Nov 23 | Chuckreturns to NBC with a special two-hour show on Sunday, Jan 10, 2010, before returning to its regular time slot, Mondays at 8pm on the following night. It's return to prime time television can be attributed to a successful fan renewnal campaign last year. CHUCK is a one-hour, action-comedy series that follows Chuck Bartowski (Zachary Levi, "Less Than Perfect") -- a computer geek who is catapulted into a new career as the government's most vital secret agent. This upcoming season will include some special guest stars, including Brandon Routh of "Superman Returns" who will play CIA agent Daniel Shaw in an episode, and the addition of SUBWAY restaurant as a major advertiser to the show. Chuck averaged a 4.0/6 rating last season, about eight percent better than the recently cancelled "Trauma". Ratings-challenged Heroes moves back an hour when Chuck returns on Monday nights. STAR TREK VOYAGER's Robert Duncan McNeill serves Chuckas a supervising producer and director.
Nov 17 | Originally hired as co-executive producer to help with the second half of the show's first season, Kevin Murphy has now taken the reins of Caprica, the Battlestar Galactica prequel on Syfy, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He now serves as an executive producer along with Ronald D. Moore, David Eick and Jane Espenson and oversees the day-to-day functions of the show.
Nov 12 | Star Trek star Zachary Quinto is loosely attached to star in the romantic dramedy Whirligig, reports Risky Business.Quinto would play the lead role in the independent Canadian film, which is aiming to shoot early next year. The movie centers on a man who, in a misguided attempt to woo an older woman, befriends the woman's adopted son.Chaz Thorne is directing the pic, based on a screenplay by Michael Amo, creator of the Canadian supernatural series "The Listener."
Nov 11 | The CNS Foundation, is hosting an on-line charity auction at www.charitybuzz.com. One of the items they are auctioning is a signed movie poster of the new Star Trek movie which has all the cast members and writers. The president of our organization is Carol Abrams, JJ's mother, and she arranged for the donation from Bad Robot Production Company. J.J. Abrams is also a major donor to their organization. The funds raised will go to help find a cure to neurological disorders in children. The auction link is here.
Nov 10 | Candice Bergen, Charles Lisanby, Don Pardo, Gene Roddenberry, Tom and Dick Smothers and Bob Stewart have been selected as the next inductees into the Television Academy's Hall of Fame. They will be honored at a Jan. 20 ceremony at the Beverly Hills Hotel. "This year's inductees have challenged and shaped popular culture, changed television for the better and entertained us royally while doing so," TV Academy Chairman-CEO John Shaffner said. More info at the Hollywood Reporter
This new third season of STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE looks and sounds wonderful, even better than in its original broadcasts! All 24 episodes of the third season are presented in its original broadcast form in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen format and enhanced for 16x9 viewing. The 42-minute episodes are divided into eight chapters apiece, with chapter breaks falling in appropriate place over all, and are spread out over the first six dual-layered discs of the set. The details and colors are rich and crisp, so all of the detail leaps out onto the screen. It's even better than what I recall viewing in their initial broadcasts on UPN! I should point out that the first two episodes 'The Xindi' and 'Anomaly' have slightly different title credits included, as the main title now reads STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE, to fit in with the remainder of the other episodes. More on this later.
The sound quality is again exceptional, with a wonderful Dolby Digital 5.1 mix that is more atmospheric than immersive. Everything that went into the episodes, the dialog, the music, the sound effects, come off extremely clear and very well-layered. The set also comes with an English Dolby 2.0 surround track, as well as English subtitles and closed captions for the hearing-impaired. After seeing and hearing some of the most memorable moments of Season 3 in 5.1 sound, especially when the poor Enterprise keeps getting pounded left and right to hell and back in 'Azati Prime', who would want to listen to it in 2.0 sound? There's just no comparison. All that this needs to really sweeten the deal would be an even sweeter 6.1 or DTS track.
Packaging and Menus:
Season 3 of ENTERPRISE is presented in the same format as the previous two sets, with a wonderful dual outer packaging with the series' title emblazoned and embossed on the front and the ship's logo embossed on the back. There's nothing on this outer packaging to distinguish it from its first two counterparts, which makes for an easily confusing situation. The only thing to make it stand out comes in the inner plastic slipcover, with the Season 3 logo written on the front and sides. Add to it the same blue plastic booklet tray, and things get really confusing. At the very least the other sets were easily color-coded to distinguish one season from another, and especially in the case of VOYAGER with different color-coded display trays. Otherwise, it tends to get confusing when multiple seasons are involved.
