A mildly passable episode.
However, lots of pseudo-action and chit-chat masquerading as plot, in the same way as the last days of DS9.
Now the show has been renewed, I hope and pray...
1) Bakula is dismissed (surely the worst Star Trek Captain ever)
2) Camp English guy is sent back to drama school (or more likely for his first visit)
3) Producers are sacked (a new challenge on QVC?)
4) People start admitting how really bad this show has been (go on, you know it stinks!)
I think Deus's Trip/Tpol analysis was dead on.. it was exactly like Belanna/Paris...
The combination feels way too forced... they have been shoving this down our throats from day one, obviously the producers have gained a few converts... but the audience is divided.
The writers/directors don't seem to know how to help build chemistry between the characters... you only have to look at worf/dax, beverly/picard, and many other precedents in other star trek series for some good examples.
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the best relationships are those which develop naturally like the McCoy-Kirk-Spock trio or Data and Geordi's friendship or Quark and Odo's pseudo-antagonism friendship.
But when you pre-plan and try to predetermine relationships, romantic or otherwise, more times than not it crashes and burns. And the shows have a bad track record of trying to pre-arrange romances leaving us with couples that have zero chemistry and fumble through awkward dialogue meant to develop their relationship.
Enterprise is not unique in this regard but simply part of a pattern.
Deus' review reminded me about the cold determination that came through the Reptilian commander, despite anything else. A good point. I agree with most of Deus again - though again, I think you're a bit hard on the T'Pol/Trip relation. I agree with the guy who said that when T'Pol finally calls out "TRIP" that it's cool and also harkens back to the episode when the older T'pol advises her younger self. Lets not make too much of the erotic moments either.Otherwise, an excellent review that made me reflect on several levels.
Hayes: "Use McKenzie."
Reed: "What?"
Hayes: "She knows the team. Rely on her."
Reed: "No more of that talk. That's an order."
Hayes: (Gurgles, gasps, and dies)
Reed (Thinking): "Now there's a man who knows how to follow orders..."
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"You know what six movies average out to be really good? The first six Star Trek movies!" -- Fry, Futurama
...except when Malcolm Reed opens his mouth. This is one of two points where I seem to be in opposition with Deus' take on the quality of the materiel we've seen. I find Dominic Keating's "acting" to be very melodramatic and badly timed. The way he says lines, I don't know, they just come out sounding like a high school drama student auditioning for "Anything Goes." Though the writing was superb in his scenes, I just am not feeling this character as being anything close to "real."
The other point of contention with Deus is of course over the Trip/T'Pol relationship, which I've been clamoring for ever since season one. Whining to each other? I have yet to be in a stressful and/or important situation where my mind wasn't racing about a million different things that are bothering me and I'm not quick to react a little emotionally when somebody pushes my buttons, which is basically what they were doing to each other. When she said "Trip," that was cool. Jolene is doing a great job showing us her internal struggles, and this little one word line saying his first name painted a thousand pictures of how much anguish she is personally dealing with. I never really liked the Paris/Torres relationship (personally, I always thought a Paris/Kim relationship seemed MUCH more plausible in "Voyager"), but this doesn't feel disjointed like that one was. I mean, it IS disjointed, but that is the beauty of it. This is the first time that we know of that a Vulcan and a Terran are exploring and consummating a relationship together. It seems to me that for a pair of races that 150 years from "now" are the best of friends, this is the perfect opportunity to explore the dynamics of their two very different cultures' approach to romance. The real "Foundation of the Federation Arc" starts here, where we see Vulcans and Terrans start to love and try to deeply understand one another.
I thought that the "multi-layered" battle scene in "The Council," with ships of all sizes encountering each other in three-dimensional formations, was going to be impossible to beat. Indeed, there hadn't been Trek ship-to-ship combat that intense since the fall of the Dominion on "DS9." "Countdown" was right up there, though it was a different type of battle. While the "Star Wars-esque" feel of the former brought me to the edge of my seat in excitement, the latter was a gut-wrenching thing to watch. This is probably due to the fact that every time we think the crew of the Enterprise has a leg up in the hostilities, that leg is brutally amputated. It was so painful to watch the Aquatic ship burst at the seams, after Archer had worked so hard to persuade this powerful species to join him. The Insectoids even gave me a little lump in my throat when they were smashed like... well... insects. (I think it was very clever of the writers and FX folks to have the Insectoid ship careen into what is essentially the front grille of the Xindi superweapon.)
Hoshi is one clever little communications officer, and Linda Park can really turn it on when she's given good material to work with. She even had me convinced that she had been compromised when she first informed the Reptilians that she had broken through the first layer of encryption and in fact had added an extra layer. The scene where she spits in the Reptilian’s face was very effective. I love how Terrans throughout the Star Trek universe seem to always surprise "non-primate" aliens with their resilience.
