So I have FINALLY started watching Enterprise... love it so far!!

Enterprise was a good show, too bad it was cancelled so early. Season 1 was different from the Trek I knew before, but it didn't take long to like it, and there were some really great episodes in the first two seasons. "Carbon Creek" will forever remain my favorite ENT episode.

Season 3 was amazing. I loved the whole Xindi-storyline, though, now that I know what happened, it can get boring when you re-watch it, because the whole "what are they up to, who are they" mystery is gone. But still, it's a really good season, with similarly good episodes.

And season 4... what a joyfest. Except for that little thing they called "series finale"... *g*

If only there had been a season 5. Would have loved to see where the show was going after season 4. I heard rumors about a two- or more-parter in the Mirror Universe... THAT would have been a blast!

Edited for language barrier thingmajings

 

More now watched!

"Proving Ground": It was good to see Shran back, and the Andorians in general. Plenty of action, and Archer came off well in the resolution. No doubt we'll be seeing the blue-skinned fellas again soon.

"Stratagem": What an interesting idea for an episode, and good to see Archer being prepared to screw up a guy's mind in the interests of the mission. The first half of the episode, I felt, was a little flat, but when the Xindi started to question the reality of the situation and learned the "truth", things got very interesting. Also loved the "Hustle"-style twist at the end on the 'mark'. Very good.

"Harbinger": I've no objection at all too beautiful women or the T'Pol/Tucker relationship but... this was really odd. I just didn't buy how things progressed here. There was something about Blalock's acting in this one (perhaps it was intentional) that just didn't help me like this sub-plot. Unfortunately, the main (?) plot with the sphere builder also felt like a bit of a WTF for me. I liked the female MACO though, and the Hayes/Reed rivalry was brutal but fun.

"Doctor's Orders": OK, this was interesting. I predicted the twist (that T'Pol was never there) about half-way through the episode but - to Enterprise's credit - the show still kept me guessing whether I was right or wrong until the end. I like Phlox as a character, but the whole "is main character mad or not?" plot has been done so many times in Trek, this one didn't bring quite enough of a new perspective to it to feel worthwhile. Some freaky moments (Sato coming out of the show, the Xindi creature) made it a good watch though.

 

Time for a catch-up!!:

"Hatchery": Interesting enough, though I was hoping Archer's desire to save the eggs would be borne of genuine hope that such an act would demonstrate they weren't Xindi enemies (in true Trek fashion) rather than the predictable "stuff that splatted on his face amde him act strange". I like the idea that a species could implant a maternal instinct to protect its young into another species.

"Azati Prime": Terrific! One of the best of season 3 - and maybe even the entire series? - so far. Lots of drama, lots of action, high stakes - stuff Enterprise does really well. The complete hammering the ship gets... wow. I really felt that, and seeing it so damaged at the end - great stuff.

"Damage": Another great episode. T'Pol's addiction problem was a good reveal (and of course, makes me look back at several other episodes this season and say "of course she wasn't quite herself!"). I thought the 'damage' to Archer's moral code when the Enterprise crew steal the equipment from the aliens (led by DS9's Damar!) was suitably dramatic. As Mutai Sho-Rin hinted at above, Degra is indeed turning out to be a fascinating character.

"Forgotten": Degra's character development continues apace. The handshake between him and Archer was wonderful, and very well directed (LeVar Burton and Roxann Dawson are two of the better directors for Enterprise I feel). Trip's dilemma was touching, and recalled for me an old issue of DC's 2nd comic Trek series, "Once A Hero" where Kirk also has to write such a letter.

"E2": Hmm. It has similarities with a DS9 episode, but as I am sure I mentioned in a previous post, Enterprise does a good job of "making a plot its own". In fact, besides the central conceit, this was pretty much a different story (no angst over whether the other crew would cease to exist and could 'our' crew live with that etc). Instead, we get another example of Enterprise's ability to mix action, adventure, emotion and drama into a satisfying bundle.

The last several episodes have been extremely high quality (I was slightly lukewarm on the beginning of the season). My appreciation for this fine series is tempered with frustration that (it seems) so much of fandom does not rate it at all! Enterprise is a wonderful series, a more-than-worthy addition to the Trek franchise, with fantastic plots, well drawn characters, alien races and some genuinely different takes on things. It baffles me that it isn't better thought of, and I can only assume/hope that people will gradually 'try it out' like me and it will gain greater appreciation as time goes by.

 

E2 is my favorite episode. And that's a great arc you're on right now, I envy you your first time viewing!

 

There is a definite upturn in quality once Manny Coto is given more power.

I think for some reason ENT tends to makes a bad first impression on a lot of people. When I first tried to watch the show I didn't like it and gave up after a few episodes, it wasn't until a few years later that I tried again and became a fan. And I've heard that same story from other people more times then I can count.

 

Always enjoyed Enterprise... but recently revisiting the show I have found even more of an appreciation for the show. Some really solid episodes throughout Season 1... hit and miss Season 2, but when they hit, it was very impressive.

My only real qualm was Season 3... I just felt like the show was just trying too hard to be "edgy." Season 4 though was filled with so many classics, and the show definitely had found its sea legs.


Yancy

 

Watched the final three episodes of Enterprise as a "triple bill" - "The Council", "Countdown" and "Zero Hour". Just this once, I'll consider the three in one overview:

Excellent! What a wonderful ending (?) to the Xindi storyline. It was full of suspense and plenty of action, but I also love the very Trekkian idea of making peace with one's enemy. Archer achieves his ultimate goal by channeling both Kirk and Picard, finding a successful peaceful alternative (with hope for the future) and kicking the s**t out of Dolim as well.

