Enterprise 10-22-04

[Truth Seeker]

Not bad although I do feel like I'm being beaten over the head with the Archer Has Changed theme. A little subtlety would be nice on that front. It wasn't bad but it stuck out a bit. Maybe because the rest of the ep was pretty solid. They got all the characters involved which was nice. The xenophobia was something I hoped they would touch on and they did. Overall, I'll give this one a:

2.5 out of 4 stars. Pufferfish Phlox ruled. Looked like an inverted burp which I've always wondered what would look like.

The Ratings Breakdown

4 = Classic. Blew me away from start to finish.
3 = Very good. Entertaining and a worthwhile experience.
2 = Average. Watchable but flawed.
1 = Terrible. Unwatchable dreck.
0 = I wish I had that time back. So bad that I may never watch the show again.

Hmmm, Archer reflecting the loss of 'innonence' feel...I liked it(Manny is probably is reflected the frustration of the fans in the writing)

T'Les...is the coolest..and mercy, T'Pol was almost(wait, I think she was) scolded for....brining someone home (LOL), now that is a mom for ya.

Was my ears hearing right, did a vulcan said the word 'Happy'?

And now, a vulcan saying "thank you' and a handshake...OKAY...score one for T'Pol influence.

And let me get this straight...T'Les seems to indicate, that her hubbie is dead? When?

And Mrs. JB acting chops were tested, and she pass.... (read Joanne's comments on that in the News section)

And lastily, anyone knows where I can acquire a spot on Vulcan with a house like T'Les has? I am willing to pay top credits.

Rating:3.0

 

[Orius]

I thoroughly enjoyed Phlox's "automatic defensive mechanism" in the bar. Took me completely by surprise, as it was no doubt intended to do.

That was a good touch. Most of the time they reveal some new thing about Phlox or Denobulans, it's done pretty well.

And I have to admit, I was surprised to see T'Pol going through with it like that. Rather an unexpected ending. (Although technically, we didn't see the entire ceremony, so you never know....)

The ending had all the feel of a To Be Continued... label to me.

 

[Orius]

Hey, here's another thing that struck me while watching this episode: remember that episode of the original series where Kirk got his body switched with that of a woman? Anybody remember the reason she did that to him? It was because in Kirk's era, women weren't allowed to be starship Captains.

I did find it a bit humorous that the Captain of the only other Warp-5 starship (the NX-02, I presume), is a woman. So Manny Coto, after finally having written himself out of the whole Temporal Cold War box, and now with the freedom to "realign" Star Trek: Enterprise as the prequel to the other various Trek series (as opposed to a "possible past" or "alternate timeline past"), went ahead and "violated" a Kirk-era "rule" in his first episode.

Not that I'm upset or anything. The Kirk episodes were a sign of their times, and given the actual Earth history that has happened since the 1960s, it would have been difficult to keep the "no female starship Captains" rule as canon. It just struck me as funny.

Awww man, you just had to go and open up the "Turnabout Intruder" can o' worms, didn't ya! (Ok, I admit, I recalled the episdoe while I was watching this one too.)

Yeah, the "no female captains in Starfleet" bit was really an outdated relic of '60s television. In fact, given Roddenberry's worldviews, it probably never should have been in that episode either, but it was the last episode of TOS (I'm showing off my geek-fu here, btw ), and at the point, he'd pretty much given up on the show in disgust from NBC's constant interference. Roddenberry probably wouldn't have had and problem with Coto making the only other captain of a Warp 5 starship a woman I think.

 

[Orius]

Not bad although I do feel like I'm being beaten over the head with the Archer Has Changed theme. A little subtlety would be nice on that front. It wasn't bad but it stuck out a bit. Maybe because the rest of the ep was pretty solid. They got all the characters involved which was nice. The xenophobia was something I hoped they would touch on and they did.

I don't know, I'm getting kind of a post-traumatic vibe from Archer here. He's been running on nothing but pure determination here for month, and now things have slowed down and he's catching his breath. Also, everyone's cheering him as a hero, and a role model and all that, but he feels guilt over some of the decisions he made. So it didn't seem terribly overdone to me.

 

[John Crichton]

I don't know, I'm getting kind of a post-traumatic vibe from Archer here. He's been running on nothing but pure determination here for month, and now things have slowed down and he's catching his breath. Also, everyone's cheering him as a hero, and a role model and all that, but he feels guilt over some of the decisions he made. So it didn't seem terribly overdone to me.

Okay, allow me to elaborate.

I don't think it's a bad thing that it is being addressed. It's just the way that it is being portrayed. They would be missing a huge opportunity if they didn't explore the effects of the conflict on the captain. I would have just liked a bit more subtlety. Minor changes in Archer via his actions rather than having him state flat out (not an actual quote) "I changed while out there." It is my personal preference and I don't expect folks to agree.

