Gifts from the Goggle Box

I don't watch television.

When I tell people this they act as if they've had a brain fart and didn't process the information. It's as if their minds translated "I don't watch telly" to "I don't have cable" or "I don't watch primetime telly". Nope. I don't watch television ... at all.

(Incidentally, some people act threatened and offended by this information. I'm not bragging, I'm just reporting a fact. If I was a vegatarian I could tell you: "I don't eat meat". It's not a personal judgment against you, just a statement of truth about myself. What's the problem?)

Anyway, I dislike television as a concept (brainless programming, product pimping commercials, general time wastage, etc) but I have nothing against television SHOWS per se - not counting the 98% that are senseless wastes of brain run-time.

There have been some great telly shows. I'm a huge fan of Sci-Fi and so have enjoyed the Twilight Zone, Star Trek, Quantum Leap, X-Files. Darling Hubby and I enjoy these so much that we've collected them (and many other series) on DVD. Indeed, a lot of telly I've discovered exclusively through DVD - shows that came out after I stopped watching the boob tube - like Six Feet Under and Firefly (one of the best sci-fi television shows ever made IMHO).

One that I am enjoying the hell out of (and the first season of which we just voraciously consumed) is Enterprise.

I won't lie to you. Hubs and I are rabid Star Trek fans. It could be animated with stick figures and in French and we'd give it a look-see if it was a Star Trek franchise. But I can honestly say that I have genuinely enjoyed the fuck out of every one of the Star Trek series and I seem to enjoy each subsequent offering a tad more than the previous. Or maybe it's that I love it as much, just in a different way, like one loves multiple children.

It took me awhile to warm up to Voyager. The clearly chosen-so-as-to-be-terribly-politically-correct crew left me a bit cold at first. I also harboured an intense dislike of B'Elanna (as I did for Kira and to a lesser degree, Deanna) but I really loved the Doctor and Tuvok - and Neelix grew on me. With Voyager I was liking more of the crew. With DS9, for example, I was really only very fond of Garak.

Enterprise grabbed me at the opening. As a science geek, the montage of our best and bravest, from the Wright brothers to Chuck Yeager, brought tears to my eyes, and the Firefly-like theme only helped. As a huge Quantum Leap fan, I adore Archer on principal. T'Pal failed to irritate me, Trip is growing on me, and I positively love Dr Phlox.

I haven't enjoyed a Trek character like this since Data. He's funny, warm, personable, but also steadfast in his beliefs. Phlox doesn't pull his punches and has absolutely no qualms about speaking his mind; traits I very much admire.

He's beautifully written and played to quirky perfection by John Billingsley. (Right there sans make-up. You may remember him from Out of Time with Denzel Washington. He was the beach bum-like friend who was the only one Denzel could trust.)

So if you've not seen it, the first season is out. You can probably Netflix it if you're too cautious a bastard to blindly take my advice and buy it. (*tsk*tsk*tsk* Would I lie to you?)