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| My ENT season two reviews; by Kevin Thomas Riley | |
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| Topic Started: 21 Mar 2006, 19:35 (1,578 Views) | |
| Kevin Thomas Riley | 22 Oct 2006, 16:58 Post #21 |
Jolene Blalock Worshipper
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2-20 Horizon Reviewed by Kevin Thomas Riley I mostly enjoyed Horizon and ever since Enterprise began I thought that the Boomers were a fascinating concept, a breed of people and a kind of working professionals we’ve never seen on Star Trek before. Maybe that is because they did in fact die out, just as the Boomers feared in this episode and in Fortunate Son from the first season. Both episodes are also naturally Travis Mayweather episodes, since he’s of Boomer stock. The problem is that neither he nor the Boomers were utilized in a satisfying fashion on Enterprise, which is a real shame given their potential. I won’t repeat my previous gripes about this. For that I point you to my review of Fortunate Son. The conflict Travis had with the Boomers on the ECS Fortunate is mirrored here in a more familiar setting with his own family on the cargo vessel he grew up on, the ECS Horizon (which could be the same Horizon that was responsible for the cultural contamination of Sigma Iotia III on the original series episode A Piece of the Action, although I think that’s a bit of a stretch). The Enterprise happens to be in the neighbourhood and that gives Travis the chance to see his family again. Unfortunately his father dies before he can meet him again. There is a very nice scene with Travis and Archer when the Captain tries to console the Ensign. It turns out daddy Mayweather wasn’t opposed to his son joining Starfleet. In fact, Archer reveals that he got a very good, one sentence recommendation from Travis’s father when he was selecting his officers. This is the kind of caring Archer we saw all too few times. The conflict between Boomer life and Starfleet is embodied in the conflict between Travis and his brother Paul, who has now taken command of the Horizon. Paul resents the fact that Travis abandoned his family to join Starfleet. He generally resents Starfleet since it is getting harder to recruit crews to the cargo fleet and that faster ships are eventually going to make the slow cargo vessels obsolete. The Boomers are insular and very protective of their way of life. What is not said is that it comes as no surprise that the Boomers would resent Starfleet since Earth has utterly failed to protect the Boomers from preying marauders. While the inherent conflict has potential for some interesting storytelling, it didn’t quite work here. Especially the arguments between the Mayweather brothers felt a bit forced, but maybe that was due to the acting. I’m sorry to say but I didn’t feel that Anthony Montgomery had the ability to pull this off here, and that may be because the writers in general haven’t really developed his character that well. He felt a bit flat and both his brother Paul and his mother Rianna fared better. Rianna Mayweather was a really nice character, wise and compassionate, and I liked her a lot. Paul was a bit too intransigent, but then again, he’s just been catapulted into the big chair and is lacking in experience. One would have hoped that they had done more about this conflict, but it was all brushed under the rug after they successfully defeated the pirates with the help of the upgrades Travis had made, despite the objections from his brother. This wasn’t a real resolution. It was action masquerading as a resolution. Wouldn’t Paul, given the kind of person he is, feel resentment that it was in fact Travis, the prodigal brother, who had arrived to save the day? It just felt too neat. Yes, Travis was right but human stubbornness often gets in the way of seeing the obvious. How does Paul really feel about all this when the action is over? Has he come to understand his brother? I would also have liked to see Travis struggle more with his heritage now that he’s come back “home”. What does his background mean for him? Is he torn between two worlds? That’s generally something I wish had been addressed on the show. If I had been Travis I would feel a bit betrayed since Starfleet hasn’t done much to allay the fears of the Boomers. So the problem really shouldn’t be Starfleet per se, but what Starfleet does, or rather doesn’t do. But that dimension is never addressed. Meanwhile, back on the Enterprise we have a B-plot that is totally self-contained and obviously played for laughs. I’m torn about that. I really liked some aspects of it, but the whole thing felt kind of out of place when contrasted with the serious nature of the main story. The disconnect was too great and sometimes took me out of the story. But as a die hard Trip/T’Pol fan I liked how he tried to ask her out on movie night and their flirting (yeah, that’s what they were doing even if the Vulcan might not have realized it) was really cute. Too bad Trip was too thick-headed to not realize that T’Pol suggestion of a dramatic book reading of Frankenstein instead wasn’t directed at the entire crew. Imagine the possibilities if he had taken her up on that offer! And wasn’t she a bit disappointed when he didn’t? Still, we see that T’Pol is quite scared at the suggestion of going on an actual date - she gets this “deer in the headlights” look on her face when he pushes the issue. But man did I want to strangle Archer for butting in and practically order T’Pol to go to movie night! Mind your own damn business, for heaven’s sake! And given how Archer acted towards her in that atrocious episode A Night in Sickbay, his “order” comes off as entirely inappropriate since she can hardly say no. T’Pol must have felt really uncomfortable here, as would any woman. The movie night sub-plot then somewhat redeemed itself with the scene at the Captain’s table when Archer and Trip tries to tease T’Pol about what she thought of the movie. T’Pol had a great comeback there when she suggested to them that she might show Frankenstein to ambassador Soval, so that he could get an understanding about how it is to be an outcast among humans and use it as a training video to newly arrived aliens on Earth. Heh, I sometimes wonder if she really did show it to Soval? A minor thing I didn’t care for in this episode was the unnecessary nods towards The Next Generation when there is a reference to allowing kids onboard starships and having a psychologist (two of the things I really didn’t like about the modern Treks). And one thing struck me as unintentionally funny. Travis tells his brother Paul that a good Captain has to be able to listen to what people say. In that case Archer hasn’t been setting a good example for the helmsman. And Travis did indeed get that from his father, not from some Starfleet wisdom, but I suppose he could never say that to his C.O.’s face. But all in all, Horizon was an enjoyable episode if flawed. I give it a grade of 6 on my 10-graded scale. Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image |
