re: Shatner on Enterprise
By SirTrekker

I'd be very excited to have William Shatner appear on Enterprise, but my excitement will turn to complete and utter disappointment if he returns as James T. Kirk. The very idea of Kirk appearing in Archer's time would require a plot device so contrived that it would never, EVER be accepted for any other character on Enterprise. The naysayers would shoot it down like a duck during hunting season if it involved any other character, current or brand-new. The fact that people would turn a blind eye to the continuity issues Kirk's appearance in Archer's time would create, while they'll raise issue about the Borg and the Xindi, not to mention Archer's involvement in the formation of the Federation, astounds me.

Considering the comments I've read about TNG's "Relics" and how it supposedly mishandled the character of Montgomery Scott in what should've been his triumphant return to the TREK universe, I cannot understand how people can be okay with Berman and Braga handling a episode with Shatner as Kirk. If you really think that William Shatner will have complete control over that episode, you're fooling yourselves. In the end, it'll be done THEIR way, not his, because they still run the show. That's not the way I want it, of course, but that's the way it'll be.

William Shatner should play another character, perhaps a Starfleet official or military officer very much like Kirk that becomes involved in a mission that Archer and his crew must undertake. He can still be the hero, like Kirk is to all of us, and at the same time, preserve the continuity we're all so adamant about in every other circumstance.

I know I'm fighting a losing battle arguing for the "no Kirk on Enterprise" position, but I refuse to surrender. Kirk on Enterprise is a cheap ratings scheme that does not mean any long-term improvements for Enterprise. It's a one-time deal that will only bring a brief moment of excitement and MAYBE a slight boost in ratings, then we'll be back to the same-ol', same-ol'.

It would take a miracle of storytelling to change my opinion on this, and since I know Berman and Braga will be involved in this episode, I can remain comfortable in my point of view.