing Archer of whose DNA he has found a match for regarding the baby, he seems a bit agitated, and frankly, annoyed. One can often see where he stands on certain issues by his expressions and demeanor when discussing the subject(s) at hand.

References to TOS were again present in an episode of ENT. We have the Tellarites and Orions in dispute over the claim that the latter have been attacking the formers' freighters. We also have another mention of Coridan (the same planet that was being considered for admission to the Federation in the TOS episode, Journey to Babel). But to me the most surprising (and meaningful, it turns out) reference was to that of Colonel Green, the man who led the genocide on Tiburon (as stated in TOS).  Lastly, to hear of the Fundamental Declarations of the Martian Colonies -- and to see Mars in an episode -- was sweet.

The covert operations again were quite interesting to me. I am really looking forward to seeing Terra Prime tonight, and then closing out the series with These Are the Voyages tomorrow evening.

Well, Terra Prime was a fitting conclusion to the two-arc story line begun in Demons. My family and I couldn't really figure out, however, why Paxton would have created something he despised. (We understood the need for the baby in the B story line, but not the A.) We thought too that the informant wasn't Mayweather's former girlfriend; rather, we thought it was the engineer -- but it turned out to be neither. That was a nice, albeit a bit of an abrupt, twist near the end of the episode.

The IDIC in the baby crib was a cute touch. And I really liked Peter Weller in his role. I also thought that Trinneer did a fine piece of acting when he was mourning the death of his child (named Elizabeth) with T'Pol. While watching the special features before we watched Terra Prime, it was revealed that this two-episode arc was almost going to be the season four closer. I think it would have made a fairly good conclusion to the series, what with Trip and T'Pol being informed that there was a flaw in the DNA cloning, and not in the genetics between Terrans and Vulcans. That, and the ensuing dialogue, was a subtle and poignant nod to the eventual birth of Spock.

Saw the Vulcan arc this week and it was better than I remembered. It was really like the feature film Enterprise never got to make, with plenty of activity for the ensemble, a place in Trek history and some of the most impressive photography (and CGI) ever seen in the series. If this was the 1960s, these three episodes would have been packaged together as a film and shown overseas (like the Man from UNCLE movies).

The Star Trek still needs to do a film around the formation of the United Federation of Planets. This has never been done. However, i have my doubts because the new Trek Movie destroy the timeline and now opens the show/brand to go a different direction. There was talked the next trek may approach doing re-make of the Wrath of Khan. I just hope that is not true. There is only Khan and that is Ricardo Montabalm. I also like the line i do not know you, but, you i do know (the reference to Checkov). However, Checkov's character was not in the orignial episode and only showed up in the second seaon and going forward.

Enterprise was a good series, but, particular strong in its 1,2, 4 season. The 3rd season with the expanse was the wrong direction to go with the show and the ratings plummeted as well. However, i think the ratings dumped had to do with them moving the show's time slot around. The 3rd season did have some good episodes and was not all that bad. I am still going to buy the 3rd season when it comes down in price like around 45.00. It was overpriced when it first came out, like $90.00.

I'd disagree with almost all of that.  Television in the early part of the decade-and especially in 2003 (when the third season aired) was moving toward a serialized nature and not episodic which TNG had used to its success.  24, for example, debuted the same year as Enterprise and is serialized by nature.  ER, which was still going strong at the time.  LOST had just started up. 

And if we're going to look at ratings, the far, FAR bigger decrease in ratings jappened between season 1 and season 2, falling from 5.9 million viewers (S1 average) to 3.94 million (S2).  Yes, S3 did continue to lose eyeballs (3.3 million), but the loss of about 600k viewers doesn't compare to nearly 2 million.  (I do understand the S1 numbers were "goosed" to a certain extent by the 12 million + "Broken Bow" got.)  Regardless, I'd still say S3 was the best, with S4 a close second.  S1 and S2 both had good episodes, but tended to get bogged down in cave sets or crashing shuttlepods far too much for my liking.

Sam,

The Vulcan arc was my favorite part of the fourth season, with the Augment arc a close second.  The Vulcan arc really did have everything.  It was superb in many ways.

Younger,

The Chekov / Khan reference can be explained a few ways (assuming it needs to be explained).  Khan studied the technical manuals quite thoroughly.  He also recognized Marla before he met her, ostensibly from having seen the crew manifest.  I used to think Chekov could have been at the Academy at this time; however, lately I've floated the idea that he was on the ship, but had not yet been promoted to Ensign.  Who knows.  But your point is a fun one, and it's been discussed on many Trek Boards over the years. :)

Yeah, it has been discussed about Chekov, especially when Khan makes the comments that i never forget a face. So, it would make me believe that Chekov could have been auxilliary control or somewhere on the ship and was introduced to Khan.

