Just finished watching the pilot episode of “Enterprise,” the new prequel Star Trek series, set 100 years before William Shatner’s Kirk shagged every green-skinned girl in the galaxy. It was quite good – small cast, creepy new villains, and a great choice of Scott Bakula as Capt. Jonathan Archer. I must admit that I loved the opening credit sequence – a montage of exploration images, leading up to a one-second shot of the new Enterprise ship blasting into warp. No dreamy spacescapes and gleaming ships gliding through wispy nebulas, just robust human history leading up to one historic moment.
Cool.
I think it’s fantastic that this franchise has finally gotten back to the wonder, the newness of exploration. You can see that excitement on the faces of the cast – imagine being on the crew of the first interstellar spaceship! It was also extremely cool to see James Cromwell’s Zefram Cochrane give the “go where no man has gone before” speech for the first time. I think beyond the boundaries of any syndicated sci-fi series, this culture needs more of that spirit of reaching out to something new, something outside ourselves. I know I’ll be watching.
waah! i’m jealous! we have to wait to see it. nobodytellmewhathappensnobodytellmewhathappens!
but I’m glad you think it’s cool, Adam. I trust your opinion so I’ll be watching avidly when it gets here.
It’s on my watch list. I won’t be running over any old ladies in crosswalks hurrying home to see it, but it beats watching Newlywed Game reruns. So far.
I, too, liked the opening montage (though I’ve nothing against silvery shapes and whispy nebulae). My first impression of the theme music is that it’s a mistake going from quasi-classical pomp & circumstance to a contemporary guitar ballad. But I’m willing to be proven wrong.
Yeah, I dug the opening montage visually, but I definately have a problem with the music! What’s up with those lyrics? What were they thinking? Then again, perhaps I need some of that “spirit of reaching out to something new” you wrote about. Otherwise, I love the newness of it all – seeing the history of certain elements of Star Trek culture (I won’t ruin it for those who havn’t seen it yet). I especially like the way the human race is portrayed – as eager, inexperienced newbies in the whole space exploration game. Then, of course, there’s the sexy Vulcan babe. I know I’m the exact demographic that they’re targeting and that whole partial nudity, skin rubbing sceen was kind of embarassing in a “don’t patronize me” kind of way. But, her character is great. I’ll definately be tuning in weekly.
It’s nice to see another person who’s psyched about Enterprise as I am. Cool weblog, I’ll be back to this one.
Scott Bakula? Oh dear. It sounds really lame already… (but then I’ve not seen it so I’ll bow to your superior knowledge)