Star Trek: Enterprise – The Complete Series (Blu-ray Review)
Hey Trekkies! Its that time again where we witness Paramount reissuing all the Star Trek series in new bundles or editions. Well, not new editions, because we’re always trying to get the most miles on the discs we’ve owned. This winter/spring we’re privy to new complete collections of Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Enterprise. Enterprise is the only one coming to Blu-ray probably…well…ever. Last week broke a terrific story I’m sure you saw on the insane amount of effort to restore The Next Generation and the reasons why time, money and demand just aren’t there for Deep Space Nine and Voyager (Bummer, yes, so don’t scoff at the DVD sets you’ve been holding off on, pick them up). Here today, we are glossing over the complete set of the most recent Star Trek TV show (Until Discovery launches), Enterprise!
Film 
Captain Jonathan Archer commands the Enterprise NX-01, the first Earth-built vessel capable of breaking the Warp 5 barrier. With his trusted Chief Engineer, Charles “Trip” Tucker III, Science Officer T’Pol, and security expert Lt. Malcolm Reed, Capt. Archer is tasked with exploring new, unknown star systems. Propel your imagination farther and faster than before with an ever-expanding universe of captivating characters, interstellar intrigue, and adventures that will come to define the very essence of Starfleet.
Even more attractive than the prospect of a new Star Trek itself, was the prospect of its new captain, Jonathan Archer. No, I had no insight on the character and who he would be. It was more the man who would play him; Scott Bakula. Confession time, I’m a HUGE Quantum Leap fan. The time travel epic is one of television’s greatest journeys to me and any time its lead is cast in something, it has my attention and interested (Except for right now, because he’s on a CBS show). He’s also the first time they had cast someone with a relatively big profile, even if it was just geek street cred. And from where I sit, he did not disappoint.
What did disappointment many was the show’s theme song. And yeah, it was an actual song. Prior to this, the series had full on scores and this went a much much different route. It may have been moreso trying to fit in with the catalog of television being shown on its network. For me, I’m not greatly offended it and don’t see it as a crime against humanity, but it is a pretty generic junky, raspy dude pop song. Almost feels a relic of the early 90s and coming in the early 2000s. I’m sure some people somewhere like it, right?
Star Trek: Enterprise aired on UPN for four years. Unlike its 3 predecessors, it had a locked in network and was not a syndicated program. Enterprise was also the first Star Trek since the original to not last for 7 seasons. Most likely coming as somewhat a surprise; work was already being put in for a fifth season. It was canceled a year before The CW was being put in the works, so it then could have been a casualty of the cross over as well. For 18 years, there was a Star Trek series running on television and it came to an end. Fans fought hard though, even trying to fund it themselves. A campaign raised 32 million dollars that while INSANELY impressive, wasn’t able to get the job done.
Star Trek: Enterprise hit at a time when background and prequel stories were all the rage. Before reboots & remakes would come along and merge with that sort of origin story motif. This one had to adhere to the lore and also had some fun with it. While the show searches around to find its footing and also revamps a bit after Season 2, its still fun and interesting to watch. In its fourth season, before cancellation you could tell it was hitting that stride that many all-time good show hit somewhere in their third through sixth seasons. The show features a pretty fun cast, solid adventures and a kind of fresh spin on the Trek universe.
Episodes
This set contains every episode from the entire series run.
Video
Encoding: MPEG-4 AVC
Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Layers: BD-50
Clarity/Detail: These are the exact same transfers as the previous releases. Nothing new has been done. The fourth season still is the only impressive one and its still merely solid. Its the only one that was shot in HD and then transferred as such. The first three seasons were filmed and then transferred into HD and I’m not sure a lot of post work was done. Its a bit soft. The picture and detail is fine, but you’ll probably be left expecting more.
Depth: Solid depth here. Most of the better spacing and 3 dimensional appearance come in season 4’s transfer but season 1-3 look about average for their age and where effects and such were at the time. Movements appear cinematic with minimal blur in more frantic motions.
Black Levels: Blacks are deep and at some times a little consuming. Details can be lost in them from time to time. No crushing was witnessed in episodes watched or scanned through for this particular review.
Color Reproduction: Colors are very solid and can pop good given the occasion. The blue uniforms look nice and some yellows can really stand out, just like the expect red.
Flesh Tones: Skin tones are natural and maintain a consistent appearance through the episodes. Facial detail is quite good in closeups and some medium shots. Stuff like stubble, scrapes, wrinkles, make-up and such are discernible.
