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Enterprise - Harbringer 02/11 (Spoilers)
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Posted by: JYoung

Rating for last week's episode Strategem by Neilsen:
Rank: 92 # of viewers: 4.07 Million

Harbringer

Story by Berman and Braga
Teleplay by Manny Coto

Trip and T'Pol get it on.
Reed and Major Hayes get it on.
Archer investigates a mysterious alien.

Another previously on.
Yeah, remind us that Major Hayes aboard
Oho, Sim.
Ok, at least this isn't as blatant as the previous massage sessions.
The MACOs handled themselves well against the Xindi?????? What show have I been watching because I sure haven't seen that.
Reed throws a temper tantrum.
Hey, it's Mayweather!
Take a look? Shouldn't they continue on course?
Why didn't they back off right away?
Why wasn't Phlox present at the pod opening?
NO WAY! There is NO WAY T'Pol should have been that distracted in order to get decked like that.
In fact, there is no way a human marine should have been able to deck a Vulcan like that.
And why isn't Archer at those sessions.
Catty T'Pol? Oh please.
Trans-dimensional realm?
Does T'Pol ever say much?
This dialogue is just killing me.
T'Pol just kisses him and gets naked? :rolleyes: Yeah, right.
Ohhh the alien can phase.
Reed's acting like an immature schoolboy.
Their night together was an experiment? WTF?
So we've got another alien species in the mix.

Ugh. The Trip/T'Pol thing wasn't as bad as it could have been but it was still stupid. I still stand by my assessment that it was in there just get T'Pol naked and grab some ratings.
The Hayes/Reed plot was ok in spite of Reed's immaturity (at least Archer called him on that) and I like Stephen Culp but shouldn't we have seen this about 5 episodes back?
(and what happened to T'Pol's Vulcan martial arts?)
The plot about the alien did contribute to the Xindi arc nicely though and I enjoyed that.

Grading is a little tougher.

F for Trip/T'Pol
C for Hayes/Reed
B For Archer/Alien

Total Grade C-

Spoiler Alert! (highlight to read)

Oh and next week looks like another ripoff of a Voyager episode....

Posted by: jones07

JYoung, This is one of the few times in the past 2 years I agree with your Grade
Other then T'pol getting naked ;) and the new alien plot the rest of the 45 mins was a waste.
Going just by the preview I hope next episode is better then it looked

Posted by: Hopeless

What was the last line that the alien said? I couldn't understand it. His race prevails?

Not a very interesting story, but the fighting/sparring was very well done for a tv show. Archer's display of anger was much more convincing than usual in this episode.

Posted by: brahamt

JYoung, this is one of the few times I DISagree with your grade. Though not a stellar episode, it was interesting (though as you correctly noted for the Xindi arc). The Trip/T'Pol thing was a naked (pun intended) ratings grab yes, but the stuff leading up to it was a little interesting.

As an aside, I have liked Manny Coto's episodes for the most part this season. Not surprising since I loved Odyssey 5.

Posted by: timckelley

Holy Excrement! T'Pol stripped to the bone, kissed Trip, and (I assume) did some nasty sex with him! What were the writers thinking?

Are we sure that T'Pol is vulcan?

Posted by: jimest

Worst entrprise that I have seen, I hope next week is better or I may be deleting my SP.

Jim

Posted by: Skyler

Hopeless,
I replayed that last line by the alien about 10 times and still couldn't figure out what the last word was. Finally, I turned on Closed Captioning on my TV and figured out that the last word was "prevail".

So, the whole line was something like "When the Xindi destroy earth, we will prevail".

Posted by: timckelley

quote:
Originally posted by Skyler
"When the Xindi destroy earth, we will prevail".

Yes, I recognized that line immediately when it was spoken. I'm assuming that his species has some conflict with humans and will benefit from the extinction of humans.

Posted by: Dale Sorel

I have an agreement with a neighbor of mine: I tell her when Mr. Burton is directing. Otherwise, it seems, this series isn't worth the time :rolleyes:

Posted by: timckelley

quote:
Originally posted by Dale Sorel
I have an agreement with a neighbor of mine: I tell her when Mr. Burton is directing. Otherwise, it seems, this series isn't worth the time :rolleyes:

Oh, some eps are better than others, but they're all worth the time. :cool:

Posted by: Bryanmc

Anyone else think that T'Pol simply wasn't impressed with Trip's 'performance' so she crafted that research excuse?

:D

That was just stupid. If if was only research, why was she getting all jealous at the other chick?

