While there’s no denying that Enterprise had some subpar episodes during the first season, in truth, few of the previous Star Trek series were fully developed out of the shoot. Even so, the two-hour pilot “Broken Bow,” directed by James L. Conway, does a good job of establishing the series’ main themes and introducing the cast of characters. Enterprise’s first mission is to return the first Klingon they’ve ever encountered to his people. The Klingon was injured by the Suliban, a genetically flexible alien and villain.
While Scott Bakula can appear a bit stiff at times, he generally appears pretty comfortable in the Captain’s chair. Buxom Jolene Blalock as Vulcan first officer T’Pol certainly adds some sex appeal to the proceedings, partly due to her fiery suppression of deeply rooted emotions. As chief engineer Commander Charles “Trip” Tucker, Connor Trineer is athletic, dramatic and funny. Trineer pairs up well with Dominic Keating, who plays security chief Lieutenant Malcolm Reed. One of the brightest casting choices was John Billingsley as Denobulan Dr. Phlox, a man amused by nearly everything he comes in contact with.
The first season does find two characters—Ensign Hoshi Sato (Linda Park) and Ensign Travis Mayweather (Anthony Montgomery)—struggling to find their footing early on. Despite her obvious appeal, the writers make Hoshi appear almost incompetent to the point of annoyance. Thankfully, given time, she does begin to grow and show some maturity. Travis, the “boomer” with a history on cargo ships, lacks any real standout characteristics here, or in any of the subsequent seasons.
Though not without a handful of standout episodes (“Fallen Hero” and “Desert Crossing” are two of them), much of Enterprise’s first season is hindered by a lack of continuity and truly interesting scripts. It’s nice to hear co-creator Brannon Braga admit his mistakes at various points in the Blu-ray special features. He talks about not selecting a writing team more steeped in Star Trek’s unique language and admits to battling creative fatigue at times. Problems and all, Star Trek: Enterprise – Season One is well worth the price of admission for any fan of the Trek universe. For me, this series pilot is still one of the best things ever produced for one of the television series.
Presented in its original 1.78:1 aspect ratio, Star Trek: Enterprise – Season One looks very good; just don’t expect it to top the job done on the first two seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation. While the image occasionally pops from the screen, more often there’s a slight softness to things. Also, the non-HD resolution of the CGI effects causes some noticeable (but moderate), aliasing at times and softness during effects laden shots. This still looks better than the standard DVD release, but it’s unlikely to blow you away.
The DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio presentation is as dynamic and full as you might expect from such a recent production. Dialogue is clean and clear, while channel separation has been maximized. There is also a solid amount of LFE throughout the proceedings.
Additional Dolby Digital 5.1 or 2.0 dubs are provided in German, Spanish, Italian, French and Japanese. Optional subtitles are provided in English (SDH), German, Spanish, French, Japanese, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish.
An impressive amount of special features is provided:
Disc One:
- Cast Introduction (SD, 2:15): Rick Berman and Scott Bakula introduce the characters and the actors who play them.
- In Conversation: Rick Berman and Brannon Braga (HD, 1:02:59): Recorded in December 2012, the Star Trek producers discuss the entire history of Star Trek by touching on several Enterprise-related topics, including the the pilot episode, the cast and the casting process, selling the “prequel” idea to the studios and the production team’s desire to go backwards even farther in time, character details, ship design inside and out, the theme song, the way fans reaction, stories from production meetings, the temporal cold war arc, and more.
- Network Presentation (SD, 3:17): A Star Trek universe retrospective leading up to an ad for Enterprise.
- Syndication Presentation (SD, 7:15): An Enterprise focused promotion piece.
- Creating Enterprise (SD, 11:28): This begins with the same cast/crew introductions from the Cast Introduction piece, but delivers some new information in regards to the series creation, setting, production design, the show’s plot, and more.
- O Captain! My Captain! A Profile of Scott Bakula (SD, 9:32): Cast and crew discuss Scott Bakula the man, Scott Bakula the actor, and the Jonathan Archer character.
- NX-01 File 02 (SD, 2:11): Designing a Klingon world model for the show.
