Simon Pegg is a big fan of Star Trek, but apparently not Star Trek: Enterprise. The new Scotty has some choice words for the series, and especially the theme song. Pegg is also talking about writing his next comedy before he starts shooting the next Star Trek. Details below.
Simon Pegg on Enterprise theme, Star Trek and writing his next script
Simon Pegg’s memoir "Nerd Do Well
is being released in the USA and the actor is doing a mini book tour and some press. In talking to the AV Club Pegg got around to talking about Star Trek. He didn’t have anything new to say about the sequel, but did have some insights into Trek in general
On the theme to Star Trek Enterprise ("Faith of the Heart":
I think that the theme music to Enterprise was probably the most hideous Star Trek moment in history. I couldn’t believe that they had this great idea of sort of pre-Kirk/Spock Star Trek, and they gave it a dreadful soft-rock music start. It just seemed so ill-advised. I mention Admiral Archer [in 2009’s Star Trek]—it isn’t struck off because of the terrible music. Scotty actually mentions him. But [the theme music] is terrible. I’ve never seen Enterprise, because I couldn’t get past that music. It would still be ringing in my ears when the show starts.
Theme from “Enterprise” – hated by Simon Pegg
On what Star Trek character he would like to play (besides Scotty):
I don’t know—definitely a hard question. When I watched the movie, I was really enjoying it, and I forgot I was in it, honestly. I’d always seen the Star Trek universe as something I was outside of as a kid. I always put myself in Star Wars; I was like Luke’s younger brother, or something. But Star Trek, I like watching as an outsider. And that’s part of the reason Star Trek has the fanbase it has. It’s so enduring; it’s such an inclusive universe. You feel at home watching it, even if you’re not a part of it.
I always think Nick should play Harry Mudd. You know that amazing episode, “Mudd’s Women”? He brings all these women onboard that are all intoxicating to the crew members. It’s like brilliant, Vaseline-on-the-lens, soft-focus girls. But I don’t know [for me]—Khan?
And in an interview with AICN, Pegg said that he hopes to start writing the third film in the series Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz series collaboration with Nick Frost and Edgar Wright. Apparently Pegg thinks he can get it done before filming begins on the Star Trek sequel:
We already started the conception process, so it’s just a question of when we can get together. I’m just about to start shooting a movie here in the UK, so maybe between that and STAR TREK we might get a chance to bang out a first draft if we’re lucky
Pegg as Khan? Oh god no
Pegg is also just starting to promote Paul, which comes out on DVD in August. Here is a new fun behind the scenes clip shot by Pegg (via DigitalSpy).
Yes, I too absolutely *loathe* the “Faith of the Heart” ballsack song they used for Enterprise….
I mean, who actually likes the Enterprise theme song though? It definitely is at the bottom of my theme song list.
posted in the previous thread but more apt to start this one off – Pegg and Tom Hanks were on the Graham Norton show tonight in UK(promoting ‘Paul’ and ‘Larry Crowe’) and they both started trying to out geek each other on TOS episodes etc anyway Pegg said Hanks would be welcome on the sequel and Hanks said hed like to play a Romulan (a peaceful one). I got the impression they were both being quite serious. Hanks seemed quite bummed hed never been in a sci fi movie
Hanks was nearly cast as Z Cochrane in FC wasnt he? (but couldnt do it due to him directing That Thing You Do)
oh and i really hope they dont have Harry Mudd in the sequel!
Khan – yes! (either as teh main villain or set up for ‘3’)…Mudd – not so much
I like the Enterprise theme song.
I loved the Enterprise Series but Hated the Theme song. Except for the Theme song they did for In a Mirrior Darkly. That was great. But peg as Khan. No!!!!!!!!! Scotty YES!!!!!!
I hate the “Enterprise” theme song and I’m glad Simon feels the same.
I for one actually liked the theme song to Enterprise. I thought it was interesting to actually have a song with lyrics, rather then just instrumental.
The song seems appropriate, that this first Enterprise crew would have “faith of the heart” believing they could go out and make a difference, and find new life. I figured the “not gonna hold me down no more” was in reference to the vulcans holding back man’s Warp 5 engine. I even own the soundtrack of Enterprise, and love listening to the long verson of the song.
Since so many people apparenlty dislike it, what do you all think should have been used instead?
Hated it. At least the arrangement. Very ill advised as was Akiraprise and the rest of the production design to some extent. Why did they have phase pistols? Why were their communicators tiny pill boxes, half the size and all the functionality of TOS???
I liked it to begin with. They made it even more pop from Season 3 onwards and then it became harder to like, because it’s suddenly super optimistic. Jarring badly with a show that had become grim and about a desperate race to save Earth.
They should have changed it to something like this…
http://youtu.be/6PWMk94lmlE
Whenever it comes out on Blu-ray (and it should’ve done so by now) –
Maybe Paramount can consider offering an alternative opening theme, to switch between? If it helps the series get a better reputation…
Worth mentioning that the You Tube video Trekmovie has tagged, isn’t actually that used on the show.