Noise/Artifacts: Clean
Audio
Audio Format(s): English 5.1 DTS-HD MA, Spanish 2.0 Dolby Digital (Season 1&2), French 2.0 Dolby Digital, Japanese 2.0 Dolby Digital, German 5.1 Dolby Digital, Italian 5.1 Dolby Digital (Season 1&2)
Subtitles: English SDH, French, German, Italian (Season 1&2), Japanese, Spanish (Season 1&2), Danish (Season 1&2), Dutch, Finnish (Season 1&2), Norwegian (Season 1&2), Swedish (Season 1&2)
Dynamics: Like everything else, this is the same thing. And what you’re getting is a solid 5.1 track. I know some of these have been dogged before, but this is at a time when mixing television for 5.1 wasn’t the standard and was still in the process of discovery and a new thing. I think the early seasons reflect that. And for what it is, it does the trick and is fine. In all honestly, I think all the Star Trek series could be presented in 2.0 with some sub action and still sound amazing, beautiful and engaging.
Height: N/A
Low Frequency Extension: Music beats and explosions, ship engines, large doors, blasts and the like get a nice little bump from the sub.
Surround Sound Presentation: Some okay work done here. There are moments of either a unique sound or good ambiance in episodes from time to time. Mostly this is a front heavy track, and it does very good with the display of action to translation in the speakers.
Dialogue Reproduction: Dialogue is crisp and clear.
Extras
The bonus material is the exact same from the previous individual season releases of Star Trek: Enterprise Blu-ray. The discs are identical to those.
Season 1
Disc 1
Audio Commentary
- Broken Bow x2, & Text Commentary
Featurettes
Cast Introduction (SD, 2:15)
Network Presentation (SD, 3:17)
In Conversation: Rick Berman and Brannon Braga (HD, 1:02:59)
Syndication Presentation (SD, 7:15)
Creating Enterprise (SD, 11:28)
NX-01 File 02 (SD, 2:11)
O Captain! My Captain! A Profile of Scott Bakula (SD, 9:32)
Broken Bow Deleted Scenes (HD, 3:08)
Deleted Scenes (HD, 2:18) – Fight or Flight
Cast Impressions: Season One (SD, 12:24)
Disc 2
Text Commentary
- The Andorian Incident
Enterprise Secrets (SD, 2:00)
Deleted Scene (HD, 1:06) – Unexpected
Disc 3
Audio Commentary
- Silent Enemy
Star Trek Time Travel: Temporal Cold Wars and Beyond (SD, 8:11)
Admiral Forrest Takes Center Stage (SD, 5:14)
Deleted Scene (HD, 1:09) – Sleeping Dogs
Disc 4
Audio Commentary
- Shadows of P’Jem, Shuttlepod One
Inside Shuttlepod One (SD, 7:57)
NX-01 File 03 (SD, 4:59)
Deleted Scene (HD, 6:09) – Shuttlepod One
Disc 5
Text Commentary
- Vox Sola
On the Set (SD, 28:32)
Outtakes (SD, 9:05)
Deleted Scenes (HD, 5:20) – Oasis, Fallen Hero
Vox Sola Text Commentary: A 2005 commentary from Mike and Denise Okuda.
