Star Trek Enterprise: The Complete Fourth Season

The final season of the last Star Trek spin-off is notable for the many nods to earlier spin-offs and the original series itself. Following the conclusion of the epic Xindi saga and the resolution of the third-season cliffhanger, Enterprise heads in other directions, finishing its last year with a succession of multi-episode story arcs that confront Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) and his intrepid crew with extraordinary challenges. Next Generation co-star Brent Spiner figures prominently in a trilogy of episodes built around the Augments, a small group of genetically-engineered humans that hijack a Klingon ship and threaten to precipitate the galaxy into a devastating conflict, while other arcs focus on a Vulcan civil war and the breaching of a “mirror universe.” Also threaded throughout the 22 episodes of season four is a not-totally-unexpected subplot devoted to the romance between Commanders T'Pol (Jolene Blaylock) and Tucker (Connor Trinneer). The series finale, “These Are the Voyages…”, incorporates Next Generation characters Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Troi (Marina Sirtis) into a uniquely satisfying end to the Star Trek saga. While some of the franchise's fans found aspects of Enterprise problematic, there's no denying that the series went out on a dignified note. As usual, this last installment comes loaded with a number of bonus features, including cast profiles, text and audio commentary, and behind-the-scenes featurettes. Recommended. (E. Hulse)[Blu-ray Review—May 6, 2014—Paramount, 6 discs, 1,009 min., not rated, $129.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 2004-2005's Star Trek: Enterprise—Season Four features an excellent transfer and a DTS-HD 5.1 soundtrack. Extras include audio and text commentaries on various episodes, the production documentaries “Before Her Time: Decommissioning Enterprise” (117 min.) and “In Conversation: Writing” (90 min.), the behind-the-scenes featurettes “Enterprise Moments” (17 min.), “Inside the Mirror Episodes” (16 min.), “Visual Effects Magic” (14 min.), “Enterprise Goes to the Dogs” (13 min.), “That's a Wrap” (9 min.), “Enterprise Secrets” (6 min.), “Links to the Legacy” (5 min.), “Westmore's Aliens: Creating Dr. Phlox and Beyond” (5 min.), and “NX-01 File 10” with fans (5 min.), deleted scenes (9 min.), outtakes (2 min.), a photo gallery, a script gallery, and trailers. Bottom line: the solid fourth season of this Star Trek franchise series makes a welcome Blu-ray debut.]