I never listen to what a reviewer says (cept in the case of Gigli, but just by the previews you knew that one was a toilet bomber)any way, reviewers in most cases do not know of which they speak. Do they even watch what they are reviewing? As far as I am concerned, they are all a bunch of bitter wannabes who cannot do anything else but complain and whine about something they pretend to know anything about.

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well this is surprising. trekkers bashing trek-haters on a trekwebsite =D. i knew the instance i saw the headlines EVERYONE would be defending ste... even though the cause for which they defend has been sullied.

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This critic for USA Today is paid to write reviews to generate sales for the paper. Positive reviews aren't as interesting as negative reviews, just as positive news isn't as interesting as negative news. Negativity spurs sales. Thus, economics result in slanted reviews just as they result in slanted news.

It's now hip to bash Trek. Hence, reviewers will bash Trek -- all else being equal.

With all of that said, Enterprise does need to improve.

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To be completely honest, I've never lent USA Today much credibility to begin with. Their reviews tend to be slanted and thinned out to conform with mass opinion. Star Trek is, for the most part, being thought of by most critics as a has-been, tired old property that should take a very long vacation, and since their overpowering opinion is that the only people who love and cling to Star Trek are sci-fi geeks and nerds (proud to be one, thank you very much), it'll be more likely that a review of Enterprise will be largely negative. And, I'm not just slamming USA Today because they gave Enterprise's premiere a bad review. I don't totally disagree with their feelings about Enterprise's shortcomings, but I do think the new season deserves a fair shake.

Should Star Trek go away? To be honest, would it make a difference if it did? You know damn well they'd never totally remove Star Trek from the media spectrum, so even if it did take an extended vacation from movie and TV screens, it would eventually come back, especially if its more ardent fans bellyache insessantly for it. The problem with that is, we wouldn't get anything new if and when it did come back. The same people would be in charge, the same people would be writing the stories, doing the FX and make-up...you get what I mean? Berman and Braga won't get the hint that the things they've been doing with TREK have been largely ill-received and sub-par. After all, Brannon has already stated on more than one occasion that the fans are little more than crybabies who can never be satisfied (ok, he didn't use those words, but his recent complaints about fans' issues with continuity speak volumes about his opinion of them). They think TREK is just fine the way it is, more or less. So, we wouldn't have anything that would make Star Trek better and more appealing to fans who have jumped off the bandwagon.

Trek is damned if it does, damned if it doesn't. The blood is already spilt; no matter what is done to improve Enterprise, the mass media critics and disgruntled fans will continue to slowly nail Star Trek's coffin shut with negative reviews and narrow-minded opinions of the franchise's remaining fans. The critics who have already criticized B & B's choices to change (and majorly hype) hairstyles and outfits rather than inject anything resembling compelling characterization and risky storywriting aren't saying anything that doesn't echo our own comments on these threads.

And, on a final note, if any of you think that Rick Berman and Brannon Braga are going to be at all swayed by any of the negative reviews, you're kidding yourselves in SO many ways. Hell, they won't even listen to the fans that keep them employed, much less the critics. Magazines from TV Guide to Entertainment Weekly have had articles and even fan polls to discuss what should be done to save Star Trek...and do you think we'll ever truly see any of that? I hope so, though I don't recall those articles saying anything like "Give T'Pol a new hairstyle!", or "Sex Up the Vulcan!", yet that's what we're getting.

I am anxiously awaiting the premiere tonight, and can't wait to discuss it on the forums, and read what others have to say. See you after the storm hits. ;-)

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I'm reluctant to agree or disagree with USA Today, as I don't have a time machine, and I've yet to actually see the episode (a novelty, I know around here)

Regardless, I'll point out that anyone who's studied journalism might have heard (at least in the classes I took) USA Today referred to as a McPaper. I wouldn't take it seriously. Take a look at their movie reviews sometime.

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If USA Today was raving about the new episode of Enterprise, you can bet all the Enterprise fans here would be saying how promising it is for the new season, how the show is turning around, etc. But a bad review and suddenly USA Today is nothing but a worthless rag.

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... not because it's USA Today. And I wouldn't out the Sci-Fi Weekly review very much. The text of that review is decidedly lukewarm, despite the grade.

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Who would turn to USA Today for a review on anything anyway? They bashed ENT before, and they're bashing it now. The best reviews on anything come from one's peers.

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I mean, sure he's down on the show. He just notes it has improved but he's still not sold. I don't see that as a terrible thing. Not everyone is going to change their opinions in one episode.

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That was funny. I have never known USA Today to bash Trek.

The truth hurts about the subpar writing and I am glad that it will be thrown in Bermans face.

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Funny, I've often thought the same of USA Today.

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That said, we shouldn't expect this to be a shocker. USA Today has been notorious for bashing the franchise - like most Trek bashers, they are calling this a ratings gimmick.

Once again, I will be unable to write the premiere on account of that UPN doesn't reach Northeast Missouri or Southern Iowa.

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