Enterprise 6-May-03

[Orius]

Plot
My rating: 6/10 - lots of action but it seemed gimmicky using the Borg.

I'll agree. The episode alone was good, but using the Borg is like a -2 or 3 point deducton all by itself. Borg suck. They're the cheesiest Trek race ever. At least Archer has the excuse of not knowing how to deal with them, unlike Picard or worse, Janeway, both of whom should know how NOT to fight the Borg, but keep making the same mistakes anyway.

Interesting points: Archer points out a speech by Zefram Cochran where Cochran basically talks about the events of FC. Later, he recanted. As T'Pol said, Cochran was a boozer. He was drinking a lot during the movie (and got Troi drunk too ). Maybe he sobered up after the being with the Vulcans so long and eventually thought he imagined things, or at least that's the implication here.

Phlox makes an offhand reference to the Bynars.

The signal these Borg send back to Unimatrix 1 or whatever it's called won't get there until the 24th century. How convenient. Or IOW, the producers are covering their butts here.

 

[Orius]

I REALLY liked how they showed the Borg-ified transport and the changes it underwent. It almost made me think that with enough time and parts that it could have become a fully functioning Cube all on its own.

I think that's what they were doing.

I liked Phlox's reactions to everything. Great performance by the actor. You can tell that while Archer is still good-hearted and wants to do the right thing that he is becoming hardened by all this. That will serve him well with the upcoming plotline which I am fully intrigued by.

Yeah, it was a good performance. He calmly accepts the fact that if he can't stop the nanoprobes, he has to die. Not hysterical, just very matter-of-fact.

Same with Archer. He want to want to save the lives of the humans, and the Tarkalians, but after reading Cochran's old speech, he realizes he may have to do whatever it takes to stop them.

 

[Orius]

exactly! that's why I'd start issuing good ol slug throwers and swords. I mean, it was great watching Picard use a Thompson to mow down the Borg ...

Agreed. That is the biggest problem I have with Borg episodes. They know the Borg adapt to phasers. So what does Picard and Janeway do? They arm security teams with phasers, shoot two Borg, "They're adapting!", and then everyone's screwed.

Sure, Picard pulls out a tommy gun in FC, and Worf uses his Klingon weapons, but that's it! It was sort of an action-movie gimmick rather than any real tactics.

If I were fighting Borg, I wouldn't screw around. Arm the security offers with automatic rifles or big swords/axes, that sort of thing. Load some nukes on the photon torpedoes, and go to town on the Borg ship. Beam some anti-matter into the Borg ship at just the right locations. Let's see them adapt to THAT.

 

[fba827]

Hmm..

I missed it during its regular airing though caught the last 45 minutes on its Saturday repeat.

I liked the episode over all.

I liked the characterization / reaction to the borg and situation. I did feel that the characters were afraid / confused / perplexed by (as they should have been).

I also liked how they picked up on the pieces of trek history (remains from the F.C. movie).

Though was dissapointed by two things.

* I didn't like how many blasts ReedArcher could get off during their mission before the borg adapted -- way too contrived
* I didn't like how easy Phlox figured out how to combat the nanoprobes.

Quick question though.


** Possible spoilers here -- though, nothing that hasn't already been said by now **



At the end, did the borg transort off the ship before it was blasted? I got up for a bit to get dinner ready but I'd swear I saw them go all green and wavy there before the exploison.

 

[Napftor]

At the end, did the borg transort off the ship before it was blasted? I got up for a bit to get dinner ready but I'd swear I saw them go all green and wavy there before the exploison.

As I recall, they did transport.

 

[fba827]

As I recall, they did transport.

Which brings up the next question (which no one may know the answer to) -- where did they go?

I doubt the transport range would get them to the delta quadrent...

 

[Mark]

Those were the Borg that had boarded the Enterprise being transported back to the other ship, IIRC.

 

[Mistwell]

The problem will come in a later episode when some nanoprobes were left behind on Enterprise, perhaps in the Doctor, and you have another Borg episode. THAT's when people will bitch about the Borg being overly used as a plot device

 

[Mark]

The problem will come in a later episode when some nanoprobes were left behind on Enterprise, perhaps in the Doctor, and you have another Borg episode. THAT's when people will bitch about the Borg being overly used as a plot device

I was wondering why Enterprise didn't hang out and completely destroy every bit of debris from the other ship. I think they'll find a way to purge their own systems with radiation, but what happens when some salvage ship picks up the floating nanoprobes that were left behind?

 

[Viking Bastard]

Re: Continuity or "Why the heck hadn't Picard heard of the Borg"

The file of this incident would be transferred to the Federation starfleet along
with the Fight or Flight incident and the Silent Enemy incident and a few other
incidents whom I can't recall and dozens of other incidents from the other Fed-
founding races which have had probably numerous more mysterious incidents
like these since they've probably all been in space longer than we and have
large fleets of ships. Of course, "we're" probably not worrying about this after
restructuring our society after the Rommie war an' all and the whole Xindi thing.

Then of course, after we get this new kewl Fed starfleet thingy, we just keep
finding ourselves gettin' into all kinds of mysteries on a weekly basis, not to
mention the whole Klingon/Rommie annoyances and those damn omnipotent
energy beings that keep harassing us.

The only ones that ever paid much interest in these files were the Hansens
which thought it was kinda kewl:

.

Mr. Hansen: "Hey honey, think these are the same dudes that the El-Aurans
were talkin' about?!"
Mrs. Hansen: "Why, yes, very likely! Let's tell the Fed council."
The Feds: "What? Who? Stop bothering us!"
The Hansens: "We'll show them! Let's go to the DQ and find those damn thingies!"
The Feds: "This is so annoying and unimportant it won't even make the news. We
have more important things to worry about, like finding the damn toilets on these ships!"