Great Review | Report this post to moderator
By: Akita1999 (Odo's file, contact) @ 07:50:21 on Feb 06, 2005

Love the analysis. Unfortunately, as I write this, Enterprise has already been cancelled. I think Star Trek needs a rest, although I will miss it.

We need fresh ideas and to hunger for Star Trek. Absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that.

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I think Dues is overly optimstic | Report this post to moderator
By: Bucky (Odo's file, contact) @ 23:16:30 on Feb 01, 2005

ENT's staff could write The Best Trek Episode Of All Time, and it still wouldn't save the show. It just seems so dangblasted bleak now, God Himself could write "I LOVE ENTERPRISE" in 10 feet tall flamming letters outside Les Moonvess' door and it still wouldn't work.

Not that I don't want it to work, I love the show.

Just... damn.

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This was a mediocre episode | Report this post to moderator
By: Peacekeeper (Odo's file, contact) @ 17:49:06 on Feb 01, 2005

Well deus, your review usually go tangent opposite to the episodes. You will trash a good one while you 'up' a bad one. As u said the plot of Babel one was way too similar to St6 and many other previous plot-lines. Nothing orginal or creative here. It was just a vain attempt in my view to throw in elements of kirk era any which way they can. The Fx were far and few in between...i have seen better and more numeorous fx on both voyager, ds9 and even enterprise earlier seasons when we had a 'event' episode. Also the last zoom-out of the romulus was quite reminescent to the romulus city fx in Nemesis. I think they used the same cgi maybe tweaked it a bit here and there.
Anyway..a decent episode but nothing spectecular or even note-worthy. Maybe United would be more of a epic. I doubt episodes like Babel one would win a season 5.

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too late - Enterprise is being cancelled tomorrow | Report this post to moderator
By: Trader Groucho (Odo's file, contact) @ 16:35:22 on Feb 01, 2005

Just thought I'd let all of you know

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RE: Sell Out | Report this post to moderator
By: NAFF (Odo's file, contact) @ 06:05:47 on Feb 01, 2005

Actually I didn't find it stupid.

I found it very believable actually.

It may be Trek-derivative, but Atlantis is far more watchable. Everything Enterprise is not.

"Who do you think you are, Captain Kirk?". You gotta admit that was a great line!

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What romance? | Report this post to moderator
By: Cap'n Calhoun (Odo's file, contact) @ 00:33:06 on Feb 01, 2005

Quote:
Long after that storyline seemed to have been dropped, Archer is displaying an interest in T'Pol again. The camera angles in their scene together as Archer asks if "they're moving too fast" are a particularly odd touch. [...] ENTERPRISE has defaulted back into its old folly of 'There's Something About T'Pol.' [...] the rest of us would rather watch reruns of Welcome Back Kotter translated into Norwegian than another painfully contrived attempt at romance. [...] Personally I'd rather sit through The Passion 2: The Christening than Archer and Trip yelling over which of them will have the chance to spend the rest of their lives annoying each other to death.

As much as I enjoyed your metaphors, I think you might be overblowing this a bit. Either I am becoming severely subtext-impaired or Archer's line about "moving too fast" had to deal with their rapid attempts to make alliances with the other species. If anything, it seemed like the Trip/Reed conversations were an indication that they are trying to gracefully back off of this sort of thing without pretending it never existed.

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"You know what six movies average out to be really good? The first six Star Trek movies!" -- Fry, Futurama

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• RE: What romance? | Report this post to moderator
  By: O. Deus (Odo's file, contact) @ 20:56:58 on Feb 01, 2005

  the apparent meaning of the line involves earth but the camera work and the way the actors delivered the lines created a certain amount of subtext which may or may not have been intended.
  
  The Trip and Reed conversation as well as T'Pol's announcement though clearly appears to be about maintaining this sort of thing and going on to develop it further.

  
  

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• RE: What romance? | Report this post to moderator
  By: Hbasm (Odo's file, contact) @ 03:56:24 on Feb 01, 2005

  That is also my interpretion of things. Archers question seems very relevant because I was sitting with a sense of "no, Earth is not capable of intermediating any conflict in space". Good that Archer realises his lack of experience. I still consider him an enthusiastic explorer, now with some combat experience (far too much, actually. If this was real, he would be long dead) but he is not a lifelong diplomat with a certain gift or education in space politics!
  
  I think it was a cute little scene, and sort of a nod from the writers, realising what they're doing might seem far fetched to some of us... So they are asking the audience for our opinion actually.