That’s the full length album version and at just over a minute, “Faith of the Heart” has come and gone in a third that time!
I love the song. It fits the feel of the show really well. They even “fixed” it to feel a little more like the shows new direction in the 3rd season. If Enterprise hadn’t been canceled it would have been my favorite of the five shows. As it stands its tied with voyager, but only cause voyager has more shows. With that said voyager is only slightly better than DS9, which is in turn only slightly better than TNG and TOS. (I love all things star trek)
Here ya go.
The theme song from Season 1-2:
http://youtu.be/_yijcWsLda8
Season 3-4 (more backbeat, guitar rythym going on):
http://youtu.be/urYH6xEyXw0
“In a Mirror, Darkly” theme (sounds a bit Babylon 5 to me):
http://youtu.be/sfbsZRbwbJ4
:)
I loved the Enterprise theme. I felt like it was the evolution of the franchise. A theme with words. I didn’t like the country rock remix that appeared after the second season but the original was simple enough to be timeless and the lyrics were pertinent to the theme of the show and Star Trek in general – optimism and exploration. Thumbs up from me!
@8 — I would have preferred something closer to the TOS theme. Most Star Trek music isn’t modern, but more of a late 19th / early 20th century throwback… and yes, I’m referring even to the beloved TMP / TNG anthem. The TOS theme, on the other hand, is of its time (mid-20th century) and somewhat forward-looking for the time, too. So, the theme to Enterprise should have been something from the academic realm (not rock, and certainly not the outdated, scrotum rock style they went for), but contemporary, in my opinion: electronic or electro-acoustic, with lots of percussive cues. I really like Giacchino’s score for Lost (but hate his score for ST2009). I know I’m not in the majority on this, but on the other hand, I’m in the majority in disliking the “Faith of the Heart” track.
Hey, admins, how about a poll on the Enterprise theme?
1. Prefer season 1 theme
2. Prefer season 2 theme
3. Prefer season 3 theme
4. Prefer “In a Mirror, Darkly” theme (i.e. would have liked it to be the general theme)
5. Would have preferred a completely different theme, closer to the TNG – VOY theme
6. Would have preferred a completely different theme, closer to TOS theme
7. Would have preferred a completely different theme, totally different from all others
Too bad Pegg couldn’t get past the theme song. Enterprise had some really good episodes, especially in the final season.
Your loss, old chap.
The very least they could have done is come up with a new song instead of something recycled from a Robin Williams movie. It was a lousy song that wasn’t written with Trek in mind. But for a show that was all about looking back instead of forward (Enterprise, not Trek in general) I suppose a dull old-fashioned pop song that had already been used elsewhere (but sung by someone much more famous the first time) made sense.
17. Great idea.
BUT Enterprise only used TWO versions of the song and something else for the Mirror Universe episodes. See post 14.
Seasons 1-2, Season 3-4 and “In A Mirror, Darkly”. That’s all.
Trust me, it’s my second favourite Star Trek show. First, on days like this!
SO TRY THIS
1. Prefer season 1-2 theme
2. Prefer season 3 theme
3. Prefer “In a Mirror, Darkly” theme (i.e. would have liked it to be the general theme)
4. Would have preferred a completely different theme, closer to TOS theme
5. Would have preferred a completely different theme, closer to the TNG – VOY theme
6. Would have preferred a completely different theme, totally different from all others
Agreed re/the theme song/music for ENTERPRISE. I do absolutely love the Mirror, Darkly version.
There was actualy a song produced for Enterprise. Archers song which you hear as the end credits. They even had Scott Bakula giving us a narritive like Kirk did in Tos using Archers song. I wish they would have used that instead.
Elton John’s ROCKET MAN works great if you sync it just right.
The song is not a bad song but it just does not fit in a Star Trek series, I guess because I thought it would be better to have a theme similar to the other series. My only question is didn’t Simon Pegg acutally give the show a try or did he prejudge it based on a song he did not like. No offence, Simon but that is not a good reason to turn off an entire show. Enterprise was a great show.
@boborci – Don’t you mean William Shatner’s Rock-it-man? ;-)
#23,Bob,I could see that! :)
@20 — thanks for the correction, I did that in a hurry….
@23 & @25 — How about Herbie Hancock’s Rockit? ;-)
23. boborci – “Elton John’s ROCKET MAN works great if you sync it just right.”
There are loads of fan mash-ups on YouTube. Somebody might’ve already tried that. :)
22. Commodore Mike – “Archers song which you hear as the end credits. They even had Scott Bakula giving us a narritive like Kirk did in Tos using Archers song. I wish they would have used that instead.”
