“Star Trek: Enterprise” – last week, I noted that I’m still looking for more from the series. This week’s episode, “Proving Ground,” seemed just a bit closer to the “more” – although, I’m still not sure how to articulate what this “more” is. Commander Shran of the blue Andorian aliens arrives to help Captain Archer and the Enterprise crew in getting info on the Xindi weapon. Shran, played by actor Jeffrey Combs, was quite good; he’s conflicted by his genuine interest in helping and respecting the humans and yet is obligated toward the Andorians’ own interest to get the weapon for themselves.
Combs is a recurring Star Trek actor, most well-known as the villainous and slimy Weyoun of “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.” He’s so convincing as Shran, someone you’d like to trust but know that you can’t. I got into it by yelling at the tv, “Archer, don’t listen to him; he’s Weyoun in a prior life and he hasn’t exactly been that trustworthy with you in the past two seasons anyway!” Archer, played by Scott Bakula, still needs work – I may never know if it’s because of the line reading or the script writing (without stronger writing, even Bakula, who has been a better actor in the past, can’t milk all that much). More Shran/Combs please!
Captain Kangeroo, aka Bob Keeshan (who I most remember as the host of the CBS Saturday morning Storytime show), has passed away. Yahoo.com – why are they posting a picture of Keeshan and Howard Dean? (besides the fact that Keeshan’s home was in Vermont; there were probably other heartwarming pictures of Keeshan to show). Anyway, the point is, Keeshan is a sad loss, much like with the passing of Fred Rogers. What are kids watching these days without such figures? They are missed.