Trekked Out
Okay, so first off, I need to confess, I am a Star Trek fan. Have been for years. Though I never really cared for the old-school Captain Kirk era show, I ate up 'The Next Generation' and actually have my TiVo set up to record it in syndication so that when there's nothing else to watch, I'll always have a Star Trek or two saved up. I've gotten my fair share of teasing over the years for my love of the show, but hey, it's great television. Much better than most of the reality crap they have on these days.
Tonight I found out that the latest Trek incarnation, 'Enterprise', has been cancelled and will air its last episode in May. I'm pretty bummed, actually more bummed that I might have expected. I didn't realize how much I had come to enjoy this Trek prequel.
Last year, my roommate Seth got me turned on to 'Enterprise'. I had heard bad things about its beginnings, and had actually gotten pretty turned off to Star Trek in general because of 'Voyager' getting really lame. But, when I started watching 'Enterprise' I found something new to the Star Trek universe - story arcs. Sure, there had been some connected episodes in earlier series, but 'Enterprise' was willing to create an entire season based around a single mission - stopping an alien race bent on destroying earth. The ship got in firefights often, and the captain was willing to do whatever it took to succeed, even *gasp!* torture information out of enemies. The parallels between Enterprise's mission and our country's fight against terrorism were hard to miss, and it helped make the show really enjoyable. The characters were dealing with the same kinds of things we are. Even since the completion of that season and story line, 'Enterprise' has continued the trend with shorter story arcs that have been really good. Most recently, the writers tackled the story of the forming of the Federation, which was really cool.
I guess not enough Trek fans were convinced to return to the franchise after how bad 'Voyager' was, because ratings for 'Enterprise' have been bad. They actually dipped to their lowest point for an episode in the middle of the best story arc so far this season. So, what's happened to Star Trek?
You might be surprised to hear that, when 'Enterprise' ends its run, it will be the first time in 18 there hasn't been new Star Trek episodes airing in primetime. I certainly was! 18 years is a LONG TIME! That's most of my lifetime! And that's certainly long enough for most people to get a little sick of Trek, especially with all those terrible 'Voyager' episodes stuck in there. Part of the reason Trek made such a great comeback was that there was such a big gap between the original series and 'The Next Generation'. People had forgotten how much they liked the Trek universe.
Paramount, in its cancellation announcement, hinted that this was not the end of the Trek TV universe. While I look forward to what's to come, I'm hoping they wait a few years before they even start thinking about what to do next. Then bring in lots of new people to make sure the show is as fresh as possible, just as 'TNG' was when it came out.
If they wait long enough, hopefully most people will have forgotten the monotony of 18 years of Trek, and be ready to start fresh. Maybe even you - come on, you know you like it!
Tonight I found out that the latest Trek incarnation, 'Enterprise', has been cancelled and will air its last episode in May. I'm pretty bummed, actually more bummed that I might have expected. I didn't realize how much I had come to enjoy this Trek prequel.
Last year, my roommate Seth got me turned on to 'Enterprise'. I had heard bad things about its beginnings, and had actually gotten pretty turned off to Star Trek in general because of 'Voyager' getting really lame. But, when I started watching 'Enterprise' I found something new to the Star Trek universe - story arcs. Sure, there had been some connected episodes in earlier series, but 'Enterprise' was willing to create an entire season based around a single mission - stopping an alien race bent on destroying earth. The ship got in firefights often, and the captain was willing to do whatever it took to succeed, even *gasp!* torture information out of enemies. The parallels between Enterprise's mission and our country's fight against terrorism were hard to miss, and it helped make the show really enjoyable. The characters were dealing with the same kinds of things we are. Even since the completion of that season and story line, 'Enterprise' has continued the trend with shorter story arcs that have been really good. Most recently, the writers tackled the story of the forming of the Federation, which was really cool.
I guess not enough Trek fans were convinced to return to the franchise after how bad 'Voyager' was, because ratings for 'Enterprise' have been bad. They actually dipped to their lowest point for an episode in the middle of the best story arc so far this season. So, what's happened to Star Trek?
You might be surprised to hear that, when 'Enterprise' ends its run, it will be the first time in 18 there hasn't been new Star Trek episodes airing in primetime. I certainly was! 18 years is a LONG TIME! That's most of my lifetime! And that's certainly long enough for most people to get a little sick of Trek, especially with all those terrible 'Voyager' episodes stuck in there. Part of the reason Trek made such a great comeback was that there was such a big gap between the original series and 'The Next Generation'. People had forgotten how much they liked the Trek universe.
Paramount, in its cancellation announcement, hinted that this was not the end of the Trek TV universe. While I look forward to what's to come, I'm hoping they wait a few years before they even start thinking about what to do next. Then bring in lots of new people to make sure the show is as fresh as possible, just as 'TNG' was when it came out.
If they wait long enough, hopefully most people will have forgotten the monotony of 18 years of Trek, and be ready to start fresh. Maybe even you - come on, you know you like it!
posted by Kyle at 12:08 AM
1 Comments:
Why did they have to cancel Enterprise just when it was getting really good. I can't wait to see In the Mirror, Darkly, but I know that when I do, I'll have one less new episode left.
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