where did it all go wrong?

I was a great star trek fan. It's time to tell it like it really is. Times change and it is time for a rest. The feature films apart from first contact were dumbed down and lacklustre, badly written with poor scripts.I was hoping enterprise would take off after the lack lustre"voyager" series. I really didn't care if they got home or not before i died of terminal boredom. Enterprise i,m afraid just followed the trend. The scope of the series was severely limited by the tired imagination of its writers, run of the mill scripts"star trek by numbers" I didn't care for the characters or the obvious formula of the series. Even in the really bad original trek episodes (mainly in season three when Roddenberry had lost control) you still cared for the characters , the chemistry was there and they could act. Enterprise is inhabited by cardboard characters. Only Nimoy could inject likeability and complexity into the vulcan character. Enterprise suffered from obvious scripts, lack of inventiveness and social relevance. Hence the use of aliens which should never have appeared in enterprises timeline. It is evidence Trek has been run into the ground and made mundane by a lack of the corporation/producers to change it or experiment with it. The past trek good and bad has become a heavy anchor for anything coming after it because of the need to keep it consistant with its complicated history.
It needs a radical break with its past and gizmo saving device of the week to inject some new life into it. This should have been buried alive.

The Final Season

Oh my god, it's finally over. After watching 1 episode a day, 2 episodes a day or even 3 a day over six months, you don't realise how it's going to affect you, when you realise that you'll never watch another episode of the Next generation ever again.

At the end of the seven seasons there is one final episode by itself on disc seven, and then there are commemorative special features. These are:

- A Captains Tribute
- Departmental Briefing: Production
- Starfleet Memories and Moments
- The making of All Good Things (final episode)
- Special Profiles
- Dressing the Future
- Star Trek DS9 DVD preview

One of the things to note about season seven (the final season) in particular (and I suspected) is that the series doesn't really come to a proper end. I'm not sure that they really had planned an ending for it, and it just ended where is was. There is a certain finality about the final episode, the purpose of which is for the enterprise crew to save humanity; but it isn't even a two-part episode, and maybe the major character had just all had enough.

Many of the episodes in this season revolve around crew members balancing out loyalty to Starfleet duty with family and other personal matters. Esxamples of these include Warf choosing not to turn up on the bridge and choosing to go on a spiritual quest to validate his faith, Dr Crusher going against a direct order and doing an autopsy to investigate a possible murder, and Geordie ignoring Captain's order, convinced that his missing mother is down on the planet's surface.

Generally the series is like any of the others, although I would say at this point that it does feel at times like it might be running out of steam. Having said this, I don't think that it's any less entertaining to watch than the other seasons. There are a few dubious episodes that I don't really like (and far too much confusing time travel!), but there are also very good ones that I wouldn't want to have missed. There is also another return of Tasha Yar, more involvement from Q, more Borg episodes, an unexpected romance for Troy (shall remain nameless), and Data also meets his Father and Mother.

The tragic fate of Enterprise Exhibit A

The third season of Enterprise is roughly equal to the fourth in terms of quality. Granted it lacks the pure fun of episodes like"In a Mirror Darkly" but still gives us wonderful stories. The grim"Twilight", the legendary"Similitude" and"Azanti Prime",and others like the underrated"E2" and"Carpenter Street".

Season three is clearly a work in progress moving away from the ponderous plots of season one and two in favor of a season long epic that still works amazingly well even when you know Earth will survive (No Earth No Star Trek).

Well produced and well written it serves as a sad reminder of the fact that Star Trek series (excepting the first) always seem to work it out around s3. Early TNG, and DS9 bore almost no resemblance to the polished show to come and even the horrific Voyager got...tolerable around season three.

Sadly it wasn't enough coming after Voyager and at a point where the highs of DS9 and Next Gen were fading into the past Enterprise never had enough viewers and by season three was in serious trouble. Cut by two episodes to 24 it was already becoming clear that it was highly unlikely Enterprise would reach it's scheduled finish in May 2008.

Far better than Voyager and the first two seasons, just not quite good enough.Enterprise had just twelve months to live but buy this set and remember it for what it was...

Extras: As first release, Documentary featurettes, and cast/crew interviews much as all the other trek disks though helped in this case by the fact most of the material was recorded specially for the disks (unlike the previous series regular reuse of material from the time of airing (even as far back as 1987)) also commentaries.

This release (as with the others) does away with the hard cases used the first time round in favor of a card case and slimline cases. This is actually somewhat of an improvement since the Enterprise sets were the most over packed of the first run releases.

Well worth a look

Enjoy!!!

Very, very frightening...

There are plenty of cracking episodes on this set. The presentation is superb, with an LCARS type of menu system on the DVD (you feel like you're at an Enterprise console when choosing your episodes!), and a looped"engine sound""docking bay" before you"engage" the episode :).

