Looking Back At Enterprise, Season One, As Blu-ray Beams Into Stores

Star Trek: Enterprise – Season One is out today on Blu-ray, and to celebrate its arrival, we at StarTrek.com thought we’d stir up some conversation by inviting you – the fans – to revisit what went right and what went wrong with the fifth and, for now, final live-action Trek show. We also elicited some feedback from Enterprise co-creator and co-executive producer Rick Berman and co-stars Anthony Montgomery and John Billingsley.

All eyes were on Enterprise when it launched on September 26, 2001. It seemed like a great idea, a prequel that would unfold before the adventures of Captain Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise as seen in Star Trek: The Original Series. It promised the notion of characters not too far removed from ourselves today venturing out into space. Along the way, they’d interact with alien species, some brand-new, others familiar to fans of the franchise. Likewise, the evolution/introduction of everything from warp drive to force fields, red alerts to beaming up and down could be depicted.Enterprise started out strong. More than 12.5 million people tuned into the series’ opener, “Broken Bow,” and it was arguably the best Trek premiere ever, with two hours of engaging action, character introduction and universe building, as well as feature-quality cinematography and special effects. However, Enterprise started to hemorrhage viewers after “Broken Bow” and the show never recovered.

“I hope that the Blu-ray release of Enterprise will give people the opportunity to see the series through fresh eyes,” Rick Berman told StarTrek.com. “There were a few clunkers, for which I take my share of responsibility, but there were also some gems. The show deserves a second look.”“Our series has received a lot of criticism,” former Enterprise star Anthony Montgomery says, echoing Berman’s comments. “I'm excited about Enterprise coming out on Blu-ray because hopefully it will give some people a chance to experience the show from a fresh perspective. I hope they'll see that Star Trek: Enterprise is quality entertainment."

Meanwhile, John Billingsley added a bit of levity to the conversation. "So... Enterprise haters, here's your chance to revile us all over again," the actor said. "Bile is better the second time around! And Enterprise lovers -- Yes, that means you, mom -- if you purchase the Season One Blu-ray and play it backward, super-secret Denobulan courtship rituals will be revealed (or so the producer's claim....). Enjoy!"

In the meantime, it’s worth considering how and why the ratings for Enterprise plunged during season one. Please let us know your thoughts on the following:

Did a prequel make sense -- or were fans looking for a new adventure/spin-off?Was it the writing, acting, that theme song, a lack of access to UPN, or something else that compelled you to tune out?Let the debate begin.