Enterprise: "The Augments" (Spoilers)

[vacantlook]

Enterprise: \"The Augments\" (Spoilers)

You know there's gonna be...

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Well, the episode was decent. I liked Arik Soong's change of desire to focusing on artificial intelligences because of the trouble his working with human genetics caused. It was a nice character progression. I also liked the scene of Archer bluffing his way with the Klingons making them think he was carrying the Chancellor.

What I didn't like about the episode is that everything turned out all hunky dory; the Klingons ended up not upset about it. I was anticipating this story to be bringing about the massive degree of antagonism seen between the Federation and the Klingon Empire in the original series. But what we got was that the Klingons were ok with what happened. Way to not break out of that shell of writing that Star Trek seems caught in: inability to do anything risky with the universe.

The previews for next week bringing us back to Vulcan may have some nice potential, though I didn't like the typical advertising idiocy of "one will lose their life" or whatever the hell it was. That kind of thing just feels uberlame to me anymore. I guess they're going to do a storing of the Vulcan ka in Archer if my interpretation of the shot of the scene with the one Vulcan (was it T'Pol or another Vulcan, my reception was too blurry for me to make out whom it was?) grabbing Archer by the face a la mindmeld.

"The Augments" was a decent episode, though it did leave me disappointed in some regards.

 

[AntonyF]

Re: Enterprise: \"The Augments\" (Spoilers)

Eugh. The ending.

Soong: Boo hoo, my children are dead... everything I poured my life into is dead. Maybe I should give up on humans. Maybe the way forward is artificial intelligence. It may take a generation or two, maybe my grandson will realise the dream, but it could be done. And we'd make them yellow, so they couldn't blend in like the Augments and be feared, but we can model them after ourselves so they still look human. They'll be so clever they'll be able to fly ships and everything. Wow, I'd better get started. I've worked on genetics, but I'll whip out this paper and start drawing some circuit boards right now. This android is sure going to need a lot of 'Data'...

 

[hypatia]

Re: Enterprise: \"The Augments\" (Spoilers)

I liked the episodes until the very end, too.



I guess they are assuming the same Star Trek fans that screamed for some kind of relevancy are also dumb enough to need a big, glowing, neon-colored stamp at the end saying "TIE-IN TO TNG JUST OCCURED!!!"



But, you know, these three episodes did keep my attention, and interfered with the usual busy work I do when trying to watch Enterprise. Although it might very well be its last season, I must say these three episodes interested me enough as stories and as guest characters, I'll be tuning in next Friday or taping it at least.

I need to get TIVO.

 

[AntonyF]

Re: Enterprise: \"The Augments\" (Spoilers)

They were okay. I liked the Soong character, but found the Augments dreadfully dull.

Looking forward to the next arc.

 

[admiraldave]

Re: Enterprise: \"The Augments\" (Spoilers)

They were okay. I liked the Soong character, but found the Augments dreadfully dull.

Totally agree. These guys were supposed to be genetically enhanced? Totally dull, cliched villians.

Still can't stand Archer. That bizarre ... halting ... Shatneresque cadence he uses ... when bluffing out Klingons really bugs me.

All in all, I'm not seeing any great improvement this season. The miniarc format, as is, just bugs me. The "Archer is in trouble, oh no" cliffhangers are anything but (I keep hoping he dies), and these still aren't characters I really care for.

 

[vacantlook]

Re: Enterprise: \"The Augments\" (Spoilers)

There are three characters I care for, in order: Hoshi, Phlox, and T'Pol. But even with my like for them, there isn't too much development for them; it's more like characters on this show are just there, not really going anywhere.

 

[GKarsEye]

Re: Enterprise: \"The Augments\" (Spoilers)

Frankly, I think the focus on things relavent to the Trek universe, like augments and Vulcans and Klingons as opposed to confusingly irrelevant nonsense like time travel and "insectoids" is a huge improvement already, despite the weaknesses.

It's interesting that they're going with two three-parters in a row. Good way to keep some people interested.

 

[Sindatur]

Re: Enterprise: \"The Augments\" (Spoilers)

It was OK, worth the time it took to watch, and I didn't feel I have been robbed of an hour of my life. I think, if this was Season 1, rather than Season 4, I think we all would be liking it alot more.

As GKE said, there is relevancy, and it is advancing along, perhaps it is still growing and will improve even more.

I believe the Vulcan Arc coming next will expand on T'Pol's situation with her marriage, and the predjudice against her mother.