Posted by: timckelley

I think she's embarrassed or resentful that she succumbed to such a human act, and so wants to pretend emotion is not involved.

Posted by: jerobi

quote:
Originally posted by Skyler
Hopeless,
I replayed that last line by the alien about 10 times and still couldn't figure out what the last word was. Finally, I turned on Closed Captioning on my TV and figured out that the last word was "prevail".

So, the whole line was something like "When the Xindi destroy earth, we will prevail".

I'm glad I read this, then. I thought he said "there" instead of "prevail." As you might imagine, there is an entirely different meaning between those two statements!

At least I wasn't the only one that found those words to be garbled.

Posted by: timckelley

quote:
Originally posted by jerobi
I'm glad I read this, then. I thought he said "there" instead of "prevail." As you might imagine, there is an entirely different meaning between those two statements!

At least I wasn't the only one that found those words to be garbled.

I guess the reason I didn't find them to be garbled is because I always watch this show with closed captions turned on. This is my favorite SP of all SPs and I don't want to miss any of the words.

Posted by: allan

quote:
Originally posted by jerobi
I'm glad I read this, then. I thought he said "there" instead of "prevail." As you might imagine, there is an entirely different meaning between those two statements!

At least I wasn't the only one that found those words to be garbled.

I realize he was fading out, but I hate it when you can't understand the mandatory evil gloating speech! :)

Posted by: Family

I think Enterprise has a pretty decent arc going and this week represented another in a long consecutive streak of "related episodes." This fact is not getting the credit it deserves. It is currently hip to rip Enterprise and one reason is because it has sucked many times. But now I think it is finally good because it is focused on the arc each week. We don't have to wait until a season finale or sweeps to be offered information.... all episodes are focused.

So if they want a secondary plot like T'Pol & Trip... that's fine with me. They even handled and set up that subplot well during previous weeks. If a show dares risk audience through threaded episodes... I think it is unfair to judge each week's offering as an island. Some weeks Deep Space Nine was weak by itself, but strong within the arc.

I am not saying Enterprise is as good as Deep Space Nine (though it has passed Voyager IMO as a series). I am saying that this episode was tastefully done (T'Pol/Tripp) and offered a huge twist in the ongoing arc. That alone made it good to me because next week they have conditioned me to expect even more. I now look forward to where the series is going. What more can you want?

Posted by: jasonl99

Geeze, I guess I must have been on drugs. I thought this was one of the better episodes yet.

The scene between T'Pol and Trip, prior to the nakedness, was great dialogue and the best acting yet on the show.

Archer's newfound toughness definitely helps the show. And clearly scenes that are filmed seriously have comic intent for the viewer - like the scene in Archer's office after the fight.

IMO, this show is starting to come into its own.

Have any of you recently watched reruns of the first few seasons of Next Generation? It's ultra-cheesey by comparison. If Voyager could stay on the air for 6-8 years, it would be regarded as the best Trek yet, IMHO.

Posted by: JYoung

quote:
Originally posted by brahamt

As an aside, I have liked Manny Coto's episodes for the most part this season. Not surprising since I loved Odyssey 5.

Well, the story came from Beavis and Butthead. I think that Coto added the alien plot and beefed up the dialog a bit.
If they'd dropped the the Trip/T'Pol thing and concentrated far more on the alien mystery, they might have had something.

quote:
Originally posted by timckelley
Holy Excrement! T'Pol stripped to the bone, kissed Trip, and (I assume) did some nasty sex with him! What were the writers thinking?

Are we sure that T'Pol is vulcan?

No, we're not. It's become increasingly apparent that Beavis and Butthead don't know what a Vulcan is.

T'Pol's actions would have been in character if she was Brenda Walsh and attending West Beverly High School. Otherwise, it's bad writing.
I mean Lana Lang on Smallville is more mature than this.

T'Pol was originally the Science Officer and First Officer of the ship.
Since the beginning of this season, she's basically been the ship's masseuse.
Now, it appears that she's the ship's bimbo.

I can see what will happen in the next sweeps period:

Archer: We're out of fuel, T'Pol. I'm sorry but I have to ask you to go down to this planet and "negotiate" for some fuel.

T'Pol: Yes sir.

Archer: Make sure to wear something appropriately trashy and take Phlox with you so he can "look out for you".

Phlox: Yo mama.

Posted by: timckelley

Even Spock who was half human, was more restrained than T'Pol. Or is T'Pol supposed to be younger, and less disciplined than Spock?

