# Star Trek: Enterprise - The Complete Series - DVD Review



## Mike Edwards (Mar 10, 2011)

[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=89002[/img] 
*Title: Star Trek: Enterprise - The Complete Series* 

*Movie:* :4stars:
*Video:* :4stars:
*Audio:* :3.5stars: 
*Extras:* :4stars: 

*HTS Overall Score:*77




[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=89010[/img]*Summary*
It’s been a good 12 years since “Star Trek: Enterprise” ended, and I have to say that the outrage and anger over the show makes it one of the more maligned shows in the Trek universe. After years of ragging on the show myself and thinking it was the worst thing that could have ever happened to the Trekverse, I have to admit that not only is it not as bad as I made it out to be, but it’s actually a pretty enjoyable series. I fully admit that first two seasons were largely forgettable fluff, and that they had a hard time getting their bearings. But once the third season kicked off the powers that be had gotten a stable foothold on the universe and were pumping out a much more serialized arc than the traditional episodic show that Trek normally is. Season 4 was amazing, but it was too little too late. The show had already been cancelled and the crew had to wrap up the show with little to no fanfare (and they had to end it with the worst episode in the entire show. Even fans who didn’t like what came before had to admit that the final episode is better left skipped and let the viewers end the series on the second to last one in season 4). 

Season 1 was a strange one for sure. People weren’t sure about Scott Bakula as Captain Archer, and much of the backstory of the Enterprise had been rewritten to get it in the timeline that the show is based upon. Then there was the infamous choice to change the typical orchestral opening of a Trek show and change it to some random pop song that just WON’T get out of your head (it’s nearly as bad as listening to “Let it Go” on “Frozen”. Stupid song just keeps going on and on and on). However, the song grows on you and the show even more so.

The year is 2151 and the world has changed since Zefram Cochran made contact with the Vulcans (with the help of the future enterprise if you’ve watching “First Contact”), and humanity is starting out on its own. The first major starship is being launched, known as the USS Enterprise. A massive beast whose goal is exploration and investigation of this new frontier. Helming it is Captain Archer (Scott Bakula) and a host of other handpicked crewman, including Commander Trip Tucker (Connor Trinneer), Linguist Hoshi Sato (Linda Park), Security officer Malcolm Reed (Dominic Keating) and Vulcan liaison T’Pol (Jolene Blalock). Together they form the base crew of the Starship Enterprise and its mission into space.

[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=89018[/img]
The missions start out easy enough, but it becomes obvious that a mysterious race is working against the enterprise. Time and time again this alien race gets in their way, and soon it becomes clear that this threat is greater than a few raiders. Dipping into the second season we get to find out that they are a race that is being controlled from the future for a nefarious end, and the fate of humanity is carrying the weight of their fury.

That’s not to say that the show doesn’t have its fair shair of episodic adventures. We get plenty of one on one time with all of the major characters, and delve a little bit into their lives with episodes aboard a transport freighter where we see into Ensign Mayweather’s past, or an episode where the crew comes upon a cybernetic race buried under ice and snow. A race that any Trek fan will know immediately when you see the neon green rays surrounding their bodies and the distinctive “Resistance is futile” line (although it’s an episode that drove many a fan nuts, as it completely flies in the face of what happens about the Enterprise in “The Next Generation” when Q introduces the Borg to humanity). Then we have the obligatory love episodes where the crew has to oooo and ahhh over the gorgeous Sub Commander T’Pol. It’s typical trek fare, but the rockiness and awkwardness of the first two seasons made for the sagging ratings that sunk the next two seasons (which were phenomenal by the way). For those interested in reading up on my thoughts on the second half of the show, you can read the full reviews for the Blu-ray seasons I reviewed a few years back HEREand HERE. 




*Rating:* 

Not Rated




*Video* :4stars:
[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=16434[/img]“Enterprise” has never looked GREAT on DVD, but it is has always looked GOOD, at the very least. The digital and film based photography (depending on the season, season 4 used better digital cameras and had a distinct increase in picture quality, even on the DVD set). The image can be rather flat with little “pop” to i, but the colors are solid enough, with reds, blues and yellows shining through nicely. With the majority of the Kodak film shot series is rather dim and dark and the ship itself having minimal lighting, the DVDs can be rather soft and the detail tends to get blurred in with the digital noise. Not to mention some slight shimmering effects at times. Blacks are satisfactory enough, with some decent shadow detail, marred only by the obligatory black crush. I have very few complaints with the encode itself, but rather the way the film was shot and then transferred over to the mastering process. "Enterprise" has never been the one to pop off the screen and wow people, but the DVD encodes are well done and do the best they can with the dim lighting and blue/grey uniforms that dominate the image. Nothing is every imbalanced or poorly encoded, and I saw very little digital artifacting except for some minor aliasing.









