Enterprise's "Similitude" - Synopsis and Review

"Gisele" <***@nospamlycos.com> wrote in message news:***@66.185.95.104...

Wow, Giselle, you really write great, insightful reviews. There are so many
things you said that resonated with my viewing experience, and many that
expanded on and informed my understanding of the episode.

I thought you were so on the mark when you termed the science aspects
questionable, but correctly identified a fan's willingness to swallow this
when the story is so well-crafted, and the characters are acting in a way
that really makes us care about their dilemmas.

This season of Enterprise is sucha huge step up from the previous two, it's
a real gift to the hardcore fans (i.e., us geeks).

Reading an insightful review of some good Trek, that's just the best combo I
could ask for. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with
us.

Bo Raxo

Gisele

2003-11-24 00:41:40 UTC

Post by Bo Raxo
Wow, Giselle, you really write great, insightful reviews. There are
so many things you said that resonated with my viewing experience, and
many that expanded on and informed my understanding of the episode.

Thanks! I aim to please...........:oD

Post by Bo Raxo
I thought you were so on the mark when you termed the science aspects
questionable, but correctly identified a fan's willingness to swallow
this when the story is so well-crafted, and the characters are acting
in a way that really makes us care about their dilemmas.

One thing though, it works only if you like the characters. I happen to
love all the characters so it works for me.

Post by Bo Raxo
This season of Enterprise is sucha huge step up from the previous two,
it's a real gift to the hardcore fans (i.e., us geeks).

Agreed!

Post by Bo Raxo
Reading an insightful review of some good Trek, that's just the best
combo I could ask for. Thank you for taking the time to share your
thoughts with us.

You're welcome! Getting replies like this makes me happy!

Gisele

--
Have you sent your postcard in?
http://www.starfleetlibrary.com/ds9petition

Al Smith

2003-11-23 19:22:23 UTC

Post by Gisele
In this episode we see the same dilemma in Archer's decision to have Sim
created and killed in order to save Trip. It's not so much the death of
the clone that counts since it has a very short lifespan but rather the
creation of it. As T'Pol tells Archer, it will be a *sentient* being. Is
it ethical to create what will be a thinking being to use it for parts
like it is some sort of disposable commodity? Obviously not so Archer is
left with a guilt that is not easily resolved and it shows. I liked how
Archer was shown unshaved and basically dishevelled. It showed that he
was overwrought. Archer is shown throughout having difficulty with his
decision to have the clone created in the first place and then to have him
"I must complete this mission."

What I was thinking as I read your review is that there are two
somewhat irrational aversions in later centuries in the Trek
universe. One is the dislike of genetic enhancement or cloning.
The other is the dislike of robots.

I've always assumed that the reluctance to use genetics to enhance
human potential was the result of the Eugenics War that produced
Khan and his people. I was wondering if that aversion was already
present in Earth culture in Archer's time, which should be after
the Eugenenics War. Thinking about the episode, I can't say that I
really see any evidence of it. Archer isn't happy about cloning
Trip, but it is only because Trip's clone will be intelligent. He
makes the decision in the belief that the clone will live, so it
is a relatively easy decision for him. It get's harder when he
sees that the clone has Trip's memories, and when he learns that
saving Trip will kill it.

It's funny that there was no mention of the Eugenics War in this
episode.

Post by Gisele
I listed much of the dialogue in my synopsis because it was so poignant.
I was deep into this episode from the beginning but the scene where Sim is
in the room with Porthos awaiting Phlox' call brought tears to my eyes.
It's been a long time since an episode of Star Trek did this to me.
There's some silly science as well here I suppose but it doesn't matter.
Sim's sacrifice and courage resonates nonetheless.

I tear up very easily, too. I shed tears over "Twilight" but
strangely not over "Similitude." Maybe because I agreed with
Archer, it was necessary to save Trip. That made me harden my
heart toward the clone.

Post by Gisele
Just to get a little less serious here. I loved the scenes with T'Pol and
Trip at the beginning. I loved the double-entendres. I laughed when
T'Pol said: "We haven't gotten to the more challenging postures and Trip
replies: "Well...I'm always up for a challenge." I believe him. I am
sure he is *up* for it. It's a very erotic scene and yet most platonic
depiction of sexual relations I've ever seen on TV. Here they are, in a,
I can't say it, I'm too prudish to say it but here they are in a very,
typical sexual position massaging their feet no less. I couldn't help
laughing out loud at the portrayal. I loved it. It's so good if only
because kids can watch and not have the least idea of what is being
intimated by the scene but adults can enjoy the suggestion of what could
be going on. Sharp writing here and throughout this episode and excellent
erotic teasing for the adults.

You know, until I read your post, I hadn't realized that Trip and
T'Pol were in a sexual position during the foot massage. I'm such
an innocent soul. Went right over my head. Now, when T'Pol grabs
Trip's head between her thighs and dangles her breasts in his face
... that, I got.

Post by Gisele
LeVar Burton's direction is exemplary. He brings out the best of the
actors, notably Scott Bakula and Connor Trinneer. Of course he had an
excellent script to work with. I liked the sequence going from the baby
Sim to the 4 year old. In addition, Velton Ray Bunch's score effectively
had me involved in the proceedings and definitely affected my reaction to
Sim being in his room with Porthos.

LeVar Burton does great work. I remember thinking that he did a
good job on the last episode he directed (forget which it was
right now). Like Jonathan Frakes, Burton has talents as a director
as well as an actor. I thought Roxanne Dawson did a good job as a
director also.

Gisele

2003-11-24 00:50:00 UTC

Post by Gisele
In this episode we see the same dilemma in Archer's decision to have
Sim created and killed in order to save Trip. It's not so much the
death of the clone that counts since it has a very short lifespan but
rather the creation of it. As T'Pol tells Archer, it will be a
*sentient* being. Is it ethical to create what will be a thinking
being to use it for parts like it is some sort of disposable
commodity? Obviously not so Archer is left with a guilt that is not
easily resolved and it shows. I liked how Archer was shown unshaved
and basically dishevelled. It showed that he was overwrought.
Archer is shown throughout having difficulty with his decision to
have the clone created in the first place and then to have him
killed. Was Archer heartless here? It's difficult to say. Like he
says: "I must complete this mission."

True...

Post by Al Smith
I've always assumed that the reluctance to use genetics to enhance
human potential was the result of the Eugenics War that produced
Khan and his people. I was wondering if that aversion was already
present in Earth culture in Archer's time, which should be after
the Eugenenics War.

Good question and I wonder that too now. From the beginning we see that
Archer is not happy with the decision to create Sim but I don't think it
was because of the war. T'Pol mentions the Lysserians having banned the
use of the larvae for cloning but we don't really know why they banned it.
It would have been cool if they had mentioned the Eugenics War....oh well.

Post by Al Smith
Thinking about the episode, I can't say that I
really see any evidence of it. Archer isn't happy about cloning
Trip, but it is only because Trip's clone will be intelligent. He
makes the decision in the belief that the clone will live, so it
is a relatively easy decision for him. It get's harder when he
sees that the clone has Trip's memories, and when he learns that
saving Trip will kill it.
It's funny that there was no mention of the Eugenics War in this
episode.

