![Star Trek: Enterprise: The Complete Series [DVD]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81vQkNhT4LL._AC_UL160_SR160,160_.jpg)
Star Trek Enterprise: The Complete First Season
(Released: 2005 by Paramount Home Entertainment)
Another Looong DVD Review by Joe Torcivia
In the beginning, Zefram Cochrine invented Warp Drive technology. The rest was (TV, movie, and merchandising) history!
Somehow, I'd never seen STAR TREK ENTERPRISE before. That is until an Amazon.com DVD sale proved irresistible, and I finally took the plunge.
I didn't know what to expect. What I did know is that, while I loved both STAR TREK THE ORIGINAL SERIES ("TOS") and STAR TREK THE NEXT GENERATION ("TNG"- Great shows for different reasons!), each succeeding TREK series left me less and less satisfied.
I liked DEEP SPACE NINE ("DS9") less than TNG, and VOYAGER ("VOY") less than DS9. As VOYAGER was winding down, ENTERPRISE ("ENT") was starting up. Life's ups and downs notwithstanding, I was also not too eager to sample yet another TREK show that would presumably continue the downward trend.
Elaborating on why I felt this way toward DS9 and VOY, I can only say that each moved further away from the "core" of what I thought STAR TREK should be.
Both series were not about a ship (Extra points if the ship is named "Enterprise"!) in active service to the Federation. Yes, Voyager was a ship too, but it was (um...) "lost in space", full of weird characters, and wasn't nearly as much fun as was the Jupiter II.
There were also too many strange aliens on these shows. In contrast, TOS and TNG were far more relatable to us humans. Vulcans, Klingons, and the occasional Betazoid are okay, but I really started drawing the line at regularly featured Ferengi (DS9 - I HATE Ferengi!) and the very annoying Neelix (VOY).
ENTERPRISE goes back to the beginning and, much as J.J. Abrams has done in his recent feature film, starts to tell the story from the ground (Earth's "ground") on up.
Scott Bakula, as Captain Jonathan Archer, is the perfect middle-ground between "womanizer/ cowboy" James T. Kirk and "stiff-upper-lipped" Jean Luc Picard.
The crew he leads is predominantly human (Engineer Trip Tucker, Armory Officer Malcolm Reed, Navigator Travis Mayweather, and Translator Hoshi Sato), with just the right number of aliens... Vulcan Science Officer Sub-Commander T'Pol and genial Doctor Phlox (a Denobulan who is part of the "Inter-Species-Medical-Exchange").
As this series took place a century before the original STAR TREK, efforts were made to look... not merely retro, but "pre-retro", if you will. This Enterprise is small, almost cramped, compared with later models. Try as they might, the set design crew couldn't always make this 2001 show look 100 years more primitive than its 1966 predecessor.
The clothing had to step back as well. Starfleet Admirals wore basic (but somewhat futuristically designed) military dress uniforms - and Archer and his crew wore garb that was a cross between NASA gear and the crew jumpsuits from VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA.
Oh, and Archer has a DOG! A beagle named "Porthos". A first for a TREK series!
As is our custom in these reviews, we'll break it into CONS and PROS.
The CONS:
Packaging: Why is it that ALL STAR TREK SERIES have packaging that is both annoying and difficult to open and negotiate?! The discs of STAR TREK ENTERPRISE are housed in a large "clamshell" pack that opens like an oversized stick of deodorant!
Attached to the package with TWO DABS OF GLUE is a cardboard piece that wraps AROUND THE TOP FRONT, BACK, AND BOTTOM FRONT of the package! You cannot open the package without removing the cardboard. BUT, on this cardboard, is the ONLY PLACE that it is identified as being the FIRST SEASON! So, if you remove it, nothing else on the package can distinguish it from subsequent seasons. WHY?
Menu Navigation: STAR TREK SERIES often have the most difficult, and outright noisy Menus to navigate. Though, I must admit that the menus of ENTERPRISE are much easier to navigate than that of the Original Series. Still, it is a CON.
No Skipping the End Credits: To my surprise, I found that the EPISODE END CREDITS - the SAME end credits that Paramount routinely shrunk, squashed, and did not allow to be read in its original UPN TV broadcasts - COULD NOT BE CHAPTER-SKIPPED on it's DVDs. Of course, I can choose to fast forward through them, if need be. BUT... Just thought I'd share the irony, folks!
The PROS:
Wide Screen: STAR TREK ENTERPRISE is the first TREK series to be filmed in wide-screen. When played on my HD TV and upconverted via Blu-ray player, it's a delight to behold!
The Episodes - with a special emphasis on the pilot:
"Broken Bow": No Star Dates here! This takes place in the almost-relatable year 2151!
It has been 90-100 years since Cochrine's introduction of Warp Drive and travel to the distant stars is now a more a reality than a possibility.
The planet Vulcan has taken notice of these early experiments, and has sent emissaries to Earth... to "guide us" along the correct path. This is a SUPERB inversion of all those TOS and TNG episodes where the Federation declines or refuses to share its superior technologies with developing planetary cultures, due to the "Prime Directive".
Resentment toward our Vulcan "friends" has grown, as they are suspect of holding back on technological developments and suppressing the development of Earth's Warp Program efforts.
