Lol, Pop Song

[James Bond]

Hodge said:
First Impressions...

I've never seen Enterprise until tonight. I rented the first disc of season 2. The concept and design is awesome, T'pol is gorgeous (her boobs are way big), and the story was surprisingly compelling.

But, when I heard some Rod Stewart rip off, belting out a heartfelt number about having faith from the heart, I couldn't help but laugh uncontrollably. The theme song is absolutely horrendous. I wish DVD technology could allow you to listen to an alternate theme song.

...Its been a long road...getting from there to here...

Holy FUCK!! The Bajoran Orb of Time has transported me back to 6 years ago!!
You people won't BELIEVE what happens in the finale.

 

[Jarok]

I just picked up the 4th season of ENT on DVD. I wasn't a fan of FOTH, but i got used to it by the end of second season, then they used that jazzed up version that was just totally incongrous. In "Bound" Enterprise comes across Orion ship, scary Orion privateer comes on screen, threatens to destroy Enterprise, the music swells threateningly: CUT TO: Lounge Lizard Singing Peppy Pop Theme song!! They might have well had the Beatles "She Loves You (YEAH YEAH YEAH) for a title song. I think it says something that during the Special Features you don't hear FOTH at all, all the underscoring is Archer's Theme. Shame there isn't a way on the DVD's to pick Archer's Theme for the opening credits.

 

[Kegek]

It was an abysmal choice.

Is this an old topic? Yep. I was bashing this song when this issue was new, and I don't mind bashing it again for old time's sake.

'Archer's Theme' was Dennis McCarthy's suggestion for the series theme, and while not perfect, it certainly would have been better. I do understand the need to move away from the orchestral sound of previous series, but this was a step in the wrong direction.

 

[RandyS]

Kegek said:
'Archer's Theme' was Dennis McCarthy's suggestion for the series theme, and while not perfect, it certainly would have been better. I do understand the need to move away from the orchestral sound of previous series, but this was a step in the wrong direction.

Hooking younger viewers was the need, obviously.

 

[EliyahuQeoni]

While I like the song, I agree that the "jazzed up" version was awful. If they wanted to change, they should have changed to a different song/piece of music rather than mucking with what was already there.

I also think Archer's Theme would have made a good opening theme for the show. I'm not bothered by the non-orchestral music being used, but wouldn't mind seeing how this would have worked in its place.

 

[Kegek]

RandyS said:
Hooking younger viewers was the need, obviously.

I was fourteen. What, were they courting eight year olds with that song?

But seriously, what I meant was the general theme of the show was trying to move away from the more overworn tropes of the franchise - it was a prequel that emphasized its roots in the modern world, it eschewed using 'Star Trek' in the title. That's fine. I wouldn't have minded a more modern, eclectic composition for the theme music than the usual orchestral stuff - but what we got was decidedly uninspired.

 

[Delta1]

That raises an interesting question--to what age group was FOTH intended to appeal, and to what age group did it actually appeal? I know musical tastes often cut through groups in unexpected ways, but I find it hard to imagine that FOTH was aimed at younger viewers. It charted on Adult Contemporary radio in 1999, which I don't think is what the kids listen to. But I could be wrong.

 

[gblews]

RandyS said:
Hooking younger viewers was the need, obviously.

Please. If they were trying to court young viewers with the theme song they would have chosen a rock oriented theme. They were simply trying to do something different from the same old same old.

TPTB must have forgotten how many Trek fans there are who are unable or unwilling to part with the same old same old.

 

[Delta1]

It's one thing to do something different from the same-old same-old. It's another thing to actually do something better. This isn't a case of stubborn stuck-in-1994 virgins in their parents' basements rejecting anything that's not Jerry Goldsmith--it's a case of TPTB having really, really, really bad taste and misreading just about every segment of their market.

And even those of us who are stuck-in-1994 virgins in our parents' basements thought Enterprise didn't do enough to get away from the same-old same-old patterns of TNG/TNG-lite.

 

[gblews]

Delta1 said:
It's one thing to do something different from the same-old same-old. It's another thing to actually do something better. This isn't a case of stubborn stuck-in-1994 virgins in their parents' basements rejecting anything that's not Jerry Goldsmith--

I think most fans don't like the song simply because of the type of song it is. I know this can't be proven, but I'd be willing to bet that if the show had had an orchestral number as the opening theme, no matter how good or bad it was, NO ONE would have complained.

