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| "Fight or Flight" | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jun 10 2005, 09:27 AM (163 Views) | |
| Fesarius | Jun 10 2005, 09:27 AM Post #1 |
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Admiral
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ENT: "Fight or Flight" - June 7, 2005 "Fight or Flight" was one of the more creepy episodes of ENT. It begins innocently enough, what with Hoshi wanting very much to see 'Sluggo' (a name given to the worm by Trip) thrive in a more conducive environment. Dr. Phlox mentions that an Argon-rich environment might just do the trick. The crew wants very much to explore strange new worlds (anything will do), and we hear ramblings of Vulcan star charts and trinary star clusters. T'Pol mentions that Vulcans do not share humans' enthusiasm for exploration. There is some tension between she and the Captain, but it is softened as the episode progresses. Tucker really wants to join the team on this mission to the other ship. You can see him chomping at the bit, but Archer believes that his Chief Engineer is better suited to stay on board Enterprise. Porthos gets a couple of pieces of cheese from Archer. Archer says "This is the last time," but you know that that is just lip service. I can just imagine Porthos thinking to himself, "Yeah, until the next episode." We also see the pulse rifles (a comment is made how they are similar to the EM-33). Hoshi is asked to accompany the team over to the ship, and she tries her darndest to get out of it, coming up with a couple of unconvincing excuses. Once there, you can almost feel her apprehensiveness. The atmosphere is a combination of nitrogen and methane, and the temperature is -20. They turn a few corners, and then hear a bizarre sound emanating from another room. What appears to be a pumping mechanism is in motion. I 've noted this before about the episode, but the hydraulic pump sounds are quite eerie. That they continue for as long as they do is somewhat unnerving, and, coupled with the near-dark backdrop, this adds to the high level of tension that the team is feeling as they investigate what has occurred on the ship. I can well imagine Hoshi being as frightened as she is in such a situation. The pumping mechanism continues as Archer et al. search the area, and about seventy-five seconds into the scene, Hoshi screams at the top of her lungs. Bodies--many of them--are inverted in a macabre fashion and all appear to be dead. Back on Enterprise, Dr. Phlox tries to console Ensign Sato, assuring her that it is normal for her to be frightened in such a situation. He relates an experience he had in which he had 'never seen that many dead bodies before.' Hoshi reiterates that she did not sign on a starship to experience this. At one point, she remarks, "Not corpses on hooks!" Later, she tells Trip that she is planning to resign and that she wants to have Captain Archer take her home. We learn that Hoshi is an exo-linguist who graduated second in her class. The 'Sluggo' and Hoshi analogy--each needing to become accustomed to their new environment, and one in which they can thrive, live, learn, and teach--was poignant. We learn that fifteen beings are dead on the ghost ship. Phlox mentions that three of them were shot, and another died from a lethal injection of some kind. I loved seeing what I refer to as T'Pol's "Homage to Spock" device (HTSD)--the sensor equipment that folds out in order for her to view from it. I realize that my mentioning the HTSD before Spock has ever used it is a tad unusual (is there a word for anti-anachronistic?); however, I do believe that the phrase is appropriate and for me nostalgic. Back on Enterprise, the crew is eventually probed (vertically-aligned beam) by a 'sub-molecular bio-scan.' Notable lines: "We've been on the move for two weeks and haven't seen a damn thing" (Trip). He and a few others are getting 'antsy'--a word that Phlox asks clarification on--to begin some serious exploration. "One out of every 43,000 planets supports intelligent life" (T'Pol). "The stars are going the wrong way, sir" (Hoshi). This line is Hoshi's attempt to explain why she needs different Quarters assigned to her that will allow her to sleep in the opposite direction in which she is currently sleeping relative to the direction in which the ship is traveling. She suggests this change to a crewman, asks Archer's permission, and all is well. "Instead of disabling a vessel we'll end up destroying it" (Reed). This line is in reference to the new weapons that Enterprise has, and the fact that Reed has not had very much practice in firing them. So, Archer allows him to 'target practice,' if you will, on some nearby asteroids and/or meteors. One of the first