In our previous article, we previewed the raft of new bonus features which will be included on the first season release of Star Trek: Enterprise on Blu-Ray.

Today we can bring you the cover art for Season 1 and confirm that the release date for the United States & Canada has been set at March 26, 2013 (as always, we should point out cover art and release date are subject to change). Interestingly, the cover art is completely different from the three choices fans were asked to vote on back in November (see below for an explanation from CBS). Be sure to let us know what you think about it in the comments section!

Eagle-eyed viewers will notice that the title is referred to as “Star Trek: Enterprise Season One” in the cover-art. As we’re all aware, the show was titled simply “Enterprise” during the first two seasons. We’re told that CBS will be referring to the show as “Star Trek: Enterprise” for all merchandising and branding, however the title card of “Enterprise” will remain unchanged on the finished Blu-Rays.

CBS have also released a special video preview of the 3-part documentary “To Boldly Go: Launching Enterprise” which will be one of the main attractions on the Season 1 set. The clip is posted over at Yahoo TV and features Enterprise Executive Producer Brannon Braga and star Scott Bakula discussing the origins of the Captain Archer character.

Unfortunately the video at Yahoo TV is only playable in the U.S., hopefully CBS will address this problem as soon as possible. [EDIT: We now have the clip available internationally in 720p HD]

As we mentioned, Enterprise‘s first season documentary will be broken down into three parts. The first part, “Countdown” explores the challenges of creating a Trek prequel series (and includes interviews with Rick Berman, Brannon Braga, Herman Zimmerman, Michael and Denise Okuda, etc). “Part Two: Boarding the NX-01” chronicles the casting process and keys in on the production of the “Broken Bow” pilot (with Scott Bakula, director James Conway, Trinneer and Keating among the interviewees). “Part Three: First Flight” examines the rest of season one and offers interviews with production and post-production personnel. Also included in The Complete First Season are previously released special features, among them outtakes, deleted scenes and Archival Mission Logs.

Talking to StarTrek.com, CBS Home Entertainment Executive Vice President & General Manager Ken Ross explained that he didn’t feel any of the proposed covers that fans were asked to vote on in November really “nailed it” for him:

I didn’t feel that any of the three proposed covers really nailed it and represented that, so we listened to the fans and changed course. We dug deeper and found an old UPN promo poster utilized during the launch campaign for the series which introduces the cast in a strong, heroic pose in their EVA suits as the pioneers of space exploration in the Star Trek universe. It harkens back to that sense of discovery, heroism and exploration that served as the basis for the Star Trek concept. The image conveys the same spirit of adventure as The Right Stuff and other iconic stories of pioneers exploring a new frontier. We felt there was no better way to show who those characters really were and their significant role in the Trek mythos. That art became the basis for the new Blu-ray cover design. And for those lovers of the ship, we’re going to feature it on the back cover. We also read that many fans thought images representative of key scenes/episodes from the respective seasons should be used, and we are going to include such images on the backs as well.

One last piece of news… according to the article containing comments from Ken Ross, Star Trek: Enterprise Season One on Blu-Ray is set to retail at $130, the same price point as the Star Trek: The Next Generation Blu-Rays. This seems rather excessive (even after the obligatory discounts applied at stores such as Amazon) given that the series has not had to undergo the remastering necessary for TNG.

We’re told that a press release for the set is imminent as well as further previews of the new bonus material produced by Roger Lay Jr. and Robert Meyer Burnett. We’ll bring you news of the full press release and pre-order availability as soon as we get it, so be sure to stay tuned to TrekCore!

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