Jonathan Archer, the son of Henry Archer - an associate of Cochrine's - is selected to be captain of the just completed "Enterprise NX-01", a forerunner of the more familiar later USS Enterprise NCC-1701. The Enterprise NX-01 can reach the as-of-yet unheard of speed of Warp Factor 5! Later ships could travel at Warp 9 and above.
Without spoiling too much for those who STILL haven't seen it, we have such grand moments as:
The great speech about "boldly going, etc." that all starship captains seem to spout was actually from an historic speech by Zefram Cochrine. The speech is played on the occasion of the launch of the Enterprise NX-01.
The first human to go through a transporter. Under duress, I might add. It was originally, not thought of for human use. Shuttle-Pods are routinely used for transport.
The introduction of the "phase-pistol" (with two settings "Stun" and "Kill" - nothing in between).
No Deflector Shields yet. Instead, they "polarize the hull plating".
No phaser-weaponry that can be fired by the ship. There are "photon torpedoes", but they are exactly that - torpedoes that are physically loaded as on a submarine! "Phase Cannons" (the forerunner of ship phaser-weaponry) are developed during Season One.
Communicators are of the good old "flip variety".
The initial mission involves a Klingon that was pursued to Earth by hostiles unknown, and the sensitive diplomatic mission to return him to the Klingon homeworld. Klingons were an unknown species at the time - the one was even referred to as a "Kling-got" by the admiral in charge.
We also meet the series' new major villains: The Suliban. This race is conducting a campaign of aggression against the Klingons and other species, taking its marching orders from a mysterious presence from "The Future". This campaign, referred to as the "Temporal Cold War" slowly unfolds over the course of the season - and beyond.
Some pilot, eh? Now, a few other highlights...
"The Andorian Incident": Archer and crew stumble onto the ongoing hostilities between the Vulcans and the blue-skinned, antenna-ed Andorians, with unexpected revelations. Perhaps my favorite episode of this season.
"Cold Front" Archer is surprised to find his steward hails from 900 years in the future, and is a player in the "Temporal Cold War".
"Dear Doctor": A grim choice on the part of Archer and Doctor Phlox results in the first contemplations of "The Prime Directive" of non-interference with alien cultures.
"Sleeping Dogs" Archer and company assist the crew of a doomed Klingon ship. They don't want the assistance.
"Shuttlepod One": Trip and Malcolm's ordeal marooned aboard a lost shuttlepod.
"Acquisition": A boarding party of Ferengi incapacitates the crew of NX-01, and begins to loot the ship. ENTERPRISE does the impossible. A Ferengi story that I actually like!
"Detained": A militaristic society imprisons Archer and Travis in a detention camp filled with Suliban victims.
"Vox Sola": A web-like creature invades the Enterprise, takes over a cargo hold, and wraps its captured victims as would a spider! The images of Archer and his fellow captives webbed-up are effectively disgusting. A visual masterpiece!
"Desert Crossing": More striking scenic visuals, as a seemingly friendly desert warlord takes Archer and Trip hostage to obtain knowledge of his enemies. Clancy Brown ("Superman the Animated Series", "Lost") is a standout as the warlord.
"Shockwave": Ah, what would a modern STAR TREK series be without a season-ending cliffhanger episode! This one reveals tantalizingly more about the "Temporal Cold War" and the devastating consequences for the Earth when Archer is removed from the time stream.
Extra Features:
Numerous features on the genesis and background of the series are included. Scott Bakula appears in a featurette to introduce the series. Bakula is also profiled as Captain Archer. There are also cast impressions of the season and outtakes.
There is an audio commentary track for the pilot, "Broken Bow", with producers Rick Berman and Brannon Braga, and two additional pop-up "text commentaries" by production staffers Michael and Denise Okuda.
My favorite feature is: "Star Trek Time Travel: Temporal Cold Wars and Beyond". The "Temporal Cold War" of ENTERPRISE is examined, along with all other notable instances of time travel that occurred in the various TREK series and films.
Overall:
I'm sorry I missed STAR TREK ENTERPRISE in its original 2001-2005 run. From this first season - and what I've seen of the second season thus far - it is severely underrated, likely from its having come along at a time when the mass audience (myself included) was suffering a prolonged case of "Trek Fatigue".
If you are so inclined, give it a chance. You won't be sorry!
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| Additional DVD options | Edition | Discs | Price | New from | Used from |
|
DVD
May 3, 2005 "Please retry" | — | 7 | $16.00 | $9.74 |
|
DVD
July 28, 2008 "Please retry" | — | 7 | $16.58 | $15.13 |
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Reviews with images
Originally didn't like series on its first run
Originally didn't like series on its first run . But after further review it's a good series. Like the Vulcans cast in a not so illuminated light . Not a big fan of Mr. Baccula though ,( just my personal opinion) if I had to pick a Star Trek era to be in this is the time period for me. I'm sure I would have a hangover from something new I drank . OD on some exotic drug or come down with an alien STD . Great take on this .
Top reviews from other countries
Jan Krohn
Canadian import version, region code free
Reviewed in Japan on March 15, 2014