"Enterprise" is badly adrift

By Charlie McCollum
Knight Ridder Newspapers

RON TOM / PARAMOUNT PICTURES Capt. Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) with T'Pol (Jolene Blalock) in "Star Trek: Enterprise."

E-mail this article Print this article Search archive Most read articles Most e-mailed articles

Other links TV listings

Last spring, the betting was that "Star Trek: Enterprise" would not return for a fourth season, ending the "Star Trek" franchise's 17-year run on television.

It seemed like a safe wager since the show's ratings were in free fall and it was being battered by critics for a lack of creative energy and ineffective storytelling.

But just before the fall schedules were announced in May, Paramount — the long-time producer of all things "Star Trek" — offered to take a big cut in the per-episode fee it was charging UPN for the series. And UPN renewed "Enterprise," albeit for a time slot in the dead zone that is Friday night TV.

So now, "Enterprise" — a retro take on the "Star Trek" mythology set in a time before Capt. Kirk and Mr. Spock — gets what almost certainly will be its last shot. And the producers have been promising a fresh approach and a revitalization of the show.

ON TV "Enterprise," at 8 p.m. Friday on UPN (KSTW).

If tonight's season opener (8 p.m.) is any indication, though, those promises have gone unfulfilled. Instead of being an episode that would jump-start an "Enterprise" revival, it looks like more of the same: a confusing premise, flat production and recycled stories.

The episode — "Storm Front" — once again dips into the ol' "Star Trek" bag of tricks. This time, it's the time-traveling, Nazis-won-the-war gambit with Capt. Jonathan Archer (a sadly misused Scott Bakula) and the Enterprise crew suddenly finding themselves orbiting an Earth where storm troopers are occupying Brooklyn.

Of course, the Germans are getting a helping hand from some bad-guy aliens mucking around with the timeline.

Despite a rather cool opening involving a dogfight between a shuttle craft and P-51 fighters, it's a lifeless affair that reflects the budget cuts made to get the show back on the air. (Brooklyn is really underpopulated.) Not helping at all: Two "resistance fighters" are a couple of Runyonesque hoods who look ready to break out into a "Guys and Dolls" song at any moment.

There's one conclusion to be reached at this point. As Bones McCoy might have said in the original version: "Jim, this show is dead."

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

E-mail this article

Print this article

Search archive

More television headlines...