4-19. In a Mirror Darkly, Part II.

THE PLOT

Enterprise has been destroyed, but not before Archer has taken control of the Defiant. Once he gets the basic systems on line, he is able to rout the Tholians and then retrieve Enterprise's lifepods. He orders Trip to continue working on the ship's systems as he plots a course to engage the rebels.

Once that is done, Archer decides that he will not give up command of Defiant, not to the admiralty, not even to the emperor himself. He hatches a plan to seize control of the Empire, to take command away from the "criminals, in their offices," and lead from the front, using the starship's enormous power to crush all opposition!


CHARACTERS

Capt. Archer: When they access the historical records aboard Defiant, Archer gets to feel overshadowed by his own, alternative self. Mirror Archer obviously sees himself as a potentially great warrior who has been passed over and marginalized through his whole career. When he sees that his counterpart was made captain of Enterprise from the day it left dock, it is not a validation that he should have been captain - It's a slap in the face that his other self was given that which was denied him. Through the rest of the episode, he has visions of our Archer taunting him with how much better a job he'd have done in the same situation. This is all good stuff, wonderfully written. Unfortunately, my problems with Bakula's performance remain. As in Part One, he seems to overplay everything, spitting out lines that would be more effective simply delivered.

T'Pol: Just like Mirror Spock was very recognizably Spock, just more ruthless, the same is true of Mirror T'Pol. The Vulcans in the Mirror universe appear to have had much the same development, up to the point of first contact with Earth, as the normal universe Vulcans. As a result, they are less warlike and are probably leading the rebellion mainly to save themselves and other non-Terrans from lives of servitude.

Dr. Phlox: John Billingsley gets some more great supporting material, as T'Pol and Soval entice Phlox into participating in their rebellion against Archer. Phlox shows no interest in their political arguments. But Soval reads his weaknesses all too well, striking a nerve that allows Phlox to rationalize helping the rebels. Mirror Phlox continues to differ from our Phlox, notably in his response to an injured crewman. "He could go either way," he says, completely unconcerned as he stuffs his face in the galley.

Hoshi: I think I may just be a little bit in love with Mirror Hoshi. Many of her character traits are recognizably those of our Hoshi. When she reads the records about her counterpart, she identifies with her. She also has a touch of envy over our Hoshi being "remembered for something." Unlike Archer, she doesn't see herself as truly separate from her counterpart, to the point of refusing to allow him to reveal who Hoshi married or how she died.  She continued to use her sexuality as a weapon, leading to a particularly memorable scene near the end. This 2-parter, taken as a whole, is the meatiest role Linda Park has had in the entire series, and she seems to revel in it.


THOUGHTS

Well, I was obviously wrong about the end of First Contact marking the point of divergence. Archer talks about the Terran Empire having "endured for centuries," so that's my private fan theory down the tubes. If a specific point of divergence does exist, it obviously occurred at a much earlier point. Or else it's simply a case of the nature of the two universes just being completely different.

I love the way the episode uses the basic set design and general aesthetic of the original series in such a way that it doesn't come across looking cheap. The CGI model of the Defiant is very faithful to the original series. But with angles and effects shots the original series could never have afforded, the basic design looks amazingly good. There's a particularly good shot in which Defiant is shown alongside an NX-class starship. The digital artists make sure to composite the shot so that Defiant dwarfs the other ship. The clean TOS design looks brighter and more powerful than the NX design, genuinely selling the idea that this is a vastly more advanced vessel.

Unfortunately, Part Two is not as tightly-constructed as Part One was. There's a subplot involving Archer hunting for a Gorn on board the ship.  This comes out of nowhere and connects to nothing - and it takes up most of the first half of the episode!  The CGI Gorn here really isn't an improvement over the rubber suit of Arena, and this entire superfluous strand marks the weakest spot in the two-parter.

Fortunately, the last half of the episode is terrific. With the external threats momentarily taken care of, there is time for the agendas of the various self-serving Mirror characters to return to the fore. The scheming of various factions is highly entertaining. Archer becomes more and more isolated from the other characters, to the point at which almost all of his significant dialogue scenes are opposite Hoshi. The final twist is terrific, and feels perfect as an ending to these two episodes.

Overall, while the narrative is more slapdash than in Part One, the momentum remains high.  Even during the Gorn scenes, the episode is never less than entertaining - and the ending sees it close on a high note.  It's not the near-perfect piece that Part One was, but it's a strong conclusion to a fantastically fun story.


Rating: 8/10.

Overall Rating for In a Mirror Darkly: 9/10.

Previous Episode: In a Mirror Darkly
Next Episode: Demons


Search Amazon.com for Star Trek: Enterprise

Review Index

To receive new review updates, follow me:

On Twitter:

Follow @RandomMusings09

On Threads:

Follow@randommusings09 on Threads

4-9. Kir'Shara.

THE PLOT

Archer is now in possession of the Kir'Shara, containing the original teachings of Surak. He, T'Pau, and T'Pol now embark on a new course of action - to bring the artifact into the High Command itself, to get the council to relieve V'las (Robert Foxworth) of his command. But V'las has his guards combing the desert, with orders to eliminate any survivors.

Meanwhile, Trip makes contact with Commander Shran (Jeffrey Combs), hoping to gain his trust to help avert the Vulcan attack on Andoria. Since the information comes from Ambassador Soval, Shran is skeptical, as are his superiors. Before Shran can commit his forces, he has orders to make sure Soval is telling the truth. His method? Beam Soval out of Enterprise undetected, and subject him to torture!


CHARACTERS

Capt. Archer: OK, exactly how is Archer - on an unfamiliar planet, with atmospheric issues that put him at a physical disadvantage - able to fend off multiple Vulcan attackers in hand-to-hand combat? That's not even mentioning the Vulcans' superior physical strength. Archer should be hopelessly winded and exhausted after a minute or so of such fighting, not continuing to hold his own until T'Pau forces him against his will down the desert equivalent of a rabbit hole.  I actually like that Seasons Three and Four have build up Archer's toughness - but he's still a human being, not a superhero, as the writers would do well to remember.

T'Pol: She remains skeptical about the katra, but she defers to Archer even as she voices her doubts.  When she is captured by a Vulcan patrol, she uses her wits to lead them away from the captain and T'Pau.

Trip: Admits questions as to whether he's pursuing the correct course of action. As Reed points out, the Vulcans do have grounds for taking action against the Andorians, though those grounds seem less and less legitimate given any level of scrutiny.

