Star Trek: Enterprise 11/26 and 12/3 (Anti-Bush) Episodes!

[Orsino]

Don't know who else is watching this pre-Kirk Trek, but the gloves came off in the last two episodes: last week we learned that the Vulcan (wink-wink) High Command, in the hands of a fanatical leader, secretly plan a suprise invasion of the planet Andoria, on the pretext that Andorians are arming themselves with Xindi WMDs (though we know that the only WMD were destroyed by our heroes last season).

That was funny, but last night's was even better. The soul of Surak (ancient Vulcan philospher who turned the planet toward logic), hidden within Captain Archer's mind, warns him that the Vulcan society the captain knows is no longer based Surak's teachings. When the Vulcan invasion is revealed, and the Andorians muster fierce resistance, High command members advise the one in charge that the invasion should be canceled, it no longer being the cakewalk they'd planned for. Their leader blusters that they are committed, and order the invasion to continue.

So, in effect, we saw Jesus rebuke the Bush Administration. Very daring.

[Deja Q]

1. And yet Spock once said that Vulcan had never been conquered in its

collective history.

As with the stupid AIDS-allegory-wannabe episode, this corrupt government thing is best left for another species that hadn't already been given its own history.

AWESOME core ideas, but WHY is it always the Vulcans who get the sharp end of Berminator's sword?

Edit: Added "is it always" and "who get the sharp end of Berminator's sword?"

[Orsino]

4. We still haven't seen Vulcan conquered...

so I'm not sure why you object on that basis. The Vulcans were the would-be conquerors, but broke off the invasion the moment the hawks were deposed. They retired the field (near Andoria, and not on Vulcan), and were not beaten.

I actually love the idea of the Vulcans not being the perfectly peaceful Tolkien elves usually portrayed on the original series. I like getting to see them evolve in that direction.

If you were asking why the humans aren't ever the villains, well, we did get to see Archer torturing an enemy combatant last season. And in last night's episode, it was our favorite Andorian who tortured Vulcan ex-ambassador Soval.

The original series, at its best, translated the human condition onto latex aliens, and was able to slide a lot past the network censors (thinking of Frank Gorshin's half-white and half-black character who so blatantly skewered sixties racial prejudice). Enterprise's humans don't get around as fast as Kirk did, so the field of aliens is necessarily smaller. I think projecting our issues onto Vulcans, whom the original series conditioned us to accept as good guys, works.

[Beetwasher]

2. It Couldn't Be More Obvious

And I like it! It's been pretty good this season so far...

[Carl Brennan]

3. I saw this. It was really good. Notice also how the Enterprise decided

to break ranks so to speak and help the Andorians out instead of the Vulcans? That show has improved lately.

What would happen if the Captain of one of our aircraft carriers found out the truth about Iraq and took similar action. :bounce:

Nice catch.

[earthside]

5. Who is Bush Really Working For?

At the end of last night's episode, it is revealed that the power-hungry, warmongering, tyrant Vulcan "administrator" was really working for the Romulans.

I think the parallel from the last three 'Enterprise' episodes with the Bush regime have been cool.

So who is Bush really working for?

I think he is the genuine 'Manchurian Candidate' ... I've always had this notion that Bush is a stooge for the Chinese. (Brainwashed when he made one of his two trips overseas - to visit his daddy in China - before he stole the White House.)

[Orsino]

6. The Romulan Is...

...the Christian Coalition, and the "reunification" he terms "inevitable" is an obvious parallel to the single-party dream of the funadmentalists.

[Socialist Dem]

7. Nope,

not even close. The "Christian" aspect is to keep us all battling with each other while the real masters keep working behind the scenes and gaining power and wealth.

The Romulan is Corporate America. Notice none of the "moral values" issues really have any effect on the majority of people. They won't keep us from buying, working, and living the way the corporations want us to.

About the episodes, I liked the way it sets up T'Pau to become the leader she was in TOS.



The 3 episode arc was really a direct hit on the policies of Shrubco

[Orsino]

9. The Romulan Is...

corporate America? That works, too, though not as well. He's obviously a fanatic of some sort, a true believer in suppression of opposing viewpoints. How is that "not even close"?

I'd heard the Vulcan character name as "T'Pal," by the way, and never made the connection to T'Pau. Are you sure about that? She had no trace of the heavy accent from the original series.

[Socialist Dem]

10. Sorry, I forgot to add the obligatory "In my opinion"

I ment the "not even close" part in the reference to the current state of the country as compared to these episodes.


http://www.memory-alpha.org/en/index.php/T%27Pau

"T'Pau was a high ranking Vulcan official and matriarch who presided over the attempted wedding of Spock in 2267. She was the only person at that time to ever have turned down a seat on the Federation Council. (TOS: "Amok Time")

T'Pau was played by Celia Lovsky. The name "T'Pau" ended up being taken by a music band led by Carol Decker in 1986. Originally, the character of T'Pol on Star Trek: Enterprise was intended to be a younger version of T'Pau, but this was later abandoned (possibly due to the name being currently used by musicians unrelated to the series). However, a younger version of T'Pau is scheduled to be featured in ENT Season 4, played by Kara Zediker."

[Swede]

8. The writers Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens have always been a favorite

Galen Sword series was my favotie.