Enterprise: Premieres Tonight!

[Bird Boy]

8pm Eastern time..2-hour special..set your VCR's!I hope it doesn't suck..

So who else is gonna watch it? BTW- it's on UPN..but you already knew that..

-BB

[Mr. Obsession]

Enterprise! :)

I'll be sitting down in front of my TV at 8 pm Pacific (Hah! Take that Eastern Standard :p).


Just as long as they can keep this series a bit more consistent than Voyager I'll be very happy.

[The Mad Hatter]

I like the concept behind the show, so I'll happily give it a try.

[Maxie Zeus]

I tried "Voyager"; I guess I'll try anything.

[optimal321]

It sounds good and i'd love to see it. The problem is that i don't have a local UPN station.

[Kal-el]

I'll definitely be glued to my TV. I have thoroughly enjoyed all of the previous Trek series (with DS9 being my favorite). I am very excited to see the new concept and new direction. Just think, ST:X will be out within the next year and a half, so if this doesn't live up to expectations, at least we can look forward to that.
(I'll still watch Enterprise anyway...I really couldn't help myself)

[Calhoun07]

From what I have seen, I think this may be my most favorite Star Trek series since DS9. What a great way to spend an evening!

And is it just me or did this summer rocket by? Seems like a couple weeks ago I just watched the season finale of Voyager!

[Jowy Blight]

This sucks........

I don't have UPN.:(

[Trent Lane]

I gave it a shot, and the show was really pretty good. The new crew is alright, and I like the look of the interior of the ship. Hopefully it'll keep my intrest as it moves on....

BTW, what was the point of the "Vulcan Oil Down" toward the middle of the show? A way to get hard-core Trek fanboys excited? ;)

[I.R Joey]

The acting was kind of...ehhh at some points, and the charecters didn't really interest me that much. And it seemed to have some scenes that where shall we say gratuadis. I'll give it a chance though.

[Mr. Obsession]

I loved it, now I'm saying this because while I thought the Premiere was good, it can only get better (I hope :)). In my experience it's taken each of the previous Star Trek series about three seasons, more or less, to reach they're stride.

I've been looking forward to this all summer long and I wasn't disappointed. I love the concept: Everything outside of Earth's solar system is unexplored. No prime directive and other pesky rules. Humans not trusting the new technologies. No deus ex nanoprobes.

As for the whole temporal war story, I'm putting my money down now on the doctor being an agent from the future.


And yes the oil down was there for the sake of having an oil down.


I'm babbling. I really need to get some sleep.

[The Mad Hatter]

What the *bleep* is up with using 80s butt rock as the theme?

Other than that, I liked it. Scott Bakula needs to learn to sound more convincing when his character's in pain, but otherwise the acting is fine enough. And, as said before, the "feel" is neat... pretty much everything is new to these guys. This is something I'll be sticking with for a while.

Decontamination scene... hrrrrrrgle. Though for some strange reason, I've got the hots for that nervous translator gal.

"Tell that Klingon to shut up!"
"SHUT UP!!"

[Maxie Zeus]

I have a night class on Wednesdays and forgot to set the VCR (still not used to having TV again :D ). Will have to try harder next week.

Is Wednesday it's regular night, or only for the premiere?

[Calhoun07]

Wednesday will be regular. No sense in messing with a good thing, tho it will be on at 8, 7 central, instead of the 9, 8 central time slot Voyager held.

[DarkAngel]

Originally posted by Mr. Obsession
I loved it, now I'm saying this because while I thought the Premiere was good, it can only get better (I hope :)). In my experience it's taken each of the previous Star Trek series about three seasons, more or less, to reach they're stride.


I missed it, so hopefully they'll show it again over the weekend.

To be honest, I don't think Enterprise has that much time to hit stride. Given how bad Voyager was, and given that this is the 5th trek show, Enterprise is going to have to deliver quickly. Because if it doesn't, viewers aren't going to stick around. No one wants to waste time commiting to a series after Voyager. Unless Enterprise is **completely** different from past Trek, I won't be watching.

[Calhoun07]

Is this series locked in for seven years, also?

[Nightflower]

Originally posted by DarkAngel


I missed it, so hopefully they'll show it again over the weekend.