Shran: In the course of peace talks, he came to respect Soval - but he cannot, and will not, take Soval's word about an attack at face value. He does not actually enjoy subjecting the ambassador to a form of torture specifically calculated to work on Vulcans, but he will follow his orders. Once that is done, his respect for Soval only deepens, and it seems possible in the end to envision these two difficult yet formidable men forming an uneasy sort of friendship.

Villain of the Week: Well, at least one question of mine from my last review is answered, as V'las does have reasons beyond simply being a villain to attack Andoria.  Though there are plenty of holes to poke in his justification for a pre-emptive strike, his worries about the Andorians equipping their ships with the superior Xindi technology seem legitimate, at least sufficiently to provide some context to his actions.


THOUGHTS

Following up on that thought, I rather like that this entire chain of events is set in motion as a direct result of the Xindi arc from last season. My own regret about the generally-excellent Xindi season was that it, by necessity, took place in a bubble, largely unaffected by the other events explored in the series' first two seasons.

Now the bubble has broken, its contents spilling out into the pre-existing fabric of the show. Home showed the effects of the Xindi attack, by presenting a human populace much more hostile to aliens than had previously been the case. The Andorians' help in stopping the Xindi weapon has made the Vulcans nervous about their access to leftover technology, which sparks V'las's pre-emptive actions. This 3-part arc may be finally paying off things set up in Seasons One and Two, but the catalyst is the Xindi arc. That is a narrative masterstroke, bundling all these disparate strands of the series together.

T'Pau's final exchange with Archer confirms closure to one of the initial issues of the series: the constricting Vulcan oversight of human progress. The episode also nods at T'Pol's forgotten Pa'Nar Syndrome, even if the perfunctory "cure" is clearly just a case of writer Mike Sussman tying up an annoyingly unaddressed thread.

As a wrap-up to the long-running Vulcan arc, these three episodes are highly sastifying.  Enterprise's Vulcans are brought in line with other Trek Vulcans in a way that remains entirely consistent with earlier Enterprise episodes. As a story in itself, it's a good one, even if the last two parts never quite live up to The Forge. Finally, as a pointer toward future stories, the ending provides a tantalizing glimpse of things to come. In all respects, a highly satisfying arc.


Rating: 8/10.

Overall Rating for the Vulcan arc: 9/10.

Previous Episode: Awakening
Next Episode: Daedalus

Search Amazon.com for Star Trek: Enterprise

Review Index

To receive new review updates, follow me:

On Twitter:

Follow @RandomMusings09

On Threads:

Follow@randommusings09 on Threads

4-8. Awakening.

THE PLOT

Archer and T'Pol have found the Syrranites, T'Pau (Kara Zediker) among them. T'Pau reveals that the Vulcan who guided them across the desert was actually Syrran, the group's leader. Before he died, Syrran melded with Archer - passing along the ancient katra of Surak, the father of Vulcan logic. Now Archer must use Surak's knowledge to complete Syrran's quest, a search for an ancient Vulcan artifact known as the kir'shara.

Meanwhile, the Vulcan High Command, led by the imperious V'las (Robert Foxworth), is planning a devastating strike against the Syrranites' sanctuary in The Forge. But first V'las has to get Enterprise to withdraw from orbit - by force, if necessary!


CHARACTERS

Capt. Archer: His distrust of Vulcans remains evident, and he is not pleased to learn that he is now the carrier of Surak's katra. He does not fully trust T'Pau, though he quickly comes around to believing that neither she nor the Syrranites had anything to do with the embassy bombing.

T'Pol: I like that T'Pol calls her mother on T'Pau's behavior, directly stating that T'Pau's willingness to force Archer into a dangerous ritual is just as much a perversion of Surak's teachings as the High Command's actions have been. She is disappointed in her mother's participation with a group she views as dangerous extremists.

Trip: As in past episodes, when placed in command of Enterprise, Trip does a creditable job. He has already pushed Soval to do what's necessary to identify the bomber. Here, he collaborates with the Vulcan on a plan to recover Archer and T'Pol, while dealing with V'loss. When he is unable to get V'las to accept Enterprise's presence in Vulcan's orbit, he simply observes that there's "not a lot he can do about it," and moves on to the next task. He would probably have been right, if V'las didn't become so downright obsessive about staging a Syrranite massacre.

Ambassador Soval: "There is a great deal that needs to be said," he grits to the High Command when he is called before them, "But no one is willing to listen." This arc is serving Gary Graham's performance exceptionally well. He gets some particularly good scenes opposite Trip, with the emotional engineer making a natural foil for Soval's stoicism. I didn't buy Soval's thinly-motivated choice to hold onto a particular piece of information until the cliffhanger, however.

The Vulcans: Surak's katra allows us a glimpse of the planet's violent past. We see from Surak's distant vantage the explosions and devastation in the desert, then later the radioactive rains falling on Vulcan. Surak urges Archer to do what is necessary to prevent this history from repeating itself. This seems almost over-the-top, until we see that V'las actually is planning not only a massacre of some dissidents, but a full-fledged, interplanetary war. Refreshingly, we do see others in the High Command starting to question his actions, though the High Command seems (not entirely plausibly) to lack any mechanism for stopping a leader who is becoming unhinged.

Villain of the Week: Robert Foxworth trots out his bad guy routine again as V'las, who is emerging as by far the least interesting aspect of this arc. Instead of a culture of corruption within the Vulcan High Command, we see that the root of the problem is all down to a single bad guy who harbors an almost comical bloodlust against the Syrranites. As of yet, we have no indication of why he feels such a need to wipe the Syrranites out now, using means so violent that they are certain to raise questions even among Vulcans. This keeps him from seeming like a genuine ruthless politician, and makes him seem more like... Well, a calmer version of Malik. I hope there's a bit more shading and actual motivation for his acts in Part 3.


SO LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT...

Syrran possessed Surak's katra long before Archer did, and he was in the desert for years searching for this artifact. He plants that katra on Archer just before he dies... and Archer can go through a life-threatening procedure, then pop up and find the elusive artifact within about 5 minutes! Maybe Syrran really liked the desert and was stretching out his search a bit? Otherwise, that thread of the plot is just a little hard to swallow.


THOUGHTS

The increasingly irrational acts of V'las keep this from being as strong an installment as The Forge, but it's still a good episode. The scenes involing the Vulcan High Command are the episode's weakest. Fortunately, V'las is more there to drive the external threat, the mechanisms of the plot, rather than to act as a focus for our interest. The meat of the episode takes place among the Syrranites, and these scenes are interesting.