The episode that sticks in my mind most is the one entitled"Phantasms". The way the sense of insecurity builds throughout the episode makes it the most scary TNG I have seen. It also brings a whole new meaning to the concept of"Alien Abduction". Another superb treat is"Relics", which, again, unfolds piece by piece to present a superb"tapestry" of a story, detailing the origins of all life in this galaxy. Great stuff and heartily recommended for all Trekkies, especially at this price and quality.

to boldly go......

i wasnt dissapointed when i bought this box set at a fantastic price. I hadnt seen many of the episodes since i was four when they were originally aired but enjoyed watching them all the same. Great that there was extras at the end of the seventh disc throughly enjoyed watching them there could have been more but i was pleased there was any extras at all

Trek official alternatives

If it is Star Trek fix you are looking for, then you really ought to browsers and look for the high fan series that have been created.

Star Trek Hidden Frontier has recently finished a 7 season run,
Star Trek Odyessy looks set to take over, taking Trek to Andromeda
Helena Chronicles another spin off from Hidden Frontier set aboard the USS Helena featured in the latter episodes of HF.
Trinity a UK post production looks to be taking a darker look for a 4 part mini series at the post Nemesis era.
If you are a fan of the Original series Check out the Star New Voyages which are the continuing adventures of the Enterprise from the end of The Original Series, George Takei and Walter Koenig have both featured in recent episodes.
Starship Farragut takes Trek aboard the USS Farragut set in TOS era.
Star Trek Intrepid another UK production of high quality. with a cross over with Hidden Frontier special coming shortly.
Star Trek Of Gods and Men a by the stars of trek from the fans movie directed by Tim Russ (tuvok) featuring many of the cast of various Treks.

For all things truly Trek, look across the vastness of the internet to discover what is really going on.

Amazing!!!! Incredible!!!!

This Star trek Series was an amazing Trip, And i liked how they got better and better all the way to the end.

It's Just a shame that it never got the chance to go 7 seasons as the others did. A GREAT SHAME.

A steady Warp 5

Whilst this is a superior series to the first, you may still find yourself wincing through some of the cliches and ridiculous lines the actors deliver. TNG didn't really begin to fly until it's third series but here you can see flashes of brilliance with some stand out episodes such as 'Q-Who' which introduced the Borg. Unfortunately there are some real clangers here as well including the dreadful 'Up The Long Ladder' and the truly awful episode where the Counsellor falls for a deaf and mute mediator - the producers clearly trying to make a point about overcoming diversity. The premise of strange new worlds and finding common ground amongst all species is still an admirable one, but it is executed far better in TNG's later series. Worth a look, but don't expect your warp engines to be engaged.

Trek turns bland.

With the death of Gene Rodenberry, this was the first season to be fully produced by Rick Berman. The result is disappointing, to say the least. At this point, TNG stopped being about strange new worlds and instead focused on rather bland morality plays. But far worse than any of this is the entrance of composer Jay Chattawy onto the scene following Berman's firing of the brilliant Ron Jones. Sadly, Chattaway's scores are so distractingly bland and repetitive that the 50% of shows that he scored in the ensuing seasons are like eating food without any flavour. It is a shame that the usually vocal Trekkers didn't protest more about the slide in musical scoring at the time, as it actually served as a nail in the coffin for the whole Berman-era franchise - with melodies and original stylistic music essentially banned, each alien, each planet and each adventure started to feel the same. Thankfully, the Dennis McCarthy scored episodes still have at least some bite, such as the very entertaining"Cause and Effect".

Disregard at your peril!

Some will tell you that season 2 is the weakest of the 4 seasons...not so! At the very least you'll need to see the first and last episodes to keep the flow of the story...BUT

Minefield and Dead Stop...the CGI is glorious;
A Night in Sickbay...is fun;
Cease Fire...builds on the Andorian relationship;
Future Tense...Dr Who fans,hopefully will smile;
Canamar / Carbon Creek / Catwalk... good ol' stories;
Regeneration...handy if you've seen the 'First Contact' movie but not essential...my family were shouting at the screen!
ETC...ETC...

Okay, so they're like all heroes, you know they're going to pull thru' but the journey they take you on is a creative pleasure.
So, why skip this one?

Star Trek The next Generatin season 3

I was wondering if any body else who has Star trek The Next Generation Season 3 onwards.
If anyone is having the same problem I have had. After you have played the first episode,it does not stay in English and you have to go into communications on the menu
to change it each time to English. As the first two seasons, one and two are not doing this.Thanks.About from that Star trek is a great TV series.

Datasfan

This Season is has a strong theme of Romulan vs. Klingons and The Federation in almost every 2-3 episodes. It's a subtle but effective build-up to the Redemption at the end of the Season. My favourite episodes are"Data's Day","In Theory","The Loss","First Contact" and"Reunion". Most of the episodes in Season Four touches on family, friendship and romantic relationships and we get to see Data really trying to understand and imitate human emotions, behaviours and relationships - it makes me realise how complicated it is to be a human and also at the same time just how special we are to have all the capabilities we do have. In this Season we also see Troi becoming just 'human' for a while which is a bit different to other episodes. Worf suffers personal tragedy but at the same time meeting his son for the first time. Geordi has his scary moments and Reiker gets chased around in hospital after the citizens on a developing planet sees him as a dangerous alien! Picard gets dragged into ancient Klingon rituals and has tormented again buy Q and Vash - the usual fun ensues, and accentuates with appearances by Guinan, Lwaxana, The Traveller, Wesley, Keiko & O'Brien (they get married in the Season).

