I absolutely LOVED the effects! These iceworlds just look better and better!
When it comes to the story, I am satisfied but since everyone wants me to be critical: There was a few scenes that felt like they were cut down in length either to save time, or because they weren't good enough. The story-flow felt disconnected because of it, IMO.
But the romulan characters got a little more fleshed out, the acting was good, and the story made sense although parts of it felt slightly like a cartoon.
Oh merciful God in heaven above, how much longer must we suffer the tyranny of this abominable creation? The Vulcans initiated First Contact with Humanity over 90 years ago, hasn't it already dawned on Trip that they are NOT capable of returning his affections? Now in a dramatic display of grand stupidity and self-pity, he has requested a transfer off the ship. This last scene between Trip and Archer felt so affected and contrived that if its purpose was to engender some sort of compassion for Trip's dilemma, then it failed most miserably. I felt nothing, nada, zilch, zero emotion. Good riddance, was all I could say.
If anyone thinks I'm being too harsh, ask yourselves this question, if a member of Enterprise were killed off, how would people react? Now ask yourselves the same question in regards to TNG. Even the Christian Science Monitor, for Pete's sake, did a report on how uninteresting these characters are!
Can't wait for the final episode of this series to air. At this point, I'm only watching out of pure loyalty to the franchise.
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In terms of character depth, ENT and VOY are pretty much the same. It's not the shows biggest strength. But the shows have other strengths,that makes up for this weakness, at least in many peoples opinion.
The episode was indeed weak and felt hurried up. It felt to me that somehow they heard that cancellation storm is not going to miss them so they just let-go of all the momentum they build so adequately about BOTF in the last two episdoes.
Enterprise hit & miss tradition continues. Its not hard to see why Enterprise got cancelled.
A fair review. It was still an enjoyable episode, though. Somehow the pacing was just right for a change.
I've never been a fan of O.Deus's reviews. From way back in season 2 I thought his reviews were negative towards Enterprise just for the sake of being negative. If he had solid reasons for his dislike of an episode, it would be one thing, but it seems like he just doesn't like Enterprise, and where the writers have taken the series in the past 4 years. I detest what Berman & Braga have done to the franchise, but even I can be objective when watching an episode. The whole Trip/T'Pol romance felt forced last season, because it was forced on us. And it wasn't written well at all. With someone new behind the scenes, it is coming along much better. Maybe it was just me, but I thought the scenes between Trip and T'Pol in "The Aenar" were acted quite well, and they were given good dialogue to work with. Also, the parts of the episode with Archer and Shran meeting the Aenar had a strong feel of TOS. And that is a good thing. Yes, TOS would've spent the episode with Kirk and co. on Andor meeting this new culture, but on Enterprise this was part of a larger story and that just wasn't possible. Perhaps a wasted opportunity, but the series is dead anyway.
Also, O.Deus shows his complete lack of objectivity when he complains that the bad Romulan guys were always on the planet, far removed from the action. Does he not remember TOS episode where it's stated no one has seen a Romulan before? Wouldn't make much sense for Trip and Reed to run into someone who looks a lot like a Vulcan when they were rummaging around the drone vessel, now would it? I think that would throw continuity out the window, which O.Deus would then complain about. The fact that the Aenar are blind also preserves continuity because they can't possibly know what a Romulan looks like either. I thought that was a nice touch, something O.Deus didn't even comment on.
The Aenar had a nice touch of TOS to it, and wrapped up the 3 part arc while setting up the stage for the episodes coming up leading to the big series finale in May. It could've been better, yes, but we can say that about all 4 years of Enterprise. Give the series some credit for at least trying to be a good show.
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If he had solid reasons for his dislike of an episode, it would be one thing, e[i]
My reasons are spelled out in the review
[i] Also, O.Deus shows his complete lack of objectivity when he complains that the bad Romulan guys were always on the planet, far removed from the action. Does he not remember TOS episode where it's stated no one has seen a Romulan before? Wouldn't make much sense for Trip and Reed to run into someone who looks a lot like a Vulcan when they were rummaging around the drone vessel, now would it? I think that would throw continuity out the window, which O.Deus would then complain about.
