Enterprise "The Council" Talkback (Spoilers)

[Kolbar]

Only 2 more episodes of Enterprise are left until the season finale as UPN aired an all-new episode tonight.


http://wwwimage.upn.com/shows/enterprise/images/ent_home_crew_pic.jpg




Episode #73 - The Council

Original Airdate - May 12, 2004




T'Pol and Reed lead a team on a harrowing mission into one of the region's mysterious metallic spheres to obtain vital information about how the Delphic Expanse was created, as Archer and Hoshi stand before the Xindi council hoping that diplomacy can stop the launch of the superweapon aimed at Earth.




Comments?

[SilverKnight]

I found the episode more or less enjoyable, if forced in some areas. Tucker's sudden enlightment that he has to let go of his anger was particularly poorly handled. In the course of three scenes he went from, 'You suck, go away,' to 'Gee, I'm sorry the guy's dead'. It didn't seem genuine, but that may have been poor editing. (Also, the scene in which Reed expressed his dislike of how everyone moved on after Obligatory Crewman Death felt very out of place, especially for a military man like Reed.)

The Council scenes weren't bad, but were a little over-acted, notably Degra's part. I've only watched the past few episodes, but he struck me as the very calm-speaking one; what was up with his yelling? (By the way, who else saw Degra's death coming a mile away? The way the scene opened with the reptilian shadow on his face was still a nice cinematic touch of foreboding. Kudos to the director.)

Still, I overall enjoyed (or at least didn't completely regret) watching the episode, even though I have no fricken clue what's going on. I wonder what they want with Hoshi, besides to torture information from her.

[SirLemming]

By the way, who else saw Degra's death coming a mile away? The way the scene opened with the reptilian shadow on his face was still a nice cinematic touch of foreboding. Kudos to the director.
I didn't see it coming until the "foreboding" start of the scene.

Great episode. Mega-exciting.

[Squall]

Awesome episode! :D This is the kind of episode that makes 'Star Trek' a great franchise. I'm glad we're done with filler episodes for the Season! (I know, I know, filler episodes are a necessary evil of TV shows of any kind.)

I like the fact that they explained the whole Xindi species and the council's existence in a single episode; also talked about the Avian Xindi that are extinct; and I loved the brief but impressive space battle at the end. :D (I love big melee space battles with lots of starships -- from The Dominon War to The Battle of Endor, big melee space battles with lots of starships of different kinds are fun to watch!)

The whole 'sphere builders' thing needs to really be explained now though -- what their formal name is, why neither they nor the Xindi (nor the Suliban, for that matter) are major players (or perhaps even extinct?) in the 23rd and 24th Centuries...

[DR.MID-NITE]

why neither they nor the Xindi (nor the Suliban, for that matter) are major players (or perhaps even extinct?) in the 23rd and 24th Centuries...

I am not sure about the Suliban. But, it was related last night and mentioned before. That the Xindi are part of the Federation and help in the fight against the Sphere builders 400 years in the future.

With regards to Hoshi...
I believe they need her to crack the code that the Reptilians/Insectoids need to fire the weapon

[Fone Bone]

Okay, okay, it was good.

A lot of forced and ingenuine character moments couldn't overshadow the gee-whiz factor of this episode. Learning about Xindi history was fun but I was bummed the Aviaries were extinct! How cool would Star Trek aliens with wings be?

Reed needs to get killed off now. He is so annoying. Surprisingly Trip was annoying too. His 360 degree turnaround about Degra felt phony. Why do they continue to overuse an otherwise likable character like Trip? Have they learned nothing from Voyager's Seven of Nine and the Doctor?

I was surprised by Degra's death. I expected them to go the touchy-feely "All join hands and sing Kum-Bay-Ya" route as far as the alliance with the Xindi went. That's what how Voyager ruined Species 8472 and the Hirogen. Nice that this is gonna be hard.

Better than usual but still not up to snuff with The Next Generation or Deep Space Nine. ****.

[RZetlin]

The episode was a tense showdown between the different Xindi races. For the most part it worked well.

I expected Degra to last a little longer. I expected him to die after Enterprise had accomplished their goals.