Posted by: vman41

quote:
Originally posted by timckelley
Even Spock who was half human, was more restrained than T'Pol. Or is T'Pol supposed to be younger, and less disciplined than Spock?

Maybe Spock was just being neurotic about the whole "I'm a Vulcan" thing since he as a half-breed and your average full-blooded Vulcan is more relaxed about it. Alternatively, maybe the cultural fervor for 'logic' ebbs and flows in that society the way sexual mores do in human societies.

Posted by: JYoung

quote:
Originally posted by timckelley
Even Spock who was half human, was more restrained than T'Pol. Or is T'Pol supposed to be younger, and less disciplined than Spock?

T'Pol is supposed to be older than Spock. She's at least 60 whereas Spock was in his mid 30's during TOS.

Spoiler Alert! (highlight to read)

Oh and BTW, before you see next week's episode,
you may want to take a look at Voyager's One.

Posted by: RGM1138

It's a bit of a pain not getting ST:E locally until Saturday night, (syndicated through a FOX channel), because it's harder to make pithy comments in a timely manner. :)

My first thought, (after the mini-movie teaser), upon seeing Lt Dish, I mean, Cpl Cole was: Hey, who's doing the guest casting, Russ Meyer? (Not that I'm complaining).

Arcane reference note: Meyer was a 60's/70's "exploitation" director who always cast women with substantial assets in his films.

My second thought, after T'Pol's "wardrobe malfunction" was, hmm, I'd love to see the cumulative totals on how many times the replay button was hit. :)

(Yeah, I did it too.)

BTW, the look on Trip's face was priceless. And, after their encounter, shouldn't he be walking funny or somethin'? Cause, I'm assuming it would be an E-Ticket ride.

Man, physical training in the 22nd century seems awfully brutal. Bare knuckles?

Oh, and Malcolm, you should see if Phlox can remove that rather large stick from your arse.

I'm curious as to what ugly, phased-alien's race has to do in the grand scheme of things. Perhaps this will be explored further in a future ep. Or not.

Bob

Posted by: Hopeless

quote:
Originally posted by JYoung
Spoiler Alert! (highlight to read)

Oh and BTW, before you see next week's episode,
you may want to take a look at Voyager's One.

That's interesting, and, I suppose, frustrating for those who are able to and inclined to remember so many past episodes.

As I pointed out before though, with maybe 600-700 episodes in the various Star Trek series it must be quite a challenge to not repeat plot lines. It it time for Star Trek to end? Is it time for "serious" watchers to quit watching? I dunno, but I don't think casual viewers like myself are bothered very much by this.

Has any other series had so many episodes?

Posted by: DLL66

quote:
Originally posted by Hopeless
That's interesting, and, I suppose, frustrating for those who are able to and inclined to remember so many past episodes.

As I pointed out before though, with maybe 600-700 episodes in the various Star Trek series it must be quite a challenge to not repeat plot lines. It it time for Star Trek to end? Is it time for "serious" watchers to quit watching? I dunno, but I don't think casual viewers like myself are bothered very much by this.

Has any other series had so many episodes?

A lot of people "live" inside or with Star Trek!

Posted by: Rcrew

quote:
Originally posted by JYoung
Why wasn't Phlox present at the pod opening?

For unrelated reasons I had to watch the episode a 2nd time, after having read your review. Not really intending to nit pick, but Phlox was standing right behind Archer when the pod was opened. He didn't have any lines, and when the camera moved to the view from inside the pod you don't see him. But he was stage right, behind Archer.

Posted by: TreborPugly

T'Pol is the worst Vulcan I've ever seen. She emotes constantly! Any other Vulcan throughout all the various shows and movies has been better at the emotionless acting than she is.

It might be reasonable for a Vulcan to have feelings that they suppress, including jealousy, but she doesn't suppress them at all. A proper indication of her underlying jealously would be for us to see her eyes observe them, but no emotion on her face. Once Leonard Nemoy got this down, Spock did it all the time. I think Blakloc (sp?) has too much experience giving the camera steamy looks to become blank.

But then the writing is bad too, because a Vulcan wouldn't succumb to her emotions for a one night stand. She might reveal her suppressed feeling for him, in a businesslike manner. But she'd tell him he has to wait until her next breeding frenzy(something less than 7 years) to do anything physical about it.

Posted by: JYoung

quote:
Originally posted by Hopeless
That's interesting, and, I suppose, frustrating for those who are able to and inclined to remember so many past episodes.