I know quite well it would violate continuity to encounter a Romulan but it's possible for the Enterprise crew not to see the Romulans without the romulans being out of harm's way which weakens the drama. If you remember it worked quite well on TOS and in Minefeld on Enterprise where the Romulans were there or even on Kir'Shara.
The fact that the Aenar are blind also preserves continuity because they can't possibly know what a Romulan looks like either. I thought that was a nice touch, something O.Deus didn't even comment on.
None of the Aenar besides the one who was captured saw any Romulans so this makes no sense.
O. Deus has clearly missed the point of the arc. It wasn't about the "birth of the Federation" at all. That there is an temporary alliance of bitter enemies that will eventually lead to the founding of an overarching organization called the UPF is really only a subplot. The arc is really a mystery story. The mystery? Who attacked Shran's ship at the beginning of "Babel One." THAT is what this arc is about.
Each episode of the arc revealed more and more pieces of the mystery. In "Babel One" the Andorians and the Tellerites each accuse the other in the attacks. It is only when Enterprise gets involved that it's revealed (to the characters) that it's a "chameleon" ship capable of disguising itself as another vessel. (We the audience are let in on the fact that it's the Romulans behind it all).
The revelation that the ship has no crew, but is being piloted remotely leads to the next mystery. Who is piloting the ship? That is revealed at the end of "United." But who is that albino Andorian with the glaucomic eyes?
The answer to that mystery is answered in "The Aenar." We learn that the pilot is Gareb, kidnapped "some time ago" while hunting the snow-worms. We learn the Aenar are blind and psychic, and are pacifists. We learn Gareb has a sister, Jhamel, who willingly goes against the pacifist code of her people to help her brother. Ultimately, Gareb realizes the harm he's done and helps destroy the probes, even at the cost of his own life.
A weak ending? Hardly. The arc ended exactly as it should. The mystery is solved, the bad guys are thwarted (for the time being), the Andorians and the Tellerites learn they can get along, at least for a little while.
EDIT: Oops! I should have posted a "SPOILER WARNING" in the subject line. My apologies to anyone who hasn't seen the arc.
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"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, cigar in one hand, favorite beverage in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming WOO HOO - What a Ride!"
Specifically, multi-part episodes.
For TOS, TNG, Voyager, and parts of Deep Space Nine, multi-part episodes were usually treated as a single long episode with a cliffhanger at the end of each part (other than the last, of course).
For Enterprise, or at least the fourth season of it, they seem to be treating it as a mini-serialization of the show, where each part is usually a self-contained story in addition to being part of the larger story. This has held true to various extents for the Soong arc, the Vulcan arc, and the Andorian arc. In addition to the main story that continues (sometimes almost in the background), each episode brings in (and finishes) enough elements that it can stand fairly well on its own. This is something that was seen previously in DS9 in the are-they-multipart-or-aren't-they episodes that comprised the beginning of season 6 (when the Dominion controlled the station) and the series finale. Others are a little closer to TNG's "Birthright", where the B-plot of Data's dreams about his creator started and ended in Part I, with the Worf story comprising the entirety of Part II.
Personally, I like the flexibility that Enterprise has been using lately, dancing back and forth between single episodes, mult-part episodes, and serialization, but it also makes it a little harder for me to judge the episodes as beginnings or ends of arcs, even when that is a major part of the episode. After all, even "The Aenar" ended with quite a cliffhanger, even though it marked the "end" of the story.
As a stand-alone episode, I thought it was very strong, as was its immediate predecessor. I don't know if either quite lived up to "Babel One", but I've definitely enjoyed each of them quite a bit on their own merits. As I've said a thousand times before, why did they have to cancel the show just when it was getting good???
Unrelated, a quick question for you, Deus: I've noticed that, whereas most of the fans have either been singing the praises of season four or bashing it (frequently without watching it), you've definitely been more evenhanded, indicating that the season has had a lot of ups and downs, with seemingly more of the latter. I was wondering if you agreed with Manny Coto's assessment that this season was about on the same par as seasons one and three, rather than "the best season ever" as many (myself included) proclaim? I personally thouught that Coto was being far too modest, but I was wondering what your thought was on the matter.
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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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Yes season 4 to me seems to be a new approach but not the best season, it's different than season 1 or 3 and like them has strenghts and weaknesses. I think Coto has the most potential but that potential isn't fully realized and now won't ever be. My view of Season 4 is more positive than many accuse me of holding but it's far from spectacular and has quite a few defects but it's far truer to TOS and there is a more consistent overall quality.
