Summary
- Jolene Blalock considers her time on Star Trek: Enterprise "magical" but believes the show "could have done better," particularly in developing the relationship between T'Pol and Trip Tucker.
- As audiences reevaluate the series on streaming platforms, Star Trek: Enterprise is now viewed more positively than during its original broadcast run on the UPN Network from 2001-2005.
- The cast of Enterprise praised Scott Bakula for his leadership on set and his mentorship of younger actors like Connor Trinneer and Linda Park.
Jolene Blalock called her time on Star Trek: Enterprise "magical" but takes the prequel series to task because it "could have done better," especially regarding Subcommander T'Pol's relationship with Commander Trip Tucker (Connor Trinneer). Enterprise was canceled after 4 seasons, although the consensus is that the show greatly improved in seasons 3 and 4 when it took a more serialized approach that began to fulfill Enterprise's true potential. Audiences began to reassess Star Trek: Enterprise on streaming services like Netflix and Paramount+, and the prequel is now seen more fondly than it was during its 2001-2005 broadcast run on the UPN Network.
As a special feature of the Star Trek: Enterprise season 2 Blu-ray release in 2012, the entire cast of Enterprise gathered for a rare group interview hosted by executive producer and showrunner Brannon Braga. Titled "In Conversation: The First Crew," the Enterprise actors' reunion was especially notable because Jolene Blalock, who usually shies away from speaking publicly about Enterprise, participated. Indeed, Braga said if Jolene said no to the reunion, he would have called it off. Read Braga, Blalock, and Scott Bakula's segment about Star Trek: Enterprise (from the 19:00 time stamp) and watch the entire 90-minute video below:
Brannon Braga: Do you miss the show? Did you enjoy the show? We have never really talked all that much.
Jolene Blalock: (laughs) No, we haven’t. I did [like Enterprise]. I feel like it could have done better. But it was a really magical moment… And I thank you, Scott, also, for being such a character in my life.
Scott Bakula: You’re welcome.
Jolene Blalock: But you do have that gift. You are a great leader, and I appreciate that. And I appreciate you fighting for us and trying to get us to where we needed to be, and I know that the odds were set against you. But I know you were always fighting for us.
Brannon Braga: I thought you were great as T’Pol. I really thought you brought something special to it. Were you happy with the way the character was written? I’m not sure you liked the whole thing with Trip. You can be candid because I’ve always wanted to ask you this.
Jolene Blalock: I think, honestly, I was a little judgmental about it. I think we probably should have gone there. See, the thing is, we never really went there. We kind of touched on it. We played with it. Nothing really…
Brannon Braga: It was neither here nor there.
Jolene Blalock: It was middle ground, so I didn’t really know what was happening.
Star Trek: Enterprise's cast universally praised Scott Bakula for his leadership on set, and how he taught the younger actors like Connor Trinneer and Linda Park how to conduct themselves.
Related
T'Pol's 10 Best Star Trek Enterprise Episodes
The Science Officer and First Officer of the NX-01 Enterprise, T'Pol shines in episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise that challenge her Vulcan values.
Star Trek: Enterprise Didn't Go Far Enough
Enterprise's cast agreed the Star Trek prequel needed more 'grit'
Beyond Star Trek: Enterprise walking the "middle ground" with Trip Tucker and T'Pol's relationship, the actors and Brannon Braga agreed that Enterprise did not go far enough and should have had more "grit." John Billingsley started the discussion by pointing out his disappointment that Enterprise didn't explore the conflict between the crew of the NX-01 starship since, as a prequel, they had the leeway not to be as 'perfect' as the later Star Trek casts who have more experience in the final frontier. Braga agreed Enterprise could have been "more violent" and said that Enterprise season 4 showrunner Manny Coto's sensibilities were better suited for the show.
Brannon Braga explained some of the limitations imposed on Star Trek: Enterprise by UPN and Paramount. The network wanted an episodic Star Trek show in space that hewed to the prior series' established format. Braga also said that controversial aspects of Enterprise like the Temporal Cold War storyline were added to appease the network, which didn't want a Star Trek prequel series, to begin with. Further, Braga agreed with the actors that Enterprise shouldn't have premiered right after the end of Star Trek: Voyager, but that was a fight executive producer Rick Berman lost with UPN. Jolene Blalock speaking about Star Trek: Enterprise and Trip and T'Pol's unfinished love story is one of the more fascinating aspects as the cast looked back on their four years as the first Starfleet crew.
Star Trek: Enterprise is available to stream on Paramount+.
Source: Preserve Entertainment YouTube
- Seasons
- 4
- Streaming Service(s)
- Paramount+
- Franchise(s)
- Star Trek
- Showrunner
- Brannon Braga , Manny Coto
- Star Trek: Enterprise (2005)
- Star Trek
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