Agreed.

Post by Gisele
I listed much of the dialogue in my synopsis because it was so
poignant. I was deep into this episode from the beginning but the
scene where Sim is in the room with Porthos awaiting Phlox' call
brought tears to my eyes. It's been a long time since an episode of
Star Trek did this to me. There's some silly science as well here I
suppose but it doesn't matter. Sim's sacrifice and courage resonates
nonetheless.

I think what got to me was seeing him alone in his room with Porthos. I
don't know but that scene got to me. I think also it was because it was a
"Trip" clone. I really like the character.

Post by Gisele
Just to get a little less serious here. I loved the scenes with
T'Pol and Trip at the beginning. I loved the double-entendres. I
laughed when T'Pol said: "We haven't gotten to the more challenging
postures and Trip replies: "Well...I'm always up for a challenge."
I believe him. I am sure he is *up* for it. It's a very erotic
scene and yet most platonic depiction of sexual relations I've ever
seen on TV. Here they are, in a, I can't say it, I'm too prudish to
say it but here they are in a very, typical sexual position massaging
their feet no less. I couldn't help laughing out loud at the
portrayal. I loved it. It's so good if only because kids can watch
and not have the least idea of what is being intimated by the scene
but adults can enjoy the suggestion of what could be going on. Sharp
writing here and throughout this episode and excellent erotic teasing
for the adults.

Lololol...

Post by Gisele
LeVar Burton's direction is exemplary. He brings out the best of the
actors, notably Scott Bakula and Connor Trinneer. Of course he had
an excellent script to work with. I liked the sequence going from
the baby Sim to the 4 year old. In addition, Velton Ray Bunch's
score effectively had me involved in the proceedings and definitely
affected my reaction to Sim being in his room with Porthos.

Agreed!

Gisele

--
Have you sent your postcard in?
http://www.starfleetlibrary.com/ds9petition

The Merry Piper

2003-11-24 16:24:05 UTC

Post by Al Smith
It's funny that there was no mention of the Eugenics War in this
episode.

Wow. I never even thought about that until you mentioned it here. It
is a rather curious omission.

--
Piper
http://www.livejournal.com/users/tmpiper/
(Take your coat off to send an e-mail)

Elvis Gump

2003-11-23 19:34:38 UTC

Post by Gisele
"Similitude"
Story by: Manny Coto
Teleplay by: Manny Coto
Directed by: LeVar Burton
This is possibly one of the most controversial episodes of Star Trek since
Voyager's "Tuvix" where Janeway must make a difficult decision to end the
life of the merged Tuvok and Neelix or let Tuvix live or DS9's "In the
Pale Moonlight" where Sisko must deal with the guilt of having people die
in order to get the Romulans into the war against the Dominion as the only
way to defeat the enemy. Both had the captains make decisions that were
in some ways unethical.
In this episode we see the same dilemma in Archer's decision to have Sim
created and killed in order to save Trip. It's not so much the death of
the clone that counts since it has a very short lifespan but rather the
creation of it. As T'Pol tells Archer, it will be a *sentient* being. Is
it ethical to create what will be a thinking being to use it for parts
like it is some sort of disposable commodity? Obviously not so Archer is
left with a guilt that is not easily resolved and it shows. I liked how
Archer was shown unshaved and basically dishevelled. It showed that he
was overwrought. Archer is shown throughout having difficulty with his
decision to have the clone created in the first place and then to have him
"I must complete this mission." After all, the life of everyone on Earth
is at stake. It's wonderful to see how the character of Archer has
changed from the wide-eyed, excited and overconfident captain in the first
season to this serious and burdened captain. Yet he's not beaten but
certainly wiser.
But that's not all the story is about. It's about the sacrifices that
people make for the good of the many, a very Trekkian and Roddenberry
ideal. What we do for each other, as humans, is what stands out here.
Humanism was one of Roddenberry's first beliefs. It's not how much
you believe in or pray to a god that matters, it's what you do for others
that counts. Praying is great but actions by us in the here and now is
what makes the difference. It made me think of 9/11, of firemen,
soldiers, police, and others who put their lives on the line for the sake
of helping those that need it. Sim's sacrifice is just that, for the
many.

You know, sometimes Trek fans are too nice for their own good.

You strike me as one of those people.

Maybe we've been trained or trained ourselves to see the good side in
everything. Maybe it's that we are desperately optimistic.

This episode was such cheap, manipulative bullshit it was beyond the pale.

I can hardly pick a place to begin criticizing this mess. I'd like to
sentence everyone responsible for this thing to life in front of a monkey
cage where the simians are flinging shit at them for all eternity.

There where time when I would watch an incredibly flawed but heartfelt
episode like say TNG's "The Inner Light" and let it go.

No one in the history of Trek writers ever seems to get structure when it
comes to story telling. They put the biggest fuck-ups in logic out front
that a three year old who spot and just leave it there.

What am I talking 'bout Willis?

Well take "The Inner Light". I bet most TNG era fans think it's undoubtedly
the best or at least one of the best episodes. And yet right from the get-go
they make the dumbest error, mostly to compress the premise so it'll fit in
one hour.

It was like they had scripts and threw darts at a board to pick which one
deserved to be a 2-parter and others they'd squeeze into one hour. Goofy
ideas like Picard being kidnapped in "Gambit" or out of the picture in
"Chains of Command" was an example of this sort of scatterbrain approach.

"The Inner Light" deserved that 2-hour treatment simply because of the time
needed to make it make any sense. For example the first mistake is to make
Kaman's wife mistake Picard for her husband. WTF? Right there Picard
shouldn't have ever bought into this fairy tale. Why not make him wake up in
a hospital as an unknown person and then meet her? Then it would make his
identity not so sticky. That would have eaten up precious time to make the
plot more logical so they glossed over it. Why ruin the big reveal by
showing Picard unconscious on the Bridge? More time is wasted on the premise
right there. Nothing that happens advances the plot or the idea but rather
takes away from it. Why not SOME nod to how these people where so hopelessly
doomed technologically yet were able to create the probe to make all this
possible, something apparently outside the ken of Federation technology?

Yet even as the ideas were squandered the acting was so heartfelt that we
liked it. Much of Trek is this way. Even back to the shittiest effects or
jarring lapses in to Shatner stuttering his way through lines the heartfelt
belief in a good sci-fi story shone through. Even if you wanted to sack the
so called author of the teleplay.

Yeah, but it's also so very wooden. I'm so sick of the tarted up stuff with
T'Pol I could scream. Is Trip so utterly an idiot that he can't find it in
himself to have a moment to be honest with T'Pol? His clone has to do it for
him? It has to be a matter of contrived life and death?