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| Kevin Thomas Riley | 27 Nov 2006, 16:43 Post #22 |
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Jolene Blalock Worshipper
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2-21 The Breach Reviewed by Kevin Thomas Riley The Breach was just another standard fare season two episode; while not as horrid as some others it still failed to elicit much in terms of enthusiasm from me; certainly nothing new and no terribly exciting things to see and experience here. All in all it was pretty average and considering how sub-par season two has generally been, Enterprise couldn’t really afford just an average episode at this juncture. First we have some Denobulan geologists lost in the deep caverns of a planet. They have to be found before a deadline for all off-worlders to leave imposed by the new rulers come into effect. Then we have Dr Phlox struggling with prejudices when he encounters a patient who refuses treatment because of some long held animosity between his species and the Denobulans. The first plot is nothing remarkable, not bad but not all that good either. It was average. The second plot is harder to nail down. On the one hand John Billingsley really shines as Phlox here and his character and the Denobulans are more fleshed out. But on the other hand we see a very heavy-handed Trek “moral message” that fails to convince. Not the message per se, but how it is being presented in a believable manner. It turns out that some three centuries ago, Denobula was at a ferocious war with the Antarans (who probably don’t live in the Antares system, since that star being a red supergiant some 600 light-years away is inhospitable and too far away). Ever since, the two species have nurtured a common and deep-seated hatred for each other. Hudak, Phlox’s Antaran patient, is refusing to be treated by the Denobulan arch-enemy and would rather die. Phlox won’t treat him despite orders from Captain Archer because his Denobulan medical ethics forbids him to treat someone against their expressed will. So in order to save his patient Phlox has to come to terms with his patient and the prejudices they both have towards each other. Since this is Star Trek the two antagonists come to an understanding and Phlox can save his patient. This is pretty much standard Trekkie fare and I didn’t find the story all that convincing. It was too obvious and all too easy for my tastes. It was also like preaching to the choir. Of course the vast majority of viewers would agree with the moral sentiment behind the episode. That’s not the problem. The problem is that really bigoted people, like this Hudak seemed to be, often aren’t that easily swayed by some sob-story from the opposing part. Bigotry and racism are more deeply rooted than that. It can hardly be overcome just by talking in a matter of two or three days. I suppose that I may be odd for a Trek fan in that I don’t really subscribe to this overtly optimistic notion of people that Trek has. Fundamentally I don’t think people are that good. But this episode seems to have the view that bigotry is something learned, something that isn’t there until you’re taught it by society. For me it is the opposite. The default position is one of prejudice since all historical (and biological) evidence points to the fact that you feel closer to the people that are closest to you. A person is much more likely to exhibit altruism towards people that are more similar to you - family, friends, tribe, nation etc. It takes an enlightened society to temper those feelings of fear and suspiscion towards strangers and the unknown. That is why you have to have a society that looks beyond the parochial interests of its inhabitants. Otherwise we resort to tribalism and anarchy. This is also why I have never bought into the Trekkian notion of that humanity as a species will evolve into the almost perfect beings of the 24th century. Society may have evolved but I fundamentally don’t think people will be all that different. As has been said “it is easy being a saint in paradise.” Call me a cynic and a pessimist all you like, myself I prefer the term realist. Ultimately you risk betraying your fellow humans (and in the case of Trek, also aliens) if you go by a more utopian outlook. We all know what has happened in history whenever someone has tried to impose their view of what a utopian society is. Better to work with the flawed humans you have and try to create a free society where you enforce the rule of law, than to try and change human nature, since that is doomed to fail. All right, stepping off soapbox now and back to The Breach. I did like the insights we got to both Phlox and the Denobulans. Up until this time they’ve felt like a rather jovial and non-threatening people but this episode allowed us to have a different look on them. At least previously, this overcrowded and polyamorous people have been waging devastating wars. And Phlox has an estranged son, Mettus, who he hasn’t spoken to in a decade because they don’t see eye to eye about the Antarans. It’s a pity we never got to see more about either the Denobulans or Phlox’s family on Enterprise. There were some interesting tales that wanted to be told there. Back on the planet, called Xantoras, the crew’s resident climbing expert(?) Travis Mayweather brings Reed and Trip along to find the three missing Denobulan scientists. The episode managed to make the cave scenes look very good indeed, as opposed to the all too many fake plastic and foamy-looking ones with flat floors we’ve seen on Trek before. The lightning by the climbers own headlights only made for a realistic and eerie look. My only real complaint is that these sequences tended to drag on for too long. It’s also not a very good testament to Travis’s climbing skills that he gets seriously injured on yet another climb (the first one being in season one’s Two Days and Two Nights). One may also wonder when he did pick up on this hobby since he grew up on a cargo freighter. But I guess his repeated injuries while doing it really shows us that he may like climbing but that he’s not very good at it, since he quite obviously needs a lot more training. And once again the writers try to involve Travis in the action only to put him out of action as soon as possible. And why did they bring Trip along, besides the fact that Connor Trinneer is in the main cast? Reed is somewhat more understandable since he’s a security guy. But Trip, especially since he as the chief engineer should’ve been needed to facilitate repairs on that damaged ship Hudak arrived on. Conveniently the shuttlepod left just before