Amazon.com Under intense scrutiny, the debut season of Enterprise earned a passing grade from critics and Star Trek fans alike. Voyager ended its seven-season run just four months earlier, and fans were skeptical when Enterprise premiered (on Sept. 26, 2001, on UPN) with a theme song ("Where My Heart Will Take Me," composed by Diane Warren and performed by Russell Watson) that defied Trek's revered theme-music tradition. This and other early reservations were dispelled when "Broken Bow" got the series off to a satisfying start, beginning in the year 2151 and establishing a pre-Federation focus on humanity's delicate relationship with the Vulcans, the controversial launch of the NX-01 Enterprise on an exploratory mission, and the potentially devastating consequences of the mysterious Temporal Cold War involving a time-traveling splinter group of the Suliban, a nomadic alien race. While establishing a testy relationship between Enterprise Capt. Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) and his smart-and-sexy Vulcan Sub-Commander, T'Pol (Jolene Blalock, in a short-banged wig and form-fitting "catsuit" that were later redesigned), the series introduced engineer "Trip" Tucker (Connor Trineer), whose surprise development in "Unexpected" made him a fan favorite; communications officer Hoshi Sato (Linda Park); helmsman Travis Mayweather (Anthony Montgomery); weapons expert Lt. Malcolm Reed (Dominic Keating), and chief surgeon Dr. Phlox (John Billingsley), a well-mannered Denobulan recruit from Earth's Interspecies Medical Exchange. As a "prequel' series that predates the original Star Trek by 150 years, Enterprise built upon established Trek lore with episodes involving Vulcans ("Breaking the Ice"), Klingons ("Sleeping Dogs"), the blue-skinned Andorians ("The Andorian Incident," "Shadows of P'Jem"), and the Ferengi ("Acquisition") while offering stand-alone episodes (notably "Dear Doctor," "Fortunate Son," and "Shuttlepod One") that further acquainted fans with the Enterprise regulars. Early Trek technology is also introduced (including "phase pistols" and the rarely used, still-risky transporter), and the series drew strength from what many felt would be its primary weakness: unwritten history and the initial indecisiveness of Archer's bold foray into the unknown. Ending with a dazzling "Shock Wave" cliffhanger that leaves Archer stranded in a decimated Temporal Cold War future, Enterprise set a strong foundation for the events of season 2.
The bonus features included on the Enterprise: Season One DVDs are almost worth the price of the set, if only to see nearly nine minutes of hilarious outtakes, maintaining a beloved tradition of Star Trek bloopers. The sight (and sound) of Jolene Blalock laughing out of character is pure gold, and it shouldn't surprise anyone that Blalock is just as smart as she is sexy, as proven by her astute observations (along with the rest of the Enterprise cast) in the "Cast Impressions" featurette. It's the usual complimentary fluff included with all Trek sets, but it's obviously sincere, confirming fans' conviction that Enterprise should have lasted beyond four seasons with this close-knit ensemble. Series creators Brannon Braga and Rick Berman deliver a typically dry commentary on "Broken Bow," setting the record straight on debate over the show's "not retro enough" production design (as Braga notes, "you can never please everyone") while defining their concept of "The Right Stuff of Star Trek." As always, Mike Okuda's text commentaries offer a wealth of Trek trivia and detail from Trek's historical canon.
Fans will love the "Enterprise Secrets" revealing low-tech solutions to lighting the warp core and dispensing "replicator" beverages, along with an entertaining profile of Vaughan "Admiral Forrest" Armstrong, who holds the record for Trek guest appearances. The other featurettes are perfunctory, but "Creating Enterprise" provides valuable first-season perspective, and the "Time Travel" feature offers a handy reference for the many time-travel episodes from every Trek series. As usual, Easter eggs (three of them, titled "NX-01 Files") are hidden on the special-features menu, offering short interview clips culled from the primary featurettes. The deleted scenes demonstrate how non-essential material can be sacrificed, and because they don't include post-production sound or visual effects, fans can see and hear the actual soundstage atmosphere of Enterprise's principal photography. --Jeff Shannon
Product Description Season one is available for the first time on this seven-disc set.
Great series that didn't connect to audienceAugust 28, 2010 picardfan007(USA) I do like this first season effort of Enterprise. Scott Bakula was the only reason I bothered to watch. It's too bad that there was nothing to connect the casual viewer to the series. This one had the mistake of being too concerned with Trek lore. They took the blue and grey colors of Star Trek: The Motion Picture and used them in every aspect of the sets. The show, unlike the former ones, was very unattractive to the eye. While I did like the quality of the writing, the sets were not nice to look at. It was like the crew was in a submarine each week. The stories were recyled from every other Trek show since NG.
