|
| Foocha! is a non-profit Web site. We do it for kicks, not for cash. If you're interested in writing for the site, click here |
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
| TV,
jerry carpenter,
02:00:00,
08 October 2001 |
Rating: F3
|
|
| |
| |
|
Hooray for everyone, its another new Star Trek show from the franchise that set The Shatner loose on the world. But good god, pour yourself a strong drink to weather the first few minutes of ‘Enterprise’, the two hour series opener. Is it because it’s full of sex, violence and naughty swear-words? I wish, because Sci-fi tv does need more sex and cussing, but actually the reason most peoples eye will be bugging out will be because this ‘hot new updating of the Star Trek phenomenon’ starts off with a SONG with WORDS in the titles. Not just any sort of song, but a ROCK SONG !!! A really balls-to-the-walls-curtis-steigers-stylee rock ballad. Awful. And yet fantastic because, well I like hooting derisively at TV shows, it’s my ‘bag’.
So the first fifteen minutes of the show is a blur because it took a while to get over that song, but then things start kicking in. It’s set before the original series, when starfleet is in it’s infancy, and us humans are only really mates with the Vulcans, and we’re just getting used to laser guns and other sci-fi stuff. The Enterprise is the first proper warp drive capability ship in the fleet, and its first mission is to take one of those nutty Klingon fellows back to his planet. On the way the crew get into a spat with a bunch of blotchy faced aliens who are big-time into evolving themselves, so they get to morph, climb walls, and other fun stuff. Behind these guys is a shady figure who delivers evil orders from the future – he’s a bit weird, kind of like the head baddie from ‘Battle of the planets’, so that’s a good thing eh?
But what about the crew, surely the important factor behind these shows, are they just another collection of composites drawn from together from all the other Star Trek shows? Well yes, there’s a rugged captain, a stoic Vulcan science officer, a fiery second in command, an eccentric alien doctor - all the usual suspects, but they’re all pretty well performed, especially Scott Bakula who could be the first ever laid back Star Trek captain. The surprise addition is a cute doggie, which is great because pets in space is the way forward of course.
There’s been a lot of effort put into this (beyond the Rock music and cute doggies) to plough a new path, and it’s good news. The technology looks dirtier round the edges, the uniforms look practical for the first time, and the unsureness with which the crew go about things keeps it more edgy than previous shows. Theres still loads of impenetrable techno-babble, but hopefully it won’t be this that drives the plots in later episodes, as it doesn’t seem to here. It’s also a lot faster paced than any previous Trek pilots, and gets straight in there with the punch-ups and zipping around firing lasers. It’s never really been possible to judge any Trek show from it’s pilot, but there’s lots of indication here that this one will run it’s years just as smoothly as its previous incarnations. Even with that ROCK SONG !!
starring Scott Bakula
Top Home |
|
|
|
|