There's been some complaint as I've read reviews of this episode of T'Pol
getting those tear-brimmed eyes for much of this as being incongruous with
Vulcans we've seen before. I'd like to think our favorite Vulcan Spock once
in a while went back to his quarters and cried his eyes out for the death of
someone he loved. Perhaps the best moment ever in TOS was the one where
Spock had to look in to McCoy's accusations of his utter heartlessness over
one of Kirk's apparent 'deaths' and say "Really Doctor?" The depths it gave
his character to carry on and hold together the himself and the ship while
he obviously boiled in pain for his possibly lost friend spoke volumes about
Nimoy's acting ability.

If ever a moment in the pitiful of existence of "Enterprise" T'Pol was going
to show an iota of the inner life of a Vulcan it would have been over Trip
laying near death in Sickbay.

Couldn't she be moved to sit at his bedside at least once and hold his hand
when no one was looking? Even looking at the scene where she had to 'hold
back' with Sim tells me a lot about Blalock's acting chops, so why continue
to squander that acting ability so badly with fruity writing?

Post by Gisele
Phlox continues to be the optimist and is as usual enjoying himself at
first when he goes about creating Sim. He sees it simply as a necessary
treatment option. The contrast with Archer and even T'Pol is palpable.
He makes a great father as Sim tells him at the end but isn't attached to
Sim. He keeps a professional detachment. What bothered me is that he
knew that there was an enzyme that might keep Sim alive and let him live
out his life. Why didn't he mention it? At that point, he didn't know
that Sim would die if he harvested the neural tissue. He does say that
the treatment probably wouldn't work but why not have it ready just in
case it would work. Still, in the end, it would have complicated things
and this would have been another "Tuvix" episode.

You're missing the point here.

All the things you are confused over is what the writer of this episode is
confused over. It's such an enormous mess of logic where characters are
behaving so irrationally because the situation doesn't hold any water.

Look at the potty speech Sim gives about "This is what I was meant to do."
That's the best last words they could think up for the character? Do they
have so little grasp of human nature as they seem to do of science?
Apparently so...

Post by Gisele
Nonetheless, it would have made Sim's sacrifice even more noble. Removing the
neural tissue would have killed Sim regardless so it would have made Archer
even more culpable in having Sim killed especially if he didn't want to die.

Again, potty, potty, potty.

If Sim is so fucking unstable biologically then how is this new brain tissue
not going to wither and die when transplanted into Trip's head in another
few days?

How is that going to help Trip?

If being grafted into Trip makes Sin's tissue stop dramatically aging, why
can't some other transplant of Trip's tissue to Sim help him? Why not see
Phlox pureeing Trip's spleen in a blender trying to grow a culture to save
Sim?

Why not at least make that part of the episode?

Why not raise the stakes that they don't even know if this will cure Trip?

That they could be ending what little life poor old Sim has in vain?

(Of course we know Sim is doomed because what else are they going to do with
his character?)

All medical cures in Trek seem to have a 100% probability of success if
keeping a contract regular in the series is at stake.

Post by Gisele
But he did willingly die and it is because of his sister. In Voyager's
"Tuvix", we see that the Doc can't kill Tuvix. Here Phlox has no such dilemma
in the creation of Sim or in his death. It sets him apart from human doctors
and that's good. Still, again the fact that Sim would die in a few days
nonetheless saves Phlox' integrity and Archer's and I don't think we, the
fans, could have accepted any other resolution. Of course, the fact that Sim
wanted to die also helps.

No, no, no! That's what's wrong here.

Even if we forget this whole nonsense of "magic genetic memory" that Sim
gets it's about volunteering to make a sacrifice. (Why did the memory have
to be genetic anyway? Why not it's some mysterious alien phenomenon inherent
to the larva thing he was grown from?)

Why couldn't Sim be a cipher, his own person absorbing knowledge at a
fantastic rate and coming to that conclusion on his own instead of mucking
it up with him having done what Trip would have done? Well that might have
needed another hour god forbid.

Didn't anyone say hey, this is such a promising idea that we should consider
trying to make this a two parter?

Nope, they are panicked at this point because they've squandered two seasons
on abysmal writing already and are desperate to save their Nielsen ratings
and jobs and are just pushing this stuff out the door.

Post by Gisele
Just to get a little less serious here. I loved the scenes with T'Pol and
Trip at the beginning. I loved the double-entendres. I laughed when
T'Pol said: "We haven't gotten to the more challenging postures and Trip
replies: "Well...I'm always up for a challenge." I believe him. I am
sure he is *up* for it. It's a very erotic scene and yet most platonic
depiction f sexual relations I've ever seen on TV. Here they are, in a,
I can't say it, I'm too prudish to say it but here they are in a very,
typical sexual position massaging their feet no less. I couldn't help
laughing out loud at the portrayal. I loved it. It's so good if only
because kids can watch and not have the least idea of what is being
intimated by the scene but adults can enjoy the suggestion of what could
be going on. Sharp writing here and throughout this episode and excellent
erotic teasing for the adults.

I'd rather see them fully dressed sitting on their hands and talking
honestly at this point about what's going on between them myself.

Look, everything is against them having some sort of relationship at this
point. T'Pol's culture and the strains on her from all the other Vulcan's
that drop-by from time to time to pooh-pooh her even staying on. Trip is
written as a pretty smart and decent guy which as a Southerner I got to say
pleases me to no end. We already get enough stereotypes about Southern men
in the media that I'd love Trek for giving us McCoy and Trip as my only
reason sometimes.

Trip's gentlemanly behavior shouldn't prelude at least some frank curiosity
about Vulcan culture but he doesn't seem to have any. They put them in the
situation a few episodes where they at least made him reluctant to spend so
much time for fear the crew would gossip about T'Pol.

You know the bum-obsessed Reed should be pumping Trip at this point about
what's going on. Don't you expect him to corner Trip in the mess hall
already and start channeling his British heritage with some Monty
Python-esque dialogue like "Does she go eh? Know what I mean? Nudge nudge,
wink wink! Say no more, say no more!" Every time I've had a relationship of
any kind with a woman I've always has some dumbass male friend or
acquaintance wanting to know how I was "making out".

Doesn't anyone have ANY curiosity about each other's life for krissakes?

If you put me alone in a room with T'Pol and if I knew she'd NEVER have a
romantic relationship with me I'd at least ask her what it was like growing
up on Vulcan. What were her parent's like, how she viewed us humans now as
opposed to when she was first assigned to Earth? Or how glad I was as a
member of the crew that she'd stuck with Enterprise when she had no logical
reason to. Or how utterly alone T'Pol must be having turned her back on her
Vulcan career to do something she saw as right?

Trip should at least have some curiosity for these sorts of things if he has
such an obvious crush on her. As it stands what's his attraction to her
other than she looks great in a catsuit?

We already got one near good exploration of this in TNG's "Lessons" which
they could fall back on at least letting them acknowledge that a
relationship might be an untenable situation given their mission and in the
case of Trip and T'Pol the cultural gulf separating them.

And can T'Pol really be utterly oblivious that walking around in that
catsuit is giving every human male near her a boner? No human female is that
clueless, why should T'Pol be? I really would like to know what the women
fans think of that one. It bugs me to no end. There's a big difference to me
at least to see the dignity it gave her wear the same uniform as everyone
else in "Twilight". Shouldn't a Vulcan woman be that logical?