I'm just happy that they are making him deal with it and doing some character development. I really hope they continue along this path.

 

[Mark]

Yay, they're turning it into a soap opera

Nothing blow'd up?

I thoroughly enjoyed Phlox's "automatic defensive mechanism" in the bar. Took me completely by surprise, as it was no doubt intended to do.

I caught wind of that before seeing it and it still surprised me. Very well done!

And I have to admit, I was surprised to see T'Pol going through with it like that. Rather an unexpected ending. (Although technically, we didn't see the entire ceremony, so you never know....)

Yup. Seems like a cliffhanger. I don't think we've heard the last of this situation.

Spoiler

The question of what happens is resolved as a subplot in the next episode.. as is a revelation regarding Vulcan Honeymoons

Ah, I see. Please use spoiler tags for posts about episodes that haven't yet aired.

Continuity was there to my satisfaction--mentioning the torture and the ship they stole the warp drive from. Excellent!

Glad they put that in.

Not bad although I do feel like I'm being beaten over the head with the Archer Has Changed theme. A little subtlety would be nice on that front. It wasn't bad but it stuck out a bit. Maybe because the rest of the ep was pretty solid.

I think they just wanted to deal with it and move on. Subtlety isn't really easy to do in a fast-paced, episodic, action-adventure show when they strive for the level of "realism" that they do in the ST-verse. In Farscape, I guess they actually just show us what is going on inside the captain's head...

They got all the characters involved which was nice.

A little thin on the "con and comm" positions, perhaps.

The xenophobia was something I hoped they would touch on and they did.

Outside of Starfleet, I guess we haven't seen much of Earth on the show yet. The trouble in the bar highlighted that for me. I guess we never really do on ST shows.

 

[Mark]

Minor changes in Archer via his actions rather than having him state flat out (not an actual quote) "I changed while out there." It is my personal preference and I don't expect folks to agree.

He really only says that after his counterpart (a captain like him and a former lover, to boot!) chases him all over the wilderness, constantly goading him into opening up and talking about the situation rather than burying it like he was. It's not like they opened the episode with him on the therapists' couch.

She runs into him in a bar and he doesn't want to talk. She finds out that he is off rock-climbing, so she follows him, uninvited. She's constantly making little probing comments to find out what is wrong, exactly. Finally, he has that nightmare and she catches him in a moment of weakness and gets him to open up.

I think they make it pretty clear he had everry intention of bottling it up, and she was perhaps the one person who knew both his situation and him well enough to help him begin to work it out.

The problem with minor changes that aren't well explained is they aren't lost on audience members, they just seem like they are either poor acting choices or writing mistakes. I think that might be further complicated by the fact that they are trying to retrive some lost viewers who would just as soon all of what happned over the last year or two was settled and behind us.

 

[Belen]

Anyone want to explain what happened? I missed it. Twice.

 

[John Crichton]

I think they just wanted to deal with it and move on. Subtlety isn't really easy to do in a fast-paced, episodic, action-adventure show when they strive for the level of "realism" that they do in the ST-verse. In Farscape, I guess they actually just show us what is going on inside the captain's head...

Touche. There is something to be said for a slow build, as well. Like I mentioned before, it wasn't a huge issue for me but I would have liked more of a simmer and some more subtlety. No big deal. I was happy with the ep. It didn't suck.

But comparing Farscape to Enterprise at this point is really an exercise in futility. My love and bias for Farscape is too much to even make a rational comparison. The two shows aren't even close in terms of characters, plot and quality (to me) and I'll just leave it at that.

 

[John Crichton]

He really only says that after his counterpart (a captain like him and a former lover, to boot!) chases him all over the wilderness, constantly goading him into opening up and talking about the situation rather than burying it like he was. It's not like they opened the episode with him on the therapists' couch.

She runs into him in a bar and he doesn't want to talk. She finds out that he is off rock-climbing, so she follows him, uninvited. She's constantly making little probing comments to find out what is wrong, exactly. Finally, he has that nightmare and she catches him in a moment of weakness and gets him to open up.

I think they make it pretty clear he had everry intention of bottling it up, and she was perhaps the one person who knew both his situation and him well enough to help him begin to work it out.

The problem with minor changes that aren't well explained is they aren't lost on audience members, they just seem like they are either poor acting choices or writing mistakes. I think that might be further complicated by the fact that they are trying to retrive some lost viewers who would just as soon all of what happned over the last year or two was settled and behind us.

You make some good points here that I hadn't considered at the time of my original post which was right after I watched the episode.

Hopefully, it will help upon viewing the repeats.