I appreciated that T'Pau is not portrayed in purely heroic terms. She clearly has the same disdain for humans that the High Command shares, and is perfectly willing to risk Archer's life simply to ensure that Surak's katra won't be inside an unworthy human. This feels in line with the old woman we meet in Amok Time, who is sufficiently annoyed at Spock bringing humans to a Vulcan ritual that she deliberately withholds information about the nature of the ritual until it is too late.

Ultimately, Awakening works because of the strength of the Syrranite plot strand and the entertainment of the Trip/Soval scenes.  This 3-parter remains on-track to be a series highlight - but it's going to be up to Part Three to see if it will reach its potential.


Rating: 8/10.

Previous Episode: The Forge
Next Episode: Kir'Shara

Search Amazon.com for Star Trek: Enterprise

Review Index

To receive new review updates, follow me:

On Twitter:

Follow @RandomMusings09

On Threads:

Follow@randommusings09 on Threads

4-7. The Forge

THE PLOT

A bomb is detonated inside the Earth Embassy on Vulcan, killing 12 Vulcans and more than 30 humans - including Admiral Forrest (Vaughn Armstrong). Since the embassy is considered "Earth soil," Enterprise is called to take charge of the investigation.

Reed and Mayweather soon discover a second bomb with Vulcan DNA that matches a member of a Vulcan splinter group known as the Syrranites.  The case seems to be closed - but Archer is not satisfied with this too-easy answer. Neither is Archer's old nemesis, Ambassador Soval (Gary Graham), who tells Archer that it makes no sense that the normally peaceful Syrranites would be involved in this incident.

When T'Pol receives a secret communication from her mother, who is a Syrranite, she and Archer beam down to find these Vulcan dissidents.  But to reach them, they will first have to traverse the Vulcan desert known as "The Forge," an area where heat and magnetic interference are so strong that technology will not work.

Meanwhile, Trip and Phlox push Soval into drastic action to follow a lead of their own...


CHARACTERS

Capt. Archer: Persists in crossing The Forge, even after Arev (Michael Nouri), the Syrranite who becomes his and T'Pol's guide, urges him to turn back. Arev tells him that The Forge will test him and destroy him. Archer's response to this is a stubborn, flinty glare. As well it should be, perhaps. Archer already has been tested in The Expanse. The Forge may be hot, but it can't compare with what he's already weathered.

T'Pol: Quite cold in her dealings with her husband, although he does not come across unsympathetically. She is startled to learn of her mother's connection to the Syrranites, but remains principally concerned with her safety. She does a good job both in guiding Archer through The Forge, and in guiding him through his dealings with Arev.

Ambassador Soval: This 3-episode arc seems likely to cast some welcome focus onto Soval, a character who was gradually developed over the course of the first two seasons from a one-dimensional thorn in Archer's side into a genuinely complex figure. In Home, we saw Soval publicly grilling Archer, then privately telling him that his actions were justified. Now, he again privately offers his support. He later makes good on that, first by providing information, then by placing his career in jeopardy to identify the bomber through a mind meld with a comatose witness.

The Vulcans: From very early on in Enterprise, it has been apparent that this series is presenting a different Vulcan society than that of other Trek shows. We have seen that there are Vulcans who follow alternate paths, and we have seen that the High Command reacts harshly against these "deviants." Here, we see that there are other sects with differing beliefs. The Syrranites, dismissed by the High Command as dissidents, are clearly the Vulcans we know from other Trek series, a connection made explicit by identifying a young T'Pau as one of their members.


THOUGHTS

I suspect this arc is pulling a trigger that would have been held until later in the series, had the show not run into ratings trouble. From the very first episode, the resentment between humans and Vulcans has been a major building block of Enterprise. Throughout the first two seasons, many hints were dropped that the Vulcan High Command had taken a hard line that perhaps overstepped logical bounds. It was clearly leading somewhere, though I suspect a resolution would have been held back for at least another season or two had the writing not been so clearly on the wall.

In any case, I am relieved that the Vulcan agenda is not going to be left as a dangling thread (perhaps to share the sonic shower with Future Guy), but is actually being resolved. The previous 3-parter gave us an action thriller. This one appears to be more of a callback to 1970's paranoid conspiracy thrillers, which should make for a welcome change of pace if that tone can be successfully held for all three episodes.

The various plot strands, involving Soval, the High Command, the bombing, and the Syrranites, are established efficiently, with each thread given enough time to register properly and none given so much time as to begin feeling drawn out. The multiple threads also help to give most of the cast members something to do. Archer and T'Pol carry the main plot, with Trip and Phlox getting a strong "B" storyline. Reed and Mayweather get a good scene discovering the second bomb. Hoshi is mostly shut out (again), but does get an amusing beat in the scene with the basketball game - itself a nice moment, in that we see the entire command crew relaxing and having a good time together, for a change.

Ultimately, the strength of this arc will depend on the next two episodes. But The Forge gets it off to an excellent start.  The Forge itself is an effective setting, with just enough CGI enhancement to make it feel like part of a deadly alien desert, while the regulars - particularly Bakula and Blalock - do some of their very best work.

On its own, The Forge is one of Enterprise's very best episodes.  If the overall quality of this installment can be maintained, then this arc will certainly be a series highlight.


Rating: 10/10.

Previous Episode: The Augments
Next Episode: Awakening

 Search Amazon.com for Star Trek: Enterprise

Review Index

To receive new review updates, follow me:

On Twitter:

Follow @RandomMusings09

On Threads:

Follow@randommusings09 on Threads

4-3. Home.

THE PLOT

The Enterprise has returned to Earth - but its crew find a less than happy homecoming. Archer is grilled by Ambassador Soval (Gary Graham) over his actions on the Vulcan ship he found drifting in The Expanse.  When he snaps back at the Ambassador, Admiral Forrest orders him to take some leave - whether he wants it or not.

Meanwhile, T'Pol takes Trip back to Vulcan as her guest. But she also finds a frosty reception waiting for her. Her mother, T'Les (Joanna Cassidy), has been forced to resign from her position at the Vulcan Science Academy, punished by the Vulcan High Command for T'Pol's perceived transgressions. Further adding to T'Pol's problems, Kos, the Vulcan to whom she was promised as a child, has not accepted her refusal of marriage, and is pressing his suit - dangling the prospect of helping T'Pol's mother as an incentive.


