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The end of 'Enterprise'
- Thread starter Sinclair
- Start date
admiraldave
Regular
Re: The end of \'Enterprise\'
Yeah, two hour finale. Though the two hours are separate episodes, the first being the continuation of last week's two parter, and the second hour being the "grand" finale, the "valentine to the fans". Then we'll send Enterprise off to Sto'Vo'Kor, or whatever the other place is called.
Yeah, two hour finale. Though the two hours are separate episodes, the first being the continuation of last week's two parter, and the second hour being the "grand" finale, the "valentine to the fans". Then we'll send Enterprise off to Sto'Vo'Kor, or whatever the other place is called.
Recoil
Regular
Re: The end of \'Enterprise\'
Well.
I'll be the first to say it. The finale was WEAK.
[SPOILERS BELOW]
* Insignificant distraction to save that dudes daughter. Who cares?
* Somehow these aliens catch up to a warp 5 Enterprise, and appear on board, and right near where the Captain is? Whatever.
* The holodeck stuff was ANNOYING.
* It made most of what Enterprise should have been about seem really insignificant, even though they tried to make it grand (with the founding of the Federation). They failed.
* Killing Trip just to be dramatic was weak too.
* For that matter, no one seemed really upset. Even Archer. It was like it didn't even happen. So for the attempt to be dramatic and show sacrifice they sure didn't try to cash in on the emotional part of it. It just "happened" and that was all.
The BEST part of the Finale IMO was the final montage with the "These are the voyages..." speech with Picard, Kirk, and Archer giving it. More of a Trek finale than an Enterprise finale.
That being said, that was also the cause of the biggest weakness of it. The damn scene with Riker pretending to be the chef made me feel like I was watching Voyager with their chef...or TNG with people talking to Guinan or counsoler Troi. God that shit was annoying. I really did feel like I was more watching an episode of TNG than a finale for Enterprise. I guess thats what I think the biggest letdown was.
The episode of Enterprise before this one was MUCH MUCH better.
Well.
I'll be the first to say it. The finale was WEAK.
[SPOILERS BELOW]
* Insignificant distraction to save that dudes daughter. Who cares?
* Somehow these aliens catch up to a warp 5 Enterprise, and appear on board, and right near where the Captain is? Whatever.
* The holodeck stuff was ANNOYING.
* It made most of what Enterprise should have been about seem really insignificant, even though they tried to make it grand (with the founding of the Federation). They failed.
* Killing Trip just to be dramatic was weak too.
* For that matter, no one seemed really upset. Even Archer. It was like it didn't even happen. So for the attempt to be dramatic and show sacrifice they sure didn't try to cash in on the emotional part of it. It just "happened" and that was all.
The BEST part of the Finale IMO was the final montage with the "These are the voyages..." speech with Picard, Kirk, and Archer giving it. More of a Trek finale than an Enterprise finale.
That being said, that was also the cause of the biggest weakness of it. The damn scene with Riker pretending to be the chef made me feel like I was watching Voyager with their chef...or TNG with people talking to Guinan or counsoler Troi. God that shit was annoying. I really did feel like I was more watching an episode of TNG than a finale for Enterprise. I guess thats what I think the biggest letdown was.
The episode of Enterprise before this one was MUCH MUCH better.
vacantlook
Super Moderator
Re: The end of \'Enterprise\'
From having watched tonight's finale, I can most definitely say:
Enterprise is more fun to watch when one is cocurrently occupied talking to one's best friend while having drank several bottles of brew.
From having watched tonight's finale, I can most definitely say:
Enterprise is more fun to watch when one is cocurrently occupied talking to one's best friend while having drank several bottles of brew.
admiraldave
Regular
Re: The end of \'Enterprise\'
Yeah, but even Terra Prime was a weak episode, saved only by some affecting acting from Billingsley, Blalock and Trinneer. The baby subplot was emotional, even if the end was obvious. The rest? Weak. And that whole non-starter "traitor on Enterprise" plot was pathetic. At least this two parter taught me why Mayweather gets no lines.
