Star Trek: Enterprise

One of the better series. I likely particularly because it was close to home. You see it in the bare no frills ship. They were just getting started and it was cancelled.

This is in my opinion the last legit entry to the Star Trek universe: Discovery and Picard are just a travesty of Roddenberry's vision. The movies with Chris Pine are not bad but put by far too much focus on action and CGI-wonderland. Anyway, from time to time I put one of those shows back on my screen and Enterprise is the border for my travels back in time, after that just awaits the void of trash, which I carefully know how to avoid.

I have mixed feelings about this show. It probably has contained some of the best and definitely a lot of the worst Trek episodes ever. It was meant to re-invent Trek but all it did was re-use old plot devices. The best thing they ever did was replace Berman, because he had been working on the franchise too long. Trek needs new blood, and for the 4th season they finally got it. But of course it came too late and now the show has been cancelled after it just started to find its footing.

Contrary to some other comments I've seen, Enterprise did NOT use its cast to its fullest potential. Mayweather has been virtually ignored since the first and second seasons (he wasn't even in most of the 3rd season episodes) and when he has been around lately it has only been to lift heavy things or hit something. Reed was just starting to get some good stuff this season. Enterprise had a wonderful opportunity to connect every Trek series together and revitalize the franchise but all it did (and most people believe this) was bury it. Despite Enterprise's accomplishments, its failures reign supreme. As much as I love Trek, it needs a rest. Maybe after a few years it will be brought back by people who have new ideas to bring to it. Then, hopefully, we will truly go where no one has gone before.

I'm stunned. It's hard to believe that with the cancellation of "STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE", for the first time in18 years there will not be a STAR TREK series on the air. I have spent an abnormal amount of time engaged in water cooler talk as to why the latest STAR TREK spin-off failed to last more than 4 seasons. I do consider myself a TREK fan but I am hesitant to use terms like Trekkie or Trekker. I see STAR TREK the same way I see religion. It can be a great source of comfort, it should be used in moderation and I don't want to associate with or be associated with its followers. These devoted fans by the way recently raised over 15 million dollars to keep this fifth TREK series on the air, forcing them to delay moving out of their parent's basements for at least... Well I guess they had the disposable income anyway. Don't get me wrong, some of my best friends are Trekkies or Trekkers. Go rent the documentary TREKKIES and you will know what I am talking about.

What Gene Roddenberry pitched, as "Wagon Train to the Stars" became much more than what WilliamShatner described on SNL as, "...just a TV show!" Roddenberry managed to address the problems of the day that would not have been addressed otherwise on TV, by using outer space as its backdrop. The show inspired many to reach for the stars by studying science. People of color and women seeing Lt. Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) on the Enterprise bridge saw a future that included them. The show inspired new technology and it's packaging. Imagine what your cell phone or home computer would look like without STAR TREK as inspiration. Gene Rodenbery's vision also showed us a future where people of all races worked and played together (including TV's first interracial kiss Plato's Stepchildren).

I know that I'm making this sound bigger than just the cancellation of a TV show. I liked Enterprise and was not bothered by the multiple episode story lines. I still saw Gene Roddenberry's original intentions realized in this latest STAR TREK franchise. I liked that Captain Jonathan Archer's (Scott Bakula ) Enterprise and crew was less sophisticated than Captain Kirk's or Picard's. The bottom line is that it doesn't matter if you are battling an unknown alien threat or debating the moral implications of interfering with the development of an alien species, as long as the show is well written and well acted, that's all that matters.

One of the great things about Trek is that you can never run out of story ideas. All you have to do is look at today's newsmakers, paint them green and stick them on another planet.

Fear not Trekkies or Trekkers. Even though we are saying goodbye to Captain Archer's Enterprise, the franchise will live long and prosper. There is now talk about an 11th STAR TREK feature scheduled for release in 2007. I look forward to it, just don't expect to see me at the first screening and I definitely wont be in uniform because to quote Groucho Marx, "I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member".

Stay Tuned Tony Figueroa

Enterprise is the most genuinely invigorating thing to happen to not only Trek, but television as well. But I don't really want to rehash everything that everybody else has said, want I want to do is express my disappointment in a majority of the fans.

Back Off!!! A lot of the comments on this site have been nothing more than whining and nit-picking about what Enterprise "isn't." The concept of this show has apparently flown past your heads at warp 4.5! This isn't Trek as we know it! That is the point, the traditional Trek was a tired dog that was on it's last leg. The idea here is to do something new, something different that we weren't ready for. Stop analyzing what it should be, what it could be, and what it has already done wrong.

For those of you who haven't yet seen it, I'm telling you that it is fantastic; it's thrilling, touching, funny, adventurous, and as interesting and curious as the original series. But, when you watch it, go in with ABSOLUTELY no preconceived notions of what Trek is or what it should be. Berman and Braga have done exactly what they have set out to do and that is to reinvent Trek.

And for those of you who apparently had to bite your lip through this, where the heck is YOUR sense of adventure. We are seeing the BEGINNING of Star Trek! This is a dream come true! I mean come on guys, we got to witness the FIRST time they ever see a Klingon!! How cool is that. If you would stop trying, endlessly to find something to complain about, you would find yourself enjoying little things like finding out where Kirk's famous speech "Space, the final frontier..." actually came from, or seeing how afraid they are of the transporters. How you can not be slightly giddy seeing Jonathan Archer pick up a "Phase Pistol" and ask, "What's this?" These are the nuggets that you are letting slip by because you have this notion that you know what is best for Star Trek. I have loved all the series'( though Voyager is by far my least favorite) but it was time for something new.

One last beef with the fans, lay off the theme song. I think its wonderful. This is another one of those preconceived notions we have of what Trek is supposed to be. Yes, it is different than what we are used to, but if you stop judging and actually watch the images being shown and actually LISTEN to the words, you may find it slightly inspiring. Not to mention the fact that it is actually a very pretty song, that is, when you haven't already canned it because of being close minded.

This series is not about the continuation of Star Trek, it is about the beginning of mankind's exploration into deep space; this is why it isn't called Star Trek: Enterprise, but instead it is just Enterprise. This is not the utopian society of past Trek shows. These people are flawed, curious, impulsive, and very far from perfect. They make many mistakes and that is their enduring charm. They want this so bad and are just learning how to swim. There are so many other things I loved, such as the grappler and the amazement of a pathetic warp 5, not to mention the fantastic cast and characters (Scott Bakula has always been a personal favorite of mine!,)but I just don't have room to go into detail.

So on that note, stop shooting them down before they get going; I have a feeling its going to be one Hell of a ride! Let's Go!