Disc One Episode Specific Special Features:
- “Broken Bow” Deleted Scenes (HD, 3:08).
- “Broken Bow” Audio Commentary: Writer/Executive Producer Brannon Braga, Director James L. Conway, Actors Connor Trinneer and Dominic Keating, and Visual Effects Supervisor Dan Curry share their thoughts this new-to-Blu-ray commentary track.
- “Broken Bow” Audio Commentary: A 2005 track with Writer/Executive Producer Brannon Braga and Producer Rick Berman.
- Text Commentary: A 2005 commentary from Mike and Denise Okuda.
- “Fight or Flight” Deleted Scenes (HD, 2:18).
Disc Two:
- Cast Impressions: Season One (SD, 12:24): The cast discusses their characters and the experience of portraying them.
- Enterprise Secrets (SD, 2:00): A look into a few production tricks.
Disc Two Episode Specific Special Features:
- “Unexpected” Deleted Scene (HD, 1:06).
- “The Andorian Incident” Text Commentary: A 2005 commentary from Mike and Denise Okuda.
Disc Three:
- Star Trek Time Travel: Temporal Cold Wars and Beyond (SD, 8:11): A look at the origins of the “temporal cold war” story line and a collection of highlights from Trek time travel through the years.
- Admiral Forrest Takes Center Stage (SD, 5:14): Actor Vaughn Armstrong discusses his role in the show and his work in previous Star Trek ventures.
Disc Three Episode Specific Special Features:
- “Silent Enemy” Audio Commentary: With Writer André Bormains and Visual Effects Producer Dan Curry.
- “Sleeping Dogs” Deleted Scene (HD, 1:09).
Disc Four:
- Inside “Shuttlepod One” (SD, 7:57): A closer look at the episode, “Shuttlepod One.”
- NX-01 File 01 (SD, 2:56): A brief look at the episode “Shadows of P’Jem.”
- NX-01 File 03 (SD, 4:59): A look at producing the visual details around the ships for a few episodes, particularly Vulcan architecture and a star map and Ferengi and Andorian technology.
Disc Four Episode Specific Special Features:
- “Shadows of P’Jem” Audio Commentary: With Co-Writers Mike Sussam and Phyllis Strong.
- “Shuttlepod One” Deleted Scene (HD, 6:09).
- “Shuttlepod One” Audio Commentary: With Producer Brannon Braga, Director David Livingston, and Actors Connor Trinneer and Dominic Keating.
Disc Five:
- On the Set (SD, 28:32): Barry Kibrick takes viewers through the process of making only a few minutes of a major television program. Included is plenty of on-set footage and interviews with the filmmakers and cast.
- Enterprise Outtakes (SD, 9:05): A gag reel.
Disc Five Episode Specific Special Features:
- “Oasis” Deleted Scenes (HD, 3:08).
- “Vox Sola” Text Commentary: A 2005 commentary from Mike and Denise Okuda.
- “Fallen Hero” Deleted Scenes (HD, 2:12).
Disc Six:
- To Boldly Go: Launching Enterprise, Part One: Countdown (HD, 30:45): A detailed look back at the show’s origins, unique traits new to Star Trek while remaining true to the established world, clashes between the studio heads and the series’ creators, set construction and designing with “future” series in mind, NX-01 design, and the theme song and opening titles, and more.
- To Boldly Go: Launching Enterprise, Part Two: Boarding the NX-01 (HD, 31:16): A close look at casting the lead roles and the qualities the actors brought to the show. The piece ends with some looks at set design and special effects.
- To Boldly Go: Launching Enterprise, Part Three: First Flight (HD, 27:51): Cast and crew discuss the lower quality scripts from season one, the good episodes and the bad ones, the initially high ratings, and the drop in viewership.
- Celebrating Star Trek (SD, 15:19): A look inside Star Trek conventions.
Disc Six Episode Specific Special Features:
- “Two Days and Two Nights” Deleted Scene (HD, 1:41).
- “Shockwave, Part 1” Deleted Scenes (HD, 1:10).
