Did Enterprise have to grow on anyone else?

[apollo1984]

I for one did enjoy Enterprise from the start, I know there were a few duff episodes but I did appreciate what they were trying to do as a 'prequel' but I can also understand why for some it took time or actually dislike it, I mean from their point of view it was a backwards step from Voyager in terms of technology.

For me Enterprise really shifted gears from season 3, having a season long arc was a nice change from the episodic format that the whole of star trek had been accustomed to which usually meant a clean slate for the next episode without any real repercussions, the closest was some of DS9 with the dominion war. Season 4 was another welcome change as for some a a season wide arc was not great to pick up and put down, having mini arcs was in my opinion a good way forward as I feel the single episodic episode format was stale for many people (not just in Star Trek but in general).

That said Enterprise was plagued with issues that was not of their making, I think that the fans needed a break from trek as they were starting to get slightly tired with Star Trek, I mean the enthusiasm for the TNG films were going down by then and in fact ceased after Nemisis and has only taken back off thanks to a bright shiny re-boot but that has been after several years of 'rest'. Also as mentioned above the network did not help the show one bit by enforcing the Temporal Cold War on them so you have writers writing stuff they don't care about and it showed, I can't think of any stand out TCW episodes (though they did link it to the xindi arc), plus as said above they did not want the show being too 'retro' when in fact I personally would have held more tech back (so basically they use plasma weapons and spacial torpedo's) and not upgrading them until much later, possibly towards the build up of the Romulan War which I still think was a disappointment that we never got to see it.

But at the end of the day I did feel as if this series warranted a season 5-7.

Sorry for the ramble

 

[Shikarnov]

I was not aware of this. I was little during TNG's run so I didn't follow interviews back then. I'm not sure if crying wolf is the right word but Braga does have a history of doing that when it comes to tied hands. For now, let's assume Braga was exaggerating or lying on the Blu Rays. With UPN badly mismanaging time slots (ex: preemption for sports games) and some very inaccurate commercials, it's possible that they meddled in some pretty dumb ways. One of their ideas was to use a boy band of the week.

If I remember correctly, DS9 supposedly checked the boxes of more conflict and flawed characters. I'm not sure why they needed ENT for that (though these things were entirely appropriate for pre-Federation times).

As I recall Braga had very little involvement (and maybe none at all?) with Deep Space Nine -- instead opting to remain on TNG until it's finale, and then worked on Generations and Voyager.

Berman was on board as a producer, but aside from opining from time to time that the Dominion War should be kept short and sweet, he really took a hands-off approach after the first season and left Ira Steven Behr, Ron Moore, and Rene Echevarria alone more and more to do their thing.

Disclaimer: Memories on subjects 20 years and older are subject to degradation.

 

[QuantumMechanic]

Not blown away by seasons one and two, disliked season three (although I appreciated they were trying to move away from the tired episodic format), utterly hated the temporal cold war and loved season four...

Get out of my head!

 

[Anna Yolei]

As I recall Braga had very little involvement (and maybe none at all?) with Deep Space Nine -- instead opting to remain on TNG until it's finale, and then worked on Generations and Voyager.

Berman was on board as a producer, but aside from opining from time to time that the Dominion War should be kept short and sweet, he really took a hands-off approach after the first season and left Ira Steven Behr, Ron Moore, and Rene Echevarria alone more and more to do their thing.

Disclaimer: Memories on subjects 20 years and older are subject to degradation.

It was one of Berman's biggest contribution to Star Trek, IMNSHO.

 

[Griffeytrek]

I liked Broken Bow. It held my attention. The first couple of episodes then proceeded to lose it for awhile. Some of that first batch of episodes made you wonder how humanity didn't blow themselves up. I mean when the Vulcan Ambassador seems to be the most sympathetic character? Because he was right. Archer and the humans were IDIOTS. Thankfully things eventually got (a bit) better. But I still remain convinced that in Berman's world the crew of the NX-01 are basically the same as the parade of unhinged lunatics that have already volunteered for a one way trip to Mars.

 

[eyeresist]

Watching ENT for the first time, I had to deal with the decline in quality of season 1, and also the local network hiding it in odd late-night timeslots (I have no idea if they aired the whole thing or just a couple of seasons). It was a struggle, and I only caught bits of the initial airing. Only when I picked up the DVD set (much cheaper than TNG/DS9/VOY!) did I really have a chance to take the whole thing in and evaluate it.

ENT's inconsistent quality was a major problem that TNG did not have to deal with to such an extent. TNG was the only fresh Trek option on TV, was regarded as an Event, and faced a much smaller pool of competition. ENT was at the end of a "long tail" of apparently unending TNG spin-offs (see the famous 'declining ratings' graphs on this page). There just wasn't the same viewer incentive to watch and stick with it.

It is a show best served by the home video option, plus perhaps a handy viewing guide.

