posted
This was a very powerful episode. Lots of character development for T'Pol and Archer. Along with some command experience for Trip, who kept on getting cut off.
I'm not sure how everyone's going to like this, but the Vulcans are turning out to be really nasty folks. They have their nose in everyone else's business. They've placed an opressive government on Coridan, and they're preparing for war with the Andorians, or so Jeffrey says (don't know his character's name ). It'll be interesting to see what comes of this.
Fun parts in this episode include T'Pol and Archer trying to get out of ropes, rolling around on the floor and Archer getting T'Pol's breast in his face. Ah, how I'd love to be there...
-------------------- I haul cardboard and cardboard accessories
Registered: Mar 1999
| IP: Logged
posted
Damn, what the heck is going on with the Vulcans? I can't say that I feel comfortable with the development they've been getting lately. It seems that ever since DS9's "Take Me Out to the Holosuite..." the creative staff has been trying to paint the Vulcans in as bad a light as possible.
-------------------- The philosopher's stone. Those who possess it are no longer bound by the laws of equivalent exchange in alchemy. They gain without sacrifice and create without equal exchange. We searched for it, and we found it.
Registered: Mar 1999
| IP: Logged
posted
Well, there's always been scope for the Vulcan's to be assholes. Even way back in TOS (which, granted has nothing to do with Enterprise as it's now considered non-canon anyway) they weren't popular among human Starfleet types; maybe not just because of their logicaller-than-thou attitude, but the acts said attitude lead them to commit.
posted
Ummm... Last time I checked, The Original Series was just as canon now as it has ever been.
Still, TOS painted the Vulcans in a somewhat favorable light. They were the cool and logical beings that really were superior. The humans were the occasional intolerant and high-and-mighty people. Enterprise seems to have flip-flopped that.
-------------------- The philosopher's stone. Those who possess it are no longer bound by the laws of equivalent exchange in alchemy. They gain without sacrifice and create without equal exchange. We searched for it, and we found it.
Registered: Mar 1999
| IP: Logged
At one part of the ep. T'pol landed right on Archer's face with her "enourmous" "talents"!
Dang! for that 5 seconds, Archer must be the luckest guy on earth!
$$$$$$$$$
-------------------- "George Washington said, 'I cannot tell a lie.' Richard Nixon said, 'I cannot tell the truth.' Bill Clinton said, 'I cannot tell the difference.'"
-- comedian TOM SMOTHERS, from his latest stage act with brother DICK SMOTHERS.
Registered: Jan 2000
| IP: Logged
-------------------- "I was surprised by the matter-of-factness of Kafka's narration, and the subtle humor present as a result." (Sizer 2005)
Registered: Mar 1999
| IP: Logged
posted
This is probably going to shock a few people here, but I was rather disappointed with this episode. It had it's good points, but overall the story seemed kinda... flat. It's nice that the writers picked back up on "The Andorian Incident" and showed the consequences of the actions of Enterprise's crew, and the pacing of the episode was excellent. It wasn't too rushed and the action sequences were timed well. The growing development of Archer and T'Pol's friendship was nicely done.
However, I really dislike that the writers seemed to pretty much villify the Vulcans as a whole. I mean, the Vulcans really came across as emotional children throwing a temper tantrum. They want to make T'Pol the scapegoat for P'Jem? That's revenge. Ambassador Soval was acting nearly irrate when talking to Admiral Forrest. T'Pol was likewise showing anger and frustration when she and Archer were trying to escape their bonds. The Vulcan captain was too easily swayed by Archer at the end of the episode.
Not much was given to the story of why some of the Coridan are ticked at the Vulcans, and we never found out the Vulcans' side of the story. How do we know that the Vulcans really were causing the problems and that it wasn't the Andorians setting them up? It seemed as if the writers just painted the Vulcans to be the stereotypical bad guys.
Some of the actions of the humans weren't too great either. Every time I hear one of the human character points out to a Vulcan that he or she has "repressed emotions," it makes me think that these people aren't the most diplomatic humans around. It's really getting a bit old, to be honest. And what's with just having Tucker and Reed do the rescue mission? All of a sudden the four top officers are away from the ship. At least we know where Kirk learned that habit from, though.