As for the finale ... well, it sucked. Killing off Trip was incredibly arbitrary, I think it beats Tasha Yar and Jadzia Dax for "most pointless death". It's nice to see the crew so affected by his death ... oh, wait. Nevermind. The time gap was also quite arbitrary. The Riker as Chef shtick was annoying, poor Shran, once a kick-ass patriot, was cut down to pathetic thief. The only solid part was the ending montage of the three Enterprises, but even there, why wasn't there at least a gesture towards DS9 or Voyager?
Yeah, but even Terra Prime was a weak episode, saved only by some affecting acting from Billingsley, Blalock and Trinneer. The baby subplot was emotional, even if the end was obvious. The rest? Weak. And that whole non-starter "traitor on Enterprise" plot was pathetic. At least this two parter taught me why Mayweather gets no lines.
As for the finale ... well, it sucked. Killing off Trip was incredibly arbitrary, I think it beats Tasha Yar and Jadzia Dax for "most pointless death". It's nice to see the crew so affected by his death ... oh, wait. Nevermind. The time gap was also quite arbitrary. The Riker as Chef shtick was annoying, poor Shran, once a kick-ass patriot, was cut down to pathetic thief. The only solid part was the ending montage of the three Enterprises, but even there, why wasn't there at least a gesture towards DS9 or Voyager?
vacantlook
Super Moderator
Re: The end of \'Enterprise\'
I can't remember...
Was Tasha Yar killed because Denise wanted to leave the show? I know that Jadzia was killed because Terry wanted out. While I did enjoy Jadzia's character a relatively good deal, I also did end up enjoy Ezri too, but I wasn't fond of how Jadzia was killed off.
Because this show is Enterprise, and I guess they thought they should limit the montage to Captains of ships named Enterprise???
I can't remember...
Was Tasha Yar killed because Denise wanted to leave the show? I know that Jadzia was killed because Terry wanted out. While I did enjoy Jadzia's character a relatively good deal, I also did end up enjoy Ezri too, but I wasn't fond of how Jadzia was killed off.
Because this show is Enterprise, and I guess they thought they should limit the montage to Captains of ships named Enterprise???
Sinclair
Moderator
Re: The end of \'Enterprise\'
I actually watched the last two episodes having not seen one in quite some time. I got a little confused...did the series just end up jumping a few years ahead in the past couple seasons or was that just for the last few episodes (the 10 year thing)? Another question: did we ever see the actuall Chef at anytime during the series? I know he was talked about all the time.
I actually liked that. It's almost as if a 'redshirt' had died. It seems as if anytime someone dies the rest of the crew doesn't give it much of a second thought. Finally, the case of a main cast member was different.
I think it was supposed to be just about the Enterprise and the history of it. I certainly didn't expect to see anything on DS9 or VOY.
One little nitpicky thing that only a real Star Trek nerd would notice: when we first see Ten Forward on NCC-1701D there was a crew member in a gold uniform wearing the uniform from the first couple seasons of TNG. I think all the crew had switched to the 'collared' uniforms by the fifth season, and the scenes with Riker and Troi were supposed to have been in the seventh season.
I actually watched the last two episodes having not seen one in quite some time. I got a little confused...did the series just end up jumping a few years ahead in the past couple seasons or was that just for the last few episodes (the 10 year thing)? Another question: did we ever see the actuall Chef at anytime during the series? I know he was talked about all the time.
I actually liked that. It's almost as if a 'redshirt' had died. It seems as if anytime someone dies the rest of the crew doesn't give it much of a second thought. Finally, the case of a main cast member was different.
I think it was supposed to be just about the Enterprise and the history of it. I certainly didn't expect to see anything on DS9 or VOY.
One little nitpicky thing that only a real Star Trek nerd would notice: when we first see Ten Forward on NCC-1701D there was a crew member in a gold uniform wearing the uniform from the first couple seasons of TNG. I think all the crew had switched to the 'collared' uniforms by the fifth season, and the scenes with Riker and Troi were supposed to have been in the seventh season.
Ninja_Squirrel
Regular
Re: The end of \'Enterprise\'
Over at www.geos.tv, less than a dozen people have voted, but already the series finale is coming in 96th out of the 98 episodes. That's pretty sad that only two normal episodes are worse than the "grand" finale.
