Star Trek.

[coloradodem2005]

I have to say, the thing that has been bad for Star Trek the last 10 years has been a result of complacency. And I am not too crazy about a lot of what Berman has done with Star Trek. I will give him credit for the remainder of TNG after Gene Roddenberry died, and Deep Space Nine was an excellent show, and Star Trek: First Contact was a great movie, but other than that, he has put out material for Trek that has been at best decent and at worst utter shit. Insurrection was an enjoyable movie, but Nemesis felt contrived. I did not like Voyager, and the early seasons of Enterprise were not great. Though this season I have enjoyed because they actually seemed to be connecting it to the legacy of Star Trek. But when Roddenberry came out with Trek and TNG, it was visionary for him. It was his vision. It wasn't meant to be a cash cow, it was meant to be a beacon of hope for humanity. Sadly, Star Trek has become more of a cash cow in recent years. Because of that, Trek has been in decline since about 1996. DS9 was the only really good show going on at that point and First Contact was the last great Trek movie. I liked DS9 because it was a counterpoint to the optimism of the other two series to remind us that there will still be major problems to face even in a very bright future.

One thing I remeber reading in a TV guide magazine about Star Trek is that they were saying that Voyager was the first time they expected to succeed. Voyager is the first Trek series that I didn't really like as well as the early seasons of Enterprise. Complacency. They worked hard on the original to put forth the vision that they had. They did the same with TNG. And DS9 because they wanted these shows to succeed and they acknowledged the possibility that the shows would not succeed. With Voyager and Enterprise they did not acknowledge the possibility and that is why Trek is in the mess it is in.

The sad thing is that I enjoyed this season of Enterprise. A lot of the credit goes to hiring Manny Coto who is a fan. He was committed to bringing back the former glory of Trek and connecting Enterprise to the legacy. The franchise needs someone like him in charge.