Sci-Fi
May 13th, 2005, 03:32 AM
From Pioneer Press:
Time to take off (http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/entertainment/11632145.htm)
BY JULIO OJEDA-ZAPATA
Fri, May. 13, 2005
Pioneer Press
'Star Trek' TV shows hit bottom with four seasons of 'Enterprise'
"Star Trek" TV shows since the "Next Generation" heyday in the early 1990s always ended with a bang. So it's a shame "Star Trek: Enterprise," the franchise's final series for the foreseeable future, closes tonight with a whimper.
Consider:
In the "Next Generation" finale, a retired Jean-Luc Picard moves back and forth through time to prevent himself from destroying humanity. "Deep Space Nine" gives us the epic final confrontation between our Federation heroes and the evil Dominion. In "Voyager," not one but two Kathryn Janeways stage an even-more-epic battle with the sinister Borg queen and her cyborg minions.
So what does "Enterprise" have in store? An alarmingly pudgy Jonathan Frakes and an aging Marina Sirtis reprise their "Next Generation" roles as Commander Riker — what, he's still not in command of his own starship? — and Counselor Troi on their "Enterprise," using the holodeck to recreate historic events on the older "Enterprise."
Those events are lacking in the epic department. Capt. Jonathan Archer tries to rescue an Andorian hostage. A beloved character dies in a too-mundane way. And, yes, we get to see the Federation's dawning, but that looks and feels like an Xcel Energy Center hockey match instead of, say, the United Nations' founding after World War II.
Truth be told, "Star Trek" has never really clicked since Picard's glory days. "Deep Space Nine" was one big "Risk" board game, and "Voyager" could have handled its stranded-humans-struggling-to-survive premise a bit better.
With four often-unwatchable seasons of "Enterprise" — breaking a seven-season tradition — the hallowed "Star Trek" hit bottom. Remember that lame "temporal cold war" during the first two seasons? Talk about a yawner.
Oh, "Enterprise" did have its moments. A third-season-long plotline with Earth in mortal peril proved engaging — especially when Earth was destroyed in a what-if episode. We liked the Wild West episode with Starfleet personnel in O.K. Corral-like gunfights, and a recent detour into the evil-human universe was a keeper.
But "Star Trek" has overstayed its welcome. So, relish tonight's final scene depicting three versions of the starship "Enterprise," Trekkers.
Then, put away those phasers and set your TiVos to record the new "Battlestar Galactica." Now, that show handles the stranded-humans-struggling-to-survive premise much better.
Time to take off (http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/entertainment/11632145.htm)
BY JULIO OJEDA-ZAPATA
Fri, May. 13, 2005
Pioneer Press
'Star Trek' TV shows hit bottom with four seasons of 'Enterprise'
"Star Trek" TV shows since the "Next Generation" heyday in the early 1990s always ended with a bang. So it's a shame "Star Trek: Enterprise," the franchise's final series for the foreseeable future, closes tonight with a whimper.
Consider:
In the "Next Generation" finale, a retired Jean-Luc Picard moves back and forth through time to prevent himself from destroying humanity. "Deep Space Nine" gives us the epic final confrontation between our Federation heroes and the evil Dominion. In "Voyager," not one but two Kathryn Janeways stage an even-more-epic battle with the sinister Borg queen and her cyborg minions.
So what does "Enterprise" have in store? An alarmingly pudgy Jonathan Frakes and an aging Marina Sirtis reprise their "Next Generation" roles as Commander Riker — what, he's still not in command of his own starship? — and Counselor Troi on their "Enterprise," using the holodeck to recreate historic events on the older "Enterprise."
Those events are lacking in the epic department. Capt. Jonathan Archer tries to rescue an Andorian hostage. A beloved character dies in a too-mundane way. And, yes, we get to see the Federation's dawning, but that looks and feels like an Xcel Energy Center hockey match instead of, say, the United Nations' founding after World War II.
Truth be told, "Star Trek" has never really clicked since Picard's glory days. "Deep Space Nine" was one big "Risk" board game, and "Voyager" could have handled its stranded-humans-struggling-to-survive premise a bit better.
With four often-unwatchable seasons of "Enterprise" — breaking a seven-season tradition — the hallowed "Star Trek" hit bottom. Remember that lame "temporal cold war" during the first two seasons? Talk about a yawner.
Oh, "Enterprise" did have its moments. A third-season-long plotline with Earth in mortal peril proved engaging — especially when Earth was destroyed in a what-if episode. We liked the Wild West episode with Starfleet personnel in O.K. Corral-like gunfights, and a recent detour into the evil-human universe was a keeper.
But "Star Trek" has overstayed its welcome. So, relish tonight's final scene depicting three versions of the starship "Enterprise," Trekkers.
Then, put away those phasers and set your TiVos to record the new "Battlestar Galactica." Now, that show handles the stranded-humans-struggling-to-survive premise much better.