SPOILERS
The Good:
- Seeing 1701D again, inside and out
- 1701D getting the graceful CGI treatment
- Seeing Riker & Troi again
The Bad:
- Archer's lame speech to the delegates sitting around the horseshoe table
- For a series finale, the Shran/daughter plot seemed like major filler
- Riker's interviews as the cook seemed pointless
- The person who seemed most upset at the death of a senior officer was a Vulcan (so, *they're* supposed to be the good ones at supressing emotion???).
- Overall, the plot seemed jumbled, and the dialogue was stale.
- All things considered, it made me miss TNG more than it did lament Enterprise, especially since I barely cared about Enterprise's cancellation in the first place.
The Indifferent:
- It's okay that the fates of the minor characters are not explained, because I didn't care anyway. I'm betting I'm not alone.
The Ruined Potential:
- Intriguing idea to base the 1701D scenes within a specific TNG episode, and yet the Enterprise plot had little or nothing to do with the Pegasus plot.
- Riker playing on the holodeck seems like a stupid way for him to use his time as he contemplates revealing the Pegasus secret to Picard.
- Troi's comment ruins any possible shock value upon the result of Trip's final action
- If this had been a JMS show, we would have heard Archer's big speech, and it would have been worthy of the beginning of the Federation. Instead we don't hear the speech, but it probably would have sucked anyway.
- All the build-up (okay, not a whole lot of build-up), and we barely witness the conception of the Federation and none of the actual birth of it.
Over at www.geos.tv, less than a dozen people have voted, but already the series finale is coming in 96th out of the 98 episodes. That's pretty sad that only two normal episodes are worse than the "grand" finale.
SPOILERS
The Good:
- Seeing 1701D again, inside and out
- 1701D getting the graceful CGI treatment
- Seeing Riker & Troi again
The Bad:
- Archer's lame speech to the delegates sitting around the horseshoe table
- For a series finale, the Shran/daughter plot seemed like major filler
- Riker's interviews as the cook seemed pointless
- The person who seemed most upset at the death of a senior officer was a Vulcan (so, *they're* supposed to be the good ones at supressing emotion???).
- Overall, the plot seemed jumbled, and the dialogue was stale.
- All things considered, it made me miss TNG more than it did lament Enterprise, especially since I barely cared about Enterprise's cancellation in the first place.
The Indifferent:
- It's okay that the fates of the minor characters are not explained, because I didn't care anyway. I'm betting I'm not alone.
The Ruined Potential:
- Intriguing idea to base the 1701D scenes within a specific TNG episode, and yet the Enterprise plot had little or nothing to do with the Pegasus plot.
- Riker playing on the holodeck seems like a stupid way for him to use his time as he contemplates revealing the Pegasus secret to Picard.
- Troi's comment ruins any possible shock value upon the result of Trip's final action
- If this had been a JMS show, we would have heard Archer's big speech, and it would have been worthy of the beginning of the Federation. Instead we don't hear the speech, but it probably would have sucked anyway.
- All the build-up (okay, not a whole lot of build-up), and we barely witness the conception of the Federation and none of the actual birth of it.
LondosHair
Regular
Re: The end of \'Enterprise\'
"Demons part II"
Excellent episode. I knew as soon as I saw the Reeves-Stevenses listed in the credits, this would be a good one. I would've liked to have seen Peter Weller's character's "condition" exposed, but they only had an hour to wrap it up. They should have taken BOTH hours on that story. Super acting on Blalock and Trinneer's part during the mourning scene. The human male in tears, barely able to speak, while the Vulcan female remained (mostly) composed. I loved the concept of re-introducing an atmosphere to Mars by crashing comets into the polar ice caps!
I don't even remember the title of the finale, but it doesn't matter. In typical Berman/Braga fashion, it sucked ass.
This was not a fitting end to the show. First off, we have Riker contemplating telling Picard about the Pegasus project. WE ALREADY KNOW what his decision will be. Making his struggle a recurring theme throughout the episode distracted me from what the REAL storyline should have been -- Enterprise returning home to play her part in the birth of the Federation.
