July 29, 2005

The second season of Star Trek: Enterprise picks up where the first season ended, with the second part of a two-parter, and it ends with another two-parter. What lies between are true-to-genre episodes centered on the first starship Enterprise and her pioneering crew, led by Capt. Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula).

The series is pre-Federation, set about a century earlier than the original series. Most of the episodes are stand-alone, although plot continuity bridges some of them. The season finale introduces the Xindi and sets up the Season Three single-story arc. The set includes 26 episodes presented in widescreen format, and extras include profiles of Jolene Blalock and director LeVar Burton, deleted scenes from a couple of episodes and writer commentaries on a couple of others, a "making of" featurette, outtakes and a photo gallery.

Enterprise was perhaps a victim of Star Trek overkill and has been unfairly labeled a failure. Regardless, it's a slickly produced, well-executed member of the franchise that made the most of its limited premise.

Best extra: The outtakes. It's always fun watching someone playing an emotionless Vulcan burst into laughter.

John Lose