Nov 06 | J.J. Abrams is in talks to direct the opening episode of "Undercovers," his Warner Bros. secret agent pilot at NBC. Schedule permitting, Abrams, who also serves as executive producer and co-writer for the pilot, will make "Undercovers" the first TV pilot he has directed since 2004's "Lost" two-part opener, which is considered one of the best-directed pilots of all time and helped launch Abrams' career into helming such theatrical films as "Mission: Impossible 3" and "Star Trek." The NBC pilot has been described as a mix between "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" and "The Bourne Identity." The original report is at the Hollywood Reporter.
Nov 05 | The upcoming MMORPG Star Trek Online has been given a release date. The game will be launched on February 2 in North America, and February 5 in Europe
Nov 02 | Journalist Edward Gross posted in his SciFi TV Zone.com website an animation that takes place on the bridge of the Enterprise, and it's where you can hear his... lord help us... impersonation of William Shatner. The url for the video is this.
Oct 27 | Leonard Nimoy narrates a new documentary about a historic synagogue designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The film profiles Beth Sholom Synagogue in Elkins Park, Pa., the only synagogue designed by the renowned architect. The building, a National Historic Landmark, celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. A screening of the film will be shown at the dedication of the synagogue's newly designed visitors center on Nov. 15. Paul Goldberger, architecture critic for The New Yorker magazine, will be on hand
Oct 27 | Leonard Nimoy is celebrating Halloween by taking pictures of the most crazily outfitted attendee at the Santa Monica Museum of Art's Halla Gala. Nimoy, who has practiced fine art photography since the age of 14, is offering a private portrait session at the Viceroy Santa Monica hotel to whomever wins the gala's Secret Self costume contest.
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New Computer Voice. Do You Want Marina Sirtis as the Computer Voice in Star TreK XII?
By O. Deus / 10:22, 21 May 2004 / ENTERPRISE Reviews
Synopsis: The Sphere Builders act to thwart the crew and Xindi's attempts to stop the weapon from being armed
Review: As the last episode before the season finale, Countdown is appropriately suspenseful and ominious. But at the close of the season it also delivers a strong episode by harnessing the power of characters who have been all too often kept in the shadows this season in favor of exploitative Trip and T'Pol material.
Reed once again emerges as a troubled but determined leader and his scenes with Major Hayes compromise some of the most moving scenes this season that speak eloquently about command and responsibility all the more so for being understated even as it is clear that strong currents of emotion are boiling underneath. Both Steven Culp and Dominic Keating deliver excellent and restrained performances as they finally resolve their conflict in favor of the mission.
Unfortunately we haven't seen nearly enough of Major Hayes and Reed has been woefully underused this season. Hoshi too has been barely visible this season manages to nearly compensate for it in only a few scenes in which she shows strenght and courage amidst her fear. And Phlox fighting with Captain Archer over transporting Hoshi is yet another great moment in the work of yet another underused Enterprise character.
Even Commander Dolim, despite the cheesy makeup, cheesy character and pretty much cheesy everything somehow comes off as menancing perhaps because his tone is that of cold grim amusement like Gul Dukat, rather than a cartoon monster. He is not senseless or consumed by hatred but coldly determined to do his job while enjoying it in a grim sort of way at the same time.
The only weak moment in the episode really comes when we get another round of Trip and T'Pol's whining. Suddenly the episode grinds to a halt while we indulge in some more cheap soap opera. Worse yet I experienced a flashback and was certain that I had somewhat stepped back into an episode of Voyager with Paris and Torres bickering at each other. And after all Trip is Paris with a southern accent and T'Pol with her emotions out of control is increasingly turning into Bellana. God alone knows why TPTB decided that 4 years of Paris and Torres weren't enough and that we needed another 5 but apparently that's what we're going to get.
Considering the ending, you almost wish T'Pol and Trip would really get their own ship along with their own spinoff show in which they could voyage around the galaxy annoying alien species and giving them erotic massages. As things stand now UPN would unfortunately probably be a lot more interested in ordering it than a 5th season of Enterprise.
Countdown itself suffers from the premise of the idea that the Xindi can deliver the weapon from their council area and then directly to earth in a matter of hours. This steps up the suspense but it also looks ridiculous. Enterprise should have broadened the Xindi arc by adding an extra episode that would have focused on the pursuit of the weapon and the interrogation of Hoshi, the relationships with the Xindi and perhaps Dolim and the Insectoids questioning the real role of the Sphere Builders. There's a lot of rich material here that's going untapped because of the need to artificially accelrate the pace.