The only way this whole stupidly written situation benefits anyone is not
saddling the writers with keeping up with where Trip and T'Pol are with
their relationship where the show they are writing is gonna plug into the
production schedule.

Basically the writers and producers have reduced it to a soap opera
situation. Obviously they are too overworked to risk letting it go anywhere
realistic because it would be one ball too many for them to juggle to keep
plugging the progress of the relationship into the production schedule.

Every episode obviously must have Trip and T'Pol stuck here on second base
because they don't know what script is going to be finished in time to get
into the production queue.

And this is a needless self-imposed situation. It could be solved with the
premise that what happens in private stays in private. They could write
these as vignettes to plug into some of the rather thin sci-fi shows they
are already turning out.

This is nothing new. Don't you think Spock's dad Sarek had some pretty hot
and heavy feelings for either of his wives Amanda or Perrin, even if it was
Stewart that got to be the one to portray it? Nimoy had numerous occasions
to show the inner life of Spock and did so very well even when the scripts
weren't in the league of his acting.

The situation with Trip is a priceless opportunity to explore the difference
between the public and private persona a Vulcan must wear. Or at least as a
metaphor of what it's like to date someone you work with.

A Vulcan alone among humans especially should have some outlet to share some
of that inner turmoil with someone shouldn't they? Kirk and Spock were
always rather stoic about it but that's what made their relationship so
great. Even in the immensely silly "Amok Time" Spock begs to be locked away
and Kirk shows what it is to care for your best friend, to say fuck the
career, my friend matters more. The best of Trek is about putting what's
right and decent ahead of the rules that a coward can hide behind.

Post by Gisele
I think Jolene Blalock does a great job in trying to be emotionless
nonetheless and yet showing enough emotion to be a 22nd century Vulcan
much like Ambassador Soval. I'll say it again, Blalock's facial
expressions are noteworthy. She manages to maintain a Vulcan persona and
yet you can see emotion in her eyes. Very well acted and I have to say
the way she looks at Sim after she kissed him was, well, very sexy.

I have to say I'm equally impressed with her especially after being utterly
convinced the only reason she was ever hired for the job was the way she
looked. That they don't give her some writing worthy of her acting talent is
a crime.

Post by Gisele
LeVar Burton's direction is exemplary. He brings out the best of the
actors, notably Scott Bakula and Connor Trinneer. Of course he had an
excellent script to work with.

No, this was one the best IDEAS they've had in a while turned into one of
the most abysmal scripts they've churned out yet. (Well, I should qualify
that, I didn't see the Wild Wild West thing they did last week; I suspect it
was worse)

If there's any great mark Burton put on it was to shake his head and try to
wring some honest emotion out of illogical dialogue and situations.

Post by Gisele
I liked the sequence going from the baby Sim to the 4 year old. In addition,
Velton Ray Bunch's score effectively had me involved in the proceedings and
definitely affected my reaction to Sim being in his room with Porthos.
Then there is Sim's feelings for T'Pol. It is left unanswered. Sim tells
T'Pol that he's unsure if his feelings are his or Trip's. I hope we see
the effects of this revelation in T'Pol's behavior with Trip if we're
shown any more neuro-pressure treatments. We saw how T'Pol felt about
Archer in "Twilight". Shippers are certainly getting their fill with
these two relationships and I love that they are possibilities but not
sure things. It's fun in the sense that it leaves so much to the
imagination.

I didn't really think "Twilight" showed that T'Pol had any romantic feeling
for Archer at all. How could she having to care for him and explain his life
to him every morning for years? It did show what we already knew, that
Vulcan's have the same humanity we have. Soval's argument to abandon humans
was pure logic marking him as a spineless asshole and worthy of contempt and
pity we should feel for such a coward. Why not give the poor guy an iota of
3-dimensionality by allowing him to see the illogic of the situation?

Blalock has done a fantastic job at this point of at least giving us the
idea that her character is a gutsy and honest character even if the writers
can't quite manage it.

Post by Gisele
Meanwhile poor Trip has been through a great deal of emotional traumas.
He became pregnant in "Unexpected", he was made to feel responsible for
Charles suicide in "Cogenitor", he has not gotten over the death of his
sister and was wanting revenge and now a clone was created and killed so
that he could live. That's a lot of emotional baggage for a person to
live with. I hope we see how this affects him in the future, especially
this last event.

It's quite an nice realistically messy back-story but it's being given the
same selectively amnesiac treatment all the blows say Kirk's life had on
him. Kirk's dead brother, AWOL nephews, dead son or lost loves are always
conveniently forgotten unless someone rummaged through the footlocker of his
character for a cheap plot device.

Have we even seen a picture of Trip's sister? Why not a jot of dialogue with
T'Pol asking how Vulcan's do it, submerge their emotions? Wouldn't it be
more reasonable that he'd at least once discuss the pain he's in to T'Pol?
Tell her about how much he loved his sister? Ask her how as a Vulcan she
dealt with some grief she must have surely had in her life?

The dramatic possibilities of that are gold and yet we get the tin-plated
footsie crap messaging tootsies.

Post by Gisele
I thought the actors playing Sim did a great job and were well cast in
terms of looking like Trip: Maximillian Orion Kesmodel at 4 years old,
Adam Taylor Gordon at 8 and Shane Sweet at 17. Gordon was particular good
I felt.

Wouldn't it have been nice to have expanded the script to a two-parter,
fixed the egregious logic errors and have let those kids have more screen
time?

Post by Gisele
What makes this episode a great one is that it has layers. That's what I
loved about the writing in DS9. The stories were complex and had
dimension and we find that here in this story as well. I am so encouraged
to see Enterprise featuring more and more complex episodes this season. I
only wish the ratings reflected the improving quality of the show.
Nonetheless, it bodes well for the series in terms of its significance
within the Trek saga.
I give this one an A+.
Gisele La Roche

I wish I could say the same. I can only give the actors and A for effort
wasted on yet another piece of shitty writing. If they deserve anything at
this point it's to make a bundle of money and go on to better things acting
wise while they are still young.

--
"A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it the superficial
appearance of being right, and raises at first a formidable outcry in
defense of custom. But the tumult soon subsides. Time makes more converts
than reason."
-- Thomas Paine

Captain Freaky Pants

2003-11-23 21:23:53 UTC

On Sun, 23 Nov 2003 13:34:38 -0600, Elvis Gump

Post by Elvis Gump
This episode was such cheap, manipulative bullshit it was beyond the pale.

I agree, even as I watched it I thought so.

Post by Elvis Gump
No one in the history of Trek writers ever seems to get structure when it
comes to story telling. They put the biggest fuck-ups in logic out front
that a three year old who spot and just leave it there.
What am I talking 'bout Willis?
Well take "The Inner Light". I bet most TNG era fans think it's undoubtedly
the best or at least one of the best episodes. And yet right from the get-go
they make the dumbest error, mostly to compress the premise so it'll fit in
one hour.
It was like they had scripts and threw darts at a board to pick which one
deserved to be a 2-parter and others they'd squeeze into one hour. Goofy
ideas like Picard being kidnapped in "Gambit" or out of the picture in
"Chains of Command" was an example of this sort of scatterbrain approach.

