rag451
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# Posted: 10 Sep 2003 19:01
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"Oh my," were the final words spoken by the legendary Captain James Tiberius Kirk when he died upon the lonely, arid mountains of Veridian III. It is with the same connotation with which I offer my opinions on the first episode of the third season of 'Enterprise'.
Since the episode wasn't rife with ruinous plot holes and was genuinely entertaining; not too many complaints can be made on my part as to its entertainment value. Not only was the storyline rich with plot twists, surprises (to those who, unlike me, hadn't read spoilers), and action; it was also filled with an opulent musical score. I was pleasantly surprised by the latter, as I'd come to expect nothing but the best a shoestring budget can buy from the most overworked musicians studios can supply.
From scene to scene, the storyline moved with a cadence usually reserved for episodes with too much story in too little time. Characters didn't have to be explained with words, because it was their actions we first get to judge them on. It seems the writers expect us to already know a bit about the series, the characters, and the new direction of the show. To the extent to which 'The Xindi' is uncoiled, this method works very well. We move from scene to scene without having to worry what happened five minutes ago. It is only the present that matters.
So, with that said, I will move to what I didn't like. If you would rather not hear spoilers, then please, don't read further than you already have. . .
There were three things, minor as they are, which I found greatly disappointing and of no value to the series as a whole or to the episode in which they occured.
- The theme to the show has been changed. Even though the audience still hears Diane Warren's "Faith of the Heart"; it has been modified from a well-paced, well-written song portraying the difficulties of human exploration to, literally, folk music in space. In my humble opinion, nothing can be worse for a science fiction show, let alone one of a caliber such as Star Trek, than imagining Simon & Garfunkel playing banjo to the tune of "Faith of the Heart". By the time Connor Trinner's credit came to the screen; I was ready to walk out of the room, fingers in ears.
- Once again, Captain Archer and Commander Tucker are captured by aliens seeking to exploit them for their own aims. They are, once again, held at gunpoint. They are, once again, aided in their escape by a fellow captive. They are, once again, rescued by an away team with Malcom Reed at its core. While the capture does provide for much of the storyline in 'The Xindi'; it also serves as a poignant reminder of all the episodes in which crew members have been captured. In a way, it made the episode feel like a puzzle. There were pieces, pre-fabricated either from previous episodes or series, all placed together to make one cozy little episode. In this case, the puzzle was one of those you see the Age 2-4 on. You know the ones I'm talking about.
- Trip and T'Pol. Trip... and T'Pol. Trip... and... T'Pol. Trip can't relax ever since his sister's gruesome death. Overcome, overstressed, and unrested, he seeks out the help of Phlox in providing him strong depressants to knock him into a restful sleep. After several nights of this, what does Phlox do? He, of course, administers a placebo, then conveniently sends Trip to T'Pol's quarters, PADD in hand. Once there, T'Pol convinces Trip to rub her back, massaging a... hard to reach place. Without needing to, T'Pol wastes no time in disrobing and removing her top. Completely accessible to his hands, she doesn't fight his movements in the slightest. During this exchange, she moans, more seductively than from reduced pressure in her back. After Trip finishes though, T'Pol instructs him to stay. Quickly, it seems that T'Pol wishes to... return the favor. Trip turns around and is instructed to remove his shirt. At this point, Connor Trinneer shows his weakness as an actor, not bothering to fulfill his character's angst by remaining strong against T'Pol's advances. It doesn't take much coaxing for her to have him on her bed, shirt off, her hands on his back. After a few more moans, he stands, scene over.
'The Xindi' was a good opener to the third season, and an episode worth watching in reruns. I found it engaging, suspenseful, and easy to watch. While I was never on the edge of my seat rooting for my protagonist of choice; I did find myself once gripping my armchair in a moment of angst. I'd gladly recommend it to anyone who has seen the show before, knows what is going on, and has some general idea of what next week's episode will be.
Robert Griffith
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nina_janeway1
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# Posted: 11 Sep 2003 01:03
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Wow, Robert, that was a really good and informative review! You should become a full-time reviewer, writer or something, as you have a good way in formulating what you say! Perfect English, I'd say, a Swede who thinks I'm really good in English myself 
I'm anxious to see this episode. *kicks somewhat decreased download abilities* Even if you presented your worryness about Enterprise's eventual fall-down, it seems that you're starting to like the show a little.
I just don't think it seems so serious about that half-sex scene or what you should call it. Okay, we had season 1's 'Fusion' but at that time it was only in T'Pol's imagination. It's cool how she has hold herself until now, and with Trip of all people.... I'm a little shocked but I'm starting to think that Enterprise is even less like Star Trek now. Though I guess that once they started to implement the show into the Star Trek franchise, I guess they cannot back out now!
=/\= Nina Janeway =/\=
www.ninajaneway.tk
www.voytrekker-85.tk
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nina_janeway1
Member
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# Posted: 15 Sep 2003 05:29
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Well I have seen The Xindi now! * @Jadz* How? I downloaded it. I live in Sweden and here we are download freaks we have to be...
The episode was ok! Or maybe 'pretty good'. I feel the same as I felt after watching most of the episodes in season 2, an emptiness sorta. The Xindi's are cool, interesting and welldone, and for once they're not speaking English, but I have to point out what makes the episode only 'ok'.
1) The intro song. I despise it! Yup Timmy, the beat ruins the song completely. It reminds me of some country song with a sloppy beat, or even the TOS song! Drum beats like that doesn't belong in Star Trek. I hated Faith of the Heart when I first heard it cause it reminded me of some bad romantic Rod Stewart ballad (I was right! It was him to wrote the song.), but then I learned to like it and now I am even singing along with it Until this new episode... sheesh, how long are they going to have this before they might even ruin it more?! *shakes head*
2) The "nude" scene. It was a bit embarrassing, actually. I usually don't have problems with watching stuff like this, but it simply doesn't belong in Star Trek! Just also look at the passionate scene between Riker and Deanna in Nemesis, that one is the limit for how far it should go... and yes, we did see some of Seven's shoulders and back in the VOY episodes 'Tinker, Tenor, Doctor, Spy' and 'Q2' (extremely funny eps though). I agree with Robert that Trip in this episode is weak against T'Pol's advances... yup it's a clear indication that they only want a lotta ratings and that the show is getting further and further away from Star Trek. Enterprise makes me think of Andromeda or Babylon 5, rather than Star Trek. Or any "sexistic" space sci-fi show you can pick! Though I do like T'Pol's new look. She looks more ... leisure-like (can't pick the English word now)? Her breasts looks smaller now 
3) The kidnapping. We've seen this too many times now - can't they tell about something else than Archer (and Trip) getting kidnapped and then (easily) rescued by Malcolm Reed? Time to use yer imagination, writers...
*thinks* Mmm, I have to admit that season 3 is going to be interesting. Of course 'The Xindi' had an exciting cliffhanger, and the storyline about the alien invasion is indeed.... quite exciting. Though 'Shockwave' was a much better episode.
I give this ep 3 out of 5.
=/\= Nina Janeway =/\=
www.ninajaneway.tk
www.voytrekker-85.tk
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