I didn't see the season premiere of "Star Trek: Enterprise," and it's likely (based on the ratings) that you didn't either. But I did read a review of the episode in the Seattle Times, and it sounds like I didn't miss much. What's surprising is that it seems this already weak show has taken a turn for the worse. Worse visual effects, lower budget, and a cheesy story. So much for the hopes of reviving the Star Trek franchise.
I still think the problem is simply one of variety. Once upon a time, Star Trek was the 500-pound gorilla of sci-fi entertainment. You could either watch Star Trek or Time Trax, and that was it. As a result, everything Star Trek did was bold and new, the cutting edge of scifi, and it pretty much threw a wide net. It was the only place to see new and interesting aliens, the paradoxes of time travel, and futuristic technology. Remember the stir that the nanites caused in the Next Generation, the first exploration of nanotechnology in pop culture. Now, you've got Babylon 5, Stargate SG-1, Andromeda, and a slew of other scifi shows that explore themes that Star Trek can only handle in the broadest sense. In other words, Star Trek is a victim of its own success. By making scifi mainstream, it opened the door to so much competition that it can't compete. Plus, the name Star Trek is now synonymous with nerd. I think it's time we accept the fact that we've simply outgrown Star Trek. Or at least I have.
Bonus: Check out what Jolene Blalock (T'Pol) had to say about her role in the last season and the new season...and it's not good. Darn good points, if you ask me.
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Nigel, you make come good points. I had never thought about how the sci-fi world had changed from when ST:TNG came out. Especially after Farscape it's just not possible for Start Trek to compete in the rich diverse world of sci-fi on television right now. Roddenberry's vision was the key to it's success, but now they're struggling with how to capture market share and still stay true to the vision. In the end, they can't and that will kill the series. But, the Star Trek movies are still the best sci-fi movies out, so I'm hopeful they'll come back with some new ones, but I doubt it.
It's scary when the actor starts questoining her motivations. It shows that the writers aren't listening to their talent, and that will show on the screen as the actor tries to stay true to character while doing things they know is out of character. The best part was where she said, basically, "I know I'll have a big role in the series because I'm the cheescake. I just don't know if I'll be doing anything more worthwhile then bending over to look in a scanner."
Man there were a lot of typos in there.
No problem on the typos...and I saw the episode in question, and it wasn't too bad. Not great, but no worse than usual. Damned with faint praise.
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