*Audio* :3.5stars:
[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=14118[/img]"Star Trek: Enterprise - The Complete Series" is a repackaging of the old 2005 "clamshell" DVD boxsets, and thus has the exact same 5.1 Dolby Digital and 2.0 Dolby Digital tracks on board the 27 disc set. The 2.0 track is pretty good for a TV show stereo track, but the 5.1 Dolby Digital track is where the money's at, as it was filmed that way. The show has never been a giantly explosive and energetic track, but it has a healthy bitrate and the show's use of the surrounds for ambient background noise is more than adequate. Sadly I've always felt the track has been a bit thin and tinny at times (something the Blu-rays remedied with a more robust audio experience). Still, the LFE is solid and the show's science fiction roots are well replicated with the lossy audio track, and makes for good listening. 








[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=14119[/img]*Extras* :4stars: 
• Audio commentary on select episodes
• Text commentary on select episodes
• Deleted Scenes
• In Conversation: Rick Berman and Brannon Braga
• Network Presentation
• Syndication Presentation
• On the Set
• To Boldly Go: Launching Enterprise
• Archival Mission Logs
• Creating Enterprise
• O Captain! My Captain! A Profile of Scott Bakula
• Enterprise Secrets
• Star Trek Time Travel: Temporal Cold Wars and Beyond
• Inside Shuttlepod One
• NX-01 Files
• Outtakes
• Celebrating Star Trek
• .....And Many More






*Overall:* :4stars:

I’m actually surprised that “Star Trek: Enterprise” (originally called just “Enterprise” until the fan backlash made them insert the “Star Trek” back into the show and retcon the first two seasons) has never had a complete box set before. The original “clamshell” boxsets from 2005 were bundled together on amazon and other sites, but no official package was ever created till now. This 27 disc complete series is actually the same discs from those 2005 releases repackaged into a giant clear mega case for the first 3 seasons and given a “slimline” DVD case for the fourth season and housed in an attractive slip box. I’m not personally a fan of these giant mega cases that Paramount is fond of using in all their “complete” collections because of how easy the overlapped discs seem to slip off the hubs. I understand it’s a space saving and cost saving measure, but it’s the only real complaint I can have about this repackaging. If you haven’t picked up the series yet, then this is easily the definitive release for the whole series on DVD. If you HAVE and just need a spare season or two, Paramount has also opted to re-release the series in individual season releases with new artwork, so choose away. The Blu-ray release is actually scheduled for next month, so those of you craving the HD treatment won’t have to wait long (even though the seasons have been individually released on Blu-ray already). Definitely a good buy in my opinion. 



*Additional Information:*

Starring: Scott Bakula, John Billingsley, Jolene Blalock
Created by: Rick Berman, Brannon Braga
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 MPEG2
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, English DD 2.0
Studio: CBS/Paramount
Rated: Not Rated
Runtime: 4226 Minutes
DVD Release Date: January 10th, 2017



*Buy Star Trek: Enterprise - The Complete Series On DVD at Amazon*



*Recommendation: Buy It​*
​

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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

I agree, the first two season it just felt like they were trying to reinvent the wheel (As if any Star trek fan needs any introduction as to who and what the crew were and what they were doing). I too was VERY disappointed that the show was canceled as it had gotten VERY good the last two seasons. The crew had grown on me and the story had a great plot and lots of mystery. 

I do really hope this new series starting this spring gains ground fast and does not take forever to get going.


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## Mike Edwards (Mar 10, 2011)

me too. I'm curious to see what they do with this new show


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## tripplej (Oct 23, 2011)

If you are talking about the new star trek online series (Star Trek Discovery) that CBC was advertising, they postponed it indefinitely. See link here from yahoo. It was projected to be a paid online series. We shall see if it appears anytime in the future.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Seems there is still hope:
_"Nevertheless, the series is still forging ahead. CBS Television today announced that Gotham and True Blood star James Frain has joined the cast as Sarek, the father of Spock. He'll work alongside The Walking Dead's Sonequa Martin-Green, who was recently cast as the series lead, as well as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon star Michelle Yeoh, who will play a Starfleet captain"._

Maybe a fall start?


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## Lumen (May 17, 2014)

Mike Edwards said:


> It’s been a good 12 years since “Star Trek: Enterprise” ended...
> ...Then there was the infamous choice to change the typical orchestral opening of a Trek show and change it to some random pop song that just WON’T get out of your head (it’s nearly as bad as listening to “Let it Go” on “Frozen”. Stupid song just keeps going on and on and on). However, the song grows on you and the show even more so.





tonyvdb said:


> ...The crew had grown on me and the story had a great plot and lots of mystery.
> I do really hope this new series starting this spring gains ground fast and does not take forever to get going.


Okay I'll embarrass myself by confessing this series was never on my radar! Could it be my (man) cave-dwelling tendencies? Nah, there's a TV in there! Or is it more likely my Trekkie appetite has been desensitized to the spinoff syndrome? Yup, it took me a long time to accept "Star Trek: Voyager," and even longer to accept "Star Trek: Next Generation." I'll even go so far as to say they enriched my life. Sincere thanks for the heads-up on the new series, and here's hoping for continued enrichment!


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