short takes

[cellio]

You know it's a bad snow-driving night when you get off the highway and increase your speed. Yup, very cautious people on the parkway tonight. Somewhat cautious people on the local streets.

Silly cats (very funny!) from ian_gunn.

Overheard in the office: "The solar system consists of the sun, Jupiter, and assorted debris".

I finally watched last week's Enterprise tonight. Are we about to get an explanation for the change in Klingon appearance between the original series and the modern shows? Sure looks that way. I also noticed the background music in several places, which I rarely do with this show, and it was effective. Nicely done. I wonder what changed.

Comments

[rectangularcat]

My husband liked the kitties. As for me I got inspiration...

Yup about the explanation on Enterprise although they cancel the show as it finally gets interesting? Although in a way I am glad they did, I am getting fed up on the T'Pol/Trip interactions.

[cellio]

The T'Pol/Trip thing has been annoying. But I agree that the show has hit its stride. I actually liked last year's full-season story (apparently a lot of people didn't), and there have been several good episodes this year and no real klunkers in a long time. But I don't mind that they're cancelling it, as one more Voyager would probably kill the franchise entirely.

[miz-hatbox.livejournal.com]

I don't watch Enterprise, but if they give an explanation, would you care to pass it on?

[cellio]

Sure.

[cellio]

Spoiler alert. (That's for anyone other than miz_hatbox, who requested the info.)

As I suspected after last week's episode: there is a plague that modifies one's genetic code (ahem -- hey, I just report this stuff) that has gotten loose in the Klingon empire. It specifically resulted from failed attempts to create augments. Anyway, in one of the early stages of the disease, there are physical modifications, including the ridges fading back quite a bit. In later stages bad things happen to you internally and you die.

In this episode, we saw the development of a partial cure. It can't do anything about the first stage, but it stops it from getting worse. The plague has infected "millions", and (we are told) the genetic mutations will be passed down to children.

Um, yeah. Genetic mutation doesn't really work that way, but that's their story. Presumably, at some point between the end of the original series and the time of TNG, someone came up with the the rest of the cure. Either that, or the mutated Klingons were such an embarrassment that the others eventually killed them off in a purge or something. Of course we won't be told in the Enterprise timeframe.

cock

[(Anonymous)]

cock rules

Re: cock

[cellio]

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[patsmor.livejournal.com]

Since the decisions to cancel these things seem to come while they're still shooting episodes, It always seems to me that just as the creative team/actors/etc get it together, the Powers that Be, working with old info, shut it down.

I stopped watching because T'Pol irritated the life out of me. ;-)

[cellio]

T'Pol got better and then got worse. Or rather, they've introduced a story line involving T'Pol and Trip that would have been better left unwritten.

[jducoeur]

It always seems to me that just as the creative team/actors/etc get it together, the Powers that Be, working with old info, shut it down.

Actually, my observation is almost the reverse -- in my experience, series of any sort (TV, comics, whatever) tend to get better *because* they have been cancelled. From DP7 to DS9, I've seen it happen over and over again -- the last season is the best precisely because they know that it's ending.

It's not hard to understand why. Once the cancel order comes down, the creative types are suddenly freed from the shackles of sameness. Most serials require that the universe be "cleaned up" at the end of the story, which prevents anything truly dramatic from happening. But if you know that this is your last shot, there's nothing to lose. Under those circumstances, a truly good writer will often step up to the plate and produce their best work. The result is often a great climax.

It's a really common syndrome. Doesn't happen if the cancellation in unexpected, but when a series is going to go away in 6-12 months you often see what it can really do...

[ichur72.livejournal.com]

There is an explanation for the change in Klingon appearance floating around (I think it may have been in one of the Star Trek books but am not sure). But I'll keep quiet so as not to spoil the surprise. :)

[cellio]

We can compare notes after this story segment ends. (I don't know if that'll be this week or if it's going to go longer.)

[nsingman.livejournal.com]

Typical Jovian prejudice. :-)

[cellio]

True!