Star Trek Enterprise - The Complete Fourth Season
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Movie Reviews of Star Trek Enterprise - The Complete Fourth Season
Movie Review: Last but not least
Summary: 5 Stars
I have previously written reviews of the first and third seasons of Enterprise, and in bot I managed to miss saying things that I wanted to say. I have just finished watching the fourth season and it has allowed me to distill and focus those thoughts quite a bit.
To begin with, many of the opinions I have heard expressed indicate that, a lot of Trek fans felt the fourth season of Enterprise was what the entire series should have been. I take umbrage with that point of view. The idea that a series has to pay homage to one or more of it's predecessors, or has to fit it's stories within the narrow margins of what is already known by it's audience, is preposterous.
What we are actually looking at is the difference between a history book and the actual historical events. A history book provides a concise but extremely objective view of historical events, most often removing the emotions and motivations of important individuals, to relay what are considered to be the facts. The events themselves are much more than a paragraph or even a chapter in a history book.
Now, what does this have to do with Enterprise? Simple. What we were watching in the first three seasons was history as it happened, if you watched closely and paid attention there were a multitude of historical threads subtley woven into the show. The fruition of these threads would have been outstanding in the long run, however the Enterprise staff new during the third season that they didn't have a long run in which complete the developement. So they had to truncate and condense those threads in the fourth season.
Why it was done this way is clear, they had to tie up the loose ends, but in doing it this way we missed out on the longer more entertaining versions. It is a pity that they had to finish it in this way and I find it shocking that in retrospect this is apparently what the majority of Trek fans were looking for. Tidy little packages full of answers but devoid of the detail that generates historical significance. In other words, it appears that the paragraph from the history book is more desirable than the actual coarse of events that it describes.
Have you ever wondered how the Federation was created? Why Klingons disliked humans so much and for so long? How Vulcans became such an integral part of the Federation, and why they defer to humans to such a great degree? Why Romulans despise humans and the Federation? Those answers and more are here if you look for them.
The fourth season, although it does seem rushed, is not disappointing. I found the Mirror Universe episodes to be the weakest of the entire series. They were very good but, the best part of any mirror universe story is seeing our heroes interact with that universe, unfortunatley this didn't happen in these episodes.
Finally, the last episode. I have heard differing view points on this one. This is my opinion. It was an excellent episode. Seeing Riker and Troy explore the NX01 was great. Watching Riker glean insight from the crew that essentially "wrote the book" was fantastic. The worst part was realizing what we missed, the episode was set in the future, the Enterprise had been deployed for ten years and was getting ready to be mothballed. There are six years of great adventures that we will never get to see because we allowed this show to be cancelled.
This is by far the best Star Trek series of the group, and this is a great season, but you don't want to watch it by itself, watch the others first, so you'll understand some of the backstory and motivations that are integral to these episodes. You won't be disappointed.
Movie Review: A Different Perspective
Summary: 4 Stars
I have read the almost uniformly bad reviews of the final episode of Season Four. While I will agree that it does lack in some places, overall I have to say that it's not nearly as bad as everyone seems to be making out.
Perhaps I have a somewhat different perspective. For one thing, I'm probably older than a lot of the fans of Enterprise, being "over fifty". I clearly remember watching Star Trek (the original series) in its original run on Tuesday nights on NBC back in the sixtes. Having the perspective of an older viewer, I know that sometimes life is not all adventure, romance, and happily-ever-after. I also know that people (even actors playing popular parts) do age, like the rest of us.
I didn't get to see "Enterprise" when it originally aired, due to the local UPN station at the time being a low-power station. My wife and I have now watched all the episodes of "Enterprise" on DVD, and I cannot honestly say that I found nothing wrong in any of the episodes; however, I can honestly say that there were no episodes in which I didn't enjoy at least some good points. The finale is no exception.
To the person complaining that Frakes and Sirtis haven't "aged well", I beg to differ. While both seem to have put on a bit of weight, neither really looks bad (I still think Marina Sirtis is quite hot), and I think it's a matter of choice whether or not you let that get in the way of the story. I choose not to. After all, we didn't complain about how William Shatner had aged in "Star Trek: Generations", nor how Nichelle Nichols had aged in "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home", now did we? Admit it: Nichelle looked good.
I do think that the final episode took more story time than might have been necessary for an independent treatment of the moral dilemma Riker was undergoing at that time; such a treatment might better have been done as part of the original edit of that episode. However, again I choose to enjoy the episode rather than complain that it was not what it should have been.
The only thing I think I can complain about is the business with Trip (and if you haven't already seen a spoiler, I'm not going to provide one). I'd certainly have liked to have seen more develop between him and T'Pol, but sometimes life is like that. It's not always what we want it to be. And this certainly fits that concept. But for cryin' out loud, what purpose did the events as actually transpired serve? This particular plot element was in my opinion a real weakness in the episode, one that marred the whole experience.
Overall, the finale was bittersweet, and was (in my opinion) a sad but fond farewell to "Enterprise". It did not in my opinion adequately express a proper farewell to the franchise, but then such a farewell could likely only have been served by a longer episode, such as done with MASH or Cheers. After all, we're not only saying goodbye to Captain Archer and his crew, we're kissing the entire Star Trek universe goodbye here (unless Paramount relents), and frankly this just didn't make it, from my "older" perspective. Not to say the ending was all that bad on its own merits, but Star Trek was a culture-changing phenomenon, and it deserved better than this.