the Enterprise received the distress call. On a related matter, if Denobulans are such expert climbers as we saw, why didn’t Phlox reveal that information and why didn’t he go down on rescue attempt? I also wonder why they didn’t have any more advanced climbing gear, like something that could pull them up the ropes. Or why not go all the way and have some anti-gravity devices since they already have artificial gravity onboard ships? But maybe there’s a difference in how small you can make the grav/anti-grav generators? An odd thing was having Archer order Phlox to treat Hudak, as if the concept of the patient’s consent was something alien to him. The Breach would have you believe that that is something the Hippocratic oath wouldn’t recognise but patients do have the right to refuse treatment here on Earth today, not just on Denobula. The Enterprise really could’ve used a second doctor here, or at least someone else a little skilled in the medical profession. They tried this with crewman Cutler once, but then forgot about it. I know the actress died (RIP Kellie Waymire) but there should be another. And on a side note, when he’s angry, Archer again delivers the words in a stilted and forced manner that fails utterly to convince. Why do the writers insist on doing this when it‘s obvious it doesn‘t work? Summing up, The Breach was an average and somewhat uneven episode that I’ll give a grade of 5- on my 10-graded scale. Phlox feeding a tribble to one of his creatures in the teaser and the horrid look on Hoshi’s face when he did it saved it from a 4. Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image |
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| Kevin Thomas Riley | 1 Jan 2007, 20:02 Post #23 |
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Jolene Blalock Worshipper
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2-22 Cogenitor Reviewed by Kevin Thomas Riley And so we have arrived at Cogenitor, one of the most overrated episodes on all of Enterprise. Why it usually gets such high praise as it gets is beyond me. While not bad in the sense that A Night in Sickbay was bad, it nevertheless doesn't rank very high on my scale, mainly because of how the subject matter offends me. The underlying "message" of the episode is certainly not one that I would subscribe to, and to think that this is what goes for Trek morality makes me feel rather uneasy. It's the same kind of issue I have with Dear Doctor from the first season. Granted, the episode is well crafted and it presents an intriguing moral dilemma, but I cannot for the life of me look beyond the resolution. Here we have a new species, the Vissians, that turns out not to be bi-gendered but that has a third gender, the cogenitors, that practically serves as sex-slaves and are treated as nothing more than inanimate objects that are tossed around to whatever couple that needs them to conceive a child. But the cogenitors are no less intelligent than the male and female Vissians. While presenting this fact, the episode concludes that "we" have no real right to judge them and to interfere with their culture. Riiiight. This is the kind of thinking that allows you to look the other way when women are being oppressed in a lot of Middle Eastern cultures, or when genocidal madness grips certain areas of the globe. Thanks, but no thanks! I will never support this kind of reasoning. I suppose this is another one of Enterprise's attempts at showing how the prime directive of later Treks evolved (as was the aforementioned Dear Doctor). It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone then, that I'm not a big fan of this general order, and I never have been, especially how that rule was implemented in the 24th century. At least Kirk had the decency to ignore it whenever he felt it was prudent. While a certain amount of caution is to be advised when you're dealing with alien cultures, there is such a thing as right and wrong. I'm definitely not a moral relativist. I do believe there are certain universal rights. In the Trek universe one may not say just human rights - in Cogenitor T'Pol does point out that the Vissians aren't humans - but I'd like to think that there are "sentients' rights", for lack of a better term. The kind of rights I'd like to see being the foundation for what will eventually become the United Federation of Planets. I don't care if that is viewed as a human-centric outlook, especially if the alternative leads to morally bankrupt consequences. So yes, I firmly believe that Trip was right in doing what he did when he befriended the cogenitor and learned him/her/it to read. And Archer was (literally, as it unfortunately turned out) dead wrong in refusing to grant the cogenitor asylum. Sure, Trip was a bit naïve and probably went about it the wrong way, but his heart was in the right place. He saw just the person, Charles (as the cogenitor named himself/herself/itself), not the culture, not the species, not the gender, and not the "supposed" place Charles had in Vissian society. While some may say that the road to hell is paved with good intentions, that is also, if not more so, true of the non-interference approach. Yes, interfering in a culture's "natural development" (whatever that means) can be fraught with dangers, but so can definitely standing by the wayside be, allowing oppression, genocides or natural disasters to occur. To add insult to injury, Cogenitor also offers one of the worst portrayals of Archer we've ever seen on Enterprise, which is no small feat considering how bad the character has been treated overall. Here he comes off as a complete asshole. Hypocritical just begins to descibe it. When he starts to fiercely chew out poor Trip, especially after he tells his chief engineer that Charles has committed suicide rather than to keep living in slavery, I cringe every time. All the blame is put on Trip's shoulders and Archer hasn't a nice thing to say to someone who is supposed to be his friend, and a grieving friend at that. Perhaps it is Archer's own guilt speaking, since Trip firmly, and rightly, believes that he's done no different than Archer would've done. Archer sure has meddled before whenever it had struck his whim. But now this incident has blown up in his face and while he at one point says "You did exactly what I'd do? If that's true, then I've done a pretty lousy job setting an example around here" (duh!) he refuses to admit his own culpability. But that's right, Archer's actions will never be shown to come back to haunt him or bite him in the ass, since he's supposed to be this "hero captain". But it's perfectly fine to have it happen to another character, because Archer is the bestest! Urgh! I also hated how Trip took all this in such a self-depreciating manner. As someone said, it's like abuse victims who believe every crap their abusers throw at them, while they keep