At first when Reed picked his MACO team, I was thinking, "Why are you only using yourself and three MACO's for your strike team? Why not use the other four for a second team?" But I realized then that Enterprise had another mission to accomplish with the spheres and no doubt the Marines' services would be called upon then.
I like the sphere builders as a concept, though they do look a little like Odo. I like watching them bicker with each other, and they are so abstract with their words, you didn't know quite what they were going to do until they actually "interfered." This talk of the many time lines and the percentage of those with favorable outcomes versus those without is very thought provoking.
And, um, was Travis even IN this episode?
I'm dying to find out exactly what integral role this "One Man" (Archer) plays in the future of the Federation, but we only have five more days to find out. Congrats on your renewal, "Enterprise." You've earned it.
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"A billion robot lives are about to be extinguished! Oh, the Jedis are going to feel this one..."
-Hubert Farnsworth (Futurama: Crimes of the Hot)
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"The Andorian Mining Consortium runs from no one!"
-Shran (ENT: Proving Ground)
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Deus, I agreed with most of your review but wish you would stop whinning about the Trip/Tpol relationship. You have made it clear that you don't seem to like any sort of relationship on Enterprise or maybe in Startrek in general but even in the Trek world people have relationships and Trip and Tpol are great together, so why don't you just give it a rest.
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.
Quote:
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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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.
It was advice not an order. The exchanges between these two men in this episode quite clearly cement the fact that they have their own way of doing things and that while Reed respects Hayes, he will do things his own way.
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!
They're dealing with some rather major issues like trying to stop the extermination of the human race and Vulcans generally tend to be withdrawn. Trip has noticed T'Pol's odd behavior in this episode but Archer has a lot more on his mind. Or he may have but is unwilling to violate her privacy.
Furthermore humans are still in the dark about Vulcans to a great extent.
Nice review but how is it that it gets an overall of 9, while everything else is 8.5 or lower?
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By the time you read this, you've already read it.
Excellant episode, but FX & Prod Value: 7.5 I have to disagree, the Xindi Aquatic ship being burst open by the anomoly, (i.e. Water, water everywhere) and the Arboreal ship being torn apart were some of the coolest things I've ever seen in TREK.
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Hoshi: I was hoping you'd put up a fight.
T'Pol: I'm surprised you're not exhausted from all the beds, you've jumped into, recently.
"In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II"
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I loved the design of the aquatic ship, it looked very graceful, just like the aquatics...
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Dig deep piles of rubble and ruins
Towering overhead both far and wide
There's unknown tools for World War III
Einstein said 'We'll use rocks on the other side'
No survivors!
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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Thanks, I do need the rest. I've actually considered resigning after this season but I've been a Star Trek fan for so long, I might as well stay on until the end which seems like it might bd drawning near.
Yes it's definetly nice to see Hoshi and Malcolm coming into use again though Mayweather still seems a bit lackluster. But it would be nice if TPTB treated this more as an ensemble series, even the best Star Trek characters on TNG and DS9 could get annoying with overuse and that goes triple for Trip and T'Pol who aren't all that amazing to begin with. These are just not such iconic characters that they can fill this much screentime as they have this season. Enterprise in S4 needs to balance out the overall crew stories and weave them together.
Archer is definetly a whole other character and a good deal more interesting than the naive arrogant and often foolish character he was early on. I suspect that Bakula had a lot to do with the change too.
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I think the weirdest thing is that we've seen you praise a string of episodes, minus the blemish of E2, which I can't remember you doing since I came here.
--------
Dig deep piles of rubble and ruins
Towering overhead both far and wide
There's unknown tools for World War III
Einstein said 'We'll use rocks on the other side'
No survivors!
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sky2 said: "However, insightful, your recent reviews do seem to a lack a little of your usual flourish."
My guess would be because the last few reviews, O Deus has liked the episodes, so he hasn't had the opportunity to go ranting and bashing Enterprise like he usually does. Just an opinion/observation.
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Dude, you oughta appreciate the difference between "bashing ENT" and "bashing ENT eps that suck." I've bashed the show a lot myself, but when it's a good ep, I've been among the first to sing its praises. We fans are the consumers and we're within our rights criticizing an inferior product.
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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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I was just making the observation that, when it's a bad ENT episode, we're served up a 30 page rant from O Deus on everything that was wrong with it, written with his usual style. When it's a good ENT episode we get a few paragraphs where Deus grudgingly admits he liked it and that's it. Again, just making an observation that TrekWeb's resident reviewer takes joy in reviewing (and bashing) bad ENT episodes, and doesn't have that same joy when it's a good one.