With a few exception, all Star Trek two parters are abysmal failures,
usually delivering promising setups in hour one that turn into nothing
at all in hour two.

Post by Elvis Gump
"The Inner Light" deserved that 2-hour treatment simply because of the time
needed to make it make any sense. For example the first mistake is to make
Kaman's wife mistake Picard for her husband. WTF? Right there Picard
shouldn't have ever bought into this fairy tale. Why not make him wake up in
a hospital as an unknown person and then meet her? Then it would make his
identity not so sticky. That would have eaten up precious time to make the
plot more logical so they glossed over it. Why ruin the big reveal by
showing Picard unconscious on the Bridge? More time is wasted on the premise
right there.

This is the unforgivable sin that dooms this episode. Given a chance
for a compelling story, to break with formula and challenge the
viewers with something, they spiked the ball and kept cutting back to
Enterprise to reassure them instead. I can see the possibility that
the original idea did not include this--That it was something inserted
at the rewrite level. It almost smacks of simple bean-counting--'we
have these regulars under contract, we can't NOT use them.' As it
was, they were jarring, unnneccessary, and out-of-place.

Post by Elvis Gump
BIG SNIP<

I wish I could comment on much of the rest of what you wrote, but I
really don't have time at the moment. In short, I agree with a lot of
the basics. I have certain divergences from the fans of these (and
other later ST shows) that I think will keep me permanently out of the
loop. General comments over what you covered:

-Personally, I don't care about who 'gets with' who. That kind of
thing strikes me as manipulative treacle, put in almost as an element
of titillation and gossip-fodder that gives people a salacious look
into the neighbor's kitchen window. I really don't build romantic
expectations for characters and don't need to see those paid off with
intimacy for my pleasure. That, apparently, is just me...

-I've long considered later ST characters to be 'detailed' while other
people consider them 'developed'. The difference comes down to one
point: does it make any difference in the way they behave? The crew
of TNG rarely disagree or find themselves in conflict. Any little
details added to their character really don't seem to define them as
differently-motivated people, it just seems to add details to
differentiate the suits.

I'm sure someone will quickly come in to tell us how wrong we both
are.
===================================================
http://www.rocketshipvideo.com
http://www.classicfilmimages.com
===================================================

Elvis Gump

2003-11-23 22:22:09 UTC

Post by Captain Freaky Pants

Post by Captain Freaky Pants
On Sun, 23 Nov 2003 13:34:38 -0600, Elvis Gump

Post by Elvis Gump
This episode was such cheap, manipulative bullshit it was beyond the pale.

I agree, even as I watched it I thought so.

With a few exception, all Star Trek two parters are abysmal failures,
usually delivering promising setups in hour one that turn into nothing
at all in hour two.

And the vignettes back on the Enterprise in that episode destroy the biggest
punch that let's the audience see the Enterprise as he must see it, a place
he last saw 40 years ago. It would have been nice that we took a 40 minute
break to somewhat begin to approximate it.

Post by Elvis Gump
BIG SNIP<

And you hit on something that most people that watch movies or TV take for
granted.

Not to be a prude about it, but the sexed up cinema since the 70's takes a
cheap shortcut to interest when it slips us into an intimate situation like
that as virtual peeping toms.

There's always a bit of vicarious voyeurism in drama, but when you can't
think of something to have the characters say that's worthwhile and instead
have them sack out and fiddle with each others naughty bits as a writer
you've basically told me all I need to know. Such writers don't have
anything worthwhile to say.

In this context of putting Trip and T'Pol together what's more interesting
to learn is not about where he pressure points are or if one of them is
gonna cop a feel of the other but a metaphor of how you'd even approach
knowing an alien as intimately as these two must be getting up to.

As human men and women we're probably already alien enough to one another
much less crossing a boundary of species. Just to see them discuss that
aspect alone would be interesting. Fully dressed in the mess hall.

IF they could pull off an emotionally affecting scene like that I'd
applauded the writers.

Post by Captain Freaky Pants
-I've long considered later ST characters to be 'detailed' while other
people consider them 'developed'. The difference comes down to one
point: does it make any difference in the way they behave? The crew
of TNG rarely disagree or find themselves in conflict. Any little
details added to their character really don't seem to define them as
differently-motivated people, it just seems to add details to
differentiate the suits.

But then weren't all the supporting cast of TOS pretty much interchangeable?
It was a long time before they got any details to their characters other
than cultural stereotypes anyway.

Post by Captain Freaky Pants
I'm sure someone will quickly come in to tell us how wrong we both
are.

Well since no one has commented on the post yet other than you I guess I
either gave them too much to think about, disagree with or maybe they're
just out watching a football game.

--
"The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once."
-- Albert Einstein

Captain Freaky Pants

2003-11-23 23:23:02 UTC

On Sun, 23 Nov 2003 16:22:09 -0600, Elvis Gump

But then weren't all the supporting cast of TOS pretty much interchangeable?
It was a long time before they got any details to their characters other
than cultural stereotypes anyway.

The characters of the 60s were much more archetypal. Their
characters were much better represented by their roles in the story.
As characters they represented big concepts. A good character in that
setting can be developed with large directives, but in today's styles
they seem to build them with constant infusion of detailing elements.

Yes, the supporting cast of TOS was _somewhat_ interchangeable (Chekov
was substituted for Sulu in THE GAMESTERS OF TRISEKELION when George
Takei was off filming a movie, and it's hard to see that there's a big
difference in one character vs. another in that story). But the
Original Series wasn't the ensemble they made the later shows into--it
was definitely about the main characters, Kirk overall, then Spock,
and McCoy. The supporting cast supported.

But I wouldn't say that they took a long time to get any development
at all. THE NAKED TIME is an early episode, and got Sulu running
around the ship with a sword, his wild impulses unleashed. His botany
hobby in MAN TRAP gave him another interest. Some of his behavior in
SHORE LEAVE also worked toward building the impression that he's a
very enthusiastic, interested (even impulsive to the point of fault)
guy.

Scotty usually got to complain in most early episodes, which let you
in to his annoyance with various abuses to the ship (NAKED TIME,
MUDD'S WOMEN, etc.). Considering his where his interests centered, it
did give you insight into what was going on inside his head. Uhura
did feature less prominently at times, but still got a moment or two
here or there.

Ironically, Janice Rand got a number of good parts in the earlier
episodes (well, she did leave early) due to the early subplot of her
and Kirk. She got several opportunities to show a range of depth to
her character as she dealt with disparate situations (CHARLIE X, MIRI,
ENEMY WITHIN).

After reviewing this stuff, maybe the real difference I find in the
characters is that the older characters seem to be deepend by their
reactions to the situations they're given. Since the newer series are
underplayed by comparison, there aren't reactions of nearly the same
prominence--most events just seem to be talked out at a roughly
consistent emotional level.

Oh, well, maybe you can't live in the past, but I may have to try....