The whole thing with Shran was ridiculous. Like so many other B&B episodes, they grabbed an idea out of the air and tried to make it work. Shran has been reduced to basically a fugitive? Gimme a break.
Riker constantly interacting with the NX-01 crew was distracting, as well. I would much rather have seen the REAL Enterprise chef, since they never showed us who he was during the show's entire run.
Troi spoiled Trip's fate for all of us. Again, this is typical of Berman & Braga. They have no concept of good writing whatsoever. They decide for "shock value" that a member of the crew must be killed off, and then totally fuck it up. Trip's death, despite his excellent performance, was POINTLESS. When Data died at the end of Nemesis, there was barely any mouring. In the final scenes of the show, we see the TNG crew joking and smiling. I always HATED that. Trip's death was treated exactly the same way, and N_S is right! The only person who showed one iota of emotion about it was T'Pol! One would think that, both in TNG and Enterprise, that after serving with someone for over 10 years, people would show a little more grief.
Cutting away as Archer went out to give the biggest speech of his life was horrible. We, the Trek fans, were about to see another step in the birth of the United Federation of Planets, and they DIDN'T SHOW IT. It's probably just as well, since B&B couldn't write a meaningful speech for something like that anyway. This episode was nothing more than a slap in the face to Trek fans everywhere, and to the NX-01 crew itself.
"Demons part II"
Excellent episode. I knew as soon as I saw the Reeves-Stevenses listed in the credits, this would be a good one. I would've liked to have seen Peter Weller's character's "condition" exposed, but they only had an hour to wrap it up. They should have taken BOTH hours on that story. Super acting on Blalock and Trinneer's part during the mourning scene. The human male in tears, barely able to speak, while the Vulcan female remained (mostly) composed. I loved the concept of re-introducing an atmosphere to Mars by crashing comets into the polar ice caps!
I don't even remember the title of the finale, but it doesn't matter. In typical Berman/Braga fashion, it sucked ass.
This was not a fitting end to the show. First off, we have Riker contemplating telling Picard about the Pegasus project. WE ALREADY KNOW what his decision will be. Making his struggle a recurring theme throughout the episode distracted me from what the REAL storyline should have been -- Enterprise returning home to play her part in the birth of the Federation.
The whole thing with Shran was ridiculous. Like so many other B&B episodes, they grabbed an idea out of the air and tried to make it work. Shran has been reduced to basically a fugitive? Gimme a break.
Riker constantly interacting with the NX-01 crew was distracting, as well. I would much rather have seen the REAL Enterprise chef, since they never showed us who he was during the show's entire run.
Troi spoiled Trip's fate for all of us. Again, this is typical of Berman & Braga. They have no concept of good writing whatsoever. They decide for "shock value" that a member of the crew must be killed off, and then totally fuck it up. Trip's death, despite his excellent performance, was POINTLESS. When Data died at the end of Nemesis, there was barely any mouring. In the final scenes of the show, we see the TNG crew joking and smiling. I always HATED that. Trip's death was treated exactly the same way, and N_S is right! The only person who showed one iota of emotion about it was T'Pol! One would think that, both in TNG and Enterprise, that after serving with someone for over 10 years, people would show a little more grief.
Cutting away as Archer went out to give the biggest speech of his life was horrible. We, the Trek fans, were about to see another step in the birth of the United Federation of Planets, and they DIDN'T SHOW IT. It's probably just as well, since B&B couldn't write a meaningful speech for something like that anyway. This episode was nothing more than a slap in the face to Trek fans everywhere, and to the NX-01 crew itself.
That was always B&B's answer for anyone who wants to leave the show... to hell with the chance they could make a return someday for whatever reason, let's kill 'em off! It'll be great for ratings! In fact, I think the only main character's departure that didn't end in their demise was Wesley Crusher's. The great folks who worked on DS9 made Jadzia's death MEAN something, and it actually had heavy repercussions on not only Worf, but Bashir, Quark, and Ezri as well. Tasha's funeral was the only memorable moment that her character really had, although the notion that she had messages recorded for everyone already was a little silly. She'd only been serving with those people for less than a year. The acting in that episode is what made it memorable.