As I pointed out before though, with maybe 600-700 episodes in the various Star Trek series it must be quite a challenge to not repeat plot lines. It it time for Star Trek to end? Is it time for "serious" watchers to quit watching? I dunno, but I don't think casual viewers like myself are bothered very much by this.

Has any other series had so many episodes?

Gunsmoke ran for over 20 years and Bonanza about 15, IIRC.

Repeating plot lines is a problem because B&B were promising something new, fresh, and originial. So far, they really haven't delivered that. You can get away with a similar plot line if you put a different spin on it but we've seen little of that in Enterprise so far.

I will give the next episode a chance though as they do have Billingsley front and center. He's probably the best actor on the show and woefully underused.
Plus the episode is being directed by Roxann Dawson (which is ironic, if you think about it) who has a decent track record so far (well, except for Exile....)

quote:
Originally posted by Rcrew
For unrelated reasons I had to watch the episode a 2nd time, after having read your review. Not really intending to nit pick, but Phlox was standing right behind Archer when the pod was opened. He didn't have any lines, and when the camera moved to the view from inside the pod you don't see him. But he was stage right, behind Archer.

Huh, I must have blinked and missed it.........
At least Phlox isn't as disposable as Mayweather though.....

Posted by: TonyD79

All this talk about T-Pol not being "very Vulcan." I think she is being Vulcan enough. Remember, Vulcan's are learing about humans, too. Although she was placed with the ship by the High Command, how many Vulcans to this point have been in contact with humans and humans only?

Vulcans are NOT devoid of emotion. They SUPPRESS them because they were so emotional they almost destroyed themselves (anyone remember that Romulans are related to Vulcans?).

Spock had the accumlated knowledge of working with humans by the point in time he existed and the Vulcans probably developed methods of coping (although there were even warnings then of being with humans full time).

I don't think it is an accident that T'Pol is becoming "more human" as her contact with the High Command drifts away.

As for mixng with humans in a sexual way, it cannot be taboo. By Spock's time, his father had married a human and was a high ranking ambassador, so it isn't exactly like blacks and whites in the South in the 1960s for humans and Vulcans to intermingle.

As for the "experiment" line, that was just here awkward way of covering the situation and trying to remain "Vulcan." It was obvious that Trip understood that when he suggested that they could continue the sessions.

Yeesh! You guys really pick too many nits and always, always, always assume the worst.

Posted by: TreborPugly

quote:
Originally posted by TonyD79

Vulcans are NOT devoid of emotion. They SUPPRESS them because they were so emotional they almost destroyed themselves (anyone remember that Romulans are related to Vulcans?).

Spock had the accumlated knowledge of working with humans by the point in time he existed and the Vulcans probably developed methods of coping (although there were even warnings then of being with humans full time).

I don't think it is an accident that T'Pol is becoming "more human" as her contact with the High Command drifts away.

I made the point to that they suppress their emotions. So why is it that everything she feels is clearly written on her face? Even if she was having difficulties because of the human interaction, she wouldn't have any of the habits which show emotions on your face. She has an extremely expressive face. You can always tell what she's feeling. That makes her a bad Vulcan, from an acting perspective.

Compare her to Nick from the Guardian. He's just a normal guy who suppresses his emotions in a very human way. We generally see nothing on his face to indicate how he's feeling. Some guy on a standard drama does a better Vulcan than T'Pol...

Posted by: jhausmann

quote:
Originally posted by TreborPugly
I made the point to that they suppress their emotions. So why is it that everything she feels is clearly written on her face? Even if she was having difficulties because of the human interaction, she wouldn't have any of the habits which show emotions on your face. She has an extremely expressive face. You can always tell what she's feeling. That makes her a bad Vulcan, from an acting perspective.

Compare her to Nick from the Guardian. He's just a normal guy who suppresses his emotions in a very human way. We generally see nothing on his face to indicate how he's feeling. Some guy on a standard drama does a better Vulcan than T'Pol...

Porn stars do drama better than Jolene.

Posted by: Rcrew

quote:
Originally posted by JYoung
Huh, I must have blinked and missed it.........

Probably, that's all it would have taken. You only see him for a few seconds, from the back with the camera shot from above.

But you have to give the director/writers credit then. You pointed out that it would have been a flaw for him not to be there. But even though he had no lines, and was seen just briefly, and from the back, they were thinking about who needed to be there for the pod opening.

Posted by: Hopeless

quote:
Originally posted by JYoung
Gunsmoke ran for over 20 years and Bonanza about 15, IIRC.

