Indeed
By Ben

I have to admit, nine episodes into season four and I am somewhat unimpressed with what I have seen. Of course, I didn’t expect Manny Coto to simply step in and weave a magic blanket over the tinkering Rick Berman and Brannon Braga had etched into this show during its initial outing. I expected it would take time to get things right, but frankly, I never pledged full faith in the man himself; I was cautious but optimistic. I wanted to see what he was capable of as much as the next person, but I wasn’t expecting him to snap his stubby fingers and right all the wrongs straight away. Still, season four has been a worthy entrant into the franchise, and has even set out to give us a new angle on what has come before it.

Let me get one thing straight. While I understand and can see where B&B went wrong, I feel they did deliver us an enjoyable debut and sophomore season. Yes, the characters were paper-thin, yes it was too focused on digital effects rather than optimistic ideas and ripe stories, but it was a promising start. Season three was a step in the right direction; admittedly not as good as promised, and there still wasn’t enough focus on the characters, but it was doing something right. It told a good, engaging story and made the viewer aware of its on-screen presence.

I enjoy Enterprise; I enjoyed it during season one and two, while admitting its many weaknesses and failings, but I enjoyed it all the same. While I think that even its third year couldn’t hold a candle to any of the DS9 seasons (yes, even the abbreviated first season), I began to sit up and wonder, wonder whether B&B were actually prepared to now do the right thing and really get down and dirty with quality storytelling and strong characters.

When I heard that they were relinquishing control of the series to Odyssey creator Manny Coto, I was neither joyous nor disapproving. As mentioned above, I remained cautious.

Critics have suddenly turned 180 on Enterprise of late, proclaiming it as a show maturing, a show finally realising its potential. Now, I am sorry, but am I alone in thinking that nine episodes into season three, this time last year, Enterprise seemed much more progressive and more mature than it does now? I can’t help but feel Enterprise has take something of a step backwards during the last nine episodes. All the steam and ambition built last year has dissipated, all the energy has burnt out and now we have a show that seems to think it can flaunt some Original Series references and get away with glowing reviews.

Don’t get me wrong, I have enjoyed this first venture into a new Enterprise, it has been good. But why, oh, why are the critics suddenly having illusions of grandeur? I am sorry, but to me season four has done nothing new, its writing quality has not shown improvement, nor has its respect for the character growth, which is already something of a no-show on Enterprise as it is. Season four has not in any way demonstrated the ability to branch out or do something special. It has not done anything other than psychologically weave itself into new hands to differentiate itself from B&B's version of this show.

O.Deus receives some backlash from the readers of TrekWeb for simply expressing his opinion, much in the same way, I am sure, that others who oppose my critique will do so too. I don't always agree with O.Deus, but his judgement on season four has been the closest that mirrors my experience with it so far. Time will tell of course, but so far I am not entirely convinced. It further confuses me when I see that over 70% of voters pledge a perfect score to the recent slew of episodes, including the bore-fest that was 'Awakening', an episode that received practically unanimous praise, yet bored me half to death with its unfocused editing, and bland dialogue and drab settings. I'd be willing to bet that the same episode scribed in B&B's seasons would have been viewed much more differently by the fans, not for good, but for worse.

Is Enterprise being subjected to physiological brainwashing? I can't help but think so. If it keeps receiving the kind of over-the-top praise it has had recently, then the powers that be could become over confident in their abilities, and reduce the show to the kinds of episodes and stories we have had already. If fans are genuinely happy with that, then so be it, but my wandering attention needs more than just a few oddball homage’s and ‘decent’ scripting to keep me alert, it needs strength in numbers, it needs entertainment.