The discs themselves are neatly arranged as before, with each disc presenting episode information in broadcast order with episode titles, airdates and episode calendar dates listed accordingly. The packaging also comes with a concise 12-page booklet of episode information, series' recap, commentary on Archer's actions and impact in later centuries, and a preview of Season 4. A miniature flyer for the STAR TREK Experience, and a coupon for $20 back off the purchase of Seasons 3 and 4 (or the purchase of the complete series), is also included.
The menu design navigation follows in the same suit as the previous two sets, but only this time with all-new CGI animation of the Xindi-Reptilian starships, the scout ships, and the giant super weapon. The menu navigation spotlighting the Xindi-Reptilian starship is the backdrop for the episode selection process, with separate menus for chapter selection, audio and subtitles, and optional menus on selected episodes for deleted scenes and commentaries. The menu selection on Disc 7 focuses on schematics for the Xindi-Reptilian ship as you make your choice where to go. Again, the animation is exceptionally done, and the DVD designers definitely should be working in feature films or television, if they're not already doing so. Well done!
The Extras:
The new season set of ENTERPRISE comes packed with a wealth of bonus features totaling nearly five hours in all. While we get some good meat included in this new set, the number of bonus features, as with the number of episodes, are lesser this time around than usual, but the meat on the bone is significant nonetheless.
Two audio commentaries are included in this set, one with assistant director Mike DeMerritt on 'North Star' and one with Manny Coto on 'Similitude'. This is both DeMerritt and Coto's first turn on audio commentaries for a STAR TREK DVD set, and it's refreshing to hear some new voices chime in with their thoughts on their work on the series. DeMerritt offers up some interesting thoughts on filming segments of 'North Star' on the Universal Studios back lot, while Coto addresses the moral issues of cloning and stem cell research in 'Similitude', giving praise to Connor Trinneer and director LeVar Burton (Geordi LaForge) for pulling everything together very well.
Text commentaries from TREK historians Michael and Denise Okuda are also a part of this set and featured on 'The Xindi', 'Impulse', and 'Countdown'. As has been the case in previous contributions, the Okuda text commentary is filled with little anecdotes and bits of trivia about cast members, supporting players, story points, and production information. At times the information is interesting, at times it's not, but it makes for an interesting inclusion on the sets.
Deleted scenes are once again a part of this latest ENTERPRISE set, though the amount here is far fewer than usual, with three scenes from 'Similitude' and one scene from 'Chosen Realm' located on Disc 3, and two scenes from 'E2' located on Disc 6. All of the deleted scenes are presented in anamorphic widescreen format and in Dolby 2.0 surround sound with original production audio included. There's a great father-son bonding moment between Archer and Sim in 'Similitude' which involves Porthos, as well as a wonderful interaction between Sim and T'Pol in Engineering. The scene from 'Chosen Realm' is a good moment where we get to glimpse the religious zealots' plot to attack their home world, as well as T'Pol's failed attempt to convince the zealots of the error of their thinking. 'E2' offers a pair of additional moments, one of which uses the color portion lifted from the episode and the black-and-white footage used in the final episode, that further define the relationship between Trip and Lorian, as well as a prophetic line from Phlox that ties in to THE NEXT GENERATION. Granted, these moments had to be cut for time constraints, but they are nonetheless a welcome addition.
The remaining bonus features are located on Disc 7 of this new set. THE XINDI SAGA BEGINS is a look at the development of the third season as a year-long arc following on the heels of the end of 'The Expanse'. Rick Berman discusses the need for beefing up the characters and looking to THE VOYAGE HOME and FIRST CONTACT as prime examples of what to consider when placing Earth in danger. Both Berman and Brannon Braga are quite candid in their thoughts about Paramount putting pressure on them to revamp ENTERPRISE for the third season. Oddly enough, Berman mentions that he wasn't sure if the Xindi arc would last an entire season and says the reason for the series' ratings had nothing to do with the content of what was produced, a statement many fans would argue was indeed the reason for the series' fall. Braga discusses the nearly complete development of Season 3 after a month-long break, the origins of the Xindi races, and his concern about never doing a 24-part episode. (Had Braga completely forgotten about DEEP SPACE NINE and Fox's popular series 24?) Scott Bakula talks about how nobody could imagine what would possibly happen in such an attack, drawing obvious allusions to 9/11, and John Billingsley adds to Bakula's thoughts the allegory of the LORD OF THE RINGS saga as a similar allusion to World War II. Mike Sussman talks about the idea of pirates being in the Delphic Expanse, which became 'Anomaly', and gives credit to Braga for a defining moment in Archer's character that influenced the rest of the season. Bakula points out how everyone brought up the question of how Archer could stoop to such lows and how it made an impact on the later episodes of the season, most notably in 'Damage', which writer Phyllis Strong describes as one of her favorite episodes. Both Bakula and Strong give credit to the development of the B-plot of T'Pol's drug addiction as an essential growth to her character that began back in S1's 'Fusion'. Manny Coto describes the importance of the third season being more military-oriented and how Archer and crew should look to getting back into peaceful exploration, the very nature of STAR TREK. Running time: 13:00.
