The Show- The second season of
'Star Trek Enterprise' hits the shops and it is a good one. They have looked at the first season and ironed out some the snags and honed the characters. Time travel does not appear to be a plot device when they cannot think of anything else and Ensign Travis Mayweather’s (Anthony Montgomery) character actually seems to have a purpose and not just there for the ‘D’oh !’ factor. Well done guys, but guys why do you still have that warbling over the title credits ? Yes, sadly Russell Watson is still sounding like a pre-pubescent Rod Stewart wannabee, can no-one find him a vacant airlock ?
We blast off into the second part and the conclusion to the cliffhanger ending of season 1. 'Shockwave Part 2' has Enterprise fighting on all sides, due to the catastrophe of which the crew are being blamed for they are being recalled home with their mission cancelled. Do not go boldly it seems.
Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) is still perhaps a little too hands on, but he has now got used to the shoes he is filling and plays his role with more ease. In general the cast actually do very well and show their comfort with their roles. Again stand out performances come in from Denobulan Doctor Phlox (John Billingsley), and Vulcan Sub-Commander T'Pol (Jolene Blalock), who gets to play with more than one emotion.
This season it is not only the Vulcans that are keeping a constant eye on the proceedings of Enterprise, the Klingons are never far away. From the menu screens on the discs showing the Klingon Birds of Prey to the episodes where Archer is stated to be an enemy of the empire. These warrior aliens but heads on more than one occasion.
Again we have the usual mix of episodes, the Vulcan ones, the Klingon ones, the Andorian ones, the Suliban ones, and even the Borg and a Tribble get to pay a visit. The Borg episode ties in nicely with the
‘Star Trek First Contact’ storyline. Only this time we are not treated to a cliffhanger by the time we get to the season end, no it’s much worse than that.
Sex appeal is on the up with more anti-contamination scrubs and for those that are interested, Trip (Connor Trinneer) spends quite a lot of his time with his shirt off. I guess Braga, who has always wanted a gay free space of the future, seems to be doing quite well to provide the sex appeal on both fronts. T'Pol still provides the best pair of lips on the show.
Stand out episodes, and there are a few, but none come with as much recommendation as ‘Cogenitor’. A moralistic tale that shows the path to ruin is indeed paved with good intentions. Touching, shocking and superbly handled by none other than LeVar Burton (or more commonly known in the 'Star Trek' universe as Geordi La Forge, check out the extras on disc 7 for more from him).
Ensign Hoshi Sato (Linda Park) has a great episode in which she develops her character, in ‘Vanishing Point’ she has her first transporter episode and it does not go well. She seems to have disappeared from all to see but she thwarts an alien takeover attempt. A small quibble with this is that since her molecules are a little scrambled and she can walk through doors and objects, why are her feet solid ? Why does she not fall through the decks ?
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The Extras-
Most of the extras can be found on disc 7, but throughout the series there are lots of deleted scenes. These are a really nice accompaniment as the show things before the music, clicks, beeps, and swishes are added in. There are also a few audio and text commentaries.
‘Enterprise Moments: Season Two’, the cast reflects on the second season.
‘Enterprise Moments: Jolene Blalock’ gives a nice and detailed and happy Miss Blalock discussing her role and how she has developed as much as T'Pol has. She briefly mentions her start in a modelling career going through the auditions and sounding humbly to boot. Nice girl indeedy.
‘LeVar Burton: Star Trek Director’ is a look at the star of
'The Next Generation' and a director of various episodes in all the series’ afterwards.
‘Enterprise Secrets’ this time does a great little number. David Trotti, 1st Assistant Director relates how he started on ‘Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country’ and the creation of a Klingon penal colony, Rura Penthe, in which Kirk and McCoy were sentenced to life, this is revisted by Archer in ‘Judgment’ as he is given the same harsh punishment.
‘Inside a night in Sickbay’ is a 10 minute behind the scenes on this particular episode, this is the ‘ship’ show for this season. This is one of these that centres mostly in one space with only a few characters, in this case Archer, Flox and Porthos.
‘Outtakes’ are lots of fun and frolics with the cast getting things wrong.
‘Photo Gallery’ is exactly what it says…. Plenty of pics for your viewing pleasure.
We also have a promotional trailer for the new experience ‘Borg Invasion’ and a funky ‘Star Trek Original Series’ trailer.
‘Shooting Future Tense’ is the real gem in the extras section. This is a behind the scenes look at one particular days filming and is excellent viewing !
Again Paramount has pulled out the stops on the transfers and the packaging. Another handsome 7 disc set to stack on your shelves, with plenty of extras, great animated menus and the excellent Dobly Digital 5.1 sound booming away every swish, zap and boom of thundering engines.
For those wanting to know what and where the Easter eggs are, please go to page 3 of this review, for those wishing to explore on their own, thanks for reading.
'Star Trek: Enterprise Season 2' is available in the UK via
AmazonUK and available for pre-order in the US via
Amazon.
You can read more about the DVD in our
database.
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The Easter Eggs-
To get to Easter egg number 1, ‘NX-01 File 04’, go to the ‘Enterprise Moments’ option, hit left and this will highlight the plan of the BOP. This has Scott Bakula commenting on the many visitors, from fans to friends to celebrities, to the sets.
To get to Easter egg number 2, ‘NX-01 File 05’, go to the ‘Enterprise Profile: Jolene Blalock’ option hit left, and this will highlight the front of the BOP. This is short and sweet look with Linda Park at her character Ensign Hoshi Sato.
To get to Easter egg number 3, ‘NX-01 File 06’, go to the ‘Borg Invasion Trailer’ option hit left, and this will highlight the front of the BOP. This has Anthony Montgomery gushing about Whoopi Goldberg and star status.
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