Nov 17 | Originally hired as co-executive producer to help with the second half of the show's first season, Kevin Murphy has now taken the reins of Caprica, the Battlestar Galactica prequel on Syfy, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He now serves as an executive producer along with Ronald D. Moore, David Eick and Jane Espenson and oversees the day-to-day functions of the show.
Nov 12 | Star Trek star Zachary Quinto is loosely attached to star in the romantic dramedy Whirligig, reports Risky Business.Quinto would play the lead role in the independent Canadian film, which is aiming to shoot early next year. The movie centers on a man who, in a misguided attempt to woo an older woman, befriends the woman's adopted son.Chaz Thorne is directing the pic, based on a screenplay by Michael Amo, creator of the Canadian supernatural series "The Listener."
Nov 11 | The CNS Foundation, is hosting an on-line charity auction at www.charitybuzz.com. One of the items they are auctioning is a signed movie poster of the new Star Trek movie which has all the cast members and writers. The president of our organization is Carol Abrams, JJ's mother, and she arranged for the donation from Bad Robot Production Company. J.J. Abrams is also a major donor to their organization. The funds raised will go to help find a cure to neurological disorders in children. The auction link is here.
Nov 10 | Candice Bergen, Charles Lisanby, Don Pardo, Gene Roddenberry, Tom and Dick Smothers and Bob Stewart have been selected as the next inductees into the Television Academy's Hall of Fame. They will be honored at a Jan. 20 ceremony at the Beverly Hills Hotel. "This year's inductees have challenged and shaped popular culture, changed television for the better and entertained us royally while doing so," TV Academy Chairman-CEO John Shaffner said. More info at the Hollywood Reporter
Nov 08 | Unreality-SF.net has interviewed Star Trerk author James Swallow about some of his upcoming projects. He talks about Titan: Synthesis and Seven Deadly Sins: The Slow Knife, as well as some forthcoming Doctor Who and Stargate stories.
Synopsis: Archer tackles the weapon, T'Pol tackles the Spheres and Enterprise tackles a rewrite of Planet of the Apes
Review: Zero Hour most obviously refers to the countdown to the Weapon's attack on Earth. Of course it's also a sly reference to the final twist of the episode which plunges an already teetering storyline into sheer lunacy.
For the most part Zero Hour's strongest scenes are those that rest on the tension leading up to the actual attack on the Weapon. Archer exploiting Hoshi to carry out his mission pushes his character further into the wolfish ruthlessly desperate mode he's been in all season. Dr. Phlox facing death also makes for a touching if somewhat overly sentimental scene.
After that the episode begins its steep decline into cliche and then incoherence. First we have T'Pol and Trip's attack on the Sphere which leads to some really bad skin for the crew. Undoubtedly TPTB thought that the idea of having everyone on the ship turn into a walking commercial for skin care products would be dramatic but instead if just makes what should have been a tense situation look silly as you wonder if Lubiderm isn't paying Enterprise for product placement.
And indeed the entire Sphere attack storyline is mostly pointless. Enterprise's Xindi arc would have been stronger if this attack had been accomplished episodes ago leaving Archer in command of Enterprise to pursue the weapon. It would have been appropriate and fitting as a conclusion to an arc that had Enterprise leaving earth to pursue the Weapon and returning home battered but unbowed to destroy it. Instead the audience's attention is split between Archer's pursuit of the weapon which is the compelling story and the sphere attack which isn't.
Unlike the Weapon, the Spheres aren't going anywhere so it's not clear why T'Pol is so desperate to destroy them even at the risk of destroying Enterprise and killing the crew. Yes the anomalies will expand but all life in the Expanse, let alone Vulcan, as T'Pol seems to suggest is a long way from being threatened. The addition of the Sphere Builder's attack is cliched and looks silly all the more so in the rose colored haze. Additionally the Sphere seems to call up Braga and Berman's worst instincts giving us tons of technobabble solutions from Phlox's magic anomaly resisting formula whose effectiveness he can apparently calculate to the second to the deflector pulse to the weapons frequencies. Watching T'Pol do her best Janeway impression as she nearly killed the crew to do something utterly pointless; really brought nostalgic tears for Voyager to my eyes.
The plot then only becomes more awkward as once the Weapon is destroyed the focus shifts away earth and to Enterprise sitting and waiting for Archer in the Expanse. And so we get an absurd scene in which Degra's ship heads to the Expanse to meet up with Enterprise to tell Enterprise Archer is dead at which point they all head back over to Earth. Instead of the Acquatics simply delivering Enterprise to earth directly to meet Degra's ship. Sometimes I complain about time being trimmed from Enterprise's episodes and then I look at a complete inability to grasp the use of time on the part of the Enterprise producers and wonder why I even bother?
