When I was in Washington DC, I had the opportunity to watch a lot of TV- particularly when Hurrican Isabel hit and I was left in my apartment with nothing to do. Many shows I was familiar with, and to watch new (or new to me) episodes was exciting and fun. With some of them, it was a chance to revisit old friends; with others, it was a chance to catch up on what had happened on the show since I had left.

The shows that lept out at me, though, were two shows which I had not seen before: Star Trek: Enterprise, which debuted after I left, and Queer Eye For The Straight Guy, which was the summer hit on Bravo.

After watching the season premiere of Enterprise, I finally understood many of the gripes of Trekkies, including the non-traditional theme song, the action focus, and so on. While not being able to comment on previous seasons, I have to say I fully enjoyed the episodes of season three that I have seen so far, and approve of many of the changes and innovations made. I really like the theme song; it's inspirational, uplifting, and fully encompasses the pioneer spirit of the show. I loved how they interspersed clips of man's first attempts at exploration, flight, and space travel with 'clips' of early Federation vessels and space flight. After having seen the original Kitty Hawk, Spirit of St. Louis and so on in the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum, I had come to understand what they stood for the reawoken many of my own early dreams of space travel. Enterprise's opening was akin to that.

As for this season, I fully enjoy the story arc. I really love how the Xindi have three variants, I love the insectoid and piscatoral aliens who communicate by clicks and sonar, respectively. I particularly liked the episode about the species which was going extinct and created a virus to mutate others into the species in a last-ditch, desperate effort to save themselves, and Capt. Archer's decision not to destroy the virus. The exploration of the relationships between the various crew members are also fascinating. And that Ensign Sato? Rowwrrrrrr. They need to feature her more often.

Queer Eye For The Straight Guy, on the other hand, is sheer fun. The Fab 5 approach their tasks with both single-mindedness but also in the spirit of having a great time, and their exuberance bursts out onto the screen. It seems to me that it is a trifle unfair to criticise the stright guy sometimes, because they do pay for the entire makeover, after all, giving him a lifestyle he otherwise couldn't afford. Of course, some of these guys are such slobs that they really don't have a clue. I have gotten great ideas and tips from the show, and was pleased that some things which I had been doing were suggested. For example, Thom (interior design guru) spoke about painting the back of shelves to give them the appearance of depth- I had done something similar by hanging muslin on the wall behind the open shelves I had inherited in my dorm room this year. To top it off, a book that Carson (fashion guru) referred to in the show I also proudly own and refer to, which makes me feel pretty good- I'm definitely doing the right things!

On a more personal note, I'm very pleased that one of my oldest friends also enjoys the show. We swap emails discussing the episodes and inexplicably it all feels a little conspiratorial, but I'm enjoying bonding with her over this (very surprising) common interest.