I am watching rebroadcasts on Sci-Fi. I had lost interest during season 3 and quit watching (and I am a fan of all the others), but now I get a second chance to to watch - and with a fairly objective eye. There were so many foul ups on this one, it is no surprise whatsoever it was canceled.
1) Much of the bad acting was from otherwise historically good actors, which could point to bad directing/writing. However, of the regular cast, Anthony Montgomery tops the list of really bad actors. His goofy, "Leave it to Beaver" delivery is corny, and he is just to much of a cardboard personality. Fortunately he was given less and less to do.
2) The characters never developed and were inconsistent. Archer being the standout. In one episode, Archer behaves like a I'm-gonna-Kick-your-ass Cowboy in the true Kirk tradition. Yet in the very next episode, he goes all politically correct, admonishes crew members for meeting violence with violence, and pretty much acts like a poofy French diplomat. Make up our minds! One of the great things about all the Treks is their distinct Captains. One look at Janeway in a given situation, and you knew: "Boy, you are in trouble now." Picard reached a certain limit too. And that was the fun...You knew when the antagonist had crossed the line. Archer? One never knew what his action was going to be.
3) The Xindi Story arc. First, it was a weak story line, and suspension of disbelief was impossible for a real fan. Second - It was more than an arc- it was a flipping serial. Many fans like the stand alone shows. I hated that it turned into a soap opera, where is you missed one episode, you missed vital information. The standard Trek (DS9 being the exception) format was pretty much beginning, middle, end all in an hour. There was the occasional "to be continued" but not every week.
4) Horrible forced dialog, silly 1960's style banter, not one comic and not one beloved character (see #2). There was no Scotty... No Paris, No Neelix. Not one character the audience could count on to provide some fun.
5) Crappy sets. OMG! Whenever they were on a planet, the sets looked like they had been recycled from Xena the princess warrior.
6) Everyone/Everything was too clean. In a show that is supposed to be the "True Frontier" in the early days, I would expect more than a little fake dirt when they are crawling around the bowels of the ship. I suppose the writers have never been on a C-5 Galaxy. They are anything but clean. They could have taken a page out of Battlestar Galactica on this one. BG has the feel of a real flight deck and the maintenance area is just that.
If they wanted to make this Star Trek a stand out from the others, they should have gone little grittier...a little grayer. Not all pink, and fluffy, and soft. Overall: I was saddened by the direction they took this. I am a fan, and should have cared it was canceled. But I didn't.
1) Much of the bad acting was from otherwise historically good actors, which could point to bad directing/writing. However, of the regular cast, Anthony Montgomery tops the list of really bad actors. His goofy, "Leave it to Beaver" delivery is corny, and he is just to much of a cardboard personality. Fortunately he was given less and less to do.
2) The characters never developed and were inconsistent. Archer being the standout. In one episode, Archer behaves like a I'm-gonna-Kick-your-ass Cowboy in the true Kirk tradition. Yet in the very next episode, he goes all politically correct, admonishes crew members for meeting violence with violence, and pretty much acts like a poofy French diplomat. Make up our minds! One of the great things about all the Treks is their distinct Captains. One look at Janeway in a given situation, and you knew: "Boy, you are in trouble now." Picard reached a certain limit too. And that was the fun...You knew when the antagonist had crossed the line. Archer? One never knew what his action was going to be.
3) The Xindi Story arc. First, it was a weak story line, and suspension of disbelief was impossible for a real fan. Second - It was more than an arc- it was a flipping serial. Many fans like the stand alone shows. I hated that it turned into a soap opera, where is you missed one episode, you missed vital information. The standard Trek (DS9 being the exception) format was pretty much beginning, middle, end all in an hour. There was the occasional "to be continued" but not every week.
4) Horrible forced dialog, silly 1960's style banter, not one comic and not one beloved character (see #2). There was no Scotty... No Paris, No Neelix. Not one character the audience could count on to provide some fun.
5) Crappy sets. OMG! Whenever they were on a planet, the sets looked like they had been recycled from Xena the princess warrior.
6) Everyone/Everything was too clean. In a show that is supposed to be the "True Frontier" in the early days, I would expect more than a little fake dirt when they are crawling around the bowels of the ship. I suppose the writers have never been on a C-5 Galaxy. They are anything but clean. They could have taken a page out of Battlestar Galactica on this one. BG has the feel of a real flight deck and the maintenance area is just that.
If they wanted to make this Star Trek a stand out from the others, they should have gone little grittier...a little grayer. Not all pink, and fluffy, and soft. Overall: I was saddened by the direction they took this. I am a fan, and should have cared it was canceled. But I didn't.