BLU-RAY REVIEW: Star Trek: Enterprise Season One
By Rich Handley
When Enterprise debuted in September 2001 (my god, Bones, has it really
been that long?), I admittedly wasn't hooked. And although I kept watching for
a couple years, my enthusiasm level never really rose. Despite being someone
who'd watched and recorded every single episode of the five previous TV series
(including the cartoons), I just couldn't connect with Enterprise. I wanted to, having been a lifelong Trek fan and an admirer of Scott Bakula's
work on Quantum Leap. The concept of
a The Right Stuff approach to
Starfleet's origins was an intriguing and novel departure from 21 seasons set
in the 24th century, and I was fascinated by the potential that Enterprise offered for featuring stories
setting up what we saw during James T. Kirk's day.
The pilot episode, "Broken
Bow," had a strong story, opening with a very logical starting point for Star Trek—first contact with the
Klingons—and a solid framework upon which to build a new show. The characters
of Archer (Bakula), T'Pol (Jolene Blalock), Tucker (Connor Trinneer), Phlox
(John Billingsley) and Reed (Dominic Keating) were the clear standouts, and I was
curious to know more about them. Plus, the pilot featured strong performances by Gary
Graham as Ambassador Soval and Vaughn Armstrong as Admiral Forrest, as well as
the unexpected return of James Cromwell as First
Contact's Zephram Cochrane. It seemed like a recipe for success.
But I wasn't hooked. In fact, I
walked away feeling vaguely dissatisfied, like one might feel after a Thanksgiving
feast that looked mouth-wateringly delicious, filling the house with savory
smells for days leading up to the joyous feast, but ultimately consisting of turkey
slightly overcooked, mashed potatoes a bit too cold and gravy a tad lumpy, with
stale biscuits on the side. (Don't worry, despite how it may seem, this is not
a negative review.)
It may have been the ship's technology,
which looked too advanced compared to that of The Original Series, set a century later. It may have been the
introduction of holodecks, viewscreens and phasers, as well as the Borg and the
Ferengi, far too soon in the timeline. It may have been the characterization of
Vulcans in early seasons as deceptive, warlike, snobbish and easily angered. It
may have been the existence of an Enterprise
a century before Kirk's ship. It may have been the uneven acting from some of
the supporting cast members. It may have been the ridiculous decontamination
scene (Blalock is jaw-droppingly attractive, and I'm sure there are those who
feel the same way about Trinneer—but the brazenly gratuitous sexuality of that
scene, in my opinion, is just embarrassing).
Or maybe it was the lousy theme
song.
Whatever the cause, the series and
I failed to gel during its original airing. In fact, I ended up losing steam
before the show did, and actually stopped watching it sometime during season
three.
Course Revision
And yet, when Enterprise was released on DVD, I found myself drawn to it, despite
my earlier disappointment. Sometimes, shows that don't flow well episodically
from week to week on television work much
better when watched consecutively over a short span of time. Babylon 5's fifth season and Stargate Universe come to mind, as does Voyager.
Plus, it never sat well with me
that I'd actually given up on a Star Trek
series. It just seemed... wrong. Star
Trek was my thing, man. My shelves
hold DVDs containing "Spock's Brain," "The Alternative
Factor," "And the Children Shall Lead," "The Infinite
Vulcan," "Code of Honor," "Shades of Gray," "Up
the Long Ladder," "Angel One,"
"Move Along Home," "The Fight," "Threshold" and Nemesis—and I even re-watch them time and
again. Surely NOTHING on Enterprise
had ever been that bad. So what was my problem?
As it turns out, I was right: Watching
Enterprise consecutively really was
an entirely different experience from viewing it weekly. Sure, the same
problems arose, but now they didn't bother me much at all. In fact, I found
myself able to rationalize them away, just as I'd always been able to with the
previous shows' problems. Holodeck technology? Well, it's not like it was being
used on a Starfleet vessel, so no problem. The Borg? Well, no one ever called them
by that name, so Starfleet simply didn't know who they were. Vulcans as arrogant,
warlike jerks? Well, Spock was
condescending toward humans, there was
violence beneath the surface and the fourth season fixed that problem anyway,
so it was no longer an issue.
The uneven acting from the
supporting cast? Well… OK, that was still there. But, hey, let's face it: Star Trek has always been plagued by
uneven acting. It's kind of a Trek hallmark,
part of its charm. For every sterling performance by Leonard Nimoy, Patrick
Stewart, René Auberjonois and Robert Picardo, there have been just as many over
the years from other thespians that have been far less convincing.
Ultimately, the DVD viewing
experience completely changed my mind about this series. It flowed better. It
held my attention. It had some moments of genuine brilliance, mixed in with the
eye-rolling elements. And by season four, it was producing some truly wonderful
Star Trek marked by expert writing
and finely honed acting. I now consider that final year to be one of the best
of any Star Trek series, period. (Well, except for the space Nazis and the
finale.)
