Enterprise (1 Viewer)

[Sam Favate]

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.

 

[Sam Favate]

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).

 

[younger1968]

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.

 

[Nelson Au]

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.

 

[Ockeghem]

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.

 

[younger1968]

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