Recoil
Regular
Re: The end of \'Enterprise\'
But hey, the whole thing took part in a holodeck. If they ever wanted to "change" how things were after B&B leave Trek, they can just say that it was another holodeck program created for entertainment, and not a 100% historical one. So there is always that way out of it.
When I think about Enterprise, I watched the first season and was let down. The second season I saw maybe 5 episodes of. The third I saw maybe 2, but heard that it was totally different than anything "Trek" and more hardcore --- not what I felt the show should have been about.
To me Enterprise was this very last season, with the deletion of 2 episodes. The season premier, where Cotto had to clean up the mess left to him from the Season 3 cliffhanger, and the finale. Take those 2 out of the picture and there is the show that we should have been given from day 1.
Not only did it deal with events leading up to the Federation, but had plenty of backstory and tie-ins to TOS era, which it should have had from the start. There was also *gasp* a little more character development. Hoshi was a non-factor the first 3 seasons, and we finally got ot see some of her character and what she is capable of. I like that Cotto gave the other crew members their time in the spotlight. It was just a good all around season, and what things should have been all along. Instead we got a show that had a certain promise when it was created, missed that promise by a longshot, then tried to re-invent itself every year, losing viewers along the way.
It would be nice to see some version or special of this show continued, but unfortunately it was messed up so much, its a certainty that we will never see another incarnation of this. It had its shot and that was that.
But hey, the whole thing took part in a holodeck. If they ever wanted to "change" how things were after B&B leave Trek, they can just say that it was another holodeck program created for entertainment, and not a 100% historical one. So there is always that way out of it.
When I think about Enterprise, I watched the first season and was let down. The second season I saw maybe 5 episodes of. The third I saw maybe 2, but heard that it was totally different than anything "Trek" and more hardcore --- not what I felt the show should have been about.
To me Enterprise was this very last season, with the deletion of 2 episodes. The season premier, where Cotto had to clean up the mess left to him from the Season 3 cliffhanger, and the finale. Take those 2 out of the picture and there is the show that we should have been given from day 1.
Not only did it deal with events leading up to the Federation, but had plenty of backstory and tie-ins to TOS era, which it should have had from the start. There was also *gasp* a little more character development. Hoshi was a non-factor the first 3 seasons, and we finally got ot see some of her character and what she is capable of. I like that Cotto gave the other crew members their time in the spotlight. It was just a good all around season, and what things should have been all along. Instead we got a show that had a certain promise when it was created, missed that promise by a longshot, then tried to re-invent itself every year, losing viewers along the way.
It would be nice to see some version or special of this show continued, but unfortunately it was messed up so much, its a certainty that we will never see another incarnation of this. It had its shot and that was that.
admiraldave
Regular
Re: The end of \'Enterprise\'
You liked the fact that aside from T'Pol, the crew barely noticed the death of a fellow officer and friend who'd worked with them for 10 years?
I know I compared Trip's death to Jadzia and Tasha's, but in many ways, it's more like Data's. IIRC (I barely remember Nemesis), his death was also pretty much brushed off by the crew.
After the awful speech in the first hour, I think we were mercifully spared. There could have been gazelles.
You liked the fact that aside from T'Pol, the crew barely noticed the death of a fellow officer and friend who'd worked with them for 10 years?
I know I compared Trip's death to Jadzia and Tasha's, but in many ways, it's more like Data's. IIRC (I barely remember Nemesis), his death was also pretty much brushed off by the crew.
After the awful speech in the first hour, I think we were mercifully spared. There could have been gazelles.
vacantlook
Super Moderator
Re: The end of \'Enterprise\'
At first, I was more or less moved by Data's death. And then 30 seconds or less after it happened I remembered that they had downloaded Data's memories into B-4 and will totally use that to bring Data back if those in charge of things decided to do so, so his death suddenly became much less meaningful to me. *sigh*
At first, I was more or less moved by Data's death. And then 30 seconds or less after it happened I remembered that they had downloaded Data's memories into B-4 and will totally use that to bring Data back if those in charge of things decided to do so, so his death suddenly became much less meaningful to me. *sigh*
Sinclair
Moderator
Re: The end of \'Enterprise\'
My whole point was that every time we see a 'nobody' crewmember die in all the various incarnations of Trek everyone in the crew goes on almost as if nothing had happened. We have no idea how long that person's been serving with them or how well they know each other. My thing was that a regular cast member finally got the same treatment as Ensign Joe Schmoe. As far as Trip goes I'm sure everyone noticed his death, we just don't see them dealing with it.