If not for Scott Bakula, I do not think I would have purchased this set. What I would like to know is why he didn't have any story input into his character? The fourth season under Manny Coto could have saved this show. We'll never get to see season's 5,6 or 7. I believe Judith and Garfield Reeves Stevens term as story editors could have continued the series,with better stories. It's too bad Paramount decided to cancel. Compared to the reality shows that proliferate TV today, I would rather see this show now more than ever.
WELL WAITNG FOR PRICE TO DROPAugust 13, 2010 William J. Melton(buz) Looks like amazon is going to keep them. UP for a bit longer. When the first year started, I lived in virgina, or cable could get the first network it was on. Then halfway though the first season we moved. To Nevada, alas the the "Enterpise" network was not on there line-up. Wacthing reruns, they seem to show the same ones over again and again. So I found them on Amazon. Still waiting for them, to come done in price! When my wait was over I found season 1 in Walmart, for $19.95! Not the $50.99 they have it listed for here. So excuse me as I go wacth more. The first disk played fine.
Leaves you wanting more EnterpriseMay 31, 2010 Corey L. Oakes(TX) Incredible acting, writing, set design and everything else that goes into making a television production!
When I finished with season four, I wanted MORE! Granted, this series lasted longer than the original, but the crew were just starting to gel and the framework had been laid out for original and tribute story arcs along with more insight into the characters of the crew! I guess it is better to leave us wanting more than to have driven this excellent series into the ground like had been done with previous series.
When this series debuted, I did not have access to the United Paramount Network (UPN) which was trying to use the Star Trek franchise to boost it's flailing network. So, I missed every episode (along with most Voyager episodes). Why they didn't put this into first-run syndication (like TNG) is what caused the series to never take off like it should have. It was only when I caught the episode "Carbon Creek" late one night, that I realized I had missed something amazing.
Luckily for me, the entire four seasons were available here on Amazon.com with zero tax and zero shiping & handling (and on sale!) when I caught the bug to purcahse them.
Simply amazing series. Enterprise is my favorite of all the Star Trek series.
The first season is filled with a sense of the unknown and is so refreshing compared to a typical episode of TNG.
The second season continues to amaze and delight. Unfortunately, the studio execs were looking at ratings and shook things up for season three.
The third season has a story arc that stretches the entire 24 episodes, which can be a bit tedious, but T'Pol's character develops so amazingly from season one that you hardly notice as the pace is break neck.
The fourth season lets you take a breath after the previous season. It has many two or three episode story arcs that are a great change of pace after the year-long story arc that was engineered to satisfy the studio executives. The studio let the producers know a few weeks ahead of time that they were cancelling the series -- enough for them to put together an acceptable but definitely not satisfying ending.
If only they could have went another season or two, this series would have finished off my Star Trek appetite like a nice dessert after a full course meal. Instead, it left me very hungry and craving far more. (especially the amazing character of T'Pol).
Very satisfied customer!January 3, 2010 Jennifer Smith(North Carolina) 0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Bought this as a christmas present for my father. Came in great condition and my father greatly enjoys the show. Will buy the preceding seasons from this supplier :)
Good season of a slightly different kind of "Trek" seriesSeptember 8, 2009 Joseph P. Menta, Jr.(Philadelphia, PA USA) 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Combining a grittier, more dangerous period of space exploration with the usual "Trek" optimism, the first season of "Enterprise" delivers an entertaining array of often-ambitious stories, likable characters, and generous special effects. On that last point, the show doesn't cheap out when characters have to take a shuttle down to a planet (which happens almost every episode in the show's "transporters only used as a last resort" era) and we get to see many nicely done sequences of the crew heading to and returning from their planetside adventures. A small point to be sure, but the detail was appreciated.
More importantly, the main crew members and their interactions are entertaining and fun, again mixing unpredictability (even Vulcan science officer T'Pol often acts in ways one wouldn't expect, based on our previous experience of the stoic Vulcan race) with the expected loyalty and cameraderie we're used to seeing among previous "Trek" crewmen. Also adding to the unpredictable nature of the show is the fact that the famed "Prime Directive" doesn't yet exist, so solutions to delicate problems are quite varied and freewheeling.
Season one of "Enterprise" looks and sounds great on standard DVD and there are a variety of interesting extra features, along with some commentaries. Be warned, though: A pretty good cliffhanger, capping a solid closing episode, will likely have you ordering season two as soon as you complete this set.
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