About a year has passed since the Enterprise left Earth on mankind’s
first exploratory mission of deep space. Now comes the seven-disc set chronicling
the ship’s continuing mission, and the show’s second season. The
fifth installment in the Star Trek legacy follows the crew
of Starfleet’s first warp five vessel, the NX-01 Enterprise. The collection
for the most part lives up to the first season’s release. Clocking in
with a huge 26 episodes, and a fairly generous serving of special features,
it certainly will make a good addition to any Trekkie’s collection.
THE SHOW
Enterprise, which didn’t garner the Star Trek: Enterprise
title until the third season, is a prehistory of the Trek universe. Long before
James Kirk was on the bridge of his Enterprise with Spock and Uhura, a fledgling
Starfleet Command sent it’s first starship into deep space under the close
supervision and scrutiny of the Vulcans. Keep in mind this is before the United
Federation of Planets came around. Earth really only has one true ally, the
Vulcans. Enterprise is the only ship Starfleet has. One ship. One mission; see
what’s out there.
The first season followed Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) and his crew
as they encountered new aliens, discovered things about their own humanity,
and most importantly uncovered a temporal cold war. During the finale of season
one, Enterprise was recalled to Earth, it’s mission cancelled after an
incident that killed all the colonists of a planet. Oh, and lest we forget Captain
Archer had been whisked away to the 31st century, where he finds Earth lay to
waste.
Bakula’s captain Archer was highly scrutinized when the show debuted.
Many were unwilling to accept him as a captain… in Star Trek, or at all.
Personally, I think he’s perfect in the role, and he has a fantastic cast
backing him up. Archer’s friend, Commander Charles “Trip”
Tucker III, plays the ship’s chief engineer. Satisfying the sexual need
for single, pathetic Trekkies still living in their mother’s basement
we have Sub-Commander T’Pol (played by the curvy Jolene Blalock), who
is on loan from the Vulcans. Enterprise’s communications officer, Hoshi
Sato, is played by Linda Park; Dominic Keating stars as the ship’s armory
officer Lieutenant Malcolm Reed. Continuing the tradition of at least one or
more of the characters being an alien we have a jolly Denobulan (John Billingsley)
as the ship’s Dr. Phlox. Finally, we simply can’t forget Captain
Archer’s star-faring, disgustingly adorable beagle: Porthos. The cast
works very well together, showing great chemistry.
THE EPISODES
Like the first season, the second of Enterprise has many good
episodes, and a few that are forgettable. But one of the great things is the
continuing storyline of the temporal cold war, as well as repercussions of Archer’s
dealings with Klingons in the past, and a special glimpse into the future of
one of Trek’s greatest story arcs: the Borg.
Like I said earlier, over the course of seven discs the set plays out 26 episodes,
which I think is a few more than most normal series have in a season. Many of
the episodes have Archer in the forefront of the story, which can get tedious
after a while, but I was able to look past it. But season two also has a number
of episodes that give the rest of the cast an opportunity to be at the front
of the story. Some of the more notable episodes are: “Shockwave Part II,”
“Minefield,” “Dead Stop,” “The Communicator,”
“Vanishing Point,” “The Catwalk,” “Cease Fire,”
“Future Tense,” “Regeneration,” “First Flight”
and the finale “The Expanse.”
The end of season two once again left Trek fans waiting and longing for the
following season. With the introduction of a brand new foe following a devastating
attack on Earth, Enterprise heads out into unknown space to find them, and stop
the future destruction of the planet.
AUDIO/VISUAL
Enterprise is presented in a gorgeous looking widescreen format that
many of the more recent science fiction shows are being shown in. The show looks
fantastic, and with the help of some great special effects, if you’ve
got a good television you’ll really reap the benefits here. The same goes
for the available audio tracks. Both English Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 tracks
are available. There are only English subtitles available, but since I speak
English that wasn’t a huge problem. I don’t have my full surround
sound set up in my room (no rear speakers because my room is too small), but
through the center channel and side stacks, the show sounded great.
PACKAGING & LAYOUT
The case for this season is exactly like that of the first season. A hardcover
plastic outer case pulls apart to reveal the seven-discs in plastic trays that
slide inside a slipcover. Sounds complicated… and it is because it’s
a three-step process to retrieve the disc you are looking for. It can be a nuisance
I think, but overall it keeps the discs very well protected, and gives the sets
a standout look on shelves. One thing that bothered me, however, was that the
outside of the case was not labeled with the season number. Only through a slight
hole in the side can you see the “Season 2” from the inside slipcase.
