End Credits Irony.

If I were doing a full-out DVD Review of STAR TREK ENTERPRISE The Complete First Season, the comments that make up this post would surely be included.

But, while this is not an actual DVD review, the irony of what follows must be reported.

I’ve never seen STAR TREK ENTERPRISE during its original run on the now defunct UPN television network but, given the period during witch it aired, I feel safe in making the following assumption. When the EPISODE END CREDITS rolled, I am certain that they were SHRUNKEN in size and SQUASHED to the side or bottom of the screen to the point of unreadability. I need not state that the reason for this is to squeeze in additional promos in the remaining screen area.

Wanna know who that guest star was? The one who wasn’t important enough to be named in the episode’s opening, after the title and before the writer and director? How about the composer of the music score? Make-up and special effects wizards?

For some unknown reason, you might even wish to learn who the “Best Boy”, “Key Grip” or “Gaffer” was. Sorry! You’re out of luck because, on so many contemporary shows, you just CAN’T READ THE END CREDITS!

Being a full-credits geek myself, I dislike – but have learned to live with – this practice.

Today, after watching the excellent STAR TREK ENTERPRISE episode “The Andorian Incident”, which retroactively introduces the blue-skinned, antenna-ed race of Andorians to STAR TREK continuity and casts additional light on the Vulcans, I watched the end credits sequence as usual. The ending was SO GOOD that I skipped back to the final "episode chapter" to watch the climax again.

At the episode's fade-out, the end credit sequence began to play for the second time, as one would expect after skipping back to the final program chapter. I pressed the “Skip Forward” button, rather than see the end credits again.

To my surprise, I found that the EPISODE END CREDITS – the very SAME end credits that Paramount (presumably) shrunk, squashed, and did not allow to be read in its original broadcasts – COULD NOT BE SKIPPED on it’s DVDs.

Of course, I can choose to fast forward through them, if need be. BUT… Just thought I’d share the irony, folks! And isn’t that what Blogging is all about?