  
  

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budget | Report this post to moderator
By: alexkidd (Odo's file, contact) @ 23:12:34 on Jan 31, 2005

I think the skimped on the last 10 eps to get a decent budget for this ep. I wouldnt expect these types of effects to last.

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• RE: budget | Report this post to moderator
  By: noeticaldesign (Odo's file, contact) @ 06:21:13 on Feb 01, 2005

  I'm spewing too, as the effects are all I look for in Ent.
  
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'Gimmicky' cinematography | Report this post to moderator
By: who1 (Odo's file, contact) @ 13:31:28 on Jan 31, 2005

I think the show should do more adventurous camerawork. The cinematography and lighting for the Trek shows has always been amazing, but it's usually also very subtle and rarely calls attention to itself (things like that wonderful crane shot that first reveals Ops to us in 'Emissary' - very accomplished, but not ostentatious.) But Trek is already being labeled a dinosaur of a franchise, so they'd might as well take more risks with the camera angles and camera movements - many golden opportunities were missed in the last few years where lackluster stories could have been glossed over/amped up a bit more if the directors and D.P. were given a freer reign - sometimes the stories -need- to have the focus taken off of them a bit as they aren't as strong as they used to be, even now. IMO the flashiest, most innovative thing about 'Battlestar Galactica' is the style in which is is filmed and rendered - fundamentally, the stories and characters aren't so different or going through anything so far removed from Dominion War era DS9 or even last season's 'Enterprise.' But the show is so different-looking from the rest of sci-fi on TV, it is being labelled as cutting edge, while 'Enterprise,' with its superior production values is lamented as a lumbering snore, even as it continues to employ the faster paced editing style and action-focus of last season.
Cinematography is merely a means to serve a story, but it serves the series as a whole if those in charge of it are allowed to experiment and grab people's attention a bit more - sometimes that's the best way to get people engaged in a story they might not want to sit through at first.

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• RE: 'Gimmicky' cinematography | Report this post to moderator
  By: Kunk (Odo's file, contact) @ 06:06:36 on Feb 01, 2005

  I believe another great aspect of GALACTICA is the pace and editing. It just looks and feels new and now and there's a tension level achieved that shows like ENTERPRISE and the STARGATES haven't achieved because those shows are very staid with their use of medium shots and locked cameras on standing sets. And I think people just talk too much on those shows. GALACTICA so far has mastered subtext and silence. ENTERPRISE has taken risks the past couple seasons with camerawork, but it always feels more like a stunt than an integral part of the show's dynamic.
  But the past 2 episodes have been promising for sure.

  
  

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  • RE: 'Gimmicky' cinematography | Report this post to moderator
    By: noeticaldesign (Odo's file, contact) @ 06:29:04 on Feb 01, 2005

    Quote:
    Kunk wrote:
    ENTERPRISE has taken risks the past couple seasons with camerawork, but it always feels more like a stunt than an integral part of the show's dynamic.
    
    Speaking of Battlestar, while I for the most part enjoy it's camera work, I feel it's the one with the gimmick. To me, Firefly pulled off the shaky-cam and reflexive focus much better without it showing itself up. Enterprise has never seemed to me to be doing anything out of the ordinary in terms of camera work to pull me out of the story. Where it differs from older Treks is that it's something refreshing while not being jarring.
    
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    • RE: 'Gimmicky' cinematography | Report this post to moderator
      By: Kunk (Odo's file, contact) @ 09:53:50 on Feb 01, 2005

      True enough. I enjoy the shaky-cam in the space battles because it so unique. I can do without it on board ship with actors (something that destroyed THE BOURNE SUPREMACY for me).
      But the framing, movement and immediacy of the work on GALACTICA I think sets it apart. More important than cinematography however, for me, is just how each story is told - dialogue, pacing, etc. The stories aren't necessarily better than Star Trek, but they SEEM like it because of the look and feel of the show.
      I also may be prejudiced because DS9 is my favorite Trek and i think Ron Moore has done a superb job of taking that mentality of rule-breaking into his new show. And like DS9, GALACTICA is a true ensemble show. ENTERPRISE has always been mired in the trinity of Archer/T'Pol/Trip.
      But at the end of the day, it all comes down to stories and how they are told. I think the majority of ENTERPRISE legacy to this point (and I say this as a fan of all things TREK) has been potentially good stories undone by poor execution.