I agree with Deus's conclusion that Countdown was a very good episode. The writing was tight.
The action scenes were good and sustained. The action had purpose. There were also some great character moments for the ensemble characters. Unfortunately we also had some rather lackluster Trip/T'Pol moments.
I found the Trip/T'Pol scenes annoying and a little self-indulgent. The romance angle doesn't bother me as much as the whining between the two. In the middle of such chaos, with the stakes so high, one would think that the two would be too preoccupied with more immediate and pressing concerns than their feelings for each other. Their relationship is boring. Their behavior toward each other is predictable.
Hoshi rules in this episode, and Linda Park nails her scenes.
Archer sounds and acts more like the StarFleet captains we've come to know and love.
Great stuff with Reed and Major Hayes. Nice exchanges between the characters, and a heroic exit for Culp's character.
The season finale ought to be good.
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Yep, basically we have some large scale events unfolding and then we slow down to Trip and T'Pol could deal with their emotional issues. It's tedious even in a slower episode but when the whip end of the arc is cracking, it just thoroughly wrecks the momentum.
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Exactly. These last five or so episodes of Enterprise this season have brought it back from certain death. Although Enterprise may still be on the verge of cancellation next season, I really appreciate how hard the writers and actors have worked to bring us some quality episodes this season. Now, if we could just get rid of the erotic messages and whining, that would be yet another step forward.
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Definetly once the arc really began to crackle towards the end, the show really took off. Of course with reports saying that UPN doesn't want large arcs next season, we may run into trouble there. And in desperation we're likely to end up with something that tops the massages the way the massages topped the gross contamination chamber.
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Give it a rest...I like the Tpol and Trip relationship I also liked the writing for "Countdown". What I dont LIKE is a bunch of "wantabe" writers bitchin....This is a TV show for the masses not your own little personal project...The script was tight and the relationships get better and better...and let get this straight...the stars of the show is Captain Archer,T'pol & Trip...then the Dr.,Reed, Hoshi and Mayweather...this show is more like the TOS then STNG series.....I like Tpol and Trip rocky romance just like I liked Dr. Mccoy and Spock relationship.
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What I dont LIKE is a bunch of "wantabe" writers bitchin....
Umm...then don't read the reviews if you don't want to hear other people's views.
This is a TV show for the masses not your own little personal project...
Really small masses at this point. lol. Check the ratings. At this point if you substract the fans from the viewership, the results will have to be calculated in decimal points.
The script was tight and the relationships get better and better...and let get this straight...the stars of the show is Captain Archer,T'pol & Trip
Who are we getting this straight from exactly? Are you Rick Berman or Brannon Braga? lol
this show is more like the TOS then STNG series
Only in the sense that it's on the verge of cancellation.
I like Tpol and Trip rocky romance just like I liked Dr. Mccoy and Spock relationship.
Yes except Spock wasn't on drugs and didn't give McCoy erotic massages. Though that probably would have improved the show for you too.
...oh God must erase that horrible mental picture from my head....
Quote:
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.
I'll admit that this is the strongest point of the episode. Even though neither Keating nor Culp are particularly remarkable actors, their scenes were pretty good. The only problem is that they ultimately revealed nothing about either character. And that's a big problem. Nothing substantial was actually discussed between them in the dialogue.
Quote:
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.
Why does this matter? She's a bland character played by a mediocre actor.
Quote:
There's a lot of rich material here that's going untapped because of the need to artificially accelrate the pace.
There was plenty of room in the episode for "rich material," but there was none whatsoever. Rather than showing the angry metal sculpture Xindi thing gloating at a screaming Hoshi and discussing how long it would take to set up the weapon, we could have seen some real character development for the bad guys and development for their race. Rather than seeing Archer complain about how long it took for the Aquatics to anwser his request, we could have seen some insight into the Aquatics culture, or some character development for the Enterprise crew. The episode was a waste.
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Even though neither Keating nor Culp are particularly remarkable actors, their scenes were pretty good.
Actually they're both quite good actors and Steven Culp has had plenty of praise for his film and tv work.
The only problem is that they ultimately revealed nothing about either character. And that's a big problem. Nothing substantial was actually discussed between them in the dialogue.
Because the real substance didn't involve deep character revelations but the way both these characters approached their jobs and responsibilities which actually matters more.
There was plenty of room in the episode for "rich material," but there was none whatsoever. Rather than showing the angry metal sculpture Xindi thing gloating at a screaming Hoshi and discussing how long it would take to set up the weapon, we could have seen some real character development for the bad guys and development for their race.
