an editorial by Randy Landers
first posted on-line June 4th 2007

One of the toughest things that I have to decide as the editor-in-chief and publisher of ORION PRESS is which stories and episodes and novels are canon, and which are, for various reasons, not.

During the recent run of ENTERPRISE on the Sci-Fi Channel, a number of readers--myself included--found themselves watching the show, hoping to find some redemption for the series. There were so many missed opportunities, to be true, but many successes as well. Sadly, the producers of the series never seemed to understand exactly what made for good Star Trek and what made for bad. Still, episodes like "North Star" were solidly written stories with good acting and characterizations, and this led me to reconsider whether or not ENTERPRISE should be part of the Orion Universe.

And the answer, regrettably, is no.

One only has to look again to the Vulcans, and how they're portrayed in ENTERPRISE to realize what an utter failure the series was. It's true that fans had built up their own preconceptions about the Vulcans (noble, stoic, logic-drive). But it's also true that the ENTERPRISE simply decided to make the Vulcans interstellar assholes, snobs, racists and, yes, complete idiots. The "Kir'Shara" story arc about the Vulcans abandoning Surak's teaching to become absolute bullies by planning to start a war on the Andorians drives this point home. In it, we also meet our esteemed T'Pau, and find that she's really nothing like the T'Pau we see in "Amok Time." We see the administrator of the Vulcan High Command enact his own "final solution" on the Syrannites, all the while the other Vulcans in the High Command simply allow him to do so, with one exception voicing token opposition. And as much as I've always enjoyed Robert Foxworth, his character was simply unbelievable, even if--or perhaps especially, as we're led to believe, in cahoots with the Romulans.

So as much as I looked to the matter again, I've still got to hold to my guns, and say, "No, this isn't Star Trek." It's a series based on the Star Trek I love, but it's no more Star Trek than Battlestar Galactica is.

Let's hope that I won't have to say the same about the new Star Trek movie next year.

Randy

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