      
      

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      • RE: 'Gimmicky' cinematography | Report this post to moderator
        By: who1 (Odo's file, contact) @ 10:25:12 on Feb 01, 2005

        I'm not entirely convinced that BSG is an ensemble show yet - a lot of the supporting cast isn't terribly well-defined, and so far Apollo IMO has been beautiful to look at, but used mostly to make cutting insights into other characters for their development rather than his.
        As for the camerawork and editing - a few years ago I would have switched it off and taken sea sickness pills. But now, I am really enjoying the immediacy and energy which this handheld and loose style gives to shows like BSG and 'Arrested Development.' And I am behind the style used for 'The Bourne Supremacy' to the hilt - I found it an extremely effective tool, combined with the lightning editing pace to get the audience inside Bourne's head. Similarly, the dire situations on BSG feel more genuine and intimate for me than did the Dominion War, which was usually brilliantly written and not that different from the writing here, but was presented in a more stately, static manner in keeping with '90s Trek - that almost always kept me at some distance, no matter how personal the stories got. The writing for the two franchises has much more in common than some people have been saying, but they are presented so differently, BSG has the edge right now with critics simply because its style is unusual for TV sci fi.

        
        

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        • RE: 'Gimmicky' cinematography | Report this post to moderator
          By: Kunk (Odo's file, contact) @ 12:37:26 on Feb 01, 2005

          Though GALACTICA may not be a true ensemble show as of yet, I like the way each episode does a quick rundown of each character's current status whether they are ultimately focused on or not. This bodes well, I think. And though they may not all be multi-layered at this point, they deftly given them personalities that are genuine without being overt (i.e.: I'm the guy who's on his first mission and is scared but is determined to perserver...). I'm thinking mostly of the Crew chief and the young blonde girl he's seen with often. And what I really enjoyed about the past 2 ENTERPRISE eps is how everyone was put to use. My God, Hoshi and Mayweather with extended scenes and featured performances. It may be too little too late - but it was so refreshing.
          
          I too was not an initial fan of shaky cam (still am not). My problem with BOURNE was not the stylistic choice to portray the chaos within Bourne, but the fact that it was used even when he was not there - for example a simple 3 person discussion in a conference room. I personally found myself baring down and trying to focus on who was saying what and when rather than what they were saying. It was just way overused IMO. Same thing in BSG... the battlefield cameraman style works for me. But when it comes to dialogue that is fairly routine, it takes me out of the story.
          
          I think your description of Trek and the Dominion War as "stately and static" is dead on. You're absolutely right - there's a feeling of genuine peril in GALACTICA. And I think the critics not only feel that as well (and to some extent they love the visuals and pace), I think they recognize ENTERPRISE as "your old man's Sci-Fi". Which is a shame because nothing equals the size, scope and mythology of the STAR TREK universe. In a few years, someone with the same juice and energy (minus the baggage) of a Ron Moore will come along, rediscover this wonderful playbox and spin gold from it once again. Berman and Braga have given us great things over the years - Braga having written my all-time fave TNG mind-f**k episodes. But the time has come... and I'm just glad GALACTICA is here to carry my Sci-Fi jones onward.

          
          

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          • RE: 'Gimmicky' cinematography | Report this post to moderator
            By: who1 (Odo's file, contact) @ 12:58:17 on Feb 01, 2005

            I agree with your assessment of how Star Trek is perceived, and agree it is a shame that 'Enterprise' can't shake off all the conventions it has inherited from previous series, nor the unfair perceptions of it being far stodgier than it really is. It's not as 'hip' as BSG is right now, but it's certainly not the lumbering dinosaur reviewers lampoon it as in direct comparisons. IMO this series deserves one final year to really wrap things up - it'd be a shame for it to end without fair warning given to its writers, but in a few years a new team does need to come in and really take full advantage of this universe without having to be tied down to the shackles of style (writing and production) which all the other modern trek shows have adherred to by and large. It's a testament to how Trek has set the stage and conventions for all other sci-fi on TV, but who knew it'd last long enough for that to become old hat?

            
            

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Ah HA! | Report this post to moderator
By: Merlinus Ambrosius (Odo's file, contact) @ 09:27:23 on Jan 31, 2005

I knew that goofy looking Romulan looked familiar!

You know, supposedly Enterprise had some budget cuts this season. But based upon the effects we saw in Babel One, you can't tell at all. I think this is the best we've seen these ships look ever in this series.

I only hope that "United" and "The Aenar" are as good as Babel One was.