getting beaten up. Dammit Trip, you were right and your bloody captain was wrong! Cogenitor also marks what I see as an effective end to the close friendship between Archer and Trip, and that isn't surprising. While the events therein aren't mentioned again, as is all too common in episodic television, you can't help notice that they're usually not on such buddy/buddy terms after this episode as they were before. And only a few episodes later we're deep into the Expanse, where Archer effectively shuts himself off from everyone. The way the episode played out, it felt that Archer was more upset that Trip had ruined an otherwise great first contact situation. While Trip was befriending Charles, Archer was befriending the Vissian captain Drennik, safely away from the rest for a few days in a Vissian stratopod closely observing a hypergiant star (which had some great visuals). Those were some really nice scenes and the late Andreas Katsulas (R.I.P.) was great as Drennik. But there lurked some darker facets underneath the Vissians otherwise friendly exterior. I'm willing to concede that apart from the way they treated their cogenitors, they might have a very decent society, but that doesn't mitigate the appalling way in which they treat them. But Archer seems more upset at having been forced to learn this fact than about the fact itself. And after he's been totally mesmerized by all the nifty Vissian technology he's seen, when he refuses to grant Charles asylum, it comes off as if he's more interested in not jeopardising the future possibility of getting his hands on said technology, than helping a fellow sentient being. The episode also suffers from a totally unnecessary subplot about how Malcolm Reed flirts with a Vissian woman - or perhaps it is the other way around. Since there are a lot of narrative holes in the main story, one has to wonder why it was felt a need to put this quite silly storyline in the episode? For example, it would've been much better if the viewers got to learn what eventually motivated Archer do deny Charles asylum. And there was the same problem in Dear Doctor, when we never learned why Archer made the decision he made. The common theme in both instances, at least how I see it, is that he made the wrong decisions. I suppose it is hard to come up with good reasons, or convincing ones at any rate, for someone to make wrong decisions. So this perfectly underlines my objections to both episodes. A minor nit, especially after all the above, is that I have a hard time wrapping myself around the concept of tri-gendered reproduction - that according to Phlox needs the enzymes from the third sex to facilitate conception. It seems unnecessarily complicated, and frankly a way that one would think evolution would try to stay well clear of. The advantages of bi-gendered reproduction is quite obvious (oh not that, you pervs…), even if it is more complex than asexual reproduction, but it is hard to see any additional advantages to having a third sex involved (let alone a fourth, as some fans have speculated the Andorians have). Wasn't there anything I liked about Cogenitor? Well, I mentioned the Archer/Drennik scenes and I thought Trip's interaction with Charles were sweet. Also, the scene at the very beginning when Trip teases T'Pol about her age was cute. But ultimately I cannot give this episode a higher grade than 3- on my 10-graded scale. Sorry, but the moral of this tale really offends me. Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image |
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| Kevin Thomas Riley | 28 Jan 2007, 11:35 Post #24 |
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Jolene Blalock Worshipper
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2-23 Regeneration Reviewed by Kevin Thomas Riley I suppose the writers and producers could've avoided a lot of headaches and fan criticism by having not made Regeneration. Like Acquisition in the previous season it had the possibility of wrecking havoc with established Star Trek canon, and while I do think both episodes does fit in with the rest of the Trek universe, many fans do not agree and I do understand their points. There are in fact some things in both this episode and the other that skirts awfully close to breaking the continuity flow. However, they do stay on the right side of the line and where there are questionable things, I feel there are creative ways to explain around them. Still, Enterprise as a show would probably have benefited more, had these episodes not been made, as good and enjoyable as they are in their own right. And I do like Regeneration, even if I by the time I watched it had grown rather tired of the Borg due to their over-exposure on Star Trek: Voyager. The episode takes its cue from the Star Trek movie First Contact, in which a group of 24th century Borg travel back in time to the year 2063 to prevent Zefram Cochrane's first warp flight and humanity's subsequent first contact with the Vulcans. They are of course stopped by Picard and his crew, but they did leave something behind buried in the Arctic ice that now resurfaces almost a hundred years later. On a side note I think it should have been explained just how or why these remains got uncovered. The first part of Regeneration takes a rather novel approach, where we see nothing but guest stars (including Bonita Friedericy, the wife of John Billingsley) working to uncover the mystery of these cybernetic organisms they've found. This Star Trek's take on The Thing is very well done and I didn't really mind that we didn't see any of "our" crew at this point. The added tension of having the viewers obviously know just how inherently dangerous these dormant Borg drones are, while the poor researchers didn't, was a neat story-telling device. Still, a little more precaution from Starfleet would've been prudent. Oh, and a pet peeve of mine is that I, as I hail from the cold Nordic country of Sweden, can recognize fake snow when I see it on TV, and there was a lot of it here. Add to that that they didn't put any visible vapour on their breaths (a small feat with CGI nowadays one would think) and the feeling of coldness didn't come off as well as it could have. What I appreciated most about Regeneration is that it actually made the Borg scary again, after having been somewhat emasculated on Voyager. Here we - the audience - know that they are dangerous but they are a new experience to these people from the 22nd century, who are just trying to figure out what these things are. Sometimes you want to scream at the TV set "no, don't do that!" While there really wouldn't be any other way of telling the story I still think it was quite clever. It was also a fast paced action adventure that rarely had a dull moment. I hardly notice the soundtrack on modern Trek shows but Brian Tyler's score for Regeneration really stood