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I cruised by the Star Trek newsgroup (alt.tv.star-trek.enterprise) recently to check out how
fans were digging the new Enterprise. I was surprised by the amazing amount of venom
being spread around the group. I mean the Trek franchise is not known for it’s dazzling
premieres, and more for less-than-warp- speed starts. Yet Trek fans are a hearty bunch,
known for hanging in and even expecting a premiere that doesn’t pull the g’s.
What shocked me was the complete dissection of the opening theme song and every other
aspect of Enterprise to the minutiae. For an opening voyage, I was expecting some rough
air and breaks in the plasma conduits. I didn’t expect the extreme hatred of the song and
the premiere episode.
Yes, they picked a sentimental pop song, instead of a rousing thematic ala John Williams.
So what? I appreciated a less futuristic sounding theme, since after all, Enterprise is
set closer to our time line and makes a palatable connection between our world, our
idealism and the Trek universe.
I very much appreciate this connection right now. I was feeling downright grateful that
the creators of the series decided to use a pop theme song, a song that harkened to the
dreams of John F. Kennedy and a nation… a theme song and a series which premiered a few
days after September 11th and reminded me how important dreams are in a world where
fundamentalists will kill you for asserting your right to a private life, private
thoughts, and your own definition of what makes a dream or a god.
When I asked a few friends what they thought of the new theme song, they all simply said,
“I cried." As for the show itself, it contained an appealing ensemble cast with enough
personal angst to remind me of the Bones, Kirk, and Spock triad. This is not the sterile,
by-the-book Federation of the future, but an imperfect and dangerous world where a captain
and his crew truly face the unknown, but can still remember the importance of laughing and
having a good time. Normalcy, anyone?
I also loved seeing the clash between T’Pol and Charles “Trip" Tucker. We have the Vulcan
with the Angelina Jolie lips, the postmodern feminist poutiness crossing the all American
engineer with that 1950’s “Era of the Boy" gee whiz face and attitude.
Scott Bakula is winning with his gung ho desire to take on unknown dangers and exploration
in a universe where humans are definitely the new kids on the block. He doesn’t know
what’s out there, but he’s certain he’s willing to risk everything for it. It kind of
reminds me of so many of my friends who are willing to risk everything for America and to
fight to the death for our constitution… even though they haven’t read it recently. :)
Anyway, folks in the Enterprise newsgroup were suddenly realizing that they were being a
tad harsh. Someone started a thread called, “Was William Shatner Right?" Meaning was
William Shatner right when he said Trekkies should get a life?
Here’s some thoughts from fans at the newsgroup:
Jeremy Price wrote: “I think it has to do with unrealistic expectations due to false
perceptions of the way people act, caused by a lack of social interaction with real people
;). Nerds keep getting nerdier - at least nerds in the pre-internet era were forced to go
outside occasionally!"
Julian writes: “Nit-pickers give Trek fans a bad name. You know that Comic Book Guy on the
Simpsons? He is what nit-pickers remind me of.
They can't just be happy with an entertaining show."
Whether you loved or hated the premiere, Enterprise is definitely worth a spare hour. And
I must say they entered warp faster than any other previous Trek premiere. Beam us in,
even if you’re not quite sure how the transporters work!
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"Was William Shatner Right?"
