My Review- 'Acquisition'
WARNING
Suffice to say my expectations for 'Acquisition' were quite low. Ferengi- the focus of some of the worst DS9 episodes ever, which were normally either bad ('Bar Association') or offensive (such as one episode where Quark temporarily became a women and immediately became a quivering, hormonal wreck.) Not to mention First Contact with the Ferengi isnt for another 213 years. Then there was the fact Ethan 'Neelix' Phillips was guest starring- Neelix is, for me at least, the most annoying regular character in Trek's 35 year history. Reports of Trip running around the ship in his underwear did nothing to cheer me up. Still as I watched the episode something strange happened.....
STORYLINE
I began to enjoy it! Oh not straight away, the Ferengi Language scenes went on a little too long for my taste and while it adds some mystery to what they are doing, I think I would of preferred subtitles. However by the second act I was finding it a lot of fun. Indeed so much so I got my Mother to check my temperature during the ad (commercial) break. As I began to watch again I realised something. Ira Steven Behr (Executive Producer and writer of much of the Ferengi stuff) as much as I love the guys work, he was in SERIOUS need of a sense of humour transplant! What Mr. Behr often thought was funny often left me watching with a sense of bizarre curiosity rather than actual entertainment. The question being: "How bad can this episode get?" I had no reason to ask this with Acquisition. OK take my earlier suspected complaints: First Contact may not be for 213 years, but we do know the Ferengi were rumoured for years before that. We also know the USS Stargazer encountered Ferengi without their knowledge. The fact is the Ferengi are not actually called the Ferengi ON SCREEN. If they dont know who they are, and they've promised never to see them again, then it's not technically First Contact. Very well done. Then in a couple of centuries after First Contact, u can have some bureaucrat in Starfleet Command dusting through the old files for ships like Enterprise and realise, that Starfleet encountered Ferengi long before 2364. That's a VERY good way to do it. Kudos. Trip running around the ship in his underwear still stands, but at least it shows Braga and Berman's little 'Enterprise will have sensuality!!!!!' stint doesnt just extend to T'Pol. My other suspected complaints were more character things, so I'll deal with them later. The episode is a whole is a lot of fun. I enjoyed, but it's something Id definitely prefer to remain a one-off. Me thinks if the Ferengi appeared on ENT again it would have slightly more chance of failing, really, REALLY failing.
THE SHIP
I did like the look of the Ferengi craft.
THE
CHARACTERS
The characters came off quite well this week. First I will evaluate the Ferengi.
Well let's see we had Ulis, who was played by Ethan Phillips. Who played Neelix and a Ferengi back in TNG. Somehow Ulis came of far better than either of them, the reason being- ur not supposed to LIKE Ulis. Ulis is someone ur supposed to dislike. And apparently that's where Phillips talents lie. Excellent. Ulis came of rather like the 22nd Centuries answer to Quark. He's a good business man, yet he only runs something small, he's persistent, tenacious, greedy by despite all those horribly bad qualities, part of you cant help but enjoy his presence on screen. Krem too, came of pretty damn good. Jeffrey Coombs played Brunt, another Ferengi back in DS9. I disliked Brunt with a passion, yet I enjoyed Krem. Krem appears to be the 22nd Century equivalent of Rom. He's stupid, easily manipulated, but somehow there's a sweet quality in the guy. The difference is Rom is supposed to liked all the time. Krem ur not supposed to like, but u are supposed to feel sorry for him. That was good. Then we have Clint Howard as Muk. This actually caused me to laugh. Poor Clint, his brother appeared in Happy Days and just picked up an Oscar for best direction, and here he is playing a Ferengi on Enterprise. :) He's appeared on Trek before, as a 'dim' in the DS9 two-parter 'Past Pretense' and when he was but an ickle boy in the first 'regular' TOS ep (IE one which wasn't a pilot) as Balok, commander of a First Federation vessel. Muk is probably the least likeable among the whole lot, he's a trigger happy idiot. And he's not a nice one. Last but by no means least is Matt Malloy, who is the only guest star not to appear in Trek before, as Grish. Grish is the peaceful one, the mediating force. A peaceful Ferengi. And he's still incredibly stupid. Where these characters succeeded and where almost all Ferengi before have failed is these characters are intrinsically evil. They're not likeable, they're idiots, they're thieves, and they lock a cute dog in a box. Nothing says "Hate me" more than locking a cute dog in a box.
T'Pol actually came of quite well this week. I need help. Save me. Trip too came off well. Kudos to all three of the 'main' crew.
STAR
TREK NOTES.
I see the return of the Ferengi energy whip. Something not only acknowledging continuity, but one of the few things I like about the big eared idiots.
Did we really have to oo-mox? It's the Ferengi version of grabbing someone's crotch, and in Trek terms, basically prostitution.
Rating (out of 10): 7/10. By no means perfect, but better than I dared hope.
