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Critics Give 'Rogue Planet' The Thumbs Down

By Lisa
March 26, 2002 - 3:07 AM

See Also: 'Rogue Planet' Episode Guide

Words like 'Mediocre' and 'Dull' feature heavily in reviews of last week's 'Rogue Planet.

Below is a selection of comments about the episode:

  • "I don't want to be one of those commentators who thinks that they can do the show better than the people doing it. That's not my job here," wrote C J Carter at ScoopMe. "Unfortunately, unless I'm given something to work with, there's not a heck of a lot I can do. I want to not talk ill of the show, but sometimes there comes an episode that hits the disappointment nerve."
    For the full review, head over to Scoop Me.com.

  • "Pretty run-of-the-mill," summarised Tim Lynch at Psi Phi. "Rogue Planet, then, didn't come off as an especially effective outing to me. There's little here in the way of actual bad ideas, but lots of poor execution, and it really added up. Here's hoping next week's is a stronger offering--though given the subject matter, I doubt anyone will be surprised that I'm doubtful..."
    In the complete analysis the episode is given a rating of 4.0.

  • O Deus at TrekWeb was unimpressed with the episode.

    [Rogue Planet] is a fairly bland and colourless episode that is as uninvolving to the viewer as it is to the Enterprise character and amounts to a Trekified version of Bambi once you get past and discard the basic premise of a rogue planet, the only real impact of which on the bulk of the episode is the Borg-like (yet noticeably cheap and uninventive) infrared headgear that the characters wear while in the forest.

    The complete review can be found here at TrekWeb.

  • Monkee gave the episode her lowest rating yet, a 7/10, at Monkee's Place. "I have a friend who turned off this episode after twelve minutes and was able to guess, with remarkable accuracy, the rest of the story," she wrote. Could it have been any more predictable? The landing party encounters a group of hunters, and there's clearly more to their 'expedition' than meets the eye. Meanwhile, Archer is drawn to a beautiful, mysterious woman that only he can see, who calls him by name and pleads for help. It doesn't take a particularly astute viewer to figure out that a) the two are related, b) the hunters are up to no damned good, and c) our guys are going to take care of it. We didn't even need a half an hour for a story like this, so over the course of an hour, it really began to drag."
    For her full review, click here.

  • David E. Sluss at the Cynics Corner pointed out the strange science on display. "One of the least impressive pieces of technology we've seen in Enterprise to date has to be Starfleet's night vision goggles - excuse me - goggle. Apparently cannibalized from old Borg costumes, the single- eyepiece design, granting the user night vision in only one eye, would seem to me to render the devices so disorienting as to be nearly useless. And I guess it's redshirt time if a threat happens to approach from the left. It gets even stranger when Reed [...] marvels at the Eska's night vision goggles, which can scan infrared. Come on: That capability exists today!"
    In the full review, the episode is awarded a score of 5.0.

  • "At first glance this story seems pretty basic and by the numbers," wrote Shadowfyre at Section 31. "After viewing it two more times, I have to agree with the initial assessment. The plot is completely predictable and offers nothing to truly grip the audience. It unfolds slowly to it's obvious conclusion. Having said that, I don’t believe that this episode was bad by any means, just rather mediocre."
    For the full review, in which the episode is awarded a 5/10 score, follow this link.

  • Trek5's reviewer Captain Mac called the episode 'Mediocre Planet.' "This story could have had a lot more punch to it, but alas, it didn't. A bit of a letdown," he wrote. For his full thoughts on the episode, follow this link to Trek5.

  • YASA at TrekPages liked some aspects of the episode. "Character-wise, this show was Archer's alone. Bakula's character has been well- written and very consistent, and this episode continues that trend. Once again, we get a look at Archer's psyche that reveals his yearning for growth and exploration."
    For the full analysis in which the episode was awarded a score of -8, follow this link.

More information about the episode can be found in its episode guide listing.

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Find more episode info in the Episode Guide.

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