USSYorktown GROUP: Members POSTS: 45  |
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Aug. 03 2009, 5:34 am
Not that the last two seasons weren't terrific, but I think the first two deserve more praise than they get. I think they did a great job of conveying a feeling of excitement of humanity's first deep space voyage, of hope mixed with uncertainty at what lies ahead. I thought the characters struck a nice balance between turn-of-the-millennium attitudes and those of the idealized, enlightened humans of TOS and beyond. The show may have had room for improvement, but I thought the first two seasons were consistently good and did a fine job of exemplifying the Trek spirit.
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honeybee1111 GROUP: Members POSTS: 880 |
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Aug. 03 2009, 7:22 am
I always think of myself as preferring the last two seasons, then I remember how many of my favorites come in the second season. Carbon Creek, Dead Stop, Regeneration, Minefield, Cogenitor. Besides all those, there's some pretty good "classic style" Trek in Stigma, Catwalk, Singularity, Shockwave Part II and Judgement. Even Vanishing Point. So, Season II is absolutely underrated. And as for Season One, it is more misunderstood. They were going for a tone close to the camp of TOS - and yes, Virginia, TOS is campy and tongue in cheek a lot of the time. It was just supposed to be light and fun with a little moral message now and then. I think there are some weak episodes (invites SLagonia in to rant on 'Dear Doctor'  , but on the other hand Shadows of P'Jem has some excellent writing. I have a soft spot for Fusion as a "date rape" morality play. And "The Andorian Incident" is a great little hostage crisis episode - and actually gives us interesting Andorians. They get way more interesting later, but the Andorian Incident is actually the episode that sets up the founding of the Federation when you think about it. We know that Andorians & Vulcans were founders, so this episode actually opens up a whole. .how did that come to pass question. |
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honeybee1111 GROUP: Members POSTS: 880 |
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Aug. 03 2009, 7:43 am
I'm afraid I disagree. I think TOS had its tongue firmly in its cheek quite often - not always. But that's the flexibility of the format. You can have a "City on the Edge of Forever" and you can have a "Trouble with Tribbles" or "Squire of Gothos" - and the latter, totally tongue in cheek. But its not meant to be a slam at TOS - its meant to be praise.
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honeybee1111 GROUP: Members POSTS: 880 |
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Aug. 03 2009, 7:59 am
Oh I see - I think of camp as more subtle - Gilligan's Island would be at the extreme end - I think of "Trouble with Tribbles" and "The Apple" as totally, completely and frankly perfectly campy. But I think its our definition that differs, not our opinion.  Too bad Susan Sontag has passed away, she could settle if for us. |
ENT567 GROUP: Members POSTS: 5267 |
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Aug. 03 2009, 9:34 am
| Quote | | Are the first two seasons underrated? |
Certainly. Not by me, though: Ss.1, 2, 3 are my faves. |
whyaduck GROUP: Members POSTS: 3478 |
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Aug. 03 2009, 9:38 am
Not by me. Seasons 1 and 2 (especially 2) have some of my favorite episodes. Plus, we come to meet the crew and to watch them and their interpersonal relationships grow through those two seasons. We see Archer start to make difficult decisions that will get much more difficult in season 3.
