Enterprise theme song concern.

[TOSalltheway]

I love the song and find it very motivational but one point has always bothered me. I know Trek is American but it is not about the US space program it is about humans and earth.

Why no footage of Yuri Gagarin, the first person in space. Why no footage of Alexi Leonov, first person to walk in space. Why no footage of Valentina Tershkova, first woman in space. Why no footage of Salyut, the first space station.

It always struck me as way too American.

 

[F. King Daniel]

Agreed 100%. Not only the intro, but the all white male admiralty at Starfleet. It's meant to be United Earth, not American Earth.

JJ Abrams (with a much, much higher budget, admittedy), had a diverse and colourful cast in STXI. He got that totally right.

 

[SchwEnt]

Just to play devil's advocate here...

The Enterprise opening spans thousands of years of exploration history, real and imagined. It's not just a montage of our "contemporary" space age. There are only a handful of 60s space shots (three? four?) and I guess if they had to choose only very few, they'd have to be a Saturn V rocket, a moonwalker, an astronaut at least. Sure, Gagarin and Titov and Leonov and others should be included. I agree.

But I guess they cut their losses and gotta do an American-centric theme for an American-show.

At least they did include other peoples and other nationalities in non-space explorations. Maybe that's something.

 

[BDJ]

Hey, if it makes you feel any better... I remember when Enterprise first aired there were people on this site complaining about the shots of the "nobody's" used in the opening credits. It was completely lost on lots of people who the astronauts were in those scenes. (There was even one girl who complained vehemently about how "ugly" those astronauts were!)

Somebody's kids eh?

 

[Miss Lemon]

At first, I was really put off by the song. I really hated it. Over the years it has somehow grown on me.

I have always liked the visuals though. Ever since I was a little girl, I have been captivated by anything concerning space travel.

In my opinion, ENT is the most US oriented ST series anyway. It didn’t bother me too much. It were mostly the poop jokes involving the only European character that made me cringe. Why did it always have to be Reed talking about poop, vomit and peepee?

 

[ChristopherPike]

I know what you mean. Malcolm Reed would typically be the one shown feeling a bit sickly. Having a cold in "Sleeping Dogs" or still injured in "Dead Stop", being given the bag in "Terra Prime". One I forget, had him trying to speak to Phlox in confidence, just as Archer walked in. A bad case of the trots presumably.

But "Breaking the Ice" (I think) was the one where they had to answer questions from school kids, and Trip Tucker got the poop question. Explaining how recycling worked in space. Waste matter turned into boots... which brings new meaning to putting your foot in it, I suppose!

Falling back on a bit of national stereotyping they thought, would make it a whole lot funnier and cruder or more earthy than other Star Treks I suppose.

 

[Miss Lemon]

You forgot to mention Minefield. The pee bit almost ruined the episode for me.

Why did it always have to be Reed talking about poop, vomit and peepee?

Having a cold in "Sleeping Dogs"

Mucus, I forgot mucus!

But "Breaking the Ice" (I think) was the one where they had to answer questions from school kids, and Trip Tucker got the poop question.

That was actually the one poop reference that I thought was really adorable.

 

[7thsealord]

I always liked the theme.

Yeah, it could be argued that some of the stock footage was American-centric. Sort of.

The guys in the dugout canoe and the sailing ship may or may not have been American. 'HMS Enterprize' is kind of self-explanatory. But the Wright Brothers and the Apollo astronauts both indisputably belonged there.

Personally, I respect Amelia Earhart's achievments but, as a proud Aussie, I think Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Kingsford_Smith ) achieved far more as an aviator and should have been there. But that's just me.

The International Space Station, well, a lot of that is American. But not entirely. Zefrem Cochrane's 'Phoenix' was an ex-US-military ICBM launched from US soil, so I guess she qualifies - but you couldn't leave that out..

 

[ALF]

Trek is fairly American.
Certain shows are worse than others (esp. TOS and early TNG) sticking their neck out to make references that Joe Six Pack will enjoy.

I've never regarded the opening to Enterprise as, "they didn't have this, they didn't have that, etc". If anything, I wish Enterprises' intro was much shorter. Get to the Blalock and Bakula for frig's sake.

 

[Takeru]

The map of the solar system in the opening credits is german, so they're a little bit international.

Maybe a problem was available footage, did the film Gagarin in Space?

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Reed did take the piss out of the Brit jokes though with the line "and no crumpets either" or something to that effect which I assumed was sarcasm.

 

[Miss Lemon]

did the film Gagarin in Space?

They did: link to youtube

He had a lovely smile apparently. Maybe the ignorant fangirls would have appreciated it.

 

[Desertway]

I know that the show was trying to carve out its own niche, but the theme song annoyed me in a big way. A pop song for interplanetary exploration? Too small. I preferred the "expansive" DS9 theme.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Expansive..

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QclWp9P1gVE[/yt]

Pretty intense, and yes better IMHO though I'm one who loves ENT's theme just fine.

And now I await the inevitable "but the UFP didn't exist yet!" comment.

 

[BillJ]

Kinda late to be concerned about it...

 

[MacLeod]

^^Is just me missing it or was Dominic Keating's name missing from that intro?


ENT also had far bigger issues that it's theme song. I don't watch shows for their theme tunes/songs.

 

[jespah]

It's not just you. They showed him at :41, too. That was just a boneheaded error, I believe.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

heh, I didn't notice that. I do like an intro that says "this is about serious intense stuff people!".. but you know Trek never was all about that anyway.

 

[Rulius]

I liked the In a mirror darkly theme.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Me too! Best thing about it, LOL