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Yeah, I noticed that about Enterprise. I quit voting in the episode polls over a year ago for the simple reason that most times, there isn't enough meat in any given episode to warrant more than a "I hope the effort that was spent in setting that up now gets the payoff it deserves later". I guess I'm still a bit jaded about being sucked in by B&B with their Temporal Cold War shenanigans.
"Future Guy" may as well have been "Interphase Kirk" appearing randomly in random episodes for the last four years and then never revisited again.... IOW, a swift kick to every fanboy's satchel! (not that I don't think they could use one, but it should be delivered by another fanboy, not B&B)
I do agree with Aenar seemed sort of tacked on to the whole thing. the birth of the Federation was the underlying theme that drove the first two episodes. This was just a way that wrapped it up that barely considered the first two episodes in there.
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An elephant never forgets . . .TO KILL!
babel1&united were great because one event in babel1 affected another in united. it should be a two parter... but we're left with aenar, the leftover! it's like @the end of united we reveal... THE AENAR! it's totally retarded. this shoulda been a standalone episode.
the worst problem with the episode was "shran left behind to help us track down the marauder"... what? why in hell would he do that?
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LET THEM DIE!!!
I'v enojoyed Enterprise since the beginning. And its really kicked it into high gear this season. I only hope that the PTBs don't leave us with a cliffhanger for a series finale. We all recall that the PTBs over at Angel said they were going to give closure to the series. Some of the arcs were concluded, but it left us with a hell of a cliffhanger.
Don't get me wrong, I thought "The Aenar" was a fine episode.
But in my opinion, the second arc episode "United" could had been a good series finale. You had an awesome shot of a multi-alien fleet. The precursor of the Federation.
If you read between the lines of Deus's review I think he wasn't bashing the show but was wondering what happened to the "arc and birth of the federation". They were trying to please too many people in these three scripts instead of just focusing in on one powerful theme.
Good job Deus
As I have said before I have had, and continue to have, real issues with Deus's reviews.........
That said, why are we even bothering with reviews at this point. Enterprise is dead, as is, for the short term, the future of the franchise. Why waste time, effort, and bandwidth with a negative review. What do you hope to prove? That the show will get better in your opinion between now and May? That Manny will read the review and go "Damn he's right, let's take the last episodes and address these issues."
Beating a dead horse is a waste of energy. Why are you still reviewing? I guess the only saving grace is that after May, when Trek passes away for the next decade or so, we won't have to deal with all the negative energy anymore, from BOTH sides of the debate.
I just wonder how Deus is going to deal with the unemployment. Perhaps start reviewing TOS episodes?
... not that you have to be a Star Trek fan to be a good reviewer... in fact, it probably helps to not be a fan of something that you review. I would think that it helps you to maintain your objectivity.
However, it is more clear to me now (more than ever) that you dislike Star Trek, and are more than likely hoping that Enterprise will be the end of the Star Trek franchise. You seem to actively look for faults, as opposed to objectively look for both the good points and the bad.
For example, you refer to the ongoing "soap opera" of Trip & T'Pol: while I don't argue the point of their being a mis-match and poorly handled last season, I do think that they have been hadled extremely well this season. Keep in mind that in ENT's timeframe, it's only been a couple of months for Trip. I don't know about you, but it's taken longer than a couple of months for me to get over past loves. Keep in mind that Trip & T'Pol work together, so he doesn't have the buffer of distance to help him deal with the end of the relationship.
Another example of your dislike of Star Trek: you barely touched on Shran's passion for the Aenar girl, only stating that they seemed to connect more than Shran and Talas. You seem to have forgotten that Andorians are passionate people, and by that nature are very intense. If you consider the overall circumstances surrounding Shran and the Aenar girl, I think that the intensity between Shran and the Aenar girl is understandable.
I don't expect any of this to sway your viewpoint, and that was not my intention. However, I do hope that you see that you no longer seem to be objective in your reviews of Enterprise. And that's unfortunate.
LLaP
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THAT is the Exploration that awaits you: not mapping stars or studying nebulae, but charting the unknown possibilities of Existence.