Actually we got a lot of that in the previous episode and some in Dolim's confrontation with the Sphere Builder.
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Quote:
Even though neither Keating nor Culp are particularly remarkable actors, their scenes were pretty good.
Quote:
Actually they're both quite good actors and Steven Culp has had plenty of praise for his film and tv work.
Well I don't know whether or not they were praised, but some Enterprise scenes where Keating's acting sounded forced, such as an early scene in the Shran episode with the Andorian Mining Corporation or whatever that I'm remembering. And I don't know what's so great about Culp. Perhaps I just haven't seen enough episodes, but in "Countdown" and in "Hatchery" there really wasn't anything remarkable that I could tell.
Quote:
Because the real substance didn't involve deep character revelations but the way both these characters approached their jobs and responsibilities which actually matters more.
Could someone explain to me then how, in this particular situation, Reed and Hayes had different approaches to their responsibilities? I didn't see that conflict arise in this episode. What did arise was the fact that Hayes didn't like losing responsibility over his men and that he felt helpless when they died under someone else's command, and that Reed felt guilty about stealing someone's command and then about allowing someone to die. So what different approaches to their jobs come up here?
Quote:
There was plenty of room in the episode for "rich material," but there was none whatsoever. Rather than showing the angry metal sculpture Xindi thing gloating at a screaming Hoshi and discussing how long it would take to set up the weapon, we could have seen some real character development for the bad guys and development for their race.
Quote:
Actually we got a lot of that in the previous episode and some in Dolim's confrontation with the Sphere Builder.
Well then perhaps I should have watched the previous episode. However this, in fact, is not the previous episode. It is in fact the current episode, and the episode that the review is supposed to be about.
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...But this is an arc storyline. All the episodes are connected. It would be silly to have our characters go through the same maturations every episode just so those who didn't catch the last episode know how they feel about something.
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"A billion robot lives are about to be extinguished! Oh, the Jedis are going to feel this one..."
-Hubert Farnsworth (Futurama: Crimes of the Hot)
----
"The Andorian Mining Consortium runs from no one!"
-Shran (ENT: Proving Ground)
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What the fuck would you have liked them to reveal about the characters? Would you like it if Dolim revealed that he was raised by an anti-Guardian family who beat him for his beliefs? Would you like it if Reed revealed that he was ass-raped by a MACO once and that's why he hates them? In the final part of the arc, when they have the most at stake, who the hell is going to just break down and have a heart to heart? How forced would that be? Countdown does more than reveal pointless details about their pasts and why they are who they are, it shows how the characters react to these situations, and that is how we find out about the characters.
We see that although Hayes is not affraid to risk his people for the sake of his mission, he does put their wellbeing before his own, we see that he finally feels like an accepted part of the Enterprise crew, and we see that after all their differences, he has grown to trust Reed. Reed shows how he's also grown to trust and respect Hayes, and had you watched last week's episode, you would have seen a very potent scene where Reed's anger at loosing people is revealed. Dolim is shown to be ruthless and a hipocrite, (perhaps a comentary on religious fundamentalism to go with the 9/11 themes) he's willing to kill anyone who gets in the way of the will of his god, even those who he claims to be protecting.
And as for your last comment, you seem to be judging an entire book just be reading a couple of chapters. If you don't read the whole book then you can't appreciate those chapters. As a DS9 fan you of all people should understand this concept.
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Dig deep piles of rubble and ruins
Towering overhead both far and wide
There's unknown tools for World War III
Einstein said 'We'll use rocks on the other side'
No survivors!
-
Quote:
Countdown does more than reveal pointless details about their pasts and why they are who they are, it shows how the characters react to these situations, and that is how we find out about the characters.
Sorry, I just didn't see that. Maybe this cannot go beyond personal interpretation, but I find niether the characters nor the acting very interesting. The only reactions to situations seemed to be them getting sad. There wasn't really any dialogue there, which can be OK as long as the acting is good enough. But it wasn't IMHO.
Quote:
And as for your last comment, you seem to be judging an entire book just be reading a couple of chapters. If you don't read the whole book then you can't appreciate those chapters. As a DS9 fan you of all people should understand this concept.
I said that I should have watched the previous episode. Maybe I wasn't clear, but I have said that I won't judge the whole show too much from this one episode. I'll probably catch the season finale (and if I have the same things to say next week as I did this week I probably won't post another long review of it :-) )
WOW, I have to agree with your review. The only thing I have comment on is that the shortening of the season in midyear from 26 to 24 episodes may have impacted the story line and caused potential episodes examining Hoshi's interrogation, etc...
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Fist fights are hugs turned inside out!
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