ENTERPRISE MOMENTS: SEASON THREE takes a look at some of the season's more memorable highlights. Rick Berman mentions how they could do single episodes that, while not directly dealing with the Xindi story arc, could touch upon those elements, especially in episodes such as 'Twilight', which Mike Sussman describes as a futuristic love story between Archer and T'Pol. Sussman relates how Scott Bakula was concerned about the exact nature of Archer and T'Pol's relationship in the episode, which resulted in its deletion from the script. John Billingsley discusses the events of 'Chosen Realm' and its modern-day parallels to religious terrorism in the Middle East. Manny Coto is most proud of his first episode for the series, 'Similitude', a fan-favorite episode that dealt with Sim's debate about living versus dying. Billingsley also cites 'Similitude' as one of his favorite episodes because of the topical issue of cloning. Connor Trinneer discusses how he enjoyed doing a season-long story arc, comparing it to telling an entire story in two hours on stage. David Livingston discusses the emotional impact of directing 'Harbinger', the drama of the Sphere builders' exact nature, the sexual climax of Trip and T'Pol's relationship, and the conflict between Reed and Major Hayes (Steven Culp). Behind-the-scenes footage accompanies Livingston's description of staging the fight like a Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers dance sequence. Dominic Keating describes the physical intensity of the episode and working with stuntman Vince Deadrick in shooting the fight sequence. Berman returns to discuss the problems in finishing out the Xindi arc because there was not enough story material to get the series to the end of the season, requiring the first two episodes of Season 4 to bring everything to a resolution. Bakula describes how important Archer's character became driven to the point of sacrifice over all to get the mission completed no matter what the cost, and concludes with how going for broke paid off with the final episodes of Season 3. Running time: 13:00.
ENTERPRISE PROFILE: CONNOR TRINNEER spotlights the man behind Trip Tucker, how he began in Season 1 as a gung-ho Southern boy and matured during the seasons as a colorful yet hardened military officer. Both Rick Berman and Brannon Braga have high praise for Trinneer, comparing him to Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner, Rene Auberjonois, and Colm Meaney as an actor who has that little something extra about him that makes writers want to write for him. Trinneer adds how the series first relied on Trip's continual portrayal as a Southern boy to the point of overkill and how such stereotyping got in the way of real character growth during the successive seasons. He also points out how the death of Trip's sister in 'The Expanse' put a real face to the peril on Earth and how his character matured as a result throughout Season 3, and how Trip's relationship with T'Pol became much more layered throughout the rest of the series. Trinneer has high praise for the episode 'Similitude' because it gave him an opportunity to play Sim as a character who was not Trip but had all of Trip's memories, as well as the nation's current interest in cloning and stem cell research. In an interview on the ENTERPRISE set, Trinneer describes the difficulty he and Scott Bakula had in being suspended above the ground for three days covered in goo for S1's 'Vox Sola', as opposed to being buried in sand for 'Desert Crossing'. Trinneer relates how an unexpected sandstorm wreaked havoc on the set and crew and how he wished he and Bakula could have done more buddy moments in later episodes. Trinneer is appreciative of the amount of material he's been given over the series' run and how it led to his character's definition and lineage with other engineers in the TREK franchise. There's a complete lack of the typical backslapping praise from everyone else, which for once is good because the focus is squarely on Trinneer, though I would have loved to learn more about his acting background and what led him to ENTERPRISE. Running time: 17:00.
Actually, I found the video quality to be somewhat lacking. Many scenes on the Enterprise lack sharpness, and there's so much blooming from light sources and reflections/refractions that it looks like I'm watching most of the show through a fogbank.
But there were also numerous times when the detail really was sharp and crisp, and the images seemed to jump off the screen. It's ridiculously uneven.
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"Serenity" is the movie "Star Wars" prequels wish they could be.
I wouldn't criticize them too sharply on the opening credits. If opening credits were kept as originally aired, we'd still have STAR TREK THE WRATH OF KHAN, without the Roman numeral two; John Snyder's name would be spelled incorrectly still on the episode "The Masterpiece Society" and "Rules of Acquisition" would be spelled wrong still.
As long as we remember what the changes are, and that they were made, I'll be happy.
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