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Hang on. O Deus said he liked the first part of this arc and he felt that it just ended weakly. And it did. Like I mentioned to another post, this went from a story about the creation of the alliance that will become the Federation to a story focusing on this brand new sub-species of the Andorians, as well as the trite Trip/T'Pol sub plot.
It just wasn't that impressive an episode.
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"Oh, I'll wake up
To any sound of engines,
Ev'ry gull a seeking craft..."
Kate Bush, And Dream of Sheep
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The arc wasn't about the alliance, it was about the experimental remote-controlled Romulan probe. The arc was a mystery story, as I said in my other post. The mystery was solved by the end of the arc. The "birth of the Federation" is only a side note. Yes, eventually these races and more will form a United Federation of Planets, and yes, we saw the earliest beginnings, but this was far from the "birth" of the UFP, and far from what the arc was about.
The arc was also clearly about fleshing out the Andorians, which is why it started with Shran on his smashed bridge, and ended with Shran and Jhamel leaving Enterprise. It was no accident that the mysterious remote pilot turned out to be a sub-species of Andorian.
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"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, cigar in one hand, favorite beverage in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming WOO HOO - What a Ride!"
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Quote:
The arc wasn't about the alliance...
Yes, it was. Otherwise why involve all four races in the story?
Quote:
...it was about the experimental remote-controlled Romulan probe.
The probe was a plot device, nothing more.
Quote:
The arc was a mystery story...
It was no mystery to us who was behind it.
Quote:
The mystery was solved by the end of the arc.
What mystery? We know it's the Romulans, we find out the gimp (aka the pilot) was an Andorian sub-species. I didn't particularly care who the pilot was.
Quote:
The "birth of the Federation" is only a side note.
Not for the first two parts of the arc, it wasn't. It was a major element to the story.
Quote:
Yes, eventually these races and more will form a United Federation of Planets, and yes, we saw the earliest beginnings, but this was far from the "birth" of the UFP, and far from what the arc was about.
But such incidents are greater things born from.
Quote:
The arc was also clearly about fleshing out the Andorians, which is why it started with Shran on his smashed bridge, and ended with Shran and Jhamel leaving Enterprise. It was no accident that the mysterious remote pilot turned out to be a sub-species of Andorian.
That focus was not until the last part of the arc, when the Tellarites were abadoned completely in a rather hasty and half assed manner. This arc was not written well, and like The Augments arc it started out strong and ended weakly.
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"Oh, I'll wake up
To any sound of engines,
Ev'ry gull a seeking craft..."
Kate Bush, And Dream of Sheep
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True; as the conclusion ep to the arc, it didn't seem to fit beyond resolving the Romulan Threat. I still enjoyed the episode, however, as I think it has many fine merits in and of itself.
Nevertheless, O Deus (to me anyway) in his closing paragraph indicates that he considers Star Trek all but dead, and has all but written off Enterprise even though there are eight more episodes left. He states that "it would have been nice if the series had produced a higher level of quality towards its end." I, and many others (Including yourself, unless I'm mistaken), feel that this season has been of higher quality that all three preceeding seasons. Yet O Deus doesn't seem to share in that opinion.
True, it's his opinion, and he's welcome to it (it's one of the great things about this board, the diversity of opinions). But as the official reviewer for TrekWeb, I expect him to be more objective than he comes across.
LLaP
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THAT is the Exploration that awaits you: not mapping stars or studying nebulae, but charting the unknown possibilities of Existence.
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While I'm not going to cast aspersions on Deus' identity as a "fan," I have to say that I once again disagree with the review. I expected to hate this episode based on the preview. I expected a battle between a T'Pol-run drone and an Aenar-run drone or something. All the Trip/T'pol and transfer stuff was really well done, I think. I hope Connor Trineer manages to go on to bigger and better things, as I think his portrayal of Trip has always been mature and multilayered, as opposed to a sort of hillbilly version of Scotty or something. Also, the scene between he and Phlox was great. Shran was wonderfully done. Yes, some of these plot devices had to be hurried along (the scene where the Aenar sister agrees or asks to accompany Archer and Shran to Enterprise being left out entirely!) but I understand that ENT has more commericals and less story time than DS9 or TNG did. And, hey, we knew she was going to go back to the ship with them. Okay, I wanted some more explanation about HOW they managed to get the brother Aenar to do what he did. Sure, he was told that he was the last of his kind...but why did that turn him into a weird murderer? I can think of a dozen reasons, but the real reason wasn't supplied. Yes, it would have been nice to have a Tellarite along for the ride, but that's okay. The Federation wasn't built in a day. All in all, though, the scripting and dialogue was very very appropriate for the characters. These people have VOICES that are ignored by some of the scriptwriters, but you could tell this writer was experienced and familiar with the characters.
