Big Picture Big Sound

The Film

Despite William Shatner acting like the be-all-end-all of Star Trek, he wasn't even the original captain of the Enterprise. Chronologically, in our time, sure. However, in Star Trek world, Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) came way first.

Star Trek: Enterprise - Season One is a prequel to the series that launched the entire franchise back in the '60s. It was also the one that brought the franchise to a screeching halt. After four seasons on the UPN (remember them?), the show's cancellation meant the end of an 18-year run (!) of original Star Trek programming.

This installment's maiden voyage delivers a hearty 25 episodes to introduce us to the time period and the cast, including our aforementioned captain, sultry Vulcan T'Pol (Jolene Blalock), and super-stud Charles Tucker (Connor Trinneer). Not all of the characters are as memorable as this trio -- and neither are all of this season's episodes. However, most of the cast is likeable enough and there are a lot of entertaining moments here. The stand-out episodes of the season include "Dear Doctor," "Shuttlepod One," and the finale "Shockwave, Part I." Yeah, three out of 25 isn't all that awesome, but it sets the course for what's to come. And it's Star Trek, people; good luck staying away.

The Picture

If you're expecting anything close to the other Star Trek releases Paramount has been cranking out, you're expecting way too much. Paramount and CBS didn't put the same type of time, care and money into this one that's been evident in the other installments of the franchise -- and it absolutely shows here. While not completely awful, this 1.78:1 image is average at best. And that's sort of a disappointment, given that it's the most recent of all of the Star Trek series. Colors are nice, but the detail here is poor and leaves a lot to be desired.

The Sound

Again, if this were any other 2001 TV show, the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track presented here would be just fine. It packs a few punches, but most of the action sticks close to the front. The dialogue is always clear, though. That said, this is a Star Trek series, people. The two TNG Blu-ray sets to date (Season One and Season Two) are so darn immersive, making this one just look like a big dud.

The Extras

All of the above is (almost) forgiven, thanks to this release's stellar collection of extras. As with the other Star Trek sets, this portion of the program is a real winner. There are deleted scenes, commentaries and a lot of really intertesting criticism about the show in general. Creators Rick Berman and Brannon Braga shed the most light and dish the most dirt on the series, making new featurettes "In Conversation" and the three-part doc "To Boldly Go: Launching Enterprise" the ones you want to watch.

Final Thoughts

If you didn't catch the series the first time around and you're a Star Trek fan -- well, how could you have possibly missed it? If by some force of nature, that was the case, you'll want to pick up Star Trek: Enterprise - Season One. The first season sets up the whole thing, and you know you're going to want to pick up the next three sets! Although some of the episodes and the AV here can't hold a candle to the other installments in the franchise, the bonus features alone make this one worth checking out.

Product Details

• Actors: Scott Bakula, John Billingsley, Jolene Blalock, Dominic Keating, Anthony Montgomery, Linda Park, Connor Trinneer, Mark Correy
• Directors: Various
• Audio/Languages: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (English), Dolby Digital 5.1 (German, Italian), Dolby Digital 2.0 (French, Japanese, Spanish)
• Subtitles: English SDH, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Spanish, Swedish
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of Discs: 6
• Rating: NR
• Studio: Paramount
• Blu-ray Disc Release Date: March 26, 2013
• Run Time: 1149 minutes
• List Price: $119.99
• Extras:
  • Disc One:
    • "Broken Bow" Deleted Scenes
    • "Broken Bow" commentary by Brannon Braga, James L. Conway, Connor Trinneer, Dominic Keating, and Dan Curry
    • "Broken Bow" commentary by Brannon Braga and Rick Berman (2005)
    • "Broken Bow" text commentary by Mike & Denise Okuda (2005)
    • Cast Introduction
    • "Fight or Flight" Deleted Scenes
    • In Conversation: Rick Berman and Brannon Braga
    • Network Presentation
    • Syndication Presentation
    • Archival Mission Logs:
      • Creating Enterprise
      • O Captain! My Captain! A Profile of Scott Bakula
      • NX-01 File 02
  • Disc Two:
    • "Unexpected" Deleted Scene
    • "The Andorian Incident" Text Commentary by Mike & Denise Okuda (2005)
    • Archival Mission Logs:
      • Cast Impressions: Season One
      • Enterprise Secrets
  • Disc Three:
    • "Silent Enemy" commentary by André Bormanis and Dan Curry
    • "Sleeping Dogs" Deleted Scene
    • Archival Mission Logs:
      • Star Trek Time Travel: Temporal Cold Wars and Beyond
      • Admiral Forrest Takes Center Stage
  • Disc Four:
    • "Shadows of P'Jem" commentary by Mike Sussman and Phyllis Strong
    • "Shuttlepod One" Deleted Scene
    • "Shuttlepod One" commentary by Brannon Braga, David Livingston, Connor Trineer and Dominic Keating
    • Archival Mission Logs:
      • Inside "Shuttlepod One"
      • NX-01 File 01
      • NX-01 File 03
  • Disc Five:
    • "Oasis" Deleted Scenes
    • "Vox Sola" Text Commentary by Mike & Denise Okuda (2005)
    • "Fallen Hero" Deleted Scenes
    • On the Set
    • Archival Mission Log:
      • Enterprise Outtakes
  • Disc Six:
    • "Two Days and Two Nights" Deleted Scene
    • "Shockwave, Part 1" Deleted Scenes
    • To Boldly Go: Launching Enterprise
    • Part 1: Countdown
    • Part 2: Boarding the NX-01
    • Part 3: First Flight
    • Archival Mission Log:
      • Celebrating Star Trek