out. While being one of the more controversial things about Regeneration, I liked how it was fitted with the rest of Trek continuity. At the same time it makes perfect sense and is quite absurd. But that's what a temporal causality loop will do for you, and that's been a staple on science fiction for a very long time. Another recent example is of course the plot of Terminator 2. Yeah, temporal mechanics gives not just Janeway but also me a headache, but this was very clever indeed. Canonatics has of course screamed that it wasn't until the Next Generation episode Q Who that man first encountered the Borg, two centuries after the events depicted in this episode. Why didn't Picard find the records from this incident in the database? Well, the obvious but ultimately unsatisfying answer to that question is that it hadn't happen - yet. There were still some years before he travelled back in time to defeat the Borg in 2063. Got to love those temporal loops! But as Star Trek has normally been shown to be in one continuous timeline, even if changed in the past (it has happened because he will have to go back in the future), there must be another explanation. This is a point I can concede to the critics. While there aren't any Borg remnants left, the records made would still remain, and the witnesses' stories. And since Archer learned that the Borg sent a message to the Delta quadrant that would arrive there in two hundred years, one would think that Starfleet would be well aware of this when the time came. These were some very dangerous cybernetic organisms bent on assimilation, not some half-witted Ferengis. The only reason would be that the incident was classified and that the red flag went up after Picard returned and made his report. It's a weak explanation but the only one that I've got. From the point of view of the Borg, Picard's encounter with them in Q Who wasn't the first, so that criticism can't really fly. They had assimilated the Hansens, including Seven of Nine, before that happened. And they had also been making incursions into the Romulan neutral zone before that too (The Neutral Zone). Before Regeneration there was never given any reason for why the Borg became interested in this part of the galaxy (since they were clearly here before Q decided to scoop Picard et al. away for an advance peek at them). Now we can say we know. They got the messages from the drones from two hundred years earlier! My biggest gripe about Regeneration is how easily, relatively speaking, Phlox got away with being infected with the Borg nanoprobes. Conveniently enough his physiology is more resistant to them than any other species (except for Species 8472) the Borg has encountered. And even more conveniently is the fact that he manages to defeat them, with 22nd century technology, using "omicron" radiation. Now why wasn't that crucial medical knowledge mentioned in the EMH's vast medical database on the USS Voyager? Sure it made for some really good angst-ridden scenes with Phlox - and a very sweet moment between him and Hoshi when she tries to comfort him - but it sticks out a sore thumb. I can buy that the Enterprise could manage to inflict the damage it did to the borgified vessel due to the fact that the Borg mostly had to work with what was at hand, namely ships from the 22nd century, and that it was smaller and hadn't really grown that large or powerful yet. But what shouldn't have been possible was for Reed to have modified the older, less-powerful phase pistols so he and the others could get off as many killing shots on the drones as they did. The drones and their nanoprobes aren't 22nd technology. They're vintage 24th century Borg and should easily have fended off Reed's phase pistol blasts. He even got off more effective shots than I think I've ever seen a 24th century character do with their more advanced weaponry. Hell, Reed and Archer even managed to wrestle down and incapacitate a drone. Still, despite the above I think these Borgs were scarier than I've seen them in a long time. Scary isn't always preferable though. There comes a time in any story arc when trying to keep your enemy mysterious and scary becomes tiresome and predictable. Some fans thought the Borg should have remained that and believe that they were ruined already with Hugh on the Next Generation episode I, Borg. I can't really agree. I like it when we delve deeper into the enemy and his motivations and capabilities. I can live with if that takes away some of the mystery. For me the true thrill of a mystery is trying to solve and understand it. I also like it when this supposedly all powerful mysterious foe is somehow defeated by someone else. This is why my favourite episodes on (my least favourite Trek) Voyager is the Scorpion two-parter. Just imagine how powerful Species 8472 were if they could beat the seemingly invincible Borg. However, as Voyager went on, the ongoing plot dictated for this relatively small ship, lost and all alone, to defeat the all-mighty Borg collective again and again and that became rather silly. This is also why I've grown tired of the Borg. This last part was more an observation on the Borg in general on Star Trek than something about Regeneration. All that's left for me now is to grade it, and I'll give it a generous 6 on my 10-graded scale. It loses a point for the easily cured Phlox infection and Reed's all too effective phase pistols. Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image |
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| Kevin Thomas Riley | 21 Feb 2007, 19:16 Post #25 |
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Jolene Blalock Worshipper
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2-24 First Flight Reviewed by Kevin Thomas Riley I really liked First Flight, or Star Trek: Enterprise's take on The Right Stuff. It was nice going back to see how it all started, and sort of meet our characters (some of them at any rate) for the first time. Ever wondered how Starfleet's warp program looked in its infancy? Ever wanted to know how Archer and Tucker got to know each other? It's all in this episode. Even younger Archer was tolerable here, but unfortunately for him, he was vastly outshined by his test flight buddy and competitor A.G. Robinson (excellently played by Keith Carradine). In just one episode this character managed to win me over completely. Too bad it was stated from the beginning that he's now dead, in a freak climbing accident no less. It's no secret that I don't really like Archer and to see him contrasted so clearly with someone that I know would've made a hell of better Captain, is a bit saddening. Imagine if A.G. had been the captain of the Enterprise! Or if Archer actually had been written more like A.G.! A.G. Robinson had more commanding presence and weight than Archer will ever have. He's the kind of man that is likely to command