Repeating plot lines is a problem because B&B were promising something new, fresh, and originial. So far, they really haven't delivered that. You can get away with a similar plot line if you put a different spin on it but we've seen little of that in Enterprise so far.

Plus the episode is being directed by Roxann Dawson (which is ironic, if you think about it) who has a decent track record so far (well, except for Exile....)

I was thinking about Gunsmoke too. Even 30 episodes a year for 20 years probably doesn't add up the total for all the Treks. And I'll bet LOTS of stuff was redone in Gunsmoke. It would be an amazing accomplishment that wasn't the case.

B&B may have promised something new and fresh, but they had no business doing it with Enterprise. How new and fresh can a starship exploring the galaxy be after several hundred episodes?

I think you have too much Trek knowledge for your own good at this point. Not knocking you at all - if that's your thing, then more power to ya. I think it gets in the way of your enjoyment though.

Posted by: cheesesteak

quote:
Porn stars do drama better than Jolene.

But isn't that the director's fault?

Posted by: Timbeau

I thought the last line was something like "When the Xindi destroy Earth, my race prevails." This is a weird way of speaking. I can understand "my race wins" or "my race is not destroyed" or "my race lives on", but "my race prevails"? Prevails at what? I think this could be more interesting that is seems on the face.

Posted by: Redleg

quote:
Originally posted by JYoung
I will give the next episode a chance though as they do have Billingsley front and center. He's probably the best actor on the show and woefully underused.

Agreed. I also think Trinneer does a good job with what he's given.

Posted by: jhausmann

quote:
Originally posted by cheesesteak
But isn't that the director's fault?

You can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear, no matter how good the director.

Posted by: HTH

quote:
Originally posted by Rcrew
For unrelated reasons I had to watch the episode a 2nd time, after having read your review. Not really intending to nit pick, but Phlox was standing right behind Archer when the pod was opened. He didn't have any lines, and when the camera moved to the view from inside the pod you don't see him. But he was stage right, behind Archer.

Darn, and I had a theory that when they dusted off the script for Star Trek: Enterprise that they had forgotten that the doctor doesn't need a portable emitter to exist outside of Sickbay.

Instead they probably realized it when it came time to film the scene, but not enough time to actually give him anything to do. (Perhaps it was even John Billingsley who noted his character should be there at the last minute.)

Posted by: JYoung

quote:
Originally posted by Rcrew
Probably, that's all it would have taken. You only see him for a few seconds, from the back with the camera shot from above.

But you have to give the director/writers credit then. You pointed out that it would have been a flaw for him not to be there. But even though he had no lines, and was seen just briefly, and from the back, they were thinking about who needed to be there for the pod opening.

Hmmm, but shouldn't he have stepped forward pretty much right away and started assessing the occupants condition?

quote:
Originally posted by Hopeless
I was thinking about Gunsmoke too. Even 30 episodes a year for 20 years probably doesn't add up the total for all the Treks. And I'll bet LOTS of stuff was redone in Gunsmoke. It would be an amazing accomplishment that wasn't the case.

B&B may have promised something new and fresh, but they had no business doing it with Enterprise. How new and fresh can a starship exploring the galaxy be after several hundred episodes?

I think you have too much Trek knowledge for your own good at this point. Not knocking you at all - if that's your thing, then more power to ya. I think it gets in the way of your enjoyment though.

But the unoriginal plotlines are only part of the problem. As I said, you can get away with it if you put a different spin on it or have some good character development.
For the most part, the characters are still cardboard. The plotlines tend to be unoriginal and very paint by numbers in their execution. The dialog is often inspid.
I can excuse other faults if the writing is strong but for the most part, it hasn't.

quote:
Originally posted by Redleg
Agreed. I also think Trinneer does a good job with what he's given.

Agreed. When they don't have him doing poop jokes, he can be quite good

Posted by: bprothero

The recycled plots are not that big of a deal if the writing is good. For an example of TV drama, that used the same exact plot each week, look no further than Highlander.

Ummm... what was the plot each episode? Oh yeah, I remember, a badguy immortal is introduced at the beginning of the episode, the Highlander runs into him, they fight and at the end of the episode the Highlander cuts off the villan's head (with lots of "Quickening" special effects). Very few episodes varied from this plot but the show lasted something like seven years and there were some really good stories. It wasn't until the last year, that had Duncan MacLeod absent for most of the episodes, that I lost interest and stopped watching.