ENTERPRISE : Vegitarians...in...space!

[Flangepart]

Maby this a bit OT. But, haveing watched my tape of ENTERPRISE, i have some pulses, some quibbles...and one big load of P.C.B.S. to speak of! First off,i liked the cast, the hero (Could it have been too much for the capt. first words to have been "Oh Boy!"), the theme music, and the FX. The Quibbles: Is this version of the Big E cool to you guys? ah,i donno... i'm not big on the Akira class hull,myself....and the idea of this early an intro to the Klingons. It don't feel right, for some reason. And...man...who knew the Vulcans were so anal retentive!? Chill, dudes! and that brings me to my big P.C.B.S.....Should i post a Spoiler Alert here? well, i don't know....but, here goes.at The Captains dinner....T'pol accuses the humans of being socialy inferior, and what does she use as proof? She refers to the humans as "Agressive Meateaters". WELL,EXCUSE....ME! Is this hypocritical seeming to you? She accusies us of being culturaly narrowminded...by Being culturaly narrowminded! Hey, they fed her veggies, what more does she want! This Modern American new age Hollywood stuff realy gets my Mutant 6-legged goat. Why, oh why, does it have to vegitarinisim that is so important to being concitered an enlightened space going culture? Do the Vulcans try that crap with the Klingons,... or does the old Joke about "Why do P.E.T.A types always pick on old ladies in furs rather then Hells Angles" spring to mind? Am i the only one here tired of this? Do they do that on FARSCAPE? I think not! Grumble,grumble,growl,growl.....any,way.....the show has some potential...but how they are going to set the table for Kirk and Co. we have yet to see. Sorry if i'm OT, Andrew....but some times ya' has ta' vent!  Oh, BTW....like the Dog. But then i've always been partial to Begles.  your friend in the "Vulcan: its whats for dinner" T-shirt, Flangepart!

[AndyC]

I've only been able to catch the first 45 minutes of one episode of Enterprise so far (busy schedule), and this might be premature, but I found it to be the most 'talky' of all the shows.

In an episode about finding a ship with a dead crew, it took 25 minutes to find the ship. It seemed, to me, like a more appropriate way to lead into the opening credits than into the commercial break at the halfway point. Then they did little more than sit around and debate the merits of running away over staying and investigating. I finally had to leave, but I don't imagine I missed much. Whatever finally happened couldn't have been worth sitting through the rest of the episode.

I know these sorts of moral and ethical struggles have been an important part of Star Trek from the beginning, but they were always presented as part of a story that was at least reasonably entertaining.

[Hairzilla]

 Ok, my comment about ENTERPRISE isn't regarding any plot point per se, but about how inconsistent the entire design of the show is, from the Enterprise itself all the way down to the uniforms, in comparison to every other 'Trek series ever made. Debates about this point are already well underway, and some reviews I've read are mistaking the issue as being about the use of better special effects technology to produce a slicker look, and citing the look of 'PHANTOM MENACE in comparison to the other SW films.  

But whereas 'MENACE pretty much got it right, with most of it's hardware and costumes logically looking like earlier variations of what was to come, ENTERPRISE does a complete departure and gives us a "first" Starfleet flagship that looks far more advanced to the one from the orginal series, and uniforms that  bear more of a basic resemblance to those of 'NEXT GEN' or VOYAGER than those worn in Kirk's era.

Logically, the "first" Enterprise should look like an earlier stage of the one in the original series, even at the risk of making it less visually appealing to today's audience, and the uniforms should have the feel of evolving into the ones worn on Kirk's ship as well. I mean, c'mon, the new ENTERPRISE suits don't even bear the Starfleet insignia!      

Being a 'NEXT GEN' fan, as well as appreciating VOYAGER during the first two or three seasons when it was actually interesting, ENTERPRISE just seems to me to be a desparate attempt to keep the franchise alive, and little more. At this point I'd have to agree with those who think that, until some real time and effort [i.e. solid writing] is spent on putting some life back into it, STAR TREK should just be allowed to rest in peace....Besides, with another major film with the 'NEXT GEN' cast already in the works [Quite likely their last from most accounts I've read.], and the potential for VOYAGER films, it's not like STAR TREK is gonna be forgotten any time soon!

....The upcoming 'TREK film is supposed to have THE  definitive opponent for Capt. Picard to go up against....Personally, I would've liked to have seen a film where Argus, the "skin of evil" who caused the death of Tasha Yar, somehow escapes the planet he's marooned on and stalks Capt. Picard and crew. THAT would, potentially, ROCK!  "Now this is a tale of an evil skin that's here for a long, long time..." [Uh, sorry. After watching that "Gilligan" movie last night I have it on the brain.]

[AndyC]

Yes, the uniforms did stand out, as well as the design of the ship.

For the crew of the first starship enterprise, they should have something based on present-day military uniforms, but with a Star Trek flavour.

[Flangepart]

Good points, Boys! Hate to say it, but it may be time to let TREK rest in peace. This thing of ignoring the "Future" is galling. I grew up on Trek! The costumes, the tight storytelling....yes,except for "Spock's Brain"...for one....and the relationships between the cast. I can't see this show leading to Kirk's ENTERPRISE. Jim Kirk was a leader, and i do see a bit of that In Jeff Archer...but, as for the stage setting for the Beginning (Kirk's time), i can't buy it. Have the times changed so much, that it's just not possable to gets a Trek show that feels right...or am i too old? (Sigh). Well, we'll see...but right now, i'm not too hopefull. ......still like the dog,though. Woof!

[JLW]

I don't know.  I think they did a decent job with the set design and the ship.  The technology generally looks bulkier and more primitive and the ship looks more cramped.  As far as the uniforms go, fashion can change quite a bit in just a few years.  I don't agree that the current uniforms have to look like they could evolve into the Kirk era uniforms.  Did the Next Gen uniforms look like they evolved from the Star Trek movie uniforms (the ones with the red jackets)?  Not at all.  

Something you have to consider is that special effects have come a looong way since the original series.  The set was made of cardboard back then, I think.  Naturally, the new series is going to look more slick and shiny.  If you compare Enterprise with the other series that have been produced the last ten years or so, it fits in better.

[Hairzilla]

 You make a good counterpoint about the uniforms JLW. If those featured in the STAR TREK movie series are to be thrown in for comparison as well, then I'd have to say that I agree with you, but only to a certain extent. It seemed to me that, after getting past the "dubious flirtation" [cheap Spock moment] with the horrid baby blue jumpsuits worn in the first 'TREK film, [I mean, good Lord, not even Kirk could get a babe while wearing that atrocity!] the direction taken with the uniforms, from THE WRATH OF KAHN through the final film to center around the original cast, became one that also reflected a gradual, logical evolution in appearance.

And while I also agree that the jacket uniforms of the movie series, and those seen from 'NEXT GEN' on look nothing alike, I do think that there is still a certain recognizable influence in overall design from one to the other, most notably in the jacket uniform occasionally worn by Capt. Picard which could, believably, have it's origins in the earlier design. [Unlike the outfits seen in ENTERPRISE which, for all intents and purposes, might as well be representing an entirely different organization.] Now, if we could just figure out why the Klingon's heads changed so drastically over the years...