Archer's deal with the acquatics though is a nice touch. Up till now the Xindi seemed to have been all too willing to go along with anything Archer wanted. The deal though is a more plausible exchange in which they aid Archer in exchange for something of interest to them. Though the move to transfer the team going after the weapon to a Xindi ship while leaving Enterprise and most of the crew in the Expanse hacking into a Sphere seems off. It makes logical sense but not emotional sense to leave Enterprise out of the fight to stop the Xindi weapon.
Nevertheless the transfer scene is effective and has overtones of Voyager's Year of Hell seperation sequence. Archer's voiceover log giving the exact date as the ships launch and the crew members prepeare for combat is another excellent scene that sets up the momentous events to follow. And the dinner at which Archer, Trip and T'Pol discuss their future plans after the 'war is over' nails each bit of dialogue just right. Chris Black's skills with dialogue are evident yet again in turning even ordinary banter into exchanges that really connect with the underlying themes. It is many ways striking to see the opening of Enterprise with a rundown of humanity's exploration accomplishments that sseems to have nothing at all to do with the show today. Scenes like this look to a future beyond.
Meanwhile the Sphere Builders like the Olympian Gods watch over and manipulate the fate of the mortals from their cloudlike positions straddling time and space. In some ways this season Enterprise has been an Odyssey and now finally despite all the gods can do enterprise is coming home.
| Recent Reviews | ||
| May 14 | The Council | 55 |
| May 7 | E2 | 89 |
| Apr 30 | The Forgotten | 22 |
| Apr 23 | Damage | 69 |
| Mar 4 | Azati Prime | 59 |
| More Reviews... | ||
| ENTERPRISE Mission Schedule | Logs by Season: 1 2 3 4 | ||
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Quote from O. Deus:
Reed once again emerges as a troubled but determined leader and his scenes with Major Hayes compromise some of the most moving scenes this season that speak eloquently about command and responsibility all the more so for being understated even as it is clear that strong currents of emotion are boiling underneath. Both Steven Culp and Dominic Keating deliver excellent and restrained performances as they finally resolve their conflict in favor of the mission.
That doesn't even come close to describing Countdown's Starfleet/MACO nonsensicality. On his deathbed, Hayes tells Reed to use McKenzie as the MACO team leader -- yet McKenzie isn't even present when Reed later announces Hayes' death and asks for volunteers. No explanation.
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And the dinner at which Archer, Trip and T'Pol discuss their future plans after the 'war is over' nails each bit of dialogue just right.
That's not even close to sensible storytelling. T'Pol is obviously and painfully withdrawn in that scene, barely able to follow the flow of the conversation, yet neither of her "friends" even notice. That's some really good steak!
So far, none of the crew have reacted to T'Pol's aberrant behavior in a normal way. The writers again make the characters look stupid in an attempt to create drama.
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Paramount refuses TNG uniform sale to Patrick Stewart!
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Deus, you nail it every time! However, insightful, your recent reviews do seem to a lack a little of your usual flourish. I'm sure it's hard to brilliant every week! Enjoy your summer rest!
What I liked the best about this latest arc is that the characters are finally finding themselves after three seasons. In the war setting, there actually seem to be useful roles for Malcomb, Hoshi and Travis. These characters were along for the ride up til now.
And Archer is much more interesting as a grim, determined risk-taker. This character was decidedly inane as the self-appointed welcome wagon from Earth, and the wedgie-boy captive of the Alpha Quadrant. B&B finally found something useful to do with him as well.
But the two least interesting characters lately, as Deus points out, are Trip and T'Pol, who got the most attention early on. These characters can be saved by putting them in proper balance with the newly-interesting other characters. Start by having T'Pol get over her nervous breakdown and get back to a semi-logical state.
B&B need to keep this war momentum going. Start by having the Romulan Wars begin around November sweeps time next year. And start introducing some characters that might be logical suspects for Future Guy.
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GET A LIFE, will you people? I mean, for crying out loud, it's just a TV show!.... You've turned an enjoyable little job, that I did as a lark for a few years, into a COLOSSAL WASTE OF TIME! -- William Shatner on Saturday Night Live (1986)
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