It is also interesting how the original series accounted for the re-appearance of Mr Leslie, especially when he was killed off in the obsession episode and showed up later.

The good thing about enterprise was it's ability in some of the episodes to tie back to the original series, like with T-Pau/Andorians/Klingons (being human then changed over time), some confusions over seeing of the romulans, especially when the balance of terror episodes mention that no one has seen the romulans in over 100 yrs.

 Enterprise handled the Romulans very well. We never see the Romulans actually see a human face to face and visa versa. They just know about each other. And the Romulans do meddle with Enterprise in the 4th year.

Regarding Chekov, at the risk of repeating an often quoted comment: Walter Keonig explains it this way, Chekov was in the lavatory in the lower decks and kept Khan waiting, so when Chekov came out, Khan was really pissed and swore he would never forget Chekov's face. I actually heard him tell this story at a convention. It got a good laugh.

Another thing I think the Vulcan arc did very well was the casting, especially Surak. Unlike the robot-like character we saw in the original series, this Surak was warm, thoughtful, very logical, and above all, alive. Also liked the casting for T'Pau; nice that she was shown as a revolutionary and helped form the Vulcan we came to know in TOS, and obviously also helped form the relationship with humans. Robert Foxworth is always good whenever Trek uses him, although he's played the heavy so many times now that Paramount security must follow him to his car when he leaves the set.

Nelson,

As one who has been to several conventions over the years, I loved the Montalban story -- that's very nice! :)

Younger,

Speaking of Obsession, I've often thought that Garrovick was also killed at the beginning of that episode, and then used later in it.  It sure does look like him in the opening sequence (as one of the dead men).

Sam,

I thought T'Pau was perfectly cast in the ENT arc.  LOL at the Paramount comment -- unless you weren't trying to be funny, of course. :)

you could also looked at Lt. Galloway as well, because he was killed in one episode and then re-appeared in a later episode.

All i knew if you were red-shirted security guard then it was like a kiss a death.

^^^

True enough.  Good thing Scotty wasn't a security officer. :)

Speaking of red shirts, or red stripes as the case may be, I just saw Daedelus, and sure enough, a security officer bites the dust early on. I call all of them Ensign Bodybag.

I liked Daedelus better this time than previous times I saw it. I like the idea that these pioneers of technology are only a generation removed from the crew and that Archer has met many of them. I thought the relationship between Archer and Emory's daughter could have been played out more. There was a larger potential story there and it was missed. Overall, a weaker episode compared with the rest of season four, but an enjoyable bottle show.

Oh, and the Ensign Bodybag with the shortest lifespan might just go to the one in Friday's Child (which I saw the other day). He lands on the planet, shouts "A Klingon!" and dies. 20 seconds, tops.

^^^

Friday's Child is one of my all-time favorite episodes of TOS.  (I really like Dorothy Fontana's work.)

You may be right about his 'death' being the shortest lifespan in Trek.  I'll have to think about that one, but I'd say you're spot on.

Finished The Aenar trilogy; such good stuff here. The hostility between the Tellerites and Andorians initially seems like a retread of Journey To Babel, one of the all-time great episodes, but it isn't long before we see there is more going on. The Romulans are used very effectively and without violating TOS canon.

I always found the Romulans among the very best adversaries in Trek. Their plotting and scheming is more like that of the cold war than the Klingons ever were. The Klingons, at least in TOS, were depicted more in terms of brute strength than cunning and calculation. The revelation at the end of the second episode of this arc that a captured Aenar was responsible is one of the best moments. Here is a new, yet familiar, species, and we get to learn more about them and the Andorians at the same time.

The depiction of the Aenar society is one of the show's great moments. Great CGI that almost looks like a moving matte painting. That the Aenar are pacifists fits in with the philosophy of the original show.

Sadly, this was the last of the three part episodes. The three remaining two-parters are all very good, but having a third part allowed for greater depth. Of course, with the reduced number of episodes for the season, it was inevitable.

Following up with comments on Bound and the Mirror episodes. Bound was a lot of fun, and if I am not mistaken this is the first time we ever get into the Orion people and culture. Previously, they were only supporting players in a story. This episode oozes sexuality in a way that only the original series did, and the twist on events in the story is a nice sci-fi touch.

The Mirror Universe has long been a fan favorite, and those episodes are fun, but the limitations of it are clearly seen here. While it was great to see the great production values of Enterprise applied to the original show's sets and costumes, the evil nature of all the characters is so one-note that it's tiresome. A culture of savagery like the one depicted in the Mirror Universe would be unlikely to develop the same kind of space-faring technology seen in the regular Star Trek universe. There's simply no motivation for the nastiness and sadism we see here, and the reason these Enterprise episodes are different from those of TOS or DS9 is that there is no one crossing over, so the audience has no one to root for in the struggle against sadism that we saw when Kirk, McCoy, Sisko, Kira, etc., crossed over. The Enterprise episodes are fun, but not really engaging, as none of the characters have any redeeming values (maybe T'Pol, although she has her share of duplicitous moments too).