great respect and loyalty from the ones serving under him jut by the force of his personality. In many ways, by making this episode the writers and producers did the Archer character a great disservice. From now on it will be so easy to unfavourably compare Archer to the better man. Archer all too often comes across as being angry, petty, bigoted and self-centred. It's a bit ironic when A.G. says to him "Starfleet doesn't just want a great pilot. They want a great captain!" Well, they never really got one, which makes the following statement by T'Pol seem strange indeed: "It does take more than piloting ability to command a starship. Fortunately, you seem to have developed the necessary skills." Gah! That's something the audience shouldn't be needed to be told, especially since it just isn't true for those that have been paying attention for the past two seasons. But I forget, here she is in her annoying season two Sidekick Polly mode that the show runners shoved down our throats. For the umpteenth time, saying something doesn't make it so if everything else points to the contrary! And especially in an episode like this that so painfully showcases the weaknesses of the Archer character. That being said, I liked the interaction between Archer and Robinson. It had a believable competitive edge about it that I'm sure is true for real test pilots, or at least test pilots back in the days of heroes like Chuck Yeager and the Mercury 7 astronauts. We also see how defensive Archer is regarding his father's engine, and refuses to even contemplate that it has a design flaw when A.G.'s try at warp 2 ends in disaster. It's no wonder that he made friends with a young engineering lieutenant named Charles "Trip" Tucker, who claimed that there wasn't anything wrong with the engine - and in front of the sceptic Vulcan overseers no less. Or that he got into a bar fight with A.G. over it. Speaking of the bar fight, I loved that there is a special "Starfleet" bar. We've previously heard mentions of The 602 Club and the bar maid that both Trip and Reed had a thing for (season one's Shuttlepod One). And here we get to see both the bar, complete with little badges and tokens from different missions and space flights, and Ruby the bar maid. Even the then Commodore Forrest saw fit to come down there and literally loosen his tie. Forrest was a nice guy here too, perhaps a bit too nice. In the real world there wouldn't be a chance in hell for the careers of Archer and Robinson to have been saved like they were here, not after the stunt they pulled. I liked the stunt anyway. Those Vulcans just got on my nerves and there really was no reason to shut down the warp project just because of an accident. That's why there are test programs - so all the kinks that causes accidents can be worked out. Chuck Yeager wouldn't have quitted anymore than A.G. or Archer would. Thankfully Yeager didn't have Vulcan overseers. I may be a bit slow, but it took me a while to learn why Trip was called Trip. I can't recall, but I might have learned it as late as in this episode when Trip says to Archer that it's from Charles Tucker the third - the triple, hence Trip! I'll blame it on not being a native English speaker. And while we're on names, I got a chuckle at the reference of Trip working for Captain Jefferies. Any original series fans should catch this. (Matt Jefferies was the art director on the original Star Trek, and the term "Jefferies' tubes" have been used for access crawlways on starships ever since.) I didn't care much for the framing sequence of this episode - the intrepid hero-captain and his Vulcan sidekick on the hunt for a dark matter nebula in a shuttlepod. Yawn! Archer and T'Pol have no chemistry and whenever they're tossed together it comes off as forced and stilted, and First Flight is certainly no exception. And since Archer is the hero he must of course be right, and they do find a huge dark matter nebula (thanks to some technobabblium particles Trip invented), despite T'Pol's scepticism. Sigh, she's the science officer and she's again made to look stupid so Archer can shine and earn her respect. That's not a healthy CO/XO relationship. That said, the visuals of the revealed nebula were awesome. There really isn't that much else to say about this story. First Flight is pretty straight forward. Archer, Trip and A.G. helps to save Starfleet's warp program by being insubordinate and taking the NX-Beta on a rogue test flight, proving that the engine design does work. They get chewed at but manage to stay on. While I'm not too fond of Archer he did say something really cool to the Vulcans here: "We didn't build this ship to make test runs around Jupiter. We built it to explore. If my father were alive today, he'd be standing here asking, 'What the hell are we waiting for?'" And on that note, I'll just give my grade. First Flight gets a 7 on my 10-graded scale. It could've been higher if not for the cringe-inducing framing sequence and the bad way Archer looked when compared to a superior Captain. Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image |
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| Kevin Thomas Riley | 24 Mar 2007, 11:55 Post #26 |
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Jolene Blalock Worshipper
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2-25 Bounty Reviewed by Kevin Thomas Riley As indicated by the episode title, Bounty's main story is supposed to be the one about Archer getting captured by the Tellarite bounty hunter, but for most it will be remembered as the Polly Farr episode. And who am I to argue, so I'll start this review with what goes for being the B-plot in Bounty. To be frank, the fifteen-year old boy in me did appreciate to see a sweaty T'Pol running around in her underwear, showing off her nice body and demonstrating how she can flex and bend it. There is no doubt that this is what the whole B-plot was there for, to pander to the adolescent boys. Alas for the writers and producers, the viewership doesn't only fit that narrow demographic, and the fifteen-year old mindset amounts to a rather small portion of the brain even in old farts such as myself. We're smart enough to recognize when "we" are being subjected to blatant titillating, and I'm certain even most fifteen-year old boys realize and resent this. So right off the bat the episode fails. There is absolutely no point whatsoever in showing T'Pol in heat besides the above. What could have been a potential interesting way to delve into Vulcan sexuality and reproduction was lost, even if I'm not certain there can be such a story. The original series Amok Time has pretty much covered it already, as well as other snippets we've gotten on Star Trek over the years. The difference is that while we saw Spock struggle with this, he kept his dignity and tried really hard to suppress his blood fever. The