Star Trek Enterprise: A review by Warren Bull

Star Trek Enterprise: A review by Warren Bull

Image from wikimediacommons

When I reviewed Picard some time ago, I did not intend to write about other shows that sprang from the short-lived and underappreciated television series

Star Trek, which survived briefly in the late 1960s. However, one spark can start a conflagration and I found myself becoming interested in the outpouring of works that followed a humble, less than successful beginning.

Star Trek has to be the most successful failed television series in history. The ratings of the first season were low enough that the show was on the verge of cancellation.  After the second season only an extensive letter-writing campaign saved the show for its third and final year.   It was produced by Desilu Productions and Lucille Ball went against her Board of Directors to keep it going

Since then there have been eight more series, most lasting longer than the original. By now, 774 episodes have run over 35 seasons. Ten movies, hundreds of novels and hundreds more comics, short stories, and works of fan fiction exist.

         In the timeline of the Star Trek universe, Star Trek Enterprise recounts the adventures of the first foray into space by humanity. In this version, the sponsoring race/species, Vulcans, are not at all certain that humans are mature enough to face the dilemmas that accompany interactions with other species. Humans face what my singing teacher refers to as the FFT (Freaking First Time) experience.

         Humans are, of course, ignorant and naïve about other space travelers. Their craft is slower and less well-armed than many of the aggressive people already out there. Some groups have the viewpoint of warriors whose values include dying gloriously in battle. Other have a chameleon-like ability to take on the appearance of other races.  The races have complex histories with one another, shifting alliances and rivalries, with varying interests in what the newcomers can do for, with or against them.

         One difficult lesson comes when humans find themselves in the same role Vulcans played in human history. Vulcans supported at times and slowed at other times the development of space travel when human beings were on the verge of interstellar journeys. When encountering species with promise and problems, how much assistance, if any, should the crew supply? When there are conflicts among the peoples on isolated worlds, which groups, again if any, would it be proper to help at the expense of their rivals?

         Vulcans developed a strict rule of non-intervention, allowing civilization to flourish or flounder on their own without cultural “contamination” by extraterrestrials. It is hard to restrain from helping, but when the long-term consequences of action are unknown, who can separate what would be helpful from what would be harmful? Either alternative is emotionally painful. The captain makes different choices resulting in varying outcomes, which I appreciated. Sometimes there are no good choices,

         As with other series, I have questions about the amazing ability of the starship to withstand serious pounding and damage from attack, episode after episode. Is there an interstellar “dry dock” somewhere?  In this series I wonder how Captain Jonathon Archer, played by actor Scott Bakula, avoided getting killed by the unending beatings his character endured. He was like a space-going Reacher who didn’t kill. And why, oh why, with all the technology does no space engineer invent seatbelts?

         The writing and acting are uneven. Bakula is not a trained Shakespearian actor, but he is a solid performer. I admire his work in several television series. The scripts are generally less memorable than in other series, but I liked the unexpected bits of humor.  This is often the least popular of the subgenre, but I found plenty to like and enjoy.