1.TNG. It wasn't as consistently good as season four but I thought it had several 3.5 star or four star episodes like The Survivors, The Bonding, The Enemy, The Defector, Yesterday's Enterprise, The Offspring and of course the classic The Best of Both Worlds. Then there were nice episodes like Evolution, Ensigns of Command, Tin Man etc. In fact there really isn't an episode that I found unwatchable at all this season.
And while TNG kept to the more low key stuff as opposed to ENT's epic Xindi saga it still worked and gets my vote for best third season.
2.ENT. I was surprised that I ranked this season at number two but it was a vast improvement over season two and surprisingly B&B crafted a rather interesting storyline. In fact, it experimented with the Lost/Heroes approach before they even premiered by throwing a bunch of unanswered questions and puzzle pieces that left the audience wondering who the Xindi were, were they really responsible for the attack, was FG lying, what were the purpose of the spheres and as the season progressed the threads and puzzles starting clicking nicely into place.
The writers respected continuity and developed an interesting mythology surounding the Expanse, the Sphere Builders and the Xindi. Most episodes built on previous episodes logically whether with the efforts to procure trellium or the efforts to begin charting/predicting location of anomalies. The plot complications felt natural such as the setback with not being able to line the ship with trellium due to its effects on Vulcans.
The writers also used the opportunity to draw on a rather epic canvas giving us tons of characters, character perspectives and dynamics from all sides(Degra, Archer, Daniels, Shran, Dolum, the Sphere Builder); we got a wide range of sets and locales from the various Xindi ships/bridges to the ENT-J to the 26th century to the Fed ceremony in 2161 to the Xindi council to the interior of the Xindi weapon to the the Sphere Builders' realm to an altered 20th century Earth in the final moments of Zero Hour.
The VFX were outstanding with the massive battle sequences which were some of the best I have ever seen or the awe-inspiring shot of the interior of the Weapon or the Weapon underwater inside its cradle or of the flight through the clouds on the way to the council. The production design was outstanding whether the Xindi make-up, the costumes, the council set, Shran's bridge, Degra's bridge.
The writers developed three compelling arcs for Archer, T'Pol and Trip and even the minor characters found themselves in the mix of things.
If there was one shortcoming it was the inconsistency in quality. When it stuck to the episodes that hit on the arc material they were usually good or great(Anomaly, Rajiin, Impulse, The Shipment, Twilight, Proving Ground, Strategem) but when they went for a filler standalone it was usually a bust(Extinction, Chosen Realm, Doctor's Orders, E2). I think maybe if they had not been so intent on dragging the arc out all season it would have helped.
But it did show that Brannon still had his touch when it came to high concept sci-fi elements such as those driving the Xindi arc. And the stretch from Azati Prime to Zero Hour was on par with the DS9 Final Chapter Saga.
3.DS9. I wasn't too crazy about this season. It was the chance DS9 had to strut its stuff after TNG was off the air and before VOY premiered but it didn't come through. It was highly erratic. I didn't particularly care for episodes like Fascination, Meridian, The Search II, Family Business, Prophet Motive, The Abandoned, Distant Voices, Facets, The House of Quark. And I felt it did ignore the Dominion for far too long. There were some good episodes like The Search I, Defiant, Visionary, Destiny, Explorers and Improbable Cause/The Die is Cast.
4.VOY. Season three was a mess. It was the first time I ever considered stopping watching a Trek series. I don't know what they were thinking with stuff like Coda, The Q and the Grey, Sacred Ground, Blood Fever, Rise, Favorite Son, The Darkling, The Swarm. And then middling stuf like Macrocosm, Warlord, Real Life. If it wasn't for the rumors of a shake-up and Scorpion I probably would have stopped watching it.
5. TOS--the show had seen better days.