CHARACTERS

Capt. Archer: In Storm Front, he told Silik that he had changed, "and not for the better." Here, we see that he is truly haunted by the deeds he performed within the Expanse: torturing prisoners, stranding a ship of innocent civilians, firing on that Xindi outpost... He has nightmares about battling Xindi Reptilians on Earth, and has possibly even developed a death wish. His relationship with Erika Hernandez (Ada Maris), the captain of the Columbia, seems to have helped him deal with some of his issues.  Still, even though he comes back from his "vacation" a bit more composed in dealing with Soval, he's probably (hopefully) right in thinking that he'll never be able to go back to the man he was before the Xindi.

T'Pol: She still expresses interest in pursuing a career in Starfleet, this time to her mother. However, when she learns that her actions have been used to justify her mother's forced retirement, she seriously considers Kos' offer to restore T'Les' position in return for marriage.

Trip: Finally realizes that he is not just attracted to T'Pol, but in love with her. The suddenness of that realization leads him to react poorly when T'Pol tells him that she is planning to marry Kos. After he calms down, he refuses to tell T'Pol the extent of his feelings, even when T'Pol's own mother urges him to. He reasons that she is under enough pressure as it is, and that he would rather support her - even in making a decision he doesn't like - than try to add to the weight already on her.

Dr. Phlox: When confronted with prejudice in the bar he visits with Reed and Mayweather, he tries his usual evasion tactic: absolute, near-bubbly cheerfulness. It's probably generally effective; someone looking to pick a fight would find little pleasure in needling a man who refuses to get offended. But, as Reed has warned him, Earth has changed. In the face of hostility and outright violence, Phlox shows one of his species' instinctive defenses, puffing up to frighten would-be attackers. The drunken bullies run off... but Phlox is left rattled as everyone in the bar, save for his friends, stares at him like some sort of monster.

The Vulcans: Back out of the Expanse, and back to the dysfunction of the Enterprise-era Vulcan society. Soval privately tells Archer that the decisions he made were necessary, and that he rendered a great service to both Earth and Vulcan... but publicly, he subjects Archer to a very harsh cross-examination over the incident with the Selaya, stopping just short of calling Archer a murderer. Why such a divide between his private and public personas? On Vulcan, we see that the High Command has forced an apparently highly-qualified instructor out of the Academy because of her daughter's choices... Something in which I completely fail to see any logic. Finally, we see T'Pol "negotiating" with Kos, to allow her to both marry him and stay with Enterprise. I know there's a Vulcan 3-parter coming later this season. I do wonder, though, if that's going to be enough to resolve all of these plot threads.


THOUGHTS

After resolving the cliffhanger to Space Nazis from Beyond Time!, we finally get the actual fourth season premiere.  It's a quiet episode - which is a good thing.  After the year of hell in the Expanse, we needed a reflective space to see the impact of Season Three on our characters, and on Earth.

Archer probably gets the best material. He is much harder-edged than he was at the beginning, talking about the need for weapons upgrades and military personnel. That is very much in keeping with his character direction even in late Season Two, when he was realizing just how many "bad guys" they kept meeting in their explorations.  In Erika, Archer interacts with someone very much like he was at the start: full of idealistic energy and naivete. It's initially painful for Archer to be around her, because she reminds him of how much of that idealism has been sanded away by hard realities. It's a character I hope we see again, before the season/series' end.

The "C" plot, with Phlox encountering prejudice in the wake of 9/11... er, the Xindi attack, is more predictable and less interesting. John Billingsley is good, as ever, but I have a difficult time believing that a couple of belligerent drunks in a bar would trigger an instinctive defense that years of genuine crises would not. I'd rather have had Phlox encountering a string of people looking at him uneasily, or not wanting to meet his eyes, or whispering to each other as he walks away. Something more subtle and believable than a cliched bar fight. Ah, well. At least there's a cute tag scene in which Hoshi tries to give Phlox a pep talk into facing down prejudice, then gives up and just promises to bring him back some takeout.

The Vulcan material feels like set-up, and I'm guessing most of the Vulcan scenes from this episode will end up acting as a prologue to the 3-parter later in the season. This subplot does benefit from good performances, particularly by Joanna Cassidy and Connor Trinneer. It also feels like something that naturally follows on from the show's previous direction. It's always nice to have references back to early first-season episodes, just as a reminder that though the tone may have changed substantially, this is still all part of the same series.

An effective piece, all told.  I'm glad the series was willing to take an episode to catch up with the Enterprise universe before bringing out any major new stories to tell.


Rating: 8/10.

Previous Episode: Storm Front

Next Episode: Borderland

Search Amazon.com for Star Trek: Enterprise

Review Index

To receive new review updates, follow me:

On Twitter:

Follow @RandomMusings09

On Threads:

Follow@randommusings09 on Threads

2-26. The Expanse.

THE PLOT

An alien probe drops into Earth's orbit, cutting a thick line of destruction that runs from Florida to Venezuala. Enterprise is recalled to Earth to help study the situation.

Their trip back home is interrupted by a visit from the Suliban. Silik takes Archer aboard his ship for a meeting with his contact from the future, who tells Archer that the attack was orchestrated by a rival and carried out by an alien race known as the Xindi. Archer persuades Admiral Forrest to let him chase this lead into an area of space known as the Delphic Expanse. But the Vulcan Ambassador, Soval, warns Archer that previous expeditions into the Expanse have resulted in horrors, and urges him against this course - at the same time ordering T'Pol to leave Enterprise and return to Vulcan for reassignment!


CHARACTERS

Capt. Archer: I've commented in earlier reviews how well Scott Bakula plays anger. Here, we have an episode in which Archer is on a slow burn through the entire run. He isn't actively shouting at people, but there's a definite tension in him in pretty much every scene, even the quieter moments. When Duras continues to attack Enterprise late in the episode, Archer is less inclined to talk and more inclined to resort to his ship's upgraded weaponry than he normally would be - which, along with his vow to Trip to do "whatever is necessary" once inside the Expanse, points to an Archer who's going to be even more volatile than usual in Season Three.

T'Pol: Put in the position of having to decide between her loyalty to the Vulcan High Command and her loyalty to Archer. Previous episodes leave very little doubt as to what choice she will make, but this is where she finally has to choose one, and let the other door close - probably forever.

