The State of the Union got terrible television ratings the other night. I was one of the millions and millions who didn’t watch. An example of the highs and lows: 26 million people watched “American Idol,” then a little more than 18 million dropped off when George Bush appeared.
Meanwhile, at the very bottom of the ratings is Star Trek Enterprise, which is finally, mercifully, been cancelled. It says a lot about the current guardians of the venerable franchise that their incarnation is the first to be cancelled in nearly 40 years. But their emphasis on action and sex in the show just indicates that they have no idea what good Star Trek is: an examination of human drama, thinly disguised in science fiction.
That said, this season finally began to look like what fans had expected at the start: a look at the beginning of Star Trek lore, the Vulcans, Klingons, Romulans, Andorians, blah blah blah… and the creation of the Federation leading directly to the original TV series. It’s unfortunate that it took them 4 years to get the show on track. I blame the attempts to make a Star Trek that fit into the “WB” mold, which led them to distance themselves, ironically, from Star Trek. Remember, when the show first premiered, it didn’t even have “Star Trek” in the title.
Eh. Despite writing two paragraphs about it, I’m nonplussed about the cancellation. When watching Enterprise, I find it eminently worthy of the fast-forward button on the TiVo.