To be honest, I don't think Enterprise has that much time to hit stride. Given how bad Voyager was, and given that this is the 5th trek show, Enterprise is going to have to deliver quickly. Because if it doesn't, viewers aren't going to stick around. No one wants to waste time commiting to a series after Voyager. Unless Enterprise is **completely** different from past Trek, I won't be watching.

Yup, Enterprise is completely different. Different feel, widescreen, the people seem more like us, present us, than their twenty-third/fourth century counterparts. But I have my doubts....You can't just go back in time, especially with mediocre writing. It seemed pretty good though...even with gratuitous oil down scene (What was the point of that? and with a Vulcan?)

[Mr. Obsession]

Originally posted by calhoun07
Is this series locked in for seven years, also?
Well the plan is to do seven seasons worth of episodes just like every series since TNG. The only way it's going to be canceled is if it gets horrid ratings. Come on this is UPN we're talking about, they rarely cancel anything. :D

[Joker85]

The premier was awesome!! I loved Archer and T'Pol... actually I loved all the characters( which is rare in a trek series). Anyways, I think that it will be really good if they just change the music! That music was TERRIBLE!!!:mad: It was not Trek music AT ALL!! Oh I hated it. But like I said, other than the music, it was good.:)

[Calhoun07]

Originally posted by Joker85
Anyways, I think that it will be really good if they just change the music! That music was TERRIBLE!!!:mad: It was not Trek music AT ALL!! Oh I hated it. But like I said, other than the music, it was good.:)

Actually, I think the music was very appropriate. They are breaking away from the nomal Trek formula with this series, so the music must reflect that. Having another symphonic theme song would have been just too...blah. I would have hated that. If I did have one request, tho, it would be that they would do what they wanted to do on the Sopranos and use a different them song every week. TV neworks don't like that kind of thing, tho.

And, yes, it did look awesome! I hope we don't have to wait seven years for these episodes to come out on DVD!

[Joker85]

Originally posted by calhoun07


And, yes, it did look awesome! I hope we don't have to wait seven years for these episodes to come out on DVD!

I agree, although it will probably be a while since neither TNG or DS9 are out on DVD yet. But I am recording them so I'll have them all anyways!:)

[Calhoun07]

I have MOST of TNG on tape, ALL of DS9, but still would part with hard earned cash to own these on DVD. Oh, to see them all with out weather warnings, some episodes with commercials when I had no choice, times the station didn't come in at it's best.....

[DarkAngel]

Originally posted by Nightflower


But I have my doubts....You can't just go back in time, especially with mediocre writing. It seemed pretty good though...even with gratuitous oil down scene (What was the point of that? and with a Vulcan?)

And that's exactly what I'm talking about. Voyager was great in every way except writing, and that brought down the entire show. The widescreen, the music, time period, ship, costumes, technology....that's all superficial. The content, the writing...that's what's going to make or break the show.

The oil down scene, I'm assuming, involved T'Pol. The point? Showing off Jolene. Can't say I have a problem with that. But then, look at the way they had Seven garbed in Voyager. That certainly didn't help the ratings or the quality of the show.

[DarkAngel]

Originally posted by Mr. Obsession

Well the plan is to do seven seasons worth of episodes just like every series since TNG. The only way it's going to be canceled is if it gets horrid ratings. Come on this is UPN we're talking about, they rarely cancel anything. :D

Sure. But if the show turns out to be terrible, why would we want it. Voyager, honestly, probably should have been cancelled.

[Calhoun07]

Originally posted by DarkAngel


And that's exactly what I'm talking about. Voyager was great in every way except writing, and that brought down the entire show. The widescreen, the music, time period, ship, costumes, technology....that's all superficial. The content, the writing...that's what's going to make or break the show.

The oil down scene, I'm assuming, involved T'Pol. The point? Showing off Jolene. Can't say I have a problem with that. But then, look at the way they had Seven garbed in Voyager. That certainly didn't help the ratings or the quality of the show.

I think the writing in the premier episode was top notch. It really gives me hope for this series.

As for the oil down scene and Seven of Nine...yeah, those maybe didn't help the ratings, or quality, but did it hurt either of them? Of course, it's just like Deanna Troi's skimpy skin tight costume she was forced to wear in most of TNG, a blantant effort to get more men watching the show (as if they don't have a prodominent male audience already!). It really did hurt the show, I think, and I think she was a much better handled character after they put her in a real uniform. So perhaps It does hurt the quality of the show.

