Enterprise Finale *spoilers*

Bean · 05-14-2005, 06:28 PM

So I just watched the Enterprise finale. Nothing pectacular, and I am forced to agree with the people who said it was a bit of a slap in the face to the ENT fans that the episode seemed centered around the TNG cast that were in it. It was nice to see the Enterprise D again, but seemed very wrong to do it like this. I think the holodeck idea would have bee great as a standalone episode during sweeps or something, but not as the finale.

There were actually a few parts that tugged at the heart strings a bit, Tuckers death in sickbay. Even though his death seemed wuite pointless and contrived, seeing him on the bed in sickbay winking at Archer as he died was almost a tearjerker.

The one thing I have to commend B&B for, is the closing sequence. The three ships, with the three Captains doing the intro monologue was great. I couldn't help but get a bit teared up over it. I don't know if it was because it was so well done, or because I knoew I was watching the end of 18 years worth of Trek. Something that I've grown up with. It's always been there no matter what. It's been a constant in my life and now it's gone.

I'm not that upset that Enterprise was cancelled, it was a sub par series even if it seemed to be turning around in the final season, it's just kind of a depressing thought that TATV is how it went out. Although again, will say that the final sequence was the crown jewel of any Trek finale I've watched.

All in all, it was worth watching.

Brikar · 05-14-2005, 06:45 PM

I'll say that the final thirty seconds was worth watching... The rest of it was just a turd. The loose-fitting parallel about deciding to disobey orders was incredibly hollow, and the sudden deification of Archer by Trip is awfully forced. If Trip felt that way about Archer, what's with letting him go on not one but TWO suicide missions during the Xindi arc? And if something occurred in the missing six years between "Terra Prime" and "These Are the Voyages...", then we're still cheated because it was neither seen nor even alluded to. It's like all of a sudden, Trip just decides that giving a speech to a bunch of diplomats is more important than saving a little girl's life.

Shran's plan to save his daughter hardly seemed to require "at least seven men". In fact, it was probably the least complicated rescue plan ENT has ever done. Props for an exciting and well-made action sequence, even if it was pretty useless.

Archer's reluctance to help Shran is a bit odd, too. Nothing we've seen about him in four years would ever make me believe he would think twice about caring about being late to give a speech. And T'Pol's distrust of him doesn't quite ring true, either, since she's been present for all the previous contact with Shran that Archer's had. It's just an excuse for another scene where T'Pol acts very un-Vulcan-like and Archer has to teach her the error of her ways because he's the Captain, damn it.

Speaking of un-Vulcan-like... what's up with T'Pol squeezing Shran's shoulder before she takes his daughter away? What was that?

Then the aliens attack the Enterprise and board the ship. "I thought they couldn't go past warp two..." I'm sorry, but, "Oh, I guess they can" is a wicked fucking lame-ass excuse for another pointless action sequence meant to do nothing but engineer artificial drama (Trip's death). The whole episode is filled with scenes that, by themselves, are well-made and interesting, but when put into context with each other completely fall apart.

Aside from Ten-Forward, I thought most of the TNG sets looked rather cheesy. The orange doors seemed ridiculous, though watching TNG this afternoon, I noticed that it doesn't look half as cheesy as it did on ENT last night. I think the sets were lit wrong.

"Terra Prime" felt like a much better finale. You had a very prequel-"Star Trek" story - that is, humans and aliens learning to get along. Archer's final speech to the council was good, with shots of the crew standing together behind him. The aliens all start clapping, and it's very nice. The stuff with Trip and T'Pol's baby actually becomes dramatic and emotional. Phlox's bit about "gaining a new family" was good, too. Nothing like that in the "real" finale. The only thing I didn't appreciate was making Paxton a huge hypocrite. I think they should have just played him as a straight xenophobe, especially since that hypocrisy never came back to bite him in the ass later. Why bother setting up something like that if you're never going to come back to it?

Of course, "Terra Prime" was still built on faulty logic from "Demons", but most of the time it manages to make you forget that they had to retcon a few things to make up for "Demons" shortcomings.

Bean · 05-14-2005, 09:04 PM

I just thought of something else I liked about the monologue. Archer said "Where no man has gone before". He didn't use the post TOS "where noONE has gone before".

Not a big deal really, but it almost seems like a little nod to TOS.

Another part I liked, the little between Archer and Trip when they were having the whiskey "Here's to the next generation". Kinda cheesy, but I liked it.

Cymro · 05-15-2005, 02:55 AM

were the monologues all played simultaneously or one after the other?