same happened, if I recall correctly, with Tuvok on Voyager. But poor T'Pol isn't even allowed to try - she's horny and ready to jump at anyone that moves… Phlox, Trip, Reed. Thank god Archer wasn't onboard! Talk about degrading! One small thing I did like (well, sort of) was the look that T'Pol gave Trip when he delivered food to decon. Oh my, I bet she'd rather have him in there instead of the Denobulan doctor. That might just be my little TnT 'shipper heart talking though, and I'm glad they didn't go that route here. Also, Bounty seemingly contradicts what's previously been known about pon farr, the Vulcan mating cycle. In all other instances in Star Trek canon, it has been said that it is the Vulcan male that enters into pon farr every seven years. Yet here we have the female T'Pol experiencing the symptoms of it. My own way to reconcile this with canon is that she experienced a faux pon farr. It was artificially induced in her by whatever germs she picked up on that planet. Said germs acted as a catalyst in much the same way a male Vulcan already in the throes of blood fever would induce it in a female. That's what happened to B'Elanna Torres (and she wasn't even a Vulcan) on the Voyager episode Blood Fever. Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. There's also the minor question about Phlox's modesty. Granted we don't know that much about Denobulan culture, but for such a polyamorous species, one that even encourages extra-martial sex, Phlox's inhibitions does seem odd. I'm not suggesting he'd take up pon farring T'Pol on her offer (Stigma), but it seemed to go much beyond that of a doctor not taking advantage of a sick patient. He doesn't like to be touched and has installed a curtain in decon. One can assume that this is a trait in other Denobulan males too. In a way it makes some sense for a species living very crowded lives (as we've been told is the case on Denobula), but it doesn't really gel with other things we've learned about Denobulans. The main story isn't without its problems either, although that one is much more tolerable. I really liked our first look at the Tellarites on Enterprise. I commend Michael Westmore and the makeup team for creating a nice and convincing look for a species that looked both odd and inconsistent during the original series. Canonatics has of course complained that the improved Tellarites didn't have hooves instead of hands, but I'm not one of those. Skalaar, the freighter captain turned bounty hunter, and his brother did look as proper and more convincing Tellarites to me. Unfortunately the Tellarite bit was nothing more than just a throw-away reference. In Bounty they could've been any species. The ones we saw didn't even act as Tellarites, a species that's made arguing and insulting an art form. That fact was even mentioned at the beginning of the episode but we didn't see that trait later. The show made up for that when we got to meet more Tellarites in season four though. Still, I did like the interaction between Archer and Skalaar, even if their eventual bonding was rather predictable. Of all the bounty hunters in the universe, Archer managed to get captured by a representative of the one per cent that really didn't care for the job that much. He was damn lucky that he didn't get caught by a bounty hunter like the one that followed and took shots at them. And not just that, Archer's also damn lucky that the Klingons decided to screw Skalaar over (and that he found out about it from his brother ahead of time), thus giving the Tellarite the needed incentive to try and screw the Klingons back. Then we have moronic Klingons (again) not bothering to check their captive's handcuffs, or even guard the cell properly, thus allowing for Archer's escape. Add in some Super Archer scenes, where he single-handedly shoots and beats down a couple of them and my eyes were rolling as far back in my head as they could. Let's not even get started on how many times Archer has been captured, beaten and imprisoned already… I liked the industrial, dirty and worn-out look of the space station were Skalaar met up with his brother and the Klingons. Very realistic and far from the pristine look we otherwise get all too often on Trek. And was there a Vulcan shipped docked to it? The other visuals were of course nice (and no, I'm not talking about T'Pol now) as we've come to expect from Enterprise. There was however an inconsistency regarding the planet that Skalaar chased the other bounty hunter ship down to. Whatever happened to the very thick atmosphere after they landed? Suddenly it seems Archer and Skalaar are standing on the surface of the moon, albeit with breathable air. Summing up, this was definitely not one of Enterprise's finest hours. The Archer/Skalaar scenes cannot save this one and neither can Jolene's body. I'll give Bounty a grade of 3 on my 10-graded scale. It's not as horrid as episodes I've given a 2, but maybe that's not saying much. Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image |
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| Kevin Thomas Riley | 24 Mar 2007, 11:55 Post #27 |
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Jolene Blalock Worshipper
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2-26 The Expanse Reviewed by Kevin Thomas Riley This was the episode that took Star Trek: Enterprise and the franchise in a new and hitherto unprecedented direction. After that rather disappointing second season, where the show for the most part went boldly nowhere, it is easy to understand why the higher-ups wanted to shake things up a bit. Enter the Delphic Expanse. This was an inherent risk however, as having a seasonal long arc had never really been tried on Trek before (with the exception of DS9, but that show is an altogether different animal). Would they pull it off? In hindsight the answer is a big Yes even if there were episodes in the third season that were more filler. However, given the underperformance in season two, almost anything would've been an improvement. While The Expanse technically is a season two episode it must be considered a part of the Xindi arc of the next season as it deliberately sets up the events for it. It does contain a cliffhanger of sorts as the NX-01 enters the uncharted and mysterious region of space called the Delphic Expanse. So, how well does the episode succeed in its mission? Pretty well actually, even if it seems a bit rushed and cramped story-wise. The opening sequence is chilling, with the Xindi probe slicing a 4,000-kilometer-long swath across Florida to Venezuela, killing seven million people in the process. Cutting to the upbeat "Faith of the Heart" gives a schizophrenic feel to the entire thing, but I've learned to ignore that song. The attack is clearly reminiscent of 9/11 and probably a deliberate nod. How will Earth react to the seemingly