Despite early skepticism among Star Trek fans, the debut season of Enterprise exceeded expectations, even though subsequent seasons did not. Star Trek: Voyager had ended its seven-season run just four months earlier, and fans balked when Enterprise premiered (Sept. 26, 2001, on UPN) with a theme ballad ("Where My Heart Will Take Me," composed by Diane Warren and performed by Russell Watson) that defied the franchise's revered theme-music tradition. This and other early reservations were dispelled when "Broken Bow" got the series off to a satisfying start, circa 2151, establishing a pre-Federation focus on humanity's delicate relationship with the Vulcans, charting the controversial launch of the first Enterprise on an exploratory mission, and exploring the potentially devastating consequences of the mysterious Temporal Cold War, involving a time-traveling splinter group of the nomadic alien race Suliban. While setting up a testy relationship between Capt. Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) and his smart-and-sexy Vulcan Subcommander, T'Pol (Jolene Blalock), the series introduced engineer "Trip" Tucker (Connor Trinneer), communications officer Hoshi Sato (Linda Park), helmsman Travis Mayweather (Anthony Montgomery), weapons expert Lt. Malcolm Reed (Dominic Keating), and chief surgeon Dr. Phlox (John Billingsley), a well-mannered "Denobulan" recruit from Earth's Interspecies Medical Exchange. As a "prequel" series that predates the original Star Trek by 100 years, Enterprise built upon established Star Trek lore with episodes involving Vulcans ("Breaking the Ice"), Klingons ("Sleeping Dogs"), the blue-skinned Andorians ("The Andorian Incident," "Shadows of P'Jem"), and the Ferengi ("Acquisition"), while also offering standalone episodes (notably "Dear Doctor," "Fortunate Son," and "Shuttlepod One") that further acquainted fans with the regular cast. Ending with a dazzling "Shock Wave" cliffhanger that leaves Archer stranded in a decimated Temporal Cold War future, Enterprise set a strong foundation for the events of the second season, but ultimately the series could not attract enough viewers to survive past four ratings-challenged seasons. Boasting the usual fan-friendly abundance of bonus features (cast profiles, text and audio commentary, behind-the-scenes featurettes, etc.), this pricey DVD set is recommended for those collecting all things Trek, but optional for others. (J. Shannon)
Star Trek: Enterprise--The Complete First Season
Paramount, 7 discs, 1,157 min., not rated, DVD: $139.99 July 11, 2005
Star Trek: Enterprise--The Complete First Season
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