Brikar · 05-15-2005, 03:21 AM

The Enterprise-D flies by the screen as Picard says, "Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise." A meteor passes the screen, and when it's gone, the original Enterprise flies by, and Kirks says, "It's five-year mission, to seek out new life and new civilizations." And when that passes, the NX-01 flies by, and Archer says, "To boldly go where no man has gone before." And it flies off into the distance, with the music rising. Quite well-done, I must say.

Cymro · 05-15-2005, 01:57 PM

Did it have the fanfare?

Bean · 05-15-2005, 05:49 PM

Quote:

Brikar stopped drinking long enough to mumble

The Enterprise-D flies by the screen as Picard says, "Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise." A meteor passes the screen, and when it's gone, the original Enterprise flies by, and Kirks says, "It's five-year mission, to seek out new life and new civilizations." And when that passes, the NX-01 flies by, and Archer says, "To boldly go where no man has gone before."

Actually. Kirk doesn't say the five year mission part. Picard says continuing mission, and then Kirk cuts in with "to seek out new life..".

Brikar · 05-15-2005, 09:29 PM

Close enough.

Brikar · 05-15-2005, 09:30 PM

Quote:

Cymro stopped drinking long enough to mumble

Did it have the fanfare?

It had the fanfare during the Kirk and Picard parts, but during Archer's it segued to "Archer's Theme".

Bean · 05-15-2005, 10:21 PM

Yeah, you could hear a bit of the fanfare mixed in, but it wasn't the same triumphant level we normally get.

05-14-2005, 06:28 PM	#1 (permalink)
Bean The Awesome One Join Date: Dec 1969 Location: Canada eh! Posts: 5,055	Enterprise Finale spoilers So I just watched the Enterprise finale. Nothing pectacular, and I am forced to agree with the people who said it was a bit of a slap in the face to the ENT fans that the episode seemed centered around the TNG cast that were in it. It was nice to see the Enterprise D again, but seemed very wrong to do it like this. I think the holodeck idea would have bee great as a standalone episode during sweeps or something, but not as the finale. There were actually a few parts that tugged at the heart strings a bit, Tuckers death in sickbay. Even though his death seemed wuite pointless and contrived, seeing him on the bed in sickbay winking at Archer as he died was almost a tearjerker. The one thing I have to commend B&B for, is the closing sequence. The three ships, with the three Captains doing the intro monologue was great. I couldn't help but get a bit teared up over it. I don't know if it was because it was so well done, or because I knoew I was watching the end of 18 years worth of Trek. Something that I've grown up with. It's always been there no matter what. It's been a constant in my life and now it's gone. I'm not that upset that Enterprise was cancelled, it was a sub par series even if it seemed to be turning around in the final season, it's just kind of a depressing thought that TATV is how it went out. Although again, will say that the final sequence was the crown jewel of any Trek finale I've watched. All in all, it was worth watching. __________________ "I haven't faced death. I've cheated death. I've tricked my way out of death and patted myself on the back for my ingenuity. I know nothing." --James T. Kirk

05-14-2005, 06:45 PM	#2 (permalink)
Brikar The Dude Join Date: Dec 1969 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 3,606	I'll say that the final thirty seconds was worth watching... The rest of it was just a turd. The loose-fitting parallel about deciding to disobey orders was incredibly hollow, and the sudden deification of Archer by Trip is awfully forced. If Trip felt that way about Archer, what's with letting him go on not one but TWO suicide missions during the Xindi arc? And if something occurred in the missing six years between "Terra Prime" and "These Are the Voyages...", then we're still cheated because it was neither seen nor even alluded to. It's like all of a sudden, Trip just decides that giving a speech to a bunch of diplomats is more important than saving a little girl's life. Shran's plan to save his daughter hardly seemed to require "at least seven men". In fact, it was probably the least complicated rescue plan ENT has ever done. Props for an exciting and well-made action sequence, even if it was pretty useless. Archer's reluctance to help Shran is a bit odd, too. Nothing we've seen about him in four years would ever make me believe he would think twice about caring about being late to give a speech. And T'Pol's distrust of him doesn't quite ring true, either, since she's been present for all the previous contact with Shran that Archer's had. It's just an excuse for another scene where T'Pol acts very un-Vulcan-like and Archer has to teach her the error of her ways because he's the Captain, damn it. Speaking of un-Vulcan-like... what's up with T'Pol squeezing Shran's shoulder before she takes his daughter away? What was that? Then the aliens attack the Enterprise and board the ship. "I thought they couldn't go past warp two..." I'm sorry, but, "Oh, I guess they can" is a wicked fucking lame-ass excuse for another pointless action sequence meant to do nothing but engineer artificial drama (Trip's death). The whole episode is filled with scenes that, by themselves, are well-made and interesting, but when put into context with each other completely fall apart. Aside from Ten-Forward, I thought most of the TNG sets looked rather cheesy. The orange doors seemed ridiculous, though watching TNG this afternoon, I noticed that it doesn't look half as cheesy as it did on ENT last night. I think the sets were lit wrong. "Terra Prime" felt like a much better finale. You had a very prequel-"Star Trek" story - that is, humans and aliens learning to get along. Archer's final speech to the council was good, with shots of the crew standing together behind him. The aliens all start clapping, and it's very nice. The stuff with Trip and T'Pol's baby actually becomes dramatic and emotional. Phlox's bit about "gaining a new family" was good, too. Nothing like that in the "real" finale. The only thing I didn't appreciate was making Paxton a huge hypocrite. I think they should have just played him as a straight xenophobe, especially since that hypocrisy never came back to bite him in the ass later. Why bother setting up something like that if you're never going to come back to it? Of course, "Terra Prime" was still built on faulty logic from "Demons", but most of the time it manages to make you forget that they had to retcon a few things to make up for "Demons" shortcomings. __________________ "A million monkeys typing until the end of time will produce the complete works of William Shakespeare. Ten thousand monkeys typing for ten thousand years will write a Hemingway. Ten monkeys typing over Columbus Day weekend will give you a Dan Brown." http://olympusmans.blogspot.com http://benforrealz.blogspot.com