My whole point was that every time we see a 'nobody' crewmember die in all the various incarnations of Trek everyone in the crew goes on almost as if nothing had happened. We have no idea how long that person's been serving with them or how well they know each other. My thing was that a regular cast member finally got the same treatment as Ensign Joe Schmoe. As far as Trip goes I'm sure everyone noticed his death, we just don't see them dealing with it.
Re: The end of \'Enterprise\'
What I'm about to say is no joke. I've seen 9, yes NINE episodes of Enterprise.
This one was one of them. I don't want to sound like a troll but, HOW THE BLOODLY HELL did this show last as long as it did?
I loved ST:TOS and ST:TNG. I felt DS9 was a "pretty" Sci-Fi show and fun to watch, but I never viewed it as Star Trek. The title Star Trek does mean a TREK though the STARS, right? ST:Voyager I felt was a move in the right Star Trek style direction. Still somewhat lacking though IMHO.
Then, there came Enterprise. The first thing that freaked me out the first time I caught Enterprise was the Rock Music for the intro. Plus none of the characters 'jumped out' at me. And all NINE of the Episodes I saw either made me change the channel, or say to myself, "Yep, I've seen this before..."
I'd rant, but I by and large stayed away from Enterprise.
I said it before and I'll say it again. When GeneR died, Trek died with him.
BTW Recoil, your review was IMHO flawless. *claps*
What I'm about to say is no joke. I've seen 9, yes NINE episodes of Enterprise.
This one was one of them. I don't want to sound like a troll but, HOW THE BLOODLY HELL did this show last as long as it did?
I loved ST:TOS and ST:TNG. I felt DS9 was a "pretty" Sci-Fi show and fun to watch, but I never viewed it as Star Trek. The title Star Trek does mean a TREK though the STARS, right? ST:Voyager I felt was a move in the right Star Trek style direction. Still somewhat lacking though IMHO.
Then, there came Enterprise. The first thing that freaked me out the first time I caught Enterprise was the Rock Music for the intro. Plus none of the characters 'jumped out' at me. And all NINE of the Episodes I saw either made me change the channel, or say to myself, "Yep, I've seen this before..."
I'd rant, but I by and large stayed away from Enterprise.
I said it before and I'll say it again. When GeneR died, Trek died with him.
BTW Recoil, your review was IMHO flawless. *claps*
Ninja_Squirrel
Regular
Re: The end of \'Enterprise\'
I watched the repeat of the finale again tonight, and I still don't get the connection between Riker's Pegasus situation and the Archer/Trip/Shran situation. I don't really think there is one. And while the Ent/TNG crossover was an idea with potential, it mostly just reminded me how bad Enterprise was compared to TNG.
Despite the fact that the TNG characters crossing over were two of the less interesting characters, played again by actors noticeably older, wrinklier, and heavier than they were back in TNG S7, 11 years ago, I still was more interested and entertained by their scenes than the scenes with the NX-01 group. Even the acting from Frakes and Sirtis felt better.
I can't remember which magazine it was, but I read a sci-fi mag article today where John Billingsley (who plays Dr. Phlox) kept a journal for the last days of shooting on the last two episodes. He seemed grumpy about his Enterprise experience, complained a lot about the make-up, the techno-babble (or in his case the medico-babble), and expressed what others have noticed, that the final episode felt more TNG than Enterprise.
In a later entry he did express the obligatory gratitude for being on the show and emotion he felt toward the cast, but even that felt more like a weak afterthought. I get the impression that he and the rest of the cast genuinely liked each other and gained something from their exposure on Enterprise, but implied that the show ended with a wimper as much off camera than on.
