Freethought & Rationalism Archive

managalar · 12-21-2002, 06:32 AM

The intro music has words, �I have strength of the soul� �I�ve got faith of the heart� �I have strength to believe.� Belief stops a thinking mind. The terms in the music are primitive, and are appallingly out of place. The intro music, veering from the traditional orchestral selection, does not set a mood of scientific exploration of outer space. The show its self does not even seem to be based on any kind of scientific philosophy. I am not talking about the �technology� of the star ship, or of technical terminology, but of the humans who act as if they are scientists. Most of the characters are rather like some frankenstienian WE (TV for women) meets Pax TV and Martha Stewart, bent on an exploration into inner space. This is slightly less desirable than Kirk�s exploration of any humanoid with a vagina because of this show�s continual attempt to define what it is to be human with the clich� character interactions. Over and over you can hear Archer saying, �well, that�s what it means to be human.� To be fair to Kirk, many of the humanoids were quite attractive, and illegitimate children would have a hard time haunting you half way across the sector, evolutionarily speaking, �successful.�
Almost every episode of Enterprise is about contrasting what it is to be Vulcan (a supposed representation of scientific philosophy) compared to �being Human�. This plot line would be more interesting if the creators didn�t intentionally feed the same logical fallacies into both fictional groups. It is an attempt to contrast the strengths and supposed weaknesses of scientific philosophy with the gut instinct and its supposed efficiency at solving moral dilemmas emotionally (frequently gut feelings define what it is to be human according to Archer).

Captain Archer�s repetitive assault on logic is painful. The most recent insult to human intelligence is the captions nearly religious plea to have Sub Commander Topal believe him that he traveled through time. The captain became indignant when Topal was unable to come up with a better explanation for how the captain was privy to information, which proved tactically useful. Further, the captain asserted that Topal had hypnotized he was crazy by her failing to agree with Archer�s use of the term �time travel.�

Vulcan logic (from an enterprise perspective) focuses on a very non-scientific principle of positivistic reasoning. Topal positivistically asserted that time travel was not possible because the chief Vulcan science guy said so. This is the same kind of positivistic reasoning is used by everyone, the characters all seem to avoid showing uncertainty. Anyway, you guys are wondering about my point. Horrible misrepresentations of scientific philosophy in popular culture, especially one that suggests that science is a religion, are pretty scary. Vulcans are obviously fictional characters, but the ideas resonate. Those misrepresentations of scientific philosophy are related to the disenchantment with science, in our culture. Uncertainty is what makes exploring so great, as well as keeps minds free of dogma.

This has been bugging me for a while, and I just wanted to rant.

*(the last episode with Tucker and some Queen escaping capture in an escape pod and getting-it-on in some jungle was pretty decent)

Shadowy Man · 12-21-2002, 06:57 AM

Uh... you're still watching that show?

Kuu · 12-21-2002, 11:41 AM

I have watched the first season and I will watch the second season when it airs in Australia. I am only going to watch the second season in the hope it will improve.

I am very disappointed in Enterprise. It is true that the first couple of seasons of TNG, DS9 and Voyager werent that good but at least I liked some of the characters from the start.

As far as Enterprise crew goes -

Archer is a wimp who gets his captaincy because of who is daddy was. He isn't fit to be a captain.

T'Pol - well I wish I could reach into the TV and bitchslap her. She annoys me more than any other character in all of the Treks.

Trip - a loudmouth and an idiot

Malcolm Reed - A stereotypical Brit or at least what the American writers think a Brit is like. I have never met a Brit like him. I am so glad theywriters didnt make him an Australian. If they had I would have been embarrassed to death by the stereotype they probably would have come up with.

Hoshi - apart from the constant screaming at the beginning Hoshi could have been intersting but they replaced her with the universal translator.

Dr Phlox - most boring doctor ever.

Mayweather - WHO????

Porthos - I like him. I just wish he wasn't Archer's dog. This likeable crew member rarely gets a scene on his own.

I am watching Enterprise out of loyalty to Star Trek. I have seen every episode and every movie of Trek but if this series doesnt improve I will give up on it.

[ December 21, 2002: Message edited by: Kuu ]</p>

seebs · 12-21-2002, 11:47 AM

"Belief stops a thinking mind". Huh. Well, there we have it; soundbite atheism, the logical counterpoint to soundbite Christianity, where you just pick random Bible verses and yell them at people.

GunnerJ · 12-21-2002, 01:34 PM

seebs- I have started a thread you might be interested in.

<a href="http://iidb.org/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=64&t=000022" target="_blank">Soundbite Atheism?</a>

Living Dead Chipmunk · 12-21-2002, 03:03 PM

I can't watch Enterprise because I keep expecting Scott Bakula to "leap" at the end of every episode.

Huginn · 12-21-2002, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Living Dead Chipmunk:
<strong>I can't watch Enterprise because I keep expecting Scott Bakula to "leap" at the end of every episode.</strong>

"Oh boy!"

muon · 12-21-2002, 04:29 PM

I don't know why I'm bothering, since there was recently a thread on this, but put me on record again for thinking that Enterprise is actually pretty good. I look forward to another 5 years of it!

12-21-2002, 05:06 PM

I love Enterprise.

pescifish · 12-21-2002, 05:35 PM

I agree with some of the complaints, but I also think that season two is (as usual) starting to shake out the wrinkles and produce some good characters. And even some interesting situations.

One thing I like is to see the little bits in the storyline that relate to later Federation policies: things this Enterprise crew encounter (meddling with alien societies, catwalk and crawlspaces not large enough, ship security alerts and such) establish a foundation for TOS.