shots fired was off by .02%--perhaps insignificant to other crew members, but not to Reed. "The grammar sounds bimodal" (Hoshi). "The phonetic processor's still having trouble locking on" (Hoshi). "Ship ... in distress" (Hoshi). This is one of the funnier lines in the episode, because Hoshi is trying to decipher the language on the aliens' computer, and at first, says (very loudly and emphatically) "Ship!" Given how frightened she had been the last time over here, her first word does not sound like "ship." "We have a code of behavior and we try to obey it" (T'Pol). Triglobulan--I had never heard that term before this episode of ENT. We learn that the species that was killed by the other aliens are androgynous, and that they live over 400 years. After Hoshi is able to decipher the cryptic language, the antagonists are destroyed, and the crew of the Enterprise has (thanks to Hoshi's linguistic skills) made a new friend today. Deleted Scenes: Scene 5: What a surprise it was to hear a scene that did not make "Fight or Flight," yet eventually was worked into a scene of another episode (i.e., "Desert Crossing"). The dialogue between Archer and Mayweather is (beginning with the geography game) word-for-word what Archer and Trip will recite when Trip is incapacitated. It was a tad odd hearing it in this context, but still a pleasant surprise. (For those who may not recognize this passage, the game has to do with stating a place, and then stating another which must begin with the last letter of the previously stated geographic area. Thus, Rhode Island > Dralax > Xanadu and so forth.) Scene 28: This one occurs after the team has beamed over to the ship. Archer, Reed, and Hoshi discuss the schematics for the icons (which BTW had some very nice green tint to it); descriptions of the power couplings (Reed) and the transfer conduits (Archer); the schematic to the alien ship's power layout (Archer); and the deduction that there may be one diagram for each of the ship's decks (Reed) The conclusion of the episode shows 'Sluggo' now living in an adaptable environment. The date of May 6, 2151 is given in the Captain's Starlog. Lastly, the closing music--something I never had the opportunity to hear in four seasons while ENT aired--is superb. Since the network wanted to inform viewers of what show succeeded Enterprise, I was never able to hear the stately theme that accompanies the end credits. Very nice indeed. |
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| gdog243 | Jun 10 2005, 12:01 PM Post #2 |
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Rear Admiral
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Fes, I watched Disc one last night, and I was going to talk about this episode today. It's going to be so cool talking about the first season on this board, because this board didn't come in until close to the third season. This is giong to be a fun experiance. Anyway, I was really surprised I liked this episode. It was a bit slow going but that was mostly in the first half. I think my favorite parts was how sluggo was an analogy to hoshi and what she was going through. Here was someone who was feeling like a coward, but was able to get though it and save Enterprise. She didn't know what her place was, just like the slug, and that scene at the end was actually one of the most forgotten emotional moments of the series. I don't know when the big 3 aspects started to show up in ENT, but it was great to see a Hoshi episode so early in it's run. |
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| Fesarius | Jun 10 2005, 12:16 PM Post #3 |
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Admiral
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^^^ Gdog, Yes, it will be fun. The other day, it was Minuet who reminded me that this Board came into existence around that season of ENT. BTW, I will be viewing episodes of ENT on Monday evenings, so my posts will not occur (at the earliest) until Tuesdays (and later if I need to put off by one or two days). Please do add your comments. I enjoy your posts immensely. BTW, here is the schedule I will be following while I give the entire Trek canon a close reading. ENT - Mondays TOS - Tuesdays TNG - Wednesdays DS9 - Thursdays VOY - Fridays TAS - Saturdays (sporadically) STF - probably one film per month or so |
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| captain_proton_au | Jun 10 2005, 01:21 PM Post #4 |
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A Robot in Disguise
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Such a let down after Broken Bow, along with most of the first half of season 1 where we got rather pointless storylines about nothing much in particular |
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3:38 AM Jul 11