[Kylewayne]

Ahhhh! I missed it! And what I have read from your posts it was apparently good. When does the next episode air? and on which channel?

[Calhoun07]

Ohhh..not sure about Canadian airings, but I am sure you could find out from yahoo's TV listings or from tvguide.com in a matter of moments.

[The Mad Hatter]

The premiere is being shown again this Sunday. You've been warned. :)

[DarkAngel]

Originally posted by calhoun07


I think the writing in the premier episode was top notch. It really gives me hope for this series.


Well, I finally saw Enterprise. The premiere was on again over here and I liked what I saw. The "temporal cold war" aspect in particular has a lot of potential. And as some have already noted, the Archer-Trip-T'Pol relationship looks like it's going to be great. A lot of chemistry between the three, very reminiscent of Kirk-Spock-McCoy from TOS.

But, I'm not sure Enterprise was "completely" different as Berman and Braga have been saying. That's the way it needs to be, but there was still much that draws similarities with past Trek, which might be bad. I mean, the Klingons and their world looked so much like what we've seen in DS9 and TNG, the uniforms ultimately still bore resemblance to the ones worn in the past, the music, except from the title sequence, was no different, and by the end, they already had a last-minute beamup. First episode, and they've already beamed up an actual person.

Voyager's premiere, if you'll all remember, was excellent with a lot of great locations and a great premise. But, the writers pretty much threw that all away during the rest of its run. I'm afraid that Enterprise might fall into the same rut. With that transporter beam-up, it's actually already beginning.

Don't misunderstand me. I liked "Broken Bow" a lot. The uniforms that the Admiral's wore were pretty cool. It was great seeing the crew in more unformal attire at times. The casting for Archer, T'Pol, and Tucker was perfect. And as I said before, the temporal cold war has great, great potential for the future. I'm just afraid of the possibility of a Voyager repeat.

[Calhoun07]

I thought that about the transporter use at the end to, in the back of my mind. I mean, they made such a big deal to tell us that they were only going to use it for cargo in this series, then they pull that on us. I understand wanting us to see the first time it's used for a person, but so soon??? I didn't get why they made a big deal about it being used for only cargo if they are going to start using it for people in the first episode.

[DarkAngel]

Originally posted by calhoun07
I didn't get why they made a big deal about it being used for only cargo if they are going to start using it for people in the first episode.

Yeah. The thing is, it's so easy to say that everything's going to be new. What's tough is sticking to that. I'm sure they'll continue to bring up the fact that the crew is uncomfortable with using transporters. But having done it once with Archer coming away fine, there's really no reason at all for them to not use it for human transport.
Also, how long can they continue to have the translator fail before it seems unrealistic. Given the level they've reached, you'd figure they'd be able to fine tune their equipment soon. That includes the universal tranporter, the warp drive, and anything else that, at the moment, might still be giving trouble. I don't know that Enterprise is really going to be any different than past trek. The format seems exactly the same with each episode being a different adventure. Just like TNG, TOS, and VOY.

[The Mad Hatter]

A couple of co-workers of mine made the observation that the premiere might have dealt with too many technologies too soon. I mean, not only do we get the phasers working right, but we get people overcoming their fear of the transporter. Personally, I thought the whole transporter thing could have been something they could have drug out for a while to both humorous and dramatic effect. Also, while it was a lot of fun seeing them come to grips with the new tech... what's left for them to fumble around with?

[sun]

I liked it a lot...some interesting characters.. Compares with some of the good "Next Generations, and original STar Trek,,,,This ep was weritten by Berman, current MR. STar Trek....
IT had action, lots of it, some intregue, aliens, a little bit of everything. Some strong similiarities to previous series, some differences..Offers some great possibilites, but it might not have staying power....It is also hard to know how the team will jell as the series moves along....IT took "Next Generation" at least two years to jell, and then the eps became very special....The Vulcan is beautiful, but is that really necessary? I turned off Voyager when they brought on the Borg lady....Did she really have to look like some sort of sex goddess? I had watched every origingal, and every "Next Generation" Must a beatutiful woman, that looks like, that have to be on? I raise that question to all....Counselor Troy, was beautiful "facinating" individual, and she did not look like that. Lots of interesting aspects to her. The borg lady eventally got some good stories(I read) but Berman's need to include her in those tight outfits, was insultuing to some of us...Of Course she looked great, as did the Vulcan here..but is a great looking woman really important to a great series?