So when news of Enterprise's Blu-ray release was
announced, I was curious at how well it could be improved upon from the DVD
presentation. Unlike The Original Series
and The Next Generation, which
benefited hugely from their Blu-ray remasterings, Enterprise was a fairly recent show featuring state-of-the-art
effects, lighting, model work and so forth. What's more, it was created for
high-definition and widescreen from the onset. Would there be an appreciable
difference from DVD to Blu-ray? And would Star
Trek fans, many of whom turned away from Enterprise years ago, citing it as the franchise's downfall, find
reason to buy it, particularly given the rather high list price ($120, though Amazon
has marked it down to under $80)?
For the most part, I'd say yes.
The Blu-rays sound fantastic. The
audio is presented in DTS-HD MA 5.1, which allows a bit-to-bit representation
of the original master soundtrack. The result is sound superior to what the
DVDs provided, and is basically on par with what the remastered Original Series and Next Generation Blu-rays offered.
Played over a good surround-sound
system, the show's soundtrack provides a feeling of actually traveling through
space and engaging in pitched battles.
Picture
Although the transfer is not quite
as brilliantly vibrant as that of The
Next Generation's Blu-ray set, and although the CGI has some graininess, the
show is otherwise noticeably sharper than the DVD version—which, having re-watched
it in its entirety just a few months ago, I can reliably compare against. The
level of detail now visible on uniforms, sets, cityscapes and props is
extraordinary, giving someone who has already seen (and owns) the entire series,
but who values a quality viewing experience, a reason to double-dip despite the
hefty price tag.
As I understand it, the transfer problem
stems from the original special effects having been created at the 720p
progressive HDTV signal format, and then unconverted for the Blu-rays, which
are presented in 1080p mode, rather than CBS re-rendering the shots at full
1080p. No doubt, the studio saw Enterprise
as having a smaller audience, thus making that option cost-prohibitive in its
eyes. The upconverting process to a higher resolution sometimes results in artifact,
particularly on moving vessels, as well as a distracting blurring of some
effects.
Special Features
As with the TNG Blu-rays, Enterprise's
new release offers no shortage of extras, which is a large part of why I
recommend picking up the Blu-rays even if you already have the DVDs. In
addition to the features included on DVD, this set also offers a variety of new
segments exclusive to the Blu-ray releases.
I particularly enjoyed "On
the Set," a documentary that went behind the making of "Vox Sola,"
in which Hoshi Sato (Linda Park) deciphered an alien invader's complex language
in order to save her captured crewmates. Although this was admittedly not one
of my favorite episodes, it was nonetheless fascinating to find out what went
on behind the camera, and to hear input from director Roxann Dawson (Voyager's B'Elanna Torres) regarding the
obstacles inherent to "directing alien linguine." As with the Reading Rainbow segment filmed on the TNG soundstage, this special provides an
excellent look at how the TV series was filmed. Those interested in
behind-the-scenes accounts will no doubt find it worth watching.
What impressed me about the bonus
materials is that they included many candid comments from producers Rick Berman
and Brannon Braga regarding the series' flaws, in a segment titled
"Countdown." I wasn't expecting that, as I've mostly seen those
involved with Enterprise defending it
over the past decade whenever faced with negativity (which, I guess, is
actually understandable... it's not easy for any of us to say, "Yeah, I
messed up").
Braga, for instance, discussed how
exhausted and overwhelmed he felt during the first season, and how he agreed
with many fans' mocking of the theme song as "embarrassingly bad." Berman,
meanwhile, admitted to begging Paramount to wait a while before launching a new
TV series after Voyager's conclusion.
With one of the producers not convinced the show should have even been made at
that point, it's a wonder Enterprise
turned out as good as it did!
Additional specials, "First
Flight" and "In Conversation," continued this trend, with Braga
openly acknowledging and justifying viewers' criticisms, particularly with
regard to the Ferengi's appearance on the show, as well as some vocal fans'
view that he and Berman "killed the franchise." Hearing such frank
and honest commentary was a refreshing change from Hollywood's frequent
white-washing of criticisms and failings.
The Episodes Themselves
Of course, it's difficult, and
perhaps unfair, to judge the quality of a TV series' Blu-ray release based on
its episodic quality, as that's something constant from one iteration to the
next—any plot and acting flaws on VHS will still be there on DVD, Blu-ray and
other formats, no matter how good an episode may look or sound. Still, the Blu-ray
treatment undeniably enhances already high-quality material, by making colors
more vibrant, details more crisply noticeable and so forth.
