Product Description
-------------------
Set in the 22nd century, a hundred years before James T. Kirk
helmed the famous starship of the same name, ENTERPRISE takes
place in an era when interstellar travel is still in its infancy.
Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) has assembled a crew of
brave explorers to chart the galaxy on a revolutionary
spacecraft: Enterprise NX-01. As the first human beings to
venture into deep space, these pioneers will experience the
wonder and mystery of the final frontier as they seek out new
life and new civilizations.
.com
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Under intense scrutiny, the debut season of Enterprise earned a
passing grade from critics and Star Trek fans alike. Voyager
ended its seven-season run just four months earlier, and fans
were skeptical when Enterprise premiered (on Sept. 26, 2001, on
UPN) with a theme song ("Where My Heart Will Take Me," composed
by Diane Warren and performed by Russell Watson) that defied
Trek's revered theme-music tradition. This and other early
reservations were dispelled when "Broken Bow" got the series off
to a satisfying start, beginning in the year 2151 and
establishing a pre-Federation focus on humanity's delicate
relationship with the Vulcans, the controversial launch of the
NX-01 Enterprise on an exploratory mission, and the potentially
devastating consequences of the mysterious Temporal Cold War
involving a time-traveling splinter group of the Suliban, a
nomadic alien race. While establishing a testy relationship
between Enterprise Capt. Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) and his
smart-and-sexy Vulcan Sub-Commander, T'Pol (Jolene Blalock, in a
short-banged wig and form-fitting "catsuit" that were later
redesigned), the series introduced engineer "Trip" Tucker (Connor
Trineer), whose surprise development in "Unexpected" made him a
fan favorite; communications officer Hoshi Sato (Linda Park);
helmsman Travis Mayweather (Anthony Montgomery); weapons expert
Lt. Malcolm Reed (Dominic Keating), and chief surgeon Dr. Phlox
(John Billingsley), a well-mannered Denobulan recruit from
Earth's Interspecies Medical Exchange.
As a "prequel' series that predates the original Star Trek (
/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0002JJBZY/${0} ) by 150 years, Enterprise
built upon established Trek lore with episodes involving Vulcans
("Breaking the Ice"), Klingons ("ing Dogs"), the
blue-skinned Andorians ("The Andorian Incident," "Shadows of
P'Jem"), and the Ferengi ("Acquisition") while offering
stand-alone episodes (notably "Dear Doctor," "Fortunate Son," and
"Shuttlepod One") that further acquainted fans with the
Enterprise regulars. Early Trek technology is also introduced
(including "phase pistols" and the rarely used, still-risky
transporter), and the series drew strength from what many felt
would be its primary weakness: unwritten history and the initial
indecisiveness of Archer's bold foray into the unknown. Ending
with a dazzling "Shock Wave" cliffhanger that leaves Archer
stranded in a decimated Temporal Cold War future, Enterprise set
a strong foundation for the events of season 2.
The bonus features included on the Enterprise: Season One DVDs
are almost worth the price of the set, if only to see nearly nine
minutes of hilarious outtakes, maintaining a beloved tradition of
Star Trek bloopers. The (and sound) of Jolene Blalock
laughing out of character is pure gold, and it shouldn't surprise
anyone that Blalock is just as smart as she is sexy, as proven by
her astute observations (along with the rest of the Enterprise
cast) in the "Cast Impressions" featurette. It's the usual
complimentary fluff included with all Trek sets, but it's
obviously sincere, confirming fans' conviction that Enterprise
should have lasted beyond four seasons with this close-knit
ensemble. Series creators Brannon Braga and Rick Berman deliver a
typically dry commentary on "Broken Bow," setting the record
straight on debate over the show's "not retro enough" production
design (as Braga notes, "you can never please everyone") while
defining their concept of "The Right Stuff of Star Trek." As
always, Mike Okuda's text commentaries offer a wealth of Trek
trivia and detail from Trek's historical canon.
Fans will love the "Enterprise Secrets" revealing low-tech
solutions to lighting the warp core and dispensing "replicator"
beverages, along with an entertaining profile of Vaughan "Admiral
Forrest" Armstrong, who holds the record for Trek guest
appearances. The other featurettes are perfunctory, but "Creating
Enterprise" provides valuable first-season perspective, and the
"Time Travel" feature offers a handy reference for the many
time-travel episodes from every Trek series. As usual, Easter
eggs (three of them, titled "NX-01 Files") are hidden on the
special-features menu, offering short interview clips culled from
the primary featurettes. The deleted scenes demonstrate how
non-essential material can be sacrificed, and because they don't
include post-production sound or visual effects, fans can see and
hear the actual soundstage atmosphere of Enterprise's principal
photography. --Jeff Shannon