On to the final two-parter and then the finale early next week.

Finished the show last night. First, I will comment on the finale, about which much has already been written. It was far worse than I remembered. While watching the show again on DVD made me appreciate it much more than I did the first time, I disliked the finale all the more for my new appreciation for the show. The biggest problem with it is simply lazy writing. Tucker's demise is so hastily written into the show that it doesn't have any justifiable reason for being there, other than to try to evoke an emotional response from the audience - but this is such a lazy and brazen effort that audiences have every right to feel cheated. I know the cast has spoken out about the finale many times, and they're right. I can only imagine the teeth gnashing that went on when this script was delivered to the other writers and the cast and crew. But when the bosses want to write the episode, I guess you have to let them. Did Berman and Braga even watch the show? Because much of the finale felt out of character. In any case: bad, bad, bad. Series finales are a tough nut to crack - most of them don't satisfy, but Enterprise's finale is a textbook example of what not to do.

That said, the previous two-parter, Demons/Terra Prime, is a nice send-off for the show. It works on many levels; it services the characters well - nearly everyone is given something to do (even Travis who pretty much was the most under-used character); it tells a good story that also advances the larger arc of the show, bringing the various races we've seen closer to a union that will become the Federation; and it addresses real-world issues in a way that is consistent with the original intent of the first show (it is fitting that the enemy in this story is a fanatical right-wing group, very similar in philosophy to that which Star Trek was created in response to). Also, in contrast to the contrived emotional response in the finale that I mentioned above, Terra Prime has a genuine emotional core to its story, and its tragic end is both sad and hopeful. Also, the finale never picks up on the promise at the end of this episode, which suggests that Trip and T'Pol would like to someday have a child together.

Overall, I really liked the sense at the end that this crew worked together and really achieved something great. The show might have had some shaky moments along the way but it was good more often than not, and was very consistent. I think the public was suffering from franchise fatigue when it aired and that added to its problems (it also didn't help that the show - which started out as a show with a sense of wonder about what was being seen and discovered - premiered about 10 days after 9/11 when the public's sensibilities changed; the other major problem was that the show was on UPN which was targeting a very different demographic and the show was never a good fit for that).

Enterprise was a very decent show. The networks messed around with the time slots and this cause ratings to drop. I like the premise of the show and the chemistry between the actors. Plus, the show also highlighted areas like T-Poll, genetics (Khan), Andorians, transporter, etc. I would have like to see a better ending like formation of the united federation of planets.

 

It is just so sad that sci-fi shows have gone by the wayside. I have purchased shows like The Invaders, Galactica 1980, V-The Series, Space 1999, Star Trek TOS, Enterprise (1,2,4),  Martian Chronicles, Planet of the Apes, Time Tunnel, etc. I hope they release Logan's Run down the road along with series called Earth, which starred John Saxon.

 Sam,

I'm in agreement with your thoughts on Enterprise.

As I mentioned above, I did watch the entire series a few months ago. I had seen many episodes a few times since I had the set. But I had not done a sequential viewing since I got the set and watched it when it aired.

So I know the show fairly well, but I had a better sense this time of the romance with T'Pol and Tucker, it was felt more organic to see it this way and without the delays on broadcast.

Their involvement in the creation of the Federation was a really nice thing to see and Manny Coto deserves much praise for his efforts.

As for the finale. I skipped it! After Terra Prime, I put that last episode on and skipped right to the end where Archer gives T'Pol a hug and makes his speech and then we see the various generations of Enterprise fly-by. That's how I chose to end it this time.

Good points Sam, and some nice write-ups. And Nelson, not having to deal with the broadcast interruptions was a very good thing my last time around viewing ENT sequentially. :)

IMO, the death of Trip in These Are the Voyages was the weakest part of the storyline (and there were many). If that segment had not made the final cut, I know I would have enjoyed the finale much more than I do.

Younger,

I too really enjoyed Logan's Run (I own the film) and Planet Earth when they first aired. I'd love to see those series come to DVD as well one day.

I watched S3 and have a new appreciation of the Star Trek Enterprise after watching the complete season. When i remember watching S3 it did not interest me, but now after watching S3 it has spiked my interest. I think S3 was very good now. The issue with show not succeeded has more to do with them moving the time slot around like Wednesday to Friday. I remember watching the show at 8PM on wednesday and i like that time slot.

 

I was more disappointed that the show did close gap around the united federation of planets. S4 was good in that is show how T-Pau became to power was a good episode. The other benefits are the following:

 

1. Visiting of Andoria

2. Romulans being show, especially in the original series no one had ever seen them

3. Genetics war, which leads into Space Seed

4. Maker of the Transporter