In addition to "Broken
Bow" (which I've since come to consider the most consistently well-written
and -acted pilot of the five live-action series, not to mention the least
filled with eye-rolling, dated moments), I'd cite the following as the first
season's best entries:
• "The Andorian
Incident"—Enterprise's first use
of Star Trek's blue-skinned
antenna-heads remains among its best. From Jeffrey Combs' mesmerizing and
grin-inducing portrayal of Commander Shran to the exploration of Vulcan
religion and militarism, the episode is gripping, and it's no wonder that Shran
became an immediate fan favorite, nor why the stalled fifth season was intended
to feature him as a main cast member. On a side note, Vulcans waging war with
another species and being downright deceitful about it seemed apocryphal during
my broadcast viewing of this episode, but having already seen how season four
explained such aberrations, I'm now able to watch and enjoy "The Andorian
Incident" for the sheer fun that it provides.
• "Cold Front"—I was
(and remain slightly) lukewarm to the overuse of time travel on Enterprise. The drastic alterations to
the Trek timeline in this series make
it almost impossible to view it as a prequel to Kirk's day, in which, for
example, time travel had not yet been proven possible. But despite that fact,
Matt Winston's casting as the 31st century's Temporal Agent Daniels was
spot-on. Even when I found myself biting my lip at all the time-traveling, I
immensely enjoyed Daniels' character right from the start, and always silently
cheered whenever he returned. Plus, it's hard not to enjoy T'Pol's stubborn
insistence, despite all evidence to the contrary, that the Vulcan Science
Directorate was correct in deeming time travel impossible.
• "Dear Doctor"—This
episode, providing the basis of Starfleet's Prime Directive, has polarized a
lot of fans over Phlox's Social Darwinist advocating of committing genocide
against those with weaker genes. But for my money, "Dear Doctor"
remains the character's best episode, with Billingsley turning in an
Emmy-worthy performance, in a tale un-afraid of asking controversial questions
(as Trek's best entries should), or
of having a main cast member take a view that, by many people's standards,
would seem horrifying or offensive.
• "Shadows of
P'Jem"—This follow-up to "The Andorian Incident" featured
another confrontation between the Vulcans and the Andorians, Shran's return and
references to Coridan (from TOS episode
"Journey to Babel"). It also set up T'Pol's tumultuous relationship
with the Vulcan government, giving Blalock much more to do than merely stripping
in the decon unit, with Trip sensually rubbing her down with lotion as the
camera slowly panned across her curvature. Ahem.
• "Shuttlepod One"—Every
Trek series has its share of episodes
that successfully combine humor and drama. This is one of them. Fans know,
whenever characters are trapped somewhere and in danger of dying (in this case,
due to space's lack of air), that they'll be just fine by episode's end. And
yet, "Shuttlepod One" manages to take a tired cliché and make it
refreshingly fun and genuinely tense. It's all due to the chemistry between
Trinneer and Keating, and the wonderful exchanges the writers gave them. It's a
shame the two didn't have more solo episodes together.
• "Shockwave, Part 1"—Enterprise's first season had strong
book ends, opening with "Broken Bow" and ending with a cliffhanger in
which the ship's mission nearly came to a premature halt when a shuttle
accident caused the deaths of almost 4,000 colonists. It's a powerful episode,
and one of the few times I greatly enjoyed the Suliban. As a race, the Suliban
are cool-looking and allow for some impressive special effects as they slither
up walls, under doors and out of restraints. But as a concept, they leave me a
bit unimpressed, despite John Fleck's skilled performances as Silik.
"Shockwave," however, ups the Suliban ante, as Silik's operatives sabotage
Earth's foray into space, in order to... er... well, we're never really sure
why, actually, since the series was canceled without explaining who the
mysterious "Future Guy" was, or what his goals were. C'est la vie; that's what the novels are
for. It doesn't make this episode any less enjoyable.
Re-watching the episodes I
highlighted above has made me wonder why I ever lost interest in Enterprise in the first place. Season
one is a strong, if uneven, introduction to a television series I now consider undeserving
of the maligning it receives. It has its share of problems, sure, and it's
certainly the weakest of the four seasons. But it never approaches the
face-palming low-quality bar set by the twin Lazaruses, giant Spock clones,
"no vacciiiiine and no Lieutenant Yaaaaaaar," Wadi board games, giant
space salamanders and dune-buggy firefights.
I'm still amazed to be saying that,
though. Had you asked me a few years ago what I thought of Enterprise, I'd have likely said, "Meh... not really a fan.
Great effects. Shran was cool. T'Pol was hot." But I was being unfair with
that dismissive appraisal of the show's strongpoints, and seeing it on Blu-ray
makes that even more obvious. It's been a long road, getting from there to
here... but when it comes to accepting Enterprise
as solid Star Trek, I've got faith of
the heart.
OK, I completely apologize for
that last sentence. I had to give it a shot. Clearly, it didn't work. I blame
the giant space salamanders.
Labels: Enterprise, review, Star Trek
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