12-21-2002, 06:32 AM	#1
managalar Regular Member Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Lincoln, NE, United States Posts: 160	Star Trek Enterprise: an abomination The intro music has words, �I have strength of the soul� �I�ve got faith of the heart� �I have strength to believe.� Belief stops a thinking mind. The terms in the music are primitive, and are appallingly out of place. The intro music, veering from the traditional orchestral selection, does not set a mood of scientific exploration of outer space. The show its self does not even seem to be based on any kind of scientific philosophy. I am not talking about the �technology� of the star ship, or of technical terminology, but of the humans who act as if they are scientists. Most of the characters are rather like some frankenstienian WE (TV for women) meets Pax TV and Martha Stewart, bent on an exploration into inner space. This is slightly less desirable than Kirk�s exploration of any humanoid with a vagina because of this show�s continual attempt to define what it is to be human with the clich� character interactions. Over and over you can hear Archer saying, �well, that�s what it means to be human.� To be fair to Kirk, many of the humanoids were quite attractive, and illegitimate children would have a hard time haunting you half way across the sector, evolutionarily speaking, �successful.� Almost every episode of Enterprise is about contrasting what it is to be Vulcan (a supposed representation of scientific philosophy) compared to �being Human�. This plot line would be more interesting if the creators didn�t intentionally feed the same logical fallacies into both fictional groups. It is an attempt to contrast the strengths and supposed weaknesses of scientific philosophy with the gut instinct and its supposed efficiency at solving moral dilemmas emotionally (frequently gut feelings define what it is to be human according to Archer). Captain Archer�s repetitive assault on logic is painful. The most recent insult to human intelligence is the captions nearly religious plea to have Sub Commander Topal believe him that he traveled through time. The captain became indignant when Topal was unable to come up with a better explanation for how the captain was privy to information, which proved tactically useful. Further, the captain asserted that Topal had hypnotized he was crazy by her failing to agree with Archer�s use of the term �time travel.� Vulcan logic (from an enterprise perspective) focuses on a very non-scientific principle of positivistic reasoning. Topal positivistically asserted that time travel was not possible because the chief Vulcan science guy said so. This is the same kind of positivistic reasoning is used by everyone, the characters all seem to avoid showing uncertainty. Anyway, you guys are wondering about my point. Horrible misrepresentations of scientific philosophy in popular culture, especially one that suggests that science is a religion, are pretty scary. Vulcans are obviously fictional characters, but the ideas resonate. Those misrepresentations of scientific philosophy are related to the disenchantment with science, in our culture. Uncertainty is what makes exploring so great, as well as keeps minds free of dogma. This has been bugging me for a while, and I just wanted to rant. *(the last episode with Tucker and some Queen escaping capture in an escape pod and getting-it-on in some jungle was pretty decent)

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12-21-2002, 06:57 AM	#2
Shadowy Man Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: A Shadowy Planet Posts: 7,585	Uh... you're still watching that show?

12-21-2002, 11:41 AM	#3
Kuu Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Tasmania Posts: 710	I have watched the first season and I will watch the second season when it airs in Australia. I am only going to watch the second season in the hope it will improve. I am very disappointed in Enterprise. It is true that the first couple of seasons of TNG, DS9 and Voyager werent that good but at least I liked some of the characters from the start. As far as Enterprise crew goes - Archer is a wimp who gets his captaincy because of who is daddy was. He isn't fit to be a captain. T'Pol - well I wish I could reach into the TV and bitchslap her. She annoys me more than any other character in all of the Treks. Trip - a loudmouth and an idiot Malcolm Reed - A stereotypical Brit or at least what the American writers think a Brit is like. I have never met a Brit like him. I am so glad theywriters didnt make him an Australian. If they had I would have been embarrassed to death by the stereotype they probably would have come up with. Hoshi - apart from the constant screaming at the beginning Hoshi could have been intersting but they replaced her with the universal translator. Dr Phlox - most boring doctor ever. Mayweather - WHO???? Porthos - I like him. I just wish he wasn't Archer's dog. This likeable crew member rarely gets a scene on his own. I am watching Enterprise out of loyalty to Star Trek. I have seen every episode and every movie of Trek but if this series doesnt improve I will give up on it. [ December 21, 2002: Message edited by: Kuu ]</p>

12-21-2002, 11:47 AM	#4
seebs Contributor Join Date: May 2002 Location: Saint Paul, MN Posts: 24,524	"Belief stops a thinking mind". Huh. Well, there we have it; soundbite atheism, the logical counterpoint to soundbite Christianity, where you just pick random Bible verses and yell them at people.

12-21-2002, 01:34 PM	#5
GunnerJ Banned Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: a place where i can list whatever location i want Posts: 4,871	seebs- I have started a thread you might be interested in. <a href="http://iidb.org/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=64&t=000022" target="_blank">Soundbite Atheism?</a>

12-21-2002, 03:03 PM	#6
Living Dead Chipmunk Regular Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: South Carolina Posts: 312	I can't watch Enterprise because I keep expecting Scott Bakula to "leap" at the end of every episode.

12-21-2002, 04:29 PM	#8
muon Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Posts: 1,767	I don't know why I'm bothering, since there was recently a thread on this, but put me on record again for thinking that Enterprise is actually pretty good. I look forward to another 5 years of it!

12-21-2002, 05:06 PM	#9
FloatingEgg Guest Posts: n/a	I love Enterprise.

12-21-2002, 05:35 PM	#10
pescifish Beloved Deceased Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: rural part of los angeles, CA Posts: 4,516	I agree with some of the complaints, but I also think that season two is (as usual) starting to shake out the wrinkles and produce some good characters. And even some interesting situations. One thing I like is to see the little bits in the storyline that relate to later Federation policies: things this Enterprise crew encounter (meddling with alien societies, catwalk and crawlspaces not large enough, ship security alerts and such) establish a foundation for TOS.

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