Star Trek Enterprise (Season 1a)

--(7-12)

In the first few episodes of Enterprise, we get to know the crew and see how they begin to form relationships and test the boundaries of team. The stories themselves are largely just background. What we learn thus far is that earth has had warp technology for nearly 100 years but is just beginning to get out into space. Thus far the Vulkans have been a bit “overprotective” like cautious parents. In some ways they are simply helping humanity avoid a lot of dangerous “rookie” mistakes. But they also clearly want the humans to be more Vulkan-like before they will feel ready to let them enjoy their independence.

What we get story-wise are:

Broken Bow (1,2): A mission to return a Klingon back to his planet with important information about an alien/time traveler interference in a Klingon civil war. (The beginning of a recurring storyline involving Sulibans and a 27th Century Cabal.)

Fight or Flight (3): An encounter with a race that harvests humanoids for resources.

Strange New World (4): Exploration of an M class planet with apparent mysterious aliens and a crazy conspiracy. All courtesy of hallucinogenic pollen.

Unexpected (5): Helping another species out allows Tucker to explore new experiences, including a pregnancy of sorts.

Terra Nova (6): A mess of an episode. Ughh!

This early in, I am wondering if I am going to be able to handle the whole concept of the show. It is taking place over 100 years before TOS, about 150 years from now. The challenge there is that fans familiar with what has aired before can’t help but notice the show is much more advanced, in both Tech and complexity, than the original show. But it should provide for some interesting stories is handled right. Whereas TOS saw exploration along the lines of Magellan or Cook—exploring the unknown by means of expert use of known technology, here we have the danger of space itself. The Enterprise crew are also just getting to know space exploration.

The other big problem this early on is some of the acting, particularly with the Vulkan character, T’Pol. Her delivery is stilted. Also, there are some very clumsy attempts to turn her into a titillating diversion.