Post by Captain Freaky Pants
I'm sure someone will quickly come in to tell us how wrong we both
are.

Well since no one has commented on the post yet other than you I guess I
either gave them too much to think about, disagree with or maybe they're
just out watching a football game.

===================================================
http://www.rocketshipvideo.com
http://www.classicfilmimages.com
===================================================

The Merry Piper

2003-11-24 16:39:59 UTC

Post by Captain Freaky Pants
-Personally, I don't care about who 'gets with' who. That kind of
thing strikes me as manipulative treacle, put in almost as an element
of titillation and gossip-fodder that gives people a salacious look
into the neighbor's kitchen window. I really don't build romantic
expectations for characters and don't need to see those paid off with
intimacy for my pleasure. That, apparently, is just me...

I agree with you 100% on this one, so it is not "just you".

At least one other person (me) agrees with you & I'll wager good money
there are others.

--
Piper
http://www.livejournal.com/users/tmpiper/
(Take your coat off to send an e-mail)

Gisele

2003-11-24 22:17:45 UTC

Not when it comes to DS9. Take Dr. Bashir as an example, much of what
happened to him at the beginning of the series and during had an effect on
how he behaved later. You can say that for even some of the recurring
characters. But then DS9 was heavily character-driven.

Gisele

--
Have you sent your postcard in?
http://www.starfleetlibrary.com/ds9petition

Gisele

2003-11-24 22:13:39 UTC

Elvis Gump <***@NOhotmailSPAM.com> wrote in news:BBE667EE.2349B%***@NOhotmailSPAM.com:

<snip>

Post by Gisele
But that's not all the story is about. It's about the sacrifices
that people make for the good of the many, a very Trekkian and
Roddenberry ideal. What we do for each other, as humans, is what
stands out here. Humanism was one of Roddenberry's first beliefs.
It's not how much you believe in or pray to a god that matters, it's
what you do for others that counts. Praying is great but actions by
us in the here and now is what makes the difference. It made me
think of 9/11, of firemen, soldiers, police, and others who put their
lives on the line for the sake of helping those that need it. Sim's
sacrifice is just that, for the many.

Obviously I didn't see that way.

Post by Elvis Gump
I can hardly pick a place to begin criticizing this mess. I'd like to
sentence everyone responsible for this thing to life in front of a
monkey cage where the simians are flinging shit at them for all
eternity.

Ok... Don't you think that's a little harsh?........heh.

Post by Elvis Gump
There where time when I would watch an incredibly flawed but heartfelt
episode like say TNG's "The Inner Light" and let it go.
No one in the history of Trek writers ever seems to get structure when
it comes to story telling. They put the biggest fuck-ups in logic out
front that a three year old who spot and just leave it there.
What am I talking 'bout Willis?
Well take "The Inner Light". I bet most TNG era fans think it's
undoubtedly the best or at least one of the best episodes. And yet
right from the get-go they make the dumbest error, mostly to compress
the premise so it'll fit in one hour.

Now I think you've hit a good point. It is TV first of all and next, they
only have an hour. Sometimes I've seen episodes that I wish they had made
into two-parters but not this one. Still, this is TV after all.

Post by Elvis Gump
It was like they had scripts and threw darts at a board to pick which
one deserved to be a 2-parter and others they'd squeeze into one hour.
Goofy ideas like Picard being kidnapped in "Gambit" or out of the
picture in "Chains of Command" was an example of this sort of
scatterbrain approach.

Well, most episodes are written by different writers. That may be why.

Post by Elvis Gump
"The Inner Light" deserved that 2-hour treatment simply because of the
time needed to make it make any sense.

It's not always necessary to make the story make *perfect* sense. People
can work it out themselves. Most times with sci-fi, you have to suspend
disbelief to begin with regardless of how much the story might make sense.

Post by Elvis Gump
For example the first mistake
is to make Kaman's wife mistake Picard for her husband. WTF? Right
there Picard shouldn't have ever bought into this fairy tale. Why not
make him wake up in a hospital as an unknown person and then meet her?
Then it would make his identity not so sticky. That would have eaten
up precious time to make the plot more logical so they glossed over
it. Why ruin the big reveal by showing Picard unconscious on the
Bridge? More time is wasted on the premise right there. Nothing that
happens advances the plot or the idea but rather takes away from it.
Why not SOME nod to how these people where so hopelessly doomed
technologically yet were able to create the probe to make all this
possible, something apparently outside the ken of Federation
technology?
Yet even as the ideas were squandered the acting was so heartfelt that
we liked it. Much of Trek is this way. Even back to the shittiest
effects or jarring lapses in to Shatner stuttering his way through
lines the heartfelt belief in a good sci-fi story shone through. Even
if you wanted to sack the so called author of the teleplay.

Heartfelt is what I see here in this episode but then again, I like the
actors and the characters. If you don't then you wouldn't be able to feel
the emotions the situation invokes.

Post by Gisele
I listed much of the dialogue in my synopsis because it was so
poignant. I was deep into this episode from the beginning but the
scene where Sim is in the room with Porthos awaiting Phlox' call
brought tears to my eyes. It's been a long time since an episode of
Star Trek did this to me. There's some silly science as well here I
suppose but it doesn't matter. Sim's sacrifice and courage resonates
nonetheless.

Ok, again I disagree. I like that the real Trip wouldn't have the nerve
to tell her outright how he feels. Don't forget that Sim thinks he's
going to die and that's why he tells her and he did say he wasn't sure if
the feelings came from him or Trip.

Post by Elvis Gump
There's been some complaint as I've read reviews of this episode of
T'Pol getting those tear-brimmed eyes for much of this as being
incongruous with Vulcans we've seen before. I'd like to think our
favorite Vulcan Spock once in a while went back to his quarters and
cried his eyes out for the death of someone he loved. Perhaps the best
moment ever in TOS was the one where Spock had to look in to McCoy's
accusations of his utter heartlessness over one of Kirk's apparent
'deaths' and say "Really Doctor?" The depths it gave his character to
carry on and hold together the himself and the ship while he obviously
boiled in pain for his possibly lost friend spoke volumes about
Nimoy's acting ability.
If ever a moment in the pitiful of existence of "Enterprise" T'Pol was
going to show an iota of the inner life of a Vulcan it would have been
over Trip laying near death in Sickbay.
Couldn't she be moved to sit at his bedside at least once and hold his
hand when no one was looking? Even looking at the scene where she had
to 'hold back' with Sim tells me a lot about Blalock's acting chops,
so why continue to squander that acting ability so badly with fruity
writing?

Ok, again we disagree but you make good points. It does make you wonder
if she feels for Trip the way Sim feels for her. She may not have
romantic feelings for Trip however. As to Sim, she felt sorry for him and
I think that's why she teared up so to speak and kissed him. It's not
romantic love however. It did leave us wondering about Trip which I like
as well.