Result!

There's so much that could be said about these episodes but:

Hoshi's abduction came out of nowhere but was logical.
Degra's death was tragic, but was obviously supposed to be as such. If only he had lived to know how much he contributed to the eventual result of peace.
Disappointed to lose Major Hayes.
T'Pol feels a little 'off' in these episodes... not quite sure what it is. Obviously still recovering from her trillium addiction!
The ending... I half-expected Archer to lift his head and mutter "oh boy"... this came way out of leftfield, and I assume it has to do with the temporal cold war... but for my wife & I, we were kind of gearing up to an 'ending' so to tack on a "and then this happened WTF moment..." - I'm also kind of lukewarm to Nazi aliens, but I'm sure the next episode will be entertaining enough.

World Cup is distracting me from more Enterprise at the moment, but next up "Storm Front"...

 

I was just p-o'ed when they didn't get home. But as far as trek "Nazi episodes" go, these next two are trek's finest.

Enjoy!!

 

I'm glad you enjoyed the end of season 3, Trek Survivor! A lot of people here hate "Storm Front" with a passion, but I enjoyed it. It's the kind of kooky thing Doctor Who likes to do - of course time travelling aliens were involved in WWII!

 

Glad you enjoyed season 3; it is my favorite of the series. Not a big fan of the space Nazi's but it's not horrible either. I have been enjoying your reviews!!

 

I love Storm Front, it's dramatic and weird.

 

Totally agree, dramatic and weird but it does provide closure. Great episodes. Solid all the way around

 

I will always defend space nazis!!!

 

So now onward with season 4. Lots of high expectation, as people keep saying how great it is.

So, "Storm Front": Well, with this pair of episodes we have one of those very rare Trek occasions where part 2 of an episode is better than part 1. In fact, I was disappointed with Part 1. I could've done without the 1940s characters as well. Once Archer rejoined the crew, things got a lot better.

Debuting Vosk's species this late into the temporal cold war game felt a bit of a cheat, as well as (presumably) dispatching the Suliban from any other ongoing episodes. I finished these episodes feeling somewhat disappointed. I won't really be sorry to see the end of the temporal cold war, as I never felt it was done justice (loved the concept, and was a great opportunity for other Trek characters to make an occasional appearance) but, looking back, I feel it never delivered on screen.

"Home": This was a good episode, almost the "Family" to the Xindi arc's "Best of Both Worlds". Hoshi seemed to be the only one who didn't get a "moment" (aside from the sickbay scene, but that was really progressing the Phlox prejudice plot). Speaking of the Phlox plot, the 'prejudice' was undestandable but - and maybe it was a casting issue - the bar scene didn't really feel particularly genuine.

The scenes on Vulcan were interesting, and I was genuinely surprised T'Pol went through with the wedding.

"Borderland" / "Cold Station 12" / "Augments":

I knew Brent Spiner was coming up, and these three episodes certainly delivered a fast-moving and entertaining plot (the Orion stuff in the first part felt like pure padding though). Spiner kept the hamminess relatively light (a miracle for him!) and Persis was a good character and I was sorry the 'nice' Augment brother Archer rescued died so quickly. To my knowledge, Soong was never told of this and it never came up again... odd.

The Cold Station 12 scenes were pretty unnerving to watch, epecially the one scientist's death.

Knowing that Enterprise "explained" the whole different-looking Klingons thing with the augments, I was expecting that to happen with these episodes, so was surprised by episode's end. Must happen later. That's what you get when you've heard "bits and pieces" over the years without watching the programme!

Soong's last lines about moving to cybernetics and it "taking a generation or two" (nudge nudge wink wink at audience) were as cringeworthy as Archer's from that earlier episode regarding "needing somekind of...directive" to face the challenges of outer space.

All in all, a pretty good three-parter. I haven't quite felt the "OMG Season 4 is the absolute best ever and way superior to seasons 1-3" vibe yet, but reliable Enterprise is continuing its high standard of work in any case.

 

A couple of little tidbits: I (in retrospect of course) love how "Borderland"/"Cold Station 12"/"The Augments" work just as well as a prequel to Star Trek Into Darkness as they do for "Space Seed"/Wrath of Khan. The effortless Klingon-whupping and the way Soong's comment about how easily Henry Archer's illness could have been cured (which ties in with the little girl at the start of the movie) work as excellent foreshadowings to events in the recent movie.

Oh, and the Enterprise flying low over NYC in "Storm Front" still wows me. I couldn't believe ENT had such fantastic and detailed CG as we saw there (I think I read somewhere it was actually a reuse of the CG NYC created for Peter Jackson's King Kong remake?)

 

I must be the only one but I actually really enjoyed the 1st season of ENT. I loved the idea of seeing everything for the first time.

Conversely I didn`t like the 3rd season(outside of a couple episodes). But I wasn`t impressed with the seasons arc. And I felt that the 4th season was rushed, with really the only intention being giving a wink to the audience every week. Not to mention the finale(no spoilers!)

 

I like to watch the first season drenched in foreshadowing.

Which obviously I have made up but whatever.

 

You are not alone. There plenty of wonderful trek in the first 2 seasons of Enterprise.

 

I must admit I too watched first few episodes and didn't care for it when it initially aired. For me to was the production design. It just didn't LOOK like Trek to me. It was an extremely hard challenge to show the precursor to technology we already know so well while still keeping the Trek look, but ENT missed the mark in my book.

Once Netflix made it easy to give the show another try, I discovered my new favorite Trek show.....over a decade after it was cancelled.