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Scientists discover the world that exists;
engineers create the world that never was.
-Theodore von Kármán

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• RE: Ah HA! | Report this post to moderator
  By: Yesterday's Lemmiwinks (Odo's file, contact) @ 11:20:28 on Jan 31, 2005

  Quote:
  You know, supposedly Enterprise had some budget cuts this season. But based upon the effects we saw in Babel One, you can't tell at all. I think this is the best we've seen these ships look ever in this series.
  
  There were confirmed budget cuts this season. Babel One's visuals looked awesome... but remember that the previous two episodes were bottle-shows with very little visually going on outside the ship. You add to that the fact that episodes prior to that seemed to be skimping a bit on visual quality... it stands to reason that they were saving up their VFX $$ for this episode (and hopefully the two subsequent ones).
  
  --------
  
  "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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  • RE: Ah HA! | Report this post to moderator
    By: noeticaldesign (Odo's file, contact) @ 06:45:35 on Feb 01, 2005

    Lemmiwinks - NOT Paris Hilton wrote:
    There were confirmed budget cuts this season. Babel One's visuals looked awesome... but remember that the previous two episodes were bottle-shows with very little visually going on outside the ship. You add to that the fact that episodes prior to that seemed to be skimping a bit on visual quality... it stands to reason that they were saving up their VFX $$ for this episode (and hopefully the two subsequent ones).
    
    Not only this but the effect of switching to digital cameras has contributed as well.
    
    Don't quote me on this as it's been a long time since I read the article, but the digital cameras save a lot of money. Not only do they not have to pay for film but due to the lack of bulky equipment they can set up two cameras for the same shot. Also, as they don't have to reload film stock as often they can shoot continuously for longer. This affects shooting times (bringing it down) and so affects the cost of paying for the cast and crew.
    
    These savings have helped offset the amount of money needed for effects. Not that they're that important. Hell, if it weren't for the cuts we may not have gotten the worthy 'Obsever Effect' or the valiant attempt to make the (though ultimately failed) "Daedalus' episode work.
    
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    • RE: Ah HA! | Report this post to moderator
      By: Yesterday's Lemmiwinks (Odo's file, contact) @ 09:49:57 on Feb 01, 2005

      Quote:
      Hell, if it weren't for the cuts we may not have gotten the worthy 'Obsever Effect' or the valiant attempt to make the (though ultimately failed) "Daedalus' episode work.
      
      Hear here! Observer Effect was absolutely delightful, especially because I had just seen TOS: Errand of Mercy on SciFi channel the night before. Daedalus wasn't a bad episode, just wasn't anything special for me.
      
      I'm pining, though, for Carbon Creek...
      
      --------
      
      "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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Sell Out | Report this post to moderator
By: NAFF (Odo's file, contact) @ 09:19:24 on Jan 31, 2005 | (1)

Deus, you have totally sold out! You clearly dare not speak out as before in fear of loosing your reviewer status.

This was not a great episode at all. Do you really believe that?Best of Both Worlds Part One is a great episode. True, its better than than the utter crap the last two episodes were. But not by a great amount.

The opening scene was just stupid and made me cringe. As did the Andorian 'escaped by seduction' scene.

Blalock had clearly been partying the night before and phoned-in her uninterested performance. Quite obvious and very annoying. T'Pol the character was again a very poor science officer, failing to guess the purpose of the ship's emitters.

Yet again, the episode stretched out events to create a multi-part story and hence keep down the budget.

This average episode limped along to (and I'll admit this) a good few minutes of conclusion.

Stargate Atlantis was unoriginal too that night. But boy, was it cool. Gripping, exciting, at times disturbing, but never stupid.

If Enterprise wants to spend its last episodes stuck up the ass of the original series, fine.

The ratings speak for themselves. Mainly only the 'Action Figure Brigade' watch it now. And only the Political Wing of the A.F.B. defend it.

This show is dead. Even the actors have given-up on it. So why should the viewers watch?

Deus, start getting your resume up-to-date for review jobs on 'AtlantisWeb' next season...

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• Who or what in Ghu's name am I selling out to? | Report this post to moderator
  By: O. Deus (Odo's file, contact) @ 21:08:30 on Feb 01, 2005

  Week after week I write my reviews as I see it and week after week I get hostile feedback and ranting accusing me of being biased for or against enterprise of selling out, of having an agenda.
  
  I have no fear of 'losing my reviewer status.' If I did I'd make sure my reviews fell within general consensus every week. I would much rather be told my reviews weren't welcome anymore than to write what I don't believe out of fear of favor.
  
  I love Star Trek. I am here because despite all the mounds of garbage shoveled out to us by Berman over the past decade, I still love Star Trek.
  