Post by Gisele
Phlox continues to be the optimist and is as usual enjoying himself
at first when he goes about creating Sim. He sees it simply as a
necessary treatment option. The contrast with Archer and even T'Pol
is palpable. He makes a great father as Sim tells him at the end but
isn't attached to Sim. He keeps a professional detachment. What
bothered me is that he knew that there was an enzyme that might keep
Sim alive and let him live out his life. Why didn't he mention it?
At that point, he didn't know that Sim would die if he harvested the
neural tissue. He does say that the treatment probably wouldn't work
but why not have it ready just in case it would work. Still, in the
end, it would have complicated things and this would have been
another "Tuvix" episode.

You're missing the point here.
All the things you are confused over is what the writer of this
episode is confused over. It's such an enormous mess of logic where
characters are behaving so irrationally because the situation doesn't
hold any water.
Look at the potty speech Sim gives about "This is what I was meant to
do." That's the best last words they could think up for the character?
Do they have so little grasp of human nature as they seem to do of
science? Apparently so...

Ok...

Post by Gisele
Nonetheless, it would have made Sim's sacrifice even more noble.
Removing the neural tissue would have killed Sim regardless so it
would have made Archer even more culpable in having Sim killed
especially if he didn't want to die.

Again, potty, potty, potty.
If Sim is so fucking unstable biologically then how is this new brain
tissue not going to wither and die when transplanted into Trip's head
in another few days?

It can be explained in a number of ways but I did say the science was
questionable so I won't argue with you here.

Post by Elvis Gump
How is that going to help Trip?
If being grafted into Trip makes Sin's tissue stop dramatically aging,
why can't some other transplant of Trip's tissue to Sim help him? Why
not see Phlox pureeing Trip's spleen in a blender trying to grow a
culture to save Sim?
Why not at least make that part of the episode?
Why not raise the stakes that they don't even know if this will cure Trip?

At this point they would have had to make it a two-parter.

Post by Elvis Gump
That they could be ending what little life poor old Sim has in vain?
(Of course we know Sim is doomed because what else are they going to
do with his character?)
All medical cures in Trek seem to have a 100% probability of success
if keeping a contract regular in the series is at stake.

Well that's typical of all series not just Trek.

Post by Gisele
But he did willingly die and it is because of his sister. In
Voyager's "Tuvix", we see that the Doc can't kill Tuvix. Here Phlox
has no such dilemma in the creation of Sim or in his death. It sets
him apart from human doctors and that's good. Still, again the fact
that Sim would die in a few days nonetheless saves Phlox' integrity
and Archer's and I don't think we, the fans, could have accepted any
other resolution. Of course, the fact that Sim wanted to die also
helps.

No, no, no! That's what's wrong here.
Even if we forget this whole nonsense of "magic genetic memory" that
Sim gets it's about volunteering to make a sacrifice. (Why did the
memory have to be genetic anyway? Why not it's some mysterious alien
phenomenon inherent to the larva thing he was grown from?)
Why couldn't Sim be a cipher, his own person absorbing knowledge at a
fantastic rate and coming to that conclusion on his own instead of
mucking it up with him having done what Trip would have done? Well
that might have needed another hour god forbid.
Didn't anyone say hey, this is such a promising idea that we should
consider trying to make this a two parter?
Nope, they are panicked at this point because they've squandered two
seasons on abysmal writing already and are desperate to save their
Nielsen ratings and jobs and are just pushing this stuff out the door.

I disagree again. I thought this was a very Trekkian episode. I think
they are trying to recapture that very thing ie. Roddenberry ideals and
Trek ideals.

Post by Gisele
Just to get a little less serious here. I loved the scenes with
T'Pol and Trip at the beginning. I loved the double-entendres. I
laughed when T'Pol said: "We haven't gotten to the more challenging
postures and Trip replies: "Well...I'm always up for a challenge."
I believe him. I am sure he is *up* for it. It's a very erotic
scene and yet most platonic depiction of sexual relations I've ever
seen on TV. Here they are, in a, I can't say it, I'm too prudish to
say it but here they are in a very, typical sexual position massaging
their feet no less. I couldn't help laughing out loud at the
portrayal. I loved it. It's so good if only because kids can watch
and not have the least idea of what is being intimated by the scene
but adults can enjoy the suggestion of what could be going on. Sharp
writing here and throughout this episode and excellent erotic teasing
for the adults.

I'd rather see them fully dressed sitting on their hands and talking
honestly at this point about what's going on between them myself.

I don't. I like that they've left it open. I also happen to like the
sexy stuff provided it's done like this with double-entendres and
suggestion rather than actual sex let's say.

Post by Elvis Gump
Look, everything is against them having some sort of relationship at
this point. T'Pol's culture and the strai s on her from all the other
Vulcan's that drop-by from time to time to pooh-pooh her even staying
on. Trip is written as a pretty smart and decent guy which as a
Southerner I got to say pleases me to no end. We already get enough
stereotypes about Southern men in the media that I'd love Trek for
giving us McCoy and Trip as my only reason sometimes.
Trip's gentlemanly behavior shouldn't prelude at least some frank
curiosity about Vulcan culture but he doesn't seem to have any. They
put them in the situation a few episodes where they at least made him
reluctant to spend so much time for fear the crew would gossip about
T'Pol.

Yep but these things are just inserted to add a little sexiness to the
show. They aren't really meant to be stories in themselves. At least
that's the way I take it.

Post by Elvis Gump
You know the bum-obsessed Reed should be pumping Trip at this point
about what's going on. Don't you expect him to corner Trip in the mess
hall already and start channeling his British heritage with some Monty
Python-esque dialogue like "Does she go eh? Know what I mean? Nudge
nudge, wink wink! Say no more, say no more!" Every time I've had a
relationship of any kind with a woman I've always has some dumbass
male friend or acquaintance wanting to know how I was "making out".

Lol... That might work although I like Reed and wouldn't like him to come
off as a *dumbass*.

Post by Elvis Gump
Doesn't anyone have ANY curiosity about each other's life for
krissakes?
If you put me alone in a room with T'Pol and if I knew she'd NEVER
have a romantic relationship with me I'd at least ask her what it was
like growing up on Vulcan. What were her parent's like, how she viewed
us humans now as opposed to when she was first assigned to Earth? Or
how glad I was as a member of the crew that she'd stuck with
Enterprise when she had no logical reason to. Or how utterly alone
T'Pol must be having turned her back on her Vulcan career to do
something she saw as right?

Yep, I'd like to see this too.

Post by Elvis Gump
Trip should at least have some curiosity for these sorts of things if
he has such an obvious crush on her.

We don't really know that. Sim did say he wasn't sure if it was his own
feelings or Trip memories.

Post by Elvis Gump
As it stands what's his
attraction to her other than she looks great in a catsuit?
We already got one near good exploration of this in TNG's "Lessons"
which they could fall back on at least letting them acknowledge that a
relationship might be an untenable situation given their mission and
in the case of Trip and T'Pol the cultural gulf separating them.

I have a feeling were going to see more about all this. Stay tuned...