See post 10, up the page… assuming I’ve made it through the spam filter! :-}
In the months leading up to the premier of Enterprise there was a wonderful song over clips of the series in commercials promoting the show. I don’t remember what the name of that song was but it sounded great. When the show finally premiered the theme song that was chosen was so awful several people watching the show with me thought the TV station was having technical difficulties and the audio was switched. It’s is so awful It still makes me close my eyes, move my head slowly in a gesture of “no”, and just say “wow” in astonishment. A serious case of the emperor having no clothes with the powers-that-be controlling the production and silencing what must have been the negative criticism from people afraid of losing their job or being in the dog-house with producers.
Mr. Abrams, please don’t ever let your head get so big or become so out-of-touch with your staff that they are afraid to honestly give you feed-back. It always helps to have people that will give you various points of view on what they see and hear.
I don’t understand how people can’t watch Enterprise just because of the song.
When Enterprise started I hated the song but after time it grew on me and now I don’t mind. It doesn’t ruin the show for me.
I think Enterprise became a great show and it’s a shame it got cancelled too soon and a bad reputation.
Start te credits n the second verse, starting with, “i miss the earth…”
First, I loved “Paul.” It was a valentine to sci-fi geeky fans. Second, I absolutly agree with Pegg that the theme song to “Enterprise” was horrific. The song was from “Patch Adams!” Yes, the critical bomb that starred Robin Williams. (Link) For you in the “Blame it Berman” crowd, on this one I agree with you. Though I don’t believe Berrnan is responsible for global warming.
I got over the terrible song. Though I admit it does have a catchy hook. The more I watch “Enterprise” the more I like it. I’ve said if they bring back TV Star Trek maybe they should look again at this time period. But let’s face it , CBS will not bring back Enterprise so where does Star Trek on TV go? That I can’t say. The adventures of Captain Pike?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek:_Enterprise#Theme_song
Not watching the show because of the music is very lame.
“I’ve never seen Enterprise, because I couldn’t get past that music.”
I read into this statement “I’ve never seen Enterprise because I couldn’t be bothered”.
I really liked the theme song but as a solid soft pop song. It definitely didn’t fit in the Star Trek tradition of classical-style music.
As for the mood of the song, it fitted season 1, but definitely as season 3 starts and gets darker, it didn’t fit.
Loved Enterprise series even though I’m more of TOS guy. I actually finished all episodes, and watched it multiple times, while there still few episodes from each of other series I never watched.
#30. That song that they used for the Enterprise Promo was from the Rock Band. The Calling. Where Ever you will go.
Great Song.
Hey Bob Orci. Would you or have you considerd writting a Star Trek Series. Don’t expect an answer though but thought I would try.
I thought the theme music fit the premise of the series perfectly. But regardless of whether you like it or not, it’s hardly a reason for not watching the series. Just put your TV on mute during the opening credits. Jeez, it’s not that hard.
it’s lonely out in space … on such a times flight …
…………………..burnin’ out his fuse …
……………………….up here alone ….
…………………………long, long, time
………………………….long, long, time
………………………oh,no, no, no, no, no, no, no …
:-) :-)
Ah faith of the heart…. Should have been left with the film Patch Adams and the Manchester Commonwealth Games.
On another note i do hope we havent consigned Jerry Goldsmiths Star Trek theme tune to the history books, never to be used again – Bob will it ever make an appearance in your films do you think?
I would love to see Tom Hanks in a Trek film. The guy would give an award winning performance.
@43 i have lobbied long and hard but alas Bob Orci has his differences with Tom Hanks over a certain Kennedy assassination – he would have made a wonderful Commodore Decker! I tell you who else would be brilliant in a Trek film – Jack Nicholson!
I grew up on the space coast and started the first ST fan organization there on or around 1973. I love the Enterprise theme song and visuals. There are tons of orchestral sweeps for those that prefer them, but in the trenches of space development “it’s been a long time, getting from there to here, it’s been a long time, but my time is finally here” was and is an affirmation of aspiration and a source of inspiration.
I tried to give Enterprise a shot, but I just could not get into it. It became a blatant rip-off of TNG, more so than Voyager was.
The theme song just did not fit. And, no, Rocket Man would have been worse. Epic movies and TV shows should always have epic scores, no boring elevator music.
#8,
well that gives us a clue as to the sort of people who actually enjoyed that crap.
39. When I first c
ontemplated being a writer, my dream was to work on a Trek series, but by the time alex and I were writing professionally, I thought we’d missed our chance!
The great thing about dvds are–and Simon Pegg may have forgotten this–is that you can either fast forward or mute over the title sequence!
I dunno. I don’t see Nick Frost as Harry Mudd. I think he makes a better Cyrano Jones.
The bad music for Enterprise was symptomatic of the poor decision making throughout the show. Unlike BSG and Firefly it was mediocre and had nothing much to say. It was a dying breath of a series that was produced merely because…well…as breath follows breath, somebody thought there had to be a continuance of Star Trek on TV.