All in all, even with the less-than-stellar final episode, I recommend you get this set, if for no other reason than to complete your collection.
Movie Review: Awesome [Do Not Watch The Finale]
Summary: 4 Stars
Almost all episodes of the fourth season are great - excellent Sci Fi, and in my opinion much better than previous Star Trek series.
A stern warning about the "season finale" though: It completely destroys an otherwise excellent story. Do not watch it. It's simply awful, I won't go into the details, but I was actually angry for seeing it and fast forwarded through most of it with a feeling of dread. Everything is wrong with it. It's BAD. Think "Have A Very Wookie Christmas" bad.
My recommendation is to not watch it at all, and to banish it from future versions of the DVDs. It's an embarassment.
I found the "mirror world" episodes a bit unneccessary. Even though it does bring out different facets about the real characters, it doesn't advance the story line at all. In the end it seemed as if the writers kind of struggled with the story and chose to quickly escape into a parallel universe. The only thing I took away from it is that "evil" women are much more sexy than their "good" counterparts - for whatever reason.
For all the other episodes: Best Star Trek franchise I have seen, and an excellent Sci Fi series even for non-fans, awesome characters, and refreshingly mature storyline.
I would give it a clear 5 stars but I must strip one star off for a disastrous finale that should have never left the brainstorming room.
Movie Review: The True Prequel Season
Summary: 4 Stars
I've read much well-reasoned criticism of the fourth season, covering the whole spectrum from praise to revilement, and as a loyal Trekker for 30 years I feel compelled to offer my opinion as well.
Liking or disliking this season (and the whole series for that matter) really depends on what you're watching it for. If you want a true prequel to ST:TOS, this is definitely the season to watch. The stories provide much insight and historical background for the shift of Vulcan attitudes from arrogant to pacifist; the continuing consequences of the Eugenics Wars (along with the original theoretical conception that would culminate in the creation of Data); an explanation for the smooth-headed Klingons in the ST:TOS (and it was actually reasonably plausible!); an explanation of what happened to the Defiant; and most importantly, the genesis of the alliance between Earth and its nearest neighbors and ultimately the United Federation of Planets. In sum, this season, more than the rest, really does fulfill the raison d'etre for the prequel series like no other, and on those terms anyone familiar with the Star Trek franchise will find it most satisfying.
If, on the other hand, you are looking for character development, you are better off watching the third season. Some character aspects, e.g. flaws, only come out when the person is under extreme stress, and the third season was the ultimate stress test for the Enterprise crew. With one exception (the denouement of the relationship between T'Pol and Trip), the real development in the fourth season is in the history of the Federation, its enemies, and its allies, rather than of the individual characters.
No season of any of the Star Trek series' can go without some criticism, and there are some disappointing aspects. First, the storyline of the season opener (and the closer of the third season) seemed rather anticlimatic and the whole alien-Nazi theme marred what should have been Enterprise's finest hour--the triumphant arrival after saving Earth from destruction in a mission more difficult and dangerous than any other in the 40 years of the Star Trek. Second, the relationship between T'Pol and Trip fizzled out without any good reason; first Trip lets her go, then he wants her back, then T'Pol is available again and wants him back but he's not interested. Huh? A grand opportunity for exploring relationships between humans and Vulcans on a far more intimate scale was lost. Third, the final episode. The original concept of the show within the show had merit, but that was an experiment that should have been tried in the middle of series, not the finale, and definitely not what should have been the most important episode in all of Star Trek. The founding of the UFP is just too important not to take place in real time; Trip is killed off for no good reason; the reprise of Riker and Troi just didn't work (and since neither Frakes nor Sirtis have aged well, neither were especially pleasing to look at); and the final voyage of Enterprise was a non sequitur to the personal crisis Riker was undergoing (see The Pegasus, ST:TNG). After such a fine season, it is regrettable that seemingly everything about the finale was wrong. I suppose I am fantasizing at this point, but I would like to see the finale recalled entirely and a new, two-hour finale (movie?) be produced in its place.
Should you, the reader of this review, buy this season and watch it? If you are a Star Trek fan, absolutely. But to really understand and appreciate it you need to have watched the 1st and 3rd seasons. It would also be a really good idea to have watched The Original Series, especially if you want to understand the "Mirror" arc. Happy viewing.
Movie Review: They Got It Right!
Summary: 5 Stars
It is a shame that Star Trek: Enterprise was not appreciated for the fine series that it was. The fourth season, after a tense and creative third season, was superb; the writers got it right and gave Star Trek fans what they wanted: substantial, intriguing stories involving Vulcan society, the mystery of the Klingons' appearance, the origins of the alliance that become the United Federation of Planets, and more. Let's be fair, though, about the first and second seasons...they weren't THAT bad, either; I found that many of the episodes were well-written, well acted, and quite entertaining. (Noteworthy were "Fusion," "Carbon Creek," and "Stigma"). It's very unfortunate that there will be no more "Star Trek: Enterprise" episodes to carry us through the Romulan Wars, the UFP's founding, the changes in Vulcan life, and all the possibilities that the writers were just starting to explore. It is a great loss.