Disc 6
To Boldly Go: Launching Enterprise, Part One: Countdown (HD, 30:45)
To Boldly Go: Launching Enterprise, Part Two: Boarding the NX-01 (HD, 31:16)
To Boldly Go: Launching Enterprise, Part Three: First Flight (HD, 27:51)
Celebrating Star Trek (SD, 15:19)
Season 2
Disc 1
Audio Commentary
- Carbon Creek, Dead Stop
Deleted Scene (HD, 1:10) – Minefield
In Conversation: The First Crew (HD, 1:33:49):
Season 2 Promo (SD, 0:24)
Archival Mission Logs: Enterprise Moments: Season Two (SD, 19:11)
Archival Mission Logs: Enterprise Profile: Jolene Blalock (SD, 14:28)
Disc 2
Deleted Scenes (SD, 4:02) – A Night in Sickbay
Archival Mission Log: Inside “A Night in Sickbay” (SD, 11:17)
Disc 3
Text Commentary
- Stigma
Deleted Scenes (SD, 2:49) – Dawn, Stigma
Archival Interviews (SD, 5:01)
Archival Mission Log: Photo Gallery
Disc 4
Deleted Scene (SD, 0:42) – Cease Fire
Archival Mission Logs: Enterprise Secrets (SD, 4:50)
Archival Mission Logs: Shooting “Future Tense” (SD, 17:16)
Disc 5
Audio Commentary
- Regeneration x2, First Flight (Plus Text Commentary)
Archival Mission Logs: LeVar Burton: Star Trek Director (SD, 7:01)
Archival Mission Logs: Enterprise Outtakes (SD, 11:12)
Disc Six:
Deleted Scenes (SD, 5:00) – The Expanse
Uncharted Territory Part One: Destination Unknown (HD, 29:54)
Uncharted Territory Part Two: The First Crew (HD, 28:58)
Uncharted Territory Part Three: Course Correction (HD, 29:48)
NX-01 File 04 (SD, 3:15)
NX-01 File 05 (SD, 3:22)
NX-01 File 06 (SD, 1:52)
Season 3
Disc 1
Text Commentary
- The Xindi
Archival Mission Logs: The Xindi Saga Begins (SD, 13:12)
Archival Mission Logs: Enterprise Moments: Season Three (SD, 12:58)
Disc 2
Audio Commentary
- Impulse (Plus Text Commentary), Twilight
Disc 3
Audio Commentary
- North Star x2, Similitude x2
Deleted Scenes (HD, 3:38) – Similitude, Chosen Realm
Disc 5
Audio Commentary
- The Forgotten
Deleted Scenes (HD, 4:42)- E2
Disc 6
Audio Commentary
- Countdown (Plus Text Commentary)
In a Time of War: Part One: Call to Arms (HD, 28:07)
In a Time of War: Part Two: Front Lines (HD, 29:51)
In a Time of War: Part Three: Final Conflict (HD, 28:36)
In a Time of War: Temporal Cold War: Declassified (HD, 20:17)
Enterprise Profile: Connor Trinneer (SD, 17:15)
A Day in the Life of a Director: Roxann Dawson (SD, 17:27)
Behind the Camera: Marvin Rush (SD, 15:44)
Enterprise Secrets (SD, 4:12)
Outtakes (SD, 6:14)
Photo Gallery
NX-01 File 07 (SD, 1:37)
NX-01 File 08 (SD, 5:46)
NX-01 File 09 (SD, 3:09)
Season 4
Disc 1
Deleted Scene – “Storm Front: Part 1” (SD, 2:45)
Extended Scene – “Home” (HD, 1:17)
Script Gallery: Original Ending
Enterprise Moments: Season Four (SD, 16:26)
Disc 2
Audio & Text Commentary
- The Forge
Disc 3
Audio Commentary
- Observer Effect
Disc 4
Audio Commentary
- United
Deleted Scene: “The Aenar” (SD, :53)
Disc 5
Audio Commentary
- In a Mirror, Darkly Part 1&2 (Plus Text Commentary on Part 2), Demons
Deleted Scene – “In A Mirror, Darkly Part 2” (SD, 2:28)
Archival Mission Log: Inside The Mirror Episodes (SD, 15:42)
Disc 6
Audio Commentary
- Terra Prime x2, These Are the Voyages (Text only)
Before Her Time: Decommissioning Enterprise: Part 1: New Voices (HD, 26:49)
Before Her Time: Decommissioning Enterprise: Part 2: Memorable Voyages (HD, 29:42)
Before Her Time: Decommissioning Enterprise: Part 3: Final Approach (HD, 30:05)
Before Her Time: Decommissioning Enterprise: Part 4: End Of An Era (HD, 29:14)
In Conversation: Writing Star Trek: Enterprise (HD, 1:29:52)
Visual Effects Magic (SD, 13:27)
Links To The Legacy (SD, 4:27)
Enterprise Secrets (SD, 5:53)
That’s A Wrap! (HD, 9:01)
Enterprise Goes To The Dogs (SD, 12:44)
Westmore’s Aliens: Dr. Phlox And Beyond (SD, 5:18)
Outtakes (SD, 2:17)
Photo Gallery
NX-01 File 10 (SD, 4:43)
Summary
Yup, when all together this thing is massive. If you have all the individual seasons, hold onto them, pass on this. You already own it and (in my opinion) in better packaging. This is a bit taller and probably the same width as all of them together anyway, so not a space saver. However, it is a money saver if you don’t have them all already. Its a pretty good price to own it all at, even if the packaging is a compacted brick of Trek.