05-14-2005, 09:04 PM	#3 (permalink)
Bean The Awesome One Join Date: Dec 1969 Location: Canada eh! Posts: 5,055	I just thought of something else I liked about the monologue. Archer said "Where no man has gone before". He didn't use the post TOS "where noONE has gone before". Not a big deal really, but it almost seems like a little nod to TOS. Another part I liked, the little between Archer and Trip when they were having the whiskey "Here's to the next generation". Kinda cheesy, but I liked it. __________________ "I haven't faced death. I've cheated death. I've tricked my way out of death and patted myself on the back for my ingenuity. I know nothing." --James T. Kirk

05-15-2005, 02:55 AM	#4 (permalink)
Cymro Religious Fanatic Join Date: Nov 1999 Location: Shitsville, CF63 Posts: 4,921	were the monologues all played simultaneously or one after the other? __________________ "Let me tell you something about humans, nephew: They're a wonderful, friendly people - as long as their bellies are full and their holosuites are working. "But take away their creature comforts, deprive them of food, sleep, sonic showers, put their lives in jeopardy over an extended period of time and those friendly, intelligent, wonderful people...will become as nasty and as violent as the most blood-thirsty klingon."

05-15-2005, 03:21 AM	#5 (permalink)
Brikar The Dude Join Date: Dec 1969 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 3,606	The Enterprise-D flies by the screen as Picard says, "Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise." A meteor passes the screen, and when it's gone, the original Enterprise flies by, and Kirks says, "It's five-year mission, to seek out new life and new civilizations." And when that passes, the NX-01 flies by, and Archer says, "To boldly go where no man has gone before." And it flies off into the distance, with the music rising. Quite well-done, I must say. __________________ "A million monkeys typing until the end of time will produce the complete works of William Shakespeare. Ten thousand monkeys typing for ten thousand years will write a Hemingway. Ten monkeys typing over Columbus Day weekend will give you a Dan Brown." http://olympusmans.blogspot.com http://benforrealz.blogspot.com

05-15-2005, 01:57 PM	#6 (permalink)
Cymro Religious Fanatic Join Date: Nov 1999 Location: Shitsville, CF63 Posts: 4,921	Did it have the fanfare? __________________ "Let me tell you something about humans, nephew: They're a wonderful, friendly people - as long as their bellies are full and their holosuites are working. "But take away their creature comforts, deprive them of food, sleep, sonic showers, put their lives in jeopardy over an extended period of time and those friendly, intelligent, wonderful people...will become as nasty and as violent as the most blood-thirsty klingon."

05-15-2005, 09:29 PM	#8 (permalink)
Brikar The Dude Join Date: Dec 1969 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 3,606	Close enough. __________________ "A million monkeys typing until the end of time will produce the complete works of William Shakespeare. Ten thousand monkeys typing for ten thousand years will write a Hemingway. Ten monkeys typing over Columbus Day weekend will give you a Dan Brown." http://olympusmans.blogspot.com http://benforrealz.blogspot.com

05-15-2005, 10:21 PM	#10 (permalink)
Bean The Awesome One Join Date: Dec 1969 Location: Canada eh! Posts: 5,055	Yeah, you could hear a bit of the fanfare mixed in, but it wasn't the same triumphant level we normally get. __________________ "I haven't faced death. I've cheated death. I've tricked my way out of death and patted myself on the back for my ingenuity. I know nothing." --James T. Kirk

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