Fallen Hero

ENTERPRISE: "Desert Crossing" Discussion Thread
Terry -- 8 May 2002, 19:59 EST

When Archer and Trip repair a vessel belonging to an alien leader, the Earthmen are repaid with an invitation to their new friend's volatile world.

I had high hopes for this one, based on the preview.
G'Inny -- 8 May 2002, 23:46 EST

I still enjoyed it--I mean, could it have been more slash-tastic?--but I was a little disappointed that it wasn't any more exciting and involving. Like Terry, I found it a little, well, boring. I enjoyed the guys getting sweaty and grimy (must have been a miserable shoot). I appreciated seeing them stripping off their shirts (Ooh, fuzzy chests! Guess Connor didn't have to shave for this ep) and playing lite brite lacrosse. I was touched by the extravagant care that John lavished on the ailing Trip, but that whole trek across the desert seemed to be rather pointless. Why didn't they stay with the shuttle? Doesn't it have shields? Wouldn't it have been safer than wandering around in a strange desert? Particularly when you end up on the receiving end of a mortar blast, anyway.

Also, I need to know a little more about the history between Trip and Archer. They are not contemporaries, and I doubt that they've ever held close to the same rank, but they don't treat each other like people who have gone through the service, separated by a generation and several degrees of rank. They treat each other like childhood friends, who expect each other to tolerate eccentricities and accede to whims. That quality is what made John talking Trip into going down to the desert the best part of the ep, IMHO.

But I want to know why they interact the way they do, dammit!

Kinda dull and pointless crossing!
Eric -- 9 May 2002, 00:33 EST

Quick Take : The weaker entry in the double bill tonight. It didn't help that Fallen Hero was so damn good.... ____________________

SPOILERS that attempt to walk across a desert with only one canteen!

10

9

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3

2

1

*sigh*

I want to like Captain Archer i really do, but sometimes he makes it so frelling hard.

This episode was one of those times. I watched in stunned silence as he cheerfully walks out of his undamedged shuttle, his ARMED shuttle and walks off with Trip into a desert with ONE....ONE canteen.

I was also a little annoyed that we have this very long game sequence with both of our guys taking a long time to yank off their shirts and play the game...and play....and play....and play. You would think that this would mean something in the story....but it doesn't. Ack!

The Archer says "Awww Trip don't you want to spend quality time with your Captain?" And he says it with such puppy dog....urrrk...love.

The episode then just wanders around and then Enterprise just flies away with very little changing.

It wasn't so much that it was bad it was just all kinda pointless, especialy after Fallen Hero.

7/10

Eric

AMEN, Eric.
Nina -- 9 May 2002, 08:33 EST

I tried to write something very similar to what you just said, last night, and found myself too tired to bother. I might have liked it better if I hadn't seen it just after "Fallen Hero," and...ditto...ditto...ditto.

(I arrived for a gawddawful 7:30 a.m. staff meeting to find my building closed for the day. The contractors broke the water main, while digging up the parking lot as they've been doing for the past six weeks. Aw, shucks, I had to go home...and now I'll have to work on "Mistworld" all morning long...poor, poor me. )

Points from the Eye Candy Equality Crusade.
Ronit -- 9 May 2002, 08:36 EST

Two nits:

1. Whose idea was it to play Ziltar (?) (Clancy Brown) as a tattooed Bedouin? The robes, the extravagant hospitality were okay -- the accent was over the top. (I could discuss how the only way Arab culture shows up on ENT is as an exotic alien, but The Nation doesn't pay me for this. Two words: Julian Bashir.)

2. They send these guys out into the unknown, have them undergo specialized training for years in advance ... but they never covered "How to Eat Really Disgusting Things Very Politely" !?!?!

This one really ticks me off. Surely human diplomats took that class long before electricity or even the printing press... are we really to believe Starfleet didn't include it in their curriculum? Or that they did, and Trip & Archer flunked the course?

At least they're doing just fine on their physical conditioning. It's nice to see the guys give the game their all....

Ronit

Oh, Nina....
Ronit -- 9 May 2002, 08:39 EST

Why do these awful things happen to the nicest people?

Ronit

Re: Eye Candy
Vickie -- 9 May 2002, 11:02 EST

Braga has a multitude of faults, but at least the man understands the concept of beefcake.

After too many years of the catsuit, it's nice of them to throw a few bones to the female audience. And very nice bones they were, too.

Vickie

On this subject...
Fliteman -- 9 May 2002, 12:04 EST

Remember in "Galaxy Quest", the Shakespearean-trained actor scoffs at Tim Allen after being tossed around by the Rock Creature, "I see you managed to get your shirt off..."

That line just popped into my head, behind my rolling eyes, when they entered the game...

Flite

"Desert Crossing" was OK.
D -- 9 May 2002, 13:33 EST

I think I might have liked it more had it not been shown right after the better "Fallen Hero". Should have taped this & watched West Wing, but I'll get to the WW tape tonight.

At least they did a good job on continuity, not just referring to the freeing of the Suliban prisoners several weeks previously, but the delayed shore leave, though that would have worked better had the episodes been shown a week apart instead of back to back. Maybe after all the complaints about the lack of continuity in Voyager Braga's finally paying attention.

I wonder why neither Archer nor Trip commented on the game they participated in being similar to lacrosse. Maybe that's another one no one plays any more. At least they were dressed appropriately for a desert environment. I know in the other shows their uniforms are supposed to be pretty much all weather, though we have seen parkas in really cold climates, but having the Enterprise crew wear summer uniforms or coats when its cold makes a lot more sense.

Hoshi's comment about the Vulcan First Contact with Earth was appropriate. They are learning when not to get involved. Hard in this sort of situation since the clan leader wasn't a villain, but they definitely don't want to get involved in planetary civil wars.

Yeah, Flite...
Vickie -- 9 May 2002, 16:31 EST

...I must admit that when Archer and Trip started peeling their shirts off I was thinking, "What the heck? What's the point of that?" But then I got into the spirit of things and decided there didn't have to be any point at all.

Thanks for reminding me of the Galaxy Quest line. I agree, it fit this situation perfectly.

Vickie