Guest Trek blogging #6

Enterprise.

I think the most telling sign that Paramount has lost confidence in this show is that it is, as of early in the third season, now officially called "Star Trek: Enterprise."The absence of the "Star Trek" moniker filled me with hope. This show ain't gonna be anything you've seen before…that's what that said to me. But as soon as the ratings started to dip, It could've worked. Maybe it still can. It seemed like it was for awhile. Its first season had a lot of buzz. A prequel, set before Kirk's time? Great idea. Scott Bakula as the captain? Sure, why not? At least you know Quantum Leap fans will watch, right? Conflict with the Vulcans? Bring it on. Where are the Romulan wars? And let's talk about T'Pol. Let's just put it right out there for everyone to see, as Jolene Blalock does almost every week on the show. They wanted another Seven of Nine, OK? I'm sure the Paramount honchos said it to Berman in exactly those words. So they gave us another hot chick in a tight outfit, with a severe personality, to feed all the Trek male fans' brains with that insatiable "I want be the guy to shake her out of that cool exterior - and out of those hot, hip-hugging clothes - and bring out the libidinous sex animal lurking underneath" feeling. Hey guys, I'm a guy, too. I felt it. Don't be ashamed. But ask yourself this, should we really accept that kind of empty eye candy at the expense of good characterization? I thought I liked T'Pol at first. But let's be honest, she's pretty one-note. Whenever they want to vamp up the sexual tension on the show, she takes off her top and massages Trip with oil. Now, while this may be a more or less completely successful attempt to play into the Trek male geek fantasy of a Vulcan love slave, does it really advance the story? Has the Trip/T'Pol romance ever seemed like anything other than a contrived attempt to inject some love scenes into the show?