****
The conclusion of a short arc that finally acknowledges that not every human was as excited about interstellar communities as the crew of the Enterprise, "Terra Prime" is one of the essential episodes of the series and franchise.
Mayweather's old flame from "Demons" turns into a knotty piece of the mess John Frederick Paxton has made, which Reed's Section 31 connection Harris helps untangle. But the crux of the episode involves the last best statement on Trip and T'Pol's relationship.
Something that'd been in development since the first season, when Trip formeda crush on the Vulcan officer, and intensified by the bond they shared in the tumultuous third season, Paxton unwittingly brings it to a close by choosing them to demonstrate the extremes of his belief that humans and aliens can't truly get along because they can't mate. (Well, Spock would beg to differ.) His machincations result in a baby that dies prematurely. The aftermath is crushing, one of the most purely emotional moments in franchise history (only Kirk losing both his friend and his son compare).
The episode has a fair bit of action, too, and developments that resonate with the rest of the season and series, including Archer delivering a speech many believe was shockingly missing from the finale, but the presence of that one moment elevates everything, ensuring the Terra Prime Duology a place among Star Trek classics.
Seriously, watch this one.
franchise * series * essential * character
Notable guest-stars:
Gary Graham
Peter Weller
Eric Pierpont
Derek Magyar
Memory Alpha summary.
The internet’s only comprehensive fan source for the complete film and television experience.
Showing posts with label Derek Magyer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Derek Magyer. Show all posts
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Enterprise 4x19 "In a Mirror, Darkly, Part 2"
****
The brilliance that was the first part of the Mirror Duology concludes (just in case the title of the episode doesn't explain that already).
In what is essentially a celebration of everything that made the series what it was while having as much fun with franchise lore as possible, Archer and several other members of his Mirror Universe crew don Kirk-era uniforms and battle the rebels who are trying to thwart his plans of seizing control of the Terran Empire, including T'Pol, Soval, and Phlox (this scenario is also ironic, given the events of the Terra Prime Duology that follows).
We see a CGI Gorn this episode (following a CGI Tholian in the previous entry), but the real thrill is watching Archer truly enjoy himself, and how the episode quickly centers itself around Hoshi (making this her lone spotlight of the season, though very welcome) in its conclusion.
It's all ridiculously clever. One of the more inspired elements is the alternate opening credits for both episodes, which feature an evil version of the clips that are normally featured, and a new theme!
Not without exaggeration, but if the Mirror Duology had occurred earlier in the season, or series, fans might have finally acknowledged the effort put into Enterprise and rewarded it by, y'know, watching.
Absolutely essential.
franchise * series * essential * character
Notable guest-stars:
Gregory Itzen
Gary Graham
Derek Magyar
Memory Alpha summary.
The brilliance that was the first part of the Mirror Duology concludes (just in case the title of the episode doesn't explain that already).
In what is essentially a celebration of everything that made the series what it was while having as much fun with franchise lore as possible, Archer and several other members of his Mirror Universe crew don Kirk-era uniforms and battle the rebels who are trying to thwart his plans of seizing control of the Terran Empire, including T'Pol, Soval, and Phlox (this scenario is also ironic, given the events of the Terra Prime Duology that follows).
We see a CGI Gorn this episode (following a CGI Tholian in the previous entry), but the real thrill is watching Archer truly enjoy himself, and how the episode quickly centers itself around Hoshi (making this her lone spotlight of the season, though very welcome) in its conclusion.
It's all ridiculously clever. One of the more inspired elements is the alternate opening credits for both episodes, which feature an evil version of the clips that are normally featured, and a new theme!
Not without exaggeration, but if the Mirror Duology had occurred earlier in the season, or series, fans might have finally acknowledged the effort put into Enterprise and rewarded it by, y'know, watching.
Absolutely essential.
franchise * series * essential * character
Notable guest-stars:
Gregory Itzen
Gary Graham
Derek Magyar
Memory Alpha summary.
Enterprise 4x15 "Affliction"
***
On the surface, this Klingon Duology is of immense importance to the franchise thanks to finally explaining why Klingons were smooth-headed in the original series but ridged in later incarnations (y'know, aside from the obvious).
"Affliction" kicks off the two-part story by tying into events depicted in the Augments Trilogy from earlier in the season, explaining rather handily that the Klingons were embarrassed by their brief encounter with genetically enhanced humans, and so pursued their own version of the program, creating Klingon Augments. Or trying really hard to.
They need Phlox to do it. That makes the Klingon Duology in name the Phlox story of the season. Except there's not a lot that makes it a Phlox story other than the fact that it technically features everyone's favorite Denobulan. That's mainly what brings both episodes in the story down a peg in my book, because it's disappointing, given that Phlox was a favorite character of mine and previously one of the best-used characters in the series.
There's other character work in the episode, though, and if roles had been reversed, could easily have boasted both efforts to full-recommendation status. The first is Tucker's transfer to the Columbia, under the command of Hernandez, previously featured in "Home." Aside from another great bit of continuity from the season, the development ties directly into Trip and T'Pol's constantly troubled relationship (that's the whole reason why he's no longer, at this point, engineer of the Enterprise, leaving the unimpressive Kelby to fill his boots).
And Reed receives perhaps some of his best material as a previous association with Section 31 (the covert ops group first seen in Deep Space Nine) proves to be an exceedingly uncomfortable conflict of interest.
In the past I've had a hard time digesting these episodes. There's just so much going on in them, a trend that works better in a later duology. But it's hard to deny their extreme importance. "Affliction" continues the fourth season ball rolling in very unusual but rewarding fashion. If only Phlox had had a more significant part!
franchise * series * essential * character
Notable guest-stars:
Ada Maris
Eric Pierpont
Derek Magyer
James Avery
John Schuck
Seth MacFarlane
Memory Alpha summary.
On the surface, this Klingon Duology is of immense importance to the franchise thanks to finally explaining why Klingons were smooth-headed in the original series but ridged in later incarnations (y'know, aside from the obvious).
"Affliction" kicks off the two-part story by tying into events depicted in the Augments Trilogy from earlier in the season, explaining rather handily that the Klingons were embarrassed by their brief encounter with genetically enhanced humans, and so pursued their own version of the program, creating Klingon Augments. Or trying really hard to.
They need Phlox to do it. That makes the Klingon Duology in name the Phlox story of the season. Except there's not a lot that makes it a Phlox story other than the fact that it technically features everyone's favorite Denobulan. That's mainly what brings both episodes in the story down a peg in my book, because it's disappointing, given that Phlox was a favorite character of mine and previously one of the best-used characters in the series.
There's other character work in the episode, though, and if roles had been reversed, could easily have boasted both efforts to full-recommendation status. The first is Tucker's transfer to the Columbia, under the command of Hernandez, previously featured in "Home." Aside from another great bit of continuity from the season, the development ties directly into Trip and T'Pol's constantly troubled relationship (that's the whole reason why he's no longer, at this point, engineer of the Enterprise, leaving the unimpressive Kelby to fill his boots).
And Reed receives perhaps some of his best material as a previous association with Section 31 (the covert ops group first seen in Deep Space Nine) proves to be an exceedingly uncomfortable conflict of interest.
In the past I've had a hard time digesting these episodes. There's just so much going on in them, a trend that works better in a later duology. But it's hard to deny their extreme importance. "Affliction" continues the fourth season ball rolling in very unusual but rewarding fashion. If only Phlox had had a more significant part!
franchise * series * essential * character
Notable guest-stars:
Ada Maris
Eric Pierpont
Derek Magyer
James Avery
John Schuck
Seth MacFarlane
Memory Alpha summary.
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