More thoughts on Enterprise
(I was going to post this as a comment in the other post, but LJ decided my comment was too long! Hmph! :)
Admittedly, these statements are edited a touch from my e-mail on the matter to Mumpish, who addressed a point that I'd thought of as well: that some of the stiltedness of "Broken Bow" was, to be fair, at least partially the result of it being the series pilot. (Still no excuse for the song, though.) :)
Additionally, creating a decent pilot can be especially hard in a fictitious universe, because not only do the writers have to introduce the main characters, they also have to keep your viewers from saying "Huh? Whut's thet, Lurleen?" in a way that shows like, say, E.R. do not. :) Of course, crew member Tucker might coulda translated fer 'em . . . ;/ ("Jes' call me 'Trip' - we had too many Bubbas 'round whar ah wuz frum, so thet's whut they called me . . .")
On Bakula as captain, all I cared about was whether he seemed like captain material or not. Time will tell. The folks, Mumpish included, who point out that he's definitely more Kirk-like (at least at the outset) are, in my assessment, correct, and Kirk's methodology was, to my mind, always the least appealing of the Enterprise captains. Perhaps his style was fitting for the time frame of the series and for that of Roddenberry's universe, but it's just not my cup of Earl Grey. ;) Of course, I'm biased toward my own kind: both Picard and the actor who played him are ENTJs. ;)
With Bakula, we even got in some of the Kirk-like Oblig Space Babe of the Week Lovin with that one that kissed him - Sirin, I think her name was? (Siren, *cough*, *cough* - ow, must be that sledgehammer reference that knocked the wind out of me . . .) :)
Re the "decontamination gel" containment, oh, I can hear them justifying that bit in the script now: ". . . . and this is the scene where the real 'first contact' occurs . . . " *eye roll* Now, again, I'm no Trek expert, but I did notice Tucker paying particular attention to T'Pol's earlobes. Aren't Vulcan earlobes supposed to be an erogenous zone? I dunno, ask someone who's watched it more than I have. Anyway, the actor portraying T'Pol appeared in Maxim magazine - enough said. While I'm one of those who generally strongly dislikes objectification, as most of you know, I at least have to give them some credit for equal time in the gel scene, albeit reluctantly. It's not my thing, but if the producers just feel compelled to put it in there, it's at least equitable and fair for them to do it for both goose and gander. Still think it stuck out like a sore thumb in the script, though. :/
Direct quote from Mumpish's write-up on the subject:
Hoshi Sato is another very hot Star Trek femme, who doesn't like to fly. "Broken Bow" will make sure you know this by reminding you of it every time the ship rumbles, shakes, or dips.
THANK you. :) My spouse says to take this just as she's former military-turned-civilian who never had a turn of duty before in which she saw combat (her role as a translator didn't bring her into it, peacetime, whatever). Yeah, okay, I suppose I can buy that, but we don't need another Troi or Kes, and it's such a stereotype for one of the female crew members to be "sensitive" . . . that's actually one thing I like about Stargate SG-1: the sensitive civilian is a guy for a change. Every five seconds in the pilot, it was "seat belt this" or "I don't like that quivering," etc. from her character. Is it some sort of PC attempt to "show how scary and unanticipated uncharted territory can be" by letting a character show fearful emotions, or is it a throwback to "Oh, ah don' lak this, git me my smellin' salts/Dontchoo worry, l'il lady, we big strong Kirk types will steer this ship safely home," and so on? I have encountered several "liberals" in my time who have proven that they can actually be the worst kind of chauvinists sometimes, under the guise of "sensitivity," so I'm a little suspicious, particularly after some of the crummy writing on Voyager. I mean, when they showed Janeway in a pink silk negligee having a General Foods International Coffees moment with Kes, I barfed, and stopped watching. I'm not saying she has to be Maggie Thatcher, but, as stated, unfortunately the show as a whole (what I bothered to see of it) suffered from piss-poor writing, and, even though it wasn't the actor's fault, that didn't give Janeway much of a chance as a test case. :(
FWIW, the corn-pone stereotype Southerner wasn't winning any points with me, either. :
Admittedly, these statements are edited a touch from my e-mail on the matter to Mumpish, who addressed a point that I'd thought of as well: that some of the stiltedness of "Broken Bow" was, to be fair, at least partially the result of it being the series pilot. (Still no excuse for the song, though.) :)
Additionally, creating a decent pilot can be especially hard in a fictitious universe, because not only do the writers have to introduce the main characters, they also have to keep your viewers from saying "Huh? Whut's thet, Lurleen?" in a way that shows like, say, E.R. do not. :) Of course, crew member Tucker might coulda translated fer 'em . . . ;/ ("Jes' call me 'Trip' - we had too many Bubbas 'round whar ah wuz frum, so thet's whut they called me . . .")