 

[iMike]

I think Seasons One & Two had some standout episodes but I don't think the series really took off until the conclusion of second season and the beginning of the season-long Xindi arc. To me Season Four was the best; I loved the mini-arcs , especially those with the Vulcans and the Augments. Manny Coto did an amazing job with Season Four and I only wish he would have been given another year to really prove what he could do.

Overall though I don't think network had much of an interest in ENT. UPN was a much different network by 2001 than when it started. Braga has discussed this on the Blu-Ray docs. He even mentions that the network wanted them to put a "band of the week" on the ship and feature new artists as a way to promote the series. What a

 

[apollo1984]

I think Seasons One & Two had some standout episodes but I don't think the series really took off until the conclusion of second season and the beginning of the season-long Xindi arc. To me Season Four was the best; I loved the mini-arcs , especially those with the Vulcans and the Augments. Manny Coto did an amazing job with Season Four and I only wish he would have been given another year to really prove what he could do.

Overall though I don't think network had much of an interest in ENT. UPN was a much different network by 2001 than when it started. Braga has discussed this on the Blu-Ray docs. He even mentions that the network wanted them to put a "band of the week" on the ship and feature new artists as a way to promote the series. What a

I agree with this, in fact I have just started re-watching season 1 again and some episodes that I were indifferent to or disliked (that I remember anyway) were watchable and I enjoyed them more than I did on their original run.

But yeah I saw the Berman and Braga discussion on disc 1 of the Blu-Ray set and found it weird that the network tried to run the show despite not understanding the show, how can anybody not know what a hull was especially since that was the pitch they had just signed off on and thinking that the mess hall was a cafe and that whilst starting to go into deep space would still be able to pick up band of the week. How can you let idiots who don't know anything about the show make decisions.

 

[wayoung]

I gave up on it early on I the first season. Gave it a couple more tries once in awhile but it never clicked. I've had it playing in the background since it was added to Netflix last week and it's better than I remember, kind of an adequate time killer but nothing that draws me in.

I hate the CGI. The ships and aliens all look bad. I re watched DS9 not long ago and it's practical effects hold up much better than Enterprise's CGI. Which isn't surprising as most CGI looks pretty bad within a couple years of release, and this is from 2001 when it was still in its infancy.

 

[eyeresist]

Later DS9 also had CG, didn't it? The only bit of ENT's CG which really fails for me is the little humanoid figures added to CG-scapes for scale. None of them move naturally, particularly when walking. Apparently they couldn't be bothered rotoscoping the movement.
OTOH, the CG Xindi characters (aquatic and insectoid) looked pretty good.

If you only want to watch the best of ENT, see my sig.

 

[wayoung]

It probably did, but it wasn't the primary focus. It was still mostly model work and make up. CGI is always best when it compliments practical effects, the two working together, instead of replacing practical entirely. I'm glad the recent trend in filmmaking is going back to this mix after so many years of only CGI.

I watched the episode of Enterprise with the tentacle monster today. That was horrendous, especially when Malcolm cut the tentacle off. Looked like a 90's video game.

 

[eyeresist]

That was a bit dodgy, especially the way the CG didn't match what they were working with on set. But to me that ep is a write-off anyway.

 

[TwoJakes]

I watched the episode of Enterprise with the tentacle monster today.

You'd think a little Japanese Henti would help the ratings.

 

[wayoung]

You'd think a little Japanese Henti would help the ratings.

It didn't help Spectre either.

 

[eyeresist]

Obviously not enough tentacles.

 

[Ghost]

Hmmm, well I have become a bit more tolerant of Season 4 after watching it last year, and I still have a weak spot for "Regeneration" even if the episode is not fitting for the series it is in (no people, I am not buying the explanation, the Borg may have known the Federation before "Q Who" but I dislike this retcon), because hey it is a Borg episode and I happen to like the Borg despite what it suffered in Voyager.

But in general I consider most of Enterprise to have the same quality of Voyager and often even less, and I rather wish that the Star Trek franchise had taken a break after Deep Space Nine and Voyager than going prequel.

 

[Galileo7]

Finally, got interested in season 4 and it deserved it's seasons 5-7.

 

[Anna Yolei]

Honestly, with the network politics, I doubt Enterprise had a hope of going past a fifth season even if it miraculously spiked in ratings during season 4. .The network merger was catering to an entirely new demographic that Sci Fi was not apart of.

 

[arch101]

I was pretty disappointed and quit watching during season 2. Years later, I saw seasons 3 and 4 and regretted not sticking with it. I still mostly only watch those two seasons on streaming.

 

[mattman8907]

i got into it during Season 2. Shockwave, Part II was my first episode. I stopped watching it during season 2 cause I was in junior high and i forgot when the hell it was actually on. but during Season 3 i got into it and I thought the Xindi Arc and Season 4 were the best. and was severely disappointed when they cancelled it.