Change -- IMO, you couldn't melt change and pour it on most fans.

And even those of us who are stuck-in-1994 virgins in our parents' basements thought Enterprise didn't do enough to get away from the same-old same-old patterns of TNG/TNG-lite.

There is some truth to what you say with respect to seasons 1 and 2, but seasons 3 and 4 were as different from VOY and TNG (thank God!), as they could possibly be.

 

[Trekwatcher]

It was definitely a shock the first time I heard the theme to ENT-the fact that there were any vocals at all was a total surprise. But, once I got over my initial astonishment, I liked the opening credits. The song, like the visuals, serve to illustrate that Archer et al are closer to us temporally than the TOS or TNG/DS9/VOY eras. Chuck Yeager, Alan Shepard, the ISS, etc shown right before the Phoenix and the intial warp ships all serve to show that it is not that far from our time until ENT's time. Thus, a timeless orchestral piece, while it could have worked, was not chosen and something more "contemporary" was selected instead. I mean, they wore baseball caps for a while in ENT, so they can have a little rock 'n roll.

I liked the rearrangement of the music in the later seasons better, but overall it worked for me either way.

 

[Kalen Archer]

I liked the season 1 & 2 version, but I thought the season 3 & 4 version was awful. I don't understand why they made it so upbeat, given the direction the show took in season 3.

 

[BriGuy]

I had no objection to the song. I too felt its lyrics were a perfect fit for the show, for the most part.

And I agree with Kalen that the S3-4 version was a bad, bad move. The story went one way in S3, the opening song went another. With a season-long story like the Xindi/Expanse, I would've liked to have seen a completely different opening to match the story.

I hoped it would change for S4, but it didn't.

Compared to the last two seasons, the opening in the first two is just fine.

 

[Brolan]

Hodge said:

EliyahuQeoni said:
I liked it

I liked it too. One of the few things I did like about the show.

 

[Brolan]

Trekwatcher said:
It was definitely a shock the first time I heard the theme to ENT-the fact that there were any vocals at all was a total surprise. But, once I got over my initial astonishment, I liked the opening credits. The song, like the visuals, serve to illustrate that Archer et al are closer to us temporally than the TOS or TNG/DS9/VOY eras. Chuck Yeager, Alan Shepard, the ISS, etc shown right before the Phoenix and the intial warp ships all serve to show that it is not that far from our time until ENT's time. Thus, a timeless orchestral piece, while it could have worked, was not chosen and something more "contemporary" was selected instead. I mean, they wore baseball caps for a while in ENT, so they can have a little rock 'n roll.

I liked the rearrangement of the music in the later seasons better, but overall it worked for me either way.

That's the way I see it. While most of Trek is so far in the future it is disconnected from us, this show was supposed to relate to us.

Sadly it seems most people found something not to like about the show. It never quite jelled until the last season, and by then it was too late.

 

[shatastrophic]

The opening song was strike 1 for me when i watched Broken Bow. The series eventually got to three strikes for me and sadly i stopped watching. The show had such promise too. Im not trying to bash so back to the point, I thought the opening didn't sound heroic at all and was full of cheese, speaking of cheese the closing song was worse with that electric guitar in the background. It sounded like a parody of a song for a crappy soap or something, I don't know. But it was the only thing i found bad about Broken Bow, it was a nice pilot episode except with how fast they could get to kronos.

 

[Moocey]

I've gotten to where I enjoy the opening and the pop song as a guilty pleasure. I just started watching Enterprise beginning with season 2 and I plan on watching the whole thing. It's pretty good.

 

[Kegek]

moocey said:
I just started watching Enterprise beginning with season 2 and I plan on watching the whole thing. It's pretty good.

You're not far into S2, are you?

 

[Ro_Laren]

JiNX-01 said:
Well, I like the theme song, though I do prefer Archer's Theme, which closes the show.

Archer's Theme is a million times better. I was sooooooooo mad when I first heard the theme song of Enterprise (though I don't know what made me the most mad- the fact that it was a pre-quel Trek show, that "Star Trek" wasn't in the title or that the theme song had words and was not the traditional orchestra).

 

[Delta1]

If not Watson channeling Stewart, who should've done the Enterprise theme tune? I vote for Nerf Herder. They've already done a TV theme--and Gripp did a whole CD of jingles--so they're used to working in the short form. They also did a song (video) about Star Trek, so I'm sure they would've jumped at the chance to be officially involved.