All in all, it was an all right episode, but a lot of it disappointed me. It seems that the writers strayed too much from what is realistic for some of these characters.
-------------------- The philosopher's stone. Those who possess it are no longer bound by the laws of equivalent exchange in alchemy. They gain without sacrifice and create without equal exchange. We searched for it, and we found it.
Registered: Mar 1999
| IP: Logged
posted
I agree, I was also very disappointed with this episode.
Positive points for introducing some arc storytelling here, by bringing back recurring characters so soon and developing what appears to be a major series arc. (A Vulcan-Andorian war in the making? Time will tell...)
However, I for one was quite offended by that "ropes" scene. Yeah, it was a little fun to see Archer get a face full of T'Pol... but when I stopped to think about it, I'm very sorry to see that "Star Trek" has stooped to this level of quasi-entertainment. How low can it get?
I'm also quite peeved about the portrayal of Vulcans. Granted, this is a more general critique of the series as a whole, but the Vulcans took several steps even further down the ladder here by resorting to brute force. Never, EVER has a Vulcan been forced to resort to offensive violence. NEVER. And yet here we see a Vulcan captain who's as cowboyish as Kirk was, ready to ride in to the rescue and maybe start a shooting war. When the Vulcans started attacking the compound, I thought that I'd flipped channels over to "Andromeda" for a few seconds.
And as Siegfried pointed out, there wasn't much depth to the story's plot. We get very little background on Coridan, the government's position of authority -- and NO word at all about just what this "rebel" faction's grievance with the government is. All of this should have been requisite for a decent story. But instead, it's just an excuse for a Big Action Sequence�.
It's a real shame that the characters aren't developed very far. I've seen every episode frm the beginning, but I was still a bit confused by Archer's sudden warm feelings towards T'Pol, trying to get her to stay on the ship. It seems like too much of an about-face for him, given how he despised her very presence in the pilot. It's become arbitrary and baseless.
All this ranting doesn't mean I totally hate "Enterprise" and that I'm going to stop watching. It's not ALL bad... not yet. I'm intrigued enough to be a steady viewer for now. But there are a number of main points that are seriously degrading in my view.
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
Registered: Nov 2000
| IP: Logged
"...I was still a bit confused by Archer's sudden warm feelings towards T'Pol, trying to get her to stay on the ship. It seems like too much of an about-face for him, given how he despised her very presence in the pilot."
Erm... Perhaps my memory deceives me, but wasn't he the one who asked her to stay originally, in the pilot?
Registered: Mar 1999
| IP: Logged
posted
Actually, the crew (and in particular Archer) has been warming up to T'Pol in the last several episodes. You have T'Pol and Sato opening up to each other in "Sleeping Dogs," and way back in "Breaking the Ice" Tucker and T'Pol were getting friendlier with each other. Archer and T'Pol's relationship had a few breakthroughs in "Dear Doctor" and "Silent Enemy." So, it wasn't unexpected for Archer to try and keep her onboard. There have been signs and continual development to make this realistic.
I also have to disagree that Archer meeting T'Pol's bosom was Star Trek sinking to a new level. There has always been then sort of sexuality in Trek. How often did Kirk find a way to lose his shirt in TOS? How often didn't we get to see Uhura's bloomers? We got a shirtless Picard a few times in TNG (as well as fully nude once), and DS9 gave us Major Kira in a very tight outfit (which would only be outdone by a tighter outfit worn by Seven of Nine in Voyager).
Other than those two, I agree with you fully, MinutiaeMan. Not enough depth and not enough credibility. This story definitely should have been reviewed a few more times.
-------------------- The philosopher's stone. Those who possess it are no longer bound by the laws of equivalent exchange in alchemy. They gain without sacrifice and create without equal exchange. We searched for it, and we found it.
Registered: Mar 1999
| IP: Logged
Topic Closed
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
). It'll be interesting to see what comes of this.![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
Printer-friendly view of this topic