Also, the case is the same color as the previous season. In other Trek sets,
the colors have differed from season to season making it easier to distinguish.
The layout of the menus and navigation of the discs are great as always. This
time we’ve got an animated armada of Klingon ships and specific focus
on a Bird Of Prey for the set’s menu theme. Finding what you want is easy,
and the menus just look really good. A lot of work went into them, just like
the first season’s.
The episodes do have chapter menus, so if you had to leave while you were watching,
you pick up pretty much anywhere you left off. I’ve always been a fan
of that because it makes things really easy. Each disc has four episodes, with
the exception of the last one that has two episodes and the special features.
And one last thing definitely worth mentioning is the booklet. There’s
a lot of good information in it including episode synopses, a recount of the
first season, a look at the Borg story arc, and a preview of what’s to
come in season three. Overall, it’s a very well laid out set.
THE EXTRAS
Many of the special features here are continuations of ones on the first set.
But I wasn’t as impressed this time. Usually there are enough extras to
keep my busy for at least an hour. This time it felt like I was done in 20 minutes.
I know it was longer than that, but I know there wasn’t as much this time
around. Here’s a look:
• Enterprise Moments: Season Two – This is a look at some crucial
moments from the second season that end up being important in the story. Footage
from the episodes is shown along with cast and production input. This could
be very informative and useful if a little more had gone into it.
• Enterprise Profile: Jolene Blalock – A behind the scenes look
at her character, T’Pol, and an interview with her regarding her work
on the show. Definitely worth a look… even if only because she’s
gorgeous.
• Levar Burton: Star Trek Director – Interviews with Burton regarding
his work behind the camera instead of in front of it. The former Next Generation
actor has directed numerous episodes of multiple Trek series, and loves it.
It also contains interviews with other Trek family members. Worth a look if
you’re a fan of Burton like myself.
• Enterprise Secrets – This was one I was looking forward to after
seeing the section on the first set. But instead of being treated to little
quirks of some behind the scene antics and secrets, all they told was how they
reused a set from the Star Trek VI movie. Biiiiigggg deal.
• Inside “A Night In Sickbay” – A look at one of the
funnier, and touching episodes in the season. It’s an episode known as
a “ship story,” in which the action never really leaves the ship,
and thus less special effects are required and the episode is subsequently cheaper.
• Outtakes – A modest gag reel. Everyone knows I love these when
they are well done. This one was ok I guess. I just don’t think Star Trek
makes for very good bloopers…it’s too serious to begin with.
• Deleted Scenes – A few of the episodes have options to view deleted
scenes. See what was left out. It’s usually nothing of importance, but
it’s interesting to see everything that was filmed.
• Commentaries – Two episodes feature spoken commentaries, while
two other feature the text commentary (trivia mostly) from the Okudas we’ve
come to know and love.
• Photo Gallery – Dear Every DVD Manufacturer; Stop making these.
Sincerely, Dan.
• Easter Eggs – There’s three hidden little things that are
painfully easy to find. Good luck!
Like I said, they tried to continue a good thing, but simply came up short
this time. Maybe in the third season there will be a rebound.
INTO THE EXPANSE
With the main arc for season three established, I will wait patiently for the
next set to be released. Enterprise will be traveling into
regions of space the Vulcans and Klingons dare not venture. I’m sure a
whole season of unfortunate events awaits Archer and his crew and I’m
looking forward to it because I never saw it when it originally aired. In the
meantime, go ahead and add this set to your ever-growing Star Trek
collection. While the special features don’t make it a runaway classic
set, the episodes are solid, and so is the presentation of the DVD itself. If
you’re a beginner I’d recommend starting with the first season.
But for everyone else, let’s keep boldly going where no man has gone before.
Season Two Episodes: B
Audio/Visual: A+
Packaging Layout: B (only because it’s a little bulky)
Special Features: C Overall DVD Score: B+
This
page is maintained by Lisa Zlotnick. For questions,
comments, sponsorship opportunities, publicity, or other inquiries, please
send an e-mail to: contact@dvdfanatic.com
