Home

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.

Related Features

Kickin’ It Old School with Samurai Champloo

Jin, Fuu, and Mugen Jin, the cold fish. Fuu, the delicate flower. Mugen, the proud rooster.

The Doctor is In… and Out!

Christoper Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor Billie Piper as the Doctor's companion Rose.

Up Close and Personal with the Walking Dead

Andrew Lincoln as Deputy Rick Grimes walks down the road carrying a lot of weapons and a gas can. A man in silhouette wanders down a hospital corridor in shambles.

Doctor Who’s Cheerful Christmas Carol

The Doctor (Matt Smith) and a child stand in the snow. Kazran Sardick (Michael Gambon) and Abigail (Katherine Jenkins) stand in the snow. Poor Amy Pond being attacked by lens flares on the shiny bridge of a doomed starliner.

The Yin and Yang of a Modern Fairytale

Silas Weir Mitchell as Eddie Monroe and David Giuntoli as Nick Burkhardt. Jared Gilmore as Henry Mills and Jennifer Morrison as Emma Swan.

Comments

  • 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.