  I don't have a resume, I don't get paid here, I do it for love of Star Trek. As for AtlantisWeb, I can barely sit through an episode of Stargate without falling asleep, I'd have damned little interest there.
  
  As for Babel One, no it's not Best of Both Worlds, but you know what episode is, Best of Both Worlds...right you guessed it. Best of Both Worlds. If that's what you want, then you can rewatch it over and over again.
  
  Babel One is not a perfect episode and in fact I agree both the opening and the seduction scene were stupid. But there's a damn shortage of perfect episodes. What we have is a great episode that was well done, you may not agree and that's your right, but you have no right to insult me because you don't agree.
  
  Either accept my view or don't, but don't attact my integrity because you don't like the view.

  
  

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  • RE: Who or what in Ghu's name am I selling out to? | Report this post to moderator
    By: NAFF (Odo's file, contact) @ 07:13:15 on Feb 02, 2005

    I apologize.

    
    

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• RE: Sell Out | Report this post to moderator
  By: Chris Pike (Odo's file, contact) @ 15:38:35 on Feb 01, 2005

  You're a fucking idiot.
  
  --------
  
  "Worlds may change, galaxies may disintegrate, but a woman always remains a woman."
  --James Kirk, "The Conscience of the King"
  
  "Vulcan children are never late with their sehlats' dinner."
  --T'Pol, "The Forge"
  
  

  
  

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  • RE: Sell Out | Report this post to moderator
    By: NAFF (Odo's file, contact) @ 07:10:27 on Feb 02, 2005

    Well double dumb ass on you too.

    
    

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• RE: Sell Out | Report this post to moderator
  By: theoren (Odo's file, contact) @ 18:23:46 on Jan 31, 2005

  TOTALLY AGREE!!!
  
  --------
  
  "That is the exploration that awaits you: Not mapping the stars and studying nebulae, but charting the unknown possiblities of existence." - Q, All Good Things...

  
  

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• RE: Sell Out | Report this post to moderator
  By: Jadzia-Dax (Odo's file, contact) @ 16:31:28 on Jan 31, 2005

  Quote:
  
  Stargate Atlantis was unoriginal too that night. But boy, was it cool. Gripping, exciting, at times disturbing, but never stupid.
  
  You didn't think that Sheppard's not bothering to assume that the Wraith could figure some things out, let alone how to put the shield on around the ship that it captured, leaving the dear Major to go running like an idiot towards the ship and summarily smacking into the shield and hitting the ground (not unlike GEN with Picard vs Soran), wasn't stupid? Let alone firing bullet after bullet after bullet into the Wraith, despite this wasteful tactic not working, yet the decision is made for bullets to continue to be needlessly expended (and so far not replaced) and that's not stupid either?
  
  How many bullets have they used up in this show now? The Wraith emptied a gun, Sheppard emptied a gun and some refills as did McCay. Even the Atlantis Red Shirt equivalent fired a bullet into his own head. I'm waiting for replacement parts to magically appear - you know, like the VOY photon torpedo count?
  
  I'm sorry but aside from some personable characters, the show is still derivative of Trek in so many ways.
  
  --------
  
  "I think the show talked to people through the characters. They're stories that speak to the heart. They talk about love, they talk about friendship, they talk about loyalty, they talk about patriotism, exploration, curiosity, reaching out... And I think all those things still touch people. Even when you look at a 30-year old show, it still has something to say." - D.C. Fontana, Sci Fi Channel Special Edition TOS 1998
  ----
  "If the season finale involves the re-built USS Reliant coming back in time to the 21st Century crewed by Moogie, Dr. Selar, Morn, Transporter Chief Kyle, and the Salt Vampire, then we'll know that Coto has gone too far." - tomba1701

  
  

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• RE: Sell Out | Report this post to moderator
  By: Mr. Xindi (Odo's file, contact) @ 10:26:08 on Jan 31, 2005 | (1)

  Not sell out, mearly his opinion, when he disliked episodes you were cheering him on, now when he finds an episode he likes, is he not entitled to his opinion?
  
  Personally this episode kicked Best of Both World's ass which frankly I never found that great.
  
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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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SNAFU | Report this post to moderator
By: TRexx (Odo's file, contact) @ 09:06:52 on Jan 31, 2005 | (1)

Quote from O. Deus:
"Babel One" is a strong episode at a time when ENTERPRISE desperately needs one.