I've never heard those kind of attitudes from casts of TNG, DS9, B5, Crusade, etc. Enterprise just didn't have much spirit in it from the beginning.
-----
GLOBAL EPISODE OPINION SURVEY UPDATE
I checked www.geos.tv again. The series finale now has 14 votes and is dead last out of all 98 episodes. It has a score of 6.11. The next-to-lowest episode's score is 6.58. That means that the grand swan song of a four year run is almost a whole half a point worse than the episode that used to be worst.
A series finale should be the ultimate culmination of everything a show has tried to achieve, or at the very least, a touching way of saying goodbye (safe to say, B5's finale had buckets of both), and yet Enterprise's finale is the worst episode it had. Sad.
I watched the repeat of the finale again tonight, and I still don't get the connection between Riker's Pegasus situation and the Archer/Trip/Shran situation. I don't really think there is one. And while the Ent/TNG crossover was an idea with potential, it mostly just reminded me how bad Enterprise was compared to TNG.
Despite the fact that the TNG characters crossing over were two of the less interesting characters, played again by actors noticeably older, wrinklier, and heavier than they were back in TNG S7, 11 years ago, I still was more interested and entertained by their scenes than the scenes with the NX-01 group. Even the acting from Frakes and Sirtis felt better.
I can't remember which magazine it was, but I read a sci-fi mag article today where John Billingsley (who plays Dr. Phlox) kept a journal for the last days of shooting on the last two episodes. He seemed grumpy about his Enterprise experience, complained a lot about the make-up, the techno-babble (or in his case the medico-babble), and expressed what others have noticed, that the final episode felt more TNG than Enterprise.
In a later entry he did express the obligatory gratitude for being on the show and emotion he felt toward the cast, but even that felt more like a weak afterthought. I get the impression that he and the rest of the cast genuinely liked each other and gained something from their exposure on Enterprise, but implied that the show ended with a wimper as much off camera than on.
I've never heard those kind of attitudes from casts of TNG, DS9, B5, Crusade, etc. Enterprise just didn't have much spirit in it from the beginning.
-----
GLOBAL EPISODE OPINION SURVEY UPDATE
I checked www.geos.tv again. The series finale now has 14 votes and is dead last out of all 98 episodes. It has a score of 6.11. The next-to-lowest episode's score is 6.58. That means that the grand swan song of a four year run is almost a whole half a point worse than the episode that used to be worst.
A series finale should be the ultimate culmination of everything a show has tried to achieve, or at the very least, a touching way of saying goodbye (safe to say, B5's finale had buckets of both), and yet Enterprise's finale is the worst episode it had. Sad.
2aMageing
Regular
Re: The end of \'Enterprise\'
I have gathered, and I would have to agree, that Scott Bakula does not quite carry things when he makes a grand speech. Yet, I personally found admirable sentiment in the text of his Terra Prime pt2 speech. The bit about the journey within being at least as important as the journey "out there" was very much classic Trek to me.
And after seeing Terra Prime pt 2 twice in a row (it was reran, and since I missed bits I rewatched it) I have to say that Jolene Blalock is an immense talent. She has perhaps the most tenuous character to portray and she really nails it quite well. She makes the rest of the cast look even more wooden then they may already be. It seems like her and the Doc carry the show as far as quality character presentation.
Unfortunately, the story was written poorly, the dialogue soffers from cliche and a painful lack of pace. Example in point, when Archer and CO make it to the control room to shut down The Array, what do they do, they stun some of the folks and leave the head man and his main man standing in front of the console.
It's stuff like this that shows how a great idea and some well designed characters and a set of ( at least servicable, if not well talented ) actors can be ruined by a lack of quality story telliing. I watched this episode and the follow up Final episode and both screamed at me that they had been written by sophmore college student majoring in Theater Studies.
And about the Final episode, the Pegusus stuff was SOOOOOOO filler. There was some minor novelty value in the presence of Riker and Troi, but all that ended up doing was making a punchline out of the Enterprise crew and all that they had done in the series. It left me feeling like I had been doing nothing but watching a Hologram for the entire series, which TOTALLY undermined any remaining attachment to the Enterprise series. It felt like a footnote in a STTNG episode. They should have titled the final episode:
Berman and Braga Run Home to Mamma.