unprovoked attacks from unknown enemies? Fortunately the US government had better intel about the Taliban than Starfleet has about the Xindi. In fact, if it hadn't been for the mysterious temporal cold warrior dubbed "Future Guy" everywhere but on screen, they'd have no idea who precipitated the attack. It is rather surprising, considering his credentials, that they took his word for it. I guess Daniels could've been used but he's not exactly a model of trustworthiness either. Supposedly, having Future Guy spilling the Xindi beans was thought to add another dimension to him and the Temporal Cold War. But let's face it, that storyline is one huge mess and it is used here just as a means to and end - to get Archer and his crew into the Expanse to kick some alien butt. In many ways, this episode and the following season are about Enterprise's lost innocence. Remember the carefree days in the beginning when the crew just were wide-eyed explorers? Well, that time is now definitely in the past. I'm not sure if that was a deliberate set up for the series, that things would get progressively harder for the naïve crew, but I think this is an interesting touch. I really thought it took too long for them to reach this stage. While I like the early innocent exploring part it went on for too long and got boring fast. There wasn't much sense of threat and just the lack of crew deaths added to this. But now we get almost too much of it all at once. Still, better late than never. While the Xindi arc doesn't really fit within the prequel concept, one could argue that the threat it symbolized would also be a driving force behind the need for different worlds to unite and eventually form the Federation. But I can understand the argument that in prequelian terms, the Xindi arc went nowhere. But I really don't mind. It's not like we had much prequelian concepts before and I for one welcomed this new direction Enterprise was taking. But back to the episode itself. The main problem with it is that there are just too many things going on. It's very fast paced and although it spans many months in real time, you never get a sense of that. The Enterprise travels from wherever they are back to Earth, gets an upgrade and then goes out to the Expanse. Given that it's just one 42 minute long episode the sense of urgency is still there all through, but eventually you don't really feel the scope in time. And because time is of the essence it is hard to understand why they felt the need to put the Klingon Duras sub-plot in the episode at all - other than have some cool explosions. (And yes, the scene with the NX-01 destroying the Bird of Prey and moving trough the debris was nifty). The episode actually managed to depict three different attacks by Duras, which is a feat in itself given how crammed every other event is in it. But as far as the overall plot is concerned, it was ultimately unnecessary. But at least we got rid of the rather annoying (and dare I say incompetent) Duras. We also saw some good character developments. If the whole Xindi arc is about Earth's loss of innocence then that storyline is personified in Trip. The easy-going and humorous Chief Engineer of the previous seasons are gone as he finds out that his younger sister Elizabeth is one of the victims of the Xindi attack. Now he's understandably angry and wants blood. This will play out further in season three and is an interesting change. T'Pol too gets some development as she resigns her commission with the Vulcan High Command in order to be able to stay on the Enterprise. During her two years onboard her loyalties have shifted. She's become one of the crew and not just a Vulcan envoy. Considering that she's a major cast member it was a foregone conclusion that she'd remain on the ship despite the Vulcans insistence that she must go home. But it played out rather well even if I'm a bit unsure of the lines about Archer "needing her". I'd prefer if it weren't so much an allegiance towards Archer (who hasn't done that much to deserve it) as to the crew as a whole. But we've seen her - misguided in my opinion - "hero-worship" of him before (The Seventh anyone?) so in that regard it is consistent, if annoying. Even Angry Archer's completely over the top outburst "I need your support, not your damned scepticism" didn't discourage her. Her observations, and those of Soval as well, are completely valid, but one of Archer's more obnoxious character traits is that he rarely listens to others, let alone takes their advice. OK, this wasn't supposed to be another Archer rant so I'll stop there. We know that T'Pol will become somewhat more emotional in the next season and we see a foreshadowing of that in her scene with Soval when she struggles to control herself when he says she must return to Vulcan. She wants to make her own decisions. And you can also see her emotions bubbling beneath the surface as she tries to convince Archer (and herself) to remain on board. Jolene does these touches so well. Considering what will happen between Trip and T'Pol, does this episode hint anything in that direction? Well, not really, but she does give him a concerned look when she learns about what happened to his sister. If there's one thing that makes T'Pol different from many other Vulcans of this era, it is her compassion. And Trip admits to Archer that she has grown on him. Still, he's more preoccupied with getting back at the Xindi that he also says that maybe it's a good thing she's leaving together with all her "non-interference crap". There are also some nit-picks I have to address. First, why would the Xindi test their weapon on Earth itself, thereby alerting the humans? Wouldn't it be more convenient and safe to take a swab at some planet in the Expanse? Of course they couldn't know that Future Guy would interfere and tell everything to Archer, but why take the chance anyway? Second, the "proof" Archer offers to Admiral Forrest and Soval doesn't bare closer examination. Why would a piece of metal travelling through time affect the measurable age in real time of the metal? But I guess that "quantum dating" could do anything the writers decide, but it's still just a plot device that makes little sense, especially considering the analogous carbon dating procedure. And third, considering the limited stock they have of the new "photonic torpedoes", why doesn't Archer decide to use the highest yield and destroy Duras's ship right away? It's not like Duras was redeemable and would be scared away. So finally, my grade for The Expanse. I give it an 8+ for being an exciting and intriguing start to Enterprise's new direction. Deductions for being too cramped and the Klingon sub-plot, but a plus for the overall enjoyment I always feel watching it. Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image |
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4:03 PM Jul 29