The attack on the Weapon itself is a bit too strongly suggestive of Insurrection or for that matter Generations, First Contact and Nemesis; all of which involved fights between our heroes and the villains over a launch sequence or a set of controls. But what Rick Berman lacks in originality, Allan Kroeker does his best to make up for in some decent action sequences. The effectiveness of the various fights range between clumsy to suspenseful and Archer's final coup de grace to Commander Dolim is not original but quite effective. The bloodstains on the wall and on Archer's face are particularly effective touches.
Shran's appearance might be a bit dubious plotwise but he is a great character and Coombs is a great actor so that the only regret is that putting his name in the opening credits killed any surprise at his appearance. Coombs of course rules every second of his screentime and his lines make for some of the coolest moments in the episode. It also is a good reference point to the revelation of a future Federation in which Andorians and humans work side by side.
All of this would have made for a decent enough episode. Not the greatest Star Trek episode of all time or anything near it but adequate enough. There is a clear decline between the writing quality of Countdown and Zero Hour. Brannon Braga and Rick Berman's writing is simply not up to the task and once again we see heaps of Voyager style technobabble thrown in and the kind of amateurish plot awkwardness that characterized Voyager episodes. But Braga is unfortunately not satisfied with that.
As the second season finale set up the third season, the third season finale is apparently meant to set up the fourth. Of course the situation becomes all the more desperate since Enterprise's ratings are doing quite poorly and the series has become increasingly unwanted by UPN which instead favors top quality programming like 'America's Top Bulimic.' This makes it crucial for the Enterprise season finale to have a hook that will pull viewers back in. And so we get Braga's Planet of the Apes style ending to the episode.
Of course the problem with the ending is that it's silly. Not only does it seriously resemble Voyager episodes like Future's End and The Killing Game spliced together but it completely defuses the conclusion of the entire season's arc and its payoff in favor of a gimmicky conclusion that the audience is likely to treat the same way it did the similar ending of the remake of Planet of the Apes.
Storytelling requires continuity. It requires an understanding of the emotional journey and the parts of the narrative that make a story whole. Zero Hour is yet another demonstration that Rick Berman and Brannon Braga understand nothing of the kind. Zero Hour's ending screams of unoriginality and desperation. Not to mention contempt for the same viewers who sat through a season of the Xindi arc expecting more of a payoff than Archer waking up in the Twilight Zone.
Everyone has the right to like what they like, so the fact that you believe this was one of the most exciting bits of Star Trek ever is your perogative. My first reaction after seeing Zero Hour was a desire to throw something at my TV. So it's not about opinions. Like certain parts of anatomy, we all have one...
What Deus does - and very well I believe - is look beyond the visceral reaction to the show, and consider the factors that make it successful or not. Writing, editing, direction - these and many other elements are vitally important to whether the show works. Of course these are opinions too, and anyone is free to agree or disagree with them. But I appreciate the opportunity to read someone who considers these elements, especially from someone like Deus who obviously respects the entire canon of Star Trek. I may not always agree, but I appreciate the perspective. That's what critics do - give you another perspective, not just their visceral reaction.
So after reading the review, and reconsidering the ending of Zero Hour, it's hard to escape the conclusion that exectuive producers B & B have created a big ole pile of stinkypoo here at the end of this season. They're in charge, therefore it's theirs. It's not bitterness, nor a feeling that I could do better - just a wish that THEY could better, not rely on the same tired devices (time travel and Nazis) that they have trotted out before. Nor throw in sensationalistic story elements (T'Pol's sexual awakening and drug abuse) when they could be developing the other Enterprise characters or the Xindi story. Which, btw, was overall a GREAT idea that B&B should be applauded for.
I think Deus is spot on about Enterprise and B&B, or with apologies to "Treasure Island", black spot on...
Amen!!!! Long live Star Trek! Long live Enterprise!!! I loved Zero Hour and I hope Enterprise is the longest running ST. I've given up on reviews as well. They suck! I'll be the one to decide whether I like a show or not.
PS: Deus sucks!
When he sees something on the show as bad.... 'hey, must be B and B's fault', and when something is good its 'hey, look what they did inspite of B and B...'
This episode was written by B&B hence it's their responsibility. The previous episodes were not and there are marked differences in plot, quality of the dialogue and lack of technobabble.
I must say that Odeus wouldnt know good story telling if it came up and bit him on the ass. The realization of where Enterprise was in those last scenes was truly one of the most exciting bits of Star Trek ever.
True. It's not like Star Trek has ever placed its characters in a Nazi period before. Just over and over again.
To those of you out there that have enjoyed this show and this season as a whole, Dont buy the hype that Star Trek is dead, run into the ground by lousy management and other crap you may read... its simply not true.
Yup and pay no attention to those pesky ratings, the heaps of criticism or the fact that even B&B are admitting that Star Trek is near death. Keep the faith in Rick Berman alive.
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