On Bakula as captain, all I cared about was whether he seemed like captain material or not. Time will tell. The folks, Mumpish included, who point out that he's definitely more Kirk-like (at least at the outset) are, in my assessment, correct, and Kirk's methodology was, to my mind, always the least appealing of the Enterprise captains. Perhaps his style was fitting for the time frame of the series and for that of Roddenberry's universe, but it's just not my cup of Earl Grey. ;) Of course, I'm biased toward my own kind: both Picard and the actor who played him are ENTJs. ;)
With Bakula, we even got in some of the Kirk-like Oblig Space Babe of the Week Lovin with that one that kissed him - Sirin, I think her name was? (Siren, *cough*, *cough* - ow, must be that sledgehammer reference that knocked the wind out of me . . .) :)
Re the "decontamination gel" containment, oh, I can hear them justifying that bit in the script now: ". . . . and this is the scene where the real 'first contact' occurs . . . " *eye roll* Now, again, I'm no Trek expert, but I did notice Tucker paying particular attention to T'Pol's earlobes. Aren't Vulcan earlobes supposed to be an erogenous zone? I dunno, ask someone who's watched it more than I have. Anyway, the actor portraying T'Pol appeared in Maxim magazine - enough said. While I'm one of those who generally strongly dislikes objectification, as most of you know, I at least have to give them some credit for equal time in the gel scene, albeit reluctantly. It's not my thing, but if the producers just feel compelled to put it in there, it's at least equitable and fair for them to do it for both goose and gander. Still think it stuck out like a sore thumb in the script, though. :/
Direct quote from Mumpish's write-up on the subject:
Hoshi Sato is another very hot Star Trek femme, who doesn't like to fly. "Broken Bow" will make sure you know this by reminding you of it every time the ship rumbles, shakes, or dips.
THANK you. :) My spouse says to take this just as she's former military-turned-civilian who never had a turn of duty before in which she saw combat (her role as a translator didn't bring her into it, peacetime, whatever). Yeah, okay, I suppose I can buy that, but we don't need another Troi or Kes, and it's such a stereotype for one of the female crew members to be "sensitive" . . . that's actually one thing I like about Stargate SG-1: the sensitive civilian is a guy for a change. Every five seconds in the pilot, it was "seat belt this" or "I don't like that quivering," etc. from her character. Is it some sort of PC attempt to "show how scary and unanticipated uncharted territory can be" by letting a character show fearful emotions, or is it a throwback to "Oh, ah don' lak this, git me my smellin' salts/Dontchoo worry, l'il lady, we big strong Kirk types will steer this ship safely home," and so on? I have encountered several "liberals" in my time who have proven that they can actually be the worst kind of chauvinists sometimes, under the guise of "sensitivity," so I'm a little suspicious, particularly after some of the crummy writing on Voyager. I mean, when they showed Janeway in a pink silk negligee having a General Foods International Coffees moment with Kes, I barfed, and stopped watching. I'm not saying she has to be Maggie Thatcher, but, as stated, unfortunately the show as a whole (what I bothered to see of it) suffered from piss-poor writing, and, even though it wasn't the actor's fault, that didn't give Janeway much of a chance as a test case. :(
FWIW, the corn-pone stereotype Southerner wasn't winning any points with me, either. :