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Trekkie Torture

image by Veronica V. Jones

Enterprise Warps into the Sunset

Scott Bakula
Jolene Blalock
Connor Trinneer
Dominic Keating
Linda Park
Anthony Montgomery

We really tried to watch Enterprise. We were right there when it started, and hung on for as long as we could. In spite of a largely excellent cast, it just seemed to be another rehash of Voyager, with a little First Contact retro thrown in. Then there was T’Pol.

In anime, there’s a concept called ‘fan service’, where the creators flash a little cleavage — a little pantie now and again, just to keep the viewer’s attention. While fan service has always been a part of Star Trek, T’Pol seems to have been tailor-made for fanboy titillation. Now, I’m certainly not blaming Jolene Blalock for the death of Enterprise, but as she’s implied herself, her character is a shining example of the dumbing down and sexing up of Trek.

I suppose that’s my biggest problem with Enterprise. Every time I caught all or even part of an episode, is just seemed as if I was beyond their core 14-21 year old core demographic. The technobabble was still there, but there were no challenges that couldn’t be solved by a phaser or a kiss. Is that all the producers remember from the good ol’ days of Trek?

Rick Berman has opined that Star Trek is played out. If he needs to know the real reason Trek is suffering from “franchise fatigue”, he need only look in a mirror.

Written by in February of 2005. Last edited June 2015.

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  • guy partin - January 15th, 2008 at 10:29 am

    rick berman is not the only culprit – majel barret-roddenberry is at the heart of the heartlessness

  • Jeff - January 16th, 2008 at 12:15 pm

    I’m glad she’s keeping Gene’s influence alive in the Trek universe, but perhaps she’s not letting it grow? I don’t follow the back room deals closely enough know, but I’ve always thought DS9 was a better series for breaking a few of Mr. Roddenberry’s rules.

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