2. Star Trek: Enterprise, "Broken Bow" - Some Things Change, Some...
Enterprise should have been a smash hit. It premiered at the height of Buffymania on UPN, where action-adventure shows were in vogue. It had a generally likeable and attractive cast, and it was a prequel, back when prequels were considered cool and original. But it was hamstrung by three things: a hit-and-miss writing staff, the burden of canon (which is starting to seem like the main source of Trek controversy), and the demands of the studio, which wanted the series to have more trappings from old-Trek. What we all got was a show that promised to be something completely different and failed often, shoehorning references to later events and technology while trampling over the precedents that the previous four series had laid down, all the while having a talent cast struggle over child-simple dialog and plotting. And lest anyone forget, that
damn theme song that if I ever hear one more time I swear I will puncture my eardrums.