Trip: Of the three leads, Trip is by far the most human, so it makes sense that he will be the one to have lost somebody in the attack. He gets a couple of very effective scenes with Reed, a quiet one in which he stands at the edge of the crater that was once his home and recalls where his sister's house and the town movie theater were while staring out into nothing, and an angry one in which he snaps at Reed when the other man encourages him to have a memorial service. He can't have such a service - not because of the lack of a body or because his sister "wasn't much into" such things, but because he's not ready to move on. This could lead Trip in an interesting direction in future episodes.

Dr. Phlox: He doesn't share the human characters' emotional reaction to the attack, nor does he have to make any substantial choice as T'Pol does. He stays because he's the ship's doctor, and he knows he will be needed. There's no other pull on his loyalties, so it is not a difficult decision. We do see his loyalty to the ship and his medical ethics when he reacts with evident anger to the Vulcan psychiatrist who is trying to examine Archer under false pretenses in Phlox's sickbay - in many ways, the inverse of the situation Phlox found himself facing in Stigma. He also has a quietly excellent scene with T'Pol, a conversation which pushes T'Pol further toward the decision we all know she will end up making.


THOUGHTS

Enterprise's second season comes to an explosive and surprising climax. I had heard that the second season finale was a change of direction for the too-often directionless series, and this episode certainly lives up to that reputation.

The Expanse opens with a probe dropping into Earth's orbit and cutting a swath of destruction with no warning and no reason given. The casualty figures start high (around a million) and are revised upward throughout the episode. The action takes place over a matter of months, as the regulars prepare for a mission completely unlike the one they have been carrying out. One major character is forced to make a choice about where her loyalties lie, another is given a trauma that will likely impact his future actions. It's the kind of episode that recalls Commander Sinclair's line at the end of Babylon 5's first season finale: "Nothing's the same anymore."

The Expanse works as a change of direction for the series, in that it creates a situation which cannot be simply "gotten over" in an episode or two. Short of going back in time to prevent the attack from ever having taken place (and I will take back every sympathetic word I've ever written about Berman and Braga if that ends up being the resolution), there is no way to hit the "reset" button on this situation. At the same time, it builds on many of the series' ongoing tensions. The Suliban and the Temporal Cold War are touched upon, as are the relations with the Klingsons and the Vulcans. It's not just a shift in direction, it's a shift in direction that uses what has gone before, leaving it all still feeling like part of the same series.

Equally important, it's a genuinely good piece of television. All of the major actors are given at least one scene, with only the terminally underused Hoshi and Mayweather given nothing to do. CGI work is excellent, from the opening attack to the edge of the abyss against which Trip stands while giving Reed a "tour" of his home town, to the expanse itself. The script is well-structured, with the quieter character scenes interspersed with a nicely ominous build-up about The Expanse itself, and some Klingon shenanigans on-hand to provide some action.

This is an episode where pretty much everything works, and I would point to this and Cogenitor being my only "10's" of the season as a suitable response to the "Berman/Braga are the devil!" hysteria within Trek fandom. They have their faults as showrunners, but they remain good television writers, something that fandom seems far too eager to forget far too often.


Rating: 10/10.

Previous Episode: Bounty

Next Episode: The Xindi

Season Two Overview

Search Amazon.com for Star Trek: Enterprise

Review Index

To receive new review updates, follow me:

On Twitter:

Follow @RandomMusings09

On Threads:

Follow@randommusings09 on Threads

2-15. Cease Fire.

THE PLOT

The Vulcan/Andorian confict erupts into violence, as Andorian troops led by Shran (Jeffrey Combs) land on a planet that both they and the Vulcans have laid claim to. As the fighting intensifies, Shran agrees to negotiations with the Vulcans - but only if those negotiations are mediated by Capt. Archer.

Archer finds himself stepping into the middle of a war zone. Shran trusts him, at least to a point, but Shran's second-in-command believes he is just a Vulcan puppet. Meanwhile, the Vulcans, represented by Archer's old nemesis, Ambassador Soval (Gary Graham), still believe Archer is unreliable and seem to actively hope that his attempts with the Andorians fail.

When Archer's shuttle is shot down while bringing Ambassador Soval to meet with Shran, and Andorian reinforcements near the planet, everything seems poised to tip over into a full-scale interplanetary war!


CHARACTERS

Capt. Archer: Both Archer and Scott Bakula's performance seem to function at their peak level when Archer is in crisis mode. Archer's stubbornness comes in handy when he insists on continuing with the plan to meet Shran even after the shuttle is shot down. On the other hand, Archer continues to show blind spots. He truly doesn't expect trouble when bringing Soval to the planet's surface, something even Trip finds naive. Still, Archer continues to win Shran's trust, while at the same time earning a certain grudging respect from Soval - on this occasion, at least. I also appreciated that while Archer refuses to cede authority to Soval, he's no longer actively trying to antagonize him.

T'Pol: In her interactions with Soval, we learn exactly how much T'Pol is sacrificing by continuing to serve on Enterprise. She is effectively crippling her own career for the sake of the work she finds so rewarding. I do think this episode should have preceded Stigma, as it is clear that T'Pol still has the option of reclaiming her "fast track" career here - a career which is likely to be even further crippled in the wake of her Pa'Nar syndrome. This is not the first time that I have wished a few of the episodes in this series had been aired in a slightly different sequence.  I do wonder sometimes who was responsible for the airing order, when it seems clear that the series' weaknesses could have been reduced and its strengths better exploited by just a few, intermittent tweaks in the episode order.

Trip: Though mostly peripheral, Trip does get some strong scenes on the Enterprise bridge, interacting with the trigger-happy Vulcan and Andorian ship captains. He recognizes the gravity of this situation, and is willing to put the chance of peace ahead of the safety of the ship when the ship is in his hands.

Shran: In his third Enterprise appearance, Shran continues to be a very strong recurring character. The anger of his first appearance is still there, as is his hatred of the Vulcans.  Still, in an intriguing development, this soldier is gradually evolving into a diplomat. It's a dangerous situation for him, as he is at odds with both his own second-in-command and the Vulcans. Shran appears to be stepping into the role of a "moderate" in the extreme Andorian community, grudgingly meeting Soval halfway and even agreeing to further negotiations. I look forward to his next appearance, as all of the episodes featuring this character have been good ones.


THOUGHTS

The second season of Enterprise spent its first half largely avoiding the very interesting issues surrounding the more aggressive Vulcan society of the show. This was not to the series' advantage. It may have reduced the frustrations of certain Trek fans who have no room for a Vulcan who doesn't behave more or less like Spock, but it steered the show away from one of its most interesting running elements. It was a relief to see the darker side of Vulcan society return in last week's episode, and gratifying to see yet more follow-up on last season's Vulcan episodes here.