[Maxie Zeus]

Originally posted by oldtoonguy
but is a great looking woman really important to a great series?

From "Sullivan's Travels" (approximately):

Movie Director: "I want to tell a story about the human drama of people working and striving to realize their dreams, and sharing their lives with all around them and being touched by the conflicts and emotions that we all suffer!"

Movie Producer: "With a sex angle."

Movie Director: "Yes, with a sex angle."

[sun]

Originally posted by Maxie Zeus


From "Sullivan's Travels" (approximately):

Movie Director: "I want to tell a story about the human drama of people working and striving to realize their dreams, and sharing their lives with all around them and being touched by the conflicts and emotions that we all suffer!"

Movie Producer: "With a sex angle."

Movie Director: "Yes, with a sex angle."

I guess you got a point....oldtoonguy

[Nightflower]

Well, to be fair, Counselor Troi had quite a few outfits that, well, had a neckline that plunged more than the regulation uniform ;) And hey.....they introduced Borg lady...WHAM! Ratings increased a lot. Coincidence?

[Maxie Zeus]

Originally posted by Nightflower
Well, to be fair, Counselor Troi had quite a few outfits that, well, had a neckline that plunged more than the regulation uniform ;) And hey.....they introduced Borg lady...WHAM! Ratings increased a lot. Coincidence?

Ah, yes. Counselor Troi. A.k.a. "Counselor Cleavage, The Tricorder That Cries."

Face it, it's a horny-guy thing they're catering to. Obviously there is no other possible explanation. When those adolescent Borg males showed up (one of the few Voyager eps I caught) did they put them in clothes that were nearly as, uh, form-fitting?

[Calhoun07]

Originally posted by Nightflower
Well, to be fair, Counselor Troi had quite a few outfits that, well, had a neckline that plunged more than the regulation uniform ;) And hey.....they introduced Borg lady...WHAM! Ratings increased a lot. Coincidence?

I am sure alot had to do with the Borg Queen being a very popular character in First Contact, the best Trek movie, btw

[sun]

Originally posted by Nightflower
Well, to be fair, Counselor Troi had quite a few outfits that, well, had a neckline that plunged more than the regulation uniform ;) And hey.....they introduced Borg lady...WHAM! Ratings increased a lot. Coincidence?

Yes, Troi had some plunging outfits, but not all...When I first saw the Borg lady, she had skin tight outfits, with all areas accented....I gave up watching shortly thereafter...I assume her character became more complicated and involved with many more areas, but that is why she was brought on...And yes, ratings went up, but good science fiction (in my opinion) is not skin tight outfits..

[Maxie Zeus]

Well, I watched about a third of "Enterprise" last night. I came into it about half-way thru, and missed more while channel-surfing during the commercials. I really can't judge it.

Except for that Vulcan oil-down scene. What was the point of that? To focus entirely and gratuitously on naked body parts, obviously. The dialogue had nothing to do with whatever procedure they were following. Now, normally when a character is otherwise occupied, the camera will simply rest on them in medium shot. E.g., if a character is cooking breakfast you'll see them from the waist up frying eggs or pouring cereal, but you won't get close insert shots of the meal itself unless it is an important plot point.

But in "Enterprise" the camera kept cutting to closeups of fingers dipping close to "forbidden" regions, clearly with the intention of making us focus on that to the exclusion of all else; it was the director and editor telling us, "What they're saying isn't important, don't focus on it. Just look at their half-naked bodies, that's what's important here." Mute the TV at that point, and you'd swear you were watching some kind of sex play.

Yes, Star Trek has always had this "thing" for women in revealing costumes (Uhura's miniskirts, anyone?) (And I'm the last to complain about sexy characters.) But this feels like it crossed a line.