 

[AntonyF]

Re: Enterprise: \"The Augments\" (Spoilers)

Season three was great. Season four, getting past the cleanu episodes, I expected to be fantastic as it's Manny's time. But, the Spiner arc left me quite cold.

But, there were some good concepts in there. And I am looking forward to the future arcs and stories. I'm sure once he's got his rythym going he can do better.

 

[colonyearth]

Re: Enterprise: \"The Augments\" (Spoilers)

It was ok, mediocre Trek...which is a step above the ok, melodramatic Trek we've had dished out to us in droves over the last several years.

The end was over the top corny, and I was downright pissed that they didn't use the "incident" to start "over 70 years of unremitting hostility" with the Klingons. Cop out...chicken shit.



This next arc is supposed to explain why Archer's era Vulcans are more emotional than Kirk's and move toward altering the Vulcan behavior to that of the Kirk era and beyond. I'll believe it when I see it. (I believed it more before the cop-out at the end of AUGMENTS.)

No, I still don't give a damn about these characters (which is fundamentally the problem with Trek now), and T'Pol is way too emotional still for my taste (but then so are all of the Vulcans IMO).

What strikes me is how often and frequently fans keep making excuses, as if not willing to admitt Trek long ago lost its way.

CE

 

[LondosHair]

Re: Enterprise: \"The Augments\" (Spoilers)

I was downright pissed that they didn't use the "incident" to start "over 70 years of unremitting hostility" with the Klingons. Cop out...chicken shit.

Apparently I'm one of the few people who considered the fact that this was never intended to BE the event that started the hostilities with the Klingons. The possibility of it was used as a marketing tool, and pretty successfully, I might add.

I've stopped getting flustered over the fact that things aren't necessarily going according to the "accepted" Trek timeline, because it's becoming clearer and clearer to me that it'll all be explained in the end. Whether it's in the form of a giant "reset" button, or an "alternate reality," or whatever, I'm enjoying the shows for what they are, and how they have not deviated from the very core of Trek, which is to confront today's issues in a futuristic setting, and yet still have its own element of sci-fi.

What strikes me is how often and frequently fans keep making excuses, as if not willing to admitt Trek long ago lost its way.

You see alternate opinions as excuses because your idea of Star Trek isn't what is on TV today. Because of that, you'll probably never be happy with it.

It doesn't mean Trek has lost its way at all (even though there have been dark days in recent years). Trek is adapting and experimenting. Crew chemistry is immensely important to a good Trek series. TNG had it, DS9 had it, but I don't think Voyager had it. ST:E needs more character building episodes. That's what I want to see more of.

 

[GKarsEye]

Re: Enterprise: \"The Augments\" (Spoilers)

Yeah, I don't understand the complaint that the augment event didn't start some war or something. That's not what it was about!

As for distrust or antagonistic feelings the Klingons have for Earth, that already started in the series premier. The augment thing is just another reason for them to not like us. I don't think the Federation and Klingons ever actually had a war, so nothing really awful could ever have happened, otherwise we know the Klingons would have attacked in full force, Federation would defend and respond, and war, which never happened. It makes more sense to have a number of minor incidents and misunderstanding which, fueled by the Klingon's natural aggression and mistrust, results in the antagonism we see in Kirk's time.

The ending the augment arc wasn't a "cop out," it was actually quite logical.

The other complaint about the end of the episode is Soong's decision at the very end to pursue cybernetics instead of genetic augmentation. Yes, it was corny- SO WHAT? Corniness, humurous asides and the like are all classic Star Trek! The viciousness of the complaints about this minor aside just confirms how goddamn anal and humorless some Trekkies are.

 

[Sindatur]

Re: Enterprise: \"The Augments\" (Spoilers)

I did have one very minor gripe, and it may just be faulty memory. But, I was always under the impression that Khan's name was Khan Singh, yet in the Arc they referred to him as Khan Soong, to make the connection to Arik and Noonian?

 

[LondosHair]

Re: Enterprise: \"The Augments\" (Spoilers)

I did have one very minor gripe, and it may just be faulty memory. But, I was always under the impression that Khan's name was Khan Singh, yet in the Arc they referred to him as Khan Soong, to make the connection to Arik and Noonian?

Khan's full name was Khan Noonien Singh. Very close to Data's creator, Dr. Noonian Soong. Different spelling, but who knows if there's a connection. The specific referral you mentioned might have been something as simple as a mispronunciation that slipped past the guys in Post.