The Vulcan/Andorian conflict fueled the series' first truly strong episode, in The Andorian Incident, and was fleshed out in an intriguing fashion in Shadows of P'Jem. Far too much time was allowed to pass between that episode and this one, but we finally see the conflict raised again here.

The war zone is well depicted, particularly the physical sets which Archer, T'Pol, and Soval are forced to traverse. Ruined buildings, exposed beams... It's effective. Some of the establishing CGI isn't so convincing, but it's still eye-catching. At least there seems to be some genuine effort taken to do something atmospheric with the set design, while at the same time matching the CGI to that and pushing forward television CGI. Performances are strong across the board, with the relationships between Shran and Archer and Soval and Archer continuing to evolve.

I could have wished for less predictable plot development, particularly involving Shran's second-in-command. Still, this episode offers some pretty good action, a strong plot that builds on what went before, and even some good character pieces. There was a fair-sized stretch of Season Two in which this show seemed to lose its way.  With the last couple of episodes, it seems to have found itself again. Now I just hope it doesn't run back to the "safety" of generic TNG reject scripts again.


Rating: 7/10.

Previous Episode: Stigma
Next Episode: Future Tense

Search Amazon.com for Star Trek: Enterprise

Review Index

To receive new review updates, follow me:

On Twitter:

Follow @RandomMusings09

On Threads:

Follow@randommusings09 on Threads

1-26, 2-1. Shockwave.

The first season ends and the second season begins with this eventful 2-parter.


THE PLOT

It's a fairly typical first contact situation, one that is by now more or less familiar to both Enterprise and the viewers. Archer is preparing to make first contact with an alien colony, which has some vague similarities to 20th century Earth with some mild cultural reversals (it's a matriarchal society where the men are only just beginning to attain equal rights). Archer leads an Away Team to go down to the surface to make contact, and we're all set for a fairly typical, potentially preachy, likely mediocre standalone episode...

Then disaster strikes, as an accident causes the shuttlepod to apparently ignite the atmosphere, destroying the colony and wiping out its more than 3,000 inhabitants!

Enterprise now faces a recall by Starfleet, with the Vulcans advising that its mission be canceled, with the humans waiting at least another 10 - 20 years before attempting such a mission again.  It appears that the Vulcans have finally gotten what they've wanted from the beginning: Humanity cowed into staying in their own solar system. Archer is too wracked by guilt over the accident to protest.

Then he receives an unexpected visitor: Daniels (Matt Winston), the time traveler apparently killed by Silik, returns to inform Archer that this accident never occurred in the proper, "prime" timeline.  It was the work of the Suliban, attempting to sabotage Enterprise's mission. Daniels gives Archer all the information he needs to retrieve evidence to clear Enterprise. However, unexpected developments leave Archer's ship at the mercy of the Suliban, and prompt Daniels to action which destroys the entire 800 years from Archer's mission to Daniels' present.

It's the end of the world as they knew it. So what do they do now?


CHARACTERS

Capt. Archer: He's spent all of the first season gradually learning (and sometimes forgetting) lessons about responsibility and consequences. Now, the moment a lot of viewers have probably been waiting for seems to occur: a moment of carelessness causes a catastrophe. Archer keenly feels the guilt, which is compounded when he hears that this incident will be used as an excuse to delay humanity's progress. He briefly allows himself to be paralyzed by that, to an extent that is probably unbecoming in a commanding officer. 

Once given a way to fight, Archer throws himself into that fight with all the energy and enthusiasm at his disposal. When all seems lost, he takes the lead to prompt Daniels to find a way to salvage the situation. By Part 2, Archer seems to finally be growing into his leadership role. Broken Bow Archer was resourceful, but careless and too quick to judge the people under his command. The Archer of Shockwave (particularly Part 2) confidently takes charge of a dire situation and uses the skills of his people to turn a horrible situation to his advantage.

T'Pol: Given her initial adversarial relationship with Archer, it is quite pleasing to see how fully she has grown into the role of his second-in-command. When Archer allows himself to wallow in guilt, T'Pol is the one to try to pull him out of it, insisting that he needs to mount a defense for his command. In Broken Bow, Archer was constantly suspicous of T'Pol, and hated the idea of her taking command of the ship. In this episode, he yields command to her with absolute confidence - which she repays by the competence with which she commands the ship and crew.

Silik: The slimy Suliban's third appearance is, perhaps, a comedown from his triumph in Cold Front. He's less confident here, more clearly a lackey to his mysterious superior from the future. However, the character becomes more rounded, in a way. He seems fully in control when engaging Archer and the Enterprise crew on his terms. But when he is cut off from "Future Guy," he all but falls apart. He spends most of Part 2 snapping at his own lackeys while desperately trying to re-establish connection with his "benefactor." At one point, he is literally on his knees begging for this man from the future to appear to tell him what to do. Far from the sinister man in control of all he surveys, Silik is almost like a child, pleading for a father to guide him, to show him what his destiny should be. It makes him less powerful, but in some ways more interesting. I wonder what might be expected from his next appearance.

Ambassador Soval: He seems to almost revel in the opportunity to cut short Enterprise's mission, insisting on the ship's recall even when Archer has proved his ship's innocence. Most interesting is that he doesn't seem very interested in the destruction of the colony. He doesn't inquire for more details about the Cabal.  He isn't even mildly intrigued at the "Temporal Cold War," even though by the end of this 2-parter, there is a fair amount of evidence of its existence. In fact, when Archer tries to elaborate on these areas, Soval firmly brings the discussion back to Enterprise's mistakes and disruptions.

I can't help but wonder if Soval might be in league with the Cabal. This 2-parter touches again on the enhanced Sulibans' ability to shape-shift. Do we know for certain that Soval is a Vulcan? Could an enhanced member of the Cabal have taken Soval's place, to influence events? Soval has behaved in a very un-Vulcan manner on multiple occasions (an emotional outburst in the pilot, a decidedly emotional exit in this episode). I'm sure my musings are far off the mark - but there is definitely something going on, if not with the Vulcans in general than at least with Soval in particular.