No, it isn't. The lack of creative storytelling aside: Any chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and, as you hint, this episode is plagued by familiar and further ridicule of a Starfleet First Officer and Commander, a Vulcan, and the lead female character. The disgrace of T'Pol continues from previous seasons. Her dramatically lame divorce, and the reminder that she shagged a most immature Human for no reason but a drug-induced ratings grab, yet she somehow cherishes that, with another example of Tucker and Reed being used to highlight B&B's juvenile and degrading fascination with tits and ass.


--------------
Jolene Blalock's 20Q @ Playboy

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• RE: SNAFU | Report this post to moderator
  By: noeticaldesign (Odo's file, contact) @ 06:52:34 on Feb 01, 2005

  Yeah, ummm. I was kinda swayed by your point. Then I made my way down to your signature. Either I lack a subtle and sophisticated sarcasm detector, or you're all over the place and don't what you're arguing for.
  
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  • RE: SNAFU | Report this post to moderator
    By: TRexx (Odo's file, contact) @ 09:00:22 on Feb 01, 2005

    Quote from timclim:
    Yeah, ummm. I was kinda swayed by your point. Then I made my way down to your signature. Either I lack a subtle and sophisticated sarcasm detector, or you're all over the place and don't what you're arguing for.
    
    
    You mean the Jolene Blalock 20Q at Playboy? William Shatner and Patrick Stewart also appeared in Playboy for 20Q.
    
    So, what's your point?
    
    
    --------------
    Jolene Blalock's 20Q @ Playboy
    

    
    

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• RE: SNAFU | Report this post to moderator
  By: Steve Krutzler (Odo's file, contact) @ 10:54:59 on Jan 31, 2005

  Have to disagree. Mention of previous T'Pol plotlines amounted to but a few lines of dialogue and does nothing to tarnish the rest of the episode.
  
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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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Great ep! | Report this post to moderator
By: Steve Krutzler (Odo's file, contact) @ 08:31:29 on Jan 31, 2005 | (1)

I knew the spoilers but even I was surprised at the end when they panned out to show the Romulan capitol. As Deus pointed out, the ep had a good balance of intrigue with action and sensible captaining by Archer. The dialogue was well written and the story moved quickly. I remember during the first act being surprised that so much had happened already. As I recall, Shran was aboard Enterprise and they were being attacked by a phantom Andorian ship all before the second commerical break. Good pacing, and the Hoshi/Archer interchange at the beginning was also well done. Overall a great episode. The guy playing the Romulan leader was sort of brutish as Deus points out and those costumes looked more like NEMESIS-era than 22nd century but then again the NEMESIS costumes looked more like the TOS Romulan outfits so it's not really surprising.

I also liked Archer's conversation with T'Pol about Earth's stakes in the events etc. He seemed very level-headed and Kirk-like, discussing galatic politics and so forth, letting his own doubts be known without wavering in his resolve or decisions.

--------

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: Great ep! | Report this post to moderator
  By: noeticaldesign (Odo's file, contact) @ 07:23:03 on Feb 01, 2005

  Steve Krutzler wrote:
  I knew the spoilers but even I was surprised at the end when they panned out to show the Romulan capitol.
  
  Same. When I saw it I was like "What? Oh yeah, I read about the remote controlled ship. I should have known that!". Sometimes stupidity does work in one's favour. :)
  
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• Archer | Report this post to moderator
  By: Jean-Luc (Odo's file, contact) @ 10:27:38 on Jan 31, 2005

  I agree overall, but one thing that bugged me about the starship fight scene was when Archer seemed to waste time yelling at Shran instead of giving orders to Travis. The ship was getting pounded. I was sitting there going, "Umm, tactical alert? Evasive action?" Admittedly the lights were blinking red so maybe it's an automatic thing now, but it seemed inconsistent with other episodes.
  I assume the crew wasn't being proactive by moving the ship and firing back. Usually crews wait for commanders to issue orders. At the end of TOS's "The Deadly Years" the ship's getting pounded and Stocker's in the center seat wringing his hands wondering what to do.
  But that was about it for me. I see more complaints regarding Blalock's performance, but T'Pol's supposed to be acting extra Vulcan so I accept it. It kind of reminds me of Spock in TMP. He was extra wooden due to the Kolinahr, and I think Jolene's trying to do something similar.
  
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  "Outer Space: The Last Frontier.
  These are the trips of the Star Trek Enterprise. Its five year plan calls for us to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly fly where no man has gone in space. Live long, and be happy."
  
  Patrick Stewart--SNL, Stardate 9402.05

  
  

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