Post by Elvis Gump
And can T'Pol really be utterly oblivious that walking around in that
catsuit is giving every human male near her a boner? No human female
is that clueless, why should T'Pol be? I really would like to know
what the women fans think of that one. It bugs me to no end. There's a
big difference to me at least to see the dignity it gave her wear the
same uniform as everyone else in "Twilight". Shouldn't a Vulcan woman
be that logical?

True but this is TV. Even in TOS you could ask, was it logical for women
to walk around in those mini-skirts for example. That's what I liked
about DS9. One of the most liked women on that show was Jadzia and she
wore a uniform. Kira was well dressed also although it was a sexy
uniform. But we didn't see women in obviously sexy outfits except for
Leeta (she was a Dabo girl however) and the Intendant but then she was
supposed to be extremely sexual. Still, it doesn't bother me to see T'Pol
sexily dressed. It's a mainstay of sci-fi programs to have sexy
babes......heh.

Post by Elvis Gump
The only way this whole stupidly written situation benefits anyone is
not saddling the writers with keeping up with where Trip and T'Pol are
with their relationship where the show they are writing is gonna plug
into the production schedule.
Basically the writers and producers have reduced it to a soap opera
situation. Obviously they are too overworked to risk letting it go
anywhere realistic because it would be one ball too many for them to
juggle to keep plugging the progress of the relationship into the
production schedule.
Every episode obviously must have Trip and T'Pol stuck here on second
base because they don't know what script is going to be finished in
time to get into the production queue.
And this is a needless self-imposed situation. It could be solved with
the premise that what happens in private stays in private. They could
write these as vignettes to plug into some of the rather thin sci-fi
shows they are already turning out.

Ok but I think they are already *plugging* them into shows as it is. It's
just an added thing to appeal to those that like T'Pol and Trip together
and to those that find T'Pol and Trip sexy.

Yep...

Post by Elvis Gump
The situation with Trip is a priceless opportunity to explore the
difference between the public and private persona a Vulcan must wear.
Or at least as a metaphor of what it's like to date someone you work
with.
A Vulcan alone among humans especially should have some outlet to
share some of that inner turmoil with someone shouldn't they? Kirk and
Spock were always rather stoic about it but that's what made their
relationship so great. Even in the immensely silly "Amok Time" Spock
begs to be locked away and Kirk shows what it is to care for your best
friend, to say fuck the career, my friend matters more. The best of
Trek is about putting what's right and decent ahead of the rules that
a coward can hide behind.

Post by Gisele
I think Jolene Blalock does a great job in trying to be emotionless
nonetheless and yet showing enough emotion to be a 22nd century
Vulcan much like Ambassador Soval. I'll say it again, Blalock's
facial expressions are noteworthy. She manages to maintain a Vulcan
persona and yet you can see emotion in her eyes. Very well acted and
I have to say the way she looks at Sim after she kissed him was,
well, very sexy.

I have to say I'm equally impressed with her especially after being
utterly convinced the only reason she was ever hired for the job was
the way she looked. That they don't give her some writing worthy of
her acting talent is a crime.

Well I agree with the first thing you say and not the second.

Post by Gisele
LeVar Burton's direction is exemplary. He brings out the best of the
actors, notably Scott Bakula and Connor Trinneer. Of course he had
an excellent script to work with.

No, this was one the best IDEAS they've had in a while turned into one
of the most abysmal scripts they've churned out yet. (Well, I should
qualify that, I didn't see the Wild Wild West thing they did last
week; I suspect it was worse)
If there's any great mark Burton put on it was to shake his head and
try to wring some honest emotion out of illogical dialogue and
situations.

Ok...

Post by Gisele
I liked the sequence going from the baby Sim to the 4 year old. In
addition, Velton Ray Bunch's score effectively had me involved in the
proceedings and definitely affected my reaction to Sim being in his
room with Porthos.
Then there is Sim's feelings for T'Pol. It is left unanswered. Sim
tells T'Pol that he's unsure if his feelings are his or Trip's. I
hope we see the effects of this revelation in T'Pol's behavior with
Trip if we're shown any more neuro-pressure treatments. We saw how
T'Pol felt about Archer in "Twilight". Shippers are certainly
getting their fill with these two relationships and I love that they
are possibilities but not sure things. It's fun in the sense that it
leaves so much to the imagination.

True but it was intimated more than once that she was more than just doing
her duty towards Archer; that she had feelings for him.

Post by Elvis Gump
Soval's
argument to abandon humans was pure logic marking him as a spineless
asshole and worthy of contempt and pity we should feel for such a
coward. Why not give the poor guy an iota of 3-dimensionality by
allowing him to see the illogic of the situation?
Blalock has done a fantastic job at this point of at least giving us
the idea that her character is a gutsy and honest character even if
the writers can't quite manage it.

Post by Gisele
Meanwhile poor Trip has been through a great deal of emotional
traumas. He became pregnant in "Unexpected", he was made to feel
responsible for Charles suicide in "Cogenitor", he has not gotten
over the death of his sister and was wanting revenge and now a clone
was created and killed so that he could live. That's a lot of
emotional baggage for a person to live with. I hope we see how this
affects him in the future, especially this last event.

Lol... I can see this somehow.......heh.

Post by Elvis Gump
Have we even seen a picture of Trip's sister? Why not a jot of
dialogue with T'Pol asking how Vulcan's do it, submerge their
emotions? Wouldn't it be more reasonable that he'd at least once
discuss the pain he's in to T'Pol? Tell her about how much he loved
his sister? Ask her how as a Vulcan she dealt with some grief she must
have surely had in her life?

Some of the things you say are very soap opera-ish. You seem to dislike
that and yet you keep insisting that they should make it more this way.

Post by Elvis Gump
The dramatic possibilities of that are gold and yet we get the
tin-plated footsie crap messaging tootsies.

Lol... There was more going on there than that. Depends how much
imagination you have or if you have a dirty mind I guess.....heh

<looks around innocently>

Post by Gisele
I thought the actors playing Sim did a great job and were well cast
in terms of looking like Trip: Maximillian Orion Kesmodel at 4 years
old, Adam Taylor Gordon at 8 and Shane Sweet at 17. Gordon was
particular good I felt.

Wouldn't it have been nice to have expanded the script to a
two-parter, fixed the egregious logic errors and have let those kids
have more screen time?

No.

Post by Gisele
What makes this episode a great one is that it has layers. That's
what I loved about the writing in DS9. The stories were complex and
had dimension and we find that here in this story as well. I am so
encouraged to see Enterprise featuring more and more complex episodes
this season. I only wish the ratings reflected the improving quality
of the show. Nonetheless, it bodes well for the series in terms of
its significance within the Trek saga.
I give this one an A+.
Gisele La Roche

I wish I could say the same. I can only give the actors and A for
effort wasted on yet another piece of shitty writing. If they deserve
anything at this point it's to make a bundle of money and go on to
better things acting wise while they are still young.

I disagree of course but thanks for your comments. I see some agree with
you and some with me and that's as it should be.

Take care,

Gisele

--
Have you sent your postcard in?
http://www.starfleetlibrary.com/ds9petition

Elvis Gump

2003-11-25 01:48:22 UTC

Post by Gisele
<snip>