THOUGHTS

As befits any season climax, Shockwave is a big episode, with a story that literally spans 1,000 (well, 800) years. There are multiple battle scenes, chases, escapes, time travel, post-Apocalyptic landscapes... It's about two steps away from being Enterprise: The Movie. With a fast pace and plenty of incident, the 90 minutes of this 2-parter go by very, very quickly.

Pretty much every character gets a moment to shine. Though the bulk of the action goes to Archer and T'Pol, the supporting cast also get their moments. Trip and Hoshi work surreptitiously to free the command crew to retake the ship. Dr. Phlox provides key assistance in this, and also displays a refreshingly different perspective on Enterprise's recall.  Reed discovers key evidence in the initial accident and undertakes the least pleasant, but most necessary, part of the escape from the Suliban. Everyone gets a page.

Well, everyone except Mayweather, who, as per usual, largely sits around like set dressing. By this point, it must have been clear to all and sundry that his was the one character that truly didn't fit. Cutler (R. I. P., Kellie Waymire) was in exactly three episodes, and she feels more like an intrinsic part of the crew than Mayweather! So why didn't the producers take the opportunity of a season finale to jettison this useless character? The Suliban attack on Enterprise would give a perfect opportunity to do some house-cleaning. Why renew Anthony Montgomery's contract for another season of Mayweather, when by this point it's clear that the writers have no intention of even trying to do anything interesting with the character?

Ah, well. It's a good 2-parter, with some excellent visual effects, well-directed action pieces, and a handful of rather good character scenes in the bargain. As is almost always the case, Part 1 is stronger than Part 2, but the two parts together form a coherent and satisfying whole. It's no Best of Both Worlds, but it is a very satisfying piece, effectively tying off the first season while hopefully raising the stakes a bit for Season Two.


Rating: 8/10.

Previous Episode: Two Days and Two Nights
Next Episode: Carbon Creek

Season One Overview

Search Amazon.com for Star Trek: Enterprise

Season One Review Index     

Season Two Review Index

To receive new review updates, follow me:

On Twitter:

Follow @RandomMusings09

On Threads:

Follow@randommusings09 on Threads

1-15. Shadows of P'Jem

THE PLOT

When the Andorian government takes action against the sanctuary on P'Jem, destroying the monastery, the Vulcans order T'Pol transferred back home, to take the blame for her part in the Andorian discovery of the listening post. Archer is told that a Vulcan ship will rendezvous with Enterprise in two days, after which he will no longer have a Vulcan science officer.

Archer decides to take T'Pol on one last mission, to make contact with an alien race who have advanced starship capabilities. However, his shuttle is intercepted by a ship belonging to rebels fighting against the government, claiming that this government is a corrupt, unrepresentative puppet of the Vulcans. Archer and T'Pol are taken hostage, with the rebels demanding weapons.

Now Reed and Tucker must launch a desperate rescue attempt. An attempt that may just be complicated by the arrival of a Vulcan starship...


CHARACTERS

Capt. Archer: Though unrepentent about his actions at P'Jem, he does regret the destruction of the sanctuary. He also has clearly come to value T'Pol, and reacts against the ordered transfer. From the outset, he urges T'Pol to fight against the effort to scapegoat her, Despite his distaste for the Vulcans, he does find it in himself to negotiate reasonably with the captain of the Vulcan ship.

T'Pol: Spends the first half of the episode, after receiving her transfer orders, going into a near-shutdown. She adopts a ultra-logical, ultra-unemotional facade... which demonstrates to both Archer and the viewers just how upset she is.

Trip: With Archer and T'Pol off the ship, Trip gets to take command. He works with Reed to try to plot out a rescue operation... though it's a rather rushed and reckless plan, saved from disaster only by very good luck.


THOUGHTS

Finally, some consequences from The Andorian Incident! I was starting to wonder whether those rather significant events would ever have ramifications for the crew. In my Breaking the Ice review, I noted the disapproval with which other Vulcans seemed to view T'Pol and her current assignment. Here, we see that expanded on.

The events of P'Jem have the Vulcans eager to make T'Pol a scapegoat. As Archer observes, since they can't punish him, they're going to take it out on her... and, of course, accept no culpability whatsoever for their own treaty violations. We also get more hints of a darker side to the Vulcan government at this point in their history, with them being accused (we never do find out exactly how justly) of setting up "puppet governments" - a government that, in this case, appears to be highly repressive against a large portion of its own population. At this point, I'm thinking that all of this material painting the Vulcans in an unflattering light has to be building to something, though I'm not sure exactly what.

Jeffrey Combs returns as Shran. This time, he's actually allowed to show some of his facility with humor, particularly when he complains about feeling indebted to Archer. One does wonder just how closely the Andorians might be tied to these rebels, however. We already have a Temporal Cold War in this series... Is there another Cold War going on, with Vulcans and Andorians backing repressive regimes and violent rebellions against those regimes? There's the potential to explore some very interesting avenues here.

Character work and performances are generally strong throughout. All of the non-Mayweather regulars have settled into their roles nicely, and all of the non-Mayweather characters are shaping up to form an interesting and dynamic crew.


Rating: 7/10.

Previous Episode: Sleeping Dogs
Next Episode: Shuttlepod One

Search Amazon.com for Star Trek: Enterprise

Review Index

To receive new review updates, follow me:

On Twitter:

Follow @RandomMusings09

On Threads:

Follow@randommusings09 on Threads

1-01, 1-02. Broken Bow

Capt. Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) meets the "Kling-ots," while his science officer and engineer take a shower together.


PLOT

When a Klingon crash-lands in a field, it falls to a farmer to make first contact with a new alien race. Which he does... using a shotgun. This incident coincides with the planned launch of the flagship of the recently-formed Starfleet: the Enterprise. The Vulcans, who have spent the last 100 years "advising" humanity (or, possibly, holding humanity back), urge delaying the Enterprise's maiden flight until after they have returned the Kllingon. However, the Enterprise's captain, Johnathan Archer (Scott Bakula), is having none of that, and convinces his superiors that since this happened on Earth, it should be the Enterprise that takes the Klingon home.

The Vulcans reluctantly agree, with the proviso that one of their own is assigned as science officer (Jolene Blalock). And with that, the Enterprise is off on its first-ever mission. A mission which is complicated when the ship is invaded by a race known as the Suliban, who take the Klingon and vanish. Now Archer must follow a scant few, very thin leads in order to track down the Klingon and complete his mission - or return home, defeated, proving the Vulcans right in their belief that man just isn't ready for the stars.