The death of that solider in the sphere was predicatable. Though I expected more defenses on the sphere.

[Squall]

I am not sure about the Suliban. But, it was related last night and mentioned before. That the Xindi are part of the Federation and help in the fight against the Sphere builders 400 years in the future...
So, in the 23rd Century and beyond, all the Xindi races are 'just another member' of the Federation? Hmmm, perhaps that's why they don't stand out in the future... not only are they species of minor significance by then, but they've already been completley absorbed by the Federation... I like that idea! :) Now, we need to learn the fate of the Suliban, and explain everything about the Temporal Cold War. And I mean everything.

[SilverKnight]

After watching these few episodes, I've created the theory that this recent arc is actually an extension of the Temporal Cold War. I mean, beings from the future helping races to destroy Earth (which has proven to be a thorn in the side of the Suliban and people trying to turn the tide of said Temporal Cold War) in order to secure their own...I dunno, lives or something. It sounds like all of this Xindi stuff is something of a ruse. Maybe I'm just overanalyzing, though. :)

[SirLemming]

After watching these few episodes, I've created the theory that this recent arc is actually an extension of the Temporal Cold War. I mean, beings from the future helping races to destroy Earth (which has proven to be a thorn in the side of the Suliban and people trying to turn the tide of said Temporal Cold War) in order to secure their own...I dunno, lives or something. It sounds like all of this Xindi stuff is something of a ruse. Maybe I'm just overanalyzing, though. :)That'd be a good way to connect this whole side-story back to the rest of the series. After all, Daniels sure is up on his Xindi... And the Sphere Builders do look a little like the Suliban. Who knows? There could be some sort of relation...

[Squall]

There has to be a direct relation between the Xindi and the Temporal Cold War -- having two time travel plots go on at the same time would be ridiculous, IMO. I think the "sphere builders" (they need a formal name! I'm tired of saying that!) are the actual people behind the Temporal Cold War, and they decided to try to have the Xindi destroy Earth when it became obvious that the Suliban weren't up to the task.

Now, it's one thing for me to figure this out, but all this needs to be explained on the show...

[SilverKnight]

Indeed, Squall, you hit the nail on the head. That's pretty much what I meant, but you articulated it much better. (By the way, wasn't there a Dyson's sphere thingy found in TNG? Is that what these huge-ass spheres are supposed to be, or is that just some freaky coincidence?)

[Fone Bone]

There has to be a direct relation between the Xindi and the Temporal Cold War -- having two time travel plots go on at the same time would be ridiculous, IMO. I think the "sphere builders" (they need a formal name! I'm tired of saying that!) are the actual people behind the Temporal Cold War, and they decided to try to have the Xindi destroy Earth when it became obvious that the Suliban weren't up to the task.

Now, it's one thing for me to figure this out, but all this needs to be explained on the show...
That would be nice, but I'm hoping the ringleader (Futureguy) is someone we've already met on a previous series. Maybe Lore or Sela or, heh, Wesley Crusher.:eek:

[Stewie]

I mixed on this individual episode, along with most of them as the season winds down, but I'm enjoying the overall show much more. The Xindi plotline is really working out. I like that it won't be easy. People are going to have to die to in order to accomplish anything. That is the way it should be this early in the Star Trek universe. It's like the pioneering days of the old West.

I agree with Squall and the rest of you as to how where it should go from here.

Has the show's survival been decided yet? A month ago I wouldn't have cared, now I want to see the next season. Now I've got hope.

[SirLemming]

Now, it's one thing for me to figure this out, but all this needs to be explained on the show...Calm down, dude. That's what season finales are for.

[Squall]

Calm down, dude. That's what season finales are for.
I'm calm! *drinks his glass of coffee with 37 sugars* :p But, really, I very much want them to explain everything on the show, not just in talk among fans... and the writers of 'Enterprise' have a lot of explaining to do...

[The Penguin]

I'm not quite clear whether my excitement over the recent episodes is because Enterprise itself is exciting or if I'm just looking forward to the Xindi resolution. This was a pretty good episode though.

I must admit I was a bit surprised to see Degra killed by a Reptilian, but all of those guys do not seem to really be behind what the council is trying to do. The promise of power went to their heads real quick.