I weep inside for the waste of a great concept series that might have brought us back to the bridge of an Enterprise, where the Star Trek legacy belonged.
I have gathered, and I would have to agree, that Scott Bakula does not quite carry things when he makes a grand speech. Yet, I personally found admirable sentiment in the text of his Terra Prime pt2 speech. The bit about the journey within being at least as important as the journey "out there" was very much classic Trek to me.
And after seeing Terra Prime pt 2 twice in a row (it was reran, and since I missed bits I rewatched it) I have to say that Jolene Blalock is an immense talent. She has perhaps the most tenuous character to portray and she really nails it quite well. She makes the rest of the cast look even more wooden then they may already be. It seems like her and the Doc carry the show as far as quality character presentation.
Unfortunately, the story was written poorly, the dialogue soffers from cliche and a painful lack of pace. Example in point, when Archer and CO make it to the control room to shut down The Array, what do they do, they stun some of the folks and leave the head man and his main man standing in front of the console.
It's stuff like this that shows how a great idea and some well designed characters and a set of ( at least servicable, if not well talented ) actors can be ruined by a lack of quality story telliing. I watched this episode and the follow up Final episode and both screamed at me that they had been written by sophmore college student majoring in Theater Studies.
And about the Final episode, the Pegusus stuff was SOOOOOOO filler. There was some minor novelty value in the presence of Riker and Troi, but all that ended up doing was making a punchline out of the Enterprise crew and all that they had done in the series. It left me feeling like I had been doing nothing but watching a Hologram for the entire series, which TOTALLY undermined any remaining attachment to the Enterprise series. It felt like a footnote in a STTNG episode. They should have titled the final episode:
Berman and Braga Run Home to Mamma.
I weep inside for the waste of a great concept series that might have brought us back to the bridge of an Enterprise, where the Star Trek legacy belonged.
Jade Jaguar
Regular
Re: The end of \'Enterprise\'
I agree pretty much in full with Hair's criticisms quoted below.
I have watched ALL of Enterprise, from day one, and liked it better than most around here, although I agree that it was far from what it could or should be in the first two seasons. I liked most of season 3, with the Xindi arc, pretty well. I liked Manny C.'s work on season 4 somewhat better. But the final ep was pretty lame, for all the reasons Hair says. I liked Demons part II, except for the ending. I can't imagine that Archer would be debating with Peter Weller, instead of stunning him, at the point when Weller reactivated the Verteron Array. Also, it was very clear that Weller was expecting to die when he reactivated it, so, threatening him with death was a ridiculous waste of time on Archer's part.
Oh, LH, B&B didn't kill off Kess either. One more they let 'evolve' to a higher being, like Wesley, instead of dying.
I agree pretty much in full with Hair's criticisms quoted below.
I have watched ALL of Enterprise, from day one, and liked it better than most around here, although I agree that it was far from what it could or should be in the first two seasons. I liked most of season 3, with the Xindi arc, pretty well. I liked Manny C.'s work on season 4 somewhat better. But the final ep was pretty lame, for all the reasons Hair says. I liked Demons part II, except for the ending. I can't imagine that Archer would be debating with Peter Weller, instead of stunning him, at the point when Weller reactivated the Verteron Array. Also, it was very clear that Weller was expecting to die when he reactivated it, so, threatening him with death was a ridiculous waste of time on Archer's part.
Oh, LH, B&B didn't kill off Kess either. One more they let 'evolve' to a higher being, like Wesley, instead of dying.
vacantlook
Super Moderator
Re: The end of \'Enterprise\'
Poor Kes. She was way too much character for those stupid asses to know what to do with. Her species' living less than a decade put so much potential there for how she could grow with the crew of the ship and then everyone be rendered to blubbery tears at her natural passing. But no, they couldn't let something emotionally powerful like that happen.
Poor Kes. She was way too much character for those stupid asses to know what to do with. Her species' living less than a decade put so much potential there for how she could grow with the crew of the ship and then everyone be rendered to blubbery tears at her natural passing. But no, they couldn't let something emotionally powerful like that happen.
