Critics Take On 'Enterprise's' Double Bill

See Also: 'Fallen Hero' Episode Guide

'Fallen Hero' came out as the better half of last week's Enterprise double bill, according to online reviewers, but 'Desert Crossing' still had its defenders.

A round-up of all the latest analyses can be found below:

• Tim Lynch at Psi Phi had a few quibbles with 'Fallen Hero,' but thought it was a worthy episode overall. "Fallen Hero" satisfies an awful lot more than it disappoints," he said. "The Archer/T'Pol/V'Lar conflict is both realistic and sensibly resolved (insofar as it needs to be, anyway), and the suspense held together better than a lot of scenes of its type. All in all, it was one of the more enjoyable episodes we've had in a while." The episode was awarded a score of 9 out of 10 in the full review.

• Over at the Starfleet Library, C.A. Voigts especially enjoyed 'Fallen Hero's' opening scene:

  Although it had nothing to do with the rest of the show, it was one of the most enjoyable scenes I have watched all season. I was laughing with disbelief at what I was hearing but thinking all the same that none of the 'new' Trek episodes could have gotten away with it. They were all too uptight. I can't wait until they get on shore leave.

  Voigts gave the episode a perfect 5 out of 5 in her complete analysis.

• On the other hand, monkee at monkee's place felt the comic scenes weren't particularly funny:

  T'Pol actually tells Archer and Trip that they, and the rest of the crew, need to get laid! (Okay, not really. What she says – over dinner, if you can believe it – is that she thinks they're suffering from a lack of sexual activity. Same difference.) And no one argues with her! In fact, for the remainder of the episode, we're subjected to a lot of crass innuendo, as Trip worries about how he's going to attract the Risan women, and the boys practically nudge each other and giggle about the twelve-fingered Risan masseuses. Now, don't get me wrong. I am all for sex in Star Trek. It's just...can't it be just a tiny bit more sophisticated? Please?

  Nevertheless, 'Fallen Hero' still scored 8.5 out of 10 in the full review.

• Ex Astris Scientia's Bernd Schneider thought 'Fallen Hero' was clearly the better of the two episodes. "The old spirit is back in this episode which reconciles me with many errors that have been made before in the series, in particular the questionable pleasure of frequently seeing Vulcans with evil hidden agenda or aggressive behavior," he said, awarding the episode 7 out of 10. On the other hand, 'Desert Crossing' only managed a 3 out of 10, with Schneider writing that "like many times before in Enterprise, the conflict parties fail to make their points and their motivations remain rather vague." Both reviews can be found on this page.

• "I actually liked Archer in this episode," wrote Brad from Trek47 about 'Desert Crossing.' I" mean, for the first time ever I can honestly say that Archer was pretty cool. He had a certain Kirk style and demeanour that he's been missing since the pilot. It was cool watching him bond with his buddy during a lacrosse game. It was cool to see how he managed to fight off exhaustion and keep Trip safe and alive. Archer seemed like real guy in this episode." Overall, the episode scored a B plus in the complete analysis.

• 'Desert Crossing' was awarded an A minus by 'Keckler' at Television Without Pity. Her twelve-page recap starts here.

Further information on both 'Fallen Hero' and 'Desert Crossing' can be found in the Trek Nation episode guide.

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