Idiot Writers!

Series 1 & 2 of Enterprise are fantasic! Easily the best Start Trek ever made. New and fresh and with believable and interesting story lines. From series 3 however, the writers just lose the plot. There's even one episode where the crew turns into monkeys! Oh, come off it!

The story lines in series 3 are just too ridiculous to be believable. Did the writers really have to create scenario where Captain Archer and Enterprise literally save the world? How tedious is that! By the end of series 3, you are totally sick of hearing the word"Xindi".

Then there's all of this nonsense about time travel which plays a significant part in the saga. It's just too ridiculous to be believable.

The writers have really done a poor job here. Don't they realise that part of the charm and magic of the show is its believability? Don't they realize that trekkies are looking for fantastic technologies and seeing how they are used, and for new life and how humanity interacts with it, and the exploration of"strange new worlds". The occassional battle is okay too - but not one lasting a whole season.

Overall - I'm not impressed and there's no doubt in my mind that it's the crap writing that did for Enterprise which was canned after series 4. What a waste!

worse season of star trek

What people have failed to review here is what a poor season no 3 actually was. The show was in big trouble when it's 3rd season came around.Creator gene roddenberry had left the show after being promised that star treks 3rd season would have the top tv slot of the week,7pm on a mon night,the execs at nbc changed their minds and bumped trek to fri nights at 10pm when its core audience kids n teenagers would be either in bed or out partying. Rodenberry left in disgust and most of the briliant writers who had worked on season 1 and 2 left also, along with the brillaint D.C fontana who by no coincidence produced 1 last script for the show which ends up one of seasson 3's best eps! NBC brought in freddy frieberger a staple of western shows in the 60;s who had a different vision than roddenberry,also nbc made huge budget cuts in the last season as it wasnt a prime time show anymore,it definately shows too,only 1 ep had location filming this season and all the other eps were in the studio or enterprised based.

There are 3 or 4 good eps like"all our yesterdays""the enterprise incident" and a couple of others but it was not a patch on season 1 and 2..get those dvd sets if your new to trek but leave this to last as its not that great

If only all movies (and DVD commentaries) were like this

Stuff your Citizen Kane; this is the perfect movie.
Not the perfect Star Trek movie, the perfect movie.
Here's the proof:

Perfect for kids: things go boom and look good when they do. 20+ years later the models look better then a lot of CG. Plus, a bug crawls out of a giant rubber ear - genius!

Perfect for grown ups: there is a proper story with characters and everything. It may be a little meladramatic in places, but some of these performances are solid gold. Read the other reviews for ten tons of Ricardo Montleban-flavoured-love.

Perfect for studio execs: it made a ton of money and set up a francise. Nice.

Perfect for film buffs: the director commentary is the most interesting I've heard. As well as all the usual anecdotal stuff you expect, Nick Meyer talks about his theory of the creative process and directing in general. If ony the director of Star Trek Nemesis (the dodgy 2002 remake) had listened!
I have now watched this more times then the actual film. The making of documentaries are spot on too.

In all seriousness, this may not be the best movie ever made but it's the text book example of a timeless action adventure with a cross generational appeal. And best of all it's still entertaining all these years later, unlike the pap they make you watch in film studies. The special features in this edition are well worth the asking price and compliment the film perfectly as they have the same power to keep you coming back again and again.
2001 can kiss my Kobayashi Maru - Give me Wrath of Kahn!

It just does not go anywhere

Star Trek the Motion Picture is watchable but lacks pace and a really interesting storyline. Instead it drags on for what seems forever and does not really go anywhere. I would only recommend this for fans of the series, and only if they have seen the better films which appeared later.

Animated Trekking

This is Star Trek but in animated form everyone returns for these animated series as the original actors lend them voices to their ainmated doubles.

This was a very short lived series but it helped the actors and writers produce some episodies which couldn't be done in the 1960's live action series.

So get ready to warp into the animated universe with your favourite Starship crew.

The beginning of the end of Star Trek?

This is possibly the most disappointing season of Voyager since the woeful second series.

This year, the neutering of the Borg continued unabated as did the writers obsession with Reginald Barclay and Deanna Troi. The two-parters are single episodes stretched to breaking point and even the stand alone episodes feel as though the writing staff are running on empty. Watching this season gives the impression that the franchise was doomed long before the ill-fated lauch of the Enterprise NX-01.

The major flaw of the seventh season is the finale 'Endgame'. This two-parter is an insult to anyone who invested seven years in Voyager's journey home. The final scene in which Voyager finally arrives at Earth is possibly the greatest anticlimax ever commited to film.