Great Star Trek Rewatch - Enterprise S1
Originally posted on Twitter 20 August 2019 - 6 September 2019
Enterprise Season 1 is up first. Mini-reviews will document my progress.
Broken Bow: a fantastic pilot episode sets up the unfairly-maligned prequel series. This is my ultimate “comfort food” episode. 10/10
Fight or Flight: the first scene on the Axanar spaceship is creepy. I’m glad Hoshi gets a focus episode so early in the series, but it leans way too heavily on the fear of flight trope. The armory set is cool. 7/10
Strange New World: ENT’s first planetary away mission. The sinister flowers are a nice call back to TOS. The breakdown scenes are nicely acted. Well-executed body horror with the transporter mishap. 7/10
Unexpected: Yeah, it’s the “Trip gets pregnant” episode. The pregnancy jokes are tone-deaf, but the truly alien Xyrillians and their ship are an interesting addition to the franchise. T’Pol’s gambit to broker détente is very Spock-like. 6/10
Terra Nova: I love that ENT is filling in its own history while filling in the history between STFC and TOS. Kids surviving disaster is shades of “Miri”. The “alien” makeup is on point, and the guest cast (incl. the great Erick Avari) is excellent. 7/10
The Andorian Incident: ENT’s first truly excellent episode after “Broken Bow”. I wish they had focused on the Vulcan-Andorian conflict the first two seasons instead of the Temporal Cold War. Jeffrey Combs’ best character, Shran, makes an immediate impression. 10/10
Breaking the Ice: A rogue comet leads to an encounter with a stuffy, arrogant Vulcan. Capt Vannik is, I think, supposed to come off as arrogant, but to me comes off as a caricature. The effects are good and the Vulcan snowman is good fun. 8/10
Civilization: ENT’s first alien disguise mission. Riaan is a charming, determined local who impresses the audience and Phlox with her detective skills. We get to meet the Malurians before their off-screen extinction in TOS. Otherwise a cromulent episode. 6/10
Fortunate Son: Some folks are born made to haul cargo
Ooh, they're slow to go
And when the Nausicaans say “Give up your cargo”
Ooh, they point the cannon at you, Lord
It ain't for me, it ain't for me, I ain't a fan of Fortunate Son
5/10
Cold Front: Our heroes host a religious event, while Silik and Daniels advance the Temporal Cold War. The temporal observatory is a slick piece of VFX. Otherwise, it’s pretty slow for a high-stakes episode. Phlox continues his campaign for Most Interesting Man in the World. 7/10
Silent Enemy: I can’t put my finger on it, but something about this episode just clicks for me. Maybe it’s our heroes cut off from Earth, the enigmatic aliens, or the crew coming together to upgrade their own ship. Just a fun plot-driven episode. 8/10
Dear Doctor: No Prime Directive? No problem! Epistolary episodes can come off as trite, but I enjoy this one thoroughly. One of ENT’s best hours. Phlox is given great development here. The late Kellie Waymire pops up again as Cutler, and it’s a shame she left us so soon. 9/10
Sleeping Dogs: the Somraw is a cool retro design. T’Pol, Hoshi, and Reed spend most of the episode in a sinking ship. Bu’kaH is slightly overacted, but otherwise fine. Somewhat derivative of DS9’s “Starship Down”. Still, an okay romp. 6/10
Shadows of P’Jem: ENT isn’t serialized like DS9 or DSC, but it’s great to see consequences from the excellent “Andorian Incident”. Another fine call back to TOS. 9/10
Shuttlepod One: Strip away the Trek trappings and the scenes on the NX-01, and you’d still have a damn fine one-room two-actor play. More Reed on the heels of “Silent Enemy” is my only complaint. 9/10
Fusion: Ehh. The v’tosh ka’tur are an interesting concept. T’Pol being repulsed by the idea of a mind meld is interesting, though I wish Tolar suffered more consequences for what he did to T’Pol. 5/10
Rogue Planet: Interesting concept, competently done, but nothing special. Shout out to the late Stephanie Niznik as the Wraith. 6/10
Acquisition: As Ferengi episodes go, this one isn’t awful. A smaller number of Rules exist at this time. The episode bends too far to keep our heroes from finding/figuring out who the invaders are. The guest cast is top-notch, including three Trek vets. 7/10
Oasis: I liked this one better when it was a DS9 episode called “Shadowplay.” 2/10
Detained: An episode that has become somewhat more prescient in today’s world. It’s fun to see Dean Stockwell and Scott Bakula share scenes again, but it’s an otherwise paint-by-numbers plot. 6/10
Vox Sola: I like what they were trying to do here, but I still don’t get much out of this one each time I watch it. Invention of the forcefield comes a little too easily (and early). 6/10
Fallen Hero: I’m a sucker for race-against-time episodes. Fionnula Flanagan is a delight as V’Lar. Just a well-executed bottle show. 8/10
Desert Crossing: Another trope I always fall for, the “two characters lost in the wilderness” trope. Clancy Brown steals scenes like none other. Would’ve been fun for Mayweather or Hoshi be trapped with Archer. Still, fun to learn more about Archer & Tucker’s friendship. 8/10
Two Days and Two Nights: Our heroes finally make it to Risa. Unfortunately, the Reed/Tucker subplot is marred by juvenile and transphobic humor. Hoshi’s subplot is charming in its own way. Phlox’s scenes are hilarious. Archer has to deal with the fallout from “Detained”. 7/10
Shockwave: A slam-bang finale that starts with an appropriately somber tragedy. Just when the audience thinks our heroes have saved the day, the rug gets pulled out from under everyone. Stranding Archer in the future is a fun twist on plots like “Time’s Arrow”. 9/10
And with that, Season 1 of Enterprise comes to an end in my Great Star Trek Rewatch. Final score: 7.12/10. Highest score(s): “Broken Bow,” “The Andorian Incident”. Lowest score(s): “Oasis”
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Stephanie Niznik Has Passed Away
Stephanie Niznik, an actress whose credits include Everwood, Star Trek: Insurrection, Life Is Wild, Diagnosis Murder, and Vanishing Son, has passed away.
Our condolences to her family, friends, and fans.
(Image from Life Is Wild)
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