Enterprising
I'm in a confessional mood lately, and it's time to come clean yet again.
I'm really enjoying Enterprise on UPN this season. The theme song is tackier than ever, but in just about every other regard, they've improved the series dramatically. Archer has grown a huge set of balls, T'Pol (sp?) looks like a Vulcan now, and there's a solid, ongoing plot that has a definite arc to it rather than seemingly dragging on forever. It definitely has more of the classic Star Trek feel to it compared to any of the other "new" series. It has joined Smallville and Frasier on my very short list of new shows that I can be bothered to watch - a list which is going to shrink by one on Thursday, sadly.
Here's to hoping Enterprise makes a return next season, now that it's finally become really good. :-)
Comments
The only two network shows I watch each week are Smallville and Angel. I mainly watch Smallville since it's comic book related and Kristin Kreuk (for looks, not necessarily for the character...). I watch Angel because, well, I love Joss Whedon's shows. Sharp wit, good story lines (mostly) and good acting. Big fan of the Buffy-verse (hot chicks who kick butt and wear tight clothing...) I hate Fox because they killed Firefly just when I was getting into it. The Firefly DVD set added salt to the wound.
Posted by: a2daj | May 11, 2004 06:45 AM
Muted agreement from me. Used to be that even a decent Enterprise episode could be spoiled by an ill-conceived closing scene (example: the Borg episode, they just HAD to end with the signal-that-will-summon-reinforcements-in-200-years gag.) Current season is far less obvious. Could do without the drug addiction subplot, only because watching a tv character in pain or withdrawal is very difficult to pull off convincingly for most shows/actors. Still, overall a big improvement, IMO.
Posted by: Matt Diamond | May 11, 2004 07:20 AM
Yes, Enterprise is definietely getting better, although the last Episode I saw (Damage) was a huge letdown compared to Asati Prime, with that cliffhanger... And still better than the first couple of seasons of Voyager - Archer is a decision maker not a hassler like Janeway...
Posted by: dekay | May 12, 2004 04:29 AM
Have to add that I just watched the E2 episode last night. (No spoilers here.) It should have been a disaster- it had elements from MANY previous Star Trek episodes in it. From the ads it felt like a filler story as we approach the season's end. I was dreading it, frankly. But it turned out great. Archer and T'Pol even manage a nice non-verbal reaction near the end where last season the writers would have tried to sum everything up with some Big Ponderous Dialogue.
Posted by: Matt Diamond | May 12, 2004 08:08 AM
I have been watching Enterprise, but now I can't anymore. The local UPN station just stopped airing second showings on Saturday nights, and I'm not home on Wednesday nights. VCR integration with digital cable has always been spotty, and I don't trust it to work. So I've been trying to get the last few shows off Limewire, without success so far..
Posted by: Alphax | May 12, 2004 12:40 PM
The thing I appreciated about the "E2" episode was that the writers took the Austin Powers approach to time travel and wrote something that made for a good story rather than try and riddle out the paradoxes involved. With all the liberties they've taken with time travel already on the show, it's much easier for me to just accept things as they come rather than try and sort them out.
As dekay mentioned, the Azati Prime episode was excellent too. They've been able to pack cinema-level drama and action into the most recent episodes. IMHO, they make the recent Star Trek movies look pale by comparison.
The major downside to this, again IMHO, is that it's hard to skip a week or two and then come back to Enterprise. It's the same sort of "soap opera" effect you had with Farscape, Babylon 5 and the Buffy stuff. The ongoing storyline makes for a much stronger whole, but each episode by itself tends to isolate viewers who have missed the previous ones.
Posted by: Brad Oliver | May 12, 2004 01:10 PM
It was just confirmed recently (last week I think) that Enterprise will be returning next year.
"UPN released its fall schedule earlier today (Thursday), Star Trek Enterprise was listed as part of the replacement for the network's low-rated Friday Night Movie."
Posted by: Brian | May 28, 2004 02:52 PM