CHARACTERS

Capt. Archer: A reasonably interesting start, at least, for this character. Scott Bakula isn't nearly as good here as he was in Quantum Leap, at least not yet. He remains an engaging presence, however. His Archer is easy enough to like, even as he shows some potentially unlikable qualities: notably, he's quite headstrong (once the Klingon is taken, he really should at least contact his superiors), and he has an only very thinly-veiled strain of bigotry, at least as it concerns the Vulcans. On the other hand, Archer is reasonably resourceful. And the end of the episode does see him grappling with his preconceptions about his Vulcan science officer, even if it's clear he's still uncomfortable with her presence.

Collagen Spock: Jolene Blalock was clearly cast for two reasons, neither of which had anything to do with acting ability. I confess to being predisposed against her, making it little surprise that I found her the weak link in the cast here. The pity of it is that T'Pol seems to have some potential as a character. There is room to play with her conflicting motives: Is she working for the Vulcans (whose motives appear a bit murkier here than in other Trek series), or is she committed to her new ship, even if she isn't particularly happy about the assignment? Sadly, the answer to that question appears to be evident simply from her staying for all four seasons. Meanwhile, Blalock does nothing here to overcome my preconceptions, though I'll acknowledge that she isn't painfully bad in this pilot either.

"Trip": If the ship's engineer is nicknamed "Trip," does that really inspire confidence? How about "Doctor Whoops?" Unfortunate nickname aside, Trip makes a mostly positive first impression, the actor making the most of a handful of character beats. Admittedly, as of this moment, Trip's character seems to amount to: supporting the captain, making wisecracks, and speaking in a Southern drawl. But the actor seems game, and the character has potential to be a scene-stealer.

The Enterprise Crew: The regulars are passably well-established for a pilot, even if most of the rest of the cast doesn't get much to do here. After a promising opening scene, Hoshi the Translator (Linda Park) is mostly reduced to standing in the background and whining. The British guy... is British, and this episode seems uninterested in giving him any other character beats. The token black guy was born in space, likes to sit upside down (top that one, Shaolin masters!), and thus far has no other character. As of this point, I would have to look up the show on IMDB to tell you either character's name.

Dr. Phlox (John Billingsley) shows some promise. The actor has a potentially creepy undercurrent to him, which could be fun to play with - though I have a sinking feeling that the show will end up just going the "comedy relief" route with him. None of the actors makes me cringe during line deliveries, though I reserve the right to hate one or more of them by the end of the season.


THOUGHTS

For all the many bad things I have read about Enterprise, Broken Bow is surprisingly a pretty good pilot. The regulars are all at least introduced, we get a functional sense of the characters of three or four of those regulars, and we get to see a passable amount of interaction among them. At the same time, the episode presents a fairly interesting story, while hinting at both backstory affecting the various races and characters and foreshadowing conflicts to come. There is plenty to build on here, and every reason to believe that this pilot should lead to a good program. Well, every reason except the rather poor status the program actually enjoys within Trek fandom.  I will attempt to approach it with an open mind.

There are certainly things I would like to see built upon. In only his second scene, we see Archer commenting on how emotional the Vulcans are reacting, the humans seeing the Vulcans as untrustworthy throughout. I would enjoy seeing this developed further. What if the humans aren't simply being provincial, and these Vulcans actually are hiding something? Alternately, what if the Vulcans' motives actually are for the best, but the humans end up being genuinely dangerous. Certainly, Archer's insistence on plunging into situations head-first seems likely to backfire on him at some point. What if Archer ends up creating an incident, maybe even starting the Klingon war referred to so often in TOS? I'm not optimistic about the series actually going such places - but the potential is there.

The Suliban seem poised to be major recurring baddies for this show, and do make a reasonably sinister presence here. CGI enhances them in nicely creepy ways, such as the Suliban who slides under the door to the grain silo, or the Suliban creeping along the ceiling in the darkened Enterprise sickbay during the attack. The "Temporal Cold War" alluded to here has potential to be interesting, though there's equal potential for it to be used as a lazy plot-reset device.

Really, "potential" seems to be the key word here. It seems obvious that Enterprise is being devised as a more arc-driven show than previous Trek series, with much of Broken Bow at least as concerned with setting plot threads in motion as with the episode's own plot. Most of the elements in evidence here could be really good. But it all depends on the execution... and though I am trying to approach the series with an open mind, and enjoyed this initial installment at least, it's difficult to optimistic about a show that is still widely held to have been a "franchise killer."

Scattered things I liked: I love the design of this first Enterprise. Very cramped, very submarine-like, it does a good job of suggesting technology more primitive than the original series Enterprise, while at the same time looking... well, looking good enough for 2001 audiences to have been able to take it seriously. I like the sense that the humans are a bit out-of-their-depth. I like the need for a human with strong language skills, and that communication with the Klingons is anything but simple.

Scattered problems: Blalock's flat performance. Does it improve? The decontamination scene... I approve of the women's uniforms on TOS, on the grounds that a little pandering isn't necessarily a bad thing. On the other hand, blatant, in-your-face pandering is a bad thing, and the "peekaboo" tone of the decontamination scene makes it feel like one of the "boring parts" of a porno. Phlox to T'Pol and Trip: "It's a good thing we aren't on cable, or the decontamination procedure would involve a hot, sweaty, naked sex scene."

Also, does it really have to be such a quick trip to Klingon space? Just a few days there and a few days back? Surely, this ship is far slower than the TOS Enterprise. And there's no need for it. Archer's dialogue could just as easily have been, "Just 3 weeks there and 3 weeks back." Given that the trip to the Klingon planet is interrupted anyway, it wouldn't particularly have changed the plot. If Klingon space is really just a few days away for this primitive Enterprise, then so much for space exploration - everything is apparently just a couple days' drive away! It's something I can squint at and overlook if later episodes don't repeat this kind of marginalization of the vastness of space... but it does grate, particularly in that it bespeaks a certain laziness which does not raise hopes for future episodes.

On its own merits, though, Broken Bow is a fair pilot, with several strong elements and much potential to be turned into a strong series. I can't make myself feel entirely optimistic about the series to come. Still, I have seen far worse pilots to shows that I've ended up loving (Babylon 5 springs to mind), so... we'll see how it goes.


Rating: 6/10

Next Episode: Fight or Flight

Search Amazon.com for Star Trek: Enterprise

Review Index

To receive new review updates, follow me:

On BlueSky:

Follow @RandomMusings09 on BlueSky

On Threads:

Follow@randommusings09 on Threads