Thursday, March 16, 2017

#TBT Star Trek: Enterprise Review

First watched in: 2016

Star Trek Enterprise aired in the early 2000’s and takes place before the time of Captain Kirk. I actually enjoyed this concept, from the realistic nature of growing up in a world slowly exploring the universe to the absence of the traditional Star Trek things like transporters. A lot of the show felt comfortable and familiar, and seemed like a logical look into the future. Yes, if we could travel in space sometime in this century, this is what it could look like. This is what we would wear, this is what we would eat. It has a different feel than the 90’s shows, which makes sense since this is a different era in the history of the Federation (well, technically, it’s even before the Federation). That doesn’t mean it’s bad.

My main quip I had with the show was some of the storylines. I did notice that there were plots similar to stories found in DS9 and Voyager, like the crew having to be put asleep while the non-affected life forms could run the ship. I’m sure, though, that at this point in the life of Star Trek there’s only so many plots. I was more interested in the characters and the overall story of the show, not the individual episodes.

As always, the characters are an interesting assortment, pretty diverse in a typical Star Trek way. There are less main characters than a regular Star Trek series, and their jobs are slightly different. The only aliens are a Vulcan and a new species, a Denobulan, who is a somewhat cuddly, very bubbly change of pace. Everyone else is a human, but that fact that they are from a near future makes them feel familiar.

If you’ve seen the other shows, you will enjoy a lot of the little nods to things that are being developed. This show also explains things that were previously unexplained in the other series, like why the Klingons in TOS looked like they did when they looked so much different in later series. Whether or not you feel like you need that explanation is up to you.

Since I have not seen TOS and have no loyalty to Kirk, when asked “who’s the best captain” in some ways I think you could answer with Archer, captain of the original Enterprise. He did many things that Kirk and Picard and Sisko and Janeway did, except without most of the technology and knowledge the members of the galaxy are equipped with during the time of the other series. You have to give him credit for that. Overall, this show is enjoyable if you keep an open mind about it.


Would I watch again? Maybe

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