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captbates GROUP: Members POSTS: 12614 |
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Aug. 03 2009, 9:52 am
| Quote (USSYorktown @ Aug. 02 2009, 10:34 am) | | Not that the last two seasons weren't terrific, but I think the first two deserve more praise than they get. ¿I think they did a great job of conveying a feeling of excitement of humanity's first deep space voyage, of hope mixed with uncertainty at what lies ahead. ¿I thought the characters struck a nice balance between turn-of-the-millennium attitudes and those of the idealized, enlightened humans of TOS and beyond. ¿The show may have had room for improvement, but I thought the first two seasons were consistently good and did a fine job of exemplifying the Trek spirit. |
That's your opinion, and I'm not saying that your wrong, I agree there are some great episodes in there, and as a whole the first two series get better with time, the problem is that they are also responsible for killing ENT (and almost Trek) stone dead. Put simply seasons 1 and 2 (and to a degree 3) are NOT the Star Trek that most of the fans wanted to see. IMO prequels are never a good idea, but better writing could have saved ENT. |
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ENT567 GROUP: Members POSTS: 5267 |
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Aug. 03 2009, 11:31 am
| Quote (USSYorktown @ Posted: Aug. 03 2009, 5:34 am) | | Not that the last two seasons weren't terrific, but I think the first two deserve more praise than they get. I think they did a great job of conveying a feeling of excitement of humanity's first deep space voyage, of hope mixed with uncertainty at what lies ahead. I thought the characters struck a nice balance between turn-of-the-millennium attitudes and those of the idealized, enlightened humans of TOS and beyond. The show may have had room for improvement, but I thought the first two seasons were consistently good and did a fine job of exemplifying the Trek spirit. |
Of course, you are 200% correct. But you see, some fans would rather eat their tongues but never admit they were/are wrong by presuming they're the only ones who know what Star Trek is and what kind of Star Trek they should demand to see (as well as what "better writing" is). |
BrotherofShran01 GROUP: Members POSTS: 23343  |
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Aug. 03 2009, 11:59 am
There were only five episodes out of Twenty-six in the first season that I would watch on a regular basis if aired on TV, paid TV service or check out on the web:
The Andorian Incident
Shadows of P'Jem
Acquisition
Fallen Hero
Detained
Episodes that I could sit through on a slow day or rainy day. they are not a must see episode
Shock wave, part I
Broken Bow
Shuttle Pod One
Two days and two nights
Dear Doctor
Fortunate Son
Season Two:
There were only eleven episodes out of twenty-six in the second season that I would watch on a regular basis if aired on TV, paid TV service or check out on the web:
Carbon Creek
Minefield
Dead Stop
Precious Cargo
Cease Fire
Judgement
Regeneration
Frist Flight
Bounty
The Expanse
Episodes that I could sit through on a slow day or rainy day. they are not a must see episode
The Bounty
Future Tense
The Catwalk
Singularity
Marauders
The Seventh
Stigma
Shockwave, Part 2
Canamar
Cogenitor
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grigori GROUP: Members POSTS: 10463 |
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Aug. 03 2009, 9:13 pm
I think you nailed the magic of those first two seasons, Yorktown.
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captainroe GROUP: Members POSTS: 5254 |
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Aug. 24 2009, 11:47 am
I've watched the entire series again and I don't think the first 2 seasons are underrated. I think most people can excuse the first season of any show simply because the writers, directors, and actors are trying to find the identity of the characters and the show, therefore a certain wondering quality about the show is expected.
I think tne problem with ENT is that there are 4 other first 2 seasons to compare it to, and overall, it doesn't measure up. With the other ST shows you can see the steady progression of not only the characters but also with the writing and in the direction in which the show was going. With ENT the first 2 seasons are basically the same thing. If the initial idea of the show was to show us a space western, the writers should have stuck with that. If they wanted to go in a more typical ST direction with a preset ending, they should have done so from the very beginning just as VOY and DS9 did. If the idea was to show us what happened before the Kirk era, they should have stuck to that. But they didn't do any of that. Instead they threw everything at us in the first 2 seasons, hoping that the ratings would remain high and that loyal fans would ignore the lack of direction. Plus, it's evident that they didn't pay attention to the little details that all of us on these boards notice and Oh No about on a regular basis. You'd think that with 4 previous series to use as references ENT would've started off with a bang, but instead it struggled from day one.
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honeybee1111 GROUP: Members POSTS: 880 |
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Aug. 24 2009, 12:56 pm
I actually think the show figured out its identity early in the second season with Minefield and Dead Stop. Deep space is dangerous if humans are going to survive there with their morals in tact, they are going to need help and be willing to help others in return. The show pretty much stuck to that until the end. The preset was the founding of the federation.
The episodes that I dislike tend to be the ones where things don't feel dangerous enough, but that's just my taste.
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RedShirtGuyNumber1001 GROUP: Members POSTS: 2016 |
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Aug. 24 2009, 3:07 pm
Season 1 of Enterprise was the best season 1 of all the trek shows. 2 confused and annoyed a lot of people, and alienated some trek fans and former trek actors. 3 tried to bring them all back, 4 was piecework because the series had already been written off.
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grigori GROUP: Members POSTS: 10463 |
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Aug. 24 2009, 5:26 pm
| Quote (trekbuff @ Aug. 24 2009, 5:02 pm) | "Are the first two seasons underrated?"
Yup...
See honeybee1111's Aug. 03 2009, 7:22 am post above... |
Seconded. It's well-said. |
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RedShirtGuyNumber1001 GROUP: Members POSTS: 2016 |
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Aug. 25 2009, 2:50 am
yeah but neither one of you have said why, or do you just plan on using a word to define a word.
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