[sun]

Would a true sci fi show, make it without all this? Some of the best original Star Trek Shows, concerned themselves with peace and war, hopelessness, the power to transform to something else, what is intelligence (The story of the Horta comes to mind) etc.
I really don't know if they have to have a sexy woman on to carry ratings. Because ultimately, ratings will make a show, or forget it forever...no matter how great it was...Star Trek itself, never got above half, and the last season it was rated close to last...Only with syndication, did many realize what a great show it was......Paramont, had no faith in it, ever, till Star Wars appeared, then, they started talking about reviving it, at first, a new series of network shows, then, and only then, a full lenghth movie.....
Speilberg lent his energy to Tiny Toons,((read his forward to Chuck Jone's book, he loves toons) which eventually lead to BATS, and Animaniacs. Without him, and th e success of Tiny Toons, no BATS, no this board.. It is kinda off the subject, but ultimately, some great shows, that have interresting characters, have prevailed. ..Maybe Paramont, or UPN--who owns it now? anyway? have no real faith in "Enterprise" comments?

[Nightflower]

I agree, Maxie, the oil down scene seemed really tacked on, and out of place. Sure, Star Trek always slips things like that in now and then, but this was REALLY obvious. The scene totally did not fit with what the two characters were saying...if anyone was paying attention to them :p

[Calhoun07]

Sex sells. That is a point Roddenberry knew back in the 60's when he put Checkov on the bridge, cuz he looked like a Monkee, and figured he would appeal to the female viewers. And the point was made about Uhura's mini skirts, and don't forget those buckawow babes that played Kirk's flirt interests on the bridge!

With each new version of Star Trek, it seems, the creators of the show turn up the knob a bit on the sex factor in the series. I recal when they had a bedroom scene on TNG that was heavilly debated before they aired it. And I know with this Enterprise series, they plan on turning that sex factor knob another notch up.

Can you have good sci fi without it? Of course you can. Movies like Silent Running and Logan's Run and come to mind as good sci fi flicks that didn't rely on skin to titilate it's audience. But I also don't see anything wrong with it. It gives fans something to talk about around the water cooler the next day, and it's not hurting anything either.

[DarkAngel]

Originally posted by calhoun07
Sex sells.

Exactly. It's really not the big deal everyone's making it out to be. Someone mentioned Uhura's mini-skirt. Really think about that. That's not something minor. As far as skirts go, you can't go much shorter. It's been there since the beginning. In T'Pol's case, I think they've did a perfect job of casting. She looks good, but that actually didn't register as much as the strength of the character. I do believe she'll give us the best vulcan since Spock, as she was excellent in all her scenes. There was definite chemistry between her character, Archer, and Trip.

To me, the sex aspect wasn't the problem. Rather, it was the lack of anything truly new.

[sun]

Her acting and presentation was good, and that is an interesting character, she plays , sex does sell, .. a movie" Some Like It Hot" with M. Monroe, actually was one of the funniest movies, I've ever seen....I guess it will depend on how it is handled...no pun intended...of course......

[oranthal]

while First Contact was one of the best ST movies, having a borg queen is really inconsistent with the idea of the borg. the movie portrays her as the borg's leader. one could argue that she is the embodiment of borg's voice and mind that is hardly convincing.

i think they only made the borg queen was because they needed a central "bad guy" in the movie that could be seen instead just an echoing voice saying "resistance is futile" or other classic borg lines that they have. i could understand that but why did they have to have a borg queen in "voyager?"



Originally posted by calhoun07


I am sure alot had to do with the Borg Queen being a very popular character in First Contact, the best Trek movie, btw

[DarkAngel]

Originally posted by oranthal
i think they only made the borg queen was because they needed a central "bad guy" in the movie that could be seen instead just an echoing voice saying "resistance is futile" or other classic borg lines that they have. i could understand that but why did they have to have a borg queen in "voyager?"


You're exactly right about why the Queen was present in STFC. The Queen was in Voyager, because the Voyager writers were to idiotic to realize that.

There's actually nothing wrong with the concept of the Queen. She's truly not a leader, but the one that holds together the massive collective of minds. Her only reason for revealing herself in STFC was to get the code from Data in order to unlock the computer system. She never appeared when the Borg hailed the Federation fleet ordering them to stand down for assimilation. She never showed herself to the other crew members as they fought the Borg in the past. But in Voyager, the writers mistakenly made her the focus everytime the Borg were seen. Every move the Borg made was seen entirely from her point of view. It was never like that in STFC. It's incredible how the writers couldn't see that. They ruined possibly the best villains in Trek.