I've recently completed a rewatch of the series. Or a full watch as I didn't watch every episode during its run. My opinion of the series has only changed slightly. I already knew the first 2 seasons sucked and it got better from Season 3 but I must admit I grew genuinely fond of some of the characters and I think the series overall had some classic episodes. It's a deeply flawed and badly executed series with far too much filler and pointless fan wankery but I'd be lying if I said I don't have some affection for it. What I liked Archer grew on me. I liked T'Pol first time around and I like her even more on rewatch. Trip is still the best character. Phlox is a good addition. Hoshi is sweet if underused. Shran is amazing. Porthos is adorable. The NX-01 is great. The Xindi arc was well done. Season 4 had some great stuff. What I didn't like Season 1 and 2 apart from a few episodes. Trip's death. Reed. Completely unlikable. Travis. Bad actor playing a bland character. Took me until Season 3 to memorize his name. Too many boring episodes and needless callbacks to stuff like the Organians. The finale!!!!!
It took me a long time to give the series a second chance as well. I agree with many of your opinions, but I did really like the episode with the Organians. Not only did it feature a new take on a classic TOS race, it also had a very TOS message.
Travis really was bland, and given he grew up in space he really shouldn't have been. And yeah, I just can't even with the actor, who'd had a fairly large presence on a show I was watching the season before and I never realized until looking up something entirely unrelated.
The Travis character was bland and not well-written but I think the actor did a fantastic job in the "Mirror" episodes; really showed that as an actor his talents were wasted during the series, IMO.
I am also rewatching the entire Star trek franchise on Netflix starting from ENT. Shockwave II is on at the moment. I enjoyed the shows the first time they came on, apart from the opening music and TATV. Its a shame Travis was underused, and the poor will they won't they with Trip and T'Pol, came across as written by a bunch of immature school boys who did not know how to deal with relationships. P.S Another negative, Starfleet lacks diversity for a 22nd century allegedly global organisation, so do the Vulcans.
Other positives: Very good alien makeup. I thought they did a really impressive job especially on the Xindi reptiles and Yridians. I also liked the idea of the Suliban. I didn't like the TCW plot, but I did like the idea of an alien race which augments itself as payment for serving a mysterious benefactor. I think that the original idea to keep Enterprise on Earth for the first season would have been a disaster. I do appreciate the fact that they took there time early on with a lot of "getting to know you" episodes for most of the main cast. The cast itself was also pretty strong, imo. I'm not saying that the characters were the best, but I think the cast was the strongest acting wise of all of the series outside of DS9.
The forth season was probably the strongest, but damn, that opening scene of "Home" is painful with how clear they were standing on a sound stage with a back drop that cost $5 that they were trying to pull off as giant stadium.
What was the deal with Travis? Did the actor have an iron clad contract? He was an extra apart from a handful of episodes. Surely one or both parties must have wanted to part ways when it became obvious the character was a dud.
For me the biggest question is how did he get cast in the first place? I can't imagine him giving some Laurence Olivier level performance in his audition. I can only imagine it was a scenario similar to that episode of Futurama where Bender auditioned for All My Circuits. Calculon: [after Bender having auditioned] That was so terrible I think you gave me cancer! I don't care how popular you are, you will never work on my show! Fry: [outside] Yay Bender! Leela: [outside] We demand Bender! Calculon: However you've got the job. At least they were smart enough to completely minimize his character. Too bad they didn't do that for some of the dead wood in the casts of Voyager and TNG.
I like this show more, the more I see it. When I first watched it on Netflix, I thought the seasons got better and better culminating in the 4th, but now I think the opposite. Season 1 and 2 are superior in my mind. I still like the latter seasons, but they have an immaturity to them, and a lot of over the top acting. I agree, Travis is good in the mirror episode, but aside from that, Travis speaking often makes me cringe. I like the character, though.
Upon further review, I think ENT gives VOY a good run for 4th. Lots of Archer stupidity, the Trip/T'Pol relationship, the TCW/Xindi stuff, alien Nazi's, and the awful finale were the low points. Non-Tripp T'Pol was great. Phlox & Shran were great. I really liked the Andorian & Vulcan arcs. Hoshi was very good & turned into a badass by the end. Non T'Pol Tripp was also good. Thought S1 & S4 were the strongest. I even liked the 1st edition theme song.
I seriously feel like a virgin. On Saturday I'm off to JB Hi Fi (this will mean something to Aussies) to buy 'Enterprise' and give it mostly a *first* watch! Should be a bit of fun.
Honestly when I like something (I do love my Star Trek) I just talk about it. I'm expecting to enjoy this show