Up, Down and All Around

End of a Trek

I couldn't resist the temptation. So I stayed up until 3am last night to finish watching Star Trek Enterprise: Season 4 on DVD.

It was really quite good, even though I didn't like the resolution to Season 3's cliffhanger (Storm Front, the German Nazi story arc) that much. But the rest of the season has really been exceptional writing and flowed a lot more smoothly than Season 3.

My Raves:

• Another highly enjoyable Trek season, with a continuously developing storyline leading up to the inter-planetary charter signing. There was a fairly consistent flow all throughout.
• The multi-episode story arcs were such a treat. As one of the producers mentioned in the special features, multi-episode story arcs allow for much better plot and character development. And also made more budget available for elaborate sets and special effects!
  
• Favorite episodes. I particularly enjoyed the story arcs involving the Vulcans (The Forge-Awakening-Kir'Shara) and Brent Spiner's Dr. Soong (Borderland-Cold Station 12-The Augments). But the one that really moved me was the two-parter entitled Demons and Terra Prime. The scene where Dr. Phlox tells Captain Archer that he never expected to gain another family, and the final scene with T'Pol and Trip clasping hands with the IDIC was particularly moving. I was literally crying even though that scene must have only been all of two minutes long. Also worth a special mention is the episode entitled Daedalus. Bill Cobbs was like a breath of fresh air in that episode.
  

My Rants:

• As I mentioned earlier, I didn't enjoy the German story arc that much. I think I was disappointed by the fact that the Enterprise's homecoming was delayed yet again by another excursion through time. Thankfully, there was a lot less of that after these episodes.
• The final episode of the series, These are the Voyages, was almost a disappointment, particularly because of the manner by which Commander Tucker rescues Captain Archer. I kept going, "No, no, no!!" when that part of the episode aired. It almost made me wish the series had ended with Terra Prime.
  

The twin episodes of In a Mirror, Darkly deserve special mention. These episodes were great because:

• We got to see the Enterprise crew in Kirk-ian costumes, and in a Kirk-ian ship to boot. There were all these small nods and winks to the audience in reference to The Original Series.
  
• It was laff-out-loud funny just how evil all the characters were. Captain Archer acting like a caricature of the mad, evil megalomaniac was such a treat to watch. Seeing Tucker with radiation burns on his face was such a surprise but also fun. Seeing Phlox using his medical knowledge to maim and torture was hilarious. Having other species subservient to humans was such a shock that you just had to laugh. Having Malcolm as a sadist, seeing Archer being paranoid and insecure, and to have Porthos suddenly be a rottweiler after knowing him as a beagle for almost four years...! hahaha!
  
• I loved the alternate OBB and the alternate music for the closing credits. Such a fabulous treat, because it really set the mood for the episodes. I especially liked the part towards the end of the opening credits when the choral portions came in to add some drama. It reminded me so much of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana, in particular O Fortuna!
  

All in all, a truly wonderful season. It makes me wish all the more that Star Trek: Enterprise hadn't been canceled after only four years. Seasons 3 and 4 proved that Enterprise deserved to have a full seven season run, just like TNG, DS9, and Voyager. It's really such a shame that this Trek had to end when it did.

Tags: TV

Posted by CF at 9:35 PM