Before Star Trek There Was.... (Star Trek - Enterprise)

Member Name: marandina

Product:	Star Trek - Enterprise
Date:	04/01/02 (152 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Simple story line, Great fx

Disadvantages: Can't see any yet, Will it be as good as the original?

...Enterprise. Whilst on holiday in the States recently, I caught an episode of the latest in the Star Trek lineage and set pre Star Trek – the original series. I grew up in the era of Captain James T Kirk, Spock, Scotty and the crew and have watched the episodes countless times. Star Trek is the benchmark for all sci-fi productions and, although, becoming a little dated now, it’s still my favourite beating The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager.

So what of the latest addition? Well, the principal cast is made up of
Captain Jonathan Archer played by Scott Bakula
T' Pol Jolene Blalcok
Dr Phlox John Billingsley
Lt Mayweather A T Montgomery
Lt Commander Reed Dominic Keating
Commander Tucker Conner Trinneer.

The executive producer is Rick Berman.

The episode that I caught was called Terra Nova and directed by LeVar Burton (GoerdieLaforge from TNG). Basically, the plot centres on a mission to investigate the fate of colonists whom contact had been lost with. The colonists had inhabited the planet some 70 years earlier but nothing had been seen or heard from them for some time. A landing party is sent down and Reed (the armoury officer) gets taken hostage by the inhabitants. It turns out that the abductors are far from human and the rest of the story unravels to reveal that a meteor had crashed into the planet, spreading poisonous toxins. These had entered the water table which was resulting in the locals getting cancer. The Novans had evolved from the original inhabitants but been driven underground, as the surface had become uninhabitable. All of the adult settlers had been killed by the disaster leaving only children behind. Over time they had forgotten their human roots and, moreover, considered humans a threat blaming them for the disaster that had befallen their parents.

It’s a good story and in the tradition of the original series. Different writers wi
ll give a different slant to each episode and I liked the simplistic approach. I could never warm to TNG etc, as the stories seem to get too wrapped up in politics making them convoluted and over complex. The original ST had a real 60's feel to it giving you the impression that peace and love underpin the whole culture of the time.

Capt Archer is very akin to James Kirk in that he appears to be something of a renegade willing to take a chance even if it means disobeying orders. Scott Bakula (best known for Quantum Leap) looks comfortable in the part and fits the hero mould nicely.

T’ Pol is the female equivalent of Spock i.e. a Vulcan and, as you’d expect, is the Chief science officer. The relationship between T’Pol and Archer mirrors that between Kirk and Spock although I didn’t detect the flashes of humour that ran through the Star Trek series.

Doctor Phlox is, you guessed it, the Chief medical officer although not quite a Doctor McCoy. On this occasion the doc is a Denobulan with a slightly strange demeanour. He has his own brand of alien humour that the others don’t really get.

So why did I like it? Well, as I mentioned before, I liked the simplistic approach. The special fx were in the Star Trek tradition and the storyline was thoughtful. I’ve only really outlined half of the plot, as I wouldn’t want to spoil the ending for anyone. I suppose it’s difficult to assess whether the series will be a success on the strength of just one show but it left me with a good feeling. I hope it makes it as, whilst I’m not a trekkie, I love the whole Star Trek concept. The sci-fi genre owes a huge debt of gratitude to ST for so many groundbreaking ideas. Enterprise has a lot to live up to and I'm sure it will.

The show is coming to Sky shortly and if you haven’t got cable I would imagine that it will appear on BBC2 later next year. There are a wealth of ST sites if
you want further info, the main one being www.scifispace.com.

Live long and prosper!

Starts 7th January 2002 - SKY ONE

Note ~ I wanted this to have it's own category i.e. "Star Trek - Enterprise" but have given up waiting. Hope you find it interesting.

Marandina 2002

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