"Anomaly" - ENT may have finally arrived | Report this post to moderator
By: Steve Krutzler (Odo's file, contact) @ 17:27:14 on Sep 18, 2003

For those of you restraining your enthusiasm, allow me to exhale an exclamatory "finally!"

Simply put, "Anomaly" was far better than "The Xindi" and would've made a better season premiere. This is the script that all future ENT scripts should look toward. It's the first ENT episode that seems far more than just an hour television show. As others have said, the show this week looked, felt, sounded, and executed like a solid feature film. When Archer tells Mayweather "we're going to wait for them to find us" and then they cut to the ship orbiting the sphere, some hugely invigorating drums kick in and it really feels satisfying.

"Anomaly" does what we've been clamoring for: it works with character. Trying to find original sci-fi plots-of-the-week isn't going to be how ENT wins back its fans; it's going to do it the way DS9 did it, by mixing compelling character development with engrossing space opera and the enough sci-fi hooks to keep it interesting. From spatial anomalies to alien raiders to prison talks to tough decisions to ancient Dyson Spheres and commanding military strategy, "Anomaly" really has it all.

The joy of this episode is in the fact that it never quits. Prior ENT episodes would've been satisfied with the raider plot, or getting back some anti-matter. But here the plot becomes far more complex and thus much more intriguing. The mystery of the ancient spheres starts to really make us feel that the Expanse is different and now we're getting the impression that perhaps the entire region is the remnant of some sort of strange ancient civilization. Is it the Xindi, or someone else? The point is, I want to tune in and find out. Badly.

Underneath the sophisticated plot, unexpected twists, and some credibly exciting combat strategy by Archer, is a lot of character development. Archer is on edge from the beginning but when he gets wind of the Xindi he goes ballistic. The initial exchange between Archer and the Osaarian (nice brig set, btw) was very well done. Archer's retort, "If that causes me some remorse, I can live with it," is clever and powerful. We know something will happen and when he decompresses the guy in the airlock, he's crossed a boundary he can't come back from. The mission is what's important now and Earth is essentially at war with the Xindi. All bets are off.

The new Archer isn't whining or self-righteous, either. He's confident, believeable, and driven. When he contacts the Osaarian ship there's a distinct change from previous seasons. He simply says, "This is Captain Archer, remember me?" No "we come in peace, we are from Earth," or any of that blah blah blah crap we've heard a million times before. His decision was already made and the execution of that strategy (resulting in a nice "we've got what we want, now blow their engines to hell!" climax that sends the aliens careening climactically into the sphere) is both convincing and different from the usual dogfight. Clearly the sphere holds important secrets that the Osaarians are willing to fight for.

Archer isn't the only character with meaningful scenes this week. Trip's insomnia thread is continued and I think the very point I made last week about his T'Pol scene being too easily dismissed as provocative is confirmed when Trip says "it's not what you think." It's also one of the few moments of humor in this tense episode and the dynamic between Keating and Trinneer is definitely on the mark. Sussman also gives ample time to all the characters this time out, with each having something useful to do, all the way down to Hoshi and Mayweather.

My only regret is that the captured Osaarian didn't give Archer a reason to kill him in the end. Obviously he couldn't do it in cold blood, that would be too far considering what he's already done. But had the prisoner uttered his line about mercy and then stolen the phaser from the guard and making Archer gun him down, a nice "I think you're right" from the captain would've been quite satisfying.

I cannot talk about "Anomaly" without mentioning two technical aspects that I hope we haven't seen the last of. First, direction. Straiton's direction of the initial raid was excellent and his full-on tracking shot as Archer and the MACO approach the cargo bay was very well done. The other is music. I didn't catch the credits to see who scored this episode but it was excellent and quite possibly the best score of any ENT episode. Finally they've realized that this type of show needs to be scored like a feature film. The mix of bombastic drums with the mysterious, early-TNG-esque electronic theme during the "sci-fi moments" and the end was pure gold.

Which brings me to the end of this episode, which was a fantastic conclusion. It's nice to end shows on something other than the ship floating in space and the cinematography here with the reflecting data screen on Archer's face was very effective. If "The Xindi"'s talking bugs and whales didn't spark your interest last week, the superior drama and unfamiliar plot devices most certainly had to this time around.

If the show starts delivering quality like this on a regular basis, I will have to admit, ENTERPRISE has finally docked.

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It's a rip-off. / We're stepped on, and cheated! / We're flat, stone-cold lied to / But we're not defeated / No!

Halen. "The Dream is Over."

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RE: "Anomaly" - ENT may have finally arrived by JediFonger @ 22:09:18 on Sep 22
    RE: "Anomaly" - ENT may have finally arrived by Chronic Harlot @ 13:08:57 on Sep 23
       RE: "Anomaly" - ENT may have finally arrived by Deslok @ 06:34:21 on Sep 24
RE: "Anomaly" - ENT may have finally arrived by FrodoPicard @ 00:49:43 on Sep 21
RE: "Anomaly" - ENT may have finally arrived by Akita1999 @ 13:00:15 on Sep 20
RE: "Anomaly" - ENT may have finally arrived by HybridStatement @ 10:14:05 on Sep 20
RE: "Anomaly" - ENT may have finally arrived by egervari @ 00:42:57 on Sep 20
RE: "Anomaly" - ENT may have finally arrived by Red Barchetta @ 14:59:05 on Sep 19
RE: "Anomaly" - ENT may have finally arrived by SinNombre333 @ 12:22:49 on Sep 19
    RE: "Anomaly" - ENT may have finally arrived by sky @ 14:19:53 on Sep 19
    RE: "Anomaly" - ENT may have finally arrived by Atrin @ 13:43:12 on Sep 19
TW Poll Numbers Agree so far by sid @ 12:15:49 on Sep 19
    It seems to me by Archangel @ 16:46:14 on Sep 19
       RE: It seems to me by Steve Krutzler @ 18:36:20 on Sep 19
RE: "Anomaly" - ENT may have finally arrived by Bondo @ 07:14:52 on Sep 19
RE: "Anomaly" - ENT may have finally arrived by WolfDaddy @ 06:11:43 on Sep 19
RE: "Anomaly" - ENT may have finally arrived by johniccp @ 22:59:31 on Sep 18
RE: "Anomaly" - ENT may have finally arrived by Gene's Ghost @ 19:50:13 on Sep 18
Can't say much since I only caught the last half by Archangel @ 19:09:06 on Sep 18
Like in sports, consistent performance is the key to success. by Deslok @ 18:24:50 on Sep 18
    RE: Like in sports, consistent performance is the key to success. by The Lensman @ 02:27:45 on Sep 22
       RE: Like in sports, consistent performance is the key to success. by Deslok @ 17:16:35 on Sep 22
RE: "Anomaly" - ENT may have finally arrived by Chronic Harlot @ 18:03:32 on Sep 18
RE: "Anomaly" - ENT may have finally arrived by Trekkerj @ 17:53:19 on Sep 18
RE: "Anomaly" - ENT may have finally arrived by Chronos Blade @ 17:48:40 on Sep 18
    RE: "Anomaly" - ENT may have finally arrived by Kreetak @ 10:13:06 on Sep 19