I'm a bit too tired to think much about the action on the ship so I'll just leave it at that. :yawn:

[Squall]

I hope Hoshi doesn't die. Linda Park is really cute... :p I think she's even cuter than Jolene Blalock, personally! If you've ever seen her glamor photos, I think you'd agree! :)

[Fone Bone]

Wow, I think Hoshi's annoying. Well, to keep you happy, they should kill off Reed and Mayweather. Reed is the most annoying Star Trek character since Geordi La Forge. (Huey Freeman has called Geordi a "punk" in The Boondocks.) Everything with him is about people rubbing him the wrong way. He takes people doing their job as a threat to his manhood. What a whiny baby.

Mayweather has NO characterization. It didn't help that UPN touted him going back to see his family last year as "An Enterprise Event", just like EVERY FREAKNG EPISODE LAST YEAR. He needs to go.

I just thought of who else Futureguy could be: The Dominion Founder Leader or Female Shapeshifter from DS9. That would be cool if she was trying to rewrite history so that the Federation would lose the Dominion War. But, seriously, you think Berman and Braga would be THAT clever? True Futureguy is voiced by soft-core porn actor James Horan, but the Founder Leader has impersonated guys before, I'm sure.

[SilverKnight]

Wow, I think Hoshi's annoying. Well, to keep you happy, they should kill off Reed and Mayweather. Reed is the most annoying Star Trek character since Geordi La Forge. (Huey Freeman has called Geordi a "punk" in The Boondocks.) Everything with him is about people rubbing him the wrong way. He takes people doing their job as a threat to his manhood. What a whiny baby.Hey, I liked Geordie! Now Troi--I couldn't stand her. She was only good for her empathic ability, which half the time was completely redundant seeing as how Picard had pretty good character judgement. But maybe I just didn't like her accent. Who knows? :p But, yes, I agree about Reed. Rather one track man, he is.


Mayweather has NO characterization.While watching the episode, I thought, "Hey, Mayweather has a line! Too bad it's completely unimportant." I personally think he could be a really cool character if they ever bothered devoloping him from the "Space Boomer". It was as though the first two times they focused episodes on him they said, "Oh, okay, this character sucks," and forced him into the background. Oh well.


It didn't help that UPN touted him going back to see his family last year as "An Enterprise Event", just like EVERY FREAKNG EPISODE LAST YEAR. He needs to go.Hey, they still do that now; and that's part of the reason I stopped watching early into the third season. They hyped and never delivered. Screw them.

[SirLemming]

Mayweather may be underdeveloped, but at least they don't try to pretend he isn't. He's clearly a minor character.

Hoshi and Mayweather are Uhura and Sulu with races reversed. Exactly.

[Fone Bone]

Hey, I liked Geordie! Now Troi--I couldn't stand her. She was only good for her empathic ability, which half the time was completely redundant seeing as how Picard had pretty good character judgement. But maybe I just didn't like her accent. Who knows? :p But, yes, I agree about Reed. Rather one track man, he is.


Did you ever think it was bizarre that a COUNSELOUR dressed in those bunny suits? Would you tell anything to a therapist dressed as a space hooker? It didn't help that they had her falling into into bed with every hot guy she met. No wonder she and Riker loved each other so much. They're both total whores.:D

And Sir Lemming I disagree about Hoshi and Mayweather being like Sulu and Uhura. I dunno I felt like I KNEW those characters just by the way they behaved in the situations they were thrust in. Characterization does not nessecarily mean detailed backgrounds. I found out all I needed to know about Sulu and Uhura by the adventures they went on. The only thing I know about Mayweather and Hoshi is that they're annoying.

[SirLemming]

And Sir Lemming I disagree about Hoshi and Mayweather being like Sulu and Uhura. I dunno I felt like I KNEW those characters just by the way they behaved in the situations they were thrust in. Characterization does not nessecarily mean detailed backgrounds. I found out all I needed to know about Sulu and Uhura by the adventures they went on. The only thing I know about Mayweather and Hoshi is that they're annoying.Well, I was really going for a more shallow comparison.