If this was Jeffrey Coombs' swan song on Trek, he did a wonderful job and I want to thank him for all of his roles---I enjoyed each one.
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Click here to check out my band, ego tree , and the Ego Tree site at myspace. Listen to/buy the CD for $9.99! ALSO AVAILABLE ON iTUNES!!
With the prospect of Star Trek coming to an end, it would have been nice if Trekweb could've managed to wrangle the services of an intelligent reviewer.
Alas, all we get is O'Dios and his drivel.
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Lately I have wondered if not a review should be a collaborative effort. At least 3 people should get together in private and discuss an episode, then write a combined review. It would nicely balance opinion, and perhaps wipe out some occasional misunderstandings about the episode.
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"Drivel?" And where do you see that? He points out the trilogy started off strong (he gave the first part high marks) and ended up weak. A story about the alliance turned out to abandon two of the four races, introduced a sub-species of the Andorians (which was illogically written, as he pointed out) and held one massive coincidence in terms that the one person who can help is the brother of the captured Anear.
I too tire of the Trip/T'Pol soap opera. It was handled poorly from the first season, when the writers couldn't decide who T'Pol should hook up with, Trip or Archer. And now Trip has been emasculated to such a point where he flees Enterprise rather than deal with his personal issues. For a character that showed great development in the Vulcan arc he has lost all the passion and guts he displayed there. Better to stick around and deal with his emotions, possibly even winning T'Pol back than to run away like a candy ass.
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"Oh, I'll wake up
To any sound of engines,
Ev'ry gull a seeking craft..."
Kate Bush, And Dream of Sheep
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Drivel is exactly right -- snarky, nit-picking drivel.
If the arc HAD ended with the Tellarite, Andorians and the founding of the Federation, no QUESTION I'Diot would've trashed it as predictable and unimaginative.
As for Trip leaving Enterprise... did it ever occur to anyone that he isn't in love with just anyone... but a VULCAN? It's possible he's being affected by more than just his feelings.
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Quote:
If the arc HAD ended with the Tellarite, Andorians and the founding of the Federation, no QUESTION I'Diot would've trashed it as predictable and unimaginative.
And yet he gave praise to Babel One, citing it as being a strong episode.
Quote:
As for Trip leaving Enterprise... did it ever occur to anyone that he isn't in love with just anyone... but a VULCAN? It's possible he's being affected by more than just his feelings.
Elaborate, please. Are you suggesting he is being mind controlled somehow? That T'Pol has messed with him? If so, then that is weak; T'Pol doesn't seem the sort to be able to do anything like that, considering she just recently discovered she could mind meld...Which is still strange, considering how powerfully telepathic the Vulcan race is supposed to be. It's like saying to someone who can see, "I have eyes? No kidding?"
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"Oh, I'll wake up
To any sound of engines,
Ev'ry gull a seeking craft..."
Kate Bush, And Dream of Sheep
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I'm suggesting that there's a telepathic bond that's affecting Trip, one that even T'Pol is unconscious of.
I don't think that's lame, I think it's ALIEN, which is what makes it interesting... if true.
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Quote:
I'm suggesting that there's a telepathic bond that's affecting Trip, one that even T'Pol is unconscious of.
Then why didn't you say so in the first place?
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I don't think that's lame, I think it's ALIEN, which is what makes it interesting... if true.
Well, it would be just like B & B to decide that if the Vulcans are now all indeed telepathic-something they denied for three seasons-then Vulcans can unconsciously mess with the minds of others. It would not be interesting, it would be typical of B & B's sloppy short term thinking.
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"Oh, I'll wake up
To any sound of engines,
Ev'ry gull a seeking craft..."
Kate Bush, And Dream of Sheep
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